WindClan Medicine Cat's Den

[Moonraven]

Twilightstar's full ear flickered at Hailpaw's biting words, but again the leader too no offense to them. As prideful as Hailpaw was, Twilightstar figured waiting her out would work best in this situation. It did. She felt some of Hailpaw's weight given to her, but not at much as she was expected. She assumed Hailpaw was being stubborn in her way. It didn't make much sense to Twilightstar, but she'd take what she could get right now. Gingerly, Twilightstar aid the injured molly as they made their way to Cowtuft's den.

The walk was silent, Twilightstar didn't bother with filling the silence with chatter upon seeing how deep in thought Hailpaw was. Everything was so different and new to her as it had once been to Twilightstar. She and the clan had adjusted to everything, but she wasn't sure how Hailpaw would take it. She's been gone for so long that a lot of the cats that she knew weren't even around anymore. She was slightly worried about Hailpaw finding comfort within WindClan again, assuming she'd be staying.

Upon reaching the medicine cat's den, she dipped her head, moving into the dark den underneath the maple tree. She was a little surprised with how spacious the area was, she hadn't bothered visiting the den since it was built. Once Hailpaw took a seat, taking her what little weight she had given Twilightstar, the leader took a few paw steps back and sat down, far enough to give her medicine cats room to work. She would have preferred to rest Hailpaw down on some bedding, but again wasn't going to push it.

The apprentice swiftly leaped into her story. Twilightstar found herself being rather guilty by the end of it. After dealing with ShadowClan's tyranny, Twilightstar had been quite a mess, and she had been without a medicine cat and deputy. She had been dealing with a lot, but that didn't excuse her for not noticing the injuries of her clanmates. If she hadn't drawn attention to the injury, which seeing Hailpaw's personality she wouldn't have, Twilightstar would likely have sent cats out injured to secure borders and hunt after Dawnstar's takeover.

It seemed that failure to acknowledge Hailpaw's wound leg contributed to a whole slew of troubles for her. Kidnapped by twolegs, locked in a strange place, lost, attacked, and seriously injured by ShadowClan. By the end of her tale, Twilightstar's tail was curled up and her ears were flattened against her head. The leader looked quite downcast. "That was quite the story, but first I must apologize for not paying closer attention to you and your leg. I know you said you were fine, but you should have been looked over by someone before being sent out on patrol. That injury plays a vital part in your being taken from WindClan. I am very sorry about that." She meowed sincerely while raising her ears as she heard paws coming towards them.

A young calico appeared all smiles. Twilightstar dipped her head to Lightningpaw in return before the medicine cat apprentice began addressing Hailpaw. She doubted smiles would put Hailpaw at ease, but appreciated the paw's attempt at friendliness. She could feel Lightningpaw's questioning gaze on her, but she gave no explanation until she noticed the large white and black tom make his way over. It was very strange to hear Cowtuft's voice. He didn't normally use it with her, but it must be for Hailpaw's benefit.

As Cowtuft began asking Lightningpaw to fetch some herbs, Twilightstar's tail whisked out from behind her to wrap around her paws. "This is Hailpaw, she was a member of WindClan some seasons back, she was around before you two so it's unlikely you'd know her." Twilightstar began calmly. "She's got taken by twolegs, escaped, but on her way to return to us had the unfortunate luck of running into ShadowClan. Us relocating because of the fire didn't help with the return, but Dustybunny found her wandering around some of our old tunnels and brought her home." Twilightstar told the medicine cats and then gave Hailpaw her full attention once again.

"As she's already introduced herself, that's Lightningpaw, our medicine cat apprentice. The giant fluffball is our medicine cat's Cowtuft, he's normally not big on speak." Twilightstar shifted an inch or two further back to make sure she wasn't blocking her medicine cat's view of Hailpaw or getting in their way. "They're going to have to poke around to heal you, you alright with that?"

Hailpaw had been pretty tense walking with Twilightstar here, it was pretty clear she wasn't comfortable with cats being in her space let alone touching her. She wanted to make sure that her medicine cats were well aware as well as get Hailpaw's consent before they did anything. It wasn't something normal they had to worry about with clanmates considering how close clan cats were to each other, but Hailpaw's been on her own for a while and obviously had to endure a lot. Her being uncomfortable with physical contact made sense.
@Alchemist Kitsune [Lightningpaw] | @x ghostie [Cowtuft] | @Estelle [Hailpaw]

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Lightningpaw |

Large ears perking up as Cowtuft leaned over to whisper at her, Lightningpaw's brow furrowed with a thoughtful glance, uncertain of what to respond. Technically no, she hadn't made any leaps in her treatment. That said, she was still trying. Perhaps being able to test her medications on both Halfpaw and Milkpaw would work better? Yield better results and give her something to move forward to in the event that it is found conclusive that the herbs being tested simply do not work.

"'Fraid nothing conclusive yet. Currently testing out dandelions. Figured the numbing properties might relax the throat enough to provide respite from the coughing fits. If it is an already overly sore throat causing the extending issues, it should help... in theory," she mewed, openly explaining her thought process to both Cowtuft and Halfpaw, turning to look at the apprentice before continuing. "I can't guarantee that it will work, but I can promise you that it will not harm you. Just started testing on the treatment. I'll bring along a dandelion for you to slowly ingest. Hopefully, it will lower the coughing fits in time. They've been going for so long now, I can only assume that it will take a longer term treatment at this point to see results, in any case."

This said, the medicine cat apprentice waited for her mentor to come back from the herb storage before heading there herself. Looking through the bunched herbs, she quickly found what she sought, plucking a single dandelion from the pile. With a grin, she set it down in front of Halfpaw, noticing how nervous the apprentice looked. Once more, she waited for Cowtuft to be done. It would do them no good if she got in the way of his own, more pressing treatment. At least they knew that what he was doing worked!

"Right. Here you go, love," she mewed, nudging the dandelion with her paw towards Halfpaw, providing an encouraging smile while she did. "I want you to chew the herb slowly before swallowing it. We want it to become as mushed as possible so that it hopefully coats as much of your throat as it needs to. If the flavor's not your thing, we can always go over to the fresh kill pile and fetch you a meal to wash off the bitterness, yeah?" she purred, knowing full well most felines preferred to never even put a flower in their mouths, let alone chew it slowly before swallowing it. With any luck, however, this would be the cure both him and Milkpaw needed.

Remembering the older molly, Lightningpaw turned to Rockshard, an assessing look in her eyes. The warrior had provided no information once she'd entered the den, nor said anything at all. Halfpaw she understood. The poor apprentice was scared half to death. If Rockshard was the reason, however, she wanted to find out. One way or another. "What of you, Rockshard? Everything alright there?"

-

@x ghostie [Cowtuft] | @Zei [Rockshard - Halfpaw]
| The dandelions might numb the throat enough to make the coughing not hurt as much, but they will not remove the coughing fits. There is currently a plot ongoing, and Lightningpaw will soon be finding the cure/treatment - depends on how severe - for that! If you wish, I can have Lightning add Halfpaw to the list of cats he is keeping an eye out for once she finds the proper cure? |

[wolfie]

「☆」 THE GENTLE GIANT 「☆」
╰► COWTUFT
he | him ★ massive white tom with black splotches and floppy ears + scar over his neck, burned hindleg, x-scar marks on shoulders; left green eye and right blue eye ★

ೃ⁀➷ @Zei @Alchemist Kitsune

Cowtuft blinked softly at the trembling apprentice, "Cowtuft is just fine, little one...! Formalities are far from needed, " He spoke in a hushed tone to Halfpaw, hopeful that might be able to settle any possible nerves the other was experiencing. Blimey. He hoped it wasn't his size causin' a huff of worry! Wouldn't be surprised but shucks, couldn't do much about that. Still, after the medicine cat finished, he pulled away from Halfpaw, attempting to stay hunched.

He redirected his attention to Lightningpaw, making a hum of acknowledgment while he pondered. Dandelions! A useful flower with numbing properties, and as far as Cowtuft was aware it only affected skin. For some reason, he did not know. Likely wouldn't do anything for the stomach, but the throat was a possibility considering it did affect one's mouth when chewed. "Coughing is quite a strange function we have, " He gestured absentmindedly, thoughts drifting from the main subject at paw.

It was in Lightningpaw's paws (heh) and Cowtuft had no objections. It would either help or would have no effect on Halfpaw. Truthfully, he had apprehension when it came to his apprentice's experiments, but she was being careful. He trusted her. Hmmmm.

it was only when the dandelion was actually administered and Lightningpaw made a small light-hearted comment about washing down the bitter taste with fresh-kill. A gasp came from the splotched medicine cat as his front paws slapped the ground above them and he started to stomp them (lightly) in an excited manner. "Honey!!" He chirped, rising to his paws. "I ought to see.. about collecting honey - my golly.. Little lily, I have forgotten... about it! Good sorts to soothe throats, .. delicious - I do not know about coughing, per se.. " Cowtuft paused, thoughts reeling. He could've sworn Coldamber had told him more about honey, it was just.. never a priority. He forgot it existed.

Another pause. "Dear, .. please, remind me in - the ah, future, to send out a patrol to collect some.. It would be useful to have, .. and perhaps have a beneficial propriety to.. thing..!" Emphasis on thing, it needed a name for it. He only had so many things to call it. Experiment worked but it was quite boring.

He shook his head lightly, right! Distractions, begone! He turned to Halfpaw, "..After you eat.. that dandelion.. then you are all free to go..!" Cowtuft explained, his attention shifting to Rockshard. Right! They weren't all done here, were they?

[vellichor]

Heatherwhisker

With a snort full of all the contempt in the world, the dark brown tabby sauntered into the medicine cat's den and plopped right down into a nest. He didn't waste a second before opening his mouth and spilling his opinions to the whole den. "Allllrighty herby cat, I'm just here because I have to 'get my wounds treated'." He made sure to say that last part sarcastically. "I got hit like, maybe twice, and my head kinda hurts from one guy smacking it a bunch, but other than that I'm ready to get some JUSTICE FOR WINDCLAN!!"

Oh, a new cat to tell his tale to! "While you're doing... whatever it is that you do, let me fill you in on what's going on old buddy pal. So, basically, RiverClan stole a bunch of rabbits. Like, they just crossed the border, grabbed some rabbits and left. Like they knew exactly where they were, and exactly how to hunt 'em! Kinda suspicious if I do say so myself, and I do say so! Anyway, I saw it, and I was furious! I didn't tell anyone because, well, who would believe me?? Everyone's all, 'oh, RiverClan is sooo great and soooo nice, they would neeeever do aaaaanything like thaaaat. Heatherwhisker, you dummy!

"BUT I SAW IT WITH MY OWN EYES!" The tom made a point of shoving his face into Cowtuft's, blinking his orange eyes rapidly. "See, these bad boys? They don't fool me. And so when I heard about some River rats on the border again, I was sure they were gonna steal! So I ran as fast as I could to find them already stopped by one of our patrols! They played dumb, acted like they never even crossed our border. Which, fun fact, they DID, by the way. Saw em. Eyes. Remember?" Heatherwhisker blinked a bit again, gesturing to his face. He wore an expression of annoyance.

"Anyway, I called those idiots out and attacked them! The whooooole patrol had my back, and we were even winning! They were about to admit they stole from us when, dun dun dun! Twilightstar ruins the whole thing!" The lanky tom's tail lashed back and forth. He didn't care if he knocked anything over, he was PISSED! "She has Fallownose DRAG me away from the cats I was beating up -- yeah, you heard me. CatSSSS. Plural. They didn't stand a chance against me. But anyways, she apologized to the PREY THIEVES and just let them go!!! Can she not see that they'll just do it again and again until we're out of prey?! And so when we're starving in the middle of Greenleaf and Twilightstar goes 'Oh, I have no idea why this is happening!!', YOU KNOW WHY. It's because she SHOULDA LISTENED TO HEATHERWHISKSER. Am I right or am I right, herb cat??"

// @x ghostie the Heatherwhisker experience, as promised \\

[Ragwort]

@x ghostie @Alchemist Kitsune (just noticed alchemists question. yes, thats quite alright)

Halfpaw nodded and ate the bitter tasting plant... he gagged a little as he tried his best to keep the foul stuff in his stomach. The Queen Rockshard Gently patted his back with a light paw. "The Problem is, Honestly I'm Worried About Halfpaw... Given his Condition do you think he'll even make it to warriorship?... i'm hoping he does, but... life is never certain" she meowed after watching the apprentice creep away...

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Lightningpaw |

Large ears perking up, Lightningpaw turned rounded eyes on her mentor, caught wholly off guard by his vocalization. Honey? Oh, that wasn't something she'd been taught about at all, was it? She'd heard of it, though. It wasn't a flower, but something else. Honestly, she did not fully understand what it was, other than it had something to do with bees. Fascinated, the young apprentice's whiskers twitched. Would she be able to convince Cowtuft to take her along for another excursion as far as the honey went? She certainly hoped so.

Her heart plummeted as he asked her to remind him to call a patrol to gather some later, knowing that meant she would probably be too busy to ask to join in on some honey seeking adventure herself. No matter. Perhaps it would beneficial to study it up close in the safety of the camp before heading out to find some all on her own. "'Course. I'll talk your ears off 'bout everything and anything honey and bee related that I know of until patrols are sent," she replied with a tone of fake innocence, her eyes glinting with mischief.

Rockshard's voice reminding her to mind herself in front of patients, Lightningpaw's mouth rounded in a small but comprehending oh. The warrior was only worried for the apprentice. That was fair. Halfpaw had been on her mind for some time now, ever since he's openly stated how his mentor was not taking care of his training. And now with his condition, it was only right to be concerned about the tom's future. Determination shining in her blue hues, Lightningpaw stared at the molly in the eyes, her jaw set.

"I dunno if I can heal him, but I can promise you this. I will do what I can. I will not stop until I find a way for him and all of the cats afflicted by the smoke to go back to their daily routines. Be able to run in the wind and just be themselves. We are all clanmates, and me and Cowtuft? We will always look out for you lot. Won't we?" she chirped, her voice turning lighthearted as she mentioned her mentor, giving him a glance and an affectionate smile after speaking. No matter how different the two of them were, they shared one common trait. The wish to see their clan happy and healthy. This was a bond that would always unite them, she was sure of it.

-

@x ghostie [Cowtuft] | @Zei [Rockshard - Halfpaw]
| Will let you know when the second stage of testing begins then, in case you wish to opt into it? The treatment should be found soon after the second stage, too. I'll pm you the details. |

[Snivellus]

Mintkit came inside the med den, wounded and shocked. ''Somebody! Help!'' Glow mewed terrified. ''My mum is in danger!'' Mintkit said.
Glow wounds were deep and bleeding, but luckily none of glow organs were touched.
@x ghostie @Alchemist Kitsune

[Alchemist Kitsune]

| Lightningpaw |

The scent of blood overtook her in an instant. One moment she had been checking the tunnels inside the medicine cat's den, ensuring none needed maintenance. She should really go see Dustbunny about learning how to tunnel herself, if only to not bother the tunneler whenever there was any need for a small patch up. She would probably still prefer the expert to come in and ensure the safety of the den every so often, but doing some work on it herself would prove fruitful. These thoughts were gone from her mind in a flash, however, as a wounded kit came bounding into the den. Glow was covered in blood, and deep gashes covered glows chest and back at a mere glance. Odds were that there were more wounds judging by the amount of blood in display.

Rushing towards the kit, she quickly recognized glow as Mintkit, Leafpelt's sole surviving kit from her last litter. Almond shaped hues grew round as the young kit spoke. Glows mother was in danger. They had to go help... but... what had happened? Had someone invaded the camp? Had Leafpelt taken Mintkit out of the camp while there was a direct order against doing such a thing? Or had Mintkit ventured out on glows own? Some kits did tend to have a bit of an adventurous streak. There were more pressing matters to attend to, however. Such as where Leafpelt was. And what herbs to take with her.

"Cowtuft! Cowtuft! Come quick! It's Mintkit and Leafpelt! We've an emergency!" the calico called out to her mentor, knowing she wouldn't be able to head out alone. Not only that, but someone had to take care of Mintkit as well! Those wounds were no joke.

Making quick, mental stock of what they had in their inventory, Lightningpaw worried at her lower lip, her whiskers twitching. She would need cobwebs, marigold, and dandelion. They were pitifully low on both cobwebs and dandelions. She would need to ask Cowtuft if she could head out with a warrior later to restock their supplies. For now, however, she needed to concentrate on Mintkit's well being. And finding out what had happened to Leafpelt as well!

"Now, take a deep breath, love. I need you to tell me... where's your momma? Can you do that for me?" the apprentice asked, her voice soft as she attempted to soothe the young kit. They would be unable to help Leafpelt if they couldn't locate her at the very least.

-

@x ghostie [Cowtuft] | @Light000 [Leafpelt -Mintkit]
| Haven't had Lightning go get any herbs. Waiting for Cowtuft to arrive and give instructions on how to proceed, in case he prefers keeping the dandelion for Leafpelt's potential injuries. |

[Snivellus]

''She... she is in the border of camp... A big bird!'' Mintkit said with a shaky voice. Glow fell on glow side, still conscious but weak and breathing heavily while tears where falling from glow eyes.
@x ghostie @Alchemist Kitsune

[Estelle]

⚜ Hailpaw ⚜
She / Her
lithe silver classic tabby with light blue almond-shaped eyes
ততততত

Hailpaw could not bring herself to face the leader, her face downcast and expression hardened. It was truly embarrassing the way she handled herself, disgraceful if anything. She should’ve done better, then she would not have been in this position in the first place. But the silver WindClanner knew all too well that time was not something that could be returned, nor did she waste her time wishing it could be changed. That was for kittens, and she had long outgrown that stage. Though when the scarred leader spoke, a certain guilt engulfed her once more.

“Hardly, you needn’t apologise”
Scoffed the apprentice, eyes remaining on the floor next to her.
“You needed warriors to go on patrol, I was capable of going. You had more to worry about than some pesky leg injury of a single apprentice.”
If anything, it was that Coldamber who needed to apologize for leaving her clan behind when they needed her. Truly, she didn’t understand why Twilightstar felt the need to apologise. She’d been capable of walking… Well enough, that was no reason to skip out on a patrol when the clan needed it. Still, perhaps some part of her appreciated it.

No sooner had she finished her lengthy tale of woes, did a young looking cat with a cheerful smile appear in the den’s light. Hailpaw’s head warily lifted to observe the feline, far too young to be the medicine cat, yes? It must be an apprentice, then, acting as though she were at home in this den. That’s what it seemed like, at least, and he theory was soon proven right as Lightningpaw introduced herself. Only Hailpaw could not muster a smile in return. Her expression remained blank, only giving a subtle greeting nod as her manners forced her to do. Though in truth, she pleasantries was the last thing on her mind.

Then came another feline. Large, older looking than the apprentice and with a voice so soft you’d almost not hear it; both were unfamiliar to Hailpaw. She might’ve seen them around before, but neither face was committed to memory. Case point was that the unfamiliarity did not help her feel more comfortable, and stubbornly so, Hailpaw was struggling to speak to them. Her maw sealed tightly shut, light blue eyes looked down again when Cowtuft spoke once more. Stars she needed to stop acting like whiny child – she was better than this!

And yet, there was a certain relief the apprentice felt when Twilightstar spoke for her. Some of the visible tension left her shoulders as the leader introduced her, and briefly recounted her story. It was as though some obstacle had been moved aside for her, now. Secretly Hailpaw stole a glance at Twilightstar, gaze quickly turning away again when the leader’s attention returned to her. Though when she was directly spoken to, she couldn’t do anything else but turn to face Twilightstar again, light blue eyes coming to cautiously look at Lightningpaw, then Cowtuft, as they were being introduce.

And then, the dreaded question. Of course she knew the medicine cats would have to poke around her in order to take care of these wounds, that did not mean she would enjoy it. Although thinking she’d be indifferent to it at first, Hailpaw was slowly realising that wasn’t quite the case. In fact, the mere thought of someone touching her proved to be rather uncomfortable. Even so, she did not plan on being a difficult patient. Reluctantly, she nodded lightly in agreement, allowing them to come closer.


[ @Moonraven @x ghostie @Alchemist Kitsune ]