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Post by Rainstorm on Jan 28, 2009 21:55:48 GMT -5
Rainstorm padded impatiently around the camp, glancing every so often at the camp entrance. He was hungry, cold, and tired, but refused to show any signs of fatigue to his clanmates. The black tom drug his paws to a halt, and looked around him. He was in the dead center of the camp. "Good enough," he told himself, and plopped down. He wanted the night patrol to be back already. Rainstorm had to do something to keep his mind of leaf-bare. His cats were starving, supplies were running low, and everyone's nerves were worn down as thin as he thought possible. He flipped onto his back. These cats were his responsibility, and he would do whatever he could to protect them. Getting out would clear his mind, and help him find a solution to this problem.
((OOC: Whatever cats are available can be part of the night patrol. Two or three, please))
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Post by Willowstar on Jan 29, 2009 20:14:31 GMT -5
A rustling came from the bramble tunnel marking the camp's entrance. A white-pelted cat slid into the clearing with a glimmer in his eye; a plump hawk and a rabbit hung from his jaws. Struggling with the load, Whitewing turned and walked backwards to drag the prey more effectively. The air was cold, but the prey was still warm. With a triumphant grin at his catches, the snowy warrior turned and saw, seated in the dead center of the clearing, LedgeClan's deeply concerned deputy. Rainstorm looked more worried than he had before the night patrol left. Curious, Whitewing padded over to the tom and sat a tail-length away. "You ok, Rainstorm?"
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Post by raku on Jan 29, 2009 21:49:40 GMT -5
Poking one nose out of the medicine den, then tugging it sharply back once it felt the cold, Summerclaw shuddered. Slowly and tenderly, she put one dark-tipped tawny paw in front of the other. The earth felt cold under the tough, though exposed pads of flesh at the bottom of her paws. Her yellow-green eyes scanned the camp with a sense of worry, if there where any cases of frost-bite of outbreaks of any one of the many diseases that seemed to spread during the cold moons of leafbare, she wouldn'y be able to treat it. There was almost no way of restocking the herb supplies. Her features lit up at the sight of Whitewing returning with prey. At least the freshkill pile wouldn't fade as fast as her medicine stock had. Padding up to him and Rainstorm she mewed, her optimism at the sight of freshkill for the clan evident in her voice, "Eat well before leaving for the patrol! You'll lose energy faster in this weather, and you need to keep your bodies strong, I don't have herbs to waste on weak warriors." Adding a hint of sarcasm to the last part of her mew.
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Post by Willowstar on Jan 29, 2009 22:18:48 GMT -5
Whitewing purred lightly at Summerclaw's comment. "The dawn patrol won't be leaving for a while yet, so I think I wait a bit. But, you look like you need the food as well." He jokingly winked at the she-cat. "What would LedgeClan do without their Medicine Cat?" Calmly and gently, he crouched to warm his paws under his fur. They were still a bit wet from his patrol, and the crisp winds only caused them to ache. Shivering a bit, Whitewing curled his tail around his side.
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Post by Rainstorm on Jan 30, 2009 1:23:22 GMT -5
Rainstorm flipped back onto his belly, shivering at the sudden cold. He could smell Whitewing's fresh-kill, taunting him to grab it. He reprimanded himself, pushing his hunger and worries to the back of his mind. "I'm fine, just the usual worries," he fibbed to Whitewing. He turned towards the medicine cat standing with them. "Summerclaw, I can organize a patrol later today, and they could search for herbs with you. I know it's hard for you to look by yourself." He cocked his head at the she-cat, trying to remember if he had seen any herbs on his patrols lately.
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Post by Willowstar on Jan 30, 2009 21:07:14 GMT -5
Whitewing jumped at the opportunity. "I can help if you need me. I have nothing else to do at the moment." He looked to Rainstorm for approval. Herb collecting is just the thing he needed right now. The camp was dismal and a bit depressing at the moment, but in truth, LedgeClan could have had it worse. At least the herbs were plentiful before the temperatures dropped; indeed they would be in a much worse predicament if the herbs hadn't grown so lushly. Sickness would have been on a wild rampage, wounds would be left untreated, and no cat would have been fit to hunt. Without food, they'd be heading down a path that no cat wishes to see. It suddenly occurred to him that if they didn't find a stock of herbs soon, that dismal prediction was just a few sunrises away.
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Post by Jadestone on Jan 31, 2009 13:55:13 GMT -5
Jadestone padded into the dark camp, her thick pelt ruffled from the sharp, biting breeze. She had been unable to sleep, despite the comparative warmth in the warrior's den, so had slipped out to hunt at night instead of keeping her clanmates up with her tossing and turning. However, she only had a small, winter-thin vole to show for her struggles. Hungry as she was, she dropped it onto the fresh-kill pile, ignoring the twinge of worry at how small it was. She meowed a soft greeting to the other awake cats, and glanced around, looking for something else to occupy her and drive her thoughts away.
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Post by raku on Jan 31, 2009 14:25:47 GMT -5
Summerclaw flicked her ears in thought. "There are certain barks that I've never tried.." her mew full of doubt, she was still young and she had much to learn, sometimes her confidence suffered for that, "I'll have to come with you and show you some of the trees.. if I can." She shuddered inwardly at the thought of leaving the camp in this weather. At least here she could be sure that her warm medicine den was only a few paces behind her. Shaking her pelt as if to shake away her doubts, Summerclaw picked up a peice of prey and thoughtfully began to take tender mouthfulls.
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Post by Rainstorm on Jan 31, 2009 17:10:30 GMT -5
"Good! We can count this as the dawn patrol, too." Rainstorm looked over to Jadestone, who had walked into the camp a little while earlier. "Jadestone, will you come here a minute? I'd like you to join our patrol, if you're not busy already."
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Post by Jadestone on Feb 1, 2009 0:46:47 GMT -5
Jadestone dipped her head in agreement, and padded over to where Rainstorm stood. "Where in the territory will we be going?" She asked, and then coughed to clear her voice. She'd forgotten she hadn't actually spoken more than a soft mew since the previous morning. She was usually a quiet cat, but this winter she'd been speaking even less, it seemed.
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Post by raku on Feb 1, 2009 19:33:20 GMT -5
Summerclaw hesitated, racking her mind for what herbs could be found in this season and where. This was her first season as medicine cat where she couldn't ask her mentor for help. A nagging feeling of doubt and frustration pulled at her stomach. Her yellow-green eyes lit up suddenly, "Where would we go to find bramble twigs? And do you suppose the ground is frozen," She mewed, "If it's soft enough, we could dig for roots.. maybe willow bark." The feeling of doubt was gone now, though she still knew it would be difficult to find what she needed in leafbare. Summerclaw was now relying on chances and remedies that she had only seen used a few times by her mentor, in the most desperate of situations. "Jadestone, is your throat allright?" she asked, picking up on the cough, "I have some tansey left, if you'd like some."
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Post by Willowstar on Feb 3, 2009 19:26:57 GMT -5
Whitewing watched Summerclaw as she sifted through her thoughts; indeed if they were to find enough herbs to suffice, they would have to be a bit more creative. The harsh temperatures hardened the ground, leaving no chance for root-digging, but the she-cat's mind kept searching. The white warrior's fur was completely poofed out, causing him to look like a fluffy cloud. Surely this torrent of horrid weather would end soon, right? His mind wandered to the stars, loosing sight of the reality below. Coldness cannot continue forever. New-leaf should be on its way... Jadestone cleared her throat, startling Whitewing a bit as he cleared his thoughts. He didn't quite catch Summerclaw's comments, but he understood that they would have to find alternatives for the herb supply until the snow melted away.
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Post by Jadestone on Feb 4, 2009 17:50:25 GMT -5
Jadestone shook her head to Summerclaw's offer. "No, my throat is fine. Save it for a cat who might really need it." She kneaded her paws into the hard ground, the last warmth she had gained from hunting fading from her pelt as the light breeze ruffled her fur.
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Post by raku on Feb 7, 2009 17:15:42 GMT -5
Summerclaw fluffed up her light fur, she was definately not a cat build for this weather. StarClan hadn't blessed her with a tough build or a thick coat like some of the warriors. "Jadestone, I'm just being careful. If your sore throat turns out to be whitecough, or worse, then we would both be better off to catch it before it spreads..." her mew trailed off, she did want to say 'or before it kills you'. Clearing her throat, she continued speaking, "I'm afraid I have to insist." She didn't like to feel like she was giving orders, and her voice sounded hesitant, but she needed to be sure.
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Post by Windstar on Feb 8, 2009 14:15:16 GMT -5
" Jadestone, listen to Summerclaw," An amused voice spoke from behind the cats as soft pawsteps approached the group. Windstar came into view, smiling slightly despite her hunger and worry for the Clan. She was considerably less conditioned than usual, thinner than normal- but she had been through it before, and was optimistic as she glanced at the fresh-kill pile. " Who managed to bring in all that prey?" The she-cat asked, clearly impressed. With the current situation and the awful weather the leader had begun to not get her hopes too high when warriors returned from hunting.
Windstar returned to her own thoughts for a moment as a chilling breeze wound its way around her fur, causing her to shiver and fluff out the hair in a vain attempt to preserve some warmth. I hope Jadestone hasn't got anything serious...We can't afford an illness running through camp just now... Her eyes narrowed as she stared into the distance, consumed with thoughts. This had been happening a lot recently, with the leader becoming oblivious to those around her for minutes at a time.
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