Believe me, I know | Injured, returning

[>Ratwater]

— //Content/Trigger warnings; mentions of detailed wounds, and general emotional distress - Wounds; tear flesh from the right side of the face to flank to hip (of the right side) also progressing into infections, contusion of neck, shoulders, and ribs - TLDR; After seemingly disappearing after the bear attack in Shadowclan camp, Ratwater returns days(weeks?) later worse for wear.

Claws seemed to be the only functional asset upon the molly as they dug themselves deep into the earth with each step. Each breath she drew pained her. Ratwater would bang her least injured side against a tree to rest some of her weight but even with it being her least injured her shoulders, neck, and ribs still stung from the rough impact. A demented look contorted the she-cat's features, her ears pinned harshly against her skull and the pupils of her amber eyes were like that of a kit's claw. Labored breaths rattled from clenched teeth, struggling to get the necessities while a storm wreck havoc within her. She was fuming, she was wounded.. She was betrayed. There were many things that angered her in this very moment but the top of her list was her body working against her. With a huff of effort, she'd force her weight back to all four paws. Was she even near the makeshift camp? Had they traveled further than she had thought? The night loomed over her but the stars seemed to be taunting her in a disorienting dance above her head.

She'd gnash her teeth at the waves of heat that continued to radiate over her body. A white paw would pull her forward. The skin of her wound felt both loose and tight. Another step. It was like the claws kept raking over the same spot, over and over.. Another step. "Sabletuft." The black and white molly would hiss as she'd reach out another paw to move but this time she wouldn't move forward, instead she would end up on the ground. The gashes along her right side were large, much larger than that of a cat. The claws had been hooked, ideal for tearing flesh and it did just that. The formerly pristine long-furred molly was now missing chunks from her cheek, from her shoulder, her side, and her hip all with an interconnecting strike. She had been blessed enough for her eye to have been spared but at what cost? Ratwater's nose would wrinkle in disdain as she'd struggle to regain to stand.

She had fled. Her last thoughts were of self-preservation when she ran from Shadowclan's camp. Already wounded from their skirmish with Windclan, she had questioned who really had her best interest at heart. A growl would rumble in the throat of the femme as she managed to hoist herself back to all four paws. She had attempted other avenues to help herself but now she could hardly stand. These were all things she would keep close to her chest, save for the obvious wounds she now wore. There was a trudge to her walk, her right front limb dragging in exhaustion after. There were benefits to the clan. She saw that now, she saw how she could grow.. How she could get exactly want she wanted. A new drive had brought Ratwater back, she was ever so self-serving although now she had a clear path that she would burn the forest down to achieve.

Her maw was slightly parted in her pants as she continued to struggle along as the fever tormented her and the pain persisted. She was going to find them and she was going to start anew.— tags​

 

[STUMPYSPOTS]

STUMPYSPOTS ♀​ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ ♡​

A few cats had gone missing after the bears rampaged camp. Ratwater had been among them, but unlike Halfshade no one had any clue which way the she-cat had gone. Stumpyspots had assembled two guesses, one the she-cat was dead, or two… she understood the gravity of the threat and did what a cat who cared for their own life would do. Fled and left ShadowClan to the dust. Frankly… Stumpyspots suspects the latter. Yet before a patrol, Ratwater stands. Wound-covered her white and black pelt, her scent thick with fever. Stumpyspots’ mismatched gaze widens, ”…Ratwater?” The nasally question sounds, the injuries almost making her unrecognizable. ”Good StarClan- we thought you dead!” Well, Stumpyspots didn’t, but she wasn’t about to open that rat’s nest now…

 

[>Ratwater]

— "Not yet at least." The molly would breathe, her amber gaze scanning over the short femme. "I am hoping Starlingheart made it." She'd huff in false amusement, her body feeling too fatigued to properly express anything more elaborate. "Where do the beasts have us all holed up?" Ratwater would inquire. — tags​

 

[. Heathershade .]

What does a cat do when their inches away from gaping jaws that could swallow them whole?
Admittedly, Heathershade didn’t remember the break-in all too well, it had been a blur. She only remembered herding a handful of cats in front of her, yelling for them to go, go, go.
She stops when Stumpyspots does, her mind had been adrift elsewhere, and she doesn’t even notice Ratwater until Stumpyspots is speaking to her, and even then the warriors sickly scent reaches the chimera before the actual molly does.
Heathershade blinks a couple of times before she speaks, taking the surprise of it all in. "Under the Thunderpath… are you sick?" Her question isn’t as much accusatory as it is genuine concern. Shadowclan is cramped together down there… sickness would spread as though it was wildfire.
"Let me fetch Starlingheart, she’ll want to see you." Heathershade then offers with a light nod, looking to Stumpyspots for a quick moment before she’d turn on her heel and make her way back to their make-shift camp, urgency in her leave.

@STARLINGHEART .

"Speech."​

[ COCOA BUTTER KISSES ]​

 

[Maggotfur.]

EYES COVERED IN INK AND BLEACH​

maggotpaw | 07 months | female | she/her | physically medium | mentally hard | attack in bold mediumpurple​

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There is little for maggotpaw to say - ratwaters wellbeing is of no real interest to her, and if she were being honest she'd rather not have another mouth around here to feed. But she stares anyways, teal gaze glistening coldly, looking with rapt attention at the wounds that litter the warriors frame. These bears are nothing to take lightly - oh, how she wishes she could be like that, rending flesh from her enemies with only a half hearted swipe. Will they fester, will they rot? Will ratwater get to become just another pile of bones to be buried? Or will starlingheart and magpiepaw manage to save the felines life.

// tw: gross wound depictions, maggotpaw being maggotpaw

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[CHILLEDSTAR.]

DON'T YOU GIVE ME UP, PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP​

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chilledstar's rest is interrupted as the scent of blood carried itself to their nose. they stand from where they laid, making their way over to the group, finding ratwater hurt and cats swarming. heathershade moved to go fetch starlingheart and magpiepaw, and chilledstar is stuck staring at the mess of a cat that is ratwater. she'd disappeared, making sabletuft worried. stupid tom had gone out of his way to try and get her back, and hurt himself in the process. they rubbed their face with a paw, before just huffing.

"sabletuft will be glad that you're alive."

chilledstar was too, but they didn't know for how long. this didn't look great. it didn't look great at all. they turn away from the crew, and go off to find @S A B L E T U F T . he had to be around here somewhere.
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