Keeping the Clans Alive {An Advanced Warriors RP} discussion

{Roleplay}
A smaller stream running through the territory, usually where apprentices first learn to fish.

Applepaw led the patrol to the stream, sitting down beside the rush of water. "I keep my shadow out of the water," she muttered to herself. "I raise one paw and look around for fish." Then- a flicker of movement in the water! Apple paw flicked her paw in, but came out with nothing more than a leaf. Mouse-brain! she thought. Of course that was a leaf!
"Don't worry, Iceshade!" she pleaded with the deputy. "I'll catch another!"

"I would hope so," purred Iceshade in amusement at the apprentices' catch, flicking his tail over her ears as he joined her. Glancing around, he pricked his ears to listen out, and, hearing nothing of immediate interest, turned back for Sweetpaw, "I will help you collect your herbs and carry them for you, whilst they fish awhile."

Sandfeather brought up the rear of the patrol, padding past Sweetpaw to join Applepaw by the stream. "Those were some quick reflexes. If that had been a fish, you would've caught it for sure," she mewed reassuringly, making sure her own shadow wasn't over the water.

Applepaw smiled proudly and ducked her head. A glimmer of movement in the water caught her attention- and it definitely wasn't a leaf! She swiped a paw in and came up with a small salmon. "Look! Sandfeather! I finally caught a fish!" She put it down next to her, and then thought of something. Without another word, she plunged into the stream.

Sandfeather watched Applepaw, her eyes catching the same movement in the water. "I told you that you could do it," she purred, about to give the young she-cat a congratulatory lick on the ear when she disappeared into the water. "Applepaw!" She gasped, not sure whether or not she should jump in after the apprentice. I'll wait to see if she needs help, she thought, knowing that the current wasn't too strong here. Even so, Sandfeather paced alongside the stream, her tail lashing back and forth as she waited for Applepaw to resurface.

Applepaw stayed underwater, fighting inky blackness as she swiped her paws and opened one eye. It stung like fury, but she swiped a paw and caught a pike almost bigger than she was. She stayed under for a second longer and poked her head up, grasping for breath, paws wrapped around the fish. "Look, Sandfeather! I caught a giant fish!" She padded out of the water and shook herself off.

Sweetpaw followed the patrol down to the stream, and began looking for herbs. She curled her tail over her back when Iceshade offered to help her find herbs. "That would be great! I'm looking for dock, comfrey and blackberry leaves. Dock has really large leaves and smells tangy... Comfrey has little bell shaped flowers and really large leaves. The flowers can be white or purple." She listed off some qualities so he could help her find the herbs. "BlackBerry leaves are just on a bush with small black berries."

Sticking close by Sweetpaw, Iceshade listened to her list what she wanted, relieved when she began to describe what to look out for - Sandfeather and Applepaw would be able to catch at least some fish, he was certain. Sniffing the air, he searched for a scent that might be dock, but only a faint scent reached his nose. "I can smell some dock, upwind," he mewed, following the scent keenly.

Sweetpaw had been scanning the near bank of the stream when Iceshade scented dock. "Great!" Sh bounded in that direction, following the deputy. Sure enough, there was a large clump of dock with a small yellow butterfly landed on it. Sweetpaw ran and pounced just next to the plant, and the butterfly lifted up to flutter away. She let out a mrow of amusement as she watched it for a moment, before sitting and leaning down to bite off some leaves, down near ground so they had some stalk to work with.

Iceshade stopped by the dock leaves, sniffing at them to familiarise himself with the scent, in case he ever needed to find them in a rush. In a situation where herbs were needed desperately, he felt it was best to find whatever he could - at least he would be prepared when he became leader, and knew what he was talking about. "What are dock leaves used for?" he queried.

Sweetpaw picked a suitable pile of dock leaves, but left enough for another harvest if need be and so more could grow over time. She twitched her ear and looked up at Iceshade. "Dock is good for putting on scratches or sore pads. You can also put it in a nest to lessen pain from wounds. It's a very useful herb." She pawed the pile. "This should be enough. I can always come collect more if we need it. This plant will continue to grow, as well, unless it's killed by the frost or eaten by a rabbit or something." She blinked at the deputy. "Comfrey should be just as easy to find. It generally grows I'm this type of area."

Iceshade listened, ear pricked, and nodded, "Very useful," he echoed in agreement, interested in learning what he could - even so young, Sweetpaw was very smart, he was pleased to note. "Comfrey.. very vibrant drooping flowers, aren't they?" he checked with her, already looking around for the plant, from his own memory.

"Yes," Sweetpaw agreed, pleased that he had remembered. Most cats just nodded after she explained something. "Comfrey also has very large leaves. The flowers are often white or violet." She left the leaves where they were, not wanting to confuse the scents, especially since dock has such a heavy scent. She began to pad towards another clump of plants, her tail swishing behind her as she scanned for the small flowers.

"Sweetpaw," he called after a few heartbeats, sitting down beside a small cluster of violet flowers, "I found some comfrey!" Not wanting to disturb them, and especially not wanting to risk ruining what she needed, he waited by the comfrey, tail swishing side to side as he peered at the stream, trying to work out what the other two were doing.

Sweetpaw padded over, glad that he had found it so quickly. Having him with to find herbs was really helpful, especially since her mentor was busy and she took it upon herself to check their stores. "Great!" She began biting off comfrey, harvesting a little less than the dock since there is less growing here. She carefully picked it up in her mouth, carrying it over to the dock. She set it down carefully, arranging it so if a breeze comes through it won't get blown away. She pads back over to Iceshade. "Alright... Now I just need to find some blackberry leaves. They grow pretty much everywhere, so it shouldn't be too hard, but I don't know if there are any berries yet so I might have to identify them by the leaves. They're large bushes, though, so it's kind of easy." She bounds towards a group of bushes a bit farther away from the stream. She glances back at the deputy, and the warrior and apprentice fishing a little ways away.

Iceshade watched her once again as she harvested her herbs, flicking his tail side-to-side until she was done and he padded after her. Pausing, he looked around - he was sure he had seen blackberry bushes recently at the side of the stream. "There are some by the old badger sett," he informed her, running off towards the abandoned sett, bounding until he reached it, where the entrance had collapsed in - deliberately, of course, because they had not wanted another badger moving in. Sniffing around, he waited for her, "There should be several bushes here."

Sweetpaw quickly changed her direction to follow Iceshade. She watched him sniff around, and glanced around the badger sett. Sure enough she saw a medium sized bush with plenty of leaves. "Perfect!" She began to bite of some leaves, making a small pile over a few minutes. This was so wonderful, she loved loved Greenleaf. She could find almost any herb if she looked in the right place. Or, of course, had a deputy with a strong nose with her. She picked up the suitable amount of blackberry leaves, her nose twitching as they tickled it and she turned back to look at the pacing deputy. "Okay... this should be enough..." She meowed, muffled around the mouthful of leaves as she tried not to sneeze. She eventually couldn't take it. She sneezed loudly, and leaves flew everywhere. She blinked, and looked around at the scattered leaves on the ground.

Sandfeather kneaded the ground impatiently, her nerves beginning to transform into a straight on panic. She finally began to breath again when Applepaw's head popped above the water. "Applepaw!" she said, her voice both stern and worried at the same time. "What were you thinking?" she questioned, as she began eyeing the she-cat for any injuries. She barely even noticed the impressive fish, her eyes glued to her apprentice.

As the leaves scattered, Iceshade hesitated only for a moment before he nosed and pawed at them to get them into a bundle, not wanting to risk ruining them with his teeth or claws. Glancing up at Sweetpaw as he brushed a small pile of mixed leaves to her, he meowed, "I'll pile them up for you. Make two bundles and I will carry the larger one."

Sweetpaw purred in amusement, helping him gather the leaves together. Trust her to sneeze once she gets a huge mouthful of herbs. "Alright... Thank you, Iceshade." Sweetpaw mrowed, scooping up the herbs. She patted them into a neat and organized pile, pausing and looking at the clan deputy. She twitched her whiskers, then raced past the stream to where she had left the other two small piles of herbs. She scooped up one of them, bounding quickly back to where the blackberry leaves lay. She knew Iceshade would probably just find this amusing, but she would do this all of the time with Tansypaw, racing to see who can get somewhere and back first. They still played like that sometimes, when Tansypaw wasn't training and Sweetpaw wasn't busy memorizing herbs. She landed, just missing the pile they had collected and wiggling her tail as she carefully set them down.

Iceshade exchanged the look with the young medicine cat, and at first wondered if she was challenging him, before she bolted off. Amused, he watched her return and flicked his tail to the side as his eyes drifted to watch Sandfeather, who he could just about make out. No Applepaw that he could see - he hoped she was hunting. They really needed the prey, with Silverdawn's three young kits, Seedpelt's growing four apprentices - soon to be warriors, he was sure - and Creamtail fit to burst to queen her first litter.

Applepaw shrank back from the sound of her mentor's voice. "I-I just thought... I mean, RiverClan cats are good swimmers, right? I figured we should... you know, use that skill while hunting. I'm really sorry!" She hoped her mentor wasn't angry with her. "And I didn't get hurt, so it's okay! And look at this fish!"

Sandfeather came to the same conclusion, no injuries on Applepaw. "We are strong swimmers, and that was some very skillful swimming and hunting," she reassured her apprentice, "But maybe next time you could warn me before you'd dive on in, okay?" She asked, her voice calmer now but her eyes still a bit wide with worry.

Applepaw smiled. "Of course! Sorry, I was just really excited because I just thought of that idea and..." She shook her head. "Anyway, should we wait for Iceshade and Sweetpaw to go back to camp? These fish should be enough," she said, looking at the salmon she'd caught earlier. It looked tiny by comparison. "I might need some help carrying this, anyway."

Sweetpaw mrowed in amusement as she lashed her tail playfully. It felt like she never got to have any fun anymore, now that she was learning to be a medicine cat. Why couldn't they relax every once in a while? At least during Greenleaf, when they didn't have to worry about as much... She nosed the herbs together, and her eyes glimmered with humor as she looked back up. "Race you to the dock leaves!" She declared, wiggling her haunches and twitching her ears before launching herself towards the pile. She wondered if Iceshade would reach them before her. There was a good chance, considering he was a strong warrior and a lot bigger than she was. She noticed Applepaw standing soaking wet near the edge of the river with her mentor, with a huge fish on the ground in between them. Nice catch, Applepaw!

Iceshade darted from his spot towards the dock leaves a heartbeat after her - not the quickest of RiverClan cats, he was still larger than her, with longer legs, but he allowed her to win by a mouse-length, for the fun of it, and to keep her cheerful. After all, he was going to be leader with her at his side as medicine cat one day, he had begun to truly realise. A good relationship between the two of them would be key.

Sweetpaw skidded to a halt just next to the herbs, Iceshade right after her. She purred happily, sitting up to run a paw over her face once or twice, then blinking a few times. "I'll go divide these up and bring you half." She bounded towards the other herbs, quickly dividing them up evenly and padding towards the deputy to set them down in front of him. She had ignored his earlier instructions to give him the bigger half, and simply grabbed the other half to trot back towards Iceshade and then in the same direction Applepaw and Sandfeather. This had been a really successful patrol... On both herbs and hunting, from what she could see from here.

Redfern enjoyed going out of camp on her own. Dangerous and foolish, she knew, but she liked the solitude it brought, the peace. Besides, Riverclan's territory was beautiful in the morning, the fresh air dragged into her lungs making her eyes gleam joyfully as she bounded through the wet territory, across little puddles and streams. It was then that she heard voices, head swiveling toward the streams. They were downwind, and she couldn't quite catch their scent. Mouse dung! Frowning, she dropped into a crouch, under the cover of shrubbery, inching her way forward. Redfern was a large cat, but she was also a skilled warrior who knew how to move forward without alerting enemies. She could see Iceshade from where she hid, but only his back. And still too far to scent him. Being alone, she knew it was risky, but if they were enemies, she had to know.

With a "MRRRWW!" She leapt from the cover of a bush, tackling Iceshade and having them go tumbling. Her weight was enough to bowl him over, but she went with him. However, when the power of her leapt finally subsided, she maneuvered so she pinned him, a clawed paw aimed above his neck. But she stopped as soon as she saw him, freezing as she finally caught his scent, flooding her senses. "D-Deputy!" She exclaimed, horrified by her rash actions on not just a clanmate, but her clan's deputy, whom she highly respected. Sniffing, she glanced up to see Sweetpaw, and in the distance, Applepaw and Sandfeather. Oh no. Almost gulping in her nerves, Redfern focused her wide jade green eyes back down at Iceshade, her dark ginger fur bristling with horror at her clear mistake.

He had been about to lean down and pick up the bundle of herbs that Sweetpaw had set out for him when suddenly he was bowled over by a large force, and he struggled to push his attacker off, smaller and lighter than his opponent. Pinned down, he could only close his eyes, remembering the look in Otterpaw's eyes as the rogue had pinned him down and that terrible yowling.. He took in a whiff of RiverClan and his mind quickly worked to identify the cat - Redfern! The dark red she-cat, larger than most cats in RiverClan. Surprised, he was relieved as he felt her retract from pinning him down, embarrassed that he had been so easy to pin, but in that moment.. the memory of Otterpaw had swelled within him, flooded his senses and taken him back to that moment. "Redfern," he gasped, catching his winded breath as he rolled to his paws, shaking off the memory and the dirt clinging to his sleek pelt, "Excellent.. tackle," he panted, taking a moment to recover before he looked for Sweetpaw, automatically concerned even when he knew that it had only been one of their Clanmates.

As Redfern got off him she stepped back, ears folding back in shame. "I'm so sorry, Deputy- er, Iceshade. I didn't mean to... I couldn't catch your scent, thought you were an intruder." Her gaze followed his to Sweetpaw and she put on a small, apologetic smile, murmuring a greeting, "Hello, Sweetpaw." She focused back on Iceshade, guilt in her gaze. When she was alone, she tended to be a little more on edge. She should have waited to make sure he was an intruder, not just leap out. Pausing to lick down a tuft on her chest fur as a distraction, she spoke again, "I didn't expect to find a patrol out here. Please, forgive me."

Sweetpaw had sat down, and a gentle breeze was rustling her long fur when she thought she scented something. Not paying attention, she glanced back from watching Applepaw and Sandfeather just in time to hear a loud yowl and see Redfern bowl over Iceshade. She let out a small trill like mrow of surprise, getting up and about to start towards the two cats. She wondered why Redfern had suddenly tackled the deputy, then purred when she heard the explanation. "It's fine... We all make mistakes." She meowed good naturedly. She nosed back together the slightly scattered herbs, looking back up at the she-cat. "What brings you out here so early?"

"I can get the big one if you'd like," Sandfeather offered Applepaw, "And I'll make sure that everyone knows that you caught it." She purred, about to snatch up the large fish when she heard a scuffle from behind. Sweetpaw! Ice shade! she thought with alarm, spinning around only to find Redfern pinning Iceshade to the forest floor. "What's going on there?" she wondered allowed, her ears pricked with curiosity.

Stretching out his aches, Iceshade cast a blue, narrowed gaze at Redfern, but the sound of Sweetpaw's amusement perked him up - after all, there really was no trouble.. He just felt a little shaky after reliving that moment, though this time in place of Otterpaw. Shuddering, his fur bristled, and then flattened as he reassured himself, "It's fine," he mumbled quietly, both to himself and to Redfern. "No harm done," he added, lifting the bundle of herbs between his teeth to avoid having to talk, padding to join Sweetpaw and flicking his tail for Redfern to follow.

Applepaw purred. "That sounds great!" Suddenly, Sandfeather spun around. Applepaw followed her mentor's gaze to Iceshade, who was bristling as if he'd just been attacked. Redfern stood there, next to Sweetpaw. "What happened?" she asked no one in particular. "Is Iceshade okay?"

Sweetpaw blinked as Iceshade bristled, then calming himself and grabbing the herbs to stalk off towards Sandfeather and Applepaw. There was definitely something there, something she wasn't sure about. Something she was sure not many other cats knew about. She knew she would be medicine cat while he was leader, so she figured she should probably find out what exactly that was. But she was still young, and there was plenty of time before she had to worry about being medicine cat. She simply swished her tail, picked up her herbs and trotted after the deputy. She waved her tail in greeting as she approached the other two cats, who seemed to have a small bounty in fish.

Sandfeather could tell that Iceshade wasn't in the mood for talking and Redfern seemed too embarrassed to do much of anything. "Get all the herbs you need?" She asked Sweetpaw, figuring she was the calmest of cats in the group.

((I'll wait for Redfern. Just noting that I have seen this :) ))

Applepaw watched Sweetpaw come back to them. "I should be getting back to camp," she mewed. "Here, I'll take the smaller fish, and when you get back, can you take the bigger fish?" Applepaw suddenly itched to get home, suddenly very hungry. Had the kits and elders eaten yet? She hoped so. Applepaw would never eat anything before the kits and elders. If they hadn't eaten, of course she'd give them the big fish. She imagined Sandfeather coming into camp with her bounty, and telling the Clan that Applepaw caught it all by herself. She felt a glow of pride- then realized that she was soaking wet.

Sweetpaw flipped her tail happily, setting down the herbs to speak to Sandfeather. "Yes, I found all three. Catmint would have been nice to stock up on but that's a bit out of the way so I'm not concerned about it. We have time." She sat down to wait for Redfern to catch up with them.

((So sorry I didn't reply sooner! I've been not feeling well))

Redfern shook the dust from her pelt, embarrassed. She studied Iceshade for a moment, guiltily checking to see that he was okay. For the second his fur was bristled, her heart stopped, thinking he was angry, until he quietly assured her it was okay. Glancing towards the others, who were now aware of her presence and alarmed, she sheepishly smiled. "Ah... Sorry about that. Again." She padded alongside Iceshade as they followed Sweetpaw to rejoin the others. Every so often she glanced at the deputy, her ears still flattened. "I uh... I guess I will join your patrol, if that's okay with you, Deputy. You've been fishing and gathering herbs?" She questioned, a quiet question meant for him, though her eyes were on Sweetpaw, Applepaw, and Sandfeather, whom she waved her tail in greeting to.

Iceshade flicked his tail to signal that he was fine with her joining, setting down the bundle of herbs by Sweetpaw's, and tilted his head as he looked over each of them, focusing on the fish caught. "We could do with another fish caught each - save another hunting patrol needing to go out soon," he meowed, digging up some dirt for a place to put the caught fish.