ophidiophobia ♪ closed

Why did I ever agree to this? Why can't I just say no? Wisteriapaw thought as she padded through the forest. Snakerocks was a dangerous and deadly place, and the she-cat had heard many stories about how cats had suffered through the venomous bites of the adders that lived there. There were cats that survived, but most died. A shiver went through the apprentice's spine as she ducked around a tree and continued towards her destination. She would be extremely lucky if she even survived a heartbeat in that wretched place. The entire way there, her mind yelled at her to turn back, now, or else something terrible would happen. On the other hand, if she managed to bring back a dead adder, then Wildpaw and Flickerpaw might actually take her seriously. Other cats might actually take her seriously. Those SkyClan cats may actually take her seriously. Maybe, finally, she wouldn't be known as a soft, scared, and helpless coward. With a small huff of determination, Wisteriapaw turned her unsure walk into a steady jog.

Snakerocks came into view, and Wisteriapaw paused for a few heartbeats to see what she was about to head into. It was just a bunch of rocks... but everyone knew what those harmless rocks held. She sucked in a breath and padded closer to the rocks. The she-cat leaped onto one of them and glanced around at her surroundings. Everything was still and quiet, but it seemed too quiet to be peaceful. Instead, Wisteriapaw felt anxious and on edge. She stiffened as she heard a soft yet threatening hiss from behind her. The apprentice whirled around to see the long brown snake slithering slowly towards her. The jaws of the adder weren't open, but the ginger-and-white cat knew that the snake's mouth held horrifyingly sharp fangs. She slowly backed towards the edge of the rock but glanced over her shoulder just to see two more brown snakes blocking her only escape route. If she didn't regret coming here, then she certainly did regret it now. Letting out a tiny squeak of fear, the she-cat crouched down low. If she made one move, then the adders would attack. Plus, Wisteriapaw knew that there were more than just three adders in Snakerocks.

Letting out an inaudible and shaky breath, Wisteriapaw met the eyes of the adder in front of her and prayed to StarClan that she wouldn't end up dying today.

His white-tipped paws broke through some unbroken snow as he tracked a set of tiny shrew claw prints. The scent was fairly recent, perhaps if he followed it closely enough he could find the bush it was sheltered in, or it's hole. His ears pricked, as he listened for any sound. With his head so low, he hadn't noticed he was so close to snake rocks until the scent of cold adder hit him. Why were they out? He lifted his head, and immediately, Featherpaw's breath left him.

Wisteriapaw. Adders. Danger. The three words crashed through him like a monster's roar. He glanced around for any more adders. His caution took a leap back when he saw the adder too close to her, just readying to strike. He lunged for it, paws skidding across frozen rocks as he pelted over with a fierce hiss of his own to strike at the adder's undefended head. The satisfaction of his claws digging into scales quickly turned to unease as the adder lunged for him with the aided momentum of his own paw. Only a quick jump avoided him from being struck by it as it freed itself. The blood of it tiny specks on the ground.

"Get away from my sister, Adders." He hissed. His pelt bristled and back arched as he looked towards the ones behind her, the ones too far for him to get. "Wisteriapaw! RUN!" He called to her as he tried to remain calm as he looked around for any more adders sliding around the rocks.

Dappledpaw had tried to 'stealthily' follow Featherpaw as he went hunting, leaping behind trees and into bushes while his large paws found it rather difficult to remain silent. The brown tabby tom saw his brother stop, then run. Why was he going to Snakerocks? Only then did Dappledpaw smell his sister, Wisteriapaw. Okay, this was weird. He tried to reason to hisself that his timid sister would never go here on purpose, but...there was no mistaking her scent. His irregular heartbeat sped up swiftly as he streaked over, a fair few foxlengths behind Featherpaw. His heart seemed to skip a beat, and it most likely did, when he saw the scene. His green-blue eyes found the two other adders, and he crouched down low, sneaking around until he was behind them. With a flick of his fluffy tail he gestured for his siblings to stay quiet as he lunged forwards, his claws outstretched. He barely reached one of the snakes before it realised he was there, twisting its head around in an attempt to bite him. Dappledpaw bit down hard on where he guessed the adder's neck would be, and the fangs narrowly missed him as the adder, now dead, fell to the floor. He had completely forgotten about the second snake as he turned to face his siblings, wih his back to the dangerous adder. "What in StarClan's name are you doing here? Do you want to get killed?" he spoke, with a kind of overprotective fury in his tone. His eyes seemed to burn with a fire as he scolded his siblings. Dappledpaw wouldn't have noticed if the adder behind him decided to strike, and in any case wouldn't be fast enough to deflect it. That thought, however, never crossed his mind. He was concerned only for his family and Clan.

Wisteriapaw was sure that she would be killed when she heard another hiss from nearby, but she blinked in shock when it was Featherpaw instead of another adder. She watched with wide eyes as her brother mercilessly ended the life of the first adder.
One down.
The she-cat flinched at Featherpaw's call but leaped off of the rock that she had been standing on. There was terror glittering in her bold yellow eyes as she did so, and she didn't have the time to thank Featherpaw for saving her before she heard the pawsteps of another cat, and Dappledpaw killed the second adder. The fur on the back of her neck began to bristle as she looked back at forth between her two brothers with a worried expression. She noticed that the third adder was still alive, and it was slinking towards Dappledpaw. Without letting out a cry or a shriek, the she-cat leaped forwards and smashed her paw on the head of the final brown snake that hadn't been paying attention to her. She sank her claws into it and winced as the blood began to pour out. The good thing was that the third adder was dead.

"Q-quiet," She started, quieter than usual, "S-stop shouting, y-you'll wake t-the o-other ad-adders."
Her warning was in vain, because she stiffened as she heard the familiar yet horrifying sound of a hissing adder. About four or five snakes now slithered out of their hiding places in the rocks, aroused by the sound of both the cats and their fellow snakes. Wisteriapaw kept her claws unsheathed as she glanced at the snakes with wide eyes, but she made no intention of moving yet.

Featherpaw was relieved to hear his brother scramble on the rocks, but that relief soon turned into fear as he worried about both of them now. Dappledpaw couldn't afford to be clumsy on these slippery rocks with all these adders. He forced the thought back, no. He had to believe in his brother, those huge paws would flatten an adder if he got it first. He turned to look at his siblings, his breath freezing as one seemed ready to bite Dappledpaw until Wisteriapaw got there. He let out his breath in relief and turned to face a couple more adders that slid out from the rocks.

Back arched, he back-stepped slowly towards his siblings.
"I'm pretty sure they woke up with our thumping anyways." Featherpaw pointed out dryly. He paused as he felt something squirm underneath his paw, he looked down to see an adder ready to strike. He hissed, cold air seemingly frozen in his lungs as he leapt to the side to avoid the strike. His orange body catching a couple of the adders attention and causing them to slither towards him.

He loved Wisteriapaw, dearly, but he glowered at her for a moment just before he made a couple more evasions. They were going to talk after this. His paws skidded on stones as he lashed out and managed to strike one right in the face, but the second wasn't going to give up.

Dappledpaw cast a grateful look at his sister, a look which soon turned to concern as he noticed more adders. Had he really been that loud? The fur along his back bristled, and there was no mistaking the fear-scent this time as he backed up towards Wisteriapaw. He wouldn't let any of those evil things touch his sister! He wouldn't, he couldn't! He watched with concern as Featherpaw swerved around the adders, but one didn't look like it was going to give up. With a soft sigh, he leapt forwards, instending to land beside Featherpaw, but badly misjudged the distance and ended up in front of him. He staggered and almost fell, and during the time it took for him to regain his balance, the adder whipped around, lashing his cheek with his tail. There was an audible snap sound, like a stick snapping in half, and it hurt like the Dark Forest. Dappledpaw let out a low hiss of irritation and pain as he dodged a but from the very same adder and he backed up to stand next to Featherpaw. Maybe that would work. He threw a quick glance about him and any other nearby snakes, and saw it too late. There was one just behind him. It lunged forwards, and Dappledpaw tried his very hardest to get away, but the evil thing sunk it's fangs into his back leg. He wanted to scream aloud, but settled for a yelp as he kicked out at it, flinging it away. He forced himself to keep his breathing steady. He knew that faster breathing meant a faster heart, and a faster heart meant faster blood, and that would only cause the venom to circulate far quicker. Also, he already knew his heart was weird at the best of times. How bad would this be for him? Dappledpaw's concerns returned to Wisteriapaw as he realised she was alone, and he linked to a space inbetween his siblings, arching his back in a supposedly menacing way, tying to ignore the pain in his leg, the blood on his cheek, and the drowsiness settling in on him.

Wisteriapaw noticed the quick glare that Featherpaw gave her, but she pretended to not see it. She knew that Dappledpaw and Featherpaw would want to talk to her after this, but for now, she had to worry about helping her littermates fight off the adders. The she-cat looked over to Dappledpaw next in an attempt to make sure that he was okay, and she gasped at the sight of her brother bleeding. This was bad. However, she didn't have any time to ask Dappledpaw if he was okay, because one of the remaining adders lunged from behind and managed to sink its razor-sharp fangs into her ear. The she-cat let out a yelp of pain, but she quickly shut her mouth afterward. She couldn't be too loud, or else she'd end up summoning more adders. The she-cat twisted her head around to grab the tail of the snake that was dangling, considering that it was hanging on to her ear, and she managed to rip it off of her. Wincing in pain, the she-cat realized that a tiny bit of the tip of her ear had been ripped off. It wasn't that bad, considering that it was only the tip, but it still seemed to sting with a fierce intensity. The apprentice quickly finished off the adder that had attacked her with a blow to the head, and she silently watched it die at her paws.

Featherpaw lashed out at the snake that was still attempting to bite him. He managed to snag it across the jaw, though he flinched back as he felt the fangs of it brush his paw. It hadn't broken the skin, so the attempted bite had failed, but as he looked at his siblings his stomach plummeted. He could see the blood on Dappledpaw and he choked back a yowl of fear. Even his sister wasn't safe, she had blood coming out of a nick in her ear.

He hoped to starclan it was not serious. He looked around for more adders, then walked over to Dappledpaw and began to push him carefully towards the edge of snake rocks, the safety of the forest and the camp.
"Come on." He hissed softly. "We need to get out of here." He pressed on. His attention fell on Wisteriapaw as she dispatched another adder he hadn't seen. He tilted his head meaningfully as he focused on trying to make sure Dappledpaw could lean on him and avoid moving his injured leg more than necessary.

Dappledpaw tried to get over to Wisteriapaw, but she had already killed the snake. He looked at the nick in her ear with concern, barely registering what had just happened. Was Featherpaw okay? He turned his head a little too fast, and everything around him seemed to dance and sway. He dug his claws into the rock in a vain attempt to get a grip as his vision blurred further. What was happening to him? Dappledpaw squeezed his eyes shut, and the sensation was gone soon. Weird. He sheathed his claws again, still alert and checking for any snakes they might have missed, as he staggered away with Featherpaw. He limped away, trying not to put too much weight on his injured leg. "I-is everyone o-okay?" he asked his siblings, his faint and shaking voice alarming even himself. He wasn't that weak already, surely... That was impossible! He turned back to look at Wisteriapaw, his gaze resting on her ear. That looked painful.

Wisteriapaw cast one more wary look over her shoulder to make sure that no more adders were following them as she padded behind her two brothers. However, she suddenly froze. She had forgotten something. Swiftly and silently turning around, the she-cat picked up the limp, dead body of the adder that had torn off the tip of her ear. If Flickerpaw and Wildpaw wouldn't believe that she had fought off the adders by the wounds they had received, then maybe they'd believe her if she brought back what they had asked her to get. The she-cat bounded up to Dappledpaw and Featherpaw, but her bold yellow eyes were still glittering with fear and concern. She lowered her head slightly as she felt the heat of embarrassment begin to warm her cheeks. She bashfully looked at her two brothers. They were probably angry at her, considering that the only reason that they were hurt was that they had decided to help Wisteriapaw with the adders. The apprentice dropped the dead adder corpse at her paws so that she could speak.
"I-I'm f-fine, but w-what about y-you? W-we n-need to get y-you t-to the me-medicine d-den." She asked, staring at Dappledpaw.
Out of both Featherpaw and Wisteriapaw, it seemed as if the dappled tom had the worst injuries.

He nudged Dapplepaw gently.
"We're all alive." He confirmed, keeping his mew low and calm despite the rising panic in his throat. "You got the worst bite. Wisteriapaw is right, we need to get you to the medicine den." He coaxed, then turned to Wisteriapaw. He glared at the adder she held, but refrained from mentioning it as he bit back his words. It would be so easy to just blame Wisteriapaw... but he still didn't know why she was out there. Maybe there was a valid reason, an enemy cat or perhaps she had chased prey too far. His glare lessened as he sighed. At least the adder was fresh-kill since he and Dappledpaw were headed back empty-pawed.

"How are you feeling, Wisteriapaw?" He asked, his expression gentle towards her as he attempted to think of as many reasons as possible. "I hope they have something for your ear." He added, though he smirked a bit. Trying to lighten the mood as he helped Dappledpaw move. "Look at you, out fighting all of us and getting a ripped ear. Flickerpaw and Wildpaw are going to be jealous."

"Well, if you s-say so..." The dappled tom still felt worried for Wisteriapaw, no matter how much they tried to reason that he had it worst. "Aww , come on, it can't be that-" Dappledpaw stopped mid-sentence. The weird feeling was happening again, where nothing he looked at would be still. It as all blurry and swimming, and he stopped once again, screwing up his eyes. Why was he acting so weak? This was pathetic! He opened his eyes slowly, happy to find everything had gone normal again, before he finished his sentence. "-bad. It's not that bad. W-we need to get your e-ear checked out.." she ignored the stinging pain that was travelling up his leg, and managed a small smile at Featherpaw's words. "Oh , they will be jealous. S-sure of it."

ooc; alrighty, i'll go make the medicine den topic.

Wisteriapaw flinched at the mention of Wildpaw and Flickerpaw's names. They were the ones who dared her to come out here in the first place. However, it wasn't their faults. It was her own fault for being a pushover and accepting the dare. She put on a weak, unconvincing smile at Featherpaw's comment. Her ear was stinging, but she knew that Dappledpaw needed treatment far more than she did. She tilted her head in confusion once she saw her brother paused mid-sentence and shut his eyes. Something was obviously wrong, something that didn't meet the eye but was happening anyways. Picking up the adder corpse in her jaws once again, Wisteriapaw continued to pad alongside her brothers. The scent of the blood coming from the adder drifted into her nostrils, and she wrinkled her nose at the smell. She still felt a bit on edge, though. She kept thinking that the brown snake would suddenly come back to live and bite her mercilessly until she died. Sucking in a shallow breath, the ginger-and-white cat trekked on with unease in every step she took.