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Post by maybe on Oct 22, 2011 10:22:03 GMT -5
Bearpaw slid silently through the undergrowth, his dark brown pelt blending seamlessly with the bracken. The sun was barely over the horizon, and the pale, watery light filtered through the sparse tree-cover and sent a pattern of dapples across the tomcat's back. He had woken especially early this morning, wanting to surprise his mentor by going hunting solo. Bearpaw had promised himself that he would catch as much prey as possible for the Clan and be home before sunhigh. So far, he had caught and buried a large pile of fish, and now he was focusing on terrestrial prey, such as the water vole that scuffled among the grass only tail-lengths in front of him. With a mighty spring, he pounced on the vole with outstretched claws, but it was too fast. It fled silently through the grass, leaving Bearpaw growling in frustration.
Then, another growl sounded behind him, and he spun around, his long tail whirling behind him. A large male fox stood in his path, its thin muzzle curled to reveal thorn-sharp teeth, bigger than any teeth he'd ever seen before. Bearpaw's neckfur began to bristle, but he knew that he was no match for a fox, despite being almost old enough to be a warrior. Slowly and carefully, he began to back away, lashing his tail in anger.
But before he could blink an eye, the fox had lunged, and Bearpaw was choking on the rank scent of its fur as the fox landed, snarling, on top of him. The young cat yowled in terror, but battered at the fox's underbelly with his hind paws, scoring his sharp claws through the rough red fur. Bearpaw shrieked in agony as the fox's teeth met in his neck, and he thrashed with all the power of StarClan. I will not let you kill me! StarClan help me! he thought desperately, unable to cry out for help in the midst of such a fierce battle. But if StarClan heard him, they did nothing, and Bearpaw snarled in anger. He gave a great tug and freed his neck fur from the jaws of the fox, springing up and out of the way before the brute could strike again.
With a fearsome growl, the massive fox rushed at him, and Bearpaw turned to flee, yowling at the top of his lungs for help. But then, hot, blinding pain exploded from the base of his spine, and his vision flashed red, then white, and he blacked out, his paws crumpling beneath him like soggy lily stems.
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Post by ♦ stormeh ♦ on Oct 22, 2011 10:33:55 GMT -5
Sharptalon sighed as he padded alongside Frostheart, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, he reluctantly began, "Well.. your mother and I -" A loud yowling cut him off, and he began to bristle in shock. As his eyes locked with Frostheart's for a heartbeat, they both knew who's yowl that was. Bearpaw!
Forstheart and Sharptalon pelted through RiverClan territory, leaping over small bushes and weaving through tall reeds. Suddenly, the rank stench of fox filled the air, and fear struck the two warriors. Finally, as they quickly emerged from the undergrowth, they stopped short in horror. A large fox stood in front of them, and the body of Bearpaw lay unmoving a few ways away.
Frostheart let out a blood-curling battle cry, and flung herself onto the fox. "Frostheart!" Sharptalon bellowed, and he had no choice but to follow his daughter into battle. Snarling in fury, he clamped his jaws down on the fox's leg, making it howl in pain. Suddenly, Frostheart managed to free itself from the fox's hold, and she instead rushed over to Bearpaw while Sharptalon took her place. "Bearpaw! Bearpaw, wake up!" she urged, licking his ear and prodding him in the side in a desperate attempt to wake him.
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Post by maybe on Oct 22, 2011 10:56:06 GMT -5
Bearpaw was only aware of two things. The first, most noticeable sensation was a searing, white hot pain at the base of his tail. It throbbed painfully, sending a wave of agony over the young tom every few heartbeats. The second thing he was aware of was Frostheart's voice. It was faint and distorted; he couldn't make out what she was saying. It sounded like she was yowling at him from the end of a really long tunnel, like the one that lay under the Thunderpath that marked the ShadowClan border. He blinked open his eyes, and a worried gray face loomed above him, the brown eyes sparkling with terror. For a few heartbeats, all he saw was Frostheart's face, but then he began to pick out details, coming fully back to consciousness. This caused the pain in his tail to intensify, and he almost wished he could lose consciousness again, if only to escape the pain.
He was half aware of the sound of screeching and growling, but it seemed like it was too far away to matter. He half wondered what had happened to the fox, but he was too dazed to remember or even care. He focused all his attention on Frostheart's face, determined not to lose consciousness again, however much he wanted to. Even though he was training to be a warrior, he knew that blacking out was dangerous for any cat. He tried to lift his mangled tail to ease it into a more comfortable position, but the tendons and bones were so shattered, that even the slightest movement sent Bearpaw into spasms of agony so intense, he slipped back into the darkness, where the pain was only a dull throb.
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Post by ♦ stormeh ♦ on Oct 22, 2011 11:14:27 GMT -5
Frostheart gasped as Bearpaw lost consciousness once again, and she again tried desperately to wake him up. Meanwhile, the fox began to retreat as Sharptalon swiped an unseathed paw at it's face, and finally, it turned tail and fled. Sharptalon raced after it, hard on it's heels, hissing and snarling the entire way. Frostheart knew that her father would be safe; he was a strong warrior, even if he was growing a bit old.
"Bearpaw, listen to me. Can you stand?" she meowed softly into his ear, trying to get him to listen to her. They were pretty far from camp, and he needed Aspenfrost's help badly. She looked at where the blood was coming from, and she shuddered when she realized Bearpaw's entire tail was ripped off. How could you let this happen? You're his mentor! a voice spat in her head, and she hung her head in shame.
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Post by thunder on Oct 23, 2011 14:39:45 GMT -5
Blackthunder sprang out of a patch of reeds, his silver eyes wide in alarm. He could smell fox everywhere. His blood boiled in his body, and instinctively his claws crept out of his paws. A fox dare come into Riverclan? His mind growled silently. He turned his attention to his clanmates. The two warriors looked to be alright except a few scratches, but the apprentice at their feet looked barely alive. "What happened here?" He demanded in a gruff voice, though as he drew closer to the apprentice, the seriousness of his injuries became even more apparent. "Dont move him," He ordered to Frostheart, "If something is broken or out of place and we move him, he may wind up more injured then he is now." He drew closer to examin the wound on the apprentices neck, "One of you run and fetch the medicine cat. He needs immediate attention." He noticed some moss on a nearby tree. Quickly he stripped it from the wood and pressed it into the scar to stop the bleeding. His eyes narrowed in thought. |
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Post by ♦ stormeh ♦ on Oct 23, 2011 17:38:32 GMT -5
Frostheart jumped in surprise when she heard the deep voice of Blackthunder sound from behind her, and she stepped aside to let him through. "Me and Sharptalon were on a.. patrol, and we heard Bearpaw scream, so we came to rescue him, bt he was already unconcious," she reported quickly, her heart pounding against her chest.
Nodding at Blackthunder's orders, Frostheart whisked around and pelted off toward the direction of camp, determined to find Aspenfrost and help Bearpaw.
***
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Post by thunder on Oct 29, 2011 13:10:40 GMT -5
Blackthunder let out a sigh of relif when the young cat started wailing again, reacting to pain, meant he was very much alive. "You're going to be fine, Bearpaw, Frostheart just went to fetch Aspenfrost, she should be back in a moment." He wished he could do more then just feed the apprentice with words and ideas. He wanted to help. WHere are they? He needs help now! He growled in his head with irritation. They're coming keep your fur on. Hissed a different voice in his head. He relaxed a bit at this thought. Then turned his silver gaze back to the little cat at his feet. "Where does it hurt? Can you tell me what happened?" He was trying to keep the apprentice distracted and talking. Secretly he wondered what had happened when the apprentice had been still and silent. Had he seen starclan? Had he seen nothing? Now was not the right time to ask such questions. Perhaps there never was a right time. For what time would be acceptable for the clan deputy to doubt starclan? Bearpaw's tail looked like it was badly broken, he had a feeling it would never be the same. |
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Post by maybe on Oct 29, 2011 13:25:59 GMT -5
Bearpaw gasped and writhed with pain, ignoring the deputy's strong paw holding him still. His eyes bulged out of his head as he yowled, blind to the world around him. All he sensed was pain. Then, through the haze, Blackthunder's strong voice reached him. What happened?
"Fox," he panted, his voice barely above a whisper. He tried to lift his head to look back at his mangled tail, but all he could see were Blackthunder's strong haunches as the deputy held the moss against the heavily bleeding wound. At the scent of his own blood and the leftover reek of fox, Bearpaw's head swam, the edges of his vision going blurry as unconsciousness threatened to envelop him once more. But he blinked his eyes rapidly, not surrendering to the darkness that edged his vision.
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