Stumbling Paws [c]

They were finally at camp. Dawnfeather breathed a sigh of relief as they neared the familiar scents of home. She glanced over at Dandelionpaw worriedly every few steps, half-expecting the younger molly to suddenly faint or something. She was splattered in blood (Dawnfeather was too, but that didn’t matter), and it surely wasn’t all that ThunderClan tom’s. Finally, they came into camp, heads turning as the blood-speckled mollies hurried into camp. Before Dandelionpaw could say a word Dawnfeather herded her towards the medicine den with a worried look, highly resembling a mother hen.

“Beffauff?” She mumbled, the rabbit still in her mouth. With a grimace she dropped it, scooting its limp body to the side. “Beechaunt?” She called, poking her head into the medicine den, her tail draped lightly across her friend’s shoulders. “Dandelionpaw and I… got into a fight.” It was too dark to truly see if Beechaunt was in there (and to be honest Dawnfeather had terrible night vision), but she hurriedly added “It isn’t her fault, of course!” She hoped Beechaunt was in the den… or Muddy. She did need to talk to Muddy mor- she abruptly cut off her own train of thought, focusing anxiously on Dandelionpaw. “You did really well in the fight,” she purred softly. “You’ll be a warrior any day now with how you saved me from that tom.”

Dandelionpaw followed Dawnfeather into the camp, her fur wet with blood. The fight had tired her out and all she wanted to do know was take a nice nap. She let Dawnfeather guide her into the medicine den and she sat down near the entrance. Dandelionpaw began to try to clean the blood from her pelt as her friend called for Beechface. She listened to Dawnfeather telling her that she would be warrior soon and let out a small purr. She absently wondered what her warrior name would be while continuing to clean her fur.

Beechface lifted her head at the sound of voices, eyes narrowing at the sudden scent of blood in the air as two cats entered her den. Dawnfeather and an apprentice, Dandelionpaw if the medicine cat was remembering correctly. Both with bloodstained pelts, she noted, eyes narrowing. What scratches she could see looked suspiciously like they'd been made by a cat's claws... Fantastic. Just what Skyclan needed. She bit back a growl of annoyance.

"What happened?" She asked, already turning towards the back of the den to gather up some oak leaves and goldenrod, chewing them into a poultice. It would help prevent infection and slow bleeding. Pulling some cobwebs from where they'd been carefully strung out, Beechface approached the apprentice first. She seemed to have taken the brunt of whatever fight had occurred.

"Alright, hold still, this'll sting a bit." She mewed, beginning to carefully press the poultice of oak leaves and goldenrod to Dandelionpaw's injuries.

“Well…” Dawnfeather began with an anxious flick of her tail. “You see… we were hunting near the Fallen Oak, and suddenly I heard a cry for help, so, of course, I ran over (by the way I can see why ThunderClan doesn’t climb trees their trees are very twisty) and there was this ThunderClan apprentice dangling from a branch with no one else in sight and yowling for help. So I hauled her up by her scruff, but less than two seconds after I had done so this ThunderClan warrior attacks me out of nowhere! Oh stars… it was scary Beechaunt, he had me pressed into the ground and I couldn’t breathe… then Dandelionpaw was really brave and knocked him off me. It got a bit chaotic after that, but the apprentice I had saved tried to attack me but it was obvious that she didn’t really want to, and then he (the tom) went after Dandelionpaw like a coward. I yanked his tail hard and we took off out of there. Dandelionpaw did really good!” She finished in her best maybe-tell-Wolfstar-how-good-she-did? voice.

She looked on anxiously as Beechaunt applied the poultice to her friend, shifting her weight from paw to paw and wincing as though she was the one in pain. “And I don’t see why he was so mad, but next time… well, to be honest, I’d probably do the same thing if anyone ever yowled for help.”

Dandelionpaw listened to Dawnfeather recap what happened. There was a ThunderClan apprentice? She guessed that she had been so busy focusing on the tom that she hadn't noticed them. She winced a little at the sting of the herbs. Why had that tom attacked Dawnfeather? It couldn't of been a trap, could it? It seemed that the apprentice was in real trouble. She continued to ponder over this and added when Dawnfeather had finished speaking, "You did really good, too! You stopped the tom and we were able to get away!"

Beechface continued applying the herbs to Dandelionpaw's injuries, an ear flicking as Dawnfeather spoke. What she was saying didn't quite make sense to the medicine cat, and it took her a moment to come up with a response.

"What did these Thunderclanners look like?" She asked, "Maybe the warrior thought you weren't there to help his clanmate at all... Panic can do strange things to the mind." She mewed thoughtfully. Of course, it could also have been a trap... And wouldn't that just be despicable. She'd always thought that Thunderclanners were a decent sort, but then, Dawnhawk had come from the same litter as Primroselight. Any clan could have their schemers, Skyclan had learned that first paw. She fixed some cobwebs on top of the poultice she'd been applying to Dandelionpaw's wounds. That would keep things in place, though she'd have to change out the poultice in the morning.

"Alright, you rest, Dandelionpaw. Try not to rub at the poultice, it's there to help. I'll change it out in the morning. So long as those wounds stay clean and you don't reopen them, you'll be fine." She said, tail sweeping in the direction of an unoccupied nest, Beechface turned her attention towards Dawnfeather.

"Be careful around the borders, Dawnfeather. Not every cat can be trusted, and not every cat deserves the help you might want to give them." She sighed, stepping towards her niece with the rest of the poultice in tow. "Thunderclanners are usually a decent sort... Though even I've gotten into border skirmishes with them." That fight had been long ago, and she'd had Vulturepaw and Tigersong with her at the time. Beechface could still remember how nice it had felt to finally let loose with her claws for once... And she would be lying if she said she would have rather fought than have her current responsibilities.

Giving her head a shake, the medicine cat began to carefully apply the oak leaves and goldenrod to Dawnfeather's wounds as well.

“Thank you, Dandelionpaw,” Dawnfeather mewed with a smile. The apprentice was courageous, certainly more than she herself was. “There was a reddish molly, that was the apprentice, she looked pretty young and fluffy. Then there was that tom again, the tabby one, brown with white and orange splotches. He was Pricklepaw last time we… ran into each other. He must be a warrior now. He’s strong and fast, and good at stunning and pinning me- er, the enemy.”

Dawnfeather stood still as Beechaunt applied the poultice. Oak leaves and goldenrod, she rather thought, and she doubted she needed it. Still. Beechaunt was probably right, after all she was the medicine cat for a reason. It stung a bit, but nothing compared to that tom’s claws and the panic that’d accompanied it. “I know, Beechaunt. It’s just that… Thrushnose was really nice, and I keep finding myself meeting all these… not-so-nice cats. Or maybe they were just having a really bad day?”

Dandelionpaw watched as Beechface applied the poultice to Dawnfeather's wounds. She heard Dawnfeather mention the tom's name and remembered meeting him at the gathering. He was an apprentice at the time and there was a bunch other ThunderClan apprentices there, too. "I met the tom at the gathering this moon. He seemed to be pretty nice." She walked over to the open nest Beechface pointed to and lay down in the soft moss. She remembered how tired she was and curled up. She kept one ear pricked towards Dawnfeather and Beechface in case they asked her something.

"Not anyone I recognize." She murmured thoughtfully. Regardless, if they'd attacked her clanmates, they were cats to keep an eye on, no matter if they had seemed nice at a gathering.

Beechface stared at Dawnfeather for a moment. Her niece was certainly... Naïve. Good natured, but naïve. And far too friendly for her own good. "Not everyone you meet will be friendly, Dawnfeather. You're too trusting." It was admirable to a point, but Beechface feared that it would wind up with Dawnfeather being hurt or worse. Dandelionpaw had settled into the nest she'd indicated, a wise decision for a clearly-tired apprentice.

"Gatherings are supposed to be a night of peace. They aren't always... And I wouldn't trust anyone from the other clans based off of a meeting at one. They'll be nice because it is required of them, nothing more." She responded to Dandelionpaw. That someone had attacked her clanmates and sent them to her den at all rubbed the medicine cat's fur the wrong way, but to say Beechface was also jaded would be an understatement.