Of Living, Learning, and Surprising Consequences to Eating Random Plants

[Abyssopelagic]

】【Sedgestorm: The Moon, Reversed
Purrk- Sunburned* : Rogue, he/him】【

Okay, time to go out and possibly poison himself. That seemed like a bright idea to do just because he was waiting for a new development regarding his patient.
Self judgement aside, Sedgestorm was growing increasingly fed up and bored with feeling as if he was wasting time.
So, he decided to act on his bright decision to eat random plants to see if they did anything useful.

He'd supposed he'd start with trees. They were the easiest thing to find, so why not?
Identifying one tree from the next was more difficult, but something that was doable if he stared at the tree bark for long enough. Perhaps it would be an easier endeavor if the leaves hadn't long since fallen from their perches, but alas, the snow had long since made sure to strip the great beasts bare.
Staring at the first tree he came across, Sedgestorm decided that what he was looking at was an oak tree, and made a mental note of it before stretching up, and using a claw to help remove the bark from where it stubbornly held to its host.
His prize fell soundlessly into the snow at his paws and he grumbled unhappily as he had to snuffle around the blindingly stark powder. When his snout brushed against the tough crumbles of oak wood, he carefully guided his mouth to gather up what could be found.
Once satisfied with the amount of bark he'd found, he trotted to a less snow covered area before he began chewing upon the bark.

 

As the juice from the bark was released, an aching in one of his back teeth he hadn't even realized was there alleviated.
Blinking in surprise, Sedgestorm's chewing faltered for a moment as he processed this. So oak bark.... Was good for tooth aches.
Good to know.
Perhaps it could also be used for other mouth issues?
Even if he was confused where this ache had come from and how it had hidden itself from him.
Well, it was good for chewing, so now he needed to know if it had anything useful to offer if he swallowed it.
It was harder to chew out more juice without crushing the bark to the point he couldn't spit out the splinters, but he managed it. As arduous as a task it was.
He prepared himself mentally before drinking what little bit of bark juice there was and waited.
And waited.
He counted away the minutes, waiting for anything and when nothing happened, no magical healing of a new and unnoticed pain or causing him any harm, he sighed and picked himself up, preparing to head to the next tree when a sudden flare of stomach pain wracked through his body.
Gasping quietly, he allowed himself to lower to the ground as he fought with the agonizing pain cramping within his system. And it didn't get better as his body processed it.
Eventually, to his relief, it did pass, and he was left a panting, sweating mess where he lay. As he picked himself up, he made a very clear, very strict note to himself.
Do not injest oak bark.
Never again.

 

It took him a long while to find a tree that didn't look suspiciously similar to an oak. If it weren't for his aging bones, he might have leapt for joy. Choosing to be considerate of the only body he had, he opted to instead get to work on harvesting the bark.
As he pulls the bark from the thatch of the tree, he recognizes it as elm and wonders what this tree has in store for him.
As he chews and finds nothing of particular note, he spits out the inedible portion of his terrible little snack.
He hesitates, remembering the pain caused by the oak bark. He tries his damnedest to compare the flavours of what is currently sitting in his mouth, and what had caused earlier pain but finds all his brain is processing is the urgent need to get this yucky substance out of his mouth.
He shivered in anticipation before finally swallowing the bark juice, squeezing his eyes closed. He did not receive pain.
Even as he waited, the agony did not hit.
Finally, he opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.
Panic began to settle in however, when all that came out of his nose was a harsh, stuttering whistle. He coughed, unsure of how else to react when he became acutely aware of the stuffy feeling in his nose.
Even as he breathed through his mouth, his lungs felt heavier, thicker somehow.
This is...
Not what he had planned.
Great. Just lovely.
What could possibly happen next?

 

Understandably, our poor and unfortunate protagonist was reluctant to continue forward with his quest upon seeing the next unusual tree. Cringing, he approached the tree, and went through with the process.
The first thing he noticed that upon chewing the bark alone, the flow of saliva was already thickening and eventually was beginning to threaten to spill out of his mouth as he tried to breathe without his nose.
He hated it all. Why was everything working against him?
Ugh, yuck.
Even as he sat and waited for whatever random effects to hit him, he felt a steady pulse of dread in his heart. Until the upset stomach from eating the oak bark began to ease up.
Ears perking, he focused more intently on any extra effects of the one plant that seemed to be useful today. No, nothing....
It seemed his luck had run out.
Sighing, he picked himself up began trekking onwards when a sudden pressure in his gut hit him. Erm, well, it seemed he found his second effect, even if it was also one he wasn't sure he knew could be considered useful.
It was a pressing issue at the moment, so he opted to press forward.

 

The last two barks of the day were, mercifully, uneventful tastings. They did not enhance any of the issues caused by previous curiosity and for that Sedgestorm was thankful....
But also perhaps a bit disappointed.
He'd learned little of use. Well, of immediate use. He was sure anyone creative enough could find a use for his previous findings, but he doubted that he was the person to find that use.
All it did was cross out ideas and meant he was that much closer to having to start trying the plants that were far more likely to be dangerous.
But that was for another day.
For now, he needed to return to his patient and hope nothing had turned up in the time he was gone.

 

Oak Bark
Help with tooth aches!! Must try for other mouth issues
DO NOT EAT, Very Painful!!

Elm Bark
Makes nose stuffy and chest feel puffy, a yucky feeling
Might have a use? Not sure what anyone gets from having extra slimy lungs

Ash Bark
Lot's of spit, probably shouldn't be combined with elm bark
Possible use? Unknown
Also loosens bowels

Birch and Maple Bark
Disappointing
Safe to eat but otherwise hardly noteworthy
Will require further trials

[Abyssopelagic]

Another day, another bout of boredom to quash.
The snow seemed to have eased up since he last went taste testing the "gifts of nature", which he was endlessly thankful for. Perhaps today he could wander further than last time.
And perhaps today's venture would be more fruitful.
He began his lonesome journey into the snow covered lands, taking note of which trees he'd chomped on last time, and which he had not.
Choosing a new direction when it seemed there was nothing new where he'd last tread, Sedgestorm trotted on, eyes scouring this way and that as trees passed him on either side.
At last, there was a tree that he didn't remember seeing.

 

He approached his next victim with malicious intent, eyes shimmering in the night as he stalked upon his prey.
The tree hardly stood a chance when his claws scraped against it, harvesting the tree for all its worth until he was satisfied with the produced bounty.
He chewed it carefully, deliberately.
Taking in the texture, taste, any new sensations.
The building pressure in the back of his head seemed to lessen, indicating it took away that pesky headache he'd been having since his star visitor. It, along with the hip pain slowly evaporated.
Willow bark.... What a wonderful little thing. It almost completely made up for his last trip going so terrible.
He'd need to bring a lot of this back when he was finished his little traipse through the woods.

 

Ah, yes, juniper.
The tree who's berries have so many wonderful properties. Surely, such a tree's protective coating would also have some of this same magic within?
It seemed not, for as soon as he popped the bark in his mouth and chewed, his mouth began itching painfully, obviously irritated by the intrusion.
Without hesitation, he spat, not willing to find out what this sensation would turn into if he made the mistake on actually consuming this substance.
It seemed all the magical healing goodness lied solely in the berries. Well, he supposed it made sense, the bark would have to ward off predators from that berry goodness?
He lapped up snow and attempted to wash the nasty juice out of his mouth in an attempt to soothe the irritation.
He sputtered as much as he could before finally moving on, figuring time would be the best remedy for this issue.

 

Sedgestorm trekked further into the forest, stopping to check every tree he passed in an attempt to find yet another unique tree, trying to ignore the residual irritation in his mouth. He sniffed the tree, eyes carefully scouring the bark before him and deciding it was a different enough tree to try biting into.
And there again, he seemed to have found another bark that was good for toothaches. He'd become acutely aware of the ache in his mouth since it first came to his attention.
And it was quite appearant that the bark was helping with this. As well as the inflammation in his mouth seemed to be dying down now as well.
Huh, cool.
A two in one after such dredge.
He wondered what else was in store for him.

 

Today's samplings seemed to be a much more mixed bag than last time. The idea was both exciting and a bit daunting, truth be told.
Sedgestorm had to repeatedly return to harvesting samples after accidentally destroying the first few shavings of bark in his haste.
The anticipation he felt only skyrocketed with each new set back that by the time he managed to get enough bark in his mouth, he wondered if he should even bite down. Perhaps these set backs were not mere accident, but the most pitiful and laughable of signs from StarClan not to eat this tree?
Shivering, he shook his head to chase away those stupid fearful thoughts and proceeded.
The relief he felt when all he seemed to get was the alleviating of the soreness left from chewing the juniper couldn't be expressed enough.
It did not seem to cause any further problems or solve other issues, and so he continued on.

 

Sedgestorm wished he'd been warned or perhaps dissuaded from consuming the aspen bark by literally anything. Not even the taste gave itself away, and it wasn't until he was swallowing the essence of the bark that the burning kicked in.
Whatever was in the plant had caused a sore in his mouth, right where he always chewed these disgusting woody plants.
Whether he chalked it up to repeated abuse from the strange chewings, or perhaps whatever was in the aspen bark was the final push to become a nuisance for him, he wasn't sure what he should think of it. All he knew was that now he knew about it, it was driving him to the hells back.
He could almost ignore the way he was suddenly very sleepy. It wasn't until he'd laid down to quell the nauseating dizziness in his head that it seemed to kick in.
Ugh, aspen bark was nothing but trouble it seemed. Oh well, nothing he could do about it.
Either he'd die in the name of science or he'd eventually pull through, and be all the more knowledgeable for it.
He figured he'd do his best to continue studying before it was too late should the worst come to pass. The large warrior hauled himself up with difficulty and began trudging forward, trying to function despite how awful he felt.

 

He didn't know what was worse, forever feeling tired or the persistent nausea that plagued him. Nothing seemed to ease either symptom and he wasn't about to take a nap in case this was a fatal poisoning.
He still had to keep going, keep searching, keep .....
He shook his head before leaning closer to inspect the tree that caught his attention.
Satisfied that it did not resemble any of the various trees he'd munched on previously, with great difficultly, he began harvesting the bark in what was becoming a familiar motion.
He grumbled even as the worst of the trial was over, and and could simply wait for the effects of whatever was going to happen take over.....
And, to his surprise, while his nausea and sleepiness didn't abate, the spinning feeling in his head did.
He gave a soft, brief smile.
The rest of this trip wouldn't be so bad now that one of his problems solved itself.
He picked himself up and trudged onward, determined that he was going to try at least one more tree before calling it a day and giving into the desire to curl up and sleep.

 

At some point, he grew tired of walking and instead turned tail and begun heading home, eyes still peeled for another outlier of those he'd already seen, and it was when he was almost to where he'd made his temporary camp when he found it.
He was unusually enthusiastic to try it, as it would signal the end of his day (since it seemed that today would not be the day he met his demise) and he could just finally NAP.
Even before the sun had started rising, he could feel the energy drain from his body and further exhaustion creep in, and it'd only get worse the further into the day it was. So sleeping through it was always the best option.
As he chewed the beech bark, that annoying little sore, he believed they're called ulcers? Well, the swelling had diminished slightly and it was definitely throbbing less, and seemed to just all around hurt less.
And, it seemed to ease some intestinal discomfort he hadn't been aware he'd had. But it made sense, with all the irritants he'd put in his body today.
Finally done, he went home and took a well deserved nap.

 

Willow Bark
Good for headaches (caused by nosey dead cats)

Juniper Bark
It seems all the magic healing goodness is meant only for the berries. How selfish of this tree. 0/10, would not recommend.

Alder Bark
Good for tooth aches and inflammation of the mouth

Hickory Bark
Specifically good for a sore mouth. Not for mouth sores, though.

Aspen Bark
DO NOT EAT. Causes nausea, and dizziness. Induces sleep, but should not be used for this unless you really hate the patient.

Pine Bark
Helps balance issues and feelings of being dizzy.

Beech Bark
Good for mouth sores and intestinal inflammation.

[Abyssopelagic]

Sedgestorm idly wandered about the area the seemed to be his new home now. His eyes scanned the landscape.
At this point, he'd become aquatinted with the subtle differences of the trees around him, and had become accustomed to identifying them without their leaves.
But now he needed to wander beyond his comfort zone, most likely to Two-leg Place to find the next few trees. He knew fruit trees were a thing, but none seemed to grow here, and his research would never be complete until he exhausted all avenues of possible sources of healing.
Even learning that something had no uses was important, to save future explorers their own time.
And so, swallowing his anxiety, he pressed forward, traveling as quickly as his legs would carry him, wishing to make this as quick as he could.

The closer he came to Two-leg Place, the more alert he was. Every small noise made him jump, and every movement made him turn, snarling and ready to defend himself.
Other cats weren't his problem. What he feared was possibly being grabbed and forced into being a kittypet.
He wasn't sure why anyone would want something as old and as scarred as he, but it was not a possibility he was willing to ignore.
Tail lashing, he paused as he encountered the first fence. Taking a deep breath, he reared up and jumped atop the raised surface, hind legs hooked so that his upper half could hang over the other side as he examined the expanse of territory, and into the other fenced off areas, searching for where he should start his trek.
Once he spotted a plot of land with many trees dotting the landscape, he hauled himself back up so he could carefully tread the pointed tops, not wishing to lose his vantage point.
He hopped down once he was beside the area that had the trees, and began examining the trees closely.

 

He's not sure why this tree in particular stood out to him, it looked similar enough to some of the other trees he'd seen that at first it fooled him, but when he approached and sank his claws into the bark, and into the wood, he pulled his paw back and sniffed the sap that had stuck to his fur, and found that the scent was slightly less pungent than any other sap he was used to. He sneezed and shook his head before looking back up at the tree.
He didn't know what it was now, but he would when new leaf came, and it's leaves sprouted.
For now, he needed to see what this thing did.
He carefully scraped himself a mouthful of the bark and was disappointed to find that while safe, did not seem to ease any of his pre-existing issues. Which meant if it had any uses, he'd have to experiment to find out.
Sighing, he moved on.

 

The next tree.... To say it offended his senses was an understatement. He hated just smelling the damn thing, and it worsened as he stripped off pieces of bark.
His belly filled with dread, even just grabbing some with his teeth, and it worsened as he chewed. The lack of irritation to his mouth did nothing to soothe his worries and he was tempted to just spit it out and call it done.
But, there'd always be that question of if he'd passed over something revolutionary, something important and he forced himself to swallow, bracing himself for anything.
His stomach churned after a few minutes and the further his body processed the barks' juice, he felt further gastrointestinal pain.
He hissed in pain as the full force of it hit him, and he pulled himself into the visible roots of the tree, hunkering down and sinking his claws into the earth beneath him as he waited out the pain. He'd eaten enough foul stuff to recognize this wasn't the end of him, and allowed himself time for the pain to pass him by.
By the time he woke from drifting in and out of uneasy naps, the pain was little more than a distant pang.
As thankful as he was that the pain had eased up, he was unsure of just how much time he had lost to the hazy fog of feverish and pain induced half-dreams.
He stuck his head out from where he lay to stare at the sky, and tried to gauge the time. The sky was just as dark and unwavering as it had been when he last checked.
He sniffed the surrounding area in an attempt to further gauge the time, and found the scents of many other animals had crossed through the area. He must have slept through the day, then.
Clumsily, he untangled himself from the base of the tree where he'd hidden himself, and shakily continued to inspect the trees.
The more he moved, the more insistently his stomach cramped. Eventually, he paused his trek to satisfy the need to eat, and then ate careful mouthfuls of snow to wash the meal down rather than find readily available water.
He'd wasted too much time being sick.
He still had a mission to see through.
A little poisoning wouldn't stop him ....

 

It seemed something he did had caused his mouth irritation, because when he bit into the next tree's offering, there was almost an immediate reaction that soothed it.
He hummed, tail thumping the ground as he chewed.
Well, he couldn't say it made up for the offensive reaction his body had to the hazel and the subsequent loss of time but it sure was something. Better than nothing, really.
As he waited, nothing else happened. With a sigh, he stood to his paws, legs still a might weak and wobbly as he continued on.
His lungs were as unhappy as he was, it seemed, perhaps from the cold or perhaps from the wandering around, but he had begun to let out infrequent dry, heaving coughs that he couldn't really connect to a particular cause.
He should be done soon, so he opted to carry on.

 

If Sedgestorm was disappointed before, his mood was thoroughly soured now. While he supposed no results was better than being poisoned once again, finding that the next four trees didn't give him tangible results..... Given the trouble he'd gone through to even get here, he should be allowed to be unhappy that his efforts weren't turning up anything helpful.
It was made more difficult when his coughing bouts began to interrupt the process of testing the safety of the damn tree bark.
He pushed through, refusing to be beaten this far into his journey.

 

The bark of this tree almost immediately soothed the soreness in his throat from all the coughing, and once swallowing the juices, eventually his coughing became less harsh.
Eying the trunk of the tree for a moment, he took a moment of shred another portion of the inner bark, and chewed more of the chewy substance, hoping it would further help against the damnable coughing.
Once it seemed to be under control, he continued onwards.

 

Similarly to the hazel tree, the mere scent of the cedar repulsed him, and it only got worse as he harvested the inner bark.
He wrinkled nose at the idea of putting it in his mouth. He hesitated before slowly chewing it.
Immediately, his mouth became sore, and the moment he swallowed, his stomach aches and nausea immediately hit him and it wasn't long before be began dry heaving, and eventually, violently began to vomit.
Before long, he lost consciousness as his muscles seized up and his body fell to the side, occasionally jolting.

When he woke, his whole body ached, his throat and stomach burned from the amount of puking he did even while he was out.
Even now he still felt queasy. It didn't help that his pelt was gross and crusty after laying for who knows long is his own spew.
Panting, he looked around and tried to remember where the nearest source of water was. He absolutely was not going to put his tongue through the mess that stuck to him.
He limbed away, retracing his steps.
The moment his pelt hit the water, his muscles relaxed and the soreness was soothed with the weight of his body lifted from his paws, even as the freezing water was a shock to his system. He hummed, allowing himself to float for a bit before remembering why he was there, and began to painstakingly rinse the filth from himself.
That was it, he was done eating trees. He didn't care if there were more to see, he didn't want it.
Yuck.

 

Apple + Poplar + Pear + Walnut + Hawthorn Bark
Safe to consume, uses unknown
More trials needed

Hazel + Cedar Bark
Not safe for consumption.
Cedar bark is particularly dangerous.

Plum Bark
Soothes mouth irritation and swelling
Does nothing for tooth pain

Peach Bark
Soothes sore throat, and eases dry coughs

[Abyssopelagic]

Sedgestorm trudged through the snow, never the more thankful that he lacked ears that could be bitten and whipped around by the wind. He sniffled, turning his gaze to search the area.
As much as he wished to return somewhere closer to the Clan's, the snow had been steadily piling itself and leaving him stranded in this unfamiliar place.
He hated it.

The only upside to being near Two-legs was their absolute wastefulness. Tossing out food and materials that he'd gotten a habit of scrounging for, and making use of.
Plenty of good, warm nesting materials left outside to go to waste, so much food that would have spoiled had it been the warmer seasons.
Tossed out without a second thought.
It baffled the large warrior to no end, but he supposed he shouldn't complain, when he benefitted greatly from these silly habits.
The traveling to obtain materials also boosted the chances he ran into other cats and chat about ways to reach his goals. He had learned, however, that many of the cats in the area were kittypets, well taken care of and with access to the wonderful medicine of their house folk. It seemed not too many had need of healing, much less would be willing to eat weird plants for an unknown purpose.
The last kittypet he'd spoken to recently had pointed him in the direction of another wandering cat, one that had made herself at home in what they called a barn somewhere a distance away from the last den.
From what he'd heard, she was heavily scarred and nearly disabled by her old injuries, a wonder that she was still surviving out in the wilderness of her own still.

When he neared the end of the directions that had been given to him on how to find this cat, he began looking through the trees, and harvested the bark from 3 different trees, carefully stripping the inner bark into near piles for him to carry along, in preparation for this visit. And to seem more legitimate should she treat him with suspicion.

[ +1 poplar bark , +1 pear bark , +1 walnut bark ]

When an old, decrepit barn came into view, his paws stopped, the sudden image of it bursting to flames, and a searing heat spreading through his haunches haunting him.
He shook his head, and looked again, reminding himself it was not the Waterbarn. That it had burned seasons ago, and he was safe here and now.
No fire burst forth at him, but the feeling of his skin being set ablaze did not abate.

He approached the building, cautiously craning his head to make sure the roof wouldn't be caving in on him. His attention is taken from his worries when he hears a series of harsh, sputtering coughs.
He makes his way to the pitiful, moldy clumps of hay that remain and finds the remnant of a nest pieced together with a mixture of old two-legs objects and ferns and heathers from before the plants had all died. At the center, huddled among what was left of the hay scattered among the attempt of a nest lay a she-cat that might have been pretty at one point. What was left of her fur was a pale chocolate and sand colour with patches of fur dark as the night sky.
She wheezed, and turned to face the large tom, eyes widening.
"Who.... What do you want?" She rasped, another cough forcing itself from her lungs as she did.

The black furred tom set down the bark he'd collected and lowered his head to be level with the other cat.
"I'm someone with an interest in healing, and I heard you weren't doing very well, and I wanted to extend my services, if that's something you'd want."
She wasn't really in a position to decline him. It seemed whatever cough she'd caught awhile back had only worsened in the chilled environment.
Untreated, she was sure to be a goner. He couldn't even be sure that any amount of help would save her as is.
But he could try, and he could use new plants, and study if they affected whatever was going on with this cat. But first, she needed to agree.
He wouldn't force her if she simply wanted to die.

She seems to think about it, her eyes narrowing as she stared Sedgestorm down.
"Why."
He blinked.
"I'm sorry?"
The smaller cat rolls her eyes with a wheezed cough.
"Why help at all? Me."
He tilts his head as he sits down, thinking about how to respond.
"I'm.... Trying to find new uses for herbal plants. Medicine can always evolve, and I'm wanting to... Expand what is known. I'm hoping that by helping others, I can do just that."
He nervously balled his paws as he watched as the other rolled the idea in her head.

"Sure. You could hardly do any harm more to me. Taffeta. You?"
He breathed a sigh of relief and shuffled closer, daring to allow his tail to cover part of her back.
"Sedgestorm. I've some remedies with me now. If they don't work in a few hours, I'll go out and get something I know works."
Taffeta let out a harking sound and she curled up to absorb the heat that the larger cat offered.
"So, Stormy. Giving me the experimental stuff first? Hah—!
Don't want to make my chances too high —hagh?"
Sedgestorm simply brought the different barks closer to Taffeta.
"I'll need you to eat these," he murmered.
Groaning, the tortoiseshell leaned forward and lapped up the spongey wood samples and struggled to swallow them down in between coughing fits. Once they were down, she stared at the dark mass of her new companion.
"What now?"

Sedgestorm took mouthfuls of nesting material and tried to wrap his new charge as snug as he could, hoping to shut out the cold and increase her body heat retention.
"We wait. If nothing happens in a few hours, then we try something new. You'll stay, I'll leave to search for something I know works. Until then, I can warm you, or pace the barn."
Shivering, the smaller cat hooks her claws into Sedgestorm and tries to pull him closer.
"Cold. And don't touch my stuff. You'll just make a mess."
With a sigh, the large tom allowed himself to sink down beside Taffeta, and scooted so he was pressed against the makeshift wrap he'd put her in. It was kind of funny.
But he resisted the urge to laugh.
"Sure. I'll stick around. You tell me if there's anything new, alright? Anything, no matter how small."
The tortoiseshell murmered an agreement and tucked herself closer to the large mass that made up Sedgestorm, and relished in the slight warmth he was able to provide her. It wasn't enough, though.
She still shivered violently and had to keep her teeth from chattering. It was better than her situation before, she had to admit. Much better.

It was quiet for a few more minutes, and she'd nearly begun to doze off when a whisper caught her attention, and her eyes peaked open once more.
"Sorry to bother you again, but I had one last question. Were you having any issues in addition to your fever and cough?
So I can keep track of... Well, I think you know."
Irritated, Taffeta turned and coughed right in the large, scarred male's face as a rebuttal. He flinched, eyes closing and holding his breath.
A moment passed, then another before he responded.
"I probably deserve that. I would .... Still like an answer, if it's all the same to you. Since the damage is already done and all."
With a yawn that made the canals of her ears ache and the pressure in her skull feel like it was about to explode, the lithe cat blinked blearily as she prepared to answer.
"Mm.... Nausea. No dry heaving or vomiting, just the threat of it."
Sedgestorm nodded.
"Alright. I appreciate it. You can sleep now. I might get up to get you something to drink, but if you wake and I'm not here, I promise I haven't abandoned you."
If she wasn't so tired, she might have laughed.
"Wouldn't be a first...."
He frowned, tucking her head beneath his chin and pulling her closer, trying to get rid of the way she was shivering. With a sigh, Taffeta closed her eyes again, and her coughs slowly faded as sleep took her.

 

Poplar, Pear, Walnut
Do nothing to help fever, coughing, or nausea

[Abyssopelagic]

Sedgestorm wasn't sure when he fell asleep. All he remembered was counting the seconds as they grew into minutes, and then .... Being startled awake by Taffeta's violent hacking.
He bolted upright, and then to his paws, bowing his head as he worriedly looked the molly over. When she seemed to stop heaving, he leaned forward and gently pressed his nose to her shoulder.
He felt the fever through her fur, still wracking through her body uncontrolled. So.... What he gave her hadn't worked, after all?
Swallowing, he finally spoke up.
"Taffeta.... Are you alright?"

The tortoiseshell sat for many moments, breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath now that she wasn't about to spill her guts onto the floor. She was vaguely aware that her attempted saviour had spoken to her.
She was too tired to speak.
She could barely move her head to nod, and immediately regretted it.
By the time she managed to peel her eyes open, Sedgestorm was gone. She would have laughed if she wasn't so exhausted.
So all that talk.... And he left when it didn't work the way he wanted?
To think, she'd almost had faith in him.
And now he'd left her to die, as she should have long ago, as she had been destined to do before his arrival. At best, he'd only delayed the inevitable.
She let her eyes slip shut once again, and tried to bring her thoughts to anything that wasn't the pain she was in, the agony of her continued existence, and just how much more pain she'll feel before it's all finally over. She didn't even have it in her to cry for the life she'd lost long ago, the missed opportunities she'd never get back.
This was all she was relegated to. A mess, hardly a scrap of fur left, a far cry from the inventive cat she'd been in her youth.
It all started with that damn Clan cat...
Tore her to pieces, and left her to bleed out. Except she didn't. Despite all the odds, she didn't.
And this is what her survival had bought her. More misery.
And for what was far from the first time, she begged for the release of death.

Sedgestorm trotted through the snow. He wished it was safe enough to run faster, but risking his own life would be of no help to Taffeta. Any chance of her making it through the day depended on him being able to return.
She wouldn't be this bad if he'd just stayed awake. But no, he had to fall asleep...
And she was suffering for his own failure.
He looked for places where he remembered that tansy and burnet might grow, and uncovered the earth beneath the lightly packed snow. He hissed when he couldn't find what he was looking for.
He kept searching.
Surely, there had to be some, somewhere!
He couldn't fail Taffeta, not after he promised to help her, save her. He couldn't let another cat die because of his own failure.
He nearly shouted in relief when he found a sprig of burnet, and without hesitation, yanked the plant from where it had previously been hibernating and began the search for tansy. And yet he found none.
He couldn't seem to find it anywhere, no matter where he looked.
And Taffeta was running out of time.
The elderly warrior ran through any number of plants that might relieve cough or nausea or fever or ......
But he didn't know anything for it. Only a bunch of.... Fodder!
Mulling over it, he decided to make the leap in assumption, and on the way back to Taffeta, he grabbed some blessed thistle. Flower, leaf, stem, all of it.
He didn't know which part of it might help her, but he was going to try.

Taffeta was startled out of her thoughts and lazy half-dreams when Sedgestorm burst into the room, the dopey looking guy dragging around some weird looking plants. She could only blink as he approached her, and watched, completely dazed as he assessed her, then the plants, and then back to the state she was in.
She was likely a right mess to the eyes of anyone whose orbital sockets remained intact.
Whatever the once Clan cat saw, he immediately shoved both plants into his mouth once he looked away from her, and began chewing with a righteous fury. It'd be silly if she wasn't in pain. As if the faster he chewed, the more likely he was to.... What, save her?
There wasn't much to save anymore, that was for sure.
She lost track of time, and the next thing she knew, the massive wall of muscle that made up Sedgestorm was looming over her again. He pried her mouth open, and to her absolute horror and disgust, he spat the mush of plant mix and spit down her throat.
She might have gagged if she was even a mite bit less deathly ill. But she was utterly incapable of stopping whatever strange and unusual torments that awaited her.
Once the disgusting concoction was in her mouth, he reached a paw to shut her jaws. The other paw massaged her throat, coaxing her to swallow the vile substance he'd just spat down into her face.
What the hell did he think this was going to do?
But she was helpless to stop the way her throat worked as her own drool pooled in her mouth and her body reflexively tried to suck its own moisture back within itself. The natural instinct along with Sedgestorm's ministrations made her swallow, hard enough the nasty sludge eventually slid down her throat and into her gullet. Her head lolled, moving just slightly away from her now tormentor.
The only upside to giving into the silent demand was that now the taste would eventually begin to fade and she could, perhaps, be allowed to die now.
At some point, she drifted off into a dreamless unconsciousness.