[ all you've got to do is slow down ]

[Crowzerplorodon]

He didn't ask for the dip in the ground to be there, hidden by a few centimeters of fallen leaves. If he had asked, Mudpelt would have at least known it was there, and would have skillfully avoided the paw-sized dip. But alas, he hadn't know it was there, and had indeed stumbled over it in the most unskillful manner. Perhaps if he hadn't been solo hunting, Mudpelt would have attempted to make a joke out of his slip-up. Instead he had just cursed his tail off, studying the pulsing, swollen paw before using his three good ones to pack the leaves on. At least no other cat would trip up in it.

The trip back hadn't been pleasant. Why he had bothered to travel as far from camp as he could to hunt was lost on the brown tom. Really, all that was on his mind was forcing himself back into camp to get his twisted paw treated and sleep. Warrior duties were hard enough in this weather, and doing one with a busted paw would just be near impossible. Yeah, he'd probably end up stumbling again if he didn't get some rest or treatment for the dang limb.

“Brightnose?” If any cat had the know-how to fix something as silly as this, it was Brightnose. Or maybe Finchpaw. Another clan's medicine cat could probably do it too... Mudpelt shook his head, shifting his eyes to peer into the dark Medicine Cat den. He could hardly see into it, and wondered how the medicine cats could. Then again, they were probably used to it. Breathing in deeply, the tom basked in the comforting scents of herbs and flowers mixed with Brightnose and Finchpaw's... and Dovepaw's? Oh, that was right, the poor apprentice had been attacked just a few days earlier. Mudpelt hadn't been around when she was first transported in – nor did he knows the she-cat well – but he had heard it was a very close call. Mousenose must've been terribly relieved when he heard the news. “Brightnose? I've come to burden you with my woes.”

And of course, he was completely serious.

ooc;
... mudpelt.

[glowlynose]

Dovepaw stirred in her nest and groaned, gripped by a sudden spasm of pain across her chest. What in the world was going on? Why was she hurting so badly? And where in the world was Mousenose? He should be here by now... it was time for training. Where was he? Maybe he would know what was going on, why her shoulders burned. Then she actually opened her eyes. A heavy sigh escaped her lips. Oh yeah. The fox. Her. Blood. Now she remembered perfectly what had happened.

Mousenose was probably off sulking somewhere. Figures. He would blame himself for her injuries when there was nothing that could have been done. She was lucky to be alive, so lucky... and yet, not. Death had knocked, and she had welcomed it as a long lost friend. Unfortunately, death had not welcomed her, and now she was left with her mentor blaming himself and the fates of her siblings still hanging over her head. Oh, the woes... wait. What? Somebody had said something about woe... and it sounded like a tom... could it be Mousenose? She laboriously pulled herself up to a sphinx-like position and looked around for the sound of the noise.

"Oh, it's only you. I thought it might be Mousenose," she sighed, disappointment darkening her already brooding features. What would it take to get that ridiculous tom IN here to see her? Would she have to almost die or something? He was probably out there in the sunshine enjoying a nice meal and blissfully unaware of how much she wanted to see him. How stupid could he be? Shaking her head, she swept her gaze over Mudpelt's injured paw, which he held gingerly above the ground. She scoffed. His woes seemed to be little more than a twisted paw, if it was even twisted. Very masculine, that one was.

"Woes? What do you think you know about woe? Do you even know the meaning of the word?" she hissed, very offended. How dare he even begin to suggest that he knew what who felt like? His "tragedies" were probably nothing compared to hers, the fool. How weak he was. Cold contempt filled her eyes as she glared across the medicine den. Maybe if she was nasty enough he would leave her alone. Better yet, he could just leave and tend to his paw by himself! Yes, leave the skills of the medicine cats to those who truly needed them. Where was Brightnose? SHe wanted more poppy seeds.

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Brightnose was just about to come into the den with fresh cobwebs for Dovepaw's dressing when she saw a vaguely familiar tom at the entrance to her den...Mudfur, wasn't he? No, Mudpelt. She heard him say something, and smiled slightly, the Brightnose version of a laugh. Stopping a few mouselengths from the tom, she mewed lightly, "Excuse me, Mudpelt, could you please move so I can relieve your woes, whatever they may be?"

While she waited for him to respond, she visually examined the FogClan warrior. His body seemed free of wounds, as did his tail, head, neck, and legs...oh, his paw. Definitely swollen, possibly from a thorn but hard impact and spraining were also possible. He'd need a few cobwebs and also thyme, with possibly one or two poppy seeds if the injury was really hurting him.

OOC: apologies for the not-longness of my post.

[Crowzerplorodon]

Mudpelt blinked, blinked again, and for good measure, blinked a third time. How marvelously rude this young she-cat was being. He didn't quite care if it was a byproduct of her nasty looking injuries, she could at least have the decency to keep cold remarks to herself. Mousenose – her mentor, presumably, needed to teach this cat some manners, not just warrior skills. “Sorry, my dear, I'm not Mousenose, nope.” He decided to hold his tongue on the other matter, just so he didn't go off on a tangent and disturb the poor dear any more.

… And that resolution lasted for about three seconds.

“My dear, I know plenty more about woe than you do about living,” he started, a cold sort of knowledge in his eyes. “I have lived through watching my clan fall apart, the cats I care about suffer, and my very own children murdered before me. I know what woe is. So if I should choose to use the word how I please, including in a frivolous manner, then I will.” His eyes kept on her form for a moment, before softening into something completely different. “But that... is not important,” he mewed. “Please do feel better soon. It pains the clan to see one of their own like this.” Perhaps Brightnose would be able to give the little one something to aid her ails.

“Oh! Why of course Brightnose,” he exclaimed as the calico showed up, as if in tune with his thoughts. He scuttled farther into the den, successfully making way for Brightnose to slip in with the cobwebs she held. “Do look at Dovepaw first, though, my paw can wait for her.” It was very true, after all. Dovepaw's wounds looked far more severed – heck, they were far more severe – than his poor paw.

[glowlynose]

Dovepaw's mouth dropped, shock taking hold of her delicate features. How dare he suggest that he knew more about woe than she did about living? The idea was preposterous. He couldn't possibly have any idea about how she felt. The tom hadn't walked away from everybody he held dear. He didn't have their fates hanging on his conscience. All that happened to him was he got his loved ones stolen. She had abandoned hers. If they were still alive, Sugar and Vanilla probably hated her guts right now. They may never stop hating her. Mudpelt couldn't possibly know what that felt like. The apprentice felt unclean whenever she thought about it. Just because her pelt was the color of snow didn't mean her soul was.

Sorrow now replaced the anger in her expression, and she averted her gaze from the warrior's face, turning her head to the side and downward. If she kept looking at him, he would see her weakness. He might guess about Sugar and Vanilla, and that would be disastrous. She realized that she would have to apologize.

"I am sorry, sir, to have stirred up unpleasant memories. Mine aren't too great either. It would have been best for me to have kept my mouth shut. I just... well, there is no excuse. I'm sorry." Each word, necessary though it was to try and repair the situation, tasted like mud in her mouth. She had never apologized for something she had said before, and it was strangely... not gratifying. She did not feel the overwhelming relief that she had expected, but rather, she felt exposed. Now the walls that she had so carefully built over her many moons on FogClan were starting to crumble, and she hadn't even given them permission to! It had been different with Mousenose. She'd let him push past her walls and see her. But this... this was totally weird and wrong.

"Brightnose, could you not give me so many poppy seeds that I fall asleep this time, please? I want to be awake just incase Mousenose comes to see me." She was grateful for Brightnose's appearance. Now she could direct her attention away from Mudpelt and he could do the same. The awkwardness would die, and she could build up her walls again. Everything would be the same... wouldn't it?

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

The calico nodded. "Why, of course, Dovepaw. Perhaps I can even seek out your mentor when I am done attending to you and Mudpelt, if it would please you." It would be little trouble to find the brown tabby tom, and it was far better for the atmosphere of the den if the patient was happy instead of unhappy.

The tricolored she-cat nodded at the warrior, appreciating his small self-sacrifice. Clearly he possessed a logical and caring brain, if this was anything to judge by. Good. Bending around to grab to grab her wad of cobwebs, the logical she-cat quickly set to work, tearing and shaping the bindings to just the right shape to stop the bleeding as well as possible. Ah, she took pride in her work, she did. She adored the calculation and action and knowledge that all played a part in her important work. After taking Dovepaw's old bindings off and putting them in a pile that Finchpaw would take out later, she began to apply the new ones.

She then took the soft white threads and pressed them, gently but with precision, onto the apprentice's various wounds. The bleeding was slowing down, and would fully stop within a quarter moon or so, she guessed. Hopefully.

Then the calico got two poppy seeds, which would make Dovepaw slightly drowsy but not, with a little luck, send her to sleep. "Here." She said, putting them next to the white she-cat's paws. "Eat these if it hurts badly."

She then got the necessary herbs for Mudpelt's paw and set them down beside her. "May I examine it closely?" The medicine cat asked her Clanmate, referring to his injured paw.

[Crowzerplorodon]

“Oh there's no need to apologize!” Mudpelt cooed quite bi-polarly. But where would he be without switching moods every now and then? It would leave life so boring, so predictable, so... Not Mudpelt. The tom smiled, a glimmer of humor dancing in his eyes. “Don't worry, my dear, I'm sure you had your reasons or what not for accusing me how you so did. It is I who should apologizing for using such harsh words, I didn't mean to bring up any negative memories of past accurances. I do hope you'll forgive me, but I understand quite so if you don't, I have, after all, intruded on your pleasant nap time and stirred around some bad thoughts.” He ended his speech with a flourish, feeling quite unaccomplished. Yes, he had spoken far too long this time.

He hovered in the background, watching Brightnose work skillfully. She was quite the Medicine Cat, he had to say. Not many cats could do this work day in and day out, as well as train an apprentice to do the same. Speaking of which, where was Finchpaw? With his brother or father? Or with another apprentice? Frostpaw or Willowpaw, perhaps? He had heard Finchpaw enjoyed spending time with those particular young cats. He himself did not know them well – in fact he only knew what everyone knew. Frostpaw was an atheist and Willowpaw was a coward.

“Of course you may, Brightnose,” he whispered, deciding that if Dovepaw was going to sleep, he was going to be quiet...er. Quieter, yes. Being totally silent would make conversing with Brightnose a tad bit difficult. Lifting the paw up, Mudpelt pondered over how bad exactly it hurt, and whether or not he should ask for poppy seeds. Probably not, because that would mean napping, and he'd rather lounge around and talk and rest than actually sleep. It was too early to sleep, anyhow.

[glowlynose]

Dovepaw shook her head. Why had she even bothered trying to apologize? She should've known that Mudpelt would pull something like that. He had quite a reputation, him and his little mood swings. As she stared blankly at him, she couldn't help but wonder if he did it on purpose just to throw his companions off. She wouldn't put it past him. He was, after all, a tom.

"It's no fault of yours, Mudpelt. The memories were already there in my case." She smiled at the warrior, though sorrow beyond what her thirteen moons should have held was beginning to show in her eyes. Her family... she'd never see them again, and it was all her fault. She could never let herself forget that for as long as she lived, because if she let herself forget it she might make an even worse mistake the second time. Forgetting and learning to accept it are two entirely different things. She shook her head and sighed. Sometimes her conscience just didn't understand things the way she did.

"Oh, would you, Brightnose? That would be amazing! I'd love it if you could get him, if you could. That would be absolutely fantastic," she chirped, her entire countenance brightening at once with the other she-cat's words. She would willingly take time out of her busy schedule to go and find Mousenose for her? Her smile broadened into the closest it had been to a grin since kithood, and she lapped up the two poppy seeds placed before her with a strange fervor. When Mousenose came, it would be much better for him to see her a bit drowsy than it would be for him to see her in pain. After all, he was probably still being ridiculous and blaming himself for what had happened to her.

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

The she-cat nodded at her bandaged patient in acknowledgement, then began turned her curious hazel gaze upon the brown-furred paw before her. Ah, yes. There appeared to be no sign of damage by thorn or pricker, no tell-tale spots of blood even if a barb had already gone deep into the skin. So that left damage by impact. Therefore, she would only need about two or three cobwebs, but the thyme should be mixed with a little comfrey for soothing.

Stepping a little to bend and get some of the necessary herb, she then began to chew it as she now went to grasp the thyme in her jaws as well. With care, she chewed the lot without swallowing until it was the right consistency to spread on a paw. Mudpelt would only need a little now, but she should wrap some in a leaf to keep it fresh for later. She should tell Finchpaw about the scenario when she got back; it would be educational for him, and not just for his herb knowledge, but for identification and technique, too.

Licking Mudpelt's paw well enough so that a roughly claw-length thick layer was on his injured paw, she spat the rest out on a broad maple leaf nearby, and wrapped it up neatly.

"There. Let me know when you need more later, and take it easy until then. You should still for a few minutes while that soaks into your paw, and then you can move. However, I would advise you to take it easy, no patrolling or hunting until at least dusk, if not sunhigh tomorrow."

Then she smiled slightly at Dovepaw, trying to ignore her strange words.

"Of course. I can go now, if you'd like. However, I can't promise he won't be on patrol or hunting, in which case you'll have to wait until he gets back. I will try, though."