Chapter Six
Duskpaw narrowed her blind eyes in concentration, sorting through the herbs. She could easily recognize the lovely smell of catmint, which Mistleberry had gathered quickly, fearing that greencough could hit this leafbare.
"Duskpaw, Moonwhisker has a bellyache, probably from eating something bad. What should you give her to treat it?" Duskpaw immediately recognized the voice of her mentor. Huffing, she struggled to remember all the herbs and their uses. Only having been an apprentice for a quarter moon, she had learned the basics, but still forgot some of the herbs often.
"Uh… juniper berries? But, if it's really bad, give yarrow, and don't let her eat anything," Duskpaw mewed, her whiskers twitching in anxiety.
"Good job, Duskpaw. Why don't you see her yourself? This'll be your first assignment. I need to collect some more herbs," Mistleberry replied, her voice warm. Duskpaw dipped her head, proud of the praise she had received from her mentor. Duskpaw trotted towards their moss storage, using her whiskers to brush along the walls. Picking up a wad, she dipped it in the small pool of water, and padded out of the den. The cold wind flew at her face, and she hissed with annoyance, heading forward slowly.
"Olivestem? Moonwhisker?" Duskpaw mewed, poking her head into the low den. She heard pawsteps, and she heard some coughing. Her ears twitched with surprise, and she padded over towards Moonwhisker, sniffing her pelt. Olivestem was behind her, her breaths quick and scared.
"Can you help her, Duskpaw?" Olivestem asked, her voice laced with worry. She could detect a high fever radiating from her pelt, and she frowned, worried.
"She had a bad bellyache? Any other symptoms?" Duskpaw mewed, her voice muffled from Moonwhisker's fur.
"She's been getting some aching in her legs too, but I thought that was just something about getting old," Olivestem replied.
"Thanks, Olivestem. Can you get her to drink some of this moss? I'll be back." Duskpaw trotted out of the den, padding briskly towards the medicines' cats den. Juniper berries for the belly, it's not to bad of an ache…. Feverfew… for the slight fever…. Some ragwort leaves for the cramps, just to be sure… I don't think poppy seeds will be neccessary this time…. Heading into the storage room, she tried to picture the room as Mistleberry had described. Reaching out her paw, she found the juniper berries bunched together in one of the shelves. She grabbed a large leaf, dropping the juniper berries. Grabbing the other herbs, she wrapped her bundle, carefully wrapping her jaws around the leaf.
"Hello? Can someone help me?" Duskpaw sniffed with annoyance, padding out of the storage. She dropped the wrap by the entrance, sniffing out the smell of thorns and shrubs. Oh, StarClan...
"Shadowpelt?" Duskpaw mewed, blinking slowly. The black-furred tom padded closer, and he held his paw forward. Her ears twitching to pick up every sound, she found his paw and sniffed at it.
"I got a thorn in it when I was hunting a shrew. At least I got it!" Shadowpelt purred, his pelt fluffed out with excitement. Duskpaw growled as his paw was suddenly jerked away from her reach.
"Can you stop wriggling around like a kit at their apprentice ceremony? Unless you want me to bite your paw," Duskpaw snapped, rolling her eyes. Shadowpelt immediately stopped moving, muttering some apology. Duskpaw snatched his paw back, and lapped at the thorn. She could feel the edge, and she licked more, until she could feel it better. She bit it softly, before frowning as she realized she could feel his skin, and Shadowpelt growled lowly, stiffening with worry. Pulling away, she fastened her teeth around the thorn, yanked it out, and dropped it as Shadowpelt flinched backwards.
"Make sure you don't put too much pressure on it, and lick it," Duskpaw advised, turning back around to grab her herbs.
"Thanks, Duskpaw! I'll be getting back to my patrol now." Duskpaw flicked her tail in response, picking up her wrap once more. She headed out once more, finally arriving at the elders' den. She laid her herbs down, and pulled out the ragwort leaves, chewing them in her mouth. She spit it out, carefully reaching for the berries. She mixed one berry with the poultice, and slowly pushed it towards the elder.
"Can you make sure she eats it, Olivestem? It might be kind of hard for her to eat," Duskpaw mewed, turning back towards the juniper berries. She brought them to the elder, placing it besides the poultice. "Make sure she eats them at different times. Don't have her eat the juniper berries until you're sure she's eaten the ragwort leaves."
"Okay, Duskpaw. Whatever you say," Olivestem whispered. Duskpaw leaned down to pick up the feverfew, before freezing. Do I chew it up for her? Or does she just eat it? Does she even need it at all? On shaky paws, Duskpaw brought it over towards the elder, placing it beside the berries.
"Olivestem, can you see if Mistleberry's back yet? I think I'm doing this right, but I don't want to give her feverfew unless we're sure it's needed," Duskpaw mewed, hoping she wasn't visibly worried. Olivestem's soft pawsteps echoed away, until they were completely gone.
"Duskpaw… I feel better… Thank you," Moonwhisker rasped, before bending down to eat the juniper berries.
"What have you done so far, Duskpaw?" Duskpaw turned around, knowing that Mistleberry was here. "I just got back, and lucky us, I found more catmint and marigold."
"I've given her some ragwort leaves because of the aches she's been having, and I mixed it with a single juniper berry to maximize the strength. I'm giving her these juniper berries, making sure she's swallowed the ragwort first," Duskpaw mewed, uncertainty in her voice. Mistleberry purred softly, but it was evident she had forgotten something.
"Now, Duskpaw. All of those were the right thing to do, but I can smell fever from here. What should you give her for that?" Mistleberry gently prompted, padding over to check on the elder.
"Yes, Mistleberry, I was about to give her some feverfew. But, I wasn't… sure whether or not I should chew it up first because of the stomach, or if I should just give it her," Duskpaw replied.
"Feverfew looses its use if it's chewed up before entering the cat's mouth. We should give it to her whole. Keep her on water until dawn," Mistleberry mewed, leaving the den. Duskpaw dipped her head, giving the feverfew to her whole.
"Now, I don't want you eating anything today, you can only drink water. If you start to burn up, you can fetch either Mistleberry or myself," Duskpaw advised, licking at the elder's pelt. Duskpaw stood up, and exited the den, surprised as she heard shouting from the clan. Bounding forward, she could recognize the scent of Featherpaw, and she pressed against her sister, her breath shaky. "What's going on?" Before Featherpaw could reply, and sharp paw jabbed at Duskpaw, startling the apprentice.
"Hurry up! The border patrol's come back with some injuries from a border skirmish! Fetch what we need while I check up on injuries," Mistleberry snapped, padding off. Duskpaw stared at her mentor, her jaw slackened. Fetch what we need? I've only been her apprentice for a quarter moon! I don't know everything she needs! Sighing, she headed off towards the medicine cats' den, making her way over to the herbs. Quickly, she selected some cobwebs, marigold, horsetail, goldenrod, poppy seeds, and some comfrey, just in case. Making a large sack, she bounded out of the den, instantly sniffing out her mentor.
"I'm here, Mistleberry! I brought cobwebs, marigold, horsetail, goldenrod, poppy seeds, and comfrey," Duskpaw mewed, panting slightly. Mistleberry touched her tail to her apprentice's shoulder in approval, before taking some cobwebs and marigold.
"Rainpetal has a pretty large gash on her side, you can take care of that. Oakshadow has a some wounds on his shoulder and paw. If you have time, can you take care of Flamespirit? I think he only has a couple of scratches. I have to get to Russetclaw, he's very badly hurt," Mistleberry muttered, her voice fast. Without another word, she padded through the crowd of cats. Picking up her bundle, she carefully made her way to Rainpetal.
"Rainpetal, can you lie down for me?" Duskpaw asked, her voice gentle. Rainpetal dipped her head, before flopping down on her side. Duskpaw carefully sniffed at her flank, picking up a faint trace of blood. Reaching for the cobwebs, she plastered them to the wound, realizing that it reached from her shoulder to her back leg. She bent down, her nose brushing against petals. She picked up the marigold, chewing at it, while listening to Flamespirit tell his story.
"We were just patrolling the border, and then a ShadowClan patrol jumped at us, threatening to take our territory. I'm just glad none of the apprentices were with us. Those cats attacked us pretty brutally," Flamespirit mewed. Her ears twitching, she spat the poultice onto her pelt, carefully smoothing it around with her paw. She sniffed at it once more, proud of her handiwork.
"Take it easy, Rainpetal. If the cobweb comes off, come to us. Make sure you don't rub the marigold off," Duskpaw reminded, carrying her herbs away. As she padded past Russetclaw, who was panting heavily, she almost choked on the strong scent of blood. Shaking her head, she found Oakshadow, who she could hear limping around. "Did you twist your paw?"
"I think so. Also, I have a couple cuts on my shoulder. Nothing I can't handle," Oakshadow mewed, holding his paw out. She sniffed at it, noticing it was wrenched. Good thing I brought comfrey with me… She began chewing on the root, wincing as the tangy smell filled her mouth. She spat it on the ground, dipping a paw in it and rubbing his paw carefully. "Ahh… that feels a lot better." Dipping her head, she pawed some cobwebs on his cuts, spreading a little marigold on them.
"I don't want you hunting for a sunrise. You can patrol, just don't get into too much trouble," Duskpaw meowed, briskly moving onto Flamespirit. She sniffed at him, as he was talking quietly with her father. She noticed nothing too bad, except for a small wound on his shoulder. Plastering cobwebs, she chewed up marigold, carefully rubbing the poultice on.
"You don't have any restrictions, Flamespirit. Just be sure not to land very hard on that shoulder," Duskpaw mumbled, not wanting to interrupt the deputy and the leader. She grabbed the rest of the herbs up, trotting back towards her den. After all of that, she just wanted to collapse in her nest and sleep forever.
"Duskpaw? I need some help here! Russetclaw is barely staying conscious, and I think I need you to stay up and watch him, while I go discuss some matters with your father," Mistleberry mewed. Duskpaw felt her heart sink, and she sighed, dipping her head. Mistleberry rested her tail on her shoulders. "I know it's tiring, but we have to do our duty." Duskpaw nodded, sorting the herbs back into the respective locations. She padded up to Russetclaw, sniffing at his fur. She could scent the large gashes on either side, and the blood that clotted around both. She pawed at the marigold poultice that was beside her, gently pawing it around his body. From what she could tell, he was cut all over, and he probably had twisted a paw or something. She sighed, sitting down beside Russetclaw, preparing herself for the long night.