Herbs And Love (Cloudchaser, open)

[Dai]

Dreamcloud was seated in the medicine cat den, light filtering into her den and shimmering on Dream's dusty-calico fur. She relished the warmth, for it was rare to feel the warn sunlight when it was leafbare. The season had started off surprisingly warm, so Dreamcloud was hoping for a less-harsh leafbare.

Dreamcloud stepped out of her nest, feeling sleepy yet happy. Today was a new day, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it! Of course, that's what she thought every morning. But hey, start every day off with a smile! Dream stretched for a few seconds, hoping to loosen her muscles before getting to work. She had left out a few damp yarrow leaves to dry, so she needed to gather those and sort them, along with the lavender and chervil root that she had collected the other day. She padded outside her den, carefully picked up the dried yarrow leaves, and placed them back into her den. No matter how much work she had to do, she also had to eat.

She trotted up to the fresh-kill pile and took a scrawny mouse. It was just enough to cease her hunger until her next meal in the later afternoon. She carried the mouse back to her den so she could work and eat at the same time. She had grown accustom to multitasking, especially during leafbare. She took a few ravenous bites from her prey before getting to work on sorting the chervil and lavender. After a few moments of hard, dull work she was finished with the lavender. She finished off her mouse, licking her lips to get all the flavor, and turned to the chervil root. About to place the herbs away, she was startled as she heard a cat coming her way. She turned, and spotted a cat adding straight towards the medicine cat. She mewed a cheery greeting to the newcomer.
(sorry I feel as though that is a minipowerplay... My apologies)

[NeverMore]

Cloudchaser was trotting cheerfully towards ShadowClan camp, once again with injuries that could have been completely avoidable, not that anyone knew that. He had once again gotten into a friendly argument with another ShadowClan warrior which had ended in yet another tussle. Cloudchaser's pace faltered has he vainly tried to remember exactly what he had been arguing with the other warrior about. the tom shrugged mentally to himself as he came into view of the ShadowClan camp. He paused, taking a moment to let the sun warm his white pelt, highlighting the multiple scars that littered it. There was anew gash above his eyes that leaked blood into his eye (which was rather annoying because he had to blink constantly to get rid of it) and a few patches of fur missing on his back and shoulder that stung smartly.

Cloudchaser grinned to himself, already estimating how long it would take Dreamcloud to heal him. He wish it would take the rest of the day, but knowing DreamCloud's efficiency as a medicine cat, he would be cured shortly after arrival. Cloudchaser's tail drooped a bit at the thought, but quickly decided he would just have to go spend the rest of his time with his sister.

Cloudchaser trotted merrily up to the medicine cat den, where DreamCloud was doubtlessly already waiting for him, herbs at the ready. "Hello once again, my lovely DreamCloud! I am once again blessed by StarClan to be in your holy presence!" He called in greeting to the she cat, a corny grin on his maw.

[Dai]

Dreamcloud smiled at Cloudchaser and let out a laugh at his greeting, nit realizing what it actually meant. "Hi to you too, Cloudchaser. What have you done this time? Honestly, it's as if you're getting hurt in purpose! tsk tsk tsk " she led him into her den, and studied his wounds. "Alright!" she said after a heartbeat, "Don't worry, Cloudchaser, I'll fix you up right away!" she looked around her storage and gathered the necessary herbs. Cobwebs for bleeding, dock for the scratch, marigold to stop infection, celandine to help the eye, stinging nettles to stop swelling, chervil juice for the spots with missing fur, a goldenrod poultice for the larger wounds, and a single poppy seed, althogh she didn't think the poppy was necessary.

She first used the swath if cobwebs to soak up the blood. She pressed it over the eye scratch first. When it stopped bleeding she chewed up the celandine and trickled some of the juice into the eye. She placed some stinging nettle, marigold leaves, and dock. She placed some cobwebs overtook, hoping it would stick. "Keep that eye closed." she advised, before moving towards the more serious wounds. "Now what did you do to provoke a fight this time? And who did you anger?" she queried, as she soaked up the blood with another swath of cobwebs. Once it stopes bleeding, she chewed up the goldenrod and a few other herbs to make a poultice and applies it gently on the wounds. "This will sting." she warned. Next she applied the marigold, some dock, and chervil juice. She wouldn't need the stinging nettles for these wounds. She bound the wound with the cobwebs, making sure tha the herbs wouldn't fall off any of the wounds. "Well, there you go. Eat this poppy seed." she nudged the seed towards him, "and rest in here for a bit. Ina couple of hours you will wake up, and you should be able to go out again. But I don't want any kore fighting, or your wounds will be even harder to heal." Dreamcloud tidied up the den, putting away all the herbs she didn't use and clearing out the bloodied cobwebs. Once she finished she got some moss from the back of her den and made a nice, comfy nest for Cloudchaser, "Sleep here, okay?"

[NeverMore]

Cloudchaser chuckled sheepishly, flicking his tail innocently in response to her words. "Me? No! I would never want to make you have to do any more work then you have to." He meowed sweetly. The briefest moments of panic shot through the tom at the she cat's words. How would she react if he openly confessed to her? Cloudchaser's smile flickered for a moment, before it came back full force, no need to worry about something that might not happen. The warrior slowly walked after the medicine cat, taking a moment to just watch Dreamcloud. His breathing stuttered as he watched the graceful flow of her movement, how her paws set with some semblance of gentleness on the grassy earth, and the constant swaying of her black and tawny tail. Cloudchaser flinched back into reality when he almost ran into the wall of the medicine cat den; his amber eyes darted to Dreamcloud, hoping she hadn't noticed.

Cloudchaser nodded quickly to the she cat and sat down on his hunches to watch her bustle around for her herbs. He soon fell back into his own thoughts, but this time they revolved around his sister, Burntfur. Cloudchaser has always been protective of his sister almost overly so since the accident. A big dilemma for Cloudchaser was choosing between Burntfur and Dreamcloud. He was wary to think what his sister would say if she found out he loved Dreamcloud. Truth be told, Cloudchaser would abandon his love for Dreamcloud if it meant keeping his sister happy. Since the accident that took their father's life, Cloudchaser had never wanted his dear sister to ever suffer again much less because of something he did. Cloudchaser flattened his ears to his head, vaguely aware of Dreamcloud fussing over him.

She gained his attention quickly when his ears instinctively picked up her voice, as he usually did even over the many voice of the other clan cats. "Huh?" He asked distractedly, dragging his gaze away from the wall he had been staring at. "Oh that!" He shot Dreamcloud a smug look. "I got into an argument with another warrior and it turned into a tussle. No big deal, but I won if I do say so myself." His pale tail flicked happily at the thought and he puffed out his chest but quickly retracted it when the stinging herbs were applied on his wounds. Only his male pride prevented him from hissing at the pain.

Obediently, Cloudchaser ate the seed, chewing slowly as he watched Dreamcloud prepare a nest for him. "Thank you very much Dreamcloud, you are always so kind to me." He meowed sincerely as he curled up in the nest.

[Dai]

Dreamcloud rolled her eyes when Cloudchaser said he would never get hurt on purpose, though it was more out of amusement than irritation. "Sure, Cloudchaser. And hedgehogs fly. You'd better watch out! Who knows, maybe there will be a battle with Stormclan but you won't be able to go because you got injured." she mewed. When she heard the reason for his wounds, she sighed in exasperation. "Cloudchaser, if you continue getting in fights, all your denmates will start to dislike you. You should battle your enemies, not your friends. And for Starclan's sake, do try not to brag about winning, especially not when the outcome results in injuries such as these!" she flicked his ear with her tail, "No more fights with your clanmates, okay?" she shook her head dissaprovingly as she put away the rest of her herbs. Warriors are brave, yet some are so mouse-brained! When Dreamcloud heard his thanks, she nodded, "You're welcome!" Dreamcloud chirped warmly, "It's pretty much my job to be nice. That, cure cats, and speak with Starclan." she laughed, "Well, you rest so you can get better, okay?" Dreamcloud padded back to the herbs she had been sorting earlier and continued on with her task, deciding to make a little game put of it. She tried to see how fast she could put the herbs in their designated areas, but she could only use one paw. It proved to be challenging, but Dreamcloud managed to sort the herbs quite quickly anyways.
(sorry this took so long!!)

[NeverMore]

Cloudchaser sleepily watched Dreamcloud sort through her herbs, his big amber eyes flickering closed before quickly darting open once more to continue to watch the medicine cat. Eventually Cloudchaser fell into a cold sleep, after being so used to sleeping next to Burntfur, anything other then her was cold to him.

Cloudchaser woke up to the sounds of the typical ShadowClan afternoon; the dull sounds of cats getting back from patrol and sharing tongues, the buzz of insects searching for a meal and the wind lazily filtering its way through the marshes bring with it the natural scent of Shadowclan. Cloudchaser heaved in a breath and held it for as long as possible before letting it all out in a swoosh of air. He rolled over in his nest, expecting to get an annoyed hiss from Burntfur as he always did when he moved in his sleep, but was greeted with silence. The warrior opened his eyes and instantly recognized the medicine cat den. He glanced around for Dreamcloud and gave her a smile.

Deciding not disturb her, Cloudchaser staggered from his nest the remnants of sleep still clinging to him. He stretched his muscles, digging his claws into the earth before straightening. He took a moment to wash his coat before glancing over at Dreamcloud again. "I had best be going, I'm supposed to be on patrol tonight. We have to keep an eye on our borders for StormClan." He informed the medicine cat.

((OOC: I have next to no muse but I'd thought I wouldn't leave you hanging any longer))

[Rat]

The scarred tabby warrior walks into camp, dropping three mice and a starling on the fresh kill pile before heading straight to the medicine cat den. Even though she is walking as smoothly as ever one of her front paws leaves little smears of blood wherever it touches the ground and the grey silver fur that grows where her skin wasn't seared by the fire is sticky and brown with dried blood.

She had been hunting when she had come across a rabbit that must have strayed over the border. When she had tackled it the rabbit had bitten her paw and ran away towards thunderclan. Of course, that had been several hours ago, and she had decided that she should keep hunting despite the wound instead of going back to camp without anything to show for her effort.

Before she enters the medicine cat den she sniffs the air and realizes that her brother is there yet again. If the clan didn't know better they might think he was the one who was crippled from the fire instead of her. In reality, though, Burntfur knows that he's just combative and prone to injuries.

She pushes her way into the den and pads up to Dreamcloud, silently holding up her blood-encrusted paw. Burntfur doesn't mean to be rude or unfriendly by not saying anything, but rather thinks that there is nothing to say. Her paw is bleeding, obviously, and she has come for herbs. That should be apparent without words.

Burntfur notices her brother standing near the edge of the den, looking like he's about to leave. "Hello, brother." She says, her voice warm in comparison to they stiff way she normally speaks. "Another fight?"

[Dai]

After Cloudchaser had fallen asleep, Dreamcloud decided to go out and collect some more herbs. She had just used up all her celandine, so Dreamcloud walked out of the medicine cat den and into the bog. It didn't take her long to spot a clump of celandine, so it didn't take her long to collect a plentiful supply of the herb. She walked back to her den and began to sort the new supply of celandine just as Cloudchaser woke. Dreamcloud's ears pricked as she heard him speak, "I had best be going, I'm supposed to be on patrol tonight. We have to keep an eye on our borders for StormClan."
Dreamcloud nodded, "Okay, Cloudchaser. Just don't get into any more fights!" she purred. She finished up sorting her herbs just as another cat walked into her den. She turned and spotted Burntfur holding up her bloodied paw. "Oh my, so many injuries today!" she chirped, "Don't worry Burntfur, you'll be better in a heartbeat!" Dreamcloud grabbed some marigold and cobwebs. She soaked up all the blood, chewed up the marigold and placed it on the cut, and wrapped her paw up in more cobwebs. "It will heal soon, give it a moment.

[NeverMore]

Cloudchaser quickly halted his steps at the sight of his sister, Burntfur. Cloudchaser flicked a paw out at the she cat, batting against her shoulder affectionately. "Hello there dear sister." He meowed sitting next to the she cat, the thoughts of duty and patrol flying out of his mind quickly. His eyes rested softly on the she cat next to him showing her with his eyes that he appreciated the warm gesture. "'Fight' isn't the word I would use to describe it. More like a violent disagreement." He explained casually as he watched the medicine cat dab at the wound with the cob webs.

The tom couldn't help but look over her burns worriedly, checking for signs of infection or irritation that he had long since learned from previous instances where the burns had become infected. It was second nature to him now to look at her wounds and fret over her like an over bearing mother. Still, it made him breath easier at the end of the day to know his sister was safe.

He flicked his tail playfully as while nudging his sister gently, taking care not to over balance her at all. "Thank you Dreamcloud for taking care of my sister! It can be difficult at times to keep her out of trouble all by myself." He explained dramatically. "She's nearly as difficult to take care of as a kit."

[Rat]

Burntfur nods her thanks and sits down, wrapping her tail around her paws. Her wound has long since stopped hurting so she doesn't have a problem with waiting a little longer for Dreamcloud to get her herbs together. Her whiskers twitch when the medicine cat starts working on her paw but she doesn't flinch away or move her paw unnecessarily until it was completely bound in cobwebs. "Thank you, Dreamcloud." She says quietly and then turns to her brother.

"Fight, disagreement, you always seem to be getting hurt." She meows, a slight purr behind her words. When she notices her brother looking at her closely her ears flatten a little. She is used to this kind of treatment, though, and by now she doesn't bother with getting angry over it.

"If anyone's the kit, it's you." She jokes, though her voice is so serious that some cat who doesn't know her might think that she really means it. Her long silver and black tail sweeps across the floor, sweeping some dust into the air. With her paw injured she won't be able to go on patrols for the rest of the day. That's a shame, she never knows what to do when she's stuck in camp. Maybe she'll be able to sneak out and do some more hunting once everyone else is sufficiently distracted. It doesn't even have to be hunting, actually, simply walking in the forest suits her just fine.

[Dai]

Dreamcloud turned after she finished with Burntfur's wound, "Any time, dears. Just be more careful, 'kay?" Once again,Dreamcloud found herself cleaning up the herbs she had taken out. She quickly scooped up all the herbs and put them where they should be, cleaning up the den in a few heartbeats. What a long day, and it was only sunhigh! She tuned back to the two warriors who had begun to chat. "You're both as troublesome as kits!" she purred, her tail waving back and forth, "Always getting hurt, it's a wonder you're both still fit to go hunting!"
(No muse, sorry. I need to post in a ton of threads, my brain is fried!)