Time Can Bend Your Knee [OPEN]

ooc; this is a continuation of this topic!

The journey back to camp had been long and strenuous.

Silence stretched between the three conscious she-cats, Honeytongue and Poppypaw trailing behind Ivystar as she carried Featherpaw on her back. The silver apprentice hadn't regained conciousness on the trek back to camp as the Leader had hoped she would. Shaking her head slightly, Ivystar continued. It seemed like moons had passed before she set foot into camp, a sigh of relief passing her maw nearly as soon as she did. She didn't have time to linger around, though, so she carried Featherpaw into the medicine cat den quickly, keeping the two feathers she'd picked up from the snow tightly yet somehow gently between her teeth. "Spiderquill!" She yowled, trying to place the injured she-cat gingerly into a nest. "It... It's Featherpaw..." She said, her voice hoarse from the biting cold outside. If Featherpaw didn't make it through this... Ivystar didn't know what she'd do.

Honeytongue had remained step in step with Poppypaw, her tail draped over the apprentice's back as she did her best to comfort her while they were on the move. Her eyes kept drifting up towards Ivystar and Featherpaw, praying for some sort of movement from the unconscious she-cat other than for her rising chest but there was no sign of her waking up. Her whiskers twitched as she shook her head, trying to make sense of the events. Why had Featherpaw been outside of the camp alone when the cold snap had hit? She shouldn't have been - they should have known...Should have noticed that she was missing when they were all bundled in the camp. There was a flicker of shame through her, wishing that they would have realized that she was missing sooner. Perhaps they could have found her before that eagle had attacked her...

But finally, they had reached the camp. Honeytongue came to a stop as she watched Ivystar carry Featherpaw into the medicine cat's den. "...Do you want to watch Spiderquill work?" she asked Poppypaw quietly, turning to look at the apprentice. "So we know if Featherpaw is going to be okay right away or..." she paused, tail twitching. "But if you need some time for yourself, that is fine. This was...A lot. For all of us but you are just an apprentice - it will take some time for this to become more..." she drifted off, a sigh escaping her. "Normal." She glanced back at the medicine cat's den, certain that she was going to go. If not just to know that Featherpaw was going to be okay, then to support Ivystar.

Poppypaw was endlessly grateful for the light weight of Honeytongue's tail on her back. It was just enough to ground her, which she needed after the intense adrenaline rush that had been the eagle attack. She couldn't make herself look at Featherpaw's limp form, she knew she'd drive herself mad watching for her breath.

"I want to stay with you guys," she mewed, although she looked a little nervous to enter the medicine den. "I need to make sure she's okay." She hoped this never became normal. It had been awful.