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Graysky trotted along the edge of the river, sniffing it cautiously as his patrol marked the borders, though there was really no need to, as no other clan lived nearby. They had heard of five clans that live by a lake, but they were many moons away. Some of them had even originally been descendants of those cats, and their rules are WAY more strict. He guessed it was because there were multiple clans. Rules were rules, he supposed, though most were rules his clan also obeyed, some others, not so much. He raised his head as the patrol moved on and whirled around to catch up to them. He heard Purplecloud and Star-Eater chatting ahead of him, wondering what fathers talk about with their daughters. Probably about toms, he scoffed at the idea. He wouldn’t want to talk about toms, OR she-cats with his father. He shuddered at the thought. How awkward would that be? He flicked a folded ear and jumped in surprise as his sister; Blackstorm padded next to him. “Hey, look at the stars,” she mumbled in his ear. Graysky blinked at his sister, his ear twitching. “What?” He tilted his up to the sky, gaping in awe and wonder at the twinkling dots in the sky. “Yeah, they are bright tonight, aren’t they?” He murmured, his eyes shining in the moonlight. “We should head back to camp,” Star-Eater grumbled, leading the way. Their camp was nice, it was well-sheltered, being inside of a mountain, and they were close to water, and there were plenty of plants, herbs, and moss. The moss was super soft around here, the ground was very fertile and they used the moss for their bedding. Life in the fertile mountains was the best, Graysky thought as he padded alongside his clanmates, making their way back to camp.
Soon, they were back at camp, and Graysky spotted Bluemoon, the Moonclan medicine cat apprentice tending to a scratch on Spacedust. Graysky’s heart raced as he saw the tom. His intoxicating blue eyes and his sleek black and white fur. He felt his blue-gray fur bush up, making him look twice his size. He suddenly felt cold. Graysky’s pads prickled, desiring to talk to him, but he had nothing to say. He would think he was a waste of time if all he wanted to do was talk. He was probably busy healing his clanmates, and he wasn’t injured, unless… He could fake being hurt! But how…? While he was pondering on what he should do, Bluemoon had already finished up with Spacedust and padded back into the medicine den. Graysky sighed, shaking himself out of his daze as he turned and padded up to the fresh-kill pile to take a sparrow for himself. He sat beside his sister; Blackstorm, who was eating a squirrel, to eat beside her. She nodded a quick greeting to him. She didn’t talk much, but she was as loyal as any Moonclan cat. Graysky wolfed down his meal, licking his paws and rubbing them along his whiskers afterwards. Blackstorm was also finished eating, and she left to go make dirt, her black tail waving behind her. Graysky snorted, flicking an ear in slight irritation. Why was she always so quiet? He shrugged, deciding it was normal and turned to look for Bluemoon.
The medicine cat apprentice always seemed so busy, and he never got to have a real conversation with him, with Graysky being a warrior. His heart leapt in his chest as Bluemoon appeared from out of his den once more. Quickly, Graysky faked a pained moan, holding up his paw, pretending it was hurt. Bluemoon’s ears shot up as he turned to study the tom. Graysky held back a wide grin at being noticed as Bluemoon approached him. “Something wrong?” He mewed, his narrowed blue eyes searching for wounds. Graysky’s tail flicked eagerly, unable to stifle his glee. “Uh, I got a thorn in my pad,” he lied. Bluemoon let out a sigh, his ears flicking. “Show me.” Graysky held out his paw and pretended to flinch when the medicine cat nudged it, sniffing for blood or infection. His eyes narrowed, looking at the paw in confusion. “It looks fine, are you sure you’re hurt?” Graysky’s heart almost stopped. He already knows it’s a scam?! Graysky let out an awkward laugh, shaking his head. “Er-no...I just wanted to talk to you…” Bluemoon just stared at him, blinking at him blankly. “That’s it? I could’ve been tending to other cats, and you fake being hurt just to speak to me? What, is it important? Do you have a message from Moonstar? Starclan?” Graysky grew hot under his pelt and he gave his chest fur a few embarrassed licks. He shook his head in response. “I just wanted to say hi…” Bluemoon sighed, shaking his head, but he gave the warrior a small smile. “Well, you could’ve just said ‘hi’. Come, we can chat in my den.”
The black and white tom stood, beckoning to Graysky with a flick of his tail. Graysky felt like he would burst from excitement. He swished his tail and happily padded after him. Bluemoon nodded to poor Skycomet, his mother...who was asleep in a nest in the medicine den. She had a fever, as Leaf-bare would be coming soon. Bluemoon was worried about her, but she seemed to be doing better, he had said. The medicine cat apprentice turned around and nodded to Graysky. “Sit, we can chat while I sort my herbs,” he meowed, turning to his herb stores and beginning to pick each one out and sorting out the dead ones. Graysky gulped. This was what he was trying to avoid! What was he supposed to say? “I-uh, r-really admire how well you take care of our clanmates,” he told him, his whiskers twitching with embarrassment and shyness. Bluemoon let out a pleased purr, turning to the warrior. “I simply want to keep my clanmates happy and healthy, it’s my job,” he replied simply, turning back to his herbs. Graysky nodded, his heart pounding in his chest. “And you’re very good at it.” Bluemoon responded with a twitch of his whiskers and Graysky felt awkward again. “I-I never knew there were so many herbs…” What a lame conversation starter, Graysky thought to himself, mentally rolling his eyes. Bluemoon nodded, looking back at Graysky over his shoulder and giving him a tiny smile. “That’s why training to be a medicine cat is no easy task, a medicine cat has to know, recognize, and remember each herb by its name, and its appearance,” he explained. Graysky admired how interested and devoted he was to herbs and his medicine cat duties. Bluemoon had been trained by his mentor; Bloodmoon, who was Moonstar’s brother. He hadn’t been chosen by their father, the former Moonclan leader; Nightstar, but that had suited him just fine. Graysky was slightly envious, wishing that Bluemoon was that devoted to him. But that was just a selfish thing to think, right? Graysky shoved those thoughts away. He turned to look outside the den. His eyes narrowed, most of his clanmates were asleep. The sky was dark. He turned to Bluemoon hesitantly, he seemed like he was going to sleep after sorting his herbs. He didn’t want to take time away from him. He dipped his head to the black and white tom. “S-sorry, I should be sleeping. I’ll get out of your fur,” he meowed before getting up and padding out of the medicine den. Bluemoon glanced back at the gray tom, a confused look in his eyes. “If you say so. Goodnight. Also make sure there’s no thorns in your nest this time…” he added with a teasing glint in his blue eyes. Graysky felt his pelt heat up in embarrassment. He was teasing him! “Ah-sure, I-I will make sure to do that,” he replied lamely. Bluemoon snorted out a laugh that made Graysky’s heart stutter in his chest. “Night!” He squeaked out, already having enough embarrassment for a whole moon. He shuffled out of the medicine den, the medicine cat’s gaze burning into the back of his skull. Well, at least he didn’t seem upset… He perked up at the thought of the black and white tom enjoying his company. Perhaps tomorrow they could get even closer.