private SHOW ME YOUR WORST AND I'LL SEE YOUR BEST [ ₊˚❀༉‧₊ ] A GIFT

[Starlingheart]

Being a Medicine Cat came with certain perks. Like, for example, she could leave the camp by herself whenever she wanted and when anyone asked where she was going a simple answer was more than enough "To-to look for herbs" she would say and if they offered to join her she would merely smile and say "No-no thank you. Some alone time would- would do me good right now" and wasn't it understandable if that's what she well and truly wanted? Still, her heart twists with guilt as she makes her way through the forest even though she knows deep down that she is doing the right thing.

Fire had swept through their territory too, once, when she was a kit and barely old enough to register the severity of the events happening around her. It was not a direct cause of loss for her like it was for Wolfsong, but it had been a catalyst of it. Her mother, gone, because they had taken shelter in the tunnel below the thunderpath and her sister had wandered onto it, too young to know better. Briarstar had not been around to see the aftermath of the flames, but Starlingheart had. She remembers what it's like to be so hungry it feels like your insides were nothing more than a hollowed out pit, remembers what it feels like to have ribs jutting through skin and she remembers - worst of all - clanmates dying to that hunger.

She does not wish for another clan to have to experience the same.

She just hopes that, despite the events that transpired at the gathering that Wolfsong would still meet with her. She does not fault him for his anger last night, for the words that had stung her like a thorn right in the heart. They had been said out of rage, not malice after all. She had always been the forgiving type, and she would not allow such simple hurt to dissuade her from helping others. It would be selfish of her, to hold the power to help in her snowcapped paws and to withhold it from them for something as petty as a squabble. It is why she had gone first to the patches of ragwort and watermint that she knew were abundant, picked what she could spare, and why she was now making her way to the border with them clutched firmly in her jaws.

She would wait here, herbs placed between her two front paws and green eye trained on the moorlands that open up before her, until the sun hung lower in the sky to signify evening if she must but she hoped she didn't have to. She hoped he would come.

// @WOLFSONG @cottonpaw (optional if Wolfsong would bring her!)

( ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. ) fly me up on a silver wing

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  STARLINGHEART SHADOWCLAN MEDICINE CAT; SHE / HER ; SISTER TO PITCHSTAR, CHITTERTONGUE, NIGHTSWARM, SKUNKTAIL, AND LILACFUR. MOTHER TO NETTLEPAW, FLINTWISH AND GHOSTMASK.
  

  A skinny she cat with short black and white fur littered with scars and one singular green eye.

  ✦ Easy in battle + has little to no formal battle training
  

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[WOLFSONG]

──ᨒ↟↟ᨒ↟ᨒ↟↟ᨒ── He was, in truth, surprised that Starlingheart approached him after he had invoked Granitepelt's name, but she has never struck him as the vindictive sort, even when well within her rights to be. He did mean what he said— that ShadowClan is undeserving of her. They may have sheltered the other clans, but it was not as though they truly had a choice in the matter. Wolfsong can respect that they have carved out a living in such a place that does not coddle life, but that is the extent of his positive judgments, at least where their medicine cat isn't involved.

Cottonpaw at his side, he is careful not to pick up the pace, lest he draw unwanted attention, either from WindClan or ShadowClan. He had made a similar excuse as Starlingheart, though it ached to leave his mate behind after his gruesome, bloody death, even knowing he was resting in the medicine den. For that reason, he greets Starlingheart with a weary half-smile and nod. "I apologize for taking longer to come." He should explain Granitepelt's appearance, but with the tom so deadset on WindClan, he doubts ShadowClan needs to worry for his arrival, and he wouldn't stress her unnecessarily. "There was much to discuss about the Gathering."

His gaze drifts down to the herbs at her paws. "Is this the gift you mentioned?"
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WOLFSONG of WINDCLAN FORMER ROGUE TURNED MEDICINE CAT. 42 MOONS, HE/HIM, NPC X NPC. MATES WITH SUNSTAR (07/05/2023). BIOGRAPHY, PINTEREST, & PLAYLIST.

medicinal expertise med. part ii med. part iii med. part iv

• — ★★★☆☆ WOUNDS: You're (mostly) in safe paws. You'll know if he's less experienced if he asks for your permission to try a treatment. No wound can scare him away from knowledge.
  — ★★★☆☆ INFECTION: He can prevent most infections. If you feel feverish, let him know; he'll hum thoughtfully over herbs and sniff your wound before saying, "With your blessing..."
• — ★☆☆☆☆ ACHES & PAINS: If you complain to him of pain, he'll ask where. If it's a headache, you'll likely feel a bit better. For anything else, "Try this, if you'd like, and tell me how you feel."
  — ★☆☆☆☆ BROKEN BONES: At best. he can ask you to remain lying down in the den. He may try to distract you with conversation while he considers what herb to feed you.
• — ★★★★★ TRAVELING HERBS: Going somewhere? No worries; Wolfsong knows just what you need to stay hale and healthy during your journey. The rest is up to you.
  — ★★★☆☆ KITTING: Thanks to Starlingheart and his own pregnancy, he's better prepared for the arrival of kits, but any complications will need a little faith and a lot of luck.
• — ★☆☆☆☆ POISONS: It's best if you avoid eating anything unfamiliar to you— it's probably just as unfamiliar to Wolfsong. The best he can do is offer you yarrow and sit with you.
  — ★★☆☆☆ ILLNESS: If it's white or greencough, you'll likely recover. Otherwise, prepare for odd concoctions and the usual request that you consent to a little trial-and-error.

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[cottonsprig]

Cottonpaw had not been thrilled when, beneath hushed breaths, Wolfsong explained to her where they would be going. Kindness stretched between Starlingheart and Wolfsong, still, and the apprentice cannot fathom it within her own paws. Perhaps it is because they share sorrows, understandings, whilst she still acts like a petulant teen who's rules have been changed twice over now. In no manner does she think Starlingheart is a bad cat, not even by the virtue of her sour Clan. She respects the black-and-white she-cat and that's about all she has to offer.

Her mouth remains in a soft line as she slithers alongside her mentor, her displeasure only emulating in the careful strides of her legs. She can smell freshly picked herbs on the wind, hardly masked by their only-just flowering meadowlands. Just beyond is the medicine cat they're meeting, said herbs at her paws, and a nervous smile within her expression. Her tail twitches as she remains by Wolfsong's side, dipping her head with respect towards the other. Gift he had said, and Cottonpaw quirked a brow as she waited for the answer.​

 

[Starlingheart]

They appear over the horizon. Starlingheart watches as their small forms begin to take shape as they draw closer, and when they came close enough that she could make out their features she's offer a small, if wary, smile. To say she thought ill of Wolfsong for his words at the gathering would be a rather large misjudgement of her character. She knows what it is like to speak out in anger, knows what it is to regret things that you cannot take back once they have left your lips. She will not hold a grudge. "It's okay I-I understand" Her own clan also had much to discuss after the gathering, after all. Surely, WindClan and ShadowClan were no longer friends but Starlingheart had never in her lifetime been a warrior, had barely even trained to be one. She does not know the song of battle that sings in the hearts of her clanmates, can not see a lawless clan hellbent on bending the code to their whims, but rather a hungry and desperate one in need of help. And if she had the ability to then why not do it?

She dips her head respectively to first Wolfsong and then Cottonpaw in turn. She could never claim to be as close to these two as she had been to WindClan's previous medicine cat's but she would like to be. They had both not been fans of her determination that the path of a medicine cat could not include kits, she knows, but she still fosters hope that things could be relatively friendly between them. It's why she reaches out with one snow-capped paw to gently paw at the herbs, counting, making sure none have been lost to the breeze. She swings her head back and forth, looking for the tell tale signs of a monster and feeling for the rumble of those black paws before she makes her way over to WindClan's side of the border. She is careful to not step off the Thunderpath, she deposits her gift at their feet and stands at the verge, eyes and ears alert for one of the beasts that patrol this strip of blackened land. (whether that meant WindClan or the creatures twolegs rode around in she is sure it is the same)

"ShadowClan has- we've known hunger- starvation before" she begins, her voice quiet, shaky. She closes her eye and behind her lids dances images of her clanmates ribs poking through their pelts, of ragged fur and gaunt faces. She remembers the desperation that clawed at her belly and had her eating anything she could find that she knew was safe. "Watermint" she says finally after a short pause, reaching out to indicate to the light green plant, its oval shaped leaves and bright purple flowers would look inviting if not for the spikes that run along its stem. Still, it was not unpleasant to eat. It was the small things one should be thankful for. "helps-helps with bellyaches" Which, if WindClan's prey situation got worse than it was, they would certainly be getting as their hollowed out stomachs cried out for any sort of sustenance at all.

The next herb was the watermints opposite. Dark green with yellow flowers, they tasted and smelled absolutely revolting but "Ragwort. It can be used to- to give strength" she explains "But uh s-sorry it doesn't-it's horrid to eat I'm afraid. I recommend having patients eat-eat this first. Then the watermint." it would balance out that way.

( ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. ) fly me up on a silver wing

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  STARLINGHEART SHADOWCLAN MEDICINE CAT; SHE / HER ; SISTER TO PITCHSTAR, CHITTERTONGUE, NIGHTSWARM, SKUNKTAIL, AND LILACFUR. MOTHER TO NETTLEPAW, FLINTWISH AND GHOSTMASK.
  

  A skinny she cat with short black and white fur littered with scars and one singular green eye.

  ✦ Easy in battle + has little to no formal battle training
  

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