Two Apprentices Return, Only One Still Standing( Open to Apricity, Minecraft, and Ripped)

Talonkit yawned as the shouts of kits woke him up from the nursery. His small tabby body got to his paws as he grumbled irritably. I swear, he thought, they're always like this. I'm so gonna let them have it. The tom left the nursery, watching in astonishment as his friends Dovekit, Oakkit, and Heavykit were happily fighting. It's too early for this, thought Talonkit, deciding to puff his chest out so his voice would come out deeper.

"Hey!" he chirped," Quit it with your yammering! I'm trying to sleep here!" He had tried to sound menacing and ferocious, but he didn't actually sound all that menacing, or that ferocious. Dovekit turned from fighting.

"Hey! I'm Dovestar! This is Oakleaf and Heavystrike! Come play with us!" Ugh, he thought, they're playfighting again. We're not even apprentices. How can we be warriors?

"I think I'll pass this time," mewed Talonkit, shaking his head," I've got better things to do than this. I'm trying to be great. I have to become leader." His voice was unsure. Did he have to be great? No, he thought, reassuring himself, it's the only way I can protect them.

"But why not hang with us, Talonkit?" asked Dovekit," You don't have to push everyone out, you know. You can love us and still become leader! You can love me and still be leader!"

"But I can't lose you!" Talonpaw shouted, awakening from his dream," Everything I love is gone!" His head seared with pain as the light of the afternoon sky hurt his eyes. His chest also stung. A lot. Where am I? he thought, frantically. He felt a light pull on his scruff. He averted his eyes so he could see what was dragging him. Oakpaw. It all hit Talonpaw as soon as he saw his friend. The fight. His sacrifice. All of it."Oakpaw," he croaked," how close our we?" The gray tabby's throat was dry from the green-leaf sun.

Oakpaw looked down sadly at his friend, at how far down the battle had taken him. "Almost there!" He meowed reassuringly, trying to keep his voice in good spirits. The battle had bern hard for both of them, and, not for the first time, he wondered why he and his friend charged across the Thunderpath. What has been gained? He thought to himself. He was tiring out from carrying his friend, and knew he couldn't keep up much longer. Luckly, he saw the clearing up ahead, saw the cats moving in the distance. Pushing harder, his feet forced himself forward. Finally, he broke into camp. Seeing the looks of shock on other cats faces, he ignored them and yowled, "We attacked a Shadowclan cat on the border! We managed to drive them off, but Talonpaw is injured bad! Where is Sagepaw?" Tired from everything, he collapsed next to his injured friend.

Oakpaw
12/20 HP
35/80 SP

Talonpaw
0/20 HP
60/80 SP

ooc: barely anything has happened yet and i'm already getting the feels ;_;

Dovepaw had just returned back to camp on a hunting patrol, and her blue eyes were wide and happy—not too strange considering the fat rabbit she had grasped tightly in her maw. The apprentice scanned the clearing, excited with the day. Everything would turn out alright. The sun was out, her fluffy fur looked presentable for once, she would train with Slatethroat soon—

Her gaze fell on two lumps, one brown and the other silvery-gray, and the bloody animal slid from her teeth and dropped onto the trampled grass below. Of course. Of course something had to go wrong. Cursing Starclan's very existence, she loped over to the two familiar toms, letting out a gasp as she noted the crimson that matted Talonpaw's fur. Listening to Oakpaw, the pretty she let out a groan, burying her nose in her friend's ashen pelt, roughly licking his cheek bone, trying to do whatever she could to make him feel comfortable, let him know that she was right beside him. Anxiety coursed through her; she'd never seen any injuries this bad before. The wounds were obviously not fatal; but to Dovepaw, the sight of her normally tall, strong-willed friend laying on the ground weakly scared her.

"I'm here, I'm here." Sagepaw called in a response to Oakpaw. She'd heard her name shortly after the smell of blood hit her nostrils. As she raced out of her den to assess the damage, she flicked her tail for the trio to bring Talonpaw to the den. She would be able to heal him best where her stock of herbs lay tucked away. Glancing over the apprentices, it was apparent both toms had been involved in some sort of skirmish. However, Talonpaw had certainly bore the worst of it. Her tail flickered in a bit of frustration as she recognized the pattern of cat teeth and claws on his pelt. This was no badger or dog. Half of her wanted to chastise them for getting themselves into a fight, the other half so longed to be just like them.  If it weren't for Starclan calling her away to the healer position, she could have been one of their mentors. At the thought, she quickly realized that two of the cats present were Slatethroat's apprentices. Of course my brother would be sending his apprentices off to battle...

Quickly, the grey and white she-cat set to work kneading cobwebs into the still bleeding wounds. The flow had to be stopped first. As soon as the blood showed signs of stopping, Sagepaw continued to search around for the rest of her supplies. Her paws sorted through the piles upon piles of herbs to find just the right ones. Marigold and horsetail were chewed up into a poultice that she quickly spat into the wounds. Next, the poppy seeds for pain. These she gave both to Talonpaw and Oakpaw, ordering them to lap them up quickly. She repeated the same process on Oakpaw, but less urgently than his friend. The still standing tom was far better off than Talonpaw. Once she was satisfied with the work, Sagepaw sighed and eyed them all, "You'll be fine, but getting in senseless fights like that can end in something more serious next time..." She longed to demand an explanation, but it wasn't her place to question them or dole out a punishment, if one was due.

"Defending the territory is far from senseless, medicine cat," A harsh voice hissed, causing the she-cat to whip around. And there he was. Slatethroat's green eyes narrowed in disdain as he looked over his sister, "but I suppose you wouldn't know anything about that." His tail lashed in what was an obvious aggravation. It was directed mostly towards the medicine cat, but his apprentice would not be spared some of the tom's wrath as well. The muscular warrior dug his claws into the ground as he stared down at Talonpaw. He barely acknowledged Dovepaw quite yet, knowing the she-cat would most certainly distract him. Talonpaw bore a variety of wounds that had just been freshly patched up by his dear, sweet sister. But the blood stain told of how severe it had been. Some other clan had harmed his apprentice. Flexing his claws, Slatethroat imagined sinking them into enemy flesh.

"I'm hoping some other clan's medicine cat is dealing with a clanmate who bares far worse wounds than this?" Slatethroat meowed down to Talonpaw with an almost accusatory tone. He needed to know how the younger cat had held up. If he had been simply slaughtered mercilessly, the warrior was not doing his job. Training would have to be doubled, tripled, if that's what it took to make himself have a decent apprentice. The tension in the air cracked as Slatethroat waited for what he hoped would be a satisfactory response.

Sagepaw used heal on Oakpaw and Talonpaw.

Talonpaw
20/20
80/80

Oakpaw
20/20
80/80

"Don't know," murmured Talonpaw, his ears ringing,"I wasn't around at the end. Most of it's hazy. I know I got my licks in, and I know Oakpaw owes me his dessert for the next moon. " He threw an amused glance at his friend before returning to his mentor.

"Also, I very much don't appreciate your tone. You think I let that failure of a warrior walk away without a limp or a torn pelt? If I failed, which I didn't,I feel like it says more about your teachings than it does about me." The tom winced as another wave of pain ripped through his head. This turned his attention to Dovepaw.

"Don't fret," he mewed, chuckling a little," I'm fine. Feel bad for the other cat." His tone was noticeable softer with her. His temples pounded as he let Sagepaw continue to work on him.

Oakpaw sighed in relief as Sagepaw used herbs to help his friend. He watched, saddened by  how his friend had fallen in battle. Sighing, he laid back down. He stared a bit as Sagepaw helped him, and he quickly lapped up the poppy seeds. His ears perked in interest as Talonpaw talked to Slatethroat. He purred in amusement at his friends comments. "Yeah," he meowed proudly, "we sent that Shadowclanner off!" He glowed with pride, remembering how the cat had fled. But then, he remembered Talonpaw, crushed underneath the other cat. He shivered. He would never let another cat hurt his friends again, not if he could help it. With this in mind, more modestly, he replied, "But I never could have done it without Talonpaw. Without his quick thinking to distract the warrior, we both would have been shredded."

Ooc: Daysteam...cats don't have desserts xD