After the Fall [Open]

Littlesplash at been near the mouth of the medicine cat's den, near the water's edge, seemingly just staring into the lazily flowing current. His mind had been shifting through several thoughts when the scent of blood caused his ears to perk and head to raise. The metallic smell and taste was a calling to the medicine cat, one that sent him immediately racing to Elmpaw's side.

While Featherpaw seemed lax about the ordeal, there was nothing casual about a bleeding apprentice leaning on a warrior's side. Something had clearly happened. He ignored the other apprentice to focus on his patient, ears and nose focused on assessing the wounds. They were clearly deep, still bleeding in places while others had crusted over. Finally he nodded, mulling over a list of herbs in his head.

"Get those wounds cleaned up in the water and then I'll cover them up." He look at Elmpaw concern in his eyes. There'd be time to question what had happened later. Although, his job wasn't really to question, was it? That was a thought for later. Finally, turning to Featherpaw, he asked, "Can you help him out?"

When Perchstar received the news that yet another apprentice had been hurt by a rogue, it shook her--momentarily--from her stupor of grief into a cloud of ire. Thankfully, her face still remained neutral as she stormed out of her den. But, stars, she was so tired of other threats rearing their ugly heads while she had so much else to worry about. And since it had only been an apprentice, and no warrior seemed to have had any wounds on them... either a warrior had failed to protect him, or in another Troutpaw situation, Elmpaw had broken the rules that were in place for his own safety and now faced the consequences. She did her best to hold back a sigh as she saw the claw marks covering Sprucebark's adopted son. "I hear there was a fight with a rogue," she said, narrowing her eyes in the apprentice's direction. Littlesplash was busy; he was doing his job, she wouldn't interrupt him. "While your wounds get treated, tell me about what happened. How did you end up in that situation?"

Scorchlight frantically ran out of the warrior’s den, her fur messy since she had not spared a minute to groom it, after she heard Elmpaw was injured. She saw cats surround her son, and she blinked, shocked and worried. StarClan was like this—she was used to it; her mentor died, her apprentice died, and now her son didn’t deserve death. Who was next, Sprucebark? She pushed past all of the cats. "Elmpaw!" she exclaimed, placing her head on his back. "Who did this? What happened?!" About a million more questions buzzed through her mind as she stared at her son, hurt. This was her fault—she wasn’t there, wasn’t there to save him—a mother unable to protect her own son. Even adoptive, it didn’t matter; she had failed him, like she had failed Troutpaw, hadn’t she?

In a rare display of frustration, Perchstar's tail lashed once behind her as she listened to Elmpaw's explanation. Where were these rogues coming from? And more importantly, how did apprentices keep getting into fights with them alone? There were far more warriors than apprentices. She had implemented safety measures to keep things like this from happening, and yet Troutpaw had died and Elmpaw had apparently barely escaped with his life. What was she supposed to do? Hunt down every rogue and kill them? Start another battle, like the one for which all her Clanmates currently hated her, and possibly injure real innocents this time? She wanted to believe that not all outsiders were bad. They couldn't have been; she had met a good one. And yet these things kept happening.

"You will do no such thing," the leader said stiffly, her narrowed eyes staring at the overconfident apprentice. How could he be so conceited when he was currently covered in wounds? "If you found yourself alone in the territory, you should have gone back to find your companion immediately. Though the Code says to challenge trespassers, you should have gone back for assistance. Apprentices are not to challenge enemies alone, whether they be predator, rogue, or enemy Clan cat. Both you and the warrior are at fault for failing to stay together. You are very lucky that you did not die." She was tired of losing Clanmates for fish-brained reasons. If Elmpaw did not know how to follow the rules, he would just have to learn. This was not a time for soft paws; if she was lenient on him now, he would continue to make mistakes and to think what he had done was right. Perchstar shook her head. "For the next moon, you are grounded to camp. You will not be going on border patrols, or going to the Gathering. Use this time to heal from your wounds, and to reflect on what it was you did wrong." She gave a nod to Littlesplash, then turned to look at Poppyshine. This was an important thing to discuss. Despite whatever strangeness lay between them since the war... this was an issue that was currently affecting their Clan. Perhaps they ought to mention it at the Gathering, to ensure that the other Clans were informed too.

Perchstar was very tired of the words "you can't." They were bad enough coming from a former friend who had betrayed her trust and now denied her right to justice; somehow, they were even less bearable coming from an apprentice who thought he could order his leader around while still covered in the evidence of his awful decision-making. She turned back to look at Elmpaw again, her eyes narrowed to icy slivers. "I can, and I will. In case you don't remember, the word of the leader is law according to the warrior code. If you are not ready to live by the law of the code, then you are not ready for the responsibilities of an apprentice, let alone that of a warrior." Though she could not help being upset, she managed to keep her tone emotionless still. She had never raised her voice at a Clanmate, even one as stupid as this.

His speech about dying did make her tail lash behind her again. Were all of her apprentices death-seekers? Was that why Troutpaw had slipped from his patrol, as well? Why were they all so desperate to be shredded within an inch of their lives? To prove something? "You should not have been alone in the first place," she said, keeping a growl out of her voice. "But if you found yourself facing a rogue stronger than you, or a patrol of enemies, or a fox, then the correct thing to do is to run for help. It is not cowardly to not engage in a fight you know you cannot win. Sprinting headlong into such battles is fish-brained and shows a lack of respect for your medicine cat, who will have to patch you up; your Clanmates, who will have more work to do if you are dead; and your leader, who now has to deal with the mess that you caused by not avoiding something you were not built to handle. Dying or getting injured in a foolhardy battle does not show your bravery or your strength. It proves to the world that you are nothing but a wet-nosed kit who cannot listen to basic instruction."

She sighed in exasperation. This was not something she enjoyed. Above all the things she had to deal with, trying to talk sense into this tom was going to give her a headache. If he could not understand the basic rules of Clan life then perhaps he was not suited for it. "Throwing yourself at an opponent beyond your caliber is not 'giving your life for the Clan.' It is not brave or noble. It is insane. What it does is cause more trouble for me and more pain for your Clanmates. Do you not care about the heartache that you would cause your adopted parents if you died so pointlessly?" Briefly Perchstar glanced once more at Sprucebark and Scorchlight. How could any kit raised even partially by them fail to understand the rules so completely? Hopefully they could teach him a thing or two while he was confined. She looked back at Elmpaw. "You are still grounded to camp for one moon. I will not be revoking your punishment. If you attempt to break these rules or if you do not show that you have learned anything by the end of the moon, then this punishment will be extended." Even Woolywing and Yarrowblossom had had the decency to be ashamed when they snuck out of camp on their own and nearly got killed by a fox. Perchstar had to make an example here, or the other apprentices might begin forgetting the Code and following suit. "Do not test me."

The medicine cat went about his work silently, chewing herbs to press into the wounds before dressing them with cobwebs. He couldn't imagine why any apprentice would want to travel off into the territory alone. Some young cats were so bold and oddly adventurous. His ears fell as Elmpaw and Perchstar began arguing. Maybe it was Littlesplash's place to speak up on these types of things but his more timid nature caused his tongue to still. Apparently some apprentices had no fear when it came to challenging leadership as well. Regardless, he couldn't help but agree with the sense of their leader.

With a slight nod and a soft voice, the small statured tom glanced up at Elmpaw, "You need time to heal up, okay? If your wounds get infected you won't be able to enjoy doing too much of anything." Round eyes regarded the apprentice, hoping that the mild warning would be helpful in talking down the spirited tom.