Starling Rain wanted to sleep for approximately a moon after her journey back, but she knew she couldn't delay on her duties. The travel time back took longer than on the way there, but that was because they took their time. They left only a few days after the cougar was gone to ensure that it was actually gone, which totaled their time away to almost half a moon. She knew she would have to face Eagle and his questions the day she returned, but she was surprised when he didn't ask anything more than immediate results. Instead he requested her to go outside with him the next morning, and she had to wonder about the motives. Was it really just for herbs? With a layer of snow still on the ground, she didn't think they would find much, but she agreed regardless. Starling waited by the cave entrance for her brother, tail brushing across the ground idly.

The black she-cat followed after Eagle, and nodded in thought as he spoke. "Willow sticks do sound like a good idea. We can always use more of those." She focused on placing her paws in already-made pawsteps, brow raising at his question. She didn't indulge him in an answer until they cleared the first initial slope. "Quiet Creek was doing well. She's really done magnificently in creating a united Zephyr." It was relieving to see--and an indication, a reminder, that it was better that their groups split. Starling didn't offer any additional information--she had a thin line to walk, so she had to be careful about what she said. The secret she held weighed on her shoulders, but she knew she couldn't tell Eagle under any circumstance. It would destroy everything they worked and suffered for.

Starling was caught between a sigh and a laugh. "You're hopping through that, but I'm not." She definitely wouldn't have the stamina to keep up with that. The way they were taking had several saplings dotted across it; they were thin, but she was confident that she could scale them without trouble. She pushed through the deepening snow and hooked her claws into the trunk of one. There was hardly any room, but she was a master of movement and balance, and she managed to climb up to a bough by scaling it in a spiral. She edged out on the wavering branch, then estimated the distance to the next sapling and sprang to it.

Starling rolled her eyes and kept a safe pace through the saplings. She’d let Eagle have his win for now, but she knew she would get him back later for it. The neat line of small trees ended before the frozen water, so she climbed down and moved awkwardly through the deep snow the rest of the way. She stopped next to her brother and gazed out across the icy, shimmering surface, then she snuck a glance at him. He seemed joyful and young again, and a sad pang twisted her stomach. She did still miss the old way of life, when they were young and care-free, even if she didn’t easily show it. Starling looked away before she could be caught looking, then asked quickly, “Which willow trees were you going to harvest from? ...The ones across the water?” She suggested the most-likely source, since she knew he’d give any excuse to slide across the ice.

Starling hesitated at the boundary between the snow and the ice. Sliding across was one of her favorite things, but she hadn’t done it since their travel to the mountains and subsequent split from Zephyr. It held memories, some painful enough that it was easiest to avoid the activity completely. With heavy reluctance, the black she-cat placed one paw on the thick ice and drew it across the freezing surface. Rolling her jaw as she made her decision, she took enough steps to be fully on the ice, legs trembling as she fought for balance. She extended her claws to get her grip, then she pushed with her back paws to start moving forward. She slid quickly, coasting past Eagle. “I can’t believe how long it’s been,” she commented lightly, twisting so she spun to face him.

She did indeed remember. Her and Eagle took to it like they were born to do it, and Mossy Stone couldn't stop them from running out almost every day during the coldest moons. She used her claws to keep pace with him as she dove into her memories. "We kept at it almost the whole leaf-bare. Then we had that competition about who could go the farthest when it was finally starting to warm up." She had broken the ice beneath her and fallen into the frigid water. She knew now how close she came to losing her limbs or her life, doing something so foolish, but it was worth it at the time. Even with their father's anger, and the forced nest rest to make sure she didn't have any lingering complications. Those days were long gone, but she could remember them like they were yesterday. "Let's hope the ice doesn't break this time," Starling joked.

"You're right. We should get what we came for," Starling agreed. She followed after Eagle at a slower pace, moving leisurely until her paws hit snow instead of ice. Her paws crunched in the icy boundary between the two as she moved onto land. She surveyed the trees before them and walked over to the nearest one. Some of the branches were weighed down enough that they almost touched the ground, and she touched them with her paw carefully. Many were encased with ice which would make them difficult to harvest if they stayed on the ground. "Do we climb or see what we can get from here?"

Starling started her search a short distance away from Eagle, digging up what twigs she could find buried under the snow. Enough twigs fell that she had a sizeable pile by the time she looked up to see her brother's progress. "I think we have plenty now," she meowed, moving over to place her pile by his. There were so many trees that willow bark was a resource they could have in almost unlimited amounts. The two of them could only carry so much though, so they'd have to send others to collect more if they wanted to harvest everything that was available.