broken bones ❖ closed

Once Duckpaw had woken up, she could still feel the excruciating pain of her hind leg. She had no idea what was wrong with it, but she was extremely concerned. If it was just a small wound, the pain would've been a lot less painful. She didn't want to admit that her leg was injured so badly that she couldn't even bring herself back to camp. The apprentice wanted to be able to get up and go back to camp with her Clanmates just like every other cat was doing. She attempted to drag herself forwards, but her hind leg was dragged, too. A sharp burst of pain went through her leg and her entire body once again. Duckpaw felt a small pang of anger. That ThunderClan warrior that she had been fighting had done this to her. At least it had been her leg that had suffered through Dustcloud's teeth instead of a fatal spot like her neck. Being the hidden she-cat she was, Duckpaw had struggled to call out for help, but fortunately, Jaystream had come to help her back to camp. The RiverClan cat couldn't help but feel a tad bit embarrassed about showing such helplessness in front of her deputy, but it was what was necessary.

Duckpaw had never been more relieved to be back at camp. The battle at Sunningrocks had been exhausting and draining both mentally and physically. All she wanted to do was collapse into her nest and peacefully fall asleep for a moon, but even if she had the ability and permission to go to the apprentice's den and sleep, the pain from her leg would keep her awake the entire time. The medicine den was in clear sight, and Duckpaw was ready to get her leg treated. She didn't care if there would be even more pain, the medicine cats knew what to do. If she tried to heal her own self, then she'd probably make it worse. She was now thankful for the deputy's company. He didn't have to stop and help her.
He's the deputy after all, doesn't he have better things to do?

The warrior's head only could think about the wounded apprentice that he was carrying to the camp. That leg didn't look well at all and he was concerned about the permanent effects that it could cause. With slow but steady steps, Jaystream guided Duckpaw back to camp, letting her lean on his body so she wouldn't have to put weight on the damaged leg.

When they reached the medicine cat den, the tom sighed relieved. He helped Duckpaw to lay down on a clean nest, being sure that she didn't work too much after such a long battle. "Okay, Duckpaw. Stay here and don't move your leg or it might get worse. I'll go out and search for the medicine cats. I'll be back soon so don't worry." He touched her forehead gently with his nose as a goodbye and then he left the den, seeing if Cloudstone had arrived. The young apprentice needed his help.

Stonepaw had retreated back with the rest of the RiverClan cats in a daze, half dragging himself after the adrenaline rush had drained from his system. The smell of fear-scent and blood still lingered sharply in his nostrils. His ears were still ringing with the screeching and yowling of battling cats. No matter how exhausted he was from the fight, there was no way he'd rest easily anytime soon. He watched the rest of his clanmates filing back into the camp, noticing their deputy guiding a fellow apprentice into the medicine cat's den. Alarm flooded through him, bringing clarity to his mind. The young grey tom followed after the two cats. By the time he reached the den, Jaystream had exited. Stonepaw quietly slipped behind him.

"Duckpaw?" the grey tom inquired softly, "Are you alright? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Duckpaw gratefully nodded towards Jaystream once he ordered her to keep her leg still. She had no intention of moving it, especially since the pain that came from any movement was sharp and excruciating. Silence greeted the den once the deputy left, but it didn't last for very long. Duckpaw's eyelids were beginning to droop with exhaustion, but her sharp green eyes opened wide once she heard Stonepaw's voice. The older apprentice glanced over at Stonepaw once he began to speak to her.
"Oh, hi, Stonepaw," She began, trying to sound calm, "I'm fine, just some pain in my hind leg. I don't know what happened to it, all I know is that it hurts. I-I don't think there's anything I could let you do... Cloudstone and Goldenpaw aren't here, yet, so I don't know what they'd need or what they want me to do."
She attempted to let herself relax after realizing that her entire body was tense and stiff.
"Some company would be fine for now, at least."

Cloudstone walked into camp, having left the battle fairly unscathed. However, the weight of what happened was settling on him. Through that battle, not only would RiverClan be dangerously low on herbs for the rest of the season, ThunderClan would be left assuredly herbless and with only a medicine cat apprentice. The black tom appeared tired - more mentally than physically - as he entered his den. After spotting Duckpaw, he looked to Stonepaw, and after quickly assuring him that she would be alright, he asked, "Stonepaw. If you're not too badly injured, could you bring me a straight, strong stick?" He knew what had happened the instant he saw her leg.

He reentered his den. "Duckpaw, hold on a moment." He sat beside her and pressed his paws first on the upper part of her leg, then the lower part. "Which hurts more?"

Duckpaw felt relief rush through her once Cloudstone entered the scene. She silently listened as the medicine cat ordered Stonepaw to go fetch a stick. The apprentice wondered how the stick was going to help her. When Cloudstone pressed on the top half of her leg, she felt pain, but she didn't feel as much pain as when the medicine cat pressed down on her bottom half. Swallowing back a whimper, the she-cat answered, "The bottom part, definitely."

Stonepaw's pale eyes betrayed his concern. He hated seeing one of his denmates injured in such a manner.

"Of course, Cloudstone," the apprentice answered his medicine cat, "I'll be right back."

Being given a task to do renewed his strength and energy. He swiftly trotted out of the camp and across the frozen river until he reached the bank. StarClan must have been on his side as it took not long at all to find a sturdy-looking stick that seemed to him about the right length and thickness. The stick firmly grasped between his teeth, Stonepaw trotted back to camp at a steady pace and reemerged inside the medicine cat's den.

Jaystream entered the den after Cloudstone and stayed a few steps away so the medicine cat could work better. His own wounds, especially the on his left eye stung but he knew that Duckpaw needed treatment before him. He wrapped his tail around his paws, anxiously, waiting for the medicine cat's last words about what happened to the apprentice's leg. "Is there anything I can do, Cloudstone?"

Cloudstone nodded and moved towards his meager stache of medicines, picking out some of what remained of the cobwebs and goldenrod before returning to the apprentice. By that time Stonepaw had reappeared with the stick. "Thank you, Stonepaw." He always made sure to refer to his Clanmates by their names, but he wasn't sure why he did so. When Jaystream had come back in, the medicine cat realized he needed another set of paws to help. He'd grown used to Goldenpaw helping him around. He gave the tom apprentice another order. "Gather some fresh snow and put it on her leg. If you have any painful wounds, you may put it on yourself as well."

His dark eyes focused on the younger deputy's face, noticing an injury on Jaystream's eye. "Yes there is, Jaystream. Could you find some ivy for me? The whole plant. I'll bring together something for your eye while you get it." For the moment he let them wonder why he needed such things while he thought on how to straighten the she-cat's leg for healing.

The warrior nodded obediently and he rushed out of the den, searching for that ivy he wanted even if he wasn't sure why he needed it for Duckpaw's leg. His knowledge about plants and their uses it was way too poor or understanding the medicine cat's intentions.

The young deputy left the camp and walked a few steps. With all this snow, it was hard to find some herbs but luckily, he found the plant after a few minutes walking. Jaystream used his paws to dug into the snow and earth before picking the ivy with his jaws. He pushed them away with a strong move, taking it without losing too much of the plant in the process.

With the herb in his mouth, the lean warrior made his way back to the camp and the medicine den. He entered with his paws covered in snow but also with the ivy that Cloudstone requested. Jaystream left it next to him and stepped back, giving him space. "I hope that's enough." He mewed, sitting down one more time.

Stonepaw hurried out to fulfill Cloudstone's second request, pleased to be helping. Luckily, one benefit of being in the middle of leaf-bare was the abundance of the white, sticky stuff coating everything around camp. It shouldn't be too hard to find snow lying around. The grey tom searched along the edge of camp and before long he had found a fairly large clam shell. He gripped it with his teeth and then went searching for a pile of snow. Gingerly, he scooped up a lump of the stuff with the shell in his mouth. Stonepaw carefully made his way back to the medicine cat's den and laid the shell next to Duckpaw.

"I hope this doesn't sting too much," he warned before applying the wet, cool stuff to her wounds. His paws shook slightly as he padded the snow gently onto her leg.

Duckpaw continued to lay in the nest, but she had confusion evident in her eyes. She had no clue why Cloudstone was asking for all of this stuff, but she knew it'd be beneficial to her. She was glad that Stonepaw and Jaystream were following the medicine cat's orders without any back talk, and they were both returning quickly from their little errands. Once Stonepaw gave Duckpaw a warning, she sucked in a breath and braced herself. She felt pain immediately, and she swallowed back a whimper. She didn't want to seem like a whiny kit during a time where she should act like a mature apprentice.

The medicine cat rifled through his herbs once again until he found some celandine, a small yellow flower, and gently brought it over. Once the pair of toms had returned with what he had asked for, he nodded his thanks. He spoke words of comfort to Duckpaw, "The snow should soon be numbing the pain in your wounds. Snow works much faster than anything I can give you." Despite what he said, the true meaning was that he was running on a fixed supply and couldn't waste it on minor injuries. He'd have to give her a poppy seed for her leg later, once he was finished.

This was the painful part. Cloudstone sighed as he pulled the stick and ivy towards him, nipping off the leaves as he went. He sent himself perpendicular to the apprentice's leg and took a deep breath, as if he were preparing for pain himself. He held the top part of the bone down with one paw while he stretched the other until it had returned to its natural position. He held it firm as he placed the stick parallel to her leg. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, this is the worst part, you'll be fine after this." He wrapped the ivy stem tightly around both the stick and her leg, forming a splint.

"Stonepaw, please get some more snow," he muttered as he searched through his store for poppy.

The grey apprentice's ears flattened against his head as Cloudstone worked at attaching the stick to Duckpaw's leg. The tom wondered to himself in silent curiosity how such a thing could possibly help her leg heal and regain strength, but he trusted the medicine cat's wisdom unquestioningly. Truth be told, he was relieved to be given an order to vacate the medicine cat's den once again, uncomfortable at his denmate being in so much pain but hopeful that bringing back more snow would alleviate some of her suffering. Stonepaw grabbed the shell back up with his teeth and slipped outside to find more of the stuff.

Duckpaw continued to wear her calm gaze until she saw Cloudstone grab the ivy and the stick and position himself parallel to her leg. She had no idea what was about to happen, so she buried her face in her paws and inhaled a large breath. She couldn't help but let out a yelp of pain once Cloudstone began to make the splint, but once he finished, she could still feel a small, tingling, stinging feeling in her leg. She was mildly confused as to how this was supposed to help her leg heal, but if it was going to help her, then she was glad it was on... even if it was a painful process. She watched as Stonepaw went to get more snow, and she sighed as she realized that it would have to be applied to her again. While the snow applying process wasn't as painful as the splint process, Duckpaw just wanted no pain at all.