[Insidious]

Medicine Cat of TreeClan, 24 Moons, She-Cat

“Oh, good—you’re here.” Politely as ever, Bluejay glanced over her shoulder and offered her apprentice, Falconstorm, a gentle smile, ushering him into her den, their den, with an excited flip of her tail. Being a proud and active member of her Clan, she didn’t spend as much time focusing on their training as she probably should’ve. Pushing that aside, Bluejay was still fairly young herself, and she was adjusting to what it felt like to be a teacher when she spent so many moons working alone after Littletimber’s untimely demise. Never one to make excuses, she took advantage of some spare time she found, and put together a lesson for him that she thought would be entertaining and informative.

She took a seat, Falconstorm across from her, and then individually gestured to three separate piles of remedies spread out across the floor of their den. To the left was a small bundle of celandine, in the middle was a mixture of comfrey, dandelion leaves and fennel, and to the right was a mixture of coltsfoot and tansy. After allotting her apprentice a moment to analyze the different remedies, she placed a paw behind the mixture in the middle. “I want to quiz your memory, and I think this will be a good way to do it. Here, I have three herbs side-by-side, and I’d like you to first explain what each of them is, and second how they’re commonly used.” The more she explained, the more her expression brightened. She was clearly pleased with herself for coming up with a way to (hopefully) make it fun for him to learn about medicine. “Together, they can be used to heal a certain kind, or in some cases a variety, of illnesses and injuries. Give it your best shot.”

In medicine, there was always a wrong answer, but Bluejay didn’t like to focus on the negative. This lesson was meant to encourage him, to refine the gray areas, and she wouldn’t be upset if some of the answers escaped him. Unlike in her situation, he wasn’t without a mentor at any given period of time throughout his apprenticeship, so he was allowed to be uncertain.

In the moment we're lost and found
I just wanna be by your side
If these wings could fly
For the rest of our lives

364 - Justice - - leafbare 25 - that's right, folks, I'm actually here and I actually posted. Training thread! I hope you don't mind, Justice.

[Justice]

Falconstorm

31 MOONS, MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE OF TREECLAN

"I usually am, Bluejay." He quipped back to the small she-cat at her commentary, following after his mentor at a sedate pace since he had longer legs than she did. He didn't want to outpace her. He respected Bluejay, and how hard she'd worked despite all the odds against her, so he was always polite.

Once they were settled the tom quirked his head at each of the piles before leaning in to give each a cursory sniff as he identified each one mentally before sitting up. The explaining what each of them was was the easy part, remembering what all of them did was harder. He'd do his best, and his memory was good, so perhaps he'd give her what she wanted. If not, well there was a reason he was her Apprentice.

"To my left is celandine. Its a fairly common herb here in our territory, mostly used to soothe injuries to the eyes. It needs to be chewed down to a pulp, I believe?" He wasn't absolutely sure on that part. It was still a little overwhelming, all the herbs and what form they had to be in to be administered. Because their were several. And, admittedly, he'd been wetting them down and squashing them with a stick at first even if he looked silly doing it.

He had to sniff the middle pile again, thinking hard on the herbs before he answered again. "This is comfrey, dandelion leaves, and fennel. The comfrey is very hard to find in our territory, so its supposed to be used only as needed. Its put into a poltice for broken bones and helps to soothe wounds. We only use the roots on this one. Dandelion is a painkiller and the injured cat is supposed to chew it. Its probably the most common herb in the Valley. And the fennel is also a pain killer, used for hip pain. We break the stalks and give the cat the juice. So the middle pile are all pain relieving herbs." He was proud of himself for remembering that.

So far so good, at least he thought so. "The last pile is coltsfoot and tansy. The first is for shortness of breath and only grows sparsly in our territory. The other is....ah it can only be eaten in small doses and is found throughout our territory. Forgive me, but I couldn't tell you what it is we use tansy for."

MYSTERIOUS AS THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

Notes | Insidious | Words

[Insidious]

Medicine Cat of TreeClan, 24 Moons, She-Cat

She was used to Falconstorm’s quips, and had even grown to expect them on some level, so she did nothing but smile lightly in return. She had good reason to believe she held his respect, and that was in part why she didn’t mind his teasing; she was far from unkind, and would scarcely be seen giving a lecture when it wasn’t due, but as a medicine cat she knew what kind of treatment she deserved from her Clanmates, and she wasn’t afraid to offer gentle reminders when the line was overstepped. In Falconstorn’s case, however, she knew it was simply his way of being himself, and she’d never deny a Clanmate (or anyone for that matter) the right to express themselves freely in her presence.

She listened in polite, contemplative silence as he began with the celandine on her left, making sure he held her undivided attention from start to finish. There was something she wanted to add to his summarization, but she chose to keep it in the back of her mind until he was done. With the quickest, and likely easiest of the three out of the way, he moved on to the pile in the middle—the hardest if not only because it had the most—and she was pleasantly surprised that she had nothing to add. She nodded along as he continued, identifying the tansy and coltsfoot breezily, and then tipped her head encouragingly when he admitted that he couldn’t recall what tansy was used for in medicine.

“There’s nothing for me to forgive, Falconstorm. You did wonderfully considering how new all of this is.” She didn’t want him to ever feel like he needed to apologize for forgetting what a herb was used for. That’s what their lessons were for; she’d be shocked if he didn’t need a reminder every once in a while. “You’re right in saying that celandine gets chewed into a pulp, but you don’t want to put the pulp into the eyes—it’s the juice that you want. Also, tansy is used to treat coughs. It can be a wonderful herb to use alongside coltsfoot when a Clanmate is stricken with a bad case of whitecough and experiencing a bit of difficulty breathing.” Overall, she was impressed, and she expressed that with a jovial purr.

“Now it’s your turn to put together a connotation. What would you consider giving to a cat that has to make the long journey to the Moon Tree? Also, what would you bring to the nursery to help a queen about to give birth?” She individually returned her piles of herbs to their stores, and then made room for Falconstorm to access everything. He was most certainly welcome to ask for assistance if he needed it, but she was curious to see how he did on his own.

In the moment we're lost and found
I just wanna be by your side
If these wings could fly
For the rest of our lives

473 - Justice - - notes here

[Justice]

Falconstorm

31 MOONS, MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE OF TREECLAN

"Good, good." He flicked his tail, taking a deep breath to soothe his nerves. He'd excelled during his apprentice years going from kithood to warrior, surely this was going to be no different. Longer process, but similiar. He supposed his biggest problem was that his 'mentor' was a very pretty she-cat that he wasn't supposed to flirt with. The rules of the medicine cats were very strict on relationships. There weren't to be any. A good medicine cat treated the clan, all the clans, with the same level of regard when they were injured. A medicine cat was neutral. He had the highest respect for Bluejay, for how far she'd come and how far she was willing to go. Could he do no less than the other cat? He shook his head, focusing back on the present. There was too much going on in his life right now, training aside. But that, like other thoughts, were for later. Now was for learning, for listening to Bluejay and learning what she could teach him.

He did note what she said regarding the herbs, and wondered if he should make a casual joke about how nasty some of those herbs tasted. Because he'd had to help a few times now, and some of them were vile. Like he had to go wash his mouth out with snow sort of bad tasting. Though, he was sure she knew, it was a means of keeping things light.

Falconstorm blinked once at the task he was given, head canting as he stared at his mentor for a moment while his brain took in what he needed before heading into the storage area of their den. "Excuse me Bluejay." He made sure she had gotten away. He was a big tom, and there wasn't near enough room in the storage area for two cats when one was larger. The first one he came back out with and laid into a pile. "Burnet and sorrel wrapped in damp moss. Burnet and sorrel help keep a cat's strength up, and the moss to keep them hydrated. Chamomile and Daisy leaves are also useful for traveling to the Moon Tree, but those are less common to find and chamomile doesn't grow in TreeClan territory."


He left his pile there and went back for the second, taking longer because he had to remember exactly what he needed. He came back and laid out the offering. "Ragwort is best for the queens that are about to have their kits. It doesn't grow in our territory, so its hard to get ahold of. Needs to be crushed, chewed, and mixed with juniper berries." She'd said getting ready to have kits, not already in labor, so he stopped there.

So far, these tasks were on the simpler side.  Memorization was the easy part for him.  It was the practical part, the knowing what he needed when things got hectic, that he thought might be harder.  He wanted to do right by his clan, and would never just freeze up, but he might stumble on what he needed if Bluejay didn't just bark orders at him on what she needed.

MYSTERIOUS AS THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

Notes | Insidious | Words

[Insidious]

Medicine Cat of TreeClan, 24 Moons, She-Cat

Bluejay sat in attentive silence as her apprentice rummaged through the stocks. She’d never think to rush him, as the practice of medicine took time, and she’d sooner have him work at a pace he was comfortable with while the Clan wasn’t in a state of mayhem. It could be difficult to focus when a cat needed assistance around every bend unless a medicine cat had all of the facts straight; Falconstorm was getting there, but he wasn’t there quite yet. That was what a mentor was for, she mused, pleased to be equipped with the title. She hoped her apprentice would look up to her in the same ways she looked up to her own—Littletimber and Lionstar both—despite their closeness in age. After all, she had never been one to believe that age had to be an indication of maturity. Even as a kit she’d done everything she could to make TreeClan a better, happier place for everyone.

“Excellent.” Bluejay purred, eyes bright as she looked over the herbs he presented for traveling to the Moon Tree. He went above and beyond her expectations by including an explanation of other possible herbs that could be used in substitution. They were most certainly harder to come by, but it was never a bad idea to recognize the options that were available to him. Next, he came forward with ragwort, and explained what it could do for a nursing queen alongside juniper berries. The blue-furred medicine cat nodded along approvingly as he spoke. “If you know she’s about to give birth, it’s not a bad idea to come bearing raspberry leaves for her pain, as well—a stick would also be useful so she has something else to bite.” Her last words were tinged with a touch of harmless humour, the corner of her lip curling to show for it.

Overall, he did well, and she let out a mrrow of contentment as she stood from her seat. “That was a great lesson, Falconstorm. You’re learning so quickly.” Bluejay loved to dish out praise, but she knew when it was well-deserved. In her eyes, he earned it. “With that said and done, you’re free for the remainder of the day. Perhaps you’d like to join me for something to eat?” From the entryway, she glanced over her shoulder with a pleasant smile. There was no telling if Falconstorm would like to spend even more time with his mentor, but Bluejay certainly enjoyed his company, and she wasn’t afraid to make that clear to him. Of course, she wouldn’t be offended if he had other plans.

In the moment we're lost and found
I just wanna be by your side
If these wings could fly
For the rest of our lives

436 - Justice - - leafbare 25 - that's right, folks, I'm actually here and I actually posted. Training thread! I hope you don't mind, Justice.