[p] refresher

[c1nder]

☆.｡. o Shadowedcall

❧ Riverclan Warrior | He/they
❧ Lyrebird's Lullaby, Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T1, Mind Reader

❧ [ #vantablack ]
❧ HK TRACKER

'Cause the anarchy's part of me, tyranny bothers me
End it all properly once and for all

​

---

he couldnt help but shake the feeling that what he had told berryshine, she had half-understood, half-overwhelmed to the point where she didn't catch everything. so he padded over to the place where he saw her enter and exit quite often.

"'ello? i've just come t' check if y' need t' have a refresher on what i told ya 'bout 'erbs." blessed Thistle, borage, broom, burdock, burnet, catmint, chamomile, chervil, coltsfoot, comfrey, deathberries, dock, fennel, goldenrod, honey, horsetail, juniper, lavender, marigold, parsley, poppy, sunset roses, thyme, watermint, wild garlic, a whole lot of them.


- @squidz​

[squidz]

| BERRYSHINE |

small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector | dreamwalker |

[ riverclan medicine cat | she-cat | 18 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Berryshine paused when a voice called out to her, turning her head. Ah, Shadowedcall! One of the newest additions to their Clan, and the one who'd given her the grand information dump when they'd first met. Her eyes brightened a bit, clearly happy to see the tom as he waltzed over, and even more overjoyed at the premise of his words.

"O-Oh, yes! Please! You gave me such wonderful information... and I-I'm afraid I was so excited that I might've missed it all," she joked lightly, a purr of amusement behind her soft words. The medic turned to face him, humbly dipping her head. "I-I'd greatly appreciate anything you'd be willing to g-go over again. Or if you could show me what a few of them look like... some seemed familiar, but others I'd never even heard of..."

Berryshine paused a moment, gesturing for Shadowedcall to follow her inside of her den. It was cozy and decorated inside, with ivy trailing over the walls and plush moss nests scattered for new patients. She stopped at a cleft in the rock, nosing out some herbs and pushing them towards him.

"B-Based on some of the descriptions you gave me, I think these are... h-horsetail, thyme, a-and watermint. I've seen some of them around, s-so I went and collected some to ask you about later, j-just to be sure." The small brown molly managed a sheepish smile, gazing up at the taller warrior. "If you wouldn't mind... going over what they do again, exactly?"

There were a few more she definitely had questions on, but wanted to start with these, since she'd just recently gone out to search for them. It was a good thing she'd already been quite familiar with the flora within the forest, given that some of the descriptions had rang a bell when Shadowedcall had first spoken them during his joining process.

[ @c1nder ]

[c1nder]

☆.｡. o Shadowedcall

❧ Riverclan Warrior | He/they
❧ Lyrebird's Lullaby, Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T1, Mind Reader

❧ [ #vantablack ]
❧ HK TRACKER

'Cause the anarchy's part of me, tyranny bothers me
End it all properly once and for all

​

---

ah, so she had missed some of his infodump. he padded further into the den, "'m not surprised, y' were so starry-eyed i wasn't sure ya got all of it." he was being blunt, wasnt he? woops. he eyed curiously as the medic nudged herbs out of a cleft in the rock. interesting. he wondered what herbs she had in the storage.

he only needed a glance to tell the horsetail from the other two, for the others, he lowered his muzzle to them and smelled them. one had a sharp, minty scent with a reddish-green leaf, watermint. the other was thyme, the many thick leaves gave it away. "aye, horsetail, thyme 'n watermint." he used a claw and pointed to them when he said each one. "note the very minty smell 'n reddish hue of the watermint. as for the thyme, the many very small thick leaves makes it almost useless t' use individually, so part of a stem should be good."

he paused for a moment, making sure the brown molly was following along, "horsetail is for infections 'n minor bleedin'. y' can make it into a poultice t' put on a wound, or y' can use the sap from inside the stem. as for thyme, y' can eat it for anxiety. watermint can 'elp with stomach aches. any others?"

- @squidz
​

[squidz]

| BERRYSHINE |

small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector | dreamwalker |

[ riverclan medicine cat | she-cat | 18 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Was that initial comment... an insult, or a joke? Berryshine (bless her heart) couldn't tell. She had been rather starry-eyed, after all, so she felt a bit of a flush under her fur in embarrassment. The she-cat was still young, and had been so enthusiastic to learn more herbs, that Shadowedcall had really only ever seen her sort-of-excited side. Clearing her throat, she gave the tom a sheepish grin, listening with rapt attention as he spoke.

First of all, she was glad that she'd actually gotten some of the descriptions right. There were several other herbs she'd heard and sort of forgotten what he'd said, or sounded too general and she'd have to pick them out to see. Green eyes followed the point of his claws, nodding slowly as Shadowedcall told her that only the stem of thyme should be needed. Ah... that'd be helpful, and save some space.

Okay, okay... focus. Horsetail seemed like a great herb, a contender for marigold as her most important when it came to first aid. And it operated the same, with poultices to be applied to wounds. Thyme, anxiety (hmm, maybe she could use some)... watermint, bellyaches. Berryshine took a moment to recite them in her head, associating the words with the sights before her. She let out a shaky breath before giving a firm nod, as if confirming to herself and Shadowedcall that she'd gotten it.

"Ah, right... t-that's good. Horsetail s-seems very important," she noted, taking care to gingerly tuck the herbs back into storage. Hers was very organized, the piles neat and orderly within the rock cleft.

Now... for the ones that'd scared her a bit when he was speaking. The medicine cat hesitated a moment before plucking out some sprigs of parsley, and then some chervil. "I-I'd seen chervil before—" the reminder of that day made her swallow hard. The smell of chervil now reminded her of the last time she'd seen Cobwebstorm... she quickly pushed those thoughts away, continuing on as if her brain hadn't shortcircuited for a moment. "—ahem. And I-I remember you saying it was really good for kittings, which I didn't know, and stomachaches. Also that the juice can be used for infections."

She paused, her gaze flicking to parsley — or what she thought was parsley, at least, based on what Shadowedcall had described before. "B-But you also mentioned that it looks very similar to another herb... p-parsley, right? Is this it? They're so difficult to discern, I wasn't quite sure... but they smell a little different. And one of them is very dangerous for queens...?" Her restatements were more so questions than anything, as if trying to make sure she'd heard it all right. Her sharp might had caught a lot, but the details were fuzzy after only being heard once. Still, the warning of never giving one of these herbs to queens, while the other was beneficial had unnerved her.

Because by the stars, the last thing she wanted to do was give a queen an herb that would actually be detrimental when she thought she was doing good. That was practically a nightmare for Berryshine, to accidentally harm instead of heal.

[ @c1nder ]

[c1nder]

☆.｡. o Shadowedcall

❧ Riverclan Warrior | He/they
❧ Lyrebird's Lullaby, Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2, Mind Reader

❧ HK TRACKER
Can't catch a break, can't hold this weight
Wear me out, tear me down, I'll tell you, "I'm fine"
It's getting rough, I've finally had enough
To the point I'm feeling like it'll eat me alive
​

---

he watched berryshine curiously out of his fully-amber eye, his other one was mostly dark, a pity. he couldve used two good eyes, and he took it for granted. anyway, the brown she-cat put the herbs back into the rockface, and grabbed a couple of new ones. "aye, rather important."

as he looked at them, he listened to her speak, the pause was quite evident, he tilted his head for a moment, confused as she just continued without a second thought. "aye, parsley is the one ya never give t' a nursing queen." he used his paws to pin down a leaf or two of the parsley. "notice how the tips of the leaves are more pointed? that's the key difference, chervil, over 'ere, has rounder tips."

"as for their uses, parsley stops a queen from producin' milk, that 'n stomach aches. just the stem is necessary. for chervil, it can treat infected wounds, soothe stomach aches, 'n nausea when kittin'. useful to have it uprooted, as the roots 'n leaves are useful. roots or the leaves are crushed up for infected wounds, 'n the leaves are eaten for nausea 'n stomach aches."

"ah, right. i'm always collectin' new information 'n i've got two new ones t' share. alder bark, yarrow, goatweed 'n honey. you know what an alder tree is? anyway, large oval leaves with jagged edges, 'n small pinecone-like growths. scaly bark. it's found in boggy terrain, quite a good territory for it, yeah? y' want the bark, 'n its gnawed or chewed for pain from toothaches, gum pain, 'n pain from teethin'. ironic, huh? might 'elp with mouth infections as well."

he paused, making sure that the medic got all of it before moving on to yarrow. "as for yarrow, it has a reddish stem with green leaves that has many branchin' pointed edges. white flowers with a flower mini-cluster within it. it extracts poison from a wound, makes a cat vomit up toxins, cures stomach aches 'n mild coughs, 'n heals cracked 'n sore pawpads." he glanced at the brown she-cat before continuing. "y' crush up the leaves to put on a wound to extract toxins from it. y' chew it up 'n eat it for coughs 'n stomach aches, 'n then eat the leaves for vomiting, i dont know how it works the way it does, but it does."

"goatweed has white or purple flowers that grow in bunches. leaves are jagged and rough 'n the stem is fuzzy. it's leaves are eaten 'n it has calmin' and anxiety-reducing properties, good for grief. honey is made by bees 'n it can be eaten t' soothe sore throats 'n be used t' soothe insect bites 'n stings."

he blinked, watching the she-cats movements. "any other questions?"

- @squidz

[squidz]

| BERRYSHINE |

small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector | dreamwalker |

[ riverclan medicine cat | she-cat | 19 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Okay... so the difference between parsley and chervil was crucial. Berryshine had recalled Shadowedcall going over the differences in the leaves before, but had forgotten which was which. Not that she had forgotten entirely — the first time she'd discovered chervil...

Focus. Pushing thoughts of Cobwebstorm from her mind, the medicine cat nodded to show that she was listening, her eyes soft and grateful as the warrior dealt patiently with her. As she tucked the herbs away, he started going on about a few others he'd learned. Quickly Berry spun back around to face him, taking in all the words with wide eyes and rapt attention. More that she'd have to go out to memorize their looks and scent, but the vivid descriptions he offered were very helpful for the moment.

Alder trees... if they were more pinecone-like, they'd be closer to ShadowClan territory, right? Perhaps she'd traverse near the marshy Clan's border to see if there were any on RiverClan's side. She didn't have anything good for mouth-related pains or infections, so it would be invaluable if she could get some of that into her storage. And tree bark didn't usually go bad, right?

Yarrow for toxins? Again, Berryshine didn't have anything offhand that was good for toxin removal or making cats vomit if needed — so she was leaning forward, nodding. The description of the plant sounded familiar, and had an idea on where to look for it. She made sure to rehearse it a few times in her mind as Shadowedcall continued.

Honey she already knew, but it was a good refresher; now that the flowers were blooming, the bees had returned. It didn't seem like the sticky stuff went bad, so she could stock up on a honeycomb or two.... maybe Wisteriawren would be willing to get herself stung for it? Nah, Berryshine would feel too bad to ask.

And goatweed... that was another one that sounded familiar, but she'd have to go seek it out to be sure. When Shadowedcall finished, she let out a shaky breath, mind spinning with the new information. But instead of being overwhelmed this time, she looked enthusiastic, green eyes glowing.

"T-That was wonderful, thank you! It's amazing how much you've learned," she purred, eyes crinkling in admiration. Then she paused, tilting her head almost like a curious kit's. "For yarrow, do you apply a poultice to the paw pads to help heal them? Should I probably crush them with a rock, j-just so I don't accidentally eat too many and vomit myself?" That brought another question to mind. "And, ah... i-if yarrow can help with bellyaches, is it because it makes the cat vomit? Or does a little dose help ease an upset stomach, but a larger dose makes them vomit?" Did that make sense? She'd just confused herself with her wording.

[ @c1nder ]

[c1nder]

☆.｡. o Shadowedcall

❧ Riverclan Warrior | He/they
❧ Lyrebird's Lullaby, Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2, Mind Reader

❧ HK TRACKER
❧ [ #vantablack ]
Can't catch a break, can't hold this weight
Wear me out, tear me down, I'll tell you, "I'm fine"
It's getting rough, I've finally had enough
To the point I'm feeling like it'll eat me alive

​

---

this time seemed like the medic had gotten it all. that was good, he didnt explain yarrow very well, did he? "any part of it eaten fresh will cause a cat t' vomit. eatin' it when it's dried will 'elp with coughs. just make sure t' give it in small quantities, lest a cat throw up. 'n a small fresh bit would likely make y' queasy, but if y' rinse yer mouth out it probably wont do too much. a poultice t' the pads, yes." he split his maw in an awkward, apologetic smile. "any other questions? 'd be 'appy t' explain others in detail."

- @squidz [i'm sorry this is so short ]
​

[squidz]

| BERRYSHINE |

small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector | dreamwalker |

[ riverclan medicine cat | she-cat | 19 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Ohh, okay... that made more sense. Berryshine nodded slowly, eyes squinting as if trying to picture it in her head. "Ahh, o-okay... got it. You mentioned 'drying' out an herb... I've heard it mentioned before, b-but I'm not quite sure the best ways to do it. Fawnlight—er, a friend of mine—t-taught me how to flash-freeze herbs to store more for leaf-bare. Drying feels... self-explanatory, I-I guess? But is there a best way to do it?"

It was something Berry had tried once or twice on her own, but only ended up with wilted flowers or something too crackly to be used. If Shadowedcall had any tips on it, she'd greatly appreciate it.

Oh, and any other questions... hm. The medic idly thumped her tail on the ground once or twice as she thought, nose twitching. "Hmm... o-oh, yes! I had a question about comfrey. Y-You mentioned, among other things, that it can help heal broken bones... i-is that by eating it? Is it sort of like burnet, w-where it makes the cat stronger from the inside?" Strengthening the bones was an interesting concept to Berryshine, and getting the nutrients from the plant was about the only way she could conceptualize it helping with broken bones. But she wanted to ask, given that it was new territory.

Hey, if that was the case... maybe she'd drop by and give some to Caveclaw. The poor Lionheart had the same leg broken twice; it probably ached every now and then.

[ @c1nder ]