The elder slowly swayed her tail as she thought about what was going on. "Elderberry... Mint! Yes that's my name, and Riverclan, uh..." She took another quick glance around. No that couldn't be true. There was no way that this wasn't—Was Leechscar pulling her leg here? "No I am IN Riverclan, I'd never cross the border of... clans..." Did they say what clan she was supposedly crossing. Maybe this was a new clan, oh now she felt really bad. Or maybe this was some rue to claim Riverclan land? Well despite knowing she should contest this claims she felt too faint right now.
Oh talk to their leader? This would be a good idea! "Yeah I'm sure a leader could help us! They have to keep a watch over everything. You are very smart Leechscar!" She praised her 'kin' with a purr as she followed them along. Someone who was so willing to lead her to their home must also be trust worthy right? ...And she was curious about this new clan she would not lie.
@Fish [First sorry for mixing up her name, I do that sometimes. Second, I'll move this into WC territory in my next post.]
Elderberrymint... yup that was not a name Leechscar knew. He was still wondering how old she was exactly to be this addled in mind. Did old cats just start losing their memories or something? That was a terrifying thought. He'd ask Batglare about it later. He'd take a cuffing over being told he was being rude or bothering his mother.
Anyway, so she knew she was in RiverClan and of the borders. So she had to understand that he wasn't one of her kits right? He wasn't sure how to explain to Twilightstar how he got randomly adopted by some strange old lady. Either way, Elderberrymint seemed to be on board with the seeing Twilightstar. He didn't think it'd be a good idea to take her to the camp, not that she'd remember it with how broken her brain was. But still, he was sure he'd run into a patrol who could go fetch the WindClan leader, or better yet maybe he'd run into her on his way there.
"Alright, follow me and stay close. I don't need you wandering off. Not every cat in my clan is as sensible as me."That and the whole RiverClan cause trouble thing. She'd be taken as a trespasser if she didn't stay close enough. He'd have to keep an ear on her regardless. The fury led the way further into WindClan's territory, wondering if this was a bad idea with each paw step he took away from the border.
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siggy art by redshiftreign
Dawnstar is the leader of ShadowClan. She has a semi-closed den policy as in do not enter without asking permission first or her fangs'll greet you. ShadowClan Resources ||| Dawnstar ||| ||| Kit Curriculum Finder
Arriving at the border it took little to no effort to cross given at this point Crowtooth had the shallowest gentlest path through the river memorized, and the tom guided the two through to the other side before flopping in the water beside a leafy bank. His fur was mud caked right, deep in the underfur below the just messy top coat and he needed the bath anyways.
That was quickly evidenced by the water turning brown, dirt from tunneling and generally dingy fur he didnt groom as often as he should being washed clean by the river. He could easily lay down in the water here without drowning or being washed away and still reach the leafy bank to look for the herbs and so with a contented groan as his exhaustion was refreshed by the water the tom rasped out. "I aint movin' from here so yall stay within' sightline o' me, we're safe but still aint on our territory." Before reaching to nose through the foliage.
It rewarded him with a nice patch of burnet, and the tunneler quickly started fleecing the bush with a content grunt, only to be startled by a fish bumping into his side. It didnt harm him, the thing was just attracted to whatever was in his fur and was not being washed away in the water, but it'd startled him into swallowing some of the leaves prompting a bit of stress in the tom. He might not know his herbs at all but he knew enough to know some were harmful to eat.
Stars Crowtooth didnt wanna panic run back to Lightningstorm because he ate a herb he shouldntve but he didnt know if this one was harmful.... Hmmm.... "Rabbitpaw! Do ya know what burnet does? I accidentally ate some an' need ta know if I should freak out 'cuz I really dont wanna move unless I 'ave ta."
Arriving at the border it took little to no effort to cross given at this point Crowtooth had the shallowest gentlest path through the river memorized, and the tom guided the two through to the other side before flopping in the water beside a leafy bank. His fur was mud caked right, deep in the underfur below the just messy top coat and he needed the bath anyways.
That was quickly evidenced by the water turning brown, dirt from tunneling and generally dingy fur he didnt groom as often as he should being washed clean by the river. He could easily lay down in the water here without drowning or being washed away and still reach the leafy bank to look for the herbs and so with a contented groan as his exhaustion was refreshed by the water the tom rasped out. "I aint movin' from here so yall stay within' sightline o' me, we're safe but still aint on our territory." Before reaching to nose through the foliage.
It rewarded him with a nice patch of burnet, and the tunneler quickly started fleecing the bush with a content grunt, only to be startled by a fish bumping into his side. It didnt harm him, the thing was just attracted to whatever was in his fur and was not being washed away in the water, but it'd startled him into swallowing some of the leaves prompting a bit of stress in the tom. He might not know his herbs at all but he knew enough to know some were harmful to eat.
Stars Crowtooth didnt wanna panic run back to Lightningstorm because he ate a herb he shouldntve but he didnt know if this one was harmful.... Hmmm.... "Rabbitpaw! Do ya know what burnet does? I accidentally ate some an' need ta know if I should freak out 'cuz I really dont wanna move unless I 'ave ta."
Rabbitpaw padded alongside his mentor as they made their way to the Riverclan border. Some part of him, a bit more instinctual than not, was still terrified of this place. Mind bringing forth everything that his clan has dealt with because of these cats before he tried to reassure himself because nothing can go wrong logically. There shouldn't be a single Riverclan cat even here, still, his heart quickened its pace in his chest as he stepped along through the river after Crowtooth. Strange, water was a strange sensiation, Rabbitpaw doesn't think he's ever been in water this deep and he took a moment to paw at the ripples in the water. Hm, it was pretty. But it was nothing like watching the breeze run across the moor and seeing the grass sway in tandem, or wandering beneath the surface, hidden away from anything bad... or, at least it is usually.
He hopped out of the water and flicked an ear in Crowtooth's direction, turning his green eyed gaze towards him to see the older feline in the water still. Fur running cleaner in the once blue-clear water. Oh, not even Rabbitpaw got that muddy. The apprentice giggled, "Lightningpaw would faint if he saw how dirty you are, hehe. He throws a fit when I sit to close to him after just a regular tunneling lesson." He wagged his tail a bit at the thought of his friend and having a lighter time with his mentor. Lightningpaw was so silly like that, so clean, and almost constantly worrying about it. Though Rabbit supposes that Lightningpaw saw his tunneling habits the same way.
Though soon after, the apprentice turned to peer along the banl for anything matching the description that Miss Lightningstorm offered for burnet and borage. Oh! There! Rabbitpaw's eyes narrowed, as they leveled a small bundle of purple flowers down the bank. It wasn't too far away but he padded over to see if it was really borage or some purple wildflower. Star shaped petals, check, dark green, check... Eating Burnet... wait. WHAT? Eating Burnet??? His head whipped around as his brain processed Crowtooth's words and he turned with wide eyes. No! He didn't know anything really! The only thing he was able to really recall right now was that chamomile was specifically for the eyes and that weird, slightly icky, moss shoe things were for cracked paws. Everything else, if he knew anything else at all for that matter, was slipping from his head.
"What- Wait- what!? You ate some? I don't know anything about Burnet! We should go back to camp- You can't die, Crowtooth!? Not when mama just-" Oh, he was being a bit dramatic wasn't he, but his brain knew the dangers of herbs. Of what can happen, and maybe Lightningstorm's words about poison being the herb stores once or twice while Rabbitpaw was nearby also made him freak out. What if Burnet was a poison!?! And wasn't supposed to be eaten but is used for something else?! Crowtooth couldn't die!!! NOOOO! The borage he had in his jaws were crumpled under his teeth as his stress took away any mind to be careful with the herbs. "We should head back to camp, j-just in case!"
[ @isla - Fleetsmoke ]
[ Giving your son a heart attack 101 /j ]
[ +3 crumpled borage ]
Uuuuugh so he'd really screwed up here hadnt he. Dammit Crowtooth was enjoying this outing and sitting in the water, look his pelt was cleaner then it had been in like a moon! He bet once he got out and dried he'd even start to look like his more fluffy main coon cousins like Cowtuft rather then someone who seemed to have stiffer more ruffled fur. Ruffled fur that was in fact just dirty due to a lazy cat who didnt really care about being too messy.
Aaaaaand now he had to go home and potentially be lectured over accidentally swallowing some leaves. Yay.
Letting out a tired sigh (more at himself then anything) Crowtooth hauled himself from the river, shaking the water out of his pelt and sending it flying everywhere before turning to calm Rabbitpaw down. "Rabbitpaw- Rabbitpaw! Chill. I aint gonna die, worst case Ill get a stomach ache fer a couple o' days, Lightnin'storm dont keep poisons in camp after.... Well the 'incidents' an' if this were dangerous she'd warn us. Plus I dont feel bad so I should be fine." In fact he was actually feeling better, more energetic stable and stronger, since eating those leaves. "but just in case we'll keep this short an' head back quickly like. Now gather the rest o' that borage, Ill grab as much of the burnet as possible an' lets mosey on home now an' not linger."
And if he was made to puke once he got back and was lectured then that'd be a potentially funny story for Bravebird when he tried to get her to eat later.
Dustbunny
The she-cat led him to the last border and pinned her ears back as she approached it but not too close. "This is RiverClan's border as you can see, Sedgewater Valley." The she-cat had her floppy ears pinned back as best she could and eyed the territory ahead.
"You must be very careful around here, RiverClan hasn't been too kindly as of late and you mustn't mess around by the cliffside." She waved her tail toward the sheer cliff ahead. Outside of the scent, Dustbunny disliked RiverClan's border more than the clan. She didn't understand how they handled living around so much water.
@Tallstar [Vinepaw]
Vinepaw padded alongside Dustbunny, his eyes wide with both awe and apprehension as they approached the border. When he saw the cliff and the rushing water below, his paws felt suddenly heavier. He tried not to let his unease show, but he couldn't help glancing nervously at the sheer drop.
"Wow, it’s really... high," he meowed softly, his voice trembling a bit. He watched as Dustbunny kept her distance, clearly uncomfortable. The sight of the cliffside made his heart race. "I’ll be careful. I don’t want to get too close to the edge."
He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, but the sheer scale of the drop was intimidating. Vinepaw glanced up at Dustbunny, hoping she could sense his determination despite his anxiety. “I’ll remember what you said. I don’t want to make any mistakes here.”
Ah, Bravebird. It appeared the apprentice might've been concerned about something and Silverrose's whiskers twitched in turn. To care about someone to such lengths, it was a foolish act. But wouldn't deter an apprentice this young from positive influence... In the hopes it would not hurt him in the long run. "Well, whatever the case, perhaps you can bring her some prey once she's feeling better, hm? That might cheer her up."
Silverrose hummed to Lightningpaw, her own words stinging her chest as her thoughts wandered to Weaselskip.
But, no matter. They had a patrol to complete. Huffing a breath she took both apprentices towards the increasingly stale growing border, RiverClan's scent weak. She observed carefully before letting either apprentice approach, determining no threats were near. "All clear."
She mew, ushering both forth. "This is Sedgewater Valley, our border with RiverClan. They ought to be returning soon. Now, Barleypaw. I know we haven't quite marked borders yet, so let's make this day productive, shall we? The difference between our two territories is mainly determined by the scent line, something I'm sure you both have picked up by now. When marking it is important that you leave your scent all along that line without ever crossing. Most often you will mark the border by rubbing and brushing against nearby landmarks, such as trees, stones... Sometimes even the ground itself."
She explained, giving a few examples for Lightningpaw just in case, marking the border as they went. "Let us first begin by thoroughly marking this border, we will hunt some afterwards if time allows."
Lightningpaw would nod to the Warrior as he watched at first for demonstrations then he would get to work. However, Lightningpaw soon found this much more difficult than he thought. Having Riverclan missing for so long well it meant the border scents were very stale and faint. Lightningpaw had to focus hard on not crossing said border. He remembered Twistedpaw and what happened to her and he didn't want to be tortured as well by Riverclan Warriors. Not that he thought Barleypaw or Silverrose would stand by and let that happen. Still he did his best to distinguish the two scents as he rubbed along trees and rocks he saw to get his scent on them. "I've never been here if I am honest." Lightningpaw would tell Silverrose and Barleypaw as he continued sniffing for the scent markers. @Madelaine @Estelle