safe and sound [c]

Woolypaw lay on his soft nest in the medicine den, tail curled around Sandykit and head resting on his front paws. Today was the first day he was, as far as he could tell, fully conscious. He'd seen and heard bits and pieces, of course. Poppyshine's doting over a sleeping Sandykit, Perchstar checking their status, Dovesight pressing herbs into the scabbed-over area where his eye once was... But he'd woken up this morning with a clear head, something he couldn't say for any other day since the attack. He looked around the den. There were so many herbs, half of which he couldn't even name. He wagered he could recognise every bird in the forest, but he'd never stopped and learned about plants like he had animals. Maybe he'd ask Dovesight about them later. He yawned and noticed that Sandykit was moving. Was she awake too? He turned to look with a hopeful gleam in his eye.

She was! Her eyes opened and Woolypaw greeted her to the land of the living with a smile. "Good morning, Sandykit. How is your belly? Dovesight's bandaged it well." He said softly. The terrifying idea that Sandykit might blame him- and rightfully so- for the incident gnawed at his brain. What if she wanted nothing to do with him? He'd ruined her formative moons. It was his fault, just like Yarrowpaw's leg. A part of him wanted to cry, but he shoved the idea aside and held Sandykit's gaze for a moment.

He was interrupted, however, by a familiar patter of paws and a small voice that made his heart flutter despite everything. He turned his head to meet Yarrowpaw's frightened gaze. He almost couldn't believe it- he hadn't seen his best friend in what seemed like so long. He tried to get up to greet him, but ended up falling back into a heap from his underused muscles and aching sides. "Yarrowpaw," he half-whispered, "it's good to see you. Hah, get it?" Hey, he wasn't getting his eye back, might as well joke about it.

Woolypaw snorted at Yarrowpaw's squawk, but his expression softened when his friend rusjed to his side to help him up. He braced himself against Yarrowpaw's shoulder, heaving himself to his feet. "I know, I know. I'd miss you in StarClan, you big bonehead." he murmured, shuffling in front of him and pressing his forehead to Yarrowpaw's briefly. The taller tom's agonised tone sombered Woolypaw's mood somewhat. Yarrowpaw was right, he'd almost gotten himself killed and left so many friends behind. He sat back down a little closer to Sandykit, soon sliding into a laying position as his sides began to hurt. He chuckled at Sandykit's incredulous squeak, nodding. "Yeah, he got my eye. I reckon he was a lot worse off, though." He recalled Poppyshine delivering the killing blow, though the specifics of it were lost on him. The whole thing was a bit of a haze. He watched with some amusement as Yarrowpaw spoke animatedly to Sandykit. The tom had a rather endearing habit of hopping from topic to topic, so Woolypaw wasn't at all surprised when the conversarion jumped to him. "Dovesight said it would, the scratches were quite deep." He purred with laughter at Yarrowpaw's continued rambling. "Thank you! Ha, at least we match, right?" He gestured towards the larger cat's front leg, scarred and twisted from the fox attack.

His laughter died out and his expression grew more serious as the tone shifted. Yarrowpaw's ramblimg was over, replaced by a soft admission that he was glad they were okay. Woolypaw smiled gently. "I'm glad we survived. I was worried I'd never see you again. And Sandykit- oh stars, if something had happened to you..." He trailed off, unsure what to say. He'd never had to... Express things like this.