literature

Introduction to Herbal Healing - Ruby/Penny RP

Deviation Actions

Published: Jul 23, 2015

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Literature Text

A new day. By all appearances, it looked just like any other day in Ice Empire. The sky way gray, cloaked by a dull blanket of clouds, the earth below covered in sheets of white snow. The sun was just barely rising, but the days were short... the cats of the empire had long since began their day. Gladiators going about their daily duties, apprentices moving towards completing their training... all except one.

The lynx had been wanting to push herself, and that she had... Penelope still felt a little uncomfortable in the dark, unless she was watching the full moon with Eli... but during the shortened days of winter, that very fear had become somewhat... problematic. So she'd been trying to push herself to go outside more often. But even now, she'd really just been sitting there in the apprentice's den, awake in the dark, and unsure what she should be doing and feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable... until she realized with a start, that she shouldn't be in the apprentice's den at all... she was a healer's apprentice, and should be sleeping in the healer's den now. Right...?

The realization led the lynx mix to head towards the den, but the minute she reached the entrance, she froze, frightened. What if she wasn't good enough? What if she made a mistake, and her new mentor got mad at her? The doubts ran through her head, jumping back and forth, until finally the sun began to rise, and the apprentice began to feel a bit more at ease. Quietly, she reminded herself why she was doing this in the first place... the moment Master slipped into her mind, Penny couldn't help but smile. She had a hard time imagining it, but she was sure he was nervous on his first day too. And really, she was doing this for him. It was very small at first, but after a moment, she began steeling herself, gathering the courage, and it all started with her memories of Master. She would get to be like him, one way or another. The thought of helping her empire was good too, and she was eager to learn... but the thought of her friend is what really drove her.

Quietly, Penelope stepped into the den, and took a look around. "R-Ruby?" Her voice was quiet and meek, but easily missed.

Rubiria was in her private den, shaping her nest and cleaning up bits of stray moss. She looked up when she thought she heard her name and padded into the healer's den. A young lynx shape was outlined against the light of outside, and the cheetah knew it must be her new apprentice. Her heart leaped with excitement. Her first apprentice! She waved her tail in friendly greeting as she approached and smiled.

"Hello, Penelope!" She mewed and bent her head to touch noses.

Penelope watched Rubiria's approach with interest. She hadn't really taken the time to know the cheetah before now, so she took every detail into careful consideration. The healer seemed friendly, which was encouraging. Though, to be honest, the lynx hadn't expected the larger cat to reach down and touch her nose with her own. Penny gave a little shiver, mostly out of excitement, but she was a little nervous too. Again, in the back of her mind she worried that this might not go as well as she'd hoped, but she quickly forced away her doubts, as she'd taught herself to do some time in the past. No, this is what she wanted, and no matter what happened, no matter how discouraged or scared she got, she was going to do this.

The apprentice looked up at Ruby with neutral, slightly expecting eyes. "Are... what will we do today?" Her words were a bit forced; she wasn't the best when it came to speaking to others, especially in the presence of cats she hardly knew, but she had the strength to push herself... remembered why she had decided to do this certainly helped. Training as a healer would bring her close to Master. Being like him was just the motivation and assurance she needed.

"Well," The cheetah thought about it for a moment, trying to remember how her own training had first begun. "How about we first look over the different herbs we use?" She suggested, and turned to go further into the cave, flicking her tail tip for Penny to follow.

Eyes wide and eager, showing the smallest amount of curiosity, Penelope gazed up at Rubiria in anticipation. It was her first day of training, and there was nothing she wanted more than to show that she could do well and was taking this seriously. She certainly had plenty of motivation to do so, even if she was a little nervous, and she wanted to prove that to her mentor in any way that she could. When the cheetah mentioned going over herbs, and gestured for the lynx to follow, Penny didn't hesitate. She jumped up and trailed the healer closely, wondering what sort of information was to follow. The apprentice went over in her head how she might go about it, preparing herself for the day ahead.

The cave path opened into another room. "This is where we store our herbs and other ingredients for medicines. The coolness of this cave keeps the plants from wilting so quickly." She informed her apprentice, sitting down beside a couple heaps of herbs she'd left out. She chuckled lightly with a smile. "Looks like I forgot to tidy up."

She pointed at one pile of leaves, flat and green with slightly jagged edges. "This is catmint. It's usually pretty hard to find, but it's a great thing to have in the wintertime when colds and fevers are more common." She pointed at the other leaves, which were clearly different. These leaves were flatter, smoother, and the edges were unbroken by ridges. "This is coltsfoot. It does the same thing, but not as well as catmint. It's a easier to find though, so I keep a good stock of this one."

The cheetah put her paw down and looked at her apprentice with a smile. She didn't want to overwhelm her with telling her right away every single herb, what it was used for, where to find it, and how to use it. It was a lot of information to soak in, and Ruby remembered when she first became an apprentice how daunting learning all of that had seemed.

Hardly noticing the messy state of her mentor's herb store, Penelope looked forward with obvious interest. She didn't know what these plants were yet, but she took in every sight and scent. Her sense of smell was rather strong, which caused her to wrinkle her nose a bit, but she figured she would get used to it over time. Who knew, maybe it might even make her better at her new role.

"This is catmint. It's usually pretty hard to find, but it's a great thing to have in the wintertime when colds and fevers are more common."

It seemed to be a lot of information for the lynx to take in all at once, but Penny nodded and tried to keep it in mind. The smell was certainly unmistakably calming and sweet, and when she lightly touched it with her paw, it was very soft. When she thought for a moment, it made sense than it might cure a cold.

"This is coltsfoot. It does the same thing, but not as well as catmint. It's a easier to find though, so I keep a good stock of this one."

Doing the same thing by accenting the cheetah's words with touch, sight and scent, Penelope quickly noticed that Coltsfoot was very different from catmint, even though it had the same effect. She thought she might find that confusing, especially since catmint, to her, seemed so much more recognizable, but the concept of herbs, what purpose they served and what they were like intrigued the apprentice... she wanted to know more, and learn how to use this information. As Ruby had expected, overwhelming the young hybrid with information might have discouraged the lynx, so her approach was perfect. Enough to get through to her and catch her interest. Any doubt she'd had before now gone, Penelope gazed up at Ruby, eager to hear her next instruction. What she had heard so far was very interesting, and she was looking forward to her training.

Ruby thought silently for a moment. What should she do now? When she had been in Penny's position, Bird had gone through ALL of the herbs with her at once. It was very overwhelming. But then again, she's also spent quite a bit of time in the healer's den so she already knew a few of them that he had used to heal her wounds with.

"How about..." She started. "Hmm. How about we go searching for Coltsfoot and Catmint?" She suggested. "That way you can better remember which is which. Then we can check on the cubs, and I can show you what signs to look for in a cub contracting whitecough." She stood and waved her tail cheerfully.

Her full attention focused on Ruby, Penelope waited patiently for her new direction. This was her first day, but she was already so excited... this seemed like it would be a lot of fun. What would the cheetah ask her to do next? She couldn't wait to find out... whatever it was, she would do her best to please her mentor, to show that she could be useful. There was nothing she wanted more than that.

Then the answer came, and Penelope's ears twitched, before turning forward. After the words reached them, Penny went over them in her head. Once, twice, before nodding once she was sure she understood Ruby's idea. It sounded simple enough; the young lynx always learned better when she could see, touch and scent what she was being taught, and she couldn't say no to the offer to leave camp for a bit. Outside the empire dwelling, things were quiet, and interesting. Overall, she was really looking to this.

With a little shake over her tail, Penelope looked up again at Ruby. "So... we leave... now?" She knew it would probably be more polite to put it a different way, but she still wasn't completely comfortable or used to Ruby yet... it was easier to use small words and short sentences, or even better, to stick to body language and gestures to communicate with her mentor. But that was likely to change with time. But for now, the task at paw was most important... Penny waited calmly to be led out into the forest.

"Yes," Ruby blinked, then bent her head to pick up a leaf of Coltsfoot and Catmint. She tucked them into her armor carefully. "I'll keep these with me in case you need a refresher!" She smiled, then with a flick of her tail led the way out of the den.

Once in the camp clearing, Ruby paused to look back at her apprentice. "Is there any armor you'd like to equip before we head out?" The cheetah herself was already fully armored and ready to go.

Growing more excited with every second, there seemed to be a gleam in the lynx's eyes that weren't there before... Penelope was known for being a bit of a stoic, but the anticipation seemed to have gotten to her. She was actually quite relieved that examples were being brought with them in case she needed a reminder. It seemed like a good idea, especially since she hadn't quite been known to have the best memory... there were some cats' names she couldn't quite get right, so what was the say the same wouldn't apply to herbs?

Shaking off her doubt, Penny followed her mentor outside. For a moment, she was distracted. By the wind, and the usual sounds and scents of her home. Luckily she didn't have the time to drift off, as she was known to do, because Ruby spoke to her shortly after.

"Is there any armor you'd like to equip before we head out?"

Had she zoned out, Penelope probably would have jumped, but instead she only turned her head. The apprentice took a moment to process the question, before nodding. "Yeah... be right back."

While Penelope herself had never really faced anything, or anyone unfriendly outside camp - at least not in a way that required armor - she had heard the stories. She knew bad things happened, because of the hunters... she gave a little shiver. The lynx mix didn't want that to happen, but in the event that it did, she wanted to be prepared. So, without any distractions this time, Penelope slipped into the Blacksmith's Den, and put on some of her armor. She would have preferred to take everything with her, but she didn't want to make Ruby wait too long, so left her bracers behind. What she had gave her good protection, anyway, and her two satchels would come in handy.

As quickly as she could manage, Penelope was soon back at Ruby's side. "Ready." She looked up at the cheetah, eager to go and learn.

Ruby waited patiently as her apprentice padded away. She sat and looked around at the goings on in camp; the cubs playing, the gladiators talking; and she smiled. She loved her home...even if it did get chilly in the colder seasons. She began to wash and was doing so when Penny came back. Ruby set her paw down and stood up, tail curled contently.

"All ready? Let's head out then~" Normally healers took a gladiator or two with them to keep them safe while they searched for and dug up herbs, but Rubiria was confident enough in her skills. She, after all, had learned from some of the best, and although she was still learning everything involving combat, her strikes were quick and sharp; enough to put up a good fight to anything that may intercept them.

The cheetah led the way out of camp and into the territory. "Coltsfoot will be the easiest to find, so we'll look for that one first." Ruby decided. "It grows best near water sources, like lakes, waterfalls, and even on the banks of rivers."

As the two of them left camp, Penelope suppressed a small shudder. Not because she was cold, or scared... she was excited, to be going out with her mentor for the first time. She tried to focus though, so she could do this right. She listened carefully to Ruby's instructions, nodding often to let the cheetah know that she was paying attention. Once the information sunk in, she began to act on it. The lynx perked her ears, listening for any sign of running water. She wasn't sure where they were, so wasn't sure which way to go. So she glanced back at her mentor. "Water... which way?"

"Pick a direction, and I'll show you a water source that way." She replied. "Rivers are fed by the mountains, so we're almost always near some kind of water."