kickin' these rocks..

[Spottedpaw]

The dawn was hardly pulling up into the sky when the spotted apprentice made her way out of the camp. She had assumed that her mentor, Dawnwing, was still resting. After being her apprentice for around three moons now, Spottedpaw knew the way of the routine. She had gotten up early and was pushing her way through the storage and seeing what they had in stock. Because it was greenleaf, it was the perfect season to start gathering. The calico had noted that they were low on fennel and alder bark, so she had made the decision to go to the lake.

Her small frame moved quick across the moorland. Oddly enough, she was pretty awake, even though the sun was barely peeking out. Most of the cats were still curled up in their nests, including the dawn patrol. However, Spottedpaw had always been a morning cat. She didn't like wasting the day away curled up in her nest. If the sky was lit up, she was out. This even included on the full moon. With her tail held high, the apprentice finally reached the lakeshore. A low purr rumbled in her throat as she skimmed the edge of it. A small mrrow of triumph whispered through the she cats vocals as she caught the scent of the leaves, and it was only a few more moments before she saw the thin and spiky leaves.

Spottedpaw paced up to the river, careful not to overstep as she lowered her muzzle and plucked at the delicate stocks. She was cautious at how much she took and how hard she bit down, careful not to puncture and spray the important substance. Even though leaf-bare was a ways away for now, it wouldn't be gone forever, and ever season they had more elders. She was prepared for the discomfort their aging bones would get and she knew the juices in this plant were important to help them. Once she had plucked enough and left enough to grow in the coming seasons, she set them down and scratched a light bit of dirt over them.

She would have been more than willing to carry them with her, but their strong scent would have filled her nose so much that she wouldn't have been able to find the alder bark. With a small yawn and stretch of her back, she continued on her trek, this time trying to find a more moggy and wet place where the bark from the alder tree would be located.

[Swiftheart]

Swiftheart was restless, even more so the closer dawn approached. She tried to lay in what she thought was a comfortable sleeping position in the clearing of the Windclan camp where the other warriors slept, but no sleep came, even though she had been feeling tired for a very long time. She found nothing but discomfort, even as she snuggled up beside her mate, Ashfeather. Swiftheart just couldn't seem to coax herself to sleep so that she might push away the unpleasant feeling in her stomach, as if the previous evening's meal upset it. Many long uncomfortable hours passed, and finally as dawn began to break, Swiftheart couldn't take it anymore. She had to go seclude herself until the sick feeling within her gave her the option to not look like she was in any visible pain to her clanmates. She knew this was simply a common side effect of expecting kits early on. The pale soon to be queen silently got to her paws with a pained expression, and though she was exhausted, she quickly left the camp without a single sound to wake any other cat up. By now, light was slowly filtering into the sky, and soon the other cats would be waking up, and Swiftheart was padding along through Windclan's territory, away from the camp. She hadn't told any other warriors except Ashfeather her news, but of course the medicine cats knew, having been the first to tell her. Swiftheart wanted to remain on warrior duties for as long as possible before moving to live in the nursury where she wouldn't get to see Windclan's territory or catch a rabbit for a long time. She also didn't want any of her clanmates to feel any concern for her as she did this, which she knew would attract unwanted attention if they did know. Swiftheart also had yet to tell Stormstar, though she had told Dawnwing she would very soon. All news about his warriors should be reported to Stormstar, Swiftheart knew, but she was hesitant to hear his reaction to her clear desire to stay on warrior duties as long as she could. She hoped and thought he would be alright with not making an announcement about it when she did tell him, but although she fully planned on doing her duty of reporting it to him, she was procrastinating just a couple days. As Swiftheart mulled over her thoughts of telling Stormstar her news soon, she hadn't noticed her paws carrying her towards the lake. Maybe the cool breeze from across the water would make her feel better? Even this early in the day, the winds of Windclan's territory still blew briskly, carrying the faint scents of the entire forest around the lakes. The rush of air in her ears inclined Swiftheart to quickly crouch down so that she would not be knocked over. Her claws digging into the earth, Swiftheart continued onwards until she noticed a familiar scent, that of the medicine cat apprentice, Spottedpaw. Swiftheart realized Dawnwing's apprentice must be out diligently collecting herbs. She saw the apprentice's dappled pelt traveling from the lake along the river bordering Thunderclan, obviously on the hunt for herbs. It was far too late to just awkwardly turn and leave in case the apprentice noticed her presence and questioned why she left after seeing her, so Swiftheart decided she ought to respectfully greet the medicine cat apprentice. Forcing the feeling of morning sickness to the back of her mind in an attempt to not appear so ill, Swiftheart padded in Spottedpaw's direction until she was within conversing range. "Good morning, Spottedpaw." Swiftheart mewed with a polite smile. "You definitely like to work early, don't you?" She added with a friendly purr. sorry for the long backstory, but I thought it might be helpful to establish their relationship, maybe :3 ★ 638 words ★ Spottedpaw tagged

[Spottedpaw]

The dappled she cat was getting frustrated at how hard it was to find the swampy area she was usually so good at finding. The apprentice knew that it was usually easiest to find the plant when they were transitioning from leaf-bare into new-leaf. But, she was a determined cat, and hated to be low on herbs, even when she knew that they would be hard to find. Even if she wasn't able to find any today, she knew that Dawnwing would at least be appreciative that Spottedpaw had tried. And really, she had managed to get a good amount of fennel for the pile. The calico turned her head as the gentle wind blew the scent of one of the familiar warriors into her nose. Swiftheart. The apprentice noted in her brain. She had heard Dawnwing speaking to her not too long ago about a litter of kits on the way.

The warrior wasn't showing too much, but the appearance of her out of the camp at this time of day was enough for the skilled apprentice to know that the first signs of pregnancy were beginning to show. Still, she made no comment, only turning when the warrior greeted her with a kind tone. You definitely like to work early, don't you? The other she cat asked and the calico turned, giving her a friendly smile. "Someone's got to do it." She meowed thoughtfully, lowering her haunches to sit down and wrapping her tail around her paws. Her eyes traveled from the surroundings back to Swiftheart. "Dawnwing could use the time to relax and sleep in. She has been working hard." Spottedpaw felt her heart beam with pride at the thought of her mentor - she had always been a proud and determined cat. 

After a few more moments, the dappled apprentice decided to turn the attention to why the she cat was out of the camp, even though she could really guess, based on her experience with expecting queens. "Are you having trouble sleeping?" The apprentice asked gently, raising her eyes to meet those of the she cat. "I could get you some poppy to help settle and ease your mind so you can get some rest." Her head tilted slightly to the side, waiting for Swiftheart to answer before she moved to get anything.

---

Tag: Swiftheart
Words: 393
Notes: I love dialogue posts - I'm odd lol. Sorry this is so late & so short. >.<

[Swiftheart]

Swiftheart nodded in agreement, impressed by the apprentice's diligence and very hard-working ethnic. Dawnwing must be proud. Swiftheart made a mental note to herself that she ought to get in as much training with Russetpaw before she knew he would be assigned another mentor while she temporarily retired to the nursery for at least six moons. Swiftheart was pretty good at hiding her personal feelings and emotions and putting on a friendly outer appearance when speaking politely to other cats. But what she was feeling now was something totally new to her. It was her very first litter of kits.  She knew the apprentice had guessed what was wrong with her by Spottedpaw's knowing look when she asked Swiftheart if she was having trouble sleeping. Swiftheart nodded shyly, always feeling slightly embarrassed and selfconscious whenever either the medicine cats or Ashfeather spoke of her pregnancy. It was only the earliest stages though, and she knew she was looking forward reluctantly to the overwhelming attention of her clanmates when they discovered her special secret. When Swiftheart recalled how her rest had been nothing short of restless, she realized how exhausted she was. Her paws wanted to curl up where she stood and lay down, even though the ill feeling in her tummy told her she would get nowhere. "R-really?" Swiftheart mewed, too hopeful for relief to be overly humble and selfless as she usually was. "Thank you, Spottedpaw." Swiftheart purred, expressing her genuine gratitude even though she was honestly not feeling up to even making very many positive emotions. ^_^ ★ 262 words ★ Spottedpaw tagged