Territory WindClan where the fields are painted gold ✿ — herb patrol

[Meadowpaw]

Can I take you to a moment
Where the fields are painted gold

.

Meadow's ears twitched at the uneven patter of paw steps brushing through the grass. She had fallen into step near the back of the patrol, shambling along at a slower pace. Her eyes combed the foliage, idly searching for anything she thought might be useful—or at least trying to, since what she knew about plants didn't include much beyond flowers.

She'd expected hesitation, maybe even polite protest as to why she shouldn't go—when she'd asked her clanmates to join her in looking for herbs to help Glade. They were clearly moving slower for her sake, and while she was grateful, a part of her wondered if she should've just gone alone. At least then she wouldn't be forcing them to coddle her. But she also knew how much trouble that would've caused—especially if someone had to go looking for her again.

Still, she had to do something. Anything to busy her idle paws and quiet her buzzing thoughts. Glade had done so much for them all over the past moon that it only felt right to try and return the favor, even if only a little. But when it came to herbs, she knew very little beyond the ones she'd grown up around. Marigold, bright-eye, heather, lavender—those were familiar. Everything else without petals might as well have been blades of grass.

The patrol came to a sudden stop, jarring Meadow from her thoughts. She tried to dig her heels in to avoid bumping into the cat ahead of her, but she ended up bonking them with her head anyway. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She mewed a soft apology and tilted her head around them to peer to the front of the patrol.

They'd reached a hilltop, where the earth dipped into a small ravine where morning dew still clung to the grass. Meadow's head turned sluggishly as she took in the scenery. "Do we want to start looking here?" She hadn't had any particular place in mind when she asked for help, but this spot seemed a good enough place to start.

You can do herb rolls manually or with the Herb Scavenger. We'll compile everything at the end as seen in this thread. Failure is an expected part of the herb rolls, so don't get discouraged if you end up rolling multiple losses! For details on manual rolls, see the pins in tullys-tavern.

@charity @Merrystalk (and/or @Sparrowpaw) @Chickpaw

No specific posting order, but try not to post more than twice in succession.

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

8 MOONS

⟢

WINDCLAN

⟢

SONG

⟢

bio

 

[Sparrowpaw]

———————————— The sun hesitates more on each evening's darkening ✦

Sparrowpaw followed quietly, eyes scanning the area. Eyes lit up at the sight of familiar plants all around, but even more new ones. They'd come along to a herb patrol, the first since Meadowpaw was well enough to walk about outside of camp, her wounds having healed well with Gladebloom's help, to his relief. The chance to find and learn more plant names and uses would have been enough to bring them out of camp, but Meadow, as well as Chickpaw in suit was more motivation itself. They'd try and keep an eye out for both of them, but out here, on a grassy hill, wind rustling their fur, for a moment, it felt like everything might be okay-

A yelp of surprise slipped from their maw as someone bumped into them. Sparrow turned around, face furrowed in confusion, before face softening to a smile, seeing Meadow. "Aint no worry, Meadow." Their voice a purr, as much as they wanted to fret about his friend, seeing her on her paws, wanting to help, it brought a smile to their face. Of course, they would still get a nauseous, nervous pang seeing the other stumble or wince, wanting to ask if she was okay or needed to rest. But Merrystalk had given them more than enough warnings that fretting too much would hurt Meadow's confidence than anything, a realization Sparrow desperately needed. If she needed help, she would ask.

The young she-cat suggested they look about the area for plants, a smart idea. With the good vantage from the hill and warmer weather following the recent storms, the plants would be plentiful. With that, Sparrow nodded in kind. "Sounds like a fine plan t' me. We can always fan out if we can't find nothin'." He looked forward to this, finding plants and particularly flowers, and he and Meadow promised to teach each other plants that the other might not know. His mind fell back to their promise of looking for flowers together, maybe now more than ever, his friend needed that kind of distraction, they hummed to themself, sniffing about the grass in search of anything useful, deciding they'd chase up Meadow to ask her to join them looking for flowers.

Especially now, with new leaf in its peak, Sparrow's eyes lit up seeing the bounty of plants all around, gaze falling specifically on a lovely red flowered-looking plant. On closer inspection, it was actually multiple tiny flowers bunched up next to each other, like a hyacinth, but red! Sweet scent of the flowers, as though he plucked some of the lengths of stem with his mouth, a much stronger scent, still cool but unusual, hit them hard in the face. They weren't prepared to smell the roots, hence severing at the stem, but this was one of the few plants Sparrow knew, fond of the gentle aroma; burnet.

They didn't know what its use was, but they hoped it would be useful to Glade in some way. They turned to the rest of the patrol, their friends, a couple of stalks of burnet in their maw, surrounded by a smile. It was rare Sparrow felt as comfortable as wandering a field, observing the local flora, and having a chance to spend quiet, quality time with the cats they cherished,

——— Like grief and sweet memory,

Wildflower and barley. ———

• 𖧧 Coin Flip: Heads - Success
  𖧧 1d7 Roll: 6 - Labor & Delivery and Kit Health
  𖧧 Herb Found - Burnet
• 
  Sparrowpaw
  ✦—Windclan Apprentice
  ✦—They/He
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A longhaired tortoiseshell with amber eyes and protruding canines.
  #bf4916

 

[Meadowpaw]

Can I take you to a moment
Where the fields are painted gold

.

While she wouldn't pretend to know exactly what she was doing, Sparrowpaw's presence was a source of comfort. Just watching them ahead, tail flicking as they nosed through clumps of grass, made her feel more certain in her own paws. She stuck close, shuffling through the grass with gentle paws.

Despite the melting of the snow and the settling of ash she still remembered their promise. Now was the best time too, while there was still plenty of fresh growth. The grass hummed with life, and sunlight warmed their backs without being too harsh. Though she'd come with the others to help gather herbs for Gladebloom, being able to do so with her friend was no less a gift—especially after almost having everything taken away altogether.

Meadow hopped through the tall grass, poking through it until a plant caught her eye. Nestled in the crook of a rock, half-hidden beneath curling blades of green. It looked to be more of a scruffy bush, browned and sprawling. Small, rounded leaves and the tiniest buds clinging to a wiry stem. She dipped her nose, sniffing curiously. The scent was stronger than she expected—earthy and sharp—slightly tangy—and… familiar?

She crouched beside it, paw brushing the leaves with a tenderness. But it reminded her of Gladebloom's voice. Of the bitterness on her tongue when her fever still burned.

"What are you?" She murmured under her breath. Meadow wondered if Gladebloom would tell her what some of the herbs they found were used for. But then again, she didn't want to overburden the medicine cat more than was necessary. Even so, her curiosity piqued.

Meadow eased onto her haunches and leaned down. She nosed through the spindly stems, squinting as the roughage scratched at her face. Then she grasped a less woody piece in her mouth and then another, collecting a few pieces before settling back. The calico held it up, examining the bundle in her mouth with curiosity.

Cradling the sprig in her jaw, Meadow padded over to where Sparrowpaw stood with his own prize—a darker red cluster of flowers on a long stem. She peered over the torties shoulder. "Oooh~ that's a pretty one! It looks like a fuzzy lil caterpillar." She hummed enthusiastically through a mouthful of stems. "Never seen a flower like that before." Meadow breathed in its smell, noting a melody of sharp, grassy, and floral...

𖧧 Dice Roll: 2 - Success
𖧧 1d7 Roll: 2 - Aches
𖧧 Herb Found - Thyme

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

8 MOONS

⟢

WINDCLAN

⟢

SONG

⟢

bio

 

[Sparrowpaw]

———————————— The sun hesitates more on each evening's darkening ✦

The tortie's eyes lit up to see Meadow approach with a smile and a healthy sprig of... Something. They tilted their head, it seemed familiar, they had seen it plenty before, but the name evaded them. Oh well, that was Gladebloom's task anyways. Though of course, the other had pointed out his flowers, they couldn't help but chuckle at the caterpillar comparison. Sparrowpaw waved the stem of the burnet at Meadowpaw. "If I do this, then sure does look like a lil' caterpillar-" A smile on their face as a chuckle escaped them.

It felt like the first time in a while they'd relaxed, even a little. Especially with Meadow sounding excited about something again? Even if everything was always going to be different now, it seemed it might all be okay, actually. "It's burnet." They hummed, inspecting the flowers themself, answering Meadows technically-not-question. "Not all sure what it does, but hard to miss cause the pretty flowers 'n smell- Though uh, the roots 're foul, cut the stems 'nd don't pull 'em out unless ya wanna lose yer supper." Sparrow supposed. They were curious what the plant actually did otherwise, he didn't go about eating strange new plants unless he had heard they were safe, or Merry lived after chewing on them.

Speaking of, Sparrow was curious if there were any berries about, it had gotten to the seasons again where those could be found, and they had seen plenty of times the tom pop a couple in his mouth, and they watched from afar if they made him sick. Glade would probably put a stop to that, though, it was a surprise Merry hadn't poisoned himself by now. However, just as the tortie was scanning the bushes near the group, they let out a sound of surprise as their eyes lit up. The cat trotted along towards a bush that held fresh, pine-smelling, blueish berries. They beamed towards Meadow and motioned for her to look.

"If I ain't mistaken, these are juniper berries!" He reached a paw in and knocked some berries from the bush, managing to scratch his paw against the spikey leaves. Sparrow recoiled a little, not expecting the pinch, but chuckled to Meadow. "Thats how ya can tell its juniper, prickly leaves 'n smells pretty damn strong," They stooped down and picked up a berry, while it wasn't the sweetest, it was fresh. That was enough to them to be satisfied as they looked for a big-leaved plant to make a makeshift bundle for the berries.

——— Like grief and sweet memory,

Wildflower and barley. ———

• 𖧧 Coin Flip: Heads - Success
  𖧧 1d7 Roll: 2 - Aches
  𖧧 Herb Found - Juniper Berries
• 
  Sparrowpaw
  ✦—Windclan Apprentice
  ✦—They/He
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A longhaired tortoiseshell with amber eyes and protruding canines.
  #bf4916

 

[Meadowpaw]

Can I take you to a moment
Where the fields are painted gold

.

A muffled, breathless giggle mingled with theirs. "It really does!" Meadowpaw squirmed away from the fuzzy stem that tickled her face.

She dropped back and craned to put down the stems, taking a moment to memorize where she left them. The first of many she hoped to bring back to Gladebloom.

She listened intently to what Sparrowpaw had to say. "Oh wow, the roots make you sick?" Meadow knew a lot of flowers and knew that some were dangerous. That never stopped her from picking flowers or from wanting to learn about them. The same seemed true for Sparrowpaw.

When he trotted off, Meadowpaw got up and shuffled after them. Curious green eyes drifted over sharp green needles and the dark blue berries nestled beneath. "You can eat the berries?" Her dappled nose twitched. The scent wasn't as sharp as she expected. It was strong, but not as intense as they made it sound.

The calico took a step but then quickly retracted her paw. Something yellow poked out from the grass. "Oh! Look Sparrow, I found dandelions!" Gladebloom definitely used these!

She spread the grass a little and brushed her paw over the fuzzy yellow petals. Meadow pried at the dirt, attempting to gently excavate it from the dirt. The flower came free, but not the roots. A soft snap made her ears flick back instantly. "No, dangit!" She stares down for a moment before pawing at the mangled weed. Could Gladebloom even use it like that?

𖧧 Dice Roll: 2 - Success
𖧧 1d7 Roll: 5 - Illness
𖧧 Herb Found - Dandelion
𖧧 Uprooting - 5 (Poor)

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

8 MOONS

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WINDCLAN

⟢

SONG

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bio

 

[Merrystalk]

—————————————— Dreaming along in a pace you'll understand. ✦

Merry took his time that day, enjoying the warmth of the sun and gentle breeze over the prairie. He was used to running, hunting, never slowing down. So when Meadowpaw asked around for cats to come along for a herb patrol, of course, he obliged to join. Take in the lovely day, keep an eye on the apprentices, and of course,e find anything useful for Gladebloom amidst the roughage.

He didn't speak up much, not at first, instead just observing. It was refreshing to see the pair of Meadow and Sparrow running to and fro, finding plants of all sorts and explaining to the other what they were. Now, he had no idea what any of these things were or what they did, maybe a plant or two he'd picked up from his moons in the barn. But for the most part, he was keeping an eye on the much more skilled pair, maybe picking a couple of flowers that could be useful or - realistically - carrying back everything the two found.

"Aye, careful 've eatin' random berries- Though... Sparrow there seems to know what they're doin', ya' probably know what they do, don't ya' lad." He chuckled. The little tortoiseshell had explained to him some plants before, to admit it went in one ear and out the other, but just like Meadow, they were a bright young cat, good memory that's for sure. They were the nervous sort, but it never stopped them from trying to help their friends, especially Meadow, given everything that'd happened. Merry had already had to pull them aside to lay off the coddling, though, it was the last thing Meadow needed, but he meant well, and he could never fault them for it. He watched as the calico headed to some yellow flowers, trying in vain to pluck them, huffing a little as the roots didn't come up.

"Ah, shame, maybe the dirt's still hard. More rain'd do some good fer pluckin' 'em." He clicked his tongue, smiling to the apprentice nonetheless. "Good job the pair of yer, Glade'll be mighty proud 'f the work y'all're doin' to help." The tom purred; he certainly was proud after all. The two of them and the rest of the apprentices were growing up into hard-working young cats. He admired how, even despite the last moons of pain, they were still going strong and growing more by the day.

Though his eyes were caught by a distinct, red flower. One he did actually recognise! "Aye, poppies, now that I know Glade's always needin' more 'f." Very gently, the tom plucked a flower or two, not taking so many that they couldn't regrow. There was no need for them to take more than they needed all at once after all. "Did remember some 'f yer lil lessons, Sparrow!" He let out a warm laugh. Maybe he should let the pair of them explain more plants to him when he had some downtime, it wouldn't hurt to try and learn more about the local flora.

— And it's harder than you think,

Telling dreams from one another. —

• 𖧧 Coin Flip: Heads - Success
  𖧧 1d7 Roll: 3 - Broken Bones
  𖧧 Herb Found - Poppy Seeds
• 
  Merrystalk
  ✦—Windclan moor-runner | 26 Moons
  ✦—He/Him
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A skinny, tortoiseshell cat with bright green eyes and pelt speckled with hay.
  #9D6E46