New meddie, new herbs [CLOSED]

Without Berrypaw gathering herbs for moons and the fact that Dovefrost had to use a great portion of the herb stock they had left in the medicine cat den, Fawnsong's first duty as the current medicine cat apprentice was to gather enough herbs for the remaining of the leaf-bare season. At first, he reluctantly postponed the trip because of his... condition. The tom didn't want to be seen by anyone in his clan, remaining in the comfort of the dark cave that was the medicine cat den. However, he couldn't keep avoiding it. His clan would need those herbs eventually and he had to learn to identify them all.

The scarred ginger tom left his solitary den and stepped into the camp. The sun was going to rise up soon. Some dawn patrols were starting to get organized but Fawnsong didn't approach the crowd. He still didn't feel comfortable with his scars to go around showing them to everyone. Instead, a black-furred cat caught his attention. He walked towards Batsong, making his presence known by a soft, yet deep mew. With a friendly flick of his tail and awkward half-smile, he greeted the timid she-cat. "I apologize to bother you so early, Batsong." He started, not looking her directly in the eyes, hoping his scarred face wouldn't be so jarring to look at. "I'm going to go the Lone Stump and collect some herbs. The medicine cat den needs some re-stocking after the raid. Would you mind... coming with me? An extra pair of paws would be helpful."

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OOC: The herb hunting will start after the group leaves the camp. Please, respect the posting order for the herb hunting to avoid the clutter of posts ;D. As stated in the description, this topic is open to one more roleplayer that isn't Xaandir and swiftheart, since they will be joining us anyways. UPDATE: At the end, we are closing the topic with 5 rpers! I will post soon to start the herb hunting.

I'm just gonna copy-paste the explanation of the herb hunting put by Mosspelt hehe: So you'll roll one effect dice. Each number corresponds to a potential list of herbs you can find. Once you know the result, you can choose which herb you find from the list according to the number and edit it into your post! If you're not sure how to describe the plant and you want to have them not recognize what it is, the link to the herb list is here for referencing.

1: Nothing is found
2-3: Useful every day herb - Travel Herbs (Burnet, Chamomile, Daisy Leaf, Lamb's Ear)
4-5: Good herb (Goldenrod, Chervil, Juniper, Lavender)
6: Great herb (Chickweed, Coneflower, Chicory Root, Coltsfoot)

Batsong was lost in thought, thinking about the FO battle that had happened. She stared into nothingness thinking about how she was losing her fight against the attacker and how she felt so lost and helpless during the battle. Luckily her clanmates came in clutch and were able to win their matches to help Batsong before she was defeated... or worse... it could have been so much worse. The anxiety she experienced after the attack even when sitting in camp was bad.

She had been so zoned out on her thoughts that when Fawnsong approached she jumped a little, the shy she-cat was even more on edge than normal and he had caught her a bit off guard. Since the attack her stutter had been worse than ever, making talking even more difficult.

She jumped a bit at the voice talking to her but gave Fawnsong a friendly smile. I---...I w--ww...www.would be h-h...happy to helppp she said with a heavy stutter.

She did her best not to stare at his scars, she felt so bad for him. If she had been faster to react to the attack maybe she could have prevented this. She shook this thought from her head, the attack was bad but windclan had won and Fawnsong, although hurt had made it out alive. The pair had gone hunting together before the attack and had gotten to be pretty good friends.

She through for a second then grinned, thinking of a way to maybe cheer them both up. F-...Fawnsong? If its okay w-...with you It might be fun to b-bring Whisperkit? she asked tilting her head. Batsong and Whisperkit had met and got along really well and Batsong remmebered back to when she was a kitten, she had gotten to go on herb hunts with Dovefrost and Swiftspirit so it was not unheard of. and having a kit along could boost morale and get younger ones involved in a safe way.

She glanced to the nursery "Whisperkit?" she called out.

While waiting for the kittens response she looked back to Fawnsong getting more used to his appearence and not making it a big deal, she didnt apprciate when others made a big deal of her stutter so she figured not to mention anything... thats what she would want at least, she was unsure if this was what Fawnsong would want but it was her best guess. "s--s...so, what are we l--...looking for exactly?" she had a decent knowledge of herbs for a warrior having been on herb gatherings before but there were still big gaps in her knowledge obviosuly as she was a warrior and not mca or med cat.

Whisperkit had been resting in their nest near the entrance of the nursery. They spent a lot of time in bed and they often liked to entertain themself with some of the trinkets they'd accumulated over time. Right now,  they were messing with the beautiful stone that Rosepaw had given them before the she-cat's apprentice ceremony. They hadn't found time to talk to Rosepaw in so long, and they hoped that they would be able to find the time again soon.

Their attention drew to the conversation between the new medicine cat apprentice and Batsong. Batsong was Rosepaw's mentor, and Whisperkit had a lovely time meeting her before. The thought brought a small smile to their lips and their gaze shifted to the feather they kept in their nest. It was a gift that solidified the three as friends, even if the older cats were always busy with their own responsibilities. It was a precious item.

Whisperkit?

Their head raised quickly and looked towards the pair. Batsong was calling them? They had heard mention of an herb hunt...did she want them to go with them?

Whisperkit pushed up onto their paws and, after a moment's hesitation, also grabbed the feather and slipped it into their fur. That helped them feel a little lighter on their paws. They walked towards the pair and gave Fawnsong a polite nod. They hadn't spoken with him yet, but seeing as he was the new medicine cat apprentice, he was quite important to the clan.

"Hello," they said to the pair. "I heard you talking about an herb hunt...did you want me to come too?"

Scorchtalon emerged from the warriors den, yawning and stretching, his fur ruffled from sleep. He'd spent most of the night tossing and turning, and when he finally gone to sleep it felt like no more than a heartbeat before the sun was rising. Still, he had to get on with his duties. Shaking off any lingering tiredness, he perked up when he heard cats nearby talking about an herb gathering patrol. Spotting Batsong, Fawnsong, and a kit he hadn't been acquainted with yet, he quickly trotted over, excited by the prospect of a patrol with two of his favorite cats.

"Hey guys! I heard somethin' about an herb patrol, mind if I join ya?"

(ooc: i'm sorry, zenpaii posted while i was writing this, should i delete it? pm me if i should <3)

Rosepaw was never far from her mentor and friend, and she had been worried about Batsong, who seemed distracted and anxious since helping fight off invading rogues. Rosepaw had not been sleeping soundly or peacefully since then either, and with her new habit of waking up early to train, she found herself wide awake before dawn broke. Stretching and shaking out her fur outside the apprentice's burrow, Rosepaw saw her mentor across the clearing staring off into nothingness and winced herself when she saw Batsong startle at the approach of Fawnsong, the Clan's medicine-cat apprentice, seeing her mentor was much more anxious than usual. Her large tufted ears pricked with excitement at the name Batsong called across the clearing and the sight of her friend, Whisperkit.

The pale-ginger wispy-furred she-cat bounded across the snowy clearing on long legs that covered the distance in moments and made her almost as tall as the adult cats though she was only a young apprentice. Warm breath clouding in white puffs, she skidded to a halt, rubbing against Batsong in greeting, "Morning, Batsong!" She looked at Fawnsong unflinching, her eyes warm and wide and innocent, he looked much better than when he had burst bloodied into camp with the warning and though the wounds had scarred, they were healed. "It's nice to see you, Fawnsong!" she mewed, warm and genuine. She dipped her head to shyly and softly nuzzle the top of Whisperkit's, noticing happily the feather tucked into their short white and silver-splotched fur. "I missed you!" she meowed, almost drowned out by a deep loud purr.

Learning to hunt and fight off predators, Rosepaw hadn't spent time with Whisperkit since becoming an apprentice and though that hadn't been long she had really missed them. She was so excited her two friends were helping Fawnsong gather herbs together, and mewed hopefully, "Can I help too?" Rosepaw also hadn't had any luck catching prey yet, and hoped she could be helpful to her Clan this way.

OOC: @isla, is okay! 5 rpers is still a manageable number so you're good to join us ;D
The herb hunting has officially started. Posting order is: Jay Bird, Swiftheart, Xaandir, zenpaii and isla. We will do at least 3 rounds of this order before wrapping the topic ;D. Remember that since we are at the Lone Stump, we have +2 to all Herb Gathering Rolls, meaning that if you roll 0, the real roll value is 2.

Used to Batsong's stuttering speech, he listened patiently to her response. He nodded, grateful for her affirmative answer. "Thank you, Batsong." He wanted to continue talking but before the tom could start giving instructions about the herbs they would be going after, the warrior asked him if someone else could join them. Fawnsong hesitated for a second. He didn't personally know Whisperkit but bringing a kit in such a cold season with predators everywhere didn't seem like a safe idea to him. He still hadn't recovered his sight completely and Batsong was just getting out of recovery after the rogue raid. His amber eyes looked at the white-furred kit, concerned. Maybe if they were more, it would be safe enough for Whisperkit...

And that was when his brother came to the rescue. The ginger, fluffy tom approached the trio, asking to join them. Though Fawnsong envy his littermate because of his warriorhood status, Scorchtalon still was family and was one of the few cats who he truly could be open about himself. "Well, with Scorchtalon here I think we will be okay. The more eyes we have, the better." He mewed in a serious yet relieved voice.

However, once again, he was interrupted. An apprentice he hadn't yet met personally approached the small group. At first, the grumpy Fawnsong wanted to hiss in annoyance by all the interruptions but the genuine and welcoming greeting of the young pale-ginger molly stopped him. He didn't expect... someone would be happy to see him after his humiliating defeat on the battlefield. The tom still felt like a shame to the clan and thought most of his clanmates saw him that way as well. Rosepaw's greeting... changed that perspective a little bit. The medicine cat apprentice meditated for a second, letting his grumpiness go away and he finally forced a smile while mewing to Rosepaw. "Of course, you can join us." His amber gaze looked at the group and he nodded, satisfied for a first-time herb patrol. "I think we're good to go. Whisperkit, stay close to Batsong. Rosepaw, I know you have some training in you but stay close to Scorchtalon as well. We shouldn't run into any danger but... it's better to be prepared for anything. I will tell you what we're looking out in our way there." With a flick of his tail, the ginger and white tom motioned the group to follow him.

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Now in the Lone Stump
By the time they reached their destination, the sun was barely making its appearance on the horizon. Fawnsong stretched his back legs and stopped the patrol, ready to start his explanation. With his usual serious and mostly emotionless voice, he started. "We are looking to re-stock the medicine cat den. Since Berrypaw has started his path walking with Starclan no one has really gathered herbs. We need Chickweed, a fat round-leaf that grows on a tall stem. I'm also looking for a plant with blue flowers whose name I can't quite recall. Don't grab the flowers but the roots of that plant." The tom knew most of the plants and some of their uses due to Hentooth's knowledge but he still didn't quite get the grasp of their names. That was something he still needed to learn from Dovefrost. "Finally, we are looking for Coneflowers, which are pink-violetish flowers with spiked petals, and Coltsfoot, which is a yellow, fluffy-like flower. These four herbs are the most important considering leaf-bare but call me if you found something that looks like a herb. I will tell you if it is helpful or not." Fawnsong made a pause and sniffed the air. The snow made it harder for anything to grow freely but... he could sense the faint smell of herbs that he was used to by now because of his time living in the medicine cat den. "Whisperkit and Rosepaw, stay close to one of us all the time. We will meet here at the Lone Stump when the sun rises to the top."

With no further words, the medicine cat apprentice started his search stepping away from the group. Unlike hunting, tracking herbs didn't require much stealth. However, it required for him to almost touch the ground with his nose as he walked in search of anything useful. Thanks to Starclan, luck seemed to be in his favour. After walking for a few minutes, the tom managed to find some soil under a rocky structure covered in snow. Under it, something smelled interesting so he decided to push the rocks away and dug into the ground. He quickly recognized the herb as the one he couldn't remember its name, but it was definitely it. The blue flowers had not yet bloomed but he could recognize the leaves. With claws unsheathed, the medicine cat apprentice dug deeper into the ground hoping to grab as much as of the root without messing it up as he could. Due to his inexperience, he still scratched the root sometimes. However, once he dug it out from the ground, most of it was intact.

Fawnsong is looking for herbs: He has found Chicory Root (though he can't recall the name)

The member 'Jay Bird' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 6

Batsong grinned happily as Whisperkit appeared.  She saw them wearing the feather and that made her happy as she also had hers tucked behind her ear.  It reminded her of Slightfrost, the handsome skyclan tom that had given it to her and that comforted her a great deal... Though there was an amount of guilt attatched as well as it was not meant to be with them being in different clans.  ... if anyone were to find out... hmm best to keep secret. As far as she knew her clanmates were unaware of the fact all except perhaps rosepaw who she had told as a kitten but she may have forgotten.

Just as she was thinking of her apprentice, footsteps trotted over and Rosepaw brushed against her in greeting of the good morning.  Batsong realized just how much she needed that and gave a little purr of gratitude. "m..,-. morning" she meowed back happily.  Rosepaw had grown alot and was standing now almost as tall as her. It would not be long before Rosepaw was ready to be a full warrior. Batsong was so proud of her and all that she had done with long training sessions to get to this point.  Rosepaw's willingness to help out here was much appreciated and she nodded.  She gave her apprentice a warm smile.

Scorctalon also approached and she greeted him happily as well, she though back to when they were kits and had played together all the time, knocking down snow forts pretending they were enemy cat patrols and the like... he was a lifelong friend and had always had her back... she felt bad lying to him about sneaking off at night but she couldnt risk her and Slightfrost being discovered... even by someone she trusted it would put them in a difficult spot of keeping her secret vs telling goldenstar (the right thing to do)...
between the guilt of the secrecy and the recent battle she had been feeling a bit down as Rosepaw had indeed noticed but seeing all her friends gathering here now, she remembered why she fought to protect this clan and she would do it all again if needed.

She listened attentively as Fawnsong started to explain the plan to them all, pushing her other thoughts aside.  She gave a nod at Rosepaw and Whisperkit when Fawnsong mentioned the part of them staying close by.  She would never forgive herself if something happened to either of them so she would keep close watch over them during the herb gathering hunt. With that, Fawnsong led them out of camp.


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Now in the lone stump

She listened closely to what Fawnsong described the herbs as.  With the explanation over she set out to try and see what all she could find to be of use for the clan.  She did not wonder too far from the group but still, spread out enough that they were not all right over each others space.

She did make sure to glance over and check on Whisperkit consistently and kept a leery eye out on the skies for any potential hawks or eagles that wanted to test their luck.  

Sniffing around the cold hard frozen ground she attempted to smell out any sign of herb life that somehow was not complelty frozen over yet.

...

OOC: the link to the herb list was not working for me... I just googled a picture of Lambs ear plant and will try and describe it best I can.

She stumbled across an odd looking plant. It had soft furry looking leaves that were velvaty to the touch of her paw and its color was of a silvery grey but it was cold outside so it was a little but more silvery than green at this point. Smelling at them she recognized that this was something from the medicine den from back when she had to be treated for random cuts and bruises she had as an apprentice ... hmm so it was probably of some use.

Batsong has found and obtained Lamb's ear plant herb

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

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'Effect Dice' : 2

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

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'Effect Dice' : 2

When they arrived at the stump, Scorchtalon squinted out at the frozen landscape as he tried to figure out which way to go first. Each direction seemed to look fairly similar, so in the end, he just chose at random, making sure to keep close to the patrol. As he walked along, scanning the ground, he found himself looking over his shoulder occasionally, as the threat of trespassers was just as prevalent as the threat of predators. No one would be sneaking up on them on his watch.

He'd never felt much of a need to learn about herbs, especially not when things like hunting and fighting seemed so much more interesting. Admittedly, he'd tried his best to soak up some of his mother's knowledge, but the short attention span he'd had as a kit didn't allow the task to keep his focus for too long. Still, he was glad that out of all his littermates, someone had paid attention. And now Windclan had a medicine cat that was also fully-trained as a warrior. Scorchtalon was just grateful his brother had found a way to continue to help his clan after his injury. If he knew anything about Fawnsong, it was that he would have been devastated to think he was "useless".

He'd been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed the yellow flowers peeking up out of the ground until he'd almost trampled them. To him, they looked just like wildflowers, but he'd definitely seen this plant in the medicine den before. He tried to recall the name of the herb, but the effort to remember just gave him a headache. Regardless, it seemed useful, so he carefully dug up the roots and took it with him.

Scorchtalon has found coltsfoot

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

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'Effect Dice' : 5

OOC: Update notice! Sadly, isla is leaving the site so we will continue without them. The new posting order is Jay Bird, swiftheart, xaandir and zenpaii. Also, I updated the herb list link. It should be working now.

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Fawnsong returned to the Lone Stump to save and hide the herb for later. He cleaned an area of snow next to the stump and placed the roots on the ground. Then, he covered the area with some nearby rocks, hoping that way no animal would snitch the herb away. Once his job was done, the scarred tom looked around to check on his clanmates. In the distance, he saw Whisperkit by Batsong's side. He let out a sigh of relief, knowing the young dark-furred molly would take good care of the kit. He didn't know why but he felt he had a knack for motherhood.

His eyes then shifted to his brother. The young medicine cat apprentice looked at him taking something out from the ground and he thought of joining him. But, as soon as he took the first step, the ginger tabby stopped himself. Shame came over him once again and anxious thoughts of what Scorchtalon thought of him made him reconsider. Shaking the snow out of his fur, Fawnsong finally decided to take another path, not ready to face his family until he figure out his place in the clan and fill comfortable enough with his new role.

As the tom scouted the area at a reasonable distance from the group, his eyes caught something odd: a patch of ground that didn't seem covered in snow. Fawnsong trotted to the area and discovered that, for some reason, the snow of the patch had melted, allowing the seeds buried underground to grow. The white flower was familiar to him and though the cold, harsh season was the cause of how weak and sick the plant looked, the flower was still useful. Carefully, the tom grabbed all the chamomile available and silently thanked Starclan for the good luck.

Fawnsong is looking for herbs: He has found chammomille

The member 'Jay Bird' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 1