[Shystar]

Originally Posted by squidz

| BERRYSHINE |

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

[ riverclan medicine cat | she-cat | 18 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Berryshine's eyes widened as Spiderpaw spoke, and a gentle scolding was on the tip of her tongue... but then her gaze softened moments later when the apprentice apologized. The medicine cat let out a reassuring purr, resting her tail tip briefly on the young one's shoulder.

"R-Remember... it's my job to make sure our Clan is well. E-Even over the small things. I'd much rather you pop i-in even over the smallest scratch just to make sure it's alright rather than keeping it to yourself. T-Trust me."

She gave Spiderpaw a soft smile before it fell with a sigh, seeing how painful the infection was. With a frown, the medic plucked out a few herbs from her pile, pushing forward a few small leaves from a borage plant. They were a wide, bristly things but didn't hurt to touch. Their scent was refreshing, almost like rain.

"T-This is borage," Berryshine explained, nodding for Spiderpaw to touch it. "It's an herb t-that is going to help work on your infection from the inside, to make you feel better. Please, eat these leaves. We m-might need to give you a few doses, so I'll likely keep you overnight, i-if that's alright. I want to monitor your condition, s-see if the swelling goes down."

The small brown molly then pushed forward some goldenrod and cobweb, beginning to chew up the yellowish flowers. Making a little bit of a poultice, she spat it onto a moss ball and began dabbing it gingerly on Spiderpaw's swollen lip, sure to be gentle; the inflamed flesh looked angry, as if it stung just to observe it.

"T-This should help clean up the wound, and I'm going to try and bind as much of the area a-as I can with cobweb to prevent more gunk from getting in there. Since it's by your lip, w-we may need to keep refreshing it often, because your saliva will make it less sticky over time."

Despite her usually-jumpy nature, Berryshine spoke calmly and kindly as she described the remedies to Spiderpaw, helping the apprentice to understand. As she gently dabbed the cobwebs over the parts of her muzzle, she gave her a sympathetic look, gentle but pointed.

"N-Now do you see why it's important to come to me, e-even if you think it's small...? Don't feel ashamed, though; you're far from the only Clan cat to do it. Stubbornness runs in our blood," she added with a grim chuckle. "Just be sure to check next time, o-okay? Better safe than sorry."

[ -0.5 moss, -0.5 goldenrod, -0.5 cobweb, -1 borage ]

Berryshine frowned at the thought; he'd always been sickly? Some cats had weaker immune systems than others, yes. But that didn't sound good. She placed he tail tip on the queen's shoulder, giving them a sympathetic look.

"I-I'll do everything I can to check him a-and make sure, okay?" She mewed gently, trying to be as reassuring as she could. Then, she turned to her herb stores with a thoughtful hum. Coughing, wheezing, sickliness... none of it was good. What were those herbs that were safe for kittencough...?

Plucking out a bit of coltsfoot, an herb with wide and ripply-edged green leaves, Berryshine returned to the kit with a soft look in her eyes.

"T-This is hard, because I'm sure he's hardly weaned... b-but we'll have to try and see if he can eat some of this, even if we must crush it up finely. It's coltsfoot, a-and it helps with coughing and breathing issues. Do you think you can get him to eat some...? I will try if not, o-once he's awake enough," the medic mewed, glancing down at the poor kit.

@Lizardclaw [Greenkit]

Berryshine watched the apprentice carefully, leafy-green hues following her every move. She didn't want to push Starrypaw too far, and since this was completely new territory for both of them, she was mindful to look for anything that may indicate it was a poor idea.

But to her relief, Starrypaw had lapped up some of the mouse's blood... and seemed fine. Well, a bit skeptical and uncomfortable, or perhaps conflicted. But not throwing up or recoiling, so that was a good sign! A purr of approval left Berry's throat and she gave the 'paw a soft smile.

"Y-You're doing very well, you know. Perhaps you can try and take a bite? Please, g-go as slowly or as little as you need... but I think it'll be good to try."

[ yes we can do that!! we'll get her to a good stopping point here and then i'll tag her to be included on a future rp with blood :3 if i don't have one naturally i can make stag come in with something small LOL ]

Berryshine perked up at the sound of her name, turning around. Falconfire, a warrior she recognized, was coming in for some... illness, perhaps? Frowning in concern, the medicine cat returned the respectful dip of her head in greeting before padding over.

"Angry, hm? I-Is it because you're in pain?" She knew that elders could be particularly cranky, but especially when their joints ached or their muscles were sore. Or when cats had fevers, they may be restless and irritable because of an inability to get comfortable and sleep.

Berryshine gave Falconfire a sniff with her pink nose, attempting to detect any signs of actual illness — a scent, a heated temperature, that sort of thing. But she couldn't detect anything off the bat. Her small head tilted in thought. "Hm... a-any feverish symptoms? Soreness? Stomach pangs?" The list of examples went through her mind.

It would be a little bit before the young she-cat would consider the fact that maybe, just maybe, this illness was a little less of one that she could fix with an herb.

Berryshine hummed in thought, looking a bit grim, assessing Frostkit's answer. The kit really wasn't responding to any visual stimuli...

She gave Oakblaze a solemn look. "L-Like I said earlier, it's hard to say since kits take awhile to develop proper eyesight, but... i-it doesn't seem like Frostkit can see much of anything. N-Not even just blurry shapes, if I had to guess."

There was a pause. The medicine cat furrowed her whisker brow, contemplating. Then she sighed, keeping her voice low and gentle. "I-I'll come check in on Frostkit and monitor her from time to time, t-to see if this improves at all. If we're lucky, she'll keep developing and improve as most kits do. B-But if not... we may need to consider trying alternate forms of learning and training," she mewed slowly. There was an indirect implication in her words: that Frostkit may be permanently blind. She didn't want to say that so early, only at two moons — but it was a possibility.

[ @BlowingBubbles - Oakblaze ]

The kitting had begun.

Berryshine was at Pearlshine's side as the queen started to give birth, her small paws gently massaging her swollen belly so as to urge the little kits out of there.

"I-It's alright, Pearlshine... just give me a good push w-when you can, okay? I think they're about ready to come out..." She swallowed hard, her nose scrunched in focus. A stick and a ball of moss lay by Pearlshine's muzzle, which was for the queen to bite into and drink from as needed. The rest would have to be ridden out as they went.

"A-Alright... on the count of three. One... two... three—" The medic tried to gently urge the queen to push, keeping an eye on the kit(s) that may be entering the world any moment now. They'd land in a plush moss nest beneath Pearlshine, and Berry would quickly move to get them ready once they arrived. Her heart pounded as she kept herself calm; kittings never felt that much easier due to their variant natures, but at least she had quite a few under her pelt by now.

[ @Moondew @Sunstreak @namen_roodles ]

Pearlshine already seemed exhausted but she kept going determined to bring her kits into the world safely. Oh but how she longed for Clamfur to still be here.