Leaves and Berries

Hazelfoot glanced up sharply as a strange scent penetrated the depths of her herb-dominated den, and it took her a moment to realise even which Clan her visitor belonged to, so accustomed had she become to the strong smelling herbs that she lived with day and night. It was a tradeoff though; the moment that she stepped out into the open air, the scents practically flooded her senses, sharp and exciting. The silver tabby finished what she was doing, depositing the small pile of leaves that she had in her mouth onto a stony ledge. "Hello." the medicine cat mewed cheerfully as the small cat made her way into the den, and she was just about to go on to say 'What can I do for you?' when the little she-cat told her.



Hazelfoot gave a slight mew of amusement at the small cat's demands, but she dipped her head in acquiescence, "I'm just sorting out some herbs." she explained. "If I leave them in one place for too long, then they can get stuck together or start to crumble, so I keep moving them around every so often." She glanced around, looking for something harmless, and found a pile of dock leaves. Indicating them with a tilt of the head, she directed: "Can you take those and put them on the ledge by the entrance?"

As she put her mouth around another pile of herbs, these ones wrapped up in a large leaf since they were used to induce sickness which was something that the silver tabby could certainly do without today, Hazelfoot kept half an eye on the kit and was amused to notice how seriously Mimickit took the simple task; listening closely to the instructions that she was given. She did at least manage to get the herbs in the right spot, which was a lot more than some kits would have managed- Hazelfoot still remembered the time that a certain kit had dropped a bundle of herbs in the centre of the floor and laughed hysterically as the crumbled leaves spilled out all across the floor. She'd been picking them out of her fur for weeks afterwards.

And now she wanted another job! Most young cats would have lost concentration by this point. Hazelfoot glanced around her, and was struck by inspiration. "There's a patch of dock leaves growing by the entrance to camp." she told the kit. "They look like the ones that you've just been carrying- can you go and pick me a few, please?"

Hazelfoot smiled to herself as she watched the kit vanish out of the den, a determined expression on her face. It did her good to see the energy which the young cat dedicated to each and every action- she only wished that she had such enthusiasm to put into her life. Sadly, the time when she could do that was past. Figuring that if she kept on stopping then she'd never be finished, the silver tabby sighed and continued moving herbs. Sage in one spot... Yarrow in the corner... Cobwebs in the hole by the door... These things had to be done, she knew, but they weren't exactly what she'd envisaged when she thought about the job of a medicine cat. Ah well, such was life. She would just keep on going.

And Mimickit was back already. Miracle of miracles, she even had the right herbs! It was a good job too; she'd been running rather low on dock leaves lately. It didn't help that she'd lost a load to rain damage the previous moon. "Well done, Mimickit!" the silver tabby praised with a low purr. This little cat impressed her; she had a better concentration even than Hazelfoot. "Put them where you put the others, would you?" She turned back to her work, confident that the kit knew where to put the herbs.

Hazelfoot took another look around her den, satisfied that everything was in place and tidied away- at least for now, though she doubted that it would last very long. A brisk flick of her tail swept a few stray leaves into the corner of her cosy little cavern, and then she was finished and ready to deal with anything that might come through her door- within reason, of course. Satisfied, she turned back to face her visitor- just in time to catch the little cat turning back to face her. Well, there was a coincidence. The kit was staring at her with an intensity which at first amused her, and then made the silver tabby feel a little uncomfortable. But then she asked a question, and Hazelfoot was happy to break the silence. "You can use them for a couple of things." she explained. "If you chew them up then you can use them on scratches- they sting a bit, though. Or you can use them in nests, and then since they're so big, you can use them for other things as well; carrying or wrapping things, and so on."

Hazelfoot watched the kit's reaction to her explanation. Judging by the cat's body language (even if it was in smaller print than usual), she was betting that there was going to be a question in a moment... and yes, she was right. The older cat cocked her head as she listened, and then purred quietly to herself. That was a very good question. "Yes, they usually will." Hazelfoot agreed. Sometimes that's why we do it- if we combine different herbs then they can have different properties. Sometimes, we do it because a cat has to have a lot of herbs all at once, and it doesn't matter if they get mixed up but it does make it easier to carry them around."

Hazelfoot was nosing around in the dark corners of her den, searching out disregarded leaves and berries which had fallen from a mouth or become separated from the correct pile during her reorganisation. Yes, maybe there were only one or two, but if they had a sudden epidemic then those one or two could mean the difference between life and death. OK, so it was unlikely, but her point remained. The silver tabby broke off her activity to respond to another question, and one which required some thought.

"Mostly, it's a matter of memory." the older cat explained. "Remembering what symptoms belong to what illnesses, or remembering what herbs you can use to treat them. But you also have to be good with cats- good at talking to them, listening to their problems." She paused to consider. "Really, it depends. Some cats are naturally good at those things, others have to work at it. Some simply can't do it. Why, do you think you'd like to be one one day?"