We Stand, Heartache to Heartache (closed for Error)

Honeydrop sat quietly in the medicine cat den, lost in thought. The events of the past few days had been traumatic, to say the least, and she was still recovering. It's not every day one of your Clanmates tries to murder you- and almost succeeds. The scar on her throat remained as evidence of Wolffang's folly. It was almost unthinkable that her father had taken the psychotic young she-cat as his mate only a few days before her subsequent exile. It was unbearable that Mudfoot had taken another mate at all, after Ferretshine. Honestly, it hit the medicine cat where it hurt. First that episode with the Twoleg, and now this? StarClan, I'm a medicine cat. You're supposed to protect me! It had gotten her thinking. Maybe,  if the golden dappled she-cat had some warrior training, she wouldn't be so helpless. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt another cat, but she neeneeded self-defense. Someday, her Clanmates wouldn't be there to protect her, and she needed to be prepared for that day. But who would train her?

She was startled out of her reverie when someone walked through the entrance. Her brother, Waspstep. StarClan, I've been detached from my family lately. "Hello," she meowed with a pained smile. Her voice was still hoarse from when Wolffang had smothered her cries, and the scar on her throat made it hurt to talk as well. But that was no reason to be impolite.

Waspstep's usual brown eyes looked even darker for his distance from the clan. The loss of his family was making it's mark on him, but he still preformed his duties to the clan. If he didn't argue with himself for an hour about talking to Honeydrop he wouldn't have come in here. But... He needed to check on her after the recent attack on her by their father's new mate... He couldn't imagine going through that... He had dealt with many fights before but none of them tried to claim his life..

"Hello." His tone being forced to sound somewhat friendly. "How are you feeling? I missed what happened.." If he had been there he would have ripped Wolffang's throat out.

Honeydrop shook out her golden dappled fur self-consciously. Every detail of the attempted murder was fresh in her mind, replaying itself over and over in her nightmares. "I-I'm fine enough, considering... well.... I'm sure you've already got the gist of it," she responded quietly, glancing down at the ground. "Strange, the th-things you realize when you're about to die. R-regrets. Wishes to spend more time with family. I'd... I'd rather not relive it." The ShadowClan medicine cat looked her brother in the eyes. She saw pain there, unsurprisingly. She knew losing Hawkfrost had been a blow to the tom. She regretted not being there. "I know I've been d-distant lately, Waspstep. I'm very sorry. I'll try harder this ti-time. Make Mom proud." Somehow, the family had slowly drifted apart after Ferretshine's death. And then there was Mudfoot. "I can't believe Dad took her as a mate. W-Wolffang." Honeydrop got out the words as if they were a bad taste in her mouth, especially that last name. That name would forever haunt her nightmares.

Waspstep shook his head. "You are a medicine cat.. your duty is to the clan first, not some trivial family matters." The brown warrior said with a sigh. "And being a medicine cat your shouldn't even go through the threat of that.." Waspstep decided to sit down in the den out of the way from being in the way as best as he could in the smallish den. His tail wrapping around his front paws.

"And don't worry Honeydrop.. You have already made mom proud." He couldn't say the same for himself. His father didn't pay attention to any of his kits it seemed like. While Waspstep didn't care to much, he thought Mudfoot was a fool for blindly believing in Thrushstar, but it was reinforced with what happened between Wolffang and Honeydrop. "It seems our father is turning more and more into a fool these days though." The warrior said.

Honeydrop nodded in silent agreement, staring off into the distance. She missed Ferretshine like she missed Alderheart. Both had been invaluable partners and mentors. Both had left her life far too soon. "I d-don't know what she was thinking," the medicine cat meowed eventually. "Wolffang attacked me for seemingly no r-reason. All my life has been dedicated to this Clan. There is no way I would ever l-l-leave this post. Being a medicine cat is my j-job, my life's calling. I couldn't imagine doing anything else."

She blinked her amber eyes thoughtfully. "However, when she a-attacked me, I was too weak to do anything. I was h-h-helpless. I never learned how to defend myself." The dappled golden she-cat met her brother's eyes again. Her hoarse voice grew stronger. "Waspstep, would you teach me how? I want to learn fighting moves. His to p-protect myself from cats like Wolffang. I don't want to be w-w-weak and helpless anymore."

Wasptep shook his head. "We won't ever know why she did it.. But it feels like to me that there could be another warrior that was with her on the inside.." He didn't want to suggest their dad could be an insider, but it was possible seeing how they were mates for a short time. "I don't want to think it, but Mudfoot might have been influenced by her.. after all they were mates.. We just need to be careful.." He said to her. His brown eyes narrowed slightly when she had begged him to teach her how to fight. "I will do it.." He didn't really want to. Medicine cat shouldn't need to know how to fight, but if their clan was going to be filled with people trying to kill her, then he would teach her. He wouldn't always be there to defend her.

OOC: I was writing a long post and lost it, so bear with me here

IC: The implications made sense- more sense than the medicine cat would like to admit- but she found herself wanting to deny them. Sure, Mudfoot had been detached from his family, but so had she. He had made some wrong choices, but hasn't they all? As mediocre of a father as he was, he was still her father, and she loved him. She refused to believe that he would have anything to do with murdering his own daughter. And yet the nagging feeling persisted.

A broad grin spread across Honeydrop's face as her brother agreed to teach her. She wouldn't be helpless any longer. "Great! I promise you w-won't be disappointed, Waspstep. Th-this makes me feel a lot better. Thank you." Her amber eyes gazed into his green ones, and her golden dappled tail flicked excitedly. "What should I learn f-first? Train me like you would a-any other apprentice."

"Are you sure you want to do this now?" The warrior said, his tone remaining the same. "You are still recovering after all.." Waspstep said. He was glad his sister was eager to learn, but he didn't want her pushing herself when she wasn't ready.

Honeydrop stood up straighter, amber eyes fierce and determined. "I-It doesn't matter if I'm r-ready, Waspstep. I doubt W-Wolffang won't seek r-r-revenge, and the sooner I l-learn, the better. I n-n-need to be prepared as soon as p-possible. B-but yes, I'm as r-r-ready as I'll ever be." She sat down again, curling her dappled golden tail over her paws. "I'm ready t-to learn."