[Clover]

Originally Posted by Lilly

@Clover @Hexict
Pain.

That was the first thing that rushed through the small spotted apprentices body as Hephaestus brought down his final blow. Since she hadn’t ever been involved in warrior training, it felt as though a ton of bricks were dropped on her, fast and deafening. All the air that was in her lungs was expelled swiftly, and she crumpled onto the ground like paper. Blood ran like a scarlet river down her already sweat-dampened fur, making it sticky and coarse. Blue eyes, once so full of life and laughter, now began to grow pale, widening as she felt little waves of sleep lap at her conscious. Not much noise was made when she landed on the forest floor, but it was deafening to her own ears as her head fell to the dust, rolling onto her side as convulsions now overtook her body.

“G-Gecko..leaf.” One word managed to escape past her dry lips, the effort to muttering the nine words causing black spots to cloud her already blurry vision. All she saw in front of her was Hephaestus leaning over, watching through narrowed, hate-filled eyes. The rage that burned within their depths frightened Cricketpaw, even as her last breaths were nearing, and she had no real reason to fear anything anymore. “I-I’m sorry RiverClan h…hurt you,” she whispered, not sure if the larger tomcat heard her or not. She hated to see any cats in pain, despite them having different loyalties. She was a medicine cat after all; borders held no boundary for her. It saddened her to see the anger swirling like fire in the tom's eyes, and she silently wished that he had given her the chance to at least try to fix it. But it was getting harder and harder to keep herself awake, and slowly she began to close her eyes. Her breathing began to slow, and the beginning waves of peace began to settle over her tired soul.

Paws suddenly sounded nearby, drumming against the territory louder than a lion’s roar. “Cricketpaw!”

Struggling a bit, the Bengal managed to force her eyes open once more, blue orbs focusing on the cloudy sky overhead. That’s Geckoleaf! “Gecko…leaf.” Her beloved mentor, whom she had come to love as if she was her own mother, was coming. Everything would be alright now, Geckoleaf would help take this terrible pain away. She had to, she was the best medicine cat the Clans had ever seen. A soft smile eclipsed Cricketpaw’s face, and she fought a little harder to keep her breath steady, remembering the tips and tricks that her mentor had taught her to calm patients down not long ago. Ears flickered as she tried to pick up the sound of her mentor’s pawsteps, hearing them thundering closer and closer. Soon, help will get here and everything will be alright, won’t it? She would be back in the RiverClan medicine den, healing from her wounds while she tried to keep a straight face during her mentor and father lecturing her. In the end though, she knew they would still love her, and possibly let her have one or two battle training sessions so this didn’t ever happen again.

A sharp knife-like pain sliced through her thoughts like the claw of a badger making Cricketpaw wince. She continued to shake, every once in awhile her body seizing up. The bouts of pain were met wave for wave with the peaceful black serenity that threatened to take the young molly down, encasing her in its black infinite depth. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could fight to hold on, but she knew her mentor wasn’t far. She wanted to see Geckoleaf one more time before she was gone, before she gave into the blissful sleep that awaited her. She wanted to apologize for letting her down, for getting herself into a dangerous situation. She knew little of her mentor’s emotional state, but the two had grown close, and Cricketpaw knew herself that she would be lost in a world of grief if her and the RiverClan medicine cat’s roles were reversed.

@Hexict (i going to act as if hephaestus has already run off since he seems a little jumpy about being discovered if you don't mind; this sounds horrible but we need to get this death underway. sigh.)

Mistfall's confirmation of her suspicion was not a good thing; she remembered Stormpaw being a formidable fighter, and after further training, and being hardened from seasons upon seasons inside of the Syndicate, he would certainly be more than a match for either her or her apprentice. Her only question was if Cricketpaw would still be breathing when they reached her. Tears burned in her eyes at that; Geckoleaf would want to say goodb- no! Her mind violently rejected the thought; she had healing power. There could be no wound too great, certainly.

The flavor of blood in the air was so strong; it wafted over her and consumed her, horribly real and shockingly prevalent. So much blood; how could anyone have survived this long with such trauma to their system? She had never smelled this much gore from one source and had a cat survive. Her sides heaved slightly at the thought; it was one thing for a trained warrior to go out after a good fight, but her innocent apprentice? It was so unfair; Silverpelt did not shine kindly down on them today. They had taken Arcticpaw already; the tabby had never learned whether or not her snowy apprentice had survived, and mourned him like a mother who had lost her kit. But to loose another apprentice, one who may as well have been her daughter... It would devastate the clan, and finally shatter the fragile barier Geckoleaf had erected in her mind.

Her paws hid the ground faster, each step rough and powerful; it was surprising how much raw vitality the small medicine cat had locked in her body, in case of tragedy or emergency. The ground underneath her feet felt like it bounced back and sent her forward faster; she was so close to her apprentice, so close to saving her from everlasting death, yet she would never make it in time.

There was a soft crunch of leaves, a sharp wheeze, another burst of the scent of blood in the air; was this death looking her in the face, rearing its ugly head to claim another soul she loved? A single word, breathed softly, captured on the wind and delivered to her ears; "Geckoleaf". The voice was so familiar, so pained; Cricketpaw knew she was coming, knew she would try everything in power to save the life of her adopted child. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" Geckoleaf wailed into the breeze; only a few more trees, another leap, and she would be there.

"I'm coming!"

The site of Cricketpaw's final battle was decorated with blood as if it were water after rain; the ground looked like a red clay forest in autumn. It was everywhere; it coated every surface, pasted the ground in a film of cerise fluid, made it seem like a filter had been put over her eyes that dyed the whole world a gut-wrenching shade of ruby. Her blue orbs widened in horror, and she skidded to a sudden halt; more of the red-clay dirt flew into the air in a shower of carnage. Geckoleaf's mouth dropped, and her ears flattened, horror filling her chest and squeezing her throat; she had seen blood, but not like this, never like this. But her training was firm; quickly she looked for Cricketpaw and found her collapsed on the ground, panting sporadically, contractions squeezing her body.

"CRICKET! No no no no nono nono..." she exclaimed, voice trailing off into a series of horrified refusals of the situations, even as her body forced her towards the limp figure of the bengal. She heard her name forced out again, this time almost stronger, more hopeful; she would save Cricketpaw, right? She had to.

Geckoleaf's sadness was overwhelming, her anger coloring everything a deeper shade of the same revolting red. Someone had done this to Cricketpaw for seemingly no reason; was it random chance, or the cruelty of ancestors who no longer cared? Her sorrow was debilitating; she wanted to refuse it, but she knew this was the end, knew that Cricketpaw's chest would stop moving and her heart would cease. The life would flood out of her forever.

The tabby collapsed next to the apprentice, surveying the extensive wounds; lacerations on her face and sides, almost surgical incisions of bite marks on her scruff, and the final, deep cut that was placed perfectly on her neck, nicking the jugular, but just barely. Stormpaw, now Hephaestus, had killed before; he knew that this would kill Cricketpaw quickly, but slowly enough that she and Mistfall would still find her alive, barely conscious. She could not fix this; her healing power could not make her bones produce blood quick enough to replenish the sheerly massive volume she had lost to her injuries. But maybe she could stop the pain; maybe she could staunch the suffering.

Geckoleaf's eyes were tender and distressed; she loved Cricketpaw so dearly, and to know she would be lost to the clutches of their warrior ancestors forever was a tremendously worrisome thing, despite the fact that there would be several loving medicine cat of the past who would embrace her warmly. Those blue depths spoke volumes; sunrises upon sunrises of effort and toil spent training her, many a night worrying of how Cricketpaw was faring, the breakdowns that she had hidden from her apprentice and her clan, the tender affection of a mother. Not just memories, but other thoughts; the murder would pay eventually, the loss of another apprentice would hurt the clan, Mistfall would have to drag her screaming and clawing away from Cricketpaw when it came time.

Gently, she licked the blood off of the kindly face, restoring her vision at least somewhat. She nuzzled the forehead softly; it was soaked with blood, and Geckoleaf would be too.

"Cricketpaw... Sweet one... I'm here. You'll be alright... Don't you worry; everthing will turn out... turn out fine. These injuries... They won't hamper you for much longer. I promise on every star in the sky that your pain... I will take your pain away." The words were soft, hesitant, cooing; she was trying to calm Cricketpaw down before the end. Her voice was exquisitely gentle; even in a time of turmoil, she remained shockingly calm on the exterior, her speech the epitome of comforting. Everything she could do to ease Cricketpaw into her slumber, permanent as far as the graceful molly was concerned, she did.

"Oh... It's not so bad.... These are... Shallow cuts. Can't you feel that? A poultice of lilly petals and rose blossoms are all you need to heal, my little one. Chamomile and poppy to sleep.... In the morning, you'll be alright."

(sorry it's disjointed and long. i'll be crying myself to sleep thank you very much.)