a passing glimpse [o]

With each day that passed in ShadowClan, Thalia was a little more confident. It still wasn't often that she ventured past the camp entrance on her own, or at all outside of the patrols (where she wasn't as bad as she'd expected to be), but she'd felt like doing something a little different; and suddenly recalling one of the less destructive aspects of Asylum had driven her to venture out on her own for once. It was still early in the season, so she was faltering a little in hope that she'd be able to find enough flowers, but - well, Roe had managed for his lessons, even if they'd had access to more territory than she did now at the time.

Each step was one she second-guessed, not having lived here long enough to know the marsh particularly well; but she knew the telltale signs of flowers, shapes of petals and flashes of color. It was enough, at least, for what she wanted them for; and it was nice to feel like something she chose to do had meaning just for herself. It didn't make any difference to ShadowClan if there were wreaths and crowns of leaves and petals, not really - but it meant something to her, and that was all that mattered in the moment.

Murkystrike was slowly making her way back to camp, a lizard and a skinny squirrel dangling from her mouth. It had been a lucky catch, really, and she was certain that the mud had been one of the things that attributed to her being able to catch it, but regardless it was something to bring back. As she walked towards camp though, she noticed a familiar figure walking away. She recognized one of the stolen kits, Thalia, she thought she recalled Pyrik calling her. Storing her catches carefully among the roots of a nearby tree, she padded over and called out softly. "Ummm.... Thalia, was it? Hi. I don't know if we've formally met yet, I'm Murkystrike. What brings you out here?"

Even the soft call of a stranger led Thalia to startle, but she managed not to jump (constantly reminding herself that she didn't yet know where best to step), and she recovered easily when the scent and sight reached her. Another ShadowClan cat, rather than a stranger. "O-oh, sorry! Yes, that's me... Um, I don't suppose we have. Or, I guess we have now, I-"

She stopped talking for a moment, taking a deep breath. Reminding herself that there was no reason to panic. This was perfectly safe, and she hadn't done anything wrong - even if she had, somehow, she hadn't even found anything yet. "I was just looking for flowers!"

Murkystrike hesitated, caught off guard by the apology and sudden back to back statements. As the she-cat stopped and took a deep breath though, Murkystrike relaxed and waited patiently for her to compose herself. She still wasn't expecting the answer she got though. "Flowers? What are you looking for flowers for?" The warrior looked around, not really seeing many flowers at all. Had she ever taken note of where she had seen any? They hadn't really served her any purpose, although she supposed that she recalled seeing some among Rookfire's herbs. Was Thalia helping Rookfire? If so, was there other warriors helping as well? "Are they for Rookfire? If so, I can help you look if you tell me what to look for." The prey would be alright for a little bit, at least.

Thalia shook her head. "Not this time! That's not a bad idea, though..." Even as she spoke, she kept searching; wondering if she'd be able to find enough for what she wanted. "So I guess I'll just find as many as I can, and see if he can use any of them and then keep the rest?" Lightly prodding at any promising plants with careful paws, she glanced back at the older ShadowClan cat. "I was taught how to make... Um, what was it that Roe called them...? Right! Flower crowns!"

Proud of herself for remembering, she stood a little taller. "I know that the, um... The pelts aren't... They're not exactly fond memories for anyone else." She'd been wearing hers more often since settling into ShadowClan, even as she grew more accustomed to her new surroundings (old habits, it seemed, were especially hard to kill), but she hadn't worn it near the borders as of yet and she definitely hadn't taken it with her to the Gathering. The Nightstriker scar on her face was a clear enough sign of who and what she was, there was no need to make it worse when she was already surrounded by strangers. "But there's not any violence involved with this, so I didn't think anyone would really mind it... You wear them. Just because it's nice. I thought it was nice to make them, too, so..."

As Thalia shook her head, Mukystrike's tilted. If she wasn't looking for flowers for Rookfire, what did she need them for? The she-cat went on to explain that someone named Roe taught her how to make... "Flower crowns?" Murkystrike breathed, her confusion evident. "What are flower crowns? And... I'm sorry, can you tell me who Roe was? I don't think I ever met them." Murkystrike noted, sounding curious but not hostile. At the mention of the pelt, Murkystrike nodded slightly. Pyrik didn't really wear his for the same reason, but he did keep it, and she could understand why. "Where do you wear them? How do you make them? Do you need a lot of flowers for it? If so, I'll help you if you show me what these... Flower crowns are." They sounded pretty nice, and the warrior's interest was certainly piqued.

"You take the flowers and some vines, and you weave them together. It takes time, and you've got to be careful, because they can break when you're making them... But they're pretty, and they're not that difficult. I don't know if I'm any good at teaching, but I'd be happy to show you how!" She purred, overjoyed to have caught someone else's interest. "You don't really need a lot, but it's nice to make more of them, and if you break the stems by accident you need to be able to replace them."

The other question was... Well, it was a little more complicated.

"Roe was..." How could she best explain it? It was hard to pin down just what Roe was to her, beyond someone she'd looked up to and respected and tried to learn from. Part of her makeshift family, the one that had torn apart; the cat who had told her to stay behind as he led others to a future unknown. A parental figure, in some ways; an influence on who she was and who she was trying to be. In the end, he was someone she loved, just as much as she loved the rest of her family. "...Important to me. He was - he is - family. He, uh... He led the others away, after. To do something better. And I'd like to think he taught me a lot of what I know. The better things. He taught us how to make these, too. But that doesn't matter as much, does it?"

Murkystrike blinked slowly as she tried to picture what Thalia was describing, and laughed nervously as she found it difficult to imagine. "I think I'll just have to wait for you to show me, I'm not quite sure what it will look like. It sounds nice though! I'd like for you to teach me." The warrior purred in response, nodding in understanding to her last statement before the conversation turned back to Roe. "Oh, I see.... I think it matters, Thalia. You said that he is important to you, right? If that's the case, then I think it does matter, quite a bit. You're a part of ShadowClan as much as I am, and we take care of and look after each other. That's part of being a clan. I'm... Excited to learn this thing that he taught you. Maybe someday I'll learn even more, if you ever care to share them."

"I guess I'm not the best at explaining things," Thalia admitted, still searching every visible tail-length of space for any suitable flowers, and tugging at the occasional one she spotted in an attempt to gather it. "But I'm okay at doing them, most of the time. Any kinds of flowers will work, as long as they're not the kind that are better used for something else. You just have to look for things that look pretty, and find a bunch. It'd be easier, but I still don't really know the territory here super well... And there's not any place that's just covered in them, like there was in WindClan, so it's a little more difficult that way, too."

"I see..." Murkystrike murmured as she watched Thalia carefully select and collect her flowers. With a swish of her tail, the warrior turned and looked in a different direction. Finding a small batch of delicate, white flowers, she looked over to Thalia. Motioning to them with her tail, she called out. "How are these? They have pretty long stems. They're not really colorful, but..." She trailed off, waiting to see what the she-cat had to say.

Thalia purred in response. "If you like them, then they're perfect! It's not something that has rules, really, it's just... What you think looks nice." Or at least, if there were rules, she didn't know them; and she was happy with that. "I use the brightly colored ones, mostly, but that's just because I like them. You should do what makes you happy."

"Okay!" Murkystrike purred, carefully plucking the stems of the white flowers. Once she had gathered a small amount in her paws, she continued her search. Soon she had a small collection of white, yellow, and purple flowers held carefully in her jaws. Padding over to Thalia, she set them gently on the ground. "I think I have all the ones I'd like... How do you make it into a crown?"