Burning Like Fire (Closed)

Sparkpaw had made it her goal to remain unseen by any really important cats that actually care about her. Mainly Sans, Thornstar, and Daisyflame, while Poppyheart was still out there doing who knows what to her poor brothers and sister. The last thing she needed was to be scolded, being told off about everything she already knew, how she shouldn't have picked that fight with that self-entitled SkyClan prick. Her shoulders still hurt from where he grazed his claws, and after landing hard on one of them, it felt especially sore. She could still walk just fine, though -- well, well enough -- so she figured it hadn't been dislocated. She still walked with a bit of a limp, though. Hopefully, Mothpaw and her herbs would be able to fix that.

Slipping into the medicine den, Sparkpaw collapsed into a heavy sit at the mouth, panting softly at the exertion of energy needed to make it back to camp all on her own. She looked up, scanning the darkened den for her aunt. Either her dark fur was making it really easy for Sparkpaw not to find her, or she wasn't in the den. She grunted in irritation, her patience running thin. "Mothpaw! Where are you? I, uh ... I need you to look me over...." she hissed softly to herself, feeling a bit ashamed that she needed to ask for help. She didn't like asking other cats for help with anything, being too prideful and stubborn to accept she can't do everything on her own.

Mothpaw padded into her den, mouth full with a bundle of herbs set gently next to the stores - which had, with time, become more organized, but still remained fairly incomprehensible to anyone that wasn't her. It was at this point, as she looked up, that she realized she was not alone in her den. "Sparkpaw," she greeted pleasantly - a pleasantness that faded as she took in the sight before her. "Oh... What happened to you?"

"Oh, you wanna know what happened? I'll tell you what happened!" Sparkpaw growled, ears drawn back in anger as her tail whipped to and fro behind her. "That stupid, rotten SkyClan warrior happened, that's what! So I accidentally crossed the border trying to catch a squirrel, so what? I didn't catch it, it was an accident! And then he had the gall to attack me when he could so clearly see I was trying to get back to my side anyway!" She huffed softly after her spurt of venting was exhausted, slumping down in a mossy nest and grunting loudly as the harsh movement rekindled the burning ache in her shoulders. Of course, that was exactly how the confrontation went, but she wasn't about to go tattling on herself when she knew she was already going to get quite the talking to from her mother and father ... and possibly from her aunt as well.

Clearly, Mothpaw hadn't expected the younger cat's outburst, and shrunk back slightly at the aggressive tone. "Okay... Calm down," she said once the younger warrior apprentice seemed to be finished. "So... You crossed the border by accident, and the SkyClan cat attacked you when you tried to get back to our side," she said slowly, trying to make sure she had the full picture. She trusted her Clanmates enough not to lie to her, at least. "Well... I don't think he was right to attack you, Sparkpaw, but I do need you to stay still so I can see what I need to do."

She took a good, close look at Sparkpaw then, rather than the quick glance she had at first. Claw marks on her shoulders and her muzzle, and some blood still dripping down her shoulders... "Is there anything you need help with that I can't see?" she asked, already gathering herbs from the stores.

Sparkpaw glanced down at her aunt's -- or would it be older sister's? -- words, trying to ward off the small gnawing guilt that began to grow in her belly. She wasn't exactly telling the truth, but Mothpaw had believed her anyway. Would that mean she'd be disappointed if she found out she was actually partially to blame for her injuries -- and for wasting her precious stock of herbs right before the colder moons when they would be needed most? Normally, she wouldn't really care, but Mothpaw was family, and she honored family just as much as she honored her loyalty to her Clan.

Even if you think you might get in trouble, you will always be better off telling the truth rather than lying, her uncle's voice echoed through her head. Even if Poppyheart was so incredibly annoying and downright insufferable, she still had to give him credit for his sense of integrity. He had always taught her and her littermates that honesty was always the best policy, and that the truth was always better than a well-meant lie ... or any lie in general.

She sighed softly as Mothpaw looked over her wounds. "...I taunted the warrior confronting me. I was just trying to distract him with grief or sorrow or something I thought he had regarding his missing tail long enough for me to cross back over the border, but he didn't take it too well. Obviously. It's my fault I got attacked for egging him on when I shouldn't have." ...Huh. It actually fell a little better confessing and telling the truth. It certainly made the guilt go away -- though now it was quickly being replaced with shame for lying. "...That SkyClan warrior tossed me off him when I pinned him down. I had landed hard on my right shoulder. I can still move my leg and paw, but it's really sore. Can you ... do something for that, too?" she asked softly, almost timidly.

Mothpaw continued sorting out the herbs she'd need - horsetail, marigold, and cobwebs - as Sparkpaw explained the truth of what had happened. "I see," she mused. "So you taunted him, and he attacked you? What you did still wasn't right, but I think you recognize that; and I'm not here to lecture you about lying. I'm here to help! ...Besides, if we never made mistakes then we would never learn anything. And yes, I can help with that, too," she added a moment later, gathering a few poppy seeds and setting them away from the other herbs.

She chewed the marigold and horsetail into a poultice before applying them to the still-bleeding shoulder wounds, and used a small amount of cobwebs to hold them in place. "As for feeling sore... Try these," she nudged the poppy seeds toward Sparkpaw. "They'll make you feel better, but they might also make you sleepy. Then again, I was going to tell you to rest, anyway... So I guess it doesn't matter so much, does it?"

Unprepared for the sudden stinging of the herbal poultice, Sparkpaw inwardly hissed and dug her claws into the soft marshy ground to bear through the sharp pain, slowly releasing her grip when it began to ebb away into a cool relief. The stickiness of the cobwebs applied over it felt weird, but she wasn't about to nip at them. Finally, at the medicine cat apprentice's instructions, she lapped up the tiny black seeds and swallowed them. "Thank you, Mothpaw. I apologize for lying to you. I won't do it again. Um...." She gently pawed at the moss bed she lay in. "Does that mean I need to sleep in here if those seeds are gonna make me sleepy? Or should I go back to the apprentices' den? And ... can you tell my parents, mentor, and uncle what happened? I don't think I'm ready to face them yet."

"You can stay here or you can go back to your next, if you'd feel more comfortable there," Mothpaw explained. "But I think you need to explain things yourself. You don't have to face them just yet, but you do have to do it eventually."

Exhaling a long and heavy sigh, Sparkpaw lowered her head, drawing back her ears. ”I guess there’s just no easy way around this, huh.... Alright, I’ll go find Daisyflame and tell him first, I suppose. I was supposed to be out training with him after I finished hunting with—” Oh, great StarClan, that’s right! She had completely ditched Poppyheart, and after seeing how worked up he had gotten over Nightpaw’s brief disappearance during the Gathering, he was sure to be in quite the frenzy right now. ”Uhh, I guess I’ll just go now and work things out. Thanks again, Mothpaw.” With that, she quickly slipped out of the den.