Listen Up, Maggots! (All apprentices~)

[Waspwing]

Since it was New Leaf, many herbs were beginning to grow -- some faster than others. This was also true for the poisonous plants out in the forests. And since Treeclan has recently gotten a tidal wave of apprentices, he knew it would be best to inform them of some things.

The last time he had been in this den was during his very own apprentices days. Little Wasp-paw, sleeping in the den with a few of the other apprentices. Cloudclan, that had been so long ago. Heck, that had been far before the last camp was burnt to a crisp.

He squeezed into the den, which smelled of dirty nests and ignorance. He could see a few tiny pelts nestled in their mossy beds. No doubt he was probably getting some weird looks, seeing as how he had never entered the den before.

"Listen up, all of you. Today you're getting an extremely important lesson from myself. So pay attention, what I'm about to tell you may just save your life some day." He meowed authoritatively.

(Usually I give 'herb lessons' to the kits, so they learn at an earlier age. But since I haven't done that in forever, and since we have so many apprentices, I figured it would be kind of smart to talk to the apprentices for once. Especially since many, if not all, of you missed out on my past herb lessons. I have no word requirements, but if you even try and trail off into your own little drama I'll bite your heads off in and out of character. <3)

[Sleetpaw]

[Yeyeye~ Lessons from the almighty Wasp. -bows-]

My ears shot up in surprise as a booming voice; that I hadn't heard before shot into the apprentices den. I bounced out of my nest, fur bristling, preparing for an intruder. Thankfully, it was only Waspwing. I sighed in relief and sat down. I perked my ears as he explained what we would be doing on this fine day. "Listen up, all of you. Today you're getting an extremely important lesson from myself. So pay attention, what I'm about to tell you may just save your life some day."

A herb lesson? Was he looking for a new medicine cat apprentice? Nonetheless I shrugged, and sat quietly while the other apprentices began to wake up. This was going to be an eventful day for sure.

[Rootpaw]

Of course, this commotion woke me up immediately. I followed after Sleetpaw, that cat who had their nest next to mine. I sat down in front of the medicine cat with a pleasant look on my face. The much larger tom had spoken about herb lessons and something saving someone's life. I blinked at him and started to think of why he needed to teach us about medical plants. Why should this concern me? As far as I know, I am a warrior apprentice, not a medicine cat. I thought as I twitched my nose. Herbs smelled quite nice, depending on what they were. I liked the smell, but I remember others cursing about their terrible bitter taste. Was Waspwing going to force us to eat the nasty herbs?

✸✸✸✸✸

I redirected my attention back to the real world happenings. More cats were probably going to start to wake up soon. I perked my ears and examined the medicine cat before more cats woke up and started to make to much noise for me to concentrate. He was normal, a lot older than you'd expect though. I took in another deep breath. He smelled of frangrant herbs, but all the different scents were blended together. It honestly hurt my nose. I looked to his eyes and frowned. "We don't have to eat any herbs, do we?"

[Waspwing]

Waspwing shook his head at the patched tom, trying to hold his amusement. "No, no. Actually, I'm going to try and make sure you don't eat herbs today." He explained quietly. He would wait for a few more cats to completely focus before he began the lesson. Even if only half or so really focused, they would at least be able to help out the others if something were to happen.

[Redclaw]

(Sleetpaw, you stole the words from my very mouth. -bows-)

Redpaw was asleep, but his ears twitched when he heard a slightly larger cat press into the room. Waspwing. He though, blinking open his eyes. Though it wasn't very bright in the den, light seemed to blind him and he squinted painfully until his eyes adjusted from their dark world.

Redpaw was relatively close to the entrance, somewhere between the edge and the center of the den. And he half-crept, half-dragged himself out of his warm mossy nest to greet Waspwing. His eyes landed on two of Waspwing's other victims.

Rootpaw, he hadn't seen in awhile, and had he met Sleetpaw? His eyebrow twitched, trying to remember. "I'm Redpaw." He greeted awkwardly, wondering if anyone cared who he was. Probably not. He shrugged; he didn't mind.

Oh. Ok. No herbs for today. He felt confused, but intrigued, and yet, slightly disappointed but he didn't know why. The noon day sun trickled through the branches of the den, casting dappled shadows over his russet pelt. Stifling a yawn, Redpaw rolled his shoulders, his muscles still aching from training this morning. "So what are we learning? What not to eat?"

[Waspwing]

Waspwing nodded at Redpaw, and cleared his throat. This would be a good enough starting crowd. "Yes, today I'm going to teach you some herb safety instructions." He said, trying to make his voice loud enough for cats near the back of the den.

"Who here knows what a Deathberry is?" He asked calmly, scanning across the den for any silent nods. He didn't expect every cat to know what a deathberry was, but the name itself seemed pretty to the point.

[Moonclaw]

Moonpaw had listened in on the conversation from her nest, but had yet to say anything. She now lay comfortably in the moss, her paws tucked neatly under her chest and her tail set contentedly at her side.

Upon hearing the question "Who here knows what a Deathberry is?", Moonpaw lazily flicked an ear, yawned, then meowed, "What? You mean some cats don't know? Deathberry isn't obvious enough for some ignorant cats out there?" She didn't move from her position, only stared up at Waspwing with her eyes narrowed. "Those were legitimate questions, you know. Either way, I'd think that it's common knowledge that the deathberry has something to do with killing, am I right? And by eating, I assume? I'm no medicine cat apprentice, but once again, the name gives it away." Moonpaw gave one of her forepaws a quick wash before setting it again under her chest and continued staring at Waspwing through her green eyes.

[Waspwing]

Waspwing tried not to grin at this apprentice's comments. She reminded him of himself in a way. That could either be good or bad, or both. Probably both.

"Yes, yes. A Deathberry is an extremely poisonous berry found right here in Treeclan. It's pretty easy to recognize. It's red, and somewhat oddly shaped." He answered, again scanning the den for any reactions.

"A Deathberry can kill a cat within moments, and usually a Medicine Cat doesn't have time to rescue a cat who has just eaten one. This is why I advice nobody ever eats a plant they don't know is safe." He explained, flicking his tail tip as he curled it over his paws.

"Now, onto part two. Yarrow." He said quickly, clearing his throat again. "Yarrow is not a poison, however it's nothing nice. Yarrow makes a cat vomit, no matter what. I commonly use it if someone has just eaten crow-food, or quite possibly a poisonous plant." He explained quickly, trying to keep everyone's attention.

"Now, does anyone know what a Foxglove seed is, or Water Hemlock?" He asked, doubting anyone would know. Neither of the plants were popular, and neither of them sounded as obvious as Deathberry. Plus, not many apprentices knew different types of plants. Mainly just different flowers, like roses or daisies.

[Redclaw]

Let me guess.... A berry that makes you die. His green eyes flicked to Moonpaw as she answered. Redpaw kept opening his mouth to reply, each time closing it lamely. Yarrow He thought, striving to memorize its properties.

Finally, when no one replied, he had his chance. Water hemlock?? Foxglove seed?? What in CloudClan was that? "I feel like I should know this..." He grinned sheepishly, racking his brain. He felt like he just typed 'camel grimreaper' into the Google Search bar and nothing came up. No results. "...But I don't." He narrowed his eyes, slowly looking suspiciously at the other apprentices, wondering if they hacked into his brain and stole the info.

Wait a minute..... What was yarrow?
Mousebrain. I'm no good at this.

[Softcloud]

Softpaw crouched in her nest listening to Waspwing carefully. She had heard of Deathberry and Water Hemlock but she didn't know any of the others. She spotted Redpaw and walked over to him. Hey, she meowed quietly sitting down next to her friend. She studied the details of the Deathberry and the Yarrow and all the others.

It would be interesting to be a medicine cat, she thought with a tilt of her head. She yawned and blinked her eyes carefully. She didn't want to miss any of this. She knew how important it was to know the herbs that could kill any cat. She looked at all of the apprentices and then fixed her eyes towards Waspwing again.

[Waspwing]

Waspwing purred at Redpaw, and slowly shook his head. "Don't worry, most cats don't even bother to learn the names of many seeds and flowers. Mainly because as an apprentice training to become a warrior, you really only need to know a few very simple medical things." He answered quickly, flicking his ears.

"Foxglove seeds are extremely dangerous. Not only are they toxic, but they can easily be confused with poppy seeds." He said grimly, imagining some apprentice licking up some Foxglove seeds instead of Poppy seeds.

"Now, Water Hemlock is yet another poisonous plant. It's a flower, commonly found in marshy areas. While it isn't as deadly ad Deathberries, it can still kill you. But even if it doesn't, it'll make you foam at the mouth and go into an uncontrolled spasm. If I or Fernpelt didn't manage to help you soon, you would die." He said, making sure every single apprentice understood the full potency of the poisons he was teaching them.

"Now, let's move onto something that isn't a poison." He meowed, padding to the entrance of the den. He grabbed the wad of cobwebs he had brought with him and held them in the air for everyone to see.

"I'm sure you all know what these are. Cobwebs, or spiderwebs. I use these to stop bleeding on wounds, and I always need lots. If any of you ever find yourself injured out in the territory, and I'm not around to help, look for these. And hey, if you ever find some while on patrol, it wouldn't hurt to bring them to me." He purred at the end, wiping the cobwebs onto a stick.

[Ravenfrost]

[oh gawd late.... Already a bad boy lol.]

Ravenpaw had been strolling around camp when he heard something, it was just Waspwing, perhaps an apprentice had gotten in trouble. Then he heard Deathberries and knew, this was important, it was a class. Ravenpaw sighed as he quietly tried to slip in undetected, but there were way too many it seemed. Just let me in without trouble, please. Ravenpaw thought as he slipped in and sat down at the very back of the small crowd.

[Softcloud]

Softpaw's big round green eyes stared at Waspwing in wonder. She had heard of now a lot of these poisonous herbs and many of the non poisonous ones. She looked at the cobweb with a tilt of her head. Of course she knew what those were. As a kit she had seen some warriors with them on them. She smiled softly.

She turned her head a little to see a black and white tom. He sat in the back. She sat in the middle of them with Redpaw. She was curious about him. He seemed interesting. He tilted her head to him and smiled softly at him. She snapped her attention back to Waspwing so she wouldn't get into trouble.

[Waspwing]

Waspwing had finally run out of listed herbs and such that he wished to mention. He cleared his throat, again, and signaled for silence, not that there was much chatter anyway. "Alright, I'm done with my lesson. Unless anyone has anymore questions? Any comments?" He wasn't sure how enjoyable this lesson had even been. He had tried to make it a bit faster to keep everyone's attention for as long as possible.