your local herb patrol escapade

[Moon Lily]

"Time is a herb
That cures all diseases."


Note: As the herb patrol never finished, and the herbs collected would have been destroyed anyway, we are moving it ahead in the timeline to after the raid.


Irisflame trotted through the undergrowth, knowing that she was practically as blind as Spittle in this territory. The dense forest that Shadowclan had relocated to after the raid seemed like an endless maze of trees taunting her with every step. She could almost hear their voices, beckoning her in every direction. How about left? No! Right! Yes, go right! No...straight? Pushing a rather irritating branch out of the way, she hissed in frustration. Were there really no herbs around here? There must have been an ideal spot somewhere in the labyrinth of pine needles and bark.
"Oh, come on! Have you two seen or smelt anything, I don't know, herby?" She inquired, poising herself on top of a large stone. What she wanted from the vantage point? A herb or two, if she was lucky. She had asked Doetuft and Talonstone- Spittle and Snowflake- to accompany her on the trip, not only because they were new warriors and she wanted to get them and herself to know the territory, but also because they were the only two of her friends that had been available. Ice-clone she still wasn't sure about, Whiskers was healing and Prickles was off doing Starclan knows what. The rest of her circle had yet to reveal themselves. And so, she what remained of her pitiful social life had been dragged on a herb patrol, or an escapade, to make it sound less dull.
Of course, the one main reason she chose the pair was perfectly obvious to those who knew her. Love, put one way. Fangirling another. Either way, the feeling was like sustenance for her, the essence of life.

The fresh air felt cool and welcome to her fragile lungs, which had begged for a walk for days now. The wind whistled past her fretful features, speeding into the treetops. The wind catching her attention momentarily, she chased the swift force of nature with her gaze. It zig-zagged through the trees and up a hill, on which she could see the glow of the sun. Ears pricked in interest, she gestured to the location with her tail.
"Promising, no?"

[ @Arie @bmkmb ]

[Arie]

-- @bmkmb @Moon Lily --

Wow. Another outing with Blueberry? Doetuft wasn't entirely sure how this one would go... but well if it ended up with her in a patch of stinging nettles instead of dead due to eating some herb that wasn't an herb but just an Iris experiment, she would be happy. Oh she would be extremely happy. Tail twitching she took in a deep breath and opened her jaws trying to pick up any scents that would be able to teach her anything. She remembered this stinging scent though. It was something that Irisflame had used for her scratches before... had she called it marigold? Doetuft wasn't sure but well... maybe it would be worth a suggestion. "Hey Blueberry... over here." Unable to resist, she limped, still with painful shoulders but able to walk on her down with the limp, over to Irisflame and waved her paw in her face, before making her way back to Talonstone. "You can... look for whatever... it is I smelled... I think... its marigold... or something? Got... a stinging scent? Not sure." Why had Irisflame dragged her out on this patrol again? Not like she minded practicing her walking despite her wounds but she wasn't exactly a fan to go looking for something she couldn't see. "Is it over there?" she questioned and pointed with her tail, accidentally brushing it against Talonstone's side in the process, and gestured it towards where she assumed the plant would be.

[nocturnal]

[ @Arie @Moon Lily ]

The white tom padded along warily, walking behind the medicine cat and beside Doetuft's flank. Once again, it seemed that they were going herb hunting. Not much had changed since the last outing... other than the fact that they were no longer apprentices, nor were they in familiar territory, hence the wariness. Talonstone wasn't sure what he - they - expected to find in the forest. Of course, they were specifically searching for herbs and other things that could be of use during a healing session, but for whatever reason, the large warrior was expecting a rogue to ambush them at any given moment. It was a strange thought since he couldn't scent another cat for hundreds fox-lengths - which was an exaggeration, no doubt - but there was nothing wrong with being prepared for the highly unlikely. The large trees prevented much light from seeping through the leaves and branches, and Talonstone had the most irksome feeling that they were taunting him. At the medicine cat's verbal poke, the warrior shook himself out of his thoughts and focused his senses onto scouring for anything herb-like. The undergrowth was thick as if too few cats had passed through this part of the woods, and Talonstone didn't think that he could see anything. That is, until Doetuft called for Irisflame, pointing out some small golden flowers with her tail. Well... technically, the tabby was pointing at the area beside the flowers, but Talonstone got what she meant. He was somewhat surprised that he hadn't noticed it until then; perhaps he had been a tad too occupied in his own mind. Doetuft's tail brushed against his flank, but all he did was spare her a glance before turning to Irisflame expectantly. It was progress, though. The lack of response was still better than if he had tensed or moved away from her touch.

[Moon Lily]

[ @Moon Lily ]

little bomp for myself

[Moon Lily]

[ @Arie @bmkmb ]

Irisflame could practically sense the tension behind her. She could have argued it was because of the vast, uncharted territory before them, but she knew why. It's because the two lovebirds want some time to themselves, but I'm in the way. She was practically forcing it one them at the moment. No wonder tension could be felt in the humid summer air.
She flared her nostrils, opening her maw to drink in the scents around her. There had to be at least one herb in this Starclan-forsaken forest! Stepping in the direction of a large fir tree, she drew closer to a strange, musty scent. Squinting through the shadows, she approached what looked like a burrow. It hadn't been occupied for moons. Dropping her maw to peer in, she jumped at the flash of eyes. Great stars. Bristling as a mouse bolted out at full speed, she hissed in the creature's direction. Stupid little no-good vermin.
"I can see, worm." She greeted Doetuft's paw with a disapproving glare. Turning as the young warrior steered her in the direction of the 'stinging scent', she let out a mrrow of triumph. She gave the she-cat a hard clap on the back. The tall-stemmed yellow flowers stared her valiantly in the face, their radiant colour so obvious in the midst of all the darkness.

Before she could lurch forwards to retrieve them, she caught sight of the most peculiar action. A manic smile inched its way up the blue-grey medicine cat's face. What she had just witnessed was Spittle's tail skimming across Snowflake's flank. Padding off as though nothing had happened, she grabbed a bunch of marigolds in her grinning maw. Humming a small tune, she finished with a little- "Lovebirds~"

[Arie]

-- @bmkmb @Moon Lily --

"You can... see little crow? I am... shocked... I didn't know...that was possible." Doetuft couldn't help but jab back at Irisflame. It seemed they weren't able to hold a conversation without insulting each other and then there was Snowflake who was just straight up unable to hold a conversation. What a great group to have for something that required communication of where things where. "Why.. didn't you use.. your eyes... to spot that... plant then," another jab at Irisflame but both mollies knew it was solely joking. It was the basic of their... friendship. Or whatever relation it was crow held to her. "I'm...the useful one.. here," she mumbled as she rolled her eyes at the clap of gratification from Blueberry. It was so very typical. Deciding to focus more on actually finding some new herbs, she held her nose closer to the plants than anything. Her sense of smell was nowhere on par with her sense of hearing but at least it was stronger than any sighted cat's sense to make up for her lack of sight. However it seemed nothing was nearby and thereby went back to sit next to Snowflake, unconsciously leaning into him if just a bit to take some of the pressure off her shoulders. Yeah that was totally her excuse for doing it. Not the fact that she wanted to be close to Snowflake for once. Nope. That wasn't the reasoning. And then Irisflame's comment came and Doetuft couldn't help the sigh of exasperation. Why did little crow keep yammering on about it. "Not... gotten any... good nicknames left...little... lonely... kitty?" Nope. She wasn't acknowledging the lovebird comment, because in her head she knew there was some truth to it.... especially after their conversation the day after their warrior ceremony. Yeah, that'd been an embarrassing mess for both her and Snowflake but hey, now she was fine with the excuse of leaning against Frosty... she needed more excuses to do it. A glint appeared in her eyes as she for a brief moment curled her tail around his for a bare moment then let go and stepped away, an amusing glint. "I know... you can't.... speak through the.. flowers... crow. But... do you... spot any... other useful... things?"

[nocturnal]

[ @Arie @Moon Lily ]

If not for his usual emotionless mask, the warrior would be furrowing his brow at the sudden hostility between the tabby and the blue-grey mollies. Sure, there had been obvious tension in the air, but that wasn't an excuse to let it out so easily. The last herb-hunting patrol hadn't been this verbally volatile, had it? This wasn't his feud, however, so Talonstone kept his eyes on the herbs and kept his maw shut. There was undoubtedly something between the two mollies, some sort of rivalry, perhaps. Like his and Lionpaw's, in a way, but with less physical threats and more verbal jabs. Was the golden tom still an apprentice? It would be strange, if so... to be younger but with a higher ranking. The next Gathering... would the clan of shadows even attend? How would they face judgement from all the other cats looking down on them? It would be an embarrassment to face the other leaders when they weren't even in possession of their own territory. But he was getting way off topic. The tom naturally shifted as Doetuft made to lean against him, something that he had gotten used to doing after moons of contact with the grey-brown feline. Much to his exasperation, he felt his ears warming up at Irisflame's lovebird comment. Why... was that necessary? It wasn't untrue now, he supposed, but it wss still... not right to hear out loud. No... it was right, simply strange. Very strange. Anyway, they were here to search for herbs, not question the status of his and Doetuft's relationship. Looking away from the two other cats, the tom blinked slowly. There were odd stringy-things hanging from the branches of that tree. Not spider webs, he didn't think but... were those important? Herb-hunting, not string-gathering, though. So Talonstone turned back casually, slightly inquisitive but not making an effort to point out what he had seen.

[Moon Lily]

[ @Arie @bmkmb ]

Irisflame rolled her eyes, only too familiar with Doetuft's antics. She found it was best to ignore her. If you continued to projectile vomit angry words back at her, she'd only copy. It was like dealing with an annoying sibling. Only the warrior was a friend and at least ten times more infuriating than a sibling. She wondered how they'd even managed to tolerate each other in the first place, with all the fighting and prodding they pulled off. Glaring in the direction of the brown tabby, the medicine cat sniffed in disdain.
"Maybe because I hadn't looked over there yet? Don't think I wouldn't have found it, you little nuisance." She growled, a deep frown dressing her maw. It was remarkable that Talonstone hadn't burst out yelling at them yet. She admired his patience. He'd need it, if his actions suggested he wanted to get closer to Missus 'Sugar Puff' here, he'd need it. "Why yes, schnookums, you are so very helpful." She sniped sarcastically, her eyes rolling in a dramatic arch. She couldn't help it. After all, Doetuft had taken a shot at her without a proper fiery comeback. It was only fair she got it in another situation.
It seemed that her frivolous fangirling had gotten her somewhere. Staring cooly at the pair as if she had suggested nothing of the intimate sorts, a grin appeared beneath her mouthful of herb. Perhaps they disregarded it now, but she'd be watching the two of them closely. Talonstone seemed particularly flustered by her brief comment. This, and Doetuft's disregard, only continued to prove her theory. There wasn't a reason she couldn't continue to go through with this. If she pried too far, she'd back off. But neither of them were yelling their heads off or flushing in embarrassment just this yet. Great Stars, she'd be hell to be around if they did take a step further in their relationship. Judging by her reaction to the last few that she'd discovered, anyway. Tail flicking in a dismissive manner, the medicine cat shrugged in the other molly's direction.
"Honestly, booger, I could create a poem of entirely nicknames for you at this point. I haven't used a large portion of 'em, but if you'd like me to call you 'sweetness and light', I'm up for it." She drawled, poking her tongue out in a ride manner. All she and the other she could do was prod and stir and poke at each other. Surprisingly, it never got tiring. She could say it irritated her deepky, but she never grew tired of their quarrels. Eyes sliding their way over to the pair of tails that she could have sworn touched for an instant, a grin lit up her silently amused face.
"Stop denying the subject matter, dear. We all know it's true." She purred sweetly, the sugar within her tone so obviously false. Although she could feel the familiar thrill that her fanatic side brought to her coursing throughout her veins. It wouldn't be long before she went off ranting obsessively like the next mad apprentice or warrior.
"Well...I think that's some chervil over there. And- hm? Snowflake, what were ya looking at?"

[Arie]

-- @bmkmb @Moon Lily --

This was... interesting. Nothing could go properly when she was with Irisflame could it? Doetuft couldn't help but feel bad for poor Snowflake who had unluckily been dragged into this. The white tom didn't deserve it but what could she do? Let Irisflame batter her with insults? That didn't seem sustainable to Doetuft at least... maybe it was but it was to be seen sooner rather than later. "Did...I ever... deny it?" she returned. In truth... she hadn't but that was another small complaint to be added to the evergrowing pile of complaints when it concerned Irisflame. Did the molly want her to admit to her words? Nope... wouldn't happen. But Doetuft wouldn't deny it... since it in truth was the exact truth of what had happened or what... the pair had realized. Flickering her ears over to the silent presence of Talonstone who still stood where he'd been standing for the past long while she just smiled secretly. It was fun, making little Crow doubt and think over and over again. But they were here for a reason and that wasn't, 1) make fun of their relationship, 2) call each other nicknames. Nope; it was rather concerning the fact that they would now need to go out and gather herbs. More herbs. In case there was more injuries or at least that was what Doetuft presumed the idea for going out here was. And then Blueberry pointed out some herbs and Doetuft couldn't help but roll her eyes in silent frustration. Where was 'over there'? Having no sight was more troublesome than not when it came to hunting plants because it wasn't like you could hear them move. Deciding to add in her own question to Snowflake she poked the tom lightly, "Do you spot... whatever it was that.. Crow pointed... out?"

[nocturnal]

[ @Arie @Moon Lily ]

The frosty tom was getting rather bored of the she-cats throwing insults back and forth. Any other feline might be intrigued by their sniping words, but Talonstone only saw it as a pointless bother. They'd been at it for the entire trip. It was only his high level of patience and disaster tolerance that stopped him from storming off in exasperation at the two mollies constant bickering. That, plus the fact that bad things might happen if he accidentally upset them. These were two of the most dangerous cats in the clan of shadows, and the reasons as to why weren't actually that different between them. They were both capable of harming him outside of a proper, claw-to-flesh battle. Should they ever face off in a proper fight, though, the white-furred warrior was fairly confident that he could win. The tom attempted to distance himself from the bickering lest he accidentally begin rooting for one side over the other. It was difficult when they were being so loud. The trees were close together in this overgrown area of the pine forest, and noises bounced back and forth, amplified as the echoed off of the bark of the trees. If it came down to it, most likely he would side with Doetuft, but he would much rather stay neutral during their verbal war. Stop denying? Denying what? Talonstone's mind uselessly supplied a possible and likely answer, judging from those earlier comments that Irisflame had made about his and a certain tabby molly's relationship. Guardians, why was it necessary for a medicine cat to know about their clanmates love life? This was what he had to put up with on most days. It made him wonder why Irisflame had chosen him and Doetuft out of all cats to go herb-hunting with her. It might've been because they already had experience with the activity, or maybe the medicine cat just wanted to make fun of them. It came to mind that all three of them were ex-thundercats, but the warrior didn't see what that had anything to do with this. Chervil? What on the earth was that? The frosty tom glanced at where Irisflame had been looking to, then froze as she called him out. Nothing wouldn't be an appropriate answer, disappointingly enough. "No," he meowed in response to Doetuft's question. "There is something... similar to cobweb, but doesn't appear to be made from spider silk," Talonstone explained, tail pointing at the tree he had seen it on. "It is hanging from the lower branches of a tree, not far ahead of us," the tom added, mostly for Doetuft's benefit. Hopefully he had explained well enough for the sightless cat.