Firepaw closed his eyes, tail twitching as he waited for the test to begin.
Spottedleaf looked at him, eyes narrowed, before beginning to call out herbs and uses. "Chervil."
"Bellyache."
"Goldenrod."
"Stiffness, especially in larger injuries."
"Catmint."
"Whitecough, Greencough, and occasionally for calming."
"Chickweed."
"Less effective than catmint, but Greencough."
"Coltsfoot."
He blinked, hesitating a moment. "Kittencough?"
"Yes." She nodded. "Thyme."
"Calming."
"Horsetail."
"Infection."
"Poppy seeds."
"Pain."
Spottedleaf purred, her eyes bright. "Very good, Firepaw. I think that'll just about cover review for today. Why don't you sort out some of the newly dried herbs we got the other day and I'll go check the forest for anything fresh."
He dipped his head, tail waving happily as he retreated farther into the herb store.
She watched him for a moment before speaking up again. "If anyone needs anything while I'm gone, as long as it's small you can treat it on your own."
Firepaw perked up a little at that, looking back at his mentor with a smile. "Alright. Be safe."
Nodding, the she-cat slipped out of the den.
Turning back to the herbs, he began to sort them into smaller piles. Dock in one, horsetail in another, some watermint to the side.
A voice called out from the entrance of the den. "Spottedleaf? Firepaw? Is anyone here?"
He turned, calling back to them. "I'm here. Come in."
Dustpaw limped in, Redtail following behind. The apprentice lifted his paw, his head ducked in embarrassment. "I twisted my paw training today."
Firepaw nodded and padded over, inspecting the paw before speaking. "I can give you some nettle or daisy to make sure it doesn't swell. I don't think anything is broken, so that's good."
He turned back to the herb store, checking his piles and taking a couple nettle leaves.
Chewing them up, he turned back and lapped them onto the tom's hurt wrist. "Just stay off of it and you should be fine. If it does start to swell, though, come back. No more training for now, though."
Redtail smiled at the apprentice, nodding. "I'll make sure he doesn't. Thank you, Firepaw."
The two toms thanked him and left, leaving Firepaw alone in the den again.
Turning back to the herb store, he returned to his task of sorting leaves.
"Firepaw?" A deep, gruff voice called out.
Nearly groaning at the immediate interruption, he turned to see Tigerclaw waiting nearby. "Yes, Tigerclaw? What is it?"
The warrior tilted his head, a little amused at the apprentice's impatience. "You have a nose for these things, as a medicine cat. My hunting patrol caught a rabbit, but something seems wrong with it. Would you mind taking a look before anyone eats it?"
He blinked, tail twitching. "Ah, sure." Trotting over, he leaned down to sniff at the rabbit the tabby had brought. He immediately recoiled in disgust. "Ack!" He shook his head to clear it of the sour scent. "Something is wrong with it, all right. It reeks of sickness. Leave it over there by the wall," he nodded to the edge of the den, "and I'll confirm this with Spottedleaf when she returns. Would you check the prey pile? Make sure no other prey smells like this."
Tigerclaw dipped his head, moving the rabbit carefully to the side before leaving to check on the other prey.
Firepaw glared at the rabbit for another moment, his tail twitching agitatedly from the scent. Huffing, he turned back to the herbs for the third time.
Spottedleaf called out as she returned a bit later, a bundle of herbs in her mouth. "I'm back, Firepaw. Anything happen while I was gone?"
He glanced up, smiling at her return. "Not a lot. Dustpaw twisted his paw so I gave him some nettle and told him to stop training for now. Oh! Right, come here." He led his mentor over to where the rabbit was waiting by the wall. "Tigerclaw brought this to me earlier, asked me to check to make sure it was okay since it had an odd smell. Odd is right, though. It reeks of sickness. I asked him to check the prey pile for anything else that smelled like this, but I don't think there was anything else."
Her nose wrinkled from the scent. "You were right to tell him to do that. This would've likely gotten some cat very sick. Come, let's bury it outside camp then tell Bluestar of it."
He picked it up carefully, Spottedleaf helping, and the two took it outside and buried it.
Firepaw licked his lips, nose wrinkled. "Bleh. See if I ever eat rabbit again after this."
She chuckled and lightly shoved him as they walked back into camp. "You'll eat plenty of rabbit after this. It's good food."
They ducked into the leader's den, Spottedleaf leading the way in with her apprentice following diligently behind.
Bluestar and Tigerclaw were huddled in conversation.
The leader looked up, smiling at the sight of the two medics.
Tigerclaw looked at the apprentice, nodding approval.
Firepaw smiled a bit at the approval from such a well respected senior warrior. He sat beside his mentor, tail twitching happily.
Spottedleaf dipped her head to Bluestar, brows furrowed in worry. "Am I right to assume that Tigerclaw has already told you of the rabbit?"
Bluestar nodded, lifting her chin. "Yes. No other prey was found to be ill like the rabbit, so it may have been just the one."
Firepaw meekly spoke up, his head ducked a little. "Were there any other rabbits in the prey pile? Perhaps it's an issue with just the rabbits and no other prey?"
The tabby warrior looked at him, a hint of surprise glittering in his eyes. "No, there were no rabbits." He glanced at Bluestar, tail twitching. "He may be right. We should look out for any other ill rabbits."
Nodding, the leader dipped her head to the two medics. "Yes. I'll speak with Redtail about it. Thank you for bringing this to attention."
The three cats dipped their heads and got up, leaving the leader's den.
Tigerclaw smiled down at Firepaw, his ears pushed forward. "Well done, apprentice. You're learning fast."
He beamed at the praise, dipping his head in thanks before quickly trotting after his mentor.
...
Firepaw felt his fur prickle with worry as he padded beside his mentor.
The rabbits turned out to be the issue, after all. Any rabbit caught was immediately buried after finding the scent of illness on it. Even rabbits that bore so such scent were buried out of fear that sickness would still come if it were eaten.
Spottedleaf rest her tail over his shoulders. "It's good that we found out, Firepaw. Were WindClan here, I'd be concerned about them, but for now no Clan are coming into much contact with the sickness the rabbits carry."
The apprentice nodded, his ears drooping a bit. "Right.. Spottedleaf, what's going to happen to WindClan? If they're not here, they can't speak with StarClan, can they?"
She stiffened a little at this, but gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I've been speaking with Bluestar about sending a small patrol to try to find WindClan and bring them back. With any luck, they won't have gone far."
Firepaw nodded, a little relieved.