[ti]Private[/ti]The First Frost

[Cosima]

BEETLESHADE - -

She was awoken to an unsettling shiver in the air, which caused her eyes to dart open. "No," She whispered, rising to her paws. She rushed out of the den and was met with every medicine cat's nightmare: the first frost. This was not just any frost, it was the frost that meant Leaf-bare was coming, and fast. It meant that it was of the utmost importance for them to collect every single herb on their territory to survive the upcoming moons. The previous Leaf-bare, Larkbeat forewarned Beetleshade of the dangers of the first frost, and they were well-prepared. Beetleshade wished she still had her mentor around in this moment.

"No, no, no, no..." Beetleshade whipped around and inspected the herb storage for shortages. "Catmint, comfrey root, lungwort... oh, dear..." She turned her gaze to her apprentice, Lilydawn, who was sound asleep in her nest. Her apprentice was disabled and could not travel anywhere by herself, but she had proven herself useful for carrying herbs for Beetleshade. The morning sky was still dark, but this was of dire need. She could rest later this evening. "Lilydawn, wake up. It's important." Beetleshade said, rousing Lilydawn with her front paws. "We need to hurry."

[Mama]

Lilydawn hadn't stopped working since she was made an apprentice, the feline was determined to show Beetleshade she was worthy of the position. Recently she'd been tiring herself out a bit more, from Redpaw's strange seizures to Briardawn having her surprise kits and two not making it. They'd started to run low on borage for all the new queens, and Lilydawn made sure to spend extra time every day to check on all the kits.

Giving a yawn as she was nudged awake, it took the young shecat a second to become fully alert. "Where... Where are we going, Beetleshade?" The velvetty brown and white tabby asked with a shiver. Leafbare was never fun with her short pelt, so she was a bit thankful to be able to at least share a smaller den with her long furred mentor.

[Cosima]

BEETLESHADE - -

Beetleshade, with urgency, began to fold together leaves to create herb baskets. "We're low on supplies. We will have to make several stops today, so get yourself some food and then we're heading out. I know it's very early..." She sighed. "But you'll have the rest of the day off once this is done." She slipped out of the den, picked up a piece of prey from the pile, and brought it to Lilydawn. "Eat up." She refused to eat something for herself because she was afraid it might upset her stomach before their busy day.

"Let me know when you're ready to leave." The medicine cat left Lilydawn and returned to her leaf folding.

((OOC: sorry about not replying, been super busy at work))

[Mama]

Giving a soft nod, she took the few seconds of privacy to attempt to groom her usual messy fur, having issues, before her mentor wandered in with a small bird. It was sad, to say the least, but with Leafbare here the clan could only spare so little for every cat. With a sigh, she tore off the feathers sloppily before starting to quickly eat.

She hasn't been through leafbare yet, well, at least not as a medicine cat, and this would be a intresting experience. First, she'd already helped take care of some sickly kittens, and the Queen's who thought it was a great idea to pop some kits when food was low (thanks Briarfrost!), Along with some battle injuries that didn't want to heal. 

As she finished up, she quickly shook the remaining feathers from her jaw and looked at Beetleshade before giving a hum. "Alright, I'm ready." The shecat mewed before shakily getting to her paws.

[Cosima]

BEETLESHADE - -

Her ears pricked at the sound of Lilydawn's voice. "'Ight," She meowed with a busy mouth, turning to face Lilydawn. In her jaws, she had several empty leaf bundles, perhaps a few too many. She didn't want to be unprepared. "Ih yo 'eady, 'ets go."  She took a few bold, yet clumsy, strides outside of the den before getting messed up in the shrubbery at the entrance to the den. It was then she realized she might be carrying too much. "'Orry..." She mumbled, dropping a few bundles for Lilydawn to carry.

"Uhh... lean against me and we'll be off. Like I mentioned before, we'll head for the stream first and see what we can gather there."


(hhhh im like struggling to reply since I've been so busy at work)

[Mama]

Getting to her paws to follow along, she took a second to try and pick the pile up, her head bobbing just over it and having issues grabbing, as usual. It took a few more seconds before she picked them up, and with a tail flick, followed her mentor out.

Once outside, she leaned against Beetleshade with a bit of a yawn, which was muffled by the leaves in her jaws, before her attention went towards the falling snow. "Et's go." The tabby squeaked past her load, her ears perking up while cats around camp shuffled and moved about.