Carrion Comfort [o]

Gender: Male
Rank: T2 Warrior

Cedarstalk stumbled into the mostly empty camp, his amber eyes glazed over with pain. The adrenaline of his fight had more than worn off by now, leaving in its wake gut-wrenching pain that was enough to make the red and white tom nearly pass out. He held it together, though, afraid that if he fell asleep, he may never wake back up.

Grub had led him to the camp after helping him fight back the fox and Cedarstalk would be forever grateful to the mangy rogue for stepping in and saving his life. He wasn't sure if the other tom had followed and didn't look back to check. The fox had been young, foolish, but not weak. Its fangs had torn deep into his hind leg, severing the muscle and sinew from bone and rendering his leg basically useless. One of the bones in his lower leg was broken and after the arduous journey home, Cedarstalk was too tired to keep it off of the ground, leaving it dragging behind him.

A trickle of blood ran down into his eye from a gash on his forehead and the young warrior swung his head to the side, peering around from his other eye. Ah - there. He half-limped half-dragged himself in the direction of Fawnshine's and Echosong's den, breath coming in short, pained gasps. He remembered his moonstone journey, back when Echosong was a -paw, and hoped that the tom wouldn't think too little of him for getting into this situation.

What would Copperlark think? And Shrewpaw? Would they be worried? Would they miss him if he didn't make it? Cedarstalk collapsed after just a few steps, his leg crumpled painfully beneath him. The tom let out a wheeze, nose twitching as the metallic scent of blood filled the air. "H-Help-!" He called out, hoping to get some cat's attention if he hadn't already.

Gender: Male
Rank: T2 Warrior

Cedarstalk lifted his head weakly as Firefly shot past him and threw herself onto Grub. His amber gaze cleared for a moment, and he opened his jaws, protesting her attack. "N-No! He helped..." Dizziness made the red tom's vision swim once more and he let himself fall back to the ground with a thud. "It was...a fox" Through the pain, Cedarstalk tried to maintain a clear mind. At the very least so his companion wouldn't have to suffer - especially after helping him earlier.

He heard a familiar voice, though distantly, and sluggishly turned his head, some of the pain leaving his face at the sight of Acornstem. The young warrior managed a weak smile, despite the situation, and tried to push himself to his paws to greet her. He felt light-headed and woozy. What was wrong? Why was every cat so worried? His leg couldn't be that bad...could it?

At Acornstem's gentle prodding, he lowered himself to the ground with shaky limbs, feeling as though he was listening to everyone through moss-filled ears. He accepted his mentor's fussing and watched dimly as Fawnshine hurried over, herbs bundled in her jaws and concern evident in her gaze. He'd never seen her like that before - was his injury bad enough to warrant such a look of horror. He watched as the medicine cat pushed poppy seeds his way and wondered why he needed those. His leg didn't even hurt anymore - it was like Starclan itself had taken the pain and pushed it somewhere very far away.

Regardless, he lapped up the little black seeds and allowed his gaze to trail down to where Fawnshine was crouched by his hind legs. Bright red greeted him and Cedarstalk choked back a frightened sob at the sight of himself. Was that his leg? It couldn't be - there was no pain so why was he bleeding so much? Was that why everything felt so fuzzy and too bright? Cedarstalk tore his gaze away from the mangled flesh and peered up at Acornstem, fear seeping into his face.

As Fawnshine worked to save him, he let his head fall against Acornstem, pelt hot with shame. It was his fault this had happened. If he had just been a little more careful - if he hadn't gotten so caught up in his hunt...maybe he would have noticed that fox sooner. Maybe he could have avoided all of this if he had just noticed. He should have known better than to go out alone and stray so far from the heart of Thunderclan's territory. Perhaps this all could have been avoided.

Despite the pain that coursed through his body, Cedarstalk managed a shaky purr and nuzzled his face into Acornstem's fur, tears welling up in his eyes. For a moment, he thought he caught a whiff of his mother's milk-scent. Was that a glimmer of starlight or just the sun reflecting off of her fur? "M-Mom?" His eyes filled with emotion and the red and white tom buried his face into Acornstem's side. He never thought he'd see her again. Then, Fawnshine moved from his leg to his shoulder and the jarring, tangy scent of herbs hit him, pulling him out of his momentary confusion.

Cedarstalk looked up, his fur prickling with alarm, and silently cursed the hot tears that ran down his face. "I-I'm so sorry." Suddenly, Shrewpaw was at his side and Cedarstalk felt a warmth come over him, almost like lying in a bed of soft, dry moss. He smiled softly at the sight of her tears and leaned his head back, brushing his muzzle across her cheek in an attempt to comfort her. "Shrewpaw...you're here." He grunted in pain as she and Fawnshine lifted him to his paws and attempted to help him to the medicine den, pain glimmering in his eyes despite the poppy seeds he'd been given.

He forced out a laugh, albeit a weak one, as tears flowed freely down his face. He felt so warm and light. "You - you always know what to say. I'm gonna miss you." Some part of Cedarstalk knew that he wasn't going to make it. He resisted it for as long as he could, but each moment felt like an eternity. With every painful step he took, he could feel himself weakening. If it hadn't taken so long to get back to the camp, maybe he wouldn't have lost so much blood. Ultimately, it wasn't the broken leg or the torn flesh. It wasn't the pain or tiredness that made Cedarstalk drop to the ground. His legs folded and the red tom slid to the ground between Fawnshine and Shrewpaw with a sharp gasp.

Blood loss. If the bite had been cleaner, it might have closed somewhat on his own. If he had been scratched or fled back to Thunderclan the moment the fox let go, he might have stood a chance of making it. But as it was, Cedarstalk had lost too much blood. He could feel his limbs slowing down and his heart thumping as it desperately tried to pump too-little blood through his weakening body.

The young warrior didn't try to get back up, it would only shorten the precious few moments he had left. "C-Copperlark? Is she here?" He couldn't smell her anywhere in the camp, couldn't see her beautiful pelt in the crowd. Where was she? Despair flooded the tom's heart but seeing Shrewpaw and Acornstem alleviated some of the pain. Cedarstalk tried to lift his head, but quickly found everything to be too heavy all of a sudden. The poppy seeds did little to block out the pain at this point, but thankfully, they didn't need to. He felt numb to it. With his clan and most of his loved ones at his side, Cedarstalk suddenly felt more loved than ever.

"Acornstem..." His attention flickered to the deputy and a peaceful smile made its way onto the tom's face. "Y-You were like a mother to me...thank you...so much." He had to say goodbye. He couldn't leave them here with nothing to remember him by. They couldn't remember his last moments being filled with screaming or agony - let them remember him as he was in life - not like this. "Shrewpaw, you mean so much to me. K-Keep an eye on Copperlark...p-please." He wasn't sure if Shrewpaw knew yet that he and Copperlark were mates - did anyone? It didn't matter though, not now.

"I..." Cedarstalk's throat spasmed as he tried to speak and panic filled his gaze. No! He had so much more to say! He had to tell them that he loved them! They needed to know! But he couldn't deny the heaviness that seemed to cement his limbs to the ground or the sudden warmness that enveloped him. Looking up at their concerned faces, he knew he couldn't leave them. It wasn't fair! But...he didn't have a choice. Cedarstalk's eyes slid shut for a moment before he blearily forced them open. They looked so scared...they didn't deserve this pain. Suddenly, a certain sort of calmness wrapped around the young warrior. Through the fear and sadness, they knew.

Breath slowing, Cedarstalk allowed his eyes to close and accepted it. He was so tired of fighting...he had already prolonged it for as long as he could, there was no more resisting. The red and white tom found himself remembering his adventures as an apprentice and all of the things he still wanted to do. However, knowing that he would be reunited with everyone in Starclan, someday, made his sadness melt away. For now, he would have to be happy knowing that he would see his mother again. Not Acornstem, but his birth mother. There was so much he wanted to ask her, so much time to make up for - it would be okay.

He would always regret not getting to spend more time with these cats in life. Looking back, he would have done so much differently, but he would never regret dragging himself back to the camp to say goodbye. Cedarstalk's breathing tapered off into silence as he laid there in the middle of the camp, surrounded by his family and though he hesitated to leave them, the starry pelt of a she-cat appeared in front of him, a gentle smile on her maw. "Will they be okay without me?" He asked. "They will miss you...but they'll find a way." She said softly.

Cedarstalk nodded slowly, glad to find himself free of pain and unable to move without the weight of his mangled leg slowing him down. His pelt was littered with starlight, showing no evidence of what had killed him. It was so surreal...he didn't want to leave, but knowing that he would see them again someday, made it a little easier. The scent of milk and the nursery washed over Cedarstalk and he looked at the transparent she-cat, eyes glittering with tears. She nodded and with that, Cedarstalk left his body and the Thunderclan camp behind, following his mother into the sky.