Adventure is out there (closed)

Crocuspaw seemed to be a bit of a busybody, a trait that only seemed to emerge when she got the freedom of apprenticehood. And today, the urge to go out and scout Thunderclan territory outweighed the nervousness of going out alone at all. Crocuspaw noticed that she didn't seem to show signs of slowing down growth-wise, even though she was six moons now and not a tiny kitten, in a way it helped her confidence... her going out alone confidence that was. It was hard to feel nervous when one was rivaling the size of most of your clanmates, and being taller than your own mentor.

Crocuspaw heard a rumbling in the distance and a slight stench of... whatever that smell was coming from the same direction she was hearing the rumbling. Curiosity piqued, the young she-cat made quick work of the distance between. What lay before the she-cat wasn't anything she had seen before, black, solid... dirt? Mud? Stone? It emanated heat from the Green-leaf sun that was now set, and she figured it must get a lot hotter in the middle of the day. Naive, the young she-cat put a few large paws on the path, almost flinching away before the temperature turned more comfortable.

Something large and dark made the stuff under her paws rumble and hum, and a growl reached her ears. This is what she observed before she saw bright eyes descend upon her, but luckily it seemed to have just narrowly passed her. Nevertheless, Crocuspaw still made her attempts to turn and descend back into the foliage but had the monster decided to swerve off the path she would have easily met her fate.

Amber eyes went wide and all of the she-cat fur stood on end as she peaked back over, breathing heavily as she looked fearfully at the path. "What was that?!" Crocuspaw cried, uncaring of if there was actually any cat there to answer her question. She was a little more than scared of whatever that was just now.

"A monster." A calm voice was what answered the wailing of large she-cat. Herbs dropped haphazardly at her paws as she desperately tried to calm her own rapid heartbeat. If things had gone even a whisker differently, there was no doubt the ShadowClan medicine cat would be making a visit to another clan over the wasteful death of a curious cat. Er... Was this a clan cat? The lingering stench of the monster stung her nose still, but there was a faint scent of something mixed with ThunderClan.

Green eyes carefully examined the she-cat from a distance, unsure of what rank to give this stranger or if they had one at all. She looked rather young, but the height and width of this cat made her think of an older warrior. Surely a child couldn't get that big? "Are you alright? You didn't get hurt, did you?" Heatherberry was ready to use whatever herbs she had already gathered on a stranger, much to the disgust of her clanmates.

Crocus's eyes and ears shifted immediately to the calm voice across the way. Carrying a smell she wasn't familiar with, but had a signature wet mustiness to it that she was sure she'd be able to recognize later. "Erm, Yeah, I'm okay." She meowed, her forest speak rough and guttural, as like a lot of her siblings often spoke the native tongue taught to them by Hank. it was hard to speak the tongue of the forest when your closest family spoke otherwise.

"Erm, you okay too?" It was only polite to ask, as it seemed the she-cat across the way looked quite shocked. While awaiting a response, Crocuspaw brought a paw to her nose to sniff the residue that the path before her left behind, inquisitive and curious despite the earlier shock.

Heatherberry blinked. Had she... Confused what the apprentice/warrior said and answered with something unrelated? Because the words that left the she-cats mouth this time held a strange accent and heavier words. She was far more wary now, not knowing if this was a point of no return if she kept talking to this strange cat.

Hesitantly, she replied. "I'm fine, yes. I'm glad you're alright..." She grimaced at the she-cat sniffing the toxic scent from her large paws. Although she seemed afraid before, it didn't seem to truly bother this cat anymore.

Before she would demande why this cat was here, she would be polite first. "My name is Heatherberry. What's yours?" She wasn't sure what she would do if the stranger crossed the Thunderpath again, but she would- She would do something!

Crocuspaw jerked at the polite greeting and felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. That was so rude of her not to introduce herself first! This cat across the path was definitely older than her, so it was only polite as the younger of the two but it seemed that with the shock she had forgotten her manners. "Oh! My apologies I haven't asked first, Heatherberry- a very pretty name by the way." She tacked on, trying to show that she was kind and pleasant and not at all a threat. "My name is Crocuspaw, Thunderclan is my home! Though I'm sure you knew that already!" Crocus was still trying to sort out all of the different scents she was smelling.

"You're em... Shadoooowclan?" She mewed, drawing out her question and the word as if waiting for Heatherberry's expression to confirm or deny her suspicions. She could smell the must, the dirt, the rancid stench of the path the monster had just run on and the monster itself, and the pungent plants that the she-cat across from her carried. But it was many many smells and was taking a moment to parse.