Newleaf Blooms

A couple sunhighs had passed since Daisybloom had settled into her new nest in the medicine cat den, and the day had come for the she-cat to experience her first herb hunt. A light drizzle had freshened the forest air, making the undergrowth damp and the breeze cool as Mossbloom led the way out of ThunderClan's camp. Looking over at her apprentice, she explained their task for the day.

"Since it's Newleaf now, we're going to be seeing more bee stings and shallow wounds than usual. Unfortunately, we're also quite low on oak leaves, which help prevent infection. Do you remember what blackberry leaves look like?" Mossbloom asked, stopping and turning towards her apprentice as they reached a clearing.

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6: Blackberry Leaves, Dock, Oak Leaves
4-5: Borage Leaves, Cob Nuts, Stinging Nettle, Tansy
2-3: Catchweed, Daisy, Dandelion, Heather Nectar, Mint, Parsley
1: Nothing or Foxglove Seeds, Holly Berries

Daisybloom had enjoyed getting used to her new life, now she had a nest and area in the den, and had learned a few tidbits of information. She listened as her mentor spoke, and she followed her out of camp. As she was asked the question, Daisybloom had to think for a moment. ”They are the oval shaped leaves...kinda spiky?” she guessed. She thought that the description fit the plant she was thinking of. Of course, there was a chance she was thinking of the wrong thing entirely. Even if it was wrong, it was nice to be out of camp. Her first herb hunt! It would be a nice experience, and she could learn something as well.

"Yeah, that's just about right, they have an oval shape that comes to point, and they are quite prickly, so be careful with your tongue! We can chew those into a pulp that helps to ease the swelling from bee stings. For stings, you have to be very cautious in your treatment, sometimes the thorn that the bee has will get stuck in where it stung the cat - we want to remove that. In much the same way you would take out a splinter, grasp it carefully with your teeth and pull it out, making sure to clean the wound immediately after. You want to make sure you've gotten all of it out, otherwise the wound won't heal properly. Now, dock is great for scratches and sore pads, it's a plant with the massive leaves, which we chew up into a poultice and apply to the wounds. Pretty simple poultice, easy to make really quickly, and you can make a lot of it at once to use for multiple cases." As Mossbloom spoke, her eyes landed on a clump of stinging nettle nearby, and she chirped. Making her way over to the tall plant, she looked over the fuzzy-looking leaves.

"This is stinging nettle. The seeds in the flower can be eaten to induce vomiting, in the case of bad prey or poison. The leaves have small hairs on them, see? They make a weird stinging sensation when you touch them, but we can chew those into a pulp to bring down swelling in wounds, especially in infections, and we can include it to help the process of broken bones healing." Gingerly, Mossbloom picked a couple of the leaves, leaving the flower buds behind. "The seeds aren't formed enough quite yet, so we'll have to come back for those another day. We're off to a good start though! Can you find anything around here, or should we continue on?" Mossbloom purred, speaking around the odd sensation from the leaves in her jaws.

The member 'Mosspelt' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 5

Daisybloom listened silently, taking in all of the information and trying to store it in her brain. She would need it someday, when she would have to heal some-cat. ”Okay.” she said after her mentor had finished. She watched as her mentor grabbed a clump of herbs, and explained it’s uses. She nodded, and soon Daisybloom’s eyes landed on another clump. She bent over and picked it up gently. ”I got...this.” she wasn’t quite sure what it was. It was parsley, and she waited for her mentor to explain it and it’s uses to her.

The member 'Deer' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 2

"Ohhh, good find!" Mossbloom purred, setting her herbs down in a pile on some wide ivy leaves. Daisybloom certainly was catching on fast, and the thought warmed her heart as she sat near her apprentice, gazing at the herbs she had found and presented. "This is parsley, we give a small amount to cats that are experiencing a bellyache and it helps soothe the pain. You must be careful though, you don't want to give parsley to a nursing queen as it stops the flow of milk. If you have a queen with a bellyache that is still nursing her kits, watermint is a better option." Mossbloom explained, looking around. "We won't find watermint around here, as it usually grows around water, like by the river." Her eyes did land on something else as she looked though, and another mrrrp left her throat as she approached it. A plant with large leaves stood before her, and she beckoned Daisybloom over. "This is dock, we chew up the leaves and lick it into scratches. It also does wonders for sore pads, which is especially good after long journeys, like Moonstone journeys! We have a lot of apprentices, so there will be plenty of those coming. Are you excited to someday lead the apprentices yourself?" She turned with a smile to her apprentice, a good-natured twinkle in her eye.

The member 'Mosspelt' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 6

The tabby nodded as her mentor explained. She felt that she had so much to learn. She tried to remember the new information that Mossbloom had bestowed upon her. Daisybloom followed her mentor towards the plant, which turned out to be dock. She smiled as the medicine cat mentioned Moonstone journeys. It was something that she was excite, but also nevroius about. She didn’t like having that much responsibility. ”Yeah! It’ll be pretty cool!” she said. It would be a while before she did so anyway. Soon she almost stopped on a plant, but she bent down to inspect it. It was the blackberry leaves they had discussed earlier. ”Blackberry leaves!” she exclaimed.

The member 'Deer' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 6

The medicine cat recognized the mix of excitement in her apprentice's eyes, and she laid her tail on her shoulder gently. "I was nervous too. Don't worry, you have a while before you have to make the journey, I'm not old yet! My mentor, Pricklebush, was training both Mistleshine, RiverClan's recently retired medicine cat, and myself. I took over doing the Moonstone journeys in his absence as an apprentice. It took a couple times to be totally sure of myself, but once you've done it a few times it becomes second nature. It does a number on your paws though!" She lifted a paw, revealing the hardened pink pads. "Makes it easier to handle the herbs that are prickly though, so it works out." Daisybloom padded off as she set to gathering the herbs, and just as she finished her voice sounded just a little ways away. Setting the dock with the other herbs, Mossbloom turned to head over to Daisybloom again, tail curling with a pleased chirp. "Wonderful! A great find, do you remember what blackberry leaves are good for? I know we just discussed it, but I found repetition helped me remember."

Daisybloom smiled. Her mentor could relate to her so easily. It was almost as if they were the same cat! ”Ok..” Mossbloom wasn’t very old anyways, so she would most likely be around for a lot longer. Unless... ”Mossbloom, can I ask you something?” she asked. She wanted to know the answer to a burning question in her mind. ”Bee stings!” she mewed, the memory still fresh in her brain. This little trip was helping a lot! Soon, yet another herb appeared. It was holly berries. The apprentice wasn’t sure what they were, and she bet down to give them a little sniff. She didn’t remember seeing these in the medicine den. ”What are these?” she aske,d, wishing for the medicine cat to come inspect them.

The member 'Deer' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 1

At Daisybloom's question Mossbloom paused, tilting her head slightly. "Of course, Daisybloom, you can always ask me anything. I can't promise I'll have the answers all the time, but I can promise that I'll do my best to get an answer for you. What's on your mind?" Daisybloom responded correctly, and Mossbloom nodded. "Yep, that's exactly right!" As she set about collecting blackberry leaves, waiting for Daisybloom's question, her apprentice wandered to a nearby bush. As she deposited the blackberry leaves with the other herbs, she turned to see the bush that Daisybloom had approached and fear clenched her belly. Hurrying over, she looked Daisybloom over as she neared her side, relief filling her as it appeared she hadn't gathered any yet. Just in case though... "Daisybloom, did you touch any of these yet? These are holly berries... They don't have any medicinal value, but can kill kits if we're not careful. It probably wouldn't kill a healthy, fully grown cat, but it would make them terribly sick. Please tell me you didn't take any of them...." There was a reason she didn't keep holly berries in her den, the red color was so naturally enticing to young kits and she simply didn't want to risk it. The only things she kept in the den were a tiny pile of foxglove seeds wrapped tightly in several layers of ivy leaves tuck in a far corner of the den, along with a similarly minuscule amount of deadly nightshade, also wrapped and tucked in a far corner, out of reach of kits and hidden in a way that only she knew. She hadn't gotten around to telling Daisybloom yet, but that was a talk for another day.

Daisybloom nodded, her blue eyes very serious. ”What’s going on with Starclan?” she asked. It had been worrying her. Multiple leaders dead, other cats dead, she was worried about it. She herself was half-clan. She wasn’t sure Mossbloom would be able to answer, but she hoped that her mentor knew at least something. As she stood by the bush, Mossbloom’s concerned tread made her take a step back. ”Huh? Oh, no I didn’t. Why?” she asked. It was just a berry, and it looked pretty harmless. Still, the fact that the medicine cat was so scared that her apprentice had gathered them, and how close the tabby had been to grabbing them...It must be something bad. It unsettled her. She had let down her guard, but obviously she needed to be more careful. Some of these could be dangerous.