Sleepy Thicket

[Abyssopelagic]

Palehound gave a small dip of her head to Robinpaw, empathy in her gaze as she recognized the apprentice was older than her. She also seemed to be recovering from the battle as well.
"Alright, let's head out."
She stood and started towards the camp entrance, only slowing to make sure they were following and so they could keep up.

She felt a somber weight press upon her as they neared the Sleepy Thicket. She doesn't think she'd ever visited the grave site before yet somehow it felt familiar, but it could be because the Firefly Cove had been used to bury ThunderClan's dead and the feeling was similar, even if she'd only visited it for the battle there was no denying the atmosphere had been weighted with loss.
Her pace slowed and her eyes scanned the area for any signs of marigold or poppies, pushing aside her previous thoughts. Now wasn't the time.
"I believe we should bring home more marigold than poppies, as each poppy will have multiple seeds and if I remember correctly, the marigold is used more often as well."
2 or 3 poppies total seemed about right, especially if each flower held at least 4 seeds, but in the past she'd collected one with as many as 7.
She gazed back at the other two. Juat because she was the warrior didn't mean she had to take the lead.
"Would either of you like to try guiding the search for a bit? Any area you want to try looking first?"
If both wanted to, she'd let each take a turn suggesting an area. It could, in her mind, be a good build of trust in each other and possible leadership skills, to not just blindly follow the placed authority. If neither did, she had no problem remaining the lead. She wanted to give them both a chance to be heard.

[It wouldn't be until towards the end of the patrol, but would the two of you be alright if Pale briefly breaks away from the group for a personal reason? She wouldn't be gone more than a post or two and in character wouldn't be more than a few minutes] @marni @starry

[taillow]

Fawnpaw
With this being her first moment outside of RiverClan's camp, Fawnpaw took a moment to take in the surrounding area. Everything was so... massive! Large trees sprawled upwards from the ground, thickly leaved branches reaching towards the sky. As they continued further into the territory, the trees grew sparser and instead were replaced by clumps of reeds and damp undergrowth. The smell of rain hung in the air as the small apprentice continued forward, her head turning left and right as her mouth was agape.

Hearing Palehound's instructions, Fawnpaw snapped her head to look at the warrior and nodded eagerly. "Absolutely, Miss Palehound!" Smiling widely at the older she-cat, she once again nodded eagerly before her eyes left to scout the area. She had no idea what either looked like... but that wouldn't stop her from looking!

And... oh boy! They were being entrusted to look?? Fawnpaw felt a little nervous with the task at paw, but she tried to not let it show and forced her paws to stop shuffling underneath. "How about... maybe near rocks? Or clumps of bushes? I... I'm not really sure what either look like." Was it good to be truthful? Or would that get her a mean look? "But! I'm sure I can still find them! We both can - right Robinpaw?" It felt weird - the cat who came with them was definitely older than her, and much bigger as well. She was perhaps the smallest cat on this patrol, freshly six moons old.

Hopefully that wouldn't be held against her as she smiled at Robinpaw, copper eyes glimmering with excitement.

[ @Rainquail @starry - that's perfectly fine! i may use that as an excuse to give fawn her first true experience of the territory dangers if starry is alright with robinpaw being around for that ]

[starry]

@marni @Rainquail [That's okay with me! : D]

Robinpaw followed Palehound and Fawnpaw, staying only a few paces behind. She didn't want to talk all that much - honestly, she was still a little nervous around RiverClan cats. They seemed to have accepted her, but you never know. When they arrived, she smoothed out her fur, sighing at the sight of the graveyard. The atmosphere appeared to be gloomy, and Robinpaw didn't like it. And we have to collect herbs here for the whole duration of the patrol?

She cast nervous glances around the quiet place, but said nothing to her patrolmates. She was probably making a fool of herself. Was she really that afraid? So many cats had died in the Firefly Cove battle. Were they buried here, Robinpaw wondered? Or was there a different part of the territory designated to deceased cats? Still, the Sleepy Thicket almost seemed scary to her.

...Like there was a ghost hidden somewhere.

Ignoring the biting fear, she pricked her ears as Palehound spoke. Robinpaw knew nothing about herbs, so she wasn't going to counter the instructions or anything. All she had ever done was pick up random flowers, hoping they would do something. Then there was something about areas to search in - Robinpaw had no clue where herbs were mostly hidden. She still remembered the descriptions Snakeheart gave them, though, so this would work out fine. Or so she hoped. "What Fawnpaw suggested sounds good to me," she replied hesitantly. "Maybe there's some herbs in the cracks of the rocks." She waved her fluffy golden tail, looking at the others through marine blue eyes.

Then, she caught Fawnpaw smiling at her. At least the other apprentice was nice... Robinpaw offered her a tiny grin in return, whiskers twitching in amusement. Fawnpaw seemed to be excited! She looked around again, then remembered Palehound's previous words. "Honestly... I think... I'd prefer not to guide the search for a bit. Um... I'm not really sure how to do that and... you know the territory better, Palehound."

[Abyssopelagic]

Palehound looked between each apprentice for a moment. She'd thought either of them would have jumped at the opportunity to lead the search, Robinpaw especially. Something about what the older apprentice said made her roll the words around in her head and it took a few seconds too long for her to to come to the possibility Robinpaw was not RiverClan-borne. It made sense, she supposed, as she hadn't believed she'd seen her before her disappearance.
She still had to resist the urge to furrow her brow, instead nodding to Fawnpaw's suggestion. "There are plants that use rocks as shelter. We'll start there." She assumed they might find them there at least, while she had noticed some flowering plants like to nestle in the crannies, she wasn't entirely sure what they needed would be there.

She padded towards the nearest rock formation she could see, nodding to the area she was going to indicate she was moving, pausing to give Fawnpaw time to take the lead if she wanted.
Halfway to it was when she remembered one or both apprentices had mentioned they didn't know what either plant looked like. Admittedly, she only knew them by description and having briefly seen them when– when–
She bit back an unwarranted snarl as the realization hit that Skystar, then Sparrowskip, had been the cat that healed her after ShadowClan's attack. She lowered her head to hide how she struggled to contain the anger that threaten to bubble over, feeling the insistent boil in her belly.
Once she was more composed, she straightened back up and turned her head so they could both hear her, clearing her throat in an attempt to fix the tone of her voice.
"Before I forget, since it was mentioned one of you doesn't know what they look like. Poppies have tall, fuzzy stalks and thin, red petals with a dark center.
Marigold ranges from bright yellow to deep red-orange in colour. They have ruffled blooms that almost look cloud-like."
Palehound hoped it was a good description of the flowers, mostly lending from Snakeheart's explanation. It would have been more difficult for her otherwise.
"If you're unsure, feel free to ask. I won't mind and would prefer to be asked if you aren't quite sure."
She'd rather be asked than not, but chances are, she'd notice at some point before they made it home, but would prefer to not have to correct the apprentices if they hadn't asked. Not that it meant she wouldn't, she wasn't letting them return to camp with the wrong plants.

Now that they could hopefully get an idea what they looked like, the half faced charcoal tabby continued her path to the rocks.
Before theyd even walked directly in front of the rock formation, a small splash of yellow-orange petals from between some of the larger rocks caught Palehound's attention.
"I think we found some marigold," she murmured, mostly to herself.


@marni @starry
[OH no, if nothing else, Pale wouldn't leave them to deal with it on their own once she realizes they couldnt manage to stay out of trouble for just a minute lol]

[taillow]

Fawnpaw
What she had suggested... sounded good? A little trill of giddiness shot through her and stretched her grin further across her face. That was good! That meant she had given the right answer, and on her first patrol no less! Seeing Robinpaw smile too after making the comment only served to heighten her excitement around their outing. Too young to know the tragedies that the thicket was home to, Fawnpaw leaned over to lightly bump the older apprentice with her shoulder - which ended up just being the upper portion of her leg with how much shorter she was. Hopefully they could grow to be friends!

Turning her attention back to Palehound, she noticed that the warrior seemed to be thinking about things, and for a moment her confidence faltered. Had she... not said something right? There was a flicker in the upturned position of her smile, but not enough to warrant any attention as Fawnpaw nodded in an attempt to disguise it.

Soon enough her Clanmate was heading off and seemingly nodding and slowing down incase Fawnpaw wished to take the lead. Nerves crept up and down her spine, but she figured if she didn't go, then it would get reported back to Snakeheart - and she wanted to make him happy! Certainly, an apprentice who didn't follow orders wouldn't make him happy - so with a nod she strode up to the front of the group.

Nothing up ahead was recognizable to her aside from a pile of rocks. Her head snapped back around at the sound of Palehound giving the herbs their descriptors, and Fawnpaw swiveled her ears forward and made sure to listen closely. Poppies; tall, fuzzy stalks and thin, red petals. Marigold; ruffled blooms, can be red or orange or in between. They sounded like really pretty flowers to her!

"Okay, Palehound!" came the chipper voice of Fawnpaw as the fluffy brown apprentice turned around once more and made her way over to the rocks. Her nose twitched as if somehow she'd be able to tell by the sweet smell how close they were. The flash of color caught her attention just as she heard the warrior say something, but her paws were already veering off towards it. "Oh! These are red and orange! Is this it?" Turning her head she looked over at Palehound, copper eyes shimmering with a kit-like curiosity.

[ @Rainquail @starry ]

[Bean]

Lillyfang

The molly sighed as she walked beside the blind elder. Once they got to where her leader was buried, she stopped. She dipped her head. I-I should have been there for you and the clan, and not run away. And, i'm sorry, I should have told you that. She looked up, hoping he was ok In StarClan. She smiled as the Elder comferted her.

Grumbletail

He was sad he had to see Lillyfang like this. As she spoke, he could hear the sadness in her voice. He had lived longer than him. He came to her side and put her tail on her to comfort her. He was a great leader, even though we all question some things he did, we know he cared for RiverClan, Like all of us. We hope you are happy in StarClan. We will never froget you, good-bye. He sighed.

[starry]

@marni @Rainquail [I am so sorry for how short this is aaa]

Robinpaw pricked her ears as Palehound described the flowers. She was pretty sure she remembered Snakeheart's instruction, but it was never bad for her to refresh her memory a little. Both of the flowers sounded magnificent, and she was even a little excited to see them. A small smile formed on her maw as she followed Palehound, who had already found one of the flowers - marigold, wasn't it? Robinpaw nodded, then chuckled a little as Fawnpaw came racing after the warrior. Preferring to keep to her own, the she-cat distanced herself from the group just a little, brilliant blue eyes flying over the stones. It did not take long for her to sight a tall flower with red petals. Was that a poppy?

Delicately, Robinpaw took the herb into her mouth, trotting back to her patrol members. "Is this one... poppy?" she inquired.

[Abyssopelagic]

Palehound followed at Fawnpaw's flank, keeping her steps even but slow enough she didn't overtake the apprentice, pausing a few paces too late as she turned to acknowledge what she'd said, returning to her original speed when the other started back again, briefly glancing over her shoulder at Robinpaw, just to be sure they weren't leaving her behind and was relieved she was still in sight.
She'd hate to lose one of them on the patrol.

She blinked when Fawnpaw sped away, and tilted her head as she watched her go but still following behind, eyes darting back to the flowers when the spotted apprentice asked about them. She stopped a tail length away from the flower cluster, the smell already a tad overwhelming.
"They are..... Nice find."
She reached and plucked a few, not even half of the available blooms and set them to the ground, just so she could speak again, voice unusually soft.
""Be sure to leave at least a few, to give them a chance to make more."
She wasn't entirely sure what the reproductive cycle of plants was like, but Snakeheart had told her something similar the first time she'd been on an herb patrol with him. And it just always made sense to her.

With her flowers in maw, she turned to where she heard Robinpaw call for her and padded a few steps towards the golden cat, to meet her part of the way, familiar red flower in her grasp. She tilted her head to get a look at the center, looking for the tell tale darkened splotch, ears flicking when it was spotted.
..... rather than spitting the herbs back out, she risked mumbling past her mouthful.
"Yesh."
Oh, wow, that sounded horrible coming out if her mouth like that. Nope, nope. She didn't like it.
She set the bundle down because she was not letting her voice sound like that.
"It is, was it the only one?"
One per patrol member might be a good ratio, three total. Maybe a fourth if a few looked low on seeds.

[+3 marigold]
@starry @marni

[Kyo]

Originally Posted by Bean_The_Cat

Lillyfang

The molly sighed as she walked beside the blind elder. Once they got to where her leader was buried, she stopped. She dipped her head. I-I should have been there for you and the clan, and not run away. And, i'm sorry, I should have told you that. She looked up, hoping he was ok In StarClan. She smiled as the Elder comferted her.

Grumbletail

He was sad he had to see Lillyfang like this. As she spoke, he could hear the sadness in her voice. He had lived longer than him. He came to her side and put her tail on her to comfort her. He was a great leader, even though we all question some things he did, we know he cared for RiverClan, Like all of us. We hope you are happy in StarClan. We will never froget you, good-bye. He sighed.

Moosestride

Moosestride, one of the Riverclan Elders, walked up beside them. "He was a great leader. Noble, for one." Her voice seemed tired, and she seemed exhausted. "I know that a couple of cats did leave, I was there! But...you can't change what was meant to happen. Starclan lays out a path, which is hard to change, ha-ha!" Moosestride made a croaky laugh.

"I know it's hard to see a leader pass on...I have seen many things! And many seasons...I think...91 moons! Amazing leaders end up in amazing places, like him." She flicked her tail to the mound. "He's not mad at you, he understands that hard decisions end up with hard effects." Her eyes we comforting, and dull. She did seem ready for a nap.

[taillow]

Fawnpaw
Beaming with pride at Palehound, Fawnpaw gave a little hop of glee. "Oh good! I found some! Now, we have to take it back and give to to Mister Snakeheart so that he can smile again!" Then, her ears moved forward to catch what the older warrior had to say. Oh, okay. So they couldn't pick all of them, but they could pick some! Her gaze watched as she carefully removed the plants from the soil. Brow furrowing in concentration Fawnpaw attempted to do the same, using her paws to pluck them from their resting placed. She left about three there so that there could be more grown later, smiling at her collection.

Her copper eyes followed Palehound as she walked over to there it appeared Robinpaw had located the other plant they were meant to collect. "Great job Robinpaw!" Fawnpaw called across the clearing, waving her tail in excitement. She then looked back at her two marigold stocks with a smile.

[ @Rainquail @starry this is incredibly short and i do apologize ]