Pulling Weeds [Bloodstrike]

Effect Dice Herb List:

Beechface made her way through the forest, eyes scanning the forest floor in search of herbs. The snow had melted, leaving the ground wet, and Beechface intended to get in one last round of good herb gathering while it was warm enough to do so.

Wolfstar had named her a full medicine cat a few days before, and her mind kept fixing on the ceremony. What she'd told him was true, it had caught her by surprise as the idea of a ceremony hadn't crossed her mind. Now though, it felt like nothing had really changed. Perhaps it was that she'd been the sole medicine cat for some time already, perhaps the idea that she was a medicine cat had finally, finally sunk in fully.

Forcing her mind back to the task at paw, the large tabby made her way through the territory, sweeping the area for usable herbs. So preoccupied was she, that she hardly took notice of the dark shape in front of her until she'd nearly ran into him.

"Oh, hey dad." She mewed, trying to play it off as if she'd seen him standing there and hadn't almost run into him.

Bloodstrike had returned from a scouting mission he had assigned to himself... empty-pawed... again. One-Ear was turning out to be incredibly and aggravatingly illusive. How? His siblings (Bloodstrike was assuming at this point) had been easy to find and destroy... but the one that he wanted so desperately was practically a ghost. Sagelight... Dustpaw... Swansong... all gone because of One-Ear. Or at least... he assumed the fox that had been seen scampering away with Dustpaw in it's mouth had been One-Ear but no one had been able to confirm. He was frustrated and confused at his lack of ability to track the demonic mongrel down...

Bloodstrike too had been lost in his own thoughts when he nearly ran into Beech... face. It would take him some time to get used to calling her that. She'd earned her medicine cat name, and for that he was overwhelmingly proud of her. Maybe his words that night that Sagelight had died had gotten through to her. He smiled at her knowingly when she acted like she hadn't just about plowed into him. She was nearly his size... perhaps heavier.

"Beechface," He nodded at her once, trying the new name out on his tongue. It would take awhile to stick... he couldn't believe that his kits were earning their full names. Well... except for one. The thoughts of Dustpaw came back for a moment... followed by pain, anger and frustration. He forced the emotions back quickly and refocused on the here and the now.

"Are you going herb hunting?" He asked her, desperate to keep negative thoughts and emotions at bay for now.

Well, they'd nearly plowed into each other. It was a good thing none of their clanmates were there to witness their embarrassment, at least. And she'd stopped herself from actually colliding with her father, so it could've gone worse.

Being called by her new name still felt odd, she'd only just gotten used to being thought of as a medicine cat apprentice, and now her name had changed and she was a full medicine cat. The weight sat oddly on her shoulders, but Beechface managed to shove the unnerving feeling aside with a quiet huff as she took a step back from her father. He was, perhaps, the one cat in the clan who didn't have to look up to meet her eyes. It was reassuring, almost, made her feel like a bit less of a giant compared to Primroselight and Smokefeather. And he could keep up with her longer stride without effort, something that Primroselight had grumbled about more than once. A more mischievous side of Beechface found it amusing truthfully. Not that she'd ever say so to anyone.

Thankfully he interrupted her discomfort with a question, something she could focus on.

"Yeah... I need to stock up on things before the cold kills whatever is left." Another quiet huff, though her words had slowly lost their edge of bitter resentment in the days after her ceremony. Now the newly-named medicine cat was quiet, seeming to finally have accepted her fate. Perhaps Bloodstrike's words had helped more than she'd realized.

Now, it was Bloodstrike who seemed to be the aggravated one. And she could probably guess who.

"No sign of that fox, still?" She was trying to be hopeful that they'd find something, anything. That a patrol would come back to camp victorious. And yet, even as she asked the question Beechface could read the answer in his eyes.

A plant caught her eye, and Beechface padded closer to inspect it, hoping that the plants might distract them both.

Chamomile. Beechface sighed. Common, and it had a use, sure. She'd hoped to find something that would be more needed during the colder season ahead of them, though.

The member 'kjSage' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 3

Bloodstrike nodded and his eyes scanned the area around them. He may as well help gather, he was already here. Besides... gathering herbs would help take his mind off of-

"No sign of that fox, still?" Neeeeeeeeeeevermind.

"Not so far." Bloodstrike admitted, a bit grudgingly. He inhaled deeply and thought the caught a scent that stood out. He still didn't know this plant from that one, but Beechface probably did. He walked over to a plant sticking up out of the ground and sat beside it, hoping it wouldn't be something absolutely vile or useless.

"Is this a good thing?" He nodded at the plant beside him and flashed her what only could be described as a "cheesy dad grin".

The member 'Tara' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 3

"That's sorrel, it gives the traveling herbs their wonderful taste." Beechface quipped, carefully harvesting the plan and setting it with the chamomile she'd already found.

That there had been no sign of that one fox was concerning, but Beechface merely shrugged. It would turn up, eventually. She turned, eyes and nose working to scan her surroundings for more herbs.

Poppy flower, she noted, and a quick scan along the ground had her carefully scooping up some of the seeds. Useful for pain management and getting someone to sleep, though Beechface tried not to rely on it too heavily.

The member 'kjSage' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 2

Bloodstrike glowered at the Sorrel, remembering it's nasty taste when Sagelight took him to the Moonstone. He knew it was important, but he was very glad to have not picked it up and have that familiar bitterness kicking the back of his throat again. He watched as Beechface gathered more herbs... poppy flower? Is that what that one was? He had a feeling he was probably correct but he wasn't about to ask. He needed to find more plants.

Bloodstrike sniffed around for more things that stood out to him, eventually stumbling across another particularly smelly plant. Noting and remembering that not everything tasted good and could potentially be dangerous, Bloodstrike had no intention of picking up or touching anything. He'd been on herb hunts with Sagelight a handful of times and knew more than the average warrior probably did, but he was likely to accidentally destroy something if he touched it.

"I think I found another one..."

The member 'Tara' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 5

Beechface couldn't help the smirk that crossed her face as her father glowered at the sorrel.

"It's not that bad, really. Or maybe my taste buds are dead." She commented, and with how many apprentices she'd taken to the moonstone recently, and with her own ceremony and Wolfstar's, maybe her tastebuds really were dead. She hardly took notice of the bitter taste anymore.

She turned her gaze toward finding more herbs, and it didn't take Beechface long to find a bush with purple-blue berries. Juniper had a variety of uses, and so she carefully harvested what she could before glancing over at the sound of Bloodstrike's voice.

"Tansy, good for preventing greencough, and has a plethora of other uses." She mewed, harvesting the round, yellow leaves as well.

The member 'kjSage' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 5