SAVING PAPER(ALT3)

[amaterasu]

After watching the patrol go, the medicine cat turned his gaze to the nursery. He saw the two kits sitting just outside of it. He leapt off of highledge and headed toward the kits.
He looked at the darker one, inferred she was sleeping, and then smiled at Ivorykit.
"You're quite lifeless today." he purred, "What's wrong? You aren't getting sick, are you?"

[J I N G O]

Ivorykit looked up at the brown and white medicine cat who had padded over. She looked down at her sister who just grumbled and moaned a little (nonsexually), shifting her position. After her sister had stopped moving again, she looked up at Rowanblaze. "I'm fine. But I think Briarkit is broken." she mewed bluntly. "And I've got pretty much nothing to do if Briarkit is broken..." she mewed sadly. She collapsed on the ground next to her sister, resting her head on her paws and staring out at the camp.

[amaterasu]

"Is she now?" Rowanblaze asked, a light laugh in his voice.
He looked over at the black kit, then turned his attention back to the kits sister.
"Well, you can tell her to come visit me in my den when she wakes up. In the meantime, I'm sure you could find some apprentice willing to play with you."
He flicked Ivorykit on the nose with his tail before turning around and padding back into his den. He had much to think about.

[J I N G O]

Ivorykit decided she didn't feel like waiting for her sister to wake up. She sat up again and nudged Briarkit's side. "Briarkit!" she hissed into her sisters ear. "Briarkit, wake up and go to Rowanblaze's den. He's going to fix you." she mewed. All she got was a grumble and a slurred "I dunnwanna.." which provoked Ivorykit to prod harder. Once she managed to get Briarkit to sit up she mewed again, "Rowanblaze wants you in his den."

Briarkit's eyes felt heavy with sleep. She couldn't tell if it was the trek to the moonpool, the insane grief she felt still clinging like a thorn to her heart, or both that was making her so tired. When she processed her sisters words in her mind she stood up on all four legs and stalked sleepily off to the medicine cats den, nearly collapsing three times on her way.

[amaterasu]

Rowanblaze was going through his herbs, trying to take his mind off of things. He wasn't expecting to see the black kit so soon.
"Ah, Briarkit," he mewed, "Your sister complains that you're broken. Are you feeling alright? Up a little too late last night?"
He gave her a friendly smile, but he felt so awkward around his replacement.

[J I N G O]

"Yeah.." Briarkit mumbled sleepily. She yawned a bit and tried to blink the sleep from her eyes a couple of times. It didn't work. She could hardly even think right now. But she figured it was better that way, with what sense she had remaining. Last night all she had wanted was ripped cruelly away from her. But she was hardly awake enough to really realize that, so it didn't hurt so badly. She shuffled her paws on the ground awkwardly, struggling to keep her eyes open and herself awake.

[amaterasu]

"Briarkit..." Rowanblaze muttered after a good three attempts on spelling Briarkit, "We need to talk. I didn't mean to hurt you last night, alright? I was just upset. And you startled me. You know you shouldn't have been out of camp like that!"
He sighed, but continued, "I have already spoken to Foxstar about that though. I need to know, Briarkit, do you really want to become a medicine cat?"

[J I N G O]

Briarkit looked up from her paws and up at Rowanblaze. Her eyes were filled with fear and hope, because the poor little kit wasn't sure if she was really being offered the opportunity to be the medicine cats apprentice. She nodded slowly, her gaurd up. "Yes... I want to train as a medicine cat apprentice, not to be a warrior." she mewed, her voice slow and cautious. She wasn't going to hop directly into a another cruel trick.

[amaterasu]

"You know what comes with being medicine cat, right? Many cats describe us as not having a full life. We can't mate, we are out all night twice a moon to share tongues with StarClan, the rest of the Clan relies on us..."
he let his words drag off. He wasn't sure if he should even be explaining this to a kit. He still didn't want an apprentice...

[J I N G O]

Briarkit felt a little more awake than she looked. She nodded her head. "I know. And that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Don't you love your job? Caring after sick cats?" she mewed, then continued, "The entire Clan respects their medicine cat. The sense of pride and accomplishment I will get will make up for the responsibilities it will bring on." she rambled, but hardly noticed, "I've thought about the medicine cats den since I can first remember thinking at all! I do believe it's what StarClan has planned out for me." she continued to rant. Her words were hardly her own. She barely felt like she was the one speaking.
Then bam. She wasn't the one speaking. In Briarkit's place, there was a ghostly looking cat, with pretty BLACK fur dusted with stars She was nearly see through, and Briarkit's small body was seen inside the cat. She had stopped talking, and now the older she-cat was speaking. "Briarkit is destined for the medicine cats den. You must take her on as your apprentice. You will both learn and benefit from it. StarClan is not trying to replace you." the pretty she-cat meowed, then touched her nose to the air close to Rowanblaze's face. "They're trying to help you."

[amaterasu]

Rowanblaze was startled when he was suddenly comfronted by a StarClan cat. This little kit obviously had power, and he would have no choice but to take her in.
But the StarClan cats words actually comforted Rowanblaze. StarClan knew that he was faking his job! Well of course they knew, they were StarClan! But they weren't mad at him! Instead, they had given Briarkit more as a...gift, more or less.
"I will take her on as my apprentice." the tome sighed, then gave a weak smile to the StarClan cat.

[J I N G O]

The black star-coated she cat nodded her head and purred before slowly fading away, leaving Briarkit on the ground in front of Rowanblaze. She had no idea of the exchange and only looked up at the medicine cat, most of the sleepiness gone from her for some reason. She felt a new wave of hope surge through her, and tried to stop it. She didn't want to fall as hard as she did yesterday. "I wouldn't want the life of a warrior." she mewed quietly, her high pitched voice sounding sad. She didn't want to help the Clan by fighting or hunting, she wanted to heal them.

[amaterasu]

Rowanblaze nodded his head at the poor little shekit. He must have hurt her so badly yesterday, but he had felt so threatened. He still did, but he knew he didn't have a choice anymore.
"I'll suggest this to Foxstar. Would you like to go with me to talk to her right now?"
He licked his paw then brought it over his ear. He felt awkward and embarrased, and he knew that talking to Foxstar wouldn't help him.

[J I N G O]

Briarkit nodded her head. She was a little more sure that she had reason to be hopeful about this, but she was still wary. The decision hadn't been set in stone yet, and until it was, she wasn't going to let her hopes get too high up. "Sure." she said, the sleepiness almost entirely out of her system. She couldn't help the small prickle of hope in her paws, at the thought that the possibility of becoming the medicine cat apprentice became closer and closer to being her destiny.

[amaterasu]

"Come then." Rowanblaze purred. He flicked the kit on her nose with his tail as he exited the den. He climbed up to the highledge and mewed, "Foxstar? I have made my decision."
He walked in without waiting for his leaders permission.
"Briarkit wishes to be my apprentice, and if it is alright with you, I would like to accept."