Aching (closed, solo)

Panting and sobbing, Softbreeze jumped up, awoken from a nightmare. Shyfawn was in front of her, but Softbreeze stared right through her. Blood. So much blood. Blood everywhere, flowing in rivers. A voice. Dappleshine's. And Goldengale's, Raventail's, too. Help us, they cried, save us, but no matter how hard she tried, Softbreeze could not reach them.

Running in circles, she dashed through ominous darkness, heart racing and chest pounding. She called out for them but received no answer. Finally, she saw a cat. Sprinting a full speed, she suddenly stopped in horror as the cat was revealed to be Theron, standing on the corpses of her three Clanmates. "You're too late, little Softbreeze," she purred venomously, before jumping at her-- but not her, Downtuft, who was beside her-- with claws unsheathed. It was at this point in the nightmare that she awoke each time.

Shyfawn awoke with her joints aching this morning, so stiff she could hardly walk. The arthritis truly was catching up with her, hmm? While not as young as she used to be, Shyfawn never considered herself old. Until today. Her legs had never given her so much trouble before, and she instantly knew a visit to Softbreeze was urgent. Dawn was barely here, but the sooner she went to see the poor medicine cat, the quicker she'd feel relief.

Noticing the medicine cat was sleeping, she almost felt guilty for waking her, until she realized she was tossing and turning, whimpering with tears down her cheeks. A nightmare, poor scrap, she clucked sympathetically, deciding waking her up from the hellish dream would be better for the both of them. "Softbreeze, sweetie, my joints are rather achy this morning. I hope you don't mind being woken up so earlier. Are... You alright dear?" Shyfawn asked gently, eyes round with honest concern. The little mite had been through more than enough lately, and Shyfawn couldn't help but think she was awfully young for such a heavy burden.

Her blue eyes were vacant, as if they stared right through her, and Shyfawn wouldn't be surprised if they had.

Softbreeze barley registered the words of Shyfawn and she titled her head slightly. "Aching...joints..?" After a moment of her mind drawing a blank, it finally occurred to her what Shyfawn needed. "Oh! Yes, yes of course. Last time you said the poppy seed, comfrey leaves, ragwort, dandelion, and elder leaves didn't work as well as the fennel, Feverfew, elder leaves, comfrey root, and juniper, so we'll try a mixture of the two plus some stronger herbs this time."

Thinking over her herbs and their uses, she decided on which she wanted to use. "Okay, let me gather my supplies, lay in that nest. Oh wait, no, not that one! That's Aspenheart's; that one there, sorry, my bad." Softbreeze winced at her near fatal error, telling Shyfawn to lay in Aspenheart's nest on accidentally, before quickly fixing her mishap. With a sigh, she turn and headed to her stores, nodding as she retrieved each parcel.

Even with the fight she had with her former mentor, she knew she could never be able to get so angry with him as to replace his nest. "Chew the marigold, sorrel, and chamomile while I'll apply a daisy, comfrey root, and marigold poultice to your knees. That's the aching part, correct? I crushed willow bark into it, and it's been sweetened with heather nectar, so it won't taste too horrid." As Softbreeze explained, she began to chew the three herbs into poultices, mixing them together with expertise.

Shyfawn smiled sadly at Softbreeze. So she still hadn't gotten over Aspenheart's death, it seemed. Of course not, she was sensitive and they were close. However rocky it may have been, Shyfawn and all of WindClan knew just how much Softbreeze and Aspenheart had meant to each other, and his loss had only been strengthened as more and more of the cats' Softbreeze knew personally passed into StarClan.

When the medicine cat asked if the aching originated from her knees, she nodded, unable to speak as she was busy chewing and eating the assortment of plants in front of her. After a moment of two, Softbreeze finished, and approached Shyfawn with and herb she recalled as fennel. The old molly watched the younger one snapped the stalk in half and instructed Shyfawn to open her mouth and swallow the juices.

Shyfawn instantly obeyed Softbreeze, gratitude showing in her eyes. "Thank you, darling. I feel much better already. The chamomile was a strength herb, no?" Having been in here so many times, she was beginning to understand the names and meanings if a couple of the herbs, though Softbreeze didn't talk quite as much anymore. Softbreeze smiled faintly, nodding, before wishing Shyfawn well and waving goodbye, saying that she had to go on an herb patrol this morning.