i guess you should stop looking out for me, like you always do [c]

OOC: Happens immediately after Bad Idea! As a result, it happens before the gathering, before she got sick, and Daisyfang's ceremony.

Cloudypaw was sitting in the center of camp. Blood ran down her chin, dripping and falling silently near her paws. There was a trail of occasional blood droplets that led straight to her from the camp entrance, a stark contrast against the trampled snow of their camp.

Her eyes were clouded over and her ears were ringing, and she was dissociating looking at a section of snow in front of her. She didn't have a single thought, shocked into silence at the events that had just unraveled. She would have been receiving reassurance from her brother, had it been any other cat.

Galepaw

As the initial shock faded, Galepaw's ears and paws began to burn in the chill. He moved, seemingly for the first time, slowly back into camp. There, in the very center, was the lone figure of Cloudypaw. He could see from here thast the wound - the wound I inflicted - he winced, was still bleeding. His heart heavy and his head low, he slowly trudged through the snow to his sister's side.

"Cloudypaw." He didn't even know what to say. They had been through everything together. He was convinced that it had been his job to watch over, to protect and to guide his sister to become the greatest warriors WindClan has ever seen. And what kind of protection have I offered her? he thought bitterly, eyeing the red snow and her bloodstained cheek.

"Cloudypaw, I'm sorry," he whispered. He wanted so much to reach out and nuzzle her, to lay his tail over her flank, but something told him that would be the wrong move just now. His pelt burned with shame and regret. "I-I don't know what happened," he admitted, his voice low and shaky.

I would shred any cat who dares to lay a claw on my sister... His own thoughts prior to his mistake rang in his head. Shred yourself, he told himself mercilessly. I have let Hailstorm down.

With no response from his sister, who seemed as frozen as the landscape itself, Galepaw stood up and moved in front of her, to make her see him, his eyes widened in concern, holding no trace of his former hostility outside of camp. "C'mon Cloudypaw, it's cold out here. My tail is freezing off. You're bleeding... You should really see Daisypaw for that," he suggested. The utter thought of Daisypaw's reaction to him hurting Cloudypaw made his stomach flip. She'll hate me. They'll both hate me, both the cats most important to me.

Maybe that's what I deserve.

Though the camp was asleep by now, he was sure Daisypaw wouldn't reject a cat in pain, even if they woke her up. In the dim moonlight, his amber eyes flashed over to the medicine den, and then back to Cloudypaw. It felt as though his heart were being torn in two.

"C'mon," he prompted again. "You need to get fixed up, or else it could become infected and get worse," he coaxed. He still hung his head low, a symbol of his shame. "I know... I don't deserve your forgiveness, Cloudypaw," he mewed then, his eyes stinging. "You don't have to forgive me. You can hate me for what I've done. StarClan knows I hate myself for it, too. I couldn't control my rage..." he swallowed, glancing up at Silverpelt. "I hurt my own clanmate, my own sister." His eyes slid back down to Cloudypaw's, filled with sorrow. "What kind of warrior could I ever claim to be? I could never claim to be as honorable and brave as our father."

He dared to try to nudge her to her paws. "Let's get you to Daisypaw now," he said again.

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Cloudypaw remained motionless, her gaze fixed firmly on the snow in front of her. The world felt distant, the reality of the situation sinking in like the cold that was currently stinging her paw pads. His words reached her ears, but they dissipated instantly in the ringing. As he continued to speak, however, her eyes slowly shifted to the snow to her brother's face. He looks.. So distressed. She thought. She watched him speak. Cloudypaw.. Cold... Bleeding... See Daisypaw for that.. She blinked, briefly glancing over to the blood droplets that led straight to her - a trail of red blossoms. The realization that she was still bleeding snapped her out of it, and her left ear flicked in irritation as she listened to his self-loathing, as though he hadn't attacked her only moments ago. His plea for forgiveness echoed in her mind, but she couldn't find it in herself to respond to it. You just think I'm a code breaker now.

His attempt to nudge her upright was met with resistance, and she shifted slightly away from the touch. "Weren't we supposed to protect each other, not hurt each other?" She asked, her voice soft and a whisper to prevent waking up cats in the camp. You told me you'd be the best brother in the whole world...

He was right. She needed to go to Daisypaw's den, and she slowly lifted to her paws. She slowly padded towards the medicine den, hesitating only because of the possibility that Daisypaw would find what she did, too.

"Daisypaw..?" She whispered, peaking into the den. It was dark, quiet, and smelled like herbs and multiple sickly cats.

Galepaw

Galepaw flinced at his sister's resistence and her tongue as sharp as quills. I deserve it, he reminded himself as he bit back a sharp reply. He trailed behind her as Cloudypaw slowly made her way in the direction of the medicine den, his eyes tracing the drops of blood on the snow, guilt clawing mercilessly at his heart with every step.

At the sight of Daisypaw emerging from her den, Galepaw's heart could have frozen over. He followed the two she-cats inside, not entirely sure of his welcome. A pebble of pressure released from the weight in his chest as Daisypaw calmly diagnosed the injury. It looks bad, he thought, but it's not a deep wound. He stayed close to the mouth of the den, looming in the shadow as he silently watched the medicine cat work on his injured littermate. His stomach dropped when she asked Cloudypaw to talk about the incident. He shuffled his paws uncomfortably. What is she going to tell her?

"It was an accident," Galepaw blurted out. His amber eyes flickered between the faces of the cats before him as he frantically thought of a cover story. "I... I was leaving camp to go make dirt, and she startled me. I thought she was an enemy cat, and I didn't think. It's my fault," he admitted, which was half-correct. His eyes found Cloudypaw's, holding a silent promise between them. I won't tell, he thought with a stab of returning ruefulness. For now. He had admitted to being the one who hurt her, and emotionally prepared himself for the scolding he'd probably receive from his medicine cat. "I'm sorry," he murmured again, lowering his gaze to the floor. Right now, his own guilt outweighed his anger. They could return to the subject another time, but not tonight.

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Cloudypaw felt a mix of complicated emotions as Daisypaw tended to her wounded ear, having sat down with wide eyes. She was relieved that she wasn't hurt as bad as it looked - but she shouldn't have been hurt at all. Moreso, she felt dread. Dread that the conversation wasn't finished.

As Daisypaw applied the poultice to her ear, which was unpleasant due to the gritty and sticky texture, the stinging stopped immediately and was replaced with the cooling sensation of horsetail. She was unsure if that was better. "Will I die?" Cloudypaw joked, offering a strained toothy grin. She was desperate to lighten the horrible cloud that seemed to settle over her and her brother. Daisypaw's gentle nature and gestures helped only a little.

But, her joke didn't work. Daisypaw still asked about what had happened. She opened her mouth, hesitating. She glanced over to Galepaw, who had been standing in the shadows. The guilt was evident in his eyes. However, a promise between them lingered and she decided to follow his lead for now. "It was an accident," she quickly echoed his words, confusion flickering in her eyes that he didn't break the news to Daisypaw. Hmm... "He didn't mean to hurt me. We were just both on edge as I was coming back into camp - it just... happened." She added quickly, covering for him.

She held his gaze, silently acknowledging the unspoken agreement. For now, there was a fragile sense of unity that held the siblings together. It wasn't like their last union. This time, it was held together by an unspoken secret that could become unraveled at any moment. She needed Gouge and his group to be safe. This meant she had to tell Gouge... about her brother.

"I'm sorry Daisypaw. I know herbs are slim right now." She apologized and turned her gaze back to Daisypaw, her tone genuine.