[open] A Restless Breeze

Cloverpaw lay in the medicine den on his belly for the millionth day in a row, his legs spanned behind him and forepaws on either side of his face as they stretched before him. In the past few days he had begun to experiment with sleeping on his sides - with Aspenpaw's approval, of course, and some help initially. He couldn't stay on one side for too long or else his ribs would start hurting on that side. Today, both his sides were already sore. He would only be in pain if he tried to roll over, and so even though he felt like his entire chin, chest, and belly were going to fall off from being numb, he stayed in the best position for him. He didn't want to be in the medicine den anymore; he knew he wasn't close to recovered yet, but StarClan, a cat could only lay in the same space for so long before they started wanting to tear their own fur out. Aspenpaw did his best, though, to keep him mildly entertained so that he could relax and recover. Cloverpaw tried not to take it for granted.

The little silver tom had just received a fresh poultice on his mangled tail, which he had finally looked at for the first time a few days ago. The SkyClan medicine cat, Mintwhisker, had been correct that there likely wouldn't be a way to salvage it; it had bent one way, back the other, and then the other way once more. It still hurt too badly for Cloverpaw to get a feel for how much use he had left in it, but the medicine cats warned him he could end up with none if he wasn't careful. He kept it as still as he could; it helped that it was wrapped in a splint of sticks to try to keep it from twitching. His other wounds - the massive bitemark that reached all the way around his back to his sides - had healed considerably, likely a boon of his young age. The bones were what hurt the most.

A shadow fell over the medicine den and Cloverpaw's head immediately lifted, hoping that perhaps it was his dad, or maybe one or his sisters, or their mom, coming to see him. He tried not to notice the empty space where Quailpaw's name would once have sat. Perhaps the guest was only there for Aspenpaw or Mintwhisker, anyways.

Goldenpaw backed into the medicine den, carrying a large rabbit behind her. It was fresh, and smelled slightly of Grousefrost. Once she had settled it in front of her brother she sat next to him, puffing slightly from the effort of carrying the prey. After a moment she turned and smiled at her dear brother, gesturing to the rabbit. "Check out how huge this thing is!! Grousefrost caught it, or so he claims. I figured we could share it between ourselves, and Aspenpaw!" She purred, touching her nose to his cheek gently. "How are you feeling today? Doing alright? Anything new in the medicine den?" She wanted to press against her brother, share tongues with him, but she had a feeling it would only hurt him more. She couldn't wait until he got to join her once again, out of the medicine cat den.

Baypaw walked in the medicine cat den to find three of the WindClan apprentices together. He had been hoping to see just Cloverpaw, but the cream coated tabby was fine with the other apprentices around. 

His hazel gaze quickly locked on a rabbit that Goldenpaw had set down. The young apprentice then started to smell the scent of his mentor, Grousefrost. He wrinkled his nose teasingly as the smell of the experienced warrior washed over him.

    "Is anyone gonna eat this rabbit?" The beige apprentice asked. He, obviously wasn't dumb and knew they were gonna eat it; though he really wanted to sink his teeth into it, and after a long day of training the young and bold apprentice thought that he deserved some of the prey, even if Cloverpaw probably needed it more than him.

Mistypaw trotted into the medicine den. “Hey bro,how you doing?” She asked softly. She didn’t want to worry Cloverpaw,so she tried not to cry at the sight of him,but seeing her twin so beat up broke her heart. And his tail,her poor little brother’s tail....StarClan,why was this happening? She needed her brother,he was her best friend! 

She came closer,forcing a smile. “I expect to see you on your feet soon. We have a lot of catching up to do you know.”

Aspenpaw's daily ant check had gone swimmingly. The colony was growing and he enjoyed tracking their progress as they dug beneath the earth just outside camp. It reminded him of the many tunnelers finding their way around in the ground below. They had a lot to learn from ants, he considered. Though, as it often was, his personal time was cut short by the need to take herbs for the morning. His seizures were responding well to his current treatment, a delicate balance of chamomile, thyme, and one poppy seed. No more than one seed, of course, or he'd be falling over himself for the rest of the day. There was more mewing in the medicine den than usual, and he saw strikingly apprentice-shaped tails sticking out of the entrance. He rolled his eyes. Cloverpaw had more visitors... too many at once!

Well, so long as they didn't touch his spiders or disrupt Cloverpaw's recover, he considered it a good thing. Poor scrap was lonely, cooped up in the den all day. He hobbled through the wall of apprentices, hip checking them by accident a few times as he sat down beside the injured one. "Cloverpaw's done a lot of good healing, you all should know," he said quietly as he pressed his paws to his patient's ribs, feeling for the breaks that were slowly healing, "He's lucky he wasn't bleeding internally. His tail's about as crooked as a RiverClan leader, but, eh. It adds character." He licked the top of Cloverpaw's head, flattening a stray tuft of fur. He wasn't half bad to have around, if the medicine cat was honest with himself. He was almost sad to see him go, but he had to be a warrior eventually. There were too many apprentices being doubled up these days, and with so much tragedy, the whole clan needed a ceremony or two to rouse their spirits. "I'm proud of all of you. You're growing to be fine warriors. You're all due for a trip to the Moonstone soon, hm? How's an out-of-body experience sound to you folk?"

"If only." Finchstar purred at Aspenpaw's last statement, weaving his way under the gorse bush. His yellow eyes sparked as he saw the gaggle of apprentices now circling his own. Their support and comradery was admirable, and the leader smiled at their presence. "I think Cloverpaw may be due for one, hmm? I wish I could drag the moonstone here for you. How are you 'paw? Aspenpaw hasn't let any spiders crawl into your nest, has he?" Finchstar gave the medicine cat a wink as he carefully made his way over to Cloverpaw's bedside. A large rabbit sat at Goldenpaw's feet and Finchstar smiled, joyful at the effort siblings brought to their brother. It seemed Mistypaw kept her smile as well, and even Baypaw had come for a visit.

The leader had become more accustomed to the den during the past few sunrises, making sure to at least stop by once a day to say hello, or deliver prey. Word had it Cloverpaw had been trying to rest on his sides lately, and Finchstar hoped his ribs could heal nicely. The silver tabby's tail, however, seemed it would always be a little crooked, but as Aspenpaw said, it added character. He hoped the apprentice wouldn't feel self-conscious about it. It was just a sign of life, gathering marks that they lived and breathed under the sun. All cats held them, and some perhaps lived more wildly than others. To all their own.

Baypaw sniffed the air 'inside' the den. The young tabby was already feeling restless from sitting. "How have you survived this for almost a moon?!" He asked Cloverpaw. The cream colored apprentice was both impressed and concerned for the injured cat's mental health. If I knew myself, it would be that I would NEVER be able to lay still for that long!


  Without warning, Baypaw took a small nibble on the rabbit. Even if it was a small piece, the young tom could taste the Grousefrost in it; however, the beige coated apprentice still swallowed it as he was hungry and, besides the taste of the smell of his mentor, the rabbit actually tasted okay. Baypaw stuck out his tongue teasingly as the morsel of prey he ate went down his throat. "Like the slight smell Grousefrost, there's also a slight taste of him." The light tabby mewed humorously.




  Inside of him, Baypaw felt happy that he had found someone to talk with (Besides his mentor and Mistypaw). He had been so busy training that he had almost forgotten how to enjoy life. But now, the cream colored apprentice felt relaxed and happy that he was able to spend time with his Clan-mates.

Indeed, Goldenpaw was the first to break through the quite of the den, her pale golden fur appearing as she backed through the doorway rear-first. Cloverpaw had to stifle a giggle, feeling the contracting of his muscles threatening to make his bones ache again. "Aha, um, Goldenpaw? Are you broken?" he questioned as she slowly entered, and once she was fully in view he realized that she was dragging a massive rabbit. Cloverpaw exclaimed, "Wow!" as she pulled it directly in front of him. She was slightly winded from the effort, but she excitedly explained where - and who - it had come from, and suggested that they share it. Cloverpaw nodded enthusiastically with agreement, and he stretched ever so slightly to return his sister's gentle cheek touch.

The silver apprentice eagerly took one bite of the rabbit as Goldenpaw settled beside him, as close as she could safely manage. Cloverpaw appreciated her conscientiousness; Aspenpaw had accidentally bumped him twice so far and both of them felt miserable afterwards. The medicine cat had been giving his patient a slightly larger berth when walking around him since then. Another shadow appeared at the entrance of the den and Cloverpaw recognized his former denmate, Baypaw, padding in to join the other two apprentices. The ginger tom asked for some rabbit, and through his own mouthful Cloverpaw replied, "Helb youlself!"

Before he could respond to Goldenpaw's question, his other sister, Mistypaw, arrived, greeting him with a gentle voice as she peeked in the entrance of the den. "You can talk like a normal cat, Mistypaw, you won't break me," Cloverpaw teased, trying to help ease her tension a little bit. He looked between his sisters, answering their questions of concern, "I'm alright - much better today!"

Aspenpaw reappeared from his ant check - Cloverpaw had come to learn a few days ago that going to a certain anthill was part of the medicine cat's daily routine - and tried to wriggle his way through the gathered crowd, bumping a few unapologetically as he entered his own den. The silver tabby turned to the others, confirmed that, indeed, Cloverpaw had been healing swiftly. Morbidly he also continued with how badly it could've been, but Cloverpaw simply turned his head back to the rabbit and took another small bite.

Another voice sounded from the entrance of the den and Cloverpaw immediately perked up again. "Finchstar!" he greeted brightly, and then suddenly he flinched and spat as his tail had reflexively lifted with happiness at seeing his mentor. The wounded tail had flopped back down immediately - no more painfully than simply shifting had been - and Cloverpaw let out a strained, nervous laugh. "I-I'm okay guys, don't worry, it's just a twinge." The tiny movement had his heart racing and adrenaline threatening to rise. He looked apologetically over his shoulder at Aspenpaw, muttering, "Sorry. I wasn't thinking about it." He had just been so excited to see everyone at once; he'd let his guard down for just a moment. Mintwhisker had already warned him plenty of times how one careless movement could undo a moon of healing.

So many others had come in after her, including her sister Mistypaw. Welcoming her other sibling with a purr and a hearty nudge to the shoulder. She smiled as her brother and the younger Baypaw helped themselves to the rabbit, gesturing towards it to Aspenpaw. "You have some too, Aspenpaw. Your walking and his tail are practically the same!" She teased, eyes glowing with his mention of warrior ceremony before she realized Cloverpaw would have to keep waiting. She licked her brother's ear gently. "We'll be the finest warriors in WindClan, all fo-three of us!" She exclaimed as Finchstar walked in, and she flushed in embarrassment. Oh StarClan, had he heard her? She nodded respectfully to the leader before leaning forward to take a bite of the rabbit herself, it was certainly a good treat - she was glad she went with the big rabbit with how many cats had come to visit. At Finchstar's comment of bringing the Moonstone to him, she swallowed quickly and mewed. "What if we carry you? I'll carry you with me, and we can have our visit together!"