The Med Cat's Dilemma: How to Heal Your Clanmates Without Losing Your Mind

When she had first transitioned from warrior to med cat there was no one left to pass on the knowledge to her from windclan. It was only thanks to thunderclan, smallbeans knowledge from long ago and her own hard work and persistence to learn alot of things quickly that they had any knowledge of herbs now.

With Birchgaze gone now it was... daunting to her to say the least. The thought that if something happened to herself she would leave some poor clanmate of hers in the same spot she had been in... she had felt so lost when she first became meddie and no official mentor to guide her. She wouldnt wish that on her worst enemy... Even Nightstar shouldnt have to have such a weight thrown on themselves and that is saying something indeed.

The pain of losing Birchgaze was not even cleared or accepted to her yet. She felt like she hadnt even been able to fully grief it yet and already she was worried about training her next apprentice... it all felt too fast and forced upon her again.. just like everything always ended up she had to be the one to carry the clan along it felt like.

She had been the one to step up when no one else wanted to transition from warrior to med cat and she had been the one to sacrifice any potential feelings she had for smallbean to keep the clan supported... In hindsight it was a good thing she did because now with birchgaze gone they would have had no one left as meddie if she had gone for that and for once tried to do something for herself instead of always keeping the clan first...

but all the same it always felt like it was on her to keep things 'afloat' and from 'sinking'... And that was okay... she loved her clan and all but... she was starting to get pretty tired of 'swimming' and felt like she was slipping a lot.

Sitting in the camp clearing she saw a patrol returning. She eagerly went over there and asked about any signs of Birchgaze... There was no sightings of them? No scents picked up? Nothing?? her tail drooped a bit nodding an understanding to whoever had led that patrol.

She saw some warriors glancing at her... She got all self conscious ... the dark forest were they lookin at HUH??!

Stalking off a bit she got some basic herbs from her den and went back out to the clearing muttering to herself as she did so.

"Alrighty t-then come on over sit down shut up and l-learn some herbs" she purred.

The good mood quiet batsong was not here anymore: losing two apprentices, two mothers, your only child and watching your siblings become eldered because you couldn't protect or heal them will do that to you I suppose.

Fuzzface was not the cat to ask to cheer anyone up, that was for sure. But for whatever reason, he'd found himself drawn out of the warrior's sleeping area and sitting in front of Batsong. Why was he here? That was an amazing question. Perhaps the medicine cat's new dreary demeaner had begun to somehow torment him or perhaps deep down he actually cared about learning something, no matter how much his mind tried to protest the idea.

In additon to questioning himself and why he'd even shown up, part of him wondered why she'd bothered calling them over, seeing as though she didn't seem to be in her usual cheery mood. He supposed even if the dark pelted was going through something... she clearly still wanted her clanmates around or else she wouldn't have summoned them over. Perhaps teaching them about herbs was her way of taking her mind off things and distracting her from her worries, whatever those were. Well, whatever her reason was; it wasn't his job to play Mr. Investigator.

"First question," the plump tom began, his small ears perked forward with interest and his short tail wrapped as far around his round body as it could. "How many herbs are edible?" Fuzzface couldn't resist asking such a question and decided what better time than now, seeing as though she'd brought them here to learn. He simply wasn't like his clanmates, seeing as though he was able to find more interesting questions to ponder about.

Sootpaw darted from behind the larger warriors to stand before Batsong. He had yet to receive a lesson on herbs, since it had only been a few sunrises since he was made an apprentice, which made this lesson all the more special. Sootpaw sniffed curiously at the leaves on the ground, his breath sending some fluttering away. They smelled earthy, and dry, a bit like braken but also like grass. But aren't they grass? It was also the scent that clung to Batsong and the medicine cat den; surely not all herbs smelled like this? How could you differentiate one leaf from another otherwise?

Sootpaw was quick to add in his own questions to the other warriors. "These are so cool, but they all look the same! How many different herbs are there?" Sootpaw inquired, leaning towards the medicine cat.

Batsong blinked a bit suprised but in a pleasant way at the number of warriors who were actually interested in this.  She supposed she had told them to come over but the mostly seemed genuine in their questions and wanting to know more about it.

She gave a little smile even if briefly.  Her clanmates always knew when to have her back it appeared.  Their questions were amusing and all of them great.

"no p-poison this time she nodded to sleepy remembering back to when she explained how dangerous certain herbs were.

"and she brings up a good p-point.  D-dont eat any herb you dont know about, especially any berries you find w-without knowing what they are" she figured this was kinda common sense but hearing Fuzzface's question and knowing him... well it was worth the reiteration.

"hmm I dont know exact number that are edible Fuzz she purred a little thinking about it with a shrug.

"b-but if you stick around for the l-lesson I can let y-you sample some afterwards" Fuzz was about the only cat she knew who enjoyed eating herbs besides maybe herself.  Most cats found them very bitter but his taste was perhaps very refined she thought. She could eat them alright now being so used to them and he seemed to just not be as picky as alot of his fellow clanmates.

She nodded to Sootpaw's question. "yes t-they are all very cool, and each of them has special p-properties that can help heal you or your f-friends" she explained.

She shook her head a little gently at the next part of the apprentices quesion however.

"Well... maybe at first glance they look the s-same but come closer" she beckoned them all closer to the plants and herbs laid out so they could really inspect and get a closer look.

Todays lesson was on traveling herbs: so burnet, Chamomile, Daisy leaf, and Sorrel were all laid out.

"l-looking closer we see that they have distinct differences.  S-see the Sorrel here with the b-broad leaves?   N-now compare that to the Burnet with the smaller leaves with the zig zagging edges.

"The burnet gives strength for the moonstone journey and the the sorrel helps with appetite she explained their differences




She leaned back a bit... Hmm Fuzzface had already had traveling herbs on his moonstone journey but since he had been good and showed up for her lesson... she should give him something new to try perhaps...

hmm what to try and feed him? Juniper berries!! Perfect.

She went and got some quickly showing them all.

"These, are juniper berries.  They can cure tummyaches and are good for relaxing the mind too.  They are not generally a traveling herb but I suppose they could be added.  You may all try one if you l-like

Since all of them had been so attentive and asked good quesions, perhaps a mind relaxing herb would be nice to not overwhelm them with so many new herbs to learn all at once.

She passed them out grinning with a shrug to Fuzzface she wondered how well he would like this.

"its a slight p-pine flavor with a touch of fruitness and just the s-slightest peppery bit she explained to Fuzzface... everyone else probably thought they were silly but Fuzz and her spoke in their own little language and understood each other, both understanding the finer things in life and the subtly in foods.

Sootpaw listened to Batsong intently, determinded to remember every word the medicine cat said. Sorrel has broad leaves... Burnet has smaller leaves and jagged edges... The Travelling Herbs are Sorrel, Burnet, Daisy and Chamonile... So many herbs to remember! No wonder medicine cats are so important, and not required to do any warrior duty. They must have their paws full with collecting, organising and finding herbs, not to mention healing their clanmates. Sootpaw inwardly winced as he recalled the time he had been sent into the medicine cat den for several nicks after he had fallen into a bramble bush when he was a kit.

At Batsong's offer, Sootpaw gently picked up a berry with his teeth. The berry was crushed almost instantly, and the flavor was as Batsong described; similar to the pine from Shadowclan, fresh, and a bit sweet as well. Very different from any meat he had ever tasted, but not in a bad way. No wonder it was used to soothe the mind.

With a grin on his maw at her comment about being able to try some afterwards, Fuzzface listened with interest as she explained more about the herbs that she'd brought to show. He took note about how some of them looked similar yet had very distinct purposes, or how some had different scents than others. He found it to be a curious thing how Batsong was able to remember where to find them throughout the territory and how she was able to name them all with such ease. He supposed with time came knowledge, he just couldn't imagine putting such effort into plants of all things.

Ears perked with interest as she went and quickly returned with something new, the round warrior watched with anticipation as she began to hand out a berry. As it was set down on the ground in front of his paws, he listened to her explanation before leaning down with no hesitation. Chomping down onto the berry, his sharp teeth squished it with easy and its' sap-like juices flowed into his mouth. Replaying what she'd just described about the juniper berry, he agreed with her description. At first it had the general taste that other berries held, but the aftertaste that followed brought a slight spice-like taste to his tongue. She sure was getting good at describing the flavors of her herbs and plants.

"A bit... zesty, I'd say," Fuzzface added with a confident nod as he licked his lips. The thing he learned about berries was that if not eaten carefully, they'd leave behind a red-ish stain all over his muzzle and paws, and it took ages to get out of his fur. Luckily this time it had only been a single berry so he hadn't been able to make much of a mess, but he could never be too careful.

Aspenpaw was wandering around the camp when he saw his brother, Sootpaw, bounding towards a small group of cats. Intrigued, Aspenpaw silently padded after his brother, following his silhouette. He saw Windclan's medicine cat, Batsong, at the center of the group with random plants scattered neatly around her. He saw Batsong handing out to the cats some of the berries she had and the other cats gobbling the berries up. The berries looked purple-blueish and round.

Aspenpaw glanced around at the cats, realising that he recognised another cat's familiar pelt besides Sootpaw, Sleepyhollow, the lean pelt. Curiosity got the better of him and he wondered about what they might be doing. He suddenly forgot that he was planning to stay silent as he approached the group, not bothering to keep his pawsteps soft. "What are you all doing here?" He blurted out inquisitively, suddenly feeling shy as all the cats turned around to face him. Should he have not interrupted? But he was just curious.

No harm in asking, right? The atmosphere did seem a little awkward now... What they were doing did seem interesting... Looking once again at the plants around Batsong, he waved a paw at those plants, which seemed like herbs, judging by the smell they gave off, and asked another question before things got more awkward, "Are... are those herbs?" Trying to break away from all the attention, he lowered his head to lick his chest fur.

Sootpaw purred as Aspenpaw joined them. His brother always asked such awkward and obvious questions. The apprentice nudged Aspenpaw's paw away from the herbs and explained, "Yup! Those are the travelling herbs, meant to be eaten before a long journey. That leaf that's broader than the rest is Sorrel, and the one with jagged edges is Burnet, and that one over there is Daisy. The last one is Chamonile!" Sootpaw glanced over at Batsong to ensure that he had recited correctly, then continued, "And this berry is a Juniper berry, meant for soothing the mind and bellyaches."

"Oh! That seems interesting! Would all of you mind if I join your group?" Aspenpaw asked politely, excitement shining in his bright green eyes. He wanted to know about herbs, those herbs did seem interesting, he wanted to know more about them.