Hidden Jewels [open]

[løиetëaя]

The little she-cat picked up her pace as she neared the marsh lands. Her ice blue eyes were completely focused on the task ahead of her and nothing was going to stop her, not even the sticky mud ahead. Her soft white coat was bright in the early morning light, dim but just bright enough for her to complete her task.

Willowpaw slowed down as she hit the thick mud, taking every step carefully. She gave a small purr as she didn't sink into the sticky mud due to her light weight and small frame. She held her tail straight out behind her, using it to keep her balance on the uneven ground.

Slowly she neared the water's edge, where the mud was thinner and plant life was more abundant. Her eyes brightened as she saw her goal. The tall bristly plant grew in plenty here. Carefully she bit through the stems of horsetail, careful to leave enough that there would still be plenty to collect at another time but taking enough to replenish the herb supply.

A sudden noise near her caught her attention. Her ears pricked and her head raised. Few cats came out her besides herself so she was curious as to what any cat would be doing in the middle of the marshes. "Hello, is someone there?"

[sparrow]

Was someone there. Hmph. It was just like a kitten to forget just why she was out there. Willowpaw was better than most, but he couldn't expect her to be perfect. Or perhaps he hadn't mentioned he was coming along- Elktail had been busy when he sent his apprentice out to fetch horsetail. But he wasn't entirely comfortable with her going out alone, especially to the marshes. She should have known to wait.

"Your mentor, perhaps," Elktail replied. "Don't drop that horsetail." From a rock, he jumped across the worst of the mud and landed with a splash in the shallows. He checked the work of Willowpaw's harvesting, nodding slightly to himself. Good enough. She was a fast learner, albeit also a bit too quick to run off.

Regrettably, that was perfectly normal for cats her age. "Go set those down out of the mud," Elktail instructed. "We could use some more nettle, and may as well see if there's still some tansy about." It was important to stock up on that before leaf-bare, but tansy's season was more or less over. Best they took a look around whenever they were around where it grew.

[løиetëaя]

She tilted her head to the side, her own strange greeting to her mentor. She didn't remember him telling her that he was coming. She shrugged it off. He was always forgetting to tell her stuff and she was used to it by now.

Carefully she made her way out of the mud, setting the horsetail on a raise mound at the base of a bush where it would stay dry and sheltered. She then turned and with a flick of her tail went off to search for the herbs he had listed.

Her eyes brightened as she saw the nettle, a prickly plant whose seeds she was supposed to collect. Carefully she collected the spiny seeds, setting them on a leaf she had collected, wrapping the precious herb carefully.

[sparrow]

Too quiet. Not that Elktail was an enormously chatty cat himself, but there was something slightly unnerving about quiet kittens. He watched Willowpaw as she darted off to find hopefully one of the herbs he had listed. Some sort of acquiescence would have been nice, some word to say she heard him and was going to go do this specific thing.

Elktail couldn't force her to talk though. He slogged through the thick mud and looked around for tansy, keeping an eye on Willowpaw as he did so. Nettle for her, alright.

Catching a whiff of tansy, Elktail headed for that. It was a good thing it was such a strong-smelling plant. This specimen was in good health; smiling at his luck, Elktail set to collecting leaves and blossoms from the plant. A glance towards Willowpaw revealed that she was nearly done with the nettle seeds. Good, good, at least she didn't waste time.

[løиetëaя]

After collecting the nettle, she carried the precious package back to the small pile of horsetail, setting it down gently, carefully, so as not to lose any of the seeds. Then she darted off to help Elktail with the tansy, since it looked like he had found some.

It was lucky for them, the strong smelling herb seemed to be in good condition for how late in the season it was. It would be good to add it to their stores, while they weren't low on it it was always good to have extra on hand in case something happened.

[sparrow]

"Shou' be enuff," Elktail mumbled around a mouthful of tansy. Willowpaw had shown up to help just a moment too late. They weren't low on tansy, so they didn't need a lot. Just enough to make sure they had plenty for leaf-bare, when coughs were most common. He turned and set it down next to the rest of their collected herbs and then sat back.

"So, tell me how you use all of these." He had gone over it with her before and didn't think she had forgotten, but reminders were, of course, no harm. More than that though, he wanted to hear her speak. It was good for a medicine cat to be able to be quiet and listen, but that didn't mean they shouldn't talk at all. Especially when they were still apprentices. A quiet apprentice was a bad sign, he had been told. Questions meant they were paying attention and eager to learn; silence generally meant a young cat thought it was above whatever was being taught.

Willowpaw seemed unassuming enough, but Elktail could still believe it. Anyways, medicine cats needed to be willing to talk constantly. Some patients found it calming to be murmured to while they were helped, birthing mothers and elders especially. Others liked to know every detail of what was wrong and how they were being treated. A silent cat was no good for the trade.

[løиetëaя]

She stepped away at his words. She had just been leaning in to collect some tansy when Elktail spoke. Quietly she sat on a dry patch of land, her tail wrapping around her paws, the tip twitching slowly. Her head tilted to the side as he questioned her. It was easy enough and straight forward, something they had gone over many times. It was almost like he expected her to forget. With a nearly silent sigh she began to speak.

"The horsetail is used to treat infections. Nettle is used in cats that are poisoned and it helps bring down swelling. Tansy is used for curing coughs." Her words were confident and she didn't think she had gotten anything wrong. Bring her paw to her mouth she licked it, then slowly began to drag it over her ears and face while she waited for her mentor to speak.

[sparrow]

"And talking is used to sooth a patient. Don't forget that. Get used to doing it." Unnatural. She sat there preening, utterly confident, but it didn't mean a thing if she couldn't comfort another cat. Had he really been leaving that out so far? He had only been training her a moon, but... that should have been what he hammered in first.

"The most basic need of the sick or injured is to feel that they're being taken care of," Elktail told her. "Don't just say, 'You have a cough, have some horsetail.' Be confident, but be caring. Know what you're doing, but don't let that knowledge make you stiff when someone is in need." He gave her a look. "And don't act like that's all common sense, because you haven't been doing it. Medicine cats talk too." If she did, she was going to get a good cuff across the nose, and from muddy paws too. He didn't like her sitting back to bathe in the middle of a lesson. Elktail felt ought to just do it right now, but he held back.

[løиetëaя]

Willowpaw nodded softly. She was better at talking around other cats, but it didn't quite seem to matter what she said, Elktail always had something bad to say about it. So she had just learned that being quiet was best.

Her blue eyes drifted around them, taking everything in as she memorized the landscape. She wanted to remember exactly where the tansy had grown since it would be more difficult to find now. That way if they needed more she would know exactly where to find it. She had learned, from listening to others and her own experience, plants tended to grow in the same places, season after season. Occasionally a new crop would start up someplace else but most of the time you could readily rely on past knowledge to find it. "So what's next?"

[sparrow]

Well, that failed miserably. Elktail's tail swished back and forth as he wondered just what to do about Willowpaw. "Just like everything else," he said eventually, "talking takes practice. I expect to hear you."

Irritating. This was why he didn't like young cats. They just didn't even care. The chances of him finding an adult apprentice were slim to none though, regrettably.

Elktail stood. "Next we head back. You carry the tansy." That was a smell he didn't mind handing off to someone else. Gathering up the rest in his own mouth, Elktail started trotting back towards camp.

[løиetëaя]

She gave a soft sigh. She could tell he wasn't happy with her but then, she wasn't sure when he was happy with her. It seemed like he never was, though she always listened to him and did what she was told.

With a shrug she picked up the tansy. At least carrying it back would give her an excuse not to talk. She shook her head softly. Most medicine cats would love a quiet apprentice that didn't irritate them with constant questions. But Elktail seemingly wanted to be pestered. She wasn't even sure what she was supposed to say. Was she supposed to just talk to herself as she worked?