[IC] Shadows of the Dark Forest (TheElvenqueen x AutumnFrost)

[StarfrostedFox]

A new day was dawning brilliantly in the eastern sky, coloring the normally blue canvas with splashes of pink and orange. The first hints of golden light had just begun to spill over into what cats called the main camp and home of Dawn Clan when their current leader, Ashstar, stepped out of his den in the leader's tree, The larger of two such trees in the mountain clearing. He rubbed his lanky body against The edge of the opening that had been formed generations ago, scratching an itch beneath is tawny pelt before enjoying a limb shaking stretch, briefly digging his front claws into the wood of the tree limb beneath him. Yawn splitting his muzzle for a moment before the Tom shook out his fur, Ashstar slid into a seated position as his golden gaze swept over camp, watching the first of his clan mates stir.

A tiny spot of orange and white was streaking across the open space in front of the nursery cave, obviously attempting to make a break for a bit of adventure, but A beautiful black and silver she cat was in hot pursuit of the escapee. Ashstar released a mmrow of amusement at the sight of his mate Eagleleap chasing down the excitable, and rather slippery, kit Poppykit. Nearby, a sleek light brown and white tom was just stepping out of the warrior's den, releasing a wide yawn before going after an itch behind one of his ears. Poppykit streaked beneath Sandpelt's Front legs as the deputy of the clan was doing this, startling him to release a soft yowl.

"oh, sorry Sandpelt! Poppykit! Get back here you naughty kit!" Eagleleap's clear voice rang out, Clearly exasperated.

Another warrior, clearly having just been woken up, poked her head out of the den next to Sandpelt, Obviously curious and a little annoyed. When she spotted the bicolored kit scampering away with her leader's mate right on her tail, Sunspot couldn't help but give a heavy sigh before joining in the Chase, her long fur streaming out behind her.

Giving his head a brief shake, whiskers twitching with amusement, Ashstar maneuvered his way down from the leader's tree, landing nimbly on the ground before making his way over to his deputy. "that kit is going to make an excellent warrior one day." He meowed, drawing the attention of the light brown tom.

"She most certainly has the energy for it." Sandpelt sighed, giving his long tail several flicks.

"have you organized a Don patrol yet?" Ashstar then went on to ask, sliding into a seated position and curling his tail around his paws.

"no, not yet. I was just about to win Poppykit... Well, you saw." The deputy responded, giving his chest fur a few quick licks with his embarrassment at having reacted so strongly.

Ashstar tilted his head dismissively, excepting the fact that every cat got startled at one point or another. That was just how life was. "I'd like to join in on the patrol today. I could use the walk."

"Count me in then too." A slightly tired voice chimed in, Eagleleap trotting around the edge of the warrior's den A moment later. Behind her, Sunspot appeared, a resigned looking Poppykit dangling from her jaws. "I could use the time away from camp so that I'm not tempted to take this little scoundrel backwards through the barrier." She continued, giving the little kit in question a sharp look.

"That should be just fine. I was going to ask you to come on patrol anyway." Sandpelt responded, nodding his head at Eagleleap. "I'll just round up a few more cats and we can head out." He then said, looking back into the warrior's den before ducking back inside.

~|*|~

Paws Quickly flitting Around the stock shelves at the back of the medicine cat's tree, Dapplefern Happily sorted through the herbs, Making mental notes of which needed to be replenished soon. Flicking Her long tail, The medicine cat apprentice Scooped out a few dead leaves And added them to the small pile that she would throw out when she was finished. She hadn't been sleeping well lately, troubled by disturbing dreams, and cleaning and organizing the medicine cat Hollow was something that she instinctively started attending too. Another night of waking up well before dawn saw her cleaning once again, paws always moving.

Dapplefern had known from a young age that she wanted to be a medicine cat and had been absolutely thrilled when she had been chosen to become an apprentice to Icerain. She hadn't been under her tutelage for long, but had learned so much already. She highly respected the older medicine cat, Working very hard to prove herself worthy of becoming a medicine cat herself.

The sound of some cat yowling floated to her only a minute later, causing the she cat's ears to instinctively perk up.She left her work reluctantly, Quickly trotting over to the opening in the tree and looked out, surprised to see the clearing outside already awash in early morning sunlight. Blinking her light blue eyes a few times, she hunted around for the cause of the disturbance and spotted the clan deputy talking with The leader, a couple of other cats chasing after a kit that had obviously escaped from the nursery. Poppykit, If she wasn't mistaken. The Little she cat had been quite the pawful since she had recovered from being abandoned in the forest. No one knew who her mother was or what clan she might have come from, but had been discovered by one of the warrior patrols hidden in a cluster of poppy flowers on the edge of the territory. It had already been a half moon since then...

How Time flies... dapplefern thought quietly to herself as she watched Sunspot manage to catch the runaway in her jaws, the little kit meowing in protest. Her gaze then shifted back to Ashstar and Sandpelt. I wonder if the Don patrol has been put together yet... It would be a marvelous opportunity to get some new herbs... she noted as she looked back over at the pile of dead leaves she had swept together. Deciding that it probably would be a better idea to ask her mentor if she could go rather than volunteering herself, Dapplefern began climbing up the side of the tree, heading for the next branch up where her and Icerain's nests were.

"Icerain? Are you awake yet?"she called out softly as she got to the opening, poking her head inside.

[The Elvenqueen]

Swiftbrook cracked open her eyes as she heard rapid pawsteps scurrying past the warriors den, accompanied by shouts in various different voices of "Poppykit!" and "No, get back here!" The slender she-cat chuckled and shook her head to herself in mild amusement. That little kit was always getting under everyone's paws, it was a wonder she hadn't managed to sneak out of camp unsupervised yet. Every cat in the Clan would be thankful once she was apprenticed. A shadow fell over the clumps of feathers and bracken that made up the DawnClan warriors' nests, and raising her head Swiftbrook discovered that it belonged to the Clan deputy, Sandpelt.

Blinking slowly at the sandy coloured tom, the black-and-white warrior rose to her paws, standing in the center of her nest while she stretched out each limb individually until the muscles relaxed and they stopped trembling. Her stretch completed, Swiftbrook stepped out of her nest and began to pick her way around the sleeping forms of the other warriors, weaving between the nests to stand beside Sandpelt at the entrance.
"Morning, Sandpelt! Are you looking for cats for the dawn patrol?" Swiftbrook asked. It was no surprise that the long-tailed warrior was one of the first awake, despite her older age she seemed to have boundless energy. Swift on her paws and the best hunter in the Clan, there was no cat who could jump higher or move quicker. Of course, that was subject to change once Poppykit was made an apprentice, she was the only cat who could perhaps stake claim to being able to run faster, but for now Swiftbrook held that title firmly to her name. "I can go, and maybe we can check the apprentice's den and see if Cricketpaw or Turtlepaw want to come."

***

Icerain's ear twitched as his apprentice's mew broke through his dreams of herb collecting, voles and fat pigeons. The pure white tom heaved himself to his paws, odd-coloured eyes blinking open to face the dappled she-cat.
"Yes, Dapplefern. I'm awake now." he rumbled, whiskers twitching in amusement. "Have you been up since the sun rose again?" the medicine cat chided her good-naturedly. He applauded her dedication to their work, but sometimes he worried Dapplefern didn't get enough sleep.
"A medicine cat who is too sleep deprived to tell the difference between tansy and catmint is no good to her Clan." the tom purred for the umpteenth time, it was a fact he took upon himself to remind her of constantly.

Maybe one day it would finally sink in, instead of going in one ear and out the other.

[StarfrostedFox]

Whiskers twitching as the soft sound of a meow floated to him from the depths of the warrior's den, Sandpelt swiveled his head in the direction of the voice, ears perked forward. He wasn't altogether surprised to see the owner, Swiftbrook stood out in the clan. It was hard to find another cat that had more energy than she did, despite the seasons that she had seen. Sandpelt offered A touch of his nose to the she cat in greeting, A brief purr rumbling in his throat.

"good morning to you as well Swiftbrook." He meowed politely in return before respectfully touching the tip of his tail against her shoulder. "i'll gladly welcome your company for the dawn patrol. And it's probably a good idea to take along Cricketpaw and Turtlepaw. They could use the training." He added thoughtfully before sweeping his tail behind him. "you're welcome to wait with Ashstar and Eagleleap. They'll be accompanying us today. And if we are bringing along both apprentices, I'll need to go and ask Sunspot along..." Waving his tail in farewell, Sandpelt trotted away in the direction of the nursery, hoping that the long furred she cat hadn't gone far after taking Poppykit back.

~|*|~

"But I wanna go on an adventure and catch all the mice!"

Sunspot sighed patiently as the little orange and white kit mewed unhappily from a position she had taken up between the warrior's front paws as soon as the she cat had placed the little one onto the floor of the nursery cave. She blinked her orange eyes down at the pouting face looking back up at her imploringly, ears turning back with a surge of embarrassment. She didn't know how to handle herself around kits, not having the opportunity to raise her own litter yet. Apprentices, other warriors, even the elders were all things that she could deal with, But she wasn't quite sure exactly how to respond to the innocence and positively cute faces of kits.

"that's great that you have such enthusiasm Poppykit, It really is. But... Well..." Sunspot meowed slowly, struggling for the right words.

"you'll need to wait here in the nursery until you're a bit bigger and you're made an apprentice by Ashstar." Tansy, One of the Queens Who took care of the nursery, chimed in, The cream and white tabby she cat giving Sunspot a sympathetic glance. "Until your six moons old, I'll need you here to help me protect the nursery."

Poppykit shot forward at once, stubby tail wriggling excitedly as she bounded over to her caretaker. "don't worry Tansy! I'll protect you!" She squeaked excitedly, fluffing up her fur and unsheathing her claws. "i'm the best fighter you know." To prove a point, she attempted to balance on her back paws, swiping her claws at an invisible foe, Only to end up losing her balance and toppling head over tail as she accidentally stumbled into the edge of one of the nests and vanished from site with a short yowl of surprise.

Tansy purred with amusement and affection as she watched the antics of the little she cat, stepping carefully into the nest after Poppykit and laying down, collecting the kit in her jaws and placing her between her front paws. "I feel safer already. Now let's make sure you look your best for taking care of the entire nursery." She said, giving one last glance towards Sunspot with a grateful, "Thank you for returning her to the nursery.", before beginning to lap her tongue over Poppykit.

"no problem." Sunspot responded cheerfully, grateful that a more experienced cat had taken over dealing with the kit. Kits were adorable, but she much rather preferred playing with them then reasoning. Swiping her chest with a few quick embarrassed licks, the ashy tan warrior made to back out of the den when her ears pricked at the sound of approaching pawsteps behind her.

"Sunspot! I'm glad that you didn't go far." Sandpelt meowed as he came into view of the nursery, stopping a few tail lengths away. "i'd like you to come with Cricketpaw on the dawn patrol."

A momentary twinge of disappointment that she wasn't going to catch a last little bit of sleep before the morning really started passed through Sunspot before she quickly shook the feeling off, brightening at the idea of serving her clan. "sure! I'll go wake him up now." She responded, starting off at a trot towards the apprentice's den.

"good. Could you wake up Turtlepaw while you're at it? She's coming too." Sandpelt called after her.

Sunspot waved her bushy tail in acknowledgment as she passed by the elder's den, turning one of her ears as one of the older cats snored loudly, but resisted the temp Tatian to visit her father as she trotted into the next cave. Orange eyes flickering over the nests, she quickly spotted the cats she was searching for and carefully maneuvered her way over to a black and white bundle of fur in one of them. Reaching out with a forepaw, Sunspot gently nudged her apprentice, meowing Saufley. "Cricketpaw. It's time to wake up. We are going on patrol."

~|*|~

Heat ruffled through Dapplefern's pelt as she realized first that she had woken her mentor and secondly when he chided her gently. She sat back on her haunches, curling her tail around her paws as she tilted her ears back with embarrassment. "I know..." She sighed, whiskers drooping a little. "A sharp mind and quick paws are good qualities to have as a medicine cat. Sleep is important for both." She shuffled her front paws. "i'm sorry... I just couldn't sleep. I... I had another nightmare."

Memories of her dream flickered through her mind, snatches of images. A dark shadowy figure, Icerain yowling, The smell of blood in the air... Blinking away the images, Dapplefern tried to ignore the cold trickle that shivered down her spine like ice melt. It had just been a dream after all.

Before The memory of the dream took over once again, the White and gray she cat quickly moved onto the next subject, tilting her ears towards the clearing outside. "Sandpelt is still organizing the dawn patrol. I was wondering if it would be all right if I tagged along. We're running low on coltsfoot and comfrey. I wanted to collect some to replenish our supply before leaf fall." She explained, the end of her tail tapping rhythmically with the cadence of her voice.

[The Elvenqueen]

Swiftbrook nodded, touching noses with the deputy in return. "Of course, I'll meet you over there!" she promised, trotting across to join the other two cats Sandpelt had indicated as already volunteering for the patrol. "Ashstar, Eagleleap." she dipped her head to each of them in greeting, shifting from paw to paw as they waited for Sandpelt, Sunspot and the two apprentices to re-join them. "Sounded like Poppykit was getting awfully underpaw again this morning." the older warrior purred in amusement, her long whiskers twitching. "I'd place a good bet that there's not a cat in camp anymore that won't breathe a sigh of relief when that little scamp is apprenticed!"

~*~

Cricketpaw jolted sharply awake as a paw prodded him in the side, pulled out of his dream of springing from treetop to treetop on the trail of a fat squirrel, he blinked open his large amber eyes to find himself met with the eyes of his mentor, Sunspot. Cricketpaw's jaws opened in a yawn and he sat up. "Dawn patrol today? Alright then." the apprentice purred eagerly, never one to complain about an instruction given to him by Sunspot or any other warrior in the Clan, Cricketpaw delicately stepped out of his nest and gave his fur a few quick licks to smooth down the sleep-ruffled fur. "Just you and me, or is Turtlepaw coming too?" he asked.

~*~

Icerain's whiskers twitched and he chuckled softly at how bashful Dapplefern was after his mild scolding of her for staying up all night again. As the young she-cat shuffled her paws and explained to him exactly why it was she couldn't sleep, the medicine cat's expression softened and he stretched out to push his nose into the dappled fur on her shoulder.
"Hey, it's okay." he reassured her. "I just worry about you getting enough sleep, Dapplefern, that's all. I won't blame you if you need to take some poppy seed in order to get a decent night's rest." Normally both medicine cats would avoid dipping into the herb supplies unless either of them felt they were coming down with something, but poppy seeds had a sedative effect and if anything would keep the nightmares away and let Dapplefern sleep a while the seeds would work.

In the back of his mind, Icerain wondered what Dapplefern's nightmares had been about, but he dared not ask. Lately, the medicine cat's dreams had been plagued with visions of the less than pleasant variety, and in these visions he witnessed the setting and events leading up to his own death. Just thinking about it made him shiver uncomfortably. Oh StarClan, why must you show me these things? If I am to join you soon I would prefer for it to just happen when it happens and for me to not know when. Since the visions had begun, Icerain lived every waking moment of his life anticipating the moment to happen, and every sleeping moment in his dreams re-living it over and over again. Dapplefern wasn't the only cat struggling to sleep, but Icerain could never tell her that. It would frighten her too much, she was so young...

Purring, the white medicine cat stretched and clambered down the tree to take stock of their inventory of herbs, noting that Dapplefern's observation of a lack of coltsfoot and comfrey was correct. "Of course you can go with the dawn patrol, in fact I might come some of the way with you. I want to go to the catmint patch before the frosts come and it starts dying off. We need to be prepared in case the greencough season comes early."

[StarfrostedFox]

Eagleleap lifted her head from where she had been resting it against Ashstar's neck as she heard Swiftbrook approaching them, compensating by scooting slightly closer to her mate and having his tail curl affectionately around her. Her whiskers twitched happily when she caught sight of the older she cat. "Good morning Swiftbrook." She meowed warmly, touching noses briefly in addition with her greeting.

Ashstar dipped his head in greeting to the older warrior, his eyes lighting up with amusement a moment later when she commented about the scene of a moment ago with Poppykit. "Yes, That's for sure. Although, I'm going to have to pick her mentor carefully. Someone who can keep that cat in line and has the energy to keep up with her when she doesn't."

His mate tilted both of her ears back, batting playfully at him with one of her front paws, claws sheathed. "that better not be me you're hinting at." She growled, though the lick she gave his cheek a moment later took most of the heat out of her statement. Ashstar simply purred at her in response, provoking a small shake of her head.

"are you joining us for Don patrol then Swiftbrook?" The clan leader eventually inquired, tilting his head to one side.

~*~

There was no deterring her apprentice Sunspot thought with amusement as she patiently watched the little Tom yawn and stretch, evidently excited about the idea of going on patrol. There weren't many cats she knew that would be so enthusiastic to be woken up and asked to go on a patrol just as the sun was coming up. But her apprentice was something different and she really liked that about him. Hadn't she been tempted to grumble herself? Purring warmly, Sunspot gave her head a little shake. "no. It's not just you and me today. Turtlepawand Sandpelt are coming along too. And we might have someone else coming as well, I didn't catch if anyone else had been invited yet." She explained, before once again reaching out with a paw and gently shaking her apprentice's litter mate. "Time to wake up Turtlepaw. You're on dawn patrol."

~*~

In acknowledgment to the suggestion that she take some poppyseed if she continued to struggle with her sleep, Dapplefern otherwise quickly overlooked the offer. She was a bit too strict when it came down to taking herbs herself. No doubt her mentor knew this and would find a way to get one down her throat eventually. Glancing back over her shoulder at where she had seen the members of the dawn patrol gathering instead, her whiskers twitched as she noticed that Swiftbrook had joined the clan leader and his made and that Sandpelt was making his way back over to them with a look of readiness about him.

As Icerain considered tagging along as well, she glanced back to the white Tom and gave him a pleased look. "that would be nice. We both could do with some time out of camp anyway." She meowed thoughtfully, following after the other medicine cat as he climbed down to check on the herb supply himself. With evidence of the lack confirmed, Dapplefern started to feel as if she had ants crawling in her pelt and began to fidget, both excited and anxious for the trip out of camp. She couldn't quite put a paw on why she should feel nervous about the excursion, but she did. And it bothered her. Trying to put the uncomfortable feeling aside, the small she cat leapt nimbly from the tree, landing with a muted thud before trying to wait patiently for her mentor.

[The Elvenqueen]

“Or me.” Swiftbrook twitched her whiskers in amusement as Ashstar mentioned someone with as much energy as Poppykit. “Either way, you'll have a hard job picking her mentor I think.” the senior Warrior agreed, tail twitching absently as she answered her leader’s next question. “I do believe I am...Sandpelt asked me to go with you, and I believe Turtlepaw, Cricketpaw and Sunspot as well?” the black and white warrior curled her tail around her paws as they waited for the rest of the patrol to join them.

***

“Oh, cool!” Cricketpaw sprang back to his paws, tail arching over his back as he nudged his littermate impatiently with a paw. “Come ooooonnn Turtlepaw! We haven't got till sunhigh for you to get up, lazy furball!”
“Alright, alright! I'm up!” Turtlepaw grumbled in protest, swatting both cats away from her as she rolled slowly out of her nest and got to her paws. After Cricketpaw had batted the stray scraps of moss from her pelt, they trotted out to join the rest of the patrol.
“Morning, Ashstar!” Cricketpaw greeted the leader cheerfully. “Which border are we patrolling?”
“I think that's up to Ashstar to decide.” Swiftbrook reminded her grandkit, getting to her paws. “Let's find out and get going shall we?”
***
Tucking the last leaf wrap safely away again, Icerain gave his apprentice a nod and padded out of the medicine den. Seeing that the dawn patrol was about to leave, the medicine cat quickly raced over with Dapplefern hot on his heels.
“Wait up!” he called to the patrol as they made their way towards the bushes that concealed the camp entrance. “Mind if Dapplefern and I tag along with the dawn patrol?” he asked, knowing that Ashstar was unlikely to refuse. “We won't get in the way.” That wasn't what made Icerain nervous though...he couldn't shake the ominous feeling that something would happen whilst out on this patrol. Was today the day? Should he stay in camp and send Dapplefern out to gather herbs instead?
Steeling his nerve, Icerain silently scolded himself. No. If there was going to be a battle then his Clanmates needed him to do his duty. As a medicine cat he was privileged to share the bond he did with StarClan, he should accept the fate they had laid before his paws with dignity and respect.