#pansypoppy

[dawnclan-duskclan]

Ridgeshadow was not in DawnClan’s main camp, but in a dark nook south of the Shattered Maw. She didn't like the business of DawnClan's camp and so often spent her time in her own private den, close enough to be safe, but far enough to feel isolated.

Pansypoppy made the short trip and was glad to find the eccentric young molly in her usual haunt. He wanted to invite her to join him on an expedition in the Daylands to gather herbs: the Waterwings would certainly be resting after the powerful storm the day before, and it was shaping up to be a wonderful day.

He’d given the invitation and quickly excused himself, knowing Ridgeshadow hated any cat to intrude upon her space. Pansypoppy also knew that the young tortoiseshell didn't appreciate taking orders from any cat (except, perhaps, Wispfang) and so his invitation was only that: an invitation. She could refuse if she didn't want to attend, but the healer hoped she was willing to join him. Not only was she the best escort for herb gathering missions with sharp eyes and attention to detail, but he also wanted to coax a conversation out of her.

Because ever since he'd learned Ridgeshadow could see ghosts, he'd been curious about… well, about everything regarding her ability.

What cats did she see? Were they DawnClan ancestors, or did she somehow see into DuskClan's MoonClan?

Birdspots had pushed her once, naming a few Dark spirits passed down from healer to healer, ensuring that Ridgeshadow wasn't being led astray by their malicious schemes, as unlikely as that was. But Ridgeshadow's ghosts didn't match any of their descriptions and, according to her, couldn't speak at all.

That didn't stop Birdspots from worrying over her granddaughter's soul, but Pansypoppy was determined to hold his judgement until he knew more.

His invitation sent, he settled into a comfortable loaf, sorting through his herb stock as he waited.

"You repacked the marigold yesterday," Birdspots commented. The retired healer was lounging in one of his (blessedly empty) patient nests, as she liked to do since she retired. "Counting stems won't make more magically appear."

Pansypoppy liked having the old healer close, but she could also be annoying. Usually he'd accede to her wisdom and experience, but he knew that she was only complaining about this because she was bored. "Wispfang asked me to ask you if you could watch Boulderkit today," Pansypoppy said instead. It was a complete lie, but one the deputy would certainly play along with. "He has a border patrol with Cavestar and the other warriors are busy."

Birdspots watched him with sharp eyes, and he knew she knew he was lying through his teeth. Birdspots had known Pansypoppy longer than his mother did, and probably knew every one of his tells. But she allowed him to get away with it, snorting as she shook the moss from her dappled pelt. "Fine, fine. You're lucky he's so cute." Birdspots' violet eyes twinkled and she brushed against him gently as she left the den, limping slightly.

Pansypoppy smiled and pulled one marigold stem from the pack he was "counting", which he intended for the elder molly’s aching joints. He knew the she would argue that she didn't need it if he'd added it to her daily herb packet while she was watching. Pansypoppy shook his head and tucked the stem into the mousehide fold of herbs. He’d drop them off in the elder’s den before he left.

He spent a few more moments on odd tasks: tidying the nest Birdspots had unofficially claimed, chasing old, dried leaves from the corners of the den, laying a few empty mousehide packets out, ready to fill with the herbs he intended to gather. Pansypoppy was dragging his paws, hoping for Ridgeshadow to show, but after a while of making up new chores to procrastinate leaving, he had to admit that her absence was a clear rejection of his invitation. "Well, I tried," he muttered to himself with a sigh, turning to leave without her.

A pair of emerald eyes flashed in the shadows beside the den entrance.

"Hey!" Pansypoppy exclaimed, startled. "How long have you been waiting?"

Because it was Ridgeshadow, of course it was. The young molly had a knack for being invisible in plain sight, much like the ghosts she claimed to see, and this wasn't the first time she'd lurked in the healer's without Pansypoppy noticing.

"Since before Birdspots left," Ridgeshadow admitted, stepping into the light of the amber Star crystal that lit the the Healer's den. The colored light painted her pale ginger mottling a startling crimson. "I didn't want to interrupt your work."

Pansypoppy twitched his whiskers. He was a little annoyed--exasperated might be a better word--that he'd lost so much herb gathering time. But it was alright. He wouldn't have spent more time waiting than he was comfortable with, and they had plenty of time before he needed to eat and sleep again. "I was only busying myself to wait for you," he explained. "I'm ready to go whenever you are. You are joining me, yes?"

Ridgeshadow nodded. Despite the many ghost-related questions on his tongue, Pansypoppy didn't try to push her into conversation, though he didn't leave the patrol to silence either. Instead, he kept up a running commentary of what he was looking for, the herbs’ uses, and how he went about identifying them in the field. Things that Ridgeshadow was never pressured to reply to, though he was pleasantly surprised that she contributed on several occasions, asking questions or adding comments that were invariably curt, but discerning.

While they worked to collect moss--a repetitive, boring task--Pansypoppy opened up enough to vent about how terrified he was for any of their Clanmates to be gravely injured, as he was the head healer, not Birdspots, and would have to make his own calls. "I know what I'm doing, of course," he said, clawing a pile of moss together into a bundle. Ridgeshadow worked beside him, silent, but he could tell she was listening closely by the tilt of her ears. It was validating to have a cat that would listen without judging him. "But I'm still scared I'll do something wrong. It's silly."

"It's not silly," Ridgeshadow said. "And Birdspots is still here."

He left the silence hang, in case she had more to say, and only when she went back to her work did Pansypoppy respond. "Yeah, she won't be able to help herself, will she?" As much as he was reassured that his mentor was still around to help, he also knew that he wouldn't be able to rely on her experience forever.

He was DawnClan's healer. He needed to act like it.

The two continued their work, adding their piles of moss to the pouches of elder and oak leaves they'd collected on their walk out. Unlike some of the other warriors, Ridgeshadow never complained or tried to pull the patrol up short with excuses about needing to rest for later hunting or border patrols, and so for once Pansypoppy didn't feel rushed to get his collecting done.

"Thank you for your help, Ridgeshadow," he said, once they had the herb bundles leaning against a faint green Star in front of the Healer's den, ready to be counted and put away. He'd start on that later, though: it had been a long day, and Pansypoppy wanted nothing more than a quick bite and a long nap. "I always collect the most herbs when you're around."

The praise made her a little uncomfortable, he thought, as she backed into the shadows. He wouldn't force her to stay any longer. "But next time, let me know when you arrive, yeah?" He softened the words with a broad smile, and was glad when Ridgeshadow returned it, a flash of teeth in the amber Starshine.

He didn't see her leave.

<< 0.7 || FIRST || 1.1 >>

[dawnclan-duskclan]

"I think Cavestar is flirting with me," Redstem said.

"Yeah?" Pansypoppy replied halfheartedly. He'd long since tuned out the talkative warrior's words.

And it wasn't like collecting soft oak leaves from young shrubs took any focus. That Pansypoppy preferred focusing his attention on his mind-numbing task rather than Redstem's prattling was only testament to how quickly the red warrior grated on his nerves.

Redstem wasn't even helping.

Pansypoppy didn't needed help gathering herbs, but he'd be foolish to venture into to the Daylands alone.

Therefore, Redstem.

Though Pansypoppy thought being a healer's escort into one of the more contested zones of the Daylands would involve far more looking for DuskClan threats and far less talking.

Redstem was undeterred by Pansypoppy's lackluster response. "You talk to Cavestar a lot, Pansy. What do you think?"

Pansypoppy's tail lashed and his claws took off more than just leaves. He hated when Redstem shortened his name, had told the tomcat to stop many times, but always when he least expected it, there Redstem was, Pansy, like he hadn't worked his tail off to get his full name!

He hoped that Redstem would take his silence as an opening to go off on another ramble, but, annoyingly, for the first time in his entire life, maybe, the selfish warrior actually wanted his opinion. "Pansy?"

"I don't know," the grey healer said, swallowing his frustration. It wouldn't help anyone to start an argument here, this close to the Horizon.

The Waterwings were uncharacteristically calm today (which is why Pansypoppy had been so eager to go out, even if the only warrior escort available was Redstem) and his pelt was dappled in shadow from budding trees. He'd simply been following his nose: plants this way! the wind sang, and with Redstem's self-guided soliloquies distracting him, Pansypoppy hadn't been paying much attention to his surroundings.

They shouldn't be this close to the Horizon with only one warrior, especially one that wasn't doing a very good job of keeping watch.. Worry prickled his pelt. Pansypoppy turned to Redstem, intending to tell him that they should leave before they were wearing DuskClan warriors for pelts, when Redstem abruptly stepped into his space, bumping under the healer's chin.

"Come on, you can tell me," the ginger tom wheedled. "If Cavestar does have a crush on me, I've already figured it out, haven't I? No harm in dropping the feather."

Redstem's fire-tipped tail poked Pansypoppy in the nose and it took all the healer's willpower not to snap at it. Instead, he blew a long breath from his nose, picked up the small bundle of herbs he'd collected--a pitiful amount, really, not worth this--and quirked his tail back toward the Dawnlands.

"Yes!" Redstem shouted, leaping forward with far too much enthusiasm. How many DuskClan warriors heard his yowl and were headed their way? Pansypoppy picked up his pace. "That means it's true, right? She likes me! I knew it! Stars, I'm good."

The Waterwings stirred and a slight rain started to patter against the leaves around them.

Wonderful.

At least Pansypoppy had an excuse for why he kept his ears down and why his tail lashed in frustration as his pelt grew heavier and heavier with water. Even Redstem's commentary slowed as the sprinkle turned to a constant drizzle.

All for a few measly leaves.

<< 1.1 || FIRST || 1.3 >>

[dawnclan-duskclan]

DawnClan Allegiances -- Year One

LEADER: CAVESTAR - A long-furred pale grey tabby molly with hazel eyes. Faithful, excellent teacher, good climber. 106 Moons. A steady, wise cat that is proud of DawnClan's strong connection to StarClan. Despite DawnClan's historic stoic nature, Cavestar often initiates skirmishes against DuskClan--she knows StarClan's power is behind their paws, and that they cannot lose to those that can't see StarClan's light. DEPUTY: WISPFANG -  A long-furred dark grey tom with cobalt eyes. Grumpy, great mediator. 86 moons. Wispfang finds himself as the voice of reason in DawnClan and though he is fluent in sarcasm and dry humor, is a calm cat that knows how to strike a compromise between even the angriest of rivals. HEALER: PANSYPOPPY - A dorsal-striped silver tom with bronze eyes. Insecure, good healer. 80 moons. After Birdspots' recent retirement, he's starting to have doubts about his own ability. He's spent his entire life in the healer's den with the older molly, and waking up without her there is hard for him to come to terms with, even if Birdspots is still around the den more often than not, even in retirement. WARRIORS: REDSTEM - A medium-furred dorsal-striped dark ginger tom with grey eyes. Shameless, formidable fighter, great storyteller. 73 moons. Redstem doesn't really care what he's assigned to do and isn't one to make a fuss out of anything. He likes to think he's a smooth talker and a flirt, and his inability to be embarrassed by his own behavior helps, but he isn't half as clever as he thinks he is. LAVENDERDEW - A white molly with one pale grey paw and green eyes. Fierce, somewhat clairvoyant. 52 moons. Fluffypaw is her first apprentice and she's determined to do well by the young cat. Lavenderdew is fiercely protective and won't hesitate to draw her claws if any cat dares threaten the cats she loves. She sees herself as deputy one day, having Seen hints of her future--or at least a possible future. APPRENTICE: FLUFFYPAW WOODFERN - A medium-furred silver rosetted tabby molly with yellow eyes. Bloodthirsty, formidable fighter, good storyteller. 47 moons. Woodfern has a natural talent for fighting and her skills gave her confidence as a young warrior. She doesn't know the meaning of fear--or at least pretends not to--and is a reckless warrior, jumping into danger headfirst without a thought of the consequences.

RIDGESHADOW - A dark grey-and-cream tortoiseshell molly with emerald eyes. Sneaky, ghost sense. 20 moons. DawnClan's youngest warrior, Ridgeshadow has always been a little... odd. She refuses to sleep in the warrior's den and instead found a small cavern by the Shattered Maw without any Stars inside, where she spends much of her time when not on patrol. She doesn't like being around other cats much at all, though she is close with her grandmother, Birdspots.

APPRENTICES: FLUFFYPAW - A long-furred light grey classic tabby molly with amber eyes. She has a white chest and face, and one white sock. Troublesome, avid play fighter, quick to help. 7 moons. Even if she's the Clan's only apprentice, one might think DawnClan has a whole horde of them for all the trouble she manages to make on her own. Sneaking off, pranking the warriors, and even having a secret best friend in DuskClan (Foggypaw)... Fluffypaw requires Lavenderdew's full attention at all times. She has a strong sense of duty and honor, however, and will always help a cat in need. KITS: BOULDERKIT - A medium-furred, very pale grey tom with white points and amber eyes. Unruly, quick witted. 3 moons. A young cat with far too much energy and the only surviving member of his litter. He has a habit of slipping his minders and getting into trouble. He's much smarter than the older cats give him credit for and understands more than they think. ELDERS: BIRDSPOTS - A grey-and-cream tortoiseshell molly with ticked tabby markings and violet eyes. Daring, good healer, good fighter. 120 moons. Birdspots only recently retired, having served as DawnClan's medicine cat for many long moons. She also has skills in battle, as every cat needed to be able to fight during the drawn out civil war in her youth. She's a feisty cat that speaks her mind and isn't afraid to do what she wants.