Blood, So Much Blood...

[Shadepelt]

Searing pain burned up Shadepelt's leg, and she could bear it no longer. With a horrible, un-natural scream of pain, she she-cat hobbled as fast as her crippled legs could let her over through the center of camp. When she reached the Medicine Cat's den, her long limbs collapsed beneath her. With short, rough, ragged breaths, she yowled out, as loud as her weary body would let her.
"Marbleface!" The effort of speaking sent a spasm of pain down her shaking body.
"Thade and I... racing... the cliff. I fell, and Thade caught me by the muzzle. Please, so much blood..." As she finished her sentence, things began to get darker, and Shadepelt panicked,
"Marbleface! Help!"

Everything was dark, and the young she-cat could only hear the echos of the WindClan cats. In her mind's eye, she saw it again, the cliff. She felt the strength in her fore-legs disintegrating, and she felt Thade's supporting claws snatch her away from death's grip. Wanting to see if Thade was alright, Shadpelt tried again and again to wake herself, and finally succeeded, or so she thought. Her head whipped up, and she was still by the Medicine Cat's den. Her eyes were blazing blue orbs, and she yowled out again,
"Marbleface! We need help NOW!"
Where is he?
Looking all around her, Shadepelt saw no cat. Lifting her long legs up under herself, Shadepelt braced for the pain, but it didn't come. Eyes wide in amazment, the black she-cat began to run, while the dream still lasted. Stopping with a lurch, Shadepelt felt hot tears spring into her blue eyes. A young queen stood before her, eyes flooding with love.
"Mother!" With a leap and a hop, the she-cat full out ran towards her mother. As she tryed to lick her cheek, the queen disappeared, leaving a pool of blood behind. Cautiously, Shadepelt looked into the scarlet blood, and saw what she had never hoped to see in her life. Before her, was her mother, laying down in the nursery, hot with sweat. Beside her mother sat her father, mewing encouragments to the queen. With a jolt, Shadepelt saw herself, as Shadekit. Eyes flicking back to the image of her mother, she choked as she saw the queen was not moving. Dead.
With another scream, Shadepelt began to run again, away from all pain she had ever felt. Hot tears blinded her as the wind sent them back into her eyes. Long, black limbs pumping pure energy over the windswept praries of WindClan territory, where she passed the cliff, but kept on running. With never tiring strength, Shadepelt kept running, she wasn't going to stop. Well, until someone woke her, then she would return to reality, to the world of pain that awaited her.

[Fernpaw]

((Omigosh! Me lurve your thread!))

Thade followed close behind the she-cat. Fur dripping with sweat and blood, eyes glazed in pain. His hind paw was now completely useless, and he had to hop-skip in order to keep his balance. Feverish eyes searched the den, looking for help.

Suddenly, ahead of him he saw Shadepelt sink soundlessly to the floor. The lithe tom limped heavily over to the black she-cat, amber eyes worried. Thade looked into the she-cat's face, realizing that she was far away.

Far away . . . A part of Thade envied her. He wanted to be with her, running again with no pain. The other part panicked. Words poured from his dry throat, rasping like sandpaper, "Shadepelt? Shadepelt!" He nudged her face with his muzzle, frantically trying to bring her back to reality, possibly to life. "Don't die on me now!" he hissed, rasping a rough tongue over her cheek. No movement. Thade locked his jaws in a soundless snarl, frustration boiling inside of him. His own pain completely forgotten, Thade concentrated on waking his first, and possibly last friend. An idea sprang into his mind.

Thade turned his back on the she-cat and gritted his teeth. Supporting himself on his front paws, he brought his powerful hindquarters---including his now useless one---up to his belly. Bracing his shoulders, he slammed his paws into Shadepelt's sleek back. He knew that he wouldn't damage her, he'd just jolt her painfully back into the world. Once his paws made contact with her back, pain was immediate and overwhelming. Thade staggered, his hindquarters sagging. They could no longer manage to support his weight. He sank limply to the floor.

[Shadepelt]

((Thankies! I love your reply! I'm going to send a pm to Marbleface, asking them to come.))

Running, running, Shadepelt wasn't planning to stop if she had too. There were some cats that needed her, and some she needed. A loud rumble from the sky caught her attention, a storm was gathering. Fast. The she-cat set her jaw into a determinded frown, she wanted to out-run it. No chance. As fast as the storm had gathered, it burst. A deafening roar of thunder rattled the earth, and a fork of lightning rushed down from the clouds above. With a deadly amount of pain, the lightning jolted her back, sending an electrifying pain to all over her bloody mess of a body.

Suddenly, all sound ceased, and time seemed to slow. Am I dying? The question hung limply in her mind. She wasn't ready to go yet. A friend had just been made, she hadn't even shared prey with him yet! NO! Shadepelt's furious yowl broke the silence, and she started propelling her paws forward, running away from the heavens of StarClan. A clear wall appeared infront of her, showing an image of what she looked like in the real world right now. Peering carefully into the glass-like wall, she saw herself, a bloodly mass on the ground. She saw Thade, laying on the ground, drained of energy. Furrowing her brow, she leaped into the wall, and out of her dreams.

Blue orbs of fear, and pain whipped open, Shadepelt's eyes were a sight to see when she was in this state. Not even bearing enough strength to life her head, she painfully rolled over to face Thade.
"Thade? Thade!? Thanks for waking me, if you hadn't I might have..." the black she-cat banished the thought from her head.
"Thank you for being my first real friend. If you or I don't live through this, I don't know what I'd do. I'll try and find Marbleface."
Making a move over to Thade and giving him one lick on his cheek cost Shadepelt terrible pain. But she knew, she had to do it.
Caterwaling out for all the world to hear, Shadepelt made herself as loud as possible,
"Someone! Find us a Medicine Cat! Please!"
Just then, an unwanted thought tunneled itself into the black warrior's mind, What if one of us dosn't make it?

[Fernpaw]

Thade tried to grin, but the results turned into a ghastly grimace. His breath heaved, an iron band crushing his lungs and prohibiting deep breaths. He body twitched, and he writhed in pain. Spasms ran through his body as he opened a dry mouth. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, as he struggled to say a sentence. Finally, he gasped out, "It's all right." He winced as Shadepelt yowled for help. He shook his head slightly, trying to banish the ringing from his ears. He felt himself slowly sliding into unconsciousness. He had to make one last effort to speak, possibly before he died.

Thade whispered hoarsely, "You know why I saved you? You reminded me of Kola." He knew that Shadepelt had no idea who Kola was, and he didn't have the strength or time to tell her. As his eyes glazed over, he whispered, "Kola." Then he sank into peaceful unconsciousness.

[Shadepelt]

((NO! Thade better not die! Me sad *cries*. Marbleface, yoo hoo?))

"Marbleface, please, where are you?"
Tears now choking her words, Shadepelt stared wide-eyed at Thade, who was now peacefully in a deep sleep. She made no effort to wake him, she knew he was at peace now, hopefully not for long. The WindClan she-cat had dicided, no matter what Thade had said, that this was all her fault. She didn't care if he had joined in the race, she had provoked him. She wasn't sure she liked herself, the first friend she makes, she has led him to death's grip, and she wasn't sure he was going to escape. Wait, this is Thade I'm talking about, he's strong. He has to make it! These thoughts were meant to comfert her, but they sat empty in her mind.

"Marbleface, where are you? Are you just going to let us die?" Strength was draining from Shadepelt's body, and now she was feeling light-headed, and was now used to seeing pools of blood around her. She wondered about Kola, who they were, and why did she remind Thade of them? Without answers, that brought an end to those thoughts. She would ask Thade about it tomorrow, if there was a tomorrow that is. Suddenly, Shadepelt began to whimper. She didn't care how kit-like she sounded, why would she care?
"Thade, don't leave me. Your my only friend, and I don't know what I'll do knowing I've killed my first real friend. Can you hear me?" Empty words. The she-cat knew Thade couldn't hear her, he was probably in happier times now, perhaps talking with Kola, but Shadepelt couldn't be sure. Why, she wasn't sure about anything anymore.

[Bluedancer]

((Sorry it took me so long to reply, I didn't get your message until just now. Since I'm banned from the computer until the twenty sixth I can only get on to write during school hours. I really like this roleplay though, so there's not a chance of me abandoning it, no matter what my parents think!You'll just have to put up with only one reply per day ))

Marbleface's breath was coming fast, strained from the loping pace that he had set himself at, his nostrils flaring to take in whatever wisps of air that he could. Clamped in his mouth was a fresh bundle of poppies, the seeds that each flower bore a powerful and vastly important remedy to the clan. Today’s foraging had indeed been worth it; he had strayed farther from the camp than usual, but the poppies were rewards enough for such a decision. Still, he was in a greater hurry to get back than ever before; the idea of his clan without a medicine cat, even for half a day, was a frightening thought.

As Marbleface set paw into the camp, his senses heightened immediately. Something was not right. Pricking his ears, he saw with horrible incomprehension the trail of blood that had traced its way across the camp, and into his den. Oh no… oh Starclan, no… There was blood, so much blood. For moments he grappled with his mind and body, trying to hold onto some last shred of consciousness. The thick streaks of blood seemed to multiply before him, washing the entire camp in a wave of the warm, thick liquid. All that Marbleface could smell was the salty tang, all he could see was crimson.

As abruptly as it had overtaken him, the insane vision left, and the welcoming blankness overtook his mind. Streaking over to the entrance of his den, Marbleface spat out the poppies and staggered back at the sight which met him. Two cats were splayed on the cool earth, their pelts barely moving, as though the effort of breathing had become to much. And indeed, Marbleface could see why that might be. The oddly coloured tabby -Shadepelt?- had bite marks across her muzzle, with blood running from them in thick trails, while her front legs seemed to be bent at odd angles. The multicoloured cat, Thade, was bleeding from a long gash in his back leg- the poor warrior seemed to have passed out from the pain.

Once again it seemed that Marbleface was about to lose control of himself, as he stood above them, his mind blank and a soundless stammer coming from within. The salty scent of blood had reached his nose now, and with a rather disjointed thought he wondered how long it would take for his den to wash clean. But now was not the time, Marbleface thought angrily, pulling himself back together. Now was no time to start acting like an apprentice. These cats needed his help!

Leaning down, Marbleface presented an air of calm as he gently touched his nose to the females, as she was still conscious. More than anything right now he needed to keep her calm, not frighten her with his doubts. Licking her bloody muzzle gently, he asked “What…what happened to you? Were you attacked?” No, the injuries were not right for that, they didn’t add up. Other cats had not done this to the warriors; they had somehow inflicted it upon themselves.

Bustling quickly to the back of the den, where his supplies were kept, Marbleface began to collect what he needed. Yarrow… he gathered up all the leaves he had for a poultice that might help the bleeding. Valerian, a sedative and a muscle relaxant, in case either of them started to freak out. Poppies for the pain, cobwebs for the bleeding, Scots pine for the infection… Marbleface nosed each plant over to the two injured warriors one by one, his face contorted with worry as he tried to think logically. Would this be enough? Or would he have lost two cats by the time morning broke?

[Fernpaw]

((Wowza. I lurve your post! AMAZING!!))

Thade stirred, ears flicking. One heightened sense told the unconscious tom vaguely that some unknown cat was bustling around the den. The tom fought his way out of the soothing unconciousness and struggled to raise his head. Even this small movement made his back leg twitch, and that sent white-hot bolts of pain searing up his spine. Thade locked his jaws in a grimace, hissing around a mouthful of pains as he fought to stay conscious. It felt so tempting just to go back to sleep, into the painless sleep. But he might not wake up. The idea was a frightening thought. Thade might die if he went to sleep, no, Thade wasn't going to go down without a fight.

The tom chocked back a yowl, shaking away the pain. Slowly, agonizingly, he struggled to his paws. Lifting his hind paw away from the ground and trying not to jerk it as he hop-skipped across the den was an agonizing business. Several times it jiggled and Thade had to bite back a scream. When he was standing over Shadepelt, he mewed hoarsely, "Will she be okay?"

[Shadepelt]

((Yeeowza! Skilled post Blue! Do you mind if I call you that?))

"Marbleface, you came!"
The wounded she-cat purred, letting out a sigh of relief, she knew they were in good paws know. Slowly, she turned to face the standing Thade, and let out a rusty purr,
"I'll be fine, no little--" Shadepelt winced with pain as a searing hot flames flew up her legs, "Ugh--cut, is going to stop me."
Pasting a reassuring half smile on her jaw, she turned back to the Medicine Cat, and explained the situation.
"Thade and I were racing, I fell off a cliff. Thade helped me. We're both very weak. M-my legs arn't working right."
Those were hard words to say, Shadepelt had always been very proud of her strong legs and speed, this was unbearable. Eyes proud blue flames, she stared at Marbleface, sight boring into his mind.
"Please, make my legs work, but help Thade first. It's my fault I was so foolish."
Not being able to move her tail due to lack of feeling, the black she-cat thrusted her head over to Thade, gesturing the Medicine Cat over to him.

[Fernpaw]

((Seriously. *sniff* I feel so ignorant in the ways of posting, now!))

Thade backed away as quickly as he could, shaking his heaad vigorously. Shards of pain exploded in his head at this repeated movement, causing him to wince. "No," he mewed, "Not me. Fix up Shadepelt first." Becuase of Kola, his mind whispered in his ear. He shook the thought away. "I'm okay," he gritted around locked jaws, "Just a scratch. I think I bit Shadepelt kinda hard, and she need more help than me." Thade backed into the far corner of the Medicine Cats Den, hind back paw dangling uselessly as he kept it lifted high above the ground.

"Shadepelt," he grunted, "I won't let Marbleface touch me till you've been treated." To his credit, Thade could be quite stubborn when he wanted to. Once he set his mind to something, nothing short of a natural disaster would stop him.

He jerked his head, signalling to the Medicine Cat to tend to Shadepelt first.

[Bluedancer]

((Aww, I'm completely blushing now! You guys are sweet ^_^ If you consider my posts to be good, then you guys are terrific roleplayers by comparison! My posts are only so long because I'm trying to make up for the fact that I didn't post for so long. And Blue is fine *is excited to have a nickname*))

Marbleface frowned as he heard movement, and turned to find the tom on his feet, dragging himself towards the she-cat. Spitting out the clump of chervil that he had been carrying, the old cat padded back over to his patients, scolding them soundly. “No, no, no, no,” Marbleface mewed, shaking his head vigorously. “How will you ever get better if you strain your self like that? Sit!” Marbleface ordered firmly, his whiskers twitching. For all his blustering attitude he was still worried about the chances of the two cats.

Marbleface listened intently to the young she-cat, his eyes worried as he took in the details. The poor cat seemed to have exhausted herself with the effort of recounting the tale though, and he hooked a paw around a clump of thyme leaves, drawing it closer. “Now then, eat these. They’ll relieve stress, and hopefully keep you from having a panic attack.” He eyed his charges intently, and then gave each of them a few of the fragrant green leaves.

Tipping his head back, Marbleface listened to both the cats argue, each selflessly putting the other first. He sensed some sort of undertone – perhaps the beginnings of a relationship? Sighing, he flicked his tail briefly to silence them. “Thade is right, Shadepelt. You are the one in the greatest need. But before I focused solely on one of you, that bleeding must be taking care of.” He motioned first at Thade’s leg and then to Shadepelt’s muzzle.

A freshly picked bundle of Scot’s Pine leaves stood in the corner, and from these Marbleface squeezed pungent juices. Using his paw he gently dabbed the thick liquid over both wounds, praying that the sting was not great. Once both wounds were fully covered, he explained what he had just done to both cats while sorting his next herbs out. It was important to tell wounded cats what he was doing to them, as it kept them feeling as though they were in control of the situation. “This stuff stings a bit,” he warned. “But it’ll keep the wounds from getting infected. It’d do no good if I healed the wounds, but let diseases fester underneath the skin.” He made a face at this. “I could hardly call myself a Medicine cat if I let such things happen to my own clan mates.”

Retrieving a bundle of cobweb from underneath the rock, Marbleface wrapped Thade’s leg first, swathing the jagged wound in silvery thread. “Don’t move that now,” he ordered the warrior. “I’ll deal with it once I’m done with her.” Shadeplet’s muzzle presented a rather difficult surface to work with, and Marbleface had to pack her wounds with the sticky stuff, rather than simply wind it around the whole area. Satisfied that the blood was contained. Marbleface said a quick prayer to Starclan and began to gently inspect Shadepelt’s legs.

“I don’t think there’s much I can do for this dear, except splint it and take down any swelling. You’ve chipped your bone, right here,” he motioned with his tail to her shin. “And this one’s sprained,” He told her gravely, pointing to her left front leg. ‘Your back legs are simply strained from all the scrabbling you must have done when you hauled yourself up. A day or two of rest would have healed them.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, you’re going to have to keep off your feet for a good half moon. You aren’t going to like to, but if you do follow those orders I can promise you that your legs will be fine. If you don’t… I’m afraid that you may do last damage to the muscles.” He gave her a bleak smile.

Turning to Thade, he touched the cat’s back leg with his nose, taking in the damage. “It’s about same goes for you too, I’m afraid. Keep off that paw for a quarter moon. You’ve strained the muscles badly, walking back to camp, and I don’t want that bandage coming off from too much walking. If you keep your leg still then the skin will have time to heal – walk around and the skin might tear more.” He eyed the tom sadly. ‘I doubt you’ll cause lasting damage from ignoring my orders, but you’ll be in here for at least a moon, if you do. Better to get it over with as quickly as possible, eh?”

Sighing, Marbleface began to collect the materials he would need for setting Shadepelt’s leg and taking down the swelling in both, continuing to chatter calmly. “Don’t move anymore, now, for the love of Starclan. You’ve done enough, strolling back from the ravine without anyone to support you.” He shot them a wry glance, hiding his worry. “Young cats these days- they all think they’re immortal!” He grumbled to himself.

((So, I'm not going to be able to post tomorrow - Thursday - But I'll definitely be able to post all weekend, as my parents are going to be gone for most of that time))

[Shadepelt]

((I understand! I'm not really supposed to be on the computer during the week, but I sneak on ))

A half moon.
The thought of being disabled for a half moon almost made Shadepelt black out again. Staring at her formerly strong limbs, she felt she could explode with fustration. With a muffled meow, she replyed to the Medicine Cat,
"Yes Marbleface."
The she-cat was already missing the sensation of pelting across the praries, it was so hard to bear. At least she would have Thade for company for a quartermoon but then she would be alone.
Trying to not think about it, Shadepelt winced as the pine needle juice on her muzzle start to sink in. Muffling a sharp intake of breath, she meowed mescheviously to Marbleface,
"Well, I guess that big ol' cliff showed us young cats we do have lives after all, and that we would miss them if we were gone."
Turning to Thade she gestured towards his leg with a flick of her tail,
"Ha, he did treat you first!"
Satisfyed with her reply, she sent a questioning gaze toward Marbleface, who seemed to be collecting more supplies. Then a sickening jolt rattled her stomach, He's going to re-set my leg.

Not bothering on trying to hide her nervousness, she warily mewed,
"So, uh, Marbleface? What does setting my leg involve?"
She shouldn't of even asked, she already knew.

[Fernpaw]

Thade grimaced a the tight bandaging around his leg. He grinned, uncertainly, as Marbleface reeled off a long list of all the things they needed, what they had to do, what he was going to do, and how long Thade was going to have to stay inside the den. He groaned. A quartermoon! "Why don't I just stay in this den for the rest of my life?" he moaned. "A quartermoon's almost as bad!"

Then he winced, "Oops, sorry, Shadepelt. I forgot. You have to stay here for a halfmoon!" He barely resisted crowing with triumph. Thade felt bad that the black she-cat had to stay with Marbleface longer than he did, but he could hardly resist teasing her. Like Kola, he realized. I used to tease her all the time. This thought sobered him, and he quickly withdrew, retreating to the on shadowy side of the den, amber eyes full of anguish. How could I have walked out my own sister? the tom thought to himself. I should've taken her with me.

Thade's ears perked up when he heard Shadepelt's question. How was Marbleface going to set her leg?

[Shadepelt]

Pinning back her ears and rolling her eyes, Shadepelt meowed irritatedly,
"Ya ya ya, don't rub it in! I have to stay cooped up twice as long as you do!"
The she-cat was starting to get angry, but controlled herself. Who was she to blame Thade for how long she would have to rest?
This certain she-cat was like a bird; she liked being free. If she was cooped up too long, she knew she would start to loose her mind.

Returning to focusing her mind on what she was about to go through, she hissed at her legs. Yes, out loud, she didn't care who heard.
"Why did you have to sprain so easily?"
Diciding the world was against her in all kinds of ways right now, she let out a sharp, fustrated burst of breath.
"Stupid cliff, stupid me, STUPID SPRAIN!"
Alright, now she was mad, luckily she couldn't move, or somecat could have gotten hurt.

[Fernpaw]

Thade stepped forward, concern glowing in his eyes. He mewed, "Stop beating yourself up about that," his pelt bristling. He hobbled forward, hind paw dangling aboce the ground swathed in cobwebs. Already, red blood was seeping through the white gauze. Amber eyes feverish, he looked toward the Medicine Cat. "Marbleface," he hissed, "Do you have anything to knock her out or quiet her down?"

The mottled brute looked toward the black she-cat with brotherly affection in his eyes. Like Kola, he realized. I would've looked at her like that if she were hurt! The thought made him jerk back from the angry Shadepelt. He couldn't care for anyone as much as he cared for his sister. If I cared for her so much, why did I leave Kola? he asked himself bitterly. Thade shook his head, why was life so complicated. It always made things so difficult.

[Shadepelt]

((Loving the siggy!))

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Shadepelt meowed reluctantly,
"Okay okay! I'll stop blaming myself!" She knew she never would, but she would just say so anyways.
The she-cat was forcing herself to stay calm, and not to think about the half-moons she would spend cooped up here. A thought weasled into her mind, Who is Kola? She did a mental shrug, she would ask later.

Seeing the concern in Thade's eyes, she narrowed her bright, blue eyes playfully,
"Ahh, don't worry about me! I'll be fine after----he sets my leg."
The last part was hard to say, the black she-cat was getting jumpy knowing Marbleface was about to jolt her leg back into place.
Her eyes grew soft, and she mewed reassuringly,
"Don't worry about me. Anyways, how's that paw of yours?"
Glancing at his back paw, which seemed to be bleeding again, she didn't say anything. The tom had his pride, she wouldn't ruin it by making a big deal about it.