THEY SAY IT GETS BETTER - return to camp

[Starlingheart]

The creature's face looms in Starlingpaw's thoughts the entire painful and slow hobble home. She leans on the apprentice next to her, relying on him for support if he would allow it. She wouldn't forget anytime soon how he had bravely lunged for that strange animal, the frightened look in his eyes as he flashed his claws at it knowing that he could never win. He had saved her. He could've turned tail and run but he had instead chosen to help. She had a newfound appreciation for Granitepaw.

Blood still drips from the deep gouges in her right hind leg, painting the ground red as she stands at the entrance to the camp. Her face is scrunched up with pain and tears pool in her eyes but she refuses to allow them to spill. They had gone because Starlingpaw had wanted to help the clan, she had wanted to be a hero and instead, she had almost gotten herself and Granitepaw killed. She felt foolish. She had overheard warriors talking about how hard this leaf-bare would be for everyone, how hard it was every year and she thought that just maybe she could do something about it. She was only one cat though, only a child still. She and Granitepaw both had bitten off more than they could chew.

"So-so-some-some-someone p-p-pl-please.." she calls out quietly, her voice dying in her throat. She wants someone to get her aunt, to get Bonejaw. She had refused to help that queen though, what if she refused to help her? Terror blocks her words from forming. What if she died because her aunt didn't want to heal anymore? She looks around the clearing with wild green eyes, sinking to her stomach in a small pool of her own blood, sticky and warm. She couldn't stand anymore, between the pain and the terror that was making her shake she wasn't strong enough.

// @GRANITEPAW anyone can post before him though!
thread takes place after this one​

 

[Frostbite]

The scent of blood filled his nostrils and his eyes opened to see the scene before him. He sprung to his feet and rushed over on clumsy paws.

"What happened- "

No, that's not important, she needs help-

But who? Bonejaw said she wasn't healing anymore.... He knew the basics somewhat, he knew cobwebs we're for bleeding, but he didn't know how to apply it the way it was supposed to be.

The pool of blood around Starlingpaw made him panic. He had no choice. He had to call for Bonejaw.

" Let me get Bonejaw, hold on-"

The ice that he encased himself in shattered when loved ones were in danger. He couldn't stand seeing them hurt.

He ran to the medicine cats den and shouted. "Bonejaw! Starlingpaw needs help, she's bleeding!" His voice was dripping with worry. Was she got ng to help? Would Starlingpaw be okay? He was so, uncharacteristically worried.

At least, uncharacteristically to others. He always had a calm composure, but it was shattered now.

((@BONEJAW tagging u because he's yellin in ur house))


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[FOGTHIEF]

Fogpaw is lounging outside of the medicine den when a shouting voice cuts into his sleepy placidity. In his dream, for a brief moment, Frostbite's voice becomes his own and he feels a moment of elation. The tom blinks back into the lucid world suddenly, focusing in on Frostbite and trying to understand what he's saying. Starlingpaw... bleeding... His brown eyes widen and he scrambles up, moving with haste despite not knowing where to. It's revealed to him soon enough by the sudden sting of blood against his nostrils and he appears like a startled owl before the young shecat. They don't know each other so well but Bonejaw told him that family is important, even if no one here is his 'real' family.

Unable to offer any comforting words or to tell her that mother really is on the way, Fogpaw can only offer an apologetic expression before aiming to press a paw down to try to stifle her bleeding wherever he can. She's lying in her own blood, surely losing more would be bad news. He can only wonder what did this to her as he examines the toothy wound and tries to find any scent for clue. Fruitless in his endeavor, he looks about for anyone else who might have caught the same trouble.​

 

[Halfshade]

Copper scented death, spilled the streets, coated her nightmares; Halfshade jerks upward from her lucid daydreaming to realize the stench is real and prominent and so vibrantly red. The bicolor molly is on her paws, sleek and swift form moving forward like a minnow darting through harsh current and tall reeds and she stops to stand alongside Fogpaw, watching the little tom's paws move and press and it takes her a moment to realize what he is doing; she had had to do similar before, the simplest gesture of care a cat with no skill could offer; comforting weight-the press willing blood back into the body. Pushing against a current was an arduous task alone so she say down alongside him to raise her own paws as well and gentle but firmly lay pressure where she could alongside Fogpaw's own much smaller limbs.
"Oh Starlingpaw, darling-it'll be alright..." The sun and moon rise, her mismatched eyes flit upward to Frostbite moving across the camp and hollering for their medicine cat with more energy and concern than she had seen wrought across the tom's usually stoic face before; perhaps he was not quite the bore she thought of him. Shaking her head she drew her focus back to the slim little she-cat wounded beneath their looming forms and she thought that keeping her talking might be best; sleeping with such injuries would surely be a poor idea. "Tell me little bird, do you have a favorite color?"

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[BONERIPPLE]

The yelling and quickly moving paws told her a lot already. Her name shouted from the heaven's with a need made her rise up quickly from her newly crafted nest in the medicine cat den. Her eyes wide as she smells the rush of blood that fills camp. And who it belongs to, her niece. Her pelt bristles with unease and she is reminded of all those cats she tried to help and save. Those she abandoned and left to die. It buzzes like a shock through her senses and she forces herself to breath in and breath out. This is what Starclan wants. This what they want. Her gaze locks on Frostbite and she almost snaps. "Go help Fogpaw, I'll be there in a moment." With that she twists back into her den. What she has is meager. Herbs dead and broken littering the floor from when she destroyed them.

But what she has now can help save a life right now. So she grabs them, pulling things across the den in her rush as she makes her way towards the scene. There is anger boiling in her and she snaps to those around her. "What happened? How did this happen?" Her maw drops the cobwebs then and she gently attemptd to move Fogpaw and Halfshade aside to place the webbing on the wound. It'll help stop the bleeding and she quickly moves to the apprentice, huffing. "Here, take this for your pain, Starlingpaw. It'll make you feel better." A single poppy seed is placed for the apprentice. Just once Starclan will allow her to save someone.​

 

[GRANITEPELT]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

Granitepaw walks calmly, unharmed, behind Starlingpaw, who enters camp limping and bleeding. His eyes are shrewd, narrowed, glowing with anger at himself, at her, for causing mischief when they'd genuinely only wanted to feed the Clan. He is only glad he made it out without any blemishes -- Starlingpaw's hind leg looks bad, and though they'd fought like warriors to drive the creature away, Granitepaw could only assume its bite was nasty.

"Starlingpaw was brave," he tells those gathered, looking Bonejaw square in her fire-colored eyes. He gives the black-and-white apprentice a frustrated look. If only he'd been quicker. "We were trying to hunt for the Clan, and Starlingpaw got attacked by some... some hideous rat with a white face." He wrinkles his nose. "We tried. She's been so brave."

He can see the fear in her eyes, the scent of blood causing his stomach to clench. Through his anger and the scrutiny of their Clanmates, Granitepaw leans over to give Starlingpaw a comforting lick on her ear. He stands guardedly beside her.

- ,,​

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[Tornadopaw]

If you don't like me, that's your problem

The smell of blood causes the black smoke to pop her head up and snap her gaze across the way. Starlingpaw was injured, hunkering down in a light pool of her own blood as clanmates rushed to her side. Worry stirred within her belly as she stood to her paws, loping to the apprentice's side though she kept her distance to stay out of Bonejaw's way. "Will she be okay Bonejaw?" Tornadokit ask the dual toned molly be fore glancing back down to Starlingpaw's teary face with a frown. The gentle apprentice was there for her when she needed comfort after being teased, perhaps she could return the favor. Quietly Tornado comes to nestle up by Starlingpaw before turning to glance at Granitepaw. "A possum?" She mutters after hearing his description of the animal they fought. "My papa had to fight one of those things off one time when it was chasing us."​

When I let it bother me, that's my problem​

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[Frostbite]

Frostbite bolted back to the scene. He was less frantic now that so many were helping, but he still had knots in his stomach.

"A possum.." he repeated. One of those screamed at him once.

He made use of his big paws and helped put pressure on the wound.

He hoped it wasn't too late. He was going to hunt that trash goblin down and make it pay. Could they eat it? He wasn't sure, actually. That was a question for later.

"Starlingpaw, are you still awake?" He asked.
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[smogstar]

The sharp twang of blood imbued the air, and the noise of urgent footfalls sounded from beyond the warrior's den. Smogmaw pokes his head out from the den's shrubbery to discover the unfolding scene, and while he did not see much through the growing throng of his clanmates, something was evidently very wrong.

Shortly after emerging from the den, he advances towards the crowd on wary steps. About two fox-lengths away from the developing situation, he saw Starlingpaw keeled over in a well of her own blood. Poor thing looked as though she had one foot in the grave. Having missed the dialogue up until that point, he could only wonder what manner of creature had wrought this manner of torment unto her.

Bonejaw, Fogthief, and Halfshade tended to the apprentice's wounds, whilst Granitepaw and a few others appeared to be establishing what had gone on. There was not much for Smogmaw to do at this moment, except watch on in novelty.​

[ AND THE BASTARD WALKS BY ]​

 

[Starlingheart]

So many cats around her, they’re all fuzzy, all their voices sound like static, like paw steps muffled by snow. She watches them with half-lidded eyes. Why was she so tired all of a sudden? She felt sluggish, like she was wading through mud. Distantly, she thinks she hears Frostbite saying that he would go fetch Bonejaw, her aunt. No… she wants to say but the words don’t come out. Don’t bother her. She doesn’t want to annoy her. She’ll be okay.

Cats are touching her now, putting pressure on her wound that bleeds openly into the ground. The bleeding slows but still she is tired. She wants to curl up into her nest and take a nap. Her green eyes find Halfshade as she speaks to her with concerned words. She tells her it’ll be alright and she nods along “i-it-it hu-h-h-hurts” she tells the she cat quietly “o-or-o-or my fa-fav-fav-fav-favorite co-c-c-co-color is o-or-or-orange” she spits out, trying to ignore how much blood she has lost, the worried looks in all the adults eyes. It scared her, fear gripping her heart with icy claws melted only by Granitepaws comforting lick on the top of her head she subconsciously leans closer to him. He had saved her. She wouldn’t soon forget it.

Her eyes dart to her aunt as she appears, relief flooding her bones. Bonejaw would take care of her, she wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. She couldn’t right? She knows her aunt can’t save everyone but she was her niece. She would certainly try when it was her right? She lets Granitepaw explain everything with a grateful look. Speaking was difficult when she was afraid.

Tornadokit says that the creature who had attacked them was a possum and Starlingpaw shudders. She never wanted to see one of those disgusting creatures again. She hopes that Tornadokit hadn’t run into one before. Another voice speaks asking if she is awake and sluggishly, she nods her head. She is, although she wishes she wasn’t. She feels as if she could sleep for a moon. ​

 

[Halfshade]

"Orange! Beautiful, an excellent choice." She does not like this, does not like seeing blood pooling around such a small cat, such a little thing; Starlingpaw's flesh was as soft as her heart, easily torn and she worried fretfully as she glanced in Bonejaw's direction. She has given her some kind of tiny seeds, Halfshade's curiousity peeks and she considers asking what they are but instead she decides against it and returns her focus to the whimpering apprentice. Granitepaw is saying something about a hairless creature, Tornadokit identifies it as a Possum. She's never seen one of those before, but she's heard of them! Dreadful things with mean bites, they often knocked over trashcans in two-leg place; so she was told but the queen never milled about the riffraff often enough to see such things. A trophy had to be displayed in a case, after all, less it be damaged. The torbie's nose wrinkles faintly at the memory so she decided to stop dwelling. "Sunset orange, deep copper-tinted and pink skies! You know I saw a butterfly once that was orange-had little black spots like a cat's nose on its back!" The bicolor molly offers distraction in her prattling, paws nearby to assist but otherwise she is carefully inclinging herself out of the Medicine Cat's way, "Can you guess my favorite color, little bird? You might be surprised~" Sometimes she dreams of storms, billowing and dangerous on the edge of the horizon and threatening to bare their fangs at any moment; water hardly seemed threatening until it clashed with the wind and sent funnels of force and debris dancing around you in a frenzy. She wished she could lay waste to the land like a storm at times, dirty her pretty little paws.


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[PITCHSTAR]

pitchstar all but shoves his way through the crowd. paws slip on blood, his sister's blood. his poor, sweet baby sister; bleeding out onto the camp's floor. a wave of nausea crashes over him, and his hollow stomach threatens to heave up bile. (he thinks the only thing that saves him from retching is the meals he's skipped.) "starling, please, don't close your eyes," panicked yet hushed are his words, forcing himself to starlingpaw's side. willing her to not leave him. to stay here, beside him as he curls around her. he cannot lose more family.

he blames thunderclan, first. or perhaps even windclan, breaking their alliance once more to spill the blood of pitchstar's kin. he is ready to march back to those forsaken lands a second time this moon, to punish the perpetrators himself for laying a claw on his little sister. on a child. an eye for a fuckin' eye. but granitepaw offers an explanation that contradicts pitchstar's hasty assumptions.

an opossum. pitchstar has only seen one, once, on the outskirts of the carrionplace. illuminated by the moon overhead. it hadn't bothered him, too busy rooting through the shiny black pelts littering the carrionplace. but starlingpaw is so tiny, so frail, an easy target.

"where did it go." it isn't a question, but rather a demand, fixating twin embers on granitepaw. he'll hunt down that monster and kill it himself. he'll make sure that it never hurts his baby sister again. and by tomorrow morning, he'll have a new pelt to line his nest with.​

 

[GRANITEPELT]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

The one cat in the Clan besides Bonejaw who Granitepaw despises -- well, and Starlingpaw's arrogant sister -- shoves his way through their Clanmates, orange eyes boring into Granitepaw as though he held answers to his ridiculous questions. The gray tom meets his glare, incredulous. Where did it go? How the hell was he supposed to know where it went? His mentor is dumber than half-eaten tadpoles, but Granitepaw snorts and decides to reply.

"We didn't stick around to watch where it went. Starlingpaw was hurt." He gives all the warriors and Tornadokit an impassive stare. "It probably went back into whatever rubbish pile it crawled out of." He presses himself close to Starlingpaw, hoping Halfshade's strangeness is enough to distract her while the bleeding is staunch and the wound is being tended to.

He presses his muzzle against her cheek for a brief moment of comfort.

- ,,​

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