private Mercy, are you still with me? ƚƚ Orangepaw

Houndshade

Lowering your expectations
May 26, 2024
60
4
8
YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE THE MAN



When she sleeps she sometimes dreams about Orangepaw falling out of that tree, the blur of orange that was his body as he fell. The adrenalin that spiked as she recalled vividly trying to get up from her branch to save him. The crunch and snap of bones as they fail to do so, it echoes sometimes when she wakes up. Heart racing from leftover adrenalin whenever she woke up, for the first day she would be rather jumpy since the sound of a twig crunching would sound too much like a bone for her liking. Despite this, they avoided the medicine den, too wracked with guilt over the thought that her laziness had prevented her from truly being able to help Orangepaw. Would she have been able to help if she was climbing that tree in that makeshift race with him and Fallowpaw? Probably not, if anything they would have been further away. Yet she can’t help but beat herself up over it, it’s too easy to fall into that trap of self loathing and guilt.

They can’t live like that forever though, guilt didn’t look good clinging to her fur. So they decided that today they would do something about it. Actually speak with the other apprentice, just to check on him and make sure that he was fine. As fine as someone could really be in this situation. They will themself to relax, be as nonchalant as they usually are as she enters the medicine cat den, seeking out a familiar orange pelt. “Orangepaw, hey” she breathed out as she saw him, moving to sit down next to his nest. Not wanting the tom to have to move from his spot, would he even be able to do that? She glances at his leg, just to make sure that the worst hadn’t happened and Gentlestorm had to have amputated it or something drastic like that.

They don’t hide the relief that flashes as she sees that his leg is in fact still there. “Are you bored being in here yet?” It was as close to an 'are you okay?' as Houndpaw was willing to get right now. Wanting to test the waters of how he would react to any concern, maybe he was tired of being asked how he was. Has anyone asked how he was? He didn’t have any family here right? Maybe he had friends who checked in on him though, or at least one of the other residents here right now had asked. As she stares at him, trying to assess how he would react she notices just how.. Ragged, he looked. Fur sticking out in odd places in areas that he obviously couldn’t reach with restricted mobility. She shuffles around as they debate offering help, she wasn’t the biggest fan of offering to help others with their problems especially if there wasn’t really anything for her in return. That wasn’t entirely true here though, maybe in return she would finally stop feeling guilty? A good deed. “Would you want help with grooming by the way? I thought it would be nice to do that and... talk? I got nothing going on today so if you’re not too busy” She chuckled at the end of her statement, what would he even be busy with right now?



I THINK, THEREFORE, I AM
 
  • Like
Reactions: ORANGEPAW.