Spark [Smokepetal/Firepool]

Beechfang was slowly becoming more comfortable around her new clanmates. She followed Smokepetal out towards the great ridge, feeling oddly relaxed. Another warrior was with them today, though for the moment their little patrol was quiet. That was fine with Beechfang. She ought to say something and try to get to know them... But the silence was more familiar. Comforting, almost. For now, she kept her ears open and scanned their surroundings. It never hurt to be vigilant.

Firepool was ecstatic to accompany Smokepetal on patrol... though he had his anxieties about Beechfang. She had been Skyclan, then left, then returned, and the tom knew nothing about her besides that. Well, and that she had numerous scars. It was impressive she hadn't bitten the dust yet! Those were thoughts best kept to himself, though, the she-cat tended to radiate a sort of grumpiness. Padding along in silence, the ginger tom occasionally scented the air, looking for prey. Maybe something he could give to Smokepetal, a gift of some sort.

Until a scent came along, though, the tom would watch for signs of danger. Smokepetal had been a warrior, but he still felt a need to look out for her. How could he not?

Despite the silence that followed them from camp, Smokepetal was in a great mood. The sun was shining, the rain had given them a break, and there was even a nice breeze here and there. The smoky tabby bounced along the trail that led to the Great Ridge. This wasn't an official herb hunt - she'd just tagged along on a hunting patrol simply to get out of camp with Firepool - but nevertheless she found herself poking around, anyway. You could never find too many herbs, right? And it was always nice to know where they were growing.

"Oh, Firepool, look!" she said excitedly, waving her tail to him as she stood over a patch of leafy green herbs. "There's burnet here, I hadn't noticed this patch before!" Her eyes shined as she looked at the plants, and then raised them to study the tom's handsome face. "Do you remember what burnet does?" Smokepetal had taken to explaining herbs to anyone who would listen. Anyone who wandered in to the medicine den got an earful of what she was currently working on... and seeing as she spent a pretty decent chunk of time in Firepool's company, well... the poor tom probably heard more about herbs and medicine than he'd ever hoped to.

She didn't give him much leave to respond, though, as her constant chatter only continued. "We use it for traveling herbs, mostly - and with as many apprentices as we have now, stars do we need it..." she trailed off, grinning at him, and then her gaze traveled back to Beechfang, who was bringing up the rear. She didn't know a whole lot about the older she-cat, other than the fact that she was Wolfblossom and Plumleaf and Birdstar's momma, and that her own mother adored Beechfang. And she'd been a medicine cat once. That was good enough for Smokepetal to like her - not that she particularly misliked anyone. "Beechfang!" she called out. "You probably know this place better than either of us. I bet you know where every herb grows in SkyClan territory."

Beechfang let out a soft huff of amusement at Smokepetal's words. She was enthusiastic about sharing her knowledge, that was always a good sign, she thought, listening as she explained the use of burnet to Firepool. It seemed like Skyclan had medicine cats who were enjoying their duties.

"And there will be plenty more new apprentices soon enough." Wolfblossom's grandkits were about that age now, they would start being apprenticed soon and then the clan would be in trouble. "The warriors will have their paws full with Wolfblossom's grandkits before they know it, and then you'll be stuck making back to back trips to the moonstone." Beechfang sounded amused... And grateful that it wasn't her responsibility to take all the apprentices on the journey to highstones. No, that was now Smokepetal's responsibility.

"I'm sure I've forgotten a few spots by now. It's... been a long time." Beechfang mewed, "But the ridge and by the creek have always been good spots for most things. Easier than raiding twolegplace... Though coneflower and catmint are worth that hassle."

Firepool had been enjoying the walk, though as soon as Smokepetal called out to him, he was immediately at her side, looking at the burnet as if it were the stars. Smokepetal had told him to look at it, hadn't she? Then she was looking at him, and he couldn't exactly look at himself, so he stared back at her, drawing back slightly because of her enthusiastic turn. "Oh, burnet. I, uh..." Try as he might, the poor tom just couldn't remember what burnet did. There were so many herbs, and Smokepetal was really good at remembering them.

He wasn't, though.

Thank the stars she continued explaining. He wasn't sure what he would've done. Beechfang spoke up after Smokepetal retrained the conversation on her, talking about warriors and their paws being full. "Nothing like being busy, I guess. Better to be busy with something good like apprentices than something else." Something else worse, Windclan and Shadowclan were at each others throats. Thankfully, Birdstar's alliance with Thunderclan and Riverclan had given them peace. The tom was thankful he hadn't known war yet, and a part of him hoped he never had to. For his sake, and Smokepetal's.

A scent wafted on the air toward the tom, and with a muffled 'excuse me' he immediately started hunting. He'd find something good too, just like Smokepetal had. There was a bird in the branches of a nearby tree, singing with no regard for the danger lurking beneath. Climbing was something he had gotten exceptionally good at, and he scaled the back of the tree swiftly, just barely creeping onto the branch of the bird. It never even saw him coming as he clamped down on its throat. A shame, it was a beautiful bird with a flash of blue on its wings. Gently, he plucked a few feathers from it, burying the rest of the bird near the tree as he returned to the rest of his patrol.

The member 'Alex' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

"I don't mind, really," she said earnestly, watching Firepool move off to have a go at some prey. The trips to the Moonstone were exhausting when they had to be done back to back, but Smokepetal enjoyed getting to know the apprentices, liked showing them things that they didn't normally get to see while in SkyClan's territory. "The conflict between WindClan and ShadowClan has made it... worrisome, sometimes. I'm always afraid we'll get mistaken by an invading party, and-"

The striped she-cat trailed off, not wanting to say out loud the things she had heard at the prior Gathering. She was sure Beechfang had been briefed, of course, but somehow speaking it aloud seemed wrong. ShadowClan and WindClan, murdering cats over a border skirmish... despite her best efforts to remain unfazed, she couldn't help the bottlebrush tail that accompanied her unease.

Firepool had returned now, and Smokepetal smiled, moving close enough to butt her head gently to his shoulder before turning back to Beechfang. "Luckily we haven't had much need for catmint... but I've been stocking up when I can, to prepare for Leafbare. I wish there were more places it would grow out here... I think SkyClan's about had it with Twolegs."

"Windclan are stupid, but I don't think... Okay, maybe they are that stupid." Beechfang muttered dryly. "I'm sure they think they're the smartest clan in the forest, though." Hopefully, those fears would not come to pass. "I used to have similar concerns... It's never easy, leaving the clan for days just to go to the moonstone for one foxdung reason or another." She fell silent then, as Firepool veered away to find prey. A successful catch later and he was trotting back to them.

Beechfang's whiskers twitched in amusement as she observed the two interacting together. There was something familiar about it, about how Foxtrot seemed to hang onto Smokepetal's every word, how Smokepetal nudged his shoulder with affection... Maybe a little more than affection. The thought made herr smile softly to herself, remembering her own relationships. To be that young and have good cats around you... Her expression cleared when Firepool spoke.

"True, Firepool... Nice catch." She murmured. She wondered if either were aware of how the other watched them. "Apprentices going to the moonstone are one thing... Making time for your friends and loved ones is better use of that time, though." Beechfang shrugged. Her tone betrayed nothing of her inner thoughts.

Smokepetal's comment about the twolegs made her nod. "It's always good to stock up. I agree about the twolegs... I think the entire forest has had their fill, really."