dipperpaw (he/him) | orchidclan

Dipperpaw was enjoying the beautiful scene around him, taking in the sights and sounds of the river as it flowed past his paws. It seemed so rare to find a moment of peace where his heart wasn't racing at the same pace of a rabbit's, where his mind wasn't running through every possible terrible outcome that would arrive at the end of each day. He wasn't worrying about a fire rampaging through the camp and killing everyone he loved, or a sudden pack of foxes rampaging through the camping and killing everyone he loved, or a flood wiping out the entire camp and killing everyone he loved...

At least, he wasn't worrying about those things, until now.

With a blink of an eye, the river suddenly seemed to burst, surrounding his paws as the sounds of screams were heard in every direction. Another blink and the trees were up in flames, smoke covering the skies so that no cloud or star could be seen anymore. Another blink and the fire seemed to transform into the red pelts of foxes that shot down past him, the screams now blending with the sounds of the foxes' laughter, and all Dipperpaw could do was try to swim to safety as the river raced higher and higher, threatening to drown him.

"Dipperpaw, It's time to wake up."

The black and white apprentice jumped at the sound waking him from his very unrestful slumber, his tail puffing larger than his fur already puffed. Thankfully, given that nightmares were a rather regular occurence from him when his anxieties spiked, he managed to control himself quick enough not to cause any sort of minor catastrophe in the den. Dipperpaw had been kicked many a time as a kit by one of his sisters, annoyed at him jumping and causing a commotion when he woke from a nightmare.

He wondered if it was StarClan. They sent visions and stuff in the forms of dreams, right? Oh, stars, should he be truly worried about foxes made of fire killing his entire family? No, of course not, right? That would be silly. But what if it meant something else, like a different kind of disaster that would emotionally be as terrifying as the entire forest being set on fire. Would today be the day that finally Ice-eyes came to her senses and realized what a disaster he was, and maybe she would take him to a river and push him in, leaving him to drown because he would be a total failure in any position for OrchidClan? Oh, StarClan, why did it have to be him?

In his muddled post-nightmare mind, all Dipperpaw could think to shout was: "Please, Ice-eyes! Don't throw me in the river to drown! I- I understand that taking me on was probably a mistake, but please at least let me have the mercy of running away and living!"

athesia ● to be clear it's not a prophecy it's just a nightmare ● 486 words

dipperpaw (he/him) | orchidclan

Dipperpaw's eyes went wide a moment. What precisely did Ice-eyes mean by no one is leaving camping as it is? He looked out into the camp, wondering if there was something great and terrifying keeping everyone in. Perhaps it was his nightmare coming into real life. Perhaps there truly was some great fire out there, that foxes were running towards the camp. Did Ice-eyes know about it? Is that why no one was to be leaving the camp?

The young tom, with his heart racing, looked out the front of the medicine cat's den. From outside the hollowed tree, everything certainly seemed calm and serene, with the usual hustle and bustle of the day. Bullwasp was chatting with cats about their patrols, the kits were screaming and crying in laughter, and Dipperpaw even managed to catch a glimpse of his littermates getting ready to start their day.

Huh... perhaps everything was alright then.

Truth was, Dipperpaw rather preferred the medicine den in comparison to the nursery. It was much quieter when no one was moaning and groaning, and it was easier to find a dark corner to enjoy the peace in. And above anything else, it was overall a fantastic hiding place from his busy sisters, no longer causing chaos in the camp for Dipperpaw to have to clean up when they dragged him out. At least here in the medicine cat's den, they didn't know the hiding places, and he would hope that perhaps Ice-eyes would cover for him whenever they thought it would be fun to drag him into their nonsense.

He blinked and turned back from his new place at the entrance of the den. "W-wait... did you say herbs?" he asked. A light purr began to form in his own chest, though admittedly most of it working as a way to soothe himself rather than amusement. It didn't take long for it to subside, preferring to keep quiet than work on any self-soothing techniques.

athesia ● 333 words

dipperpaw (he/him) | orchidclan

Dipperpaw's tail flickered behind him somewhat nervously, a tick that was hard for him to stop at any given time, though he'd slowly begun to try and become more aware of where it was when he was in the medicine cat's den at the very least. The reason he had often found himself in this den in the first place was often the destruction that his sisters loved to cause around the camp. He'd often felt incredibly guilty about leaving the blind medicine cat in the aftermath of the flock's tornado, though perhaps it was a little problematic of him to think that a blind cat couldn't clean up the destruction on her own.

Rather quickly, Dipperpaw could feel his heart beginning to race again - was he only just put into this position as Ice-eyes's apprentice so she could show him how wrong he was? To show him his problematic and perhaps ableist behaviour that a cat who had been doing this for quite some time wasn't perfectly capable?

Thankfully, the sound of Dipperpaw's tail beginning to tremble and the dust it began to kick up knocked him back into the present. The bicoloured apprentice got to his paws and spun a little bit, making sure his nest was still in decent condition before he turned his attention to his mentor. "Focus, Dips," he muttered under his breath, unsure as to whether or not the medicine cat's blindness made her hearing better and would allow her to hear his strange little mini pep-talks. If that was so, he was sure she would hear him talking to himself constantly.

With a deep breath, Dipperpaw allowed himself to try and take in the scents of the den on the whole. There was something oddly calming about it. Perhaps it was because Dipperpaw knew that herbs wouldn't judge him or make fun of him. Of course, they could kill him, but at least it wasn't because of the malintention of the herbs themselves but rather his own missteps. On top of that, he couldn't help but think about how pretty some of the herbs often were, with bright colours that decorated the forest and riverbanks.

He'd already started to gain a bit of an interest in herbs when he was a kit, learning how to tell some of them apart when he was helping Ice-eyes reorganize her den after his sisters' destruction. So, he was sure that this would be a knock out of the park for him.

Another deep breath, some more self-soothing. "Okay, where should we start?" Dipperpaw asked with shaky confidence.

athesia ● 441 words

dipperpaw (he/him) | orchidclan

Dipperpaw's heart stopped. His first quiz. Oh StarClan above please help. It seemed that the very second Ice-eyes asked him a question, everything he ever knew flew out of his brain. He liked herbs, so why couldn't he remember a single thing all of a sudden?

His eyes darted over to where the herbs were kept. There had been many times in the medicine cat's den when Dipperpaw was still a kitten after his siblings had caused a tornado and knocked things over. He would stay and help Ice-eyes sort things and learn about them in the meantime when he got curious. He had actually found sorting the herbs to be quite relaxing, and learning about them even more intriguing. But now, in this very moment, when Dipperpaw was looking over the storage of various herbs and berries and flowers and things, they all seemed to blend together. Why were there so many yellow flowers? How had he never noticed that before? Sorrel and tormentil and tansy and goldenrod and hawkweed... and what did each of them do again? At least one of them helped clean wounds, right? That was enough flower names that it had to be right for at least one of them, but the idea of just taking a stab in the dark was not something he felt all that great about doing.

His tail began to flicker nervously behind him. Dipperpaw quickly turned and looked behind him, making sure that his feathery tail wasn't picking up stuff it didn't need in it, or that he wasn't knocking anything over. With a quick spin, he lifted his head once more when something white came into his view.

The black and white tom blinked. "That's yarrow!" he said almost uncharacteristically with excitement and certainty in his voice. "It can make cats vomit, which is helpful if they swallow something poisonous, except nightshade. If they swallow nightshade, there's nothing to be done."

The way that Dipperpaw said the last part could have probably been somewhat alarming. There was no fear in his voice talking about deadly nightshade, or talking about poison whatsoever. He spoke of deadly nightshade the way he might have spoke of garlic or cobwebs, just another plant you might find out in the forest. Though he didn't necessarily want to admit it out loud at that moment, there was something almost fascinating to him about poisons, about plants whose mere existence spelled death for anyone who even so much as touched it. The idea of a life where everyone left him alone because they knew coming into contact would spell death? Now that was a life he could get used to...

The nervous anxious twitter of his tail started to turn into a slightly more excited twitch when he almost let out a chuckle at the sight of some small green leaves. The tom walked over to them and gave them a quick sniff. "Wisteriasong made you give these to me all the time," he realized, almost self-consciously as the smell made him feel almost nostalgic for a time that had hardly passed. "It's thyme, it helps with anxiety."

Even the pungent scent helped Dipperpaw feel his heart begin to slow down. He closed his eyes and let himself take a slow, deep breath, as the smell of thyme engulfed him. He supposed that Ice-eyes would probably be showing him where to find these rather early, knowing him and how helpful it would probably be for him.

athesia ● 597 words

dipperpaw (he/him) | orchidclan

Dipperpaw's heart spiked at the realization that thyme was meant to be found in twoleg gardens... did that mean he would be expected to go near twoleg homes in order to find the very herb that often brought him comfort? Oh stars above, what if he got captured by a twoleg and removed from OrchidClan altogether?

Of course, the apprentice had thought once or twice before about how nice the life of a kittypet must be. The idea of being inside at all times, away from predators, away from the elements, and given access to food and water every single day. But he'd also heard that kittypets were given weird little dry pellets, and were taken to a Cutter in order to be poked and prodded and eventually lose a part of themselves. The very idea made him shutter. If only there was a way that he could have the comforts of kittypet life while also having the things he still wished to keep, like good fresh-kill and the physical aspects of himself.

But the scent of thyme wafted through him once more, helping Dipperpaw center himself once again. He looked around the den, trying to remember some more herbs that stuck out to him. "Oh, uh, catnip is the best remedy for greencough! But also you have to be careful cause it can be deadly in high doses, especially in young kits," he pointed out, once again talking about death with a phenomenal casualty. It seemed that the idea of cats dying on the whole didn't seem to bother him, not unlike the fear that he held around himself dying. Not that he wanted other cats to die by any means, but to him, it seemed just a way of life. Cats are born, and cats die.

Granted, he'd yet to see a cat die. Perhaps the sight would one day change his mind.

athesia ● 320 words

dipperpaw (he/him) | orchidclan

Oh stars, why did twolegs seem to be the primary source of such important herbs? Dipperpaw began to wonder if they did it on purpose. Were twolegs smart enough to know that growing catmint would end up attracting cats into their gardens in order to snag them and capture them? Force them to stay inside and take them to the Cutter? Why were twolegs so fixated on the Cutter anyways? Was it a power trip or something for the strange creatures? Regardless, it made the fur on Dipperpaw's spine stand on end and sent a chill through his entire body. Maybe one day the young apprentice could take it upon himself to try and find a better way to find such herbs. He wondered if there was a way to learn how to grow them himself...

The idea of growing everything he needed nearby was almost exciting, though he knew there was no way he'd be able to grow everything nearby. Some herbs, as far as he was aware, could only be grown in certain kind of conditions that he probably couldn't replicate. He also realized he didn't really know much about how long it took certain things to grow, and it would probably end up taking a whole lot of trial and error in order to figure it all out. But stars above, wouldn't it be exciting to figure out how to grow important herbs like thyme and catmint? Perhaps it was just the idea of a lifetime supply of thyme that was primarily exciting for Dipperpaw, but the idea of knowing everything could grow within reach was also interesting.

The black and white apprentice brought himself back into the present and tried to look around the storage some more. He supposed there were some things that needed to be stored a certain way as well, but still, his mind was wandering off too much. Instead, he took a long, deep breath once more, allowing the comforting scents of everything around him to calm him down. Much better than the smell of blood and mud that his littermates were probably dealing with.

Dipperpaw looked around for anything else that stuck out to him. "Oh uh, I think that's comfrey, right?" he said, motioning towards a plant with long leaves and entirely forgetting for a moment that Iceeyes was blind as he continued speaking. "I know that you use comfrey in Timberwolf's nest for stiff joints. It always smells like that in the elder's den."

athesia ● 424 words

dipperpaw (he/him) | orchidclan

At this point, Dipperpaw had sat down. While his tail certainly still twitched with a discomfort and fear, it still somehow managed to wrap itself around his paws. It was kicking up the lightest bit of dust underneath him, dusting his paws. His ears were now twitching, closer against his skull as he tried to think about other things around the den that he could note. "C'mon, Dips, you know this stuff!" he thought to himself.

He could hear buzzing going through his head at this point, feeling as though he was failing some sort of test. He looked out towards the entrance to the medicine cat den, as though expecting some sort of answers to fly in to help him answer the exam that would define his entire life. Objectively, this certainly might not have been true - he was already chosen by Ice-eyes to become the medicine cat apprentice, to learn about herbs and healing rather than hunting and fighting, but it wouldn't stop the voices in his head from telling him that he would be kicked out and forced to either make it or break it as a warrior apprentice, or leave OrchidClan altogether.

His yellow eyes darted back into the den. "Dips, you know the answer isn't out there. StarClan isn't gonna give you a sign..." he whined to himself. Would they ever give him a sign? Did StarClan think he was worthy enough of this position? If he were left alone as medicine cat in a future he didn't want to imagine where Ice-eyes was no longer around, would StarClan simply leave OrchidClan to burn? Stars above...

Dipperpaw began to sink into himself a little bit as he squeaked out: "Um, that's all I can think of..." He prepared himself to be reprimanded. How could he be so stupid as to forget something so obvious? There were more herbs than he could count in here, and if he couldn't name any more, he was clearly hopeless in trying to remember everything he would have to know in order to be an effective medicine cat.

athesia ● 354 words