Nothing Left To Stand On [Closed]

There was a sniffle as Foxfire was lead into the medicine cat den, the tom looking drained as he limped forward - Smokefeather trailing behind. It had been an awkward moment when he had been found by Smokefeather and Cooperfox - both unaware of the events that had transpired and what had brought the lone warrior to be sobbing out in the forest. Questions had been asked but he hadn't found the strength to admit the words that bounced around in his head - only offering them up the briefest of words to paint the image that they would come back to. It also hadn't been hard to notice that Foxfire had badly hurt his paw, leading the warrior back to be tended to by Beechface. At the realization that he would have to face her, his fur bristled. He...He was still hurt, betrayed - he hadn't managed to sort out his emotions yet but also there was nothing to feed the anger. He was just...

He was just back to feeling tired and empty.

Smokefeather had led Foxfire into the den, hardly seeming to take note of what was happening around them. She was only focused on one thing, and that was Bloodstrike. Once Foxfire was in a nest, she muttered a quiet word of apology before turning away and curling up next to Bloodstrike, nose buried against his shoulder.

It scared Beechface to see either of her parents like this. The morning had been chaotic, and the rest of her day had been spent tending to Bloodstrike and Blossomstep and trying not to cry at the overwhelming weight that pressed even heavier to her shoulders. Foxfire's words and glare from earlier had stuck in her mind, and the scarred medicine cat couldn't bring herself to speak as she approached him now.

She inspected Foxfire's injured paw and sighed.

"Your paw's broken, you'll be staying off of it for a while." Her tone was quiet, but firm. She didn't think Foxfire was stubborn enough to argue about staying off the paw, but the warning was necessary. Skyclanners, Beechface had learned, weren't the most sensible when it came to letting their injuries heal properly. Especially true of her family, but the last thing Foxfire needed was to aggravate the broken paw. The break had seemed clean, and it wasn't the worst thing that could've been broken. It would heal, given time and careful treatment.

She turned towards the piles of herbs in the back of the den, picking out some comfrey, stinging nettle, bindweed and cobwebs. The stinging nettle and comfrey were chewed into a poultice, while the comfrey and bindweed were set aside.

"Hold still." She muttered, turning back to the injured warrior. She carefully applied the poultice to his paw, then reached for the small twigs, setting them carefully against the injured paw. The bindweed was used to fasten the twigs in place, and the cobwebs were then wrapped around paw and splint.

The medicine cat stepped back and sighed.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask about Flowerthorn earlier." She managed finally, gaze dropping from Foxfire to her own paws.

Foxfire collapsed into the nest, saying nothing as as Smokefeather stepped away and Beechface stepped over. His eyes remained fixed on the floor, barely moving even as the medicine cat stated that it was broken and got to work tending to it. He laid his head down, a heavy sigh escaping him but he didn't move an inch as the paw was wrapped up and Beechface spoke again - this time an apology. His fur prickled once more, but...It quickly laid back down, the anger just not there anymore. He wasn't sure what to say. Should he even believe it? He... Another heavy sigh escaped him. ...No, it was...It was a lot, wasn't it? Everything. He...He just felt so defeated. He had wanted to hope for a second that he would see her again and that nobody had thought to ask, it just...

"...She is dead, you know?" he murmured, his voice defeated and lifeless. "She has to be. I realized that. She...She would have fought tooth and claw to get back to me, at least I hope so. And maybe she did...But she is dead now." There was a long silence before tears started to burn at the edge of his eyes again. "I don't...I don't know what to do now. She was all I had left."

Beechface winced as Foxfire's fur bristled a bit and then just... didn't. The pain and defeat in his voice hurt.

"I had hoped... I was trying not to think about that outcome." She closed her eyes for a moment. Bloodstrike had confirmed it... And Beechface shoved that knowledge to the back of her mind. Tried to bury it. Telling Foxfire now would only aggravate him. He'd been so angry that nobody had asked about Flowerthorn earlier, she didn't want to know what would happen if he knew the truth. Right now he needed to focus on recovering.

It wasn't her truth to tell. She hated that it would only put even more strain on her father but... That crime was his. Her eyes opened, and she stared at Foxfire, a weary sigh escaping her.

"I'll... get you some poppy seeds and thyme, they'll ease your pain. You need to rest." There wouldn't be enough thyme in the forest to soothe anyone's mind right now, she thought, but at least she could do that much.

Foxfire sighed heavily as Beechface spoke, offering him no paths forward - simply that she had hoped that it wasn't the case. After a few heartbeats, she spoke again. Rest... He did need rest, he suppose. His eyes fell onto his bandaged paw, feeling how drained he was. He had meant what he had said - that he didn't know what to do. But perhaps...Perhaps that was what he needed. Rest. "...An elder," he whispered underneath his breath, before he raised his voice so that Beechface could hear him. "I think I want to become an elder. I can't..." his voice trembled and broke, pausing to take in a deep breath. "She was...She was my strength. I promised I was always going to be with her. I-I can't...I can't be a warrior without her. I don't want to fight anymore. I just... I just want to rest."