Wounds Unwarranted [Golden/Fallow, Jaystar, Scorch needed?]

recap (continuation of this thread):

"Get out of here," Lightstep snarled again, but Hailpaw and Ridgepaw were already retreating, leaving him standing over Icepaw's weak and battered body. The RiverClan warrior watched them leave, his heart pounding. What were they doing on our side of the river? What could possibly have warranted such a gruesome attack? he wondered, and after several moments the apprentices were gone completely. Lightstep stood for several more moments before drawing back to examine Icepaw. "Icepaw? Oh, StarClan, what did she do to you?" The tom couldn't imagine what Aspenstrike would do when he saw...

Icepaw was covered in wounds from his head to his belly. Deep, merciless gouges ran through his chest and neck, head and face, shoulders, ears... His eyes were bloodied and already swollen shut, and Lightstep felt his stomach turning sour at the sight. "Oh, Icepaw, no..." he breathed, and then he wailed. The apprentice was alive, but horribly wounded, and needed help... I hate to hurt him more, but I have to carry him, Lightstep thought, already shouldering his way under to bad touch the scrap of fur over his back. StarClan, let him survive the trip, he thought fearfully, the apprentice's gushing wounds already soaking his own pelt.

---

Lightstep rushed into camp, crying, "Help! Icepaw needs help!" The white warrior prayed that Aspenstrike was behind him; his brother was always so calm. It would be unlike him to go after the ThunderClan apprentices, but after what they did to his son... I can't think about it, I just have to move, Lightstep thought as he rushed into the medicine cat den. He placed Icepaw on the ground and announced to whoever could hear, "Icepaw was mauled by a ThunderClan apprentice on our side of the river. He's bleeding so badly..." The tom whirled, looking for Flurryshine - Icepaw's mother. She had just recently suffered through the injury of one of her sons; how would she bear another? When he found her, he barred her way to the medicine den and meowed, "Please, come with me, I need to tell Jaystar and you need to know as well."

Lightstep searched quickly for his leader. "Jaystar," he called, reluctant to interrupt anything but knowing he must, "Icepaw has been attacked by a ThunderClan apprentice on our side of the border." The white warrior looked to Flurryshine, checking if she was listening as he went on, "There were two of them - Hailpaw and Ridgepaw. I was on patrol with Aspenstrike and Icepaw, and Icepaw had gotten ahead of us. I don't know what happened, but when I arrived both apprentices were on our side of the river. Hailpaw was standing over Icepaw, just clawing and clawing... Anywhere, everywhere, and Icepaw wasn't even fighting back. I shoved her away, and she still wanted to attack him... The other ThunderClan apprentice got in her way, and they left. I-I don't know where Aspenstrike has gone. I just needed to bring Icepaw back." He took a deep breath and stared fearfully at his leader. "Leopardstar needs to hear about this immediately. We can't let Hailpaw wash her paws of this before he knows."

The leader was preparing for the soon to arrive Gathering when suddenly, Lighstep, his former apprentice and grandkit approached him with a concerned look in his face. He heard his cries from his den but when he left it, the tom had already entered the medicine cats den. Soon after, the pure-furred tom was back at the clearing of the camp, searching for him, who was eager to know what happened. "Lightstep! What has happened?" He asked when he called his name. The young warrior did not make him wait and he explained to him what had happened to the young Icepaw. Why was he even surprised when Lightstep informed him that Thunderclan was involved?

After Rowanpaw and Fawnsong's deaths, it was clear that their apprentices were trained to kill, maul and destroy, breaking the laws of the Warrior Code. However... he did not share the blind view of them anymore, not after Reedheart... Jaystar frowned, his fur slightly bristled but he did not act with rage like a savage. No. He may be angry but he had to act like a leader, his mind cold but ruthless. His grandkit was right. This apprentice could not go away unpunished, not after scarring another cat for life. Her leader had to know about these two trespassers and that he was going to do something about it. Riverclan would stand other clans maiming their clanmates for not good reasons. Jaystar looked into the amber eyes of the young one and nodded, firmly and confidently. "You're right, Lightstep. Thank you for bringing him back here and inform me. I will make sure Leopardstar knows about the crimes of those two... if he's not willing to make them pay, Riverclan will do it." The tall warrior nuzzled the white-furred tom, trying to comfort him. "You've done more than enough today, Lightstep, you did what a noble warrior would do. You're Icepaw's saviour. Take a rest for today and stay with him. Thank you, my apprentice." He purred before leaving his side and giving Flurryshine a sorry and sad look.

The stripped silver cat searched for his deputy and he called for him. "Scorchclaw. Icepaw has been attacked by two ThunderClanners' trespasser. One of them has maimed him. During the next Gathering, I will address the crime to all the clans but for now, I want you to send our best fighters to the borders we share with Thunderclan. Tell them that any trespasser will be chased out immediately, no excuses. Riverclan has had enough of these prey-stealers who have the nerve to attack those who are stealing of."

Perhaps his senses were extraordinarily sharp that day, or perhaps his intuition was simply warning him. Either way, as he trod along at the head of a returning border patrol, Scorchclaw suddenly caught the faintest whiff of bloodscent. RiverClan camp had just drawn into sight when the fluffy deputy detected it. Almost instinctively, he stiffened, pulling himself up to a greater height. My imagination? ... No. Although it was hard to grasp, the metallic scent was unmistakable. Some cat, somewhere, was wounded and bleeding. A gentle breeze was embracing the patrol, hailing from the direction of the camp. Wordlessly, he quickened his strides, and his companions followed suit.

Too much time seemed to have passed before the large tabby was finally stepping through the entrance to RiverClan's camp. Almost immediately, Scorchclaw caught sight of the bright crimson stains that dyed a particular patch of grass. It was just as he had feared. What had happened this time? No minor injury would cause that much blood to be shed. Furrowing his brow, his sharp green eyes quickly scanned the clearing for Jaystar. The tall silver tom stood across the clearing, engaged in what appeared to be a distressing conversation with Lightstep and Flurryshine. With a few quick words, Scorchclaw dismissed his patrol and strode over. Just as he drew near enough to call out, Jaystar turned to face him. "Jaystar," The brown tabby greeted, his tone at once calm and serious, "what's going on?" The leader must have been looking for him, for he immediately updated the deputy.

The situation was worse than Scorchclaw had expected. Still, it was hardly surprising, especially because ThunderClan was involved. He listened quietly as Jaystar spoke, but several aspects of his body language betrayed precisely how he felt. "I will do so at once." He responded immediately. Cold flames almost seemed to dance within the depths of his intimidating green gaze. He was at once disgusted and furious to a great degree. Although moons had passed and the embers of passion had cooled somewhat, he had never once forgotten his grudge towards ThunderClan, and it was now reignited. The image of Adderpaw, bleeding profusely from the gaping wounds across her eye and barely clinging on to life flashed across his mind's eye. It was a horrendous memory that one would usually wish to forget, but he held tightly to it. If he were to ever forget what had happened, he would not be able to forgive himself. That one experience had both fueled his hate for ThunderClan and taught him to always hold close those dear to him. It was no surprise that the mange-pelted shrub-dwellers would stoop as low as to target an apprentice. They had done so once; it would be a mistake to believe that they would not repeat their actions.

Scorchclaw cast a glance in the direction of the medicine den. At this moment, who could fully understand what kind of struggle Icepaw was currently engaged in? It was only when he attempted to speak that he realized he was forcefully clenching his jaws. "He is alive, at least?" He asked tensely, flicking one tufted ear. He was mostly aware of the truth, but he still looked to Jaystar for an answer. However the young tom had been injured, he would never fully recover from such grievous wounds.

Great StarClan, why? Why?! Why was she being so cruelly punished? What had she done? Was this all because she had fallen for Hillfire many moons ago, even though she hadn't known at the time how horribly derailed he was? Or was it because she had failed to train Firepaw well enough so he could have protected himself in battle against Lichenmask and his followers? First her precious Sootpaw, and now her beloved Icepaw. What had she done wrong? StarClan, tell her, what had she done wrong to deserve this?!

Trembling from head to tail, Flurryshine struggled to keep her tears at bay as she stared down helplessly at her maimed son. From what Lightstep had said, he had been attacked by no fault of his own. Trespassers had attacked out of nowhere, ThunderClanners who should have known they were breaking the warrior code, and yet Icepaw was the one who paid the price.

If she had it her way, she would make sure those fox-hearted ThunderClanners would pay just as dearly.

She knew she wasn't thinking clearly, but she didn't care at the moment. She was too distraught to care about anything other than teaching those rogues a lesson and protect her Clan and her kits from future unjustified attacks. She turned to face Jaystar after he had given his orders to Lightstep and Scorchclaw, staring up into his green eyes with heartbroken conviction. She struggled to keep her voice low and steady, even though quivers of pent-up sobs shook her voice every so often. "Jaystar. With all due respect, I don't think simply telling ThunderClan to leave our apprentices -- our kin -- alone will do any good. We have tried time and time again to tell that Clan to back off--!" She let out a shaky sigh, trying to reign in her emotions so she wouldn't raise her voice at her leader again. Blinking tears from her eyes, she looked up at him again. "They w-won't listen, Jaystar. They n-never will, unless we make them. I understand leaf-bare is a h-horrible time to think about war, but... Icepaw..." She looked over at her broken son, and the tears finally began to fall. "Icepaw didn't deserve this. No cat deserves to be maimed by ThunderClan." She looked back up at Jaystar. "We h-have to do something about this. We c-can't let them get away with this. We n-need to teach them a lesson. We need to make them stop!..."

The look in Hailpaw's eyes was haunting Lightstep's head as he implored his leader for justice on Icepaw's behalf. After he finished speaking, he felt himself trembling as though cold. I'm anxious, and angry, he told himself, knowing that his adrenaline had likely caused his shakiness. The white warrior was immensely grateful for Jaystar's calmness during such an emotionally charged situation, but he deeply feared for the future of all RiverClan cats if ThunderClan carried on mauling his Clanmates. Jaystar seemed aware of the severity of the crime - the unfortunate frequency of which these incidents occurred - and his solemn, confident promise to bring Hailpaw to justice washed over Lightstep's nerves like a calming salve.

After his statement, Jaystar moved towards Lightstep, and the young warrior gladly sunk into his grandfather's thick gray fur, leaning against his kin and taking in the comforting warmth for a moment before they separated again. Jaystar told Lightstep to take the rest and spent the day with his nephew, and Lightstep nodded once in response, his leader's words ringing in his head alongside the malicious look of hate from the ThunderClan she-cat who mauled Icepaw. "You're Icepaw's saviour," Jaystar had said. Lightstep offered Flurryshine another look of sorrow, and as he began to pad towards the medicine cat's den to see what help he could offer for the wounded apprentice, he thought sorrowfully, If I'd stayed closer to him... If Aspenstrike and I had been paying more attention... Maybe he wouldn't need a saviour.

The white warrior entered the den and kept to the side to stay out of the way, watching the medicine cats work to stop the bleeding and offering to collect more moss, cobwebs, or herbs whenever they were needed. StarClan, let him live, he begged quietly, Let Icepaw recover from this. He didn't deserve this.

Silver ears flicked from the nursery where Dewshine was kit-sitting some of the older kits. The smell of blood made Dewshine's chest ache with worry as she emerged from the den with wide blue eyes. They fell upon the young Icepaw's form and a surge of panic flew through her. Though he was not her kit, he was Flurryshine's, and so young it hurt to see him so badly wounded. Her attention was turned towards the distressed mother as she spoke out again ThunderClan, words that could incite war... Dewshine's claws dug into the dirt before she padded to Flurryshine and pressed her head to her white shoulder comfortingly.

A pale calico ran into camp. Fur bristled as she stopped suddenly just at the entrance, then headed towards the assembly of cats, taking in the sight of the young apprentice.
"Icepaw!" She whimpered softly. Her ears lowered, then flattened angrily. She turned to her mother as she approached and listened to Flurryshine with adamance. "I agree... we should fight back, strike them hard. One of their apprentices crossed the river just to attack me on my second patrol!" Blossompaw growled, her gaze flitted to Dewshine's for a moment, softening slightly at her mother's despair of the thought of battle.

"Flurryshine..." She meowed softly underneath Flurryshine's words. "If we go to war... so many more cats..." She shuddered to think about the battlefield. Cats she knew, fighting on grounds that were already so soaked in blood... for what? Her ears flattened miserably as she knew she was alone in her opinion, but she forced it through her throat anyways. "They've never stopped just because of one fight before... " She paused as her daughter spoke, then shook her head slowly.

If there was a battle... this time she would not go. She couldn't. She didn't want to see the ugly sights of it again. Instead she flicked her tail over Blossompaw's back softly in support. She had to trust in her daughters... even if it hurt to think of them in battle.