Fresh Start [Open]

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Vermeil was still settling into the farmhouse, but the Shaman had taken a swift liking to this place. Despite the fact that the group wasn't small, the American Bobtail was starting to think that he would enjoy living in the Tribe. His job was mainly to collect herbs. Luckily, the ginger tabby had always had a sharp eye for medicinal plants, and was eager to expand his knowledge.

The tom stepped back into the abandoned building with a leaf wrap clutched between his teeth. He'd just returned from collecting juniper berries. The tiny violet spheres shifted slightly as he moved, but so far he'd avoided dropping too many.

As Vermeil of the Spring headed toward the area where herbs were stored, he nearly ran right into another cat. Letting out a startled grunt, he stepped backward. Several juniper berries hit the ground and rolled in various directions.

"Sorry," the ex-loner meowed, his voice muffled by the leaf wrap.

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Ignis was slowly going over the information she had on child-birth and kit-rearing, muttering the stuff she memorized under her breath at the same time. The she-cat was walking around in a gradual messy circle... ish formation, her mutters slowly ceasing as she continued to say it in her mind. The she-cat shook her head to rid herself of the headache she was getting, and decided to get some fresh air.

The calico Shaman accidentally bumped into someone, and she shook her head again, before her eyes grew horrified. " I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you! " Ignis said feverishly. " Do you want some help? "

Ignis looked absolutely horrified, and extremely apologetic.

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Setting down leaf gently in order to prevent the rest of the berries from scattering everywhere, Vermeil blinked at Ignis. "It's my fault for not looking where I was going. Again, my apologies. Could you help me gather up the berries that rolled away?" As he spoke, the ginger tabby began to scoop up some of the tiny juniper berries with a paw. Luckily, it appeared that most of them were still fairly clean and undamaged.

"I'm Vermeil of the Spring, by the way. You're a Shaman too, right?" the tom asked quietly. Although he hadn't yet spoken to many of his Tribemates, he had kept his ears open.

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" S - sure. " Ignis bent her head and gently rolled a couple purple berries over to the leaf with her nose. Carefully, she rolled them on to the leaf before rolling a few leaves over to Vermeil.

" I'm Ignis of the Summer. Y - yeah. " Ignis mewed shyly. She shuffled her paws shyly, blinking her eyes. " Y - you're responsible for gathering herbs.. right? And organizing them? Or is organizing part of the Fall? I don't really remember. " The she-cat asked timidly.

[Eleanor]

Lore yawned slightly, stretching as she stood up. The slight commotion with the berries had awakened her from the little cat nap that she had been taking in a very small patch of sunlight just outside the house. It took her a second of shaking her head to realize what had happened, and this only because a small berry had rolled right up to her paw, which she gingerly set on top of it.

"Hello, you two," she mewed at the other felines, who she vaguely recognized as other shamans. One was a less experienced one of her own season, summer. She seemed to be a shy cat, but perhaps it was just circumstances.

"Fine day, hm?"

She gave the juniper berry a very gentle kick towards the pair, and then followed it a few strides to stand near them. She was absolutely dwarved by the both of them, but was used to the feeling enough that it didn't bother her.

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He nodded gratefully to the she-cat once the berries had been recollected. "Thanks," Vermeil commented as he tucked the leaf wrap back together. "Berries are difficult to carry around because they're so tiny," he explained.

He twitched his ears at the question. Being new to the Tribe ways as well, he'd done his best to memorize his job, but it was still a little difficult to remember. "I just collect the herbs and berries, then sort through them to make sure that they're all clean and usable. I'm pretty sure the Fall Shamans are in charge of taking them and organizing or drying them. You take care of kit-birth, don't you?"

When Vermeil heard a voice, he turned to see another Summer Shaman. "Oh, greetings," the tom murmured. He scooped the runaway berry closer with one paw, suddenly a bit uncomfortable. Although he was fine with talking to one cat, two tended to be a bit much for the introvert.

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" Yeah, they are pretty small. " Ignis agreed, and stepped away to give the poor cat some room. " O - oh, right. Yeah I ta - take care of kit-birth and kit-rearing, as well as making sure that they're healthy as possible. "


The little calico turned to see one of the other Summer Shamans, and felt a shield of being uncomfortable press around her. " H - Hi. " even for an extreme enthusiast like her (whom was behaving extremely out of character for Ignis) this was beginning to affect Ignis weirdly. Shyly, she shuffled her paws again and kept her gaze lowered on the ground.

[Eleanor]

You could almost feel the tension and discomfort in the air with the other two cats, but Eleanor paid it no mind. She sat, increasing the harsh contrast in statures, and then blinked slowly and calmly, barely purring in a low and soothing tone that she was accustomed to saving for small, shy kits. Her gentle and nurturing side was coming out for the pair.

"I would guess that you've already been through introductions, so I won't bore you by asking your names. I'm Lore of the Summer, or Eleanor should you prefer it."

Her tail twitched calmly behind her, as if blown by a soft breeze. "Have your days been well?"

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He gave a small dip of his head to acknowledge Ignis' words, but was now rather dedicated to keeping his silence. Lore definitely seemed to be experienced, whereas Ver had just recently taken on his duties several days ago. At the least, this she-cat was several moons older than he was. It was somewhat intimidating, though Eleanor was clearly trying to speak gently.

"Uh... name's Vermeil," the tom murmured. "Vermeil of the Spring," he quickly amended before clamming right back up. Shuffling his paws slightly, he stuffed the extra juniper berry into the leaf wrap and grabbed the neat little package between his teeth. The bobtail started to pad slowly toward the old bathroom, hoping that he could escape the conversation and clean off the berries.

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Ignis nodded briefly towards Lore. " Ignis. Of the Summer Shamans. " she said quietly. The she-cat backed away for a moment, and kept her distance from the pair.

Maybe she could somehow sneak away from the two, and leave 'em..

[Eleanor]

Both cats, it seemed, were interested in leaving her, however Lore did not give up that easily. She flicked her tail in a "follow me" motion to the other summer shaman and followed the tom into the house towards the old bathroom.

The she-cat was playing it off as though she couldn't take a hint. She looked too small and sweet to be acting rude or anything of the sort. Her day had been dull, and besides that, all the shamans were better getting along in her eyes. If they could not play nicely with each other for fear of mistakes, upset, or clashing personalities, then they would at least have to like her. She made it her business to soothe others, and she was always up for a challenge.

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Unfortunately, Lore didn't seem too keen on letting him escape to do his job. Tail quivering nervously, Ver hopped up onto the worn wooden counter and set down the leaf wrap. He pawed at one of the rusty knobs until water trickled from the faucet. Wordlessly, the Spring Shaman pushed one of the leaves to the bottom of the basin in order to prevent water from flowing out, then pushed the juniper berries into the growing pool of clean water. After shutting off the flow of water, he set to work cleaning the little violet spheres.

After several long moments, he glanced down at the other two cats as if questioning whether they had anything else to attend to. However, Vermeil didn't put words to these thoughts. Attempting to stop his tail-tip from continuing to quiver, he continued to wash off the berries.

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Unfortunately, Lore had more interests, and the she-cat ended up in the bathroom with the two. Ver had taken to cleaning the berries, and Lore.. Right now Ignis didn't know where she had went.

Ignis gulped quietly, trying to be silent as she attempted to hide beneath the ancient bathtub.

[Eleanor]

Eleanor jumped on the wooden counter just after the tom and then quickly scooted aside, letting him do his work as she cocked her head curiously. She didn't know much about sorting the herbs, or how to gather them, or what some of the less common were of those not used in birthing. These, though, she knew to be juniper.

"How do you tell the good from the bad? It would seem to me that the bad might float, but I truthfully know nothing about this. Would you teach me, Vermeil?"

She glanced over her shoulder at the shy cat that was desperately trying to get away.

"You may go if you wish, dear, but I oughtn't a clue what you'll do elsewhere. We haven't any young or expecting as of late."

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Vermeil's fur prickled uncomfortably when the she-cat hopped up right next to him. He bit his lip, knowing that he couldn't ignore the older Shaman's question. The ginger tabby forced himself not to flex his claws nervously as he frantically searched for the right words to explain what he was doing. His paws knew what they were doing, but it was much more difficult to express it verbally.

"Well, uh, the punctured or deformed ones are no good," he half-stammered, fishing out a berry that had been squashed earlier and setting it aside. "Any green ones also need to be gotten rid of, because they're not ripe enough. They need to be a deep violet color, like this one." He scooped a fine specimen out of the basin and put it back on the leaf to dry.