[iliri]

Springpaw
long-furred, oriental-shaped, gray-and-orange calico molly with blue eyes; torn right ear
purrks: herbal knowledge - tier 2 | the collector | mind reader[all perm. active]

Thick fur bristling, slumped body heaving, the exhausted calico trudged her way out from the rather overly crowded medicine den. Naturally, in situations like these, she would usually thrive under the pressure of being crowded and would just go along about her day. Now? That did not feel like it was the best choice to make from the following factors that happened just so recently. Exhaustion and sleep deprivation had just only been looming over her shoulders like a hard shell of a baren that she couldn’t let go. The peering, watchful eyes of her clan-mates that shot random glances towards her way sent a shiver down her spine, her eyes directed forward just to maintain what little sanity she had left in her body to keep herself preoccupied with coexistence within the world. Fluttering her eyes shut, the crisp cool air gradually entered through her numbed nostrils and poked into her oxygen-needy lungs, exhaling out in a mist of frosty air as a wave of rather dizzying light overcame her body, momentarily making the oriental feline slip on her rounded paws as she tried to keep her composure at check. So much for well-deserved impressment. It felt startling to be standing in the middle of the clearing looking like a foolish piece of prey waiting for the apex predator to strike and take its life. It was almost impervious to the way she was thinking at the moment, but it wasn’t like she could do anything else.

She was out here for a reason; a single reason in particular that was going to be a chance to help find out what is causing everyone in her clan to be so sick and weak from these plants. Clenching her teeth, her jaws were lightly clasped around the same pouch that Bumblestar had brought in recently for the medicine duo not long ago. The dirtied white flower-buds hung out from the leaf-like pouch as she wrinkled her nose at the wet, yet sickeningly sweet smell that eluded off from the bundle of poisonous white flowers that she held in her jaws. Her plan may not be particularly easy, but it’s worth a shot. Springpaw promised Bumblestar that she was going to take a patrol out to the territory and search for any more of these poisonous herbs, and that was what she was going to do. It wasn’t going to be just a simple task, especially given her current status of her closing wounds and the dried blood that faintly stained her fur, she was going to have to pull through and try to gather the right cats for this incoming patrol. Which, speaking of right cats, there were only very minimal options for which cats that would be eligible to go out of camp since there were many of her clan-mates falling drastically ill due to this poisonous flower. It was both heavily disappointing yet incredibly painful to watch her clan-mates try to fight off the worst of the diseases and not even bother to go into the medicine den for a proper check-up. It was almost like her clan didn’t bother to see the good in getting their health taken seriously.

The gushing of the autumn chills that bit through her fur broke through her fragile mind as her blue gaze began to wander up towards the bleak, gray skies above, watching as the clouds slowly moved as they remained concealed over the bright atmosphere of the burning sun. It could be either a pretty sight or a simple reflection that the worst of the cold weather is drawing more and more closer as she stands. Oriental-shaped ears flicked as she glanced around the barely active clearing once more, a heaving sigh escaping her lungs as she slowly began to move her numbed, chilled legs and her paws grew numb in contrast to the cold dirt beneath her soft paws. It left a feeling deep within her chest that she wasn’t quite sure how to put into exact words or perspective, but it didn’t feel right. Drawing in a deep breath through her chilled lungs, the dilute calico tried to steer her clouded mind away from those certain perspectives as she searched around for any potential cats that could tag along with her for just this patrol in general. Was there at least someone in particular that wasn’t affected by this ragtag poison? Exhaling sharply, her blue gaze landed on two mollies in particular, feeling a sharp sense of ease stroll through her as she silently studied the duo that caught her keen eyes.

Larchflame and Dovefluff. Two perfect candidates to tag alongside her for this patrol to hopefully find any more herbs around the territory that looked identical to the herbs that she held gingerly in her jaws. Larchflame was dependable, and always seemed to keep things on track… unlike certain cats. Speingpaw’s lips curled briefly at the thought of a russet-colored pelt slipping past her brain, swallowing the boiling ire down her throat as she shifted her gaze towards her mother. A sharp, seemingly stinging, pang of guilt stabbed at the calico deep within her gut, making her paws dig themselves into the coarse dirt below, entirely resilient towards the temptation of moving towards both mollies. Dovefluff still bore unbearable wounds from the treacherous battle, and a small part of Springpaw’s brain screamed at her that it was her fault that her own mother ended up crucially injured in the first place. That it was her fault that she bore such impotence to help her clan-mates while the tom-cat happily tore through her flesh and twisted the vital parts of her vocal cords to a mess where she couldn’t even utter a single word without agonizing pain targeting such a vital area. It was pitiful, almost heartbreaking even. She didn’t know how to sign; she wasn’t like Cowtuft and could sign away without a care in the world. She knew absolutely nothing about gestures, and she was already half-certain that absolutely none of her clan-mates knew much about sighing either… unless, someone of them actually did and she just wasn't pouring much of her work and efforts into it hard enough to find those specific cats.

Whatever. It was better for her to move on from her impeccable thoughts and speak with the two mollies that had caught her eye within the midst of rather deserted clearing. Shuffling a deep, chilled breath of air into her burning lungs, she finally began to move her stiffened legs towards the duo of mollies as a small, geeky smile wormed its way to her sore lips behind the leaf-like pouch that she held delicately in her jaws. “H… h-hello, L-Larchflame… mom,” Springpaw rasped, trying her hardest to make her voice loud enough for both of the felines to hear her, placing herself down onto her haunches as she glanced back up towards both of the mollies. “I… need cats… to come with… for… something… important,” she explained, leaning down and dropping the dirtied pouch in front of them and gently using a forepaw to open the pouch to reveal its contents inside. The dirtied white flowers weren’t in the best shape, but it was enough for her to show both of the mollies what Bumblestar showed her and Drizzlecloud in the medicine den. “This… is a poison that… RiverClan might… be leaving… in… the territory… I… want… to look… for any more… of these… in the territory…” her throat gurgled and ached while she spoke, her breath catching occasionally in her throat while she explained her intent on what she’s doing to both mollies. “Will… you both… come with?… We can… collect any… important herbs… along the way… if needed.”

@poppy. @Apolloween. [ueue probably gonna give us around like 10-15 days or so to get this done and over with]