Broken Bracken

(OOC takes place before all the 2 legs show up)

Batsong sat in the shadows flicking her tail back and forth irritated. She didnt like having to share a home with 5 different clans. It was bad enough for gatherings which she didnt enjoy... but to live with all these different new faces? She didnt like it one bit. The shy molly was much happier when she didnt have to worry about so many strangers around her... who to trust or not. She stuck close to the windclan set up but they were all piled up on top of each other so much that it was not easy.


She went over to check on her wounded patient who she kept very sound watch over. An almost protective sort of way beyond just healing her busted leg.

Seeing that the warrior was awake and not resting she approached. "morning B..b-brackenwing she mewed in greeting as she inspected the stick bound to Brackens broken leg... it was all soaking wet from the icky damp ground and morning dew that clung around the 4trees area.

It didnt look like the leg was healing any eitehr... Batsong knew it was just super slowly... she wanted it to be faster but there wasnt anything she could do to speed up the process of recovery. she lifted an eyebrow slightly looking it over again and again almost to the point of redundantly overdoing it.

"hmm... you are k-keeping your weight off it?" she finally asked giving Bracken a side glance with just a hint of suspicion. Batsong had been very protective of her adoption sister to the point of hovering a bit over her shoulder. Justified or not, she continued to do so.

In batsongs mind: she was not gonna let Bracken come to any short end. She was her responsibility now, both as the med cat but also as her family: Swift and Misty had looked after her so much and with not many of their kits left this was the least she could do. She had failed shimmer when he returned and almost immedietly after died, she wouldnt let his sister suffer any similar fate while she was here.


She frowned looking at the busted up leg... This was not good it looked like it would take even longer to heal than what she had first anticipated. The travel back home would not be an easy one at all and if deep snow set in before they could get Bracken back...

The worry and pressure was getting to the med cat and caused her to be a bit more irritable than usual. "humf... you need to r-r..rest more and keep off it or it wont heal... You have to keep better care of yourself she snapped a bit frustrated.. she wasnt really frustrated at Bracken but the dark forest level of luck their clan had lately was trying for everyone. She talked as she readjusted the stick bound to her leg trying to prevent ti from getting mroe loser than it sometimes got.

Early morning rays of sunlight filtered through the trees, dappling the ground as Brackenwing hauled herself out of her nest. Her movements were still slowed, made awkward by the splint binding her broken leg, a splint that she was very much beginning to despise with every fiber of her being. Sitting was awkward, curling up in her nest was awkward. Limping around Windclan's small section of the miserably crowded fourtrees was awkward. She was sick of the constant noise, sick of being stuck in one place, sick of fussing medicine cats (however much she liked Batsong and Birchpaw) and thoroughly, mind-numbingly sick of fourtrees. She missed the wide-open moorland, she would even take the tunnels over this.

And speaking of fussing medicine cats... "Hey," Brackenwing greeted Batsong, though couldn't quite muster up any cheer for it. She'd spent most of the night restless with the sound of wind rustling the leaves, the creaking branches and the sounds of other cats. In part, it was also that the injured she-cat had absolutely nothing to do. It was maddening.

"...Yes." She grumbled. Well, the tossing and turning hadn't done the splint any favors... And she had been keeping it off the ground when she limped around just for a change of scenery. Somehow, Brackenwing was sure that wasn't quite what Batsong would enjoy hearing. She was sure the medicine cat wanted her in her nest, and not dragging her sorry hide to the edge of Windclan's little encampment just to stare out over the rolling moors that had been so devastated by the earth's tantrum not that long ago.

Brackenwing forced herself to remain still while Batsong inspected her leg, though she very much wanted to slink away from the medicine cat fussing over her like some kit. Batsong's tone was clearly irritated as she admonished her, and Brackenwing's tone, when she replied, was equally snappy. "I have been resting." Her ears had flattened in irritation. It felt like all she did these days was rest, and Batsong wanted her to rest more?

Batsong sighed softly closing her eyes. She understood the frustration, she felt it too.  Gatherings were too packed for either of their liking as it was and that was without all the queens, elders, and screaming kits added on.

4trees was never meant to be taking on all 5 clans at full compacity especially not living here.  The whole area stunk of too many animals cramped atop one another and the scent of all the distinct clans mixing was unpleasant putting it lightly.

"look... I g-get it w-we all wanna get out of this stinkhole and aw-away from all the other strange cl-clans and not have to live right on top of each other. She stared out towards were their old home was . "but t-to do that we need everyone as well as p-possible"

Batsong wished that she could do more to heal the leg that was broken but only time and patience would help that now... It would take something with a higher level of healing than any medicine cat could offer to speed it up any faster than nature would allow.

"The m-more ya move around and upset the s-s-..spl bloody word wouldn't come out.  Dark forest it always happened like this anyways!

Humf! Med cat that cant talk and cant heal her clanmates. Useless! she hissed at herself in her mind.

Flicking her tail back and forth now very annoyed mostly at herself she decided to make the speech easier and much more blunt than she would have liked to.

"I'm your med cat and ss-s..starclan help me if you d-d.d-ont keep your tail in that nest till you are h-healed!
She mewed with a raised voice as she stood up suddenly very out of character for her, but the stress and horrid living conditions were eating at all of them.  The good relations that clanmates had were under heavy strain under such unusual times.

"I c-care too much about you to h-have this le-leg get any worse.  If it gets infected from this d-dirty place with the ov-ov..ob..overpopulation then what??

She leaned in very serious "you keep it out of the mud and out of the wetness if you want to keep the leg. I-infections me-mean death if I c-cant treat them. And ill be sent t-to dark forest before that ha-happens!

This was the part of her job she didnt love.  Having to try and talk sense into the ones she cared about. Bracken was like her sister.. at least thats how Batsong always had seen it. Having to force her to do something was never something the med cat looked forward to.  But shed rather have a yelling match than to watch her sister get her leg infected... Fighting a nasty infection with this stinking environment? With little herbs... Not a chance in Starclan.

"I p-promised swift id take care of ya. So im not l-letting you m-meet her again till im go-gone first at least she said with a flick of her tail and ending it there.  She had almost forgotten to give Bracken the meal she had brought but set it down at her paws.

She stalked towards the exit of the little lean-to hut that was constructed hastily for the injured. She sat down breathing deepily frustrated by it all. She sat there for a bit ears flicking for a couple minutes waiting to cool down and try to smooth things over better.

She didnt wanna leave on bad terms with Bracken so she attempted a joke in passing before she left
"Besides, ... if yer b-bored you can always talk with your inlaws... Im sure (insert lynxpaws grandma here) would be ha-happy to keep ya company. Maybe I should se-send her over?? she said with a wink of playful banter.

(OOC: yeah I thought I remembered that Bracken and Lynxpaw's paternal grandma were... hmm an interesting pairing to say the least XD... obviously Batsong would know the cats actual name but ... speedy has no idea and the family tree doesnt have it either)

Batsong was just teasing her friend and sister and she gave her a playful mischievous but gentle tap on the should to let her know that.

"humf the best p-part is you wouldnt be able to r-run away from her either" she giggled quietly as she gave a playful smirk.

she wasnt actually gonna do that.... just teasing her a little, besides.  Lynxpaw's grandmother wouldnt let her patient rest which Bracken desperately needed despite what the warrior thought that she was getting enough.

Brackenwing's tail lashed once in a display of quiet frustration. The last thing she wanted was a medicine cat fussing over her, much less Batsong, but it didn't seem she'd get her wish today. She liked Batsong, the older medicine cat was like a sister. But stars above...

The yelling was unexpected, and Brackenwing cringed inwardly, irritated gaze dropping to her paws. She'd made her yell. Batsong never yelled. The shock of it was enough to pull Brackenwing out of her annoyance, staring up at the medicine cat with wide green eyes for a moment, feeling a strange prickling of guilt in her chest, her fur feeling uncomfortably warm. When was the last time Batsong yelled at anyone?

"Sorry... Fine. I'll... stay put." She muttered eventually, watching as Batsong set a piece of fresh-kill in front of her and then stalked to the edge of the makeshift den.

Brackenwing felt her blood run cold at Batsong's next words, recoiling, "Absolutely not." She sputtered out, and her fear was only partially feigned. Batsong had been joking... She was almost sure... Mostly sure. "Mintheart is insane, don't tell her I said that." The last was added a bit too quickly. "Foxdung, I've avoided her the entire time. Don't you dare jinx that." She huffed, gingerly pulling the fresh-kill closer to herself with a paw.

The tension that had been hanging in the air had eased with the attempted humor, at least, making Brackenwing's shoulders relax a little bit. She wasn't exactly happy, and there was no doubt that Batsong would pick up on it, but she'd listen to her.

Batsong hadnt ever really yelled like that... ever.  That was probably the loudest she had ever been.  The point seemed to get across though and her patient still stubborn as ever at least agreed to give the leg a rest.  This allowed her some relief, "thanks she breathed.

Her eyebrow raised a little with a still half grin on her face as her sister squirmed and begged about not having to deal with Mintheart.  She chuckled a little pfff...

she let a little pause pass...





"yea... she is kinda insane... you C-CAN tell her I said t-that she winked.

"Fine... rest the leg and Mintheart will not come by for any ... "surprise visits" she offered.  Oh, good her patient was eating she would need strength for whatever lay ahead.  "Birchpaw and I are both gonna be nearby if you need anything else

She left her be at peace at last with that.  Figuring she had probably hovered over her enough to make her go a bit crazy... It was just, that she cared alot for bracken and wasnt about to let an injury worsen while she could prevent it.

Batsong is leaving but you can still like call her back if you wanna continue the topic at all?