weathering the storm [c]

Moving the clan from where all the cats had landed, to the new camp they'd found, had been easier in theory than it had been in practice. Nearly an entire day was spent essentially crawling from the south side of the lake, up the east shore, to the spot that Sunfire and Rosepaw had found. Smokepetal had to admit, now that they were here, the journey seemed worth it... even in just a few days, they'd managed to make a semblance of home... and knowing that they couldn't be invaded at any moment by ThunderClan or RiverClan certainly helped to soothe some of Smokepetal's frayed nerves.

Finding a combination of herbs that worked, to some extent, had helped too. She hadn't figured it out entirely, and the threat of the herbs running out before she could was ever-present, but at least she could provide some relief to her clanmates.

Falconmoon and Stoneheart were some of the worst off, and now that the clan was settled in, she could get to treating them. The section of camp that was turned into the would-be medicine den was large and thankfully spacious enough to hold all her patients, but the most severe were back in a corner, together. That's where she was today, checking in on the two aforementioned warriors - hopefully, she could get the necessary herbs into them today... something that was also easier said than done, given the state of them. Falconmoon was practically delirious, and getting him to try any this far had been met with some resistance. So she'd called in some backup in the form of SkyClan's deputy, and Falconmoon's mother, Wolfblossom.

The moment the deputy's gray pelt was in view, Smokepetal waved her over with a grateful blink. "Hey," she said, dipping her head in greeting. "I have something for you." The medicine cat nudged over a small bundle of herbs - one of each that she knew alleviated some symptoms. "Eat these... you'll feel better - and before you ask, yes, we have enough for everyone." That was almost a lie, and it made Smokepetal deeply uncomfortable to speak it, but she knew it was the only way the deputy would agree to use them. "And when you're done, could you help me with... with Falconmoon? He's..." She hesitated and slanted her ears back, sympathetically glancing over her shoulder at the golden tom. Sunfire had been the only one of Wolfblossom's kits to not end up with the worst of the sickness... as both Graywind and Falconmoon had seemed very close to StarClan on at least one occasion since this started - and not in the good way. "He's... being a little, um... difficult? Confusing? I-" she faltered again, shaking her head. "I think he's been having those dreams, again. And I'm certain it's not helping his condition."

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

SkyClan's Herb Stores:
Catmint X 20
Ragweed X 34 (-1)
Wild Garlic X 27
Coneflower X 26 (-1)
Burnet X 12
Lavender X 24 (-1)
Comfrey root X 16
Tansy X 4
Dock X 23
Lamb's Ear x 28 (-1)
Tormentil X 23

To say the last leg of travel to get to a more permanent camp had taken a lot out of Stoneheart was putting it mildly. Where she had been able to be somewhat awake and alert previously, the sick warrior now lay curled in a nest, labored breathing harsh and unsteady. A series of nasty coughs erupted from her, staining her muzzle with flecks of red, and right now she didn't have the strength to do anything more than stay where she was, hardly hearing the nearby words of the medicine cat as she spoke at all.

---

Wolfblossom was simply glad that Sunfire and Rosepaw's return had brought the clan to somewhere stable. The journey to make it there from their temporary shelter had hit the sickest among them harder, but the peace of mind that being on their own strip of land offered was welcome. Wolfblossom hadn't been spared the sickness either, though even now she was still doing better than some despite her exhaustion. Smokepetal had been hard at work, and with two new apprentices Wolfblossom knew the clan was in good paws. Still, she worried. Thornstalker's loss had cut deeply, and it terrified Wolfblossom to know that more cats could still be lost so far from home, for some illness the medicine cats were only just beginning to understand how to alleviate some symptoms of. Two of her own kits were severely ill, and many more of her clanmates beside them.

The deputy dropped a bird onto the fresh kill pile and turned at the sound of Smokepetal's voice, offering a weary but warm smile to the medicine cat. "Hey," She greeted, paws heading toward the medicine cat. "Do you need anything?"

Herbs were offered up, and Wolfblossom frowned. "Are you sure? I'm still standing... There's cats who could use them more than me." Said as she stifled a cough, the roughness in her voice evident of just how much coughing she had been doing lately. The reassurance that there were enough herbs to go around was not as reassuring as it might have been under different circumstances, but the deputy reluctantly took the herbs offered.

Falconmoon being difficult... Wolfblossom closed her eyes, a tired sigh escaping her. "Stars... Hasn't he gone through enough of this foxdung?" They knew the truth now, that Falconmoon's dreams were memories of a past life, but Wolfblossom did not in the slightest believe her son was that monster. He was his own cat. But the sickness had been causing delusion, hadn't it? She just wanted her kits to be healthy, in both body and mind. Especially Falconmoon, who now had kits of his own. "Come on, I'll do what I can." She mewed.

Without waiting for another word, the deputy stepped past Smokepetal, blue eyes picking out Falconmoon's pelt in one of the nests. Stoneheart was nearby, and even from here Wolfblossom could hear how awful the seeming-unconscious she-cat was. Graywind, at least, seemed to be sleeping soundly in her own nest not far from them. Seeing them all so ill made her heart twist.