Guiding Light [Muddypaw]

Snow was melting, and Beechface grumbled as a clump of it slid from a tree, landing directly into the back of her neck. She gave herself a shake, ears twitching at the uncomfortable sensation of the icy droplets dripping down her spine.

Searching for herbs felt strange without having someone watching her every pawstep. After so long, it felt wrong to be totally alone in her own territory. It was the way things should be, but the Asylum's presence had been something she'd reluctantly grown used to, not that she had ever accepted them. Now, Beechface spent most of her days trailing after her father in much the same way the Asylum had done to her, making sure he didn't hurt himself- or others. Today though, Smokefeather had growled at her daughter to go off on her own for a bit, and Bloodstrike had seemed happy to agree with her.

Beechface was worried, but she did need to find herbs to replenish her ever-dwindling supply that seemed in constant demand. Bloodstrike was better than he had been, at least, so she'd left camp in search of what she needed. She found that she was enjoying the quiet, honestly.

"Hey! Beechface! WAIT FOR MEEEE!" Muddypaw hurried as fast as he could to catch up to the medicine cat. He didn't know if she actually wanted company, but he did. From the sounds of it, herb-hunting sounded a lot more fun than hunting real prey. And a lot more difficult to mess up. "Can I come herb hunting with you?" He said once he had caught up, already out of breath from running to meet his aunt.

Drawing himself up to his full height (which was still tiny next to the massive Beechface) he tried to reason why he should come along. "You need... uh... protection! Yeah! Meany rouges might still be hanging around." A playful glint lit his eyes as he spoke. But he quickly stopped when he spotted some of his aunts scars, which he could see better now that he was nearer. If something did happen, she'd probably be the one protecting me. "And also I haven't looked for herbs before. Is it like real prey? Is it easier... ooo please say its easier!"

Beechface froze midstep, one paw still raised at the sound of someone calling her name almost frantically. Her immediate thought was that something had gone wrong with her out of camp. Someone was hurt, or sick. Or... Something. Muddypaw's voice was recognizable, and the medicine cat turned towards her nephew, a look of concern on her face before the rest of his words registered fully.

"Of course, Muddypaw." She couldn't turn away her own nephew, and the tom was as cheerful as his mother usually tended to be. It was a nice change from the rest of her worried, stressed, insane family. The thought that telling him to go off and something else was quickly dismissed. Knowing the apprentices, Muddypaw would find a way to get into trouble sooner rather than later if she did, anyways.

A low snort escaped her at his comments about rogues, though Beechface wasn't so sure that she could protect him well if more than one showed up. So far though, the forest had seemed quiet and she she'd not seen hide nor hair of the Asylum once they'd left the territory. It was as if they'd vanished.

"In some ways it's easier." She mewed, taking a moment to consider, "Herbs don't run, and don't care about getting caught like our prey does. On the other paw, their scent is harder to distinguish for someone unfamiliar with them than prey would be."The snowmelt was doing a good job at dampening scents, too. But the forest looked better than it had since Skyclan had returned to it.

((OOC: no need for the herb dice since I have that req... I'm thinking she could maybe help guide him over a path of unfamiliar territory or something? Help him identify things [she'd do that anyways tbf lol]? up to you really))

Muddypaw listened eagerly to the medicine cat, interested in helping out. He started sniffing the air, trying to look like he knew what he was doing, until he remembered he didn't even know what he was smelling for. "What are we smelling for?" He whispered, even though there was no need to be quiet, since firstly, the herbs wouldn't listen in and get scared like prey and secondly, (probably more importantly) he had been shouting so loudly earlier that no amount of quiet now could undo it.

As nothing much was happening at that very moment, Muddypaw immediately had to fill it with conversation. "Uhm... what exactly is going on at the moment? Like with the clan and Bloodstrike and everything?" It was a question burning in his mind since Asylum had left, so he was taking care with asking. "I know that we beat Asylum and stuff, but uh... yeah I don't really know what's happening. I would've asked mum, but she just... seems quite upset about it and I don't really know what to do. You seem a bit more... uh... you know." Less sensitive? Cold? Less emotional? Much less likely to burst into tears? Not really things that he wanted to say. He loved Primroselight more than anything, and he knew he couldn't comfort her if her wasn't even sure what she was sad about.

Busy and caught up in talking, Muddypaw was paying less attention to where he put his feet, something he regretted later on. Tripping and stumbling was perfectly normal for him, being clumsy and everything, but only being able to see a few paw steps ahead clearly didn't help. His paw stubbed again on a loose rock in the ground, tripping him up and this time making him stumble slightly into his aunt's side. "Oh.. er sorry about that." He said, embarrassed. Usually his sight didn't cause any issues. Usually.

"Bloodstrike... I'd love to know exactly what the Asylum did to them and pay them back in kind." Beechface said, a hint of a snarl creeping into her voice. "He's in... absolutely awful shape, there's no other way to put it. Even when Spottedstar came back to us from the fire I don't think he was in as bad shape either physically or mentally than your grandfather is now. It's going to take him moons to make a full recovery, if it's even possible. He's stubborn, and that's a good thing until it isn't." Good because he wanted to get better, but stars was he a terrible patient. It wasn't his fault he was cranky and mercurial at best and deeply annoyed with his own limitations. His nose was sensitive and right now, his stomach was more sensitive than a pregnant queen's. He'd always been sensitive to the smell of herbs, but it was definitely much worse now. The only thing that seemed to truly help him were poppy seeds, but this couldn't last forever. Poppy seeds weren't a cure for anything, in truth, they just treated the symptoms.

"Watch ou- Sorry, wrong phrasing, I suppose." She mewed, offering the apprentice a steadying shoulder before he could fall on his face. If he'd let her, she would try to carefully guide him around the terrain that had tripped him up and to ground that was more even. Primroselight had gone through great lengths to familiarize herself with the territory, but Muddypaw was young. Asylum dogging their every step until very recently had likely made any real training more difficult, too.

"Come on, you." She mewed, leading him a different way than she'd originally been moving. This time she was more careful of watching their surroundings for obstacles that might trip him up.