maps upon my wall // herb gathering

[Scarletpaw]

// rolled a 7! @RACCOONSTRIPE

The crisp leaf-fall air bites at Scarletpaw's flattened ears as she trails behind Raccoonstripe, the frosty scent of morning dew mingling with the sharper tang of damp earth and fallen leaves. Her breath puffs in small clouds, and she tries not to shiver. Being assigned to gather herbs wasn't exactly what she'd hoped for when Roeflame listed off patrols earlier. But, as an apprentice, she doesn't get to choose her duties.

Raccoonstripe's dark tabby form moves confidently through the thinning forest, and Scarletpaw watches him, a little envious of the easy way he navigates the underbrush, but she pushes the thought aside. She'll learn to do the same soon enough. Besides, she needs to focus on helping her clan today. It's important work, She tells herself, even if it's not as interesting as hunting or patrolling borders.

Her ears flick as she veers off slightly from the patrol, careful not to stray too far as she picks her way through the undergrowth. The forest is quieter than usual, save for the occasional chirp of a bird or the rustle of something small scurrying away from her approach. The apprentice's split-colored eyes scan the low shrubs and the hollows in trees, searching for the delicate, silvery strands of cobweb that will earn her praise - or at least acknowledgment - from the medicine cat. Cobwebs are always needed, right?

After a few minutes of searching, she spots it: a dense cluster of spiders' silk nestled between the roots of an old oak tree. Thrilled at the sight, she pads forward, crouching down to get a better look. The webs shimmer in the weak light, gauzy and perfect, and Scarletpaw allows herself a small, proud smile for a heartbeat. Carefully, she lifts her paw and starts to gather them, mindful not to break them too much. "I've found some cobwebs!" She calls out to her patrol nearby.
​

 

[roaringsun]

〔✦〕Frost clings to his whiskers as much as it clings to the undergrowth of ThunderClan's territory. Staying out for much longer might cause him to freeze where he stands, he thinks humorously as he strays from the patrol to search for herbs on his own ( and to stay away from Raccoonstripe, really. What had gotten into the tom? ).

He thinks of his challenge at SkyClan's border, and the skirmish a few days later. The black tabby seemed intent on stirring up trouble with their neighbors when things were already tense with ShadowClan — and for what? Maybe he doesn't know any better, but Roaringsun would try to keep it amiable with the Clan closest to them. Would that make sense to anyone else, or was he speaking rubbish? ( or worse, was his friendship with Hawkspine speaking for him? )

The flame-sepia sneezes while he pokes around the bushes with his muzzle, trying to catch the scent of something that Gentlestorm would find useful. He continues searching the forest for anything, and soon enough some purple flowers catch his eye. The warrior approaches, noting how the leaves are speckled in white, too. Quite the odd looking plant. Some buds were more pink than lilac, as well. Surely this would be useful for something? He digs a patch of it out, leaves and all; the medicine cat would know better than him which parts were usable. Roaringsun carefully grasps everything in his mouth, the smell sickeningly sweet, and turns back to regroup with his patrol.

I took a little journey to the unknown ( Ive come back changed, I can feel it in my bones ) //

• ooc. Rolled a 20! He's found lungwort :D
• ROARINGSUN —— warrior of thunderclan , mentor to none . npc x npc . littermate to npcs ✦ penned by nocthymia
  ✦ male / he/him / 13 moons & ages every 14ᵗʰ
  ✦ single / orientation & poly or mono / open/closed to romance
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— combat details here / battle notes
  
  ✦ "speech", 'thoughts', all opinions are in character
  ✦ tags — msg on discord (hypmic) for plots — toyhouse
  
• reference image here
  

  a longhaired flame sepia with low white and amber-brown eyes.

​

 

[Addersnap]

ooc: @SPARKPAW appy tag! + rolled a 17! he found juniper berries

The biting nag of the icy cold was already becoming irritating to him -- his wishes and love for the cold weather all but now dissipating as frosted grass crackled beneath heavy paws. Exhaustion seemed to weigh them all down that day, frost clinging to them just like the barren prey found along their trek. An herb patrol wasn't exactly where he wanted to be today, but it was a good rest from the other patrols he had been so tirelessly doing, Sparkpaw often by his side. Hopefully this patrol would be more successful than when he had gone out to look for materials.

Beckoning Sparkpaw with a flick of his tail tip, Addersnap longed for the days where he was a kit, the cold unnoticeable in his warm nest. Why couldn't they have enjoyed one more moon of leaf-bare? StarClan really wanted to make sure no one had forgotten about them, it felt like. Letting Sparkpaw venture off on his own to find whatever plant looked necessary, the tabby paused in his tracks after seeing one lone bush not yet covered with frost, its leaves blowing with the harsh winds that carried through the air. Dark purple-ish blue berries grace its presence, full and ripe. They actually looked pretty good. He didn't know anything about herbs, but usually they tasted bad. But something about this one stuck out to him. Maybe he had seen it in the medicine den, becoming familiar in the back of his mind. Either way, Addersnap knew it to be safer rather than sorry and just grab what he could. Snapping off some of the twigs to get as many berries as he could without crushing them in his mouth, he regrouped up with the patrol, like he had instructed Sparkpaw to do. "'Re 'hese of 'ny use?"​

 

[WOLFPAW]

They were distracted. They were distracted and it showed from the way their brows creased together to the way that they thumbed the blades of frosted grass about as if there was something useful hidden within. As the clan found success around Wolfpaw, their eyes began to narrow, a green envy washing over them as they dug ever deeper into the snowy patches hoping to find something even better than cobwebs. Eventually, they had to concede, their ears flattening and their head falling in between their shoulders. "There's nothing here..." Wolfpaw protested quietly, turning around.

They felt stupid and childish, seeing so many succeed where they failed. They wondered if they could venture out further than most, find something so rare that not even Gentlestorm knew what it was. Momentarily, their downtrodden eyes fell upon the direction of the nearest border.

/ rolled a 3

​

 

[MERLINPAW]

As the leaves fell, so did the temperature and the temper of the winds, it seemed. The leaf-fall breeze snipped at tousled and purling fur, as though mordacious maw attempt to weasel its way beneath her flesh, only muzzled by the fact that it had only just awoken from its depths. She wondered why the air had gotten so harsh, why the shadows had gotten so long, why the world had gotten so quiet... The large molly simply followed suit after Scarletpaw, bumbling paws occasionally catching upon stray twigs and leaves. At least this isn't a hunting patrol. She reasoned. Merlinpaw sniffed around the loose foliage, like trenchant senses peeled through the layers of distractions with relative ease, only soured and dulled by her total lack of experience in anything medicinal. Um, what am I supposed to be looking for, again? These all look and smell the same. There's nothing here at all. One ear flicked as she contemplated what lie before her, which was nothing but the petrichor-soaked forest, though even the reliable dampness of Thunderclan's forest had been sapped away by a greedy and early leaf-bare. The smoke sepia molly had been about to give up when her nose catch upon a sweet-smelling difference in the brittle frost, as though the astringent winter had not laid its clutches on its glory yet, a beacon never felled by the odds. Upon a peach-fuzz stem lie a sprig of catmint, and though the periwinkle-hued flowers had dulled in passion, it still stood tall. Dull golden gaze glittered with recognition that this was surely something important, though she couldn't put a name to it now. She plucked it with her teeth, tearing away at the base without much of the deft motions that her peers seemed to exhibit. That was fine, though, as long as she got the whole thing.

"'S okay, W-Wolfpaw... There's, uh, there's n-not a lot..." She attempted to comfort her sibling, though the sight of such a prominent stalk likely did not elicit much solidarity between the two. She stopped by their side, tilting her head and furrowing her fictitious eyebrows. There was the littlest part of her that enjoyed seeing Wolfpaw despair like this, for it finally meant that she had triumphed in something. The fleeting sense of power was enough to incapacitate even the greatest of men and tyrants alike, but she buried such a basal feeling in the trenches of her soul.

( Rolled a 18 and found catmint! 3 points. ) ​

 

[HOPEPAW]

⊱⊰ The girl's favorite part of being Gentlestorm's apprentice is, so far, being assigned to search for herbs while on patrol. She doesn't know much about what plants she needs to look for yet, and the drying brown hues of autumn have done her no favors. The only plant she's certain she can identify is marigold—marigold stops infections. But as she looks around, the girl can see nothing that she recognizes. Wolfpaw also doesn't seem to be finding anything, but it doesn't do much to make her feel better.

Hopepaw shuffles through the underbrush, eyes narrowed in focus. "Oh, uhmmm," she murmurs, trying to talk herself through the panic that crests within her. She's going to make a terrible medicine cat apprentice, isn't she? She can't even figure out what this one plant is, or if it's even useful. She won't take anything completely useless back to her uncle, so the lilac-furred apprentice leaves the plant where it lies.

She looks across the rest of the patrol, seeing some of them holding plants of their own, and they look useful. Gentlestorm will be glad that Scarletpaw was able to find something that could be used, and at least Hopepaw knows what cobwebs are used for. The plant that Roaringsun finds is also probably really helpful, but she just… doesn't know what it is.

an ancient spirit’s song 【❖】 will heal our wounds

• ooc: rolled a 5.
• 
• 
  HOPEPAW ❯❯ she/her, thunderclan medicine cat apprentice
  
  ⊱ skinny, thick-furred lilac molly with deep copper eyes. soft-spoken and a bit of a grouch.
  ⊱ daughter of batwing and leopardtongue ; adopted by roeflame
  ⊱ mentored by gentlestorm
  ⊱ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted ; does not typically like physical contact from anyone besides her family
  ⊱ penned by foxlore

​

​

 

[TALLSTEP]

Tallstep follows at a measured pace, paws sinking into the damp earth as they survey the forest, alert yet distracted in their own way. The air is cold, prickling their nose with every inhale, and they glance up at the pale sky as if it might answer some deep, unsaid question. They've been assigned to gather herbs, an essential task for the Clan, but not exactly the most thrilling thing to do with the morning. As Scarletpaw proudly calls out about her cobweb discovery, Tallstep perks up, ears swiveling to catch her voice. They feel a little swell of pride for the apprentice—finding things isn't easy, and every small success deserves some recognition, right? Cobwebs, cobwebs, yeah...they're useful, sticky, uh, necessary things for patching wounds. They mentally file this away, even if they already knew it. It's just… good to have little reminders. Important stuff.

Tallstep keeps one eye on Scarletpaw and Raccoonstripe's forms but begins to drift slightly off the main path, paws moving almost of their own accord. Their mind wanders, as it often does, picking through random thoughts as if sorting a jumbled bundle of moss for something useful. Herbs, right, focus… what was it the medicine cats needed most these days? Feverfew, maybe? Or… wait, catmint! They pause mid-step, ears flicking as they sniff the air, hopeful. A scent, delicate and strangely familiar, tickles their nose. It's subtle beneath the layers of damp earth and decaying leaves, beneath the thin layer of frost, but they know it's there. Catmint. They feel a little jolt of excitement, surprised at their own luck. Carefully, they follow the faint scent trail, weaving through patches of undergrowth until they spot the telltale leaves clustered at the base of a thorny bush. Tallstep lets out a soft, triumphant exhale, their eyes brightening.

"Oh, hey! Found, uh… found catmint!" they call out, a touch uncertain, as if they're still processing their discovery. They turn to glance over their shoulder to see if anyone heard them, a small smile tugging at the corner of their mouth. Tallstep moves closer, crouching down to examine the herb. They reach out a paw to brush lightly over the leaves, and the soothing scent grows stronger, making their heart beat a little faster. For a second, they feel a flicker of nervousness—catmint is precious, and they'd hate to mess up gathering it. With a steadying breath, they gently nip off a few stems, careful not to disturb the entire plant. Their voice comes out softer, almost more to themselves. "Catmint… wow, this'll… this'll be helpful, I think." They stand there, holding the sprigs delicately between their teeth, feeling oddly accomplished—like they've stumbled upon a hidden piece of the forest's treasure. They begin to slowly work their way back towards the rest of the patrol.

[ rolled a 16!! ]​

 

[RACCOONSTRIPE]

Raccoonstripe has to fight against the impulse to wince as he moves through the undergrowth. The wound the fox had left in his shoulder is shallow, but the cold has made his joints stiffer than normal, and every movement is a cruel reminder that he'd lost his catch for the Clan and ended up wounded in the process. The tabby hadn't been keen on doing Gentlestorm's work for him, either, especially now that the hulking pale tom had Hopepaw to do things for him... but he supposes at least their patrol is finding some success. Scarletpaw whisks up some cobwebs, while the rest of the warriors and apprentices, save Wolfpaw and, funnily enough, Hopepaw herself, find something of value.

The tabby is no good at identifying most of this stuff; Berryheart's mind had been quick and sponge-like, and he'd taken to medical knowledge readily, easily. Raccoonstripe does recognize a cluster of tiny yellow flowers, though; he'd had it crushed into his wounds a thousand times to prevent infection. He lowers his jaws and plucks the stems; the juices that leak onto his tongue are bittersweet and remind him of his brother.

"Marigold," he tells whoever is nearby, letting his tail flick proudly behind him. It's not the prey he'd lost, and it's not a piece of much-needed territory, but it will help the Clan survive the oncoming cold regardless.

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: rolled a 12; 2 points, fever or infection (he's found marigold)
• 
• Raccoon . Raccoonstripe, he/him w/ masculine terms.
  — "speech", thoughts, attack
  — 46 moons old, ages realistically on the 5th.
  — mentored by n/a ; mentoring Scarletpaw ; previously mentored Wildheart, Moonwhisper
  — thunderclan lead warrior. gray wolf x howlingstar, gen 2.
  — currently mated to Nightbird.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh black tabby with white and dark brown eyes. charismatic, charming, calculating, ambitious, shallow, manipulative.

​

 

[TOADHOP]

The tremble in his paws is more consistent these days, a bi-product of leaf-bare's chill against the tom's form. Toadhop has never liked the cold — he's never done well with it, never been fond of the icy edge at the earliest memories eased away by gray warmth. But the warrior can't hide away in his nest all day. He can't hibernate through the season. Toadhop knows the early frost is a concern: one that ThunderClan can't take lightly.

The shivering tom walks through the forest with a mission to keep moving. Perhaps if he doesn't stop walking, he won't be as cold. His plan only falters when something catches his eye at the base of an oak tree along his path — something of use, he can only hope, as he pauses to gather the flora. Uncertain of what it is, Toadhop finds himself looking to a clanmate afterward, the plant hanging from his maw.

" What do you think this is...? " he finds himself asking. Hopefully something good, something useful enough to warrant his trembling paws to still for just a moment.

// rolled a 6! +1 point

 

[GENTLESTORM]

༄.𖥔 ݁ ˖ — Gentlestorm trails after the rest of the patrol as he walks alongside Hopepaw only for his whiskers to twitch lightly and a small frown pulling at his lips at the small signs of frost begging to form on the plants and ground. He glances around in search of his own herb or even just cobwebs like the rest of his clanmates though his eyes light up when Scarletpaw mentions having found some cobwebs and he nods his approval in the direction of the mottled molly "Good find, Scarletpaw..." His large snowy paws shuffle in the slightest as he continues his own search once more only to glance around once more only to catch a glimpse of what Roaringsun had found and it causes him to stop in his tracks, he knows what it is but the sight of it alone makes him feel ill. He feels as if the sickeningly sweet scent would cause a wave of nausea to wash over him so he nods to the other with a forced smile, "Ah... brilliant..."

He spares a glance in the direction of Addersnap and nods eagerly at the sight of juniper berries, he would be needing those when Roeflame had breathing issues especially during the more chilly weather. Gentlestorm's eager to take his eyes away from the lungwort not wishing for the bitter memories that came with the herb to strike him like a tidal wave and he can't help but notice Wolfpaw's wandering gaze only to ponder what the young apprentice must be thinking but he refrains from asking when he hears the murmur of his apprentice. He regards her with a gentle blink of his earthy toned eyes and he gives her a soft bump of his shoulder to hers as he speaks "Don't worry... they're harder to... find when it gets colder..." To reassure her that she isn't being a bad medicine cat apprentice, he doesn't ever want her to believe such a thing.

Tallstep, Raccoonstripe, and Toadstep all find something worth bringing back to camp and this alone is enough to soothe his nerves. He can imagine that lead-bare would be unforgivable when it finally arrives at full force and it makes his stomach twist uncomfortably at the thought itself, Gentlestorm nods in approval to the three of them that had been lucky enough to find a herb and he continues to lumber alongside Hopepaw wondering if he could find anything else before they surely returned to camp.

MORNING & EVENING, I FELT LIKE I WAS GRIEVING ᨒᨒᨒ UNTIL I SAID FUCK YOU

• ooc —

• 

  MEDICINE CAT KNOWLEDGE;
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦ FLESH WOUNDS
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧ INFECTIONS
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧ ACHES & PAINS
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧ ILLNESS
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧ BREATHING ISSUES
  — ✦✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ TRAVELING HERBS
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧ BROKEN BONES
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦ KITTING
  — ✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧ POISONS
• 
  ✦ a longhaired blue sepia tom w/low white and copper eyes, several scars cover his body from previous fights that he somehow survived
  ✦ gentlestorm is rarely ever a warm individual and friendly to those who he meets, he proceeds with more caution and he's less likely to trust any strangers that come from outside of thunderclan. he tends to be jumpy if suddenly approached or flinches away from swift movement with his claws unsheathed when it occurs, he apologizes for it. his kindness reserved only for those closest to him otherwise anyone else can expect the cold shoulder from the old tom
  ✦ 61 moons old; ages the 27th every month
  ✦ widowed mate of little wolf ; currently interested in no one
  ✦ semi-difficult to befriend/interact with ; quick to strike/attack first if he feels threatened ; peaceful powerplay allowed but proceed with caution
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, attacking

​