Don't hunt angry squirrels (closed)

Following Strawpaw into the medicine cat den, Alfalfatuft let out a sigh. Upon being out on a patrol with his daughter, the she-cat had gotten in a tussle with an angry and most likely very hungry squirrel. He tried to break it up but the little beast was addiment on not being eaten and even managed to give the plump warrior some good teeth marks throughout his pelt.

"Next time, we don't try to hunt squirrels that are already angry," he huffed as the two of them entered the den.

"Awe daddy, don't be like that," Strawpaw mewed with a grin as she stood next to him. The squirrel had taken her off guard at first, but it was good battle practice none the less. "We didn't die and that's what matters!" she laughed.

Driftpaw was in the back of his den, carefully removing the herbs from the rock he stored them on so he could sweep off the dust that had managed to collect around them. He had just carefully picked up the leaf that held his poppy seeds when a voice - no, two voices - caught his ear. His ears perked as he turned to hear the end of the conversation, tilting his head as Alfalfatuft and Strawpaw poked their way into his den, mentioning something about not dying. The scent of blood was clear but they didn't look gravely injured at least as he carefully placed the poppy seeds back into their spot.

He quickly grabbed some golden rods and dock leaves, padding over to greet the two. "Take a seat over there," he meowed past the herbs, nodding toward the feather-lined nests that sat near the entrance. He leaned forward to sniff at their wounds as they moved past him, studying the scratch and bite marks that lined their pelts. They weren't from another cat - far too small, even for a kit. He had caught wind of Alfalfatuft mentioning something about not hunting something but he had only started to listen past that point. "And what exactly happened to you two?"

Standing still so that Driftpaw could look them over, Alfalfatuft gave his fluffy pelt a shake as he finished up. "Well, this genius-" just was he started speaking, Strawpaw pushed herself beside him, her olive gaze full of excitement as she cut her father off.

"We fought a crazy squirrel!" she exclaimed with a wide grin on her maw. She loved her father, but wasn't about to let him make their little encounter sound anymore lame than it actually was. "It tried to eat off our faces, but we showed it who's boss, right dad?" she huffed with a confident nod, turning her gaze up to Alfalfatuft in hopes that he caught on.

"Yeah sure, a crazy squirrel," the plump tom mewed with a slightly annoyed sigh.

Driftpaw had started to chew on the goldenrod while waiting for a reply - which perhaps was a bad idea as Strawpaw revealed that they had fought a crazy squirrel, the medicine cat nearly swallowed it. He shook his head, spitting out the poultice as he started to apply it to Strawpaw's bite marks. "A...A squirrel?" he echoed, ears slicking back a little. He knew that outside of the camp was dangerous but did they really have to even fear their own prey at times? "Oh dear...I can't imagine having to hunt one, much less fight one." As he finished applying the goldenrod poultice to Strawpaw, he turned to apply what was left to Alfalfatuft. "You two did manage to kill it, right?" he questioned, truly in awe at the idea of fighting a squirrel. "I would hate for another cat to try to catch it if its still around..." He shook his head, even more relieved that he didn't have to ever worry about fighting. It seemed like a lot - mostly that it was clear that there was even more dangers that he had ever assumed if you had to be wary of prey at times.

"Yeah, it's dead," Alfalfatuft mewed blandly as Driftpaw started attending to their wounds. Wincing at a slight stinging sensation hit one of his cuts, he gave his pelt a quick shake. Great StarClan did he just want to go to sleep in his comfortable nest already.


"You should've been there, it was sooo cool!" Strawpaw chirped with excitement, throwing her head back and almost losing her balance. She tried to compensate for Alfalfatuft's lack in enthusiasm and wished her dad could've been a bit more excitable at times.

A nervous laugh escaped Driftpaw as he wiped off the last of the goldenrod poultice from his paw, giving a shake of his head. "Oh no, I'm think I am happier that I wasn't. Fighting and hunting...That isn't for me at all. I much prefer to be away from the bloodshed - I'm just here to patch you all up afterwards," he meowed, giving the excitable apprentice a small smile. "I know a little how to fight but...Its nothing that I ever want to use. Now hold on, let me go grab some cobwebs." He jumped to his paws, heading to the back of his den as he scooped out a pawful and padded back. Carefully, he spread it across the wounds before he leaned down to chew up the dock leaves into a poultice as well. As he finished, he grimaced as he raised a paw to start coating the hollow scratches that lined their pelts. "This is going to sting a little but after this, you two should be fine," he meowed as applied it as quickly as he could. As he finished, he sat back with a little smile. "Alright, you two should be good. Take a little time to relax and let the wounds fully heal before you both return to your duties - I don't want you see you again because you reopened them, you hear?"

Wincing as the medicine cat apprentice put some sort of leaf on her, Strawpaw did her best to not make a peep. Nodding her head as Driftpaw spoke, she stood up and gave her pelt a shake. "Thanks Driftpaw!" Strawpaw chirped as she bounded out of the den, not deliberately disobeying the orders that were just given to her, but too excited from wanting to share what had happened earlier to her fellow apprentices.




Nodding to what the medicine cat apprentice told them, Alfalfatuft stood up after his much enthusiastic daughter. Giving his paw a quick lick, he headed out of the dimly lit den, not saying anything more than a "hmph." That had been far too much excitement in one day for him and all he wanted to do now was take a nap.