⊱ ────── {⋅. ✦ .⋅} ────── ⊰ Ceruleansky ⊱ ────── {⋅. ✦ .⋅} ────── ⊰
Life had a funny way of doing things, sometimes.
Moons ago she had stood before him and his judgement, a child placed upon a scale of scrutiny and chosen to become something entirely new. She had followed this, faithfully, concealing any misgivings behind a perfectly crafted smile as her paws walked along a path chosen for her as much as it was everyone around her. Questioning this had not been an option - her choices were to rise to the occasion or find her own way. The thought had been one persistent in her mind, even she had never told anyone, but some sense of loyalty to those that settled there kept her paws rooted.
Except, they weren't here anymore.
Those familiar eyes had all passed on and the grief of it all may have still weighed heavy in the pit of her chest and yet still, she lingered. There was nothing to tether her down but still she remained, waking each dawn to join the next patrol on their rotation, eager as any other to see the thaw of spring should it ever come. Ceruleansky had come to accept this life, to enjoy it even, growing fond of those clanmates that had accepted her not all that long ago. Despite not waking to the familiarity of her family, nor having that warm guidance of Fogwhisper, the molly had chosen to stay. It had come to the surprise of the more pessimistic, so sure the one who had been an outsider might've left as soon as what they assumed kept her tethered had been cut free, and perhaps it had even been a surprise to herself.
The soft vapor that parted from her maw against the frigid air twisted above her head like a dance of little ghosts, drifting off into the expanse of the sky as seafoam eyes observed the mouth of the den that had suddenly become her own. The twists and curls of her pelt ruffled in the breeze, carrying with it the whispers of voices unseen, and she would step forward to leave them outside. Through thick lashes the molly looked around, the perfume of herbs and flowers twisting into her locks and beckoning her further inside. No part of her had imagined that she'd be in such a position again, tasked with the duty of medicine and protection of Skyclan itself. In fact, she had grown to accept and find peace with leaving that piece of her behind, starting fresh from a new seed and blooming into her new life.
Perhaps she still was. Not flipping to the start of a finished book but merely placing it down to start a new story. A pale paw reached forward to perfect a bundle of herbs that had grown mishappen, stepping back to stand at the precipice of her new start.
⊱ ────── {⋅. ✦ .⋅} ────── ⊰ Ceruleansky ⊱ ────── {⋅. ✦ .⋅} ────── ⊰
Just as she thought she might have to continue the day solo, there was a small shuffling that alerted her to the apprentice slowly pulling herself out of her slumber. The new healer had made no move to wake her, going about settling in quietly in the meantime and fully prepared to set out and start the day without Laurelpaw if it came to it.
It was not an act of spite but rather some form of allowing her space. If there was anything that the young molly understood, it was the sudden and rapid shifts that life could take whether you were ready or not. Whether you wanted it or not.
Her mind drifted back to her life before Skyclan, raised in that nomadic rogue group and her own ascension within it. It was never something that she had asked for, never something she dreamt about or wanted, but it was the burden she was to bear. In her case, putting distance between she and said burden came with a heavy price. One that Ceruleansky had paid numerous times over, merely to find herself at the helm of her new home in some sort of cruel irony.
And so here they both were, at the whim of fate.
"Afternoon." Her greeting chimed softly through the den, mellow as she pushed forward a herb bundle back into its place. The healer rose to all fours, turning to properly greet her newly awoken apprentice.
Laurelpaw's brisk nature didn't seem to bother her any, head tilting as she peered towards the entrance of their shared den with a brief hum of contemplation. "Anything in particular you want to do today?" She questioned after a moment of running through all of the options in her own head. Instead, she opted to leave the choice in Laurelpaw's court, if she so chose to use it.
🍄Laurelpaw 🍄
That very day where she stood before her clans leader eager to see who she would be lucky to learn the ways of being a true warrior to her clan still played through her head over and over. Watching each and every denmate of hers being given to their mentor she had casted her gaze off to her close friends and even her mother hopefully to get just anyone. Just thinking of all the things she could do and learn and even find by herself truly excited her.
The small molly had been worried that her ceremony would be delayed due to an injury she had gotten while playing with Daykit and Nightkit just a few moons shy of her becoming of age to leave the nursery. She had twisted her paw and spent countless nights being cooped up in the medicine cat den as they did what they could to put her paw back in place and that she would only end up with perhaps a minor limp in her future. Despite that notion she did her best to push through the pain wanting to prove that she was worthy of becoming an apprentice, to one day be one of the strongest warrior the clan would ever see just like her parents are.
But yet to her dismay that was never going to happen, when the time had came for her she had stepped forward, or more so limped up staring happily at her leader as she awaited for the news she had dreamt about for moons. Yet to her confusion both Cherryblossom and Opalsky had stepped forward announcing that Opalsky would be stepping down from her position but would help train when needed that starclan had destined her to be the medicine cat apprentice after all, that because Laurelpaw wasn't of age yet she simply had someone fill in the part and now that she was of age she would be shown the ways of the one thing she despise.
Hearing the words filter from their maws caused Laurelpaw to freeze her breath caught in her throat anger just seething through her small frame as she stayed rooted in her place. How was this fair? She didn't want this, she'd much rather get kicked out of the clan then be one of them. Yet she couldn't object despite the fact that notion of her not having an actual mentor for who knew how long and would have to simply get over that fact.
That was a moon ago since she had been given her rank and somewhere in the middle of it Ceruleansky had stepped in for the role officially and it had been the two of them for the most part. Stirring awake in her nest Laurelpaw blinked open her blue hues her gaze warily shifting about in utter annoyance. She had gone to bed rather late the night before, having it be the only time she could really catch up with her friends she could honestly careless what the molly had to say, did she do her best to sit through the torture of learning how to heal? Absolutely, did she care much about it? Absolutely not.
Letting out a soft sigh she awkwardly plopped up in her nest letting her gaze shift around as she tried her best to see where that feline was and what kind of fun they might hold for her for that day.