BUT TONIGHT WE DANCE [ ✦ ] lungwort discovery

[LITTLE WOLF]

The journey has been nothing but challenge after challenge. Obstacle after obstacle. But they had overcome. Together. She tilts her head to the sky, blue and beautiful, and she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath of mountain air. It feels clear up here, crisp even. Like the smell of leaf-bare without all of the snow. If she did not have an obligation to her clan, to her family, she would think about settling down here with Hailstorm, starting her own family somewhere far away from the drama and the wars that plagued life in the clans. But Little Wolf has children and brothers and sisters waiting for her back home and they are not cats that she would ever dream of letting down. Her mind flashes especially to Duskpaw, laying in his nest and fighting off yellow cough. It may already be too late, she may come home to find him gone, off to join the ranks of the stars with his sister, his uncle, his grandfather, but Little Wolf holds onto hope.

When at last she lowers her gaze back to the earth she freezes. To others it may look like her body was being held captive by some unknown force but really, she cannot believe her eyes. There… was that a flash of purple? Excitement makes her whole body tingle and she breaks out into a huge smile and she turns to whoever was closest to her. "Guys!" she says, trying to get everyone's attention "Guys look!" she says again. She could scream to the heavens right now and it took everything in her to not go rushing forward "Is that lungwort? Did we do it?" tears spring to her eyes at the idea that their journey was over - they could gather the lungwort and they could go home to their loved ones and their family. They could save them.

She didn't want to be wrong, however, so she waits for confirmation from Magpiepaw, ShadowClan's medicine cat in training, before she will truly allow herself to celebrate.

​

OOC NOTES . ✦ . CHARACTER INFO

• ooc : — ​
• 
  

  ➵ she / her
  ➵ thunderclan warrior
  ➵ mates with Hailstorm
  
  

  

  - - a small, black furred she-cat with short hair and green eyes
  ↪ toyhouse [ ✦ ]
  
  - - Little Wolf is a kind hearted she-cat who loves deeply and freely. She believes in living in the moment and isn't afraid to voice how she really feels about another cat or a situation. In her experience, life is too short to hold back and if you really mean something then why not just say it? If you get on her bad side or if you harm someone she cares about, she is the type of cat who would hold a grudge. She is a mother before anything else and although she is not particularly a fan of fighting she will defend her kits with the ferocity of all the ancient clans combined.
  ↪ ISFJ-T 'the defender'
  
  ➵ skilled hunter
  ➵ HOWLINGSTAR X GRAY WOLF; sister to Hollow Tree, Lily Pad, Cobwebtail, Graystorm, Raccoonstripe, Jackdawflight and Berryheart; mother to Fireflypaw, Burnstorm, Howlfire, Morningpaw, Moonwhisker, Skypaw and Duskpaw
  
  ​

 

[Magpiepaw]

He nearly tumbles into Little Wolf on his excitement to get down and examine the plants, stumbling along and bopping his head against her side with an apologetic mewl before whipping around to look at the flower. Magpiepaw drops to a crouch, wriggles forward until his nose is all bit touching it. They could not risk bringing back the wrong plant, there was no time to make another trek back, too many lives were on the line. So he took his time examining it.
The apprentice remembers his and Starlingheart's fear when they realized ShadowClan had none of said plant, how Berryheart had given them some and his respect for the tortie healer grew significantly that day when he thought it could not rise higher. Violet flowers, speckled leaves, the tom described and it was more than apt. When he'd first seen the herb himself it was a little underwhelming given how important it was. It could've just been a pretty flower really, but it was so much more than that despite it's simple appearance. A sniff is offered, tentatively, the bitter tang of a medicinal plant struck his nose.
This was it. He was sure of it, he'd never been more sure of anything in his life.
"IT'S LUNGWORT!" The black and white apprentice blurred out enthusiastically, head raising upward to look back at all the other cats.
"This is it! This entire field! It's here!" He wanted to cry, wanted to scream his excitement, but instead he slumped into Little Wolf's side with a sit and pretended for just a moment that the black she-cat was Starlingheart and she was here to share their good news.
​

 

[clearheart]

━━ι═══════﹥ His muscles ache and every step is a reminder of bruises earned along the journey here, but every sore twinge sheds from him like rain from leaves as Magpiepaw's voice lifts above their heads. He is not quite so loud in his joy, though his smile is wider than it has been in recent memory, and his gaze finds Honeyjaw, dark eyes radiating warmth. He had never lost faith in StarClan's guidance, and here is his reward— and what a gift it is to see the field of violet framing Honeyjaw's silhouette.

"Our path has not ended, but success will lighten our steps home," he murmurs before descending into the field, approaching the medicine cat apprentice. Starlingheart will be proud of her student beyond measure, he is certain. "Would you demonstrate how to harvest the plant, so that you needn't go it alone?" He asks his fellow ShadowClanner with a gentle earnesty. ​

══════⊹⊱≼ ɪɴꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴ / ᴛʜᴇ ᴀɪʀ ʜᴀɴɢꜱ ʜᴇᴀᴠʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴᴄᴇɴꜱᴇ / ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ≽⊰⊹══════

• — CLEARHEART / / 40 moons old / / amab and uses masculine pronouns but will also accept the use of neutral terms.
  — a warrior of shadowclan / / currently mentoring dragonflypaw / / excels greatly in combat above most all other skills.
  — former loner who wandered great distances & rarely remained in one place for long / / arrived after the great battle.
  — devoted to starclan above all else (aside from his idea of the common good) / / not prone to enter battle mindlessly.
  
  — of a height slightly above average / / trim and athletic with a sense of immovability about his posture/stance & size.
  — chocolate sepia w/ low white / / fur is quite short for the most part / / tail is naturally bobbed // full-body reference.
  — fairly warm demeanor much of the time; there is a "softness" about his features so that neutrality doesn't seem surly.
  
  — lawful good, in the sense that he likes to maintain order and work toward bettering lives around him without cruelty.
  — often misunderstands figures of speech and may interpret them literally. as such, can seem to lack a sense of humor.
  — deeply genuine; dislikes lying immensely, and so (most of the time) he is wholly earnest, especially with compliments.
  
•  
•  

​

​

​

 

[FERNGILL]

Not once had Fernpaw grown hopeless, but the fire of impatience was perhaps the only warmth he could possibly feel. With every step, his heart thumped, willing him forward- the higher up they got, the more often his mind strayed to how long it had been. How long Mudpelt and Steepsnout had been hunched in that den- how long Ravensong had been thrown back-and-forth, tending dutifully to the sick. At every obstacle he'd insisted they couldn't slow down- and he marched faster than ever as he heard Little Wolf's peaking tone, the joy that kissed it.

Bounding toward the other cats, Fernpaw's verdant eye glittered with amazement as he gazed upon the field. It was vibrant violet, the sorts of flowers he might see Sablepaw gathering. In truth, he couldn't believe something so important could look so relatively normal- like normal flowers, gorgeous as they were.

The ginger tom did not hide his smile- in truth, he didn't even try. How could he pretend this was anything except amazing, that they'd made it here? "It's beautiful," he sighed, transfixed for a few moments by the sight. The next steps didn't occur to him until Clearheart spoke- they'd have to harvest it, now. And it was so precious and so wonderful- they needed to know the right way to do it, so that everyone could carry as much as possible.

So that they could finally go home.​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[iciclefang]

◇────────────【☆】★【☆】────────────◇​

XXXXXAfter the arduous climb up the mountain, the journeying patrol has lapsed mostly into quiet contemplation. Their paws are sore, muscles aching—every cat among them breathes in frost and exhales clouds now. Flakes of snow fall and melt against their noses, eyelids, cheeks, but Iciclefang swears she can feel some of her whiskers beginning to weigh down with ice. She would be amused, were it not for her exhaustion. She keeps her paws steady, her eyes focused only on what’s ahead of her.

XXXXXIt had begun to seem almost hopeless. They’d bee away from their homes almost a moon now—the moon is beginning to ripen in the sky. In a few sunrises, her apprentice may attend his first Gathering without her. Her father and sister still—hopefully—lie in Ravensong’s den with crusted eyes and nose, feverish and aching. Cicadastar no doubt wonders if the cats he’d sent on StarClan’s journey would return at all. She wonders if they will send the wayward cats a sign now, some hint of a way they should be going—because what if the medicine cats had been wrong? They’ve been in the mountains for a few days, and they’ve found nothing, nothing but rock and snow and ice.

XXXXXWhen Little Wolf exclaims, Guys! Guys, look!, Iciclefang lifts her head warily. What now? What new obstacle are we meant to clear, StarClan? She blinks snow from her gaze, her tail lifting with surprise. Where the ground slopes downward, a frost-laden meadow of blue-flecked blossoms is tousled by the breeze. It waves and ripples, almost enough to make her homesick for the river, for her motherland. Relief, too, ripples through the journeying cats. Magpiepaw’s exclamation is enough confirmation for them all. They’ve found it.

XXXXXBeside her, Clearheart of ShadowClan asks the medicine cat apprentice how to harvest the stalks, and she blinks, grateful he had. What if they’d all just fell onto the plants and begun to tear at them? What an awful, awful waste it would have been. To her other side, Fernpaw breathes about how beautiful the plant is, and she has to agree. “It looks like mercy,” she says quietly. “For Mudpelt and Steepsnout.” She looks at her brother, wondering if he’s feeling the same way right now but daring not to hope for him to look her way.

─────────​

​

 

[Orangestar]

𝐵𝑈𝑇 𝑇𝑂 𝐴 𝑊𝑂𝑀𝐴𝑁, 𝐵𝑌 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐸𝑁𝐷 ✧ 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐋𝐋 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀

• 
  
  — orangeblossom | tags
  — she/her ; deputy of skyclan, mentoring eveningpaw.
  — scarred white-and-ginger she-cat with brown eyes.
  — "speech" ; thoughts
  — chibi by waluigipinball
  — penned by mercibun. @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots.
  
  

​

"All of it?" Orangeblossom echoes, uncertainty dampening her voice as she comes to stand at Little Wolf's other side. To her, all the plants look the same. She's not Dawnglare, thankfully, but that mercy of fate means she has no herbal knowledge to lend to this group. She's no use to them in identifying the leaves or the flowers. Her leg aches horribly after the ascent, but her jaws still work. She could help to harvest the leaves.

StarClan, there's so much ... Enough for all of SkyClan five times over, probably. Brown eyes slide sideways, towards the other Clan cats. Just as well, too. She doesn't trust that they would split it up evenly if there weren't such abundance in this field, even despite the challenges they've overcome together. Still, it's nice; a sweeping relief, the knowledge that their quest hasn't been for naught and they can go home now with their bounty, provided they don't all freeze to death in the snow on the way back.​

 

[Needledrift]

Magpiepaw confirms their bounty and for second, a moment, Needledrift feels as if she could cry. Elation, fear, exhaustion, hunger, relief, relief, relief all crash down on her in a great emotional tidal wave. Perhaps she hadn't been wrong when she had thought of Heavybranch and Flickerfire leading her with invisible, starry paws. On the contrary, they had lead her and the rest of the journeymen right to what could most easily be called salvation. With so much to go around, Smogmaw's family would live - would thrive. Starlingheart's children would be okay. Everyone would be okay.

She slumps against @orangeblossom , unintentionally, but certainly comfortably. Her visions blurs as tears finally well up from her previously barren ducts. Despite everything - the pain, the hunger, the water, the heights, the tension, the distance, the worry - Needledrift had not shed a single tear... until now. Now, now that her makeshift journey-clan had made it, now she cried sweet tears of happiness and relief.

"We-we ca-an go h-h-home..." She manages between hysterical sobs. "I--t's all right here! We can go-o home!" ​

 

[Magpiepaw]

The apprentice gives a rare, confident nod to Clearheart's encouragement before turning around in a circle so he can face the cats still approaching the field and lift his head, "P-please pay attention, take care where you walk. The Lungwort is the violet-colored ones with the speckled leaves...." His voice is shrill and he raises a paw to the lungwort next to him before leaning down to pluck it up as close to the ground as he can, leaves and flower all snatched upward with a quick clamp of teeth before he deposits it gently back down for anyone to come get a closer look. "The entire plant needs to be eaten, so grab it as close to the base as you can to break it off. The flower, leaf and stem are the cure, not the roots-so you don't need to dig it up. It's uh...it'll feel really fuzzy and uncomfortable, so we maybe should find big ivy leaves to help us carry them."

​

 

[DOEBLAZE]

✿ | after nearly a moon of it, she's almost grown used to the daily hours spent trekking through unfamiliar terrain, evident in her newly muscled limbs and calloused paws. almost—the mountains have presented a fresh challenge, craggy and unforgiving, rocks ready to split open a paw-pad and birds circling death's shadows overhead. that eternal vision, set against the clouded blue backdrop of the sky, of her clan returned to its health is what keeps her putting each roughened paw before the other, eyes trained ahead for whatever challenge might next await them.

little wolf's ringing call breaks the relative quiet of the clean, snow-scented air, and bobbie follows her vibrant green gaze. her own muted eyes widen at the ruffled river of spotted leaves and purple blossoms, but like the other warrior, she waits with bated breath for magpiepaw's confirmation. it comes in an enthusiastic shout and bobbie lets herself breathe, gaze roaming across the field of nodding plants, watching as the medicine apprentice slumps against little wolf, struck by joy.

one of the shadowclanners, quick to the logical, asks how they can all help harvest. fernpaw sighs at the beautiful sight of enough cure for all the sick to gorge themselves on, and even his ice-hearted sister murmurs an agreement. orangeblossom is as pragmatic as ever, and a hysterically sobbing shadowclanner collapses against her; bobbie can hardly blame needledrift for being reduced to tears by the sight. stars above, she's repressing some herself, but bobbie merely whispers, "we found it. we can go home."

the vision of her children, of her clan, of blazestar flashes behind her eyelids and she, too, could nearly sob with relief. magpiepaw turns to face them all, though, and so she trains a calm (hopefully) gaze upon him as he instructs them. she nods and steps forward, doe legs moving carefully between the plants as not to squash the precious, precious cure. "there's enough for every clan's sick here," she remarks wonderingly, peering at the innocuous-looking plants, adding, "we'll need to carry back as much as we can, so we should probably find some big leaves like magpiepaw said."

emotion chokes her for a moment before she pushes it down, making every scab along her back and aching step worth it. being dragged dripping from the river, empty-bellied days in the caves, guiding cats up the cliff until her claws felt as though they'd splinter—it's all worth it, in light of these simple plants. "i can't believe we found it all," she allows herself to whisper, shell-shocked gaze on the little flowers. the tabby murmurs softly to herself, "thank you, starclan, for this blessing."

if they can hear us all the way out here, anyways, she thinks wryly, leaning to the plant's base as magpiepaw had instructed and sinking her formidable fangs into its stem, yanking it up despite the bitter medicinal taste. bobbie sets it down next to magpiepaw's first find, nodding again and adding, "fuzzy is right. feels like i'm trying to eat cobwebs or something."

ooc ✿ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅

• ooc:
  

• 

• 

  ( BOBBIE ) ✿ WARRIOR OF SKYCLAN.
  x she / her ; 40 moons.
  x mother to lupinepaw, crowpaw, & drowsypaw.
  x a small, pretty lilac tabby & white cat with a fluffy mane & sage-green eyes ; sweet, sociable, and somewhat naive to certain aspects of clan life.
  x currently in an era of self-assessment and trying to figure out exactly who she wants to be.

​

 

[smogstar]

Attempting to capture his misery in written form would fall short of conveying the true depths of Smogmaw's anguish.

Muscles hollered out for reprieve yet found not a scrap. For days unending had he plodded onwards, kept company by lacklustre conversation and fleeting, dreadful reminders of his afflicted kin at home. Their lives hang precariously in the balance, and with each day's first light and final twilight, the scales tipped an impossible degree against Swanpaw and Halfshade's favour. Possibly more, presuming efforts to contain the contagion had failed. It's a spectre haunting the recesses of his thoughts, impervious to even the power of positive thinking.

He's a realist, unfortunately, not a pessimist—and should the prevailing patterns in their luck (or lack thereof) hold any weight, the chances of reaping the rewards they all sought were exceedingly slim.

Exhaustion. Fragility. Ineptitude. Whatever one may want to call it, his facial features bore the full heft; the rest-deprived nights at last exacted their toll. Ears, downturned, remained ignorant to conversation sailing overhead, and the tom instead relied on hollow-sunken eyes to herald incoming pawsteps.

Little Wolf's eruption snaps him to full focus, however.

His vision sways upwards, and the coming breath hitches in his throat when it lands on what'd prompted her commotion. "Wha?" he goes, struggling to gage the significance of the discovery. The description of lungwort given to him by Starlingheart shirked his memory, and thus his ability to provide an answer was sorely lacking. This changes within the resulting moments. Magpiepaw emits a shriek like his namesake, and though grating, his words give rise to a grin on the deputy's mug. "This... wow," Smogmaw drawls. He's thoroughly lost for words. "This changes everything."

Hope, admittedly, came in scant supply throughout this journey's toils. It was not hope for his family's sake that propelled him across the twoleg bridge, through the claustrophobic caves, up the sheer cliff face. It was necessity. But within him now shone a glimmer of encouragement, sapped and frail like the flowers before them. His loved ones may yet rise to good health once again.

The ashen tabby eagerly follows in the SkyClan warrior's stead, a noticeable pep now in his step. "In light of the awful journey which led us here," he mouths in Magpiepaw's trajectory, "this can't be that uncomfortable." With that said, the tom elects to mirror Bobbie's movements and pluck a stem as delicately as his anatomy allowed.

It was uncomfortable.

Not a moment is spared between retrieving the plant and spitting it down to the slowly-growing pile.​

 

[SHARPSHADOW]

A raised head at the back of the crowd. They erupt into clamors, all of them. Rippled along the line is hope, salvation, the reason for all their troubles; for the cold that was now biting into each and every one of their pawpads. It must be the crowd — yeah, the crowd. The relief rippling through each of their pelts that eventually, of course makes its way to her too. She breaks into a trot, and suddenly she’s slipping her way around pelts of each and every color. She passes Fernpaw and Iciclefang in awe, side by side. Needledrift is slumping herself against SkyClan’s deputy, of all cats. Magpiepaw sounds more medicine cat that he ever has before, crowing his bird’s song beside Clearheart and the pelt of a ThunderClan warrior. Sharppaw's body is warm, despite the frost that set itself over clumps and clumps of lungwort. She’s running, and then… she stops.

He is just behind his mentor, the tom bent over stems of Lungwort like it is bountiful prey, and he has not eaten well in moons.

Sharppaw had no loved ones in need, though. In fact, she wasn’t sure that she had any loved ones, at all. What was she here for, really?

He is recoiling, but nothing has burned him. Precious stems are plucked with a delicacy that none of them would be afforded, upon their return home. Sharppaw wonders if they would all return home to a den of corpses; or if all who stayed would remain, and they would lift their heads to the dull world once again. There is jealousy bubbling thick, as his mentor clamors for a family that wasn’t even with him; a purpose that would not so much as ring in Sharppaw’s ears. The point was — there was none. He is here because Smogmaw said he would be, and he hates him for it.

She wants to scream, but probably not for the reason she should. He’s done what he was supposed to. Why couldn’t that just be enough for him?

The air hums. Heads are dipping. There are paws clawing at the frozen ground, and frantically – Sharppaw joins them, so that she could hide in the illusion that she is like them, with sick gullets to stuff and cats at home that would sing her praises. In a way, they might, but she would not Sharppaw then, she would only be one of them. Surely Smogmaw will be promised the world. And it is him, that she copies. She ducks her head in just the same way. Stems are put in their pile in just the same way.

OOC † LOOK SEE, ISN'T IT INTERESTING? NO, YOU'RE NOT EVEN LISTENING

• 
  

• 

• ( IS THAT NOT BRAVE ENOUGH FOR YOU? ) SHARPPAW: Mentored by Smogmaw
  —— he / she , no pref , icked by they prns ; fine with gendered terms ( tom, molly, etc... )
  —— currently 15 moons old. warrior ceremony delayed due to lackluster progress.
  
  a dark smoke feline that stands at an above average height. Easily identifiable by her namesake – an unruly mat of fur, destined to be cluttered by inconsistencies between her chimera fur. Burdened with a broken tail. Recently, she has realized it can still function, though she has wholly believed in its utter uselessness for so long that it cannot without great effort. Anxious, antisocial, paranoid. Sharppaw has not known peace for a single time in his life, and lives anticipating inevitable dangers to the detriment of herself and others.
  — Obsessed with the perceived 'game' within ShadowClan, the rules of which she is unaware of. Striving to be someone more likeable due to this.
  heavy ic opinions! he sucks.

​

 

[GENTLESTORM]

✦ Being here in the mountains and away from the clans was definitely a fresh breath of air, Hailstorm feeling light but in a good way. There had been a few spats here and there but they had finally made it to where they needed to be, all their efforts were finally rewarded but much like Little Wolf... His mind briefly makes him think and imagine of little what ifs, the thought of simply settling down her where it was all so much more promising than all the havoc that the clans provided back at home. Even if Hailstorm had friends back at home, he didn't have a family much like Little Wolf and possibly removing himself from Thunderclan would be easier so long as she was by his side. She's his home and would forever be such. She made him feel safe and even if his thoughts were selfish, her voice breaks him out of his daydreaming and he turns to where she was looking. Lungwort. It all comes back to him... Hailstorm brightens at the sight of it as he walks forward to brush his pelt with his mate and grins "Thank Starclan... We'll be home in no time and Duskpaw will be better," He muses quietly to her as he affectionately presses his nose to her cheek.

His ears perking up at what Magpiepaw says about the plants being fuzzy and picking them could potentially be uncomfortable, he silently doubts it considering all that they had gone through. Surely, it wouldn't be that uncomfortable. The cave was the worse part of it all, he's certain of it especially now as he leans forward to pick the plant as instructed and winces in the slightest beginning to wonder if Berryheart dealt with this constantly. The discomfort. Stronger than me for sure. He thinks through half amusement and places his own picked plant on the pile, there would surely be enough for all the sick cats back at home.

* ˚✦ YOU FOUND ME HERE; UNDERGROUND

• 
  ✦ 47 moons old
  ✦ thunderclan warrior
  ✦ bisexual demiromantic; single
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ✦ semi-difficult in combat; relies on strength and his burly build
  ✦ peaceful powerplay allowed
  ✦ penned by bosstaurus

​

 

[hazecloud]

By countless miracles and answered prayers they had all made it here, and mostly in one piece. As the rise alongside the crest of the mountain Hazecloud's focus trailed to the view over the cliffside. Pale sunlight stretched between the clouds to extend its rays down to snowy caps and frigid stone. Mountain sides were coated with snow and trees dotted the land below before spreading until a full fledged forest below. She's never quite seen a forest from this angle, so high up as though she were a hawk scanning it over for prey. It looks so much smaller up here, and she wondered how the river might look from this high up.

The thought suddenly made her feel queasy and she quickly stepped back to join the others. Little Wolf trilled that they they've made their discovery and she doesn't believe it- not at first. It isn't until she joined to stand at Fernpaw's side, taking in the sight of the field full of their precious cure, that she could believe it.

Tears well at the edge of gentle green eyes as she smiled. Full of bittersweetness, relief, and several other mixes of emotions begin to overwhelm her. "This is a sight we'll never forget." She murmured, brushing past the flame-colored tom to follow the actions several others have taken, clawing at frozen dirt to loosen the stem from its hold. Her teeth carefully grab for the stem and it feels like cobwebs on her tongue. Hazecloud is quick to drop it in her own neat pile- "RiverClans." She said to Iciclefang, low enough so only the other tortie could hear. This would be the pile they collected to take home, no one else's.​

 

[Mosspool]

Mosspaw rushed toward Little Wolf's voice the moment she called out that they had found it, barely daring to believe that it might be true, and eager to grab what she could for her own clan if it was.

"Thank Starclan." Mosspaw breathed. Joy and relief flooded her in equal measure. There was more lungwort than she had dreamed existed in the entire world right here in front of her eyes, there was no reason to worry that she might not get enough for her own clan. With even a fraction of this brought back to Riverclan, Ravensong would be able to cure the whole clan if need be. This could only be the work of Starclan.

All the doubt and fear that had plagued her since the rockslide fell away. Suddenly, she felt as though she had the wisdom of the stars, and she was certain that they would make it back to their clans safely. It had been foolish of her, she thought to ever think otherwise. Starclan was watching over them all. They would not fail.

Mosspaw laughed, joy radiating from her as she began to gather up as much lungwort as she could carry. She bounded from Noticing Hazecloud making a little pile, the neatness of which appealed to her own sensibilities, she was quick to contribute what she had managed to gather to it.​

 

[FERNGILL]

Every transgression and toil was gone in that moment, as he heard his sister speak beside him. Now was a time he could not hold onto upset- he looked at her, verdant eye teary. "They're gonna be alright," he told her, voice thrumming with a certain disbelief. It felt like dream- like mercy, Iciclefang had said. She was right. "They're really gonna be alright." His voice crackled with emotion. Picturing them, earthy shades and black-and-white hunched in the diseased darkness, had been overwhelmingly difficult. Now he could be sure they had what they needed- it existed, and the only task left to do was to go back to them. Their lives no longer hung in the balance, and his optimism felt much less as if he was attempting to convince himself of an overwhelmingly uncertain future.

At Magpiepaw's instruction, Fernpaw nodded, thrill brimming from him like the swelling river. Every blink that twitched on his face was hard, forceful- as if there was the tiniest chance that this wasn't reality, that he needed to jostle himself awake. But in dreams the ground didn't feel this real, and the sensation of the lungwort in his mouth was unlike anything he'd ever felt. Hazecloud was right- he would never forget this. Beauty untempered by something unpleasant, because... even if the lungwort felt strange, he could never say it was anything other than wonderful.

"Cobwebs," he repeated after Bobbie, the word bursting from him with a laugh. The light of the fieriest dawn shone from him, and as he gathered one plant, two plants, he could nearly imagine the yellow glow of gratefulness in Steepsnout and Mudpelt's eyes. He laughed for a bit too long at Bobbie's observation, apt as it was, funnily phrased. He couldn't hold it back.​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[batwing]

.i'll be your calm, —————————

————————— before the storm!.

▵ ———————— ◮ ———————— ▵

It had been a long and arduous task that led them here. The sickness, the slow downfall of the clans. It had surrounded them before they left, and each clan had sent a team of volunteers, those that weren't sick and could still travel. Those that didn't feel fear in their hearts at the task ahead. The mountainous ranges beyond the Moonstone, beyond what territory Windclan lay claim to. It was far from home, and it was full of treacherous terrain and twists- some of which they had long since seen.

Snow showed evidence of their travel behind them, the sun glinting off of the white surface. He had been cold each night, but as Little Wolf calls her discovery, his heart plummets. Not in a bad way, no, but in the 'my hope just came true' kind of way. The cold would have well been worth suffering if her claim was true. Magpiepaw slid down the hill next to Little Wolf, and as Batwing crested the hill himself, his maw parted.

Drinking in the cold air like a refreshing drink of spring water- the scent of lungwort rushes over him. He wants to inscribe this into his memory, to never forget. To know the salvation was in their paws, and that those suffering back home would survive. Thoughts whispered to him, asking him if they were even still alive, but it didn't matter. Not right now.

Batwing whooped loudly, sliding down the hill and laughing. He was excited. Who wouldn't be? Emotions were high, and Magpiepaw was reminding them to be careful where they stepped. A nod followed- he couldn't respond aloud, choked with emotion himself. He opened his mouth to speak, and choked on his words. He turned his head towards where the sun was coming from, between the peaks of the mountain. "I'm going to go find some leaves!" He called.

The warrior turned on his paws, but he was still very excited, bouncing and humming to himself. He padded away, to find a collection of leaves to help them carry the cure home.

"speech"​

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[iciclefang]

◇────────────【☆】★【☆】────────────◇​

XXXXXThe others begin to clamber around the edge of the shallow ravine, their eyes misty with emotion and their voices rich with hope that had eluded them for so long. She cranes her neck around to survey her companions—Orangeblossom and Needledrift, the ShadowClanner slouching against SkyClan’s stern-eyed deputy, Bobbie trailing into the flower patch and beginning to tug at stalks, Smogmaw following suit. She sees Sharppaw, his face a tangle of emotions she could not begin to decipher, and soft-pelted Hazecloud stops near her to whisper, RiverClan’s.” The pile of lungwort blooms she drops at Iciclefang’s paws is theirs, and she nods to the older warrior, eyes flashing. “Understood,” she murmurs. They had to be sure they got their share—all the Clans would surely be looking out for themselves in that regard.

XXXXXFernpaw returns her look, his single green eyes dewy with relief. Iciclefang, in a rare gesture of affection, leans forward to brush her muzzle against her brother’s ear. “I can’t believe we did it,” she says in a low voice. “Though, we still have to make it home with all the flowers in tact.” She flicks an ear in acknowledgment at Magpiepaw’s instruction and follows Mosspaw and Hailstorm into the meadow. She carefully places her jaws as close to the root as she can, blinking in surprise at the fuzzy, cottony texture of the stalks. Like cobwebs, Bobbie had said—and the RiverClan warrior has to agree.

XXXXXShe drops her collection into the pile, surveying the other Clans as they do the same. “Batwing has the right idea,” she says. “I should find something we can carry these in, right?” She slips away from her group, eyes surveying the less-than-lush foliage lining the mountain slopes. The silver-smoked ThunderClan warrior doesn’t seem to have found anything suitable yet. “Let’s check over there,” she mews, gesturing with her tail to a sparse clump of ferns. “Maybe those leaves are wide enough?”

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[DUSKPOOL]

anger makes you stupid . stupid gets you killed .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

He stood stock still, wonderin’ if he really died in those damn caves, mangled ear twitching at the relieved responses. Their journey was almost over. He blinked, turning his scarred helm. Would ya look at that? His gaze crinkled, listening to Magpie’s instructions. “Let’s hope we make it back.” He muttered, barely audible to anyone’s ears but his own.

Duskpool chuffed, expression softening because they really did it. He glanced at the cats gathering as much as they could, dropping them into their well-respected piles. He tossed a glance over his shoulder, a sense of melancholy wrapping him like a blanket. He breathed. Suppose StarClan doesn’t want me joinin’ the ranks. He thought in amusement. He didn’t dwell on the thought, because there really was no tellin’ where he’d end up on death’s doors. He sure as hell didn’t deserve it.

The SkyClan warrior’s chest rumbled. I’ll see ya soon, kiddos. He wanted to hope. He wanted more than anything to see his kids again. To see Pearlpaw and Drizzlepelt. He’d be able to wrap Lostmoon in a firm embrace. He knew how difficult it was, watching him leave, but Duskpool needed this. He still wasn’t all right in the head, but the distractions were better than nothing. He had been pullin’ away, nearly savoring the idea of leaving the clan hoping to barricade his heart. He had been terrified then and still was of losing his family.

He’d just gotten better at hiding it. Duskpool huffed, turning his attention back to the gathering cats with a languid blink. Right. He limped forward, scanning the area for somethin’ big enough to carry the lungwort, wooly tail flickering. ​

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thought speech​

 

[STORMYWING]

☁︎

Stormywing had been at the back of the group when Little Wolf's exclamation cut through the cold mountain air. She had made quick work of the slope, galloping up the snowy terrain until she could shove her way through to see the sight for herself. It's lungwort, Magpiepaw confirms, and Stormywing feels a giant grin form across her snowy muzzle. "WE DID IT!" She yowls, uncaring how loud her shout is. Laughing, she slides down the other side of the small hill into the clearing. On quick paws she is scampering about - she bumps playfully against Batwing, leaps over Stormpaw, brushes against Iciclefang, she even prods excitedly at Fernpaw.

Her laughter devolves into giddy chuckling as she slows to scan the clearing, yellow eyes shining. There's more than enough for every clan's sick. They've really done it. After the medicine cat apprentice's instructions, Stormywing is quick to dive in and begin harvesting plant after plant, perhaps going a little faster than she should be, but she isn't doing much damage to the plants as she excitedly clips them with her teeth.

I WANNA TASTE LOVE AND PAIN ☁︎​

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[Mouseflight]

Although the journey here so far had been filled with many things Mouseflight found himself disliking, the call from Little Wolf quickly caught the tunneler's attention and his ears pricked, eyes widening as he looked at the plant before them. Relief rushed through his body as it was confirmed by Magpiepaw - this was Lungwort, they had done it - and quickly Mouse found himself moving forward with the rest of the cats, claws digging at the ground as he quickly dug up the plants, varying amounts of root still stuck to them with the speed he was trying to go. The roots didn't matter, he had heard, but it was best to grab onto them in his own opinion, to make sure there was no stalk left, that they got as much of the plant as possible since the whole thing would need to be consumed to work.

He ignored the fuzzy feeling of plant in his mouth for now as he picked up the plants and put them in piles. There was enough here for now to last everyone until they got back to the clans, and although Mouseflight wanted to take more and get a bigger share for WindClan - a precaution in case this epidemic was to start once more - he knew that it would be impossible for the WindClanners to carry it all back and not get chased down by the amount of cats here, so it didn't matter. They'd figure something out if more was needed when they got closer to home.

⋆｡°✩ threw my voice into the dark

•  
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  ⋆ mousekit - mousepaw - mouseflight
  ⋆ ftm - he/him - 11 moons
  ⋆ bisexual - open to relationship
  ⋆ tunneler of windclan
  ⋆ attack - speech - thought
  ⋆ penned by tikki

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