( ♬ ) With the appearance of Spiritpaw, she feels her mood improve, some spark inside of her relighting, as if she only just realized how much she wanted to see her friend in this moment. To see all of her friends, really, and her family, as if to forget about this whole mess, even if it's only in passing. Seeing the tears falling from her friend, the way she seems so much more subdued than normal, it's almost too much, and tears of her own threaten to spill out. She has to take a moment to muster up what she hopes is a reassuring smile, however weak, before she can answer. "I'm okay - just got a scratch," she responds, wincing slightly at how hoarse her voice sounds. "Just a scratch, really," she repeats, Weaselclaw's and Jasperglare's torn forms at the forefront of her mind. It could have been much worse, she knows, and Aspenpaw's thankful she doesn't have to deal with anything other than the stinging wound across her back, even if the thought is tinged with guilt. Everybody else had contributed more to the fight than she had, they hadn't upset Spiritpaw like she had - and yet, here she stands, with only a single slash to her name, in some strange twist of fate.
The cry of her name from Moonshadow immediately draws her attention, the tone haunted like nothing she's ever heard from her mother before, and Aspenpaw instinctively leans towards her, seeking the comfort of her dark pelt. Just her very presence, as furious as it's quickly turning, is enough to soothe the apprentice, even just a little, and with the quick lick pressed to the top of her head Aspenpaw feels almost wobbly with relief. Whatever happens going forward, whether there's war to come or not, at least she'll always have Moon to turn to. All too quickly, Moonshadow stalks off, joining the yelling match, and her gaze drifts back over to Coyotepaw, particularly drawn to the crimson stain along his side. "I'm tired, mostly," she admits after taking a second to mull over her thoughts and feelings. "What about you? Looks painful," she inclines her head gently towards his side. Aspenpaw hadn't even seen him receive the wound, too caught up in her own world, but as terrible as she feels over the whole event there's still something honorable in his defense of a clan he's hardly known, she thinks. Again, she finds her thoughts drifting to his former home in Skyclan - had they ever fought another clan like that? Had he just been lucky like her, or did he actually know how to conduct himself on the battlefield, how to navigate the tangle of warring cats?
It's hardly any time at all before Dandelionwish appears, fretting over them both, and she tries to stand as still as possible so as not to interrupt his inspection or to jostle her own wound too much. Heading into the medicine cat's den, it feels different now that she's the one who's actually there for treatment, rather than just visiting Periwinklepaw. Almost as if summoned, her brother suddenly appears, leaping with an urgency she's scarcely seen from him before. It's probably fully warranted, she realizes, since Weaselclaw and Jasperglare left outside probably look to be in a pretty bad state, especially compared to her and Coyotepaw. "A little scratched up, but I'm okay," she tries to reassure him, once again offering a weak smile. After a moment, she steps forward, gingerly attempting to lean her head against him, both for his sake and for hers. Dimly, she's aware of the continued shouting outside, but quite frankly she'd rather focus on just about anything else right now. Pulling back slightly, Aspenpaw begins to twist around, heeding Dandy's suggestion to start cleaning their wounds. The first sight of her torn flesh gives her pause, but she pushes through and begins to give it slow, methodical licks, just wanting it all to be over with as fatigue begins to set in.
( WE'RE ALL JUST SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING ☾ )
