Exploratory Expedition {Mid!}

[gray]

Shadownose
We went in, we climbed up and looked out,
The door locked from the outside,
Three ghosts in a lighthouse...

Shadownose perched in his den, blue eyes surveying his herb stores, black furred tail flicking idly from side to side. Most of them were completely stocked up, which could be attributed to his recent trip to gather herbs. Of course, his watermint stores were quite lacking, and Shadownose flicked his tail into the air as he took note of this. That was something that would need to be remedied soon. Greenleaf wasn't a season that was particularly known for its stomachaches, but they were fairly common because the heat spoiled meats quickly and hungry cats would tear into their food before they realized that the meat was spoiled. That often brought cats scurrying to Shadownose's den, complaining loudly of stomachaches. So perhaps he ought to stock up on watermint. He could even make it a learning experience for Cherrypaw.

Pleased with himself for figuring that out, Shadownose silently padded out of the den, blinking swiftly as his pupils shrank to adopt to the bright, harsh light of the outside world. The black tom glanced around, seeking the familiar form of his apprentice, Cherrypaw. He didn't think he'd taken her to gather watermint, since there had been more pressing herbs to gather, herbs like burdock root and coltsfoot, which was particularly important during the summer, when the heat would put more stress on a cat's body. But Shadownose figured it was better late than never to take her to gather some watermint. Perhaps they'd gather some other herbs on the way back too. If Shadownose remembered correctly, and he usually did, there was a nice clump of feverfew that wouldn't be too far out of the way, and feverfew would also be important for cats that had overheated, which were quite common during greenleaf.

Ah, look, there was Cherrypaw. Shadownose rose to his paws smoothly, tail flicking as he called crisply in Cherrypaw's direction, "Cherrypaw!" Once he had gotten his apprentice's attention, Shadownose continued, "We're going to have a lesson now." He inclined his head, smiling to himself, "We're going herb gathering, to be exact. Are you ready?" Without really waiting for an answer, the tom turned and began to pad out of camp. He moved slowly enough that Cherrypaw would be able to catch up and keep up easily, if she chose.

He set off in the direction of the little marsh, beginning the 'lesson' as soon as they were out of RiverClan's camp. "We're going to be gathering watermint today, which is helpful for stomachaches, and possibly gather a few more herbs on the way back. Can you guess why watermint might be important, especially during greenleaf?" Shadownose hadn't told her why it would be important during greenleaf, but hopefully with a bit of knowledge about what watermint did, Cherrypaw would be able to figure it out on her own. Of course, Shadownose would be willing to help her if she couldn't figure it out, but Shadownose liked to let Cherrypaw figure things out by herself. It was one of the most fun things about having an apprentice, Shadownose thought to himself. He loved watching Cherrypaw try and figure things out.


"speaking" and thinking

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[Midnightstar]

Cherrypaw turned when she heard her mentor's voice, and her ears perked at the word 'lesson'. Lesson? Awesome! This is my first lesson! I can't wait! The tabby thought happily. She trotted after her mentor, her green eyes bright with enthusiasm and excitement.

Watermint, huh? Hmm.. Cherrypaw thought; hoping her guess was correct, "Because the heat can get to be too much for the cats' stomachs to handle?" She answered, but also asked. I hope I'm right! The young apprentice thought, her paws itching with nervousness. She stopped as she scented plants nearby and saw what looked like a patch of herbs. "Are those watermint plants?" Cherrypaw asked her mentor. Cherrypaw stepped in the marsh, and cringed as it oozed between her fur, I hate it when my fur gets all muddy! Cherrypaw thought miserably.

[gray]

Shadownose
We went in, we climbed up and looked out,
The door locked from the outside,
Three ghosts in a lighthouse...

Shadownose noted with a distinct hint of pleasure that Cherrypaw looked excited for their upcoming 'lesson.' This one would be pretty informal, just a basic introduction to important herbs of greenleaf and where they could be found, particularly, well, watermint. And he'd test to see if Cherrypaw would recognize the scents of feverfew and a few other important herbs that they would pass by when they were returning from gathering the watermint. If she didn't, it wasn't a particularly big deal, but Shadownose figured it was worth a try. He wanted to get a rough idea of where exactly her training was so that he could begin planning lessons for his new apprentice.

The guess that Cherrypaw spoke was actually surprisingly close to what Shadownose had wanted to hear. He inclined his black head firmly, a feline smile on his face. "That is true, especially in younger cats who are new to greenleaf's heat. However, it is more common for cats to have issues because heat will cause meat to become spoiled more quickly during greenleaf than in any other season. Often, cats will tear into their food and only discover once they've started eating that their food has gone rancid in the heat and that'll bring them hurrying to my den with stomachaches. Watermint is very good for dealing with stomachaches and I find it easiest to find watermint on RiverClan's territory." Shadownose paused, flicking his tail as his paws sunk slightly into the wet soil beneath his bulk. "Watermint grows in water or damp soil. That shouldn't be too hard to remember." Shadownose informed her, glancing around the air, searching for watermint's telltale flowers, which ranged from pink to lavender in color and were very distinctive in appearance.

When Shadownose spotted a clump of it, he nodded to himself, but made no move to get it. Instead, he waited to answer her, and watched Cherrypaw set off into the marsh herself, which was commendable since she didn't really look like she wanted to touch the murky ground. He didn't really blame her. Shadownose didn't really want to get his paws muddy either. It would take ages to get clean after this. It was worth it for his Clan, of course, and for the cats that he would get to help. Shadownose did enjoy helping other cats, like a Medicine Cat ought to.

The tom took a moment to answer Cherrypaw, "Why don't you tell me? Do you remember what watermint smells like?" Well, Shadownose wouldn't be surprised if she didn't remember what it smelled like. Cherrypaw hadn't been in his den much, and it was probably hard to discern watermint from the scents of the other herbs that Shadownose stored in his den. He could tell which herb was which easily, but that had taken a lot of practice and moons of being around all of the herbs that were in question at the moment.

"speaking" and thinking

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[Midnightstar]

"Umm... Yeah, I think so." Cherrypaw answered her mentor as she went farther into the mud. The slimy ground touched her belly and Cherrypaw wanted to dash out of the nasty stuff, but she couldn't run, it was too strong to push through that fast. Cherrypaw struggled to get through the mud and the scent of the watermint, which was close now, hit her scent glands. Good... Almost... There... Then I can get out of this mess! She thought happily, wanting to lift her tail to show her happiness, but she couldn't; it was in the mud.

When she'd reached the plant, Cherrypaw picked as much as her jaws could carry and padded back to Shadownose as fast as she could. A scowl was growing on Cherrypaw's face due to the mud, which now covered her fur up to her chin.

"I hate this area!" She hissed when she had gotten to Shadownose and dropped the watermint at his paws; well, what she thought was the watermint. "That's watermint, right?" She asked pleadingly, hoping to not have to go back out into the mud.

[gray]

Shadownose
We went in, we climbed up and looked out,
The door locked from the outside,
Three ghosts in a lighthouse...

Shadownose almost felt bad for his apprentice as he watched her tromping through the muddy marshlands, heading for the herb clump. He was of half a mind to help her, but this had been one of his first lessons too. Shadownose had hated making his way through the mud as an apprentice, but now that he was larger, the mud didn't bother him as much. He wasn't up to his tail in muck anymore, though Shadownose certainly wasn't the largest of toms.

He watched approvingly, amusement evident in his slightly twitching whiskers as his apprentice went straight for the 'kill,' not looking back for his approval. That was an important trait in a Medicine Cat. They couldn't always be waiting for their mentor's approval or they'd never learn from trial and error. Trial and error was as important as learning from your mentor, in Shadownose's opinion, and it was that line of thought that had him watching silently as Cherrypaw gathered up the herb in her mouth and returned to him, looking quite disgusted.

Cherrypaw's words were met by more amusement on Shadownose's part. The curious tom took a moment to answer her, nosing the herb and sniffing it carefully. He ensured that he took a while and then he glanced up, blue eyes focused on Cherrypaw. "Yes, this is watermint. Be sure to remember its distinctive smell, just in case you can't locate it with sight alone. Watermint has a very distinctive appearance, though. They have flowers in shades of pink to lavender in little bunches. If you can remember that and their scent, you'll be able to find them easily in any marshy area." The tom nodded approvingly. "Congratulations on finding watermint, Cherrypaw! This will help me a lot as greenleaf wears on. Now, I'm sure you'd like to clean off, eh?" The tom shot a teasing glance in the direction of her muddy fur before he gathered the herbs up in his mouth.

"speaking" and thinking

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[Midnightstar]

Cherrypaw nodded excitedly, "Yes!" She meowed, hardly able to wait. "I think I want to head to the river and hang out with my sister for a while..." She said, dashing back to camp. I wonder how Blossompaw is doing; I haven't seen her since our ceremonies yesterday! The apprentice thought excitedly.

Cherrypaw had reached camp and went directly to the apprentices' den. Prodding her sister, she mewed softly, "Blossompaw! Get up!"

Blossompaw opened her green eyes and stretched, "Why-" Her eyes were wide now as she saw Cherrypaw. "H-How did your pelt get so gross? You never let it get that dirty!"

"Oh; I had to get watermint from the marsh! It was my first lesson... I was going to ask if you wanted to hang out with me at the river! We haven't seen each other since yesterday.."

"Sure!" Blossompaw was sitting now and grooming her fur a bit. "I haven't trained yet, but I also haven't been able to get out of camp." She meowed.

Cherrypaw's paws kneaded the apprentices' den as she impatiently waited for her sister to get up. Blossompaw got up and nodded, as if to say 'you lead the way'. So, Cherrypaw turned and trotted happily out of the apprentices' den, her sister behind her.

[White]

The evening was hot and steamy as Havenheart awoke from her den, giving a quick stretch before striding over near the camp entrance and slumped to wash herself before the days duties. ' When will Stonybrook to asign me to a patrol?' she questioned with annoyance and a bit of sadness. Steadily licking herself with careful and long strokes, glanced at Cherrypaw and Blossompaw heading silently out of the apprentices den.


Curiosity got the best of her and she lept up and bounded joyfully over to the apprentices. The wind rushing past, she questioned "Where are you two headed?" " You are not supposed to go out of camp by yourselfs!" She quietly said, scooting the cats out of the clans sight, "Blossompaw where is your mentor?" Havenheart whispered. She didn't wait for a reply, "I won't tell if,You let me tag along!" She happily added looking for signs of reliefs on the cats eyes. Havenheart purred loudly and chuckled. "Where we headed? " Havenheart called bounding forward with excitment. 'They should know better! I can let this slip past but if it happens again it will be more serious' Havenheart thought padding in circles. 'After all, they Should know the warrior code by now!' "Well?" She said to the blinking apprentices eager to get out of camp.

[Midnightstar]

The littermates exchanged a glance, "Uhh..." Blossompaw stuttered.

"We were just going to head out and get some fresh air.." Cherrypaw answered.

Blossompaw held in a sigh and instead meowed, "You can come with us if you want. Oh, will you teach us how to fish?" Her eyes lit up and she'd forgotten about the sigh.

Cherrypaw's ears went against her head, "Fishing? I don't know... Why do you think I became a medicine cat apprentice? I don't like fishing and I don't like fighting."

"Aw, come on, Cherrypaw! It's not very often we're going to be able to hunt as sisters... Hey, Havenheart, what's it like being a warrior? Is it fun? Is it hard? What are battles like? What are the cats from other clans like?" Blossompaw mewed, nudging her sister, then questions poured out of the apprentice's mouth.

[White]

"Oh fine fine," Havenheart replied warmly, "Come then, i will tell you on the way young apprentices!" Havenheart padded through the camp boundary at a steady pace. The sun felt good on Havenhearts pelt as she padded along the reeds untill she came to the river and sat down and started licking a forpaw, " Well, being a warrior has many benifits, like for instance, the gratitude recieved from your clan and the lifelong friends you make, creates a strong bond to help and make sure your clan grows from even the tiniest kit to the toughest leader. You must follow the warrior code though, for it guides you along the many roads but if you stick with the warrior code, Starclan will most definitly lead you right." Starting on her back and in between her paws, Havenheart added, " Of course,"


The river flowed silently past catching Havenhearts attention, seeing a big fat fish trying to swin upstream. " Now Blossompaw, what is the first thing you do when catching fish? Have you learned?" Havenhearts tail swished with intense concentration, jumping to the opposite side of the bank, still staring at the meaty fish, Havenhearts shadow was behind her now. " Now," Havenheart purred, "When you catch a fish, your shadow should not be over the water," Havenheart bunched her leg muscles, "Then, You must find a moment where the fish is closest to you," She quietly said, padding slowly up bank with her tail lowered and found a nice grassy spot where the fish had stopped. "Then," Havenheart whispered, "You STRIKE!" Havenheart yowled as she swiftly propelled her paw into the water and flipped the fish onto the bank.


It flopped helplessly as a swift kill to the fishes head slowed its movements. Havenheart glowed. " It is most definitly fun young Blossompaw," Havenheart purred with ammusment. " You see, You can't always catch what you want when you want," Havenheart explained, flicking her ear of fleas. With a quick lick to the paw, she picked up the fish in her mouth and burried it, continuing on, saying "Patience, is the key." Havenheart layed down and stretched, "Come on, you two look like you could use a rest!" Havenheart purred lightly. "How are you Cherrypaw? Getting along good with Shadownose?" Havenheart smiled and started grooming Cherrypaw and Blossompaw.