Thunderpaths are the WORST!

Fernfeather trudged back into WindClan camp very slowly. Her head was lowered and her ears were drawn back. She truly didn't look like herself at all. There were many battle scars on her back. But the most horrifyingly defining feature about her was the matted, scarlet-colored stump of a tail that continued to leak blood. She had gotten into a fight with a ShadowClan warrior on the Thunderpath, and although she tried to flee as a monster appeared out of nowhere the beast ended up running right over her tail and ripping it clean off. It probably still lay flattened and bloodied on the Thunderpath, or maybe buzzards or other scavenging birds were feasting on it.

She didn't care. She didn't care about anything. She barely even felt the pain in her tail anymore, but she still felt light-headed from the loss of blood. She collapsed over on her side in the center of the camp, her half-blinded gaze staring off dully and apathetically into nothingness.

OOC: I am very sorry this took so long :(

IC: Quailfeather had just come back from training Lionpaw, very pleased with the tom's progress and planning on taking a piece of fresh-kill to share with Silentstrike. Then, she saw her former apprentice lying bloody on the ground. "Fernfeather! Holy StarClan!" she yelped with alarm, racing forwards to the gray she-cat. Her tail was missing, and she was covered in scars. From the look in her eyes, you'd have never been able to tell that she was once the bouncy, energetic she-cat she'd been as an apprentice. "What in the name of the Dark Forest happened to you?" the senior warrior gasped, looking at the younger she-cat's wounds in horror. "Never mind- come on, get up, you can tell me once you've been taken care of. Let's go to the medicine den. Mottleheart will fix you up." She nudged Fernfeather with an urgent gray paw, ready to help her up.

(OOC: That's okay, you're a super busy person/cat. Probably would've helped if I had told you about it, so sorry about that. XD)

Fernfeather hazily looked up at the muffled shout and the blurred cat approaching her. At first, she didn't recognize this cat. Was this a StarClan cat? Were they finally coming to take her away from this hell of a life she'd been unfairly forced to live?

...No, wait. This wasn't a StarClan cat. It was... Quailfeather. She was still alive. Great. Now she gets to live the rest of her life not just with one working eye, but with no tail as well. Great StarClan, why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to deserve this?

She felt her former mentor and motherly figure nudge her, wanting to help lift her up off the ground, and though at first she considered ignoring her and staying down, she didn't want to seem ungrateful to the cat who had always helped her whenever she needed it. She stumbled to her paws, feeling very weak from blood-loss now, and she leaned rather heavily on Quailfeather's side.

Tears began to slowly bead in her eyes as she stared down at the ground, and her voice came out in a barely audible whisper. "It's not fair..."

Quailfeather leaned in hard to support her, using the muscles in her lithe frame to keep Fernfeather and herself standing. Against her will, her eyes began to sting at her former apprentice's broken tone. She'd been so bright, so happy.... "It's going to be okay," the senior warrior purred reassuringly, not really believing it. "You'll be fine. Mottleheart will help you. Just... one paw after the other...." The gray speckled she-cat began to walk slowly towards the medicine den, taking the young warrior with her.

Fernfeather obeyed, slowly walking with Quailfeather to the medicine den, finding it very difficult to see where she was going with her good eye swimming with tears. Her voice was soft and heartbroken when she finally spoke, just outside of the medicine den. "What did I do wrong?... I thought I was a good apprentice to you... a good warrior to WindClan... Why is StarClan punishing me?..."

The she-cat's voice broke Quailfeather's heart. However, her strength didn't falter as she led the warrior she saw as a daughter towards the entrance of the medicine den. "It's not StarClan's punishment," she whispered fiercely, hoping it was true. "You were a wonderful apprentice, and were- are- a great warrior. This is just a... a trial from StarClan, so you can prove your loyalty! It will get better, Fernfeather." Though she meant then, the reassuring words rang hollow. The senior warrior wasn't too sure of herself.

The half-blinded she-cat looked up at her former mentor, the only cat who felt like a mother to her. She could still see doubt shining in the older cat's blue eyes. Whimpering, she pressed her head into Quailfeather's shoulder, standing there and wobbling on her legs for a few moments more, before finally collapsing to the floor. The blood loss from her missing tail was really taking a toll on her, and she began to breathe heavily, feeling very dizzy. She knew she was going to be sick.