Sunset Grove

[Ian]

An open patch of woodland. Small prey animals can be found throughout the nooks and crannies. Birds have claimed a home in the treetops of tall aspen trees. Overgrown and luscious herbs are common to find here.

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Snowybreeze |

With Silentleap and Goldenpaw already alerted and by his side, Snowybreeze dipped his head in silent greeting at both before twitching his tail, intent on getting their patrol done. He had seen the rampant need of herbs the fire and battles had caused. His own older brother had suffered much when the rogues had invaded the warren, and the lack of herbs at the time had no doubt ensured a harsher and less secure prognosis than if the medicine cats had been fully equipped to handle the situation. There had been no saving his vision, of that Snowybreeze was sure, but perhaps they could have eased his pain and infection better with more herbs in store. They would rectify that now. Ensure no one else would have to go without while they were in their own home.

Upon arrival at one of the newest locations claimed by WindClan in their quest to ensure territory to supplement them, their loss far too big for a mere new camp to do, the gentle giant was left speechless. Despite knowing of the place, he hadn't been here yet, and the stark difference to WindClan's usual moors and fields was impressive. Aspen trees growing admittedly sparsely to a cat of ThunderClan or ShadowClan origin, to Snowybreeze it made for a serene, almost foreign view. The smell of flowers and herbs flowed in mingled in the wind, letting any visitor know that despite the towering copse, this place was WindClan to its core. The breeze feeling welcoming and safe, Snowybreeze turned to his companions, a small, timid smile on his face.

"We should. Find. What Cowtuft wants. Here," he mewed softly, flicking a single ear as he headed forth, focused on finding the herbs requested by the black and white tom.

-

@RunningInTheHeather [Silentleap] | @ameko [Goldenpaw]

[wendigo]

┌── •✧• ──┐
Silentleap

Brown manx trans w/ green eyes
└── •✧• ──┘

Ft. Snowybreeze [ @Alchemist Kitsune ] & Goldenpaw [ @ameko ]

Silentleap looked out into the distance. There was a large plain of grass under his paws and all around him.
Was that a little too fancy?
Oh well.

"Yeah, you're right. We could possibly find what Cowtuft needs here. But, um,"
Silentleap paused for a second.

"What did Cowtuft need? I didn't see what he signed out."

[ameko]

Goldenpaw »

Goldenpaw followed behind the two warriors, watching as the patch of woodland grew ever closer. This was where they were headed? Now, he didn't have anything against trees, but they always made him a little antsy. Too tall. These ones especially looked like they could fall over with just a strong gust of wind.

As Snowybreeze spoke, Goldenpaw glanced over, glad to have a distraction from his tree thoughts. What Cowtuft wanted? Goldenpaw squinted out at the unfamiliar territory. Well, he probably wanted herbs... like, flowers? Or, uh. Actually, he didn't know much of anything about herbs. Was there something specific Cowtuft had in mind?

He was about to ask as much when Silentleap spoke up. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was somewhat grateful he didn't have to say anything—speaking wasn't his favorite thing nowadays, since every word felt like it was scratching his throat. Like there was an itch deep inside him that he just couldn't reach.

[ @Alchemist Kitsune - Snowybreeze | @RunningInTheHeather - Silentleap ]

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Snowybreeze |

Confusion forced the massive tom's brow to crease as he openly stared at the other two in silence for a moment. Had... had he not just said what they were to find? Yes, while they were walking here. Snowybreeze was certain he'd said it. He'd most certainly thought it! Surely he... forgot that words had to come out of his mouth for others to hear them. Right... No yeah. That... that was on him.

A creeping heat rushed all the way to Snowybreeze's ears as he attempted to shake away his embarrassment. StarClan help him. Perhaps one day he'd be able to lead a patrol without making a complete fool of himself. No... that didn't sound right. The young warrior liked to think that he kept positive thoughts all around, but him not messing up was far too idealistic even for him. One giant paw flying to his ear as he passed it swiftly across, covering his face bashfully for a moment, the patched tom dipped his head apologetically. He had just rudely assumed his patrolmates where mind readers of all things. Hopefully they wouldn't be too angry with him.

"A-ah. Y-yes. Apo-apologies. Cowtuft. He needed. Burnet. Leaves. Are basal. May have. Spiky. Purple flowers. And. Dandelions. Golden. Fluffy flowers," he stammered, his dialect becoming more clipped than usual as nerves fluttered about his stomach. Giving a small tilt of his head in silent query, he awaited to see if there were any doubts - he certainly hoped not, as that was all the medicine cat had told him - before returning to the task at paw.

-

@RunningInTheHeather [Silentleap] | @ameko [Goldenpaw]

[wendigo]

┌── •✧• ──┐
Silentleap

Brown manx trans w/ green eyes
└── •✧• ──┘

Ft. Snowybreeze [ @Alchemist Kitsune ] & Goldenpaw [ @ameko ]

Silentleap made an 'ooooh' noise.

"Oh, okay, so, dandelion and Burnet Leaves,
got it!"

Silentleap looked to his right. Dandelion!
He trotted towards the yellow fluffy flower.

"Found Dandelion! There's a huge patch here!"
He started to pick off some of the yellow flowers.

[ameko]

Goldenpaw »

Goldenpaw bit back a smile at Snowybreeze's reaction. Had he just forgotten to tell them the reason they were out here? He glanced away as the larger tom spoke, sweeping his gaze over the plants in the area. Burnet and dandelion, huh? He didn't know what basal meant, but it was probably fine. Not like he was about to ask for clarification or anything.

The golden-furred apprentice knew little about plants, nor was he particularly interested in them, but at least he knew what dandelions looked like! He remembered picking some back when they needed decorations for Juniper's Rest. Actually—his tail flicked to and fro as he thought—what had happened to that place? Had it been consumed by the fire, like the rest of their territory? He frowned at the dandelions by Silentleap for a moment before padding up to nip off the stem of one of them.

A dot of color caught his eye and he looked up, spotting a little patch of herbs nearby. Dandelion in tow, he trotted up to the plants and leaned down to examine them. Hmm... these flowers were more of a bluish color than purple. But the leaves looked basal-y enough... maybe? Goldenpaw gave it an experimental sniff, nose scrunching at the fresh scent. Smelled like a flower, yup. And it was kind of spiky? Now, Goldenpaw didn't know enough about herbs to know what borage was (this was it), but he also didn't know enough about burnet to know the difference.

He didn't particularly want to ask, but in the interest of making sure he didn't pick the wrong herb, he looked over to the others and gestured meaningfully at the plants. "Is this burnet?"

[ @Alchemist Kitsune - Snowybreeze | @RunningInTheHeather - Silentleap ]

[wendigo]

┌── •✧• ──┐
Silentleap

Brown manx trans w/ green eyes
└── •✧• ──┘

Ft. Snowybreeze [ @Alchemist Kitsune ] & Goldenpaw [ @ameko ]

Silentleap had picked about 3 dandelions before Goldenpaw spoke up.
He looked over his shoulder at what Goldenpaw was pointing to.

Silentleap tilted his head. Hm. He wasn't really much of a medicine cat, but maybe it was burnet.

Silentleap trotted up to the flowers and sniffed them. They were slightly close to the color of the burnet leaves, and they were spiky.
But, there are many other flowers that looked exactly like this, and Silentleap didn't want to mistake them.

"Hm. I'm actually not sure. Maybe we should take at least 4 just in case it is burnet."

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Snowybreeze |

His explanation seemingly sufficient, the gentle giant set on his way to find the herbs needed. Dandelions were easy to get, standing out among the rest of the flowers even in this grove. The burnet took a little longer to find. Finding a small bundle of the purple flowers he purred in amusement. They really were spiky little things, weren't they? Like a kit who'd woken up on the wrong side of the nest.

Happy with his find, Snowybreeze dipped his head, taking three of the leaves carefully with him. Mismatched ears perked up, however, when he heard talk close by. It seemed that Goldenpaw and Silentleap were chatting amongst themselves? That was all fine and good as far as the pale warrior was concerned. It was good to bond with clanmates in outings such as these! It was what they were discussing that brought a small frown of worry to his face.

Perhaps he had misheard, but he could have sworn he'd heard Silentleap tell Goldenpaw that this was burnet? A quick glance at the star shaped flowers and fuzzy leaves let him quickly know that was not the case. Maybe his explanation had not been as thorough as he had hoped? Oh dear. At least he had caught it on time. It wouldn't have done for them to arrive to poor Cowtuft with the wrong herbs over a simple misunderstanding.

Clearing his throat, Snowybreeze pawed at the air to catch his clanmates' attention, pointing at the leaves on his maw once he was sure he had it. Twitching his tail towards the source close by, the tom blinked apologetically, certain he must have said something horrendously wrong for them to assume it was fuzzy leaved herbs they were to gather. Perhaps he had mixed up the flowers and leaves in his description? Oh dear... this patrol had been nothing but confusion so far. Some patrol leader he was.

"Burnet," the young warrior added. He was normally not one for needless chatter amongst cats he was less familiar with, and he hated to insult their intellect by assuming they needed further explanation but... he really wanted to make sure he was being clear this time. It wasn't their fault he wasn't the clearest or most capable of warriors, to be honest.

This explanation done, the tom spun around, eager to get a few dandelions added to the mix as well. He was certain Cowtuft needed both. He would not have asked for a split herb patrol if there wasn't a dire need, after all. Gratefully, it did not take the patched tom long to find what he was looking for, and he dipped his head once more, carefully grabbing two dandelions by the stems and snapping them gently with his teeth. Hopefully there would be no further confusion and everyone would be able to get to get whatever herbs they could carry back now.

-

@RunningInTheHeather [Silentleap] | @ameko [Goldenpaw]
| Please remember to give your patrolmates time to post before skipping them. |

[wendigo]

┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐
Silentleap

a brown manx trans male w/ green eyes
└── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┘

Ft. Snowbreeze [ @Alchemist Kitsune ] & Goldenpaw [ @ameko ]

“Oh.”
Silentleap felt a little embarrassed, but he took the burnet that Snowbreeze had described

[3 dandelions, 2 burnet. Silentleap cannot take anymore herbs unless there’s some other way!]

He turned around to the others.
“I thimkf this is enougfh for me.” Silentleap said—well, tried to.