as time flies by | starlingpaw

[BONERIPPLE]

Finding her niece being injuried and that she had been with Granitepaw makes her worried. Because of his very nature, always rude and the fact that he does not seem to like her family makes her extremely wary. She wonders just how and why a possum was able to attack Starlingpaw. Too young to be so reckless. The worry keeps nagging at her even as she watches the shape of the young apprentice who she gave a comfortable moss nest to to help her recover from such an ordeal. Often she finds herself checking the wound to make sure it is healing properly. To make sure that no such infection can get in and cause problems. After all she has marigold currently from going out on her own and that is what she needs along with cobwebs for dressing. It proves to be quite helpful and she is ever grateful she is actually able to do something this time around. With a soft sigh the woman makes her way over with a mouse in her jaws. Her maw twitches as she tries to smell the wound but of course all she can smell is the mouse in her maw. Still she tries not too fuss too much as she carefully drops the meal in front of the other. "How are you feeling this morning, Starling?" Gentle, her voice carrying warmth with it as she settles down with her own meal.

Her molten hues watch any motions of pain but she also doesn't think it is a good idea to keep giving poppy seeds unless it is absolutely necessary. So she will wait on that as something else weighs on her mind. Something important that has been stewing. She looks down at her pale colored paws before taking in a soft breath and trying to tear into the lizard she has. It's stringy and meager but she can survive on it. Much like she has survived previously before the clans became a thing.

@STARLINGPAW . ​

 

[Starlingheart]

There were a lot of things that the young, dark furred apprentice felt guilty about. Guilty because her aunt had to waste precious herbs on her. Guilty because she had almost gotten Granitepaw hurt or worse. Guilty because she was stuck in here not catching any prey or doing anything useful. She watches her aunt dig into a lizard, a tiny creature that surely would provide her with nothing and she flinches. She has gotten injured because she wanted to find some extra prey, she had been stupid and reckless and it hadn’t mattered. They had returned with nothing and now Starlingpaw was injured, useless.

Her head snaps up as Bonejaw addresses her, after of course dropping a meal between her feet, a meal that Starlingpaw feels she has no right to eat ‘How’re you feeling this morning Starlingpaw?’ She weighs the question in her mind, turns to look at the wound, usually covered with cobwebs and salve but free of those things now, allowed to air out. It is a mess of scabs and left over herb juice but it is well on its way to being fully healed “I-it-it-it d-does-doesn’t doesn’t h-hur-hurt a-any-anymore” she affirms with a nod of her head. She probably could even start walking on it again soon, she realizes with a hopeful twist in her heart. She does not say so though, instead with one paw she pushes the mouse away from her a tiny bit, towards the other black and white she cat. "d-do do w-wou-would y-you would y-you like t-to s-share with me?" she asks, the stutter in her voice not as bad as usual. Of course, it was always like this when she was just around family, her anxiety lessened when in a familiar presence. A comforting one too. Starlingpaw had grown to enjoy these nights spent in the medicine cats den, getting to spend time with some of her family. Her littermates barely looked at her, let alone each other. Not these days. And Pitch was, well, Pitch.
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[BONERIPPLE]

That is something she is happy to hear. If it doesn't hurt then that means it is well in recovery and there won't be any complications. It makes her feel better about the whole ordeal, helps her see that maybe just maybe she can actually save her clanmates instead of destroying them. But only time will tell given all of her recent mistakes and Starclan always on her back about it. A medicine cat, meant to heal her clan, meant to not be opposed by boundaries. Her eyes look down at her lizard and yet a smile so small is visible on her muzzle. "Well, I'm happy to hear it. With time you will be back up and running around camp very soon. Which I'll be happy to see." Seeing her family happy is all she wants, seeing them thriving and living well in Shadowclan is all she ever hopes for. Curling her tail she then looks at the mouse that her niece pushes towards her. Blinking she chuckles gently and shakes her head.

"I appreciate the offer but you need it more than I do, Starling. It'll keep your energy up to heal after all. Your body will thank you later. Trust me." Her burning gaze looks at the stripped lizard before she takes another bite. One that is thoughtful. Honeytwist brought this idea into the fold. Her clanmates yelled at her about it. The idea swirling but she doesn't want it to be a decision from pure malice. To keep her niece away from Granitepaw. She doesn't want this choice to be smothered with a hidden agenda and she shuffles her paws as she crunches on bones. For a moment she continues to be silent but finally she turns to look at Starlingpaw. "What do you think of a medicine cat? The things that need to be learned? The path of the stars that watch us during the night? I've...been doing a lot of thinking lately but I don't want things to be over complicated."​

 

[Starlingheart]

Bonejaw refuses the mouse, tells her that she needs it more, to heal, to rest up and though she frowns slightly she does not make a fuss about it. "O-oh a-a-al-alright" she says quietly, using one paw to gently reach out and pull the mouse back closer to her. She takes a bite and there is a small stretch of silence between them as they eat their meals. She studies her aunts face as she chews and then swallows, she looks deep in thought, troubled almost, but she does not press. She does not ask.

She’s almost startled when Bonejaw speaks up again. Her question confuses her even more, especially the last statement of not wanting to over complicate things. "I-I I think it-it’s c-c-cool th-that-that y-you that you get t-to h-help p-people" she thinks about it some more, absentmindedly picking at the nest below her with one claw as she thinks and then speaks. "It-its c-cool y-you you get t-to h-heal and s-s-save l-lives" briefly, images of Sparkkit and Twilightfall flash in her head, lives that could not be saved. But she also thinks of all the good that can come from someone who walks such a path. "It-it d-d-does s-seem-seem l-like a lot to l-learn" she admits with a small shrug "b-but y-y-you hea-healed m-m-my l-leg so I’d sa-say y-y-you know your s-stuff a-auntie d-don’t don’t lis-listen t-to the the others t-they don’t k-know they don’t know wh-what th-they’re talk-talking ab-about. Y-you did-didn’t know ba-back then y-you didn’t k-know how-how to-to hel-help." she thinks that her aunt is referencing her own personal failures, and while Starlingpaw refuses to heed her own advice she would give it to her aunt freely. She had heard the way the cats in the clan whispered about Bonejaws failings but it wasn’t her fault! She believed it wholeheartedly. How was one cat to know everything all the time? It seemed unfair to expect that of her…

As for her question about the stars… "m-mom mom an-and d-dad th-they’re u-up th-there so-so the- St-Starcl-clan th-they can-can’t be all bad r-right?" surely Briarstar and Amber were looking down on her, watching her and guiding her paw steps? She had to believe. The alternative, that they were really and truly gone, or that they no longer cared for Shadow Clan like some cats believed, was too painful. She had to believe her mom and dad still cared. She wants to ask what is overcomplicated but instead purses her lips, waiting to gauge the medicine cats response to her words.
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[BONERIPPLE]

Intently she listens to the youngers words. Taking them in and understanding. Yes, it is a lot to learn and she still has so much she needs to learn. But she also needs to pass on thos knowledge so that Shadowclan can thrive. Her thoughts are always on so many things at once and this is no different. Learning, taking the comments from those she considered clanmates, always thinking of failing again. She knows that Starling will take her side because of familial bonds. Even she believes that some cats here put too much faith in her, too much strain on a cat who has never once thought of medicine till now. Who has just started learning this path and has a very long way to go. The midnight hued woman could not help Sparkkit, nor Twilightfall, or even her sister or Frog's Croak and yet she keeps trying. Starclan won't let her go and she smiles almost wistfully at her niece's comment. "There is truth to that. I have to agree, with Briar and Amber among them they can not all be bad. I just wish...they would help us more." The advantages were set from the beginning.

Things are cold and bleak in the swamp but she refuses just to lay down and give up. No instead she decides from here on to fight. To do what she must to ensure that Shadowclan lives and this is the first step even if things may be more complicated. It's what is necessary and she hopes it keeps her niece safe. "I like how you put it. Saving lives and even the attempt to is necessary and a testimemt to your willpower. I...have not been the best example and I acknowledge this. It is not a path I have chosen but I'm trying my best. The reason why I asked you so many question is because Shadowclan needs to come first. Not my emotions. Things are going to be harsh for us this leafbare and I need, no, I want to pass on my knowledge to someone who will use it for the good of us all. Starlingpaw, with Starclan above us will you take on the mantel as medicine cat apprentice, train and learn all that I can teach you till you are ready to become medicine cat one day?"​

 

[Starlingheart]

She too constantly worries about the future of Shadow Clan, it was a clan where her family, where her friends, lived after all. This drive to protect, to do something anything at all, is what had sent her to carrionplace to begin with. When she had heard that leaf bare was going to be difficult there was only one possible solution in her mind, only one thing that she could do to help and that was to get more prey. But here her aunt was, telling her there was another option, another path. A way to be useful.

She blinks, taking a moment to process what the black and white molly has just offered to her, her mouth hanging open in a moment of pure shock before she closes it again. "I-I-Id be h-honored I-if y-you-you’ll h-ha-ha-have me" she says quietly, eyes shining at the thought of one day being able to save someone. Her mind does briefly flash to Pitchstar and for a moment there is a slight worry he will be upset, that he will see this as her deserting him. But no it was the opposite really. She wanted this. She never really knew it but she did. This was a way to help him, to help all of them, and it wouldn’t include hunting or fighting, both things she had proven to be terrible at. She would not fail in this regard. "I w-wont… I wont le-let y-you down" she says, for once barely stuttering, too swept up in her own excitement to be overwhelmed by anxiety. That would come later, the nagging thoughts telling her she does not deserve such a reward. For now, she is happy. "I-I’ll work r-r-really h-hard! Y-you’ll s-see!" she leans forward and presses her nose to her aunts chest, a purr erupting in her throat. "I-I-I ac-accept t-thank thank you so much auntie" she can’t wait to tell Granitepaw the amazing news!
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