Overhearing Drizzlecloud call out the groups made Springlight feel satisfied that she at least had a suitable audience to learn valuable information about herbs. There wasn’t a lot that she could go with, but whoever she had was enough for her to deal with, as long as she didn’t deal with any possible infractions or interruptions from her teaching them how to work with the herbs that she knew, then they wouldn’t be stuck in any sort of difficult scenario. With her lips upturning into a smile, the calico awaited for her group to gather around, taking note of Wolfhive glancing towards her after being assigned to be in Drizzlecloud’s group. Was he alright? Had he not wanted to be in her group? Learning how to tend to wounds would be relatively essential for his life in the future, but maybe he hadn’t wanted to be taught by Drizzlecloud. She wasn’t certain, and perhaps they would discuss the matter later after this was over. Exhaling through her nostrils, she focused back on her group as she began organizing the herbs she would be teaching first: marigold, cobwebs, and poppyseeds. Unfortunately, she didn’t carry any yellowbells, but she will explain it while explaining this batch of herbs.
“Hello… all of… you… I am… glad to.. be teaching… you about… herbal remedies… that will be… essential… towards your… survival… if me… or Drizzlecloud… are not… around at… any given… moment of time… to answer…. your question… Mudhound… I will… be starting… with safer herbs… first before… going into… anything poisonous… and how to… avoid them… firstly… I will… be teaching… you about… the purposes… of marigold… yellowbells… cobwebs… and poppyseeds… these four… will be… main herbs… that you… will need… in case… you are… stranded and… wounded… or if… neither… me or… Drizzlecloud… are around… to help… is that… clear?” Springlight peered her gaze along each of the cats, allowing it to stay from one cat to another as she briefly caught Orangeblossom stumbling over his paws to approach the group, having to resist the urge to snicker at his actions. The tom was quite literally a clutz, and it wasn’t like she was wrong in any given way. He just consistently tripped over himself often and didn’t seem to have any end for it. Would that explain why he always nearly ended up by the den so often?
Throwing the topic off her mind, the calico slowly pushed forward the wad of cobwebs, a single poppy flower, and a broom of marigold as she allowed her group to examine the herbs, gesturing a paw towards the pile as she began to speak.
“Placed… right in… front of you… is marigold… cobwebs… and a poppy flower… they each… carry different… purposes… and are… mainly used… for patients… that are… going through… agonizing… pain… only use these… if you… are critically wounded… or if… you are… needing pain… to be… numbed.” Springlight gestured her paws over the herbs that she had shown her group, briefly allowing them to take in her information before continuing.
“However… another herb… that would be… an asset… for you… to use… would be… called… yellow bells… yellow bells… essentially are… bushes of… bell-like… yellow flowers… stating it’s name… it’s used… for fighting… infection… in wounds… and are naturally… found all… year long… if it is… mixed with… marigold… it can… be prone… to clot out… bleeding… and hopefully… stop… any further… bloodloss… a tactic… that I… have been… practicing.”
Speaking of marigold, she may as well start off her lesson with that important herb, shall she? Clearing her throat, she gestured towards the thickened, orange flower for them to focus their attention on it as she began explaining.
“This… is marigold… naturally found… by water-like areas… like rivers… or streams… it is… one of the… more widely-known herbs… and a… big go-to… herb… when you… are bleeding out… it’s used to… prevent infection… by adding it… to a… wound poultice… it can… also treat… infection as… well… but it’s more… plentiful to… find it… during newleaf to… leaffall so it… doesn’t hurt… to use it… to prevent… infection as… well… as easy as… it may be… to find… this herb… it becomes scarce… during leafbare… so it… would be… beneficial to… your survival… to stick… with yellowbells… if you… come across… the yellow-flowered… herb… in your travels.” She knew the information would be a lot for them to take in, but it would help them in the future if neither she nor Drizzlecloud were available to help them if needed.
“Next is… cobwebs… they are… the most common… tools that… you’ve probably seen… but there’s more… technique to them… than just… throwing them… on… if you are… trying to… stop bleeding… you would need… to refresh… the layers… of cobwebs… as they… soak up… the blood…. when you’re applying… and removing… leave the bottom-most… layer… removing that layer… too soon will… break any newly… forming clots and…. thus reignite… the bleeding… they are common… under tree trunks… or anywhere… that’s dark… they are also… notable… in dewy mornings… and are… far more… easier to collect… make sure… to avoid… getting possible… spider bites… they can leave… a notable… bump for days… and may… grow irritated… so it’s better… to collect wads… of cobwebs… with any… nearby sticks... or twigs.” Spider bites weren’t anything that she dealt with before, and she’d rather not deal with them in the future. She didn’t know if there was anything poisonous with them, but she’d desperately hoped that wouldn’t be the case anytime soon. Poisonous spiders would be incredibly dangerous.
With both of those out of the way, now it was onto her final herb of the first lesson: poppyseeds. She would also show them the poppy flower as well so it could give them a bit of an idea of what it looked like, as they wouldn’t be able to just single-handedly collect the seeds themselves. Clearing her throat once more, the molly ushered the red-colored flower towards their direction for them to analyze as she began speaking.
“This… is a poppy flower… known for… carrying… poppyseeds… within each flower… that you… collect… they are… abundant enough… and can be… found anywhere… where there is… sun throughout… all of… the seasons… like Firefly Cove… the seeds themselves… are stored within… the center of… the flower… at least… thirteen… tiny black seeds… are in… each flower head… the seeds eaten… will reduce pain… treat shock… and promote drowsiness… you should… only eat… two at a time… as more than… that… will be… lethal… and could… kill you… it’s also… best for… any pregnant… or nursing queens… to not… have any… as it could… cause… possible harm… to the… kits.” Springlight used a foreclaw to move one of the thickened petals to show them the interior structure of the flower, allowing them to analyze how many seeds there were within each flower. The more knowledge they learned, the better.
“Now… before I continue… do you have… any questions? I would… like for your… curiosity… to come out… before I continue… to the… next stage of… herbs… that I… will be… discussing with… you lot.” Even if they didn’t have any questions, it was better to ask anyway in case anyone was interested in learning more about the specific herb that she was showing them. It was only a few so far, but she knew that the curiosity would start forming later on as the lesson continued.
Next post will be:
May 8th!
- May 5th; marigold, yellow bells, cobwebs, and poppyseeds
- May 8th; elder flower/leaves, chamomile, and sunfuzz/goldenrod
- May 11th; catmint, honey, burnet, sunset roses, and borage
- May 14th; comfrey, juniper berries, sorrel, sticks, and tree sap
- May 17th; burdock root, chickweed, celandine, and chervil
- May 20th; daisies, mushrooms(glowing ones will be excluded until the 29th), ragweed, spider egg sac, and feverfew
- May 23rd; oak leaves, parsley, lavender, rosemary, and lady's mantle
- May 26th; blessed thistle, coltsfoot, dock leaves, yarrow, and stinging nettle
- May 29th; foxglove seeds, water hemlock, glowing mushrooms, deathberries, and meadow saffron