On Pins and Needles [Ivystar]

The sun barely peeked over the horizon as Beechface padded along the narrow strip of river that Skyclan's territory bordered. The large tabby silently picked her way through the reeds, eyes uneasily flicking up to observe the other side of the river every so often. She simply wanted to collect the herbs she needed and then be done before the blazing greenleaf weather made being outside unbearable, and with the faint scent of twolegs and dogs that the wind carried, getting away from the river before whatever it is they were doing truly got going for the day seemed like a good idea.

A clump of fennel caught her eye, and the medicine cat made her way toward it, carefully harvesting as much of the plant as she dared while leaving enough for it to grow back. The herbs were set aside, wrapped carefully in large beech leaves, and she continued to search. Marigold was spotted and similarly harvested.

Setting the bundles of herbs on a sheltered piece of stone, Beechface glanced across the river again, tensing slightly as movement caught her eye. Cat, she realized, and she relaxed when the pelt came more fully into view, not a hint of golden fur to be found. Maybe it was paranoia, maybe her unease was justified. Dawnhawk wasn't being sheltered by Riverclan, that unfortunate mistake belonged to the fools running the moors, but Beechface didn't think that he would stay on the moors forever. He'd proven he was willing to attack her clanmates and put capable warriors into the elder's den.

Beechface gave herself a shake, trying to clear her head. The cat padding toward her shared no similarities to Dawnhawk... But wasn't one that she'd made a good impression on, she was sure. Not that Beechface could blame her for that, and she'd at least been angry enough with her own medicine cat for his lies. Beechface could respect that, and after having met Mountainheart along the river not long ago, she was grateful that Ivystar had welcomed the Skyclan kit into her clan. They were sisters and Beechface would have liked nothing more than for Mountainheart to come home, but it was ultimately not her decision to make... And Ivystar's clan had kept her safe, all things considered.

So it was that Beechface's greeting was respectful, if not particularly joyous. "Ivystar." She called out with a slight inclination of her head.