Stay with us, Brindlepelt

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Earthfoot followed Specklestar as she led them to the medicine cat den. He could understand the ShadowClan cats' suspicion at the warriors coming to their camp, but he didn't see anything wrong with it. It was the smart thing to do, especially with so few ThunderClan cats. It was best to stick together and defend one another. If ShadowClan wanted to be suspicious, then they could.

He slipped into the medicine cat den and quickly adjusted to the dim light. The strong scent of blood filled his nose and he had no problem finding where she lay in a pool of liquid. His amber eyes narrowed and he immediately became his serious self, as he often did when he was working. "How long has she been like this?" He asked, crouching down near the two warriors already at her side. He sorted through the herbs he brought with one dark brown paw.

It looked like the bleeding had stopped a short while ago. By the amount of blood already spilled on the floor of the den, he realized she was dangerously close to joining StarClan. She was already unconscious and it would be too easy for her spirit to slip away from her body and join her ancestors in Silverpelt. Earthfoot took a few marigold leaves and quickly began chewing them up in preparation. Anxiety welled in his stomach. It would be no cat's fault if Brindlepelt didn't pull through, yet it was his responsibility to do whatever he could to save her.

ooc; Don't you love the title?

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

((Jeeze, I keep writing 'Earthpaw' and having to go back and correct it. What the heck?))

Inside the dim interior of the medicine den, the silence was oppressive. The stone overhang where the den was located was shielded from the rest of camp by clustered reeds and ferns, cocooning the interior in a kind of perpetual muffled twilight. Inside the cloaking shadow of the den, three darkened forms waited quietly. Two were crouching on the earthen floor, breaking the eerie silence with the occasional twitch of a whisker or the flick of an ear. The third figure was lying motionless in a puddle of blood-stained soil. Unlike the other two, this one made no sudden movements. Only the shallow rising and falling of the pale, dappled pelt alluded to the fact that the cat was still alive.

Beside the splayed figure crouched a pale white and cream she-cat, her body rigid with tension. At the sound of pawsteps entering the den her head raised reluctantly, as if fearful that the figure before her would disappear if her vision left it. Her eyes were wide with worry and grief. "Earthfoot?" she mewed slowly, recognizing the ThunderClan medicine cat but not yet understanding his presence in ShadowClan's camp. "She..." Lightfeather's voice broke and she had to clear her throat uncomfortably before continuing. "She fell asleep not long after she returned from patrol," the slender she-cat said uncertainly. "Shortly after the bleeding stopped."

Uneasily, the pale-coloured tabby realized she had no idea how long it had been since then. Every heartbeat seemed a moon to her, but she guessed it wouldn't have been long. Though she hadn't been informed that warriors were leaving to fetch ThunderClan's medicine cat, she had managed to push through her fear and confusion and put the fragmented pieces of what she knew together. Lightfeather turned her golden gaze on Earthfoot with a new intensity and said quickly, "She returned not too long after sunrise, so I think she would have passed out perhaps halfway to midday. Please do what you can to save her, Earthfoot. I'll do whatever I can to help."

[Yoko]

Snaketail was quiet, which was unusual for the tall long-furred tabby. But the stress of the morning was catching up with him. He had been so alert to every noise by now, hoping that it would be the patrol, that now he was left in an exhausted and melancholy state.

The darkness in this den lmeant that he had had to strain his eyes all morning, and now that it was lighter they stung. The reek of blood so filled his nose that he felt dizzy. And now that Brindlepelt had stopped bleeding, he began to fell the blood caking up between his claws.

He heard noises just outside the den and was more relieved than he had ever thought he would be to see the Thunderclan Medicine Cat stroll in. Now that aid had arrived and Lightfeather had offered for help, Snaketail knew he would no longer be needed in here. Afterall, the Medicine Den is only so bg.

"Greetings Earthfoot. I know this is urgent, so I'll leave you to this right away," he dipped his head in thanks. Though he was certainly no fan of Thunderclan, even he knew that this was benevolent treatment for an enemy Clan to give. Why repay them with snarls and petty hisses? "Thank you for doing this. Please take care of our clanmate."

And with that, he brushed past the medicine cat and cast a glance over his shoulder at Lightfeather, his expression sympathetic. If it had been one of his brothers...No....There was no chance of such a thing happening to them.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Earthfoot nodded a quick greeting to the ShadowClan cats, but was too busy to say anything more as he worked. He finished chewing the leaves and spit the pulp out onto his paw. He moved a little closer so he could examine the wounds and rubbed the medicine on one of the worst ones. "This is marigold," He explained to Sagepaw as well as the other cats in the den. "It will help heal the injuries faster and prevent them from getting infected."

He looked up again as the tom warrior went to leave. Earthfoot was glad there would be some more room in the den, yet maybe it would have been best if he stayed to be sure his Clanmate was alright. Oh well. "Actually, there is something you can do." He said to the she-cat he recognized as Lightfeather. "I need you to go to the back of the den and get some fresh moss for Brindlepelt. Make a nest around her so she'll be comfortable. We can't move her right now." Hopefully ShadowClan's medicine cat kept a store of moss. Earthfoot's old mentor had, but he himself hadn't had the time to collect the proper amount for his own den.

He turned back to his work and continued preparing the marigold leaves. It looked like he just had enough to put a thin layer on Brindlepelt's wounds. If she needed any more after that, he would have to find more or go back to ThunderClan to get some from his den.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Sagepaw followed Earthfoot tentatively into the ShadowClan medicine cat den, staring wide-eyed at the enclosure as if it would suddenly swallow him at any moment. The intrigue, posing, and subtleties going on between the two groups of Clan cats outside was forgotten as he delved deeper into the very core of the ShadowClan medicine cat's den. The smells inside were overpowering, somehow seeming much more pungent and menacing than the peaceful herb scents in Earthfoot's den. As the scent of blood and ShadowClan cats reached his nose on top of that, Sagepaw trotted nervously up to his mentor and stuck even more closely to his side. This was a lot to take in on one's first excursion out of camp.

The scene inside the den was grim. Sagepaw had to forcibly make himself continue at the sight of the bloody body lying on the ground, accompanied by ShadowClan warriors. Was the cat already dead? He realized after a few moments that she must still be alive, but it was a terrible shock to see the delicate-looking she-cat in such a state. Somehow he hadn't expected to see this, even though he knew that a medicine cat's job was to heal wounds. He watched gravely from his mentor's side as Earthfoot exchanged a few words with the ShadowClan warriors and went to work on the injured cat. One of the warriors left. The other one gave Earthfoot a respectful nod and slipped deeper into the den to fetch moss. She returned shortly with a large wad of the soft green plant tucked in her jaws, and began gently arranging it around the fallen warrior with loving paws.

Sagepaw continued to regard his mentor's work with sober attention. Did he really want to do this? Did the innocent little apprentice barely out of kithood really want to go into a line of work where his job would be to labour over the sick, the injured, and the dying? It seemed like a lot to ask, especially of such a young cat. But on the other hand, if Sagepaw didn't train as a medicine cat, he would be expected to inflict wounds like this on his Clans enemies, perhaps even one of the cats that he had approached his Clan in peace today. Besides, his role now was merely to watch, and to learn. He could do that for now. And later, eventually, he would be able to find the strength and wisdom to do what his mentor was doing right now. With the guidance of StarClan, he would serve his Clan no matter what challenges stood before him.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Earthfoot looked up once again as Lightfeather returned with the moss. He watched with approval out of the corner of his eye and remained prepared to instruct her on the way to arrange the moss, however he had no need to. When she finished, Earthfoot blinked gratefully at her and applied the next bit of marigold.

He wondered how Sagepaw was doing. The young apprentice was being very quiet and seemed to be watching obediently. No doubt he would be shocked at the sight and grimness of the situation. Earthfoot felt a little guilty from introducing him to this as one of the first experiences of his training, but at the same time, he felt that Sagepaw should know the harsher and gruesome parts of his job along with the 'fun' parts. Collecting and sorting herbs and treating a cough weren't all he had to do; he was also responsible for treating injuries like these and taking care of cats after a battle. He hoped that Sagepaw wouldn't be too put down by this, and would continue to be his apprentice.

Not too long after he had started, he used up all of the marigold he had brought to treat Brindlepelt's wounds. "There isn't much else I can do for now." He said, stretching. "Hopefully she'll pull through. If she wakes up, then she'll likely survive." Of course, there was no telling when she'd wake up, if she did. Earthfoot would bet she would remain unconscious for most of the day. A thought occurred to him: it was the night of the Gathering. It would also be Sagepaw's first Gathering. If Brindlepelt was still in critical condition by then and ShadowClan's medicine cat didn't return, he wouldn't be able to go. But who would take Sagepaw? It wasn't often that a new apprentice's mentor couldn't take them to their first Gathering. Would Sagepaw be upset if Earthfoot went without him? The medicine cat decided not to speak up about his dilemma. He would wait to see what would happen, and decide what to do when the time came.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Tucking a last scrap of moss into the nest on which her sister rested, Lightfeather sat back and looked gratefully at the ThunderClan medicine cat. "Thank you," she mewed softly to him. "I know you did your best... and I have confidence that Brindlepelt will be able to recover because of that." The white she-cat pressed her nose briefly into her sister's dappled fur for a moment before getting to her paws. She looked hesitantly around the medicine den and turned her golden eyes on Earthfoot.

"Would it be alright if I remained here for a while?" she asked respectfully, motioning with her tail to an empty nest beside Brindlepelt's. "I'd like to be here when she wakes up." In the absence of ShadowClan's medicine cat, the pale-coloured warrior treated Earthfoot as if he were ShadowClan's medicine cat, and this was his den. Since medicine cats stood apart from Clan rivalries, it was really more his than anyone else's at the moment in any case.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Earthfoot blinked at Lightfeather, telling her without words that he sympathized with her. He knew how hard it was to lose a sibling. For him, that was back when he was a kit, so the feelings and memories were fuzzy and faded, but he had still gone through the same thing. If StarClan was kind, then Brindlepelt wouldn't suffer the same fate as Birchkit and have to die young.

He dipped his head. "Thank you. I would like you to watch her for a little while anyway. I'm going to go report to Specklestar and my Clan mates, and Brindlepelt should be watched at all times." He had no way of knowing how long he would be here, but he would at least want to stay until ShadowClan's medicine cat returned to take over. He decided he should let the others know as soon as he could what the situation was. Earthfoot turned to exit the den, glancing back at the ShadowClan she-cat to be sure she heard what he said.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Settling into the empty nest beside her sister, Lightfeather gave the ThunderClan medicine cat a polite nod. "Take as long as you like," she mewed quietly, pressing against Brindlepelt to warm her. "I'll come and get you if anything changes." Flicking her tail at Earthfoot, the pale she-cat curled up next to her sister and rested her head lightly on the dappled flank. Though her eyes were closed, she could feel the warmth of her sister's fur and the rise and fall of her flank. If the wounded tortoiseshell stirred in the slightest, Lightfeather would know of it and be alert at once.

-----

Her shoulder throbbed. Her head ached. Her stomach was churning like she'd eaten a bad toad. Brindlepelt wondered, as she gathered the will to open her dark blue eyes, whether it had ever felt this bad to be alive. Exempting the birth of her kits, which she was sure no pain could ever surmount, the dappled she-cat was willing to bet that she'd never felt worse. Eventually she opened her eyes to find herself tucked into a nest in the medicine cat's den. Which was where she would have expected to be, if her brain had been in a state to formulate hypotheses at the moment.

Guessing that the medicine cat would be close by to make sure she recovered alright, Brindlepelt lifted her head to take a look around the dimly-lit space. And immediately dropped it back to the ground when the motion caused her shoulder to burst into flame. Figuratively, of course. She heard movement at her side, and a moment later her sister's face was staring into her own. "Brindlepelt!" the gilded white she-cat mewed with concern in her eyes. "Are you alright?"

Brindlepelt let out a sigh as she realized that her sister had probably been watching over her since she arrived back in camp. How long had that been? Judging from the amount of light coming in from outside, it must be past dusk. "I've felt better," she said quietly, making no effort to raise her head in order to speak. Brindlepelt learned her lessons the first time. "My shoulder feels completely shredded, and my head is a little light. Other than that though, there's hardly anything wrong with me." Concern warred with grim amusement in Lightfeather's golden eyes at her sister's weak joke. Before the pale warrior could fuss even more over her, Bindlepelt raised her voice in a question.

"Where is the medicine cat?" she queried. "I appreciate your diligent watchfulness, but I would expect them to be here fussing over me, rather than a warrior with an apprentice to teach." The wounded tortoiseshell tried to remember if there was somewhere else the medicine cat was supposed to be. Her memory of her time in camp was patchy at best.

"Our medicine cat is still at the Moonstone," Lightfeather reminded her. "Earthfoot came from ThunderClan to treat you. He stepped out for a while to talk to Specklestar."

Ah, that's right. That's what she was forgetting... the ShadowClan medicine cat had left on an important journey, which is why she hadn't been treated sooner. "Of course," she murmured. Brindlepelt closed her eyes again and tried not to think about the pain gnawing at her shoulder. After a moment, she felt her sister's tongue rasping over her head, and focused on feeling solely that sensation. The two sat in the medicine den in complete silence for several moments, saying nothing, because nothing needed to be said. Eventually Brindlepelt fell into a light sleep, and her sister returned to her post to await the return of ThunderClan's medicine cat.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Earthfoot ducked his head to avoid hitting the narrow entrance of the den. He padded into the medicine cat den, the bright moonlight making him appear as a silhouette. Still slightly saddened he would miss the Gathering, he walked slowly to the center of the den.

He heard voices being spoken. The first thing that came to mind was Brindlepelt. Had she woken up? What a miracle that would be! As he got closer, he realized there were two cats speaking. It was surprising she had woken up so soon, but at the same time that was a very good sign. Her injuries must not have been too serious then, and she probably passed out from loss of blood.

When he reached them, Brindlepelt had laid her head down again and it was quiet. Earthfoot stood a tail-length away, not wanting to disturb either of them. "So she woke up." He said, keeping his voice lowered. "That was rather fast. But she seems to be in better condition now."

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Lightfeather watched her sister sleep for a while, thinking about the patrol that had resulted in her sister's injury. Could it have been avoided? She didn't know, and probably never would. It wasn't in Lightfeather's nature to wonder about these kinds of things... that was more her sister's role. The white she-cat simply shrugged and shunted the thought to the back of her mind. It was one of those mysteries that would never be solved. Unlike her ever-thoughtful sister, Lightfeather didn't have a problem with that.

"Earthfoot, you're back," she mewed with relief. "I was beginning to wonder if you had returned to your Clan. Yes, Brindlepelt woke up for a while when you were gone. She was a bit woozy, but other than that she seemed fine." Smiling a bit with relief, Lightfeather tilted her head at the ThunderClan medicine cat and asked him a question. "Do you think she'll recover, Earthfoot? It's a good thing that she woke up, isn't it? She just has to get better..." She shut up, realizing that she was babbling. Oh, she hoped her sister would be alright. Oh Brindlepelt, she thought to herself, what were you thinking?

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Earthfoot continued looking at the hopefully-recovering she-cat. He had no way to know for sure how things would turn out, but it was likely that things might turn out okay. "I think she will." He meowed. She woke up, which is a good thing. Now we just have to wait. She'll still need lots of rest." Earthfoot thought about all the times he had cases like this, where a cat was suffering from a serious injury. Most of the time, from what he remembered, once the cat woke up they recovered afterward. He was just going by experience. He hoped he was right.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Lightfeather breathed a small sigh of relief when Earthfoot made his cautious prediction. She hoped fervently that her sister would indeed recover. Meanwhile, the question lingered. How much danger was she still in? Did she still need critical care? What needed to be done for her now, that Earthfoot should stay behind while the rest of his Clan departed for their own territory? "Earthfoot," she ventured, "how much longer are you planning to stay? Is... is it really necessary for you to remain here over night?" There was a slight pause, and then she continued in a quiet, worried tone. "I thought Brindlepelt was better now."

[:c a i:]

"Earthfoot!" Darkflower hissed, slightly out of breath from her mad rush across camp. She knew her sister would snap at her later for abandoning her to take care of some other cat, but she didn't think she would be able to forgive herself for just leaving Poppyfrost when she was quite evidently having a lot of trouble. She a Clanmate. It was the right thing to do, even if Blackfeather was too cruel to see it.

"Earthfoot, Poppyfrost is kitting. Littlebird is still not here, I need you to help her. It looks like she's having trouble." She carefully kept her tone from becoming either demanding or panicked. "Please." She added, as an afterthougt. He'd better not say no, or she'd have to use a few methods of which only Blackfeather would approve...

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Earthfoot glanced away, his eyes sweeping around the den and his tail brushing against the floor. "I was going to stay until-" He started to answer Lightfeather but was cut off when a warrior rushed into the den. He had no time to think before the she-cat said something about a queen kitting. He didn't recognize the name but within a moment he realized the seriousness of the situation. "Okay, I'll be right there. Lightfeather, you can come with or stay, whatever you wish." Earthfoot scouped up some herbs in his mouth and padded quickly outside, heading for the nursery.