Booksmart Techniques

    Merle raced around Morel Hollow, sticking to the edge of town where the forest was just starting to creep back in.  The mothcats of the town kept the area mostly clear, but there were still small obstacles, just enough for the adventurous mothcat to use as an obstacle course.  He dug his paws in, pushing himself to greater speeds.  True, he could have just flown over any of the obstacles, but there was something exhilarating in just running and jumping, trusting his strength to carry him over anything in his way.  The merled mothcat was having the time of his life, having made it almost half way around the Hollow and still going strong.  He hadn’t even hit a single thing!

    At least, he hadn’t until he misjudged a leap over a fallen tree.  The grass on the other side was longer that it had been anywhere else, making him think the ground was closer than it really was.  And so he hit the ground harder, yelping as a sharp pain went through his front right leg.  His leg buckled from the unexpected pain, offbalancing the large mothcat and sending him tumbling to the ground. 

    Merle groaned as he sat up, using his left paw to straighten the party hat he loved to wear.  After all, life was a party and he was going to celebrate, as he always said.  Right now though, he didn’t feel much like celebrating, his right paw twinging in pain. 

    “Oww.  That was NOT cool, not at all.”  He muttered, giving the patch of grass an annoyed look.  “Shouldn’t fool a bloke like that.  Ain’t cool at all.”

    “Are you alright down there?”  A sweet voice, like the song of a bird, called down to Merle.

    “Huh?”  Merle looked around at the unexpected voice.  Belatedly realizing it had come from above him, he tilted his head back to see a small mothcat peering out at him from a treehouse he hadn’t realized was there.  He grinned suddenly.  “Ah, of course I’m alright!  Ain’t ever been better!  Thanks for th’ concern though.”  He said cheerfully. 

    “Are you sure?  You’re holding your paw like it hurts.”  The little mothcat had a worried expression on their face.

    “Oh yeah.  I’m fine.  See?”  Merle rose to walk it off and prove he was alright, only to wince when he put his sore paw on the ground.

    “All I see is you proving that you’re not alright.”  The mothcat said with a small smile.  “Just hang tight a moment.”  The little mothcat disappeared from the window and could be heard rummaging around inside the house.

    Merle meanwhile, sat down with a sigh, holding his paw off the ground.  “Now why ya gotta go make me look like a bloody fool, huh?”  He asked, looking at his paw.  He shrugged off his own question.  “Ah well.  What’s done is done.” 

    Just then the other mothcat appeared again, gliding down from the treehouse gracefully, the blue-green shimmer to their feathered wings and tail obvious in the sunlight, reminding Merle of the magpies he often saw around the forest.  Clutched in their paws was a first aid that looked huge before he realized that actually, the mothcat was just small.  He watched as they landed with the lightest touch he’d ever seen. 

    “Man, your light on your paws aintcha?”  Merle said, a little bit of awe in his voice.  Being a bigger mothcat with paws to match, he rarely was considered ‘light on his paws’.  He tended to lean more into the ‘big galumph’ kind of movements so it always amazed him to see how tiny and dainty some mothcats could be.

    “I suppose you could say that.”  The little mothcat said modestly, putting the first aid kit down and popping it open.  “Anyways, I’m Noor.  It’s nice to meet you, even if the circumstances aren’t the best.”  The mothcat introduced themselves with a chuckle.

    Merle laughed merrily, nodding in agreement.  “Ain’t that th’ truth.  Anyways, I’m Merle.  Pleasure ta meetcha.”  He said cheerfully, watching as Noor selected several items from the first aid kit, setting them on the lid of the case, which had been flipped back to make a clear spot to store things.

    “Well, I want to have everything I need ready, so I’m getting out all my materials and putting them in easy reach.”  Noor explained, happy to share their knowledge.  “So now I think I’ve got everything I need.  Can I see your paw please?”

    “Sure thing, darling.”  Merle smiled and held out his paw, which looked bigger than ever when Noor reached out to take hold.  He expected it to hurt and was ready for any pain, not wanting to wince again in front of a pretty mothcat.  So it was a pleasant surprise when the gentle touch didn’t hurt, simply skimming over his paw.  “So whatcha lookin’ for?”  He asked, watching the bird-like mothcat work.

    “I’m looking to see exactly what’s wrong.”  Noor told him without looking up from their examination.  “I suspect just a sprain, but I want to make sure you didn’t break it or cut yourself.  But it looks like you’re alright.  Probably just landed wrong when you were running and jumping around, right?”

    “Well, yeah.  But how’d ya know?”  Merle asked, looking confused at the assessment. 

    Noor just chuckled lightly.  “I could hear you running around before the sound of your paws stopped for a moment.  Then you suddenly yelped.  So I could safely guess you were running, tried to jump, and landed wrong, spraining your wrist.  Thankfully it doesn’t feel too bad though.  Just bandage it up for support and stay off it for a day or two, and you should be fine.”

    Merle shook his head in amazement.  “Bloody good ears ya got there, piecing all that together.  So what’s the bandage do if’n I ain’t really done much damage?”

    “It gives support to the muscles and tendons while they heal.”  Noor explained, starting to wrap his paw.  “And it keeps the swelling down, which promotes faster healing.  The book I was reading last week went into a lot of detail about it.  They say for sprains that you’re supposed to bandage it firmly – but not too tightly – and put some ice on it to keep swelling down.  And the more you rest it, the faster it’ll heal.”

    “Sounds like quite th’ book ya got there.”  Merle commented, fascinated with all the new information, watching how the other mothcat wrapped his paw.

    “Oh yes.  It’s really a good book.  Lots of useful information about first aid.  I found it quite intriguing, all the different solutions they had for things.  Some of it seemed like common sense, like cool water after a burn, but some of it was really good information.”  Noor chattered happily, passing the time quickly until they were tying off the bandage around Merle’s paw.  “There you go.  Just remember, stay off it until it heals.  Don’t try to rush healing.  You can do more damage that way than any other way.”  The magpie mothcat warned him, looking as stern as they could, being only half his size.

    Still, Merle nodded, taking the advice to heart.  Clearly Noor had read quite a bit about healing, more than he certainly had.  So he was all for listening to those who knew better.  “Will do.  Thanks a lot, love.  Ya did a great job on it.”  He said cheerfully, grinning widely.  “I should get home and rest then.  Doctor’s orders.”  He said teasingly.

    Noor chuckled and packed up the first aid kit.  “Just take it easy and you’ll be fine, I’m sure.”  They said easily. 

    “No problem.  See ya around sometime!”  Merle said, taking off into the air, obeying the orders to rest his paw.  He paused long enough to wave goodbye to Noor before heading home.

    Noor just shook their head, smiling.  The enthusiasm was infectious and the chance to try out the skills they’d been reading was nice.  They flew back up into their treehouse, putting the first aid kit away and returning to the book they’d been reading before Merle had interrupted them.