Adder-bitten [Open]

Shimmerpaw's teeth were gritted tightly from the pain. Each step sent her body quivering, and the ground beneath her feet turned red with every step. The blood from her many wounds, coming from the fight with the SkyClan Apprentice, flowed onto the ground freely. What kind of warrior am I if I can't take this little pain? Shimmerpaw scolded herself.

Reaching the opening of the Medicine Cat den, Shimmerpaw crawled in. "Spiderquill? It's Shimmerpaw. I got injured." She called out. The Medicine Cat was probably sleeping-Shimmerpaw was out in the dead of night for a reason. She shuffled awkwardly on the spot. If Spiderquill asked what had happened, she was in for it.

((Injury happened Here, in a fight against Adderpaw))

"Who's there?" To the apprentice's amazement there was yet another cat she had yet to meet properly. Rarely had anyone come to the medicine den willingly on their own, usually to get a remedy for a thorn in their paw or an ache. For some time she'd gotten along swimmingly with RiverClan's own medicine cat to the point she had become his apprentice. From the looks of it this must have been a warrior's apprentice standing in front of her. She stared astonished at the mangled fur, several wounds, and the scent of iron lingering in the air. "By the stars, how are you still standing?" Thornpaw blinked owlishly, her tail raise to beckon the stranger into their humble den.

Spiderquill wasn't asleep. He'd have time to sleep later, when he was done tirelessly sorting his herbs. Again. Even though they'd just been sorted, there was always something wrong. Not once had the pile ever looked quite right to him, no matter whether it was sorted by color, by name, by function, by size... There was always an annoying feeling in the back of his mind that there was something not quite right. Thornpaw was probably sick of his quirks by now. He was mercifully interrupted from his sorting by a voice at the mouth of the den. He looked up with a smile, though the smile soon faded when he saw who was greeting him. Shimmerpaw, a young apprentice, bloodied and beaten. She looked like she'd been savaged by something--or someone. Knowing what little he did about the cat, he couldn't imagine that she'd do something to get herself into a fight. Maybe she'd wandered into enemy territory? Still, how brutal do you have to be to punish a child this much for not knowing the extents of her territory? He snappily approached the cat, guiding her towards a nest. "How did this happen? Was it a cat or a predator?" No emotion colored his voice. If he let it, he'd probably burst into tears, and he was no good to anyone crying. While he waited for a response, he turned to his apprentice with a serious look on his face. "Thornpaw. It's time for you to assist in your first proper healing. Grab moss, cobwebs and whatever herbs you see fit. I trust your insight, pick whatever you think would works best for her." On that last word, he motioned towards Shimmerpaw. He went over to his patient again and began dabbing at her wounds with moss. The cuts weren't deadly, thank goodness. She'd probably end up healing just fine, but they needed to stop the bleeding soon.

Shimmerpaw blinked as another cat came to the mouth of the den. Right, Thornpaw, the new Medicine Cat Apprentice. She blinked as the other cat requested her name. To be fair, Shimmerpaw was always in the shadows. Not much of a surprise that no one seemed to know her...

“My name’s Shimmerpaw. I’m Ivystar’s Apprentice.” Shimmerpaw explained to Thornpaw. The words left a bitter taste in her mouth. Even when she was the Apprentice of the leader, it was as if no one knew her at all. She had brought it upon herself by staying out of conversations, but she couldn’t stop herself from feeling a pinprick of sadness and regret at that. Shaking her head, she stepped into the Den.

Then, Spiderquill came over. He asked his questions, and Shimmerpaw began to explain what she knew of the situation as she settled into the nest. “Another cat. I think they were an Apprentice. They weren’t RiverClan. They smelled very tree-like, so I guessed maybe SkyClan or ThunderClan? I was a bit close to the border, but I was in no way over it. Then that cat came over and attacked me out of nowhere. I tried telling them they were trespassing, but they didn’t seem to care about that. It was as if they had come over looking for a fight.” All that was said between slight winces and teeth-gritting as Spiderquill dabbed at her wounds. The touch stung like thorns on her injuries.

Who this she-cat was led her to wander why she hadn't met yet considering Ivystar was active among the clan. "Shimmerpaw, I think you should si-" The stunned she-cat was cut off by another voice one that had changed drastically. She turned to look over her broad shoulder to Spiderquill addressing the stark situation head on. His speech became strained if not strangely serious than than any of the times they spoke with each other. No longer was he the light hearted medicine cat she had come to know but it's like a different cat stood in his place now. Wounds like these were a far cry from what she had been taught to address when it came to their sessions. Somehow that would come to play when she was finally dealing with the real thing.

The tabby's limbs felt stiff when she moved towards the herb stash in its ever changing state. Orders were orders, having to little to none warning of an incoming patient she scanned their current stash. Her eyes spotted yellow leaves - goldenrod. Spiderquill's voice rang in her head clearly pressuring her to make a choice that could go badly if incorrect. Finally she grabbed it with her mouth taking it over where the others had sat down to dress the wounds. Once again she grabbed a pawful of cobwebs as well. In accordance to what training had been given to her, Thornpaw went at it crushing the herb for a poultice needed for wounds on the she-cat's ragged frame. Her pale green eyes looked to the tom for guidance when crunching the leaves and quickly began to apply the healing poultice. Meanwhile the cobwebs sat on the ground waiting to be used once the marigold kicked in.

Despite the gravity of the situation and his best attempts to stay detached, Spiderquill couldn't help but feel a glow of pride at Thornpaw's actions. Not only did she stay calm given the situation, but she also knew exactly what herb to use on her patient. She'd make a wonderful medicine cat one day. This time, StarClan hadn't been wrong after all. But now was not the time for this, he sternly reminded himself. Slipping back into his serious facade, he picked up the cobwebs between his paws as he'd done so many times before and began binding the goldenrod to Shimmerpaw. "I see. I'd recommend talking to mo- to Ivystar about it, if this cat was indeed on our territory then this could become a larger issue. Thankfully, your wounds are shallow enough that they'll heal without much scarring. Stay here for another day and avoid hunting or fighting until you fully heal, alright? Thornpaw has stopped the bleeding, so you're not in any danger. Fell free to rest, I'll watch over you for the night." He took a deep breath; he had said most of this in one breath. His limbs felt stiff and jittery, as they always did after a serious healing. He shook them out in a vain attempt to release that tension and turned to face his apprentice. Though he couldn't quite bring himself to smile, his eyes had a gleam of pride and relief in them. "Thornpaw, you made me proud today. I'm sorry I put pressure on you to take care of Shimmerpaw, but you did wonderfully. You're talented, more than I was at your age. Go get some sleep now, you deserve it."

Shimmerpaw took a deep breath as the herbs were pressed over her wounds. The scratch marks throbbed painfully as the effects of the herbs began to sink in. She silently gritted her teeth, listening to Spiderquill's words.

"I will." Shimmerpaw felt a surge of shame. What would Ivystar think of her after she was very literally shredded by another Apprentice? Would Ivystar think of her worse? Would she try to give Shimmerpaw better treatment because she was her Apprentice, or will she be shameful?

The latter. No one will think of me specially. Shimmerpaw thought bitterly.

She barely heard Spiderquill's second sentence, but registered that she would be fine, and she should rest.

Pressing her head against the nest's side, she curled herself up into a black-and-white ball and began to slowly drift off.

Thornpaw rubbed the remaining poultice over the shredded apprentice's wounds that had yet t be unattended to. Her mentor made quick work with the cobwebs stopping Shimmerpaw's bleeding without difficulty. She watched as his careful work was in motion, it was important she knew how to do her duties on her own. Praise could only do so much as the medicine cat apprentice eyes widened not exactly expecting the reaction towards her sloppy work. "Oh, w-well." The tabby was flattered, flecks of goldenrod clung to her dark fur. "You were really brave, knowing what to do yourself." Her ears flattened when speaking to Spiderquill. She glanced over the apprentice now sleeping off what must have been a horrid encounter. "Caring for all sorts of things, seeing another one of my clanmates hurt like that...all I did was freeze up. You never flinched or stood there staring, it seemed so natural for you."