attached to the stars [ private ]

[BEAR.]

"A coagulant!" Aconiteheart confirmed, nodding his head. He had noticed Fawnsqueak's confusion, the stumblys, and felt it necessary to explain a bit more. "It basically means it causes blood to clot, to.. stop, it makes it thicken so it scabs up."

Oh, he had to huff with laughter at that. "I think your mentor is a menace! You don't.. stomp herbs, good Stars! You chew them up. If you smash them, you'll just.. get dirt and grime in them, it's very unsanitary!" He didn't know much about this Otterstone but was wondering who taught HER how to do that. It was.. concerning.

This one seemed bright though, and he beamed at her. "Precisely. It'll be very messy, and not everyone can be saved, but.. if you're quick, chances are the queen will survive!"

Unfortunately, it appeared his companion was waking up. She was fading rapidly, gone almost within a blink of the eye. "Hey, wait--"

But it was too late.

[ @Dipper ]

[BEAR.]

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Back so soon?

Aconiteheart was hyped to see Fawnsqueak's form reappear in the forest, and he didn't waste time bounding over to greet the apprentice. "Hey!!" He stopped himself from crashing into her at the last moment, claws digging into the ground to pull himself to a stop. "You're here!"

Eons of loneliness had made these snippets of interactions very enjoyable, and though they had only met once, Aconiteheart liked to think they were friends. "Did you use the raspberry leaves? Oh, is the crazy lady still stomping herbs? How're things going down there?" His mind was whirling with his thoughts, wanting to keep asking questions but trying to figure out what he should ask.

".. Do you want to get out of this dump," he beckoned around them, the typical forest that medicine cats usually woke up in. "go to a different part of StarClan? I can show you more-- herbs, if you want-- I don't think you're getting much training from that Ottercat!"

[ @Dipper ]

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[Fawn]

It took a while, but Fawnsqueak eventually wound up back in dream-StarClan, or.. maybe it was just regular StarClan? He wasn't sure, still wasn't clear on the 'how it worked' aspects of this but knew better than to question the locals on inquiries that required critical thinking. "Hi?" he asked, recognizing the voice but not seeing Aconiteheart until he turned.. and oh. He was right there. Fawnsqueak skittered backward with a nervous laugh if only to put some distance between them. "Yeah, man. It's.. been a little while, I guess."

He shook his head regarding the raspberry leaves. "I mean, I'd like to.. I'm not even sure we had any queens giving birth-- if there was, it must've gone fine." The 'crazy lady stomping herbs' brought a flash of a beam to his face, a little giggle after that; usually, he wouldn't be so chipper about Otterstone but it was a combination of Aconiteheart's description and the general carefree atmosphere of StarClan that had him a bit more relaxed.

After nodding his consent to traveling to a different part of the forest to continue their tradition of learning, Fawnsqueak reflected on his previous check in. "Things are ..normal? They're fine. I honestly wish I had skipped the meeting-- uh, not because of you, or anything. I like visiting with you. I just wish I didn't have to waste time at the Starcave to do it."

@BILL.

[BEAR.]

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"Hello!" Aconiteheart beamed at his new friend. His best friend? What were friends? He didn't really know at this point, but he reckoned he liked Fawnsqueak and Fawnsqueak seemed fine with him, so they had to be friends. Logic.

He flattened his ears back at the being-unable-to-use-it. "Aw, well.. that's okay! We can go over something else, um.. what do you know about comfrey root?" Oh, perfect. Yes. This would be invaluable knowledge in the future if the stars were correct.

Everything was fine. Good, good. Aconiteheart couldn't help the stupid smile on his face. Friends confirmed! .. Probably. "Maybe you don't," he mused to himself, twitching his ears at the thought of doing what he did with Ebonyfrost. An invisible guide.. attached to Fawnsqueak until he was no longer needed.

Yeah, he liked that idea a lot. "I wish the meetings were a bit more practical too! We never had to do them when I.. well.. back then, I guess. SkyClan didn't have other medicine cats to chat with outside of our own Clan. Not really, at least. I mean, when we were DuskClan and DawnClan we didn't even do it. We could have, but what's the point when half the time you don't see anyone?" Stupid! A colossal waste of time. They were even still chatting in the waking world.. it was ridiculous.

He was glad he managed to slip into the Fawnsqueak dreams before their loudness disturbed her. Oh, he was a little off topic.. and cleared his throat. "Comfrey, again-- have you used it before? I think it could be useful, too.. if you haven't, that is."

[ @Dipper ]

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[Fawn]

Fawnsqueak's brows furrowed in contemplation. "I.. I know Coyotesnarl talked about it? Like, I'm pretty sure that was one of the things he said, and I think we might also have one back in storage.. but I'm not-- I don't really know what it does." That was the safest approach. It had something to do with mending, possibly..? His memory was shaky, not trustworthy enough to use on a living patient.

"I don't?" he echoed, quizzical. Well, he supposed.. he didn't HAVE to come, and he did have StarClan dreams from the comfort of his nest if that confrontation with Frostflight was legit.. Busy pondering, Fawnsqueak was oblivious to the Aconiteheart scheming while distracted with the idea of Aconiteheart visiting him without having to make this ridiculous trek. Plus, the small talk. Oh stars, the SMALL TALK.

Tuning back in, he was.. lost. Definitely lost. Because Aconiteheart was going on about his own medicine cat meetings or lack thereof and tossing some potentially fantastical Clan names out there while Fawnsqueak merely stood in silent cluelessness. "Ookay," he said, beam tight but still amused. "Anyway.. yeah, they're not.. great." From here forward, he'd be skipping unless something massive shifted in the organization of their social hours.

"So-- about the herbs, though? ..And no, I didn't use it," that was with some sheepishness, a cough, "I didn't think it'd.. be good to, y'know, take that risk and waste a plant and maybe a life."

@BILL.

[BEAR.]

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Oh, this Coyotesmile guy sounded swell. Someone with a little more knowledge than the crazy Otterstomp! Yes, Aconiteheart might have to hit that fella up sometime. Stars permitting, of course!

"Alright, you're gonna love this," he told Fawnsqueak as he headed off to follow the tangy scent of comfrey. "Keep that smell in mind: comfrey is tangy in nature, so it's hard to miss it." And there it was! A flowering bush with hanging purple bulbs. "Okay, so as a general note before we get into this.. never feed a cat purple flowers! They're toxic and will mess them up. With that in mind.."

Aconiteheart pawed at the ground beneath the flowering plant, until he exposed the rich brown root he was in search of. Very carefully, he nipped part of the root to release it from the soil. "Be careful about taking too much from a plant, you might kill it! Comfrey plants like sunlight, you'll be more likely to find them in fields than in the forest."

With the root in his mouth, he turned to set it in front of Fawnsqueak so she could get a full view of the root. "Wash the dirt away with water to clean it. You don't want to go rubbing this into wounds when it's dirty!" They weren't savages!

"And then.. you chew it up, and you rub it into injuries.. like burns, or wrenched claws, or a broken limb. Obviously you can't like, get it ON the bone, but the skin works just fine. It absorbs it into the skin and helps soothe the wound so it's less angry." Hmm, what else? "Oh! And for cats who have inflamed joints, itching, or sprained shoulders-- you can rub that in too, and it'll alleviate the pain and help it heal up. It's um, kind of like the "wild herb", I guess? A master of all and none, except infections and.. actual sicknesses." He was rambling. Hopefully it wasn't too much for Fawnsqueak.

".. Do you have any questions?"

[ @Dipper ]

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[Fawn]

Fawnsqueak could hardly think of a time purple flowers were a good thing. "Isn't lavender purple..? Is-- can cats eat those? Does it even do anything?" Those were common alongside comfrey. Don't eat the purple flowers. Got it. "..Iris, I guess that's purple too. Poisonous?" It was perhaps a lot to ask in a session but he was terrified of inadvertently ending a clanmate's life from his own lack of knowledge. Knowing what they could and couldn't consume was integral!

He watched Aconiteheart pluck off part of its root and swallowed, hoping he'd get the hang of that. "If.. I'm bad at, uh, collecting it, can I bury the flowers to get more of these or something?" Sustainability was almost always in the forefront of his thoughts when collecting, worried about the day where nothing had regrown yet they were in dire need.

Committing that to memory, he reviewed it. Comfrey root--not the flowers--for burns, wrenched claws, ...broken limbs? "So.. the broken limb, you rub it over the broken.. part?" Once Aconiteheart said it'd absorb, that answered the question, and he nodded affirmatively. "Does it actually help it heal-- oh." Both a painkiller and helped it heal, that was surprisingly useful. "Thanks. ..Can cats eat the root?" Maybe a weird thing to ask, but... "Like, can it be for inside-pains-- uh, internal bleeding and stomach aches and that kind of thing?" He was mostly musing at this point, unsure of the herb's limits.

"Yeah," a breathless laugh, "way too many, I think."

@BILL.