[Abyss]

Rustpaw

Rainclan She-Cat

I'm talking with a big smile

“Chickweed. Fennel. Sweet sedge. Can you handle it?” Cold eyes stared down the ruddy red she-cat, the Medicine Cat’s body leaning over the large yet organized collection of herbs. With Leafbare coming to an end, herbs were beginning to grow again, which meant beginning the long process of refilling the collection. Though, with Newleaf only just arriving, not many would be fully grown, nor would they be for a good while. But there were some that Rustpaw was sure, if not hopeful, that she would find ready to be collected. She could only assume that the three she was assigned were among those.

“Yes, I will go right away.” It was so odd sometimes, hearing her own voice. She never realized it until more recently, but her voice had grown deeper and more...what was the word? She considered this as she padded away from the stream surrounding camp, a word coming to mind as she crossed. Formal. A smile pulled at the corners of her maw. Dewfrost’s attitude is rubbing off on me, I guess.

Setting aside this little consideration, an excitement built up within the rusty red Apprentice’s chest. This was one of the first times she was going out to collect herbs on her own! She had been training with Dewfrost for...six moons, if she was correct. That was usually the minimum length of an average Warrior Apprentice training. Yet she was nowhere close to being ready for promotion.

This fact did tug at her mind on occasion, if she was honest. Where would she be in this moment if she had not been chosen by Dewfrost? Where would she have been if she would have chosen to back down when she spoke to Farsight? She was doing relatively ok as a Medicine Cat Apprentice, right?

Her paws stopped beneath her, furrowed amber eyes looking down ahead of her. A light green plant rose from the ground, small individual stalks growing from one point within the soil. Little needle-like points grew, much like the needles of pine trees, from the ends of the stalks, stretched in many directions. There was hesitation in her mind, staring at this plant. Only for a moment, her head went blank, her limbs tensing. Was she doing a good job, though? How far into their training were the other Medicine Cats when they had reached her age? What were they able to do, and what could they already identify? Yes, Rustpaw had started her training in this field a few moons later, but did that have a major effect on how she was learning, or how Dewfrost wanted to teach her?

A small gust of wind blew across the stream a few pawsteps head of her, bringing with it small leaves of different colors, likely plucked from the trees by emerging birds. A small, tear-shaped leaf swirled towards the small she-cat, brushing the tip of her ear and landing next to the fennel at her paws. A sad yet encouraged smile crossed her features.

“I know mother. I shouldn’t…..wait...” Bright amber eyes blinked a few times at the plant she examined. She knew that this was fennel. This wasn’t just a weed or a random plant. Not only did she know that this was fennel, but she knew that this meant she had already found one of three herbs listed by Dewfrost to find. She had only been out here for a short amount of time, and she already found one and identified it on sight.

Her gaze shifted to the leaf, a spark of joy flowing through her orbs. “I know I can do this….thank you.” She lightly shook her head, chasing away those thoughts of self-doubt. “I will come back for this.” With a flick of her tail, she turned, trotting up the stream with her gaze searching eagerly for the other two herbs.


By the time the young she-cat came trotting back to the fennel, an odd-shaped bundle of plants stuck out from all sides of her mouth. Some would appear like regular leaves, while others resembled long green sticks with bulbs at the ends. Though it was rather awkward carrying these things together, she still did so with a smile pulling at the corners of her jaw.

As she approached, movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Her body froze and her gaze shifted, though her head did not move. She was out here alone. If something came after her, she would be on her own in terms of defense. Granted, she was learning all of the same fighting techniques as a regular Apprentice, but that didn’t mean she was good at them. Small stature and even smaller paws came with major disadvantages in the strength department.

Thankfully, the face that she caught a glimpse of through the shadows was a familiar one, allowing her to release her breath through her nose. As the other cat came closer, she called out through a mouth full of herbs.

“Hewwo Hurhlepaw!”

but they haven't got a clue.

838 | @sable | Notes

[Deleted]

[googlefont=Shrikhand][googlefont=Montserrat][googlefont=Engagement]

Turtlepaw
Apprentice of RainClan

[attr="class","scroll"]Turtlepaw had come out in the hopes of practicing her hunting skills. Hunting, not fishing. She grumbled in the way she'd seen the warriors grumble, annoyed at having their supposedly steady supply of food suddenly unavailable, leaving them to struggle to find and catch land prey. It wasn't ideal, but there also wasn't any other choice, until the fish were able to be eaten again, and who knew when that would be?

RainClan were fishers, not mouse-chasers. But the warriors and apprentices were doing their best to find enough to fill bellies, and Turtlepaw, new apprentice though she was, wanted to help. Which was why she was here, scouting through the bushes for any trace of something she could catch. When sound reached her ears, though, it wasn't the rustle of leaves made by tiny scurrying feet, but the muffled and distorted sound of her name from the medicine cat's apprentice, Rustpaw, and Turtlepaw dragged her gaze away from scanning the undergrowth to eye the ginger she-cat.

Stems and leaves bulged out of either side of the other apprentice's mouth, propping her jaw open and looking like an odd assortment of green whiskers; Turtlepaw's own quivered in sudden amusement at the thought. "Rustpaw," she greeted, padding toward the older she-cat and stopping right in the middle of the path, tail flicking side to side. "You're looking very busy. Dewfrost got you out and doing some hunting of your own, I see. Are you on your way back to camp? Maybe I can go with you, after all, it's not safe out here for a cat who can't defend herself. Wouldn't want some nasty creature to steal you away, now, would we?"

Here I am, this is me

There's nowhere else on Earth I'd rather be

★  Abyss ★

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[Abyss]

Rustpaw

Rainclan She-Cat

I'm talking with a big smile

Had the one to approach been a Warrior, the young she-cat may have perked up more, with chest out and head raised to display an air of professionalism. But alas, despite the fact that she should likely do this for all that she meets, Rustpaw was never one to push aside or act a certain way when around those like her. In this case, Turtlepaw was a fellow Apprentice, and though Turtlepaw wasn’t exactly known for her charming personality, it didn’t stop the optimistic ruddy Apprentice to see her as a friend.

As the other she-cat talked, wide amber eyes watched and pointed ears listened intently. She blinked a few times as the striped calico compared hunting to herb gathering, which she found intriguing. She supposed those things could be similar. Hunting for herbs. But her comment about protection and defending herself, Rustpaw slightly tilted her head, her somewhat darker brows furrowing in a confused manner. She waited for Turtlepaw to finish speaking before she spoke herself through a muffled set of jaws.

“Ut I can defend mythelf.” Realizing that it may be harder to understand her, she lowered her head, setting the bundle of herbs between her front tiny paws. She raised her gaze to meet the other’s once more. “I’ve had quite a bit of fight training. I don’t really like it, but I could if I had to.”

For a moment, bright amber eyes scanned around them, ears twitching. It was then that she took notice of something, orbs turning back to Turtlepaw with a small smirk. Granted, Rustpaw was very friendly and was never one to try and upset others. But even those things couldn’t stop her from saying things that sounded like a tease. When these things were said, she said or asked them genuinely, though the way others interpret what she says was never something she understood.

“What about you then? What are you doing out here with no protection? We wouldn’t want you getting swept away by something either.” Her voice sounded genuine enough, but what she said with said voice? Had anyone else said it, it may have been considered a jab or a comeback. How it would be perceived by Turtlepaw? She wasn’t sure, but that wasn’t what she was focused on.

but they haven't got a clue.

381 | @sable | Notes

[Deleted]

[googlefont=Shrikhand][googlefont=Montserrat][googlefont=Engagement]

Turtlepaw
Apprentice of RainClan

[attr="class","scroll"]‘Defend’ and ‘myself’ were clear enough to get the message, and Turtlepaw smiled like she believed Rustpaw completely. “Of course you can.” She knew well enough that medicine cat apprentices had fight training, but how could that measure up with what a warrior apprentice got? The differences were so major it wasn’t even on the same level! Rustpaw didn’t have the slightest clue what real fighting even was.

She sniffed and padded forward, circling Rustpaw as she answered the inquiry. “I know how to fight, not whatever pitiful moves you think is fighting. If you’re so very confident, maybe we should have a spar. Right here, right now! I bet you a nice fat fish… if we can catch any… that I could pin you in like two minutes flat. What do you say?”

Turtlepaw paused back in front of Rustpaw and crouched down, tail waving gracefully back and forth as she waited for the other’s reply and hoping she said yes, because having a spar would be so much fun, especially since she was certain there was no way she could lose.

Here I am, this is me

There's nowhere else on Earth I'd rather be

★  Abyss ★

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