Stormy Seas in the Milky Way [Private]

[Abyssopelagic]

Coldamber blinked as Cobwebpaw appeared before her out of thin air. Ah, she'd been so sure she'd gotten them all the first time, but it seemed to not be the case. She nods to the cat that offers to fill her in. She's almost done and she did not wish to have to go back over it all again.
She already resembled a broken record as it was.
Her eyes glanced back over Mistypaw as she asked a question.
"Yes, poppy seeds can, it is an occasional side effect of the relaxing quality of the herb."
She had not seen it often in her own time, if she was being honest. She could only assume that some were more susceptible to drifting off to sleep than others, as well as their state of mind and the extent of their injuries.

Next, Seabreeze had another question.
Her ears twitched as she shifted her attention, and then sat as she considered his words.
"To my knowledge, yes: they are interchangeable."
She wanted to give a mini speech about how this does not discount one herb or the other in terms of usefulness, but decided against it. She had too much to get to, and too little time.
Besides, there did not seem to be a trace of believing that one herb was entirely useless for having a similar purpose.



She took a moment to bring up the image of a juniper shrub in her minds' eye, focusing on the small and distinct details of the plant before willing forth a shrub, it's trailing branches and needle leaves giving it a round shape despite the way it sat low to the ground. The needles were a pale green and almost sickly looking if compared to any other plant, each bushel of scaley needles protected a few, bruise coloured berries.
She did not have the shrub grow to be much taller than the tallest present cat, not wishing to exhaust herself on this little party trick when she was so far from being done.
"This is a juniper bush. The berries, hidden beneath the needle-y leaves, are eaten by your patient to soothe stomachaches. The bush grows year-round, and will produce fruit during even the harshest of leaf-bares.
They grow in areas where there is less plant life, seemingly to escape possible competition as the soil conditions seem to be inhospitable for most.
I've found them in dry, and rocky soils as well as more acidic types of soil. The common denominator I've noticed is they like places that allow for good drainage of water, seemingly not appreciating soil types that hold water."



After a few moments, allowing for her students a chance to memorize what they needed from the lesson, Coldamber clicked her tongue. This led to the rapid retreat of they shrub back into the holy grounds on StarClan, and allowed another, smaller plant to sprout forth.
The plant had very large oval leaves with heart-shaped bases and rounded tips, a few of the lower leaves sported red stems.The edges of the leaves appeared to be slightly wavy. The bundle of leaves, rather than connected, each grew individually from a center point in the ground in a small, but dense patch of greenery.
The leaves themselves were smooth, hairless, and a dull-green with distinct white midrib down the center.
"This is a dock plant. It is placed in the nest of a cat suffering from certain internal injuries: such as broken bones, wrenched joints, pulled muscles. In addition to encouraging healing, it seems to offer some pain relief and aids in falling asleep and getting more restful sleep that would otherwise be interrupted by their pains.
It grows in many places, to name a few: meadows, ditches, shorelines, riverbanks, woodland margins, and forest clearings. There does not seem to be anything in common with the types of soil and environment they choose to grow in, from my experience."



The next plant was a large, tall-growing plant, with large leaves and clusters of drooping, tubular purple flowers, much like bluebell flowers if one squinted while looking. The veins in the large, oval, and long leaves were heavily textured and made a distinct, raised pattern on the skin of the leaf in addition to the fine fur that seemed to line the stem of the plant.
"Comfrey. Unlike the last few herbs, this one has a variety of uses. Firstly, I feel the need to address the hairs on the plant: they are not dangerous and do not pose any long lasting discomfort when touched unless you are particularly sensitive to textures.
The roots of the plant can be chewed into a poultice and applied onto wounds, burns, and skin irritation, as it relieves topical pains and itchiness.
The leaves are to be harvested unbroken, as you will use the whole leaf to wrap around broken bones and drenched joints to promote healing and soothe inflammation.
The flowers die during leaf-fall and leaf-bare, but the leaves can survive all but the harshest of colds. They love sunny spots, and prefer to grow in the bottomland forests, moist upland forests, and banks of streams and rivers, especially where the soil quality is particularly rich."


While she would normally pause here and allow everyone to take in the knowledge she'd imparted, she felt an uneasy prickle beneath her fur, as if she was running out of time.
So onwards she pressed.
Next, she brought forth a ground-covering vine-like plant with small round leaves and sparse, tiny white flowers.
"Eating the leaves can lessen and sometimes cure the symptoms of white cough. I am unsure of the effectiveness against green cough, but I do not recommend experimenting in such a way unless you have absolutely no other options.
It likes damp areas, almost similar to marsh lands. They are most prevalent around the colder moons, such as late leaf-fall and into early leaf-bare before the leaves go into hibernation for the year."


Coldamber quickly sprouted, a green, leafy stalk of a bushel like shrub poked through the earth where the chickweed once lay, thin sprigs of aromatic leaves reaching for the star strewn sky.
""This pungent little plant is rosemary and one of the few herbs that the patient chews rather than you. They're excellent for many conditions concerning the mouth. Chewing on any part of the plant will help the body fight off against viral and bacterial infections of the mouth, and is especially effective against other conditions such mouth sores, ulcers, and scratches. It can be safely eaten, and it does have benefits in and of itself, but unless you're tight on available herbs, I'd recommend using your usual to help with headaches and fevers, as it is significantly weaker in potency.
They like to grow along hills and prefer sunny, sheltered spots, in well-drained soil."
The good part was, at least once a shrub was found, as much of it could be picked as necessary for an individual trip, as these bushes grew to be quite large compared to other shrubs that might be found.


For a final time, the misty grey nebelung allowed the plants in attendance to return to their earthen homes to sleep, and only a single plant would come to replace them.
A wicked looking plant, it's flower covering in hairs that almost looked like those that graced the stinging nettle, the yellow flower within, safely tucked away, nestled in its wire-y bedding and protected by the protrusions that surrounded it. The leaves were wavey, rippled, frilly, and made up the majority of the plants mass.
"This is blessed thistle. It has many uses, and is a wonderful addition to any herbal stock. The flower, when eaten, can stimulate milk production in heavily pregnant or nursing queens and can also increase productivity of the liver, helping with indigestion and loss of appetite by stimulating the production of bile and saliva. The leaves can be eaten to help with coughs, fatigue, brain fog, and internal infections.
The leaves can be applied topically in a poultice to decrease swelling and for open wounds. The flower should only be used on the skin for boils or to draw out poison in an abscess, as it tends to sting due to the strength.
It is also incredibly bitter and many a kit might complain about the taste if there is ever need to have them eat it.
This plant loves full sunlight and prefers soil that will drain rather than hold water. As for the soil type, it's not very picky and will even grow in poor quality or even rocky soil."




//I am so so so so so sorry about how late this is; in an attempt to expedite the process, I've crammed the last six herbs into one post instead of splitting it into two part. Thank you for being so patient with me\\

[ @Bean , @Dolomedes , @starry , @Katiethewolfchild , @finley.exe ]

[Dolomedes]

Seabreeze
He/him | Riverclan Warrior | Moons: 16 | Purrks: Go with the Flow | The Collector | Ultimate Predator |
“Ocean waters rising above your neck
You feel the glass start to crack.”

Seabreeze nodded to Coldamber as the molly answered both his and Mistypaw’s (As i am pretty sure this takes place before her warrior ceremony?) scooting over to give him more space as Cobwebpaw attempted to get between him and Mistpaw. They seem to be friends so hopefully Cobwebpaw can comfort Mistyshard more than Seabreeze who was essentially a stranger to both cats. Poppy seeds have a side effect of causing relaxation. Could they be used for insomnia? Or inducing sleep for taking care of more painful injuries? The tom opened his mouth to ask his questions but then the medicine cat continued so he thought he should just wait until the end. The molly continued to go over several herbs in rapid fire succession. Seabreeze frowned but focused on committing as many details as possible to mind before she continued onto the next one.

The first of many was a low, nettled shrub that didn’t look the most healthy in his opinion. Along the nettles were small purple berries that Coldamber explained were juniper berries and the focus of the plant. The berries soothed stomachaches, the plant was around year round, and are overall not very picky plants which was nice. Found in places with soil that drains more, so things that are sandy? Or rock filled? Nowhere near the river is likely. Seabreeze found that he didn’t have many questions on juniper berries but that was perhaps because he didn’t have much time to really think on the information being thrown at him as almost as soon as he fully processed the juniper berries the shrubs was disappearing and a new plant took its place and Coldamber continued. Large oval with a heart shaped base, there was some red on the stems and each of the slightly wavy leaves, it was called dock, the leaves were what was used. These had a lot more uses; after placing in the nest of the injured cat, dock leaves encouraged healing of internal injury like broken bones, hurt joints, and muscle issues. It can also provide pain relief, help with sleep, and more restful sleep. It grows in a variety of spaces like meadows, riverbanks, shorelines, and woodland margins. They kind of can show up anywhere. Seabreeze had more questions but they were less practical and more just curiosities though it could be good to know for other things…like how exactly does the presence of dock leaves help internal injuries? Not even eating but just being nearby? Is there a way to make it more effective? Like is it scent? Would it be better performing if you cut into the herb if it was through scent/air born? No matter…

Up next was comfrey, it was more unique than most of the other herbs seen in this dream. Tall, had large leaves, odd purple flowers that drooped. The veins in the leaves were very apparent and there was some…sort of fur on the stem. The fur had no issues associated with it, which was going to be one of Seabreeze’s questions so he checked that one off and continued to listen, shuffling his bi-colored paws beneath him and flicking an ear. The roots of the comfrey could be used as a poultice for wounds, burns, and skin irritation, it relieves topical pains and itchiness. Leaves need to be harvested unbroken and could be used to wrap around broken bones and wrenched joints. The leaf wraps encourage healing and soothing of inflammation. The flowers die in leaf fall and leaf bare but the leaves remain which is good to hear. They like the sun and water!

Coldamber moved on, Seabreeze struggled to keep up but watched carefully and instead just dug a claw into the soil beneath his claws as it shifted, dragging a line that sharply turned in one direction to remind him of his questions but focused on the next plant. It was some sort of ivy-like plant, spread across the ground like snakes with little white flowers along it and small round leaves. The warrior tilted his head a bit, lifting his blue eyes from the plant to Coldamber for a second as she started to explain the uses and such but seemed to forget the name of the plant. Ah, that one was important enough to interrupt right? Did he just miss it in his quick sketch on the ground? “Coldamber, sorry to interrupt, I didn’t catch the name of the herb you just explained-” He pointed a bi-colored paw down at the ivy-like plant, “S-sorry.” While waiting for a response the tom continued with his listening, when eaten the leaves can lessen or sometimes cure white cough which was great! Though she wasn’t sure what it would do against green cough. It was still a good back up, last case kind of thing. Damp areas, most prevalent in colder moons before hibernating for the rest of the year. How odd, the opposite of most herbs.

A new bush that was slightly similar to juniper berries but also only because they were nettled shrubs. It was called rosemary and it had a strong smell and was simple in use. It was to be chewed by your patient for many mouth issues like viral and bacterial infections, sores, ulcers, and scratches. It was safely eaten which was pleasing to hear. Eating also has other benefits but nowhere near enough to replace any of the herbs that matched the benefits respectively. Found on hills, in partially sunny spots. The last herb that was named was a fascinating plant, a yellow flower almost caged in by nettles with little hairs covering it. The leaves were all sorts of things, almost like a river, rippled and wavy and the plant seemed to be almost entirely leaves. Coldamber followed swiftly with the uses and explanation of the plant. Can help queen’s with milk production, then also help with liver, digestion, loss of appetite for the flower. For the leaves, after eaten, they can help with coughs, fatigue, brain fog, and internal infections. The leaves can also be used in a poultice for swelling and open wounds. The flower could be used for wound use as well for things such as poison and boils but isn’t advised as it is strong and can cause stinging. It was also bitter, but maybe it could be paired with something a bit sweeter to help balance like a bit of honey or maybe it could be taken with prey? Full sunlight, doesn’t really care about soil but prefers draining soil.

After all the information that was thrown at him, Seabreeze felt a bit overwhelmed and almost sort of didn’t want to say or do anything after this but it was good information, Seabreeze needed to know this just in case things went wrong. The cat sighed silently to himself and gave Coldamber a grateful smile, it felt like that was the last one by her tone, and something tells him that there was a likely reason that she started to rush. Was the dream coming to an end soon? How unfortunate, as much as the lesson sort of was a lot, it was a million times better than his usual dreams. Well, if you could call them that, they were mostly nightmares. The warrior thought back to the herbs listed could dock leaves worked to help restful sleep but that was because it dulled injury but maybe he could- yeah, no, using herbs just for some nightmares wasn’t worth it. There were others in much worse conditions compared to him. Though a cat could dream of a good night’s rest.

He took a moment to peer at the cats around him, gauging their reactions to the mass of information curiously. Did they feel the same as him? He was grateful for sure and would do his best to make sure that he didn’t forget anything that Coldamber took to tell him. Perhaps he could practice on himself? For the small things of course, someone with more experienced paws would do better in the case of something worse.

[I am too tired to edit rn ;-; but let me know if there is anything major enough to need editing :3]

[Katiethewolfchild]

Wishkit listened. So juniper berries were good for stomachaches, grew places that most herbs couldn't, and the bushes kept producing berries in leafbare, dock helped with healing from certain internal injuries and offered pain relief, comfrey roots were useful for wounds, burns, and skin and skin irritation, the leaves were wrapped around broken bones or drenched joints, comfrey grew in sunny spots and preferred damp areas, and the flowers died in leafbare, but the leaves could survive all but the harshest leafbarw, the plant she didn't mention the name of, perhaps she didn't know was useful for whitecough, rosemary was useful for anything inside the mouth, and could be used for headaches or fevers, if necessary, but should be used for headaches and fevers as a last resort, and blessed thistle's flowers helped with milk production and could help with indigestion and loss of appetite, the leaves were useful for coughs, fatigue, brain fog, and internal infections if eaten, could be used on the skin to reduce swelling and on open wounds, was incredibly bitter, and it preferred sunny spots and dry soil and didn't care about the quality of the soil. (This takes place before she was apprenticed, which is why Wishpaw is being referred to as Wishkit) @Bean @starry @Dolomedes, @Abyssopelagic @finley.exe

[Bean]

spottedstream listened as the next few herbs were explained. Poppy seeds, Marigold, Broom, Juniper, Dock, Oh look she already knew Comfrey, Rosemary, and Blessed thistle. It was a lot to take in, but it was expanding her herb knowledge, so she was thankful Coldamber pulled her into this dream to learn it.

[ @Abyssopelagic - rah late and short but i did it ;-;]

[Abyssopelagic]

Coldamber looked up once she was done explaining, and noticed how overwhelmed poor Seabreeze appeared to be. With a sheepish dip of her head, she padded forward, closing the gap between her and the warrior.
"My apologies, dear Seabreeze. Chickweed, is the name of the herb you asked about. I must have skipped over it in my haste."
She tilted her head.
"Was there anything else you wanted me to go back over for you? Perhaps something else I might have missed?"

[ @Dolomedes ]

[starry]

Mistypaw nodded when Coldamber confirmed that poppy seeds could make a cat sleep. She would remember that if it should ever be needed. Then, the next herb appeared, a shrubb with needle leaves which sat low on the ground. The needles were pale green and protecting blue-ish berries. So this was called juniper and could be eaten by patients to soothe stomachaches. Juniper berries even grew in leafbare - that was practical. This leafbare had been fine with not necessarily an abundance of herbs but not too less, either. Regardless, she made a note of juniper berries being “usable” during leafbare in case she would ever need that information.

So juniper grew in areas with less plant life, that made sense. Usually in dry, rock and acidic soils, as well as not around water… Okay. Mistypaw made sure everything was stuck in her mind before Coldamber moved on to the next herb. It was smaller than the juniper bushes and have oval leaves. The bases were heart shaped. Some of the lower leaves had red stems and the edges of the leaves were a little wavy. The leaves grew independently and were a dull green along with a white middle. Dock. Mistypaw pricked her ears as the medicine cat explained its’ functions. It was placed in nests of patients suffering from internal injuries like broken bones, wrenched joints and pulled muscles. It offered pain relief and helped with falling asleep.

Grew in many places, but some examples were meadows, ditches, shorelines, riverbanks, woodland margins and forest clearing. Since Coldamber mentioned there was no common pattern with the types of soil and environment Mistypaw figured that they grew in lots of places and one could probably look for them anywhere. That was all understandable; she didn’t have any questions for those two herbs. She repeated everything in her mind, then watched as the next herb grew out of the starry ground.

It was a large tall plant with big leaves and tube-like purple flowers. The veins in the leaves made a distinct pattern and there appeared to be something fur like lining the stem. So that was comfrey. Mistypaw bobbed her head and listened curiously. It had a variety of uses, that was practical. The hairs weren’t dangerous and didn’t pose any discomfort unless the patient was very sensitive. The roots could be chewed into a poultice and applied onto wounds, burns and irritated skin, because they relieved pain and made things less itchy. The leaves should be harvested unbroken because the whole leaf was used to wrap around broken bones and drenched joints.

So far, comfrey seemed like the perfect herb for lots of things. Oh… so unfortunately the flowers died during leafbare. Well, that didn’t matter too much if the roots and leaves were used, right? Comfrey loved sunny spots and preferred to grow in the bottomland forest, moist forests, and riverbanks… That should be easy to find in RiverClan territory then. There was plenty of moist, rich soil due to the clear water and occasional sunny climate.

Seemingly Coldamber was in more of a rush now because she went on to the next herb without much of a pause. Mistypaw did not mind too much. She was able to hold on to knowledge and concentrate at a steady pace pretty well. This time, the plant coming out of the ground covered it and had a vine-like look to it. It had small round leaves and tiny white flowers. The medicine cat started explaining but didn’t name the plant… Misty tilted her head but kept on listening. Eating theleaves could help against white cough, but she did not know about the effectiveness against green cough. It grew in damp areas like marsh lands and was mostly prevalent in late leaf fall or early leafbare. Coldamber answered Seabreeze’s question and mentioned the herb was called chickweed.

Now came a green leafy stalk which came from a bushel like shrub. There was a prominent, aromatic smell and the sprigs of leaves were pretty thin. Rosemary. It was a herb which the patients chewed and could help with conditions in the mouth. Helped the body fight off infections in the maw as well as mouth sores, ulcers and scratches. It could be safely eaten and had benefits but for headaches and fevers other more stronger herbs should be used, unless there weren’t any available. Rosemary grew on hills and preferred sunny, sheltered spots in well drained soil.

Mistypaw went over the information in her mind once again before turning her attention to the next herb. An odd plant which flowers were protected in hairs and nettles. The leaves were wavy and rippled, making up most of the plant. So this was blessed thistle. It had many uses and was a good additions to the herb storage. The flower could help queens with milk production and assisted the liver when there was loss of appetite or indigestion. It did this by encouraging the production of saliva and bile. The leaves could be eaten to help with many things such as cough, fatigue, brain fog and internal infections.

The leaves were applied into a poultice to decrease swelling in open wounds and the flower should only be used on the skin in the case of boils. The flower could also draw out poison, as it tended to sting. It was pretty bitter so a kit might complain about the taste. The plant loved sunlight and liked soil that would drain, although it wasn’t too picky about the soil type and even grew in poor quality and rocky soil. Okay, that was lots to take in but Mistypaw made sure to cling to all the details. Something gave her the feeling this dream would end soon.


[aa this is messy]