'"Berry" Overwhelmed' - Brokenstream & Berrypaw

[korok]

☾ Brokenstream | 23 MOONS | HE/HIM ☽
header & divider by @/Marigoldwhisper



As a small spider scurried past him on the dirt as he lay on his side, an idea popped into Brokenstream's head. 'Spiders...cobwebs! I should see if Mistyshard and Berry-' The tom stopped himself and shook his head. Mistyshard had stepped down. It was just Berrypaw now. 'Then she could definitely use some help.' He continued on with his thought, rising to his paws with a big stretch and a yawn. 'I'll go find her.'

The Lionheart trotted around their temporary camp at the Twoleg Den until he spotted a familiar brown pelt. "Hey, Berrypaw!" He called out as quickened his pace towards her. 'Wait, maybe I should slow down, so it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong.' Too late. Brokenstream slightly skidded past the young she-cat as he made an attempt to slow down. "Sorry about that! Nothing to worry about." He said quickly, hoping he hadn't sprayed the poor medicine cat apprentice with any dirt from his blunder. "I was wondering if you need any help? Well, what am I saying? Of course you do. What I meant to say was, if you need any help at any time, don't be afraid to ask me! I'm more than happy to." He said with a friendly gleam in his eyes, using his own tail to brush some of the dirt off his legs.

"Put me to work, oh wise medicine cat!" He joked. Hopefully she didn't take that sarcastically.

( @squidz - hehe so excited for this, hope u like my pun /silly )

[squidz]

| BERRYPAW |

small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector

[ riverclan mc apprentice | she-cat | 11 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Berrypaw had been cleaning up, replacing the moss in a used nest from a previous sick cat, when she heard the sudden rush of approaching pawsteps. Immediately she whirled around, her fur fluffing out alarm at the sound of her name. Oh no — what was it? Some emergency? Her paw pads were already prickling in anticipation as the tom skidded to a halt in front of her, spraying up some specks of dirt in his wake.

But... Brokenstream quickly assured nothing was wrong. She relaxed, letting out a sheepish laugh. "O-Oh, stars... good," she sighed, her fur flattening once more (and giving her pelt a brief shake to get some of those specks out). "Thought it was gonna be another emergency..."

As Brokenstream went on, she managed a weak but friendly smile on her maw. He seemed... nice. The way he had a cheery sort of vibe while being understanding and helpful. It made her a little less anxious for the fact that she was speaking to a Lionheart on her own.

At his last comment, she tilted her head curiously at his tone. Wise... medicine cat...? "O-Oh... you're joking," she mewed after a moment, giving a little laugh and shaking her head. "I was gonna say, n-not sure how wise I am, heh... b-but it's kind of you to offer," she added with a smile.

She glanced down at the haphazard den, still messy from her last patient, then dropped her gaze to her paws. "W-Well, I... I suppose I have a lot going on, but... I can handle it, really," she assured (a little half-heartedly), trying to put on a brave face. The last thing she needed was more Clanmates doubting her ability, now that she had the entire Clan's healing needs upon her small shoulders. Asking for help wasn't exactly a strong suit of hers either; the last thing the little cat wanted was to feel more like a burden. "B-But... thank you..."

[ @TanghuluCat - broken <3 she can't ask for help easily xD and i love the pun aha!! ]

[korok]

☾ Brokenstream | 23 MOONS | HE/HIM ☽
header & divider by @/Marigoldwhisper



Frowning slightly at her response, the young tom touched his tail to the medicine cat apprentice's shoulder with a soft look on his face. "Of course the Clan trusts you to handle it," He began , tilting his head as he gazed down at her. "But we are a Clan. Clanmates help each other." Taking his tail back, he swiveled his head to look at her makeshift medicine den. "Why don't I help you clean up and maybe you could teach me a few things? You'll be the mentor for a change." He offered with a friendly wink, already beginning to sweep up some debris with his paws.

"You tell me what's still good and what isn't and I'll help you organize." He meowed, trying his best to keep herbs that looked similar together. "After that, I can help you go out and gather some stuff!" Brokenstream continued on cheerily, waving his tail at Berrypaw. After a moment of gathering a few small piles of herbs (or at least what he hoped were herbs and not just random plant pieces), the Lionheart turned back towards Berrypaw, light green eyes sympathetic. "I'm no medicine cat, but as a Lionheart and a member of RiverClan, I got your back." He mewed earnestly, straightening himself and puffing his chest proudly. "Put me to work!"

( @squidz - dw broken is v big bro coded LOL )

[squidz]

| BERRYPAW |

small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector

[ riverclan mc apprentice | she-cat | 11 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Berrypaw's gaze softened at his gentle, friendly insistence, a small half-smile on her maw that actually did reach her weary eyes. His demeanor was settling her inherent nerves; he may be a Lionheart, but seemed pretty down-to-earth and helpful. That... was nice.

She nodded and gave a small purr of appreciation, rising to her paws to help sweet the rest of the debris away from the old nest. Brokenstream was doing a surprisingly good job of putting herbs together, although there was a pile of just ordinary leaves that he'd spent a careful amount of time stacking... she didn't have the heart to tell them they were just tree leaves.

After a little bit, the den was tidy all over again, and she small brown she-cat let out a sigh. "Wow, it... looks better than ever... a-as good as this temporary den can be," she added with slight amusement, giving the golden tom an appreciative glance, especially as he voiced 'having her back'. There weren't many cats who said things like that... it made a little warmth stir in her chest, a sheepish smile crossing her maw. "Ah... t-thank you, Brokenstream," she mewed softly and genuinely.

Then Berrypaw peered at her herb stores with an intrigued huff, humming to herself for a moment. "W-Well... it seems I could certainly use a restock. If you don't mind, o-of course," she added quickly, not wanting to impose. Wait, he'd already offered to help... stars, she wasn't great at this. With a slightly nervous chuckle she tapped her paw against a few items as she named them.

"T-The ones we use the most are cobwebs, which are best collected by wrapping around a stick — otherwise it sticks to your paws and fur, and is yucky," she added with a grimace that hinted at prior experience. "Then moss, of course, which usually grows on trees and rocks by water. We need a lot of that to help stop bleeding... a-and then marigold is helpful, too. These little orange and yellow flowers, growing in bunches... t-they help stop infection when you chew it up into a pulp and put it on a wound. Those three I can never have enough of, so... i-if you're fine with helping me look, of course..."

Berry had been hesitant to go anywhere alone after the 3v1 and the arduous trek to the mountains and back; the trauma of the battle had made her jumpier than ever, even if it was a few moons ago now. So having this nice Lionheart by her side would make her herb gathering a lot less stressful... though she kept that part to herself for now. She didn't need to add any more doubt to the other's minds on her capabilities, that was for sure...

[ @TanghuluCat - HE ISS i love him ;w; ]

[korok]

☾ Brokenstream | 23 MOONS | HE/HIM ☽
header & divider by @/Marigoldwhisper



Chest puffed with pride, Brokenstream licked his chest in an attempt to seem humble. "Any time, Berrypaw." He mewed happily in response, taking a moment to shake some dust and small leaf bits off of his pelt. His whiskers twitched in amusement when she asked him if he didn't mind, but he just purred in response. "Not at all. I'll be Brokenpaw today." He joked, sitting with his tail wrapped around his paws as the young medicine cat apprentice began explaining a few herbs to him.

"Cobwebs and moss are easy enough," He mused, nodding along slowly. "Ah, marigold! I remember you used that to treat me after the battle with the other Clans," Brokenstream mewed, grimacing a little. "Thanks for that by the way- I'm practically good as new." The tom said with a friendly stare. His attention quickly went back to the flower though, a small frown forming on his face as he furrowed his brows, clearly committing the small flower to memory.

"Alright! I think I've got it. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." He mewed cheerily, whisking his tail as he retreated out of the temporary den.

( @squidz - by the end of this rp broken is going to fight people for berry LOL and sorry for shortness !! next one will be more to work with ;; )

[squidz]

| BERRYPAW |

small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector

[ riverclan mc apprentice | she-cat | 11 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Berrypaw purred in amusement as he declared himself 'Brokenpaw' for today, flicking her tail. At his thanks for treating him, she nodded with a sweet little smile, ducking her head a bit. "Oh, glad to hear... it was a lot all at once. I was just praying to StarClan that I didn't screw anyone up, heh... so... I-I'm glad," she repeated, almost awkward but genuine in her response.

At his final statement, she rose to her paws and followed him, silently thanking StarClan he had the right idea about looking out for danger without her needing to say it. Her fears (and trauma) had her a bit jumpier than ever.

As they started to walk out, Berrypaw paused at a somewhat-familiar looking plant. Where had she seen this before...? Oh, yeah! Her dream with Fawnlight in StarClan, when the former RiverClan medicine cat had showed her celandine... whew, that'd been a doozy, to wake up in the middle of the cat afterlife in a dream. Not wanting to think about how disorienting that had been, the young medicine cat apprentice paused, snipping off some stalks of celandine before hurrying after the Lionheart ahead of her, keeping up with the longer-legged warrior.

They were nearing a water source, where moss should be o'plenty, and perhaps some cobwebs. Marigold might be further from the water, but shouldn't be too sparse around here. She paused, sniffing the air as if searching for the pungent flowers with her pink nose.

"Around here we should find some moss, m-maybe cobwebs... keep an eye out for marigold, too!" She advised, giving Brokenstream a nod as she stuck relatively close to him, beginning to inspect the nearby trees and rock for some moss and clawing some into portable balls to take back.

[ +2 moss, +2 celandine - don't mind me getting celandine now for a rp i will need soon xD ]

[ @TanghuluCat - PLSS i love that <3 berry protection squad is thriving ]

[korok]

☾ Brokenstream | 23 MOONS | HE/HIM ☽
header & divider by @/Marigoldwhisper



"Not at all!" He exclaimed, eyes widened in surprise at her words. "You should give yourself more credit, Berrypaw. I know a lot of warriors or apprentices that couldn't handle the pressure as well as you." He purred, touching his nose to her head briefly in comfort. "You're doing great. You'll grow into a great medicine cat." He meowed as he continued picking his way down the path out of camp.

The tom watched curiously as the medicine cat apprentice began plucking at some herbs that she hadn't shown him. "What's that for?" He asked, taking a step forward to sniff at the plant. He wrinkled his nose. It had quite a strong scent.

He nodded in response to her as they approached a river, keeping his eyes peeled. Eventually he spotted a clump of cobwebs wrapped around a small bush and his eyes lit up. Remembering what Berrypaw had told him, he grabbed a small stick with his teeth and began to roll the cobwebs onto it. Once he was satisfied, he trotted back over to the she-cat and dropped the stick at her paws. "I'll come back for this, I think I saw some marigold just up the river." He meowed, bounding just a short distance away so that he wasn't too far away from her.

As he approached the plant, his heart sunk with uncertainty. Cobwebs were easy enough, but he was still no medicine cat. He hurried awkwardly back over to Berrypaw. "Er, sorry Berrypaw. Could you make sure the plant I'm looking at is marigold?" He asked, ears flat with embarrassment.

( @squidz - AHH sorry for the delay!! and i'll leave it up to you whether broken is looking at the right plant or not xD )

[squidz]

| BERRYPAW |

small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector

[ riverclan mc apprentice | she-cat | 11 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Berrypaw shyly ducked her head at Brokenstream's praise and his little nose-touch to her head for comfort. "Ah... t-thank you," she squeaked meekly, praying he was right.

When she'd paused to grab the other plants, she glanced up at Brokenstream, speaking around the stalks in her mouth. "O-Oh, this is celandine... it helps soothes the eyes, among other things. I learned it from Fa-... er, a friend, recently. I'm sure it'll be helpful soon," she mused, deciding that she'd rather not get into the details of her StarClan dream visit — it boggled her own mind enough to remember, let alone trying to explain it. Not like everyone just... talked to dead cats now and then, or got pulled into StarClan itself for a visit.

When Brokenstream bounded off, she nodded to him and quietly, peacefully kept clawing up some moss, even finding her own little cobweb haul in the cleft of a small rock. Berrypaw also used a stick to collect that, not a fan of the stickiness nor the idea of the small spiders running up her paw pads. Ick.

[ +1 moss, +1 cobweb ]

But then Brokenstream was coming back with his ears flattened. At the Lionheart's embarrassed comment, Berrypaw let out a small hum of acknowledgement and nodded, carefully setting down the herbs she'd found and following him back to the flowers he'd found. A lighthearted purr left her as she shook her head, glancing down at the batch of small yellow flowers.

"Ah, no... this one's name I don't know, but is very similar in appearance. It's not marigold," she mewed, pawing the tickseed flowers. But she gave Brokenstream a small reassuring grin. "Heh, i-it's alright... I've definitely mixed those up before, too. But hey, there's a patch of marigold right over near it! See the difference in the petals...? Marigold is more... rounded. With smaller individual petals, all bunched together really closely... and it doesn't smell as, uh... sharp? Pungent? ( do cats know the word spicy? ) as the other flower..."

Berrypaw's nerves seemed to ebb off a little bit as she explained her knowledge, clearly enjoying talking about the various plants and their differences, a little glint lighting up her green eyes that have often been shadowed or too-tired lately.

[ @TanghuluCat - rahh you're all good!! <3 ]

[korok]

☾ Brokenstream | 23 MOONS | HE/HIM ☽
header & divider by @/Marigoldwhisper



Brokenstream nodded thoughtfully as Berrypaw explained the odd plant she had picked...celandine. "Huh...I've never thought about plants for the eyes, but I guess that does make sense." He mused, taking one last sniff at the plant before backing away. "If I find anymore, I'll let you know!" He mewed.

When Brokenstream returned looking flustered, he was glad Berrypaw obliged to follow him further down the river to check his find. He felt his pelt grow hot as the young she-cat let out a lighthearted purr. Clearly, he had been wrong. The tom sat down beside the medicine cat apprentice as she explained the difference between the plant he had found and actual marigold, ears pricked to show he was listening intently. He sniffed the flower he found then the marigold she showed him. "Wow...you're right! You sure do know a lot about herbs, Berrypaw. I mean, I guess that's to be expected, but still!" The Lionheart praised, clearly impressed. He had not failed to notice the renewed light in her eyes when she began teaching him a bit more. Maybe that would be a good way to help her relax more?

"Say, Berrypaw- what's your favorite herb?" Was that a weird question? He hoped not. "Or, er...what's a cool herb fact you learned during your training?"

( @squidz - bless him he's trying xD )

[squidz]

| BERRYPAW |

small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector

[ riverclan mc apprentice | she-cat | 11 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Berrypaw smiled a bit as Brokenstream enthused about her herbal knowledge, shaking her head with something like a bashful duck of her head. "O-Oh, I don't know that much... unfortunately Mistyshard didn't have too much opportunity to teach me everything she wanted to, we've... always had so much going on, w-with the raid and exile and all..."

She trailed off, a note of wistfulness in her voice. Berry missed her mentor dearly, days having been more lonely than not without her, and she certainly was a bit more of a nervous wreck having to handle the entire Clan's healing on her own when she felt incredibly inexperienced and incapable. Not to mention she was still a bit... messed up, let's say, from that raid. But Brokenstream's kind voice broke through her thoughts that had gone foggy, dragging her attention back to him.

At the question, she tilted her head, a curious mrrow leaving her throat. Hm... no one had ever asked her something like that! But it beautifully distracted her mind from the bloody, panicked spiral it often went into when she tried to process the raid, so she gladly leaned into it.

"M-My favorite herb, huh? Hm... heh, I-I don't know too many, but I do think I like marigold the best out of the ones I know. The taste isn't exactly... great when I have to chew it up, but I like that it helps prevent infection, which is really helpful. And it grows everywhere, and... i-it's just really pretty," she added simply at the end with a slightly amused purr, glancing down at the small, orange-and-yellow flowers. The glint in her eye remained, looking a bit enthused as she went on. "I like how it looks and grows in bunches... if it wasn't so useful, I'd line my nest with its petals for some decoration."

Then she glanced up at the Lionheart with a small chuckle, realizing she was rambling, but Brokenstream actually seemed interested — or at least trying to make some sort of conversation. She never really got to talk to Clanmates outside of simply treating them, so this was nice. "As for a, uh, 'cool herb fact'... I figured out that honey doesn't really spoil. A lot of herbs dry out or go bad, but Wisteriawren helped get me some honeycomb awhile ago, and it hasn't gone bad! Guess maybe it just... doesn't. W-Well, since I don't know yet, not sure it's really a fact... but I guess this will be my test to see," she mused lightheartedly, a bit of rare playfulness in her tone at the idea of saving some honeycomb (provided that she wouldn't need it otherwise, of course) as an 'experiment'.

[ @TanghuluCat - I LOVE HIM ]