Gone Too Far [open, Nettlestar and meddie needed!]

ooc: immediately follows this topic. tl;dr Ferretnose found Rainstrike at the river's edge, they had a verbal altercation, Rainstrike took a swing at her and Ferretnose wound up nearly drowning in the river.

---

Ferretnose walked against Loonpaw's flank the entire way back to ThunderClan's camp. She was rather fond of the apprentice, with his strange ways and soft-spoken attitude. She agreed to answer his questions and guide him through ThunderClan's terrain, on the pretense that he keep it to himself. He took a solemn vow. He said that he was very good at keeping secrets. Soon, though, Ferretnose no longer had the strength to speak, and Loonpaw resolved himself to contented silence and did not protest when she practically collapsed on top of him.

Ferretnose crawled through the tunnel to the camp's entrance and finally spoke, a harsh, gritty, vile yowl ripping through her mouth and echoing in the ravine that held the camp. Her knees giving way beneath her, she fell to the ground, her pelt still heavy with moisture and her lungs still fighting to expel water. It was a miracle that she had been able to return home in one piece. She cried out again, this one more pitiful, with less volume and passion than the last. "W-where's Nettlestar?" she coughed out. "I need... Nettlestar!"

The warrior lifted her head to seek out Loonpaw, to beckon him forward to speak for her, but he was already gone. How curious, she had not seen or heard him leave... Ferretnose rested her head back on the ground, shivering in the cold as the wetness suffocated her skin. "This was no accident. Where's Harefoot? I want Harefoot!"

Nettlestar's ears shot up at the sound of a yowl, and she began making her way to the source of the sound immediately.

She was greeted by the sight of Ferretnose, clearly in a bad state, her fur soaked through. That almost certainly meant she had been in the river. Which left the very obvious, very unfortunate question of what-- or more likely, who-- had gotten her there.

This all filled the scarred gray tabby with deep apprehension, but she would not let herself panic, not even in the slightest. That would be unbecoming, and would do no one any good.  

So she approached the other she-cat with an air of calm, reassuring authority, letting her feelings of deep unease go no further than the pit of her stomach.

"Ferretnose," she said steadily, "Ferretnose, are you alright? Can you tell me what has happened, or do you need to rest first?" As much as she wanted to know as soon as possible what exactly the situation was, she knew it would be no good to force the warrior to talk if using up any more of her energy was going to cause her further harm.

Mossbloom started at the strained voice that came from the camp's entrance, but as she realized whose voice it was she went sprinting towards it. The calico slid to a stop next to her friend as she called for Harefoot, Nettlestar's steady words barely understandable over the blood roaring in her ears. Ferretnose was absolutely soaked, and growing colder by the second Mossbloom realized with growing horror as she pressed her nose to the she-cat's fur. Even after all of these moons of tending to the sick and wounded, nothing tore at her heart more than seeing one of her clanmates in distress. Looking to Nettlestar, Mossbloom pushed down her panic and interrupted. "Nettlestar, we need to get her warm first. Please, start licking her fur in the wrong direction, and lend her your heat. Daisybloom," Mossbloom called out for her apprentice. "Please find Harefoot and tell him to come, drag him by his tail if you most. The two of you should help Nettlestar. I'm going to run to the den to get some herbs, I'll be right back."

Without checking to see if Daisybloom was carrying out her orders (she trusted it would be done without hesitation) Mossbloom dashed back into the medicine den, squeezing into the dark crack and taking a deep breath to locate her herbs. Chamomile... Feverfew... Juniper berries... A small bit of tansy... A little honey, to help it all go down... And finally some lavender and thyme, for Ferretnose to chew on after she was stable. Carrying out the large bundle, Mossbloom barely avoided tripping over her own paws a couple times as she wove through the crowd that had swiftly gathered. Crouching in front of her friend, she offered her a small smile. "Reserve your energy for now, my friend, once we get these herbs in you and get your relaxed you can explain everything, okay?" Gently pawing together the chamomile, feverfew, berries, and tansy, she pushed them in front of her, setting a leaf with honey off to the side slightly. "I know it's going to be hard to swallow, I brought some honey to help, but please eat these. They'll help you relax and get you warmed up, and soothe your throat. Once those are gone, please chew on these." Setting the lavender and thyme next to each other just past the others, Mossbloom moved to her friends side to lick the excess water off and warm her. Hopefully this was enough for now, but they would have to keep a close eye on the she-cat... With leaf-bare gradually approaching, it would be terrible for her to develop whitecough, or worse.

At the sound of her name, Daisybloom’s head snapped toward her mentor. Padding closer, she nodded as Mossbloom gave out her orders. Her eyes stopped for a second on a freezing, soaked Ferretnose. She swallowed a lump in her throat, knowing that the other medicine cat was capable enough to help.

Running towards the elder’s den, she poked her head inside, spotting the tom that she was looking for. ”Harefoot! Could you come with me, please?” The tabby didn’t want the elder to worry, but she was worrying herself. She couldn’t imagine how he would feel once he saw what was happening to his mate.

Leading him towards his mate, she laid down next to the older she-cat, licking her pelt to transfer her warmth. ”If you could help..." she trailed off, hoping he understood what she was asking.

~~

Cedarheart’s ears perked at the sound of her father’s name. What would he be needed for? He was an elder, supposed to rest. And it was Daisybloom’s voice that was calling him. Heart racing, she got up. Was there something wrong? With Harefoot? Or Pinefrost, or Ferretnose? One of her kits?

Wasting no time, emerald eyes budded with worry, she found herself rushing towards the small huddle of cats. They were surrounding someone, and she didn’t care how nosy she seemed, Cedarheart needed to make sure her family was safe. Her heart stopped when she recognized her mother, soaked and shivering.

"M-ma?" she managed to choke out, hurtling towards her mother. Looking frantically towards the medicine cats, she asked, ”What can I do to help?”

Weakness came in waves now, and when the current wave had dulled to a burst of strength, Ferretnose practically inhaled the herbs she was instructed to swallow, with little regard to what they were or how bitter they tasted. "I'm completely waterlogged," she wheezed between mouthfuls. "This little apprentice, this RiverClan tom, he fished me out before I completely drowned. Funny, I thought dying would feel more drifty. It felt more like StarClan was dragging my spirit out by the scruff, and then shoved it right back in!"

When she swallowed, she began to pant and cough once more. Her memory was both hazy and clear, like her own mismatched vision. Ferretnose remembered the encounter in bursts. Snippets of conversations, a rounded belly, the glint of a deranged eye, and the shining water faded in and out like echoes. Most of all, she could remember the fear and rage. That feeling would never escape her psyche, however much longer she lived. Two moonhighs or two ages, Ferretnose would remember it. She would dream of it. The fog was clearing, little by little, thanks to the herbs.

Her brow furrowed at her daughter's approach, and a rippling feeling clutched her chest. That beautiful kit of hers came so close to corruption at the claws of... her. "Nettlestar, this was not an accident," she hissed. "You and every other cat in this clan knows I don't go let three foxlengths come between me and a body of water that I can't stand in. Not since the great flood, no! I was pushed in, and I nearly drowned."

Ferretnose paused to take the rest of the herbs, and to sniff up the runniness of her nose. She was still shivering, but from cold or from fury, she did not know. "It was Rainstrike, and she could still be in this territory! I should have chased her out. But instead, I did what I always do; I tried to give her a moment to just be heard! And it was foolish, because she attacked me. She left me in the water to drown. She just... walked away! Her own mentor!" Her breath caught up with her, and she hacked up water again, bending over with the force of her horrible retching.

The musty scent of mouse in Pinefrost's maw was quickly replaced by that of fear. The russet warrior barged through the thorn tunnel - having gone out earlier on a solo patrol. He let his mouse roll to the floor, stepping over it in fear and anger as he stumbled upon the scene in the clearing. Mossbloom was working over Ferretnose, while his mother spat statements at Nettlestar, her breath raspy and weak. Pinefrost ran to the tabby's side, pressing his nose into her pelt, finding it sopping wet. Ferretnose rambled on about Rainstrike and water and... Rainstrike had tried to kill Ferretnose... Pinefrost sat back on his haunches and stared at the ground, watching Mossbloom and Daisybloom scramble around his mother from his peripheral vision. The fact that Pinefrost's most complicated companion would try to kill his mother wasn't such a surprise, as it was an inconvenience. The tom knew going in that his friendship with Rainstrike was dangerous. He never doubted for a second that she had killed Jaydream, nor had he doubted that she was guilty of all she was accused of during the battle at Fourtrees. But ever still, the tom was fascinated by the she-cat. Her infamy wasn't enough to pull the young warrior away, instead it only heightened his obsession with her. Pinefrost wanted to be known like Rainstrike was. But not so mal as for his fame to lead to death.

Death. Pinefrost's mother had been close to death, yet here he was thinking about fame and greatness. Some type of son he was. Blinking away the confusion, Pinefrost stood up and pressed his head into Cedarheart's shoulder, leaning down to Ferretnose. "Mum, what can we do? You must be frightened, sick, even. I'll hunt down Rainstrike if 'ya want. She's always been... like this."

Nettlestar knew the politest thing to do would be to reassure Ferretnose that she did nothing wrong, but the gray tabby couldn’t exactly disagree that she should have reacted by immediately trying to chase Rainstrike out of the territory instead of speaking with her.

“You are right that you should have tried to chase her away,” the she-cat said. Her voice was extremely matter-of-fact, neither particularly soft or harsh. She let out a short breath of frustration- not so much at Ferretnose specifically, but just at the general situation. “But it is alright-- there is nothing to be done about it now. But in the future, we will need to be more on our guard, all of us. At least until the issue is...dealt with, one way or another…”

Yes she thought, and how exactly do I plan on dealing with it? If all we do is keep chasing her away when we see her, that won’t change a thing. The only permanent solution would be to--

She cut herself off. Execution was an absolute last resort…but it was a resort, nonetheless. Still, there was a part of her that couldn’t bear the thought of not only allowing but encouraging the death of her late brother’s only surviving kit. If she died, he would have no surviving descendants.

She absent-mindedly began lashing her tail back and forth, visibly working through a problem.  

And even beyond that, can I really order them to, say, kill her on sight? Can I order another to take a life? I could always tell them to bring her back to me and I will do it myself, but in the time between capturing her and bringing her back here, things could go wrong and someone could get badly hurt. And that would be on me…

Mossbloom's tail lashed in anger as she listened to Ferretnose's story. Rainstrike, again. How long would that traitorous she-cat continue to haunt them? Sighing, she glanced at Nettlestar briefly, noting the torn expression on the she-cat's face. Silently placing her tail on her shoulder, she stepped aside as Ferretnose followed her instructions and did as she was told with the herbs. Murmuring to Nettlestar, she mewed softly. "Nettlestar, please know that Daisybloom and I are here to advise you, as your medicine cats. Minkstream too. Perhaps, once Ferretnose is taken care of, we should meet, the four of us, to discuss this further. If you want, of course, just please know we're here. You don't have to make these choices alone, you have our support along with the rest of the clan."

The peace of ThunderClan's camp was shattered with a yowl of pure anger from the entrance at the other end of camp, and Minkstream found his head whipping around to track the source, the scent of fur dripping with river water drifting to his nose. Oh frogdung. Dread settled into his stomach as he broke into a lope, his paws thudding on the grass, his eyes tracking forward and catching a very wet, very miserable-looking Ferretnose in a heap just inside camp, Nettlestar and Mossbloom already gathering around her. What's happened?

It looked like the medicine cat already had everything under control, working on getting the water out of Ferretnose's pelt and keeping her warm - though it wasn't likely the she-cat would die from the wet, as the water wasn't quite that cold, but well... some cats just got oddly shivery after being in water. Something to do with shock, he'd heard Goldeneye say once. Shoving the musing on medicine cat things he knew little about out of his head, he slowed and padded up, catching the she-cat's slightly disjointed hissing. Not an accident? His eyes narrowed slightly.

And then her name came up.

It took a moment to sink in as he stiffened in disbelief. Rainstrike, still around? Still haunting the forest, still-?

A growl threatened to rumble in his throat as he sealed his jaw tight, tips of claws digging into the ground. That mangy, foxhearted- Memories of savagely glinting blue eyes flashed into his head - blood on her claws, blood on his, a blood-stained body, limp and lifeless. With an effort, he pulled his attention back to the conversation, catching the end of Nettlestar's words. Dealt with? That's an understatement - this slimy, snake-hearted foxpelt has run around free, wreaking havoc and killing cats right underneath our noses for too long. But he kept his mouth shut, not trusting his voice not to snarl the words out. Nettlestar didn't deserve that anger - it wasn't her he was angry at, anyway. Maybe not even Rainstrike herself.

He stepped forward as Mossbloom's soft words came into the relative quiet. "She's right. There's a decision that has to be made, but you don't have to make it alone. Rainstrike -" He managed to keep most of the growl out of his voice as he said her name "-needs to be dealt with, one way or another. But you don't have to do it all by yourself."

Cedarheart’s ears were searching for every word, anything she could have that would help her. She needed to find out what happened. Her mother wasn’t a swimmer, as a kit the warrior had heard tales of the flood, something that frightened Ferretnose. Why would she be by water in the first place? Questions flooded her mind, but she wasn’t about to urge her half-drowned mother for answers. Luckily, they came pretty soon.

She wished she hadn’t heard it.

Rainstrike.

Of course it was her. It always was, wasn’t it. She had never seemed off, not really. Back when Cedarheart had been Cedarpaw. Her mentor hadn’t been chatty, and sure she was quiet, but plenty of cats were quiet and completely fine. But then she had tried to murder their leader. She had take one of his lives, been cast out, and now this.

She couldn’t bear to think that anyone would want to hurt her family. Her eyes glowed angrily. "Don’t worry, ma." her voice dropped lower as she muttered, "I’ll rip that mangy fox-heart’s pelt off."

-

Daisybloom listened quietly, unsure of what to say. Her eyes widened as she heard a name she had prayed she never would again, except in kit’s tales. She blinked slowly, trying to process this information. Of course the cat who tried to kill her father would try to kill Ferretnose, of all cats. She scrunched her nose in frustration. They had exiled her, done everything they could. Why couldn’t she just leave Thunderclan alone? After hearing Mossbloom and Minkstream, she nodded. "O-oh! Yeah, of course. That’s what we’re here for." She smiled, although it showed quite a lot of her worry.