[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by Charmer

Shinefang had made up his mind. Once the dawn patrols went out, and the day began, he marched fearlessly to the leader's den and let himself in, peering around the den with his single, orange eye. "Grousestar," he said by way of greeting, as he entered. Shinefang was not the type of cat to observe courtesy, or ask politely for an audience. For one thing, he was far too old to waste valuable time waiting for anything. For another, he was a senior warrior. He'd defended Skyclan for moons upon moons, made the journey to the new territory, and been as loyal of a cat as any clan could ask. He'd done his warrior duty long past the time when other cats his age had retired and joined the elders. His service had cost him several scars, and one of his eyes. Now, for the first time, the old warrior was asking for something back and didn't see any reason why he shouldn't get what he wanted. "I have something I wanted the talk to you about," he began clearing his throat, and triggering a cough. "This seasonal stuff," he griped. He caught his breathe and sat up, proud and straight, his gaze stern and serious, his scarred face grimacing as usual. "As you know, I've served Skyclan loyally for many moons as a warrior. I've done so proudly and fearlessly and have defended that clan with my life time and time again. And I wouldn't change a thing about that. I'm proud to serve my clan." Shinefang raised his head as he spoke, his voice alive with triumph as memories of his life as a warrior pooled within him, but just as suddenly, the old cat seemed to sag. "But it's been so many moons..." the tom hesitated, reluctant to admit what he had viciously denied before. "It's been so many moons, that It's hard to keep up with this younger cats. Now I think Skyclan needs me to serve in another way. With Ebonyfrost no longer serving as a medicine cat and those foxhearted Dusk Syndicate cats so close by, we are primed to find ourselves in some real trouble." Shinefang took a deep breathe, ready to make his argument. "As you can tell just by looking at me, I've had more than my fair share of trips to the medicine den in my time. Because of that, I've managed to learn a bit about which herb does what. I may not know as much as a kit trained from six moons, but I can keep wounds from getting infected, stop bleeding and I know what herbs to give for minor ailments. And besides, I may be old, but I can still learn a thing or two from other medicine cats. I'm not saying I'm the perfect choice, but I may be the best we have right now." His argument made, Shinefang sat back, waiting for Grousestar to respond to his proposal.

Grousestar had wanted to get up for his morning walk before the dawn patrols went out but it seems that his body had other plans, plans that apparently meant he wasn't getting enough sleep. It was unnatural for him to sleep this long into the day, and when Shinefang padded into his den he was still lightly tossed into slumber. Only at the call of his name did he start awake, sitting up in his nest with a drowsy, nearly exhausted look on his face. It took a moment for his vision to clear and he could fully see who had approached him in his den, a moment of confusion before realization. The leader had gotten around to knowing the name and appearance of just about every cat in the clan aside from some of the newest kits to be born; to see the scarred face of the veteran warrior was hardly a challenge for him to place the name. Dipping his head lightly, he responded the greeting with a small smile, still trying to fight off the rest of the drowsiness that tried to plunge him back into sleep. "Shinefang."
This tom never seemed like the type of cat to simply stop in for a chit-chat, he had something serious on his mind that he wished to discuss with the leader and so the brown tabby readied himself for whatever it was that the older cat decided to throw at him. "And no cat would doubt that Shinefang.." Grousestar tilted his head slightly, trying to see at what the tom was getting at. Was he about to request to move to the elders den? A shame that such a great warrior should be retired, but it was something that the leader was always happy to do because warriors of that caliber, of that age, deserved their rest. But he knew better than to jump to conclusions, he learned that earlier on in his leadership. And just like that, the veteran warrior suggested something that had hardly even crossed his mind. A replacement medicine cat. The idea that Ebonyfrost had stepped down and left the clan without a medicine cat was startling to the leader and he was still trying to come to terms with it considering she had yet to take on an apprentice and so left no cat to take her place.
Eyes widening a bit at the toms proposal to step up and become the clan's medicine cat, the leader straightened up fully. Mind no longer muddled with sleepy thoughts, the leader flickered his emerald gaze to the den floor for a moment. What the warrior had said was true; he might not have been as knowledgeable as a medicine cat trained by one before, but he could very well be their best option now, and with Leaf-Bare coming up so soon, Skyclan really was running out of time to find a new medicine cat.. Slowly his gaze was brought back to the medicine cat before he slowly nodded.
"I appreciate you stepping up to take the position, and I do believe you may very well be the best option at the moment.. The fact that Starclan gave you the courage and even idea to come here and ask leads me to believe that you are a strong choice to take the spot. So yes, Shinefang, you may.
You may start immediately because Skyclan can't stand another day without a medicine cat, there needs to be some cat there to care for the sick and injured and I am hardly qualified." Beginning to smile again, Grousestar gave a sharp nod to the tom, a little weight lifted off his shoulders now that he at least had a willing cat to be Skyclan's medicine cat.