A blinded Fernfeather

Softpaw stumbled as he lead his wounded sister back into the camp, her weight heavy on his side. Oh Starclan, she had already lost so much... and now her other eye? A cynical part of Softpaw couldn't help but think that Starclan was laughing at Fernfeather, punishing her just for the sake of it. Softpaw lead his sister through the camp entrance, and he immediately called out for help. "Ashstar! ... Mottleheart? Featherlight?! Anybody, please help!" He wailed, resisting the urge to gag at the feeling of his sister's blood in his fur.

Fernfeather whimpered and mewled as she stumbled alongside Softpaw, tentatively placing one paw in front of the other. She couldn't believe the day had finally come. She had lost both eyes. She had lost the only thing that kept her from having to retire early to the elder's den and give up on her dream entirely to become a great WindClan warrior. It hurt so, so much. Why would StarClan do this to her?... She did nothing wrong!...

She just wanted to be a warrior...

And now she can never be one.

Mottleheart had been doing a count of what herbs he had, making a note of which ones he would have to tell his apprentice to keep an eye out for whenever she tried to find some when the sound of a yowl caught his attention. His ears perked as he jumped to his paws, quickly knowing that whenever those names were called like that, it meant nothing good. He spared a look at his herbs, trying to figure out which ones he would have to grab. He turned, poking his head out for just a second to get a handle of what was going on. In the middle of the camp was Softpaw and Fernfeather - the warrior leaning on sister. There was scratches on Fernfeather, but the worst was the one across her face. His heart sank - well aware that Fernfeather had been half-blind but...Just looking at the wound, he wasn't sure if he could save the other one.

Very quickly, he pulled back into his den and gathered up the goldenrods and celandine - he would have to get somebody else to grab cobwebs as he just didn't have the paws for it. He could get them to bring Fernfeather into his den but...No, he had to work fast. "What happened?" he grumbled through the herbs as he darted from his den, coming to a halt between the two as he turned his gaze onto Softpaw. He could see the blood staining each of their claws - there had been a fight but he certainly didn't smell another Clan on them. He gently pressed his paw onto Fernfeather's side, trying to get her to lay down as he leaned forward. "You are going to be alright, Fernfeather," he whispered, but he wasn't sure how much she would believe him. "I'm going to do everything that I can." With that, he started to chew up the herbs he had brought as he waited for a response and for the rest of the Clan to gather at the scene that was taking place in the middle of the camp.

"T-there... there was a raccoon. It came out of n-nowhere, and we tried to fight it off, but..." Softpaw whimpered, desperately wanting to help but not knowing how. "It w-went for her eyes. I... I failed her..." He trailed off into a whisper, watching Mottleheart get to work. "I-is there anything I can do to help? A-anything at all?" Softpaw asked urgently.

Hearing her name yowled out, Ashstar rushed out of her den. Her heart sank at the sight of a blind, bleeding Fernfeather. "Oh, no...." The poor she-cat. StarClan, why are you like this? It brought back too many memories, cat after cat she'd seen bleeding in the center of camp. Once, it had been Mottleheart himself. Once, it had been her best friend and mate, mauled by a ShadowClan patrol.... Fortunately for them, this incident wasn't another Clan's fault, because she would have gone and declared war instantly. Instead, the helpless rage she felt had nowhere to go- nowhere but up. She swallowed her anger and desperation for the moment though, and instead ran up to the bleeding she-cat, giving Mottleheart his space. "Is- is she going to be all right?" the leader asked faintly, knowing the answer already due to the wound's severity. She just couldn't believe their warrior ancestors could beat such a happy she-cat down so low.

Fernfeather brokenly whimpered as she laid down as Mottleheart had directed her. She desperately hoped he would be able to save her one good eye... but she knew he wasn't going to be able to. No one was able to save her left eye when it was first blinded, or her tail when it was ripped off of her on the Thunderpath, or even the scars in her pads that she herself inflicted. How could he possibly have any hope to save what was left of her sight, the thing that still kept her going and trying to become a substitute of the warrior she had always dreamed of being?

She heard pawsteps approaching, and she scented the Clan leader before she spoke. Her heart broke even more. Ashstar had just lost a potentionally valuable warrior. One of Quailfeather's apprentices had been beaten down to nothing more than a bloodied husk of the cat she used to be, violently ripped away from the cat she had always wanted to be. Her whimpers turned into soft weeping. "A-Ashst-star... I'm s-sorry... I tried so h-hard... I wanted to m-make you all proud... But a-all I've ever done was f-fail you... I c-couldn't be the warrior the C-Clan needed... F-Forgive m-me...!" The last two words came out in a whole-bodied sob.

Mottleheart turned his gaze to Softpaw as she spoke up, giving the apprentice a sharp nod as he spat out the herbs he had been chewing. "There should be a collection of cobwebs in the back of the den - I need you to go get them for me so I can finish closing up this wound," he explained in a quick, calm voice. He blinked at the sound of pawsteps, turning away from the apprentice to find Ashstar racing up. His ears flickered down, his heart sinking at the worry in the leader's eyes as he turned back to tending to the worst of Fernfeather's wounds. With the she-cat now on her side, he picked up the celandine carefully in his mouth, letting the juice drip into the injured eye before he settled it down and started to smear the goldenrod over her wounds. "She will survive," the medicine cat said gravely at Ashstar's question, knowing that it was the best answer he could give.

Now that he was up close, he could tell that it would take a miracle from StarClan to save the warrior's remaining eye and he felt his heart sink even more. She had already paid so much, and he paused in his duties as the warrior started to whimper weak apologizes. He leaned forward, pressing his nose against the side of her neck as he let out a soft breath. "You have no need to apologize for anything, Fernfeather," he hummed softly, knowing the feeling she was going through rather well as he had blamed himself for being a terrible warrior time and time again after the many times the world seemed to lash out at him. "The world can be cruel. There are many ways to serve our Clan - you won't need your vision for all of them. None of us are angry at you for this, so please, save your breath. We'll work through this, I swear to you, Fernfeather." With that, he pulled back and went back to tending to the wounds, waiting for Softpaw to arrive with the cobwebs so he could close up the wounds.

Softpaw blinked back his tears and ran into the medicine den, looking around for the cobwebs he had been sent for. As soon as he saw them, he snatched them up and bolted back outside, back to his sister. He gently laid down the cobwebs at Mottleheart's feet, then turned to push his nose into Fernfeather's pelt in a comforting gesture, though he couldn't tell if he was trying to comfort her or himself. "I-it'll be okay, Fernfeather... this i-isn't the end for you. We'll get though this together." He murmured softly, ignoring the scent of her blood.

Fernfeather whined loudly at the harsh sting of the herb juices in her eyes, digging her claws into the sand to keep from thrashing. She had the medicine cat, her brother, and even the Clan leader with her now, but more than anyone she wanted to see-- er... feel the presence of her love. "S-Swiftstep... Where's... Where's Swiftst-step?...

Ashstar shook her head in a stunned sort of grief as the blinded warrior dissolved in sobs. The scene was just too much. The she-cat had been so happy, so good, so kind.... "No, Fernfeather. You have not failed. You were- you are- a great warrior. WindClan is lucky to have you. You shouldn't be sorry for anything. Never be. Forgive me, instead, for failing to protect you...." What would have happened, if she'd been there with the gray she-cat? Could she have saved her? The leader withheld a depressed sigh. If leadership had taught her anything, it was that what-ifs would do you no good. If anything, it would only make things worse. But it was so hard not to blame herself for not helping the already half-crippled warrior. Now, all she could do was stand back and let Mottleheart work.

Mottleheart dipped his head to Softpaw came padding back in thanks as he scooped up the cobwebs and started to place them on the injuries. As he worked, his tail lashing - the only hint of annoyance from him at the small group that was gathering around the she-cat. Normally he would have ordered them back - give him space to work but he knew that their presences were needed for Fernfeather. The she-cat was half delirious in her injured state, sending away her brother and mate wouldn't be smart for the patient's health so he carefully worked around them. "From what Softpaw told me, there was a raccoon attack when the two were out in the territory. They managed to drive it off but not before Fernfeather got terribly injured," he explained calmly in response to Swiftstep's question.

The medicine cat was thankful for Ashstar's presence - and that she was smart enough to give him room. As he finished, he stood up with a soft shake of his head. "I've done all that I can. Swiftstep, Softpaw, can you please lead Fernfeather into my den? There should be an extra nest she can take in there. She'll have to stay in there for a while so I can keep an eye on her injuries and make sure they heal correctly" he said as he leaned for, pressing his nose to Fernfeather's forehead in a soft gesture before he pulled away and focused on the two toms. "You two are welcomed to stay by her side for a bit, but try to get her to get some sleep." As he finished talking, his gaze shifted to Ashstar with a sad look. He wished there was more he could do to save her, but the fate of her sight was in StarClan's paws.