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.
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