A faint half-smile twitched across her face as the duo bickered gently. She could remember the days that she and her brothers did the same, before the jests got progressively less friendly. Too soon, they became insults, then claws. Aspenstar hoped that these sisters didn't have to experience the same thing.

After they said their goodbyes, Aspenstar motioned the she-cat to follow. She didn't answer her question for several moments, until they were safely out of camp and away from listening ears. "We are going on a retrieval mission," she meowed after a moment, once she was sure that they weren't going to be overheard. "NightClan's garden of peculiar herbs is expanding. These herbs, which are only found on NightClan land, will become an invaluable asset to us. I have a connection outside of the territory who is willing to add another plant into the NightClan collection. He will teach us how to grow and take care of the plant, how to use it, and any potential side effects." This was an awfully big job for a normal warrior. These kinds of recon missions, where information was gathered for the good of NightClan. This was a job for Larkspur or Phantomfox, or hell, even Violetglass. Yet, the leader picked Mantisopera.

"I've been meaning to get to know you, and I must assess your skill level anyways," for what, Aspenstar didn't say, "so I figured this would be a perfect time to kill two birds with one stone. You'll demonstrate your aptitude, and we'll be able to chat along the way."

"Very good, that will be helpful," Aspenstar murmured with a flick of her ear. Although cats really didn't often have much of a choice than to come with her when she wanted them to, it was still nice when there was no argument. "This isn't the most serious thing to ever happen, so please don't get too nervous," she then meowed. Mantisopera had hidden most of her tells, but the tone in her voice had given her away ever so slightly. "My first recon mission I was terrified. Now look at me," she meowed with a wink. After a beat, she continued. "There's a method to my madness, I swear."

The two walked at a brisk pace, but that didn't stop Aspenstar from wanting to have a full conversation with the other. "While we walk, we are going to play a little get to know you game. For every question I as, you are allowed to ask me anything in return. I will answer as truthfully as I perceive your answer to be, no matter the question. So, tell me a little bit about yourself, Mantisopera. What makes you tick?" It was an easy first question, right?

Although Mantisopera was right, it was rather generic, Aspenstar could sense the feline's authenticity. In the end, Aspenstar didn't care what the she-cat said, as long as the leader could tell that she was being genuine. That was all that she wanted, cats to communicate and be open and honest with her. "Reliability is one of the best qualities to have, although putting others first sometimes comes at a cost," she responded with a flick of her ear as they walked on.

"A good question," she meowed with an amused purr, before tilting her head. It wasn't one she had anticipated; there were a million things that she was sure her warriors wanted to know, but it spoke volumes that this was the first question the feline decided to ask. "A loaded question, but a good question." She let out a thoughtful hum, before sighing. "Most days I am. On the days where things are good and I get to be around the people I love, there is no position I'd rather be in. There are days, though, where it sucks the very life out of me," she admitted. "But it's fulfilling work, either way."

"If you could change one thing about NightClan, what would you change?" she then asked, as if her answer hadn't been unexpectedly a little deeper.

Aspenstar was appreciative of the she-cats analysis of the current situation; it proved that her hunch that Mantisopera would be good at the tasks that she would inevitably be presented if the leader was to select her. Her guard had two functions. Although some considered it primarily a set of body guards for Aspen and Lark, Aspenstar relied on these cats for advice on strategy and how to push NightClan forward. Being willing to notice and discuss a potential threat was a critical part of the skillset needed to be able to accomplish this second part of the job.

"A good analysis of the situation," she complimented. "If we are being honest with each other," Aspenstar meowed with a flick of her tail, "I genuinely do not believe that DayClan and the Regime serve any functional risk. They are both currently in conflict with WinterClan, and I almost believe I've heard that Shule has been taken captive. Until they are done with that, I don't believe they will have any extra man power to make me concerned about an attack. Dividing an army during war to start a brand new conflict would be a poor strategical decision. That being said, we are watching the situation closely. Phantomfox and Glowstar have become friends, and I trust that he will be able to fish out any sign of conflict brewing."

She then blinked, tilting her head. "Truthfully, I don't know." It was an odd thing for her to say, but she felt that there was no reason to lie. "We are currently allied with SpringClan, SummerClan, and SwiftClan. We have good relations with WinterClan. I haven't seen FallClan engage in warfare since I was born. The situation in MoonClan is tenuous as things continue to change there. The Regime and DayClan are preoccupied. Which leaves us to the two groups that I am unsure about. Although NightClan has not had conflict with Primal Instinct in a very long time, I hear that there is a new leader, and I haven't met him to determine if he shares his predecessor's mindset. At one point, Primal Instinct was a close ally, but I am genuinely unsure. As for SunClan, I think they are an incredible threat at all times. However, I am putting things in motion that will help to create a bond between the two groups. Littlestar and I get along, and sometimes it is important to keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"What is your biggest goal in life? What are you trying to get out of your time before you meet StarClan?"

Aspenstar smiled at the other cat, her tail flicking across the air as they walked. "It's good to stay open to things," she agreed. "Life has a way of throwing unexpected curveballs at you, and its best to take them in stride." Aspenstar intimately knew that that was the truth. After all, she never would have guessed that this would be where her life ended, at least not the way it did. She paused before answering her question, her head tilting to the side. "You could say that," she settled on at last. "When I was younger, I always thought I'd have to work harder, stronger, faster than everyone else. I would have to work my tail off, earn the trust of a leader, be appointed deputy, and go through the motions. That wasn't quite how it panned out." She had worked incredibly hard to get to a position where the position had been offered to her - or maybe, rather, thrust upon her, as she hadn't gotten much of a choice - but it wasn't exactly how she thought her life would pan out. "But, you're right. In terms of status, my biggest goal has been achieved. Bigger than that, though, I just want to see NightClan thrive. We've had a rough go at it, and you all deserve so much better than the hand we were dealt. My biggest goal is to do whatever is in my power to make NightClan into the clan it deserves to be." She sighed slightly. "Not to get all deep on you," she then chuckled.

"What's your greatest fear?" she then asked, clearly trying to get deep despite what she literally just said. Knowing someones fears, though, was often a telling thing.

Aspenstar paused for a moment, letting her tail touch the other cat's shoulder in a gesture of comfort. She longed for a relationship like that. "Mine is pretty similar to yours, it turns out," she meowed with a blink. "I'm terrified that one day, something will happen and the cats I love will no longer love me. I'm afraid to fail and end up completely alone." She frowned slightly. She'd always just wanted to be good enough, but she wouldn't be Aspenstar if she wasn't afraid of not being good enough, of failing those around her.

She then continued to walk, picking up the pace as they entered an open field. "Our company should be joining us soon, this is where we will meet him," she announced, settling into a seated position with her tail wrapped around her paws.

A loud cough announced the tom's appearance. He was a plump little thing, smelling strongly of herbs and plants. Salem was a kitty pet, but he was also a healer, one who had a particular fascination with herbs. He and Aspenstar had crossed paths many moons ago, and he owed her a favor. When she'd reached out for a new poison, he had sent her warrior away with a message: he would arrive at their meeting spot in three days.

"I don't suppose I'm late," the large black thing, probably three times' the small leader's size, mewed, offering an apologetic tip of his head. "You know how it is - these old bones don't work quite the way they used to." As if to emphasize his point, he shook out his front leg.

---

Aspenstar let out a chuckle. "I see you're healthy enough, old man," she meowed, pressing her tail to his shoulder as if the duo were long time friends. How they came to be that was a mystery to all. "Mantisopera, this is Salem. He's a well known apothecary, and we've got the pleasure of working with him this afternoon."

---

"Oh, you don't have to flatter me," he meowed with a smile, before dipping his head towards Mantisopera. "As she said, my name's Salem. It's a pleasure, miss."

"Oh, I'm sure you can," meowed the plump tom, turning to a small bundle of herbs that he had brought. In the bundle were deep violet colored flowers. Silver steamed through the petals. "This, my dears, is a hybrid that I've been working on for quite some time." His head tilted, before he nudged the herbs towards Mantisopera. "Now, miss, I'm going to give you a set of instructions, and you will need to follow them exactly, alright? This is a matter of life and death. Of course," he meowed, glancing at Aspenstar, "our test subject for the day has one or two of them to spare, if you were to make a mistake." His tone of voice was a little too cheerful for the words that he was saying, but he didn't seem to realize that.

---

Aspenstar's mismatched gaze focused on the she-cat. "I trust that you will think clearly enough to maintain safe dosage," she meowed. Part of the arrangement that Aspenstar and Salem had was that if he was going to help her get the poisons, knowing the potentially nefarious use, she had to be willing to sacrifice a life to the pursuit of science. Every thing he gave her, he made her experience the effects of, although he was careful not to give her too much as to actually take a life. This was Salem's way to ensure that the leader's intentions were good; if she was willing to put herself through whatever strange side effects the herbs had, it suggested that she really was collecting for the sake of the clan. Aspenstar was willing to make the sacrifice to prove to him that she could be trusted with his borderline bioweapons.

Of course, though, Aspenstar knew her life was in no danger. Even if Mantisopera did fail to follow instructions perfectly, Aspenstar trusted the tom enough to know that under no circumstance would the warrior be given access an amount of the flower high enough to kill her. No, this wasn't about that at all. It was about two things: one, the she-cat's ability to think clearly through adversity, and two, her willingness to trust the leader that she would not make Mantisopera do anything she wasn't perfectly capable of.

Salem glanced to Aspenstar, who nodded in affirmation, before he cleared his voice. "What I'm going to need you to do is separate three petals. You should cross hatch each petal, so that the juice comes out of the leaf. Be very careful not to use a paw where you have open lacerations; it might not feel too great," he meowed with a blink. The first instruction wasn't that hard, right?