[Teza]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Mountainpeak skidded to a stop just before the thorn bush, his whiskers quivering as the thorns scraped at his fur but thankfully, didn't go through. "Ha! Beat-" He began to say, turning around, and then stopped when he saw Flowerdawn skidding into the thorn bush. For a moment he was frozen before he moved into action, taking one great leap towards her. "Ha. I'll have to call you Thornpelt now, with all those things in you," He joked lightly, sitting down beside her with a relieved expression. The thorns didn't appear to have gone in too deep- he couldn't imagine they would need to go to the Medicine Cat. Still, it just might make Flowerdawn feel better...besides, they probably hurt. "Here, uh...let me help with that," He mewed, taking hold of a thorn and gently pulling it out with his teeth. He was grateful for the fact that Flowerdawn had gotten out of there quickly enough so that the thorns weren't able to embed themselves further in her body... and besides, by the time the thorns had entangled themselves in her fur, there hadn't been too much left to actually pierce the she cat. Breathing a sigh of relief, Mountainpeak stopped when he noticed the blood trickling down her limbs. He hadn't realized that her pelt hadn't been quite as thick as he thought, and the thorns had managed to get past. "We should probably take you to Kestrelberry," Mountainpeak mewed uncomfortably, shifting his weight as he anxiously glanced at the she cat, wondering whether he should try and pull some more of the thorns out or just help her there.
*****
Lynxfrost allowed a smile to slip onto his maw as he glanced over at the she cat padding next to him. "I get it. Sometimes life in a Clan is hard, there are cats that are okay and then there are cats who..." His voice trailed off and he shrugged a little, as though he thought she would be able to finish the sentence herself. There were cats who weren't the greatest. Sometimes it was tough, not really...well...knowing whether or not the cats in ShadowClan were loyal. And willing to give their lives for their Clan. Lynxfrost himself was willing to do so, and he knew that there were other cats who were, but...why wouldn't you? That was just one of the risks of living in a Clan, if you wanted the safety, you were going to have to take the risks as well. There's no way around it, Lynxfrost thought with a sigh, glancing over at his friend. "No! No, no, please...I really don't mind. It's better to tell someone you...trust, isn't it?" Lynxfrost asked with a smile in Cedarbreeze's direction. He wasn't sure whether she really trusted him or not, but perhaps she did. He hoped she did. He would have hated to find out that she didn't and then feel like an idiot for acting so strange. At the sound of the yowl his own ears went back, but before he could say- or do- anything, Cedarbreeze was already taking off. With a sigh, Lynxfrost sprang off after her, his long stride quickly catching him up to her and then overtaking her. He wasn't sure whether or not to just turn away. Surely Mountainpeak was with her, couldn't two full-grown warriors handle whatever problem this was? Stop thinking like that! You're a team, mouse-brain, you have to stick together! He scolded himself before quickening his pace even further to catch up with Cedarbreeze. He skidded to a stop in front of the two cats, casting his hues over them. Thank goodness it was only thorns. From the sound of things, he had imagined it to be something much, much worse. "How deep are they?" He asked, glancing at her. He was no Medicine Cat, but he knew a couple of things. If the thorns went in too deep, they could easily cause infection...something that Lynxfrost did not want to happen, no matter the cat.
*****
Smokepaw smiled back at Ivythorn, his hues sparkling in a friendly manner. "Well, that's not right. You deserve so much better," He mewed, and then stopped, his ears pricking up in alarm as he heard a yowl and saw Mountainpeak, Flowerdawn, Lynxfrost and Cedarbreeze all huddled around. Flowerdawn appeared to be...bleeding. Smokepaw's blood ran cold and a shudder went down his spine. The apprentice seemed to just have...shut down. He didn't follow Ivythorn over towards them, instead he slunk backwards, ears pinned flat against his skull, terror filling him. What was wrong with him? There was no problem with a bit of blood, Flowerdawn would be fine! But what if she's not? What if this is all our fault for splitting up and Flowerdawn gets sick or dies, and then I'll feel awful for the rest of my life and Halestar will hate us because we let her die and....ohhh, please be alright, Flowerdawn! The tom thought. The real reason behind his worry was that he had seen one too many border skirmishes end in disaster. And the blood only reminded him of his younger moons. Terror flooded through him again, along with the all-too-familiar face of a cat. Another apprentice. A WindClan apprentice. Smokepaw choked a little, stumbling backwards further, trying to shut the face of the apprentice out of his mind, trying to get away from the cats who made him feel like he was being...hemmed in. Trapped. He wasn't sure what to think anymore, actually. He just felt...strange.

[Sorry short )

"I'm fine, really. It just scared me," Flowerdawn said as the group surrounded her. She rolled her eyes at the mention of Kestrelheart. "I'll be fine, besides, he's got plenty on his paws right now." She quickly finished plucking all the thorns and smiled at her clanmates. "See? Fine." She curled her tail around her paws, cleaning up any traces of blood that had already stopped bleeding.

-----

Cedarbreeze glared at Flowerdawn and Mountianpeak. "We need to focus on hunting. You two go back to camp. I don't want to have to explain to Halestar why Flowerdawn keeps coming back to camp covered in thorns," she hissed. She wasn't really mad. At least, not nearly as much as she was dissappointed. Two of the warriors on the hunting patrol were acting like young apprentices, one was acting like a kit, and one wasn't sure whether he was an apprentice or a kit. How did she keep getting stuck with cats who didn't act like warriors? She stole a glance at Lynxfrost. While he was kind of hard to understand sometimes, he did act like a warrior. At least she wasn't alone. "Great Starclan I swear sometimes I'm surrounded by kits..." she muttered under her breath, not knowing if it was loud enough for Lynxfrost to hear or not. She knew she was far enough from Flowerdawn and Mountainpeak to conceal it from them.

-----

Ivythorn glanced back to Smokepaw, who appeared as afraid as she was. She padded back to the younger tom, and sniffed him for a moment, careful not to touch him. "S-Smokepaw, are you okay? Flowerdawn is fine, just a bit frightened," she assured. She smiled at him softly. "You want to show me that place now?" She really was eager to see it, but refused to push him. It was her turn to cofort him.