[Abyssopelagic]

Coldamber purred with delight as Springpaw said she'd start practicing dream shaping. She was quite sure humans had a specific word for this, but the exact phrase escaped her in that moment, her tired brain struggling to reach for much more than what they'd previously talked about already. ( #air )
"Of course I'll teach you. You've been a delight to speak to, and I'd hate to pass up an opportunity to return."
It wasn't as if she had much else to do. It would be a fun distraction, if nothing else, but she genuinely did wish to speak to this apprentice in the future. She hadn't enjoyed a conversation with a living cat this much, especially not the Medicine Cats she visited.
It was always, perhaps of her own responsibility, to the point and rarely anything more than for teaching.....
Not that Cowtuft really counted. Of course she had extra interest in him, he was the successor of her own successor and there would always be that sneaking little bias in the back of her mind when it came to comparisons.
Springpaw, however, seemed to be tied with him, having been enamored by her curiosity and willingness to learn. She hoped the apprentice kept that joyful little spark.

It had never really occurred to Coldamber that what she did could be seen as a near magical feat, full of wonder and mysticism. Everyone she had spoken to thus far had reacted nonchalant at the presence of her conjurations. Then again, Elmshadow, Cowtuft, and Fawnlight were a rather small sample pool to be looking at as her baseline demographic. And, she believed, Cowtuft and Fawnlight had shown a slight bit of interest, but it had been awhile since she last visited either, and her memory was quite selective in the things it decided to hold onto as "vital" information.
Coldamber returned her thoughts and attention to the young healer in front of her.
"Do not feel discouraged if it takes you a bit before you see results. You are wonderfully imaginative, and I think once you get a feel for it, the dreamscapes will gladly change shape for you. But it is a skill that takes times to learn, even for star cats."
Coldamber tilted her head to the side as Springpaw asked about other illnesses and she ruminated on it, trying to remember of there were any with specific names. It was confusing, really, to remember them all when they all ended in -cough. There were.... a few things, maybe 4 actual diseases she could go more in depth about, but the rest of it simply ailments the average clanmate could get from unusual circumstances in day to day life.
She wasn't quite sure how much the young molly even knew about greencough itself. She doubted Bumblestar could have told her much. The leader didn't seem the type to mince her words, nor the descriptive type.
"Well, I'm unsure how much you've been told about it, but for the sake of you being well informed, I can go a bit over it just in case."
She swished her tail and allowed herself to lay down, indicating for the small cat to do the same if she wished.
"The first stage of the illness you named is whitecough. It is the most mild form and is often be brushed off as simply being a sniffle, which makes it perhaps the most infectious form given that some may not realize the severity. You will see it most often in leaf-fall and leafbare, but it's not impossible to see it other times. Whitecough and the associated stages are infections of the chest and throat and can easily become deadly if left untreated. Thankfully, there are ways to keep it contained and from spreading. The last thing you will want on your paws is an epidemic. However, I plan to share these quarantine methods with your mentor. You've done much learning today, and I'd hate to overload you with information."
The grey molly idly drew nonsensical lines on the ground.

"It is better to learn your information in bite sized portions, and give yourself time to absorb what you learned. Even once you become more proficient, you will find you might learn best in portions. It is not because I doubt your ability."
She smiled softly.
"Far from it. Besides, we have to leave something for Drizzlecloud to learn if I'm to visit her as well."
Her eyes refocused themselves after staring at something distant for a fair few seconds.
"To continue on what you did ask, whitecough will manifest in the form of coughing, headaches, a mild fever, or even loss of appetite. As it is mild at this stage, borage will often be enough to fight off the infection before it reaches later stages. You could also give them the much stronger catmint, but if you're in short supply, borage is a suitable alternative. You can also give them something to alleviate the cough or loss of appetite if you know something for it. For the most part, their recovery will require plenty of rest and hydration, even once the signs of infection are gone. I think a few days once all symptoms are gone should suffice."
Coldamber startled at the sound of tiny little pawsteps interrupting her train of thought. She turned to see if Fizzletwist had come by, wondering why she was taking so long, but she didn't catch sight of the little fuzzball, so she returned her attention to Springpaw.
"Apologies, thought I'd heard something. It seems to be nothing. If left untreated, whitecough can develop into greencough.
Greencough tends to worsen whatever symptoms were already present, and can cause sneezing, which, paired with the running eyes and nose, can be unpleasant for caretakers. In more severe cases, you can see difficulty breathing and even vomiting. Once you have even one cat showing greencough symptoms, a quarantine should be set up, as it will spread faster than you can treat it. It will be easier since there are two of you to do the treating."
She chewed on the inside of her cheek.
"At this point, the infection will be too strong to be treated with borage, and catmint is the only thing that will cure it. Borage can still be given for fevers of course, but it'll do nothing for the root cause."
Coldamber then remembered something, an illness unlike the two she'd mentioned and that she'd only seen it once, a case that had slipped through the cracks and gone untreated due to circumstances she couldn't control, a cough that Shockholly and Quicksilver treated as such, but had appearantly been far more severe than they'd realized, and the lack of treatment in the time she was gone had been enough to allow it to get as bad as it did.
"There is.... another stage of progression, and is one I surely hope you never see. But, should the greencough be left untreated and the patient live through it, it can turn into yellowcough. It only happened once, and because myself and my apprentice had been in other Clans, they in RiverClan for training and I in ThunderClan to assist.... the cats I had left thought their clanmate had a simple cough and treated it as such. I hadn't taught them how to look for anything more serious, hadn't come across it at that point and...."
She paused, blinking to soothe herself.
"By the time I came back, delirium had set in from the infection and they had many amd severe chest pains. And I have no way of knowing if the catmint I gave did any good, because I lost them shortly after my return... But, it only happened from lack of care, so you should be.... out of the woods in regards to this one. It seems to be extraordinarily rare."
The once Medicine Cat gave a sad smile.
[B]"I apologize for the turn that took. I cannot wallow in my mistakes forever. We learn and we move on. No point in dwelling on what you can't fix.
She sighed and thought for a few moments, thinking of other, less serious afflictions she might run into. There wasn't much in the way of disease, usually just clanmates doing stupid things and getting hurt.

"On a less serious note, aching joint are something that will come up periodically, usually in your older cats, but you shouldn't ignore a younger cat with such a complaint either. It can be onset by an oncoming chill or damp environments. Best thing to do is to give something for any swelling or stiffness, as well as for the pain, and ask that the Den to be checked for drafts or leaks.
Cracked pad are also common among elders, usually from walking on cold and dry ground. Best solution is to apply some honey or marigold to the paw pads, and give a poppy seed to help with any left over pain and swelling. It is also best that the patient remains off their paws if possible.
Lastly, chills. Usually because someone took an accidentally dip in some water (or someone decided it would be an amazing prank to push their clanmate in) or decided to play for too long in the snow. Not too serious usually. Mostly keep them dry, keep them warm, and they'll eventually recover. It does take longer to leave them to warm up on their own. It's more efficient to allow someone to lay beside them to share their body heat. Otherwise, padding them with moss and keeping them out of any chilly spots will do your patient good and on the path of recovery."
She wracked her head for anything else she knew of that she wasn't planning to specifically share with the young Medicine Cat's mentor. After a moment, she shook her head.
"That is about it for things I don't have planned to share with your mentor. Though, fear not, if you still have questions about other things when I next return, you may ask me then as well. I'll likely have learned a bit by then. I like to keep myself busy and am always learning."
She gives a wink to the apprentice and suddenly the pitter pattering of tiny paws was heard again, this time heading straight for her and Springpaw.
She swiveled her head and caught sight of her son Fizzletwist, still kit sized despite all his time in StarClan. The small grey fur ball froze when he noticed the other cat and looked from Springpaw, to Coldamber.
With a cough, she stood and faced the forever kitten.
"Springpaw, this is Fizzletwist. He's my son. He was from my last litter, before I became Medicine Cat."
It was about the only explanation she'd be giving the apprentice. She wasn't ready to tell anyone about trauma caused by his death, or even why he'd died so young. Even now, so far removed from the event, it haunted her.
"Fizzle... did you need something, my sweet?"
The small grey tom continued staring for quite a few long and awful moments before he spoke.
"I thought maybe you were done by now. I want cuddles. And a story. You always do that when you're done with dream visits."
Coldamber was trying to think of a way to reply, when he turned his attention to Springpaw.
"Can I sit with my mom for the rest of your visit with her? I'll be quiet. You'll hardly know I'm there."
Shuffling his paws, he gave his best "I'm very cute and innocent, please say yes" smile.

[ @ares ]