Musing with Mistle - July (OPEN)

"Mallow..comfrey.." Mistlepaw murmured, pushing the respective herbs into their piles. The last moon had been filled with chaos and disorder. Sure, she got her medicine cat name, but not even five sunrises later, her mentor bled out on the sand while she stood by helplessly. She had to take Adderpaw on his Moonstone journey (which she didn't mind too much), but the sense of loss from her mentor's death still hung heavily in the air. And the medicine cat meeting; great Starclan, what a disaster that was. She had a breakdown in front of all the medicine cats there over something that was out of her control. Out of her control and yet..she still blamed her self. She was constantly going over the 'what if's' and 'if only's' ever since Fallowlight's chest no longer heaved. If only she had been quicker..if only she had been there sooner..if only she had been more skilled! "No," the sole Riverclan medicine cat hissed at herself, "it wasn't your fault, Mistlepaw. There was nothing we could do. We tried our best but..she was too far gone." Her claws began to bad touch against the dirt, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. No, she couldn't cry now. She had to be strong. "Think of something else. Think of.." Ah, the nightmares she was having. She couldn't forget the prophetic dreams that were being thrown her way, causing her to never get a good night's rest.  In her dreams, she was always drowning, despite knowing how to swim. Could it be related to the prophecy she received? Something about a...Jay's Flight and foaming waves. What could it all mean? So wrapped up in her thoughts, she barely noticed the soft patter of pawsteps swiftly coming her way. Her heart leaped in her chest. They couldn't see her like this, stressing over medicine cat things! Quickly plastering on an emotionless expression, the gray and white tuxedo returned to the task at hand. "Mint..goldenrod.." she recited lamely as she set the herbs aside. She didn't bother to look up when the steps halted, instead meowing a greeting, "Hello. What brings you to the medicine cat den today?"

The large, golden tom stopped for a few seconds when the she-cat noticed his presence so fast. He blinked twice a bit surprised yet it was not really strange. After Fallowlight... Mistlepaw had been spending a lot of time here alone... any slight sound would surely catch her attention. Berrycloud turned his gaze to the plants on the she-cat's paws and gulped for a second, reminding Goldeneye doing the same in the past. He still had conflicted thoughts about her when she performed his Moonstone Journey... That caused him to be a little more distant from Medicine Cats in general which was not a good thing at the end. After all, that was why he was here. "Hey... sorry to bother you, Mistlepaw. I was just wondering if you have something for an infected wound? I know I should have come here yesterday... but I haven't felt quite like myself, lately." He mewed with a short, yet a little sad chuckle. The warrior showed her his front leg and a large, red scar that was forming over it. The fur was dirty and covered with dry blood but the wound was definitely the worst part. Berrycloud didn't want to put a big burden over the young she-cat's shoulders, especially since she had recently lost her mentor. Yet, the pain was too much and it kept him awake almost all night. Without proper rest, it would be hard for him to perform his duties and get away from camp as he wanted to do.

The stench from the infection reached Mistlepaw before Berrycloud even explained himself. She bit back a gag, swallowing thickly as she looked up to meet the warrior's gaze. "Y-yeah..you probably should have came in with that a few sunrises ago.." She chuckled nervously, beckoning him to come closer despite the odor emitted from the wound. Starclan, she had never smelled something so bad in her life! And she thought being a medicine cat wouldn't be so bad... Mistlepaw nosed through her herb storage, grabbing chervil, catchweed, moss, and marigold. She padded over to a small pool of water and dipped the moss in to make it wet. She would clean the wound this way without getting too close and accidentally vomiting all over it (Starclan forbid). She made her way towards him, putting on the bravest face she could muster as the stench wafted into her nose. "You really..really should have come in earlier," she scolded, 'tsking' at him with her tongue. "Here, chew on this and swallow the juices," she dropped the green plant at his paws and nudged it closer, before getting to work on his wound. 

Mindful to be gentle, the gray and white tuxedo dabbed the moss onto his wound, grimacing every time Berrycloud flinched or squirmed. Once the wound was clean enough, she chewed the marigold into a poultice and rubbed it on. Finally, she stuck the small green burrs into his fur so the treatment couldn't be rubbed out. "There," she murmured, stepping back to give the golden warrior some space (and to grab a few fresh breaths of non-infected wound smelling air). "How..how does it feel?"

The tom just shrugged and let the she-cat do her work. The experienced warrior followed her instructions when she showed him the herbs. A memory came back to him from the first time he had to eat herbs while being a young apprentice. The taste wasn't as bad as so many said but of course, it wasn't fish. He picked the plants in his jaws and munched them while Mistlepaw healed his wound. She was more dedicate than Goldeneye but a little slower though he didn't really mind it. He just flinched a couple of times but forced a half smile each time to not worry the young medicine cat apprentice.

Once she was done, the golden tom lifted his paw a little, noticing the good work Mistlepaw had done. Jaystar wasn't wrong about her after all and despite losing her mentor so young, it was clear she knew what had to be done. Berrycloud looked at the grey and white she-cat, smiling tiredly. "It is perfect. I mean, it still hurts a bit but it's way better than before!" He admitted, making himself comfortable in one of the moss beds. The scent of herbs brought him so many good and bad memories. Mostly good, though. It was a place for him and his siblings to explore and play. Since they knew Goldeneye was the one who brought them here as rogue kits, he always held some closeness to the medicine cat den. But those days... were just memories, dreams of a young, cheerful tom who would soon learn the cruelty of this world.

His expression got a little darker, remembering how of an inconvenience he was to everyone. "I'm sorry... for making deal with this. I thought I was doing you a favour by not coming here but it seems it didn't really help at all... as usual..." He mewed sad, meeting the green gaze of the she-cat once again. For a few seconds, the tom remained silent, thinking in a way to make it up for Mistlepaw. And soon, an idea came to his mind. "You know? I have spent a lot of time here in the past... playing with my siblings as a kit and when I visited my brother Sparkfrost when he was injured. I know a little about how to move around here and since you seem to have a lot of work, maybe I can help you until this thing recovers? I know I'm not a medicine cat but an extra paw is always good." The tom smiled, but a hint of sadness could be seen behind a fake, cheerful expression.

As the tom praised her work, Mistlepaw beamed. That meant a lot to her, especially since this was one of her first times with a major wound like his. Major infected wound, to be exact. Dappleshine's gashes didn't smell as horrid as..as his had, not to be offensive. She prepared to return to her work so he could rest quietly and undisturbed, but the golden warrior seemed to have other plans. Instead, he tried to strike a conversation with her, and offered to help her with her duties. Most of it flew over her head as she briefly retreated to gather a more herbs for memorizing and sorting, but she was able to catch the hint of sadness in his voice. After noticing this, the she-cat took a moment to examine his eyes, and what she saw swirling within those emerald depths troubled her. She recognized that look. It was the nearly identical way her reflection stared back at her, plastered smile and all. Her ears flattened as her heart was enveloped with sorrow, but she decided not to comment. What Berrycloud was upset about, she didn't know. And frankly, it wasn't any of her business.

Instead of intruding, the medicine cat apprentice did her best to keep him company. He was lonely; his eyes were screaming that. As her patient, she felt as if it was her responsibility to make him feel better. Determined, she set the herbs down with a smile, sitting down near his nest with her tail curled around her paws. "You're right..I could use an extra hand. Especially since it gets so lonely in here, now that Fallowlight is..well..." she hesitated at the mention of her late mentor. Although she was getting better at accepting Fallowlight's death, mentioning it out loud was enough to set the gray and white tuxedo at unease. A sigh escaped her lips as she nudged an herb towards him, a plant with yellow flowers. She was eager for a subject change, and naming the herbs provided an easy switch for her. "Anyways, I forgot what this herb was called. I know that it treats cracked pads and helps with breathing troubles. I know it starts with c, but I just can't put my paw on it. Do you have any ideas?" she glanced up at him with a smile, yellow-green eyes shining.

The tom understood how hard it could be to just... say that someone loved was dead and gone. You knew they were up there, in Starclan but that didn't make it any easier. Berrycloud curled his tail around his body and looked down at the small plant that the medicine cat gave him. The yellow flowers were easy for him to recognize because he used to play around pretending he was "mixing" between them due to his golden fur. The tom looked up at the she-cat, a smirk on his face. "So you're testing me, huh?" He purred with a defiant expression yet playful expression. "If I recall right... that must be Coltstfood. I and Firepaw used to collect them in the past but I never knew what was their use." He let out a genuine chuckle while talking, remembering those long past happy memories.

His eyes shone as he looked around at the medicine cat's storage. For a few seconds, he went silent, admiring the high amount of different herbs that the she-cat had in her paws. "You know? The work you do... is really amazing. Warriors are more brute force than anything but medicine cats... you are really geniuses! You have to learn all these plants' names and how to use them. And Starclan shares their wisdom through you. That must be pretty neat, isn't it?" Berrycloud just expressed his thoughts out loud but he didn't feel ashamed because of that. After all, he was just saying the truth and, if he had to be honest, the company of the young she-cat somehow brought him peace of mind. A place where he could just hide from all the troubles that lurked in his mind and be... himself.

Her shoulder still stung where the eagle's talons had struck the day before, and Mistlepaw had ordered her to take it easy and come see her the next day. So, upon waking up, Dappleshine had padded for the medicine den, stopping at the fresh-kill pile on the way as she saw the hare she had fought so hard to keep still sitting among the prey. Grabbing it as she passed, she stopped at the entrance to the medicine den, hearing a conversation inside. Not wanting to interrupt, but also not wanting to face a scolding later, she quietly padded in, hare dangling from her jaws. She set it down neatly on the floor of the den before speaking up. "Hi, Berrycloud. Mistlepaw, I'm sorry for interrupting... I'm just here for you to take another look at my shoulder, when you get the chance. I brought you the hare I caught, it's too big for me to eat alone so I thought maybe, if you wanted, I could share with you if you're hungry." Looking to Berrycloud, she gave a small smile. She didn't know the tom very well, he seemed to keep to himself for the most part, but... "If you want some too, Berrycloud, I'm sure there's plenty to go around! I got some nasty wounds for this hare, it better be the tastiest thing I've ever eaten." She said, only half-joking. For the amount of trouble she had to keep it, it really better be as good as Raventail said.

"Coltsfoot," she mentally noted, setting the small bundle aside. She listened intently as Berrycloud recalled his own memories, and found herself smiling as well. It sounded like a lot of fun. Competing with another apprentice over who could gather the most herbs. Unfortunately, as Riverclan's only remaining medicine cat, she couldn't afford to.  "Well, now you do know," she chuckled, turning to grab another miscellaneous herb from the pile. As she did, she overheard him speaking about medicine cats and..and praising her work. Her pelt flushed and she smiled shyly, although he couldn't see. It wasn't the first time someone praised her work; in fact, her patients were always grateful when she finished mending their wounds. Still, it never failed to flatter her when she did receive a compliment. Mistlepaw carried the herb carefully, and dropped it at Berrycloud's paws. It had a thick stem and long, flowering buds. "This plant helps ease a really bad infection," her gaze darted between him and his infected wound, a playful expression on her face. "Now that I think of it, you should probably take a bit. You have to swallow the sap, or else nothing will happen." She used her claw to make a slit, and watched as sap slowly oozed out.

As she did this, a voice sounded from the entrance of the den. The gray and white tuxedo looked up and met Dappleshine's blue gaze. At once, the memories of the events that transpired came back to her; the poor she-cat stumbled into her den, barely able to stand on her own. The minute she finished dressing her wound, she was passed out. She remembered thinking that perhaps, the gray molly had...had gone to join her ancestors. Thankfully though, the poppy seeds were just taking effect earlier than she had expected. She hadn't lost another cat that day, and hopefully wouldn't lose more in the future. "O-Of course! I'll be there right away. Berrycloud, suck on that while I'm away." She stood and padded over to Dappleshine, quickly examining her shoulder. The wound was healing nicely, but as she expected, the poultice was wearing away. "Your wound is on the right track. I just need to reapply the poultice, and then I can send you on your way," she led her to one of the empty nests, conveniently next to the golden tom, and instructed her to lay down. Immediately, she began her work, chewing the goldenrod until it became a poultice. She rubbed it onto the wound, mindful to be gentle as it was still healing. Once finished, she applied a few catchweed burrs to protect the poultice. "There, that should do it. Feel free to rest here for a bit. It's a slow day, and I don't mind," she meowed, quickly going back to fetch the hare Dappleshine had left by the entrance. She brought it to the two warriors and laid it down at their paws, "you guys can take the first bites. You earned it, after all. With how amazing patients you've been."