FrostClan: A Dark Tomorrow

Quartzprickle snorted and continued towards Emeraldeye's den, the two pieces of prey still dangling from her maw. Her heart was thumping as she brought her get-well gift to the mangled crimson tom who lay in the medicine cat's nest. I hope he hasn't bit the dust yet.... Her glittering clear blue eyes were drown with worry.

Relicheart sighed, dipping his head to Veiledmist as the cat walked away with the newcomer. I had just hit him, all the facts that had seemed to change with the rest of his clanmates toward the dark colored cat. It was obvious, and he cursed himself for not realizing sooner that a new deputy had been chosen...and it was Veiledmist. He lifted his head a bit, his badly injured body bothering him more now than it had been since the fight. He was realizing that he wasn't as young as he used to be, and his body couldn't take much more of this....pride protection he had going on. I must start to let the others fight as well.....But then....they could get hurt- For the first time since the original attack, the lion-like cat collapsed, his wounds bleeding heavily from the collision with the earth. He was knocked out cold.

Enigmapaw heard a thump as Relicheart hit the ground. Her head snapped up and she flinched instinctively, ready to spring away into the woods at the first sign of danger, but nothing seemed to attack or come after her. She let out a quiet 'Eep!' out of habit, but the shook her pelt and stood up.

"Hey, is he okay?" Mitekit stopped scratching his ear and looked up at Enigmapaw.

Shadderpaw gasped and barreled over to help the unconscious laying in a pool of his own dark blood. "Oh no! He never went to see the medicine cats, did he?! Someone, go get Emeraldeye! Now!" His voice crackled into a pathetic squeal, knowing that Relicheart was the one to sustain most damage. He did fight fours cats at one time before Hellspire and the others showed up. Despite Heelspire's fatal wounds, Relicheart is the one most hurt. Shadderpaw had forgotten his tattered, bleeding ear and was struggling to lift the large cat's head up from drowning in the crimson liquid.

Enigmapaw wasn't sure which was worse- Relicheart lying in front of her in a pool of blood or all of the toms rushing around him. She squeaked again and took a step backwards, the sensitive she-cat shaking like a leaf.

Mitekit lunged forward valiantly into the pool of blood, wriggling underneath the tom's chin and lifting his head out of the red liquid with his body. "GNNNNEEEEEH HURRY UP." He growled, digging his claws into the ground, effectively covering his paws with blood.

(( GNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEH ))

Harrierstar was having a frankly awful day, first Briarface decides it is time to retire, then some BoulderClan scum decide to attack a patrol full of untrained apprentices. Now two of his warriors were badly injured and there was a damned kittypet asking to join the Clan.

"Well, Golden was it?, what do think you think you have to offer us?" He asks through gritted teeth. He should be outside, calming his Clan and planning retaliation against this attack with his warriors.

Roguepaw moved forward to help Relicheart. The older apprentice had a healing paste in the wound around his left eye( he luckily won't lose sight in it.) He helped move the lion like warrior out of his own blood and closer to the medicine-cat den. His blue eyes glowed as he imagined ways to get back at those cravens in BoulderClan.

(Mew, future reference, cats couldn't lose that much blood and survive. Maybe tone down the blood loss a bit. Not that I don't like the gore, just needs to be more realistic.)

(..Yup.)

Emeraldeye stuck his head out of the den, finally noticing Relicheart. Of course! I was too busy thinking about Hellspire... His thoughts trailed off as he grabbed a wad of herbs. Marigold, cobwebs, thyme, and a few strengthening herbs. He rushed outside, chewing the marigold as he ran. When he got to RElicheart he realized the severity of the wounds. Where's Mintpaw? he asked himself, putting the poultice of marigold on various scratches and gashes. He wrapped them in cobwebs, realizing that he'd soon have to change the bandages due to blood soaking into them. "Relicheart? Can you hear me?" He asked, trying to decide if he'd have to force the thyme down his throat or not.

Vieledmist cast a worried glance back at Relicheart, standing near Golden.

Mintpaw rushed over to help Emraldeye with Relicheart. He stood beside his mentor, glancing worriedly at Relicheart. "Should I start chewing the thyme?" He asked.

"I'll do it. Just make sure none of the wounds are bleeding too heavily," He meowed, picking the thyme up and chewing it. He opened Relicheart's mouth, spitting the chewed herbs in. If cats were awake they'd hate this, he thought, grimacing as he rubbed the cat's throat to make him swallow.

Golden smiled awkwardly. "Well, I'm extremely fast, and with enough training I'm sure I'll provide assistance as a warrior...that is if you let..me...?" He had kind of a questioning tone. He felt kind of nervous with all the commotion outside. His attention span being short, he wanted to run and see what was going on, but he stayed put.

Mitekit's legs began to tremble and he collapsed under the weight of the warrior's head, slipping on the blood underneath him and landing with a wet THUD on the ground.

(Sorry bout that....Damn, its been a LONG time since I've had to be told to tone it down...I feel like more of a noob than when I first joined Frostclan ~_~' )

Shadderpaw had stopped to blink. After reopening his eyes, he realized that most of the blood he thought he saw was mostly his imagination, though Relicheart was still badly hurt. He shook his a head a couple times before backing up out of the others' ways, his tail swishing wildly. Could I have just been imagining all that blood? Its probably still all of those memories from the battle that are bothering me.

Relicheart blinked at Emeraldeye, his eyes glazed and unfocused, as if he were staring off into the distance. After a moment, he shook his head, blinking, and groaned, struggling to stand up on his paws. He was extremely shaky, and one of his back legs slipped beneath his weight, though his remaining willpower allowed him to remain upward. "Wha-......huh?" he mumbled in a fit of exhausted confusion, his eyelid beginning to droop.

"Relicheart! You must rest. I can't believe how long you held out with those wounds! I can't believe I didn't notice!" Emeraldeye meowed worriedly, putting his tail over Relicheart's shoulder. "I need someone to help me take Relicheart to my den!" He yowled, already taking a few tentative steps.

A strained chuckled came from deep within his throat, his olive green eyes flicking open tentatively, a weak grin drawn on his face. "Do you think....I could be beat that easily? These aren't enough to slow me down." He took a step forward, and though he was sure everyone could see his pain, he endured it enough to try and make his way to Emeraldeye's den on his own. Upon reaching half way there, he turned his head and mewed with a wince that he formed into a pained wink,"It not like I can't walk on my own. I'm not that old yet." He didn't dare use an example of comparing himself to an elder or kit. I see it that an elder is just as strong as any warrior, perhaps ever more for their long endurance and experience. And kits, they are seeds of promise just waiting to bloom, their positive, unceasing energy being their strength...a strength that most full grown cats lack.

Emeraldeye sighed. "Relicheart, I know you're able to walk by yourself, but you might never recover if you strain too much," The medicine cat meowed, padding up to the stuggling tom. "You need help, at least right now."

Featherpaw could only stare. Wow...I think..He's my hero. I've never seen someone so stubborn! She thought.

Relicheart grunted; he normally had a high tolerance from his clanmates and wasn't easily annoyed, but every so often, there would be that one moment when he would flip. The large cat loosened a low growl as the medicine cat neared closer, his olive eyes flashing for half a second with a slight tinge of red. "Touch me, and it'll be the last thing you do for a week-" His gaze turned from threatening to shock, and he began shaking his head while mewing,"I'm sorry, so sorry! I-I don't know what I was talking about there for a moment. Pl-please forgive me, Emeraldeye. You know best." But despite his words, he still insisted on continuing to the den on his own, entering the dark housing area that filled his nose with an aroma of twist of herbs, making him feel a bit lightheaded. As he sat down, he couldn't help but glance over at the russet red body laying in the corner, the cat's body breathing slowly and unevenly.

Emeraldeye didn't dare touch the tom, but followed him closely to the den. "You need to sleep. I'll give you some poppy seeds," He meowed, searching for the little black seeds among his herb store. He found them, picking up two and placing them in front of Relicheart. "You can eat them and go to sleep, or stay awake and feel the fiery pain of your wounds; your choice."

Relicheart dipped his head graciously to the medicine cat, licking up the seeds just as Emeraldeye said he could have them. He nodded and laid his head down on his old, battle scarred paws, his eyes blinking slowly as the poppy seeds began killing in, easing his pain. Just before he fell asleep, he glanced up at the medicine cat one more time and questioned,"How is Hellspire. He seems stable, but his wounds were deep...a bit too deep from the looks of it."

"He'll be alright," Emeraldeye mewed, though he knew Relicheart was sleeping. He still felt the need to answer his question. He glanced back at Hellspire, his eyes scanning the many cuts and gashes that sliced through his fur. I should've told the truth....I'm not sure if Hellspire can make it.

Nosing her way in softly, Quartzprickle mewed a faint mewl, as if asking to come in. In her mouth were two squirrels and a water vole, and her eyes glittered with a certain softness, her gentle side only being shown to Emeraldeye. For some reason, though she was sure he was just as against she-cats as the rest, she felt as if she could act like a regular she-cat around him, soft and gentle, as she did when she was a kit before Hellspire's constant annoyance. "Hungry?" she mumbled through the fur.

"Oh, yes, thank you, Quartzprickle! It's been quite a hectic day," Emeraldeye mewed with delight, padding over to the delicate-looking she-cat. "Relicheart will be alright, if you're wondering," He added, glancing back at the sleeping tom.

(WB hardcore....
Bad idea #986: Eating doritos and typing)

Quartzprickle replied with only a blink as she entered the somewhat crowded den. Dropping the prey, she mewed,"Here, this vole's for you. It was the freshest piece in the pile, caught this morning by the early hunt patrol. These two squirrels are for Hellspire and Briarface, when they wake-" She paused, looking downwards in a bit of a confused sorrow, adding,"If...if, they do."

Enigmapaw was still shaking from the huge cat's sudden loss of strength and her eyes were locked on the tom as he made his way towards the den. She backed away slowly and made a mad dash into the woods, like she did whenever she was upset or scared.

Rip-paw's eyes trailed the she-cat as she ran off, but he made no movement to follow her. Breathing a huff through his nose, he mentally chastised Relicheart for being so careless and stubborn, then trotted towards the fresh-kill pile.

Harrierstar watched as the toms focus shifted outside and then back again. It might do to have another fully grown tom around, even if he was untrained. The leader thought. It wont take long to work the softness out of him either, he looked healthy and he still smelled a tom-cat.
He sighed. "I will give you half a moon to prove yourself useful, if at the end of that time to have I will allow you a permanent place in the Clan. You will keep you Kitty-pet name until such a time as that."

Roguepaw lounged back at the apprentices eating area, carefully cleaning the enemies blood from his fur. He tried hard not to bother the paste over his eye as he removed the blood from around it, he sensed Rip-paw making his was over to him and shifted as to make more room for the other apprentice, expecting questions about the battle.

Vieledmist nodded approvingly and padded out of the den, hopinh that Golden would follow him and not stick around like a confused she-cat. I can't have those thoughts; it's not right! Vieledmist told himself, but it was only natural.

"I'm sure that they will wake up," Emeralfeye assured her, but he couldn't seem to be able to look at Briarface. "But I can't be sure where," He whispered.

Golden smiled, a wide, toothy grin. "Thank you, Harrierstar. I won't let you down!" He turned around and followed Veiledmist, that being the only thing he thought to do. Once they were out of the leader's den, Golden said, "So...how am I supposed prove myself? Any ideas?"