Catching A Breath

TAWNYSNARL
Warrior of RavenClan

For once in a long time… The valley was finally quiet. Or, at least, as quiet as it was ever going to get with the amount of cats living in it. Tawnysnarl had been busy over the last few moons, dealing with the drama of the rogues kidnapping the clan cats to support the nefarious plans of Hailbelly and Fawnpetal. The whole ordeal had been entirely exhausting, and the molly was only a warrior— She couldn’t even begin to imagine how stressful it must’ve been for the medicine cats. But she could go and ask.

She hadn’t visited Bat in a little while for personal reasons. There’d been a few instances in which she’d been on nest arrest while her injuries needed to be watched, though hadn’t been in much of a talkative mood. Tawnysnarl didn’t really like being forced into the medicine cat den— Not only did she believe that her wounds were never dire enough to warrant vigilant babysitting, but Bat had a tendency to mollycoddle her. If it were anyone else, she would be outright offended, but the dark-furred medicine cat often got away with things most others didn’t.

As her paws patted on the gradually softening greenleaf soil, her ears perked in excitement. She wasn’t entirely certain if her friend would have any free time for her today, but she’d waited until the remaining visitors to the medicine cat den had dwindled. If there was going to be a good time to ask, Tawnysnarl guessed it’d be about now. She tried to tread carefully so not to disturb any patients, though stealth had never really been her strong suit— Her paws bumped into what might have been a tail and she ended up nose-first into a pile of leaves. That’s embarrassing.

The slight shuffling of paws reached her ears, though Tawnysnarl decided that pretending she was dead would be a better fate than facing whoever had just witnessed her fall. She held her breath, waiting for the cat to pass.

BAT
Herbalist of RavenClan

After taking another round of the medicine den, checking in with injured cats, checking infected injuries, and making sure all of his injured clanmates were comfortable and not on the brink of death, Bat finally trudged to the back of the medicine den, a little ways away from where anyone could see him clearly. He was grateful for his darker pelt allowing him to blend into the shadows more. The medicine cat used to be one of the best at hide-and-seek when he was a kit with his friends for that reason, but now it was proving useful in making sure no one saw just how worn out he was. 

It was so easy for a cat’s life to accidentally slip through his paws if he made a mistake. He closed his eyes, eyebrows furrowing whenever he remembered the stupid, silly slip-ups he’d made while he was still training to be a full medicine cat like Robingaze. The times he’d not dressed a wound properly and the cobwebs fell off from movement. The small injuries that became infected and suddenly became a hundred times more life-threatening. Major injuries like Kinkbite’s eye and Wildblaze’s paw getting torn off that he’d hesitated and fumbled with because his emotions got in the way. Bat loved helping others, he loved making them laugh and smile. But after the sheer amount of stress from rogue kidnappings, the war against Hailbelly and Fawnpetal and the rogues, and being directly involved with treating those in the aftermath, was more than wearing him down internally. Taking a break wasn’t much of a luxury he could partake in though, not when so many cats were filtering in and out of the medicine den for one reason or another, not when the only other cat who could help was Robingaze. 

Bat took a few seconds to try and groom himself and smooth down any wild tufts of fur along his paws and body in an attempt to not look as haggard as he felt. He was distracted for a few moments and failed to miss the sound of new pawsteps entering the medicine den. However, his attention was finally pulled away when he heard the crunch and scattering of leaves, paired with a body falling to the ground. Bat whipped his head around, realizing that the perpetrator was none other than Tawnysnarl. Doing his best to stop himself from laughing out loud — lest he send his weak throat into a violent coughing fit — he shuffled over to where his friend was still lying on the ground, batting at her ears to get her attention.

TAWNYSNARL
Warrior of RavenClan

The familiar scent of her best friend, Bat, washed over her and it was as if all her troubles were washed away, too. Her flattened ear perked a little as she relaxed, and she finally managed to lift her aching face off the floor and look up at the dark-furred medicine cat apprentice. Usually, the expression on his face was cheery, open and most often subtly etched with mischievousness— But his current one didn’t match any of those descriptions at all. Worry bubbled in the pit of Tawnysnarl’s stomach at the sight of him, and it took every ounce of willpower for her to not say something right to his face about it. The molly felt that, if he really were as down as he looked, that she should tread a lot more carefully than she usually did. Time to pick her words carefully.

Climbing to her paws with a slight groan, she grinned at him, “I’m surprised you didn’t explode with laughter. Your amusement usually grows depending on how embarrassing something is, and lemme tell ya— Nobody’ll beat that.” Her fur was a complete mess before she’d entered the den, but falling over had added a bunch of debris littered throughout her fur. She made a mental note to clean it later… Maybe. What mattered right now was cheering up her friend, because he desperately looked like he needed it. Although being able to do that actually required thought, and Tawnysnarl usually lacked in that department.

Her mind cogs turned stiffly, and she finally came up with one (genius) idea: she’d take him out of camp and on a walk! The molly didn’t think he’d want to take her up on her offer, as she was pretty certain the recent rogue attack was what had caused all this stress— But she had to try something. Tawnysnarl looked around the medicine cat den and spied that the nests were a little emptier than usual, making this the perfect “now or never” moment. She straightened her shoulders and looked back at Bat, eyebrows drawn, “Hey, I know you probably don’t wanna but… You wanna come on a walk with me? It’s so stuffy in here, I think some fresh air would do ya some good.”

BAT
Herbalist of RavenClan

Bat watched as Tawnysnarl lifted her head up, freezing for a millisecond when the calico called him out on his unusual lack of cheeriness, before trying to stick his tongue out at her, like he was trying to save face. The dark-furred tom flicked the tip of his tail around, as though he were still trying to say ’okay, it was pretty funny still.’ Tired or not, Bat did sit back on his hind legs so that he could reach one of his paw up to start swiping away at some of the leaves and dirt that had gotten stuck in her fur when she’d tripped. He may as still try to be helpful — were it anyone else, he would’ve probably sat back and sniggered while watching them trying to groom themselves of a boat load of leaves, but maybe he was just feeling a little more kind today. 

The apprentice’s mouth opened, then closed after hearing Tawnysnarl suggest a walk. That did sound appealing, and no matter how much Bat did enjoy learning about herbs and seeing what Robingaze could teach him (or reteach him), he sometimes needed a mental reset and get some fresh air. That said… there were still a few injured warriors and apprentices who needed to be looked after, nevermind the usual flow of cats coming in and out of the medicine den from day to day injuries. Bat was staring at a space between Tawnysnarl and the resting cats, before his eyes perked up seeing Robingaze making a moving motion towards the entrance, like his mentor was telling him to go take a short break.

Eventually, the tom make an affirmative nod towards his friend, making it clear that he wanted to go with her for a walk, no matter how long or short it was. Spending time with Tawnysnarl never failed to make him a little more chipper. He made some straight line motions with his paws, in two different lengths, as though he were asking 'long walk? or short?'

TAWNYSNARL
Warrior of RavenClan

A purr rumbled out of her chest as he hit back with his silly expression, her ears perking as she blew a raspberry back at him. She was trying her best to keep her friend in positive spirits, so she decided that she wouldn’t push Bat or tease him anymore— The molly could tell that he was trying at the very least. “Thanks,” Tawnysnarl mewed, giving her fur a last quick shake to rid the last of the leaves dirtying her coat. She subconsciously kicked most of them out of the Herbalist’s Den, realising that she was creating a mess.

At her friend’s immediate reaction, the calico was a little nervous that he would refuse her suggestion. Her stomach squeezed for just a moment while she tried to dwindle the disappointment bubbling in her chest, though she was quickly reassured after Bat got to his paws as if to follow behind her. Her face stretched into a grin and she couldn’t help but bounce excitedly on her paws, yet she stayed beside him and forced herself to reduce her energy to better match Bat’s. 

The warrior thought for a moment, tilting her head to the side as if moving around the thoughts in her mind would ease the process of thinking. “Hmm…” She hummed, before glancing back towards Bat again, “I’m open for both. Why don’t we just see where the wind takes us, yeah?” Her eyes were kind before she jokingly patted his foreleg, raising an eyebrow, “You’ve basically been living in that den for the past however long and I think you might need a reminder on what our territory looks like.”

BAT
Herbalist of RavenClan

Bat’s mouth went agape as Tawnysnarl began pushing some of the leaves out from the herbalist’s den, and he quickly got on his paws just to start pushing the leaves somewhat back into the den, but in a neater pile in the corner. If the calico looked at him with a confused look, Bat just made a mischievous grin, pointing at some moss beds, like he was telling Tawny that he was gonna want those crunchy leaves to save for pranks later. Regardless, the herbalist apprentice was grateful for her thoughtfulness.

After seeing Tawnysnarl's bright grin and excited bouncing, Bat was fully convinced that taking a walk would be a good idea - not necessarily just for himself, but seeing Tawny's smile made him happy. It felt nice knowing that something as simple as his company would make the other molly's mood that much better. It made him feel like, admist feeling so helpless with all of his injured and sick clanmates and not being able to do more for them, that there was still something he could do for someone. 

Bat jokingly rolled his eyes a little at Tawnysnarl's words, pulling his foreleg back from Tawnysnarl's paw to playfully pretend he was offended, before getting up on his paws to pad out of the herbalist's den. Even Bat had to admit - the den was feeling stuffy and stale with infection and sickness... this would be a welcome reprieve. 

An idea popped into Bat's head, and he took both of his front paws to rapidly stomp them against the ground - 'Race you somewhere?'

TAWNYSNARL
Warrior of RavenClan

She didn’t question his strange need to keep the crunchy leaves within the den, knowing that many of Bat’s antics were already “strange”. Though that didn’t necessarily mean anything to her, because these were the things she liked about him— When they were younger, it had been quite a shock to learn that the quiet, anxiety-ridden little kit her own age was full of mischief. It had been a very pleasant surprise, even if she truly hadn’t expected it in the slightest. Now, these pranks were such a usual occurrence that she could hardly keep up.

Despite this, she tried her best to ensure that his silly plans went successfully. There was nothing worse than seeing her friend upset, and she’d do anything in her power to make sure he thrived in his goals (even if said goals involved the displeasure of their clanmates).

Her heart warmed to see a smile grow on his own face, glad to see that maybe this invitation had genuinely been the right thing for him. She knew that Bat had many duties that were outside her scope of knowledge, and she’d never truly understand the difficulties and responsibilities that he faced and had to shoulder— Though she’d promised him (in her heart) to, at the very least, try to carry some of that weight for him. Tawnysnarl obviously couldn’t take any of his jobs, but she could look after him in the small ways, like ensuring he got enough time to clear his head inbetween times of strife.

The wind ruffled her fur and she exhaled her own sigh of relief. This sort of freedom was why she believed she never would’ve been a good herbalist, among other reasons, but the pounding of her paws and aching of her muscles were enjoyments too advantageous to swap out for stinky herbs and stuffy caves. She’d always respect what Bat did for them, but she could never join him.

With a purr rumbling her chest, she looked over to him as he signed. Her face broke into a grin as she cocked an eyebrow at him. “You sure you’re gonna be able to outrun me, plant boy?” Her tone was unserious and lofty, drunk off the excitement of spending time with her friend after missing him (even if he’d never been physically distant). Her stumped tail wagged as her eyes darted to meet his, a challenge sparkling within them.

“To the Climbing Tree?” It wasn’t very far, but she also didn’t want to push him. His muscles must be stiff, after all, and she did also want to give him a chance to stretch his legs without hurting himself.