When Fire and Shadows Bleed [Basilpaw/OPEN]

OOC: Immediately follows after this thread: Right Here

IC:

Burningwing had been laying at Fourtrees for the better part of an hour before the Shadowclan warrior he'd been hunting with had come back. The idiot ran toward him without even checking for any other source of danger. At least there had been none. He'd helped Burningwing struggle painfully to his feet and even had the decency to grab the piece of his scruff that was on the ground near him.

"What happened?!" The warrior had asked, and Burningwing would have bitten his ear off if he'd had the strength to do so. He certainly wasn't in any mood to talk. He simply shook his head and nodded in the direction of Shadowclan camp. The journey was long and agonizing and every step fueled Burningwing's rage. He had lost to a kittypet! Sure, he'd had some female Windclanner's help, but that wasn't the point! The warrior was smart enough at least to guide him away from the deeper pools of mud and by the grace of Starclan they didn't run into any rogues.

The warrior dropped Burningwing's scruff piece once they reached the entrance to camp. "Burningwing is hurt! He needs help!" He called out to the camp. Burningwing scowled, not wanting an audience right now. He leaned down and grabbed his own scruff piece, though he doubted at this point it could be replaced anyway. He walked slowly and partly staggered towards the medicine den where he hoped Basilpaw would be present. Once he stepped inside, he didn't say anything. Breathing was painful enough as it was. The last thing he wanted to do was talk.

He lie down very slowly and carefully into one of the nests and set his scruff piece down beside him.

"Cracked... rib." He said simply. Hopefully she would understand that he couldn't talk... or at least would want to very minimally.

Nestled in her comfortable feather-lined nest at the back of the medicine den, Basilpaw slept peacefully for most of the night, totally unaware of anything going on in the waking realm.  Though she did not speak with StarClan, she did dream, mostly of pretty places and beautiful sunny skies.  However, a voice broke through the tranquility, making the she-cat's ears prick unconsciously.  ...he needs...help?  Who needs help?  With a blink, the tortoiseshell healer was awake, turning to look out towards the clearing with a concerned urgency.  What's going on?!  She leaped out of her nest, but as a result, immediately felt her heart stutter and head become dangerously light.  Can't do that, curse this stupid body!  It took her a few moments to stabilize herself, but once she did her path went directly towards the camp clearing; however, her emergency greeted her instead.  She leaned back with a shocked gasp as Burningwing staggered into her den, looking absolutely bedraggled and defeated.  

She took him in with wide, worried amber eyes, but as soon as she noticed the missing patch of flesh at the back of his neck she felt herself jump into action, and all the little things she had been memorizing for moons now came flooding into her mind.  Expression sharpening, the small she-cat offered her shoulder to help the tom stagger into a nearby nest and was able to catch his words, simply nodding in response.  "Just try to lay still alright?  I'll give you something for the pain after I get the bleeding under control."  Dashing to her herb stock, she quickly grabbed her whole collection of cobwebs and brought it over to Burningwing, separating it into several clumps and placing them gently onto the deep bite wound.  As the soft material did it's work and the bleeding began to slow, she looked closely at the shape of the wound; it didn't look like a fox or a badger's work, but a cat's!  "Great StarClan Burningwing, what happened to you?!  Wait, don't answer that, I'm sorry.  We'll talk later."  

It took a while, but finally, new blood stopped filling the cobwebs and Basilpaw moved on to the next step.  Going back to her store this time she pulled out goldenrod and comfrey root and chewed them up together into a poultice.  "Goldenrod to treat the wound, comfrey to soothe it..."  Her mumblings were more for herself than Burningwing, and she pressed on to applying the salve, using her paw to get it to soak into all the affected areas as gently as she could.  She was about to place the final wrapping of cobwebs when she remembered something she had learned recently and dashed back to her herb store.  Returning with a fresh oak leaf, she chewed that up as well and added it to the mix, knowing that it could help prevent infection.  With a wound that deep and caused by another creature, I think he'll need it.  After that, her work on his scruff was done, and she placed a thick layer of cobwebs on top and used a bit of pine sap at the edges to make sure it stuck.  

Taking a deep breath, she turned her attention to the other concern Burningwing had mentioned.  Frowning, she brushed her tail reassuringly against her friend's shoulder before placing her paw against his side, feeling gently and carefully.  Then, she felt it, and she felt her stomach tighten.  It was like a broken section in a steadfast wall, unnatural and worrying.  However, she couldn't do anything on the outside to help it, from what she knew only rest would heal a bone like that.  Instead, she placed a few poppy seeds near Burningwing's maw and purred; "You're going to be okay Burningwing.  Here, eat the poppy seeds.  We'll talk about everything tomorrow once you're well-rested alright?"  Smiling, she gave him a friendly lick on the forehead before sitting back to observe, wondering how this had all happened.  Has someone told Flintstar or Murkystrike yet?  Hopefully his patrol partner is okay too...

Frostgaze had been sat peacefully in the camp, doing more thinking than any cat oughta be doing. He liked to think about scenarios, fighting scenarios, hunting scenarios, even speaking scenarios. Each one he had solved logically in his mind, though he was stuck on one that he thought simple. It was merely ethics, but ethics were opinionated and difficult to pin down logically. It infuriated the tom internally, though externally, it would appear as nothing had changed. He was snapped out of this, however, when he heard a warrior cry out.

"Burningwing is hurt!"

The white tom's cold eyes locked onto the injured form of Burningwing. He knew that he would get himself in trouble eventually, he was too ambitious, too ready to fight. He was a bit of an idiot like that. Frostgaze did not move, however, as Burningwing had been able to stagger into the medicine den on his own. Not wishing to disturb Basilpaw's process, he quietly moved himself to the outside of the medicine den, waiting until she had finished treating his injured clanmate to enter.

"So, did you bite off more than you can chew this time?" Frostgaze didn't waste any time getting to the point of his banter. "You do not need to speak, it seems that you are injured enough to warrant some silence." He sat next to his injured... friend? Were they friends, after he had brought Dappledpaw to camp? Frostgaze was unsure, but he was sure that he had done the right thing. "I am glad you are alright. Starclan knows that we do not need to lose more warriors. We have lost enough to rogues and predators already." Frostgaze, for once, was unsure of what to say next. Burningwing was an odd sort, he had found, and certainly was not trying to upset him further. He already seemed agitated, further agitation could cause himself injury, and Frostgaze certainly did not want to be the cause of further injury to Burningwing.

Burningwing watched quietly while Basilpaw worked. He was cooperative and didn't fuss when she pressed cobwebs and other herbs to his neck. When she asked him what happened but then immediately told him not to talk, he chuckled... which only made him wince. He clenched his jaw when she pressed against his rib, but he refused to make any sounds. She was doing her job. At the command to eat the poppy seeds, he nodded... and then a swift, raspy lick on top of his head made him blink in surprise. He stared at her for a moment, unsure of how to react but not necessarily reviled by the touch. Eventually he just gave her a friendly smile and a nod of thanks.

He lapped up the little black seeds and waited. At about the time they started to kick in and he visibly relaxed, Frostgaze entered the medicine den. Their last interaction had been... uncomfortable, so he simply waited to see what the white tom would say. He made a joke that Burningwing responded to with a flattening of the ears... but only for a moment. Frostgaze continued to talk and it was enough to calm Burningwing back down.

Perhaps I am being a bit sensitive... given the circumstances... He certainly wasn't about to tell his parents that he was attacked and defeated by a kittypet. The poppy seeds kicked in a bit more, aiding him in staying calm. The pain had also dulled to a manageable amount and he found himself able to draw nearly full breath now.

"I didn't attack first. I went looking for that frog-brain after he tracked and chased a hare all of the way to Fourtrees." He nodded in the direction of the other warrior that had accompanied him. He was taking questions from the rest of the clan outside. He was shrugging and shaking his head a lot, clearly bewildered. "I stumbled across a Riverclan warrior talking with that fugitive, Dawnhawk, that Skyclan is so obsessed about. And I am sure, because the Riverclanner said his name. I got closer to try to listen and a Windclan she-cat attacked me. The Riverclan warrior attacked me as well and Dawnhawk fled the area. I guess they thought they'd killed me."

That was his story and he was sticking to it.

"The Windclan she-cat was named Swiftspirit... I didn't get the Riverclanner's name but he's a large golden tabby with white markings on his back. He doesn't exactly blend in." There. He'd gotten his story out and he slumped further into his nest. He knew better than to try to talk too much more though. His ribs still needed to rest and heal. It was far better for his parents to hear that he'd been brought down by two actual warriors and not some random kittypet filth that Riverclan took pity on. They'd disown him immediately. At least the two cats that attacked him had left their scent on him. It would help them believe he was telling the truth.

It hadn't been hard for the news of Burningwing bring dragged into the camp to reach Flintstar. The leader prowled from his den, easily tracking the rich scent of blood to Basilpaw's den. He paused to share a few words with Burningwing's hunting companion before his ears perked, attention being stolen by hearing Burningwing explaining his side of the story to...Frostgaze, scenting the tom inside of the den as well. A huff escaped the leader - one of his warrior being attacked by a WindClan and RiverClan cat? He wasn't looking to cause trouble with either of those Clans - not with the rogues that were still prowling his territory but this couldn't very much be ignored. And speaking to Dawnhawk of all cats...He pushed his way into the medicine cat den, dipping his head to both Basilpaw and Frostgaze as he spared a glance down towards the injured warrior. "I will admit, I am rather surprised that WindClan would want anything to do with Dawnhawk after that situation between them and SkyClan," he mused, not that he doubted his warrior's words...But it did mean he would have to be far more careful if he dared to accuse WindClan of anything as there was a good chance that this...Swiftspirit was working on her own if she was allied with the run-away SkyClan warrior. "You said you tried to hear what Dawnhawk and the RiverClan tom were discussing - did you get anything of note before you were attacked or did all you truly hear was Dawnhawk's name?"

Murkystrike has scented blood when she returned to camp, and had immediately headed towards the medicine den. She slipped in behind Flintstar to listen to Burningwing's story, as well as the leader's response. Her eyes were narrowed as she thought, tail lightly thumping against the ground. A RiverClan warrior speaking to Dawnhawk, and a WindClan warrior attacking a bystander? And the RiverClan warrior joining, allowing Dawnhawk to escape? A low growl rumbled in her chest. "I'm surprised as well, Flintstar. RiverClan did help WindClan in the battle, from what I've heard. Perhaps they have their own idea of justice? But if they had him, why just let him slip through their claws to turn on another clan cat in neutral territory? Burningwing said they were talking, but how would Dawnhawk have made it through any clan's territory to get all the way to Fourtrees without any patrols noticing?" She mewed softly, more to Flintstar than anyone else. She waited for Burningwing's answer to Flintstar's question, curious as to what the warrior would say. Already the deputy was planning extra patrols, especially around Fourtrees, and perhaps a little patrol to investigate Fourtrees to see if they could find anything of note that could be used to further defend their clanmate. His ideals were certainly questionable, but he was still a clanmate, and she was appalled at the way he had been attacked.

Frostgaze listened to Burningwing's story patiently, taking in all the details. He hardly noticed Flintstar and Murkystrike making their way in as well. When he realized, he hastily moved to give them more room in the quickly crowding Medicine Den, with a quick nod in respect to them both. He remained silent as his deputy and leader spoke, continuing to think over the facts he had just learned. A Windclan and Riverclan cat had been conversing with Dawnhawk,  a known murderer and supporter of the Asylum, now a rogue who has taken vengeance on Skyclan. Burningwing fought them, though Frostgaze did wonder what he had even been doing out of camp at Fourtrees. That was the least important thing to think about as of now.

"Not that I need to know," Frostgaze finally spoke, "but may I ask how the Windclan she-cat... Swiftspirit, saw you? I would assume you were hiding in the shadows, was it a simple mishap? If not, then I worry about our stealth tactics... and that we perhaps need to find other ways to efficiently hide, especially if a Windclanner could spot you." Windclan was a moor, and usually was fairly visible, even under the absence of light from the New Moon. If Windclan could see, or scent, a Shadowclan cat as dedicated to his heritage of stealth as Burningwing, that did not bode well. His question, though the least important, he believed was one that needed to be asked.