delly
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Post by delly on Mar 5, 2023 15:44:08 GMT
Thunder Moon 02, 2021 Another day alone. A couple weeks had passed since Juniper left their den, and Burnet was starting to get restless. She was off searching for a special stone with some other cats, and part of him had wanted to travel with them. He would have loved to see firsthand if the rumors about starry cats and ancient clans were true, but he needed to stay home and guard the den. Juniper was not sure how long her journey would take, and the last thing they needed was to return to a fox in their den, herbs scattered all across the clearing. A few cats had stopped by their den in her absence, looking for the healer. Burnet didn't like turning them away, but there was only so much help he could provide. He could certainly give them whatever Juniper would have given him for a similar problem, but he might mix something up or give them too much. For simple coughs and aches, it just wasn't worth the risk. "Get some rest and drink extra water," he'd tell them. "If you aren't better by next moon, come back. Juniper will be here by then to sort you out."The clouds gathering in the sky above reminded him that the Thunder Moon had arrived, and Juniper was still not home. 'Any day now, she will be back,' he told himself. She wasn't traveling alone, so it was unlikely she had run into any danger. Still, he was starting to worry. To take his mind off of things, he busied himself cleaning out the nests and tidying the herb storage. Everything needed to be perfect for when she returned. TAGS: Solaris (Rat)
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Post by Solaris on Mar 5, 2023 16:49:23 GMT
R a t He/Him | 62 Moons | Rogue
Thunder 2, 2021 | dellyPatch was dead. And soon, Rat would be too, if he didn’t find the healer. He remembered Patch’s ragged, dying breath. He remembered how his leader went out with a pathetic whimper… and then went limp. Still. Dead.
His throat was burning up. The sun’s beating rays showed no mercy, not even for the sick. Its blazing fury seared through his fur, scorched his skin. No amount of water could moisten the cracks in his lips, the dryness in his throat. The fever made his mind a living hell. Everyday, his headaches grew more and more severe. Yesterday, they were a constant nag, today they pommeled his skull. It hurt to breath. It hurt to think. It hurt to do anything.
And yet, he tried to bare the sickness for his group. He was the leader now, in Patch’s place. And if he died, all of their efforts in Carrionplace would be for nothing. Their pain, their suffering, the diseases, the crowfood, trying to keep clean… He wouldn’t dishonor Patch’s death or anyone else.
So he followed the one lead he had, desperate to find the healer who was said to live in a den in the Marshes. He had trekked this far despite the sharp pains, and he wasn’t going to turn away. At last, when he reached the location, he found a cat there.
“Juniper,” he rasped and was momentarily thrown into a coughing fit. “I’m looking for a healer named Juniper.”
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delly
Kit
21 Posts
About Me
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Post by delly on Mar 5, 2023 18:27:47 GMT
Thunder Moon 02, 2021 Burnet had just finished sorting through the greencough remedies when he heard some rustling nearby. Cautiously, he sniffed the air. Another cat was nearby, but it smelled strange. As the rustling got closer, he began to hear the cat's labored breathing, punctuated by coughs. When Burnet finally laid eyes on the ill cat, his stomach dropped. He looked, smelled, and sounded like he had been sick for weeks. Whatever was afflicting this poor stranger could very well take his life if Burnet didn't do something. For a moment, panic started to set in, but he steeled himself and turned to face his visitor. "I'm sorry, stranger, but Juniper isn't here. She left our den a couple weeks ago. She should be returning from her journey any day now, but I can't make any promises.""Why don't you lay down over here?" he offered, gesturing towards a shaded bed of moss they kept for their patients. He had just swapped out the bedding earlier today. "My name is Burnet. Juniper's my sister. She's the real healer in the family, but I know a thing or two about herbs myself!" he proclaimed, proudly puffing out his chest. "What exactly is bothering you? Tell me everything, and I will find something in our herb stores to ease your symptoms."
"You are free to rest here until your strength comes back. I'm used to hunting for two cats."If he remained calm, maybe he could keep this poor cat stable until Juniper arrived home. 'Any day now,' he reminded himself, hoping she would hurry. TAGS: Solaris (Rat)
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Post by Solaris on Mar 6, 2023 5:16:41 GMT
R a t He/Him | 62 Moons | Rogue
Thunder 2, 2021 | delly Rat couldn’t feel the blow of devastation of Juniper’s absence when he was already on the brink of death anyway, too numbed by the pain to feel much of anything else. He closed his eyes for a moment, and dug his paws deeper into the soft, marshy grass. He thought for a moment, on what he could do next but instead, he went into another coughing fit. Out of courtesy for the stranger’s safety, he aimed his head away. When the coughing finished, he cleared his throat and squinted at the stranger. “Who are you?”
His weak legs nearly collapsed from under him, as he slumped over the moss bed. Despite having slept not too long ago, his eyelids were heavy like boulders. But if he gave into the fatigue, he let his resolve falter for even a second—he might slip into the darkness, and who knows what might happen? A peaceful sleep? A nightmare? An eternal, starless sky? His paws would be torn away from the ground, no matter if he was separated for the duration of a night or for eternity.
“Burnet,” he whispered in his half-dazed state, nodding his head with all the strength he could muster. “Name Rat.”
He coughed. “I ate…” Cough. “A rat.” Cough. “Carrionplace.” Cough. “Crowfood. Bad. Stomach…” Cough. “Bad.” Cough, cough. “Fever bad.” Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough.
“Must get…” Cough. “Back…” Cough. “Can’t stay.”
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delly
Kit
21 Posts
About Me
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Post by delly on Mar 6, 2023 21:46:48 GMT
Thunder Moon 02, 2021 “Ah, the Carrionplace!” he exclaimed, relieved to have an easy explanation. At least diagnosing him wouldn't be an issue. “That dirt heap carries all sorts of sickness, but Carrionplace disease from eating the rats is most common. Juniper has treated a few cats for it before.” Burnet balked at Rat's assertion that he couldn’t stay. “You said your name was Rat? Well, Rat, you are in no condition to travel right now, and you shouldn’t be going back to the Carrionplace unless you want to pick up some other illness,” he said firmly. “I promise you'll be safe here. Even if you just rest for a couple days, your body will thank you.” Rat sure was stubborn! The poor cat was struggling to keep his eyes open and still he was determined to continue his journey. It was almost admirable. If Burnet could get him to just rest for a little while, he would be doing just as much good as any herb. "Anyway, let me grab some herbs for you." This was the tricky part. Burnet had never risked eating a rat before. Juniper would have never let him live it down if he got sick from one. Unfortunately, that meant he had never been treated for this disease. If there were any herb in their stores that cured it, he didn’t know what it was. However, he had experienced all of Rat's symptoms before. Fever, coughing, and an upset stomach. There were a couple options to help with each. If Rat’s stomach was upset, he would have trouble keeping any herbs down. Plus, he would recover more quickly if he could eat some full meals. Soothing his stomach would have to come first. Burnet dipped into the herb stores. He sniffed around until he found a faint, minty aroma. Watermint! They had plenty of the stuff, since it grew well in the marsh's wet soil. Watermint helped when his stomach was upset, so he offered some to Rat- about the amount Juniper would have given him for a severe bellyache. "This is watermint- it will soothe your belly, so you can keep your cough and fever treatment down.""Chew these leaves thoroughly and swallow. I will go fill some moss with water, in case you have trouble swallowing. There's a stream just on the other side of those bushes, so I won’t be long."He padded off to the nearby stream to get some fresh water, still within earshot of his patient. Burnet was a bit calmer now that he had a plan. But his heart raced as he pondered the next question: what to do about that cough and fever? TAGS: Solaris (Rat)
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Post by Solaris on Mar 14, 2023 3:08:12 GMT
R a t He/Him | 62 Moons | Rogue
Thunder 2, 2021 | delly “No… you don’t—” A throttling, hacking cough quaked from his throat, and he thought his lungs were exploding, as if his system was reaching the tipping point in an already thin balance between life and death. The coughing would have cleared by now, *should have cleared*, but they continued ruthlessly. He barely rasped a word out of his mouth before another coughing fit washed over him, plunging him into darker depths. He pressed his forehead against the ground, and miraculously, the coughing stopped.
Clearly, he hadn’t convinced Burnet to let him return. They were already moving to find the herbs to treat the disease, not waiting for him to continue protesting. But he needed to try, because he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving his group alone again. And the prospect of lying down, even when its body screamed for stillness, chilled his bones. Sleeping was a chore of itself. Every time he closed his eyes, the fear of never opening them again lurked closely behind. To be trapped in an eternal darkness, to be forced into a grave, to live in a pit of swallowing shadows… Those were the anxieties that plagued his head everyday.
By the time Rat regained his strength to speak again, Burnet had left him behind with an unfamiliar herb. Watermint, it was? He sniffed around the herb then prodded at the leafy appendages. It carried a pleasant enough aroma, at least nothing too foul to ward him off from the herb. He leaned over and took the herb in his mouth, dutifully chewing it as the stranger suggested. He was doubtful that the herb would do much, but considering he made it thus far, there didn’t seem much of a better alternative.
He would have to trust this Burnet, as much as he hated relying on strangers. But his head still throbbed with a scalding fever. Conscious thoughts were not exactly forming.
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delly
Kit
21 Posts
About Me
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Post by delly on Mar 26, 2023 14:49:22 GMT
Thunder Moon 02, 2021 After a few moments, Burnet returned and plopped a soaked moss ball in front of his patient. "Now, we wait and see if- uh, when- the watermint takes effect," he said, his uncertainty slipping out in his words. Hopefully Rat was too delirious to notice. Burnet had some time to consider his next move. Rat's cough was pretty nasty, but luckily, Juniper had gathered some fresh catmint not too long ago. Whenever he had a bad cough, that sweet-smelling herb was her first choice for treatment. He disappeared into the herb stores, grabbed a bundle of catmint, and placed it at the entrance. Now what to do about the fever? He had been given a few different herbs for fevers over the years, but the names were eluding him. He sniffed around the herb stores, hoping a scent would jog his memory. His nose locked in on a bitter smell that reminded him of hot, sleepless nights. "Feverfew, of course!" he thought, chiding himself for forgetting such an obvious name. He plucked some leaves from the stem and added it to his catmint bundle. Burnet left the den to examine Rat. He was coughing and shuddering pitifully. Had enough time passed that he could administer the next herb bundle? Probably not. Burnet hated seeing another cat in this much pain. Was there anything he could do for him in the meantime? "Obviously! Why didn't I think of that earlier?" He rushed back to the stream to gather more water, returning moments later with another soaked moss ball. "I am going to put this moss ball behind your ears," he told Rat. "It will help soothe your fever." Burnet gingerly placed the moss on his patient, and hoped the cool water would provide some relief. TAGS: Solaris (Rat)
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Post by Solaris on Apr 1, 2023 3:44:05 GMT
R a t He/Him | 62 Moons | Rogue
Thunder 2, 2021 | delly A cool and wet object touched the hair on his ear, causing him to reel back from the sensation and hiss. Was it his blood? Was it the saliva of a badger? When he snapped out of his delirium, he realized the sensation was a wet moss ball, which had rolled down the curvature of his spine, and on to the grass beside his feet.
“What in the crows was that?” he breathed out, and then inevitably found himself wheezing again. When he found a riposte in the coughing, he eyed Burnet with a glare. “What good will a wet piece of moss do for my fever?”
Were herb treatments this ridiculous? Even Croak’s quack medicinal prescriptions— He cut the thought short, unwilling to face the brunt of the blunt-edged claws which had revealed themselves when he reopened that wound. He shook his head, reminding himself that he didn’t have options anymore, and the rot eating away at his digestive system was surely going to corrupt the rest of his body. He relented to Burnet, lowering his head so he could reposition the moss ball.
“You know better than I do,” he rasped. He wanted to dish out a threat, perhaps give a show of his claws for good measure, in order to ensure Burnet was doing his job. But he was painfully aware of how weak his body was now, and no threat he uttered from his ragged breath would carry weight. Another series of coughs shook his body. He cleared his throat enough so that his enxt words were heard crisply. “I trust you, Burnet. My life is in your paws.”
His yellow gaze sharpened like claws.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
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delly
Kit
21 Posts
About Me
Feel free to tag me on Discord or PM me on the site if you are interested in plotting! Character tracker here
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Post by delly on Apr 17, 2023 21:16:13 GMT
Thunder Moon 02, 2021 As Rat's words stung his ears, Burnet began to second-guess himself. Of course the wet moss would help his fever- or would it? Juniper had used a similar technique on him before, but she never explained why exactly it worked. He always just did what she told him would make him feel better. Rat was right: his life was in Burnet's paws. That responsibility weighed him down like water in his fur. Of course, Burnet couldn't share these thoughts with his frail, frustrated patient. Instead, he did his best to project confidence. "Thanks for trusting me, Rat. Here's one last bundle of herbs- catmint and feverfew for your cough and fever. Once you eat this, all you need to do is try to rest." He dropped the bundle at Rat's head and hoped he had waited long enough for the watermint to take effect. TAGS: Solaris (Rat)
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Post by Solaris on Apr 20, 2023 0:24:11 GMT
R a t He/Him | 62 Moons | Rogue
Thunder 2, 2021 | delly Obediently, he bent his head and lapped up the foreign bundle of herbs, until his tongue struck a familiar taste—catmint? The sensation brought a very faint excitement to his head, and he was, for a moment, hopeful of his ability to feel normal again. The herb gave him a false sense of hope, as the the effect faded quickly. He was left with the numbness once more, plunging back to his hellish darkness… Though he did notice his fever was not nearly as hot as it was before.
He blinked around, able to hold his eyes open for longer than brief, concerted attempts. His breath was ragged, and his thoughts were cut off by another sheering cough, but at least, the fever was more manageable now. He sat up from his sluggish, grime-ridden form, struggling to stay up with his unstable strength, though he tried to face Burnet.
“I can’t stay for long,” Rat uttered, and though it was spoken like there wasn’t much force in his throat, his face was strained and wrinkled with effort. Then he coughed and coughed again. He reeled back so hard that he had a vision of himself spitting out blood like that one time—
“There are cats who need me. I am their leader now, and if they don’t have my guidance, I fear the worst for them. Sickness, famine, bloodthirsty rogues. Many threats face them. You’ve lived in the marsh longer than I have, yes?”
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