I Think You Know What I'm Getting At

[TatlTael]

the unfortunate fact is that honesty doesn't always mean truth or answers   
  v  e  r  i  t  a  s

The days wiled away within the tribe at almost a startling slow pace, it seemed as of late. Now that she was accustomed to her life as an apprentice, it seemed things happened the same way every day. Train. Patrol. Train. Hunt. Train. Sleep. If it weren't for her constant fighting with Phenax, she might even have grown bored with her life. Not that she hated it by any means. Veritas was proud to serve the Tribe and Starclan both, and she was certain her pride in her position in life would not fade. Still, that didn't mean every second was incredibly entertaining.

For now, she had a break from her repetitive work as an apprentice. She'd taken the opportunity to have a quick meal from a rather scrawny mouse she'd pulled from the fresh kill pile. It'd been near the bottom. It was cold. Had probably been sitting there all day. Regardless, Veritas bit into her meal, teeth tearing away at the long-dead mouse's flesh. Despite the fact that it wasn't exactly "fresh" as could be, the mouse still set her mouth watering hungrily for more.

Her long tail curled slightly in pleasure as she continued munching away, her eyes leaving her meal to glance at the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. She was seated far enough away to just barely feel the spray from the clashing waters cooling her pelt. It was a bit too chilly, actually, but she rather liked this spot. The grass was especially cozy and plush from the extra water. It was relaxing.

Suddenly she found herself thinking about Phenax's antic again. The fur on the back of her neck began to stand on end in irritation. How could anyone even like her brother? Not only was he a liar, but he was a constant liar! It was all he seemed able to do. Just thinking about it set her on edge. She couldn't understand why Jestinia and Finnegan ever took Phenax's side at all. After all, Veritas never lied! A soft hiss escaped her breath as she polished off her mouse and looked around for something better to do. Something that would get her mind off her awful brother.

word count: 368
tags: open
notes: NONE

[Running]

In a glade some distance from the camp and away from most paths taken by hunting parties or patrols, Umbran sat, slowly grooming his fur. Slowly because he wanted to take his time, and slowly because abrupt movements aggravated the aches throughout his frame. A quick assessment revealed no broken bones, and he had already applied comfrey to his bruises.

While not as horribly undersized as during his youth, the tom was still smaller and thinner than most Tribe cats, with a dusky brown pelt bisected by a white stripe along his spine. Scars sliced along his forepaws, stretching partially along his forelegs. Piercing dark blue eyes opened as he finished, taking in the leaf-littered forest floor before him.

Although well past the age of all the other youths in the clan, the tom was still technically an apprentice. Annoying, but it made sense for a medicine cat apprentice train through at least all four seasons before receiving their full name and responsibilities. He still found it absurd that Peachstone of DuskClan had received her full title and responsibilities at a mere twelve moons. Sure, it was evident from the few times they conversed that the she-cat possessed an excellent memory, but so did he (and frankly he had a higher intellect to boot, in his opinion). He had easily memorized the established maladies, their signs and remedies, the proper times and ways to collect and store herbs and so on seasons ago. The mental rigor and practices required of medicine cats he had also taken to with ease.

Yes, he would take Peachstone’s early promotion as example of DuskClan’s folly, for he was certainly better qualified. It was better than adhering to the foolish idea that she had deserved the sacred title more than him after far less training. A sad consequence of different training paradigms, that was all.

Nevertheless, it didn’t matter. Circumstances had changed, and regardless of what his mentor-former mentor-thought, he must take up that mantle for the good of the Tribe. In the end, his only judge would be StarClan, after all.

His fur stood on end as he recalled how Manyara had the gall to suggest that he was not qualified, that he should continue training under her. By the stars!

Why should he trust her judgment any longer? His mentor had lied to him.

Well, not exactly, if you wanted to be technical. Not mentioning information that wasn’t asked for wasn’t a lie, and he certainly had never asked her, “Hello, have you violated any sacred laws this fine day?”

Breaking a vow, however, was a lie. Perhaps the most dangerous of kinds. The Tribe was founded on vows after all.

A cold calm had settled upon him. There was really no decision to be made regarding his actions. His choices, vows, and beliefs all led to one inevitable conclusion. He would discuss matters with the leader, then take the title of the medicine cat of the Tribe of Storm Winds. The time he took here was merely meant to let his emotions settle. He had a reputation to uphold, after all. Not a flattering one, perhaps, but he was who he was, and he’d rather at least maintain consistency. He’d rather be known as cold, rational and rude than cold but also panicked and shocked when betrayed, rational except in times of stress, and rude. Aberrations tended to be magnified in the minds of others, especially if they came in times of trial. As the Tribe would soon be facing, apparently.

He noticed his claws had sunk into the soft earth beneath him and he quickly brushed them off and sheathed them.

Betrayal was a new emotion to him. After all, Umbran had found up until now his sense of judgment had allowed him to discern deceit and properly assess character. Really, it was fitting then that his first betrayal would be a deep one. He should have expected it.

A void yawned before his paws. Potential and risk.

First the gruesome death of his predecessor. Now his mentor’s unholy pregnancy. Umbran’s responsibility wouldn’t be just to heal and be the bridge between the Tribe and the stars, but to restore the reputation of his position. His words and decisions would have to be well planned and executed.

That is, if StarClan did accept him. Fox-dung it, was that doubt? Despite everything, a part of him still trusted Manyara. Moons of training under her and following her guidance wouldn’t let him so easily cast aside her insinuations that he wasn’t ready. Ugh. Doubt was a truly unpleasant (and thankfully unusual) emotion.

As usual, he found solace, or something close to it, in reason. Logic told him that he was perfectly qualified. Logic told him if StarClan had the clan’s best interests at heart, they were bound to accept him. Leave the tribe without a medicine cat? It wasn’t unprecedented in history, likely, but the context rendered it a dangerous choice. It was bad enough that their medicine cat had disgraced them so-lose all ties and the clans would take it as a sign of StarClan’s fury and disapproval of the Tribe.

Of course, he was only considering the responses of the clans to what they thought StarClan’s intentions were. It was always possible that StarClan would be furious enough that they would deny the apprentice of the one who violated the laws his rightful position. Which was also absurd and unlikely, but given that his mind kept drifting off to unlikely possibilities he might as well draft a contingency plan so he could cast them aside. If he wasn’t accepted he would not live a lie. He would lose his place in the clan and his future. He would be known as the medicine cat apprentice who failed the Tribe, but the consequences of living a lie were worse. In the short term one might seem to benefit, but in the long term guilt, the burden of defending the lie, and the repercussions of the inevitable reveal would far outweigh it. He would not be made a hypocrite. There. Now he could move on.

As he continued grooming, he finished the process of outlining several possible arguments and responses, depending on how the leader chose to react to the news. Pathar did have a well-known bias against toms, but she was no fool. As full medicine cat, he was going to have to get used to working with her.

Well, any more time spent here would be a waste. If Manyara hadn't bothered to tell Pathar yet after all this time, well... Picking up the small bundle of herbs collected as further rationale for his excursion, the bobtail proceeded toward the camp. Despite his small frame, he held his head tall, gait slow and measured. His small tufted tail couldn’t be raised high like other cats’, but he could display every other sign of cold confidence.

The rumble of the waterfall reached his ears, and not long after he emerged into the sunlight around the waterfall’s pool.

[TatlTael]

the unfortunate fact is that honesty doesn't always mean truth or answers   
  v  e  r  i  t  a  s

Truthfully, Veritas knew just how flexible the "truth" was. In fact, truth was only really based on a limited perspective of knowledge. Phenax wouldn't rub her the wrong way were he to lie on accident because of ignorance, but Veritas knew it wasn't so (even if he would claim it to be from time to time). He wasn't honest. He didn't try to be truthful. He was a liar. She suppressed a quiet hiss to herself in her annoyance.

Her wandering golden gaze found Umbran, trotting into camp with some herbs. Her eyes glances across the tom in a quick, silent examination. She didn't know him well, but she'd have to be foolish as a newborn kit to not recognize the Tribe's medicine cat apprentice. The way he walked held a lot of pride, and she was certain he was very smart, else he would hardly be useful in the position of medicine cat. She noted his bobbed tail as a feature that would make him a good liar, however, leaving her fairly wary of the tom. Many felines betrayed their true emotions and thoughts through the movements of their tail without realizing it. She'd noticed because Phenax seemed like the only cat who didn't do so. Perhaps because he had no conscience.

With a quick stretch, Veritas drew to her feet, and padded towards the older apprentice. Vaguely, she pondered why medicine cats stayed apprentices so long. Umbran was young, but bared no signs of adolescence the way most apprentices and even some warriors did. There was simply a vibrant youth in his structure. He might have even been handsome, but Veritas was too young to worry about such things anyway.

Umbran! she called, loping towards the tom with a youthful, bouncing gait, baring something of a childish grin. Despite her sometimes shocking maturity, there was no doubt that Veritas was still a rather young apprentice, only two moons into her training. It appeared mostly in the way she moved and the way she held herself. Anyone could tell that she was on her way to graceful beauty, but right now she was in that somewhat awkward stage where her body almost didn't quite fit the way it was supposed to. Do you need help? she offered. I can carry some of those for you. 

word count: 386
tags: open
notes: NONE

[Running]

Umbran’s eyes narrowed as they adjusted to the sudden sunlight. A quick survey of his surrounding revealed one of the apprentices, Veritas, lounging near the pool of water. He quickly averted his gaze, walking briskly toward the path that wound up toward the camp. Despite his revived resolve and the calm returned to his mind, Umbran really wasn't in the mood for company.

He had only taken a few pawsteps when a lively voice called out his name.

So much for that.

Barely any expression on his face apart from a hint of sternness, the bobtail turned around as the apprentice practically bounced over to him. The picture of unruffled authority. His ear flicked slightly as the apprentice offered to carry his herbs-. Dark blue eyes -.

She did not seem to be one inclined to make this offer for the sake of trickery. From what he had observed of her arguments with her siblings, she seemed to take her name to heart. While he was not overtly social, Umbran certainly found it his duty to keenly observe each of his patients in order to determine how to best deal with them when they inevitably came into his den. Along with his vast knowledge of remedies he could recall the exact medical history of every cat in the clan, or at least, the history since he had begun training along with some general information he was able to pry from his mentor-former mentor.

She was less likely than some of her peers to be a problem; still, he felt a slight, if irrational protectiveness over his cache of roots. Although still requiring further processing before they could be properly stored, they were expertly dug and cut, and he couldn’t help but worry about some cat messing it up, or StarClan forbid, dropping the whole cache during the climb. Warriors did have experience carrying bundles up the slope, given the daily fresh-kill carted up there, but herbs required a more delicate touch.

Well, he would have to adjust and get used to it. While there were taboos against harming medicine cats among the clans, they certainly didn't exist among rogues or foxes, and in times where danger was more prevalent he would have to deal with working with warrior escorts. Sure, the ancestral lands were supposedly protected and relatively safe, yet…

The scars on his forepaws prickled. He would not want to fall to the fate of his predecessor, even if it meant he might have to deal with inane chatter or complaints. Besides, having a warrior to assist him would also increase his efficiency-he was a not a large tom after all, and couldn't carry many herbs at once. Might as well start assessing which cats were least likely to bungle up the job.

The tom put down the unwieldy bundle of roots wrapped in bark on a flat rock a safe distance from the spray.

"Very well," he said, barely any inflection of emotion in his voice. With quick, deft movements he unwrapped the bundle, split the pile of roots into two even sets, and wrapped each set.

[TatlTael]

the unfortunate fact is that honesty doesn't always mean truth or answers   
  v  e  r  i  t  a  s

Veritas' ear flicked slightly at Umbran's response, examining his tone of voice carefully. She didn't like how monotone he was when speaking, as it made it rather difficult to assess his actual feelings for the situation. Even his words didn't reflect his opinion. "Fine" might have told her of his reluctance, but "Very well" wasn't quite so clear as dishonesty. To be frank, though, he didn't seem all to eager to let her help. Still, even if he was reluctant, she was willing to do something if he would let her. After all, May was busy for the time being so it's not like she was going to be training anytime soon.

She followed Umbran as he moved over to a flat rock out of the waterfall's reach. A sort of admiration flickered through Veritas' eyes as she watched him work, swiftly splitting the bundle of herbs into two. His delicacy and accuracy were to be admired, and she couldn't help but wonder what sort of warrior he would have been had he followed that path instead. But even as she considered it, she reflected again on how difficult it was to tell if he was speaking truthfully or not. Suddenly she wasn't sure if she would have trusted him as a warrior, seeing as she hardly trusted him at all as a medicine cat. At least she knew he would heal her should she be injured.

"I've never seen you work before," she commented lightly to the tom. "It's interesting." Feeling no need to explain further why it was interesting, she reached down to pick up one of the bundles.. Her grasp on the herbs was gentle, as to not let her teeth tear through the leaves. It was oddly hard to hold them, and she could feel her pointed grip poking through the outer most leaves just slightly. She frowned slightly and loosened her grip further.

Her gaze turned expectantly to Umbran. Veritas knew where the medicine cat den was, sure, but it was polite to let the actual medicine cat lead the way. After all, he was both older than her and a cat in a very important position. Or training to be in an important position, anyway.

word count: 365
tags: open
notes: NONE

[Running]

"Interesting?" Umbran commented, but said no further. 

As the apprentice picked up the bundle of herbs, Umbran watched carefully. Her grip was careful, although a little tight, risking puncturing the herbs.  Before he could speak a word of reprimand, she had adjusted her grip. He nodded curtly, which for him was a sign of approval. 

He was pleased that she deferred to him, letting him lead rather than bounding ahad. As much as he expected respect-he deserved it, after all-he knew manners had fallen to the wayside among many of his tribemates. He would not neglect to appreciate his due respect when it came. 

"Take care to tilt your head away from the spray," he added curtly, and then picked up the remaining bundle of herbs

While the herbs would need to be washed, having them accidentally caught in the edges of the torrent and torn to the pool below would be rather counterproductive. The stream that cut through the camp pooled into several impressions near the medicine den and sufficed for such purposes.

Stars! He should have been vetting clanmates earlier than this! While he could not have known that he would be ascending to the role of full medicine cat so swiftly, he knew full well that Manyara would have been unable to accompany him everywhere anyway. 

With that he proceeded along the cliffside path that led to the camp.

[Umbran to camp]

[TatlTael]

the unfortunate fact is that honesty doesn't always mean truth or answers   
  v  e  r  i  t  a  s

Instantly, Veritas tilted her head away from the spray of the falls, following Umbran's instructions to the best of her ability. She didn't quite know what she was doing, no, but she would certainly try her best. That was part of being honest, after all. She watched Umbran with thoroughly attentive eyes, unable to speak a response to anything he said with her mouth full of herbs like this. Instead, she silently followed him, eyes glancing back to his bobbed tail as her own tail curled thoughtfully. She didn't know if Umbran was trustworthy or honest, and that tail was getting her nowhere. She'd have to pay more attention to his deadpan expressions and try to find her tells. Surely she would learn something about him while helping him out. With luck she'd learn something useful about herbs too!

//Veritas to Camp

word count: 139
tags: open
notes: NONE