SkyClan Medicine Cat's Den

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

Grousestar turned his head slightly as he heard another cat approach, emerald eyes falling on the medicine cat, a light smile of happiness stretching across his muzzle. If there was any cat in the world he was thankful for right now, it was the medicine cat. He truly was a miracle worker it seemed; not only had he managed to keep him from dying with his limited knowledge of herbs, he was slowly bringing him out of his sickness and soon enough he would be back on his paws. Shinefang was like a gift from Starclan at the moment it seemed. And even better? The tom was carrying food with him, his stomach giving another rumble of hunger at the sight, and smell, of the mice.
Hearing what the older tom said, the brown tabby couldn't help but let out a rumbling chuckle. "And I certainly feel less dead too," he responded, clearing his throat afterwards to get rid of the slight raspiness of it. Slowly his jaws would stretch wide in a yawn again before they clicked shut and he gave his head a shake, as if to shake away the very feeling of sleepiness. As the medicine cat went to fetch a moss ball, the leader bent his head forward slightly to sniff at one of the mice before pawing it closer to himself.

When Shinefang returned and ordered him to drink, the leader did so without question, as he was fairly parched anyways. After spending a few moments drinking from the mossball, nearly draining all of the cold water from it, he would swipe his tongue over his lips and look up at Shinefang to respond. "Certainly better than I've been feeling in the last moon. My nose and eyes don't feel runny anymore and my nausea seems to have gone, but my muscles still seem to hold a dull ache. Perhaps it's from laying here for so long."
After relaying on the information to the battle-scarred cat, Grousestar would turn his attention back to the mouse, eagerly starting to pluck the fur from it, keeping a neat pile off to the side.

"Definitely not doing them any favors, sitting still for so long," Shinefang agreed, leaning down to sniff at the brown, tabby tom as he inspected his nose and eyes. The scaley stuff left on his muzzle was old and dry, and the leader's eyes looks brighter and sharper than they had, no longer glazed with sickness. "But if it's between recovering and a little aching from being nest-bound, well, that's not difficult choice." He sniffed at the leader's ears, as he ate. No sign of infection there either. "And you've got some of your appetite back as well," he commented, rocking back on his haunches. "Looks to me like you're going to make it, you stubborn tom," Shinefang left the other mouse with Grousestar as he went to fetch some feverfew and daisy leaves. "If you're feeling up for it, you and I can take a short walk to the steam closest to camp. You can wash some of that gunk off your face and stretch those legs out. We'll only go as far as you can manage. Only if you're feeling up to it though," he added. "If you feel like you need to rest for now, you should rest." Padding back over, Shinefang pushed two feverfew flowers toward Grousestar and began to shew up the daisy leaves into a pulp. "You're body knows best. You should listen to it," he added, his mouth full.

[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by Charmer

"Definitely not doing them any favors, sitting still for so long," Shinefang agreed, leaning down to sniff at the brown, tabby tom as he inspected his nose and eyes. The scaley stuff left on his muzzle was old and dry, and the leader's eyes looks brighter and sharper than they had, no longer glazed with sickness. "But if it's between recovering and a little aching from being nest-bound, well, that's not difficult choice." He sniffed at the leader's ears, as he ate. No sign of infection there either. "And you've got some of your appetite back as well," he commented, rocking back on his haunches. "Looks to me like you're going to make it, you stubborn tom," Shinefang left the other mouse with Grousestar as he went to fetch some feverfew and daisy leaves. "If you're feeling up for it, you and I can take a short walk to the steam closest to camp. You can wash some of that gunk off your face and stretch those legs out. We'll only go as far as you can manage. Only if you're feeling up to it though," he added. "If you feel like you need to rest for now, you should rest." Padding back over, Shinefang pushed two feverfew flowers toward Grousestar and began to shew up the daisy leaves into a pulp. "You're body knows best. You should listen to it," he added, his mouth full.

"Oh I know. I'm sure Auroraflame is handling herself well, but I'd like more than anything to be out of this den and back in my own." The brown tabby held his head still just long enough for the medicine cat to check the stuff crusted onto his nose before leaning down for his meal. His head felt less muddled than it had been in the past moon, which he felt was also a good sign. He could finally think more clearly. Inadvertently his ears flicked a bit when Shinefang got close enough to sniff them but lay still again afterwards. Grousestar glanced up slightly as he heard the comment from the other tom, a snort of amusement escaping him. "Starclan won't have me that easily," he purred out before starting to take the first few bites out of his meal, relishing the taste of it and happy to find that it didn't make his stomach lurch.
As the older tom suggested that they could possibly take a walk to the nearest stream, the leader immediately perked his head up with a nod. "I would be more than fine to do that! I'm desperate to get out of here and feel the sun again!" Even though he could feel the aches in his limbs, he was more interested in the chance of getting out of here for a little bit than what pain walking might induce. There was no way he would give up this chance that was for sure. Grousestar was an active cat and he felt it was killing him to stay in here any longer, even if he was sore. He would reluctantly eat the two flowers pushed towards him; though they didn't exactly have a bitter taste, he was certainly tired of having to eat them. Afterwards he would go back to eagerly gulping down the mouse, now that he was sure he wasn't going to regurgitate it.

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

"Oh I know. I'm sure Auroraflame is handling herself well, but I'd like more than anything to be out of this den and back in my own." The brown tabby held his head still just long enough for the medicine cat to check the stuff crusted onto his nose before leaning down for his meal. His head felt less muddled than it had been in the past moon, which he felt was also a good sign. He could finally think more clearly. Inadvertently his ears flicked a bit when Shinefang got close enough to sniff them but lay still again afterwards. Grousestar glanced up slightly as he heard the comment from the other tom, a snort of amusement escaping him. "Starclan won't have me that easily," he purred out before starting to take the first few bites out of his meal, relishing the taste of it and happy to find that it didn't make his stomach lurch.
As the older tom suggested that they could possibly take a walk to the nearest stream, the leader immediately perked his head up with a nod. "I would be more than fine to do that! I'm desperate to get out of here and feel the sun again!" Even though he could feel the aches in his limbs, he was more interested in the chance of getting out of here for a little bit than what pain walking might induce. There was no way he would give up this chance that was for sure. Grousestar was an active cat and he felt it was killing him to stay in here any longer, even if he was sore. He would reluctantly eat the two flowers pushed towards him; though they didn't exactly have a bitter taste, he was certainly tired of having to eat them. Afterwards he would go back to eagerly gulping down the mouse, now that he was sure he wasn't going to regurgitate it.

"Mmmhmm. She managed to not let Skyclan burn to the ground," Shinefang agreed. It was meant to gone off as a joke, but Shinefang had not relished Auroraflame's time as active leader either. Things had remained stile between the two of them, and with Auroraflame's less than a confident feelings in his abilities as a medicine cat, the old tom feared he'd have to claw out the right to treat his patients. And everyday that had gone by that Grousestar hadn't recovered, he had felt the shecat's judgmental eyes on his back. Of course, she'd been wrong. Here the Skyclan leader sat, alive and chomping down mice like he worried they would scurry off. Perhaps Slatepelt wasn't all talk after all. He might actually have a knack for this medicine cat stuff.

The old tom spat the daisy pulp into his paw and and began to rub it on the leader's legs. "That's the spirit," he meowed with a small chortle, "Starclan can wait. Skyclan needs you more than they do," Shinefang put in, a faint hint of warmth in his smile during a moment of sincerity. Shinefang had made some mistakes since he took on this role. He'd done things that he could never take back and that had cost others dearly. But, thankfully, Grousestar hadn't been one of them. Seeing him wolf down his meal now, he knew it was worth every late night the last moon fetching water, applying herbs, and fretting over the tabby tom. He was a good leader for Skyclan. It was more than that though. He had come to regard Grousestar as a friend. A good friend even. "Well then, once you finish your meal, we can get going," Shinefang replied, patting the glob of pulp again. "This should take the edge off the ache. I am serious though, while we're out there, if you need to stop and rest, you say something or I'll make your ears look like mine," the tom said with a wry expression, flicking a shredded ear to emphasize his point as he went to his herb wall to grab a piece of willowbark. He popped the gritty thing in his mouth, scrunching his face as he chewed it and hoped it would kick in before the leader was ready to move.

[graves]

Originally Posted by Charmer

"That would be helpful," Shinefang replied, his tone steady. He turned away from his herbs to meet the younger cat's eyes. It was odd now to have said what he said outloud. To have the cat in front of him know that about the the fault he bore in Acornpaw's death. The silence hung between them. He knew the medicine cat meant well, but the old tom knew he'd carry that death with him until the end of his days. Won't be too long, I guess, he thought to himself smiling grimly at his own dark humor. His amber eye darted toward the resting Stingpaw. "The other apprentice there came in with a broken leg. I had to reset it and wrap it. It would be nice if you could have a look at what I've done before we move on. Just to make any adjustments for the next time it happens." He got up and padded over, pointing at the sleeping shecat. "I gave her some willow bark and thyme when she first got in to calm her nerves and ease the pain while still keeping her lucid. Then I gave her a stick to bite down on while I felt the break with my paws and set the bone.
Her father helped me get the sticks in place while I wrapped it with the web. My brother Yellowfoot broken his front leg falling out of tree once. So I got to see Stormflight, the medicine cat at the time, work on him. Though it has been a while." he admitted, lifting his paw to invite Daydream to look over his work.

"Well, comfry root is good for bones, you chew the brown root up into a paste and lick it onto the skin. I personally bind broken bones with bindweed, its a flower thats white with a pink center star pattern, the stems are good for binding and are much more effective than simple twigs and cobwebs, plus i try to avoid using cobwebs since they can carry infection on open wounds. Goldenrod is a small, bell looking flower with a long, skinny stem and is like a pain killer when it comes to joints and the body in general. For this injury, its okay to use poppy seeds." they explained,"Id change the bindweed stems on the leg and reapply new comfry ointments every few days to avoid infection."

[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by Charmer

"Mmmhmm. She managed to not let Skyclan burn to the ground," Shinefang agreed. It was meant to gone off as a joke, but Shinefang had not relished Auroraflame's time as active leader either. Things had remained stile between the two of them, and with Auroraflame's less than a confident feelings in his abilities as a medicine cat, the old tom feared he'd have to claw out the right to treat his patients. And everyday that had gone by that Grousestar hadn't recovered, he had felt the shecat's judgmental eyes on his back. Of course, she'd been wrong. Here the Skyclan leader sat, alive and chomping down mice like he worried they would scurry off. Perhaps Slatepelt wasn't all talk after all. He might actually have a knack for this medicine cat stuff.

The old tom spat the daisy pulp into his paw and and began to rub it on the leader's legs. "That's the spirit," he meowed with a small chortle, "Starclan can wait. Skyclan needs you more than they do," Shinefang put in, a faint hint of warmth in his smile during a moment of sincerity. Shinefang had made some mistakes since he took on this role. He'd done things that he could never take back and that had cost others dearly. But, thankfully, Grousestar hadn't been one of them. Seeing him wolf down his meal now, he knew it was worth every late night the last moon fetching water, applying herbs, and fretting over the tabby tom. He was a good leader for Skyclan. It was more than that though. He had come to regard Grousestar as a friend. A good friend even. "Well then, once you finish your meal, we can get going," Shinefang replied, patting the glob of pulp again. "This should take the edge off the ache. I am serious though, while we're out there, if you need to stop and rest, you say something or I'll make your ears look like mine," the tom said with a wry expression, flicking a shredded ear to emphasize his point as he went to his herb wall to grab a piece of willowbark. He popped the gritty thing in his mouth, scrunching his face as he chewed it and hoped it would kick in before the leader was ready to move.

Grousestar chuckled quietly at Shinefang's comment, his head nodding slightly as well but the leader offered no comment this time. He knew of the strained relationship between his deputy and medicine cat; he had faith in both of their abilities and saw no reason to put one down for the sake of the other. They were both respectable cats in his eyes and he wasn't usually one to play favorites when it came to his clanmates.
By the time the older tom was rubbing the pulp into his legs, Grousestar had already finished the first mouse and eyed the second one for a moment before deciding not to push it. One mouse would be good enough for now.

"I think I can agree with you on that one. They'll have their chance with me one day, but hopefully no time soon." Swiping his tongue over his lips, the leader flexed his claws a bit as Shinefang finished placing the pulp on, going on to explain what the pulp was for and further warning him that if he needed to stop and rest while they were out there, they would do so. Laughing at the idle threat from the tom, all he could do was shake his head. "You treat me as if I'm some rambunctious kit and not Skyclan's very leader!" He teased lightly, grinning in the scarred tom's direction before slowly making the move to stand, now that his meal was finished. It took him a moment, and he made sure to do it as slow as possible, testing his limbs carefully. Being able to use them almost felt foreign for a moment. To finally have his weight back on them. And there was a dull ache, but the pulp was definitely helping. Once fully up, he would just stand there in the nest for a moment before slowly stepping out of it, flexing his claws again. There was still some weakness, but he was certainly more mobile he felt. Puffing out a breath, he'd look over at Shinefang with a small nod.
"Ready to go when you are, my friend."

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by king kaleb!

"Well, comfry root is good for bones, you chew the brown root up into a paste and lick it onto the skin. I personally bind broken bones with bindweed, its a flower thats white with a pink center star pattern, the stems are good for binding and are much more effective than simple twigs and cobwebs, plus i try to avoid using cobwebs since they can carry infection on open wounds. Goldenrod is a small, bell looking flower with a long, skinny stem and is like a pain killer when it comes to joints and the body in general. For this injury, its okay to use poppy seeds." they explained,"Id change the bindweed stems on the leg and reapply new comfry ointments every few days to avoid infection."

Shinefang nodded. "Guess I did something right then. Although I used comfrey and broom for the poultice instead. I'll check out this bindweed you were talking about later. For now, how about we move on to those herb dosages you mentioned." Shinefang returned to his herb wall then, her shredded ears pricked, and a small twinge of amusement lifting his aching spirit as he found himself suddenly taken back to his apprentice days when he was first learning to be a warrior, identifying scents on his mentor's command and learning all about the warrior code. He was awfully old to be an apprentice again.

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

Grousestar chuckled quietly at Shinefang's comment, his head nodding slightly as well but the leader offered no comment this time. He knew of the strained relationship between his deputy and medicine cat; he had faith in both of their abilities and saw no reason to put one down for the sake of the other. They were both respectable cats in his eyes and he wasn't usually one to play favorites when it came to his clanmates.
By the time the older tom was rubbing the pulp into his legs, Grousestar had already finished the first mouse and eyed the second one for a moment before deciding not to push it. One mouse would be good enough for now.

"I think I can agree with you on that one. They'll have their chance with me one day, but hopefully no time soon." Swiping his tongue over his lips, the leader flexed his claws a bit as Shinefang finished placing the pulp on, going on to explain what the pulp was for and further warning him that if he needed to stop and rest while they were out there, they would do so. Laughing at the idle threat from the tom, all he could do was shake his head. "You treat me as if I'm some rambunctious kit and not Skyclan's very leader!" He teased lightly, grinning in the scarred tom's direction before slowly making the move to stand, now that his meal was finished. It took him a moment, and he made sure to do it as slow as possible, testing his limbs carefully. Being able to use them almost felt foreign for a moment. To finally have his weight back on them. And there was a dull ache, but the pulp was definitely helping. Once fully up, he would just stand there in the nest for a moment before slowly stepping out of it, flexing his claws again. There was still some weakness, but he was certainly more mobile he felt. Puffing out a breath, he'd look over at Shinefang with a small nod.
"Ready to go when you are, my friend."

Shinefang gave a mrrow of laughter at the leader's comment. "Grousestar, compared to me, you basically are a kit. But most cats here are, so..." he finished with a shrug of his boney shoulders. He watched patiently at the brown tabby tested his limbs, taking his first steps a bit like a fawn. The old tom looked forward to the new life greenleaf would bring. Once the leader was on his feet and as steady as he was liable to be, Shinefang gave his pelt a shake to fluff it up and brace for the cold outside. "Then let's get going," he replied, moving to walk beside Grousestar to act as support should he need it, laying his tail on the other cat's back to steady him.

[graves]

Originally Posted by Charmer

Shinefang nodded. "Guess I did something right then. Although I used comfrey and broom for the poultice instead. I'll check out this bindweed you were talking about later. For now, how about we move on to those herb dosages you mentioned." Shinefang returned to his herb wall then, her shredded ears pricked, and a small twinge of amusement lifting his aching spirit as he found himself suddenly taken back to his apprentice days when he was first learning to be a warrior, identifying scents on his mentor's command and learning all about the warrior code. He was awfully old to be an apprentice again.

"Well, for dosages it can be complicated with any herb." they started, their tail tapping on the ground in thought,"With something more minor, like cuts or scrapes, poppyseeds arent needed at all. its with more major things like a broken leg, a head trauma, and so on. the more serious the injury though, th eless poppyseeds you want to give them, but enough to still make it feel painless. you still want the body to be aware of what its doing and not to slow down too much, you know?" they explained. they could really talk about herbs all day if they wanted to, and they could. it felt weird training someone older than you though,"but when it comes to herbs, i say guesstimate. I usually use only whats needed on a wound. a little wound, little herbs. more or larger wounds, more herbs. if you never know how much togive or use, just use half a mouth full."

[Charmer]

Originally Posted by king kaleb!

"Well, for dosages it can be complicated with any herb." they started, their tail tapping on the ground in thought,"With something more minor, like cuts or scrapes, poppyseeds arent needed at all. its with more major things like a broken leg, a head trauma, and so on. the more serious the injury though, th eless poppyseeds you want to give them, but enough to still make it feel painless. you still want the body to be aware of what its doing and not to slow down too much, you know?" they explained. they could really talk about herbs all day if they wanted to, and they could. it felt weird training someone older than you though,"but when it comes to herbs, i say guesstimate. I usually use only whats needed on a wound. a little wound, little herbs. more or larger wounds, more herbs. if you never know how much togive or use, just use half a mouth full."

"Sound like the poppy seed dosages are a lot more exact, but kind of a jusdgment call, and the poultices and leaves and such are more of a 'just use the amount the makes sense' sort of thing." He replied, trying to sum up what he was hearing. "Doesn't sound too bad. I ought to be able to keep that straight." Looking at the herbs again, and back at Daydream, he pulled a few more herbs down in the hopes the Shadowclan medicine cat could tell him how to use them. "Here's an idea. How about I pull down a few herbs I don't know so you can tell me about what they are and how to use them, and then maybe you could quiz me on the basics to make sure this dusty old thing is holding everything in," the old tom added, pointing to his own head. He pulled down some leaves that looked a bit like young oak leaves but smelled stronger (lovage), some green leaves with a fuzzy texture with bowed to form a kind of bowl when it was turned upside down (mallow leaf), and a third that looked a bit like chervil in that it resembled a fern frond, only the fronds were larger and the plant smelled tangy and foul compared to the sweeter scent of chervil. He swept his paw over them all and asked, "What are these, and what do I do with them?" The tom was obviously enjoying the learning process. It was good to be able to finally talk to a cat who knew how to use all these plants. There was no one here in Skyclan he could ask any of this. Either the cat wouldn't know, and he'd make them nervous about his lack of knowledge if not hostile like Auraflame, or worse, they would know. Then Shinefang would have to entertain the whole, 'is me doing this really best for Skyclan' question all over again, and He'd already done that several times today alone.

[fresh]

Originally Posted by Charmer

Shinefang leered at the little apprentice with an annoyed twitch of his tail. "Hey, Skyclan, lets all go wake up Shinefang from his nap so we can yell at him," the old tom murmured sarcastically under his breath. Next he held out his paw expectantly looking at the apprentice. "Give it here. Let me see it."

i believe this is where we ended off ;P

The she-cat reluctantly limped forwards so that the SkyClan medicine cat could see the thorn sticking out of her left forepaw, ears erect. Taking a deep breath, she began to explain the situation. "I was out battle training when I tripped and fell into a thick bramble bush. I got most of the thorns out but this one I just can't seem to snag this one." The thistle smelled a little bit sour and seemed to throb beneath her skin. She didn't want to tell Shinefang that she had waited a few days before she came to see him, afraid of another remark on the stupidity of apprentices.