The Night is Yours Alone [closed]

Smiling, the young apprentice gratefully accepted Flintshard's praise. Thornstar wasn't all for that kind of thing, so it was nice of him to do so. Frecklepaw had just turned around to retrieve her buried prey when she heard him yowl, and his body shielded her from the creature. Immediate panic settled within her, as she had little to no previous battle training. Her first instinct was to run, but her common sense told her otherwise- if she ran now, she would never become a warrior. Swallowing her fear, she ran towards the spiky creature, wincing as her small form smacked into its side. Several quills had pierced her skin, and she drew back in pain as she looked up to Flintshard. Her shoulder was absolutely covered in the things, and moving even slightly hurt horribly. Two of them had stuck right into her face, and her eyes began to tear up and her paws were trembling.

Frecklepaw used Run-and-Tackle, dealing -6 (-3 from distracted opponent) Health Points and using -10 Stamina Points.

Frecklepaw:
20/20 HP
55/80 SP

Porcupine:
66/90 HP
420/450 SP

Flintshard:
75/95 HP
220/250 SP

Flintshard drew toward the strange beast with a soft hiss, only to cut off as Frecklepaw suddenly rammed straight into the thing...And promptly drew back with her own share of thorns in her. He could see the creature turn, perhaps wondering what had just attacked it and so Flintshard leapt forward to slash at its head again to keep its attention on him and not the apprentice. He was rewarded with the creature suddenly spinning, nailing him in the side with its quill-covered tail. He stumbled away, every movement aching as he glanced down at the quills that dug into him. He tried to shift his leg, wiggle a couple free but it only caused the pain to increase as it was like the quills dug themselves in with the flexing of his muscle. He frowned, not showing the pain he was in all that well as he shook his head.

"Frecklepa-" he started, attention shifting toward her only to pause as he saw her. Was she...Oh no. No no no. He could deal with this beast, he could not deal with tears and emotions. With a grunt, he shifted over and stepped in front of her and the best, lowering his head as he growled at it before glancing over his shoulder. "It...You...You'll be okay, Frecklepaw. Just...Try not to move. I'll deal with this," he said, rather awkwardly as he tried to convey some sort of feeling in his words. He just...He wasn't sure what to do. How to make her stop crying. He didn't...He didn't like it. Seeing her on the verge of tears.

Flintshard used Rending Front Paws on the wild porcupine, dealing 17 damage and costing 25 stamina.
The wild porcupine used Tail Smack on Flintshard, dealing 40 damage and costing 50 stamina.

Flintshard:
35/95 HP (-40)
195/250 SP (-25)

Frecklepaw:
20/20 HP
55/80 SP

Porcupine:
49/90 HP (-17)
380/450 SP (-50)

Lifting her paw up, she limped backward slightly as the thorned creature moved. She listened to Flintshard carefully, trying to contain her tears as she looked up at him. "Y-Yes, Flinshard." She stepped back, keeping the one paw elevated as putting too much pressure on it hurt a bit too much for the small apprentice to handle. She didn't want Flintshard to have to deal with the horrid, spiky creature on his own, but she was almost sure that if she tried to attack it again she'd faint.

Flintshard spared a quick glance behind him to stare at Frecklepaw, his expression growing a bit dark with worry before he turned to focus his attention again on the prickly beast. He ducked his head, his fur fluffing as he drew closer to it with a soft growl escaping his throat. Every step sent lashing pain through him but he did his best to ignore it. The creature growled back at him, but there was something in its dull black eyes that looked almost like...Fear. Flintshard hesitated, if only to wonder why...Before he glanced at the quills that poked from his pelt. ...It was trying to scare them away. To get them to back down first but it seemed it had underestimated Flintshard's intent to protect Frecklepaw. With a sharp growl, he lunged forward and smacked it hard against the side of the head, actually managing to send the creature rolling. It awkwardly managed to stop on its belly, its pointy pelt rattling...Before it turned and scurried deep into the undergrowth - having apparently decided to cut its losses.

He watched as it disappeared, waiting until it was fully gone from sight to turn and backtrack to where Frecklepaw stood awkwardly on three legs. He paused as he drew closer, staring at the quills that stuck from her before he made the choice to turn and grip one of the ones that had stuck into his shoulder. It was an awkward position but with a strong tug, he pulled it free. It hurt, the pain even sharper as it drew blood with it. Spitting the quill to the ground, he glanced at the rest that remained in him...And turned his attention back to Frecklepaw. She still looked on the verge of tears and she wasn't in any condition to move that much. He knew the thorns could be easy enough removed but...No, it was better to let Mothglow take care of the rest with the knowledge that the pain wasn't pleasant coming back out.

"...We should head back to the camp," he finally said to break the silence, limping his way over. He slowly crouched, showing Frecklepaw the side that hadn't been covered in the quills. "Climb on. I'll carry you back to camp. Once Mothglow takes care of these...Strange thorns and you are feeling up for it, we can come back and recover the prey you caught," he explained, sparing a glance toward where the creature had disappeared. At least Frecklepaw was a small cat...Hopefully her added weight on his back wouldn't be to much of a problem but she looked like she was about to cry if she had to take another step and...He wasn't dealing with the tears. He wasn't good with tears, with emotions...Simply carrying her would be the easiest way to deal with it all.

Flintshard used Front Paw Strike on the wild porcupine, dealing 14 damage and costing 10 stamina.
Wild Porcupine fled at half-health.

Flintshard:
35/95 HP
185/250 SP (-10)

Frecklepaw:
20/20 HP
55/80 SP

Porcupine:
35/90 HP (-14)
380/450 SP

A rather dramatic gasp escaped Frecklepaw's maw as Flintshard once again smacked the thorny creature, stumbling backward and landing on her rear. She silently thanked StarClan as the prickly monster drew away, retreating in what would hopefully be a long-lasting surrender. Her eyes were still hot with tears as Flintshard turned to face her, and she shook her head when he yanked out one of his own thorns. "I... Did th-that hurt, F-Flintshard?" Her round eyes were filled with fright and pain, fear of what would happen to both of them when they got back to Mothglow's den. If it hurt to take them out as much as it did when they went in, they were both certainly in for it now.

With his first statement, Frecklepaw began to turn around, ready to get back to camp despite the piercing, throbbing pain in her shoulder and face. Her features filled with pure relief when he offered her his shoulder, and she limped over to his side thankfully. Extremely carefully, she climbed onto the large tom's back. She didn't want any of her own thorns to stick into him, so she made sure that they remained pointing directly upward and away from Flintshard. She settled easily between his shoulders, the fluffy fur on the deputy's neck covering nearly her entire body below her own shoulders. Draping her tail over her side, she nodded. "W-We can come b-back, it'll b-be okay... Th-Thank you, Flintshard." Though her voice was still slightly trembling, it was easy to see that she was genuinely grateful for him helping her out.

Flintshard didn't bother to reply on if it had hurt - having her fret over the answer on their way back would do her no good. He simply shrugged his shoulders slightly, certain that if the pain would be an issue for the young apprentice, Mothglow had plenty of ways to dull her senses before removing them. It was...Odd, having the weight of Frecklepaw on his back as she clambered on, waiting until she had nestled down to force himself to his paws. His injured leg gave a slight throb of annoyance in response, unhappy with the added weight but he ignored it as he started their long trek back to the camp. "...You're welcome," he finally said as the apprentice thanked him, figuring that perhaps it was best to...Ugh, chat to keep her mind from the pain. He could ignore his wounds easy enough, another quirk of his he supposed, having no real range of reactions when it came to the injuries, even in the thick of battle.

"I'm sure Mothglow will be able to remove the quills with little problem. You...You'll be alright, Frecklepaw. You did well, tonight. With hunting and...Bravely charging that thing," he added, sounding awkward to even his own ears as he tried to cheer her up in some way. Sure she had spent most of the fight behind him after she had gotten the thorns stuck in her, she had still charged at it in the first place. If it wasn't for its odd...Defense, he was certain she would have remained at his side. That was very...Brave given her small size. He glanced over his shoulder to look at her, seeing her nestled in his neck fur. ...He would perhaps have to keep an eye on her. She was small. Perhaps she would need added protection...

"I mean, it was really kind of dumb if you think about it," She shrugged slightly, wincing as the thorns wiggled with each movement. "I'm sure you could have handled it on your own, you know, and now you've got more of an issue to deal with now that both of us having the weird, sharp thorn thingies stuck in our fur. If I had just stayed behind like you asked I'm sure this wouldn't have happened, and you would have scared the pointy guy away without any problems at all." Yep, that's it- she'd decided that the situation might've been better if she'd just kept behind Flintshard as he told her to. "D'ya think we might wanna tell Thornstar about... the creature? I mean, he seemed pretty dangerous... I wouldn't want anyone else to run into him unprepared. Unless he's... a normal thing, but I dunno, Thornstar never told me about creatures like him before..." Frecklepaw trailed off in thought, really not waiting for a specific answer from Flintshard as he lumbered towards camp.

Flintshard listened as Frecklepaw rattled on, taking a moment to muse on her words. It was a fair point - he was rather certain he could have handled the beast on his own but... "Assumptions like that is how one gets killed, Frecklepaw," he said after a moment, doing his best to keep his gait even as he limped along. "Perhaps I could have handled it on my own. Perhaps I couldn't. Everybody dies at some point - those who are brash and idiotic are the ones who go first...And assuming that I could take something like that on my own would be an idiotic boast. Better we both have these...'Sharp thorn thingies' than for me to wind up dead because we both assumed my skills were better than they were - mostly when I am still recovering," he finished with a slight nod. Perhaps the most words he had ever spoken to Frecklepaw in his life so far, but he didn't want her to feel...Bad about her choice. He had always warned his apprentices not to assume that they could take on a beast by themselves - he shouldn't think any different just because he was older.

"...And yes, I will inform Thornstar about whatever that was. I hadn't seen a creature like that before but perhaps Thornstar might know, she is far more experienced and has no doubt seen beasts that I have yet to personally run into, for better or for worst..." with that, he allowed a silence to fall between the two. They were growing closer to the camp. While on one paw this hunting patrol had taken a...Odd turn, there was some good that had come from it. He had seen Frecklepaw's skill and bravery first paw,  something he would be certain to inform Thornstar about when also telling her about the prickly beast. He...Also surprisingly didn't mind her present that much. Perhaps it was because she reminded him a bit of Basilpaw, and he somehow didn't mind that SkyClan apprentice bothering him at the Gathering in the first place. He knew he wanted to keep a better eye on her, for both her own sake and his own curiosity...He would have to see how things progressed from there.

OOC: Topic is over, shall be continued 'Weird Thorn Thingies'