Dawning Woods

[Aolani]

Yellowtwist led his group of three out into new territory. Dawning woods seemed less ideal than Icy Heartlands (THANKS IDIOT TWO-LEGGED TALL. THINGS?) but complaining wouldn't do him any good. Well, he didn't need to sneak up on herbs. If he did for any reason he would use the unfortunately small amount of shadows laced in the woods. "I'll get the juniper berries. Pigeonpaw. you choose what you want to get and Foxsomething can grab what's left over." he announced, darting to find something. Oh and would you look at that, some blue berries clinging to a bush. He picked a branch and ran back to where the patrol would be.
[ @Luminous @Tallstar - +5 juniper berries]

[Luminous]

Pigeonpaw
[ The Collector and Heightened Perception (smell) active]

Wow.
Amber eyes grew wide with wonder as the grey apprentice followed her mentor, head craned back so far that the back of her skull almost touched her back. I didn't trees could get this big! The spruces near camp were twigs compared to this. Still, this place still (somehow) allowed down more sunlight than most other parts of the territory that she had visited so far.

Her attention was slowly, unwillingly pulled back to the task at paw when Yellowtwist spoke. Right, herbs! "I can take the Lady's mantle one!" she pipped up. "and you look for the elder plant." That was all sorted out, she trotted off to look for the plants.

[Rolled a 9]
A domed bushy cluster of small yellow flowers with large, ruffled leaves at its base was it? Yeah, right there! Tail happily flicking behind her, she bent down under the low spruce tree, head popping up again with [d4 = 4] yellow-flowered plants.

[Rolled a 12]
But time to find more, and over the fresh scent of the Lady's mantle, she could smell something else too. She wasn't sure what it was, but it smelled the same way other flowers did. Like pungent and stuff. Momentarily placing down her plants, she followed the gentle aroma to a bush not too far away. There was [d4 = 1] plant there that looked like how Mossy had described elder! Ok five plants already, but it would be good to find a few more. She had killed it at the herb-gathering event so had to do it well this time too!

____________________
@Aolani @Tallstar
Pigeonpaw is carrying 5 plants out of 8 possible.

[Tallstar]

Foxear-37 moons-
Hmm herb hunting it has been a while since she had been out hunting but she was more than happy to hunt for elder plant “I’ve got the elder plant down she looked around and hoped for the best as she sniffed around she spotted something that looked vaguely like the plant she gave it a sniff ah yes the plant!(Rolled a eight) she picked the stuff up and trotted over to pigeonpaw Need any help I’ve foundt the elder plant

Tags
@Luminous
@Aolani

[Star]

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Iceclaw
White furred tom with pale blue, almost white, siamese points and long, non-sheathable claws. They’re cold! Perhaps they’re ice?
He/Him | 30 Moons | Blind | Aggressive, Harsh, Dislikes other cats
. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.

. 。・゜✭・.・✫゜・。.
Maybe letting a blind cat lead wasn't the best idea, but Iceclaw made it work. With a rather aggressive spin, her turned to his patrolmates and paused.

"I am pretty sure this is where we need to be. Don't correct me if I'm wrong." Iceclaw spoke lowly as he flicked his tail against a tree trunk. Well, this was going to be the easiest place ever to navigate. All he could hear was trees rustling and animals in the distance. The sounds of the leaves, however, almost completely drowned out the noises of the animals. This was getting more frustrating by the second.
He turned back around and ducked his head down, making his was around the trees. Making sure he wasn't straying too far from the rest of the patrol, he tried his best to recognise the scent of the herbs.


{ @Morrigan - @Poprock }
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[Morrigan]

Darkcloud
Shadowclan guard
Purrks: Just a scratch and Shadow fiend(both active)

Darkcloud followed the rest of the patrol through their territory, ears pricked for any dangers that might be lurking in this unknown part of Shadowclan. It was always important to be vigilant, especially when they weren't familiar with this new place. Sparing Iceclaw a glance, she also went off to find what dhe was set on gathering. Moonpaw would probably follow one of them, she didn't care who.

Slipping into the shadows, the guard made her way towards the buzzing sound she'd heard a few moments earlier. A beehive, no doubt. She'd taken it upon herself to collect the item with the most risks. She found what she was searching for soon enough. The golden honeycomb heavily guarded by honeybees with a nasty sting was her prize. A difficult resource to attain due to the chance of getting attacked by the yellow and black insects.

Waiting a moment, Darkcloud struck. Still cloaked in shadows, she swiftly reached a paw into the hive a clawed out a bundle of honeycomb, the sticky liquid coating her fur as she retreated. The bees were left in a frenzy, and a few manged to sink their stingers into her flesh but she escaped mostly unscathed. She got of lucky this time; Darkcloud could resist a small amount of pain but anything more she would feel. Leaving the shadows, she Returned to the last place the patrol had met, she waited for her clanmates with a mouth full of honeycomb.

(+3 Honeycomb)

@Starphobia @Poprock

[squidz]

~ BRIARSPLASH ~
very large & fluffy dilute gray tortie she-cat with goldish-green eyes
[ shadowclan warrior | she-cat | 26 moons | abrasive, standoffish, loyal ]

~

When Briarsplash arrived, the first thing she noted were the massive evergreen trees. The she-cat's head angled up as she took in the impressive size, eyes glinting in the sunlight. It was less... shady, here. But that was alright; Briar had never been one to be too good at slinking in the shadows, despite her home Clan, from her lack of graceful coordination and her hulking size. Just more reasons as to why she'd stick out as a non-Clanborn cat, but hey, at least it wouldn't do anyone else much good here either.

She tasted the air, grateful to be filled with the faint scent trails of critters like mice, lizards, birds, squirrels... they should have plenty to choose from. Glancing back at her patrol as they arrived, she meowed in her surprisingly soft voice, "Alright... Mistlewhisker asked us to mark the borders while we're here. Make sure you get to that 'n catch as much prey as you can. We can meet back here when we're done. Don't be late."There was no way she was going to want to report her first leading patrol late.

And... it felt good to be the one ordering around for once (even though it was just an ordinary part of patrols, anyway). A bit of her was daunted by it, but the greater part of her felt a little thrill in her chest. After saying her piece, the large she-cat dipped her head and bounded off towards the north. She immediately began marking her scent all over the trees as she narrowed her eyes, pinpointing a lizard in the near distance.

[Roll: 13 | Success]

The creature was a little dumb, so it wasn't too hard for Briarsplash to slam her paw down on the critter as it scuttled right in front of her. Chuckling with amusement, she scraped some dirt over it to hide the bounty and padded forward, heading for the next chunk of trees to mark and hunt in.

[+1 lizard]

[ @Mica - Hillstrider @Eden - Wispypaw ]

[Luminous]

Pigeonpaw
[ The Collector and Heightened Perception (smell) active]

She glanced over at her two patrol mates, who both seemed to have gathered plants already. As had Pigeonpaw, already carrying 5 plants total... but she had always had a knack for finding things and carrying many items at once so...

[Rolled a 5]
Yelly seemed to already be preparing to go back, but Pigeonpaw quickly darted over to another bush to peek around it, hoping to find a few more herbs (she could maybe carry like three more? But then she would definitely be at max). Argh, nothing.

[Rolled a 10]
Quickly shooting the two others another look... would she have time to search more before they had to head back? She decided that the answer was yes, but this time she put down the herbs she was carrying to be able to sniff the air it took a heartbeat before she managed to pick up on the sweet scent of herbs again, recognizing it as elder once again, and darting after it. She trotted back with [d4 = 3] more elder plants before picking up the rest of her herbs and skipping after the two older cats.

[Kix]

Wispypaw
I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere
But you can't catch me now
+ she/her + No purrks

Wispypaw said nothing as she followed after Briarsplash just followed after their footsteps that she could listen for. She didn't bother to look up at the supposedly towering trees or their surroundings. There is no point to it if you can't even see it with your own eyes so she never bothered to 'look' around like others did. What she could do was smell the air around them and take in all sorts of scents, like wandering prey or plants. She wasn't sure where the territory borders should even be marked, how does one know when their territory should end? She'd be fine with hunting since she got that lesson thanks to Fenneldrop, even if the other sounded unsure of it all. Wispypaw was utterly lost on the marking part, she hadn't really been on any kind of border patrol or anything like that before. Dark blue glazed eyes just stared blankly at where Briarsplash was standing before they went off, she didn't even get to ask her question. "Humpf" she pouted, well she could get her answer from her other patrol mate, maybe they'd know.

"Hillstrider, right?" she quickly addressed them, trying to not give them a chance to run off too. No way would she let them get away, she wanted answers and she'd get them one way or another. "How would I go about 'marking' the territory border? Like how far do we even go?" she questioned him. If no one know she'd probably would go as far as she physically could, why not let the clan have more land for themselves. Yet she had a feeling that some wouldn't appreciate her doing just that so she sucked it up and ask instead of doing.

@squidz @Mica

Header made by Marigold

[Poprock]

Moonpaw trudged along behind his mentor and Iceclaw, eyes darting all around the territory. Was Quietpaw watching him right now too? Waiting for him to mess up? Was Mirepaw waiting to tattle on him? Was he going to have to be a purrfect little prince forever??? NO! He couldn't be!!! He had a PROPHECY!!!!

The apprentice huffed when the older cats stopped, realizing it was time to gather herbs. Quickly he located some honeycomb, yanking it into his mouth and stomping back over to his group. He just wanted to go HOME.

@Starphobia @Morrigan

[Mica]

Hillstrider
ShadowClan
he/him | 20 moons
[Big fluffy orange tabby with yellow eyes]
· · ────────────── · ·
[Briarsplash - @squidz ] [Wispypaw - @Kix ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Hillstrider padded along with his patrol mates, bringing up the rear as they meandered into new-ish territory. While the orange tom had a physique that would mean trouble for opponents, he was about as threatening as a ray of sunshine. Stalking through the shadows was something he failed spectacularly at, especially since he really, really liked to talk.

“Dawning Woods, yeah!” Hillstrider commented as they approached the territory piece known as the Dawning Woods. “I’ve never been, but I heard it’s neato.”

The trio paused in the dappled clearing, Briarsplash giving out instructions before peeling off. Hillstrider smiled blithely, turning his head to look at the apprentice. “Seems like it’s you and me, huh?” He didn’t mind sticking with Wispypaw at all. He noticed her gaze never quite locked on anything, as well as the milky film over her eyes. Ah, so she was blind. She did very well getting here! When Wispypaw asked him how to scent borders, the eager tom beamed. Learning opportunity!! Totally tubular!

“It’s easy, little dude!! You go up to the border—though in this case it’s a bit different—and start rubbin’ your chin or flank on stuff.” He pressed his body against a tree—partially for demonstration though that wouldn’t help much but mostly so he could get this itch that’s been bothering him on his shoulder. “The whole point is to get your scent on whatever you’re scenting, so it doesn’t really matter how you do it. Go wild!”

Hillstrider watched as Wispypaw gave her attempt, cheering her on with agreements and praise. Once that was taken care of, he opened his jaws to scent for prey. He still kept an eye on Wispypaw if she needed help—blind cats could hunt just fine but she was still an apprentice—but now had his main focus (not that there was much of it to begin with) on hunting.

Scenting a bird nearby, Hillstrider dropped into a crouch and crept along the giant trees, his beautifully striped orange pelt glowing in the sun. He looked just like the sunbeams trailing down through the afternoon pollen and dust. The bird scent became overwhelming just as Hillstrider spotted its brown feathers through the grass. Finch!! How fun! The young warrior unknowingly stuck his tongue out as he waggled his haunches, leaping into the air with a swift jump and landing on the surprised bird. It cheeped once before he nipped its throat. Nice!

[Hillstrider gained +1 finch!]

The tom moved on, finch tucked away under a root for later. The scent of a vole caught his attention next, and he trotted through the undergrowth on its trail. The vole was easy to spot—it has scuffled out of the undergrowth for a quick snack on a pine cone. Hillstrider took the opportunity and pounced, killing the vole swiftly. He glanced down at the now lifeless form at his paws. “Sorry, little dude. Hope there is plenty of snacks in the vole afterlife.” Did voles have an afterlife? Hm. Maybe Mossfreckle would know. He was the expert on all things StarClan, after all!! At least, Hillstrider assumed so.

[Hillstrider gained +1 vole!]