What a nice day for a rescue patrol [ o p e n]

[Whiskers]

Maybe for only a moment, Gingerstar believed in Starclan and just for that moment, she believed that they were definitely out to screw her.

Thankfully, those thoughts passed and Gingerstar told herself that she had done nothing to really deserve this-- she had done nothing to deserve any of the foxdung handed to her over the span of her existence. Life was just cruel and she was just unlucky. Sometimes, life was cruel to other cats too, Gingerstar recognized this, saw it all the time, but right now, life wanted to torture her some more. Fine, thought Gingerstar, a silent, bitter laugh echoing in her mind. If this is what she had to deal with, then fine. She would not let the appearance of Rain, of this insignificant loner, upset her.

Though in a way, it already had.

My my, ain't you a sight for sore eyes, O Illustrious Leader

"Oh, aren't you one to talk," Gingerstar retorted, feeling like an apprentice again, rowdy and ready to bite back, easily wound up and excitable. And she was an apprentice again when faced with this tom-- all she wanted was to insult him or nip at his heels, challenge him to battles he could never win, all the while trying not to show that she was secretly nervous, secretly scared.

Any hostile action toward this tom would be seen as cruel though, because he had saved the tiniest of apprentices. It was as if he had planned this, waited until Willowpaw specifically wandered out, and then bribed the rats to attack her, just so he could get access to her camp. This was a ridiculous notion, but Gingerstar wished it to be true anyway. That way she would not have to be nice to him. He wouldn't deserve the kindness.

But his answer was one of honesty, spoken through gritted teeth. Gingerstar could not deny care to any cat in pain and she could not insult one either.

"I don't want anything! she snapped at Crowpaw, rather late on the draw-- but she had to take her frustration out on someone, so why not this fluffball? "I mean-- I want you to give this tom the best care possible. Where's your mentor? Why isn't she in? Where the hell are all the medicine cats?" She cursed. She twisted her head toward the entrance of the medicine cat den, and shouted "Someone go find the medicine cats!

Once she saw some cat-- who cares who it was--scamper into action, she turned back toward Rain and Crowpaw, her eyes especially sharp and frustrated. She looked at Crowpaw, the tiny spec of a cat who probably was scared and confused right now. How old was he now? Seven moons? So young, so young... there was no way he knew what he was doing. Then she looked at Rain, and despite the fact he was covered with blood and herbs, his eyes were bright with life, with the same spark that he had possessed when she had first met him. The spark was comforting. It meant that this tom was a fighter and that maybe Crowpaw wouldn't have to try too hard to keep him alive. Which was good, because if he died, Gingerstar would probably feel guilty, since she had owed him Willowpaw's life and never got to pay him back.

"Rain," she stated in her leader voice, forcing the name out for the second time. She waited until his eyes met hers and she knew he was listening to her. Once she had his attention, however, she faltered. Her eyes lost some of their firmness, and her tongue lost its sharpness. She did not know how to proceed as Gingerstar. So the whole persona-- mean, impatient, stubborn, angry-- melted away and she murmured, "Thank you for saving Willowpaw."

The last syllable uttered, Gingerstar snapped back into place. She sat up straighter. Her claws came out. She watched Crowpaw with daggers for eyes. She could only be kind for so long after all.

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[glowlynose]

Crowpaw

Crowpaw lost his calm for a moment when Gingerstar snapped at him. What had he done wrong? All he'd done was ask if she wanted something. After all, she was in the medicine den. She seemed stressed about something... maybe she could benefit from some poppy seeds. One look at his leader promptly shot that idea in the foot. If he tried to give her anything, she would probably end up clawing somebody's ear off, and that somebody would be him. At the moment, Crowpaw was quite attached to his ears, and did not particularly want to lose them. So he concentrated on what Gingerstar said, giving Rain the best care that he could.

"They haven't been around for a while, Gingerstar. They're probably out collecting herbs," he said serenely as the she-cat had a mental volcanic eruption. His previous mentality had returned, thankfully, or he probably would have been spluttering at Gingerstar's feet. She was a very intimidating cat, after all.

Rain

Rain's ears grew hot, eyes narrowing. Had she just insulted him? She had! Of all the ungrateful, stupid, self-absorbed things to do, that was probably the worst move that Gingerstar could have made, in his books. For goodness sakes, he had saved the life of one of her cats! That deserved a little bit of respect, surely.

"Where the hell are all the medicine cats?"

Rain couldn't help it- he laughed, though it sounded more like a cough than an laugh. It didn't take much to unhinge this Pineclanner, did it? Seeing her fury was, strange as it may seem, the funniest thing that Rain had seen in months. It amused him to see somebody coming unglued about a lack of order. Nature hardly possessed order in itself, so why was she so upset about a few cats being gone? She couldn't actually expect to be able to control every aspect of her clan, could she?

Then what she said dawned on him. There were more medicine cats out there. They could probably treat him better than this little... thing. Rain eyes the black apprentice with a new wariness as he tended to his wounds. What if he made a mistake? That would not be good.

"Uh... what?" It took Rain a few moments to process what she had said. This she-cat, who had been insulting him only moments before, was thanking him. Despite himself, Rain managed a smile. It was a real smile, too, not the mockery of one that he'd gotten so used to giving over the past few days. It felt strange actually smiling, and even stranger smiling at a cat who he was pretty sure hated him with every ounce of free will that she possessed.

"Well, you're welcome, miss." Rain couldn't think of a smart comment to make to offset the civility, so he remained silent, studying Gingerstar's behavior. She was by far the most interesting cat that he'd ever met. One moment she was angrier than fire, the next moment cold and commanding, and then she would become completely amiable and thank him. So, which part of it was the real Gingerstar and which part of it was an act?

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