turbulence [open to skc]

"This is a load of foxdung." Graywind griped between coughs. Her breath rattled painfully in her chest, bouts of coughing interrupted futile attempts to sleep. exhaustion kept her unwillingly hostage to the nest that Smokepetal had made for her, and the warrior was far from happy about it. That she wasn't alone in her suffering was far from a comfort, too.

Lightningbreeze's voice pulled Graywind's attention toward the other warrior, and a huff escaped her... Immediately followed by another fit of coughing. "I miss home." She grumbled, "And being let out of this nest."

Smokepetal was no stranger to suffering. It was the nature of a medicine cat, to see, and to heal, the worst of wounds both physical and emotional. But this sickness... was something else. She sat off to the side, staring at the herbs between her paws, running a thousand different combinations through her head. They had brought what they could by way of herbs, but still, the stock was limited, and there were so many sick cats. The thought of wasting anything was nauseating.

Lightningbreeze and Graywind were her patients at paw right now, though... and both of them were in dire need of some relief. Moving over to Graywind, who was the worse of the two patients, Smokepetal dropped a few small, fragrant leaves in front of her. "Here, try this... and tell me if anything changes," she said quietly.

To Lightningbreeze, she offered a couple of ragged yellow flowers - tansy. With any luck, it would at least ease her cough. "Chew them well, and if they make you nauseous, let me know." She swept her tail against the other she-cat's shoulder and stepped back, falling to her haunches and settling in for the long haul. She needed to be able to record any change in symptoms.

Smokepetal tried 1x catmint on Graywind and 1x tansy on Lightningbreeze.

SkyClan's Herb Stores:
Catmint X 20 (-1)
Ragweed X 37
Wild Garlic X 27
Coneflower X 30
Burnet X 12
Lavender X 26
Comfrey root X 16
Tansy X 4 (-1)
Dock X 23
Lambs Ear X 30
Tormentil X 23

Catmint - You try your proposed treatment on your patient, and find that you are Unsuccessful with your chosen medicine.

Tansy - You try your proposed treatment on your patient, and find that you are Unsuccessful with your chosen medicine.

She had complained, but after another round of violent coughing the warrior fell quiet, the only sound from her the harsh wheezing as her lungs fought for air. She hardly had the energy to do much other than sit in her nest, and if her breathing wasn't so harsh, Graywind thought she might be able to sleep for days. But coughing fits always seemed to interrupt, blending into one another.

It took Graywind a moment to register that a cat was standing in front of her, and she blinked, struggling to focus on a family tabby face. "Smoke-?" Her words were stopped abruptly by more coughing, specks of red upon her muzzle. She couldn't taste the blood, but she felt it. Leaves were pushed in front of her, and Graywind had the vague thought that they must smell awful, but she couldn't smell anything. She stretched forward, the movement taking more energy than it should have as she lapped up the leaves. An ill-timed coughing fit had the plant matter come right back up. Graywind knew that wasn't a good thing... But she didn't have the energy to care as she lay there, shivering, dull golden eyes half-closed.

Smokepetal observed the two she-cats. Minutes passed. Then more.

Nothing... except Graywind's catmint immediately being regurgitated into the grass.

The gray tabby deflated a little. If she were to guess either herb to kick this sickness - or at least lessen it - it would have been catmint, with the tansy only as a close second. For neither of them to work at all was a crushing blow. Turning away from the sick cats, Smokepetal took a deep, shaky breath, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. She squeezed them shut, pretending to look at the herbs with her back turned to them. StarClan, please help me help them, she begged, stifling a quiet sob that quickly turned into a bout of violent coughing. Out of habit, she lapped up a few coneflower seeds.

When she was finished, Smokepetal sniffed, quickly giving her chest a few thorough licks just to soothe her nerves. She could cry later... right now, the clan needed her to figure this thing out. "What would Plumleaf do?" she whispered to herself, staring helplessly at the pile of herbs before her.

Another cough from Graywind made her turn, and Smokepetal watched the pale warrior languish, only half-conscious, in her nest. She was so weak... the once proud warrior was barely able to lift her head, and it was almost physically painful to even watch her try. "Okay, okay," she said aloud, more to herself than anything. "Ragweed. Ragweed is good for strength and stamina... maybe it will..." she trailed off, picking some of the leaves and returning to Graywind's side.

Wishing she had some honey to help it go down easier, Smokepetal offered the new batch of herbs to Graywind. "I know it's hard, but... please, when you can, eat these."

Gray-green eyes flicked over to Lightningbreeze, waiting for a sign that the she-cat was ready and able to try again, but for the meantime, hopefully, the ragweed would show promise.

Smokepetal tried 1x ragweed on Graywind and 1x coneflower on herself.

SkyClan's Herb Stores:
Catmint X 20
Ragweed X 36 (-1)
Wild Garlic X 27
Coneflower X 29 (-1)
Burnet X 12
Lavender X 26
Comfrey root X 16
Tansy X 4
Dock X 23
Lambs Ear X 30
Tormentil X 23

Ragweed - You try your proposed treatment on your patient, and find that you are Successful at temporarily alleviating the symptoms.

Coneflower - You try your proposed treatment on your patient, and find that you are Successful at temporarily alleviating the symptoms.

Graywind only half-heard the medicine cat's words, head resting on her paws still. She just wanted to sleep, but it might've been a few moments or hours before more herbs were placed in front of her. Dull eyes flicked to Smokepetal, as if to say More herbs? Really? but the silver she-cat wearily turned her head toward them. The medicine cat was trying, after all, and Graywind was sick and tired of... being sick and tired.

This time the herbs stayed down, and perhaps Graywind was only imagining it, but her head felt a little clearer. "...Maybe it's a good thing I can't taste any of this." She muttered, "I don't... feel any worse?" She mewed, hoping that would be good news to the medicine cat, at least.

For several long moments after giving Graywind the ragweed, Smokepetal sat and stared, counting the she-cat's shallow breaths with hopeful eyes. But Lightningbreeze attempted to stand, drawing the medicine cat's gaze sideways in a panic, and she rushed over to attempt to guide the warrior back down as her weakened legs buckled. Smokepetal drew her tongue across Lightningbreeze's forehead briskly a few times, soothing her with a quiet, "No matter, we will figure this out."

She would, eventually, right?

The smoky tabby took a breath and turned back towards the remainder of SkyClan's herbs, blinking solemnly. Somewhere, in that pile of leaves, held the secret to saving the clan. There was no sickness in living memory that couldn't be beaten back with herbs, she just had to figure it out.

Graywind spoke up then, and Smokepetal returned her attention to the pale she-cat, silence enveloping them for a moment as the medicine cat attempted to count her breaths again. They were certainly stronger, and the fact that Graywind seemed significantly more alert was also promising. "Okay," she mumbled to herself, clearing her throat and preparing for the inevitable cough that would normally follow. Except it didn't, and Smokepetal narrowed her gaze. She felt better. Not by much, but... something. Her eyes found the coneflower seeds, the ones she'd eaten out of pure habit. Coneflower for cough... ragweed for strength... finally, she was making a breakthrough.

She made two new bundles of herbs. To Graywind, she delivered coneflower and lavender; to Lightningbreeze, ragweed, coneflower, and lamb's ear. "These are the last ones I'll ask you to try tonight, okay?" She didn't want to overload them - too many herbs could be just as detrimental as not enough.

Smokepetal has treated Graywind with coneflower, and tried lavender for the first time.
Smokepetal has treated Lightningbreeze with coneflower & ragweed, and tried lamb's ear for the first time.

SkyClan's Herb Stores:
Catmint X 20
Ragweed X 35 (-1)
Wild Garlic X 27
Coneflower X 27 (-2)
Burnet X 12
Lavender X 25 (-1)
Comfrey root X 16
Tansy X 4
Dock X 23
Lambs Ear X 29 (-1)
Tormentil X 23

Lavender - You try your proposed treatment on your patient, and find that you are Successful at temporarily alleviating the symptoms.

Lamb's Ear - You try your proposed treatment on your patient, and find that you are Successful at temporarily alleviating the symptoms.

"Promise?" Graywind grumbled as the next bundle of herbs was set in front of her. "...Sorry if that sounded ungrateful. I'd do anything to not feel this much like foxdung." She added, leaning forward to lap up the herbs that Smokepetal had given her.

The previous ones had made her feel a bit better, and these didn't make her feel any worse. For the first time in days she felt like she was actually awake rather than in a state of delirium. She was afraid of how long it would last before the effect wore off, in truth. Still, the pale warrior attempted to pull herself to a sitting position despite the tiredness tugging at her. She wasn't brave enough to attempt to stand like Lightningbreeze had, but being able to be vertical felt nice, even if she moved slow in an attempt to stave off the dizzyness she was beginning to feel just by sitting up.

"I feel like I've been curled up in a nest for moons... It's nice to be able to just sit." She mewed. "Whatever you did seems to have helped. Thank you, Smokepetal."

The moment she saw Mintglade stir from the corner of her eye, Smokepetal turned and sped in her direction, putting her shoulder against the other she-cat's and gently guiding her over to the rest of the cats. She looked awful - in fact, Mintglade was one of her most severe patients, and the fact that she was able to walk at all like this in her condition was a miracle.

"Okay, dear, shh..." the medicine cat soothed, helping the warrior get into a comfortable position. "It's so good to see you awake... let's get something for you,"

Back to the herb stores she went, pulling the four herbs into a bundle and trying not to worry at how few she had left already. She turned back to Mintglade, placing the herbs at her paws. "Here, eat these. You'll feel better."  

Smokepetal has given Mintglade lavender, coneflower, ragweed, and lamb's ear.

SkyClan's Herb Stores:
Catmint X 20
Ragweed X 33 (-1)
Wild Garlic X 27
Coneflower X 25 (-1)
Burnet X 12
Lavender X 23 (-1)
Comfrey root X 16
Tansy X 4
Dock X 23
Lamb's Ear x 27 (-1)
Tormentil X 23