sensitive topics Earn your worth || o. Injury & Night training

[Crowpaw.]

TW: Mentions of injuries. Verbal abuse, negligence, self-deprecation.

Change your mind​

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"On your paws, kit" words rumbled deeply from Deadfang, her own father who had decided to take them out for night training and truth be told...Crowpaw had been eager, excited even. But...this didn't feel like training, Deadfang was hardly easing up on Crowpaw and his lungs felt like they were about to burst. Copper eyes finally adjusted to the night sky, the moon illuminating the clearing before them while Crowpaw slowly got back onto their paws, tail flicking as he gritted his teeth. His own father hardly a scratch on him and just...loomed over the apprentice. "Prove to me you're actually worthy of becoming a warrior" The words came in the form of a sneer and Crowpaw quickly lunged at the other before there was a sideward step and Crowpaw didn't slow down enough before slamming into a tree, a dizzy feeling making the apprentice gasp, as he stumbled a bit a paw slipping and getting stuck in the tangling roots of the tree.

"Worthless" the words came out as ease, but they felt dimmed to the apprentice as ringing burst through the apprentice's ears, shaking his head, Crowpaw began to back up before a pain flared through his paw and it took him a split second to realize he was stuck and panic began to well in his chest before looking over at his father. "Da- Deadfang, I'm stuck" Crowpaw called out hoarsely before a hmph came from the tom's chest before he turned his back against Crowpaw "Pathetice, figure how to get out yourself, and you call yourself my son. The apprentice flinched a bit as he watched his dad fade into the shadows, leaving him in the silence of the night as she began her struggle to get free from the tangled root.

---

Crowpaw would manage to free herself of the tree, soreness easing throughout their body, head thundering painfully as they dizzily limped into camp, noting his dad hardly acknowledging the return of his child as he continue his chatter with a group of warriors. Tired limbs finally give out underneath their own weight. Blood welling from their paws, dawn slowly out on the horizon. He should have been more careful where he was stepping, all of this would have turned out better for the apprentice if he had been able to stop himself. It would be obvious to others who had taken the apprentice out for the night training as Deadfang's scent was lingering on the matted fur of Crowpaw, but to themselves, they had only themselves to blame for what happened, he wanted to prove himself to his dad but failed... and this was what he believed to be his own punishment.
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"speak""Thoughts"​

-TL:DR, Crowpaw agreed to go on night training with his father which goes horribly awry. He has a concussion, sprained paws, and several mini-injuries. He managed to slip out of the roots and is inside of the camp. Feel free to have your character yell at Deadfang for what happened! ))

 

[GECKOSCREECH]

the sun has long since set behind a boggy horizon leaving shadowclan to be swallowed whole by the ever familiar darkness of night with only ribbons of moonlight as their guiding source of light. most cats would have retired to their nests by now but just like their namesake, shadowclan happens to thrive the most during these times which is why you'll still see a few of them lingering about camp, some even leaving to partake in some night hunting.

geckoscreech had been laying outside of chilledstar's den when the familiar scent of blood wafted camp, gaze quickly snapping towards the source where she is greeted by the sight of a disheveled and wounded crowpaw who limps through the entrance with no warrior in sight accompanying him. the molly is quick to react, pushing herself up to all fours and bounding over to help provide a shoulder for the apprentice to lean on. "easy now. someone go fetch starlingheart." she instructs, noting the lingering scent of deadfang on crowpaw which only serves to confirm her suspicions that the tom had left him behind. an image of ghostpaw flashes briefly behind her eyes, alone in the territory face down in a shallow pool of a grave and it causes something to twist within her stomach, tail whipping behind in clear ire. geckoscreech wants to ensure crowpaw gets looked at first but she shoots an icy glare towards deadfang who appears none the wiser while chatting away with other warriors.

ooh, if someone doesn't get to him first.​

∘₊✧ ONE LAST LIFELINE, I'M HANGING HIGH. ✧₊∘​

 

[>Ratwater]

— Ratwater had been amongst the warriors chatting, it was casual banter for the nocturnals but it was soon disturbed. Perplexed, she'd look up at the wafting scent of copper. Amber eyes tracked after an off-white pelt embraced by deep brown brambles. It was Geckoscreech on her way towards Crowpaw, who looked worse for wear. "Deadfang.." The black and white molly would drawl, her gaze flickering to the tom. "Your son looks pretty messed up." The warrior would state before rising to her paws, uncertain of the circumstances. She wasn't one to coddle, save for kits that had a minor soft spot for her, she'd look back to the lead warrior as she requested someone to fetch Starlingheart. "I'll get her." She'd call back before making her way to the medicine cat's den. " @STARLINGHEART . , hey. Crowpaw is bleeding from somewhere and looks like a wreck."— tags​

 

[ROOSTERSTRUT]

❪ TAGS ❫ — Roosterstrut, just as he was about to wind down for the evening and settle into his nest, was roused from his calmed state by a commotion sourcing from the camp entrance. Such concerned voices immediately made Roosterstrut assume the worst, as it hadn't been too long ago that a family of foxes had been spotted in ShadowClan's territory. Heart sinking, he ducks out of the warriors den, silently pleading to StarClan that there wouldn't be a repeat of past events.

The warrior picked up on the scent of blood. His eyes darted toward the collapsed form of his apprentice, Crowpaw. "Crowpaw?" Roosterstrut rushes over, jaws drawing agape in surprise as he glances over the battered and bruised smaller form. No heavy gashes or lacerations, not even the scent of a fox, but instead... Deadfang?

Pale green eyes quickly settle onto the form of the other warrior, who had been chatting away in the background as if he held no concern whatsoever. "Deadfang, what happened? Did- did you have something to do with this?" Roosterstrut demands, voice filled with concern and teetering on anger, though he is sure not to judge before knowing the context behind the situation. If Deadfang had been involved then he sure wasn't acting like it.​

 

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

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

---

there is a certain amount of agitation that sits within the leader at the thought of their younger clan members being hurt as a result of negligence. they won't tell others how to train their apprentice, but the expect them to be treated fairly and accordingly. they did not expect the apprentices to return from training, looking as if they where walking off of a battlefield. more so, they don't expect a parent to be so damned aloof about such a thing. crowpaw's scent is covered in that of her father's, and the leader wonders why. had he joined deadfang in a hunt? was that why they'd been hurt? their tongue drew across their muzzle in frustration.

"deadfang. a word, if you will."

he would. he had no choice. they weren't suggesting a thing. they were stating. they moved their icy gaze away from the crowd, before they moved to crowpaw, nudging her gently as they looked over his wounds, trying to make sure he wasn't hurt too bad. they pulled themselves back to a standing position.

"stay with geckoscreech, alright? i am going to have a... talk with deadfang."

they barely could contain their anger. crowpaw should not have returned looking like that. their ear twitched as they gently brushed their tail against geckoscreech's flank, before moving bits away from the crowd.

"you take crowpaw out for night hunting and he returns looking like he got into a fight with a damned dog. what is wrong with you? hm? do i need to remind you that when you bring an apprentice, whether or not they're your child or not, they are your responsibility? she was your responsibility. and now they're here, hurt. in need of help from starlingheart. you're lucky we have an audience, deadfang, or you would become a very literal version of your name. remember that next time you take any of my apprentices out of camp. got it?"

they hissed, with a lash of their tail. they didn't know of anyone heard them. they didn't care, either. they were serious about keeping their clan safe– especially those who couldn't keep themselves safe. with a grunt, they stood beside roosterstrut, twitching their nose.

"i'm sure everything will be okay, crowpaw."
​

 

[Crowpaw.]

Change your mind​

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With the dizzying feeling and a feeling of fur brushing against their own, copper gaze flicked up, seeing Geckoscreech at their side, and then the next to approach was Ratwater who went to grab the Medicine cat...and then next was their mentor which made Crowpaw's ears flatten on their skull, they knew they should have told Roosterstrut...at least, what was going on but they had not and the look of surprise before quickly turning to face Deadfang and then jumping to question their father made the apprentice shuffle their paw.

Yet, before Deadfang could even answer what Roosterstrut had questioned, Chilledstar had been next to approach, they acted in quick manner, pulling the warrior aside and then quickly making sure to put the warrior in his place, and making sure to remind them that taking out an apprentice had been their responsibility, and even mentioning a few other things but... Crowpaw glanced away, feeling none of this would of happened if they had just told...someone

"It...was my fault" they expressed softly "I...didn't move fast enough...and didn't see the tree" Crowpaw's words sluggish as they attempted to explain what had happened as more wave of dizziness crashed over the apprentice as they quickly squeezed their eyes shut and shook their head. They didn't want the others to blame their own dad for something they had caused, for something they could have potentially avoided but...they had been so caught up in wanting to show their own dad that he was worthy of his praise that...they gotten themselves injured..."So...rry" Crowpaw said gently​

"speak""Thoughts"​

 

[ROOSTERSTRUT]

❪ TAGS ❫ — The tabby tom frowned as the youth managed to speak a few words, to which he shook his head and meowed, "No, Crowpaw. It's not your fault. Try not to talk, okay?" He didn't want his apprentice to drain the little energy they had on apologizing and fretting for a situation that wasn't even their fault in the first place.

After Chilledstar had finished chewing Deadfang out, Roosterstrut furrowed his brows and turned around, stalking toward the older warrior in an uncharacteristically vexed manner. It took a great deal to make the upbeat tom visibly angry and frustrated, and leaving his trainee in the territory hurt and alone was enough to do so. "Deadfang," Rooster addresses curtly. "With all due respect, I am Crowpaw's mentor and their training is my responsibility. If you want to take them out for a training session, fine, but leaving them to fend for themselves? What if they didn't make it back to camp tonight?" Judging by Crowpaw's current state, they were lucky that they were able to manage to haul themselves back. If their body had given out, if they had drained all of their energy, they would have been stranded somewhere in the territory overnight. It was a good thing that Crowpaw had made the journey so that Starlingheart could treat them as soon as possible.

His tone remains leveled. As upset as he was, he doesn't want to cause much of a scene and put more stress on the rest of the clan. Crowpaw receiving treatment was all Roosterstrut cared about right now, but not before he shared some words with their parent. "Not all of us even have fathers who are still around, so I'd suggest you make an effort to be a good one or don't be one at all." It really was not Roosterstrut's place to tell others how to raise their children, which he understood, but seeing a cat abusing their role as a parent frustrated the tabby tom to no end. He missed his parents more than anything in the world, but if they had been as nasty and cruel as Deadfang, then Roosterstrut would admittedly rather not have them around at all.

With a final huff, Roosterstrut turned on his heel and padded back toward Crowpaw's side, frowning and anxiously awaiting the medicine cat's arrival.​

 

[Starlingheart]

An intrusion to her private sanctum is almost always accompanied by a request for help, for healing. She is used to cats popping in and requesting her somewhere, though her heart will never stop beating rapidly in anticipation. What kind of scene will she come upon this time? How much blood was spilling out of the apprentices body? She never knew what she would find when her snowy paws brought her to her patient. She just nods her head, grabs her emergency bundle, and sends a silent prayer to the stars to keep Crowpaw safe until she can arrive, and then his life would be in her paws depending on how grave the injury.

"Im here" she says quietly as she moves to the apprentices side, gently pressing cobwebs against the blood "It'll- It'll be all-alright" she assures his, assures everyone watching, as she works. "Ho-hold this down" she says to the nearest cat and waits until their paws press down on the wad of cobwebs before stepping away to chew the herbs that would help stop the bleeding, help fight infection and heal the wound. All necessary parts of treatment that cannot be skipped. "Accidents hap-happen all the time. This is- this is not your fault you have noth-nothing to be sorry for" other cats reassure Crowpaw as well, and she shoots Deadfang a pointed look from the corner of her eye, grateful for Chilledstar and Roosterstrut for being there, for already saying something to this good for nothing warrior. It was not difficult to piece together what had happened here.
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