Wounds

[Đarκsong]

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Darksong slowly led Ashpaw into camp, his left flank torn open and his paws covered in blood. In his jaws he carried his only catch of the day; a vole. He dropped in into the fresh-kill pile. The black tom then laid down, his muscles aching. He knew he should go see Arcticpool, but he really didn't want to. To him, it was weak to get help from the medicine cat. He simply laid there and licked at his wounds.

[xradx]

Ashpaw followed Darksong into camp with her mouse and vole in her jaws, she dropped them on the fresh kill pile and then looked at Darksong, waiting to see if he would tell her what to do. When he didn't say anything she decided to go look for Arcticpool, he looked like he need a medicine cat. She ran over to the medicine cat's den and stuck her head in "Arcticpool?" she called, "I think Darksong needs your help!"

[arcticpool]

x| Blinking sleepily, dainty paws sorted through the masses of leaves and berries, pushing away the shriveled or dry particles and putting the rest into the carved cracks. Ears flickered toward the entrance to her den, awaiting any cat that might need assistance. Letting the sunlight warm her alabaster back as it tore through the opening to her den, a form soon blocked the sunlight, announcing a presence. Turning, azul gaze fell upon Ashpaw, and ears flickering to hear her words. Darksong? What had the black warrior got into this time? Nodding her head at Ashpaw, she stood and trotted quickly out of her den. Pupils dilated against the sunlight and she shook her head, paws leading her to Darksong's ebon frame as he lay beside the fresh kill pile. Twitching her tail in annoyance that he didn't seek her out, she quickly approached him. His left flank was tore open, his paws covered in blood, but not his own. Senses quivered as the stench of badger was around him, and glancing him over she sighed.

"You'll need cobwebs and marigold for those wounds, Darksong."

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x| Without waiting for a reply, she turned swiftly on her long limbs, flicking her tail reassuring against Ashpaw's shoulder. Ginger-touched bodice once more entered her den, and digging among the various leaves, she emerged with one paw swathed in cobwebs and her jaws filled with marigold leaves. Giving Darksong a glance, she sat at his side, paw extended to spread the cobwebs against his slices flank, paws gently probing his with unique tenderness despite the new rawness of his wound. Pushing down gently, she dropped her paw and lifted some of the marigold leaves, chewing them gently into her mouth as they seeped into juices. Putting the juices into her fur, she applied the poultice to his wound, ready for him to jerk incase of the faint sting as they put a end to any infection. Applying all the marigold juices, she spit the remaining leaf tatters to the ground- her tail flicking in accomplishment.

"You two reek of badger. I suppose there was one of IvoryClan territory? Best to tall Patchstar soon. You'll not want to use your leg to much Darksong, little action can open it up again. I want you in my den every day for me to apply more herbs. Would you like poppy seeds for the pain? Surely your muscles ache, perhaps some Goldenrod?"


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[Đarκsong]

Ashpaw had called Arcticpool over, much to Darksong's dislike. He sighed at the medicine cat's words, not so much afraid of treatment but not wanting it. I'm tough. I'm not weak! He constantly told himself. Darksong barely even winced as Arcticpool took care of his wounds. He groaned about not being able to use his leg too much. What would he do all day? Make fun of Rainclaw? He chuckled to himself at the thought.

"Yes, we ran into a badger on the west side of the forest. Eventually scared him away..." Darksong said, avoiding mentioning the help from his estranged uncle, "No, nothing for the pain. I'll be fine." Darksong told her stubbornly.

Darksong then turned to his apprentice, "Ashpaw, why don't you go find Patchstar and tell him about the badger?" He suggested to her.

[xradx]

Ashpaw nodded her head, her blue eyes very serious, and then dashed off in search of her leader. She opened her mouth, hoping to scent her leader, but there were so many cats she couldn't tell the difference. Patchstar, where would Patchstar be? Ashpaw thought to herself as she wandered around camp aimlessly for a short minute before brightening up, He would be in the leader's den, duh! She ran quickly over to the leader's den and poked her head in, "Patchstar, it's Ashpaw!" she called in, "I have somethine important to tell you!" She sat down to wait for a response, her eyes gleaming at the thought that she has something important to tell the clan leader.

[♫.Starredmyst]

Patchstar was, indeed, in his den; his eyes were half-closed and he was lying on his side, staring at the wall. Shadows played against the earth; if he squinted just so, they almost seemed to make a familiar shape...

Patchstar...

"Wha --" The tom came to full alertness with a start; eyes wide, he leapt to his paws and shook bits of moss from his fur. "Who's there --"

He could have sworn he'd heard someone laughing, as if at a distance. But then he blinked and the shadows were gone; it was not the deep familiar voice of a cat long dead that he was hearing, but the high-pitched one of a young apprentice.

"Patchstar, it's Ashpaw! I have something important to tell you!"

"Oh -- uh." Quickly, as the young apprentice arrived at the den, Patchstar sat down and tried to regain his wits. "Ashpaw. Of course." He didn't recognize the name, but it didn't matter for the moment; Moonwhisker or Starredmyst could refresh his memory if it became important. "What is it?"

[xradx]

Ashpaw looked up at her leader, now that he was actually sitting in front of her she felt nervous, she was talking to the clan leader! Just talk to him like you would any other cat, she told herself. "Well," she began, "Today Darksong took me out for my first hunt. We were out in the forest hunting, and I caught a mouse and a vole on my first day!" She paused for a moment, hoping her leader was impressed with her skills, then continued, "And then this huge thing, just came out of the trees and attacked us! It was really scary, and it smelled really bad! But Darksong fought with it for a bit and then-" she paused as she realized she had almost told Patchstar about Secret, But Darksong said not to tell, so just say Darksong fought it off by himself, Ashpaw reminded herself. "And then Darksong scared it away, except he got hurt- oh and he said it was a badger, so you should probably send out a patrol to make sure it's gone, right?" Ashpaw realized too late that it probably wasn't an apprentice's job to give advice to a leader, but it was too late now. She looked up Patchstar, slightly out of breath and with wide eyes, waiting to see how he would respond.

[♫.Starredmyst]

Most names didn't ring a bell in Patchstar's head. Some did, and the one Ashpaw was mentioned was one of them. Brushing off the obvious hope for praise, he studied the she-cat with new interest.

"Darksong," the black-and-white tom echoed, eyes narrowed. "And a badger. I see. Scared it off, did he?"

There was a hint of a scoff in his voice, but clearly Patchstar assumed Ashpaw was too young to catch the nuance; heaving himself to his feet, the leader padded toward the exit.

"Go on, then," he added with a touch of impatience, glancing at Ashpaw as if she'd been sitting around for hours, "don't hang around. I'll let Moonwhisker know, she'll organize a patrol immediately. I'm hard-put to believe a lone warrior and his apprentice could frighten off a badger on their own, especially --" abruptly the tom stopped and blinked, changing his words for the sake of politeness, "-- if it was as frightening as you say."

[xradx]

Ashpaw glanced uneasily up at Patchstar, wondering if he had guessed that Darksong had not fought off the badger by himself, But how would he know if I hadn't told him? she thought, I mean, he's a leader, but he can't read minds! So she did as Patchstar had instructed her and raced back over to Darksong and Arcticpool. "I told Patchstar about the badger, and he said he would send Moonwhisker out with a patrol to make sure the badger was gone." she paused for a moment, she was about to say something else, to tell Darksong and Arcticpool that she didn't like Patchstar, and she didn't like the uneasy feeling, but then she thought better of it and looked at Darksong to make sure there wasn't anything else she needed to do. He's my leader, I can't just go around telling people I don't like him, she scolded herself for even thinking about telling two other cats that she didn't like her own leader, besides, he just wants the best for the clan, like any leader would, right?

[Đarκsong]

Darksong nodded at what Ashpaw reported to him, expecting that Patchstar would do that. He then instructed her, "Go bring some fresh-kill to Longwhisker and see if she needs anything. Then you can rest." He felt that was fair. Darksong did wonder what Ashpaw was suppose to do while he couldn't leave camp. I'll make Mothflight take her or something....it won't be for long. He thought, pretty sure his recovery time would be short.

[xradx]

Ashpaw nodded and then bounced over to the fresh kill pile to find a tasty piece of prey for Longwhisker. She looked at the pile, sniffing all the prey, and finally decided on the vole she had caught earlier to give to Longwhisker. She bounded over to the elders den and poked her head in "Longwhisker! I have a delicous vole for you!"She padded into the den before Longwhisker had a chance to reply and dropped the vole in front of her. Then she looked at Longwhisker for a moment, "Want to hear a great story while you eat your vole?" she asked, hoping to tell the story of her first day of hunting once more.

Lonwhisker had been resting in her den when she heard the apprentice come in, she was about to tell her that it was rude to just barge in to someone else's den like that, but before she could the apprentice began asking her if she wanted to hear a story. What do I look like, some nursury kit? She must be an idiot! "No, as a matter of fact I have no interest what so ever in your 'story.'"

Ashpaw simply pretended not to hear her, "Well, this morning was my first day of hunting right? So Darksong and I went out to find some mice and voles and such, and guess what?"

Longwhisker sighed, it looked like she wasn't going to get out of this story, "You got eaten by a fox?" she guessed sarcastically, but Ashpaw didn't take the hint.

"No silly!" said Ashpaw, "I caught a mouse and a vole, in fact I caught that vole you are eating right now!" Ashpaw couldn't help boasting, she was extremely proud of her catch for the day.

"What is your name again?" asked Longwhisker in a voice that to the young apprentice, sounded as if she actually cared. Of course she didn't, but Ashpaw didn't know that.

"Oh, my name is Ashpaw!" Ashpaw told the elder, "But before I know it I'll have my warrior name!"

"Oh that sounds great Ashpaw, but right now could you do me a favor? Could you shut up!"

Ashpaw giggled as if it were a joke, "I wonder why everyone says you're grumpy, you seem nice to me!" The young she-cat then carried on with her story, "And then, out of nowhere, this huge monster thing just appeared out of the forest, and it was growling and it attacked us!" Ashpaw pause for dramatic affect before continuing, "And Darksong and I fought it off together and we scared it away and it was awesome!" Of course Ashpaw hadn't really done anything that even resembled fighting, but Longwhisker didn't know that. "So what do you think?" asked Ashpaw curiosly.

"I think it's time for you to go back to your fluffy little apprentice's den and play with your imaginary fluffy friends" replied Longwhisker, losing her patience with this apprentice.

Ashpaw just sighed, "well I'm gonna go get something to eat now, bye!" And with that she was gone, leaving Longwhisker in peace.

[☆§wìftflame☆]

Swiftflame padded gently towards the fresh-kill pile, selected a rat, and sat down next to Ashpaw. She blinked in a friendly manner at her. Swiftflame did not know Ashpaw too well, but was always open to making new friends.
"Hey, Ashpaw. I was talking to Rippedheart, and he tells me that you brought back a mouse and a vole on your very first hunt! It sounds like you have the potential to be a great hunter. How'd you like to come with Moonwhisker and I for a hunting patrol?"

[xradx]

Ashpaw looked up as the older warrior approached and listened intently as she spoke. She had been expecting some sort of order, but instead Swiftflames comment was kinder, as if she wanted to be friends. Ashpaw used a similair friendly tone as she replied to Swiftflame's words, "Thank-you Swiftflame, and I would love to go hunting with you and Moonwhisker!"

For a moment Ashpaw let herself sink deep into a state of bliss. Other than the badger attack today had been a great day. She had caught her first two pieces of prey, she had talked to her leader, she had met the grumpy but all the same interesting elder, Longwhisker, and now she was being praised by a warrior she barely knew. Her eyes glittered with joy, as if they reflected her deepest thoughts and the image of her very soul.

But then she brought herself to reality and became serious again, "Can we wait a few minutes to go?" she asked Swiftfalme, "I would like to finish my mouse if that's okay with you!" she gestured with her tail to wards the plump, furry creature that she had barely touched. Without waiting for a response she took a bite out of the tiny creature, chewing slowly to enjoy the sweet flavor of prey she had caught herself.

[arcticpool]

x| Watching everything with silent azul eyes, she nodded to herself as her work was completed. Standing to lithe ginger limbs, she trotted silently to her den, her stream-line frame seemingly unnoticed in the crowd. She obviously didn't expect Darksong to follow her orders. He would surely leave camp. It didn't bother her. His wounds wasn't that vile. As long as herbs were applied everyday to stop infection it would heal in the estimated length of three days if he did not open it. Sighing lightly ginger-tipped tail gave a small twitch, as if a queen would at her kit's endless energy and naivety. Pulling forth the thought, she remembered she had meant to visit Snowdrift and the kits today. Grumbling to herself, she disappeared into the shadows of her den to wash aways the herb's oils.

-exit Arcticpool-

[☆§wìftflame☆]

Allowing Ashpaw time to finish her prey, Swiftflame padded toward Moonwhisker's den and softly called out to her, notifying her of the addition to the patrol, and well as their momentary departure. She gave Moonwhisker a friendly blink, and then moved purposefully toward the camp entrance. As the undergrowth flattened beneath her paws, she felt the bright sunlight which filtered through the trees warm her back. The prey would be running well today, so she hoped to bring back something extra for Arcticpool. She had seemed agitated lately, perhaps due to Darksong's attitude. Perhaps a particularly juicy vole would calm Articpool's nerves.
"Come on you slowpokes, we don't have all day!" Swiftflame called teasingly behind her.
As the flame-colored cat lifted her muzzle into the breeze, the strong scent of vole washed over her scent glands. Swiftflame's mouth watered at the thought of the chase, and she glanced behind her in search of the two other cats.