Snake bite [open]

[Tigerpaw]

[I'm not sure if you need permission for this or not; o-o I'm gonna pretend this is the snake Swirlkit talked about, since we don't need two snakes in camp.]

Tigerkit had ended up in the medicine den completely by coincidence. She had followed the addicting scent of the several different herbs, and limped into the den. The green tinted snake bite was on one of her front paws, curled up against her chest. Tiger was more confused than pained; she had never experienced being hurt before, and didn't even acknowledge the existence of snakes until today. It hadn't been protected by venom, but the bite was still very nasty. Tigerkit peeked into the den where the peculiar scents led, and glimpsed a silver tabby / auburn pelt.

[Forestbreak]

(Since I assume Swirlkit had permission for there to be a snake hole in the nursery, we'll say it's okay. But for anyone else reading this, I don't want a sudden wave of bitten kits showing up in my den.)

Forestbreak blinked, noticing the kit's snake bite right away. Crap! The snake had gotten out? She hissed quietly and hurried up to the kit. All right. She needed herbs: yarrow and stinging nettle for poison, wild garlic for infection. Quickly, the medicine cat rummaged through her herb store, quickly finding the three plants, and began chewing up the yarrow.

Smearing the poultice on the kit's paw, she muttered, "This bite doesn't look too bad, but I'm using some pretty potent herbs just in case." She then pushed the wild garlic towards the kit. "Eat this. It's disgusting, but it'll help heal you."

[Tigerpaw]

One of the medicine cats she had heard of appeared, and put something on her paw. "Clovepetal..?" Tigerkit asked, getting them mixed up. She eyed the garlic, but crouched down and lapped it up. "What was the thing that hurt my paw?"

The snake had looked like a toy, and the fact that it was moving was very tempting. It hadn't been to small, either; nothing that couldn't swallow a newborn kitten.

[Forestbreak]

"No, sweetie, I'm Forestbreak. Clovepetal is the other one," she purred, smiling. "Good on you for getting the name right, though," the medicine cat added. "A lot of cats call her Cloverpetal. You must be a pretty smart kitten." When the kit asked what had inflicted the injury, Forestbreak mewed, "It's a snake bite. Tell me, did you get bitten while you were in the nursery, or out in camp?"

She needed to know whether it was the same snake that Swirlkit and Cottonkit had smelled. If it was, the kits could be in danger, and something needed to be done.

[Tigerpaw]

"Forestbreak" she purred, and posed when the medicine cat commented on her intelligence. At her questions Tigerkit mewed, "There was a hole in the nursery, and I wanted to explore. I saw a very long toy, but it was moving, and it hurt my paw when I played with it. It had a noisy tail." the tiger furred she-kit explained, remembering the scene as if she had been another cat witnessing herself being bitten.

A snake in a nursery full of kits would pose a threat, especially now that Snowflare had had a litter of tiny, curious kittens.

[Forestbreak]

"Oh." Forestbreak blinked. "Now, listen very carefully, all right? That long toy is called a snake. Snakes are usually safe if you leave them alone, but you can't go near them, okay? Remember that, and make sure to tell your friends that also." She smiled. "Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong, but just make sure not to do that again." She patted the kit's back with her tail.

[Tigerpaw]

She wanted to lick her paw, but the yarrow was smeared over the bite. She made a mental not to stay clear of the rattlesnake and the hole. "Okay" Tigerkit mewed, purring at the medicine cat. "My snake bite feels better. You should teach some of the kits about herbs."

[Forestbreak]

"Only medicine cats are allowed to know about herbs, dear," mewed the medicine cat. "A while ago, I showed some of the kits the more dangerous herbs and warned them about them, but that's the extent of what I'm allowed to teach you guys." She smiled softly. "Anyway, if kits knew about herbs, they may try to use them and not use them correctly. And that can be very harmful."

Forestbreak purred and spread a few cobwebs over the bite. "There you go. You're good to go. Go rest a little bit, now."

[Tigerpaw]

Tigerkit nodded as Forestbreak bandaged her wound in cobwebs. "Okay" she agreed reluctantly to rest, but purred and bounded back to the nursery.