Okay. He was bad at this. Seriously bad at this. It was a good refresher for himself too, but still. He... Did not like giving this lesson. Worse than the kit classes. Oh hopefully he'd find a replacement soon, because skies he would not be able to keep up with this; well, at least the kittens are calm. So this ought to proceed smoothly. Alright, with no further questions, he moved on with the rest of the code. Oh wait, there was one question: "We can have a lot of friends, but we need to stay loyal to your clan too."
The tabby answered with a subtle shake of his head. "That being said, within reason, we can and are expected to help others who are in danger, regardless of where they come from. Similarly, and this is very important: a warrior doesn't have to kill in order to win a fight. You understand? A fight is won when your opponent quits fighting back, you do need to go further than that."
He paused at that, letting his words sink in. This was one rule he lived by himself, and one he found important others knew. "Let's continue; you know the rule about prey?"
Surely they've heard of it before? "It should be treated with respect - not played with, only eaten. And you might've seen this before, but new warriors silently guard camp for a night after their ceremony, it's called a vigil. Speaking of requirements, kits are to complete their requirements before becoming apprentices, like you are doing now, just like a deputy is usually chosen within a moon of the predecessor. Any questions?"
He rattled off what he remembered hoping to end this class quickly, though leaving it open for any final questions. That should be everything (he really was bad at teaching this).
Moonkit tilted her head, “what’s prey?” She meowed.
One of them already knew it! That was great! Awesome! Amazing! "Yeah!" He broke into a grin and nodded enthusiastically at Juniperkit. "They help you sleep when you can't, and help make things stop hurting." His eyes turned to stare at Elkkit. The grump actually seemed... interested? Was he realy? The grump grumpier than Gingerfrost? Wow. [/b]"You just eat a couple of these, and it hurts less."[/b] He had too many poppy seeds. Placing the few he'd brought with him to the burrow on the ground, he looked around before rolling the last thing forward. "These are deathberries." Red and dangerous, he kept it close to his paws, visible but out of reach. "They're very dangerous and if you eat them, you uh-" How did one say this in a non-scary way. "-You go bye bye. So don't eat these! Remember, if you're walking in the territory and see something that looks yummy, if it's red, you'll be dead!" He looked around one last time. "Any questions?"
What's... prey. For a moment, Gingerfrost stared dumbfounded at Moonkit, unable to believe what she'd just asked. What's prey? Skies above, did kittens not know what prey is? He was... Beyond... Something. Beyond taken aback. Beyond unbelievable. How did this kit live? "Prey is.. What we eat. The big pile with little animals in the clearing's centre, that's prey."
Okay. Next question. Less dumbfounding, though it was something. He supposed it does sound like a lot to remember, especially coming from him and his horrid teaching skills. "It'll come with time; though most of it is simply common sense. If you have that, you'll be fine."
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Those red berries... As Elkkit scrutinized them carefully, he realised they were the same as on that bush he'd used to pull Heronkit out of the river -- the same as she'd swallowed. Is that why she suddenly...? A dark expression overcame the kitten as Stonepaw came to explain further, the bye-bye. So they did kill. Stupid, stupid, ugly berries. His little claws dug into the ground. So they killed. The red berries - the deathberries - killed. He hated them.
One of them already knew it! That was great! Awesome! Amazing! "Yeah!" He broke into a grin and nodded enthusiastically at Juniperkit. "They help you sleep when you can't, and help make things stop hurting." His eyes turned to stare at Elkkit. The grump actually seemed... interested? Was he realy? The grump grumpier than Gingerfrost? Wow. [/b]"You just eat a couple of these, and it hurts less."[/b] He had too many poppy seeds. Placing the few he'd brought with him to the burrow on the ground, he looked around before rolling the last thing forward. "These are deathberries." Red and dangerous, he kept it close to his paws, visible but out of reach. "They're very dangerous and if you eat them, you uh-" How did one say this in a non-scary way. "-You go bye bye. So don't eat these! Remember, if you're walking in the territory and see something that looks yummy, if it's red, you'll be dead!" He looked around one last time. "Any questions?"
What's... prey. For a moment, Gingerfrost stared dumbfounded at Moonkit, unable to believe what she'd just asked. What's prey? Skies above, did kittens not know what prey is? He was... Beyond... Something. Beyond taken aback. Beyond unbelievable. How did this kit live? "Prey is.. What we eat. The big pile with little animals in the clearing's centre, that's prey."
Okay. Next question. Less dumbfounding, though it was something. He supposed it does sound like a lot to remember, especially coming from him and his horrid teaching skills. "It'll come with time; though most of it is simply common sense. If you have that, you'll be fine."
------
Those red berries... As Elkkit scrutinized them carefully, he realised they were the same as on that bush he'd used to pull Heronkit out of the river -- the same as she'd swallowed. Is that why she suddenly...? A dark expression overcame the kitten as Stonepaw came to explain further, the bye-bye. So they did kill. Stupid, stupid, ugly berries. His little claws dug into the ground. So they killed. The red berries - the deathberries - killed. He hated them.
One of them already knew it! That was great! Awesome! Amazing! "Yeah!" He broke into a grin and nodded enthusiastically at Juniperkit. "They help you sleep when you can't, and help make things stop hurting." His eyes turned to stare at Elkkit. The grump actually seemed... interested? Was he realy? The grump grumpier than Gingerfrost? Wow. [/b]"You just eat a couple of these, and it hurts less."[/b] He had too many poppy seeds. Placing the few he'd brought with him to the burrow on the ground, he looked around before rolling the last thing forward. "These are deathberries." Red and dangerous, he kept it close to his paws, visible but out of reach. "They're very dangerous and if you eat them, you uh-" How did one say this in a non-scary way. "-You go bye bye. So don't eat these! Remember, if you're walking in the territory and see something that looks yummy, if it's red, you'll be dead!" He looked around one last time. "Any questions?"
SNOWKIT
fluffy white she-cat with brown and black patches and icy blue eyes. she/her
Help you sleep, make things stop hurting... Snowkit nodded slowly as she stashed these fats away for later. She would make Stonepaw proud by remembering the things he told her!! Although it was a little hard to remember things sometimes, but... still! The little she-cat then looked down as the medicine cat brought forth the final thing. Death...berries? As Stonepaw explained them, her head tilted to the side. Huh. Weird. She didn't really understand the concept of 'death'. Surely they could just come back, right? Where do they go, anyways? If they went bye-bye... is that what happened to her Mama? Snowkit felt a frown pull at her lips before she looked up at Stonepaw.
"Wha do if s-see someone eat d-deafberry?" she asked, curiosity in her eyes. Stonepaw could fix others with his herbs, right? So he could fix them going bye-bye!! It made perfect sense to Snowkit, at least.
Elkkit raised a lot of questions. His frustration, his grumpiness, the way that his face creased and claws dug into the ground at the mention of deathberries. Oh dear, who was his mother. Wait, ugh, now he was sounding like a queen. "Yep, bye-bye." He chortled for a moment as he began to roll the herbs back up in a bundle below him, he nodded to each of the others. "Cause there are other red berries too! These are special though, and not in a good way." The last cat he turned to look at had him less certain. What did one do when they ate deathberries? If he was being honest, he didn't know the answer. His only experience with deathberries had come with what he had learned during his own curriculum class.
"I'm not quite sure, but I'll have to ask around. Ask around, who could he ask? He'd heard stories about a former medicine cat among their ranks, Marigold-something? "For now just try and get them to cough it up." Would that work? He had no idea, but for now, that wasn't what they needed to know about. "So, a quick review and we're all done! Deathberries are a no-no, Poppy seeds help when things hurt, marigold helps with infections, and cobwebs cover wounds! Well, that's all for today, guys, so you're all free to go!"
You die, thought Elkkit as he glared at the kits beside him, pouting slightly. And he was supposed to be the dumb one. Listening to Stonepaw explain they should try to have the cat that consumed deathberries cough them up, Elkkit duly noted it. It was good to know... Just in case. So poppy seeds fight pain, deathberries kill, marigold flowers treat infection and cobwebs cover wounds. Noted. Having heard that, Elkkit left as quickly as possible.