Shattervenom trotted after her patrol companions, mindful of maintaining a safe distance in case she still towed a few angry bees behind her. Inwardly, the warrior felt grateful that the toms hadn't simply abandoned her to complete the mission on their own; they didn't owe anything to the eccentric molly, and she wouldn't have blamed them for taking off while she completed her extraneous honey debacle. It's not as though any of them were
friends. Shatter got the distinct feeling that Sootflare would rather be anywhere else than forced into a patrol with cats he barely knew—and Icestorm, while kind, wasn't someone that Shattervenom shared prey with on a regular basis. If the trio remained a cordial distance, that'd be... fine. The huntress didn't expect anything more.
And yet, she held her contentment close to her heart. Such a small, simple task, with a fairly straightforward goal... a mission completed with loose teamwork, not a single harsh word echanged among them. Sure, the bar was on the floor—but Shattervenom would gladly take this experience as a "win."
With a low, quiet purr thrumming in her throat, Shatter followed the two toms into camp—smiling around the thick chunk of honeycomb in her jaws.
Sootflare was the first to enter Cowpaw's den with his harvest. Shattervenom waited patiently outside, attempting to ignore the sharp ache of stings that'd made it past the sparse patches in her mud-armor. Nothing
too terrible... the huntress had surely experienced worse. She clenched her fangs against the urge to wince. Thankfully, Soot was quick; the nervous tom backed out of the medicine lounge as though escaping a fire—avoiding eye contact at all costs. Shatter sent him a casual tilt of her head, acknowledging him for his service; she sensed that Sootflare wouldn't exactly appreciate additional friendly gestures, no matter how genuine.
Now, her turn... Shattervenom ducked into Cowpaw's den, squinting as her vision adjusted to the cozy darkness. She placed her sticky prize on a broad leaf, the kind usually reserved for wrapping herbs; the waxy honeycomb overflowed with thick, viscous honey, smelling of sugar and sunshine.
"I know you didn't request this, but I figured you'd find a use for it." A gentle shrug, serious grey eyes dropped bashfully to the dirt.
"There's more where that came from—I don't mind retrieving it. Oh—and I'll get those flowers too."
Before Cowpaw could ask her what she meant, Shattervenom raced out of the medicine cat's den and back out of camp, brushing by Icestorm on her way. She found her batch of marigold right where she left them on the adder rocks; petals stuck to the mixture of mud and honey painted over her throat until she resembled a mythical beast—a being of crackled skin and feathers. When the midnight-and-moonlight warrior tiptoed once again into Cowpaw's space, she was breathing hard from exercise—hot under her pelt. Four fully bloomed marigolds dropped by her paws.
"Alright, here is that marigold... if you want some different yellow flowers, just ask. I got nothing else going on today."
Shattervenom waved goodbye to Cowpaw when she left, hasty to escape in case the medicine cat asked about the subtle welts swelling under her fur. She nodded her head at Icestorm in farewell too, respect gleaming in her gaze although her facial expression remained carefully blank.
"It was nice working with you. I'd be glad to do it again sometime, Icestorm."