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Post by LYSSA on Jun 1, 2015 20:32:57 GMT -4
thin morning light shafted through the narrow openings in the branches above, washing the shadowclan camp alight in a soft golden glow. the dawn patrol had already gone out, and an early hunting patrol was getting ready to leave. the camp was quiet, the only sounds the low hush of voices and the soft breathing of cats as they slept in their nests.
littlewolf sat in front of her den with an array of herbs and medicine supplies spread out before her. a deep scowl was set on the red tabby's face as her bright eyes took stock of her supplies. the medicine cat was nearly out of cobweb, yarrow and goldenrod. she was down to just a few gnarled knobs of comfrey root, too. all were easily replaceable, not difficult to find in the slightest, but littlewolf worried a recent frost may have killed off the plants. greenleaf would soon be upon the forest, but the small plants and herbs were still growing back after a cold, desolate leafbare.
the small tabby began to move the piles of herbs back into the spacious bramble thicket that served as her den. the sandy flooring was cold underpaw, untouched by the sun as it was. her herbs were sheltered by what remained of a fallen evergreen tree, stored within the large hollowed log where they went untouched by wind and rain.
when each pile had been stored neatly in its proper place, littlewolf padded from her den. "i need several cats to come with me to collect herbs!" she called loud enough to rouse sleeping cats from their dens; it was time those lazy furballs got up and went about their duties.
words: 283 tags: open!
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Post by jay on Jun 1, 2015 21:38:18 GMT -4
| DUSKPAW,
they/them/theirs | duskpaw curled up tighter in their nest, burying their face underneath their tail. other apprentices stirred from their nests; some groggy, some irritated but all making a racket just the same. waking up so early- before dawn - was ridiculous. duskpaw groaned into their tail, giving up. sleep didn’t come easily to the apprentice, especially with all the rustling around. sighing, duskpaw roused from their nest.
blinking the sleep from their eyes, duskpaw scanned the camp for their mentor. the camp was mostly deserted by now- the dawn patrol and early morning hunting party had already seemed to have dispatched. slightly relieved, the apprentice stretched, basking in the early morning sun.
duskpaw hated going on early morning duties with the most energetic, chatty cats. not that, they hated the cats personally or anything. duskpaw let out a big yawn, sinking their claws into the sandy underground. it was just exhausting, this early in the morning. if a cat couldn’t tell- duskpaw wasn’t one that was in a good mood in the morning.
the small apprentice jumped, startled by the sudden boom of a voice. they hadn’t even noticed littlewolf was awake. deciding tailing along to gather herbs was better than sitting around camp doing nothing, duskpaw hopped to their paws.
“i’ll go with you,” duskpaw mumbled, “if that’s okay, anyway.”
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Post by Mel on Jun 1, 2015 22:07:35 GMT -4
normally, at this hour, rowanpaw would be nowhere near getting out of his warm nest. he had snagged one of the best nests in the apprentices' den in his opinion, all the way to the back, where the sounds of his denmates couldn't bother him as much in the mornings. and that's where rowanpaw should be, right now. however, his rumbling belly had other ideas. he'd skipped dinner last night, being much too focused on playing a prank on one of his fellow apprentices to eat, and this morning he was awoken by the loud grumblings of his own inner self.
he'd tried to ignore it, until one of his denmates snapped at him to "shut it up". so here the orange-furred tom was, standing over the dismal looking fresh-kill pile, deciding between what looked like a two day old mouse and a frog. the tom reached out a white paw, poking the frog before leaning down and clamping it in his jaws. rowanpaw carried his meal to the side of camp, his orange gaze flitting about as his clanmates slowly started to stir. as he ate, his mind wondered to what he could do today. he hadn't seen his mentor around, which he took as a hopeful sign that today was a day off. just thinking about wasting another day practicing the same battle move or hunting technique over and over again made rowanpaw want to run back to his nest, immediately.
before he could do any other thinking, a voice rung out from his right, and rowanpaw turned to see littlewolf standing near her den. her offer, no, more like her demand, rang in his ears and rowanpaw tried to think of a reasonable excuse to not have to go. but, he was sitting practically five mouselengths away from the medicine cat, and rowanpaw knew she'd scorn him for being a lazy lump of fur if he didn't volunteer himself.
the apprentice internally groaned and quickly finished his frog, standing up to shake out his long-haired pelt of any dirt, but not bothering to groom it any further. as he padded towards littlewolf from behind, he saw duskpaw doing the same, and heard their murmured offer to the she-cat. rowanpaw hadn't had much interaction with his fellow apprentice, but today seemed like a day good as any to find out what his denmate was really like. rowanpaw bounded up to the pair, flashing a grand smile at his medicine cat, hoping to get on her good side for the trip.
"me, me, pick me, littlewolf," he mewed, his tone as bright and playful as ever.
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Post by LYSSA on Jun 1, 2015 22:36:13 GMT -4
now don't everyone jump at once to help your poor old medicine cat. littlewolf thought wryly, though for once she kept the words to herself. she was eager to get going and wasn't going to wait long for cats to offer. if she didn't get any volunteers the medicine cat would pick someone to go with her.
surprisingly enough, it wasn't a few heartbeats later that littlewolf had her first volunteer. duskpaw certainly wouldn't have been her first choice - they seemed sullen and reluctant to help, but at least they weren't chatty. duskpaw, at least, would do as they were told and make the trip quick and painless. not like some apprentices, who would chatter littlewolf's ear off until she was prepared to give their ears a good clawing. not that she would. as irritating as the young paws could be, littlewolf was grudgingly fond of them all. were they to become ill or injured, the medicine cat knew she would fuss over them as if they were her own kits.
"of course it's okay." littlewolf fixed her sharp blue gaze on the apprentice, eyes narrowed slightly. "i asked for volunteers, didn't i? i didn't ask for nothing, you know." the jab was unwarranted, but littlwolf meant little by it. her sharp tongue targeted all, be they kit or leader. most cats knew her well enough by now that beneath her taunting words and prickly personality there lay a compassionate cat that cared for them all. "have you eaten?" littlewolf cast a cursory glance toward the freshkill pile. when she noticed how sparse the pickings were, te tabby shook her head. "never mind. you can hunt after-"
she cut herself short as rowanpaw came bounding, quite literally begging to go along. littlewolf didn't suppress the groan that bubbled past her lips, though it was more playful than anything. rowanpaw was one apprentice in particular who had knack for getting under her fur, but she was just as fond of him as the rest of the apprentices. "all right, all right. you can come with me." littlewolf meowed exasperatedly. her blue eyes, sharp and serious, fixed the two apprentices with a glare. "i expect you two to take this seriously. i don't want any herbs accidentally ruined because you two are goofing off." the words were aimed at rowanpaw in particular. "afterwards you can go hunting. the freshkill pile needs stocking." the medicine cat was well aware she was ordering the pair around as if she were their mentor, but she doubted either of them - except for maybe rowanpaw - would complain. and if their mentors had a problem with littlewolf telling their apprentices what to do, well... she would just like to see them try complaining to her!
words: 457 tags: jay, Mel
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Post by jay on Jun 1, 2015 22:52:16 GMT -4
| DUSKPAW,
they/them/theirs | admittedly, duskpaw was a little hungry. but with how scarce the fresh-kill pile was, they decided to pass. other cats needed to eat before they did. the apprentice turned away from the kill-pile, trying to ignore the rumbling in their stomach. duskpaw could always go out hunting later anyway.
duskpaw rolled their eyes as rowanpaw bounded up towards the two cats, happy and bubbly. see, this is what they were trying to get away from! the apprentice groaned softly, but turned their attention back to littlewolf. they dipped their head to the medicine cat. as much as they were annoyed at the older cat for thinking just because they were young they would mess things up, duskpaw still spoke in a respectful tone. “of course we won’t do that.” they shoved rowanpaw playfully in the shoulder, a teasing glint in their eyes.
“right, rowanpaw? try not to mess this up.”
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Post by Mel on Jun 1, 2015 23:48:31 GMT -4
greeted by a chorus of groans, rowanpaw couldn't help but snort. with his signature smirk plastered on his muzzle, he purred out "so glad to be surrounded by my loving and welcoming clanmates".
it was a simple fact that rowanpaw's constant cheery attitude annoyed some of his more grumpier clanmates, duskpaw and littlewolf being just two. even with his lame jokes and his rambling, he found that when his clanmates became angry with him, they didn't stay that way for long, thankfully. he'd have a lot of enemies if they did. even with littewolf, as sharp as she could be, rowanpaw knew there was a compassionate she-cat hidden under there somewhere. he just had to admit it was fun to push her buttons a little.
at her orders, which he felt where clearly pointed at him, rowanpaw nodded mock seriously, but his shoulders sagged at the thought of going hunting. he opened his mouth to do just that, complain, but he let it fall shut. he supposed it was partly his fault the fresh-kill pile was dwindling, he had just taken one of the larger pieces of prey for himself. the guilt of it shut him up and he nodded once more, keeping himself quiet until he just couldn't.
rowanpaw moved to the side with duskpaw's shove and the apprentice turned to look at them, his orange gaze twinkling. "aw come on, duskpaw, you know i wouldn't," he retorted, cuffing their ear with a paw. "why, i can't even remember the last time i screwed something up. it just doesn't happen," he added with a light, airy laugh. the apprentice jumped to his paws, a little more excited about this trip. there was always the possibility it could turn into an adventure of some sort and if not, rowanpaw had the chance of lightning the spirits of a snarky apprentice and a feisty medicine cat.
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Post by LYSSA on Jun 5, 2015 9:22:37 GMT -4
littlewolf was pleased to note that duskpaw was just as annoyed by rowanpaw as she was. the medicine cat was half hopeful that the two of them would be able to keep the rambunctious apprentice under control and curb his insatiable need to annoy, but she knew it was a false hope. at least rowanpaw didn't complain about being ordered about as if he were her apprentice, though littlewolf could see the beginnings of a complaint welling on the young tom's tongue.
"i'd be a little more welcoming if you weren't such an annoying furball." littlewolf spoke as sharply as ever, but there was a thin layer of playfulness hidden beneath her prickly words. if she were being completely honest, littlewolf somewhat enjoyed rowanpaw's company. she knew she could be harsh on the apprentice and he wouldn't take offence. the flip side of that double-edged sword, however, meant that he wouldn't take her orders too seriously. littlewolf wondered, and not for the first time, just how rowanpaw's mentor put up with him.
littlwolf's eyes narrowed as the two apprentices began to shove and push at each other playfully. an exasperated growl rumbled in her throat. "i mean it! you two are to take this seriously." while the tabby was certain duskpaw would retain a serious attitude while they were out in the forest, the same couldn't be said about rowanpaw. truthfully, littlewolf wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the energetic apprentice. "this isn't like when you're hunting and you scare off prey; prey can always be found again, but herbs cannot! there's a limited supply of it and i won't have you two accidentally trampling over what little there is." shadowclan had it the hardest of the four clans, littlwolf thought. there was little undergrowth growing on the forest floor, sheltered at it was by the widespread boughs of the evergreens and pines. this made it difficult for any herbs to grow in shadowclan's forest. "you could destroy what's left of a particular herb, and then what sort of medicine cat will i be when a cat comes down sick and i don't have the herbs to treat them?" Mel, jay
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