[Fate of Five Staff]

★Dustcloud★
Medicine Cat of TreeClan

Over a hundred moons had passed since his time serving TreeClan. Yet there were still more ways the short-legged, scruffy brown tom might serve his Clan. They were told to refrain from outright warning the healers of the sickness setting in. That did not cripple them, however.

TreeClan had more to fear than a menace that claws could not catch.

The StarClan cat met Falconstorm in a beautiful, starry recreation of the wildflower meadow, but they would not be staying here. There was much to show Bluejay's apprentice, and the majority of it was outside of TreeClan's borders.

"Falconstorm," mewed the old tom, his deeply pensive gaze holding the fearless certainty of a cat long dead. "Walk with me. There is much I can teach you, but your Clan will wake and need you soon."

Such was the way of the living. The infection had taken hold, but with faith and guidance, it would not reach the roots and kill the entire tree.
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Word Count: 158 Words
Tags: Justice

[Justice]

He was confused, at first, to find himself in the clearing, remembering settling himself to sleep in the medicine den before this. It was like at Moon Tree, when he knew he had to be dreaming but didn't recall going to sleep. Would his dreams be like this from now on?

Falconstorm started when the stranger tom called out to him by name, fur fluffing up for a moment before he simply knew he was in the presence of a StarClan cat. He found his paws following as told, almost against his will. A dream was a safe place, he told himself, and there was no harm in following. Besides, he didn't want to seem rude to a cat of StarClan.

"Sir?" He came abreast of the shorter tom, head tipping. "Teach me? Who are you, if I might ask?" Still, he was walking and talking, not wasting time.

Fate of Five Staff
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[Fate of Five Staff]

★Dustcloud★
Medicine Cat of TreeClan

"Dustcloud, from a time when Cherrystar was leader. Long before Lionstar, or even the cat before him." Replied the old healer, and with a stoic wave of his tail, summoned Falconstorm to keep up. "Though much of what we need is right here in our part of the forest," Dustcloud gestured to a tidy clump of yellow, button-shaped flowers. "Tansy, daisy, and poppy seed," each flower was pointed out to Falconstorm. "Sometimes we must go beyond our borders to find other plants. That is one reason why Medicine Cats have immunity from border disputes, so cats do not needlessly die because catmint does not grow here."

To the untrained eye, catmint was hard to find, and even harder to distinguish between some of the most ordinary of plants. Raspberry leaves, without the tell-tale fruit, only complicated matters.

Dustcloud led him to the open woods, crossing the border into LightningClan territory without hesitation. "Look and remember well." The medicine cat added, and walked calmly to a dense area of vegetation, lowering his head to pinpoint the sweet scent of catmint. "This," a forepaw extended towards it "is catmint."
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Word Count: 187 Words
Tags: Justice

[Justice]

Medicine cat. He was being trained by a StarClan Medicine cat. But why? Things must be dire indeed if they were speeding up his training. He increased his pace so that he would keep up with the older tom, making sure not to outpace him. It was the courtesy he gave to all cats of his acquaintance, as he was long limbed and tended to walk briskly. Ears perked as the lesson began in earnest, looking around as they left TreeClan territory behind. He did know medicine cats had some leeway, but as a warrior it was still ingrained that one simply didn't cross borders unless traveling to Moon Tree or StarClan's Claws. And even then one traveled through borderlands.

Tansy, Daisy, poppy seed, he knew these plants by heart since they grew in TreeClan. He had learned his herbs, but sometimes still needed to double check on identifying them by sight. It was something he was getting better at.

Catmint. They were discussing catmint. Falconstorm's nose twitched when they crossed the border, the scent of LightningClan, even in a dream, potent in the area. Still, he followed the aged cat and leaned down when he was shown the catmint, sniffing at it delicately so that he'd know the scent.

For some reason tension eased from his body, falling into the pattern of dealing with a tom mentor. He enjoyed Bluejay, but his formidable moons had been under a tom of similar disposition to this Dustcloud. Also....catmint, for greencough. Was he going to need to find catmint in large supply? Was StarClan telling him to prepare for an outbreak of greencough?

"Chickweed grows in LightingClan territory as well, doesn't it?" Catmint was preferred, but for lighter cases, chickweed worked too. He had a chill in his bones. Something was very wrong and it scared him. Was this to be his trial by fire, his chance to prove himself capable as a medicine cat?

Tags : Fate of Five Staff
Notes : Falcon is catching on, though he's not going to say anything about his concerns in case this is just a lesson in general. Hence the chickweed question.

[Fate of Five Staff]

★Dustcloud★
Medicine Cat of TreeClan

"It does. Very good. Can you identify it?" Curious to see what this youngster knew, Dustcloud took a few steps away from the catmint. Chickweed had been the next lesson, but Dustcloud wasn't going to repeat himself and waste precious time.

Catmint and chickweed did not grow in the same area. Gradually, the ground became wetter under paw as Dustcloud led him to the flooded grasses. Stopping at the edge, the tall stalks of plants (both herbal and plain) clung to the StarClan cat's pelt, and a few lunar moths took flight from the disturbance. He didn't give away where the chickweed was growing; it was obviously growing here, Falconstorm was going to have to use his nose and eyes to find it.

Dustcloud took a deep, slow breath. There were plenty of good herbs here. Coltsfoot, which reminded him of dandelions (though it had white flowers instead of yellow), feverfew, and his personal favorite, goldenrod. It was rather potent, and could make many a cat sneeze, but that was a minor inconvenience when it was such a strong medicinal herb.
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Word Count: 181 Words
Tags:Justice

[Justice]

"Small white blossom surrounded by a flower patterned spread of smaller leaves then a larger set of leaves under those." He looked around then padded over to the herb, patting it with one paw. "This is chickweed. It'll get greener as the temperatures go up. Right now everything is still recovering from leafbare." He shifted on his paws then returned to the medicine cat's side.

"Alder bark can be found here too, as well as coltsfoot and dock." He looked around. "I must admit to not coming here looking for herbs, though I should. I'm always aware of our herb stores, so I know what we're running out of." And some of those herbs didn't grow in TreeClan's territory. Perhaps he'd ask for permission to go further afield to gather herbs with Bluejay once he woke up. Medicine cats didn't get into trouble for crossing borders, but that was under the assumption everyone knew he was a medicine cat now. Since the Gathering they should, as he'd been announced as Bluejay's apprentice both there and at the Medicine Cat meeting, but still.

And then he sneezed, looking down to realize he was standing almost on top of a goldenrod plant. Joy, sneezing.

Fate of Five Staff

[Fate of Five Staff]

★Dustcloud★
Medicine Cat of TreeClan

The youngster had a much fuller education than Dustcloud had first thought. As a medicine cat, he had learned to be adaptive; to changing symptoms, to changing weather, and to situations that might contain the unexpected. Dustcloud nodded. "And that's goldenrod you're standing in. Well done. You know your herbs for sickness."

Dustcloud made a clean leap over the goldenrod, which was no easy feat for a tom with shorter, thinner legs such as his. The StarClan cat carefully nosed through a dense collection of sedge, until he unearthed some small, purplish flowers growing close to the soil. "Have you been prepared for the kittings that will happen in newleaf and greenleaf? This plant here, is borage. Ignore the flowers, it's the leaves that are special."

Dustcloud touched his nose to one of the leaves. It felt sparsely fuzzy. "Touch it. Remember the texture. Can you tell me what it's used for?" It was to increase the milk supply in nursing queens. Dustcloud had no doubt that TreeClan was just as prolific in Falconstorm's time as it had been in his; he would be using this herb a lot in the coming future.
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Word Count: 193 Words
Tags:Justice