jump jump jump around → wc apprentices

[FOXPAW]

'CUS I'LL SET FIRE TO THE RAIN

Checking up on and possibly collecting herbs was a fairly easy and safe task for the day, perhaps that was why the warriors of the clan had allowed Foxpaw and some of the other apprentices to dash out of the camp to the horseplace in the search of tansy. Indeed, it was certainly a soft job, if they stayed on the correct end of the horseplace they wouldn’t be anywhere near the border with RiverClan and with only the large ponies to worry about, it was a safe little experience for the apprentices without being in any potential danger. Yet the ginger apprentice didn’t care that they were only going as far as the twoleg created area where horses lazily strolled, there was a potential for adventure and fun, plus it showed that the warriors trusted them with the task at hand and that maybe, they would see what a good job she, and the others of course, could do, earning possible praise! The task at paw may have been tame but it was one that the she-cat wanted to complete and enjoy with her fellow apprentices.

Dashing through the grass, her long legs carrying her swiftly over the moors, Foxpaw enjoyed the cool breeze ruffling her fur as she charged onwards, her body remaining warm despite the wind due to her active body. Heart thumping in her ribcage, the little ‘patrol’ pounded onwards until the white wooden structures that were built by twolegs came into view, the construction becoming larger and larger as they approached it. It looked dark and miserable even from here, leaf-bare taking its toll on the grass and clouds that loomed above their heads, causing the pristine white wood to look gray in comparison to their gleaming shine in the Greenleaf. Even the horses looked rather miserable, their heads low as they sulked in the cold wind, huddled close together. Sightseeing wasn’t the reason they were here though and with the other apprentices, they approached the visible borders around the horses land.

Raising her head a little, Foxpaw opened her mouth to taste the air, searching for the scent of the tansy they were to check up on. The medicine cat’s supply was low and tansy was good for illnesses that came about in the cold seasons, or so she had been told, so Foxpaw guessed it would be a great source of help to the clan if they managed to find some! She had never had a cough, normal, green or white but she figured that without this needed herb it would seem just as horrible as it sounded… and hearing her clanmates weakly cough was not a pleasant sound. So, she padded through the grass around the trees and white fences, sniffing for a herb-flower scent which could be what they were looking for.

“Anybody find anything?”

'CUS I'LL SET FIRE TO THE RAIN

template by eliza @ shadowplay

[LILYPAW]

Her first official task as an apprentice! Lilypaw couldn’t believe that she had been chosen along with several of the other apprentices for the task, the group of them sent to collect some tansy at the horseplace for the medicine cat Dawnheart. It wasn’t exactly the most important of jobs or the most dangerous, but the young apprentice had still shone with pride when she had followed behind the rest of the apprentices as they left the camp. That didn’t mean that what they were doing had no significance at all though. Tansy was, as Lilypaw had been told, used commonly to cure coughing, particularly any cases of greencough, a disease she knew was infamous for killing kits and older cats from stories she had heard. There weren’t any cases of greencough at the moment, thankfully, but the she-cat knew that if the sickness was to break out the medicine cat would need plenty of herbs on paw to deal with it, and tansy was perhaps the most important of all. But simply knowing that what they were doing was going to help the clan made Lilypaw thrilled that she was taking part, that and the fact that the cats of Windclan had trusted them, even though they were only apprentices, with the task, and the calico was determined not to fail her first ever apprentice task!

Paws thudding against the cold hard ground of the moors, Lilypaw charged after the other apprentices as they raced across the grassland. Her breath coming out in ragged gasps, the she-cat held the rear of the group as she struggled to keep up. But she was determined not to fall behind, and the calico narrowed her eyes in determination, stalks of grass rustling furiously in their wake as they passed across the frozen moorland. The sky above was clouded over, the gray blanket dimming the warming rays of the sun and casting a dim glow across the land. Wincing, Lilypaw felt a harsh gust of wind wash over her body as she crested a small hillock, but she didn’t slow for a heartbeat. Her heart racing from exertion and excitement, the young apprentice glanced up, her olive eyes widening a little as her paws skidded to a top. Ahead of her, visible through the waving stalks of vegetation, dully shone a long line of what looked like small white trees, but they didn’t have any branches or leaves and stretched far across the moor in a perfect line. It must have been the twoleg structure that marked the boundary of the horseplace; Lilypaw had never been this far from the camp, and she was amazed at the peculiar nature of the place. She had often heard of twolegs, but this was her first view of anything related to them, and the apprentice was both full of curiosity, and a little frightened as she once again bounded forward, following the other apprentices as they neared their goal.

Her eyes still wide with wonder, Lilypaw slowed down as they drew near to the horseplace, her head moving around wildly as she took in everything that there was to see. The grass here was much shorter than on the grassland that was Windclan territory, and the calico felt exposed as the comforting vegetation disappeared around her, her ears perked to the slightest sound of any danger. What caught her greatest attention though was the huddled mass of horses as they sat shivering and grazing near the center of the area enclosed by the twoleg structure. They seemed to pay the cats no attention as they approached, and Lilypaw was thankful for this; she had been told that the horses wouldn’t be dangerous unless you approached them, but even from as far away as they were they looked huge to the she-cat, and just the thought of coming face to face with one made the fur on her shoulders stand up in fright. Turning away from the beasts, Lilypaw instead approached the pale structure that sat silently nearby. Her paws crunched against the brittle grass that lay across the ground as she padded up to the twoleg…thing, and stopped a tail-length away, tilting her head as she stared uncertainly at it. Swallowing her nervousness, the young apprentice inched forward pawstep by pawstep, and extending one of her paws she slowly moved it in order to touch the object in front of her, the distance closing with each heartbeat until…

Just as her pad connected with the smooth surface of the structure, the apprentice heard a meow behind her. Startled, Lilypaw jumped away and quickly spun around, her hackles raised as her claws gripped onto the frigid ground. Realizing that it was only one of the other apprentices, the calico relaxed, her fur lowering as she licked her paw a few times to hide her embarrassment, before looking at the cat who spoke. Happiness replaced her racing heart though as Lilypaw noticed that it was Foxpaw, the familiar ginger she-cat padding through the trees and grass just a few fox-lengths away, asking whether any of the other apprentices had found anything. With a lurch Lilypaw realized that her curiosity had made her momentarily forget about the whole point of them being there, and immediately she leapt to her paws and started searching around, her bright eyes scanning the area around her for any sign of the small yellow flower that had been described to her, the apprentices head swiveling as she scented the air for any sign of herbs nearby.

Sadly, Lilypaw didn’t see any hint of yellow among the dark greens and browns of the moor, and the only thing she scented in the wind were the usual sweet scents of the grassland and the scents of the other apprentices, as well as a strange scent that she assumed came from the horses upwind in the distance. Her search having brought her closer to Foxpaw, the calico she-cat padded over to the other apprentice and stopped nearby, eyes still cast on the ground and straining to see or find anything that even resembled a flower. ”I don’t see anything…”, she mewed, wondering if perhaps Foxpaw knew a trick to finding the flower, or at least where to look for them. She had been an apprentice for several moons before Lilypaw entered the apprentice den, and it was also possible that the she-cat had been so excited upon hearing the nature of the task that she had failed to hear some crucial detail. Like where to actually find the herb they were looking for, since so far the ground of the moor was proving rather ungenerous at providing anything.

[OWLPAW]

paranoia paranoia, somebody's coming to get me

Owlpaw was not excited to be going on this particular 'expedition', if you could even call it that. Coupled with his crippling fear of horses, as well as having no warrior to keep the other apprentices in line, the awkward young tom had a bad feeling about today. Snakes, badgers, dogs, hawks, horses. There were just so many dangers out here, and they were risking their lives for what? Tansy?! Yeah, sure, it had uses for cough in the winter (of which elders in particular suffered most), but was it really losing three or four apprentices over? Owlpaw thought not. But obvious he was the only one with reservations of the day, as he was the only one making even an attempt to be cautious.

Lilypaw was three mouse-lengths ahead of Owlpaw, despite their age difference. She was slower than the others due to her size and lack of experience out of the camp, but she was also entirely unconcerned with what was around them. Owlpaw, on the other hand, was slinking his way across the field instead of running; his belly low to the ground and his ears turned backwards on his head, his already wide eyes stretched as far as they could go as they warily flickered to and fro around them. He felt exposed in this field, especially since the grass was so cropped thanks to the cold. Small patches of ice were all around them, but it looked more like puffy snow than anything they could slip on. Even so, Owlpaw was sure to watch where he put his over-sized paws, making himself a bit more awkward than usual.

Foxpaw and Lilypaw reached the fence roughly thirty seconds before he did, and when the tom creeped up near them, he caught the tail end of their conversation. He tossed his tail warily, his lips pulling back slightly from his teeth. He was tense as a mouse caught in an owl's talons, and he hated it. He hated being put in such a position, especially if it made him physically vulnerable as well. Not to mention that these two scatter brained she-cats were making tons of racket. The horses could probably hear them from all the way across the field! "P-pipe d-down, would you?" he hissed furiously, stumbling through the words as he did when he was nervous.. which was all the time. "Ch-check along the b-base of the fence. It'll p-probably be growing th-there."