Lay your head down [Snowfoot]

Had Snowfoot not come to her first, Heatherberry would have dragged the elder to the medicine den by the ear - a distant cough or a slight sniffle always made her anxious, and Snowfoot was experiencing just that. "Take a seat in the nest I've prepared for you, Snowfoot." A new, clean nest with extra padding and fluff had been prepared in preperation for now patients; the old nests beginning to fall apart and flatten. The elder would be the first to use this one, so Heatherberry also made sure she added some lavender to the nest for a nice scent. "When did you start feeling unwell?" Her voice was kind as she shuffled through herbs, taking mental notes of the ones she would need to replenish later.

Snowfoot took a deep, shaky breath. “I started coughing a little bit a couple days ago, but didn’t think too much of it. It was just today while I was trying to sleep that it — “ she broke off in a coughing fit “— got bad.”

"A couple days ago..." Heatherberry muttered under her breath, only slightly relieved it had started so soon. The other part of her worried that it was happening to an elder. She listened to the slight wheeze that came from Snowfoot's chest as she coughed, eyes looking exhausted. The poor elder hadn't slept a wink since this started, had she? Rummaging around once more, she pulled out a bundle of small, black seeds. "I'd like to keep you here for a while. It seems you may have Whitecough... Here, chew these well and swallow. Catmint and Poppyseeds." One to help soothe the Whitecough and one to give the poor she-cat some much needed rest.

“Thanks,” Snowfoot mewed. She hadn’t been sleeping well, although one of her headaches had been part of the reason, subsiding just in time for the cough to pick up where it left off in tormenting her. After taking the herbs, she looked back at Heatherberry. “You know,” she purred, “I don’t (cough) get to talk to you very often, but I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. I’m thankful your mother found you when she did. You know, I was that lost kit once. We both made something of ourselves, didn’t we?”

A kind word was always appreciated, but it was rare to get it these days. She remembered her first time arriving in ShadowClan camp, hiding behind Leopardstar's spotted legs before she was handed off to Snowfoot and Sablepaw for a bit. Snowfoot had been kind then, as well. A smile crossed the medicine cats face as a purr began to rumble in her chest. "We really have, haven't we?"

Large, fluffy body took a seat next to the elder, determined to stay beside her until she was in a peaceful sleep. "I've never fully heard your story... Can I ask how you came to ShadowClan?"

“My story, hmm?” Snowfoot purred. “It’s (cough) a long one, but I guess you weren’t around for a lot of it. Froststar, my father and your great-grandfather, found me on the territory when I was about three moons old. My mother was a loner named Light and we’d wandered near clan territory in search of prey. My ma had promised me she’d be back to our den by sunhigh when she went out to hunt that day. She… never came back, and I learned later that a fox had killed her. I’m thankful to this day that he made sure I never saw her body.

I was already named Snow, but it was my father who first called me Snowkit. Swiftheart introduced herself when we first got to camp, and I knew I liked her. She was barely a warrior back then. Murkystar was the picture of hospitality and made sure I got to the nursery and was seen by Basilbloom, the medicine cat back then. I didn’t know it at the time, but Murkystar had just barely been made leader… maybe I am old,” she admitted with a chuckle and a cough.

“Your grandmother, Deerleap was in the nursery then, I’d say maybe five moons? She actually made me my first nest in camp and was very patient with me. We became best friends pretty quickly despite the age difference, though I missed her a bit when she first got apprenticed. That leafbare was rough in general, it was stupid cold and it’s no secret I’m not the fluffiest cat around.

It’s actually because of my parents that I decided to adopt kits in need. My mother taught me love, and my father taught me that love is stronger than blood. I don’t have his blood, he never even met my mother in life, but he was my father nonetheless. Come to think of it, you’re my kin and yet there isn’t a single blood link between us.” She’d coughed a few times over the course of the story, but her breathing was improving somewhat.

OOC: I'm so sorry I also took a bit for this topic i'm so so sad she's dead now...


IC: Heatherberry nodded, soaking up every word Snowfoot spoke: Froststar, Deerleap, Basilbloom, Murkystar... And the elders loner mother, Light. All but Froststar she was unfamiliar with, but learning they all had a connection intrigued her. She imagined these cats walking the camp and sharing tongues as Snowfoot recounted her past. "Deerleap may not be with us anymore, but I will gladly share my pelt with you if the winter grows too harsh." Heatherberry was a large and fluffy cat, her appearance making it obvious that she was not Clan born.

She gave a small smile when Snowfoot called herself old. "I envy the thought of growing old. I hope I can lay where you have when I grow older." A very rare thing these days, unfortunately. "You're right that we don't share a single drop of blood between us, but I still think of you as family. You were one of the kind souls that greeted me when Leopardstar saved me from drowning as a kit, and I keep that in my heart always, even though we rarely got the chance to speak these days. I appreciate you and the kindness you've shown kits like me. ShadowClan needs that." Her fluffy tail swished around to brush against Snowfoot's shoulder in comfort and in thanks. "How are you feeling? Any better?"

Snowfoot nodded. “Yeah. I think I might take a nap if that’s okay.”

OOC: Sorry for the one-liner.

Heatherberry purred. "That's more than okay. Rest all you like."

ooc: no worries!