The shadows won't fall around me [P/T]

[namen_roodles]

SPIDERPAW
Riverclan Apprentice | 8 moons | Lanky, amber eyed, blue-grey tabby she-cat with white paws, chin, and tail tip.
Heightened perception: Smell
~~~

A new interest had awoken within the young apprentice as she padded across the clearing. There were many reasons why her new venture had her interested in learning about herbs. Things from simply how approachable Berryshine was and how willing she had been to teach Spiderpaw about just what she had used for her maw, all the way to almost drowning and watching her clanmate break down afterward. It had brought a sense of importance to learning how to help any way she could in case her clanmates were injured.

She didn't even want to talk about the starry eyes she'd seen. For all she knew, that was just a dream that had occurred when she was unconscious. It didn't stop her wondering how many more cats could've been saved if only for a clanmate that had been able to act a little bit faster than one or two medicine cats could do alone or when they were too far away.

The apprentice paused in front of the medicine cat den. Would Berryshine be busy? She wasn't sure. She listened for a moment, but didn't here much going on, nor did she smell a lot of others inside. Maybe it was a good time.

Spiderpaw stepped into the medicine cat den, eyes seeking out the familiar pelt. "Uhm... Berryshine...?" Spiderpaw called. "I... I was wondering... if you could teach me a few more things... about herbs?" She asked.

@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 ]

—

Berryshine had been changing the moss of her patient nests, creating a neat pile of the old stuff and replacing it with the new. It was good for hygiene, and a fresh, clean den could help ease cats' spirits. It was important to her to keep it up.

But her work was interrupted by a soft voice, one that she recalled hearing not too long ago. Turning, the medic's ears perked up when she saw Spiderpaw approaching. Thankfully, there was no scent of blood nor even a worried expression; that likely meant nothing major was wrong. "Oh, h-hello, Spiderpaw. What can I do for you?"

Learn more about herbs, eh? Berryshine's expression softened a bit more, looking relieved. Another opportunity for teaching — she always loved doing that. And Spiderpaw hadn't been present at her first aid event a few moons ago, if she recalled correctly. A smile broke out on her maw as she nodded, padding over to the apprentice.

"O-Of course. I know first aid lessons are part of warrior training, yes?" The usually-jumpy she-cat seemed to relax, pawing through her herb stores for a moment. She then dropped a few things near Spiderpaw's paws: a wad of cobweb on a stick, a ball of moss, and a few different yellow flowers (marigold and goldenrod). The medicine cat glanced down at them before meeting her guest's amber gaze.

"I know you'll recognize what cobwebs and moss, o-of course; you can find them just about anywhere. But do you know what these two flowers are, or their use?" Hadn't she used goldenrod on one of Spiderpaw's wounds? Berryshine thought so. Perhaps the 'paw would remember; but just in case, she'd ask to see. She always liked to get a grasp on what a cat already knew before she started rattling off more information.

[ @namen_roodles ]

[namen_roodles]

SPIDERPAW
Riverclan Apprentice | 8 moons | Lanky, amber eyed, blue-grey tabby she-cat with white paws, chin, and tail tip.
Heightened perception: Smell
~~~

Spiderpaw smiled as Berryshine agreed to teach her. Sure, the first aid class was available... Though, if she was being totally honest, she was interested in learning as much as possible. She nodded, anyway, as the medicine cat was right. She waited, paws lightly kneading the ground with excitement, as Berryshine started going through her herb stores.

As the molly brought over the supplies, Spiderpaw took them all in. Cobwebs, moss, Goldenrod... She sniffed at the yellow flower to make sure she was right. It had been applied to her muzzle, she could remember that much. "Goldenrod... Right? You said that it... cleans the wound when you chew it into a poultice?" She then looked at the other yellow flower. They looked fairly similar, but this one had wider petals. She sniffed at it. "You chewed it up and applied it with a mossball." She was pretty sure she remembered that correctly.

"I'm not sure what this one is, though..." She admitted, looking back up at Berryshine. The other yellow flower seemed very similar... but if they did completely different things, she imagined it would be terrible to mix them up. She tried to catalogue it's scent in her mind, knowing that was an easier way for her to identify anything over her eyes.

@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 ]

—

A purr of approval rumbled in Berryshine's throat; so Spiderpaw had remembered! Good! She often liked to explain what she was doing to whatever patients came in, and she bet that half of them either didn't care or just didn't mind, trusting the medicine cat to do whatever was best. It was nice when someone not only had listened, but remembered. It felt good.

"Y-Yes, indeed. Good memory," Berryshine praised, a glint in her bright green eyes. "Goldenrod does just that. I-It's wonderful for helping clean and protect wounds... but unfortunately, it doesn't do well to prevent infection, which is very important. B-But that's where this comes in... marigold." She touched a small brown paw to the ripple-petaled flower, its deep orange and gold hues a pretty sight against the stone floor of the den.

"Other herbs do this too, but marigold i-is perhaps the most plentiful and easiest to identify. Similarly to goldenrod, I chew this up into a poultice a-and apply it to wounds that are at risk of an infection. Something like a scratch from a branch, for example, isn't that likely to become infected; but things like bites or scratches from other creatures a-are much more likely, so it's better safe than sorry." She paused for a moment, gesturing to Spiderpaw's jaw with her tail. "Remember how I said that y-you should've come in earlier when you had that nasty infection? That was because I might've been able to prevent the pain and sickness you'd experienced w-with treatments of marigold. It's much easier to prevent infection than it is to treat it."

She'd stop there for a moment, waiting to see if Spiderpaw had any questions about the vital herb. If not, she'd go into the basics of first-aid and do a demonstration of sorts. The medicine cat's eyes were gleaming and a little smile was on her maw as she'd been speaking; teaching was a delight to her, and she was happy to spread her knowledge.

[ @namen_roodles ]