Caring for her Clan

She hadn't left her den in a while. She mostly laid in her moss nest, brooding and angry. She was angry a lot. Often times for no reason, but now Dewstar had a very legitimate reason to be in such a terrible mood. She even neglected her duties as leader in favor of laying about in her nest, thinking back to how great it would have been if only ThunderClan had won. She didn't like to lose. Not at all. After days of stillness, her legs had begun to cramp up. She sighed, a long annoyed sigh. Laying about won't help anything. Not me and not my Clan. Then, a thought occurred to her. She called ThunderClan her Clan, but how often did she spend any time with them? Dewstar hadn't hunted much, nor patrolled any borders since she became leader. She usually sat in her den and thought to herself, and only really talked to Spottedfeather or Nightfire. It had been seasons since she did anything social, besides Gatherings. Even then, she just spat threats and ignored her own warriors. That's no way to treat a Clan, Dewstar. She thought to herself. Especially not your Clan. The battle-scarred she-cat sat up, stretching. It felt great to move her sore, unused muscles again. Gingerly, she stood up and poked her head through the hanging lichen that kept her den secluded from the rest of the camp. Cats were just returning from sunhigh patrols and she decided it would be good to see how her warriors were holding up after the attack. Dewstar seemingly wandered aimlessly from her den under the Highrock and examined the state of the camp, noticing that a couple warriors and apprentices had been patching up the walls. She strolled to the returning patrol and flicked her tail in greeting.

Breezefeather didn't normally go out hunting due to her leg and battle-wounds, but she felt like she needed exercise and help the Clan.

When she padded through the entrance, which was still being built, the calico warrior spotted the ThunderClan leader Dewstar. Breezefeather unloaded her kill, which consisted of a mouse and a vole, and padded over to Dewstar. "Hello, Dewstar." She greeted with a dip of her head.

"Ah, Breezefeather, good to see you working so hard." Her ears flicked in the direction of the fresh-kill pile. "Have you been alright since the battle? Nothing terribly bothersome?" Her voice was laced with concern. She hadn't really thought about the toll that might have been taken on her warriors.

Coalheart padded out of the warriors' den, stretching. She looked around, and to her surprise, Dewstar was out of her den. The gray warrior looked over at her, and walked up. Waiting for the chance to speak, she smiled and sat down next to her Clanmates.

Snapping the neck of the big rabbit she pounced on, she looked back at the border patrol. She could at least hunt one prey on the way back. Picking up the rabbit, it swung in her jaws as she jogged to camp. Slowing down as she went through the tunnel, her body still aching and healing. Where a little thorn touched her, it hurt way more than it normally would. Spottedfeather shook her long fur when she reached camp, then placed the rabbit onto the freshkill pile. She saw the hunting patrol was already back and talking to..... Dewstar? It had been a long time since she had seen Dewstar out and about in the clan camp. Smiling and slightly purring to herself, she padded up to her leader. Dipping her head in greeting, she didn't interrupt the current conversations she was holding.

The calico warrior shifted in her seat to release the pressure on her hind leg which had five star-shaped scars dotted on the flesh. The bone was also dented in one place, you could see it clearly- the skin was red and inflamed and if you turned it horizontally, you could see a hollow in the limb. "I did get beaten up in the battle, but I only have a few scars here and there. However, my leg is still pretty bad." Images flashed through Breezefeather's mind of the fox-trap snapping shut on her leg, the two-leg carrying her away and her mentor attacking the hairless beast. She blinked her green orbs to clear her mind and rid it of the lurking nightmare. "How about you?" Breezefeather asked politely.

As Coalheart and Spottedfeather gathered round, Breezefeather gave a curt flick of her tail in greeting.

Coalheart dipped her head and continued to sit quietly. Her leg still does look pretty bad. She wrapped her tail around her paws neatly and took in the conversation.

She acknowledged the other warriors with a polite smile and listened to Breezefeather. It was admirable that she kept up her responsibilities with such an injury. "If it's that bad, you should see Nightfire about pain control and take a rest from your duties. I don't want to you hurt yourself any more if you can avoid it." Knowing that the forest was on the brink of war she decided that it would be best to keep her warriors in the best condition possible, lest something even worse happen to them. "Me? I'll be fine. I've taken worse injuries in border skirmishes." She, of course, played the battle off like she hadn't died. Admittedly, no one besides herself knew how few lives she had left. Even the medicine cat only knew of a few lost lives. The last thing she wanted was for ThunderClan to lose faith in her, so Dewstar kept up her appearances and made sure she seemed her usual, strong self. But what happens when I lose that last life, and they think I'll come back? She shoved that thought to the back of her mind. Right now she was concerned over them, not herself.

OOC: Sorry this is late, wifi has been playing up.

The warrior shook her head as Dewstar recommended going to see the medicine cat. "The pain isn't that bad, I've learned to live with it. The accident with the fox trap happened when I was an apprentice and the memories hurt more then the actual pain itself." Breezefeather sighed and returned her gaze to the inspiring Clan leader. "But, if you so wish then I shall go and have it checked again."

"I am right here, I can give a quick look" said the huge tom that came out of the medicine cat den. Nightfire sat near Dewstar, and flicked his dual colored gaze down to Breezefeather's leg. It was a surprise to see Dewstar out of the den and out among the clan anymore these days. But, it was nice to see the change.

Spottedfeather continued to derp.

"I am right here, I can give a quick look."

Breezefeather turned her head to see Nightfire, the medicine cat, sitting near the slowly growing group. "Oh, thank you Nightfire." She smiled and turned her hind leg so he could get a better look. The star-shaped scars in the inflamed flesh showed clearly in the mid-day sun and the dented bone became more clear.

"Good, good." Dewstar commented, glad Nightfire always happened to be around right when he was needed. "Swiftnose must have been proud to have you as an apprentice." She remembered a time when Nightfire was her apprentice, one she was eager to train. It was too bad that he was slightly crippled by that monster. "And the rest of you are doing alright?" She asked, looking around at the other gathered warriors.

Coalheart nodded.

Because Nightfire can teleport to anyone in need//shot

Glancing closer, Nightfire saw the scars and where the leg was still slightly inflamed. How it could have stayed this way and not hurt worse, he didn't know. Glancing for a quick second at Dewstar, he nodded. "Well I was very honored to have him as my mentor. He has taught me a lot, and I still hope to learn from him, in different ways that just medicine. He is a great cat, going to the elder den hasn't changed anything about him. Still that fun loving cat huh?" he huffed a laugh and continued to look at Breezefeather's leg. Placing his paw lightly down, he felt the area. Nothing seemed out of place, just hurt and inflamed. "Well the bone will heal itself, but probably due to constant pressure on the muscle, it hasn't heal yet and is still inflamed. I suggest I give you an herb for the inflammation, and you do a bunch of resting for a while. Something to keep pressure off that leg."

Smiling to Nightfire, Spottedfeather directed her attention back to Dewstar. "Yes Dewstar, just still sore" she purred slightly, not letting her "soreness" show more than she was letting on. She had to put on a tough act, so no one would be able to doubt her. She had to always be up and ready for the clan right?

Breezefeather almost zoned out of the actual conversation and just focused on what Nightfire was saying, but she kept one ear angled so she could listen in. "Ok, but I don't like having to sit around and do nothing while the rest of the Clan has one extra useless mouth to feed." The calico complained. "Surely there is something I can do to help, like help sort out your herbs Nightfire." Breezefeather hated to sit around all day and not do anything to help the Clan. She felt like a useless lump of fur wasting medical supplies and food.