Codes and Rules

It had been a couple days since Sprucebarks capture... he had been kept at the initial vet for longer than most of the second wave due to them being very worried about his illness and cough he had.

Several more times they had poked him with needles and each time he had tried to escape when they had let him out, each time failing of course.

They had seen initial progress with his recovery, his cough quieted down a bit and he felt better overall (of course Sprucebark was unaware that they were trying to help him, unaware that they were the ones aiding his recovery, he just figured he had managed to defeat the illness on his own)


However, the vets were not liking the fact that the stubborn cat would not eat anything... like anything at all.  They tried giving him dried kibble first, what all the cats got... and when that sat untouched they tried canned, frozen dried, and anything else they could think of to get him to start eating... but the scared, sad tom sat in the far back corner of his cage and refused to even look at their food.

The vets were getting nervous, that if he didnt eat to keep his strength up that he would allow the illness back when his body weakened.



The twolegs kept poking him and poking him every day.  More needles more holding him down hard against the table and poke poke poking into him as he tried to escape but failed every time.  Between poking sessions he was locked up and kept on a shelf along with lots of other mewing cats also held hostage.  None of them were clan cats from what he could tell so far... he kept trying to spot rowanpaw on his breif flights in his cage carted around by the twoleg to the poking room and then back again..  but he never saw his brother or anyone else taken.


The nights long and lonely and hard in his little box that felt like it was closing in on him... He closed his eyes shut tight but couldnt sleep.  To think, this had all started becuase he had thought the med den was too small... The med den was a mansion compared to this little box he had now and he would have given anything to go back there right now... to be with Sandy and Poppy and have his family back together.

As for the food?  The twolegs kept putting garbage out in his cage and he wouldnt lower himself to that level to eat their insulting attempt at food.  Besides, he wasnt all that sure it was not some form of poison designed to slowly kill him and then make him taste better for when they ate him.

(obviously he is wrong but he didnt know any better, in his perspective he had just been dragged away from his family, never seen anyone come back from these cages... it wasnt a bad assumption given the facts he had to go off)

They kept trying to force him to eat, waving little "treats" at him ... humf! no thank you!

And besides, the warrior code... the only thing he now had to try and gling to... was very clear in this part ...

A warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet.

he repeated it quietly to himself every time that he was even a little tempted to try some of their... "food"

His stomach was in protest, it was hungry... hadnt had anything to run on in awhile and the illness was very much so eager to return if he wasnt gonna eat.

A warrior rejects the soft life of a kittypet.
he repeated again shaking his head, that meant too not eating from a twoleg! And sprucebark as we all know, will follow the code and rules.  He gave a vow and promise to Perchstar on the day of his warrior ceromony to follow the code as a warrior and that was what he would do.

A couple more days and nights past...

The vets were clearly unhappy with his progression, the illness was beginning to return, his body growing exhausted from the self fast he was putting on.

The poked him with more needles, needles of all different sizes stuck into him and he whimpered and hissed at the pain of each one of them.  Then he would be stuffed back into his crate and left for the night to think alone with his thoughts.

Another couple days...

Sprucebark was noticibly skinner at this point... he no longer looked like what the riverclan cats are known for, well fed from the rivers fish... he looked more like a windclan cat sleek and skinny ( a skinny windclan cat even) he had lost alot and the vets were at their wits end.


One of them suggested they try tossing him back out into the wild, let him go back to the diet he had, the others disagreed wanting a closer eye on the cat population issue they were assigned to do in the first place.

They finally agreed to take him to the farm... there would be plenty of things for him to live off of there.


Another monster drive for Sprucebark and he was there.

When he was finally allowed out of his cage he bolted off so quickly and hid under a large assortment of tools burrying himself where it would be hard for them to grab at him again... but they didnt give chase, they let him be.

Sprucebark panted looking around scared... but as he got used to his surroundings, he noticed a scent... Windclan!?? He cautiously left his hiding spot and followed the scent until he could peek out and see a very tall very large looking cat sitting a little ways away.   They fur was all white and they had a scar across their's neck.

Sprucebark cautiously approached tilting his head.

"Windclan?" he asked politely minding his manors.

"I'm Sprucebark of Riverclan, son of Poppyshine he introduced himself with the very former and old way of doing so telling name, clan and bloodline just like in the days of old when things were very ... (how to say?) proper? just like himself.

"Do you know if any others are here?" he asked anxiously but also minding to try not to be pushy as well... hoping to stars that Rowanpaw was here too.

(oh yea, and sprucebark is much smaller than Whisperear. Spruce is smaller than the average warrior: Barely bigger than Sandy. This in addition to the stubborn guy not eating he might be almost mistaken as an apprentice)

Sprucebark tried not to stare, it was rude to stare but that mouse looked so good, and when Whisperear placed it down in front of him he felt so grateful and appreciative.

His mouth watered up and it took all his restraint and control of manors not to eat it in one big chomp.

"Thank you so much, I am in your debt. he mewed as he munched on his meal. Oh that tasted so good. Finally something real to eat and something not out of a can or waved around by twolegs.

His ears perked when he heard mention that maybe there was others near,

"did you happen to see another tom that looked like me? A bit bigger, an apprentice? he asked allowing himself to feel some amount of hope for the first time in awhile. Rowanpaw had to be here right? Please oh stars let something right happen this once. When the river took him he had Hawk who had his back... and now he just hoped to be reunited with Rowanpaw.

Back during normal life, the pair usually tried to avoid each other or when they had to work together they tolerated each other but not the best. Now he wanted nothing more than to know Rowanpaw was here and safe, they could figure out together how to get back.


The meal had made him feel better already, although still way behind he at least now had enough energy to get some things done. hmm but what was there to do?? usually his day was all mapped out ahead of time kept to a very nice, neat and tidey schedule that he planned out the night before. He would think of the patrols he would be on and the tasks he had to get done and have everything all lined up based on what was assigned to him from his mom or Perchstar, and everything ran on time and got done correctly, he never missed any patrol... but now what??

He didnt really know, all the rules he had memorized: none of them exactly applied to being trapped in a big barn who knows how far from home. Improvising and figuring things out on the fly was so not his thing.

Think... Think... What would poppy do? What would Perchstar expect him to do? they would try and figure out how to get home but right now that wasn't an option, the twolegs were still all over the place... ok what else would they do?? hmm well poppy would return the kindness shown to her... this stranger of windclan had just given up their meal to help him and he should try and do something as well although what that was he wasnt sure yet.

"You look tired

he mewed quietly.

"maybe I can try and help you find some nicer bedding for your nest? he offered. Clan cats had to stick together out here he figured, the code talked about clans working together in hard times, and right now certainly qualified.

Sprucebark was again so grateful for this strangers kindness he wasnt sure what he would have done otherwise.  He had felt far too tired to hunt for himself.  The confirmed news that Rowanpaw was not here felt like a punch to the gut.  He closed his eyes missing his brother so much.  When they were together all they did was fight and not get along but now that they were both lost he wanted nothing more than to return home again and give Rowanpaw a big hug and cuddle up in a warm nest with him once again like they had when they were kits before all this aruing and bitteness between them happened.

He just wanted to see his family again but this tall warrior was telling not only was Rowanpaw not here: No one from Riverclan was here aside from himself... He had never felt so isolated.

Even when the river had taken him, he had Hawk by his side the whole time and Hawk looked after him and made sure he was safe and back to home in one piece.  


He did his best to focus on what he could do currently now, which wasnt easy.  He nodded a little and searched around a bit managing to find some soft materials enoguh to help fluff out the windclanners nest a bit.  They looked so tired, like they hadnt slept well in they whole life.  Sprucebark felt bad and wished he knew of some herb to make them feel better but he was no great medicine cat like his sister Sandy.

"well then... hopefully its a little better at least" he said stepping back after he had added what he could to Whispers temporary straw nest.

"i'm happy that you have someone else" he said quietly.

ohh well that sounded weird he should probably clarify more...

"erm... I mean another clanmate here with you, its.... its hard being the only one from home"

if sprucebark had someone else from his clan he would probably be crying to them right now, but in front of strangers he wasnt about to.  Especially not to strangers who had just fed him and kept him alive, they had helped him with enough of his problems and didnt want to burden them further, it was not proper

Sprucebark's ears perked at a mention of an assignment that a deputy would give. OhHH yes! some structure really would do him well and he nodded eagerly at whispers ideas.

"ahh good idea Whisperear he purred with a nod and set out to do just that.

He very much so liked the idea of it being a task that Poppyshine might have given him and it was the only thing that kept him moving foward on any sort of progress.

He went around the perimiter of the barnn looking for any cracks big enough to allow everyone to get out... but he came up empty paws.

Nothing, no way out that he could find. His heart sank a bit thinking how even if he could get out, he didnt know the directions back to riverclan anyways... was he really gonna be lost here forever??

He was able to catch a couple mice as the barn was heavily infested with them and he brough one back to Whisperear and munched on the other one next to his new friend. He knew the code mentioned it could be dangerous to have friends in rival clans but Whisper had literally saved him and besides... a dark thought that he tried to keep in the back of his head told him he might never see the clans again...and if that horrible statement was true then having friends would probably pretty smart and valuable, it was dangerous out here and if he could have someone watching his back and him watching they back it would be good