ouch. [c]

The walk back to Highstones was longer than she’d been expecting.

The dash across the Thunderpath, especially, and the more strenuous parts of the climb up the hills, had aggravated the gash on her shoulder. At least it had stopped bleeding- that was good, right? Right? She wasn’t about to keel over, right? Russetpaw could’ve laid down the weasel and hare… but she wasn’t going to. She was much too proud of herself to do that. She was gonna march right into camp and show off to everyone- especially the other weasel in her life. Although Weaselfoot hadn’t bitten her shoulder, he was still easily the more aggravating of the two.

Finally, the red-pelted apprentice limped into camp, tossing the hare and weasel onto the fresh-kill pile. It was still afternoon, so there weren’t as many cats around to admire her endeavors as she would’ve liked… but there was no way she was waiting to see Batsong. It hurt, and she’d been gritting her teeth nearly the whole walk back. The sooner Batsong could magic herb stuff her shoulder and clear her for running again, the better.

“Batsong?” she called, heading over to wherever the medicine cat was based. With the glory and triumph slowly fading and the adrenaline from the fight long gone, every step sent sparks of pain racing up and down her leg. “I got in a fight… but I won!”

The gash on her shoulder looked worse than it was, with dried blood coating the fur around it. The weasel had managed to get in a good bite, and the way Russetpaw had roughly torn it off of her likely hadn’t helped, leaving a small yet somewhat deep wound that would definitely scar, though it wouldn’t impact the apprentice’s ability to run.

Batsong was keeping an eye on her sister Brackenwing at the time. (adopted sisters not by blood)


Brackenwing was finally asleep and resting her injured leg. Finally the leg would get a chance to heal hopefully if the clan could just stay put for a while longer.


Her ears twitched as she heard a patrol returning. But then someone called out to her. That voice was familiar. She panicked a bit when she next scented blood in the air. Oh no... what had happened.

She looked out and saw Russetpaw injured and she momentarily had a panic attack but quickly snapped out of it rushing into help.

hmm the apprentice was in good spirits all things considering.. she seemed very happy that she had won her fight, but Batsong could also see the way it hurt to walk from that shoulder wound. Not to worry Bat would have her up and running again in no time! ...


Right? her self doubt kicked in for a second ... You havent been able to heal your sister ... you are not a good med cat.

She pushed the negative thinking aside for now... Brackens wound was much worse and just needed more time. Russets shoulder wound thankfully looked at least to be something she could handle better.


She inspected the wound the dried blood making it scarier than it actually was thankfully.

"ok come come! she ushered the apprentice helping her over to the med den where she gently helped her into one of the patient nests she had set up there. She quickly gathered up what supplies she needed humming softly to herself.

Humming helped her keep her nerves when under pressure like this.

She got some cobwebs to soak up the excess blood around the wound and gently pressed that against the apprentices shoulder to stop the bleeding.

"y-you musta been v-very brave. I s-saw the w-weasel you b-brought in. she purred softly to the apprentice.

Once the blood had been soaked up so that the other herbs could be applied better,
She next got some chervil. Luckily, highstones rocky area was the perfect place to find it and she had collected some earlier. She chewed it up to make the infection preventing poultice to apply to the wound.

It would sting just a little but it would prevent infection from setting in which batsong wanted to avoid very much so.
"t-tell me all about the f-fight she purred eagerly.

She had found that keeping her patients talking (especially the apprentices) it made them less stressed and kept their mind off the herbs sting and the soreness of their wounds

"you m-m..musta smacked it pr-pr...pretty good huh? she asked a glint of pride in her eyes.

As she waited for the chervil to do its work and the apprentice to tell all about the adventure she got some goldenrod which would aid in an even quicker recovery. She applied that next to the wound and once she was satisfied with it gave a playful wink to her brave patient.


"im g-g..glad you are alright she purred softly laying her tail down beside the apprentice .

"hmm you sh-should be healed in no time. But f-for now I want ya to stay he-here where I can keep an eye on you. D-dont worry I dont think it will t-take long.

She gently booped Russetpaws nose with her tail playfully "and ill t-ttell ya all the stories you w-want she offered, thinking of anything she could do to get the apprentices mind off the pain.

She didnt have any poppy seeds right now or she would offer one but they had been left behind back at their long term camp when she didn't have time to grab everything from the earthquake.

"heh... that will be sure to p-put you to sleep... which wouldnt be all bad. you n-need to rest too she mewed settling into the nest beside her new friend.

Russetpaw was great! an energetic apprentice, and a real go getter. She had gotten to know her pretty good on their moonstone trip and she liked her even more now. She was tough, happy and always seemed to be in a good mood even when things were pretty ouchie and sore.

The clan needed that kinda energy right now and Batsong was so glad she wasnt hurt worse and that she had been able to get back in time to be of help.

Russetpaw followed obediently, gritting her teeth at the sparks of pain that came with every step. To an older warrior, perhaps, one more experienced, the wound would’ve been easily shrugged off… but this was her first battle scar, and it just… hurt. The red-pelted apprentice grinned tightly at Batsong’s words. “I- ouch- caught a hare, an’ then some weasel- ouch- not Weaselfoot, that would’ve almost been worse- ouch- came up and tried to get it, and- ouch- I wasn’t about ta let that happen! An’ I killed it, all on my own-like, too! Ouch. That’s my first predator fought,” she added proudly. “I smacked it nigh into next season!” Although she winced at every movement, it didn’t hurt that bad… just a stinging, really, and even that was going down.

“Good,” Russetpaw decided as Batsong informed her that she wouldn’t be here long. “I don’t like the herb-smell nearly as much as I like you! Although… yeah, I might be persuaded to stay for stories!” A soft purr emanated from the young apprentice as she curled up next to the medicine cat, Batsong’s soft warmth helping stave away some of the chill from the biting winds. “I want to know all about… stuff. Maybe… do you think I should talk to Coyotegrin about fighting strategies? I wanna be able to take down anything that threatens WindClan… and I’ll hopefully be about Coyotegrin’s height soon. I dunno whether the strategies everyone else uses would work… I’m kinda short, ya know? Not as much as Smallbean, but it does make hunting a bit hard… unless I blend into the moor-grass! That’s how I caught my rabbit…” she mewed sleepily, laying her head down on the soft moss. Why was she so tired- oh. Right. She’d pushed herself to her limits… good. She’d be as fast as her Clanmates in no time… she hoped.

Batsong listened to the story and explanation as she worked.  Giving a little nod here and there to show she was hearing and listening.

Once the wound was taken care of fully she was happy to stay with the apprentice for warmth.  It was comforting to have this bonding time... she remembered back to curling Whisperear when they were an apprentice .. but now they were gone... taken by those twolegs she tried not to think of what horrors they would do to them but she missed her friend so much.

She was glad for Russetpaws company even if it could have been under better circumstances, but it sounded like the apprentice had done quite well and was learning how to protect herself, which batsong was very grateful for.

"hmm w-with fighing sk-skills like that youll be a warrior in no time she mewed quietly encouraging her.


Hmm the apprentice of course agreed to stories.  Batsong purred softly giving her a quick groom behind her ears where a patch of her rusty colored fur had been sticking up.  She knew that unlike Sleepypaw, Russetpaw sometimes would shake her fur out in the morning instead of a full grooming.  

That was fine to Batsong but nonetheless she groomed at her during their bonding time of hanging out working gently on any knots that may have formed.

Y-yes I think thatd be a good idea,  Coyotegrin is a v-very strong and capable warrior

Batsong and Coyotegrin did not always see eye to eye especially when it came to the tunnels but Batsong always respected the warrior greatly and most of their disagreements were behind them now.

hmm yes the apprentice was quite short and Coyotegrin was a short warrior, it would make sense to get to know tactics from her.

"Perhaps you c-can show Birchpaw and me some of your new l-learnings as well.
I ne-need to knock off alot of rust and I want to teach Birchpaw some of the basics she suggested with a shrug to see if her new friend would be open to that.

Yes batsong was a warrior awhile back but she hadnt practiced in a long while.

Hmm stories umm... what to tell her.

She continued her gentle grooming until she thought of a good one.

"d-do you w-wanna hear about the c-craziest gg-ggathering I have ever been to? she asked raising an eyebrow with a little wink.

Batsong already knew the answer so she began,

"well... it s-started out like any other gathering... c-c..crowded as ever Batsong didnt like crowds the shy med cat didnt handle them well and got on edge with lots of strangers around.  Once you got to know her she was very kind and even talkative but meeting new cats was so hard for her.

"anyways... it went from super r-relaxed and chill to v-very intense in a matter of a couple seconds.

she paused working on trying to get a particularly stuck in there knot out of russetpaw's pelt on her back.

Having gotten it untangled she continued.  "The ri-riverclan leader had accused skyclan of m-murder!  she whispered trying to make the story come to life as if the riverclan leader was right there! Right outside their makeshift den where they were staying.

"And it w-w-was the murder of Riverclans me-medicine cat.  A very s-serious crime indeed

"and ya know what happened n-next?" she whispered building suspense up.

She banged her paw down next to them both "A loud scream! r-rang out above all the silence! A big sk-skyclan cat stood up and c-claimed the kill! S-said shed do it all over again t-to. Her face was h-half missing where shed been h-hit by lighting... or so the story goes. She was so b-big and scary lookin, she said sh-she hated that riverclan med cat and wished shed done it s-ssooner

She widened her eyes thinking back to it all "It was l-looking like Riverclan and Skyclan were gonna have a wa-war right there in fourtrees. B-but then the gathering got even more whack!

Another tough knot to get out ... She groomed and licked at it working it out...

"gee one would think ya been hunting rabbits and fighting weasels all day lo-long with all these knots in your p-pelt she gave a little giggle and wink to the apprentice.

"right... where was I... ummm... ahh yes! So then g-get this.  A skyclan queen very far along in h-her pregnancy has her ki-kits right then and there.  A-all the med cats were called over to h-help.  I being the n-newest med cat got to h-help but it was mostly a l-learning time for me so I wo-would know that to do in the future

She sighed glancing to the apprentice... she was half hoping that the apprentice had fallen asleep to the story, she had been going so hard and doing so well in her training but it was clear to the med cat that russetpaw needed some rest.

With the apprentices wound patched up and her pelt now nicely taken care of, Batsong gave a little yawn and rested her head next to Russetpaws paws.

She curled up next to the apprentice very happy for a warm denmate and good friend during such a dreary and dark time for the clan. She missed all the cats that had been taken so it was nice to be reminded of the ones she still had.

“Oooh! That’d be fun!” Russetpaw mewed enthusiastically, tail thumping on the ground. It would help her with her sparring skills… admittedly, however, it would more likely benefit the medicine cats. Yet- they needed to be able to defend themselves if they were attacked, right? Sometimes they went out on lone herb patrols, right? Then it would be very important, that. The red-pelted apprentice found the rhythmic motion of her fur untangling somewhat soothing, and laid her head back down on her paws. “Ooh! Yes Batsong please!” she mewed, eyes kindled with a small spark of excitement. A crazy gathering? She’d never even been to one in her whole entire life!

What? Breaking the Warrior Code! Oh stars! Russetpaw’s eyes widened. Murder. whhh- some terrifying scarred SkyClanner claimed her kill??? Oh stars oh stars- and it was RiverClan’s medicine cat, too??? How much could you break the Code? And then- Russetpaw waited with baited breath. “Wha? Oh! That’s what I’ve been doin’ allllll day, an’ running an’ WindClan stuff!” It took a second for her to get back into the story after the interruption- but not a very long second. Oh wow… kitting at a gathering? Who were these SkyClan cats, letting queens about to give birth to the Gathering and murdering medicine cats left right an’ center???

She was planning to ask Batsong if the small black she-cat was safe around these SkyClanners… but it had been a very long day, really, and she’d been up since very early, and-

Russetpaw’s eyes closed and she instantly fell asleep.