Coneflower (C)

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

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'Effect Dice' : 6

As Basilbloom described the flower, Duskflight tried to remember it in his mind, occasionally mumbling the description as cats began to set off in their directions. He too had begun searching. The tom sniffed the area around, wanting to if not find the flower— then at least, something useful. They could always use more herbs, couldn't they? He glanced behind and seeing that Cloverheart had no luck in finding it, frowned. Facing the large variety of unusual plants and herbs in front of him, Duskflight approached a certain angle of a bush, sniffing it. It was a unique plant... though its scent was odd, and it wasn't as how Basilbloom had described it. Best not to take it without knowing.

Then, suddenly, his ears swiveled over to Beechfang's direction. The tom's eyes widened with anticipation as he heard her announcement. Was it really the herb? With hurried steps, Duskflight trotted over to the molly, peeking over to get a closer look— also as a sniff to see if it really was it or not. It was sweet! Soothing in a way, too. What could it do? However, the tom still trusted Basilbloom's opinion more. After all, it was her that called for all of them to come along in this very journey to find the magical herb; and if this was it, it was there, after all! Even Beechfang's suspicion somewhat faded as he saw her pointed towards the herb. "Is this it, Basilbloom? The herb we've been looking for?"

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

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'Effect Dice' : 5

Muddythorn stayed close to everyone else as they navigated through Twolegplace, still not used to the chaos of it. He was glad when they discovered the garden, which was free of Twolegs and much more reminiscent of the forest back home. It was still unfamiliar, but better than the constant loud noises and threat of monsters everywhere nearby. Although there was enough space for him to squeeze under the fence, he still left a small tuft of fur where the wire snagged his pelt.

And so the hunt began. The medicine cat padded away from the group, searching for the long-awaited purple flower, or anything that could be of use, known or unknown.

Fallen trunks separated each patch of soil from one another, grouping them into different types from what he could tell. Larder plants hung over and protected smaller ones at the roots, and, hoping some of these sheltered plants had survived the frost, Muddythorn ducked his head into the bushes, eyes keen for a purple flower. Instead, he was met with the instantly recognisable scent of mint and, although not what they were looking for, it was still worth collecting.

"The purple flower isn't here, but if anyone's short on mint, there's plenty!" He called to the other medicine cats as he retreated from the bush.

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

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'Effect Dice' : 3

Basilbloom wandered slowly down the aisle of dormant foliage, watching as her patrolmates spread out and began the hunt in earnest.  Despite their unfamiliar surroundings, the young she-cat couldn't keep back the huge smile that burst upon her face as a strange fluttery feeling stirred deep within her chest.  In this moment, surrounded by herbs and leaves, flowers and friends...she felt so at peace.  She had never seen her position as being 'forced' upon her as it had been for Beechfang, Rookfire and Flintshard had given her plenty of freedom and she had taken the chance to become a medicine cat gladly.  However, as much as she'd loved to learn all the known herbs and all the techniques to heal, she'd always felt like there was some missing piece she couldn't quite place.  It hadn't been love or support, she had more of that than most cats could claim.  Nor was it motivation, never a day had she been unhappy or reluctant to help her clanmates.  It was only now, as she gazed around with new eyes, that she finally found her missing piece.

Passion, one so strong and true she could barely stand it.

This, looking for ways to make a better life for her clanmates, working together in peace with the other clans, striving towards excellence.  She was breaking beyond the barriers of normalcy into something extraordinary, and it filled her with endless joy.  If she had even tried to imagine her life as a small, weak, depressed kitten who was convinced she would live and die in the nursery she couldn't have ever managed to come up with something this grand and exciting.  It was a treasure, something she must cling to and never let go for as long as she was able.  This feeling, this rush of euphoria that almost brought tears to her eyes, she prayed would never fade away.  Even if they didn't find the flower, at least they'd tried their best...

"Basilbloom!"

The sound of Beechfang's voice across the garden, a bit more excited than usual, caused the tortoiseshell she-cat's head to snap up from the sights, finding the silver she-cat's form between the bushes.  Did she...?  It seemed she had, or at least something like it.  Breathless, Basilbloom dashed down her row and quickly joined the SkyClan warrior, Duskflight barely beating her to it.  Almost crashing into the tom, she patted his shoulder apologetically with her tail as she took a deep breath, looking up to the sky.  If it isn't, don't be disappointed, there's plenty more garden to search...  She looked down, and instantly let out a gleeful cry.

In front of her was a great clump of sharply pointed leaves holding long stems that rose above the bush, and at the ends of those stems was the flower.  In hibernation and a bit of decay, she would recognize that beautiful color and wonderful scent anywhere, and now that she had found it in the flesh it was no longer blurry and obscure.  Her paw shook as she reached out, expecting this dream to end as they all did, but she finally felt the texture of dried petals on her paw pads, and it took a moment for her to find her breath.  The slightly pokey center of the flower, raised above the petals just like she remembered, brushed against her fur, and the medicine cat chocked back a sob.  "Yes...this is it.  We've found it, we've found it! We've found it!!"  Her voice rose in the wind across the whole garden, but she couldn't wait for everyone to gather.  In the meantime, she gently plucked one of the dying flowers from its stem, pulling the petals apart and examining the seedhead.  When she shook it tiny reddish seeds fell to the ground, and she purred to herself; "It looks like a tiny pinecone..."  Glancing back at the stem, she noticed that sap was leaking from where she broke the flower off.  Taking a bit onto her toe she examined it; it was white and milky, much like other flower saps.  Lastly, she grabbed a leaf off of the bush that seemed free of frostbite or damage.  Laying everything before herself, she thought for a long moment before turning to one of the nearby warriors.  "Please, can you fetch me a mouse? I need it alive."

Once the warrior had returned with a frankly terrified mouse in their jaws, Basilbloom set to work.  First, using a nearby rock she crushed the leaf and petals into small bits, not yet daring to put any of it in her mouth to chew into a poultice.  Pinning the mouse on its back, Basilbloom quickly stuffed a few bits of leaf into its mouth and watched it swallow.  She waited for several minutes, watching intently, but the mouse's only reaction was fear and a bit of anger.  Next, she did the same with the petals, followed by the sap, and then by the seeds.  After the sun had risen quite far above the horizon she simply nodded and turned to her companions.  "I don't believe that it's a poison, if it was it would've taken effect on such a small creature by now.  That doesn't prove it's an herb though...but I know how we can."  Finally letting the mouse go free with a thankful (though probably not very comforting) nuzzle to its head, Basilbloom gathered up all the remains of the first flower and picked one more just in case before leading the way back towards the 'camp', where two cats in need lay waiting.

As soon as she returned Basilbloom ran across the clearing to Thrushnose and Timbersun, her amber eyes intense and focused.  "I've found the flower, and I've tested it to make sure that it's not poison.  I need to see though if it's an herb...would you allow me to test it on you?"  She looked between the two cats, hope glimmering in her eyes.  "Please, if we can prove that this flower can be used to everyone's benefit we will come home with the best news our clans have probably heard in moons.  I know we all come from different homes, but this trip has proven that through thick and thin we can trust each other in the most crucial moments.  This one, I believe, will be the most important of them all."

The tail on Thrushnose’s shoulder felt impossibly heavy as Basilbloom spoke. Disappointment and relief came paw in paw. No matter how badly she wanted to see this garden, logic prevailed in the end; she wasn’t fit to travel, not to mention the wounded Timbersun would be alone here, a sitting duck for dogs or those rogues Beechfang had spoken of to prey upon. She wouldn’t be able to drive anything off in this state, but she still had her claws, teeth, and some measure of instinct, and a few seconds of bought time could be the difference between life and death. Thrushnose nodded once she felt steady enough to do so. “You can—” A cough stopped her. “Count on me.”

Her voice was distant to her own ears, but the others must have heard it, because they set off without a moment’s hesitance. Thrushnose slumped near the Twoleg nest’s wall, tried to brush some of the ivy aside, and leaned in, letting the strange red stones support her weight as she stared at the hole in the fence. If she lay down, she would drift off again.

She might have anyway, because she jumped like a rabbit when something burst through the fence, bristling until she recognized the mottled figure as Basilbloom. Sitting up had given her a semblance of lucidity. Still, she had to squint very hard at Basilbloom to make the young medicine cat’s words make sense. After a moment, her attention drifted down to the things Basilbloom had brought back. A purplish-pink flower (awfully spiny-looking for a “miracle herb,” she thought) and a pile of dust that for the most part matched the flower’s petals. Thrushnose’s gaze slid back up. “How did you…?”

But there were more important matters at paw than how medicine cats tested their remedies for poison. They had to prove whether or not this flower was the so-called miracle, and they just so happened to have two cats here, one sick, one injured. Better to learn how it worked now than to wait for a real emergency. Besides…this was its own adventure. Not as grand as the garden the others had gone to, but it would be enough. Thrushnose closed her eyes. “Go right ahead. Just tell”—another burst of wet coughs; she cleared her throat once it passed, annoyance flickering across her face—“tell me what you need me to do.”

As soon as Thrushnose gave her permission Basilbloom placed four pieces of the flower in front of her - a petal, a leaf, a couple of seeds, and the flower stem.  "Try each of these and see if any help your cough or your congestion, lick the sap from the end of the stem.  Go slow, give each of them a chance to affect you before you go to the next one."  As she waited for Thrushnose, Basilbloom swept a quick glance over Timbersun.  Hopefully seeing one of the other cats go first would give him confidence.

Timbersun didn't feel too great about being left behind, he didn't feel too great in general. His leg and body ached, feeling his warm blood trapped to his body by the cobweb, it was uncomfortable, to say the least. The Windclan tom needed to be constantly moving, if not asleep, it just felt unnatural to be doing... nothing.

He waited, green eyes focused on where they left, ears flicking up as he saw the cats start to come back, Basilbloom going to Thushnose first... With something.... The herb?

"Basilbloom? Is that...?" He didn't need to finish the sentence. "How... where?" He had no idea other kinds of herbs existed, not like he doubted Basilbloom, she was a medicine cat, but there, a new kind of flower he had never seen in his life, right by another cat's paws.

He pushed himself up onto his paws, wincing as he felt pain spike through his leg as he stepped on it. He lifted it up quickly, starting to walk over to the medicine cat. "If you think it works, Basilbloom, I'll let you test it on me." He smiled, before slumping down again.

Separating the flower into its parts, Basilbloom laid them out before Thrushnose. A single vibrant petal, a pointed leaf, a pawful of tiny red seeds shaken from the spiniest part of the flower, and a stem with drops of pale sap hanging at its end. Thrushnose hesitated, her eyes narrowed. Even if she’d had her wits about her, she would have had no clue where to begin. Anything related to medicine tended to slide right out of her head like water off a duck’s feathers—stars knew she’d tried to learn before, back when Mossbloom was around.

Basilbloom had lined the pieces up in order, left to right. That was as good a place to start as any. Thrushnose tried the petal first, fighting a grimace at the strangely soft texture. Her nose remained stuffy, her head foggy, her throat sore. She sat for several minutes, brow furrowed, looking to Basilbloom so many times she lost count until she got confirmation she’d waited long enough. She shook her head. “Nothing’s changed.” The leaf came next, with the same results (or lack thereof); the only difference was that, this time, Thrushnose couldn’t stop her mouth from twisting. It set off yet another coughing fit on the way down. “Nothing,” she gasped, “again.”

The seeds, though unpleasant in their own way, weren’t as terrible as the things preceding them. Enthusiasm waning ever so slightly, Thrushnose settled in to wait once more. She heaved a quiet sigh—and froze. She could breathe. Not much—she still sounded sniffly—but more than she’d been able to in the past few hours. She inhaled again, blinking in wonder at the sweet scent creeping into her nose, and turned back to Basilbloom. “I…think that helped.” The sap, too, tasted faintly sweet, and some minutes after she’d swallowed it, the prickling in her throat began to recede. “It works,” she mumbled. “It really works.” This plant could help her family, it could save them. Though her plans for finding allies and bargaining for hunting grounds had fallen through, she wouldn’t be coming home with nothing.

Relief welled up within her, and she pushed out another long, slightly shaky breath. They weren’t done yet. This herb could help with sickness—one type of sickness—but injuries were more common and just as pressing, especially with the sheer number of predators desperate enough to test ThunderClan’s borders. Leaning back against the wall, Thrushnose looked to Timbersun to see how he would fare.

As Thrushnose gently took the first piece of the flower into her mouth, Basilbloom turned quickly to Timbersun as he agreed to test its effects on his wounds.  Nodding, though her face was still intensely determined and lacking its usual bright cheeriness, the medicine cat quickly plucked out the same things she had given to the ThunderClan she-cat; a leaf, a petal, the seeds, and the stem sap.  She chewed up the leaf and the petal into separate poultices, noting their smooth textures, and applied them to two different wounds on the tom's flanks.  Next, she took the stem sap and extracted it, applying the milky substance to another wound.  She thought about trying to apply some to his sore leg but knew that poultices usually did little for sprains.  Instead, she placed the seeds in front of Timbersun; "Eat these."  Perhaps they could offer pain relief.

She watched both cats closely, waiting for reactions, and at first, she didn't see much from Thrushnose.  After obediently chewing down the leaf and the petal to no avail Basilbloom could feel her heart begin to falter.  Oh StarClan, was I wrong?  Is it not an herb after all?  She continued on, however, refusing to let her doubts show on her face.  Thrushnose moved on to the seeds, and her hopes were low.  Not many seeds helped coughs.  A breath, a single breath, made Basilbloom's eyes stretch wide as moons.  “I…think that helped.”  "Yes, I can hear it!  Your breathing already sounds better, keep going!"  Basilbloom's paws kneaded the ground as Thrushnose tried the sap, and she couldn't hold back her brilliant smile.  "Yes, yes!  Oh my stars, it really works...thank you Thrushnose!, so much!"  Nuzzling the she-cat's forehead against her own, Basilbloom looked back to the other patrol members and meowed; "It's an herb!  All of you, go back to the garden and grab a share for your clans, make sure to get at least one seedhead so we can try and get it to grow in the territories!  Grab shares for Thrushnose and Timbersun as well."

Turning back to Timbersun however, she watched his reactions carefully.  If this herb could treat both injuries as well as whitecough and greencough...she would be speechless.