Open Territory ShadowClan Had conversations with the clouds, the dogs, the dead ❄️ Flower picking

[Stoatpaw Stoatpaw]

{$title} Stoat goes flower picking :)) who wants to come along

——————————————— Together, we'll make our way home ✦

The last few days, more than a few really. It had all weighed heavily on Stoatpaw. In the wake of the heist, her punishment, everything in between and after. It all had been far too much to process. She had hardly even registered Fleapaw's injury. So she did all she was able to in the aftermath of her pushiment; wander the land, the territory, in search of flowers and plants.

It was warm that day, Greenleaf was rapidly approaching, and Stoatpaw would likely be stuck in the sticky, humid pocosin. She loved her home, the rich and comforting earthiness of the air, the ponds and creeks with bountiful plants and prey. It had raised her, cared for her. And while she was nowhere near as knowledgeable about herbs as the medicine cats or even Fleapaw, she saw the beauty in all the plants and flowers the pocosin rewarded the clan with. Taking plants is a delicate thing; it's something she pondered to herself as her eyes landed on a patch of daisies, delicately plucking both flowers and leaves.

She tucked just a few sprigs into her coat, delicate white petals melding with her tail, only the bright yellow centres and vibrant green leaves could be seen otherwise. It was hard to say where the petals began and her fur ended, but that was of no matter. Stoatpaw muttered a thank you to no one in particular; she knew better than to take more than needed. It was a delicate balance between what was wanted and what was greedy. To take too many leaves leaves none for other cats, but also stops them from repopulating. To pluck every last sprig would stop anyone from having daisies in the future, and that was a foolish endeavour.

Stoatpaw tried to make a mental note of the plants she had delicately tucked beside her nest. They were sparse for now, so she had plenty of work to do, and the only flowers she had found were the delicate pink ones she had found at Fourtrees. A watery smile appeared upon her face. She knew it would be risky to return there again, especially now that she had been barred from leaving Shadowclan territory. It was in part why she followed the rules so diligently. She wouldn't let slip her upset, her indignation.

Obedience was the key to being overlooked; she had learned it a long time ago. But this time, she would use it to her own advantage

——— While you were sleeping,

Everything changed at once. ———

• 𖧧 1d3 Roll: 2 - Success
  𖧧 1d7 Roll: 7 - Travel
  𖧧 Herb Found - Daisy Leaf
  
  Note: Like the wandering thread, these are stores for something else so don't worry I'll be sorting these :] Im also gonna be posting over and over like Flea thread but anyone can join getting plants and flowers for stoat!!!
• 
  Stoatpaw
  ✦—Shadowclan apprentice | 9 Moons
  ✦—She/Her
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK, PAWSPEAK
  ✦—A slender white cat with faint lilac markings and blue eyes.
  #96d5f1/#50BBF0
  
  ⤷ Written by Phoenix ​

 

[Stoatpaw Stoatpaw]

——————————————— Together, we'll make our way home ✦

Obedience...

That word was bitter on her tongue. Growing up, it was all she knew. Listen to every last thing she was told.

Don't go too far. Don't stray away from the path. Don't speak too loudly. Don't go against what you're told. She supposed being that young, it was needed. Kittens her age have the advantage of hearing; it was something she lacked since birth. Timberfrost only ever coddled her that small to save her, to protect her. It was why they were even here in the first place: to protect her. But what is the point at which protection becomes coddling? Even she couldn't find that line; it just seemed to always be there. A presence over her shoulders, heavy and unyielding. She loved her father, and that would never change. But it was hard not to mourn the loss of her freedom.

How can one mourn something they knew so briefly?

Maybe it was dramatic, over the top. She still had free rein of the territory, not bound to camp. But having to report every last thing she did to Sablestar, asking if she could leave to walk around the pocosin. Having to go to him to request to even near the border and expected to not address other clan cats first. It was suffocating. She excused it when she was young, but now? It was something else entirely.

At least there was finally someone who believed her. Her paws itched to head to Fourtrees, but their next meeting wasn't for a while now. If she could even make it, that was. A sigh parted her lips as she padded along. A bitter scent had caught her attention, drawing her attention from her wandering paws. It wasn't something she was familiar with, strange-looking and pointy leaves. Not lobed like a usual leaf, but almost like pine needles. Staring curiously, she reached down and gingerly plucked a few sprigs. Though her face crumpled in disgust, it tasted as bitter as it smelled, brush-like leaves tickling her nose as she steeled herself. The sprigs tucked safely into her tail, she breathed a sigh of relief as her lungs were released from the pungent scent. Though her fur would smell awful if she didn't clean it when she got back to camp.

She glanced out across the small clearing, tangled trees and muddled ponds. She had grown well-versed in the area and would continue to for the time being; it would be her outlet, and her alibi. If Sablestar saw her in the pocosin, with proof she hadn't disobeyed, it would give her a chance to... Push the boundaries. She had been overlooked plenty, following orders wasn't something deemed rewardable by Shadowclan, by Sablestar. But disobeying, breaking the mould, for some reason that was deemed enough to be rewarded. It wasn't Fleapaw's fault, she supposed, but there was still a rumbling resentment that Fleapaw went into a fight with Thunderclan and was rewarded for it, and yet Stoatpaw obeyed Cicadabuzz's orders and avoided a fight, and yet she was punished.

So she would obey. Return to being small, overlooked. Slipping through the cracks but with a purpose this time. Stoatpaw gingerly rearranged her flowers, nose scrunching at the spiny plant, but continuing along the pocosin regardless.

——— While you were sleeping,

Everything changed at once. ———

• 𖧧 1d3 Roll: 2 - Success
  𖧧 1d7 Roll: 1 - Wound & Infection
  𖧧 Herb Found - Horsetail
• 
  Stoatpaw
  ✦—Shadowclan apprentice | 9 Moons
  ✦—She/Her
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK, PAWSPEAK
  ✦—A slender white cat with faint lilac markings and blue eyes.
  #96d5f1/#50BBF0
  
  ⤷ Written by Phoenix ​