Almost There (Closed)

Swoopnose knew how close they were. The clans were so close, yet his muscles ached in protest, not wanting him to take another step. Oakberry and him hadn't slept the night before, and their injuries and the trauma of Cinderfall's capture on top of that made the journey agonizing. Yet he could smell the clans ahead of them, could basically see the fence that marked the border. Adrenaline alone was powering him enough to get there. Step after step, his breath grew more and more ragged, but determination pushed him forward. They could make it. They had to. ThunderClan would be waiting for him. Leafstorm would be there, and so would Leopardstar. Suddenly he realized how little he had to back to. The cats he cared the most about were all gone, leaving an empty hole in his heart as he realized this. When he finally came back, he wouldn't see the relief o Birchheart's face or Robinsong's delight. Not even Palestripe's calm rejoicing. Just some happiness out of a sense of duty from his clanmates. Chest suddenly feeling like it weighed twice as much, his place slowed. Now he only continued for the WindClanner's sake. She probably had an entire clan full of cats who loved her.
"We're almost there," Swoopnose urged on, more to give himself a reason to continue than anything else. That's when a strange scent hit his nose. What was that?

Oakberry, had never felt pain like this, each day it only seemed to get worse. With each step, a stabbing pain shot through her body. he hadn't slept in days and fur was matted. She looked like she'd been dragged through the Dark Forest and back. She was so tired, she was barely aware of where they were or what they were doing, the tabby warrior just knew she needed to be as far away from Twoleg place as possible. She glanced at Swoopnose, he seemed to be in the same boat.

We are almost there. Almost where? Oakberry lifted her head, they were almost at the border, she was almost home. It wasn't long until she'd see Barleytuft. Her heart leapt at the thought, she'd missed him so much. More than she'd of thought possible, for someone she considered just a friend, maybe she didn't like him, but like liked him. Oakberry shook her head she was just being silly, and she needed to focus, she wasn't safe yet.

Just tail-lengths away. The border was within sight when what seemed like victory went wrong. Swoopnose lifted his head, a strange scent bothering him. His legs ached beneath his weight, and fear didn't help him become any more stable. Looking around, he was about to dismiss the scent as one of the odd productions of twolegplace, when it came into view. Out of a metal den that reeked of crowfood crawled a raccoon, its beady eyes fixed right on them. Backing up, the warrior was frozen in fear for a moment before realizing how it was coming quicker. He needed to act fast. However, his fatigued legs didn't seem to agree with him. Before he could even so much raise a paw, the creature's snaking talons had slashed across his chest, leaving tiny streams of scarlet against his light gray chest fur. Breath coming ragged and quick, pained sobs were just barely held in. Lifting his paw, he was just barely able to feebly hit the raccoon's side before falling over. Picking himself back up, he prepared to continue.

Raccoon used Quick Swipe on Swoopnose, dealing 20 damage and costing 10 stamina.
Swoopnose used Front Paw Blow on Raccoon, dealing 11 damage and costing 5 stamina.


Swoopnose:
50/80
185/240


Raccoon:
19/30
290/300


Oakberry:
30/40
70/120


OOC: I'm starting both of them off with 10 less HP than usual and 50 less SP than usual to account for their injuries and fatigue.

Her eyelids closed briefly, longing for her nest. Her head swam, and her ears ringed, how she'd like to sleep. Her head dropped, and for a brief second she thought she might sleep, that was until the sour and musty reek of a raccoon hit her nose. Her eyes shot pen, but it was too late the monster had Swoopnose in its grip. Oakberry's heart rate increased rapidly, she was sick of this. Nothing could go right for her, and despite all the pain and fatigue, she hobbled towards the raccoon as fast as she could, anger etched in her features. She just wanted to sleep, and stupid creatures like this raccoon, twolegs and Shade kept getting in her way. The anger easily out weighed the fear in this scenario.

The tabby warrior glared menacingly at the creature. All of her pent up frustration was directed towards toward this grey mammal, as she reared up on her hind legs. She swayed slightly, the sudden motion disorientating her. Her eyes unfocused, seeing double, she shook her head, bringing some relief. Oakberry brought up her right paw, and slammed it into the raccoon as hard and as many times she could. She felt the dampness of blood on her paws, as she fell to the ground, completely exhausted.

Oakberry used rear-up to slash on raccoon costing 15 stamina and dealing 9 damage

Swoopnose
50/80 HP
185/240 SP

Raccoon
10/30 HP
290/300 SP

Oakberry
30/40 HP
55/120 SP

Swoopnose sighed in relief at Oakberry's assistance, glad she was able to help. Despite her leg, she seemed to be holding her own in this fight. More than he was, at least. Lunging for the raccoon's stomach, he tried to claw at it vigorously. But his energy was low, and adrenaline didn't seem to be kicking in. Maybeit was because this creature wasn't scary enough, or because he had lost all of his sense of purpose to return. Whatever the case was, the creature's reflexes were faster than his own, and his claws dove through thin air. Fatigue burned in his muscles as he forced himself to stand, legs wobbling beneath weight. Usually he had too much energy during fights, but now his instinctive agility wasn't there. Turning around, he saw the raccoon lunging for the other warrior. Dashing towards her, he wasn't fast enough to stop it before it had taken hold of her leg and bit down hard. A cracking noise, making his body wince involuntarily. If it hadn't been fractured before, it definitely was now. Managing to move towards it, he swiped again, missing and falling onto his face. There was no way she would be able to get up, so it was up to him to beat this thing.

Raccoon used Iron Bite on Oakberry, dealing 30 damage and costing 20 stamina.
Swoopnose attempted Jumping Strike but failed, costing 20 stamina.


Raccoon:
10/30
270/300


Oakberry:
KO


Swoopnose:
50/80
165/240

She stood, dazed. Her entire body swaying, and her paws stumbling over rocks and sticks that weren't there. Her head lolled from side to side, and Oakberry's vision was so much worse. No matter how many times she shook her head, she could not clear it, and various white spots were appearing in the corners of her eyes. "Swoopno-" crack!

Oakberry let out an agonising screech as her leg snapped beneath the raccoon's jaws. Oakberry could feel the blood seeping though her fur, as it clamped down harder. The white spots were growing bigger, and she in a last attempt to break free, she kicked out with her hind legs. They missed, barely grazing the raccoon's underside. Her body went limp as they dropped down again, breathing ragged as she drifted into unconsciousness.

The horrific sounds of shrieks and cries of pain made Sharptooth's blood run cold. Too many times- she had experienced the red-hotness of battle, the fear, the adrenaline, far too many times.

Was that why the fluffy she-cat finally decided to reveal herself? She had been tailing the group from a distance- learning what she could from the snatches of conversation that weren't whipped away by the wind. They were clan cats, that she was certain of. All from different clans.
And one of them had been taken, snatched by them.
She had seen members of the group around, stalking through the shadows and speaking in soft whispers. Most of them had been captured, taken from their Twolegs before they had a chance to even think about defending themselves. Still, their leader had quickly managed to whip them into a band of ruthless killers.
The group was intriguing to say the least and posed enough of a threat to make Sharptooth keep her distance. But now that they were gone...

Sharptooth flicked her tail, dull eyes narrowing as the screeches and yowls grew closer. Her pace increased until she was half-running to the source, her heart beating in rhythm with her pounding paws.
Skidding around a corner, the large she-cat splashed through a puddle and stopped just in time to see a furious raccoon loom over a young she-cat. Sharptooth lifted her lip in a snarl, her fur rising to make her look even bigger than the pale gray beast.
Letting out a bellow like an angry bull, she ran head-first into the fray, sprinting directly at the raccoon. At the last moment, she turned and threw her shoulder into the beast's side, sending it flying. Then, with an enraged roar, the tabby flung herself after it, leaping into it's back while it struggled to get back on it's feet. It twisted, screaming furiously, while Sharptooth dug her teeth into it's neck, managing to keep her balance until it stopped struggling and slumped against the wall, it's chest rattling as it struggled to breathe.

Sharptooth didn't let go until she was certain the raccoon was dead. Then, with a huff, she tossed it aside easily and turned her bloodstained face towards the two cats, eager to finally get a good look who she had been following through Twolegplace.
She was startled to say the least when she saw Leafstorm's vivid green eyes staring back at her, hollow and petrified. She blinked, taking a half-step back. She recognized him immediately- the crooked nose, the silver fur.
"Swoopnose," She shook her head. "What are you doing... all the way out here?"

Sharptooth used Run-And-Tackle, dealing 13(+3) damage and using 10 SP

Raccoon:
K.O.

"Sharptooth?" Swoopnose had thought for sure that he was going to die. This raccoon would kill both of them right before they got home, and the entire journey would have been for nothing. Somehow, out the blue, a huge cat sprang forward and wrestled the larger creature down, killing it right before his very eyes. Forcing himself to his paws, he was going to thank their mysterious savior when he saw who it was. "What are you doing out here? Sorry, that was a stupid question. Of course you would be here." There he went, already awkward after barely saying two words. For a few seconds, he couldn't think of anything to say. He had thought he would never see Sharptooth again after her exile. The fact that she really was right in front of him took a few moments to process, and when it did, a smile lit up his face and the fatigue seemed to disappear. Hadn't she asked him a question? He should probably answer that first. As he started talking, a quick answer turned into a much longer story than he had intended. "I was at Fourtrees when twolegs took me. They also got two other clan cats. A RiverClanner named Cinderfall and a WindClanner named Oakberry. We managed to escape, but while we were coming back, a group called the Regime took Cinderfall, and then a raccoon nearly killed Oakberry..." Eyes widening, he realized that he hadn't even checked to see if Oakberry was still alive. Running over to her, he put a paw on her chest, a breath of relief escaping him when he felt it rise and fall. "Sharptooth, you have no idea how glad I am to see you. Thank you so much for saving us, and I wish we could have met up under better circumstance. But Oakberry needs to get medical help, and I need to tell the clans about Cinderfall." In the moment, he asked a question before even thinking about it. "Can you help? Maybe then the clans will realize you aren't horrible and you can come back to ThunderClan!"

Dull voices reverberated in Oakberry's ears, her tired mind not registering who they were. Maybe she was dead, and StarClan was calling her. "Fernfeather?" she mewed meekly. Her head pounded. "Fernfeather?" she called out, louder this time. The cats didn't seem to be paying attention, was she not in StarClan? Was she in the DarkForest? Despite her body screaming at her to stay still, and not to move, the tabby she-cat attempted to push herself up, only to collapse as a spasm of pain shot up the left side of her body. Oakberry yowled in pain, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. You don't feel pin when your dead do you? Was she alive, still? Her eyes flickered open, but everything was blurry, she was barely able to discern the sky rom the brown grass that bordered the territories called home. Her eyes scanned over the grass, just able to three lumps. Had a patrol found them? Could Barleytuft be on the patrol? "S-swoopnose? B-barleytuft?" she mewed shaking her head trying to clear her vision up. What if there was no one there? what if she was alone? What if it was all some dream and she as still unconscious? Was Swoopnose dead? "please?"

ACK LATE did they already return home or should I make a quick topic in WC?
IC: Sharptooth shook herself, her grin fading as she turned to the Windclan she-cat. "I'm afraid it won't be that simple..." She mewed, her thick tail switching across the dusty drey earth. "But we need to act quickly. This young warrior needs to return to her camp as soon as possible." As she spoke she approached the young molly sorrowfully, resisting the urge to run her nose comfortingly through her hackles. "It's not a far walk from here. I'll escort you there..."

OOC: Swoop has already officially returned to TC, but a topic in WC camp would be good.

"Okay," Swoopnose replied, trying not to show his disappointment. It had been foolish of him to suggest that in the first place. Life never made sense, and nobody in any clan seemed to show any compassion anymore. So much so that even trying to regain trust and respect was impossible. Another weight seemed to be added to his chest at that point, as if life was continuing to remind him that he had nobody he truly loved to go home to. Still, he had no time to worry on about his own troubles. As Sharptooth had said, Oakberry needed to get to WindClan camp as quickly as possible. Crouching down beside the WindClan she-cat, he tried to make his voice as comforting as possible. "Oakberry, you have to get up. Sharptooth is going to help me get you back to WindClan. We're almost there..." Looking back up at his former clanmate, he gave her a grateful smile. TH=his situation was difficult enough as it was, and it would be way worse if she hadn't come to their aid. If the raccoon hadn't killed them, then they probably would have just bled out in the mud, so close to home but not quite there yet. Nosing the young warrior on the ground, he tried to help her get up. It was at that moment that the excitement from meeting up with the exiled ThunderClanner finally stopped fueling his legs. As if they had very suddenly remembered how tired they were. Crumpling out from beneath him, he dropped the she-cat and had to force himself stand back up. "Err, Sharptooth, I don't think I'll be able to help support Oakberry, so I think you'll have to. Thank you so much for helping. I wish you could just come back to ThunderClan with me."

OOC: https://warriorclancats.forumotion.com/t36867-country-roads-take-me-home-open-leader-and-mc-man-needed#431716 A return topic. apologise for shortness, that topic drained me.

IC: Standing, was a struggle. She could barely roll over, as sharp stabs of pain, shot up her body. "I... D-don't think I c-can.." was she stuck like this? Her heart raced at the thought, only then realising she was alive. "I'm not dead." mumbled Oakberry. She wasn't going to die here, she wouldn't let herself. With her little strength, she hoisted herself into a sitting position. "I think... I'll n-need someone to l-lean against. I w-w-won't make it on my o-own." she was so close. Home. She was almost there.