Path to Recovery [Open]

Mottleheart was in pain. Every movement sent an agonizing wave of pain through him that made him want to curl up in his nest, still hardly use to the feeling. But yet, despite every step wanting to cause him to sob from how much it hurt, he gritting his teeth as he gritted though the pain and wobbled out of Beetlepaw's den and into the clearing. It was a feat that he had survived seeing how much blood he had lost but he had pulled though and he was on the slow, oh-so painful path of recovery. Most of his wounds from the eagle attack had healed just fine...Other then the one that had almost put him in StarClan's fields - the gashes on his stomach. There was little doubt they would turn into horrid scars and despite the sunrises of being tended to by Beetlepaw, they had yet to properly heal. Every pawstep was a careful one, lest he reopen them and put all of Beetlepaw's hard work to waste.

With his careful, slow steps, he made his way over to the fresh kill pile as his stomach rumbled in hunger. It had been ages since he had walked as Beetlepaw restricting him to the nest in the medicine cat's den but he wouldn't be stopped this time. The yearning to stretch his paws had compelled him to get around and move along with the begging of a hungry stomach. He collapsed at the fresh kill pile, being careful to lay slightly on his side to refrain putting pressure on his healing wounds which made them painful obvious. Lucky for Mottleheart, the scars were hard to see most of the time due to being on his stomach. If was really only when he laid on his side like he was doing or was sitting were they visible - and even then his front paws tended to hide them from view when was sitting upright. Once he was properly settled, he leaned forward and pulled a small bird from the pile before taking a bite. The taste of the food was welcoming as he swallowed with a purr. It felt so nice to be in the open air instead of Beetlepaw's stuffy den, not that he wasn't ungrateful for what the medicine cat had done for him.

Jayfall swished her tail with a small smile as she and Beetlepaw returned from herb gathering. The medicine cat needed her to gather herbs more efficiantly, and the newly appointed warrior was happy to help out. The long-furred tomcat frowned as he sighted Mottleheart outside of his den, where he was restricted to most of the time, but Jayfall found it as an improvement. "At least he can walk now." she meowed brightly and her friend responded with a half-hearted grunt. She could see the signs of exhaustment and the strain of helping his old friend clearly on the medicine cat apprentice, and Jayfall felt like he was forgetting himself just to help the strong warrior. "C'mo, yu can't always just keept him put and feed him your stinky herbs. I'll stay with him and make sure his poultice doesn't rub off. And you will rest." she instructed warmly, and the larer tomcat didn't even respond as he trailed off back to his den, his pawsteps slumpy with exhaustion. The gray she-cat smiled gently behind him before making her way to the fresh-kill pile. She settled down besides Mottleheart, flashing him a small smile anc grabbing a mouse from the pile. His wounds were healing well, but the cat still looked shuffled and in pain when he moved. A small pink line swivelled near where his body connected with the camp floor, and Jayfall guessed it would be a scar for him to bear.

"I'm glad to see you are finally starting to heal better." she meowed kindly, taking a bite out of her meal before wiping her muzzle delicately with her tongue.

When the scent of herbs filled his nose, Mottleheart found him wincing not from pain, but from guilt. He glanced over his should to see Beetlepaw arriving back in camp with a bundle of herbs, Jayfall with him. Out of all times to sneak out of the medicine cat den he had realized the best moment would be when Beetlepaw was out...He hadn't been expecting the medicine cat to return so soon however as he had simply woken up when Beetlepaw was gone and had taken that moment to make his feeble escape to the fresh kill pile. He couldn't make out their words but he could tell that Beetlepaw wasn't very happy about his little adventure but at least Jayfall seemed to say something that caused the medicine cat to head for his den without saying anything to Mottleheart - but the brown and white warrior was sure he would get a rather good scolding from the medicine cat when he returned to the den.

Turning back to his bird, he didn't look up at Jayfall until she had settled down next to him with a mouse and spoke. At her words, he glanced up as he smiled softly at the younger warrior. "All thanks to Beetlepaw," the warrior admitted before wincing - forgetting that it hurt to even speak but he quickly brushed it off as he glanced over his shoulder once more to look at the medicine cat's den. "Thanks for whatever you said to him," he said after a few moments as he focused on the she-cat, giving her a soft, pained smile. "I'm thankful for Beetlepaw saving my life but...I don't like being in that small den any more then I have to - I needed the fresh air." He chuckled softly as he shook his head. "I'm sure I'll get an stern lecture from him when I head back but I had to stretch my paws after being in that nest for so long."

Jayfall gave Mottleheart an apologetic smile as she noticed the small wince before speaking. She reminded herself to not expect anything less, althought. The warrior had been very well nearly killed by an eagle, and Jayfall remembered the haunted look in Beetlepaw's eyes when he and Brindlewhisker brought the unconscious mottled tomcat back into camp, matted with sticky blood. Since then, the dark-furred cat had only worked to heal his Clanmate, and Jayfall wondered whether, somewhere deep inside his heart, he found it an opportunity to prove himself to the other medicine cats. Too bad the Gathering had been so disastruous. Jayfall squinted at the sky, remembering the clearing in semi-darkness and the gripping fear that had made her shiver, the feeling of loneliness.

"He will probably scold you after he wakes up. But he strained so much the past days that I guess he'll sleep until the new-leaf buds start opening." she joked, looking at the warming clearing, everyday pasing brought a new change for the better. "Have you heard the news of the last Gathering?"

Mottleheart listened to Jayfall as he took a bite from his bird, swallowing and licking his lips as she joked sightly about how hard Beetlepaw had been working. All in all, Mottleheart felt bad working the lone medicine cat so hard, he shouldn't have taken on that eagle like he did but there was no helping it now. He gave the she-cat a small smile with a shake of his head. "If he does sleep until new-leaf, then hopefully I'll be out of his whiskers by the time he wakes up," he joked in response but when she asked if he had heard the news at the gathering, he expression grew serious.

It had pained him to miss the Gathering, having hoped to speak to Rockpaw and accept the tom's apologize. It had taken almost dying but he realized he couldn't be angry at Rockpaw forever, mostly when the tom had tried so hard to apologize even if it was in a harebrained scheme. But onto what had happened at the Gathering...He had picked up only small details from his time in Beetlepaw's den, having not wanting to ask the hard working medicine cat about it but there was one thing that had shocked him when he had heard about it. "Didn't StarClan cover the moon?" he said in a soft voice, worry flickering in his eyes, unsure on why it had happened. He had been awake during the time of the gathering and recalled when his view into the camp had grown slightly darker. It hadn't been enough to tip him off to what had happened until he had heard the news.

Jayfall's expression grew just as serious as the lowered their voices to discuss other important matters. Beetlepaw wouldn't be happy to hear that she had bothered his still recovering patient with such things, but Mottleheart was just as eager as anyone to know what was happening. "Yes... an apprentice, I think her name was Wrenpaw or something...? She was of ShadowClan, that I know for sure. She attacked a SkyClan warrior for no reason! I think she is mad! Who attacks another Clan's warrior at a Gathering?" she exclaimed under her breath.She took another bite of the mouse, still having her gaze locked intently wih the mottled tom.

Mottleheart wanted to sneer as Jayfall explained what had happened at the gathering. While relieved that no WindClan cats were involved in the tussle, he had to agree with Jayfall's final words. Who would attack another Clan's cat at a Gathering? It was a time of peace - stated so in the Warrior Code! But Mottleheart also found himself disgusted at who would attack another cat like that at all. He had always disliked the idea of fighting after seeing how RiverClan had attacked WindClan so savagery when he was just a kit but after the attack of the eagle? He found himself confused on who would ever so willingly cause pain on another cat,Clanborn or not, as the eagle had caused onto him. While he knew not all fights could be avoided and he would no doubt he called to fight for WindClan one day, the notation that somebody would attack another cat at the Gathering...It made him sick to his stomach. He had no words, simply shaking his head with disappointment at that warrior's behavior. He was glad he had missed it.