cobwebfern's ears pricked as someone - a few someones- came into the den. she turned from where the meticulous organizing of herbs had kept her busy to see larkwing, brokenstream, and berries entering the den. the apprentice rushed over to where larkwing slumped rather unceremoniously into a freshly made-up nest. ' oh my goodness- what happened? ' cobwebfern acknowledged the head lionheart's nod to her quickly with a nod in return and then turned back to berries and larkwing.
OspreyDart had entered the den limping his right hind leg to keep the cut from getting infected. "Hello is anyone here?" The scent from others surrounded him.
"I accidentally cut my paw pad trying to get sand out. I think it's bleeding, I really can't tell to be honest because I can't feel it. Probably numb from the pain." The tom lied down so he could rest his legs, trying to keep his paw from touching the ground.
purrks ; the collector , herbal knowledge t2
she / they . riverclan med cat app
21 moons . missing back leg
tags ; @MaximusPrime27 - osprey
tws for this post: none
[ cobs will be handling your healing!! ]
cobwebfern muffled a laugh at how silly ospreydart looked, briefly reminded of when she was first injured. the she-cat padded over to ospreydart, sitting down and gently picking up the tom's paw. she squinted at it, then stood up, satisfied. ' i don't think there's any sand in the cut. let me grab some cobwebs to put on that and it should heal up nicely! ' the apprentice walked over to the herb storage and grabbed a cobweb, wrapping her paw in it to bring it over. gently, she wrapped ospreydart's paw with it and smiled. ' there! nice and safe. come back if you're still feelin' yucky, or it gets hurt or infected, okay? '
__________________
cobwebfern is riverclan’s medicine cat apprentice !
she and berryshine have a semi-closed den policy .
"Alright will do!" Osprey got on his feet and walked his way out of the den, careful not to damage the cobwebs. Ospreydart shook the sand off of his fur from when he was lying down, when he was outside of course.
Warning! Blood and dark themes, along with depressive tendencies Please don't read if you find these topics triggering! Thank you.
Blizzardoak
|60 Moons|
Berrypaw's leafy eyes pierced through the back of the den in response to Blizzardoaks assertions. He could make out her familiar small dark brown form which was embedded among the earthworks of the den that held varying degrees of space for the storage of herbs. Eventually the medicine cat apprentice stopped tinkering with her stores and approached them. Her words and expressions were hazy to the old warrior, for his mind was still on edge. But he could tell she was recollecting on past treatments of his injuries. The faint glimmer of recognition was identifiable beneath her green gaze. As she touched her tail to Blizzardoaks shoulder he resisted the urge to stiffen his posture. The kindly she-cat was trying to calm him and lead him to a nest where he could be properly examined. On his long white fur the heat of his own quick shallow breaths could be felt, and with that sensation self awareness crept back into his mind. He could not only feel the tension in the room, his own dark emerald gaze perceived it. Calm down...you're not a kit you're a warrior. They are just trying to help. If I make Berrypaw nervous she can't assess the leg properly.
Blizzardoak felt a little calmer now, Besides she's treated the leg before... and it was nothing to worry about then. So what if I have to stay in the elders den for a moon or two, Its nothing I haven't done before. As he lowered himself into the nest he used one of his free jet black paws to push aside the long snowy fur that hid parts of the scar. Having something to focus on relieved some of the stress he was feeling, but the introspective tomcat just couldn't get rid of his oppressive thoughts.
But its been hurting consistently lately...
Don't be such a baby....
The scar looks darker than usual? Doesn't it?
Your eyes are just getting older! Relax...
Why does it smell so different?
The den iss full of herbs...
Blizzardoak was so engaged in his mental tug of war he scarcely noticed the declining body language of his caretaker. It wasn't until Berrypaw spoke that the dazed tom began focusing in on her again. Had she said something? He opened his mouth to ask but quickly shut it again as she peered back at his wound, raking over it intensely for an uncomfortable amount of time. As she turned to her herbs the former elder managed a "What? What is it?" But his raspy voice was stunted by concern and the focused physician seemed to be preoccupied with her remedies to notice. As she came back with a familiar purple flower his eyes widened a little. It's just as I thought. He heaved a sigh his sides rising reluctantly with the effort. The infection was back. The veteran could already feel himself sulking uncharacteristically, another moon in the elders den...I'm so tired of things holding me back. At first he had been grateful for his injury or at least the infection that followed 25 moons prior. It had allowed him time to process his grief. He didn't want to fight anymore after the flood. He had been sick of cats fighting one another and dying needlessly in the process.
He hadn't the stomach to witness more loss. Strikingshape and Pinekit had taken most of the fight out of him. He could still feel the kits warm blood in his mouth, its petrified squeals as he dropped Pinekit on the floor of the nursery. Blizzardoak had never felt more helpless than that day, and more unsure about his way of life. His fury did not bring back the one he loved, her silver brown rippled fur resting right alongside his atrocity. That image of three dead cats was burned into his soul, and though he had only killed one he sincerely wished he hadn't. I was so ready to accept my fate back then..funny how time changes things. Now I just want to help out again. Even while the white warrior was sidelined, things only seemed to get worse for RiverClan. Death after death and moon after moon. No I can't keep sitting by any longer, I've wasted enough of my time as it is. I've got to beat this infection and properly aid my clan. His thoughts floated to his daughter and granddaughter. He was resolved to help Irisdream and Kitepaw through these trying times. His sadness forming into steely resolve.
He raised his eyes to Berrypaw's finding worry staring him back in the face. He ignored her lack of confidence for as long as he could until...He felt his face droop, and his resolve melted away with her final words. She was...Sorry?What did she mean-?"What do you mean?!" He raised his voice without thinking, acting now on impulse. His tail lashed aggressively as he looked at the borage then back to Berrypaw. "What do you mean sorry-why would you say sorry!" He rose to his paws defiantly the hurt and shock evident in his eyes. His voice warbled and shook with effort. "Are you-..are you telling me there isn't anything you can do?!" His bad hip and leg were shaking now. Blizzardoak knew deep down she didn't deserve his hostility, but neither did he care at that moment. He hadn't bothered to eat the borage yet, and scowled at it from the corner of his eye refusing to face the truth. Why me? What did StarClan have against him? I never even wanted to be a warrior in the first place so why..! He closed his eyes as his thoughts spiraled down. Why did Strikingshape stop me from leaving? Why did I have to fall in love with her, A cat I can't even be with anymore!?
He hated it. This feeling of resentment towards his mentor, the one he loved more than the Clan itself. The Clan which she had taught him to love. When Strikingshape asked him to endure for the Clan, he never thought it would continue to be this hard. His whole life continued to be a struggle. And now...this was just too much. His white fur was still bristling defensively, but his long white tail and ears fell defeated against his frame.
Floodsight ✦ RiverClan | 22 moons | Mind Reader ; Beefed Up T1 ; empty slot
She felt a little choked up when she sat there silently. The small gusts of air rushed past her like a gentle breeze. Not even the cooling sensation of the wind stop her from holding her breath. She was nervous, for sure. Not too the point she couldn't think, but enough for her paws to turn cold with worry. Floodsight's gentle frame cowered a little when Berrypaw looked up so...uncertain, so worried. The constant double checks she did made Floodsight flinch worried she'll be the bearer of bad news.
"Is he...is he alright?" The silver warrior murmured quietly. She wrapped her long tail around her paws in hopes of warming it up a little. Borage...so it's curable? Perhaps that gave her a little bit of hope. Her eyes soften, brows flatten a little. But when Berrypaw continued, it felt like her heart just stopped. Absolutely halted in place before dropping to her stomach. No no no...
Her brows furrows once more, she doesn't even need to look at Blizzardoak to know how he was feeling by the tone of his voice. Were her choices even the right one?
| BERRYPAW |
small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector
[ takes place in abandoned twoleg den prior to move ]
Berrypaw had expected a bad reaction; after all, it wasn't like being told you were slowly going to lose functionality of a limb was an easy thing to take, no matter your temperament. But Blizzardoak's reaction was nearly visceral, picking up every flash of shock, anger, and dread swirling in his green depths. She immediately sympathized, but still shrunk back a bit, flinching from the sudden lash of his tail and the blazing fire in his gaze. Already a jumpy cat, Berrypaw only got all the more nervous around angry cats. The only thing that softened her instinctive spike of fear was the fact that she'd been around Blizzardoak for awhile, and had a good gut feeling that this was all a rush of emotions at the situation, not her.
She glanced at Floodsight, mirroring the she-cat's dread and sadness in her own countenance, before looking back at Blizzardoak. Stars, the poor tom... she could tell how this injury had been affecting him for so much of his life. This news only had crushed whatever hopes he might've had left. She suddenly felt awful for telling him, as silly as it was to think to hide such a prognosis. But the secondpaw despair was palpable, making her own fur bristle. Berrypaw hesitated, trembling and trying to keep her voice as even as possible (a vain effort).
"I... I honestly d-don't know," the young apprentice admitted, lowering her gaze in shame for a moment, forcing herself to stay put despite the tension that now weighed on her shoulders like stones. "I've just never s-seen an infection this bad, o-or this long. I'm g-going to do everything I can, t-to stave it off as long as possible. B-But if it doesn't work, I..." She trailed off and swallowed hard, not meeting Blizzardoak's pleading, desperate eyes as she quietly pushing the borage towards him again, doing her best to sound hopeful. "W-We'll just... take it one day at a time, o-okay? A-And..." she cleared her throat, willing voice to not be so shaky, speaking slowly. "And... it'll start with you eating that borage to try to keep the infection d-down..."
| BERRYSHINE |
small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector
Things were spinning, and this really didn't bode well for Frigidfang. Or for what he wanted to say. He felt Stormstar try to steady him, and tried his best to help her out but really probably ended up making her job harder. Did the Gods hate him specifically? Frigidfang couldn't help but wonder as he laid down and felt Berryshine pluck out his splinter. He let out a hiss, but then felt something being pressed against his paw. It took a bit, but thank the Gods, the bleeding seemed to slow. At least, enough for him to regain some sense of composure.
He breathed heavily, both trying to tether himself to consciousness and trying to figure out how to explain this not only to Stormstar, but to a very worried-looking Berryshine as well. "This is going to sound like I'm lying," he started, feeling nervousness bubble up in his chest. "But I swear by all the stars in the sky I'm not. And this, unfortunately, proves it." His words were growled softly, lowly. Both for privacy's sake and because it was all he could really get out, what with the blood loss and all.
"After the fight... when we got driven out. I prayed to the heavens and wished with all my being that I could go into battle and defend my Clanmates without fear of getting hurt." He took a shaky breath and blinked. "And it worked. When I'm engaging in battle -- real or for training -- claws and teeth cannot pierce my skin. I'm unkillable, invulnerable. And it makes me feel, alive." Another pause, this time deciding how to speak. Frigidfang looked toward the ground, then back up between his leader and medicine cat. "But it all came at a price. Of course it did," ears flattened as he spat the words like venom. And then, he spoke so softly that he barely even heard himself. "When I'm not in the midst of battle, I'm even more fragile than a newborn kit." It was truly terrifying to say it aloud, to know that one ill-timed blow could send him straight to the heavens. "Hence... that." And now, he sat in silence, vision slowly stabilizing as he refused to meet the eyes of either Stormstar or Berryshine.
When Frigidfang first started speaking, Berryshine's silent but understanding gaze was softened, encouraging him to continue by nodding. But it slowly fell into shock and almost disbelief... if she hadn't just seen the fruits of his wish herself. Blinking incredulously, the medicine cat paused for a moment, trying to process what he spoke. As much as it sounded crazy that a cat could be granted a 'power' like that... she also wasn't one to deny the powers of StarClan and the like. But would StarClan really do such a thing?
"Stars above..." she muttered at first, shaking her head. "S-So this is... a curse?"
Berry only looked away from the tom to paw over some goldenrod, at once beginning to chew it into a poultice, trying not to be distracted by such a premise — of being invulnerable in battle, yet as fragile as a newborn kit otherwise... Ack. Hold on, goldenrod first. Focus. This would clean the wound from anything that might've gotten in it, and she carefully pressed it into his paw, glancing nervously between his eyes and the agitated area. Taking advantage of the fact that she'd seemingly quelled the bleeding, Berryshine then tightly bound cobwebs around the wound, sealing it shut to the best of her abilities.
When it was done, Berryshine carefully sat back on her haunches, staring worriedly at Frigidfang for his response — her gaze seeming to portray a hint of wary fear, as if she was scared to even touch him again, in case one paw prod too hard would crack his bones in two.
Brokenstream and Berryshine supporting her, Larkwing finds herself once again in the medicine den, the sharp and slightly sweet scent of the herbs assaulting her. How medicine cats could stand being accosted by so many different, distinct smells at every hour of the day she would never know.
"Ah- thank- thank you," she manages to hiss out, all but crumpling into the nest they bring her to, her broken leg and tail jostled by the motion. Now that the adrenaline was essentially all gone, the pain is hitting her harder. "Feels- feels like I was just in here," she laughs weakly, trying to make light of the situation, "sorry, I didn't manage to keep my promise to stay out of trouble, Berryshine." A joke. A poor one, but a joke nonetheless.
Cobwebfern is here in the den, too... the young medicine apprentice would probably not find this all that amusing, granted what.... what happened to her own leg. Larkwing shudders, hopefully she wouldn't meet the same fate.
Brokenstream’s frown of concern stayed on his face as he helped Larkwing into the medicine den. ”No need for thanks- get some rest, okay?” He mewed, touching his tail to her shoulder gently as she slid into her nest rather ungracefully. ”You’re in good paws.” The lionheart flashed a proud look at Berryshine and gave Cobwebfern a firm nod, eyes filled with a mixture of sympathy and trust as he looked at the new medicine cat apprentice. If Stormstar trusted her, so did he.
”I’ll leave Larkwing in your capable paws.” The tom said with a respectful dip of his head at the two healers before backing out of the medicine den.
cobwebfern's ears pricked as someone - a few someones- came into the den. she turned from where the meticulous organizing of herbs had kept her busy to see larkwing, brokenstream, and berries entering the den. the apprentice rushed over to where larkwing slumped rather unceremoniously into a freshly made-up nest. ' oh my goodness- what happened? ' cobwebfern acknowledged the head lionheart's nod to her quickly with a nod in return and then turned back to berries and larkwing.
Berryshine was breathing a bit rapidly as she careened into the den just ahead of Larkwing and Brokenstream. She dipped her head gratefully to the Lionheart, grateful for his help and his faith in both she and Cobwebfern. It did a little bit to soothe some of the rising fear she felt swirling in her belly for poor Larkwing. Especially because... something seemed off. She didn't quite want to acknowledge what the back of her mind already knew from being around queens, and didn't have time to focus on it at the moment. Right now, there were a few broken limbs to fix. Berryshine couldn't help but the dark huff of a near-laugh that left her at Larkwing's joke, shaking her head somberly. How she wished the former leader had actually fulfilled that promise to stay out of trouble...
"S-She was out hunting with Salamanderpaw, who crossed the ThunderClan border... Larkwing went to fetch her, b-but... a patrol or something was there. T-They attacked her... I think it was the head Hornet I-I've seen, based on how one cat was described. Stars, he didn't go easy," Berryshine explained, concern creasing her brow. She glanced at Cob, taking in a deep breath to settle herself. They hadn't really gotten a chance to do any formal training together yet, so it was time to see what she might know. "You know how to fix broken limbs..?"
As she asked the question, Berryshine pulled out a few larger sticks and wads of cobwebs from the den's storage, as well as a pile of extra leaves she kept around: the main supplies needed to make a splint. Oh, and she grabbed a poppy seed, which she promptly set down by Larkwing's muzzle. For the pain... she was sure the warrior knew that and would be lapping it up shortly. Shuffling her paws to try and get some of her nerves out, she took in a deep breath, glancing at Cobwebfern as if to make sure she was watching for the learning experience (or just a refresher if she already knew).
Carefully adjusting just like how Fawnlight showed her by holding one part of the leg in place, Berryshine narrowed her green eyes in concentration before giving a sharp tug with her small paws — quite a bit of effort on her part, given her small frame and less-than-notable strength. But still, it was enough to pop the bone back into place with a loud pop that made the medicine cat grimace. Ick. That sound was just as unsettling as it was the first time with Caveclaw's leg. As quickly as she could, she assembled the splint together, making a firm splint against Larkwing's leg that was stuck on tight with cobwebs and cushioned by the leaves.
"T-There..." she sighed and sat back, giving the dilute tortoiseshell an apologetic look for the pain she knew she'd just caused. But hopefully, if it was done right, that would be the worst of the pain... unless the warrior went and got herself injured again.
Turning to Cobwebfern, she shook out her legs, trembling even harder now from the effort of containing her nerves and forcing a bone back into place. "Y-You... you wanna do her tail?" She asked quietly, wanting to see if Cob was comfortable to go for it. If she didn't know how exactly, or was just nervous, Berry would be happy to be at her side the entire time.
[ pp perms to write in some of berry helping guide/support cobs if she wants or needs it; if not then go off hehe ]
Re: RiverClan Medicine Cat's Den
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Berryshine is RiverClan's medicine cat! 