"The guards coming with us will be Lostnose and Cloverface."

Cloverface's ears perk at the sound of his name. "Me?" He asks in surprise, "I thought I needed to stay here and be one of the assistants."

Ferretstar turns to face the black and white tom. "You will, but not yet. There's a reason I let Gingerleaf choose more than one helper," She explains, "You may not always be camp at the same time."

Cloverface nods to this. He trots closer behind the group.

Ferretstar continues ahead towards the leader's den and spots Lostnose speaking with Toby lowly. The large gray she cat stops at she hears Ferretstar's approach. She turns her scarred face to her leader with a neutral expression.

"Lostnose," Ferretstar meows, dipping her cream head, "My apologies for interrupting. I'd like you for the first round with Gingerleaf."

Lostnose only nods back, flicking her tail at the elder to wave goodbye. Ferretstar notices Toby has somewhat of a guilty expression. Perhaps she would ask what they were talking about later. But for now, they really needed to get going.

The four cats set out, crawling through one of the cracks leading out of camp. They find themselves greeted by the sounds of the forest, which were somewhat muted from the inside of the old twoleg den.

"That breeze is nice," Cloverface purrs. Gingerleaf gives him an odd look. As the patrol walked out, they felt huge gust of wind blowing at their faces. Ferretstar nods with a slight grin.

"The sweet, sweet reward of being upwind," She agrees, "Come on, let's walk this way."

Ferretstar takes the lead, her former apprentice close beside her. Gingerleaf walked behind them and Lostnose took up the rear.

Gingerleaf lets out a slight sneeze as they proceed forward. "I'm dying here guys," He complains, "Another yall's fur keeps flying up my nose."

Cloverface flaunts his tail playfully. "Smell it," The black and white warrior taunts. Before the medicine cat could reply, the wind whipped a twig into his face. "Ow!"

Cloverface snickers and Ferretstar forces herself not to laugh. Gingerleaf obviously wasn't used to this kind of weather. She could easily explain why walking upwind was advantageous, but it was fun to see him suffer a little bit. However, it seemed as though Gingerleaf wasn't the only one not having fun. Although Lostnose's face was neutral, Ferretstar sensed she probably didn't approve of Cloverface's juvenile behavior.

Ferretstar decides it best to...

Original Poll Options:

14 Votes

1. Explain: Gingerleaf isn't used to this, he will complain less if he understands why walking upwind would help keep them hidden. : (35.7%)

2. Scold: Lostnose is right to look concerned, Cloverface is a warrior and should not be teasing Gingerleaf. : 28.6%

3. Ignore: This is beneath a leader's concern. What matters is that Gingerleaf learns to follow you without question. : 21.4%

4. Tease: Give Gingerleaf a taste of his own medicine. He teases cats all the time, so it would be fun to mess with him for once. : 7.1%

5. Accommodate: Perhaps going upwind isn't necessary. All that matters is that the patrol keeps moving. Going a way that is easier for Gingerleaf to follow would be best. : 7.2%