Flowers! || Swiftsnow Intro

Out on her own herb gathering expedition, Foxlily was pleasantly surprised to see another cat running about with flowers in faer mouth. “Swiftsnow!,” she called out cheerfully with a wave of her tail, though she was already in the process of trotting up to the other cat. “What a pleasant surprise running into you out here! Gathering flowers for the nursery, I take it? I’d be more than happy to lend a paw, if you’d like!”

She gestured in the direction of their camp with a purr. “Besides, this gives me an opportunity to talk to you. I’ve been wanting to talk to you, since Goldenshade is expecting her kits in about a moon. They’ll be the first kits delivered in the Clan since Pantherpaw became my apprentice, and I was wondering if you’d rather wait a bit before having him sit in on that sort of moment, or if you think it’d be okay for him to be around? ” It’d only been about 2 or 3 moons since Pantherpaw had been made her apprentice, after all. She’d ask Goldenshade after being given Swiftsnow’s opinion, and Pantherpaw’s if it came to it, but they figured that fae’d have insight due to her permanent residence in the nursery. It might be more stressful than need be to have such a new apprentice in the den with them. They wove the herbs they were carrying together as they spoke, giving their paws something to do with the nervous energy the question had piled up on her.

She nodded with the answer - though it felt like it wasn't much of an answer, but she wouldn't push it. “Thank you! There's still a moon until then, I'll discuss it with Goldenshade and then Pantherpaw, depending on what she says, but I hope he can take away some useful lessons!” With her nervous paws having continued on with the weaving, she now had an easy to carry bundle of herbs, made compact by the process but not so much so that their usefulness would be hindered. Just easier to carry.

“What sort of flowers are you looking for? I don't want to pick anything that doesn't go with your vision!,” they added joyfully. They'd also keep in mind whether or not any of the flowers could pose an issue for kits or queens. Not that they didn't trust fae to pick safe flowers, but it was always good to double check. Maybe triple check.

She gave faer collection a quick examination, then nodded approvingly. “So far so good! Just stay away from lilies and buttercups - they should be pretty easy to spot, but let me know if you need be to explain what they look like!,” she chirped, quickly weaving her herb bundle into her tail’s fur. They gave a quick test shake, making sure the bundle wouldn’t be so easily disturbed, then beamed back at Swiftsnow. “Would you like to lead the way? I’d hate to step on your paws when I’ve just offered to help.”

With a tilt of her ears and head, Foxlily put some thought into the prompt. Specific places to gather safe, pretty flowers for the nursery...? “Well,” they began tentatively, gesturing to the side with their tail, “there's an area not too far off that's close to the water but gets enough sunlight for there to be more flowers than most places. There are a good number of fitting flowers there, I think!”

Herbs she still needed? Truth be told, the Clan was doing well lately, so all Foxlily had really needed to do was stock up on the things they'd need for when Goldenshade went into labor. That was basically taken care of, though... “I don't suppose you can recognize poppies? I need to stock up on their seeds, they're the last thing I'm looking for.”

“Yes!,” she chirped, pleased that Swiftsnow would be able to recognize them. For now, they wouldn’t mention the variety of colors poppies could come inso that they wouldn’t confuse her, but red was really one of the most popular colors for them anyhow. Instead, Foxlily decided to elaborate if only slightly. “They’re lovely, and I wish we could grab a few for decoration, but they aren’t really safe for kits or pregnant cats. Fortunately, I just need a few for other cats’ aches and pains! So we don’t need that many, and we can focus on picking up flowers for the nursery!”

Foxlily emphasized the idea with a flourish of her tail, before green eyes caught sight of flowers coming into view a fox-length or two up ahead. Swiftsnow likely would’ve ended up there on faer own, but Foxlily was happy to share the spot all the same. Made it just that much nicer.

Faer excitement made Foxlily all the more excited, kneading at the ground a bit as a display of her own emotions. “Isn it? Places full of flowers are so lovely, I enjoy when herb picking takes me around here! I’m sure there’ll be plenty of what you’re looking for!,” she chirped as she bounded out into the flower patches. Poppies, poppies, poppies…

The only problem with the little spot was that when everything was a flower, things sort of blurred together. If she happened upon a poppy in most places, she’d know quickly by the bright red across the green forest. Here, there were a lot of colors. That was the idea, though! A lot of colors to help Swiftsnow with her own flower collecting while Foxlily helped themself to any poppies they came across.

Seemed that as they mused over it, they stumbled into a pawful. Perfect! Gathering the flowers gently, so as to not lose any seeds, they called out to their companion. “See any that you plan to take?”

Her green eyes widened with surprise, but laughter came easily as she watched faer approach. “It does indeed!” They examined the flowers gently. Clear, clear, clear... “You work quickly and efficiently, Swiftsnow! Pretty and safe flowers! Do you think you've got enough for now?” She weaved the flowers into the bundle she'd made earlier, careful to keep the seeds in their place and positioned so that they weren't likely to be shaken loose. Foxlily didn't dare try to shake her tail for a test of security this time. They'd just have to trust their work.