[[Yay, Tink -- you're back! I hope you enjoyed yourself during the trek, minus your feet hurting. I haven't had the time to write anything celebratory, either; I apologize for being inactive, but I was at a friend's house for the past two days. I was determined to write something detailed to make up for it, but somehow, I don't think it does. . . Anyway, I caught up with Ashwhisker's experience during the battle. As you can see.
Any news from Fairy, Tink?]]
AirClan
It seemed as though at least two cycles of the moon had passed by the time the majority of AirClan finally raced into their gorse-choked camp, although the moon had merely dipped below the horizon as the cats ducked through the tail's-length entryway at the forefront. Ashwhisker took a moment to pause for a few heart-beats just before bounding through the short tunnel; his dull blue eyes surveyed the bright white sphere as it was reduced to a tiny sliver of light. It strikingly resembled an eerie silhouette of a cat's unsheathed claw -- a sight that every cat of the valley was unfortunately familiar with. Then nothing at all was visible but a few final dying moonbeams that escaped from sight in only a pawful of heartbeats. The minority of foliage across the breezy moors granted Ashwhisker a remarkably good view of the moon's setting as well as the night sky in general; their territory's elevation kept them close to the stars, too, so their warrior ancestors were always nearby. It had not seemed like so as of late, however. . .
The medicine cat mentally lurched away from such unfaithful thoughts; the action was punctuated by a denying shake of the head as well as a soft shove in the rear from one of his grumbling Clanmates. "Get a move on," The waiting feline muttered, and Ashwhisker hurried away from the front entrance, too tired to do anything but ignore the rude display of insolence toward the medicine cat. He could not help but agree that he deserved it; he mustn't have thought such rebellious notions. I must remain faithful. asserted Ashwhisker with an air of determination. StarClan is working on abolishing the threat of DarkClan. PowerClans was not assembled in a day, of course. . . Although he could not confirm that for sure, the lean-muscled tom was earnest to refrain from starting another mental argument as he scurried away to find his den in the dark.
Ashwhisker's paws were almost as heavy as his eyelids were when he tumbled into his den at last. Thankfully, utter exhaustion kept most thoughts -- important, mutinous, questioning, or a combination thereof -- at bay as the rather young medicine cat lay down in the center of his den. He caught a last glimpse of the plethora of stars many lengths above his head. The medicine cat's den was the only one in AirClan camp; not even the leader had one, although he or she did have a small, private clearing to themselves. The rest of the camp was open to the sky, and even Ashwhisker's shelter was loosely covered by a thin ceiling of gorse and heather. It was thin enough in most places to be able to see the stars above, although it was more sheltered along the edges where the nests were. He was lucky enough for all of them to be empty for the time being; Ashwhisker was far too tired to treat a patient.
The wiry tom had only just passed the barrier separating dream-land and the waking world when a bone-chilling cry split the night. "Pebblestar!" The medicine cat's den was close enough to the back of camp that Ashwhisker could hear the all-too-familiar sounds of combat that immediately pursued the frantic shriek. A small, withered part of his brain that was likely at least a fraction of every cat's mind whispered appallingly, That wasn't your name. You are not needed. Ignore it. Ashwhisker ignore it after only a moment's hesitation; as loath he would be to admit it, he was tempted by the lulling idea. But that would defy every duty he had as a medicine cat, and he could never do that.
Ashwhisker's eyes shot open, his fur bristled everywhere, and his heart pounded a rapid beat in an adrenaline-induced rhythm. Almost as if on cue, a violent symphony of battle cries, swiping claws, sickening thuds, tearing flesh, shattering bones, imploding minds. He may have imagined the last few, although they seemed alarmingly real in the dead of night. The semi-conscious tom stumbled out of his den -- when had he leaped to his paws? No time to think. A heartbeat -- or the end of one -- was all the time it took for a cat's life to end. Ashwhisker was part of the increasing crowd now, and he could only watch helplessly for the first few, shocked moments as fangs met throats, claws slashed flesh, weapons that all cats were born with were used against each other in the most brutal ways. Then he remembered his nearly lifelong training as a medicine cat, and he was back in action.
Ashwhisker's expert eyes scanned the crowd after he backed away from it slightly to a small rise on which he could watch the fighting unfold; he scrutinized every cat's body, noting their condition and assessing their individual injuries and wounds from afar. Exactly how he had been taught to act in the midst of a battle. So far, he had no need to step in and help a hurt cat, but the battle was still young. Cats were still hurtling from their dens, startled into the vicious carnage. Ashwhisker's heart yearned to help his Clanmates in an entirely different manner; his underused claws itched to sink into DarkClan flesh, but he promptly reminded himself something that his mentor constantly taught him while he was still alive: The warriors fight so you don't have to. Your responsibility is to heal them when needed so that they still can. Despite his silent efforts, the medicine cat was still secretly inclined to fight alongside his Clanmates.
When Ashwhisker anxiously watched a relatively small apprentice being slammed mercilessly into the unforgiving earth, he remembered in a nauseous jolt that he had not seen his apprentice since after the Gathering. His head whipped from side to side several times, but Gracepaw was nowhere to be found. He was in the middle of sending up an inaudible prayer to StarClan when a yowl split the cool predawn air. "Help!" A she-cat cried unsettlingly close. "Nightfeather is critically hurt!" It was about time. Ashwhisker had enough of watching his fellow AirClan felines being hurt just under the state in which he would be able to help them.
It took the not-so-seasoned medicine cat less than a minute to weave his way back to his den, where he found Nightfeather all alone just within the entrance. Ashwhisker nearly turned tail to run in the other direction when he saw how injured the black-furred tom was. At least, his fur used to be black. Back when he had more fur than open wounds on the surface of his skin.
It was hard to believe that the unmoving heap before him was breathing at all within the last day or so, but surely enough when he lowered his ear to the dark warrior's nostrils, a slight movement of air rustled the fur in his ear. Ashwhisker was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Wounded at the brink of disfigurement or not, Nightfeather was still alive -- if barely -- and a cat, Ashwhisker inevitably took the other tom under his care. He moved mechanically, yet with the swift, determined grace of a healer under pressure as he summoned all of his medicinal knowledge while simultaneously fetched every other herb that would be of use to him. He could barely see in the pure blackness before dawn, so it was a mighty stroke of fortune that Ashwhisker was experienced enough to have memorized every leaf, berry, and stem's position in the dug-out compartments of his stored remedies.
It was only when Pebblestar's voice echoed unbroken above the camp that Ashwhisker dare to so much as glance up from his newest project. With a shiver of relief, he realized that the numerous cats standing at attention meant that the battle was over. It seemed that AirClan had won. Yet the thankful emotion was chased almost instantly by a pang of anxiety that that signified that he would also have to treat all of the other wounded cats. And his pale-furred apprentice was still nowhere in his far range of eyesight. Ashwhisker forced himself to ignore those two facts for the time being before dropping his narrowed gaze to the dying cat at his paws as he set to work again, praying that Nightfeather would miraculously recover, or at least last the night.
But of course, how could StarClan do anything to stop a dying cat from joining them?