TO LIVE IN THE LOVE OF OTHERS [ ˚❀༉‧₊˚ ] TRAINING V. I

[Starlingheart]

In her lifetime, Starlingheart has worn many titles. Apprentice, daughter, sister, mate, mother, medicine cat. But there is perhaps one title that she possesses that stands far above the others in her mind. Mentor. Being a mentor was perhaps the most important thing a cat could do in their lifetime, and doubly so for a medicine cat. Someone to guide, to teach, it was an invaluable resource. If she did not pass along the knowledge that she had then it would die with her, and that thought scared her more than the thought of her own demise did. She did not wish to abandpn her apprentice, her clan, with nothing the way she had been. Back then, though, it had been every medicine cat for themselves. They had lended a paw to one another when they could, sure, but it was nothing compared to what she had seen now. It warmed her heart, made her feel a little better knowing that should she fall, Marblepaw would still likely have someone to save her.


Hopefully, that day would not come, and she would not have to find out if the other clans would be willing to pick up ShadowClan's pieces. For now, she was still here, and her apprentice still needed to be taught so she beckons to the dust hued molly to come closer to where she sits, crouched over a group of herbs that she had assembled. Marblepaw's first official lesson. "Do you remember any of these?" she asks, gesturing to the herbs in front of her. Burdock, comfrey, dandelion, goldenrod, horsetail, marigold, oak leaves, sweet-sedge, wood sorrel and last but finally not least, cobwebs. She had shown her apprentice a couple of these things before, albeit briefly, but she waits patiently for the young girl to answer, green eye focused on her youthful face.

@MARBLEPAW

( ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. ) 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
  

​

 

[MARBLEPAW]

Marblepaw is quick to come when Starlingheart beckons her, dull green eyes fixed on her mentor in the gloom of the cave. The black and white she-cat sits with an array of herbs neatly bundled before her paws. "Do you remember any of these?" Marblepaw creeps closer, resting her haunches beside the medicine cat's. Some of these herbs look familiar, she thinks, but some of them... "Some," she mutters, prodding at each with an uncertain paw.

The first she brushes her paw over is spiny at the top, a lush purple in color. The leaves are shiny and dark. She lowers her face toward the herb, inhaling the bitter scent, admiring the twist of its roots. "I don't know this one," she murmurs, disappointment thickening in her voice. "What is it?"

She flicks her attention to the next herb. This one is unique-looking, with tender, dripping flowers and verdant leaves. She sniffs at its folds, inhaling the tang. Its roots are thicker than the other plants'; they twist darkly at the bottom. She shakes her head with some regret and moves onto the next herb.

This one seems a bit more familiar to Marblepaw. She has seen it growing rampant in the marsh. "Dandelion?" She asks, turning her muzzle back toward Starlingheart. Its yellow flowers and long stems are easy to commit to memory, she thinks. "I don't remember what it does, though," she admits.

The next herb is frustratingly similar to dandelion; it's taller, though, and the stems are tougher. She sighs, prodding it gently with a white-tipped paw. "I'm sorry, I don't know this one either," she murmurs. The scent is exotic, though, and she takes a moment to let it linger in her nostrils; it's not quite sweet. The spice is not entirely unpleasant, however.

She moves onto the next herb, her mind whirring. It's another one that smells rank and unpleasant; it's tall, too, like the former plant. She wracks her brain for an answer and comes up short.

The next one, though, causes Marblepaw's face to brighten with excitement. "Marigold!" She remembers this herb, with its bright little flowers and dark leaves, from the lesson Starlingheart had given her before she'd left with Smogstar for the Moonstone. "It's to prevent wounds from being infected, right?" She beams up at her mentor, her tail curling with pleasure. The joy of getting an answer right sweeps the rest of her insecurities away, at least temporarily.

The rest of the herbs are a miss, though. "These are tree leaves," she says, prodding the objects in question, "but I'm not sure what they're for." The next herb, one thick-stemmed, its sap beading up sweetly along its stalk, is a mystery to her, and the tart-smelling weed is, too.

The last bundle has her eyes shining, though. "Cobwebs!" Marblepaw looks up at Starlingheart with a smile. "I know all about cobwebs. They stop a cat's bleeding!" She taps her paws against the ground. "And — we can find them in the roots of the Burnt Sycamore, right?"

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Marblekit . Marblepaw, she/they w/ feminine and non-gendered terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 7 moons old, ages realistically on the 1st.
  — mentored by Starlingheart ; mentoring n/a ; previously mentored n/a
  — shadowclan medicine cat apprentice, formerly a rogue. siltcloud x lilacfur, gen 3.
  — currently mated to n/a.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh fawn tabby with dull green eyes. courageous, curious, introspective, observant, judgmental, snarky.
  
  

​

 

[Starlingheart]

Starlingheart is honest in the way she does not expect her apprentice to remember much of these. The brief training she had had before this session had been quick, rushed words spilling from a white maw as she rapid-fired information in her direction hoping something would stick lest anything happened in her absence. By the grace of the stars, nothing had, but that didn't mean that the day wouldn't come. Where Starlingheart would be elsewhere and responsibility would settle into her young apprentices paws. She intended to ensure she was as well equipped for it as possible.

She is not surprised Marblepaw does not recognize burdock root, in fact she sends a silent thanks to the stars that she is unfamiliar. A day would come where her clan would once again be faced with the threat of famine, where they would be driven by desperation to hunt in the rat-infested carrionplace and on that day they would have to use this herb. "Burdock root" she informs her, reaching out to gently touch the spiraling roots attached to the thistle "The root is-is what we use here" she says, tapping it with her claw "It can treat infections but- but its uh- it's most effective when treating rat bites" something she had had to learn the hard way that first winter, when she was barely older than Marblepaw herself. With her here though, Marblepaw would never have to go through what she had been through. Failure due to simply just not knowing. Never again. "Cats with-with rat bites may also roll in wild garlic patches if-if they're strong enough to make it to one. The garlic it-it draws out the infection" She says, remembering a starry figure's phantom breath in her ear telling her.

The next herb's delicate flowers draw her eye. Her apprentice passes over it, but again that's quite alright. They had yet to cover it after all. "This is-is comfrey" she informs her "The roots can be used f-for many things-a poultice- we chew them into a-a poultice" she pauses for a moment, remembering a different kind of thing attached to this name, melancholy overtaking her as she remembers brown fur and youth-filled eyes. "Have you ever- ever gotten a scratch that was uh that was really itchy?" she asks "Comfrey soothes- makes wounds less itchy so cats don't - don't open them back up by accident." she could tell a patient to stop scratching at their wound till she was blue in the face and still the second she turned her back she would catch them doing it. "I've also used it on broken bones, burns, wrenched claws, and the-the elders are particularly fond of this-this herb. It can be used to treat-to uh to ease stiffness in joints and wrenched shoulders."

The next two, Marbelpaw is unsure of. Starlingheart brings her tail closer to her paws, her green eye shining with patience "It's okay" she says reassuringly "I would be surprised if you-if you knew all of these, actually. Im surprised by-by how much you do already know. You'll have it down in no time, I'm certain" her niece was proving to be a fast learner, a quick study, which would do her well in the coming moons. The real challenge she was about to face that Starlingheart would do her utmost best to prepare her for. Leaf-bare. "But yes you are correct about-about the first one, very good" she says with a slight purr in her throat, proud that she had at least recognized it "Dandelion is- is-the leaves are used as a painkiller and for-for soothing bee stings. Very useful for honey gathering" she winces as she remembers applying it to herself after a particularly rough go at it. "The next herb is goldenrod and horsetail" as she speak she reaches out to gently touch the small yellow flowers, drinking in the bitter-sweet scent "Usually, you will see me use goldenrod in-in mixed poultices. Along with marigold, typically. It speeds up the healing process, makes infection less likely to set in." The faster a wound healed the better. For many reasons. "Horsetail is good when we are low on marigold. It can stop bleeding and it treats infection"

A wide smile breaks out onto the medicine cat's features when her apprentice correctly names Marigold and its use. "Yes, that's exactly right" she says, pleased that her lesson had stuck "It also helps stop bleeding and can be- can be used in place of comfrey to treat stiff joints. It grows-grows by the water so there's plenty in ShadowClans marshes" the one thing they could say ShadowClan was blessed with. If only herbs could sustain them in the colder moons to come.

"Soon-soon the trees in the forest which are not pines will all turn red. Red and orange and brown - like fire- and the leaves will fall to hte ground- this season- Leaf fall - is when we find these leaves the most, right here in our own camp. Oak leaves" she informs her "Another herb that can be chewed and used to prevent or treat infection" and then she moves on to the next herb "Sweet-sedge" she informs her, gesturing to the plant with small green flowers - sap leaking from its stem. "The sap is swallowed to ease-to ease internal infections" of which Starlingheart would teach her of when they
moved on to learning to treat things you couldn't see with just the naked eye alone "And wood-wood sorrel. Similar to goldenrod in use we- we use it to help speed up the healing process."

The excitement in Marblepaw's eyes when she declares that she knows about cobwebs is contagious, and she finds herself transported to a memory of a time when she had been much of the same, where learning things was new and fun and not a necessity for the survival of her clan. "Yes, correct!" she says with a deep rumbling purr, her tail moving to wave steadily in the air behind her back "We can find cobwebs just about- just about anywhere but uh yes- most commonly they can be found at the-the burnt sycamore. In the roots, right. The spiders do like it there it seems. We can also- also use them to bind broken bones and keep poultices on wounds" a versatile thing, cobwebs were for sure. "Let me know if-if Im going too fast or-or if you have any questions okay, its alright if-if you need me to slow down or if you need a break I don't- I don't expect you to learn everything today, or for everything I taught just now to stick so don't worry if it doesn't okay? I'm here- here to make sure you learn but- but we do it at your pace.." as much time as Marblepaw needed, that is what Starlingheart will do everything to ensure she has.

( ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. ) 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
  

[/i][/i]​

 

[MARBLEPAW]

Starlingheart, praise the stars, does not seem frustrated with their lack of knowledge. The gentle medicine cat reaches first for the spiraling root, naming it burdock root. The black-and-white she-cat tells her it's for treating infection, primarily for rat bites. Marblepaw shudders. "That's for when we hunt in the Carrionplace, huh?" She remembers Smogstar's words; they echo somewhere in the distant gray space of her brain. Leafbare comes, he'd intoned, and he'd mentioned the fruitful hunting their warriors would have there when the cold seasons tripped their marsh of life.

Starlingheart moves to the next herb, the one with sprightly little flowers. She tells Marblepaw it's comfrey, used to soothe wounds so cats do not open them back up with their claws. The medicine cat instructs her on comfrey's myriad uses: broken bones, burns, wrenched claws, and stiff joints. The pale tabby nods, determined to commit the useful plant to memory.

Her mentor moves on. "I would be surprised if you knew all of these, actually," she mews, and Marblepaw gives her an unsure smile. "I'll try really hard today to remember everything," she promises. She'd been right about the dandelion; it's a painkiller, the leaves of the plant specifically used to dull aches and stings. The next ones are goldenrod and horsetail — Marblepaw crouches closer to study them, to commit their spires and scents to memory.

She's right, too, about marigold; Starlingheart seems pleased, which warms Marblepaw's fur. Her tentative smile widens on her face, her paws twitching as she sniffs at the marigold again for confirmation.

"Soon, the trees in the forest which are not pines will all turn red," Starlingheart mews, and Marblepaw's ears flick; she turns her attention to her mentor, studying her. She'd heard tales of leaf-fall, of the chill soon to invade the air, but she's yet to experience anything from the marsh but warmth and life. "Oak leaves are another herb that can be chewed and used to prevent or treat infection." The next is sweet-sedge; its the sap, her mentor says, that eases internal infections.

Marblepaw's nose scrunches briefly. "Internal infections? You mean... infections we can't see or smell? How will we know to treat them?" Her dull green gaze glitters dubiously, but Starlingheart is moving onto wood sorrel, which she informs her protege is similar to goldenrod.

Starlingheart's purr causes a brief rumble in her own chest and throat. "They can also be used to bind broken bones," the medicine cat informs her, and Marblepaw gives a nod of understanding. Starlingheart tells her to let her know if she's going too fast, but Marblepaw shakes her head in gentle protest. "You aren't. I feel like I'm learning a lot! Soon I'll be able to use all of these herbs, right? And you'll show me where they grow?"

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Marblekit . Marblepaw, she/they w/ feminine and non-gendered terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 8 moons old, ages realistically on the 1st.
  — mentored by Starlingheart ; mentoring n/a ; previously mentored n/a
  — shadowclan medicine cat apprentice, formerly a rogue. siltcloud x lilacfur, gen 3.
  — currently mated to n/a.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh fawn tabby with dull green eyes. courageous, curious, introspective, observant, judgmental, snarky.
  
  

​

 

[Starlingheart]

For when we hunt at carrionplace, right? Her smile flaters only for a moment at the words, but still she nods, her lips pressing into a thin line "St-stars willing, there will come a time where we don't have to but-but yes" Only when they were at their most desperate did they venture into the depths of carrion-place. Starlingheart herself had been there once, before she had been chosen as her aunts apprentice. It had ended in nothing short of disaster and she still wears the scar on her hind leg as a reminder of the dangers of that star-forgotten place. That was a story for another time, however. Right now, she had much more important things to be focusing on, after all.

The gentle smile is quick to return to her face in the presence of Marblepaw. Starlingheart has always been a cat who enjoyed teaching, who enjoyed witnessing the inner workings of a curious young mind. She could never bring herself to mind the line of questioning, the endless why's from the mouth of kits. They just wanted to know how the world worked after all, same as any other cat. "Yes" she answers in response to her apprentices question "Sometimes cats will- they'll get sick inside. I'll teach you how to-to tell, how to know, don't worry" unfortunately, leaf-bare's steady approach would in fact mean that she would have plenty of opportunity to learn first-hand.

"Of-of course I will!" she says, her voice warm as she leans forward and gentle presses her nose to her niece's cheek "Some things only grow in certain seasons but I'll- I'll show you it all, don't you worry"

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

• 
  
  
• 
  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
  

​