#quailstripe

[kawamaru]

My newest (and last... for now lmao :D) Warrior Cats OC, Quailstripe! He may seem dreamy but he’s actually quite assertive and hard-working fella.

[whitelupin]

Quailpaw felt a strange sort of peace wash over him when he stepped into the medicine den for the first time. The cave stretched back into the walls of the hollow, and though it should have felt so wrong, he wanted to share the nests here, to rest in what was probably the coldest place in camp.

Snowfire, his older cousin, swept past him to check on the herb stores. It didn’t feel strange anymore to see her eyes flare so brightly to life, and for a ghostly-pale gray molly appear next to her. The former medicine cat sniffed along the row of herbs and pointed out two piles to Snowfire. The white molly picked them up in her jaws and nodded to Swallowfeather before letting the light go out. Swallowfeather disappeared, and Snowfire left the den again.

“You really don’t want to be a warrior?” Sunsplash sat down next to Quailpaw and brushed leaf dust away with his tail, making a spot for the apprentice to sit.

“It’s... wrong for me,” Quailpaw admitted, hesitantly. “I don’t know if I’m meant to be here, either. All I really want to do is take care of the kits, and maybe the apprentices when I’m much older than them.”

Sunsplash nodded. His eyes were narrowed in thought, and his white and cream pelt rippled. He stooped to lick his chest fur into place, and stood to wander further into the den. Quailpaw hesitated for a moment, but followed the senior medicine cat.

“I have enough to handle with Snowfire, at the moment,” Sunsplash finally said, picking through a pile of rough-edged leaves. “The other Clans all have two medicine cats, except for WindClan, and Wildlight isn’t old enough to train an apprentice.”

“I don’t want to leave ThunderClan,” Quailpaw insisted. “This is my home.”

Sunsplash nodded. “I understand. For right now, I think we should keep you in warrior training. What I’m hearing is that you want to be a permanent queen. If you want to defend kits, you’ll have to learn to fight.”

Quailpaw frowned. “I’m awful at fighting.”

Sunsplash passed Quailpaw again, nearly brushing pelts with the young apprentice. He picked through a pile of bright yellow flowers, but Quailpaw could tell his mind wasn’t on the task.

“Maybe I could do something different?” Quailpaw offered tentatively. Sunsplash didn’t look up, but flicked his tail for Quailpaw to go on. “Times change... and maybe I could take up a new role in the Clan, or even in all the Clans. I want to do medicine, I really do, but I love kits.

“Could... could I only help queens give birth? I could travel between the Clans, and help take care of the kits in their first moon. It’s all I really want to do.”

Sunsplash still didn’t look up. “You’d have to learn those techniques from somebody.” He sat down heavily and turned his head halfway to Quailpaw. “I’ll tell you what. Creeksplash in RiverClan is close to kitting. If Salmontail and Pinefur agree- and I’m not saying they will, you and I can go assist in the kitting. I’ll teach you proper techniques, and you’ll be happy.”

Quailpaw’s eyes widened. “So, I don’t have to fight?”

Sunsplash chuckled. “No. Go tell Froststar that I’m releasing you from apprentice duties for the next few days. You need a crash course.”