IF IT BLEEDS - triage

[Starlingheart]

Starlingheart had done all she could for Pitchstar, had begged and pleaded to the stars and it all felt so useless. She felt drained, mentally and physically but her job was not done yet. Her stomach is pitifully empty, and she didn't have the herb stores to keep eating water mint to tamper the pain. Others needed it more, there were always those who needed it more. Her green eyes downcast she brings her small bundle to the center of the clearing. For a moment her gaze finds the fresh-kill pile. Pitifully empty. There should have been the spoils of carrionplace in its place but instead, there was nothing. 'That is an evil place, nothing good ever comes from going there.' she thinks bitterly. It was hard not to think that way after everything that had happened.

Her gaze sweeps across the cats she is sworn to heal and she closes her eyes for a moment. She dreads the moment she would call out, to beckon them all to come to her with their expectations and hopes of healing. She hadn't been able to save Viridianskies, the queen's death haunted her, although realistically there had been nothing she could have done. Star Clan had already claimed her. When she opens her eyes again she vows to do everything in her power to not let them claim another, but sometimes what was written in the stars was not changeable, it was a harsh lesson she was beginning to learn. "I-if if yuh-yuh-you were i-in theeee c-c-carrionplace pa-pa-patrol come come s-s-seeeee me" She calls out weakly, absent-mindedly fiddling with a leaf while she waits.
​

 

[GRANITEPELT]

Granitepaw's cheek stings. His shoulder aches. The ankle on his hind left leg burns when he walks. He finds himself pawing the cut on his face, wincing at the sensation. Will it leave a scar? Will his handsome face be marred indefinitely because of Pitchstar's ratbrained idea?

Ratbrained. Their leader is a fool, will succumb to his wounds if he hasn't already. The rest of them will be lucky to fight off infection rats are known for bestowing with their nasty yellow teeth.

He pads over at Starlingheart's call, his limp obvious. "I'm not as badly off as him, at least," he mutters sourly. "I'm just worried the bites will get nasty."​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

​

 

[Halfshade]

She was going to ignore her bites initially but after grooming and getting her pelt back in order she noted with some annoyance they had begun to itch uncomfortably and it was going to drive her up a wall if it wasn't dealt with so when she heard the small medicine cat's call she was rising to stand from her snowy perch and amble over, slowing as she spotted Granitepaw limp ahead of her and smiling at the sight of him.
"Granitepaw is so skilled to have avoided so many serious afflictions, I look forward to seeing what name Pitchstar might give you as a warrior~!" The bicolor molly mewls in sickeningly sweet delight, stepping around him to stand next to him with her head raised and her tail curled into a neat loop across her back. "Little bird, I've quite a few bites myself and they're itching? I've never been bit by a rat before! Is that normal? Can I ignore them?"
She didn't want to ignore it, she wanted it to go away but Halfshade wasn't going go to making demands or boss about their only healer; Stars forbid she just up and decide to leave too like the last ingrate.
​

 

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

chilledgaze's brain hadn't stopped once since the encounter. they should have went on the patrol, they should have. but they... they were needed back in camp. their tongue clicked against the roof of their mouth, as they slowly paced back and forth, undiscernable expression across their face. they stopped only for a moment at the sound of starlingheart's voice, eyebrows furrowing before they turned and went near them. be useful. they tell themself, before looking at the two. granitepaw and halfshade had been hurt, but not nearly as much as pitchstar. didn't matter. fighting in any capacity was a death wish for these cats.

"no. just get them looked at."

their monotone voice sounds from behind halfshade, and they only pin their ears back. how are they even standing right now? can't they hear how loud it is? it is loud, right? why is it so loud? they twitched their ear, before looking at starlingheart, and then turning away. they'd be here if she needed help, but for now, they couldn't do anything.

​

[ NOBODY ELSE MATTERS, GIRL ]​

 

[Starlingheart]

Starlingheart does not hear the other meaning behind Halfshade's tone, does not see the look she sends to her silver-furred friend while her head is bent to chew up some marigold to help with the infection that would surely be brought about from those disgusting rats. There is something nagging at her as she smears the pulp onto their wounds, something telling her that this is not right but she is not a hundred percent certain what else there is for her to do so she continues, working first on Granitepaw. "You-yoouuu'll you'll ha-ha-haaave to to uh to te-tell me all abou-about i-iit it lay-later" she says to him quietly as she dresses his wounds, covering the marigold with cobwebs. When her work with him is finished she steps back, smiles lightly and turns her attention on Halfshade, who is complaining about an itch.

The smile falls of her face as she thinks, itching was most certainly not a good sign. She is about to tell the split toned warrior that she should probably not itch them but Chilledgaze, who has been sitting silently on the sidelines until now does it for her. She nods her head and adds "M-my uh th-the heeerbs wi-will will uh he-help" she informs her as she goes to work first on the rat bites then the wound on her nose caused by her brother. "Pi-piiitch did thi-this?" She asks quietly, contemplating. Her brother must've been so scared to have lashed out at one of his warriors... "We-we'll ha-haave to to cle-clean this wuh-wuh-one ex-extra good" her muzzle wrinkles in a smile and she laughs quietly at her own joke about her brother's poor hygiene.
​

 

[RIBBITLEAP]

He's the last of the patrol to arrive, paws walking gingerly so as to not aggravate the sting in his back leg further. He'd tried his best to ignore it, to go on about his day, but Ribbitpaw doesn't know if he can stand the annoyance of his wounds much longer. Chilledgaze seems pretty adamant that Halfshade has to get her wounds checked out too, and aggravating the deputy doesn't seem in his best interest.

He limps forward, but waits for Starlingheart to speak with Granitepaw and Halfshade before he speaks. "Sorry," he speaks, knowing he probably should have come over sooner. "The rats got my leg pretty good. It's... I can't really stand on it..? I mean, I can, but... it hurts." It's the worst of his wounds, but he doesn't think he should avoid telling her about the others, if the pain in his leg is this bad.

"Oh, I have... this too," he tells her, glancing down at the more minor bite on his chest.
​

 

[GRANITEPELT]

Granitepaw's body is still as he listens to Halfshade's taunt -- and that's what it is, he knows it as much as he knows anything. "Granitepaw is so skilled to have avoided so many serious afflictions, I look forward to seeing what name Pitchstar might give you as a warrior!"

She had seen him hesitate. She isn't telling anyone that she had seen him hesitate, but that glow in her mismatched eyes, that singsong trill in her voice -- she's holding it over him. Granitepaw stares at her with as much hatred as he can hold in his green eyes. "While the rest of us were fighting rats, Halfshade was fighting Pitchstar," he says, his ear flicking irritably. He wants to say more, so much more, but the two of them are locked into some infuriating game now, and if he doesn't play right...

Chilledgaze seems not to notice, though, looking as distracted as they always do these days. As though they're listening to something to rest of them can't hear. Ribbitleap, with his nasty-looking bite on his leg, comes to get treated too. Granitepaw searches the young warrior's expression, wondering if he'd seen, if he had suspicions...

He lets Starlingheart put the poultice on his cheek, his shoulder, his hind leg, and the sting is immediate but promising. She tells him he'll have to tell her all about it later. "I will. What is this stuff you're putting on the bites?" His voice is flavored with curiosity, more than anything else. Is this something Bonejaw had actually managed to teach her before betraying them and fucking off to RiverClan?​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

​

 

[Starlingheart]

She does not notice the venom in Granitepaw's voice about how Halfshade was fighting Pitchstar, is too busy dressing wounds to see the look of malcontent in his eyes directed at her current patient. She just shrugs it off as his usual bristly self.

Starlingheart finishes treating Halfshade's wounds, cleaning them with moss and covering the marigold pulp with cobwebs to keep it in place and she turns her attention to Ribbitleap who states his leg hurts so bad he cannot walk on it and she frowns. "You-you uh you sh-sh-should stay o-oooofff it fo-for a a bit, at leas-least till i-it he-heals." Her eyes flick to Chilledgaze who stands nearby to make sure he had heard her. No patrols for Ribbitleap until he was better.

Granitepaw asks her what she is using and while she tends to Ribbitleap she answers "F-f-oooor now, thi-thiss is ju-ju-just a uhm a ma-ma-marigoooold pulp, it-it sto-stops the blee-blee-bleeding and helps fi-fight off infection" she tells him, happy that he is taking an interest in her job.
​

 

[RIBBITLEAP]

He pays no mind to Granitepaw's words, pays no mind to the defensive tone in his voice. He clocked the tom's hesitation in battle, clocked his lack of deep wounds compared to the rest of the patrol. But, Ribbitleap has no time for taunts and games right now. No, he needs to get treated, needs to be able to find food for his mother and --

Ribbitleap blinks at Starlingheart's words.

"Stay off of it?" the brown tabby repeats. He... He can't do that! That means... That means one less warrior to go on hunting patrols, one less warrior to attempt to feed the clan with. One less warrior to bring food to Geckoscreech, to keep his mother safe. "Can't you just patch it up? Wrap it in something?" He doesn't know if that's possible, but he is desperate.

What's he going to do, if his mother falters under his time of rest? He won't be able to forgive himself, he thinks.

"Can't you just... give me extra of that marigold stuff?"
​

 

[Halfshade]

"I was doing this thing called prioritizing, Chilledgaze darling, you should consider it at times~" She wasn't so miserable she couldn't function really, if other cats needed it more first she could cope. Her mismatched eyes glanced back at the deputy and she winked playfully in reply to their usually droll and serious tone; an absolute stick in the mud that cat was and somehow made the rest of ShadowClan seem like freespirited kittens. More cats should prioritize their own well-being at times but if they wanted to have a little snitfit in the middle of camp again later then by all means they could build up to it once again! Halfshade had no idea how to respond to such a thing other than offering advice to prevent it but her clan was stubborn and stupid; terrible combination.

"Oh, don't make a fuss over it-I tried to pull him from a pile of rats and he got a bit spooked! He can pay me back for it later, I like blue flowers and white feathers and I won't say no to a nice round frog!" Pitchstar owed her and he knew it, she had a favor to cash in at a later point and she looked forward to doing so. While she would have normally been on Granitepaw's side to just leave the tom and run she had more bigger concerns than personal vendettas. Chilledgaze was not leader material, better the poor leader you knew than the one you didn't.

While sitting patiently and waiting her turn she glances to Ribbitleap, the only other cat who had bothered helping her during the affair and slaps her tail down heavily on the ground next to her in a gesture for the tabby to join her, "You come sit with me and do as you're told, love. No need making yourself worse."

​

 

[leechpaw]

—————————————————————⊰⋅ ✿ ⋅⊱—————————————————————​

Though not having been apart of the patrol herself, Leechpaw wandered over, curiously watching Starlingheart work with wonder and awe in her dark eyes. The entire idea of being a medicine cat fascinated her. Not only did they work with plants and herbs and whatnot, but they also spoke to Starclan, right? A small little thought told her that the healer may have seen her mother amongst those starry cats and she looked tempted to ask such a question, but she resisted. Starclan wasn't exactly a welcomed topic she'd gathered, not given everything that's happened with Shadowclan and so, instead, she took to just watching.

Ribbitleap's words make her glance in the other's direction. He was worried for Geckoscreech..? "I can try and join on extra patrols to help you, if you'd like? Just while you rest," She offers, empathy clear in her soft voice, knowing how it was to care for her own mother and feel helpless due to it. She'd been young then, unable to leave camp, but now... she gives a small, polite smile to Ribbitleap before turning back to Starlingheart, murmuring, "Is there anything you need for help?"
​

—————————————————————⊰⋅ ❀ ⋅⊱—————————————————————​