Hello, welcome to Goldenfoot's Herbs. Goldenfoot is a medicine cat, this fanfiction will focus on her journey to become a medicine cat. This story is meant to help writers who are not sure of the uses of herbs and where are they found. This fanfic will cover all herbs that I found on wiki and in the books. :) I hope that the one-shots will help you to know more about herbs and their uses.
Alder Bark
Goldenpaw was made an apprentice not long ago. She was always fascinated by how Barkwhisker healed different kind of wounds and never got bored when she was given lectures about different types of herbs. Goldenpaw was first introduced to herbs when she suffered a toothache when she was only two moons old. When she was playing with her sister, Frostkit, she tumbled down a slope and banged her mouth against a hard stone. Blood came flowing out and Frostkit ran for her mother. She was very weak then, as her body lacked nutrients. Barkwhisker thought she would not live, but tough little Goldenkit survived.
Goldenkit whined and whined, because the wound hurt a lot, for a small kit. Barkwhisker hurried to the nursery, his eyes round with worry. "Didn't you take good care of her?" Goldenpaw remembered her mother receiving a scolding from Barkwhisker.
Barkwhisker chewed up something brown and asked Goldenkit to open her mouth wide.
"Wha is hat?" Goldenkit managed to say these words. Her curiosity took over the pain. Goldenkit stopped crying and staggered over to Barkwhisker, sniffing the mashed-up herb.
Barkwhisker smiled and replied, "this is called the Alder Bark. It is a herb. The Alder trees grow mainly in boggy, wet terrain."
"Hy gimme?" Goldenkit asked, her eyes big and round.
"Alder Bark is used to treat toothaches. I will apply this on your tooth, then the pain will be gone! Now, be a good kit and open your mouth to let me see." Goldenkit nodded her tiny head and opened her mouth.
"Mouth white white!" She exclaimed and Barkwhisker chuckled as he poulticed the wound. "Pain hill there!" Goldenkit cried, a frown on her face. "Pain hill there! Lion! Lion!"
"Eat this, and the pain will be gone..."
Goldenkit swallowed a few seeds and drifted into sleep.
The next day, like what Barkwhisker had promised, the pain was gone and Goldenkit could pronounce the words properly again.
"Goldenpaw, do you remember what this is?" Barkwhisker asked, his tail wrapped around his paws.
"Yes, of course!" Goldenpaw grinned. "It saved my tooth! It is Alder Bark, right?"
"Correct! Later we will be going out to collect herbs, and I will show you some important leaves that are used to wrap around the herbs. The faster you stack up these herbs, the sooner we can explore the territory!"
Beech Leaves
"Goldenpaw, hurry up!"
Goldenpaw was looking at a big clearing, where her siblings were training. They were mock fighting. Frostpaw growled in a playful way she charged forward, knocking into Pebblepaw, her brother. Pebblepaw scurried to his paws, aiming a strike at Frostpaw's ears. Frostpaw leapt onto Pebblepaw's back, pushing him down with her weight. Frostpaw flipped the other apprentice over, exposing the apprentice's belly. "I win!" She yowled triumphantly. Goldenpaw hoped that she could perform those awesome moves too.
Goldenpaw watched with envy as the apprentices' mentors started telling them their weaknesses and strengths. I wish I was there...
"Goldenpaw, be loyal to the path you chose." Goldenpaw nodded her head and followed her mentor to the twoleg-place.
"I really want to learn some battle moves," Goldenpaw murmured.
Barkwhisker stopped and turned around. Goldenpaw lowered her head, thinking that she said something wrong. Now Barkwhisker will think that I will not be a good medicine cat! "Well, medicine cats are required to learn some battle moves for self-defence..." Goldenpaw's eyes brightened. "I will teach you some later. However, you must remember, that medicine cats are to heal, not kill."
"Thank you!" Goldenpaw hopped forward and rubbed her head against Barkwhisker's. "Let's go!" Barkwhisker suppress a laugh and continued their journey to the twoleg place.
"These are beech leaves. They are large, broad and can be entire or sparsely-toothed," Barkwhisker explained, pointing to a plant with his tail. Goldenpaw sniffed the plant and went forward to observe it. The plant's leaves were toothed and they were light green. "They are found growing everywhere, except in soil that are water-logged. Water-logged means that the soil is fully soaked with water."
"Are beech leaves a type of herb?" Goldenpaw asked, cocking her head to one side. "What effect do they have?"
"Beech leaves are not considered a herb. They are just broad leaves that we use to carry and wrap our leaves. We use these leaves to build our nests too. My mentor once told me, that these leaves can speed up healing processes and help a cat to sleep better!"
"Really? I thought they were just ordinary leaves!" Goldenpaw exclaimed.
She had learnt so much that day.
:) If you have any questions, feel free to leave a review or PM me! If you spot any mistakes, do tell me!
QOTD: What clan should Goldenpaw be in?
Next update will be soon,
Stuffed Watermelon