ThunderClan Medicine Cat's Den

[iliri]

SPRINGLIGHT
she/her | thunderclan medicine cat | 19 moons
long-furred, scarred, oriental-shaped, gray-and-orange calico molly with blue eyes; torn right ear
active purrks: herbal knowledge - tier 2 | the collector | mind reader | skip the steps
[ @Ladiebugg (it will only just be spring aiding daylight given that omari is currently on a hiatus right now ) ]

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The medicine den had been quiet. Almost too quiet. No commotion had been coming around to haunt her inner consciousness. The healer was continuously paranoid even with the lackluster silence, always alert for when the next intruder might enter her domain. It wasn’t often that the den would be filled with a void of silence; a silence that almost felt deafening to her ears. No one was inside the den, and Drizzlecloud was nowhere to be found, making the silence unceremoniously drag on. It was the thing that she hated the most. It made her uncomfortable and anxious, reprimanded by the horrendous events that occurred at the Starcave. Being this jittery wasn’t something that the medicine cat wanted to endure. It had been… so long since she had suffered this initiation. The grisly words from Smallsky had been worse than remaining ignorant. What she had stated provided no comfort, and yet, it just continuously echoed in her head like raging bees.

Her paws moved subconsciously as she paced the cooler depths of the den, her thoughts rummaging freely through her mind faster than lightning could strike. What had she wanted with her? What had she needed? Why had she decided to lie about all things? All the impending questions poured themselves down at her, making her claws strike against the coarse life-rich soil, trying to counter the thought away as uneasiness shredded itself down her spine. So many things arose at once, that it just felt relatively uneasy for her to even handle scenarios like this. Cats were becoming mauled by the cruelty that happened in the territory, and even cannibalized by other cats of other clans. It wasn’t easy for the herbalist to handle on her own, only giving her a thickened feel of incoming dread by incident after incident occurring. She encountered the same, if not worse as a medicine cat apprentice, but she had been lacking the knowledge of a medic. Moons of spending in the medicine den had shown her how awful situations can get if they hadn’t been properly looked upon. She’s seen torn muscles, gouged-out eyeballs, shredded ears, all of it. It’s gruesome, but it’s necessary with her as a medicine cat to look upon those incidents and cure the wounded.

A voice breaks through her thoughts, her head jerking upward as the familiar stench of blood burns into her nostrils, instantly giving the long-furred feline a headache. When was the last time she dealt with a patient like this? A few weeks? She hadn’t been keeping track, but she knew full well that the last time she had interacted with any cat was when she was sending out herb patrols. Other than that, she had been keeping to herself other than occasionally chatting with Orangeblossom in case he came around or Drizzecloud. Bile collected at the back of her throat as whoever stepped in her den had banged themselves up pretty badly, judging from the fact that the voice of whoever had stepped into the crevices of the medicine den had called for both her and Drizzlecloud’s assistance. Unfortunately, given her mentor’s current lack of attendance within the den at the moment, it only seemed that her patient would require her for this critical healing. With some effort, the medicine cat exited the herb storage - a place she rarely left as she kept a close guard, only leaving when pangs of hunger were severe and she found herself forced to go out to the fresh-kill pile to pluck something interesting to give herself strength - and met up with her patient.

She recognized the molly at once. Daylightwing was one of the apprentices who became a warrior during the meeting alongside Sprucejumper. Both warriors weren’t cats that she was familiar with, although she distinctively remembered the tom-cat whose facial expression seemed nonchalant when she was a mere ‘paw treating his injury. Springlight wanted to commit to remembering everyone she had witnessed within the den, either if it were someone who wasn’t in the clan. Ever since she witnessed the grueling deaths of both Tawnykit and Eveningdance, she made it a point to remember everyone. Remember every face and every name. Because they were her clan, and she would always know what ailed every one of them and never let them suffer. Not if she could help it; she wasn’t like her predecessors. How naive she’d been when she’d come to decisions. Bright-eyed, full of pride at her job and her clan. How undeniably gullible she had been when she was just a young ‘paw stepping forth from being named after moons stuck in the nursery. Sometimes she wondered if one of these cats that she helped would eventually be the death of her sooner or later, the fear prickling over her shoulders like sharp talons sinking to her skin.

A quick survey of Daylightwing let her know that she was in dire need of being patched up, and the medicine cat could already find her stomach twisting and churning as she noted the audibly shredded foreleg which looked to be nothing more than exposed tissue and battered flesh. Springlight could easily find herself internally grimacing at the fact that this molly’s leg wouldn’t any longer be usable, only just a mere stump to remain. Even if Daylightwing didn’t give her an extensive, well-worded diagnosis, the herbalist was easily able to note the very injury adjacent right in front of her face. The medic wasn’t fairly certain if she held the proper herbs to try to patch up an injury like this, given that she had just recently cleaned out her storages, but she would have to hope that there was enough marigold, moss, and cobwebs to help fix this bloody mess.

“Here,” the tricolored feline swerved her way towards her injured patient’s side, aiding her as she gently pressed herself against her. Her paws stepped over the tainted scarlet that stained the naturally cocoa-brown earthy floors, focusing her attention on the nearest moss-bed before her as she glanced up towards the molly. Given that the herbalist was relatively one of the more smaller cats of the clan, it wouldn’t be easy for her to assist the newly named warrior to one of the nests to have the remains of her leg be patched up. “Lean… against me… I will… take you… towards that… moss-bed… over there… and patch… the leg up…” She explained, her tone careful as she began to lead the molly towards the nest, her tail rested amongst her shoulders. "Mind... explaining... how that... happened... in the... first place?"

[Ladiebugg]

DaylightWing
DaylightKit, DaylightPaw

12 Moons | She/Her | Bisexual

ThunderClan Warrior

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@iliri

___

DaylightWing smiled, leaning against the other cat.

She flopped down into the moss bed, wincing as the pain really began to set in. She had been running purely on adrenaline to get herself here, and now it was wearing off. Ow..

'I.. was uh.. attacked? And.. I wasn't.. prepared, I guess..'

She chuckled, looking up at the medicine cat.

[iliri]

SPRINGLIGHT
she/her | thunderclan medicine cat | 19 moons
long-furred, scarred, oriental-shaped, gray-and-orange calico molly with blue eyes; torn right ear
active purrks: herbal knowledge - tier 2 | the collector | mind reader | skip the steps
[ @BEAR. ]

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Not a moment after she had been done dismissing patrols after they’d arrived back to the clan, the medicine cat went to work. Rummaging through each indicated piles that the patrols had brought to instinctively place into their respective niches within the indented pits of the back of the medicine den. After her recent cleaning of the wilted herbs, the storage had suddenly looked almost empty again. It always made her feel uncomfortable seeing the storage so pitiful and wasting of herbs, especially with the fact that anyone in the clan could catch a cold or get the most critical of injuries. She floundered a little bit as some marigold went out of place in the indented pits, the medicine cat gingerly placing them back in their small pocket before backing up to briefly examine her work, narrowing down towards a few pits in particular who bore very little items. Cobwebs, marigold… She didn’t have a whole lot to spare in the coming moons - the patrols she released did little to increase the storage after she cleaned any wilted herbs - and she was worried about going empty in case any war were to come towards ThunderClan. Even if that was going to be the case, she would do her best to try to give both the herbs and her clan-mates the best care that she could give them.

Wolfhive’s arrival wasn’t hard for her to catch, the calico overhearing his paw-steps as he had entered the relatively large den. In fair honesty, Springlight hadn’t been too certain how to feel about interacting with him again after having him inside the medicine den confined for moons because of the poison that affected nearly every cat in the clan. Guilt had hoarded itself deep within her gut; her herbal knowledge hadn’t been too adjacent, and she hadn’t known how to properly cure the poison until Bumblestar received that vision about the mysterious flower by the cliffside in Firefly Cove. She still felt irritated by the stars giving the leader a vision of how to fix the poison and not the medics themselves; they were the ones working their paws off unlike their overseeing bloody selves. Her tail lashed instinctively against the memory, only focusing on the sound of Wolfhive asking if she was free at the moment. Admittedly, it caught her off-guard a little bit by his sudden appearance, but she didn’t let it phase her for too long. Thankfully, the molly hadn’t detected any alightment of wounds or illness coming off the tom-cat, so that was a good thing. However, her expression remained mixed with puzzlement and interest as she glanced towards the tom-cat, nodding towards his question.

“Nothing… too hectic… is happening… at the… moment… just finishing up… sorting out… the herbs… that patrols… had brought… back… so I… am practically… as free… as I can… be for… now,” Springlight retorted, weaving her way through the den to approach the gray-furred tom-cat as she craned her head to glance up towards him. She wasn’t necessarily a large cat, nor was she small, but she wasn’t the biggest cat around to be very intimidating. “Is… something wrong?... Hopefully not… another incident… in the… Kit Corner… again?” The last squirmish that occurred there caused more fuel to the drama than it was needed, but it was better to not jump to conclusions than gradually assume that another incident occurred at the Kit Corner. Only stars would know what would occur if that were to be the case.

[BEAR.]

Oh good, perfect timing then. Wolfhive glanced in the direction of the herb storage - mildly curious as to what it looked like and contained. He'd never been called to one of the herb patrols and had been so focused on other things the existence of the storage felt so .. distant.

"If something was wrong, you'd be the first to hear." Wolfhive couldn't hide the slight smile that tugged at his muzzle. In an emergency situation, he was pretty sure they just screamed in the clearing until Springlight showed up. "Actually, the Kit Corner's been kinda quiet.. I was wondering if you'd be willing to do a herb lesson for the kids. Doesn't need to be anything fancy, just some basic dos and don'ts?"

[ @iliri ]

[Omari]

Drizzlecloud
Thunderclan
She/her

Drizzlecloud hummed softly. Well, it was certainly beginning to look like the kit had suffered from hearing loss for sure. The kit only seemed to stare in response, and she couldn’t help but recall similar behavior that she showed when she was young, too. She plucked herself up off of the ground, stepping closer to the kit to carefully nose at their ears, trying to catch the scent of infection–because sometimes ear infections could be the culprit, too! But, alas, she smelled no such foul scent. It would have been easy to smell without the close proximity, but, it was worth making a closer assessment nonetheless.

“I’d say your previous assessment would be correct… Whitekit here does show sure signs of being deaf. Not to worry, though. I am deaf myself and completed my warrior training with the help of a patient mentor… I can tell that you are a loving parent already, so there will be no problems with patience coming from your end.” Drizzlecloud offered the queen a smile and a polite nod of her head before she shifted her gaze to Berrykit.

“Hello, young one. Come, would you like to tell me what happened between you and your mother? Only if you are comfortable with it..” Drizzlecloud seated herself again, patting her tail next to her for the kit to draw closer if she so wished.

[ @Artemis apologies! I went on hiatus. ]

[Foxine]

Originally Posted by Omari

Drizzlecloud
Thunderclan
She/her

Drizzlecloud hummed softly. Well, it was certainly beginning to look like the kit had suffered from hearing loss for sure. The kit only seemed to stare in response, and she couldn’t help but recall similar behavior that she showed when she was young, too. She plucked herself up off of the ground, stepping closer to the kit to carefully nose at their ears, trying to catch the scent of infection–because sometimes ear infections could be the culprit, too! But, alas, she smelled no such foul scent. It would have been easy to smell without the close proximity, but, it was worth making a closer assessment nonetheless.

“I’d say your previous assessment would be correct… Whitekit here does show sure signs of being deaf. Not to worry, though. I am deaf myself and completed my warrior training with the help of a patient mentor… I can tell that you are a loving parent already, so there will be no problems with patience coming from your end.” Drizzlecloud offered the queen a smile and a polite nod of her head before she shifted her gaze to Berrykit.

“Hello, young one. Come, would you like to tell me what happened between you and your mother? Only if you are comfortable with it..” Drizzlecloud seated herself again, patting her tail next to her for the kit to draw closer if she so wished.

[ @Artemis apologies! I went on hiatus. ]

Nightshine hussled Whitekit out of the med den before saying to Drizzlecloud, "Thank you. I'll leave you and Berrykit alone. She can handle herself, I believe. Call me if you need me." She and Whitekit left.

Berrykit trembled at the mention of her mother. She huddled closer to the med cat. "M-mama was mean. She hurt me... my new mama says that she's gone. I don't know where. I h-hope she's not in Starclan. She was real mean."

[iliri]

SPRINGLIGHT
she/her | thunderclan medicine cat | 19 moons
long-furred, scarred, oriental-shaped, gray-and-orange calico molly with blue eyes; torn right ear
active purrks: herbal knowledge - tier 2 | the collector | mind reader | skip the steps
[ @Ladiebugg ]

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The answer she received wasn’t all that Springlight was wanting, the calico had been hoping to perceive in some sort of more complex answer than the one that she received. Frowning, the calico assisted as she carefully laid the injured molly onto the moss-bed, whiskers twitching dutifully against the acrid stench of blood invading her nostrils. It wasn’t that she wasn’t used to the smell - far from it, in fact. She hadn’t just been around anyone with any critical injuries as of late, and this was her first patient in days to come rushing back with a shredded leg and somehow remain stable after countering such blood loss. She would say that she was surprised, but she found herself refusing to blatantly state the obvious, further noting the fact that she’d need to go into the herb storage and see if she could snatch up some marigold and cobwebs to keep the wound at bay. Forming a grimace, she silently cursed at the fact that she hadn’t sent any warriors to search for poppyseeds, making her incapable of helping the warrior with her pain. She would go out herself and bring a bunch of cats with her to forage out for any poppy flowers, but that was just leaving Daylightwing unattended and that was something she wasn’t going to risk.

“That’s one… nasty looking… leg… you have there…” Springlight explained, not bothering to start much of a conversation as she began approaching the herb storage, digging a paw through her recently restocked piles to snag up the requirements she needed. “I… will try… to patch… you up… the best… that I… can of… my advantage… however… I am… afraid that… you may… not be… able to… walk on… all fours… again… given that… the leg was… shredded… completely off… and will be… left with… a stump.” The mentioning of a stump brought back a disheartening memory that she didn’t want to think much about. Drizzlecloud and herself had no clear knowledge of how to properly amputate a limb, and her cousin was the mere victim of that slander. Leafpaw hadn’t been around for a while, and Springlight found her chest swirling achingly at the thought of her little cousins. They all haven’t been around, and she found herself questioning where they may have gone. It was too reminiscent of the day of the sinkholes and when her siblings left and never came back. Springlight temporarily paused at her scrummaging as her thoughts invaded her mind, but quickly overcame and grabbed her requirements for the healing of her waiting patient.

Approaching the molly, the calico took a moment to gander at her leg, taking a moment to begin organizing the herbs she gathered for this occasion. That leg wound was pretty nasty. Bad enough that she would need to wrap it tight. Thankfully, she didn’t need any sticks given that the wound wasn’t a broken limb, so that was reassuring for the pastel calico. However, she wasn’t assured by the thought that she held enough cobwebs to properly wrap around the wound and staunch the blood flow. Maybe she did, but she didn’t want to hold any grudges in herself if she didn’t. The leg was in critical condition, and truth be told, she held doubt that it would be normal again and would just turn into a stump similar to how Mudhound has one. With a sharp exhale through her nostrils, the calico braced herself as she attempted to remove any excess blood and debris with moistened moss from the injury. “I’m afraid… with a… wound like… this… it’ll… remain… a… stump… and be… lasting damage… towards… the inner tissue… and muscle… but I… will patch you… up… the best… I can… so it… can heal… to a… certain degree.” It was better to try to keep her entertained if she couldn’t offer anything to help distract her from the pain. It was better to keep up a small conversation, after all. She hadn't realized that she may have unintentionally repeated herself, but her mind was running bullets, and it wasn't like she was in the mood to be differing different points of thought.

[Ladiebugg]

DaylightWing
DaylightKit, DaylightPaw

12 Moons | She/Her | Bisexual

ThunderClan Warrior

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@iliri

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DaylightWing's eyes widened
'A.. stump? It's just.. gonna be a stump?'

Her voice slurred slightly from the pain as her adrenaline wore off. She looked down at her leg and gasped.

'Wait.. that's all that's left?'
She looked away from her leg, her ears pinned against her head

'Well.. if you can patch it up..'

[iliri]

SPRINGLIGHT
she/her | thunderclan medicine cat | 19 moons
long-furred, scarred, oriental-shaped, gray-and-orange calico molly with blue eyes; torn right ear
active purrks: herbal knowledge - tier 2 | the collector | mind reader | skip the steps
[ @BEAR. ]

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It hadn’t been hard for the medicine cat to notice the look of curiosity on Wolfhive’s face when he peered over toward the direction of the herb storage. Frankly, it wasn’t anything far too fancy given that she had recently restocked the herb storage not so long ago after cleaning it out. It felt rather barren more than anything, and that wasn’t something that Springlight necessarily liked. At some point, she'll collect a group of cats together to go collect some herbs to help replenish the storage itself to keep it at a good vantage point. Other than that, it looked relatively fine for the most part even with the lack of herbs that she necessarily wanted. Wolfhive’s words couldn’t help but make the calico crack a small smile on her face, knowing that at least she was trustworthy enough to go see if there was a problem at Kit Corner to figure out. Although, she would probably overhear it since the medicine den wasn’t that far off from the place itself. His offer wasn’t anything that Springlight would be against doing, finding her head tilting quizzically as she thought for a quick moment. It would do good for the kits to learn a few herbs, especially with the immense dangers of poisons that there was. It wasn’t like she was ever going to bring any poison back after the whole incident with the clan becoming ill. There was no way she was having something like that occur again.

“I’d… be completely… fine with… teaching the… kits… some few… herbal… remedies… and maybe… a few poisons… for them… to keep… an eye out… for when… they are older… stars above… knows that… we don’t… want… anyone collecting… any poisonous… herbs by accident.” Springlight felt a shiver draw up her spine the moment she expressed herself, momentarily allowing her words the slip into Wolfhive’s mind before making her way back towards the herb storage, gesturing with her tail for him to follow if he had wanted to come along. “You… can see… what I am… going to… teach the… kits if… you want… there’s nothing… too fancy… in here… to really… look at… unfortunately… just to give… yourself an… idea of… what the… storage… looked like.” She trusted the hornet enough that he wouldn’t try to sabotage the herb storage, given his rank and status. Plus, he was Bumbles’ son, and Springlight knew how deeply interconnected their bond was together, just like hers was with Dovefluff, even if the molly hadn’t really been around all that often.