ShadowClan Medicine Cat's Den

[Levi 99]

Originally Posted by Ravensong

**Elmshadow**

@Levi 99

As Dawnstar stepped into the den, Elmshadow turned from his work and looked at the warrior she slumped into a nearby nest. He nodded as she gave him a brief explanation then turned out of the den and disappeared. The dark medicine cat took a couple long strides to bring himself to the injured cat’s side. The warrior had been gone, Elmshadow hadn’t cared to track for how long, but then he showed back up looking like this. His green eyes peaked just over his crinkling nose as the stench wafted up to him; he didn’t need to be a medicine cat to recognize the signs of infection wrought over Shadefrost’s bites and scratches. Elmshadow turned and tore off a clump of moss to soak in the trickling water and turned back to his patient. He used the water-logged moss to scrub the wounds and the surrounding areas clean; with the infection tainting the wounds Elmshadow didn’t feel it safe to have either Shadefrost or himself clean out the wounds through regular grooming.

Once the bites and scratches had been cleaned down to raw, red, mildly oozing wounds, Elmshadow turned to his herb stores. Their marigold was low and there was no promise of reliably restocking it, wasting it on a warrior who disappeared rubbed Elmshadow wrong, but there was no doubt that without something to treat the infection Shadefrost wouldn’t make it long. Even without Shadefrost wasting herbs, Elmshadow couldn’t deny that they could likely run into the need of an herb to be able to treat infection in case they couldn’t find more marigold, so Shadefrost’s recklessness could be spun to his benefit; Elmshadow saw very little to be lost in using the tom to test some theories on. He’d used honey in the past to cover wounds and it seemed to help though he wasn’t sure if it would effectively treat an active infection. This may be the best opportunity for him to try it out. He grabbed the leftover honeycomb and the two dock leaves to line Shadefrost’s nest to keep it clean if the honey before returning to the injured tom.

Gently rolling Shadefrost one way then the other, Elmshadow slipped the broad leaves between the tom and the bedding before taking pawfuls of honey from the honey comb and slathering it over the raw wounds. ”How does that feel?”

[Elmshadow doesn’t know but the dock leaves would actually help soothe his wounds. The honey also works to soothe wounds as well as treat infection, though, as stated, Elmshadow doesn’t know about the infection part]

[ -2 dock leaves -0.75 honeycomb ]


[ @TheNyanCatMinecart @NinjaBloss No problem ^^ If I had Elmshadow respond at all it would’ve been just to let Ivysnake handle it anyway]

Shadefrost released a sigh of relief as soon as the remedy was applied. It had been too long since he’d felt this relaxed. “It’s working” he replied simply.

Sorry for the short and late reply. I’ve currently got something going on IRL.

[Pitou]

 

Originally Posted by Levi 99

Shadefrost released a sigh of relief as soon as the remedy was applied. It had been too long since he’d felt this relaxed. “It’s working” he replied simply.

Sorry for the short and late reply. I’ve currently got something going on IRL.

**Elmshadow**

Without waiting for a complete answer, Elmshadow began gathering some of the residual mess littered about his general area. He blinked in a small gesture of acknowledgement of Shadefrost’s simple assessment. Time would be the greatest indicator of the honey’s true affects but it made him hopeful that the remedy was already seeming to soothe the tom’s infected wounds. Abandoning his small pile of mess, he took a step towards Shadefrost’s nest. ”Good. Are you able to walk?” There was both the distaste of sharing his den unless absolutely necessary and the looming order from Dawnstar to send the tom to her as soon as he was fit enough. Elmshadow had no intention of simply letting the supposedly returning warrior walk out of his den with no guarantee of his true place in the clan. As soon as he was ready to walk, Elmshadow would make sure to personally escort him back to Dawnstar.

[Levi 99]

Shadefrost looked up at the medicine cat and nodded his head. It was about time for him to see Dawnstar anyways, and the best thing to do was get it out of the way now so that his leader didn't get impatient. He gingerly pushed himself off the ground and limped towards the entrance to the cave, prepping himself mentally for the impending encounter.

[Ian]

Vixensnarl nodded in response to Ivysnake's question, shifting slightly so the medicine cat apprentice would have better access. It seemed the molly was fitting into the role quite well and hadn't managed to disappoint as Bounceberry and Badgerscar had. It pleased the Enforcer as she quite liked Ivysnake even if they didn't know each other exceptionally well. She was one of the more tolerable cats in ShadowClan and didn't say or do lizard-brained things.

A grunt left her maw as Ivysnake applied the poultice and scolded her for not coming sooner. "I got it from a dog when the twolegs were in our territory with them. You checked it out then, but it was fine, and I kept it clean. It only got really bad during the assessment, and I came here straight afterward." It had been aching for a few days before it stiffened, but Vixensnarl hadn't thought it would be anything to worry about at the time. "I'll make sure to come sooner if this situation occurs again."

The tabby's head tilted slightly in curiosity when Ivysnake asked her to stay, noting how she looked around to see if anyone was near. Maybe it was something about Dawnstar? Some sort of ShadowClan business that was just for her kin? "Sure. What did you want to talk about?" Vixensnarl asked.

@TheNyanCatMinecart

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

~ IVYSNAKE OF SHADOWCLAN ~

Ivysnake was glad that Vixensnarl didn't make a fuss about being scolded over her frog-brained decision. She deserved the sharp scolding, but she wasn't acting like an idiot over it. That made her more confident that taking Vixensnarl as a mate was the right choice - if the other she-cat accepted. If not, they could continue being daughters of Dawnstar together, fierce and worthy cats who had been taken under the leader's wing. Part of Ivysnake wished that she were still a warrior, perhaps even an Enforcer, but her life had taken a different path. And she was fine with it. After all, she could still do the things that warriors did - fight, take mates, have kits, train warrior apprentices. Ivysnake listened as Vixensnarl explained how she had gotten the wound. Of course. It had been from those mangy dogs. All that time ago? Now that she thought about it, she did remember checking it out. But apparently, not enough had been done.

Ivysnake let out an annoyed grunt, which wasn't directed toward anyone. "Good," she meowed when Vixensnarl promised not to loiter if this happened again. "We can't waste any herbs now, especially with the despoliation of our territory and the encroachment of leaf-bare." She leaned down to give the other tabby's poulticed wound a sniff. "Perhaps you'd be better off staying here overnight, and Elmshadow can also take a look at that wound. He knows more about infection than I do." With all that out of the way, it was time for Ivysnake to talk with Vixensnarl. The Enforcer agreed to stay, but she would've had to stay, anyway, with the information Ivysnake had just given her.

The medicine cat apprentice spoke with little hesitation, getting straight to the point, her voice as average as ever. "Vixensnarl, from the time I've known you, you've proven yourself to be a strong, worthy cat. You got the rank of Dawnstar's daughter alongside me as well as the position of Enforcer. So, I was wondering if we could be mates. I'm not interested in doing anything romantic or overly affectionate, but we could have a stronger bond within Dawnstar's family and the Clan. I've been thinking about taking mates for a while, and I'm only interested in the loyal, strong cats who are worthy assets to ShadowClan. You're one of those cats. It's fine if you're not interested, but I'd like to have a closer connection with you.

"Dawnstar doesn't care if medicine cats take mates, in case you're wondering. And I'm planning to take multiple mates, cats who prove themselves to be valuable to the Clan and Dawnstar." Ivysnake paused, waiting for Vixensnarl's response. It would be nice if the brown tabby accepted, but if not, that wasn't the end of the world. She had said so herself. They could always be strong companions instead of mates, loyal to ShadowClan and Dawnstar as well as the family they'd become a part of.

@NinjaBloss

[Pitou]

**Elmshadow & Sunsetpaw**

[ Previous Roleplay ]

The screech was undeniable, a sound Elmshadow hadn't needed to be a medicine cat to interpret unfailingly, the agony was real and dripping as it echoed through the walls of the camp. The dark medicine cat pushed hurriedly from his den, fur spiked along his spine, ready for a fight from whatever had surely broken into the camp. That sound was a fresh injury, not an ache from an existing ailment. His emerald gaze stopped on his daughter, her bright pelt unmistakable though still giving him flashes of her mother, though now it was tattered and unkempt, being supported through the entrance. A sudden unbidden vision of his last sight of his former mate, mangled and bloody after the fox attack plagued his mind. He shook his head to rid himself of the memories before hurrying across the clearing and slipping his shoulders beneath the old apprentice, lifting her from the ground. She let out a furious hiss but didn't fight it as he turned and walked quickly back to his den, not a word spoken to her nor anybody else around. He didn't know what happened or what plagued her other than the obvious blood coating her left eye but his first priority was to get her into his den and comfortable where he could begin to assess what needed to happen next.

Elmshadow gently dipped his shoulder to slide his daughter off his back and onto a clean nest, provoking another screech as she slipped into the nest and her unsheathed claws struck out at the nest materials around her. Her instinct was to claw viscously at her electrified eye but she fought the urge. Her rational mind was buried somewhere deep below the agony, she couldn't reason out why she shouldn't claw at her face but she knew she had to resist.

Elmshadow turned to the herb supplies. He couldn't fully assess what was wrong with Sunsetpaw but he wasn't about to try to get close to her as she thrashed blindly. He scoured the herb storage with little regard for the organization until it dawned on him with sudden, infuriating realization that he didn't have any poppy seeds. In a rare show of frustration, as the emotion mounted irrepressibly up within him, he struck out, swatting a bundle of cobwebs off its perch and across the den, into a far wall where it hit then dropped into the dirt of the floor. His daughter's screams were echoing into his psyche. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, regaining his composure. Grabbing a stick and a clean bundle of cobwebs, he returned to his daughter. Waiting for a break in her thrashing, Elmshadow put a broad paw on her shoulder, pressing down firmly. "Pull yourself together. I can do nothing for you if you're lashing out like an angry kit. Bite down on this." He shoved the stick in front of her.

The firm paw crushing her chest, gave her pause, momentarily allowing her concern to concentrate on the new threat above her current agony. Her father's voice slowly sank into her mind, through the cloud of pain, and a new surge of anger brought her another moment of clarity. "Like an angry kit"?! She wished to all of Starclan to give this pain onto her father, An angry kit... But she was aware of the stick put in front of her face and she bit down hard, letting the feeling of her teeth sinking into the bark pull some more of her focus away from her eye.

A minor relief washed through Elmshadow as Sunsetpaw bit into the stick and he was able to get a clearer view of her red-marred face. "What happened? Were you attacked? Can you open your eye?"

She shook her head stiffly. "Ran into bush...pain..." she muttered from around the stick though the movement seemed to tear at her eye and she shrunk against the pain, sinking her teeth deeper into the wood.

Elmshadow's brow furrowed but he grabbed a piece of the cobweb. "Don't move," he instructed gruffly as he moved in and began gently dabbing at the fur around the eye to soak up what blood he could, doing his best to ignore her flinches and groaning, before using his tongue to groom away the rest. His tongue snagged on something sharp protruding from Sunsetpaw's shut eyelids, sending her into another reeling fit as she dropped the stick and recoiled completely from her father. He growled in frustration, picking up the stick and thrusting it between her jaws again. He put both broad front paws down on her shoulder to pin her to the ground before using a sheathed paw to gently pry open the lid of the bleeding eye. Sunsetpaw's claws dug at the nest and dirt agonizingly but she couldn't move.

Elmshadow's heart dropped as he noticed something akin to a thorn jutting into his daughter's eye though it looked distinctly twoleg. A new wave of anger and hatred towards the invasive creatures washed over him. His mind reeled. It had to come out but he had no way of knowing how big it was or what it was supposed to look like when not embedded in his daughter's eye. Doing the wrong thing could lose Sunsetpaw's eye, or her life, though he wasn't convinced her eye wasn't already a casualty. He pushed the concern away. He'd lost his tail when he was right around Sunsetpaw's age and learning how to do everything anew was something he wouldn't wish upon his kin but he could not worry about that now.

Taking a deep breath and setting his resolve, he leaned back into pinning Sunsetpaw into the ground then leaned in and, in one swift movement, gripped the twoleg thorn between his teeth and pulled backwards. With a wet ripping feeling vibrating through his jaws, the thing budged but did not free even as Sunsetpaw gained a whole new level of strength, bucking her way out from beneath her large father and flopping blindly backward with a terrible screech then falling completely still. Elmshadow waited a heartbeat, first concerned that she was...he let his breath out when her chest rose and fell, weakly but rhythmically. He grabbed the cobwebs as her eye began to bleed anew and walked measuredly over her to press them into her fur and catch the dripping blood. With one paw holding the cobwebs against her cheek bone, Elmshadow used the other to gently lift her eyelid out of the way. He sent a silent thanks that she had passed out, it'd make the rest of what he had to do that much easier, especially without the poppy seeds and anything topical he wasn't sure would be effective or safe for her eye. He leaned down again, gripping the twoleg thorn in his teeth again and, this time, tried to pull carefully backward, trying to let it guide itself out but it wouldn't budge. He let go but noticed its slow jerk back into place, moving slightly to the side. He cocked his head and tried pressing down in the direction the thorn seemed to want to go and suddenly another point of the thorn poked out into view. He pushed harder until the end that was jutting out disappeared and the other end emerged. He felt suddenly apprehensive, not knowing if he was causing more damage or, maybe the piece he pushed in wasn't part of the piece that was now coming out at all and he just lost his only chance of getting the thing out. He took a deep breath, loathing his uncertainties, then made his decision. What was done was done, he could only move forward now. He gripped the new, bloody, point of the thorn and pulled gently backwards. Sunsetpaw's body jerked disjointedly but then the thorn came free and Sunsetpaw's body tensed then fell still again, the blood pulsing from her eye.

Elmshadow allowed himself only a heartbeat of relief as he realized the thorn was free before he moved in and pressed the cobweb firmly against her eye. He wasn't entirely sure it was all out but she was no longer lashing out at him simply touching the eye so he figured that had to be a good sign. When the cobwebs against her eye were just beginning to soak through, Elmshadow turned and hurried back to his stores, grabbing a celandine, an oak leaf, and more cobwebs. He hurried back to his daughter, now a taillength from the nest she started in, and removed the red cobweb. The blood was still oozing but already it seemed to have slowed. He took another piece of cobweb and pressed it against her eye as he began slowly cleaning off around her once faded blue eye, bringing the yellow back to her fur. When it was as clean as it was going to get for the time being, Elmshadow moved the cobwebs and grabbed the celandine, hovering it over her eye as he held the lid open, he squeezed it to drip the juices out into the mangled eye. Celandine was supposed to help with eye ailments; he wasn't sure what it could do for such an injury but at least he knew it was something he could put on that was safe for the eye. After draining the celandine, he manuevered the eye lid back into place then chewed up the oak leaf to make a sort of paste, hoping the poultice would help keep the cobwebs on and debris out. He spread the oak leaf poultice over her eye then stretched on the rest of the cobwebs.

Grabbing her by her scruff, Elmshadow gently pulled Sunsetpaw back to her nest, laying her down gently then tidying up what he could around her. He briefly pressed his nose into her flank before turning away. He wasn't sure where the brief show of emotion came from but he was sure it had everything to do with her being passed out. He wanted her to see that he did care but he couldn't bring himself to give those displays for her to understand. Instead, he turned lethargically to begin cleaning the scattered and bloody supplies, putting the used and dirty cobwebs and herbs into a pile to be taken out later then addressing the mess he'd made of the herb storage, tossing what he'd ruined and reorganizing what was salvageable. He let out a deep, exhausted sigh as he glanced back at Sunsetpaw, now sleeping fitfully. He stepped towards his nest but suddenly knew he wasn't getting any rest so he turned back to the pile of used herbs to gather them and carry them out to be disposed of.

[ -3 cobwebs -1 stick -1 celandine -1 oak leaf -1 borage -2 marigold ]

[perseus.]

Sorrelflare walked into the medicine den, ear swiveling slightly, thinking about just leaving seeing as a few bee stings probably wouldn't do much to their health, but with leafbare coming up Sorrelflare thought against leaving, "Elmshadow? Are you here?" They called out, yellow eyes looking around the den.


@Ravensong

[Ian]

Vixensnarl hummed in agreement with Ivysnake's advice to stay overnight. "Sure. Better be stuck here for a night than let it get worse and be out of commission for longer." The very thought of being unable to serve as an Enforcer because of an injury that could have been prevented caused an unpleasant tingle to run down Vixensnarl's spine. I'm definitely not going to wait around again to get an injury checked just because of an assessment. Dawnstar would understand.


The next topic the medicine cat apprentice brought up was... surprising, to say the least. Not something Vixensnarl had thought of at all or ever considered in her lifetime. "I am glad you regard me in such a way. You are strong and have served Dawnstar well as a medicine cat and warrior. However, in my life, I have never felt a romantic attraction or the urge to be mates with anyone. I would not mind having that title with you as a symbol of our closeness as long as you understand I can never have a romantic connection with you."

The brown tabby didn't think that would be a problem for Ivysnake since the molly had said she didn't want to be overly affectionate. Still, it was better to have it all out in the open than to have drama over something so insignificant later down the line. Plus, it would be nice to call Ivysnake her "mate" so other cats didn't flirt with her because she was "taken". A win-win situation.

@TheNyanCatMinecart

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

~ IVYSNAKE OF SHADOWCLAN ~

Ivysnake was glad that Vixensnarl wasn't being difficult. She behaved maturely and wasn't a frog-brain, enforcing her decision to ask if she would be her mate. She would only get together with cats like Vixensnarl. If they were loyal to the Clan, hard-working, and behaved properly, they'd catch Ivysnake's eye. She certainly wanted the parents of her kits to be that way. After all, she didn't want her kits to grow up as anything other than valuable assets to ShadowClan. But other than wanting to provide the Clan with kits, Ivysnake didn't care much about the gender of her mates. Just as long as they fit her requirements. She watched and waited patiently as Vixensnarl thought her proposal over and listened silently to her reply. So, Vixensnarl never felt any sort of romantic attraction. That was fine with her. Although Ivysnake was okay with a little romance, it really wasn't her thing, and being platonic mates with Vixensnarl was perfectly fine with her. Ivysnake believed that they'd make a good pair.

The medicine cat apprentice nodded to the Enforcer. "I am fine with that," she meowed. "I wasn't looking for anything really romantic or otherwise overly affectionate. I'd be glad to be platonic mates with you. Just so long as you don't have a problem with me taking other mates, which you don't seem to." Ivysnake had mentioned it before, and Vixensnarl hadn't commented on it, so it seemed reasonable to believe that the brown tabby wouldn't care much. But she just wanted to make sure. It was always annoying to see problems spring up when one cat didn't fully understand the other in a relationship, and that was the last thing Ivysnake wanted to deal with.

@NinjaBloss

[Pitou]

**Cougarivy**

@oleander

The mottled she-cat pranced across the clearing to drop the honeycomb off to Elmshadow, the bee stings in her paws sending small tingles up her legs at each step. She giggled, nearly giddy at yet another opportunity to be healed. Elmshadow hadn't seemed nearly as excited about his new rank as Cougarivy was for him; her thoughts lingered back towards her and Elmshadow, the Shadowclan power couple, as they were wont to do. Elmshadow didn't have to admit it yet but she could tell he was softening to her again and her mood hadn't been brighter since the sweet death of that obnoxious traitor of a she-cat. She slipped in through the entrance, nearly jumping as she brushed passed Sorrelflare. She giggled when she recognized her patrolmate, "So you decided to get treated after all, hm?" She turned her attention towards the den and took easy steps inside before setting herself down in a nearby nest.

**Elmshadow**

The dark medicine cat had just entered camp from a quick outing when he saw Sorrelflare at the mouth of his den. Do all warriors just expect a medicine cat to hibernate in their den until needed? He stepped in passed Sorrelflare without looking at the warrior. "What do you need?" But he stopped as he noticed Cougarivy sitting in a nest as though she lived there. His lip twitched. "I don't recall inviting you. This is my personal den, if you'd forgotten."

The she-cat cocked her head with a pleasant smile, "Oh, Elmshadow, you can't be sticky with me. Sorrelflare and I got you your honey and got stung for the effort. Now we're just looking for a little appreciation!" She looked at her patrolmate, "Right, Sorrelflare?"

Elmshadow narrowed his eyes slightly, looking over the pair of cats. He turned to the herb storage and grabbed the last dandelion in their stores. He passed Cougarivy and set the dandelion down as he addressed Sorrelflare, "Where are you stung?"