An irritation led astray

It wasn't exactly common knowledge on how to hunt properly in the snow, but Blazingheart wasn't exactly a common feline. As she slunk through the snow, she almost swam through it. She had ducked down enough that the snow covered her back more, and the brilliant ginger cat became blotchy with white. She had caught a faint scent of mouse, and had spotted it, digging in the snow by a tree half on AspenClan and half on TidalClan. Luckily, it was on her half, but one wrong move could send it over the border. She lay buried in the snow for a few moments, just watching and plotting her attack. When she was finally ready, she tensed up before pushing off with her hind legs. She shot forwards, and twisted so her back paws landed on the border, and her front paws pinned the animal against the tree. She quickly dispatched it and buried it at the base of the tree. It was then she realized the air around her was heavy with herbs, and it wasnt a moment ago. Narrowing her eyes, she peered around her, trying to figure out that scent, and finally noticed a strange pattern in the snow a few fox lengths away. How in Starclan had she not noticed the cat?! She raised an eyebrow and sat down, just staring at the cat, on AspenClan territory.

Kindlestep's gaze followed the apprentice as she landed on the mouse and dispatched it quickly. his whiskeres twitched in amusement as the apprentice seemed puzzled to see him there, and the fact she saw him didn't stop him from approaching her " Good morning, you're the first aspenclan cat I've seen on the border in nearly a moon! It's nice to see you haven't completely forgotten about this border. " He rumbled kindly to the apprentice " If you want I can give you something to wrap that prey in to keep it from freezing solid?" he offered, being polite as always his bobbed tail flicked contently as he stopped at the border, digging at the snow till he reached damp yellow grass before sitting down on Tidalclan side of the border. The she-cat had a unique pelt and she seemed friendly enough, she hadn't cuffed his ears off yet so why not strike a conversation? He'd been couped in the medicine den for a bit thanks to apprentices daring themselves to see who could stay in the cold oceAn the longest.

Blazingheart ears flicked, and as she stared at the tom who lacked a tail, she found herself growing irritated. He'd been watching her, for how long? She growled to herself, tail lashing as he spoke to her. He seemed nice enough, and for some reason that irritated her even more. But she kept her anger in check, just glaring at him. "No thank you, I can take care of it myself." She stood tall, starnig at him witn narrowed green eyes. As he sat down, she flicked an ear, blinking in slight confusion, her anger melting away. Wasn't he scared of her? She was an enemy clan warrior, and, judging by his smell, he was TidalClan's medicine cat. What was he going to do, herb her to death? She smiled to herself, and sat down directly on the snow, making a little cup for her to rest in. "What are you dong so close to the border?"

Kindlestep flicked an ear as he watched her stretch her legs enough to make her tower over him a bit and he rethought his observation of her being an apprentice. He wasn't phased by her glare and merely dipped his head " Alright, but if you take some cobwebs and wrap it nice and tightly after killing something it preserves the heat to keep the prey warm longer if you ever change your mind" He suggested. He never felt the need to feel threatened around other cats, knwoing very well his position granted him immunity to be harmed unless he absolutely provoked it, which he didn't think he was doing. He was just chatting and was on his side of the border, so what harm was he really causing? He perked his ears as she asked him why he was so close to the border " Hunting herbs. I get a lot of the herbs around here by the border with the trees providing decent shelter from the snow and the some herbs only grow in the shade of trees so it's a win win. What about you? I assume your not a border patrol, don't those normally consist of more than one cat? Not that you can't handle yourself, I just never pay much attention to how warriors carry out their duties." He smiled in a friendly manner at her, not wanting to come off as a threat. If she decided to attack he'd be screwed.

The warrior snorted, but mentally filed the method away in case she ever needed to impress someone with her amazing ideas. She watched him carefully, still feeling the heat of irritation bubbling right under her fur, but for the most part it was not shown in her body posture. She even went as far as to lift a back leg and scratch at a spot on her neck that had been bothering her for a few days. She made a face as she failed to reach it, and returned her hind leg to its rightful position, nodding at him. "So that would make you Kindlestep then, yes? I believe that is the TidalClan medicine cat's name, unless I am mistaken?" SHe could very well be mistaken, it had been a moon or so since she had heard talk of TidalClan. She watched him carefully, making note of his ability to relax in the face of what could be danger. Still tense, waiting for that signal that would make her remember she was supposed to be mean, she tilted her head at his question. "Me? I'm out here to hunt. Most of our cats tend to stay on the paths, which means this area hasn't been touched since the recent snowfall. Opportune place to hunt. But too many cats would scare the prey away, so I came alone." She was aware that she needed to keep Aspen secrets to herself, but this cat didn't know her, so maybe she could talk to him like a normal cat, and as such, she let her fur finally lay flat once more.

"No, that's my name alright" He purred, dipping his head in hello " What about you? What's your name?" he asked curiously, his attention snapping to a pile of snow falling off a branch before back at the she-cat. He noticed her trying to scratch a spot on her neck with an irritated look on her face and tilted his head, taking a step forward " Are you alright? If you let me I can check what ever is making your neck itch, it'd be best to catch and ticks early and dispose of them if it's that. Or if it's dry skin I'm sure I can find a burdock plant somewhere near here to rub on the affected areas" He murmured, the medicine cat coming out in him as he started looking for signs of burdock anywhere and his mind reeling of other remedies for various things that could be causing her neck irritation.

he seemed nice enough, for a TidalClan cat. Her pride didn't allow her to admit he was nicer than her, however, and so she offered up her name pretty easily. It was respectful, and as a medicine cat, he deserved her respect, at least. "Blazingheart...My name is Blazingheart." She said softly, lashing her tail, now the only remaining sign of her uneasiness. As he spoke of ticks and bugs, she found herself widening her eyes and tensing even more. A look of pure panic came over her face and she froze. A tick? She could have a tick? A bug, attached to her SKIN?! Swallowing, she had to admit she was all for him helping her out. But how to say that in a way that would prevent her from losing face. "Yea, I guess my itch is distracting to you, if you want to help that would be, you know...okay I guess." She swallowed, knowing that was a complete waste of time, and that she must seem ridiculous. But she watched him with narrowed eyes, still not entirly trusting.

Kindlestep smiled again as she gave him her name. Blazingheart huh? Wonder how she got that! He caught the flicker of her orange striped tail lashing behind her. He didn't have time to try and find out why she was lashing her tail when he caught a look of panic on her face and he tilted his head in confusion. What? Was she afraid of ticks? Yea they are pests but nothing more if you take care of them quickly. He couldn't help but let out a purred chuckle as she tried to play off the panic " Thank you, your itch is VERY distracting, I just can't stand itchy cats! The one thing that drives me crazy" he chuckled standing up and taking a step towards her, locking his yellow orange eyes with her forest green " I'm coming over to you to look through your neck fur. You have my word as a medicine cat that I won't try to hurt you if possible, but sometimes ticks can be hard to bite off, okay?" He warned her, before slowly approaching her and sitting next to her, keeping his gaze on hers to let her know he had no intention of doing harm, breaking only to raise his forepaws slowly, showing them to her firrst so she knew his claws weren't out, before gently parting her fur, looking for any signs of ticks, flea's, or rashs. His gaze flickered from her neck to her face, knowing very well she may not like him poking and prodding her neck for too long, ready to jumpback if she got too antsy. " So, I just noticed this, nothing big, but is there a reason you dislike ticks more than the average cat? "

As the TidalClan cat stepped forwards, she tensed up even more, as if that was possible. Swallowing, she nodded at his words, figuring pretty quickly that he didn't fall for her excuse. Kindlestep crossed the scent line, and the only thing that stopped her from lashing out was, well two things. One, he had let her know he was crossing to help her. And two, he was a medicine cat for Starclan's sake, she couldn't go around attacking medicine cats. Thet's disrespectful, and Blazingheart was nothing if not respectful. She sat still as he circled around her, and chills ran down her spine as she felt paws on her back and neck. She bit her lip as he worked through her fur, and she felt she had to break the silence, at least until he did. Then she found herself wishing the silence was back. "Well, I mean, no one likes ticks...and its not so much ticks...just, bugs in general...." She whispered the last part, looking away. She was fidgety, no doubt hindering more than helping, but she couldn't help it. No one had touched her without claws out in moons. She never let anyone get this close, and it was worrying her, but she was showing no signs of aggression. Closing her eyes, she hummed slightly to herself, distracting herself for a moment before a thought popped into her head. "Aren't you too busy with your own clan to worry about an enemy cat?"

He was pawing through her fur when her perked his ears at her answer and he couldn't help but smile as she started to fidget and he pushed his paws on her neck to try and hold her still " Alright, I have to agree bugs aren't the nicest looking things in the world, but you're squirming like you've got em crawling under your skin!" He laughed as he tried to make the best of the situation and went back to trying to look through her fur. He didn't even hesistate as he answered her question " There is no such thing as an enemy cat to me. I'm a medicine cat, my duty is to the injured, sick, those in need, and starclan. Yes Tidalclan is were I'm from and it's my home, I wouldn't leave it for anything, but it doesn't mean another cat has to suffer for it. Yes I am busy with my own clan, that's why I was out here in the first place to gather some more herbs, but you have an issue and I'm already here so why not? " his paws started to move up her neck when it brushed something that obviously didn't belong there, and he parted the fur to find an obviously well fed tick. " Found it. It was a tick. I can crack it with my teeth to get it off or if you're willing we can use that mouse you caught and use the bile to drop it off. I suggest cracking, it does pinch a little but it also saves the mouse for your clan, and food is scarce so a little pain would be better than wasting food yes? " He questioned. He inspected the area around the tick while he waited for her answer and saw the skin was slightly irritated ' I think I saw some chamomile in the tree that could take care of this. . ' he thought to himself.

The urge to scratch her neck was rising again, and as she lifted a leg to persorm such an action, paws pushed on her neck and she stilled. Even her small movements ceased and she found herself pouting slightly. But she remained still, even as he spoke, answering her question. She thought about it as he finished, resisting the urge to shrug. "I guess that makes sense.." Her voice was gruff as she looked away. Though her reaction was much different at his next sentance. A tick, she had a tick! She squealed softly, squeezing her eyes as tight as she could. Crack it or mouse bile? What did it matter as long as it was off of her?! The faster the better. "C-crack it please..." She tried to keep her voice steady, but failed, and her body joined the rebelion, shaking slightly. That mouse would feed at least one or two cats in her clan and while she would hunt on the way home,the more prey she had the better. She sat with her tail around her paws. Her fur was now soaked from the snow melting underneath of her body, but she didn't really notice. The ginger cat was more focused on the yucky icky thing clinging to her skin with its yucky little head.

He nodded when she finally answered and leaned forward to grip the tick in his teeth. He had to adjust a bit, turning his head to the side so that his teeth could crack as much of the tick as he could and he mumbled around the tick " On the counth of thrwee I'm going toh cwackh it. 1. . . 2 . . . 4!" He cracked it as soon as he said four, successfully removing it and spat it out away from the she-cat, covering it with snow after before turning back to her and smiling " All done with the tick! Your skin is a tad irritated from the tick being on there for awhile and I have some herbs to take care of that right over there " he pointed with his nose to his territory and got up to start going over, looking back at her " Come on then! The sooner we get that chamomile on your irritated skin the sooner you'll feel better" he called back to her.

Blazingheart was panicing, but silently. If the TidalClan cat had been infront of her, he would have seen wide eyes, claws digging into the snow, and teeth clenched. But he wasn't, so he didn't notice. She felt him shuffling, trynig to get a good angle to get the tick, and as he counted, she waited for the three. A four came instead, and while she didn't realize it, it still was in the place of three, so she was tensed up. A pinch on her back pulled a slight hiss from her jaws, but with her body to wound up, she didn't have good reaction time. Kindlestep had already stepped back a bit by the time she flailed out, jumping to her paws and looking around. Snow clumped in her fur from where her body heat had both melted it, yet the temperature outside had refroze it, making her look like a pin cushion. She coughed, and watched him cross the border and stared. He wanted her to follow him? Was this a trap? She narrowed her eyes, but nothing so far had led her to believe he was capable of that, so she followed, albiet hesitantly. As she stepped over the border, she looked around, waiting for someone to pounce her. When no one did, her pawsteps became more confident as she joined the tom and looked around. She felt tension in the air, so she did something uncharacteristic of herself, she tried to flirt. And flirt is a loose term. "So...you aren't as mean as we think Tidalclan cats should be,...ya know?" She really was bad at it.

Kindlestep didn't think she was going to follow until he heard her paws crunching in the snow behind him and he let out a friendly purr as she joined his side. He led her through the territory, calmer than most cas would be leading a cat from another clan through your own territory, but he was still cautious, Blazingheart was currently his responsibility, and he wouldn't let her take the heat for his decision. As he led her through the tree's they started to thin out as he headed for where the chamomile grew and looked over to her as she attempted conversation, not really catching onto the flirt part of it " Really? Well would you rather me pin you down and yowl out saying ' She fell for it? ' and cats pop out of no where? " He chuckled, shaking his head " Don't worry, I have enough issues keeping a flailing kit down let alone a well built warrior like yourself. I just don't see the point in aggression, it only ever leads to bad things." He explained. He trotted in the direction away from their camp, almost in the direction if starlight tower, but they would come across a patch of bushes first. He kept the pace easy going as they walked, not really in a rush " What about you? Are all Aspen Clan cats defensive and pocket sized like yourself? " He teased.

As they walked, the AspenClan warrior could hear the crunch of her paws on the snow, but for some reason the medicine cat didn't make a sound. She took the next few moments studying him, and soon realized his gait was slightly off. The next few moments after that were spent with her trying to mimic him, and looking like a fool doing so. But finally she did manage to stumble a few tail-lengths without making a sound, but was then surprised by his next question. Pocket sized?! She felt herself bristling up and she let out a hiss, backing up slightly. The fur on her back stood on end and as she glared at the medicine cat, she found herself struggling not to pounce. She was on an enemy clan's territory, she would be screwed if she harmed him. But she was so angry at him right now, she was shaking. If there was one thing she couldn't tolerate, it was mockery of her size. "It's ot my fault I'm small! It's all Cobra's fault!" Her mental voice became her outer voice as she blamed her exiled father for her size, and it was true. He was the reason she was short,, and also the reason she wasn't always healthy. As she bristled, she was suddenly struck by the urge to scratch. She forgot her anger for a moment and flailed, rolling onto her back, wriggling in the snow to sooth the burning sensation on her neck.

Kindlestep blinked in surprised as she hissed at him and he realized he struck a nerve. If she attecked he wouldn't blame her, he obviously crossed a line he shouldn't have, but if he thought about it if he hadn't said anything then he wouldn't have ever found out, and now he knows to avoid the topic. He was a little more puzzled at her sudden outburst 'Cobra? Must be one of her parents. . .' he thought quietly and turned around to face her, taking a step forward as she threw herself on the ground to itch her neck, and he couldn't stop the odd expression from appearing on his face. He stood there for a moment, with a funny look on his face and his maw parted as if he were going to say something, but his mind faught with itself over her wriggling. He knew she was just trying to get rid of the burning, but the medicine cat in him thought it looked very familiar to a seizure . . . Shaking his head he finally spoke " I didn't mean to strike a nerve Blazingheart. If you ask me, a lot of large cats have gotten a tail kicking from compact cats, it's just convienient that you're also adorable. Small suites you, I don't think you'd be nearly as intimidating if you were bigger, just think of all the things you can do that I can't! Squeeze through tiny places without ripping half your pelt off, chase a rabbit into its hole without your shoulders jamming you half way, dive under an opponent or even around and the risk of you getting hit is a whole lot slimmer you know! Sigh, what I'm trying to say is, if you were my size, I don't think you would have still been you, and I kinda like the you that you are now, you're a breathe of fresh air, a pretty flower in. . ." He looked around at the snow around them before back at her " In a colorless world. . please. . . I didn't mean to upset you. . " He murmured gently. He didn't like upsetting other cats, and he did have to admit she was very interesting, size included!

She squirmed on her back, letting out a sigh as the cold snow made its way through her fur and to her skin, finally cooling off the warmth of irritation. As she stilled, she calmed down, the snow cooling off more than just the itch. She rolled onto her stomach, licking at her chest before staring at the tom in dismay. She could not believe she just did that! The feline must think she is ridiculous! She lowered her head in shame before she realized he was speaking to her. Small suits her? She blinked, tilting her head in a way that just made her look adorable. Pretty flower? She swallowed, feeling her ears heat up and it was a good thing her fur was already orange, or he may have noticed her blush. And he called her adorable! The firey warrior had never had someone call her anything nice, let alone that. But the way that he said it made her realize he didn't mean it in anyway but to calm her down. It slightly irritated her, but she wasn't sure why. She stood and looked down at her paws. "Sorry,...I didn't mean to get angry...You are just trying to help me...and Im just being rude...Forgive me..." It didn't suit her, being nice. She didn't like it, it wasn't normal. But she didn't see a reason to be mean to him, he was nothing but courteous to her. She liked it.

Kindlestep purred at her as she tilted her head, it just made him smile even more, and he didn't know why. He padded over to her and nudged her shoulder gently as she stared at the ground " No need to apologize, it was my fault, I should have treaded a little more carefully on the subject. Look, he chamomile is just over this small hill and I can chew it up and put it on that rash to clear it up " He purred walking forward, but not before playfully pushing her gently with his rump, trying to get her to loosen up a little as he led her up the hill. When they reached the top the Starlight tower could be seen not far off, accompanied with the faint sound of waves from the ocean. "There! See, there are the bushes with the chamomile now" He purred, leading her down the hill " If you don't mind me asking, why don't you like your size? If you don't want to answer I understand, I was just curious" He rumbled, carefully walking down the hill as some sun peeked from behind the cloudy sky and the tom glance over at her, eyes widening. Her eyes, they were a brillian green, and they reminded him of New-leaf, everything fresh and at it most beatiful. His sudden distracted gaze as he walked caused one of his paws to land right in a hole and with and awkward grunt he fell face first into the snow.

She followed alongside him, managing to slowly master the ability that he seemed to have discovered, treading without noise. She was amused by this, but her method of doing it was just odd, and she walked like she had a thorn in her paw. She looked up as he pointed something out and she blinked. She could see the faint glow of something new, and she tilted her head again. What was that tall glowing thing? It was tiny, so maybe it was just a tree with fireflies. Distance didn't occur to her at the time. She could hear a strange sound too, and realized they were near the ocean. That meant she was far into TidalCln territory, and as such, she realized she shoud be worried. But she wasn't, she just felt like following him some more. She treked along behind him, and as a sunbeam seemed to strike across her face, she blinked and looked at him. He seemed to be staring at her, right into her eyes. She blushed again, ears flattening halfway, and a smile slightly rose on her lips. Just as she was about to speak, she noticed him topple forwards. She let out a soft cry of surprise and jumped forwards, grabbing at his scruff with her jaws. She missed, and slid right down next to him, but she at least landed less awkwardly. She sat beside him, looking just a little more poised than him, and smiled at him, giggling softly. A giggle had never come out of her before, but it did this time, and it soon became a soft laugh as she smiled at the bigger cat. "Are you o-okay?" She stuttered slightly, but only because she could barely hold back her giggle.

Her giggles faded and she shook her head, though a smile still remained on her face. "No, you didn't cause me to fall, I just slipped is all." She didn't seem like she laughed? Does that mean she seems cold anf aloof? Frowning, she sighed. Guess that's what she wanted to be like, it seemed to work, it kept most people away from her, and that was her goal. Less cats that got close to her, less chance she would just be left again. She stood and tilted her head at him as he walked forwards. He seemed actually interested in her well being. That..was nice. She smiled at him as she backed up a couple steps. Her neck was itching again, and she scratched at it with a hind paw before tilting her head. "What is cama...camo...uh...whatever it is that we are looking for again?" She asked about something that maybe he would be happy to talk about. She liked hearing him talk, it was calming and nice.

He nodded and sighed in relief when she told him he hadn't caused her to fall. He went forward and looked over his shoulder to see her scratching at her neck again " Keep scratching and it's only going to irritate it even more! Then that will lead to fur loss and you'll have a bald patch and they call you Patchfur insead! " He laughed, leading up to the bushes as she asked her question " Chamomile, they look like minitaure daisys and a bunch grow on one stem " he purred as he started to gingerly dig at the snow entrapped bushes. " They like to grow under these bushes for protection from the harsh winter or even harsh winds. If we can't find any here we can always check by starlight tower for Cornflower, funny name I know but they are VERY pretty if you ask me " He laughed, subconciously babbling.

Bald? No thank you! She forced her leg back down and even gave it a quick bite before realizing he was responding. Daisys...No idea what those are! But she wasn't about to let him know that. "Ahh, right, I think there is some of that in AspenClan..." Now Cornflower? Interesting. She tilted her head again and kept following after him. Finding herself hoping there was no chamomile where they were going, she trotted along behind him, forgetting to keep her pawsteps quiet. She hummed softly to herself, then reached into the back of her head for something more to ask, to keep him talking. His voice really was soothing and she really liked it. She had already figured out anything nice he said he didn't mean it any other way than just to be that. Nice. So she was forcing herself to be the same way. Only nice didn't come that easily to her, so she just babbled right alongside him. "I bet it is, herbs can be very pretty...What's the prettiest thing you've seen before?"

Kindlestep sneezed as he shoved his nose too far into the bushes, getting a nose full of snow. His whiskers twitched in amusement, his upper body still in the bushes, as he listened to her tone, recognizing it immediately and knowing she was only saying that at an attempt to know what herbs looked like " It's alright if you don't know what they look like, I don't expect a lot of cats to know what herbs look like when I bring the up" He called out from the bushes. He quickly scrambled out of the bushes, the branches pulling at him fur but he managed to get out, shaking his fur vigorously afterwards. The prettiest thing he's seen? He thought for a moment, looking back at her eyes and smiled, almost in a sly matter before looking around. He took a quick step forward towards her and whispered in her ear " Your eyes" Before spinning around and trotting towards the ocean happily " Come on! There isn't any chamomile, we'll have to get the cornflower! The truth being why he turned around so quickly was because he didn't want her to see the embarassment on his face at his answer, even though his words were true.

Blazingheart jumped slightly as he sneezed. She hadn't expected the sharp sound and it startled her. But she quickly got over it. As he spoke, voice muffled by the bush, she flattened her ears. He'd seen through her miserable attempt to look smart. Least she was learning stuff from him. She scretched her neck once before remembering his words and regretting the action. She was so focused on forcing her paw down that she almost didn't notice him creep forwards. As he appeared in front of her face, and she felt his breath on her neck, she swallowed. The crackle in her ear was soon followed by her heart, which had almost jumped out of her chest at his words. He quickly turned and walked away, but she was frozen, eyes wide. Mouth open, she watched him silently. The only sound was the beating of her heart, which she could swear could be heard for miles around. She knew he was just saying that, but still...She struggled to her feet and moved after him, though now her movements were automatic. Her face burned as all she could do was analyze the words and how they had been said. There was no way. He was..and She was...but...no, she needed to stop being so silly. She was not a kit anymore, true love didn't exist.

He could hear his own heart thudding in his ears as he continued to pad through the snow, though he grew worried he said the wrong thing after he didn't hear he padding behind him and glanced over his shoulder just as she got up to follow. He slowed down to let her catch up as he cleared his throat " I'm serious though. I bet you have a lot of toms following your tail, strutting straight into a tree trying to get your attention" He laughed as the sound of the ocean slowly grew louder, the snow dwindling beneath their paws to turn into warm sand and the ocean came into view. It wasn't a new sight to him but he paused, taking in the veiw that never got old to him. He glanced over at Blazingheart, nudging her gently " Have you ever seen the ocean before? " He asked in a low comforting rumble.

He seemed to be a bit worried about her, judging by the way that he slowed. Maybe he did care, maybe he meant what he said. That thought just made her a bit more flustered, and she didn;t truse herself to speak. Not to mention the next words from his jaws didn't help her. Lots of toms, I don't think so..."Not likely...more like lots of toms following me, hoping to bash me into a tree..." She muttered to herself, eyes looking off to the side as she glared at the snow. It was so white, all around. She remembered her mother telling her once that cats born with pure white fur were innocent. The more white you had, the more innocence you possessed. Kindlestep has so much white, it suited his personality. Meanwhile...As they passed a small ice patch, the AspenClan warrior looked down at her reflection. Barely any white adorned her own fur, and that too matched. She was anything but innocent. This thought depressed her, and as he asked her about the ocean, she shook her head. "No, never. Not really a good chance to do so in Aspen Terr..." She had looked up, and her voice trailed off as she finally noticed where they were, and the view around them. It was breathtaking....

He glanced over to her as she muttered about the toms and he felt something bubble in his chest, a feeling he didn't have often, anger? He mused over the feeling, why would he be angry? Yes she was very pretty, so why would other toms want to hurt her? He looked back at her as she cut off her own sentence to see her staring at the ocean and couldn't help the smile that crawled back onto his maw " Beautiful..." He murmured, not knowing if he himself were talking about the ocean or Blazingheart, before padding along the beach towards starlight tower. The next patrol wasn't due for a bit yet, so he had no fear of getting caught, being far enough away from the camp for any cat to see them, and they had already passed the training dunes during their diagonal track through the forest so that they came out past it " A lot of cats find sand annoying because it gets stuck between their toes, but it's only because they walk the wrong way. Clenching your paws only makes it worse, it's best to keep them relaxed. " He offered his advice gingerly, not wanting to upset her again " If you think the ocean is breathe taking today, wait until a sunny day, the light ripples across the surface to make the water look like it's dancing" He purred.

She was still staring out at the ocean, and she found herself wondering why the water, unlike almost all water in the clans areas, wasn't frozen over. She almost opened her mouth to ask, but looked up at the tom at the same time. 'Beautiful...' He whispered it, and her ears flicked slightly as she caught him staring at her. Her ears seemed to be in a constant state of warmth, and as he turned back and started walking again, she finally got her breath back. She hadn't even noticed she had held her breath. Shaking her head and muttering to herself about how much of a fool she was, she continued to follow him. It suddenly dawned on her that she was far away from the border, and had no clud how to get back. She was with a TidalClan cat, on TidalClan territory, no where near AspenClan, and easy prey to a TidalClan patrol. As she thought about this, her back itched and she squeaked. She tried to resist scratching as she walked, making her tense as they continued the trek across the sand. Now she was shaking her paws as she walked, trying to get the sand out of them. Then his advice came. She stopped, blinking at him, trying to see if he has looked back at her. But his back was to her, he was just guessing or being helpful. She forced herself to relax and began walking again. That helped a lot! She was happier again, irritation only on her neck not her paws, and she smiled, skipping along faster to walk beside him rather than behind him. "Maybe I'll try to come back when it's sunny then. You can show me the dancing water." Her voice was soft as she looked at him, a new feeling starting to make her heart beat. She didn't understand it, but the thought of coming back to see him didn't seem that bad.

His whiskers twitched at her squeak and he turned his head as she skipped up along side him and purred " I'd really like that." He murmured to her, staring into her eyes. He couldn't help it, they were such a bright shade of green, it was mesmerizing. He managed to pull his gaze away to see they were coming up on the hill on which Starlight tower sat, and they went from padding onto sand to padding back onto snow and up the hill. " So! How did you get your name? Blazingheart could definitely mean a number of things!" He purred. He liked being able to show her some of the key points of their territory, and in reality, was just stalling her stay. He had found Chamomile in the bushes, but something in him made him cover it back up gently so that he could walk and talk with her a little more, hang out a little more. Deep down he knew cross clan friendships were going to be hard to maintain, especially with those that aren't medicine cats, but he saw no harm in theirs. . for now.

Kindlestep's gaze seemed to lock with her's for a brief moment, and in that moment, Blazingheart became all too aware of something she had been confused about up until then. She liked this tom. As a friend, yea he was amazing. He didn't get angry at her, and, though he hadn't seen her upset or angry yet, she had a feeling he wouldn't react poorly. But it wasn't the feelings she felt towards her few friends. No, this one was different. It was like what she had felt towards Coalfeather, all those seaasons ago. It worried her, but she kept silent for now, brushing it aside, instead aiming her attention to his question. Bit personal, maybe, but she saw no reason to withhold the information. It wasn't a secret, least not in her clan. "Well, for one, I'm sure you've noticed my pelt. Then there is my...attitude, I guess. I'm not exactly a Daisy..." She smiled slightly, cracking a small joke, then looked away. "To be honest, I wasn't Blazingkit when I was born. My name was changed to Blazingpaw in my late apprenticeship." She looked at the strange tower befor them, on the top of a hill. She was happy to be away from the sand for now, enjoying the cool touch of snow on her soft pads. She couldn't see herself here often, but if Kindlestep was involved, then maybe it wasn't a terrible thing.

He laughed when she mentioned her pelt and nodded as they came to the tower and he started searching around the base of it for the cornflower as she continued to talk " Really? What were you when you were born? And why did it change?" He had poked his head out from a bush under a lump of snow to ask the question before sticking his head back in, digging furiously. He let out a loud 'HA!' as the many petalled blue flower came into view, it wasn't the biggest one, but it would provide enough poultice to cover the irritated area and he quickly snatched it by the stem and pulled out of the bush. Kindlestep padded back over to her, waiting until she was done speaking before showing her the flower " This is cornflower, I'm going to chew it up and rub it on the irritated area alright?" He carefully spoke around the stem, walking around behind her and put the flower down to pop the petaled part off the stem and started to chew the flower. It definitely had a tang to it, but he was so used to it it didn't phase him and sat up once it was chewed enough and scooted closer " I'm going to just lick it right into your fur because it takes forever to get the smell and taste off my paws if I rub it in so hold still " He murmured around the mouth full of poultice. He leaned in carefully and started to lap the poultice onto the back of her neck.

She was amused by his excitement when they reached their destination and he was able to find what he was looking for. She flicked an ear at his question, then smiled slightly. "I'll tell you that the next time we see each other, deal?" She looked at the herb he held in his jaw, amazed. How is it possible a plant could be pretty? Well, she didn't know but that one was, he had been right. Cornflower, was it. The pretty blue color reminded her of a flower she knew of that grew on a vine wrapped around a couple trees in AspenClan territory. She formed a plan in her mind, then sat down as he moved behind her. She had to admit, she was not a fan of needing help, but as he began to apply the herb to her neck, it caused an instantaneous affect. The burnign sensation that had been bothering her for a few days faded almost completely, and the more he did, the better it felt. Not to mention, th feeling of his tongue on her nape wasn't too bad either. Whether it was the cooling sensation or the licking, somethign caused a strange sound to come from the feline. Well, strange for her. As she sat there, her paws slid out and she ended up in a laying position, eyes closed as she purred. It felt nice. Having someone take care of her, being beside someone without sharing harsh words, and the touch of the tom against her, it was like a dream. She found she didn't want to wake up.

Kindlestep nodded to her answer, now he DEFINITELY had to see her again! He was thinking to himself as he lapped the poultice into her fur, one minute his tongue groomed fur, the next air, and he was puzzled. He blinked, tongue sticking out, mid lick, with chewwed blue petals on his tongue and he looked down to see her purring and. . laying down?? He didn't question it, and crouched down beside her, tucking his paws under him as he continued to groom the rest of the mushed petals into her neck to make sure he covered all of the irritation. Her purring along with the soothing rythm of his grooming her neck starting to make him sleepy and he found a deep purr escaping his own maw. Once he was sure all the petals had been pushed into her fur and onto her skin he reluncticaly pulled away and started licking his maw as he pulled himself into a sitting position, trying to calm his purring before speaking " There! Just tell your medicine cat about it and they'll continue treatment until the red goes away. I .. guess I should get you back to the border huh? I bet your own clan is starting to worry about you and that mouse has probably turned to ice!" He laughed, trying to play off the sudden sadness of her having to return to her clan

Zia: She was pleased to see him agree to her deal, and as he had finished the application of the poulice, she had found herself becoming sad. The reason for her being in TidalClan territory was over, now she would probably be made to go back. Her thoughts were confirmed as Kindlestep sat up. When had he lay down. She thought she could hear a purr from the tom's chest but the sound disappeared. She must have been imagining it. She pushed her front half into a sitting position and looked at him as he spoke about returrning her to AspenClan. The moment was over, it was time for her to go back to the clan she hated, with cats who wanted nothing to do with her. "I'll do that, I'm sure they will help me out..."She had no intention of telling her own medicine cat, she didn't like them and they didn't like her. "Yea, Probably missing me..." They hadn't noticed she had been hunting alone before, doubtful they did this time. But it was getting late, and she couldn't sleep in TidalClan. "Don't you know ice makes things last longer, Kindlestep?" She smiled, playing it cool as she stood up, though her tail dragged on the floor in her sadness.