SkyClan Herb Hunt [03-2024]

Welcome to SkyClan Patrols and Duties: Herb Hunt!
With war injuries still on the mend, and threats ever-present, resupplying the herb cache is more important than ever!

RULES: Traditional posting order applies. Roll an effect dice each post and refer to the following chart. Since this patrol takes place at the Great Ridge, there is a +2 to all herb gathering rolls!
6: Burdock Root, Chervil
4-5: Goldenrod, Tansy
2-3: Poppy Seeds, Borage
1: Nothing or Foxglove, Nightshade

Patrol Leader: Smokepetal
Participants: Honeydew, Myrtlebloom, Bubblebeam

Honeydew

Honeydew had taken up the rear of the patrol. On their way to the Great Ridge, it was pleasant to take in the scent of tiny growing things sprouting up beneath every leaf. The sun shone down, dappling the forest floor, and the breeze was warm. Honeydew raised her chin, allowing it to flow through her long, thick fur, and opened her mouth to draw in the tantilizing scents of prey and herbs all around them. Undoubtedly, newleaf would be upon them any day. Honeydew had never experience newleaf before, but she had heard stories of what the forest could look like. Excitement buzzed through her paws as the patrol finally arrived to their destination.

"It's such a beautiful day," she cheerfully chirped, glancing around her patrol at her friends. "What a perfect day for gathering herbs!" Ever since she was an apprentice, she preferred the calm of gathering herbs to hunting for prey or battle training. She had assisted the medicine cats before, back at the Southern Lake, but the forest offered so many more opportunities.

She nodded her head at the medicine cat's words. "Thank you, Smokepetal," she mewed. "Don't worry, I learned at a very young age to avoid deathberries - remember?" her whiskers twitched at the memory of her and her little squad of siblings finding deathberries and trying to feed them to Harespring when they were kits. It was all just a game, but they had been scolded and grounded for many days afterwards. Then with a dip of her head to the medicine cat, she turned and considered which path she should take. The other two, Bubblebeam and Myrtlebloom, had already dispersed into the undergrowth. Honeydew chose the opposite direction.

She kept her pace slow, her jaws parted to bring in the scents of the forest. There was so much to pick through now that plants had begun to regrow, a challenge to her senses. During the frost of leafbare, there weren't nearly as many scents in the forst, which made hunting easier. Now, Honeydew had to remind herself that she was hunting for plants rather than prey.

Honeydew sorted between the scents that flooded her tongue, picking out those that reminded her of the bitter tang of the medicine den. She had eaten a lot of herbs during her recovery, and allowed this to guide her as she pawed through the loose bracken and twigs, clearing away the old to reveal the new.

She caught the scent of something sweet, rather than bitter, and it reminded her of the flowers she had recently found just outside camp, tinged with an earthy undertone. She snuffled around, finding soft blue petals, and gently uncovered them. Honeydew wasn't sure what this plant was called, but she definitely recalled seeing them in the medicine den.

Rolled a 3 (1 + 2), finding borage.

"Smokepetal," she called, gently scraping away the bracken and dirt that surrounded the plant. "I've got... something useful, for sure!" She dug until she found the plant's roots, and, convinced it wasn't poisonous, gently pulled it up, roots and all. Were this plant's roots also useful? The she-cat did not know, but she began carrying it back towards the place where they had departed, happy with her findings.