Treading on dangerous ground...(open)

[sunnymarie]

[glow=red,2,300] Aspenflower [/glow]

Aspenflower's paws were stiff, as were her shoulders with deep anxiety. She had not been able to rest easily last night and her body language was wry as was her soul. A terrifying dream had haunted her unconsciousness of death and great destruction. She woke with a great start, nearly waking all of the warriors den up. Confused and alone, since it wasn't even dawn yet, she slipped out of her bed and out of the camp to hunt. Perhaps killing something would relieve her mind of its troubles.

She was careful to make little noise as possible exiting the camp as she did not want anyone asking questions. With her head bowed, she trudged through the underbrush as silently as she could manage under such circumstances as her mind was elsewhere. She kept her ears pricked and her nostrils flared trying to detect the faintest scent of prey lurking in the dense shadows. She stumbled when her paw twisted in a rabbit hole and she became flat on her side with her paw still in the rabbit hole. Pain coursed from her paw and up her leg as she struggled to release it from its prison in the earth.

She stopped struggling when a twig snapped not to far away in the darkness before dawn. She sat up as best she could with her paw still savagely stuck in the rabbit hole so she could look around. Alert now, she began to wiggle her paw as she watched the shadows from every direction that she could manage. Her ears went flat against her head when she heard another twig snap. This sounded like a dangerous creature, not just some prey sneaking around. Helpless and completely terrified, she hissed out into the darkness where the sound had come from, hoping to frighten what ever it was into running away. When another twig snapped, this time really close, she yelped in terror as she continued to struggle viciously to get her paw loose. It was not good to be stuck out in the forest, especially with badgers or foxes around. Beasts that could kill a cat with a single flash of their claws or a snap of their teeth.

The intruder did not stay hidden for long. Soon the sly fox stepped out into Aspenflower's line of vision and she tensed up. The fox was about her size if not a little bigger. It had half of one ear missing and its russet brown fur was caked with dry mud. Its tiny black eyes found Aspenflower and it stopped dead in its tracks. It pricked its ears and tilted its head to the side as if it could observe Aspenflower from a different angle. Desperate, she twisted her paw at an impossible angle and she cried out in pain. She then yanked hard and her paw came loose from the tree root it was stuck in between. She staggered and the fox noticed she was free the same time she turned and took off in the direction toward camp. She ignored the violent pain in her paw when she new the fox was giving chase. It was starving and she was its next meal. Not on my watch, she thought as she spun on her hind legs and faced the deadly fox. She readied her back legs to spring and just as the fox came into view, she leaped forward and over its back. She she sored over, her sharp talons scored into the foxes flesh and it barked in pain and outrage. Never had she been this close to a fox. With adrenaline coursing through her blood, she spun fast again and raked her claws across its muzzle as it turned to face her. It yelped again but it dove blindly at Aspenflower and its teeth sank into her leg attached to her already aching paw. She yelped this time but she had a good advantage now. As fast as she could, she yanked her leg from the foxes jaws and sank her own into it's neck. It whipped its head back and forth as it struggled to free itself. With all her might, Aspenflower threw the mangy fox aside and watched as it picked itself up and darted away into the pre dawn forest.

Physically exhausted, Aspenflower began to limp back to camp. She got half way before she gave up and decided to rest under a tree a couple feet from the camp entrance. She only had a few more feet but she was to tired to move anymore. That fox had taken more out of her than she would have liked. As she lay under the tree, she licked her slightly bleeding wound to clean it of the dirt. She would have to go see the Medicine Cat once the clan awoke. Any moment now, someone should be coming out. Either to hunt, train their apprentice, or go on a border patrol. She would have to be back in camp by then so they wouldn't ask to many questions.

[frosty]

Ilexflower blinked open her deep green eyes slowly, waking in a peaceful, serene manner, for a medicine cat atleast. StarClan was always whispering in her ear or filling her mind with prophetic dreams. Many nights she remained restless, tossing and turning in her bedding because the pictures painted in her mind were too haotic to sleep through. Recently, the interior of her cranium had been overflowing with red haze and water. Lots and lots of water rushing past to an unknown destination. She could catch glimpses of a cat, swimming frantically in the depths, unable to coordinate itself. Ilexflower could never give a name to the cat, but she had caught glimpses of a light brown forepaw and a tabby-striped tail. A sense of panic had washed over Ilexflower when she realized that no matter how hard she tried, she could never reach the drowning cat in her dream. Whomever the feline was, it was an important cat, she knew that much.

Letting out a long sigh, a mixture of anxiety and exhaustion, she pushed herself to her paws. The MarshClan medicine cat shook out the scraps of moss and debris from her snow white pelt, giving herself a quick grooming before facing the tasks of the day. Arching her back in a lucious stretch, she ran through all she had to do in her head. Getting up, she shook out her thick pelt one last time before padding to the storage area at the back of her den. On her way, she passed the place where her mentor, Swiftstream, used to sleep. Hunching her shoulders, she looked down at her paws. She missed her black and white mentor dearly. Sometimes it felt as though the responsibilities were too much to bear. Perhaps she should go to the Moon Cavern to simply ask Swiftstream about the dream and the strange cat. Ilexflower seriously considered it, but she couldn't leave the camp with Hawkstar in the state he was in. She would have to unravel the mysterious dream herself.

Looking over her store of herbs, neatly lined up along the back wall of her den in cracks and crevices, she decided to go out an collect juniper. She snagged her claw on a shrivelled berry, rolling it through her paw. They must've been atleast three moons old, she decided. How could she have gone three moons without juniper? Shaking her head at her stupidity, Ilexflower padded out of her den and looked up at the sky. Predawn light filled the camp clearing. The white she-cat loved waking up early because it meant she could get an early start to her duties without any cat pestering her for something or another. The thorn tunnel tugged at her pelt as she left the camp, in search of juniper.

Her green eyes narrowed when she was greeted by Aspenflower, tired and bleeding. The warrior looked as though she had been out fighting, but when Ilexflower padded forward to give her a sniff, she reeked of fox. "Aspenflower, what happened?" she asked, her voice deep and calm. Honestly, warriors sometimes had the sense of newborn kits. What had she been doing out of camp? Was a guard not posted last night? Every cat knew about the foxes that still roamed the territories, for it had caused a war between DustClan and MarshClan. But Ilexflower would not pester Aspenflower. The she-cat was safe, but Hawkstar would not be happy.

[sunnymarie]

[glow=red,2,300]Aspenflower[/glow]

At the sound of her name being spoken, Aspenflower lifted her tired wry head to stare into the eyes of Ilexflower the Mashclan Medicine cat. Aspenflower innerly cursed herself for going out so early this morning as she met the wiser she-cats gaze head on. "Just resting before I head back into camp." She blinked at the Medicine Cat, careful not to show her inner conflicting emotion. Tell her about the dream... the wind blew softly and it was like a voice, ancient and wise, drifted into Aspenflowers ears.

"This probably doesn't matter, but I have been having these awful dreams lately. Well, really one dream in particular but it scares me." Aspenflower couldn't hold back her troubled emotions any longer. Her whole body ached with sadness and pain and she just couldn't hold it in with Ilexflower around. "I was stupid this morning. I went out to Fox Trees before dawn after I woke up from my dream to clear my head. It was dark and I fell into an abandoned fox hole and my paw became stuck between a root and the side of the hole wall. A fox came around while I was still stuck but thankfully I was able to pull myself free. Of course I ran and the beast chased me. I thought I could take it on but it managed to get a piece of me instead. I chased it off though." Aspenflower finished proudly but she wasn't sure how the Medicine Cat would react.

[frosty]

"Just resting before I head back into camp."

"This probably doesn't matter, but I have been having these awful dreams lately. Well, really one dream in particular but it scares me. I was stupid this morning. I went out to Fox Trees before dawn after I woke up from my dream to clear my head. It was dark and I fell into an abandoned fox hole and my paw became stuck between a root and the side of the hole wall. A fox came around while I was still stuck but thankfully I was able to pull myself free. Of course I ran and the beast chased me. I thought I could take it on but it managed to get a piece of me instead. I chased it off though."

Ilexflower's eyes were like two green chips of ice as she held an expressionless face throughout Aspenflower's speech. Were these prophetic dreams? Did the warrior have some kind of destiny she was not aware of yet? Should the dreams be taken seriously? Why hadn't she come to speak to the medicine cat sooner? Well, that didn't matter. The white she-cat wouldn't flood Aspenflower with questions. Merely, she nodded.

"Regardless, it was a stupid thing to do. You should've come to sleep in my den in you're having strange dreams, not out in hte forest when every cat knows there are foxes around. And, you shouldn't have fought off a fox single-pawed. It was brave, but you could have died. Now come on, we're going back to camp so I can treat you. Can you walk?" Ilexflower meowed, padding forwards a few paces in case Aspenflower needed to lean on her shoulder.

She would ask her about the dreams after she was treated.

[sunnymarie]

[glow=red,2,300]Aspenflower[/glow]

"Regardless, it was a stupid thing to do. You should've come to sleep in my den in you're having strange dreams, not out in the forest when every cat knows there are foxes around. And, you shouldn't have fought off a fox single-pawed. It was brave, but you could have died. Now come on, we're going back to camp so I can treat you. Can you walk?"

Thankful for the support, Aspenflower leaned on the medicine cat heavily. She was certain her paw was dislocated if not broken and the bite marks from the fox still bled. "I understand Ilexflower. Yes, I can some what walk. My wrong actions could have gotten me killed. If I tell you about my dreams, would you be able to keep them secret?" Aspenflower limped as she leaned into Ilexflower and they started to head back to camp. Hawkstar couldn't know about her weakness when he himself was not all right. She was still hesitant on whether or not she should share her troubled nightmares with the Medicine Cat. If she told Ilexflower, she would be the one and only cat to know. As they limped, Aspenflower held her breath and waited for the Medicine Cat to answer her empty question.

[frosty]

"I understand Ilexflower. Yes, I can some what walk. My wrong actions could have gotten me killed. If I tell you about my dreams, would you be able to keep them secret?"

"Aspenflower, it's my duty as a medicine cat to care for my Clanmates. If you don't want me telling Hawkstar, I won't. You can tell me anything and it'll be confidential," Ilexflower meowed as they walked, guessing the warrior was nervous about their leader just as much as she was. Something would have to be done about the great tabby tom, and soon. The Clan couldn't be thrown into panic.

As the two she-cats reached the camp, Ilexflower steered the warrior towards her den. Aspenflower would have to be excused from her duties until she was fully healed. And then a patrol would have to go out and make sure the fox had for sure left the territroy. Spotting Sleetstorm and Quilltail sharing a blackbird by the fresh-kill pile, Ilexflower beckoned the two sisters over.

Their vigil had been completed two nights ago, and the two she-cats seemed overjoyed to be warriors at last. Ilexflower was certain they'd be more than happy to go on their first warrior mission. It was a little past dawn, and the patrols wouldn't be going out for a few more hours. When Reedstorm awoke, she would tell him herself that she had sent the two new warriors out. Aspenflower's little adventure didn't need to be made public throughout the Clan.

"Quilltail, Sleetstorm, would you mind doing me a favor? And, don't be spreading this throughout camp," Ilexflower meowed as the black-and-white she-cat and the silver tabby came bounding over.

"Of course, Ilexflower," Quilltail assured her, dipping her head respectfully. "What would you like us to do?" Sleetstorm asked, clearly excited.

"There was a fox spotted in the territory this morning. Could you two make sure it's gone?"

Sleetstorm nodded, flexing her claws. "Sure!" And with that, the pair left through the camp exit, not noticing Aspenflower as they swept by.

Ilexflower watched the sisters leave camp until Quilltail's tail tip disappeared behind the thorn barrier. Turning back to Aspenflower, she jerked her head towards a patch of moss just inside the den, inviting the she-cat to lay down while she looked over her injuries. "Now that they're gone, would you like to discuss your dreams?" she asked, beginning the evaluate the seriousness of Aspenflower's scratches.