Oakkit listened to the orange tom with interest. Poppies are orange and red with dark spots then? Oakkit was about to thank the tom for the explanation, but before she could he continued. Poppyseeds are simple then, just seeds with poppies nothing too complicated, that's a relief. Though Oakkit was a bit worried about Poppykit, he seemed overly cautious about what he was saying. ''Oh! That explains a few things, you don't have to-''
Oakkit was cut off by Wolfhawk starting to answer the many questions that were asked. It started simple enough, Poppies turn out to be red flowers and the common characteristic of poppy and foxglove seeds are that they both are black in color. Deathberries and foxglove seeds grow everywhere, foxglove seeds in particular slow down the heart, that started to unnerve Oakkit and it got worse... turns out some purple flower that's named meadow saffronis is just straight up death with the added bonus of stomach pain. And water hemlock roots... poison PAWS, so you aren't safe even if you don't eat it?
Oakkit started to feel a bit lightheaded imagining all the ways a cat could die, because they just wanted to take a flower or go into some reeds to... hide. After a moment Oakkit realised that she didn't finish what she wanted to say to Poppykit. Warily Oakkit continued ''...so, I just... wanted to say... that you don't.. worry- have to be worried... about... not.. uhh... knowing about plants that much... you aren't a medicine cat...''
Poppykit
(No Header Yet)/ Male / 1’ish Moon / ThunderClan / Orientation Unknown
Longhaired tom-kit with a vibrant, pastel coloured pelt of primarily red-orange, with cream and red tabby patches. Unusually tiny in size, his ears are large, his tail is long, and he has bright blue eyes.
“I promise I understand, you tried your hardest. I simply couldn’t tell.”
~ Poppykit, 6/100
✽❀✽
The red-orange tom-kit could still feel humiliation flowing coldly throughout his body, aching his head and tugging down his heart. It was quite a shame he lacked knowledge of his own namesake, and even more disappointing that he had not out the effort in to learning it beforehand. With the amount of characters in this clan that truly understood and could identify the appearance of a poppy, he had not asked even one of them? What more was there to say other than… ‘sorry, whoops?’ But after a brief pause, Poppykit felt a slight flicker spark through his blue gaze when a less self-deprecating thought crossed his mind. He glanced down towards his paws. In my… defense, I suppose I was also named after a deceased apprentice, I’m pretty sure… Poppypaw, it was. If anything, that is the information I would probably be given directly if I were to question Drizzlecloud, or some other queen that I am familiar with, on the subject of my name. Yikes. Still, the embarrassment for not going out on his own to figure things out by himself ate at the little tom-kit’s heart, until he could feel his ears creeping back to the top of his head, laying flat. The longhaired pessimist turned his head stiffly listened warily as ThunderClan’s medicine cat began to go over questions, tossing out answers and going over things. Poppykit let the information pass through his head casually, but somewhere down in the pit of his chest, he could still feel the pressure of the previous situation swarming him, until finally, Wolfhawk’s voice made way for Oakkit’s. When the she-kit sounded from beside him once again, Poppykit’s eyes shot wide and his ears perked, and awkwardly, the young tom moved his head just slightly to hear and see her. With some hesitancy, his denmate attempted to reassure him that it was alright that he did not know this information. Poppykit fought the urge to turn and face the floor again, and with a faulty attempt of his own at a positive mindset, he listened to her. Oakkit told him that she just wanted to say that he did not have to worry about not having the amount of plant knowledge he would have liked to have, as he was not a medicine cat. Poppykit felt his heart lift just slightly, and his eyelids fall more casually over his eyes. The jumpiness and restless anxiety faded from his face, making way for his still and sleepy resting face. With a small nod of his head, Poppykit prepared to thank his denmate, grunting to clear his voice. However, Wolfhawk’s voice decided to materialize again just before he found the chance to speak clearly. As his heart beat began to pick up the pace again, Poppykit’s leaned over to Oakkit and whispered as quietly as he could, “R…ight, thanks! Sorry, thanks-” before shifting back into his usual listening position and eyeing the medicine cat with focus and awareness.
Circling back a little bit to when Wolfhawk was going over the questions that everybody had thrown at him, Poppykit had been listening as best as he could, despite the whirling discomfort in his stomach. Firstly, the medicine cat started to go over the difference between poppies and foxglove plants, a popular question that Poppykit himself had tried to ask the older character. The tiny and pastel-colored kitten raised his head to listen as Wolfhawk covered this information, letting everybody know that the key difference between poppyseeds and foxglove seeds were the places where they originated, the flowers themselves. Then to Poppykit’s disappointed, ThunderClan’s medicine cat told them that he had not actually been taught what foxglove plants look like, only the seeds. However, he seemed to know how poppies looked. Poppykit found himself staring up at the three-legged feline with his eyes wide and sparkling with an obvious interest. The medicine cat described poppies as red flowers with many seeds. Then finally, he told the crowd that just so long as they were getting their seeds from a red flowers, they should be good to go. Poppykit tilted his head downward to properly absorb the information. Alright. So foxglove flowers look like… blank, but… their seeds look almost, if not completely, identical to poppyseeds, and POPPY flowers are red ones with a high amount of seeds. This makes some sense I think I’m catching… on. Poppykit blinked, and looked up to hear out the rest of the medicine cat’s answers as he continued. Nest came Peachpaw’s question, which most would consider a bit more… morbid. However, Poppykit remained unfazed. He even wondered to himself why the question had not entered his own head up until now, and when Wolfhawk began to explain, he felt more curiosity move through him.
The brown-furred tripod went over the effects of these poisons, telling the crowd that he was not completely sure, but most of the, probably led to pretty quick deaths. Poppykit blinked, and proceeded to listen with interest. Wolfhawk explained that foxglove seeds caused difficulties with the heart, slowing it down until it stops beating completely. He added that it was certain death for anybody. At the sound of this, Poppykit promised himself he would be careful sniffing around at random, mysterious flowers that appeared to contain poppy seeds. When Burnedpaw’s question arose, Poppykit looked at the older cat for a moment, before returning to facing ThunderClan’s medicine cat. Wolfhawk then told them that while there were some poisons that grew in specific areas, some that he would describe to them momentarily, the previous poisons that he had gone over could be found just about anywhere. At this, the medicine cat’s continued, and Poppykit took a deep breath. Lots of information coming my way here, but the more the merrier, I suppose. At least I’m learning here, yes? The small and fluffy tom-kit took the last information, moved it aside a bit, and made way for new information and description to be placed in his waiting head. With a mind freshly ready to aborda even more information, Poppykit blinked again, and with a small yawn that he didn’t bother to fight back, he allowed his attention to land on the young medicine cat once again. Well, the more you know, the better. Here we go. Wolfhawk told that that next was Meadow Saffron. In spite of the fact that they were poisonous, according to the medicine cat, the flowers were beautiful things, pale purple flowers and long, slender, and soft petals. They had long and thin leaves, similar to grass blades. Then came the effects on the body. Poppykit listened carefully as Wolfhawk described that if consumed, Meadow Saffron would cause your stomach to feel as if it was twisting with pain, and your body would weaken until death. The young medicine cat warned that the plant had no medical uses for them, and it’s only real purpose was death. Poppykit even asked himself why they hadn’t tried to get rid of this poison yet, and why it still hung about the area. Ultimately, he decided that he did not have the knowledge or right to question such things, and with a small sigh, Poppykit moved on to listening once again.
Next came Water Hemlock. Wolfhawk described this plant as having tall, hollow stems with little white flowers. He informed that that its roots were thick and pale, and the plant had a sharp scent. Poppykit put the picture in his head for a moment, and then he moved on, fighting the strong urge to nod along form his spit in the crowd awkwardly as the medicine cat spoke. The brown-pelted medicine cat said that water hemlock grows near the water, hiding in the reeds, and one should be careful because the roots could poison your paws. In addition, he explained that even a single bite could cause seizures and foaming at the mouth. It almost always led to a quick death. Poppykit forced this image from his head, but not because he found it disturbing. Actually, he was sad to find that he did not find any of this at all disturbing, only informative. As much as the tiny tom-kit wished he could feel unsettled when listening to the long list of ways somebody could be killed off but he nature surrounding them, something never seemed to click right in his head, and everything was just too interesting. Briefly, Poppykit gave the crowd a quick scan, his mood sliding downward again as the hair on his neck rose. He knew it was not true, but the idea that somebody could read his mind and realize that he was struggling to feel as empathetic as he wanted to made him feel deeply unsettled, chilling his bones. Finally, Poppykit reassured himself that what he considered to be some, ‘Good Ethical Understanding’ would simply come with ángel and if he could just wait, things would be just fine. He faced ThunderClan’s medicine cat once again. This time, when Wolfhawk asked the crowd if they had any questions, slowly, the kitten shook his head and waited rigidly to hear if anybody else disagreed.
✽❀✽
__________________
Leaving quickly due to permanent, unexpected events in the real life. Love and miss you all.
| Sprucejumper | 14 Moons - ThunderClan Warrior
Kitty Softpaws [T2] - Active | Ultimate Predator - Inactive | Agatha Kitty - Inactive | Not Skiddin' Around - Active
It took everything within Sprucejumper's brain to not yawn as sleep threatened to overcome him. It wasn't that he was bored, per se, although his eternally half lidded expression would hint at that. He just... didn't really understand much of what the herb cat was saying. At the end of the day, he figured he would leave this impromptu lesson much the same way as he had begun it. With the knowledge that plants bad, fresh meat from a delicious squirrel good.
Even with the knowledge that he would probably never really memorize any of these herbs well enough to remember which grasses were safe for consumption and which were not, the young warrior made a note of their names. So far they had foxglove, meadow saffron, and water hemlock. Meadow saffron in particular sounded terrible. It wasn't like the former housecat had any intention of ever going around doing his best impression of a bunny and eating any and all grass he found at proximity, but the idea that something that looked so close to grass could turn you into a corpse was downright terrifying. Never mind the whole StarClan meeting nonsense. The silly stories these cats spoke of cats going to the stars when they died was hardly the right way to address this for kits in his eyes. No. Tell the truth, damn it! You fall to the ground and never get up again. What could be more terrifying than that?
| Openish |
__________________
Lightningstorm is WindClan's current medicine cat.
She has a semi-closed den policy.
- Wolfhawk -
- He/They - 10 Moons - ThunderClan Medicine Cat -
- A large dark brown tom with a darker back and lighter underbelly, a missing hind leg -
Wolf is not out as demi yet !!
The first question brought a look of confusion upon the young medic's face. Wolfhawk looked at specklekit, taking a deep breath before speaking. "That is not something you need to know, and I don't know how that relates to poisons," they told the kit, shuffling their front paws. The brown medic then turned to C/loverpaw, hiding his annoyance behind a straight face. "as I said before, if I don't say where something grows, assume it grows everywhere," they spoke before turning to the next cat who had a question - Burnedpaw. Wolfhawk shook his head. "Not that I know of. I would say be careful when treading around water hemlock, and just to be safe, wash your paws. But don't touch it or anything around and you should be good," the young tom said. Although he wasn't told that, it was a good inference he could make.
Now that there were no more questions, Wolfhawk would move on. "The final one i know of is Glowing Mushrooms. They grow deep in shadowy forests, and as their name suggests, they glow faintly in the dark. Their caps are rounded and are either pale green or blue, and are scentless. This is probably one of the most dangerous ones there are, as even the air around them is toxic. If you linger for too long you can start to feel dizzy, disoriented, and lost. If eaten, they bring a painless death. Do not approach them, no matter how beautiful they are.
That was the last herb I was taught. If you have no further questions, you may go. If you have some questions, I'm more then happy to answer," Wolfhawk said, shuffling his paws.
This is the last post, you can have your cat respond and if
there questions I will respond with Wolf, otherwise
there are no more poisons to learn
x ghostie is haunting this signature
Bean's favorite staff member Lillian was here
lio sneezed here (achoo)
you see crude graffiti... it spells "velli wuz here"
Rose caught the sickness (oh dear)
fade summons a prowler to chase rose
Glowing mushrooms! Flowerhawk liked the sound of—never mind. The idea of luminescent fungi wasn’t so cute when simply breathing around them was dangerous. Since that was all, Flowerhawk padded off to find something else to do.
Cloverpaw shivered of fear of the glowing mushroom and mewed “well, I better keep a look out for them!” It made her stomach turn uneasy hearing about them (Open Rp)
Smokefang, the double faced ThunderClan Warrior
He/Him
The tom's eyes narrowed as the last herb was mentionned.
Inside of his mind, the devious grin of his twisted side that had been there almost the whole time became even bigger...
A painless death huh?
Sounded interesting... Altough it seemed highly dangerous for himself too. Hmm... If he used that... Perhaps... No.
Maybe if he used someone else... No, too dangerous... Wouldn't be something easy to do... Impossible even. Tssk... He could use an Outsider that didn't knew about those plants... Oh! Maybe he was onto something...
A twisted idea popped into his mind, and Smokefang almost lost his composure. He shifted silently in his corner before standing up and approaching Wolfhawk.
"I have a question, you said about the Glowing Mushrooms that if eaten they can be lethal, is someone carrying it in mouth can be considered lost if treatment is not found? If a treatment exists at all..."
The tom asked, feigning a curious tone and keeping his darkest side at bay.
"I am ash... I am embers... My flames once danced bright. My flames now fade... But it returns from the depths... The fire devours me whole... It's the birth of something greater..."
OAKKIT / 3 MOONS / SHE-CAT
Oakkit nodded along to Poppykits... thanks and apology? Continuing to listen to Wolfhawk, Oakkit had mixed feelings about water hemlock. On one paw you can't know whether the roots have poisoned your paws, but on the other the remedy for water hemlock poisoned paws is just to wash the paws.
Glowing Mushrooms. The name sounded foreboding to Oakkit and it's characteristics didn't make Oakkit feel better. Found in shadowy forests, scentless, they make the AIR toxic, making breathing a safety hazard and the effects may include feeling dizzy and lost.
But when Oakkit tried to think of how the Mushroom looks like she thought of a question. Hoping that she will be loud enough for Wolfhawk to hear Oakkit asked. ''You said they glow during the night... so during the day are they just green and blue mushrooms? Why aren't they called green-blue mushrooms that glow in the night?'' It would be so much easier to remember that way.
Kestrelkit’s ears twitched as Wolfhawk began to explain the differences between poppyseeds and foxglove. She leaned forward slightly, her small frame taut with concentration. His words painted a picture of the plants in her mind, though it was more a blur of color and sensation than a fully formed image. She saw the vibrant red of poppy flowers, bright as strawberries, with seeds that were safe and soothing. Then her mind conjured something darker and more sinister for foxglove—imagined, not seen—a tall, looming plant with blossoms shaped like bells that might whisper doom into unsuspecting ears. Her fur prickled along her spine at the thought. Her mismatched eyes—one pale blue, the other a warm, jade hue—narrowed as she considered the key point Wolfhawk was making. Look at the flower. That was the difference. Her mind turned this over, her thoughts racing. She imagined herself in the future, standing before a patch of seeds. Would she know for certain that they had come from poppies? What if the flowers had wilted, their petals scattered by wind or rain? What if there were only seeds—tiny, black, deadly seeds—and nothing else to guide her? The weight of this new knowledge pressed into her like a paw against her chest. The world is full of sharp things, a lesson she hadn’t fully understood until now. She knew about the dangers, of course. Kits were always warned to stay away from any sorts of rivers or avoid certain parts of the territory.
But those dangers were external, clear, and obvious—the rush of water, the claws of a hawk. Poison was different. It hid in beauty. It waited quietly in the guise of safety. She shivered, her tiny paws tucking even tighter beneath her chest, as though by folding herself smaller she could keep the danger from reaching her. When Wolfhawk turned to answer Dawnpaw’s question, Kestrelkit’s ears flicked forward again, her gaze unwavering. She felt the pull of the words, as though they were strings drawing her deeper into a tangled web. Tiny black seeds. The repetition of this truth struck her harder than before. Her mind filled with vivid images—a careless paw knocking seeds loose, a kit’s curious nose sniffing at them. The sight of foxglove seeds spilling into soft, dark earth blurred with the imagined safety of poppy seeds. In her mind, the two danced perilously close, indistinguishable from one another. The air seemed heavier, her breaths coming slower. Then came Peachpaw’s question, and the answer that followed hit her like a claw to the heart. The poison slows down the heart’s beating until it stops completely. Certain death for anycat. The words echoed in her mind, chilling and final. Death was not a concept she fully understood.
This was death as a creeping thing, slow and relentless. It wasn’t a fierce blow or a heroic end. It was the quiet cessation of a heartbeat. She pressed herself deeper into the snow, her body still, as though any movement might bring the danger closer. The lesson continued, and her thoughts grew heavier with each passing moment. Meadow saffron, with its pale purple flowers and soft petals—it sounded almost lovely. Almost. She imagined it swaying gently in the breeze, its delicate beauty concealing the twisting pain it would bring. The idea of a flower that existed solely for death seemed wrong, a terrible mockery of life. Her chest tightened as she thought of the cats who might stumble upon it unknowing, their fates sealed by a single, innocent bite. She looked down at her own paws again, small and gray, and for the first time felt the terrible weight of choice pressing against her. A single misstep, a single wrong decision, could carry consequences too great to imagine. When Wolfhawk described water hemlock, the fear within her shifted into something colder and sharper—a blade of knowledge cutting through the soft, safe world she had once believed in. Hollow stems, tiny white flowers, and thick, pale roots with a sharp scent… The words carved themselves into her memory, as if they were claws scoring the walls of her mind.
She could almost smell it—the imagined sharpness stinging her nose—and feel the danger hiding among the reeds. She pictured herself stepping into the shallows, the cold water lapping at her paws, only for poison to seep into her skin like an unseen predator. Her stomach churned at the thought. The description of seizures and foaming at the mouth made her heart race. She had never seen such a thing, but the imagery painted by Wolfhawk’s words brought it to life with terrifying clarity. Her mind filled with a scene of a cat thrashing wildly, their body wracked with violent spasms, foam flecking their lips as their life slipped away. The sharp, bitter edge of fear tasted like ice on her tongue. She swallowed hard, her throat dry, as the truth settled deeper into her bones: the world was not as safe as it had seemed. Wolfhawk asked for more questions, and Kestrelkit remained silent. Her thoughts churned with too many things, tangled and knotted like brambles in her mind. How could cats like him bear such knowledge? How could they carry the weight of knowing all the ways the world could kill? She felt small, her paws pressing into the snow as if trying to root herself to solid ground. But the weight of understanding was there now, settled deep inside her like a stone. She would not forget.
Kestrelkit’s small ears twitched as Wolfhawk responded to Specklekit’s question with a vague dismissal, a flicker of confusion momentarily dancing across her face. She could feel a pang of disappointment ripple through her chest, her natural curiosity unsatisfied by the young medicine cat’s curt answer. The idea of forbidden knowledge—something that wasn’t meant for her to understand—only made her wonder more about what lay beyond the surface of things. What did it have to do with poisons? Her mind raced with possibilities, weaving a web of connections her paws were far too small to grasp just yet. The unknown was a tantalizing thing, and her imagination filled in the blanks with ideas both fanciful and ominous. When Wolfhawk addressed Cloverpaw next, Kestrelkit’s attention refocused, her keen mismatched eyes narrowing slightly as she considered the medic’s words. The notion that some dangers could be found anywhere sent a small, involuntary shiver up her spine. The world beyond the camp seemed even larger and more perilous than before, a vast wilderness brimming with unseen threats lurking in the shadows and reeds. She imagined herself wandering through a forest where every petal, leaf, and droplet of water could harbor death. Her paws pressed a little more firmly into the ground as if trying to anchor herself from the dizzying sense of enormity that swept over her.
As Wolfhawk moved on, the next poison captured her imagination entirely. Glowing mushrooms. The very name sent a thrill of fascination through her small frame, her breath catching as she pictured the eerie beauty of a dark forest illuminated by a faint, ghostly glow. She could almost see the mushrooms in her mind’s eye—tiny beacons of pale green and blue, their caps like silent lanterns in the shadows. But the allure quickly twisted into something darker. The idea that even the air around them could kill made her stomach churn with unease. A poison you couldn’t touch, taste, or even smell… The thought was chilling. How could something so beautiful be so deadly? The image of cats becoming dizzy, lost, and swallowed whole by the darkness filled her mind. It was a terrifying, quiet death that seemed to creep in without warning. Her heart pounded as she imagined standing alone in that shadowy, glowing place, her paws frozen to the ground while the air grew heavy and thick. A vivid sense of disorientation washed over her just thinking about it, and she instinctively shook her head, trying to dispel the unsettling feeling. Her eyes darted to Wolfhawk as he concluded his lesson, the weight of his final warning pressing heavily on her young mind. The world suddenly felt far more fragile, as though beauty itself could betray her. She remained still for a long moment, her thoughts tangled in the haunting image of those glowing mushrooms and the silent, scentless death they carried.
Then, a sharp pang of resolve sparked within her. Knowing these dangers wasn’t a burden—it was a shield. The knowledge Wolfhawk shared wasn’t meant to terrify; it was meant to protect. And if she could remember it—truly remember it—she would never be caught unaware. She would be careful. She had to be careful. Finally, she exhaled a soft breath, her chest rising and falling with the weight of her newfound understanding. She didn’t have any questions—her mind was too full, too overwhelmed with everything she had already learned. But she would remember. Every word, every description, every chilling detail. Because this knowledge wasn’t just interesting. It was life or death. And even if she was just a kit now, one day, she would step into the world beyond the nursery. And when she did, she would be ready.
(closed)
__________________
━━━━━━━━┛ ✠ ┗━━━━━━━━ “No disrespect, ma'am, but there's a big difference between pushing yourself as hard as you can and just being reckless. And if being reckless is what gets rewarded around here, if that's what it means to be a Wonderbolt, then I don't want any part of it.”
⊱ my carrd ◦ future roleplay tracker ◦ future character bio ⊰
━━━━━━━━┓ ✠ ┏━━━━━━━━
its so lonely here wheres the graffiti
Last edited by iliri; January 7th, 2025 at 07:13 PM.
Spiderlingpaw
[ 6/7 moons | She / Her | Thc Apprentice ]
Ohh... They certainly were dangerous, all those herbs! Spiderlingpaw listened intently to the lesson, noting each name, poison and danger in a corner of her mind that found something exciting within these herbs they weren't allowed to touch. She wondered what they would look like in person... Did they have odd smells too? She wondered if her dad knew about these. She would have to ask him about it. Heh, another reason to go pester him!
__________________
Sleepysunrise is ShadowClan's current Medicine Cat.
She has a Semi-Closed den policy.