Hawkbite waved his tail with delight about killing two birds with one stone here. The Commander would glance around the brightly lit forest around them and inhale to take in the scents surrounding them. "Well, this is one of the newest parts of our territory. It's been pretty safe so far, but predators love to hide around here so we must be careful. However, I brought you here for something different. An herb," Hawkbite spoke, pinpointing the scent he was searching for.
The Commander led the apprentice further along, his tail tip twitching with anticipation at the treasure ahead of them. Then, a patch of the sweet scented catmint came into view and Hawkbite picked up his pace. "This is catmint. It's my favorite herb to look for," Hawkbite spoke, coming to a halt at the patch of herbs. His gaze shifted over to Bitternpaw, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Take a sniff," Hawkbite gestured, giving the apprentice a moment to do so. The scent was intoxicating to the tom.
Then, the Commander broke his stoic character and dove face first into the herb patch. He sprawled out, twisting and rolling over the patch of herbs with a deep purr erupting from him.
Would Bitternpaw join?
Hawkbite would pause and gesture for the tom to join him.
Then, after a few minutes, the Commander would get back up on his paws and gather up a few of the loose herbs to bring back to the medicine cats. "And of course, we don't waste them!" He chirped, suddenly more chipper than he'd been in a while.
What a more pleasant part of the territory. It was a bit drier than the rest of the somewhat marshy terrain of Shadowclan and the trees climbed up high into the sky, tempting him to just try to climb them. But more training wasn't what they were out here for. Hawkbite tells him that they were out here for something specific... He tilts his head at the eager way the Commander moves through the foliage until they happen upon a patch of sweet smelling herbs.
Bitternpaw had never seen or smelled this kind of plant before. But before he knows it the older warrior is diving headfirst into them and rolling in their scent with a pleased purr. Not... At all what he was expecting. Never had he seen Hawkbite act like this. Was this herb some kind of miracle plant or something?! Did it cast some kind of spell-- or rather a curse-- on the tom to cause him to act like a playful kit?
When the invitation is offered out to him he's hesitant. Nervous that he, too, would lose himself to the magic of this 'catmint'. But Hawkbite did seem to be enjoying it... And if it were something to be brought back to the medicine cats then maybe it wasn't so bad after all? Approaching the patch slowly, tall ears perked and at attention just in case any nearby predators wanted to take advantage of the calm moment, he sniffs at a leaf. A delicious, sweet, wonderful smelling leaf. Almost at once his pupils blow wide and he can't help but rub his face against it's pleasant scent. The first rub is where it all ends.
Though he's not as cheerful as the Commander, he's obviously more lax. Flopping onto his side and continuing to rub his cheek up against the lovely smelling leaves. It's almost as if all his worries were just melting away. It was scary but at the same time... It was nice. Not having to worry so much about everything for once.
Oh, he was delighted to see Bitternpaw partake in the rolling. His tail waved in a pleasant manner before he'd gesture for the apprentice to grab ahold of some of the herbs. "Grab some and we can head back, yeah?" Hawkbite spoke in a friendly manner through the mouthful of herbs he had. His pupils were still dilated with the scent fresh in his nose. The herbs in his mouth held a sweet flavor that his tastebuds couldn't ignore, but he tried his hardest not to chew on them or swallow any of it.
Once Bitternpaw had grabbed some of the herbs, Hawkbite would turn and lead them back to the camp.
[ @Marigoldwhisper - sorry for the delay! feel free to have them head back whenever. ]
FOXFURY
The black she-cat wandered along with the others, letting her orange gaze drift around the territory in morbid curiosity. Usually she'd be chattier, perhaps try to annoy this skittish patrol leader for her own amusement. But this was the first time she'd been out in the territory since her joining, and she was entranced by visually mapping out the land. The pine trees were very different than her temporary territory in the outskirts had been, but somehow she felt right at home. It was perfect for her. Her dark pelt blended in perfectly with the shadowy patches of long grass. Plus there was minimal dust to get stuck in her fur like it had constantly done in the Windclan tunnels. That had been a nightmare.
The probationary warrior stopped behind Mudslide, craning her neck to hear her soft command. "Alright alright alright!" she grinned, angling the opposite direction as the strange molly. However, before she even took a step, Magpiepaw dashed past her, screeching in excitement. Foxfury returned a toothy smile. "That's the spirit, furball," she encouraged. Wait. Oh shoot.
"Hold up!" she called after the apprentice, darting after her with sudden urgency. Eat them?? How dumb were these clan cats? Thankfully the berries that Magpiepaw stumbled upon were out of reach for the smaller she-cat. Phew. Foxfury didn't need a dead apprentice on her paws during the first time she was placed on a patrol. "I'll show you how to climb this, c'mon," she said, leaping onto the trunk and digging in needle-sharp claws. "But don't eat them!" she ordered, "because I'm not lugging your limp body back to camp."
She launched herself up a couple tail lengths with a push powerful back legs, detaching and attaching her claws swiftly. Turning her head over her shoulder, she slashed her tail as a signal for Magpiepaw to follow. "Your turn Mags," she called. "Use your hind legs, that's where all your strength is. And don't forget to move your front ones so you don't trip."
With that, Foxfury bounded up twice more, orienting herself against the bark so that her neck could reach the spindly branches off-shooting from the main trunk. [ rolled a 1/20 for first attempt ] Unfortunately, she overestimated the strength of the neared branch. When she reached out a paw to pull it close, the whole thing split off, plummeting to the forest floor. "Whoops," she cackled, tipping forward a bit with the momentum before catching herself. [ rolled a 1/20 for second attempt ] She tried the next branch, but to no avail. The same thing happened, and a second branch fell out of reach. Why couldn't they have been assigned hunting instead of flower picking?
Foxfury scrambled around the trunk to the other side, hoping to have more luck with the branches over there. [ rolled a 16/20 for third attempt ] More gently, the she-cat hooked a branch with one of her nails and drew it close. With gentle teeth she snipped a small twig of the berries off the stick, careful not to puncture the fruits. Not the ripest, but they'd do. [ rolled a 6/20 for fourth attempt ] The next one was just out of reach. Grumbling to herself, she repositioned again. [ rolled an 11/20 for fifth attempt ] This time, she succeeded in snagging a branch, but in her impatience she accidentally shook a couple of the berries off. Whatever, good enough.
She was about to head back down when a rustling nearby caught her attention. Ooh, a squirrel! Gripping the tree trunk tightly with her back legs, she stretched out across the rodent's branch silently, hidden by the foliage. [ rolled a 13/20 for hunting ] In a swift movement, she brought a heavy paw down. It dashed forward, but not quickly enough to avoid her grasp. It was dragged back by the tail and smacked against the tree trunk abruptly, putting an end to the brief misery.
Juniper branches and squirrel clenched in her jaws, Foxfury began the descent down, shimmying backwards until she was back on solid ground to await the others.
[ +2 juniper branches, +1 squirrel ]
Mudslide
She, Her\Warrior\16 moons\Shadowclan
"I miss the yellow. I miss the yellin' and the shake downs."
Mudslide was still on her quest for thyme, picking and pulling them at every turn, failing at almost every one. Which was obviously disappointing. But she'd stumbled across a few bundles and decided to go for it, viewing it as all or nothing. Nothing was more likely, but she'd rather come back to camp with full jaws. Thus, she opened her mouth and readied herself for a bitter taste of her teeth snapping at nothing.
ROLLING FOR HARVESTABILITY... MUDSLIDE ROLLED A 20
(harvest complete!)
ROLLING FOR CONDITIONS... MUDSLIDE ROLLED A 10
(slightly damaged but usable)
[+3 thyme]
INVENTORY FULL!
Well, that was all she could carry, no jumpier berries but hopefully the rest of the patrol made up for that. Mudslide eventually found her way to her patrol mates, expecting to see the ordinary slow and peaceful nature of a herb patrol. But she was wrong. She watched at Foxfury attempted to climb a tree with Magpiepaw at her tail. She saw how the branches snapped easily, saw how the newly made warrior was quickly running out of options. The fur on her neck threatened to rise but she pushed it back down, breaking out into a gallop towards the two cats taking notice of Foxfury's successful gathering of a few jumpier berries. Great, now please get down. Mudslide knew that not everyday was suited for climbing. Sure, they can all do it, but they could all fall too. Mudslide didn't care about these cats but she still had some level of respect for them. If they both ended up dying on this patrol Mudslide wouldn't know what to do with herself? Cry? Panic? Run?
But eventually Foxfury slid down and so did a very excited apprentice. Mudslide let out a breath she didn't know she holding and held a slightly frustrated gaze to the warrior. Mudslide didn't have to know Magpiepaw at all to know that she was reckless and she was positive Foxfury only amplified her behavior.
Okay. This was it. They were done. She blinked slowly before giving her clanmates a halfhearted nod. Time to go she thought, flicking the tip of her tail in a quick jabbing motion before she headed back to camp.
[Inventory - 5 thyme]
Magpiepaw
She, Her\Apprentice\11 moons\Shadowclan
"Why pick them when I can do it so much better?"
This was going to be great! Magpiepaw was very glad that somecat had the brains to actually offer her some useful knowledge. Magpiepaw knew everything except how to climb a tree so this was a welcome lecture. She was quick to scramble after Foxfury, a wide smile splitting her furry face. The falling branches had somewhat shocked her though, but it added a good layer of thrill! She dodged the falling debris as best she could as she listened to Foxfury's instructions. She'd never been quiet for this long, it felt weirddd. But it's not like she would be able to talk much after she'd get the berries in her mouth so...
"HA! I won't die, I'm sure the berries are completely harmless!" Magpiepaw wasn't sure what they were used for, but they couldn't be life threatening, they were a herb for a reason! They HEAL! For all they knew Magpiepaw could just suddenly develop super strength, that would be cool. She had sure to dig her claws straight into the bark. Not only did it keep her from falling, but it also felt nice her have to claws latch onto something that wasn't a toad.
Once the warrior reached a stopping point, the brown eyed apprentice looked around to see the oddly colored berries and snag some for herbalist. She spotted a few, maybe three, and because she was impatient she decided to reach for all of them.
ROLLING FOR HARVESTABILITY... MAGPIEPAW ROLLED A 20
(harvest complete!)
ROLLING FOR CONDITIONS... MAGPIEPAW ROLLED A 17
(completely intact!)
[+3 jumpier berries]
Since she still had some space left in her maw, the apprentice climbed up a bit more, angling herself towards another bundle. Their were at least three but Magpiepaw knew she wouldn't be able to carry all of them. So, she'd just eat the other, simple!
ROLLING FOR HARVESTABILITY... MAGPIEPAW ROLLED A 1
(harvest failed!)
Perhaps the berries were just being overly stupid and stubborn because as soon as she gave them a good tug the bundle immediately fell from the tree much like the branches that had fallen earlier. Now way could those things be of any use now. Ugh, stupid! The apprentice snarled at the ground below before climbing a bit father up. The early was starting to blur beneath her, but Magpiepaw wasn't a coward, she was an adrenaline junkie.
So, when she saw another line of berries she made haste to grab a few, two this time.
ROLLING FOR HARVESTABILITY... MAGPIEPAW ROLLED A 1
(harvest failed!)
Same thing happened and Magpiepaw watched with scorn as the berries fell and splattered dramatically on the ground. Now, Magpiepaw wasn't the kind of cat to deliberately hold others back (unless she hated them) but this had become a competition now. She was going to get AT LEAST one more berry and then she'd eat the rest! Easy! She tried to grab
one from the nearest bundle her jaws could reach.
ROLLING FOR HARVESTABILITY... MAGPIEPAW ROLLED A 20
(harvest complete!)
ROLLING FOR CONDITIONS... MAGPIEPAW ROLLED A 14
(slightly damaged but usable)
[+1 jumpier berry]
HAHAHAHA! TAKE THAT, YOU LOUSY FRUITS! Magpiepaw grinned triumphantly at her accomplishment while she readjusted her jaw to keep her herbs nice and secure. As if right on que, Foxfury started to climb down the tree and Magpiepaw quickly followed suit. Once her paws finally hit the floor and trotted excitedly up to the warrior. "Stars, that was so fun!" Her voice was muffled and thick with the berries in her mouth but she didn't care enough to repeat herself. Once the patrol leader (she'd honestly just forgotten her name, not Magpiepaw's fault they were so unapologetically BORING!) ushered them out Magpiepaw broke into a prideful trot and followed.
[Inventory - 4 jumpier berries]
(Sorry for typos! It's a bit early lol)
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-When You Grow Up, Your Heat Dies
Re: Dawning Woods
