sugar and spice | berry

[Flycatcher]

Flycatcher did not often accompany Berryheart on journeys such as these if at all. Flycatcher did not possess any medical knowledge beyond the basics that most cats knew - cobwebs were good for stopping bleeding, and poppy seeds could aid your sleep. Other than those two bits of knowledge, his knowledge of herbs was abysmal.

During this patrol, Flycatcher let Berryheart take the lead, watching as he inspected certain plants and other flora. "So...." Flycatcher mused from behind the tortoiseshell tom. "Anything, in particular, we are looking for today?" He asked politely. "You will have to tell me what I should be looking out for though. I'm afraid a lot of your herbs all look similar to me."

@BERRYHEART ​

 

[BERRYHEART]

Despite his often-silent demeanour, Berryheart was fond of company. Contentment often did not show well on his crooked face, his features leant lopsided; but even in silence, knowing there was someone else near often soothed any rare disquietude that flew fleeting through the patched medic's mind. Whenever he was assigned a spare warrior to drag along on a herb-traipse, he did not complain, and apparently the deputy himself had felt like spicing up his own routine a little. It would be a good learning opportunity for the blue tom, Berryheart imagined.

"Wood sorrel," he answered the blue tom simply, glancing over his shoulder. A small twinge of a near-unidentifiable smile stitched itself upon his snowy maw. "Looks like clovers with yellow flowers." He did not know how one would not be able to tell the difference between, say, dock and marigold... but wood sorrel was a more reclusive plant. He hoped his illumination would suffice for Blue- he knew the deputy to be a hard-working sort, at least. ​

PENNED BY PIN ☾​

 

[Flycatcher]

For his part, Berryheart was quite accommodating to Flycatcher tagging along. He supposed it wasn't entirely unusual for Berryheart to be joined by a warrior to assist in his herb gathering - Flycatcher had appointed a few warriors to assist from time to time himself. Perhaps the only oddity this time round was that it was Flycatcher himself joining him rather than a regular warrior.

Regarding his previous question, Berryheart told him they were looking for wood sorrel and went on to explain what they looked like. Flycatcher nodded his head simply and tried to picture what it might look like in his head, already having a rough idea of what clovers looked like. As they padded through the undergrowth, his green eyes looking around for any signs of the plant, Flycatcher continued to speak. "What do you use wood sorrel for?" He asked. The deputy couldn't claim to have heard the name mentioned before so he figured regardless of what it was used for it must have been a bit of an uncommon herb. He padded on ahead a little bit before his eyes spotted what he assumed was wood sorrel - the leaves and little yellow flowers certainly matched with Berryheart's prior description. Flycatcher signalled with his tail for the medicine cat to come closer. "Is this it?"​

 

[BERRYHEART]

He was surprised to hear a question that rang with interest flee from the deputy's maw... there were a fair few warriors who had accompanied him over the moons that had not seemed remotely interested in the art of healing. Not that Berryheart was particularly bothered... in fact, he understood their plights quite well. Many were simply concerned with efficiency, something the tortoiseshell could appreciate- and they did not want to stray from that which was familiar to them. It was the nature of difference, he supposed... some found contentment in new knowledge, where others found joy in routine.

"Helps with wounds," he hummed- thus was the nature of most herbs, though he had noticed that some wounds appeared to heal faster when he used wood sorrel. Like he was programmed to do it, Berryheart's gaze rove every inch of the ground, intent and perfectionist in method- however, his meticulousness had slowed him from spotting the plant before the deputy. Pleasantly surprised, he limped over to the blue tom to find that the plant at his feet was indeed what they had been looking for.

Contentment found its home on Berryheart's face, though it was a subtle shift. "Keen eye," he hummed- how pleased he was glowed from his voice like a new dawn.​

PENNED BY PIN ☾​