the horizon glow | material gathering

[Howlfire]

The cool morning air had eased up somewhat, as Howlfire lead the little patrol of cats close to their border with the river. Although not as cool this morning, the ground felt cold underfoot, especially more so now that they were drawing close to the river. Howlfire did not know how RiverClan could cope with this weather. They had to have been used to it, of course, but Howlfire could only imagine how chilly it must have been during the nights and early mornings being so close to a large body of water.

Bringing her patrol to a halt, Howlfire gestured for the cats to spread out. "Spread out," She instructed calmly. "Remember, anything will be useful!" With how cold it was already getting, she was beginning to suspect they would be in for a harsh leafbare, which meant the sooner they could get camp ready for such a season, the better. After looking around, Howlfire was able to find a good clump of clean moss. It did rip slightly upon plucking it from its home, but it would certainly be good enough to use in a small nest. Grasping her moss between her teeth, she headed towards the nearest cat. "Any luck?" She mumbled.

@Bumblebee!
/ rolled an 8 for basic bedding material (moss)​

 

[BLOOMFUR]

living in the woods is supposed to be fun. the life of a warrior is all about defending your territory from predators, intimidate enemies, tell stories over the massive hunk of prey you just caught. it's not supposed to be full of… chores. bloomfur understands the importance of these chores, but it's so boring. so minimal. the molly pushes through the freezing foliage, lazily poking around until she finds something familiar.

her ears perk at the sound of howlfire's question, and she quickly dips down to grab the bundle. pretending to look like she was working, bloomfur nods. "moss!" she spits out a few stray bits, "patooey—"

rolled a 10! +1 moss

❀

​

 

[DAFFODILPAW]

Even as the day begins to even out, the lingering chill in the air still weighs heavy over Daffodilpaw, his thin pelt not quite adapted to the weather. As the cold from the earth beneath him slowly begins to seep up through his paws, he sends a longing glance towards the trees that grow more sparse the closer they march to the river - surely the bark would hold a little more warmth, especially higher up. Daffodilpaw had even found some nesting materials within the boughs of one of the towering trees the other day; who's to say there wasn't more tucked away? The patrol moves on, though, further past the tree he'd been eyeing, and Daffodilpaw simply follows, giving up on the idea before it has a chance to fully form. It'd be too lucky for the same trick to work twice, anyway, or at least that's what he tells himself.

Howlfire stops them just to send them off again, to spread out and cover more ground. With a nod, he's off, prowling about while giving the river a wide berth. Nothing good would come out of being close to the water even if it was running more sluggish than usual, and so Daffodilpaw instead turns to the underbrush, hoping to find something useful. As though a mirror, nothing particularly bedding-like seems to jump out at him, no matter how many bushes he shuffles through and stones he turns over. Surely there should be more moss growing around here, at least, even if he wasn't able to score any more feathers, though as minutes drag on he seems to be proven wrong.

No moss curling up the edges of the tree line, no scattered feathers or bird nests, abandoned or otherwise - and yet, it sounds like somebody else has found something, so surely Daffodilpaw just must not be looking hard enough. Pushing past more brush, he's close to despairing when he catches sight of a faint, green glimmer of hope. Finally, something! Nosing through the moss, he immediately recoils, muzzle scrunching up at how cold and brittle the patch was. Okay, so maybe it's a little frostbitten...nothing a little thawing can't fix, right?

Maybe a little thawing can't fix it, he quickly begins to realize as the scraggly patch practically disintegrates even under the gentlest of touches. Not only was the moss frozen, it also seemed pretty much dead and shriveled - certainly not worth bringing back to camp, even if it was anything more than shreds at this point. Tail lashing in frustration, Daffodilpaw turns from the scraps that feel like they're taunting him and begins to retrace his steps, searching more carefully this time. Maybe he'd missed something...?

"The moss over that way seems no good - I'd try somewhere else," he offers to any of his patrolmates that cross his path, gesturing to the frosty wasteland left in his wake. A sigh heaves from Daffodilpaw's chest as he starts his search anew, a wavering determination keeping his paws moving.​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ BUT GOD I'M STILL CIRCLING THROUGH ❀ THE DIALOGUES I COULD'VE HAD WITH YOU ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎

• OOC: Rolled a 4 - didn't find anything </3
  ​
• REF PENDING, TEEHEE <3
  
• DAFFODILKIT / DAFFODILPAW —. He/him, apprentice of SkyClan
  — .Chyrsaliswing x Honeysplash, littermate to Weaselpaw & Adderpaw
  — . 7 moons old, ages on the 6th
  — .An average, well-muscled orange-and-white dipped cream tom with mismatched eyes.
  — .People-pleaser with a desire to do good - dedicated, but still fun-loving
  — .Peaceful & healing powerplay permitted - brushing up against him, shoulder bumps, etc.
  — .Penned by Hijinks - feel free to DM me on Discord to plot! ^^
  ​

 

[SANGRIAFLAME]

✧ The cold mornings make her wonder why she still bothers to show up in SkyClan. She could just as soon stay at home where it's warm and there's no need to chase down her food—her reasoning feels even more strong now that she knows just how much she isn't needed here. The bitterness that lingers in her chest follows her down the path that she walks to and from the pine forest, and it takes everything in her not to scream sometimes. It's like being pursued by a dog, snapping and snarling and right on her heels. Maybe someday it will catch her, and just like Hazelbeam she'll leave and never come back. But for now, until it catches up, Sangriapaw is just as much a SkyClanner as any of the rest of them. And she's going to try and do her best for her clanmates, even if they don't appreciate her at all.

She trails behind Howlfire in silence, a rare thing for a girl so bright as herself. Internally, she's fuming, doing her best not to lock eyes with anyone else for fear of showing them just how angry she still is. But when Daffodilpaw announces that the moss he'd searched was no good, she puts her best effort toward putting on a smile instead. "Ya just gotta find a better spot! This stuff's all over the place." To prove her point, the girl grabs at a pawful of freshly-found moss, holding it up before the other apprentice. It isn't meant to come off as condescending, but it is rare that Sangriapaw's words ever come off the way she wants them to anyhow.

can’t stop us ♫˚.⋆⭒ gliding down the rainbow

• ooc: rolled a 7 (1 point)
• 
• SANGRIAPAW ❯❯ she/her, daylight apprentice of skyclan
  ⭃ wild-furred cinnamon torbie with white spotting and vibrant leaf-green eyes. bold, bright, and curious.
  ⭃ daughter of fantastream & figfeather ; sister to coffeepaw
  ⭃ mentored by orangestar
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted
  ⭃ penned by foxlore

​

​

 

[FLUFFYPAW]

The cold has come for the forest with a vengeance, and Fluffypaw's breath mists before her as she pads quietly at Greeneyes' flank. The Clan has been busier than a hive of newleaf bees, trying to stock up on prey, herbs, and materials to strengthen their camp. Fluffypaw remains preyless, and secretly, she's relieved she and Greeneyes had been assigned to this type of patrol instead. Her talents are much better suited here.

Howlfire instructs the patrol to spread out, and Fluffypaw nods obediently. She detaches herself from the bulk of the patrol and begins to wander carefully toward a dense cluster of pines. She tries to make eye contact with Sangriapaw, tries to offer her a smile, but the dark expression on her cousin's face causes her to flinch and turn away. She's different, lately, and Fluffypaw can't seem to reach her any longer.

Sadness cloaks her. Things are just different, in general, now. Daisydrop is a warrior. Weedpaw has progressed past her in his training. Sangriapaw's bitterness is palpable. Candorpaw is...

She brushes the thought of her friend away; she can't afford to be so distracted. Instead, she begins to scour the ground, scraping aside dead pine needles and brightening at her discovery. Maybe someone — or something, she thinks worriedly — had killed a large bird here. Regardless, they'd left a prize behind: a mouthful of dense feathers for the nursery.

"Oh, Butterflytuft will be so happy to have these, I bet!" Her tail curls up behind her. Her mother is nursing new kits now, fragile, tender things, born in the harshest season. She'd need the extra warmth. "There might even be enough here for Johnnyflame, too," she muses.

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

• ooc: mentor tag @GREENEYES ; rolled a 14 (insulating materials)
• 
• Fluffykit . Fluffypaw, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — "speech", thoughts, attack
  — 12 moons old, ages realistically on the 8th.
  — mentored by Greeneyes ; mentoring n/a ; previously mentored n/a.
  — skyclan apprentice. butterflytuft x dandelionwish, gen 3.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  lh chocolate tortie/cream chimera with jade eyes. frightened, clingy, anxious, gentle.

​

 

[DROWSYNOSE]

STILL DON'T KNOW MY NAME​

---

drowsynose finds himself twitching his tail nervously. he has gotten a lot less anxious as of late but that doesn't mean all of his anxieties get to go away. this leafbare seems different. worse in some ways than the last one. biggest difference is... he's got a lot more responsibility than he did before. he's got to do more. be more. he's not sure if he can, but he has to try, doesn't he? his ear flicks back as he closes his eyes and decides to use what the stars have given him... his sensitive nose. he's gotta find something around here, doesn't he? he takes in a deep breathe before simply following a scent that's caught his attention. it's different.

"oh that's... rabbit fur. haven't seen a-a lot of th-that around here."

his tail twitches and he picks it up, heading back to the mass of the group, as he gentle sets it down. it seems they've got a pretty decent haul of stuff, anyways. that he is grateful for because stars know they'll need it. especially if it plans to get any colder than it already is.

// rolled a 19! found rabbit fur for insulation!
​

 

[SILLYBREEZE]

The crisp bite of the morning air has Sillybreeze's fur on end, despite his efforts to smooth it down with a quick groom. They all knew this cold was creeping up quickly, sinking into the earth, and setting into the dens. Sillybreeze shifts his weight, paws sinking into the chill of the ground with a faint twitch of displeasure. Still, he's here and ready to do his part; these mornings may be cold, but SkyClan's resilience would need to be warmer than any freeze that leafbare could throw at them. He takes a deep breath, glancing around at his patrolmates. Sangriapaw seems to be pressing on with her usual pep, and Bloomfur has her bundle of moss. Sillybreeze rolls his eyes affectionately, amused by the actions of the other cats. He knows the routine of these types of patrols can wear on even the steadiest warrior, but if this meant a more comfortable camp when the freeze fully settles in, then it's worth all the work.

Sillybreeze watches Fluffypaw find her clutch of feathers with pride in her eyes and offers a quick, "Nice find," before turning his attention back to his own hunt for materials. Howlfire's steady lead is inspiring, too, and they'd all need to look up to their clanmates like that in the coming moons, especially if this chill keeps deepening. Pacing carefully toward a nearby thicket, Sillybreeze keeps his eyes open for any hint of bedding. The idea of sturdy ferns strikes him as he looks around the undergrowth, their leaves dense and thick enough to hold warmth in the dens. He picks his way through the brush and finds a small patch of ferns nestled beneath the bare branches of a nearby bush. Bending down, he inspects them—fronds bright, fresh, and surprisingly unaffected by the frost.

"This'll do nicely," he murmurs to himself, biting down at the base of each fern to gather a small bundle in his jaws. He can already imagine the extra insulation these would provide, helping line the apprentices' den or even bolstering the kits' bedding in the nursery. A soft warmth fills him at the thought of helping keep his clanmates snug against the harsh winds that would be rolling in soon. As he heads back toward the patrol, he notices Daffodilpaw's frustrated expression as he gestures toward a brittle patch of moss that hadn't made the cut. Sillybreeze offers a low purr of encouragement through the ferns in his jaws, giving the young tom a knowing nod. "Mm, yeah. Not every spot will work out, but that's why we've got so many of us out here."

Padding back to Howlfire, he shows his former mentor what he's found, placing the ferns down before straightening up with a glint of pride in his eyes. "Got some ferns—sturdy and warm. Perfect for adding a little more thickness to the nests." He gives a small, satisfied nod before scanning around to see if anyone else needs help. The patrol's gathered a decent spread of moss, feathers, and fur, and Sillybreeze feels a growing sense of security as he looks over their finds. He knows these simple materials will make all the difference soon enough.

[ rolled a 14 ]​