Kestrelkit is ill

Kestrelkit woke up in the nursery and began coughing softly. She had coughed every so often in her sleep the night before, but she didn't think about it. However, now that it had been overnight since she began coughing, her throat was hurting, and she felt very chilled, as in unusually chilled. Kestrelkit felt a slight tickle on her nose and sneezed. Ugh, I better not be getting sick she thought to herself. The she-kit stepped out of the nursery and into the morning air of the camp to see if fresh air would help her feel better.

Ears pricked, Emberpaw scanned the clearing. He could've sworn he heard a cough. There it was again! And a sneeze! The tom rose to his paws, spotting a kit who had just sneezed. He padded over. "Hi, your Kestrelkit, right? Why don't you come to my den and I'll check you out...you seem to be coughing a lot." He smiled at the kit, then turned around, flicking his tail for the kit to follow. My first patient! Yay!

Kestrelkit was going to refuse, but she didn't really see a reason to. It wasn't like she was going to be missing out on too much, since she was just a kit. Therefore, she willingly followed Emberpaw to the medicine cat den. She let out another short coughing fit as she followed him.

As they entered the den, Emberpaw turned to Kestrelkit. "Hmm...let's see here. Sit down on that bed of moss over there. Good, now, tell me; does your chest hurt?" He needed to ask some questions to figure out what was wrong. Hopefully it wasn't Greencough.

Kestrelkit obeyed the medicine cat apprentice and sat down on the bed of moss that he had pointed to. "My throat hurts a bit," she told Emberpaw in a hoarse voice.

Emberpaw nodded. "Okay, does your nose feel stuffy? Can you breathe alright?" He cocked his head to the side in a curious manner and his wild eyes search Kestrelkit for answers. He raced through his mind, thinking of the best herbs to use. Honey would be good, and catnip of chickweed.

"Mostly just runny for now. I've been sneezing on and off a lot lately," the black-and-brown-spotted kit replied.

Emberpaw nodded and studied the kit. The messy-furred ginger tom put his paw up to Kestrelkit's forehead, feeling a bit of a fever. "Okay, lay down. I know what to do," he purred to the she-cat.
Emberpaw padded over to a pile of herbs and rummaged through it. "Ah-ha!" He pulled out a leafy green plant which had an attractive smell to it and a blue star-shaped flower. Carrying the Catnip and Borage leaves in his mouth, Emberpaw ran over to a different pile and dug through it for a strong-smelling round yellow plant. He gave another ah-ha as he found it.


The tom chewed up the three plants into a paste, then spitted it out onto a leaf. On a separate leaf, Emberpaw put some honey on to help soothe Kestrelkit's throat and help the medicine go down.
Carrying the two leaves over, he dropped them down in front of the she-cat. "Gobble it down, darlin'. It'll
 help that cough of yours. Let me find something for your nose..." The odd cat ran off, searching through piles.

Deciding not to be stubborn about eating the herbs, Kestrelkit obediently licked up the herbs. She disliked taking medicine, but she knew that the less stubborn she was about it, the sooner that she would get to feeling better. She ignored the bitter taste as she ate them.

"I see you've started treating Kestrelkit already." Gorsefeather commented, the tom strolling in with fresh borage in his mouth from his exploration of the woods over near the Twolegplace. He laid the leaves out in the sun to dry, before coming over to look at his apprentice's handy work.

"What have you given her?"

Emberpaw looked up as his mentor walked in. "Yes, Gorsefeather, I have. She's a great patient, obedient and adorable." He smiled at the kit. "She has whitecough, so I gave her a bit of Catmint, some Borage leaves for her fever, some Tansy for her sore throat, and some honey. Any ideas for a runny nose?" Emberpaw asked his mentor. "Maybe holding cobweb up to it would catch the snot to stop it from running." He searched through piles, going through each herb to find one that would help.

Gorsefeather listened to his apprentice speak, rattling of each herb mentioned in his head to double check they were the right ones. Overall, he was impressed at how Emberpaw had handled this situation. Though he had some minor corrections to make regarding the diagnosis and perhaps the choice of herbs.

"Emberpaw, I like the fact you have taken initiative. But I have to ask, what season is it?" It was no trick question, he really was asking about the season.

"Um...It's Greenleaf," he purred. The fuzzy tom sat, tail wrapped around his feet. "Why do you ask? Don't you know already?" It was odd how Gorsefeather had asked the season. Emberpaw's grey eyes flashed around the den, not focusing on Gorsefeather.

"Yes, it's Greenleaf. And while the weather has been chilly, not enough any cat should be catching Whitecough. And judging by how far her illness has progressed with no one else catching it, what other illness could it be?" He spoke frankly, not attempting to shame the apprentice in anyway. In Gorsefeather's opinion, this wasn't Whitecough. There had been a slight breeze lately, and that could have easily caused Kittencough. But the conditions were just not right for a case of Whitecough. If it truly was that deathly illness, they had bigger problems than a kit.

Emberpaw thought for a moment. "I don't know...maybe Kittencough? Or a cold? Doesn't the herbs I use heal Kittencough too, Gorsefeather?" The ginger apprentice looked at the kit, inspecting her again.