Shadow's Break

[Pitou]

Located just outside the Icy Heartlands in Shadowclan territory, a small patch of sun breaks through the towering pine tree canopy into a fertile clearing. A trickling stream moves around the outer edge, beneath an old fallen log. Thick brambles have been built up around the clearing to protect against accidental trampling from foxes, badgers, or cats. The soft ground and variations in sun, shade, and moisture make an ideal environment for many herbs, and moss and mushrooms seem to grow abundantly on the fallen tree.

Hunting here is encouraged, as the abundance of herbs can attract mice, chipmunks and birds. However, most of the plants found here have value as herbs so the utmost caution must be taken to avoid damaging any of the plants. Frogs also enjoy hiding in the damp shade of the fallen log. As this area’s main contribution is it’s ability to grow herbs, damaging herbs can result in IC punishment by Elmshadow. Depending on the severity and whether the damage was accidental or intentional will determine the punishment, generally leaning towards a set number of herb patrols to be completed.

[Pitou]

**Elmshadow**

@Undertaker

Elmshadow nodded once at Dawnstar's final thought on Pinewatch Patch before she asked him to show her the new area he'd found while out looking for herbs just recently. With another small nod, Elmshadow turned away from the piece of territory thrashed by twolegs. He realized it could very well be the last time he would visit this particular place. It hadn't been a particularly special place to him during his warriorhood and only recently grew to be a place he frequented for its supply of herbs. He wasn't a sentimental cat so the reminiscence didn't last long as he took confident strides away, deeper into Shadowclan's territory, heading directly towards the Icy Heartlands.

As they moved out of the more familiar territory for Elmshadow, he veered slightly. He'd made note of several landmarks to ensure he found his way back. The territory near the Icy Heartlands had not been a frequent explorative grounds for him but he'd found himself venturing into less familiar areas since becoming Medicine cat in order to find herbs and test different treatments. After spending some time at the Hidden Haven, the unfamiliar clearing had fallen in his path almost naturally in his quests. He slowed his pace as the trees around him grew denser and again more familiar, before opening up to a sun-bathed, fragrant green clearing. The stream on the far side was lined on either side by semi-dry dirt separating the water from the green grass and herbs, signaling a water level that would undoubtedly rise through the seasons.

Elmshadow stopped and turned to Dawnstar, first to gauge her reaction then to meow, "There are herbs already growing. I'd like to maintain those while trying to use the open spaces to bring other herbs in. I'm hoping this can offset what we've lost, it seems at least upon first appearances, to be untouched by twolegs."

[littlewhisker]

"But what about the fresh patch of herbs next to the border? Why can't we use those?" Heronflight asked quietly as she padded up next to the two. "Last Newleaf you said they would be ready soon," Heronflight had listened intently then, he had mentioned it. Had he just forgotten?

[Pitou]

**Elmshadow & Cougarivy**

It seemed like every time a little dark desire crept into Elmshadow's subconscious Cougarivy was there to capitalize on it. As he was walking out of camp to assess his new hopeful herb destination, the little she-cat had bounced her way over. He'd rolled his eyes mildly but somewhere deep within himself he realized he didn't revolt at the thought of having her around anymore. A pang of guilt, an emotion he had not felt until the recent moons but was now all too familiar, shot through his gut. It'd been three moons since he'd found Goldenstep dead, five moons since he'd lost her from his life, but her memory lingered on. He was a medicine cat now, would it not be reasonable to hope for his former mate to visit him in his dreams? Could he say nothing to make amends? Though thinking of his mate in Starclan made it worse. Of course his dead mate would want nothing to do with him after the time he's spent with the she-cat who triggered the downfall of their relationship. But for how much longer could he hold onto the memory of a dead she-cat? A she-cat who'd left him, taking his kits with her, in the dead of night with no word? For everything Cougarivy wasn't compared to Goldenstep, she was at least loyal, even if to a fault.

The tailless tom walked slowly into the clearing, taking in a deep breath to assess the herbs present. Cougarivy smiled at the new piece of territory, recognizing it quickly. "Oh!" she squeaked pointedly, "So you've made our place your new herb hangout, hm?" She glanced at the much larger tom. The little piece of territory they'd found the last time they went out together is now his new spot, Cougarivy couldn't take it any other way than to believe them finding it together put some extra value in it for Elmshadow; he'd surely be spending a lot of his time here and he'd undoubtedly think about how he found the spot. She leaned a little closer, daring to brush her fur up against his. She could feel his walls slowly tumbling down each time they spent time together. With that annoying traitor of a she-cat out of the way it should only be a matter of time now before he felt comfortable taking her officially as a mate again, but this time there'd be no sneaking around, no stupid she-cats stealing his attention from her. He'd be all hers. If he still wanted to go back to his prior dalliances from his younger moons then she wouldn't be a prude about it like that annoying what's-her-name, she'd be happy knowing that she was his only true mate, the she-cat he loved.

Elmshadow's green eyes surveyed the clearing, ignoring Cougarivy's comment. He was aware of her flank brushing into his but he shoved down the whisper of feelings that arose. It'd been so many moons since he'd truly let another cat in, so many moons since he'd consistently had a she-cat to warm his nest. It'd come so far in such a seemingly short amount of time from when Cougarivy made his skin crawl to meaning nothing and now...now what? Had she gone back to just another she-cat to him? Another she-cat to begin a clean slate with? So soon? This was the she-cat that had caused the erosion of his relationship with the love of his life, how could she simply be just another she-cat? He took in a deep breath and stepped forward. He instantly recognized the small patch of marigold, a wilting few celandine, as well as daisies and dandelions scattered through the largest patches of sunlight. He let out a sigh, trying to concentrate on the relief these herbs brought him.

Cougarivy smiled wider even as Elmshadow stepped away from her. He hadn't immediately withdrawn and she could feel the tension of internal struggle nearly radiating off of him. She let a shive run up her spine but then a croak set her instantly still. Her ears perked towards the source of the sound then she crouched down and launched herself low over the ground towards the downed log. Her paws shot under the log and into the mucky mud but when she withdrew, she had a dead toad locked in her claws. She sat down quickly and carefully carved the secretion sacks off its back with a claw before lifting it in her mouth and carrying it back to the entrance of the clearing. Elmshadow gave her a small nod before weaving himself through the herbs. There were a decent number of marigold in the storage now and he decided against injuring the small patch of marigold, hoping to let it continue cultivating here so it'd grow into a larger, better established supply for future moons. There weren't any celandine, daisies, or dandelions though. The celandine was dwindling so he grabbed a few, then picked off a dandelion as well as a daisy. He turned to Cougarivy, giving her a momentary look before turning his eyes away and walking passed her. A fuzzy feeling spread through her so, with a little bounce, Cougarivy grabbed her toad and followed prancingly after the medicine cat.

[ +3 celandine +1 dandelion +1 daisy ]

[SplashyLumi]

Beartooth slowly creaked around, making sure to not damage the herbs. As a plump bird flew by, the large tom leapt up to catch it. Successfully catching it, he sniffed around for any strong scents. Two mice to the left of him and a frog to the right. Turning right, the large tom leapt at the frog, ready to perform a killing blow at it's neck. Catching it, he sneaked around to the mice, successfully killing one while the other ran.

[Toya Todoroki]

Cobwebkit sighed, Mistyflight hadn't shown up, but he had gotten Skunktail to join him, though the tom was very nervous about everything.

cobwebpaw lead as he was the one that had seen the plants Elmshadow had shown him and Mistyflight

he sniffed the ground thoughtfully as he paddled on, looking for the Marigold and poppy flowers.....

[Toya Todoroki]

Originally Posted by TheDragonGoddess

Cobwebkit sighed, Mistyflight hadn't shown up, but he had gotten Skunktail to join him, though the tom was very nervous about everything.

cobwebpaw lead as he was the one that had seen the plants Elmshadow had shown him and Mistyflight

he sniffed the ground thoughtfully as he paddled on, looking for the Marigold and poppy flowers.....

He paused at a yellow flower that looked like the one elmshadow had shown him, turning to Skunktail he meowed "i think this is the Marigold! lets pick 3 blooms then go look for the Poppy seeds!" he exclaimed, he liked herb patrols he decided as he nipped 3 stalked and gave them to Skunktail to carry

he then turned to sniff some more, paddling on and on into the grove looking for poppy flowers

[Toya Todoroki]

Originally Posted by TheDragonGoddess

He paused at a yellow flower that looked like the one elmshadow had shown him, turning to Skunktail he meowed "i think this is the Marigold! lets pick 3 blooms then go look for the Poppy seeds!" he exclaimed, he liked herb patrols he decided as he nipped 3 stalked and gave them to Skunktail to carry

he then turned to sniff some more, paddling on and on into the grove looking for poppy flowers

Skunktail stiffeled a sneeze, the flowery scent tickling his nose as he watched Cobwebpaw searched for the poppy flowers, hoping they could leave soon as the pollen was attacking his nose....

Cobwebpaw paddled o till he found the flower, hoping it was right, but it looked just as Elmshadow had discribed it, so he nipt a few(2) flowers off then turned to Skunktail "lets take these to the med den" he meowed around the herbs

[rising_heart]

Sharppaw trotted lightly, her feet moving as daintily as a hare's on the moor, her lithe body barely visible, moving one with the dapple of sunlight on her beautiful sand tabby coat. Her fur rippled across her spine, and her tail flicked a little in hostility as she gained footing upon a fallen tree log. She ensconced, letting her tail rest evenly on the prickly log, feeling splinters cut on her paw-pads. Patiently, she waited there for a few heartbeats, until a small shrew emerged. It was a meager kill, if she was to make it, but enough to redeem her awful hunting streak of late. Certainly, she was better at fighting, but hunting was a necessary skill of Clan life. Especially during leaf-bare.

She stayed upon the log, until the shrew ventured closer to collect beechnuts. Sharppaw unsheathed her claws deftly and slowly, and waited till the shrew stopped, started, looking around for the movement of a predator, and let its guard down. With the agility of an experienced hunter, she pounced on the shrew. It let out its final screech as she pinned it down and swiftly delivered a killing bite. Finally something to be proud of, she thought, still angered by her failures.

[ShadeCosmic]

◤• WOOLYFEATHER •◥
She/Her - A lilac pointed Siamese with sky blue eyes

Woolyfeather had just arrived at Shadow's Break. She was determined to show her best as she was leading. She didnt want a punishment, and being exiled was even worse. That thought made her want to shiver. She instantly went into a crouch when she heard a bush rustle only to pick her head up again when realizing it had disappeared. She continued to crouch and move slowly through the undergrowth. Even this late in leaf-fall she managed to hear a few mice scuttling around some plants. She quickly jumped up and nipped one of them. The other one had escaped as she forgot to let Needleheart know to get that one.

Soon another sound was rustling. That was quick! one rabbit was there looking quite lost, and it was a fat one! What was a rabbit doing there? She had absolutely no idea but she nodded to Needleheart. She was going to chase it towards her and she'd spring out to give it the killing bite. There were only two warriors so after that another catch would make their patrol a good enough one. Especially this close to Leafbare even a lost rabbit in Shadow's Break would be good.

{ @Silverdream - Help me with the rabbit }
{ *note for self* +1 mouse }