Coping Without [Open]

Berrypaw had been taking good care of Mistypaw, and she had to admit she enjoyed spending time with her sibling. Unlike hers and Flamepaw's, their relationship with each other had always been good. But recently the sight of her littermate only made her want to cry. She wanted to pretend she was still in the apprentice den, as if nothing had happened. That was hard to do with a medicine cat hovering over her and the smell of poultice on her apparent stump.

Normally, the silver apprentice just stared forward, not willing to see the evidence she knew was there. If she didn't look, then it didn't have to be real. She could forget it. She could pretend her tail was still there.

Today she chanced a look, though. She wanted to see what had been done to her.

And she cried out when she saw.

Although it had healed some, what was left on her rear was a mess. The fur was in patches, revealing torn skin, scars that would never heal. It was horrible. She had to duck her head down, covering her eyes and choking back the sobs that threatened to escape.

This simply couldn't be real.

Guilt had gnawed at her belly ever since she had returned from the skirmish with Shadowclan. Ashfall knew that she never should've brought Mistypaw along, she had handled herself well but at what cost? Her tail had been ripped from her, that was something no apprentice should ever go through. Unfortunately, the scarred molly had quite a bit of experience with these kinds of injuries. Anyone with vision could figure that out. So she began limping towards the Medicine Den. There was no comfort she could give this apprentice, but maybe an idea of the way something like this could get better.

Then she heard a cry from the Medicine Den, and she rushed over, pushing her head in quickly. All she saw though, was the trembling form of her apprentice. "Mistypaw," she said, probably not softly enough, "are you alright? I heard a noise." She remembered this feeling all too well, seeing what you looked like after. Though, it had taken Ashfall longer to finally look at herself again. That was good, it meant Mistypaw might be able to understand how she would live with her injury faster than Ashfall had with hers.