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Post by Fawn on Jul 19, 2016 19:14:36 GMT -5
⇒Medicine Cat of LightningClan⇐
Of the five territories in the valley, they were all very biologically diverse, which meant a plethora of herbs were available for the harvesting. Rookfrost's by now expert levels of horticultural knowledge were too advanced a subject to impart upon the trembling ginger assistant, and that required he bring the knowledge down to her level. That meant starting in familiar territory, LightningClan's own flooded grasses (though wetter than usual owing to the recent rainstorms), before he lectured her on plant locations in the four other regions.
If her intelligence were likened to the feline body, then she was still on the upper dermis, like a tick latched on to derive whatever sustenance it could from the body below it. Rookfrost intended to scratch the surface, peel back the layer of skin and fur so that Kindleflare might glimpse beneath it the broad, complex, beautiful world of science underneath.
But naming plants and describing their purposes were... dull. It would be a long time, if ever, before Kindleflare would be ready to understand the world in a larger perspective their inanely religious Clanmates would not be able to grasp. Rookfrost did not have high hopes for her; he did not have hopes at all. He had probabilities.
And probability informed him that she would be similar to her kin. Related, vaguely, to Dovesong. Rookfrost's eyes narrowed as he reached the flooded grasses, expression unreadable save for the tiny spark of contempt that flared across the icy gray surface of his eyes. He would expect very little from her. Middling success at the most.
"Herein lies chickweed, coltsfoot, alder bark and watermint." Rookfrost did not point them out. She had seen them, handled them in the medicine cat's den, though she had never been given cause to collect them herself.
Until now.
"I will allow one mistake. Make more than one, and you will consume what you bring. So I would advise getting it right." The lesson here was simple, and cold. Exploration and curiosity were traits he encouraged, but so too did he encourage correctness and accuracy. If she were to discover a plant he had not listed, then she must eat it and discover the properties for herself. Or suffer the adverse effects of not paying attention to their herb stores or his prior instructions.
No healer would feed their patient a plant they themselves would not dare to eat. Unless in the case of merciful death, but that was not a lesson Rookfrost could teach.
Not without incurring more than one alarmed look from LightningClan.
No wealth no ruin no silver no gold. Nothing satisfies me but your soul.
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| Conquer the monster in your head, and then you'll fly |
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GaleClan Medicine Cat
INVENTORY
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Post by BlooRey DVD on Jul 20, 2016 17:29:45 GMT -5
 As seemed the norm these days, the ginger and white medicine cat apprentice was left to stumbled through the territory, chasing her shadow of a mentor as the black pelted medicine cat led her off somewhere for something. Hold this, bring that, stay there, come here. It was a never ending circle of the poor she-cat doing something wrong. Or, as he tended to say, incorrect. Her tail flicked slightly, deep amber eyes glancing from her paws to her mentor's form as the young she-cat did all she could to not stray off the path set by the black tom.
Recognizing the Flooded Grasses from her warrior apprenticeship, Kindleflare couldn't quell the peak in her curiosity. Her ears twitched, picking up on the sound of animals scurrying in the distance. Immediately, she could feel her training as a warrior sinking in; the burning desire to drop into a hunter's crouch and track down the prey behind the commotion so that she might return to her Clan with something other than empty paws. But then she remembered that was no longer part of her life, that she was here with Rookfrost. Doing her best to tune out the sounds around her, she turned her attention back to the tom.
The dark ghost of a tom had slowed to a stop by now. Easing up beside him, Kindleflare worked up the courage to bring her deep orangey eyes to meet the tom's empty, gray stare. He soon broke the silence, listing the name of four herbs she'd seen before in the medicine cat's den. What he said next confused the young she-cat for a moment, causing her to remain where she was despite Rookfrost's rather... Expectant stare. O-Oh S-StarC-Clan w-what does he w-want?! W-What did I d-do? What a-am I supp-pposed to do!?
"O-Oh!" She failed to stop the sudden exclamation as Rookfrost's request finally sunk in. Tripping over her own paws, the ginger she-cat staggered while scrambling away from the black tom. Without any additional words, Kindleflare half-fell, half-leapt into the surrounding undergrowth to begin her search for the four herbs. C-Chickweed. Coltsf-foot. Ald-der bark. W-Watermint. She reminded herself. Ignoring the way her pelt still burned with embarrassment, Kindleflare focused her mind on the experience she'd had with the herbs previously. One was simply the bark of a tree. Glancing about, the she-cat began her search for an alder tree from which she could grab some bark.
It didn't take long for the she-cat to track down said tree. They were a little strange, alder trees, almost like a cross between a pine and any other deciduous tree. The branches came in thick groups, starting somewhat lower to that ground than say... An oak. But the clusters didn't dominate quite as low to the ground as pine trees did. The alder tree's design did, however, allow the she-cat to trot up beneath it, reaching up on her hind legs to pull swatches of the bark off with her paws.
After a moment of collecting the bark, Kindleflare decided she'd probably grabbed a sufficient amount. Gathering the small pile of bark in her teeth, she moved in a stationary circle, trying to determine what her next move would be. Watermint. Ch-Chicksfoot. C-Coltswee-Wait wh-what? She blink in confusion for a moment before laughing softly to herself with a shake of her hear. Th-That wasn't quite right... B-Better get this to Rookf-frost... Turning back the way she'd come, the LightningClan medicine cat apprentice retraced her steps to her mentor. She didn't manage to take too many before a familiar looking plant caught her eye.
The familiar plant was accompanied by an equally familiar smell, and she paused next to the multi-pointed, almost star-like leaves of the plant. She'd worked with this before, while counting the stocks in the medicine cat's den. It had carried a faint scent then, but now the scent was far stronger; she wondered if the scent was put forth by the white, dandelion-like flowers perched on a stem just above the leaves. Coltsf-foot! She told herself triumphantly, quickly placing the alder bark down so that she could start pawing gently at the leaves.
Pushing a few of the wide leaves aside, the ginger she-cat located the stem of the leaves and nipped off a few of them. After backing away slowly to ensure she left the plant in good condition, the she-cat was moments away from continuing on her way when her gaze landed on something with which she was most certainly not familiar. She sat for a moment, blinking at the strange row of long leaves, almost as though different strands of leaves were layered one on top of the other. Despite how unsettled the black cat made her, she knew he would know what it was. Didn't they say that curiosity killed the cat?
"U-Um... Rookfrost..?" She called out, still staring at the new leaves. "W-What kind of plant-t is th-this..?" Sitting next to the neat little pile of alder bark and coltsfoot leaves, Kindleflare awaited the arrival of LightningClan's shadow tom.  |
Note: The plant she is looking at is Ragwort ^^ |
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Post by Fawn on Jul 29, 2016 12:21:54 GMT -5
 - The devil was in the details, some say. More than finding the correct herbs, the black tom fixed his gaze upon her like a needlepoint, observing the way she collected the herbs as much as what herbs were collected.
To his faint surprise, Kindleflare exceeded his exceptionally low expectations of her. Given that the she-cat could hardly walk two feet without tripping over two of her feet, Rookfrost had all but predicted her clumsy nature wouldn't disappoint when it came to delicate operations. Delicate operations where a cat had to cut the stem without damaging the rest of the plant, and back away from the flora without treading upon the new growth or any fully-formed herbs.
His vision was acute, despite his advancing age, and he did not need to move little more than leaning to the left or to the right to observe Kindleflare's motions. He identified the plant she fetched before the ginger feline had stopped before him (he was beginning to wonder if her clumsiness was a psychosomatic condition of her poor self-esteem) with a question.
Another surprise. She did not ask 'did I do this r-right?'
Instead, she asked for the name. So she was aware that the plant she had brought back with the alder bark and coltsfoot was not one of the four listed. Rookfrost's black tufted ears swiveled, one picking up the distant birdsong in the trees above, the other staying fixed towards the apprentice in the event that she felt brave enough to inquire further.
"Ragwort." Rookfrost was very familiar with this plant. In order to maintain the lifestyle he desired (where he chose to work more than see to certain bodily needs beyond water and a hare every other day), Rookfrost consumed ragwort and sorrel when it was in season. It boosted his strength, along with the occasional wild mint for added mental clarity. "It is a strengthening herb. When we are finished, bring two ragwort leaves to Weaselpaw."
That tom continued to defy his estimations (particularly the expiring kind), and whether it was his duties as a healer to LightningClan or Kindleflare's similar style of defiance that jogged his memory, Rookfrost did not dwell on it long enough to decide.
With a dismissive flick of his tail, Rookfrost sent her off to fetch the last two, throwing no metaphorical bones by reminding her that chickweed and watermint were missing from the herb pile. The name 'watermint' was hint enough. If she wanted to find that aqueous plant, then she would have to find damp earth. Kindleflare would likely get out of his sight in the search for chickweed and watermint; that was fine. Contrary to his natural inclination to loom, the she-cat did not need him constantly towering behind her like a grave-marker to a cat approaching the end of its lifespan.
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| Conquer the monster in your head, and then you'll fly |
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GaleClan Medicine Cat
INVENTORY
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Post by BlooRey DVD on Aug 2, 2016 19:39:54 GMT -5
Following her dismissal, the ginger feline didn't scurry off to immediately finish her task. Instead, she paused a moment, ducking closer to the herbs she'd just deposited to examine the plant she'd recently learnt the name of. Squinting at it, she almost hungrily drank in all the details, the ridging on the leaves, all the while chanting the name in her head countless times. Ragwort. Ragwort. Str-Strengthening herb. Bring t-two leaves to Weaselpaw. Once satisfied with her evaluation of the new addition to her herb list, the medicine cat apprentice carefully gathered up her small bundle of herbs to continue her journey.
Since it seemed leaving them with Rookfrost was no longer an option (the black tom had gone off to StarClan knew where), it seemed Kindleflare was left to carry them along with her. She would need to be a little more careful, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem. When she had a set task (and therefore no time to spend thinking about how she might just trip up), she had a tendency to perform better. With a soft flick of her tail, Kindleflare let her sense of touch and sight direct her to her next task area.
She figured that watermint would be a good next bet. She had a brief recollection of Rookfrost telling her watermint, as it's name suggested, grew near water. From her days training to be a warrior, she'd learnt that some areas of the Flooded Grasses were more... Well, flooded than others. Picking a careful path to one side, she moved in the direction where the ground beneath her paws gave way a little more. Soon, she could feel water begin to pool beneath her pads. Amber eyes flicked over the various greens sprouting in the nearby area, doing her best to identify the different herbs.
The little blooming sprigs of watermint popped into her line of sight after a little time spent searching. Identifying a nearby rock as a safe spot to deposit her herb bundle, the medicine cat apprentice focused her attention on gently brushing the leaves out of the way of the stalks. A few small nips separating some of the sprigs from its base, and the ginger she-cat backed away carefully to leave the plant as undisturbed as she could. Returning to her previously deposited bundle, she placed the newly collected watermint on the top of it all.
Herb bundle in her jaws once more, the medicine cat apprentice waddled her way out of the damper ground, giving her paws a quick shake to dispel some moisture. The last herb on her mind was chickweed. Previous encounters with it in the wild had engrained the small white-topping flower in her mind. She remembered thinking the flower to be cute, especially when sat next to coltsfoot's much larger explosion of white flowers at the top. Keeping her eyes peeled for the small white flowers (and only tripping once over the course of her trek), she headed back in the general direction of Rookfrost.
Eventually, she stumbled onto a small spatter of chickweed. Going through the meticulous placement of her herb bundle, out of her way in case she staggered, she prepared herself to finish collecting the last plant. Her nose twitched as a rogue leaf tickled the tip of her nose. Standing up suddenly and stepping back so as not to accidentally damage it, the ginger feline just cleared enough space to allow herself to- "A-ACHOO" The force of the sneeze had the she-cat sitting on some grass that was not exactly perfectly dry.
Blinking her eyes in alarm, she glanced to her right and her left before promptly giggling. "Oh K-Kindleflare... That was s-silly..." She murmured to herself. Rising to her paws once more, she gave her nose a twitch before diving in again. Luckily, it went much smoother the second trial, the medicine cat apprentice returning to collect her herbs soon after. Pausing briefly, she gently pawed through each herb to ensure she'd grabbed the one she had meant to grab. Coltsfoot... Ch-Chickweed... Waterm-mint... Alder bark.. With the a-addition of ragwort. Giving a satisfied nod of her head, she set off to locate her mentor.
It took her a little time, given that she had a bundle of herbs blocking her sense of smell, but eventually, she found the black pelted medicine cat. Quietly dropping the herbs at his paws, she took a step back to let him evaluate her work. |
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Post by Fawn on Aug 3, 2016 18:15:37 GMT -5
- Fortunately, Rookfrost did not play witness to Kindleflare's unexpected display of clumsiness, sneezing herself into a seated position in the process of herb-collecting. It would not have lessened the she-cat's performance, as he judged based purely on results (and her collection process), but his lip would have curled at the spray of spittle and mucus she had expelled all over the plants.
Herbs were hardy. If they could endure the harsh mountain climes, the scorching Greenleaf summers and the root-chilling cold of Leafbare, they could endure his apprentice's... snot. After that brief glimpse of her progress, Rookfrost did not return to the last place she had sighted him, but completed a few minor objectives of his own.
With the apparent ease of repeated prior experiences, the black healer found horsetail growing where he had last seen it two moons ago, and collected the tall stalks, the bristly stems rough against his teeth, though his incisors proved the winner of each small battle. With precision, Rookfrost's right paw rolled the herbs into a neat pile, as though stacking twigs, and then he took an extra stalk, bending it around the stack until he had something of a knot.
Picking up the completed bundle in this fashion, Rookfrost avoided getting leafy appendages in his eyes or around his nose; he did not need to be exposed to allergens to have his senses irritated. Following Kindleflare's recent scent, already able to tell she had been successful in her procurement of watermint, chicksweed, coltsfoot and alder bark (he knew those scents better than he knew that of his own parents; considering he had buried them himself, that was saying something).
Rookfrost set down the horsetail, bending down to examine the herbs for damage (no doubt caused by her tripping over herself, or thin air). The bites were not expertly done, but for an apprentice of middling skill, they were satisfactory. Rookfrost's icy gray gaze settled upon the ginger she-cat.
He did not smile. He did not frown. He gave an order.
"Add these to the stores. It's time we returned." If she had any sharpness at all, then she would know that was praise enough as it was. Rookfrost, a critical perfectionist when it came to his trade, would not allow anything less than decent quality herbs in his stores (many of which he grew himself).
Kindleflare would not be getting a belly full of ragwort or water hemlock, the latter of which was incredibly toxic to most animals. It had white flowers, not unlike coltsfoot.
If the she-cat had made the perilous error of collecting the water hemlock with her teeth, then Rookfrost would have the tiresome task of dragging her writhing, foaming body back to Firestar. In the time it took to do that, he would have to practice his 'mournful' expressions, and hope she bought the story he could come up with.
But she had done well. The next time they were in the flooded grasses, he would warn her of the water hemlock.
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 | Word Count: 500 Words
Tags: BlooRey DVD
Notes: Lmao don't mind Rookfrost. He's just like "surprise, you could've died, but you didn't, so I suppose I will keep you as my apprentice." |
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