private Bitter Recovery | Sootchaser

Jan 5, 2023
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Only a day ago, a war had shattered the peace of WindClan's camp. It was not from SkyClan's claws, though, nor RiverClan's either. For so long, WindClan had uttered about enemies from the outside, but rarely had they whispered about the demons lurking within their own borders. Sootstar's exile and imprisonment of Dandelionwish had stirred the wasp nest, in a way. It had caused so much vile poison to bubble to the surface, had driven so many snakes from their holes. Who could have guessed that WindClan had been harboring so many serpents? Hidden in plain sight... lurking beneath the fur of cats he had once called his clan-mates.

Oh, Tigerfrost is bitter. He is bitter because he should have expected it. He is bitter because he had not realized just how deep the treachery had spread into WindClan's heart. He is bitter because, despite it all, the head of the adder himself had managed to escape. Dandelionwish was gone, unpunished, a traitor exposed by the stars themselves. Some might be relieved that many of WindClan's disloyal former members were now gone, but Tigerfrost can't help but wish that every last one of them had been slaughtered for their crimes. They had put innocent lives in danger, kits, even the unborn. They had brought chaos into WindClan, and now that wound would fester for moons to come. How could any true WindClanner sleep peacefully, thinking that some viper could kill them as they slumber, vulnerable and unaware?

Worse still, Tigerfrost is among the many wounded from that battle. If there was a second assault, if those traitors returned... many of WindClan's finest would be too injured to put up a decent fight. Himself included. The lacerations on his haunches are deep, and his swollen paw made it difficult to balance. Tigerfrost wasn't used to roaming around on three legs, and his clumsiness was evident. Now he couldn't hunt, couldn't patrol, couldn't make sure those traitorous rats were gone for good. No, he was trapped here for the next several weeks, a prisoner of his own home. He supposed that this was the price of being a Warrior. He had done his job as expected. He had fought to defend his home and his leader. He had bled for it.

So... perhaps amidst all of the bitter feelings, he was also proud. Not only had the traitors been exposed to the stars, but the loyalists as well. Those who had refused to cower or back down. Those who had done their duty, had stepped up to defend their home, and their leader. Trust has formed where it had been absent before, and perhaps it would strengthen into a powerful unity that WindClan has not seen in moons. Tigerfrost can only hope. He has a right to be grumpy, everyone does, but time would heal their wounds, both physical and spiritual. It always did, eventually. With a sigh, Tigerfrost limps out of the medicine cat's den, finally gulping in a fresh breath of cold air. There was frost in the clearing, but at least the smell of blood was finally gone.

@SOOTCHASER
 
sootchaser would never forgive himself for failing to bring down any of the renegades. his empress had wanted their heads, and he too had craved to watch them bleed out beneath the judgment of the stars for what they'd done, but his claws had not been able to sink into their jugulars. they had slipped from his grasp, leaving behind a trail of crimson betrayal as they fled over the borders.

they escaped this time, but sootchaser vows that if he ever tastes the scent of their filth on his moors again, he would be the one to extinguish the light in their sinful eyes. they would atone with their blood.

but for now, sootchaser must heal. frustration bubbles in his chest at being trapped in camp, his paws itching to tear across the hills in pursuit of a hare, to check the borders for breaches or weakening markers, to do anything but sit about. he feels like a kit again, confined within these gorse walls. at the very least, his injuries hadn't been grievous enough to earn him a nest in the medicine cat's den... his head aches at the thought of having to breathe in the annoyingly aromatic smell of herbs for the next quarter-moon. others didn't have that luxury; tigerfrost himself limps from that gloomy tunnel, his paw visibly swollen and his haunches plastered in cobwebs. injuries inflicted by their own... sootchaser's tail tip flicks in quick, agitated motions, like a rattlesnake about to strike. the cesspool of treachery festers in their home, it is a wound that they cannot seem to purge the infection from. how many more are left?

the hulking tabby in front of him is a trustworthy one, at least. tigerfrost had fought tooth and nail against the vermin, and he bears the injuries to prove it.

"this is going to be one of the longest quarter-moons," sootchaser mutters to tigerfrost, in reference to his own minor injuries, as the larger tom comes within hearing range. he can't say that he has any sympathy for the wounded warrior—such is only a luxury for those closest to sootchaser—but at the very least, he understands being trapped while waiting to recover. "those bastards were lucky to escape with their lives... if we're nearly as fortunate, they;d have bled out somewhere and became a meal for the vultures by now." we should be as fortunate, with starclan's blessing.
 
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Tigerfrost doesn't move at Sootchaser's approach, but his eyes do shift, glistening with gentle fire. Torn ears take in the words of the other, and he finds himself grunting his own agreement, the irritation of Dandelionwish's escape once more bubbling toward the surface, sizzling just beneath his skin. Tigerfrost was, perhaps, the most seriously injured of the loyalists, but Sootchaser would be spending some time with Vulturemask as well, it seemed.

"Dandelionwish looked more like a hunk of mangled flesh on the thunderpath by the time he finally managed to pull away. I can't imagine any cat surviving those injuries, unless he managed to reach RiverClan. Cicadastar seems to like taking in WindClan traitors." The tabby growls at that, imagining Hyacinthbreath, the former WindClan lead warrior. "But a part of me hopes that the other clans would know better than to waste precious herbs on cats who are half dead, anyways. Not to mention the trouble it would bring to their borders if we found out." Would WindClan even bother to attack? He doesn't know, but a part of him can't help but wish for some way to kill any traitors that had managed to survive.

"The only reason he managed to escape at all is because his allies caught us all off guard. Nobody expected that a quarter of the clan would help that rat escape. Hard to believe I was sleeping next to so many traitors." Annoyance clicks through his vocals as he sighs, blowing frosty mist from his maw.