I.C. wrote:____________________________
☂ ＴＥＭＰＥＳＴＣＬＡＮ ☂
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"that's good, riverpaw! head a little bit higher!"
leopardflank watched as her apprentice huffed, climbing further up the wet bark with the ball of moss still in her mouth. tempeststar had tagged along to see the progress of the apprentices, and was not disappointed--both tigerpaw and riverpaw were doing well, right on track in their training.
"you've done well so far, leopardflank," the black tom purred, and the golden warrior nodded curtly, her chest fluffing a bit with pride as she held her chin higher, ever so slightly. "she's going to be a fine warrior very soon. i'm pleased."
the spotted she-cat nodded again in return. "i believe so. she's eager, and she follows directions quite well. after this, i think we'll head over to find brindleclaw and tigerpaw, and begin working on hunting. she already has swimming down pat--a natural."
tempeststar chuckled softly. "i would hope so. swimming is one of the most essential skills a tempestclan cat can have."
as the two conversed, the ferns parted to reveal the clan's trio of medicine cats, moss in their jaws. blazenose dipped his head in greeting, and rainpaw did the same beside him, lowering her head.
"blazenose, pinefur, rainpaw." tempeststar greeted. "how goes the herb gathering?"
"good. rainpaw almost recognizes all the types of herbs, though she still has trouble differentiating some of the leaves."
"okay, riverpaw! you can come down now!" leopardflank meowed in the background, and the black tom nodded.
"good to hear. have you two done any climbing yet?" he asked, his green gaze shifting to rainpaw, who shook her head shyly, not saying anything in return.
"a little, but not much."
"leopardflank!" tempeststar called after a moment of deliberation, and the golden she-cat bounded over, apprentice at her side.
"yes?"
"have riverpaw and rainpaw climb together. riverpaw is good at it, and this would be a good chance for rainpaw to learn."
leopardflank nodded, and riverpaw gave a squeal of excitement, racing back over to the tree.
"come on, rainpaw! it's super easy once you get the hang of it."
the smaller of the two silver tabbies seemed unconvinced, looking up at the looming cedar with wide eyes. was this really okay? rainpaw glanced back, unsure, and blazenose nodded encouragingly from where he watched.
riverpaw latched onto the bark, digging in with her claws. "you can go slow! do one paw at a time. left front, right back. right front, left back. like walking, but vertical to the ground!" to demonstrate, the she-cat scrambled up a little ways, before glancing down, eyes gleaming. "like that!"
"o-okay," rainpaw conceded, before gingerly beginning to follow directions. one foot at a time, tiny movements, deep breaths. slowly, the smaller apprentice began to make her way up, feeling less and less frightened as she went.
"there you go!" leopardflank called from below them. "you're doing just fine!"
to the small apprentice, it certainly didn't feel like it, but the words boosted her confidence a bit.
"after you've climbed up far enough, that's when you pick a branch!" riverpaw purred, glancing about before making her way over to a cluster of two branches, set close to one another, one large and thick, the other looking equally sturdy but much thinner. "you want to make sure that it can support your weight, so always test beforepaw." riverpaw reached out, and swatted the branch harshly, before placing her weight on it slowly. "like that! once you know it's safe, you climb on up!" giving herself a push, riverpaw caught the branch and pulled herself onto it, looking back triumphantly.
rainpaw swallowed, but nodded. that seemed easy enough. "okay." she mewed, making her way over to the branches. she reached out, and gently placed her paws on it. solid, like riverpaw said.
however, below them, tempeststar stiffened. like a whisper in his ear, his heart told him something was wrong. cedars didn't normally grow back branches so close together, did they? the two apprentices were so high up, it was hard to tell, but--
"riverpaw, rainpaw! get off of there!" the leader yowled, throwing himself onto the bark and scrambling upwards as fast as he could.
"wha--?" rainpaw glanced down, and a stomach-churning crack rang out through the air. one of the smaller branches gave way, and the whole of the thick, seemingly steady base branch shifted, knocking rainpaw's center of balance off. she lost her footing, and reached out, paws catching the small ledge offered as the large, hulking piece of wood slammed down right on top of it.
rainpaw screamed.
agony ran up her legs as her front paws were crushed between the two branches, her mind filling with white-hot, searing pain, her back legs lashing out, clawing at the wood as her tail thrashed. she could feel the bone give way, ground down by the weight of it, and cried out again desperately, vision swirling.
her head fell back, and horror stabbed at her belly.
the branch had rolled, catching riverpaw between itself and the tree as it had broken away, and she was limp, the branch slowly sliding downward across her paws and grinding against the main trunk of the cedar. in moments, it would fall, and rainpaw could already tell she wouldn't be able to hold on. a yowl of pain left her as the wood crushed more of her front legs, and she could her the urgent cries of her clanmates below.
finally, the pressure was gone. with one last groan and the crackling of twigs, the branch fell, riverpaw along with it, tumbling to the ground below and landing with an ear-shattering thud, shaking the base of the cedar. rainpaw couldn't tell the throbbing pain from numbness as she slipped, unable to control her bloodied, maimed paws, and slid back, feeling nothing but air.
then, teeth in her scruff.
tempeststar leapt from the tree trunk, catching the apprentice in his mouth, and shifted his body as he lost footing on the tree. like this, at least, he could save her. like this, he could sa--
the world went black.
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when tempeststar opened his eyes again, he was lying in his den, tiny rays of sunlight shining through the thick leaves and ivy the provided him cover from the rains. his vision swam, colors and shapes bleeding together, and he felt numb. his breathing was weak. his front foot twitched, but he could feel nothing in his hind legs, a heavy, throbbing ache in his face and back.
"tempeststar? are you awake?" came swiftfern's familiar voice.
"...barely..." he breathed, finding it difficult to draw in breath through his nose. "where's riverpaw? rainpaw? are they alright?"
"...tempeststar." came the disheartening reply. "...riverpaw is dead. she was likely dead before she touched the ground. rainpaw is in the medicine cat's den--she survived, thanks to you. blazenose said the first night will decide if she recovers, but she avoided paralysis and damage to her head, thanks to you."
the black tom could hear his own heavy breathing fill up the dark space.
"i couldn't catch them both."
"no one could have."
"i wish i could have."
"accidents happen, tempeststar."
the leader closed his eyes. "...as long as she survives."
"yes, tempeststar. she'll be alright."
with the whisper of starclan in his ears, tempeststar's consciousness slipped from his grasp, pulling him away from the terrible ache in his skull. while he slept, riverpaw would be buried, her jaws open and eyes closed, peace on her face. swiftfern did not find it necessary to tell him that they'd lost one of the kits, as well--already the tragedy was hard enough. he would wait until he woke.
[ swiftfern, freckleheart, flinteyes and sootshade go hunting ]
[ brindleclaw trains tigerpaw in hunting ]
[ tempeststar suffers severe injuries to his head and legs ]
[ rainpaw suffers severe injuries to her front paws]
[ riverpaw is killed by the fall ]
[ blazenose uses thyme, cobwebs and willow bark to treat rainpaw ]
[ pinefur searches for poppyseeds and comfrey root ]
[ thymekit succumbs to weakness ]
[ the clan consumes one pike ]
