Proof of Blood (Open // Lionize)

OOC1: Please read Scarlet Fine for details of how Foxfire got into this state.

IC: There was a trail of blood following Foxfire as he stumbled into the camp, a single eye wide with panic, terror and pain...The other one closed as blood collected around it. Blood trickled down his face - from his tattered ear to mirror the one he had gotten a moon before - from the sharp, deep scratches dangerously close to his eyes… From his side, his chest...From his throat, fine pieces of skin and fur missing from where teeth had sank and tore...So many wounds, this pelt being dyed even redder as he tried to swallow past the blood that bubbled around his throat. “Sa-Sagelght,” he gasped, gurgled past the blood, as he threw himself toward the medicine cat den. But perhaps it was being in the safety of the camp, he felt the adrenaline that had been pumping through him - letting him stumble this far - disappear in an instance as the deputy collapsed to the ground.

No. His breath caught in his throat, terror flooding through him as he stretched out a paw toward the slated rock that was the medicine cat den. He was so close - what if Sagelight hadn’t heard him, what if nobody had heard him...It was late, the moon was setting and so everybody was in their dens, ready for the night of sleep that awaited them.  He shouldn’t have been out of the camp, not by himself, but he had needed the time to himself, to escape the weight of his mantle and yet...And yet it had almost ended with him dying...Or perhaps. Perhaps he still would… A soft cry worked its way out of his throat as his head fell to the ground, barely having the energy to hold it upright.

He was tired. He was so tired from the weight on his shoulders, from the harrowing fight, from making his way back...He wanted to close his eyes, to sleep. To escape the pain that was slowly increasing as his body grew more sluggish, ripping another sob from his throat. Why? Why him? Why him for any of this? Why had Spottedstar ended up making him deputy? Why had that ShadowClan cat attacked him? Why? Why bother? He wanted to give up, to curl up into a ball and sleep but...He knew that if he closed his eyes, he wouldn’t... He would only let everybody down and that terror kept his eyes open, pleading as he stared at the den. “S-Sagelight,” he croaked louder, tears threatening to spill down his face as he prayed that the medicine cat would hear him - that anybody would hear him. “Any-Anybody...H-Help…”

OOC2: A rough list of Foxfire's wounds - Claw marks on his muzzle, the biggest being where claws raked down from his forehead down to his muzzle, fitting neatly between his eyes - along with some claw marks painfully close to the outer part of his left eye (but did not blind him). A bite mark on his throat, along with some chucks missing from when the teeth were violently torn away (he is very lucky that it barely missed taking out a vital part of his throat). His non-tattered ear is now...Well, tattered from being bitten. Deep claw marks in his back and chest. All in all? He is in very bad shape.

Flowerthorn pushed her way out of the den. Waking up in the middle of her sleep from a nightmare. The words Starclan had left her still echoing in her mind. Her original intention was to go out to the Moonlit creek to relax and get a drink when the smell of blood halted her mid step. Dull blue eyes widened, the sleepiness that clung to her from just waking up, was completely gone. She scanned the clearing frantically looking for the source. There was too much of the smell to be a piece of prey..

She froze as a weak voice reached her ears. No... No no no... Not him. Her lifeless eyes landed on Foxfire slumped in the camp. The stench of blood clearly coming from him. Who... What... No.. Those were the only words that were in her mind. Frantically she scrambled closer to the deputy. Her voice echoing soft, "No.. no no no no.." In a bit of a pattern as her mind tried to process what was in front of her. Her friend.. He... A soft gasp escaped her as a picture of a dead Tinylegs from the trial flashed in her mind.. But.. But Foxfire didn't have lives.

The pale she-cat let out a yowl loud enough to wake anyone who wasn't dead to the world asleep. "Sagelight!" Oh stars.. Oh stars... Please let the medicine cat hear her.. Please let him be able to save Foxfire. The clan needed him.. Why couldn't she have been in his place instead? She deserved it more..

She nudged her friend with her nose not caring if the scent of blood and whatever else overwhelmed her. She needed him to be awake. At least she thought that is what she was supposed to do. Keep him awake right? If it meant a pain would keep him awake for now then so be it. Her blue eyes flicked over the various wounds on his body wondering what she should try to stop the bleeding for first. She didn't have any cobwebs but she could try with her paws right? She pressed her ears flat to her head. She didn't have time for a mental debate with herself. She pressed her paws to what she thought was the deepest wound trying to get any bleeding to stop. It was the most she could do for now.

Only one thought remained in her mind. "Who... Who did this?" She growled, airing her thought.

Peace had been most of the young she-cat's life thus far. Few extraordinary events had shattered her wonderful life, safe within the walls of Skyclan territory. But this would be one. It happened just as he paws reached the edge of the freshkill pile. Several tempting options danced through the air and to pick just one meant to deprive her of the others. Before being able to select her meal, a sharp-scent cut through the air and reached her nostrils. Now, blood was not a foreign scent to a forest cat by any means. But, to this amount, there was no denying something was frighteningly wrong. The fur along her spine rose at the smell almost immediately. Before she heard the croak of her best friend. Before she turned and saw the mess that was Foxfire.

And when she did, everything else was forgotten in a flash.

Her paws hardly touched the earth as she flew to his side. Flowerthorn, the newest named warrior, was already there, pressing her paws to his wounds. Basilpaw stared for a moment, not sure how to react. This was the first time she had ever seen such a thing. However, she knew that she needed, had to, be near him. She padded, hesitantly so, but with an unyielding pace, to his side and pressed herself up against him. The rise and fall of his sides spoke of the life that still pounded through his veins and spilled out onto the earth with each breath. A low whimper left the she-cat as she began to lick at the fur just under his ear and nuzzled him like she had so many times before. Ignoring the tang of blood, Basilpaw whispered, "I-it's okay, Fox. It's going to be okay. We still have to hunt bugs together. You can't go anywhere, okay? Okay?"

Sound asleep in the apprentice's den was Amberpaw. A curious creation. She was just laying on her soft fluffy tail when she felt a small shuffle beside her. Shocked, she battered at it but only hit air. The tall cat opened her eyes to see that her sister had left the nest. She shook all of the nest-junk off her fur and went off to look for her. Her scent was fresh and she easily found the grey furred cat. Before she could say hi she saw the lump of reddish-brown fur laying in front of her. She flinched as she saw the blood pile that was Foxfire in front of her. "I- Basilpaw.. Foxfire." She couldn't understand what was going on. "I'll get..." She barely made out the words in her shocked state. "Sagelight, Sagelight!" She called desperately "i-it's Foxfire!" She looked unwillingly back at the fallen warrior. "Y-yes, he'll be fine..." She made a promise which she was afraid that it wouldn't be kept

Spottedstar beheld his deputy, scarlet and ginger blending together before him in a grotesque mural of violence. All at once, deep fear, grief, and anger crashed together in the leader's chest. His deputy, his apprentice, his friend lay unmoving in camp and Spottedstar couldn't see the reason for it. Others had already asked him the important questions, but there would likely be no answer until Sagelight treated Foxfire and he got some rest. Flowerthorn and Amberpaw were already calling for the medicine cat; he'd be present shortly, Spottedstar figured as he approached the crumpled form.

"We're here, Foxfire. SkyClan's here." He settled next to the tom's form, sharing warmth in the cold night without concern of the blood brushing off on his own pelt. Instead, he looked over Foxfire's form, analyzing wounds and trying to piece together what might have happened. Claw marks and tooth gouges like a cat's. No discernable scent other than blood and fear. He was livid, extended claws tearing at he dust beneath him, but he was doing his best to keep his cool. Anger was best directed at his enemies, not his clanmates, but it was hard to resist the urge to scream at someone. Anyone. Anything he could blame for his deputy's mauling. They'd pay.

Foxfire could hear voices, cries for Sagelight - his friends. The deputy weakly raised his head as he perked up at the noises, wanting to try to sooth them, to calm them but...He was no in state. He could hear Flowerthorn - oh Flowerthorn - asking who had done it. Basilpaw begging him not to leave, that they still had so much fun to do together. Amberpaw's voice...Spottedstar. A small burst of energy filled him at the sound of his mentor's voice, struggle to raise his head to find him among the gathered cats. There was still no Sagelight - he hoped he would arrive soon. He... "S-ShadowClan," he gasped, finally answering Flowerthorn's question although his gaze was weakly fixed on the leader. "A Shad-ShadowClan cat. Attacked me...Not sure...Not sure who. But was i-in our territory. Rev-Revenge...For Redwing," he murmured, his head sinking back to the ground as he struggled to stay awake, to not drift off as he continued to force himself to speak. "Promises...Of this not being the end. No peace...Until vengeance..."