I need to know more about Buckfoot!
What was he like, from Shut Eye it seemed like he cared about Owlpaw, and since Birchspeckle was also his apprentice I’m curious on how that relationship was like. Also Was the medicine cats can’t have mates and kits rule enforced? Since he had Possum and Gully I assume the clan allowed it since they needed kits.
Buckfoot my beloved <3
They definitely cared a lot for Owlpaw/pounce. I think they appreciated that she could be what they could not—a bright light in a very dark time. Buckfoot was a realist, almost to a fault. They would tell it like it is, with only the slightest regard for bedside manner. They weren't abrasive per se, but they didn't always understand how to appeal to the emotional states of those they spoke with. They could try to be comforting, but might not always succeed (especially when talking to cats they didn't know quite as well). They had a unique talent for paring a situation down to the most essential facts, and then exploring potential solutions to problems from there. Because of this clear-eyed outlook, they were often sought after for their advice. Their faith in Starclan was iron-clad, and they were still a deeply spiritual cat, even while being firmly rooted in the living world and its realities.
Owlpaw wasn't their first apprentice, but she was perhaps the first one that they truly felt called to teach. Owlpaw was so very different from them, but she was different in a good way. A difference that made them more balanced. After the disaster, she would look to Buckfoot as the one part of her life that was stable. When everything else was thrown into flux, Buckfoot was like a boulder in the middle of a raging river, solid and unmoving. That steadiness carried her through the months and years proceeding the disaster.
Birchspeckle was an unexpected addition to the healers. Owlpaw was still in training when Micaclan found Birchkit. Birch was a prodigy in spiritual matters, dreaming of Starclan and seeing ghosts long before even meeting any of Micaclan's members, but was not old enough to be taught when they found her. Months later, Buckfoot ended up teaching both Owlpaw and Birchpaw simultaneously, which was unprecedented in Micaclan's history. Traditionally, the thought was that if two apprentices had to share a mentor, then one would inevitably end up being favored over the other, even if unintentionally. In this case, Buckfoot turned the training into an opportunity for Owlpaw; she would learn far more effectively by helping to teach Birchpaw right alongside her mentor. When Owlpaw became Owlpounce, she continued to help Buckfoot in teaching Birchpaw. Before they could finish training, though, Buckfoot ended up passing away, and Owlpounce took on the final stretch of Birchpaw's instruction. The three of them were a very close-knit group, and Buckfoot's loss was hard on both Owl and Birch. They consider themselves to be closer to peers than mentor-and-apprentice, even if Owlpounce did end up teaching Birchspeckle's final lessons before becoming a full healer.
The rule about medicine cats and families was never really enforced in Micaclan, doubly so after the disaster when their numbers were so low. Possum and Gully would have known who their other parent was, though I imagine Buckfoot being slightly more hands-off in their parenting style. The type to be like "if they need something, they know they can come to me. otherwise i'll leave them to their exploring".
