So This is Home?

[Leafshadow]

---Sunset--- Before the half moon--

"Home... What a weird word." Cedarpaw said to himself as he looked around the deserted, dust collecting medicine cat's den. He sat at the very back of the den, alone as usual. Since Monarchwing and Grimjaw had been feeling better lately, they moved back into the warrior's den, where they belonged. The solitary tom made his way over to a crinkled stack of leaves. Well, it wasn't really a 'stack.' All of the dried, ancient herbs left over from who knows when had been shoved and pushed aside to this back corner of the den. No cat had been sent out to gather any new herbs, as even Cedarpaw didn't know where to find all of them.
The cat stuck out a paw and hooked one larger, split down the middle leaf that looked as if it could fall apart at any minute. With a shake of his paw, he dropped it in front of him, looking it over carefully.
"What IS that?" He thought, squinting his eyes in the low light, as the last few rays of sun were disappearing behind the horizon. His pink nose bendt down to give it a sniff. Amazingly enough, the faintest of scents still clung to this pathetic-looking leaf. He sniffed it again, just barely recognizing the uncommon scent.
"I think it's an oak leaf" He said to himself, stepping back to get a better look at the brown shriveled leaf. "It's good for stopping infections," He thought, "But I don't think this leaf could stop anything."
So Cedarpaw threw the leaf aside and pulled out another one, going through the same process. Unfortunately, this den looked as if it hadn't been touched in seasons. This medicine cat sure had his work cut out for him. It was really too bad that nearly half of the herbs Sunsetclan had were too old to be of any use. The task was mindless, it was boring, so Cedarpaw let his mind wander. Home was a strange word. Home isn't one place set in stone, yet you love it as if it's going to stay there forever. This den, this neglected, dried out den, was his home, so to speak. Deserted and empty, it wasn't much of a place to call your own. In reality, this place wasn't his home. His clan, this territory was his home, and Cedarpaw was willing to stay here forever.
"So this is home..." He said looking around again, gaze wandering to the entrance of the den. The cat could barely see the silhouettes of a few cats in the distance. A rush of loneliness hit him like a blow to the stomach. The tom suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to leave this stack half-sorted and get out of this den. Dropping the stale herb between his teeth, the cat almost bounded out of his den, but restrained himself to a gentle walk as he approached the two silhouettes.

[Saberstar]

Monarchwing's ears twitched, the sunlight was fading behind the trees and darkness was swallowing the world into its bleak stomach. Her eyes were fixed on the stars, her body made no movement, ever since she had been healed, her mindset had been completely off Clan duties.

[Leafshadow]

"Monarchwing?" Cedarpaw said quietly, creeping up behind the figure. "Is that you?" He said, squinting his eyes slightly, then breaking off.
"Oh, never mind." He quickly said, realizing that it was in fact the warrior. "Sorry. I couldn't tell...the..um, shadows are.." He continued on in an awkward manner until his voice faded into silence. He glacned around, sticking his head forward ever so slightly to get a better look at the warrior's face.
"Hello? Monarchwing? Are you feeling alright?" He asked. "I can get you some herbs if you're still hurt."

[Saberstar]

Monarchwing looked at the kitten, her eyes soft but her mouth in a hard, black frowning line. "Yes Cedarpaw...herbs would be lovely." she purred, flicking her tail once.

[Echostar]

Grimjaw padded back through the thorn tunnel at the enterence of the camp. His eyes were hollow and bleak. Being cooped up in the medicine cat den for so long had made adjusting back to clan life harder than he had thought. Even his walk in the forest didn't do much. Those foxes that had attacked them. Why were they here? And why were they together? Foxes were solitary creatures who didn't stick together, so why were there three of them? He shook his head, his pawsteps growing heavy. His ears pricked as he heard the soft voices of Monarchwing and Cedarpaw talking on the other side of camp, though his gaze wandered over to Echostar's den. Why hasn't she been out in days? She's the leader isn't she? Why isn't she running her clan? An annoyed growl rose quickly in his throat. Echostar was a great leader. Honest, tough, and feared. But she wasn't acting like herself. And after all that's been happening lately, she needed to get her act together.

[Leafshadow]

((Here, I'll go start another thread that'll be easier for you and me to rp))

[Saberstar]

((Are we still rp-ing on this one?))

[Leafshadow]

((Oops sorry. I was talking to Echo.))

"Oh...uh, sure. I'll get them right away." Cedarpaw said slightly embarassed, running back into his den and feeling all of the piles of herbs carefully placed in each nook and cranny, not at all using any of the dying light. In Sunsetclan, well, sunset was their favorite time to do anything. A little startled, he realized that the herb stacks were starting to run low. He'd have to go on a little herb-hunt later, around moonhigh. He didn't want to wait for morning.
"Here" He said after sniffing through the stacks and walking back to the entrance. "I have some horsetail, in case of infection. Here's a few poppy seeds, in case the pain's bothering you." He paused, gazing up from his deposited herbs and looking at Monarchwing's face. "Why are you frowning?" He asked in a questioning, very young sort of voice.

[Saberstar]

((No problem ^.^ I was just confuzzled XD))

Monarchwing bent down and lapped up the poppy seeds. "You know your thing Cedarpaw...I'm impressed." she meowed, shaking her fur to clear the cold from her flesh. She looked down into his wide, innocent eyes, sympathy tugging at her. "Cedarpaw, do you know why it is so quiet during Sunset here? Why there aren't many of us in camp?" she asked, looking back up and towards the setting sun, the gold and violet sky splashing onto her fur.

[Leafshadow]

Cedarpaw paused, not sure whether to tell Monarchwing that the seeds would also make her drowsy. Impressed with what? He then thought to himself, looking at the she-cat choke down the herbs. The apprentice, or medicine cat, he corrected himself though he didn't feel much like a medicine cat, gazed towards the sun with the warrior. "Umm.." He said, trying to think beyond the obvious reasons. "Because the clan's half the size it used to be?" He guessed, fairly certain that it wasn't the right answer.

[Saberstar]

Monarchwing's whiskers twitched, her eyes still steadily fixed. "Well, you're half right. There was a battle, a long time ago, with the four clans...it began and ended at sunset. We respect the dead here, remembering them and the Clan we used to be, though slowly, we fade away with the wind. Life is much harder now without so many of us." she meowed, solemn and grief-stricken.

[Leafshadow]

"I didn't know that..." Cedarpaw said quietly, not wanting to upset Monarchwing any further. "I meant about the sunset part. I never knew. No one ever talks about it." Especially not Whitefeather. He thought, reminiscent of his former mentor, who would forever live on in his heart. Mentors always held a certain part of any cat's life; they taught them much more than just fighting or hunting or medicine.
"Do you know..." Cedarpaw began to ask, thinking about all of the time he had been away. "Do you know if we're recovering?"

[Saberstar]

"As a Clan?" she asked, looking at the young cat, her eyes soft and swirling with knowledge. "Up until the raid, we were doing okay. Without knowledge of where Whitefeather was, healing was difficult when we got into little scraps...I'm glad you showed up Cedarpaw. I have a feeling your bright heart and wisdom of medicine will help heal this Clan quicker than you can imagine. Without you here, we would never mend, I fear." she purred, flicking her tail on his ear as a friendly gesture.

[Echostar]

Grimjaw padded silently into the Warriors den and curled up in his mossy bed. He had been listening in to Monarchwing's and Cedarpaw's conversation, but now, all those old memories we coming back. The battle, the blood, the lives lost. He sighed, curling his body into an even tighter ball. Clan life was so hard since half the clan had died in the battle. They were stretched to their limits and if there were any more problems, the future of the clan was hazy. Grimjaw's eyes began to burn with sadness. His heart beat faster and battle scenes flashed through his mind, sending waves of cold through his body. The fur on his spine stood on end and his tail tip began to twitch back and forth. Why was moving on so hard? His eye squeezed shut as the bloody scenes washed over his body. He felt like yowling as loud as he could and running through the forest until his mind grew blank. Maybe sleep would help, but Grimjaw didn't believe it. Those memories that haunted him, they would flood even faster once sleep overtook him. He extended his claws to try and release some of his fear, but it was futile. Finally, Grimjaw closed his eyes and allowed sleep to come. He would just have to deal with the hauntings.

[Leafshadow]

"Thanks." Cedarpaw said with a half-frown, not sure how to take the news that his clan might have slowly died if he had not showed up. "It would be nice if I had an actual medicine cat's name, though." He said, thinking. I know I am older than most apprentices...If I was training to be something else I would have my name by now! "I can't remember...no one ever told me. Do you know if I'll get my name from Echostar since I have no mentor to give it to me?"