[alec]

ROOKFIRE
[ he/him | shadowclan medicine cat app | purrks ]
[ #rookMCA24 ]

cool grey eyes shaded from the blazing midday sun by the quite simply phenomenal design of the medicine den, rookfire lay stretched out at the very mouth of the medicine den whilst eyeing the clearing as best he could. a yawn snuck up on him unexpectedly, underlining the reason he had switched from sitting and waiting to lying and waiting, ever the insomniac he hadnt taken to their sleeping in shifts as well as he wouldve liked to pretend.. which, for the record, was not rook complaining about the careful security measures they had taken to ensure their herbs, themselves and any potential patients were safe at any hour of the night, he was complaining about the fight his body was putting up for no discernible reason.

at the soft pawsteps that he knew could only be his 'mentor's, rookfire shifted into sitting almost automatically, stretching out cooled down limbs briefly before eyeing the stalk of horsetail the lithe brown medicine cat had dropped between their paws. he hadnt bother gather any since becoming medicine cat apprentice so it wasnt really that much of a surprise when mossfreckle said they were running low, that didnt help with the faint guilt licking at his conciouns like the thick fog of his dreamscape he liked to imagine within his head as well. the low humm confirming mossfreckles question was followed by a moment of silence in which he cleared his throat. "'s called horsetail. grows well in wet environment so i used it a bunch back in riverclan" rook finally replied, memories of the aftermath of thunderclans raid foggy in his mind, connected with mostly scents and feelings rather than the gruesome visual of broken limbs and shredded flesh.

"ya can use it as a substitude ta' chervil or marigold. chew it into a pulp n it'll slow bleedin' n prevent infection." the medic explained, sharing knowledge he had metaphorically fought for and kept safe for moons as easily as one as insecure about his knowledge and abilities could. mossy is different his mind supplied. and it was right.

recently shared knowledge still ghosting around his mind, rookfire waited at the entrance as mossfreckle returned the horsetail to where he found it, before exiting their shared den after the younger medicine cat. taking his place to mossfreckles left as grousepaw had done only a few moons ago, faint shivers of realisation once again washing over him. feathered tail nudging against dark fur was met with a brief glance before the former enforcer returned to his current task of staring at the cats in the clearing. with the new restrictions fresh on everyone mind cats were no doubt going to be more enthusiastic to be placed on a patrol, to be allowed to roam the forest briefly and with a purpose before returning to their confinement in camp like kits stuck in the nursery. as long as they were too enthusiastic about being outside and could stay on track to full filling their duties, rookfire was all for a little fun.

as his 'mentor' began assigning patrols rookfire took in the new informations eagerly, blazingstar, stinging nettle. blazingstar, a warm reminder to his oldest friend, was interesting to rook primarily as he knew some herbs to fight greencough but never new how to identify those, meaning it could cut out any trial and error, or well, awkward questions to mossfreckle, he might have at a early stage of the illness. lavender was one herb rookfire was pretty sure he knew all there was too know about, but stinging nettle was another previously unknown one and one of the few herbs he knew to come with a warning lable. stinging nettle and its thick stems and wide serrated leaves sounded like something easily identified yet the specific instructions of removal of their itch inducing hairs was not something he had encountered before.

moving on to the second patrol featuring one of his least favourite cats, foggymask, mossfreckle finally lifted the secrets around honey he had yet to learn. whilst the former enforcer had seen and gathered honey before, he had not known of its purpose in soothing aching throats and minor coughs. already halfway to the conclusion that its sticky sweet flavour would make for a good substitute to berries in sweetening bitter herb mixtures for kits and fussy apprentices, his train of thought was interrupted by that very information (with addition of chamomile).

____patrolmates feel free to skip to here_____

eyes briefly glazing over as his mind wandered for the current moment and beyond mossfreckles explanation of gathering honey, the nudge of angular soft brown head into his shoulder brought him back to reality and made him shuffle from sitting besides mossfreckle to standing closer to the crowd as he was assigned his own patrol. it appeared he had convinced the younger medic of horsetails properties as he was sent to gather that very herb alongside catmint and marigold, neither of which he was unfamiliar with. with a brief nod, he stepped up to silentpaw to wait for one of his favourite apprentices to show up, the explaining could be done on the way. or perhaps he would make the two gather catmint and marigold whilst focussing on horsetail himself.

[ @elio ; @Starphobia ; @goodacacia ]