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[h2][color=a2d39c]Mallownose[/color] & [color=8882be]Sketch.[/color][/h2]

"[color=a2d39c]And if you're going to be help then I'd like you both to remember to snip the stem and not to uproot the plant. If the roots are there then it grows again. This is all we'll need from here,[/color]" gathering the catmint in his jaws, he could taste the sweet flavor rushing along his tongue and it was all he could do not to start chewing it himself. "[color=a2d39c]We'll grab two poppy flowers and take those back with the rest of the stock. It'll be good to have more seeds around unless any cat becomes ill.[/color]"

"[color=8882be][i]Ill?[/i][/color]" asked Sketch apprehensively, he bounded after Mallownose as he descended downhill again and the twoleg nests became farther and farther away. 

The forest opened up around Sketch and he was reminded of how very different it was from the gorge in every single way. The trees were in tighter clusters and the grass was nearly so long that it tickled his chin in some patches that Mallownose moved through with ease. He could see towering pine trees further off and the smell of their sap was strong in his nose despite their distance. The sound of chattering birds overhead was clear in his ears, a few swooping past each other and landing noisily amongst the branches where they perched. Ground prey was much quieter, mice scuttling past fallen leaves and voles tucking beneath bushes as the the three cats passed by. He even sighted a squirrel springing past on quick paws and paused to watch it as it wound itself back up the tree quickly. His paws itched to try to spring up after it but he knew it would distract him from following the medicine cats and he'd become very lost, very quickly. He knew he would be hopeless within this territory and if a border patrol found him then they would surely chase him off without so much of a goodbye.

The scents were more amazing than Sketch could have ever imagined and it was unlike any dream he'd ever had about finding Thunderclan, it made his fur prickle with excitement and unease. The unfamiliar was the most amazing thing about the territory, he could hear a river rushing nearby and the sound of trees whispering as the breeze tore through them. It was nothing like Skyclan's territory had been, they had been adept to hunting by leaping through the trees with powerful legs and that had made for their territory to be full of long, clawed trees. Those trees hadn't harbored any leaves and their bark had been as rough as his mother's tongue, most of the grass had been browning and parched until it reached the twoleg nests. The gorge itself had been hard brown stone that heated under the morning sun and sometimes brought the occasional lizard out for a sunning.

His first ever kill had been a lizard and it had been crunchy and unpleasant on his tongue but his mother had praised him warmly. Scratch had been so jealous that he'd spent the whole afternoon stalking every shadow that scuttled past him. He hadn't caught a single scale but he had kept trying until he had became much too frustrated to try again. Scratch had been the first cat that he had ever learned to hunt with, his mom had wanted them to learn to work together so she had taught them to work as a team. It had been hard at first but after some time, he had began to understand the basics. Him and Scratch had become an amazing team together, they had practically caught any type of prey that the forest could have thrown at them.

He wondered if he'd be that lucky here, he wondered if him and Coochie could learn to hunt together in this new terrain. It made him wish even more that Coochie would decide to stay with them, he couldn't imagine losing the only friend that he had made since he'd come here. "[color=a2d39c]We are under the way of a possible outbreak of a disease called Whitecough, these herbs will hopefully help. It's not uncommon for sickness to flare up but we try to keep it down if we can help it.[/color]" Mallownose had paused near a spiny tree and he was sniffing along the ground before he lifted up a small branch full of blue tinted berries and that kept his mouth shut as they padded along. 

He pressed all of the herbs beneath the sharp edged leaves of a holly bush and he lead them towards a small cluster of flowers nearby. Sketch immediately recognized the wide golden heads of the marigold that they were looking for and he sprung forward to nip at the stems himself, it was easy enough to free the big flowers from their standing perch and it wasn't long before he had collected a good mouthful of the bitter stems. He could feel the golden heads against his cheek and he felt silly holding them as he glanced to Mallownose.

"[color=a2d39c]Coochie, go ahead and collect some of the bright red flowers. We could use at least two, but three or four never hurt any cat.[/color]" he liked to have extra poppy seeds in the stock, it made his job all the easier and the young ones liked the blood red petals that they discarded. "[color=a2d39c]You two stay here with Warmpaw and I'll be back in no time. I'm just going to gather some coltsfoot from Riverclan, I should have grabbed it while we were there [i]but-[/i][/color]" a shake of his white head as if he was exasperated with himself. "[color=a2d39c]Always forgetting the essentials. Warmpaw, you can take them to collect the chickweed after you bring the flowers back to the holly bush. There should be a reasonable cluster near the training hollow.[/color]"

Flicking his tail in short farewell, he turned to pad back towards the Riverclan border and disappeared amongst the trees. Sketch watched him go with his mouthful of marigold and glanced towards Warmpaw before setting the flowers down lightly. "[color=8882be]What's the training hollow like? Do you two collect herbs like this every day? Do they [i]all[/i] taste so awful?[/color]"
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