Eye of the Tempest (open)

Though tiny and weak, the Windclanner had been able to score Sablestrike with tons of cuts and bites in their short fight. Blood seeped from tiny wounds all around his body, but none were as concerning as the mark that she had landed on his eye. In the heat of the battle he had assumed the strike had landed above his eye, but repeated attempts at trying to use it on his way back had been met with naught but darkness. Of all cats in the forest, all the warriors worthy of a fight, why had a simple Windclan apprentice been one to scour him with so many injuries? Was he really that rusty when it came to real fights? Stars, did it even matter right now?

Blood filled the air as Sablestrike burst through the gorse tunnel, chest heaving with rage still unspent as he called out for the one cat that could potentially calm him. "Heatherberry!" No, not just her. He needed to inform his leader about what had happened, about what was stolen from them. Working his mouth to form the words Sablestrike called once more for Leopardstar, though it seemed she was already staring at him.

The violent call of her name that carried Sablestrike's voice had the medicine cat bursting through the pitifully ragged curtains of the medicine den, eye pinpointing the deputies black pelt immediately, the smell of blood almost making her gag. Dipping in for cobwebs and to grab a mouthful of marigolds to chew into a pultice, she bounded across came in a hurry not prepared for what she was about to witness: Sabelstrike's eye was completely missing from the socket, much like hers. As she stared into his remaining yellow eye with her last olive one, she couldn't help but feel dread. Within her belly, something stirred and forced her to hold back vomit. She hadn't eaten properly since she had self diagnosed a rather disturbing and hidden ailment. She trembled in realization as she looked at the angry tom before her. Had she... Done this to him? Another punishment from StarClan...?

She shook her head. Not now. "Hold still!" She barked her order for he tom to stop moving around in his fit of rage as she packed the socket with a mixture of cobwebs and marigold, adding an extra later of cobweb to hold it in place. When she was finished, she motioned for him to continue speaking as Leopardstar questioned him.

Sablestrike's mouth began to work, the words coming out were... less than kind, mostly insults regarding Windclan, but when Heatherberry instructed him to keep still the tom shut his mouth. It allowed him the opportunity to think about what he was saying instead of letting whatever thoughts that came to mind explode without filter. He could feel the herbs being placed not around but in his eye. Until now Sablestrike had been hoping the eye was salvageable, but the oddly soothing feeling of herbs that sat where his eye once did told him otherwise. It was sobering really, clearing the anger that clouded his mind just enough for him to speak somewhat sensibly, or rather, without a curse following every other word. With an appreciative nod towards Heatherberry's direction, the tom continued.

"I went to that ring of stones at the edge of our territory, but there was a Windclan cat putting up scent markers there." The tom left out how he was almost certain it was an apprentice. It was infuriating enough to have lost an eye without giving back much in return, but if he let them know a mere apprentice had done this to him? He didn't even want to think about it. "I told her to push on but the weasel took a shot at me! She didn't get away untouched, but she got me worse than I got her." A paw reached up to the packed socket, brushing lightly against the cobwebs that kept the the herbs from spilling out. How could this be part of Starclan's plan for him?

“Those dastardly WindClanners!” Sunflare hissed, seeming to materialize out of the shadows. “Pardon me, Leopardstar, I can’t help worrying for my dear mentor. Are you all right, Sablestrike? Leopardstar, if you need an escort I am more than willing to accompany you. Who knows what those mange-pelts will try?”