#s://i~ibb~co/mzh3VmR/avenskitava2~png

A soft groan rumbled through his chest as the tiny papillae of his tongue scraped against the underside of his paws.

They hurt more than yesterday, so much so that it was getting hard to fake that nothing was wrong as he attempted to bound through the show with the same unbothered tenacity of several days ago.

Quietstream had warned him not to spend too long in the snow or he might catch a chill. But he thought a chill meant a cold, or a cough. But no, this was a different sort of hurt.

If Avenskit mentioned it to Quietstream or Mushroomstar they'd surely get all worried and forbid him from playing in the snow for the rest of leaf-bare. He couldn't let that happen!

Rainstorm or Frostpaw probably knew what was wrong with his paw pads. Medicine cats knew all sorts of stuff. If he was lucky maybe they'd just give him a weird herb and he could be back playing later today. As much as he hated eating herbs, this was starting to become just a bit too much.

The biggest problem however was getting to the medicine den.

After a healthy wash, his pads had begun to throb. Walking through the snow from the nursery to the medicine den seemed like a task he best avoid. But. He didn't want to call them here, Quietstream would find out. And if he limped, Berrykit would tease him.

His tail lashed in frustration before the thought hit him.

He could just…roll over there.

Gingerly, he exited the nursery, slowly laying down as if to lounge before stretching his front legs above his head and ever so smoothly rolled himself down the small decline towards the medicine den as an off-colored snow…loaf.

It was a flawless plan really.

The snow slide carried him - more or less - straight to his destination, and with a final few heaves, he rolled under the dry shelter of the formation where the medicine cats did their medicine cat stuff.

While upside-down, he quickly tried to decipher which of the two healers was nearby. Rainstorm and Frostpaw looked a lot alike, and he was pretty dizzy, but the curled ears gave Frostpaw away.

"Um, Frostpaw?" He called out to the apprentice, if the tabby hadn't already heard him - quite literally - tumble in. "Can you check something for me…um…please?" He remembered what his father had said about manners.