[ti]Open[/ti]Paw Pad Pickle

[mewmehh]

Pain. Such a thought made the russet tabby cat's skin writhe. Pain. Oh, how he hated pain, even if it didn't have anything to do with him. Only, it did; it always did. And, as usual, it was due to his own stupidity masked as determination that the poisonous blossom finally bloomed. And in four places, nonetheless.

Had it been wise to continue with regular activities after hiking up the rocky cliff side of the waterfall's ledge, leaving bruises and scraps unattended? Probably not, but it wouldn't have killed him. The dull pain Sabletail had felt then during the pawful of border and hunting patrols he led since had been bad when he first felt it, but thinking back upon the times of calmer nerves, the dark tabby dictated that the sensation he had felt then was more along the lines of stepping on a cloud in comparison to how he felt now.

Had it been in his best interest to transverse the low meadows after a heavy and slosh through the mysterious and bacteria-filled swamp water and marsh while his wounds were still in the process of healing simply to hunt for some frogs? Indeed, it wasn't- not even with the reward of getting to show off the odd and slimy frogs to the kits back home- he agreed, but figured his body's natural immune system would have purged any inconsistencies that were found. However, that had not been entirely the case. Such was that apparent to the Mistclan deputy now.

As he sat uncomfortably in the familiar den that carried the pungent scent of herbs and Silverfang, Sabletail felt his pelt prickle with guilt. How long had it been since he was last here? A moon? Surely not that long- it seemed the deputy was perpetually standing with one paw in the Medicine Cat's den at all times. He could hardly think as his paw pads throbbed angrily, swollen and setting into a green hue. Glancing down at them, he grimaced. How had he let them get to be that bad? At least he was getting help now.


silverfang218

[silverfang218]

Silverfang’s day has been very slow so far; she had poked her head into the nursery to check on Nectarkit and Featherkit after the scare Nectarkit gave everyone not that long ago. She had only just returned to her den, moving towards the back to take a quick at her herb supplies, when pawsteps interrupt her. As she turns her head to see who needs her help, she isn’t overly surprised to see the deputy. The she-cat gives Sabletail a sad smile as he enters, flicking her tail to indicate that he should sit nearby. Disappearing into the back of the den, Silverfang grabs a generic leaf and brushes a couple poppy seeds onto the leaf. She folds up the leaf with a gentle paw, scoops it up in her mouth, and trots back out to Sabletail.

She sits in front of him, dropping her package to one side to give to Sable once she finds out what Sable’s done this time. “How can I help you, Sabletail?” The medicine cat asks quietly, a sympathetic look in her eyes. She gives him a glance-over as she waits for him to explain.

[mewmehh]

"Ahh Silverfang, aren't you just a sight for sore eyes?!" He chuckled before blinking rapidly at the medicine cat and adding quickly, "Oh, it's not my eyes, don't worry!!" The warrior gave the silver she-cat a sheepish grin as he met her sympathetic eyes. Something gave him the nagging feeling that she would be less sympathetic once she saw what she would be dealing with.

In a effort to quell the tension he felt beginning to twist up in his tummy, Sabletail beamed a toothy grin and purred, "Now, before you say anything, just know that I'm a busy cat and something I forget a few things. Happens to everyone!!" His ears twitched a bit and flattened as he raised one of his forepaws, twisting it a bit to reveal the infected pad on its underside. "Heh...heh..."

[silverfang218]

Silverfang simply sighs, her sad smile remaining on her face, as Sabletail starts to explain how he’s a busy cat and he forgets things sometimes. She’s knows it’s gonna be bad now. Her tail tip twitches as Sable raises a paw. Of course. Silverfang raises a kittybrow. “Need I tell you what is wrong with this picture, Sabletail? How did you even manage that...” She asks quietly as she quickly examines the deputy’s paw pad; her voice still has a sympathetic note in it and there is no anger or disappointment in it… but a bit of exasperation might be evident in her soft voice.

The medicine cat pushes the the poppy seed package towards her patient. The silver she-cat swiftly gets up and pads towards her herb stores once more. Working quickly, she swiftly returns with cobwebs, a couple chervil roots- knobby but sweet-smelling brown roots- and a few bright yellow marigold petals. She sits in front of Sable once more. “Are all your paws like this?” She motions for him to turn his paw so that she can take care of it. “I’m going to bandage up all your paws if that’s the case. It’ll feel pretty strange when you are walking around, but you are going to keep those cobwebs and poultices on or StarClan help me you’ll need a lot more cobwebs than this.” The medicine cat still has a kind, soft expression so it’s difficult to tell if she’s joking about the little threat or not… but it’s safe to assume that she’s not kidding around.

The medicine cat uses her front paws to hold Sabletail’s paw in place as she gently licks the paw, cleaning the wound. She then chews first the root and uses the juices to put on the wound, then chews the petals to make a poultice and applies that to the wound as well. She wraps the entire paw, poultice and all, in the cobweb before releasing Sable’s paw. She looks at Sable expectantly, waiting for him to let her look at the rest of his paws.

[mewmehh]

Sabletail offered the silver molly an apologetic look as he slumped to one side to lift up the rest of his paws, flashing his swollen pads. In a forced joking tone, he quizzed, "Do you think they're that noticeable? I swear that I only noticed it this morning." Of course, it wasn't that much of a fib- he had only noticed the swelling as he woke up that morning. The rest of the times before felt more like achy, sore paws from constant walking. Nothing worth wasting Silverfang's time with. But, perhaps the medicine cat would disagree.

As the pushed some poppy seed his way, the deputy bent his head over to lap up the tiny black flecks from the leaf. He gave them a quick crunch with his teeth- he had figured out many moons ago that breaking the seeds up a bit before swallowing them seemed to make them work faster. Having down his medicine, the tabby finally allowed his expression to relax to one of subtle pain. His dark brown creased in a slight scowl as he did his best to refrain from moving as Silverfang fiddled with his sore paws. The idea of having all four of this appendages bound up made the tom want to both laugh and cringe- how funny a scene it would be for Sabletail to be seen giving orders with a waddle to his walk! At least the thought gave him something humorous to look forward to.

[silverfang218]

“You know, if your paws are hurting or generally sore, then it wouldn’t hurt to look and make sure they don’t look like this. Just every now and then.” Silverfang has a slightly joking tone in her voice, but she’s not really kidding. The good general rule she tries to teach her clanmate is if they are feeling any pain, even if they don’t want to come to her then they should at least look for the source of the pain to make sure it’s not that serious. Clearly her repeated lessons aren’t sinking in for Sabletail.

The medicine cat quickly bandages up the rest of Sable’s abused paw pads just like the first before stepping back. “Now,” Silver’s expression is stern at she looks at her clanmate. “I don’t think I really need to tell you to stay off your paws for a while… but stay off your paws for a while. You can still go give orders, but you will give them while laying down and you will be walking around only when strictly necessary. No more patrols today for you, and you will be back right after organizing the dawn patrol tomorrow, which you also will not be a part of, for a check up and new herbs for your paws. Got it? Now do you have any more injuries I should know about? If that’s it, then you can stay for as long as you want, though you are free to leave.” Silver’s expression warns against any argument, and the medicine cat has long since gotten a reputation… most of MistClan’s warrior are wary against telling the medicine cat no when it comes to orders about their health.

Silverfang’s voice takes on a slightly more amused tone as she continues, a little mischievous twinkle in her gaze. “I have my eye on you though, Sabletail. StarClan knows some cat needs to be watching out for my most troublesome patient.” Indeed, the silvery she-cat will likely be keeping an eye out for Sable, and with Silverfang sticking so close to camp in case Nectarkit needs her, the medicine cat has well placed confidence in spotting Sabletail should he decide to sneak out of camp on patrol or just in general. Sneaking out against Silver’s wishes is… not recommended, to say the least.

[mewmehh]

The deputy only gave a sigh of defeat as he slumped over further, allowing for Silverfang to treat his puffy pads with a poultice before binding them up and giving him a good ol' tongue lashing. Sabletail's ears flattened a little, but the tom otherwise still held a weakly cheeky grin as he nodded along with the medicine cat's rambling. "Yes, Silverfang. Yes, yes." It was nothing new- the tom was always getting chastised by the she-cat, and every time, he never seemed to learn his lesson. At least this time, he was stuck at the silver molly's mercy and couldn't shirk off her advice for the sake of his deputy duties. Surely she, or her apprentice Morningpaw, would be watching him like a hawk.

As Silverfang finished up and ultimately released him, the ruddy tabby gave a groan as he sat up and rested his back against the cool wall of the den. His amber eyes flicked from one spot to another and another as he drank in the familiar scents of the den. "I might as well make myself comfy. Say, Silverfang. How's that one little kit who had that attack? You know, the one that was in here for a little while. She okay?"

silverfang218

[silverfang218]

Silverfang nods as Sabletail declares that he’ll make himself comfy and stick around for a while. As she has nothing particularly pressing to get done at the moment, the silver she-cat settles down a few tail lengths away to chat. She tilts her head to one side as Sabletail asks about a kit who had an attack? It only takes a moment for her eyes to light up with recognition. “Ah yes, Nectarkit. I believe she’s doing okay now. She hasn’t had another attack, at least not yet. Poor thing has always suffered from headaches but that was the first I’ve heard of her having a seizure like that… it’s the first one that anyone noticed her having anyways. It’s scary, though; hard to know if or when she’ll have another one.” Silver curls her fluffy tail around her hind legs as she lays on her side as she shares. She stretches her crippled leg out, making herself comfortable.

Now Silverfang has a question of her own about one of her patients. Moving away from the subject of the little kit under her care, Silver’s voice lightens and becomes a bit teasing. “Now as your medicine cat, I believe I’m supposed to ask where you got those scratches and then the infection on your paw pads?” Once the subject is back to Sabletail, the medicine cat’s eyes twinkle with amusement. She has no doubt that he has an amusing story behind the wounds though he might try to weasel out of telling it to her; either way, he’s in no danger and after all the times he’s been in here, she can’t really feel too[/t] sorry for him because of the little bit of pain in his paws.

[mewmehh]

Sabletail watched as the silver molly relaxed, draping herself along the ground nearby and letting her crippled leg out a little. The deputy only gave it a quick glance; he had seen it a number of times, but still found himself drawn to look it out of curiosity. Their medicine cat was one strong she-cat. Tough as teeth and sharp as them too. He could only imagine how Silverfang would have fared as a warrior in another life.

As she recalled the ordeal with one of the kits, the deputy dipped his head and meowed in a even voice, "How awful. Do you think it will affect her abilities as a warrior in time? No no, we shouldn't be thinking of that. There is still plenty of time till then and I'm sure she'll be working her hardest. No need for unnnecessary worry."

As Silveffang prodded him in a more teasing, light-hearted manner, Sabletail was sure it was to act as a distraction from the woes the medicine cat surely had about the kit, and as a cat who cared deeply for his clanmates, the deputy was willing to oblige. With a snicker, he flashed a toothy grin of ivory that clashed with his dark, striped face. "Well, would you believed me if I told you I just them from doing what paws do- walk?" His dark honey eyes glimmered with amusement.

[silverfang218]

“As long as she doesn’t have too many of those little episodes too often, I’d say she can become a warrior as normal, though I would recommend that she avoid solo patrols for obvious reasons. Remember that I managed to make it through warrior training with my leg as it is, so I’d say I’m very hesitant to say whether a cat can or can’t become a warrior because of a physical problem unless said problem is overwhelming.” Silverfang smiles softly in regard to the kit. Until something happens which proves that the kit absolutely can not become a warrior, Silver has no desire to say that she can’t become whatever she wishes. It doesn’t seem like all that long ago when a small young Silverpaw lay confined to the medicine cat’s den and unable to walk on her injured hindleg as she begged Frostheart, the deputy at the time, to allow her to become a warrior. Silverpaw had promised to work extra hard, though Frostheart had never had the intention of telling her no. Silverfang doesn’t want to have to tell some young kit or apprentice that they can’t follow their dreams, that they can’t follow their ancestors footsteps and become warriors, that they have to live their entire lives in the elder den.

Her soft smile quickly becomes playful again as Sabletail says that he simply got the injuries while walking. “Come now, there must be more to the story than that. I’ve walked a good long time before and not one of my paws have ever done that. What did you walk in or through.” She chuckles. While Sable’s infections likely won’t turn out to be anything but uncomfortable, Silverfang can’t say she’s seen anything quite like that before. Most warriors call it quits and ask for her help long before they reach that stage. Leave it to Sabletail to enlighten her.