` deep waters [ private for rhapsie ]

[kay]

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[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Finchclawmain-1.png] Fiery tongues of sunlight streaked through the violet sky, alighting the clouds and setting them into colors of orange, red, and violet and signaling the arrival of the sun. A lone figure slipped out of his den, his ginger pelt contrasting greatly with the dawn sky. Finchclaw glanced about the empty camp, his dull gaze flicking past all the dens that were scattered about. Seeing that the camp was completely deserted, the medicine cat gave a small grin-- at least it might have been a grin, what with him just baring his teeth in a maniacal way. The early cat always catches the prey, or the herbs in this case. the tom thought with a smile. Finchclaw smirked as he padded out of the camp. With a sniff of the cool dawn air the tom paced himself to an easy trot, his strides leading him toward the Rock Pond. His ears twitched as he neared the pond, taking in scents at the same time. It wasn't really necessary, since he knew most of his Clanmates were still sleeping, but he liked to be cautious and somehow, it made him feel important. The sight of the still waters were calming and welcoming at the same time, the rocky bed that lay beneath the icy depths could be seen as if there was no water. Finchclaw longed to just lie down and nap the day away but he couldn't. he had a job to do. The ginger tom lowered his already tiny frame towards the ground, peering underneath the rocks for signs of herbs. A familiar scent flooded his senses but the medicine cat just couldn't figure out what it was.. Just when he had closed his eyes to scent the air again and taken a step forward, he found his nose sticking into some coltsfoot bushes. Aha! C-c-colts-- Finchclaw thought, before a giant sneeze erupted from his throat. "Atishoo!" The ginger tom gave another grin, padding a few pawsteps backward. "Coltsfoot I meant." he chuckled to himself, leaning forward to nip some stems off. After collecting enough stems, he returned his mission of searching for more herbs. Almost immediately, he caught sight of clumps of feverfew just by the water's edge. "I wish I had some help, maybe I should have waited to ask Eaglestar for a helper." the medicine cat muttered to himself, completely forgetting for the umpteenth time that he had an apprentice now, and an eager one at that. With a yawn, the tom set to work, collecting as much of the white flowers as he thought he could carry. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - tagged; rhapsie with pebblepaw notes; sorry it's so bad.. i'm really sleepy so yeah. i'll try to make the next post longer. muse; 7/10 word count; four three one words

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[rhapsie]

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[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Pebblepawmain.png] The young she-cat had been so deep in her sleep, she hadn't heard her mentor awaken and leave the den, being the rather stealthy tom he was. So when she woke up around ten minutes later to find his nest empty, she was rather perplexed. She quickly sat up and had a look around the den, only to notice that Finchclaw's satchel - one he had made out of leaves, for the purpose of easily gathering herbs and having a place to store them whilst out and about - was missing. Oh, so that's where he's gone. The cream and brown female gingerly rose to her paws and stretched out her small, but lean, body, before picking up her own satchel which lay beside her nest and made her way out of the den. By the looks of it, it was late dawn, but it would still be a while yet until the warriors and apprentices rouse from their slumber. She looked around to see if Finch had come back, but there no was no sign of life at all in the camp. Her short, thin legs carried her down the path leading away from camp, and following Finchclaw's scent, she realized that he had gone to the Rock Pond, and that was where she would find him. The kitten picked her way over the fallen foliage, and in her solace she could truly appreciate the beauty of early morning. The sky was streaked with oranges and purples and reds, and the sun peaked up over the hills in the distance. It really was early, wasn't it? A yawn forced it's way out from her parted jaws, and she increased her pace as her mentor's scent got stronger, and soon she found herself at the edge of the Rock Pond. "Atishoo! Coltsfoot I meant." Smiling softly, Pebblepaw shyly made her way over to her mentor, her tail thrashing out behind her. "I don't think Coltsfoot will help you with your cold, Finchclaw." She quipped playfully, finding herself standing beside the tom and looking down at the white flowers that he had been gathering. "Feverfew has rather pretty flowers, don't you think? Do you need some help with gathering herbs?" Words, 366. Tagged, Finchclaw. Notes, Mine was ickier, don't worry <3 I love your post.

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[kay]

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[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Finchclawmain-1.png] "I don't think Coltsfoot will help you with you cold, Finchclaw."

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The apprentice's voice startled the tom and he gave a jump. "Don't mess with a Clan cat like me! I know some fighting moves! Sorta.. Anyway, how'd you know my name?" he cried out, whirling about to face the 'opponent'. A wave of embarrassment flooded to every part of Finchclaw's body as his green gaze fell on his apprentice. "Oh. Umm.. B-bibblepaw-- I meant Pebblepaw. You um.. gave me a fright!" he stammered, the shock fading away and being replaced by amusement. The ginger tom began to giggle, which grew louder into a laugh. "Oh--", he gasped in between laughs, "So funny!" the medicine cat cried, tears streaming down his face as his legs gave way and the tom collapsed on the ground, a laughing pile of fur.

"My mistake I meant, not what you said. But come to think of it.. What you said is kinda funny as well." he meowed as soon as he had recovered, struggling to his paws. Standing beside his apprentice, Finchclaw looked more like her apprentice rather than it being the other way around, what with her standing just a bit taller than him. "And I don't have a cold.. Just some stuff tickling my nose." he added. He glanced at the satchel that his apprentice and brought along with her. "Hey! That looks like mine! Only less brown.." he mumbled, glancing at his satchel which he had completely forgotten that he had instinctively brought. The ginger tom's gaze traveled to the pile of coltsfoot which he had left nearby. "Good idea.." he hurried over to the pile and began pushing the herbs into the satchel.

"Feverfew has rather pretty flowers, don't you think? Do you need some help with gathering herbs?"[/i] his apprentice asked, earning a delighted smile from her mentor. "Oh yes please. I was just berating myself for not having thought of asking Eaglestar for a warrior to help. But now that you're here, things'll be much easier." he said, padding back to the banks. The medicine cat stared doubtfully at the pile of feverfew then at his already full satchel. "Do you think I gathered too much coltsfoot?" he asked his apprentice uncertainly.

With a shrug, Finchclaw spotted some catnip bushes nearby. With a delighted mrrow, the small tom bounded over and began nipping at the bush, having forgotten that he might not be able to carry all the herbs back in one go. Suddenly, Finchclaw paused, his head raised from where he had been peering through the bush. "Water!" he gasped, running toward the brook where he plunged his muzzle in and began lapping thirstily. As dawn had long passed since his arrival at the Rock Pond and sun- high was around the corner, the sun beat down relentlessly on the ginger tom. Without a second thought, he padded into the water, the water soon reaching his shoulders. "This is so refreshing! You should come in!" he told his apprentice gleefully. Finchclaw was one of the few GoldenClan cats who didn't mind the water. It was a relief from the dry, scratching wheat grass that he had come to know as normal.

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tagged; pebblepaw
notes; he talks too much x)
muse; 8/10
word count; five three zero words
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[rhapsie]

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[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Pebblepawmain.png] To see the medicine cat jump at her words made the young apprentice giggle a little, but she didn't think that he thought she was an enemy, not until he bristled and exclaimed rather worried-sounding threats. "Don't mess with a Clan cat like me! I know some fighting moves! Sorta.. Anyway, how'd you know my name?" Pebblepaw merely stood there, attempting to suppress the giggle that threatened to bubble up from her chest. Finchclaw could be awfully silly sometimes. The ginger tom whirled around and when he realized that the 'intruder' was actually his shy and polite apprentice, what seemed to be a wave of embarrassment and shock. "Oh. Umm.. B-bibblepaw-- I meant Pebblepaw. You um.. gave me a fright!" Bibblepaw? Really? "Bibblepaw...?" Unable to hold back any longer, the cream and brown she-cat began to giggle. And to her relief, he seemed to find the whole thing amusing as well. "Oh--" Interjecting between giggles, the tom seemed to find the whole thing very funny, and he voiced his amusement. "So funny!" "My mistake I meant, not what you said. But come to think of it.. What you said is kinda funny as well." Currently, he was a pile of ginger fur on the floor, but soon enough he found himself on all four limbs, and as he stood beside her, Pebblepaw noticed that she was taller than him, if only by an inch or two, and HE was the adult. Odd, really, but Finchclaw's height didn't matter, he was her teacher and she had a lot of respect for him, he obviously knew what he was doing. "And I don't have a cold.. Just some stuff tickling my nose." The green eyes of her mentor wandered from her face to her satchel, which was slung around her shoulder, the loop made from several strong, entwined vines. "Hey! That looks like mine! Only less brown.." Pebblepaw's bright blue gaze looked from her mentor's satchel, which was rather brown compared to her own fresh green one. Perhaps it was because he'd had his satchel longer, and it had gone darker with age, and wear and tear. The she-cat was sure that her own bag would become browner by the time she was medicine cat. But with how young Finchclaw was compared to the other medicine cats, who knew how long he would be medicine cat? However, Pebblepaw was in no rush, her lessons were only beginning, after all. "Yeah, yours is quite darker than mine." Pebblepaw flashed him a smile. "Oh yes please. I was just berating myself for not having thought of asking Eaglestar for a warrior to help. But now that you're here, things'll be much easier." As he padded towards the bank, his eyes wandering over the pile of herbs he'd accumulated during his search. "Do you think I gathered too much coltsfoot?" "You can never have too much of a good thing, Finch, you should know that!" She giggled playfully, curling her tail around her hind back leg as she waited to see what the tom would do. He seemed to notice something interesting, because he let out an excited noise and made his way over to a bush and began to harvest it. As Pebblepaw took a closer look, she determined that it was catnip. "Water!" The rather abrupt exclamation perplexed the tri-toned female, and she cocked her head to one side as the ginger tom ran to the pond and waded in until the water reached his shoulders. Seriously? That tom has to be one of the only cats not in BrookClan that takes to water so well. "This is so refreshing! You should come in!" He has to be kidding... "Oh, I don't know, Finchclaw..." It couldn't hurt. Come on, live a little! After a moment of silent deliberation, with a small smile and a shrug of the shoulders, Pebblepaw padded over to the edge of the pond, looking at the water for a second before stepping in. It was freezing, and she meowed in surprise, shivering. After adjusting to the temperature, she moved forward, the pond getting deeper as she waded until the level sat at her shoulders. At least the dawn wasn't too chilly, and once the sun rose properly, it should warm up considerably. "Yes, refreshing, but it's so cold! How did you not flinch when you came in here, Finch? I swear you belong in BrookClan, although I won't lie, I'm glad you're here. I don't think I could find a better teacher. I've learnt so much from you and I've only been your apprentice officially for several days now. I think it's because I hung out in the medicine cat den ever since I can remember." Call her sentimental, but it was the honest truth, and she offered her teacher a small smile and playfully flicked some water in his direction with a paw. Words, 809. Tagged, Finchclaw. Notes, LMAO. I loved your post <3

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[kay]

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[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Finchclawmain-1.png] "Bibblepaw?"

[/i] the apprenticed asked, amusement evident in her rather controlled voice. "Well yes, Pebblepaw. I would have expected you to know your own name now." Finchclaw replied with a shrug, trying his best to act casual but as usual, his attempts failed. He chuckled, his shoulders shaking with his efforts to subdue the wave of amusement that bounced off him in vibes. His shoulders almost sagged with relief when the cream and brown female began to giggle. At least someone thought he wasn't crazy, what a relief.


"Yeah, yours is quite darker than mine."[/i] A smile spread across her face, making one stretch across his as well. "For obvious reasons," he grinned before continuing, "I'm older than you are so of course mine's more weathered, brittle, and drier than yours is, kid." Finchclaw teased his apprentice playfully, tail tip twitching in amusement. "You can never have too much of a good thing, Finch, you should know that!"[/i] The ginger tabby laughed, a smirk spreading across his handsome features. "And I wonder who thought you that, oh wise Pebble?" he asked innocently, faking a mock bow.

"Oh I don't know Finchclaw..."[/i] "C'mon, it's great in here!" he urged her, dipping his muzzle into the water before tossing it out abruptly to prove his point, shining droplets of water shimmering against the sun for a split second before falling back into the water with a tiny splash. His green gaze followed the apprentice as she gave in to the tempting water and began wading in, a mew of surprise escaped her lips when she first made contact with the icy water. "Told ya." Finchclaw said proudly, raising his head as if accepting Pebblepaw's unsaid words of gratitude at his solution of escaping the sun's unrelenting heat. He could just envision her gushing words.. Oh thank you Finchclaw! Without your fantastic idea, I would have been a pile of burning fur! he imagined, an unconscious grin spreading across his muzzle.

"Yes, refreshing, but it's so cold! How did you not flinch when you came in here, Finch? I swear you belong in BrookClan, although I won't lie, I'm glad you're here. I don't think I could find a better teacher. I've learnt so much from you and I've only been your apprentice officially for several days now. I think it's because I hung out in the medicine cat den ever since I can remember."[/i] "Flinch?," the medicine cat gasped in mock surprise, "Finchclaw doesn't flinch! Hey that sounds funny! Finch flinch, flinch finch, finch finch-- I meant finch flinch.." Finchclaw mumbled, just succeeding in confusing himself. "You really think I belong to BrookClan just because I like the water? Well I must pack up and move then, but wait. You must come with me because you are in the water as well, aren't you? As for me being a good teacher.. Well, you're a good apprentice which makes things a lot easier." he said half- jokingly, his tail flicking the apprentice's ear gently.

The same thoughts that had raced through Pebblepaw's mind now flashed in his own. He was younger than most medicine cats, twenty seven moons wasn't that much compared to how old other apprentices would become full fledged medicine cats. Most would consider him lucky, becoming what he was today at such an early age. But it was not the same for Finchclaw. The young tom often wondered if he were good enough yet, with enough experience to help his Clan survive. The small medicine cat's green gaze clouded over, all thoughts of amusement vanishing as he submerged into uncertainty and worry.

Am I good enough, with enough experience, to give my Clan their needs whenever sickness mingles between us?

The russet tom gave his apprentice a fleeting glance, a long stare that seemed to cut right into her. "Pebble," he began, his green eyes intense as he stared into the she-cat's own blue globes. "Do you think I'm good enough to be the medicine cat of our Clan? Give me your honest opinion. My mentor died before I could master all the techniques of a medicine cat and before I knew every single herb there is on our earth." he said quietly, eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

But the apprentice's playful splash snapped him out of his serious moment and he became his normal self once more. "Attack me now, why don't you?" Finchclaw pretended to gasp, failing miserably in acting shocked. "Ah, this grown up talk is boring me out of my wits! What about some water play, what say you?" he asked, splashing the water back with a flick of his tail. "A beautiful day, hot but beautiful all the same. We should suggest this method of cooling one's self to the rest of the Clan. I imagine they would have a blue fit if we even mention having stepped into water, and might even throw us out of the Clan!" he said thoughtfully, eyes narrowed.

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tagged; pebblepaw
notes; my. longest. post. ever! ily for helping me with this rhaps, this is awesome! <3 and as usual, finch is unpredictable x)
muse; 9/10
word count; eight two two words
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[rhapsie]

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[atrb=background,http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm141/Spottedbelly/Pebblepawmain.png] "Well yes, Pebblepaw. I would have expected you to know your own name now." The medicine cat apprentice rolled her eyes at her mentor's silliness, and continued to giggle, shaking her head playfully. Some of the apprentices she knew had been placed under the teaching of warriors who were real sticks in the mud, boring, or unfriendly. However, Pebblepaw was lucky to have a mentor as fun and cheerful as Finchclaw, and she smiled his way. "For obvious reasons." Of course, the ginger tom was now referring to their satchels, his of which was on the bank still, otherwise it - and the herbs within it - would now be suitably soggy. "I'm older than you are so of course mine's more weathered, brittle, and drier than yours is, kid." Pebblepaw flashed him a smile and sighed contently as the water began to warm up a little under the intensity of the green-leaf heat. She was now rather glad that she was in the water, or she'd be sweltering by now. "Okay, you're older than me, but only by...." She paused suddenly, and stuck her tongue out slightly as she did the maths in her head. "...21 moons! So you can't call me kid.... Well, I suppose you can, but don't! I'm not a baby." She wrinkled up her face in a comical fashion and lifted her leg out of the water to swat at his face with a sodden paw. She missed his nose only by an inch or two, making sure she kept a distance from his face as she swung so she didn't hurt him accidently. After all, it had all been in jest. "And I wonder who thought you that, oh wise Pebble?" "Oh, I wonder indeed...." Along came another giggle, prompted from the young she-cat by her mentor's silliness, which quickly subsided so she could hear what the tom was saying. "Flinch? Finchclaw doesn't flinch! Hey that sounds funny! Finch flinch, flinch finch, finch finch-- I meant finch flinch.." The ginger medicine cat trailed off, looking rather confused. But he had succeeded in confusing not only himself, but his apprentice right now. However, Pebblepaw was used to her mentor's strange ramblings. "You know, Finchy, you are rather strange. Eccentric, even." She teased playfully, prodding his shoulder with a dark brown paw. "You really think I belong to BrookClan just because I like the water? Well I must pack up and move then, but wait. You must come with me because you are in the water as well, aren't you? As for me being a good teacher.. Well, you're a good apprentice which makes things a lot easier."

[/i] "Well, you did lure me in here. After all, the heat is getting harsh, treacherous in fact. I wish green-leaf wasn't so... hot. I bet Brookclan cat's don't have trouble with the heat, they can just cool down in the countless streams and brooks in their territory." She sighed, feeling rather jealous of the semi-aquatic felines they called neighbors at that moment, but as she noted how Finchclaw's expression quickly became a mask of worry. Wondering what was bothering her mentor, she mewed softly over at him, concern in her gaze.

"Pebble... Do you think I'm good enough to be the medicine cat of our Clan? Give me your honest opinion. My mentor died before I could master all the techniques of a medicine cat and before I knew every single herb there is on our earth." Pebblepaw sighed and shook her head, wading over to the ginger tom and brushing her nose against his cheek in an affectionate and reassuring gesture, as a younger sibling would. "You are awfully silly for worrying, Finchclaw. My honest opinion is that Goldenclan are lucky to have you as their medicine cat, and I'm lucky to have you as my mentor. I really don't know how I'm going to live up to you. And I'm sorry your mentor passed on before he taught you everything he could, but I think you'll learn as you go along, as will I. We can learn together, can't we? I have faith in you, Finchy, as do the rest of the clan, and that's a fact. If we didn't, do you really think you'd still be medicine cat today?" She hoped that her 'speech' would be enough to comfort the tom, and it looked like it'd done the trick, because he perked up a little, or seemed to anyway.

"Ah, this grown up talk is boring me out of my wits! What about some water play, what say you?" He playfully flicked some water her way with his tail, and Pebblepaw spluttered as the spray hit her full on in the face. Shaking her wet fur, she huffed and splashed him back with two oversized paws, aiming to get him wet from head to toe. "A beautiful day, hot but beautiful all the same. We should suggest this method of cooling one's self to the rest of the Clan. I imagine they would have a blue fit if we even mention having stepped into water, and might even throw us out of the Clan!" "Ah, but we are wise cats of medicine! They have to listen to us! If we said that it would... lengthen their lives or something, they'd rush to the nearest and deepest water source they could find! However, I don't think that our fellow clanners are that naive. I don't fancy taking my chances, though, a rogue's life doesn't look very comfortable, and I don't see any of the other clans taking us in. Besides, Goldenclan's our family!"

And Pebblepaw wholeheartedly hoped that it would remain that way until her final breath.

She grinned and pounced on Finchclaw, pawing at his sides with her wet paws and giggling, before leaping off and swimming away rather awkwardly, spluttering and thrashing in the water between strokes. Cats were not built to swim, and watching Pebblepaw made that very obvious. She was coping, though, and rather enjoyed being in the pond, she couldn't deny that.

Words, 1006.
Tagged, Finchclaw.
Notes, Sorry for the wait, Jay! And naw, you're welcome, haha xD

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