Warrior Cats- The Valley Clans

Beetlestar nodded solemnly. "Alright, thank you, Laurelleaf. I'm glad you told me. I guess we'll just keep an eye out for any suspicious rainclouds, huh?" the leader tried to joke as he got to his paws. As he padded to the entrance to the den he stopped and turned. "I think I might join the dawn patrol this morning, are there any herbs or anything you're low on? I can try to find them if you tell me what they look like."

Frostwhisper flicked Copperglows shoulder as a goodbye and set off outside the camp, planning to just circle around it and then returning.

Copperglow huffed when Frostwhisper left without explanation. His flirtation with her was joking, but he liked to think they were good friends. Maybe she needed some alone time, what with things being so tense lately.

Copperglow was tired of the solemn mood that was still hanging around. He wondered when Leon might visit to spice things up.

For now, he supposed all that was left to do was wait for Beetlestar to return and for dawn patrol to begin.

Frostwhisper took a short walk around camp to stretch her legs, and quickly returned to camp. She didn’t want to be too long, in case she was sent out for a patrol.

She spotted Copperglow in the same spot as when she had left, and she padded up beside him.

“Everything good?” he inquired in a friendly but concerned tone. “Am I too boring for ya?”

Frostwhisper gave a friendly purr, flicking Copperglow with her tail.
“Of course not, I just needed a walk to stretch my legs.”

Nettlepaw perked up. The grave tone of the conversation had kind of set her on edge, and she felt like she needed to participate somehow, so she blurted out an answer to Beetlestar a little too loudly. "We're out of cobwebs! I-I mean..." She shifted slightly, looking down.

"Yes, we need more cobwebs. And we're kind of low on fennel, so if you find any... that would be helpful." She was fidgeting a bit, but kept her composure regardless.

Beetlestar looked down at Nettlepaw, a kind sparkle in his eyes. "Those are the ones with the spiky little leaves, right? I'll keep an eye out," he purred. He had a very large soft spot for the apprentices of the clan, and hoped Nettlepaw's energy would help to ease the medicine cat out of his shell a bit. "I'll tell you if I find anything when I get back. Have a good morning, you two!"

As the leader left the den he wondered what the vision could mean. The risk for flooding wasn't high on the valley's slanted land, and he hoped it wasn't foretelling anything personal for one of the clan members. Beetlestar padded to the camp entrance and sat by it, looking out into the camp and calling out, "Alright, where's my dawn patrol gone to?"

Frostwhisper padded up to Beetlestar, “Bumblepaw and I will join this morning.” She said, looking around for her apprentice.

Bumblepaw was snapped out of a daydream when she heard her name. She had a bad feeling about being volunteered out for a patrol like that - she was probably going to mess everything up. But, knowing it would be even worse if she tried to refuse, she stumbled over to Frostwhisper and waited next to her in silence. Her mind started to wander again.

Frostwhisper purred as Bumblepaw came and sat beside her. She rested her tail lightly on the apprentices shoulders, knowing how patrolling makes the young cat anxious.
“It’ll be fine.” Frostwhisper leaned and whispered into Bumblepaw’s ear.

"Great! You'll have to tell me how your training's going, Bumblepaw!" Beetlestar said with a purr. He stood and shook his fur a bit, trying to shake out the last bit of sleepiness from his bones. "I think we need one more, don't ya thing? Four is a nice number for a patrol."

Frostwhisper nodded in agreement, “I know Copperglow was here, I’m not sure where he went off to though, and Dawnwing was looking for you earlier.”

Copperglow had become distracted playing with a bug whose shiny carapace had glittered in the early morning light and caught his eye. He had been swatting at it, teasing, and was prepared to pounce when it scattered off into the brush.

Noticing how far he had wandered off, Copperglow tried to think up an excuse for disappearing as he made his way back to the middle of camp.

“Did I miss anything?” he joked into Frostwhisper’s ear, greeting Beetlestar with a grin and a swish of his tail. He spotted Bumblepaw, too, and deduced that she must be coming with them on patrol, which excited him even further. Frostwhisper was a good friend, but she had stopped being impressed by him long ago—if she ever was—so he was glad to have a new audience.

Frostwhisper flicked Copperglow with her tail and jokingly rolled her eyes, purring. She looked back at Beetlestar. “I think we’re ready to go now.” She said enthusiastically.

"Oh, was she?" Beetlestar asked, feigning disinterest. He knew she probably had some choice words to say on his behavior at the gathering, but he hoped leading the dawn patrol would earn him some mercy. "I'll just get back to her when we return."

Upon noticing Copperglow had joined them the leader let out a purr and a genuine, "Nice of you to join us!" He stood, turning and beginning to leave the camp. "Now that we have a nice number, let's go! We're late, and I don't like being late," he commented, knowing full-well it was his own fault for their delay.

Frostwhisper stood and followed Beetlestar, flicking Bumblepaw lightly with her tail to wake her from her thoughts, “It’s time to go.” She said to the apprentice.

Crowstep crawled slowly out of the warrior's den, seeing the tails of the dawn patrol leave camp. He watched them until they were out of sight, before stiffly walking into the center of camp. Practically empty. Perfect.

The old tom hadn't overslept. He never overslept, unless he was ill. Recently, though, he'd been...well, avoiding certain cats, certain situations. So he was glad to see the leader out with patrol. With a swish of his tail, he knelt down into a deep stretch - front legs first, then back legs. He liked to ignore the growing ache in his joints. It just reminded him of his days as an apprentice, overworking his body to become the best it could be. So that's what he chose to believe it was. And since aching muscles were no reason to just lay around, Crowstep did a check over the camp to see if anything needed doing. Honestly he just wanted to occupy himself for a while. He would go out hunting once the sun was a bit higher, a bit warmer.