by dimi. » Sun Mar 04, 2018 9:05 am
It had been two moons since Willowsong had joined Silentclan as the medicine cat. She had occasionally tended to wounds that Amberstar and Aspencloud had received from thorns, vicious prey, and other sorts of minor nuisances, but that was all of her duties she had to accomplish. Often, she found herself isolated and cold in the back of her den, sorting herbs and mumbling what the purpose of each one was to herself. Amberstar or Aspencloud would occasionally have to pop in to make sure she was eating and drinking frequently enough, often hunting about three or six pieces of prey to keep them fed for the entirety of the day.
Eventually, this silence led to her remembering painful memories; primarily whenever she either handled the cobwebs, the thyme,
or the liquified yarrow. These herbs specifically caused her pain, as they were the treatments and herbs used most frequently to treat the wounds that Willowsong received during the training sessions with Rosemary, which almost left her for dead on several occasions. Her paw pads were dried out so often during the sessions, the medicine cat would already have yarrow in front of them to crush whenever they knew that Willowsong was about to get back from training, usually late in the evening.
One particular day, however, as she was organizing the herbs, she felt a weakness come over. A desire to just sit back and tremble in a corner. So she followed this desire, and after organizing the last of the herbs, rose to her paws and backed further into the den, pressing her back against the cold cavern to calm her. This was a tactic she had picked up on, since the chewing of thyme would only stress her out even more. She tilted her head up to the roof of the cavern and shut her eyes, taking a deep breath in before releasing it through her parted muzzle, her lips curling back over her fangs so she wouldn't bear them and make her jaw ache. Her shoulders pinched back as she slumped back forward, her breath becoming more unstable as she began to panic. Eventually, the panic overwhelmed her and she slumped forward all the way, falling into a deep slumber.
Whenever a vision appeared in her head, one from a dream, she found herself laying in a clearing. This was a clearing she only remembered from the rogue camp, and when she stood in this dream, she realized she was smaller. She was the size she was when she was first being trained by Rosemary, the tip of her ears barely grazing the chin of Rosemary, who in herself, was one of the larger and bulkier cats that roamed the camp. Her ears pinched to her head as the taunting voice of Rosemary began to ring in her ears. "My my, Willow! Is that all you can handle? You're just starting and I don't think you're gonna get that far." Rosemary said with a cocky snicker. Willow forced herself to her paws, her claws digging into the ground. "Shut up."
Rosemary's playful gaze shifted to one of anger, resulting in her flinging herself forward, pinning the smaller she-cat to the ground by her upper shoulder blades as she laid on her stomach, Rosemary on her back and breathing against her neck. "I could kill you in an instant with that attitude. Stuff your prey with deathberries, maybe I could even bribe another cat in the clan to kill you." There was a pause, followed by Willow thrashing wildly in her grasp, her smaller paws no match for the weight as she collapsed back down after only getting an inch off the ground. "Or, I could nip this little spot on your neck and kill you an instant. But the leader won't approve of that, now will he?" She then hopped off Willow's back, instead using her hind leg to kick her onto her side.
Willow got to her feet, her chest heaving as she breathed heavily. Rosemary had scared her many times with the threat, but each time it had only got more and more frightening. Before she had a chance to regain all of her breath, she was shoved to the ground again with ease, some blood-tinted, unclipped claws tearing the flesh of her shoulder apart into a series of three crimson smiles. With a wail of agony and a plea for mercy, she collapsed to the ground, her wail continuing, the volume only getting softer as she forced herself to adjust to the pain that was more than familiar to her at that point.
"I suggest you learn to react quickly, Willow. I may catch you off guard one day." Rosemary said with a low chuckle, one that was menacing and taunting all at once. Rosemary then rose her head to the sky, the crimson fur of her pelt moving along with a swift breeze that rushed over them. The sky was a canvas of various colors, ranging between orange, purple, and pink. Only half of the sun was visible to the naked eye beyond the horizon as it began to set, maybe an hour until sunset. "Come. Let's get your sorry tail to the medic before she falls asleep. Wouldn't want to keep your lover waiting, hmm?~" Willow knew she was referencing Poppy, and her nose flared as her cheeks reddened. "Shut up.. A-at least I might actually have a chance at love if Poppy likes me." She retorted to Rosemary, immediately jumping backwards in order to avoid any type of attack. Rosemary smirked and continued walking, leading Willow back to the camp.
The dream ended whenever they began to head to camp, and Willowsong awakened in her den, wailing as her cheeks were dampened by tears. Amberstar heard the wailing and immediately reacted, running into the medicine cat den. When she saw Willowsong cowering in the corner, Amberstar slowly approached, gently wrapping her slick tail around Willowsong's in order to comfort her, gently lapping her left ear. Willowsong had talked to Amberstar before about how she loved when her mother did it, so she thought it would remind her that she's safe. Willowsong's chest soon stopped heaving, and she sighed in relief, resting her head against Amberstar's chest in defeat. "Thank you, Amberstar."
