Herb Lesson

[Coмετ]

Smokepaw padded into the medicine den. The familiar scent of the herbs and plants wafted over him as he stepped in. Where's Birdsong? he wondered. He couldn't wait to start learning about the ways of a medicine cat. That was only one of the reasons he seeked this path. The other was so he could talk to StarClan in his dreams. Most importantly, his dead family. One time his father had come to visit him and tell them the truth of their deaths.

He looked around the medicine cat den, and curled up in his nest, waiting.

[-|Birddy|-]

Birdsong stepped in, purring. She set down a bundle of herbs she had been carrying. "You're ready for your lesson, I see," she sat, sitting down carefully. She wrapped her tail around her paws and smiled. "Ready to begin?"

[Coмετ]

"Yeah!" Smokepaw cried, jumping to his paws. "What are we starting with?" He sniffed the herbs his mentor had collected. "Um...yarrow?" he mewed, guessing randomly. It was bitter sweet.

[-|Birddy|-]

"Dont eat it," she warned. "It makes cats sick. We use it when they have eaten something bad, so they can get it out of their system before its too late." Birdsong points to a pile of borage leaves. "Those are borage leaves. they are used to treat fevers and helps nursing mothers with their milk supply. What do you want to know next, Smokepaw?"

[Coмετ]

I was right? Smokepaw thought, slightly surprised. He had just been guessing. He felt the yarrow with a paw, then the borage leaves, storing its texture and scent in his memory so he wouldn't forget. He gazed around the den, absorbing all the mixed smells. "What herbs are the most useful?" he asked. "I mean, which ones would we use the most?"

[-|Birddy|-]

"Hm..." Birdsong thought. "I would say poppy seeds. They numb the pain and make a cat very sleepy. And thats Goldenrod- used in a poultice to treat aching joints and stiffness; it can also be used for severe injuries."

[Coмετ]

Smokepaw took an experimental sniff of the two. "So yarrow," he nodded towards the small pile of herbs, "...is to be used to get stuff out of the stomach. Borage leaves help against fevers. Poppy can be made into poultice and help against stiffness and goldenrod makes a cat sleepy." Smokepaw dipped a paw into the pile of poppy seeds. "How do you make poultice of seeds?" he wondered aloud. I think I mixed some of them up, he thought to himself.

[-|Birddy|-]

Birdsong shook her head, "No Goldenrod helps for injuries and poppy seeds make a cat sleepy. You make a poultice like this-" she began to chew borage leaves and poppy seeds, them spit them into a leaf. "These are for Lillyeyes. She should be havings her kits anytime now. The borage leaves will help with her milk supply, and poppy seeds for the pain."
"BIDSONG!" a yowl came from the the nursery. Lillyeyes had managed to sneak back into camp right before her kits came!
"Grab the lavender!" Birdsong yelled.