Event Prompt 2

Cloverflame was wandering through the territory, trying to find some "herbs". In reality, he just wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the growing clan. It was beginning to become hard work to care for so many cats. He was only lucky that he had his medicine cat apprentice Yolkpaw to help him. However, the young tom still had a lot to learn and often made mistakes.

He was also secretly feeling depressed. Around this time was supposed to be when the Twolegs would celebrate something called "Christmas". Although he didn't understand it much, Cloverflame missed the company of the odd and loud creatures. It had been many moons since he had left the ship. He hoped to travel to his secret place and be alone with his thoughts instead of being interrupted by various cats.

Little did he know, little Yolkpaw had been following him through the territory. The tom was smart enough to know where the wind was blowing and keep his scent from reaching Cloverflame.

Cloverflame traveled a familiar path for him, walking through the forest with various twists and turns. Eventually, he came back to the shoreline, but this wasn't where the camp was. Instead, they must have been many fox-lengths away from camp. Perhaps even from the territory in general. Yolkpaw had never seen this place before. It seemed to be deserted and abandoned.

Yolkpaw remained in the bushes and foliage of the forest, craning his head to see what Cloverflame was doing. The older tom stood on the sand and began... digging?

The apprentice frowned. Cats only did that when they caught prey and needed to store it. But Cloverflame was the medicine cat and didn't need to catch prey anymore. The stories that Yolkpaw had heard of his mentor's past life also hinted at the fact that the cat had not ever learned how to hunt.

Cloverflame finished digging and pulled out a white object. It was covered in sand, and once it was safely aboveground the tom began wiping it off. The sunshine from overhead glinted on the pretty item and sent rays across the area. A flash of light momentarily blinded Yolkpaw, and he blinked rapidly to deter the dots that were beginning to form in his vision.

Once the dots had disappeared, he was able to look at the object somewhat better. "What is that?" Yolkpaw murmured to himself. It looked like nothing he had ever seen - certainly nothing that a cat could make with their paws. Not even if they dedicated the careful craft to their claws. It was honestly too beautiful, in a way. Although he had no idea what the creature of the statue was supposed to be.

Cloverflame smiled softly at the familiar object. "Hello, my angel. I know you've been watching over me. I hope I've been good enough for you? I know I haven't been with the Twolegs in a long time but... it's still nice to keep their traditions. Don't tell them, but I stole you off of their ship before I left. Does that make me a bad kitty?" He settled down on the sand and held it closer to his chest, almost cradling it like a kit. The older tom even started purring and licked the top of the statue, like a mother in the nursery grooming her little ones.

Yolkpaw tilted his head to the side and frowned again. Why was Cloverflame doing this? What was so special about this object? From the words that he picked up, he assumed that this was something from his mentor's past life. A momentum, of a sort.

His expression softened when Cloverflame began humming and bobbing his head to his own beat. The older tom may be weird to Yolkpaw. But everything made sense to Cloverflame. Yolkpaw shook his head and smiled, knowing that his mentor would always have his odd traditions, songs, and dances.

"I shouldn't have ever followed him," Yolkpaw whispered softly to himself, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him. Now he had gotten more of a look into Cloverflame's traditions and holidays, as odd as they may be to a cat who has never had any experience with... Twolegs. He had heard and learned plenty about the tall creatures from his mentor, but everything else that described them was weird. They had no fur (other than on their head and face), pink skin, wore fur from other materials, and traveled on a wood "ship"?

Cloverflame shifted and stood up, stretching momentarily. He picked up the white statue and trotted over to a wooden dock that connected the shore to the sea.

He raised his head and inhaled deeply, drinking in the scent of the sea. Cloverflame set down the statue for a moment to speak to it again. "Goodbye, my angel. I know this is such a sad parting, but I have a new life. I'll always keep you in my thoughts and honor your traditions. I promise I'll be good for you. Will you continue to watch over me?"

The statue never replied. Yolkpaw knew that his mentor often muttered to himself or spoke his thoughts aloud, but he had never seen him speak to an inanimate object. It didn't make much sense other than the fact that it was sentimental.

Cloverflame pushed the statue into the water, and droplets of the sea splashed up from the sudden volume being pushed through the waves. He watched the white figure sink down and down, faster and faster until it disappeared into the blue depth. Maybe someone else would find it a long time from now.

He turned and began taking the path back to camp, meaning that he brushed by Yolkpaw. The young tom stiffened and held his breath, hoping his mentor hadn't seen him.

Cloverflame hadn't even noticed. Or he pretended not to. He didn't want to speak of this experience to his apprentice and try to explain any further, especially because he was trying to push these memories aside. What he said was true - he had a new life now, one that didn't include any Twolegs, and he realized he had a duty to all of these cats now. This was his new home and his new job.

When he got back to camp, he continued to pretend his ignorance when Yolkpaw returned to the medicine cat den a while later. The apprentice's jaws were empty, and his chest was heaving with the struggle of taking in deep breaths. He settled down in his nest and placed his head on his paws. Yolkpaw closed his eyes, exhausted from the long journey that he had to take so fast. In his rush, he hadn't tried to cover up the fact that he had followed his mentor, and there was obvious sand stuck to his paws.

Cloverflame decided to let it go again. Except for one thing... "You forgot to get the herbs, young one."