By now, Woodland shouldn't be surprised that she had been assigned "whelp sitting disguised as foraging" duties again. Sure, it wasn't really what she anticipate as being one of her main duties- but honestly, she hadn't really minded- now or ever. The fungal forest, and surrounding areas, had been particularly wet when Woodland had set out that morning, likely because of the recent storms, which had briefly made her ponder whether she should reschedule. She had figured that the whelps would be excited though, and as such didn't want to disappoint them. They'd just have to stick to higher areas, that weren't as affected by the rain. Kingsblade, Controvery, and Cranberry seemed excited to go out. As soon as Woodland had picked them up from the colony the three had dashed away from her, running ahead. Woodland didn't mind much, so long as they stayed in sight of course. She mentally ran trough the list of things she was hoping to take home- mostly mushrooms, some berries, and Predict had asked for some flowers to make dyes with. None of them should be hard to find. "What're we looking for today, Woodland?" Controversy asked curiously as she caught up with

the three whelps. Woodland smiled, watching as the other two whelps scurried around her, excitement bubbling off of them. "Well, Controversy, we've got a bit of a list today," she replied, adjusting the basket slung over her shoulder. "We're after mushrooms, some berries, and flowers for my colony's seamer Predict. He wants to make some dyes, so we'll need to find ones with lots of color." "Flowers for dyes?" Kingsblade repeated, his eyes lighting up. "I want to find the brightest ones!" Cranberry nodded enthusiastically. "Me too! I bet I can find more than you, Kingsblade!" Woodland chuckled as the two whelps immediately dashed off ahead. She was used to whelp's energy by now, and she appreciated how it kept the group moving. As much as she enjoyed the scenery, she had already noticed dark clouds rolling in which meant that their daylight would be limited. "Alright, alright, just stay close!" she called out, quickening her pace to keep them in sight. "And remember, we're sticking to the higher paths no running off into the wet parts of the forest." ((The canopy above was thick, allowing only patches of sunlight to dapple the ground. The leaves glistened as drops of

water clung to their surfaces, and small streams trickled between moss-covered stones.)) Woodland kept her ears perked, listening for any signs of trouble, but all she heard was the distant calls of birds and the laughter of the whelps. "Look, Woodland!" Cranberry called out, waving a hand as she knelt by a cluster of bright red flowers growing at the base of an old tree. "Are these good for dye?" Woodland approached and knelt beside her, inspecting the flowers. "Perfect," she said with a grin. "These are just what Predict was hoping for- they'll make a deep blue dye. Good find, Cranberry." Cranberry beamed with pride as she carefully picked the flowers, placing them into Woodland's basket. Meanwhile, Kingsblade and Controversy were busy tugging on mushroom caps growing from the side of a fallen log. "These ones are big!" Kingsblade exclaimed, showing off a mushroom almost as wide as his head. Woodland rushed over. "Good work, Kingsblade, but please be careful. Those are delicate." she advise kindly, and gently showed the whelp how to pull of the mushroom correctly. After a while, the group wandered further up the path, the terrain becoming steeper. Woodland spotted a patch of bright purple

flowers another perfect find for Predict's dyes. As they carefully harvested them, Controversy tugged on her sleeve. "Woodland, look over there!" she whispered, pointing toward a small clearing just ahead. Woodland followed her gaze and saw a flash of white fur moving through the undergrowth. Her eyes widened. "Is that-" she began. A bunch of small berry bushes sat at the base of a large rock. If Woodland was correct, these berries were particularly rare, and a great find. "Good work finding those, Controversy." as she said that, she felt splashes of rain fall on her shoulders. "Alright, time to go home!" Kingsblade and Cranberry had already come running over. "Can you guys help us gather these berries? After that we can drop you lot off at home."