Quote:
Originally Posted by Role
Oakpaw listened with intent, eyes shining. That hope that once sparked was now being kindled by his words. There was no way it could be false hope! ..Right? Oakpaw blinked as he asked if she could stand on her leg. Here it was. The ultimate test. The brown molly used her other foreleg to sit herself up, grunting with effort, and then stood up fully using her back legs. At least she could stand if all else fails. Oakpaw then attempted to flatten her paw on the ground. When she did, it looked awkward and broken. A twinge of fear entered her mind, but Oakpaw shook it off. Not now. She slowly put weight on it. Suddenly, her whole world came crashing down. Her paw bent to the side, and she fell over. And like that, her hope that burned like fire was blown away. Oakpaw lie still for a moment, staring at nothing in particular, and began to feel defeated. "No," she murmured. "I am not able to stand on it." Oakpaw rolled herself back over after a few tries, and stared at the ground.
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At first as the the little shecat stood up, Shinefang felt hope flare within him. But when Oakpaw went to put weight on her leg, she crumpled to the ground. It was so fast, he had no time to catch her, and for a long moment he sat there in silence and sighed. He couldn't put it off any longer now. There was still time for something to change in her condition, but the bones in her paw were no good now and there was a chance they never would be. As the apprentice stared at the ground, Shinefang placed a paw on her shoulder and spoke to her in a voice more soft and gentle than most cats every heard from him. "I'm sorry, Oakpaw. I think that the monster crushed the small bones in your foot. They're too small for me to set them properly. The tingling and numbness might improve overtime, but your paw is going to be twisted like that for the rest of your life." The grizzled old tom closed his eye, shame washing over him. Poor Oakpaw had an old, untrained fleabag for a medicine cat, and she would pay for that forever. "I'm so sorry," he said again.