Closed Thread [Closed] Hour of the Herbs (Private- 11FG20)

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa. Pressure that'll tip, tip tip 'till you just go pop, whoa.
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Cottonbright always relished an excuse to spend time away from camp. She enjoyed the medicine cats company - such a sweet creature, honestly a blessing sent from Starclan. As much as she may embarass the she-cat at times, she was fond of Willowfrost. At least she wasn't nearly as intimidating as others in the clan!

"I've never been able to keep all those herbs sorted out in my head. Are those the ones with yellow flowers, or white flowers?" Her mew was soft as she walked, nearly soundlessly above the fog.

Willowfrost pured happily. "What a wonderful question, sweet paws! I can tell you have quite the sharp mind." Willowfrost looked over her shoulder, misty eyes trained in the direction of Cottonbright's scent, and smiled. "It is the herb with large, soft leaves and-as you mentioned-yellow flowers!"

As she walked, the RiverClan medicine cat sniffed the air searching for any hint of the herb. Thankfully, she'd done this enough that it wasn't too difficult a task to juggle while speaking to her company. 

"This herb is a particular favorite of mine as it helps with treating fogginess within the eyes. Of course, it can't clear mine up completely but I've found it helps."

Some cats may have had bitterness in their tone when speaking about such things, but Willowfrost had learned long ago that it was better to breath life into such conversational topics and simply appreciate what you still have- versus what you've lost. Twitching her tail towards Cottonbright, Willowfrost raised her voice slightly in excitement. 

"Look around, Cottonbright! See if you can spot any. Celandine tends to grow near water in sandy patches."

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa. Pressure that'll tip, tip tip 'till you just go pop, whoa.
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Cottonbright blinked happily towards the she-cat as she padded shoulder to shoulder, albeit Willowfrost's shoulder height being a bit lower than her own. Side by side, she found echoing her movements, pausing when she paused to sniff for forage and padding forward when he thought she caught the trail. What an exciting use of one's nose. Sniffing out plants as one might prey!

"Large, soft leaves and yellow flowers..." Repeating to herself as if she were an apprentice. Repetition always helped her through the thick of it. Her head cocked intently when she mentioned the information about celandine, noting the restorative properties regarding sight. Murring slightly with interest, she paused when the she-cat gave her directive, tail waving in excitement.

"Large, soft leaves and yellow flowers...Okay." Meowing with a bit of hesitation, she cast her blue eyes towards the water of the river. Maw twisted in concentration, she drew herself away from Willowfrost's side, coming towards the bank where she studied the ground. Hmm... Nothing so far, perhaps a bit further down?

At a half gallop, she stopped near the water, glancing down at what she thought might be the herb in question. "Willowfrost, I think I found some!" She pawed at the appearance of a leafy plant, thin yellow petals poking from the bank.

Swish-Swish-Swish

Willowfrost gently moved her tail back and forth from where she sat near the river bank. She wasn't trying to be lazy- far from that in fact- as it was her intention to give Cottonbright plenty of space while she hunted for the herbs. 

It was clear that Cottonbright had a bit of a nervous disposition, bless her heart, and Willowfrost knew that with just a bit of space, the white she-cat would feel much more confident in her search. And besides, it felt nice to just breathe in the cool air and close her eyes for a moment. 

They always felt so tired after all...

Suddenly, Cottonbright's voice rang through the fog and captured Willowfrost's attention. Wonderful!

Getting to her paws, Willowfrost made her way towards the sound of Cottonbright's excitement and familiar scent. "Oh, lovely, sweet paws! I can't wait to see what you've found!"

Upon reaching Cottonbright's side, Willowfrost gave her an encouraging smile and bent to sniff at the herb the warrior had indicated. A slow smile spread across her maw. 

"Well, I must say you're quite close, dear one! This plant likes to trip up even the most seasoned apprentices from time to time. You see, this is Marigold."

Taking one of the leaves in her teeth, Willowfrost nipped it gently to then lay it at Cottonbright's paws. "Even though both herbs have yellow flowers, you can tell by the leaves that they're different! For example, Marigold has sticky, pale green leaves while Celandine has soft, dark, blue-green leaves."

Willowfrost let that sink in for a moment before continuing. 

"Now, let me find you an example of Celandine so we can compare the two."

Just a few paces away, the RiverClan Medicine Cat was able to track down the elusive herb and motioned Cottonbright over. Pointing with her nose, the grey she-cat motioned to the Celandine at her paws. "Take a look at this and tell me, what differences do you see between the flowers of the Celandine and that of the Marigold?"

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa. Pressure that'll tip, tip tip 'till you just go pop, whoa.
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There were so many plants around them Cottonbright was awed by the amount of knowledge medicine cats must have to reconize one from another. Some were obvious, but others were so similiar. Did she find the herb that Willowfrost wanted or was this just some weed?

Cottonbright didn't have to ponder in her uncertainy for long. The antisipation was tangible on her face when the silver tabby leaned over for a determining sniff - and frowned with a disheartened head shake as she was wrong.

"Marigold?"

She inquired, a bit taken aback by the discovery, but then she listened when the differences were explained to her. Eying the leaves, she watched the she-cat as she fetched the correct herb and placed it in front of her, next to the nip of the marigold blossom.

Her blue eyes followed the trajectory of her paw, petals bright and golden placed on the ground. A moment passed, followed by two, then three as the warrior stared between the two flowers, giving each a passing sniff as she lowered her head for a better look. She needed to be certain. She wanted to be right in her guess, and most importantly she didn't want to disappoint Willowfrost.

"Uhmm...The calandine has more petals than the marigold." She began slowly, her tail giving a careful swing of her tail. "Marigold petals seem fatter too."

A little rush of excitement and pride washed over Willowfrost as she waited patiently for Cottonbright to look over the two herbs. Teaching was such a joy and it was simply wonderful to hear how dedicated the young warrior was to learning such useful information. Willowfrost was unsure if Cottonbright would have an interest in such things in the future, but it was fun for now and she was enjoying the opportunity to the fullest. 

"Well done, lovely!" she cooed, blinking her blue eyes at Cottonbright with pride. "There are definitely more petals on the Celandine and the Marigold is certainly fatter- dare I say- fluffier than the Celandine."

Willowfrost gently put a paw on the Marigold as she spoke. 

"Marigold is a marvelous herb that helps with reducing fever, pain, and swelling. It's vital for any medicine cat to have on paw and I'm glad you found some today as I was running low!"

Returning to the Marigold plant, Willowfrost motioned for Cottonbright to come close. 

"In Newleaf, it's important to utilize the leaves of the Marigold plant. You can harvest them like this..."

Willowfrost bent over and sniffed out the healthiest leaves she could before snipping them gently at the stem. She then placed the leaves in a pile by her side. 

"Gather some yourself, Cottonbright, but not too many! We want to leave some on the plant for them to mature later on!"

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa. Pressure that'll tip, tip tip 'till you just go pop, whoa.
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Cottonbright did her best, especially when trying to please. In this case she was earnest in trying to distinguish between the two plants. It was like a veil was being unfurled in her head as she got a good inhale of both, taking into account of both the differences and the similarities. Her chest warmed with the realization that despite not following the noble path of medicine cat, she could be of use, not just being another pair of eyes, but someone that Willowfrost might trust on her decisions.

Was a bit heart fluttering, and not in such a pleasant way.

The big ivory colored she-cat watched, wide eyed like an apprentice as she nipped the leaves delicately from the stems. "Wouldn't want to kill the plant - this way, you know where it grows." Useful when a lot of time came from patroling the territory for herbs. Cottonbright leaned down and sniffed once more at the plant, head tilting cautiously as she painstakingly took the extra moments to cut the leaves at the stem.

Her teeth easily sliced the plant matter, before adding to a small pile herself. "How's this? Is this enough, you think?" Voice pitched as she asked for more guidance.

"Absolutely perfect!"

Willowfrost was thrilled with Cottonbright's enthusiasm. At this rate, she would have plenty of herbs for the day; and even better yet, someone to help her carry them all. 

"Alright, let's move on to the next herb. Grab that pile of leaves you have there, and come this way. I believe I smelled some Juniper nearby and we simply must gather as much as we can."

Willowfrost laughed happily as she spoke, directing her voice towards where Cottonbright was collecting her successful herb haul. 

"After all, we'll need some help for any stomach pains that may crop up for any cat that eats too quickly!" Purring at her own reference to her joke with Cottonbright, Willowfrost followed her nose to a nearby Juniper plant and waited patiently for Cottonbright to arrive. 

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa. Pressure that'll tip, tip tip 'till you just go pop, whoa.
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Cottonbright felt flush with the praise, fur bristling with purpose as she hurried to enact the medicine cat's wishes. She'd bundle up these herbs and then they could be onto the next batch. Carefully now... each paw patted the leaves she had gathered, trying to stack them into a neat pile before she picked up the bundle and trotted after Willowfrost.

She echoed the she-cat's laughter with a gladdened murr, crossing over to where Willowfrost had nosed. Lowering her head, she gently spat out the leaves before speaking. "With prey running so well, you bet! Is the Juniper here?" Her nose tilted in an experimental sniff.

Willowfrost nodded. "Yes it is. We can collect both berries and leaves from Juniper, but during New-Leaf we just get the leaves!"

Bending her head towards the plant, Willowfrost gently bit off a leaf and placed it near her paws. "Help me grab a few and then we'll be all finished for the day!"

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa. Pressure that'll tip, tip tip 'till you just go pop, whoa.
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When had see seen Juniper berries? Was that in Leaf Fall when the leaves started to turn, or was that closer to the tail end of Green Leaf? All this medicine cat stuff went a bit over her head, but she was glad she could accommodate the nearly blind she-cat. Insensitive as it may be to consider it, she hoped she would find an apprentice soon to help ease her days.

"Sure, we can grab a few!" She mewed with a hearty purr, peering down at the juniper and watching as she carefully plucked a leaf and placed it in another pile. Her tiny paws kneaded the ground as she bent forward, her large eyes focusing on the leaves themselves as she bit gently on the stems, separating them from the tree.

"Do you think that's enough?" Her voice lifted towards Willowfrost's ear as her bright green eyes exchanges glanced between the pile that she had collected and the other she-cat.

Willowfrost bent to sniff the pile Cottonbright had gathered, moving the leaves around with her nose to count them. 

"Yes, I think that's perfect! Are you ready to head back now?"

Willowfrost purred with a smile on her maw. 

"I truly appreciate all your help!"

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa. Pressure that'll tip, tip tip 'till you just go pop, whoa.
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Once the medicine cat had counted them with her nose, Cottonbright gave a heady sort of stretch that shuddered her entire body, happy that she had managed to be of use today. Such an important job as herb collecting shouldn't be neglected! And Willowfrost was always good company.

"You're welcome, Willowfrost. That was fun - and educational! I'm ready!" She purred while she collected a helping of today's catch. As if comparing plants to prey. Chuckling softly to herself, she walked paw and paw to keep pace with the tabby she-cat. Maybe she'd get a chance to help out again - she was happy to.