Nothing [Open]

[Goldenpaw]

Cedarpaw
And we who listen to the sky or walk the dusty grade
(Or break the very atoms down to see how they are made)

Nothing had happened for a strikingly long time.

At least, that was how it seemed to Cedarpaw. The camp was silent right now, completely silent. It was probably after moonhigh. The apprentice medicine cat couldn't even hear his Clanmates breathing.

Had something happened? He got to his paws. Jaywing, his mentor, seemed to be sleeping perfectly fine, and there were no sick cats in the medicine den right now. Still possessed with this irrational fear, Cedarpaw padded quickly out of the den and began checking around the camp.

The apprentices' den was full of the scents of young cats and the muffled noises of their sleep. Outside the warriors' den, Cedarpaw detected more scents and could hear one of the older cats meowing indistinctly in sleep. Lynxstar's den was wreathed in the leader's scent, and the night's sentries seemed to be in their places. All was well.

The young tom stood in the middle of the camp, breathing deeply to calm himself. Nothing was wrong; all of WindClan was right where it would make sense for them to be. Nothing had happened for a very long time.

But if that was the case--if WindClan was fine--then what was wrong with Cedarpaw?

No, surely he couldn't think that way. He was just trying to take care of his Clan. Like a medicine cat should, you know--being concerned for their welfare, checking around to see if they were all right. Wasn't he?

But what if something really was wrong with him? Or, worse, with the Clan as a whole? It was possible, though he didn't know why it occurred to him. It was just this feeling he had tonight, which had him torn between wanting to calm himself down in order to ignore it and wanting to prepare for the event that something terrible was about to happen.

On second thought, there wasn't anything wrong with being prepared at a time like this anyway. Nothing had happened for a long time, so he thought it might be a good time to check to see that all the supplies they hadn't needed particularly much since the last crisis were still in good shape and well-stocked. In the morning, perhaps he would talk to Jaywing about that. Not now, though--she was asleep as far as he knew, and so was just about every other cat in the Clan.

Calmer now that he had a plan of action, Cedarpaw nonetheless doubted that he would be able to sleep for a while. Instead, the tabby tom sat down where he was and began to groom himself. He was sure he would be an odd sight for any cat who might chance to wake up or walk in, but somehow he didn't really care.

(Or study cells or living things, seek truth with open hand)
The profoundest act of worship is to try to understand

[tallstep]

the lord is my shepherd,
i shall not want

the stillness invited the young apprentice forth into a reverie, a world where anything imaginable was possible and the unimaginable even more so. he smiled to himself, extending his paws and releasing a great yawn of content. his ears twitched in interest, eyes darting back and forth behind his lids. tail twitching ever so slightly, tallpaw lay as an amusing sight, obviously enjoy wherever he was at that very moment. the other apprentices rested calmly along the side of the den, each to their own individual nighttime mental romp. but tallpaw dreamed of something more, something better and greater than anyone experienced. he walked with his father in his mind. no, not a dream from starclan, but a dream nonetheless.

he dreamed of what could have been, what should have been. the three of them in a meadow, his mother grooming herself as she watched her son and mate play in the cool newleaf grass. tallpaw giggled and fell to the ground, rolling over and raising all four paws. his green eyes twinkle with excitement as he swatted at his father playfully. pearbreeze smirked at his son, nuzzling the paw affectionately. "i love you, tallpaw. never forget that." tallpaw smiled wide at his father, for he knew the extent of his love was vast and unimaginably large.

in these places he could have what he always wanted: a complete family. the clan shunned his mother after giving birth to him, as she claimed it was an immaculate conception by her mate, pearbreeze. no one but tallpaw believed her, and he honored his mother with respect and loyalty. even when she almost drowned him tallpaw stayed close to her heart, understanding that her faith went deeper than the surface. if he must be sacrificed for the greater good, than so be it. starclan meant everything to him, and he worshipped and loved his ancestors dearly.

"i love you, too, dad," he whispered softly to himself, slowly opening his eyes. the dream was done, and tallpaw respected that. slowly he sat up and looked around, not shocked most of the apprentices were asleep. but one in particular sat up, wiping himself clean with his tongue and paws. tallpaw flicked his ear curiously, rising to his own paws before striding towards the apprentice. in the moonlight he recognized the cat as cedarpaw. they'd been in the same nursery, but cedarpaw was several moons older than tallpaw. "hello," mewed tallpaw, dipping his head respectfully. "i can't sleep either." he'd never professionally been acquainted with cedarpaw, so he felt a casual hang-out might be too much to ask. "might i inquire why you are awake as well?" his green eyes were warm with curiosity. he padded over and sat next to cedarpaw. "i can give you a paw with that if you wish," the light gray tom offered, only interested in the well-being of this newly discovered apprentice.

[pit]

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Jaywing never really dreamed in her sleep, with the exception of StarClan coming to contact her. Or perhaps they are always so insignificant that she forgets in the morning. She sleeps lightly, quick to wake to subtle sounds. Usually it is not noticeable, for she simply curls a bit tighter into a ball and attempts to blindly grasp for sleep once again. Unfortunately, tonight, sleep seemed to be evading her reach. The medicine cat kept her eyes closed, though, just in case she might doze off. It didn't work.

She dragged her heavy eyelids up, blankly staring at the walls of her den. Sleep blurred her vision and she was too tired to even begin to blink it away. The night before she had spent gathering herbs that were low in her stocks. Perhaps night time wasn't the most practical time to collect plants, but it was always the most peaceful. The warriors standing guard almost seemed as though they would wait for her appearance at night, and they would simply nod and toss a tired grin a her. In the darkness, she had almost no chance of running into any other cat, except for perhaps a quick patrol. She always avoided them, though. Jaywing liked stillness when she was concentrating.

The small gray she-cat snapped herself back to the present, and her petite frame rocked with a small sigh. Well, if she was just going to stare at walls all night, she might as well go collect some more herbs. Jaywing shoved her leaden body off of her warm nest and quietly padded to the mouth of the den. Her pointed ears perked when she heard small voices in the center of the clearing, and she smiled to herself. Cedarpaw must have snuck out of the den without her noticing. Along side him sat Tallpaw, but she couldn't quite make out what he murmured to her own apprentice. She decided herbs could wait and trotted over to the two toms, settling down in front of them, tucking her limbs into her body. Her blue eyes warm, she opened her jaws to speak quietly, as she didn't want to shatter the soft, peaceful air the two had created. "Why hello, my dears," she purred. "What has you two up so late?"

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[Goldenpaw]

Cedarpaw
Maybe we've been living with our eyes half-open

When Tallpaw approached him, Cedarpaw sat up easily and returned the younger apprentice's nod. He didn't know Tallpaw very well, but he was comfortable around his Clanmate. "Hello," Cedarpaw replied to the same greeting.

"I can't sleep either," the other apprentice observed, having guessed the (admittedly obvious) reason for Cedarpaw's sleeplessness. "Might I inquire why you are awake as well?"

"I couldn't sleep," the apprentice medicine cat concurred. "I had the feeling that something might be happening, but I guess it was nothing." He bent his head to lick his chest and paws again, grooming himself in a bid to dispel that feeling.

Tallpaw's next words surprised him: "I can give you a paw with that if you wish."

"Would you?" Cedarpaw meowed politely. He felt he could use a helping paw.

Surprisingly, just about then, Jaywing also emerged from the medicine den. The tabby apprentice dipped his head to his mentor as she settled in front of them and meowed, "Why, hello, my dears. What has you up so late?"

"The camp was too quiet; I wanted to check if every cat was all right," Cedarpaw meowed. He considered telling Jaywing right then and there everything about his experience, but decided that he would rather explain more carefully. Surely she would know that something was up.

Glancing at Tallpaw, he wondered what his onetime denmate, whom he thought he needed to get to know better, was thinking.

Maybe we're bent and broken

[tallstep]

[bg=000000][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=style, width: 445px; font-size: 10px; text-transform: lowercase] his molten green eyes melted into cedarpaw's, a gentle grin tenderly covering his face. of course, there had been a time where tallpaw's dreams involved serving others through good works, specifically medicine. he revered the medicine cat profession and held both cedarpaw and jaywing in high regard. due to difficulties in his own life, tallpaw never dreamed he'd accomplish the ammount cedarpaw or jaywing could, simply because of his inept knowledge of herbs and remedies. however, he hoped that to change in the moons to come, especially as he furthered his emotional and spiritual travels. perhaps there were new ways to heal cats, ways which were more faith-driven than giving them poppy seeds? it just couldn't be that simple, he concluded. perhaps love alone could heal all wounds. medicine, according to tallpaw, did not discriminate, did not differentiate between exterior looks or scent. rather, it sought to mend all creatures no matter their faith or species. he only hoped cedarpaw shared his ideals. having been raised with a very religious mother tallpaw found himself slipping into the faith-seeking role quite easily. tallpaw remembered the nights he and his mother would walk out into the clearing and lay on the grass, belly up, staring at the stars and the heavens above. "one day," she'd purr, turning her head to look at her anointed son, "you will lead the stars in a caravan away from this blasphemic place." he glanced up at her, confused. what was wrong with the forest? but his mother did not reply, simply turning back onto her paws and padding away from him. tallpaw's face change to concern when cedarpaw spoke."I had the feeling that something might be happening, but I guess it was nothing." his emerald orbs flew to the tabby's light olive shades. any feelings were regarded as righteous and fair, so tallpaw couldn't understand cedarpaw's hesitance. "what do you mean?" questioned the tom, less interested in the actual intuition and more in the mental barrier. "your premonition deserves equal respect, my friend. do not dismiss it." he gave cedarpaw a supportive smile and playfully poked his shoulder with a paw. since they were both away, tallpaw saw no harm in having a little fun. however, he easily forgot the task at hand and with a 'aha' moment quickly bent over cedarpaw, combing the fur atop his head with the bristles of tallpaw's tongue. closing his eyes, tallpaw focused on patiently grooming his new friend, calmness washing over him. jaywing's arrival made tallpaw jump in surprise a bit, backing away from cedarpaw. "what has you two up so late?" inquired the ashy brown she-cat. at cedarpaw's response, tallpaw nodded himself, needing not explain his own personal reason for his arousal. jaywing interested him in a way no cat ever could. not knowing much about her on a personal level, but tallpaw was educated in the ways of the medicine cat. somewhat. he observed jaywing from afar, trying to read her expressions and body language. what did she believe in? the same starclan everyone else did, or was she open to other interpretations of the sacred text that was the warrior code? "good moonhigh, jaywing," mewled tallpaw, eager to befriend the one connection he had to starclan. alternate text 1 alternate text 2

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