Why

[ivyy]

The clouds overhead had passed, unveiling the moon. It was nearly full, casting a light that illuminated everything beneath it, and it gave the earth below a blueish tinge. Three cats stood in at the scene, blood spotting the frosty soil underneath their paws.

.: Dapplepaw faded in and out of consciousness. So exhausted she lay slumped on her side, unable to move. Her yellow eyes flickered open long enough to spot a familiar cat, Cloudfur, standing over them with a horrible look on her face. "Redfang, what did you do?" the she-cat said shrilly, making Dapplepaw's already rapid breathing quicken further. The weakened apprentice tried to tell her what had happened was not Redfang's fault, not in the slightest. But all she could muster was a hoarse wheeze, and she blacked out again.

.: Dapplepaw didn't have enough energy to even open her eyes. She felt stinging pain as teeth dug gently into the scruff of her neck, at first she feared the ThunderClan offender was back, but soon realized it was only a fellow WindClan cat picking her up. She had not been carried like this since she was a small kit, it demoralized her. She heard the voices of many other clanmates, a patrol must've found the aftermath of the attack.

~~~

.: Dapplepaw whimpered softly as she was layed down on the cold floor of the medicine den. She had been conscious for most of the journey back to camp, listening to the strained breathing of the cat who carried her. She heard the gasps of shock and anger as her Clanmates surrounded her.. but what she heard sharper than anything was the disgruntled cough of a familiar cat, Redfang. Her eyes opened slowly, Dapplepaw's gaze rolling over the room lazily, looking for the ginger tom that had found her.

Redfang's shoulder laceration had reopened, still oozing his thick red blood slowly. He had also received new wounds, smaller than those he had gotten in the fight with the fox, but still. No wounds were good wounds. Dapplepaw moaned quietly to herself, diverting her eyes from her bloodied mentor. She groaned, her fur matted to her skin with sweat and blood. The icy wind somehow found it's way to her, and chilled her to the bone. And not for the first time.

[Icy-son]

(( Oh, poor little Dapplepaw~ She'll be in for trouble! xD;; ))

Icewhisker;; WindClan Medicine Cat

Ahh, today seems like a beautiful day for gathering herbs... I wonder which ones I need? Perhaps a few more stalks of catmint? I have been running low on marigold, ever since that fox attack on our deputy and his apprentice.....

The older she-cat was deep into her many thoughts and feelings, and ever since Dapplepaw came back with deeper wounds, along with her mentor, she had been furious. "Ohh, when Dapplepaw awakens again, she will get it....." She growled to herself, shutting her eyes in concentration.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It seemed as though the sun rose and fell before the young apprentice was awaken. Her wounds were covered with cobwebs and marigold leaves, just like with Redfang beforehand. Her icy blue eyes seemed to pierce by the sheer glimpse of them, and Icewhisker turned away. Great StarClan, tell me if this is the right thing to say! she silently pleaded, closing her eyes and pulling her ears back over her skull.

"Dapplepaw, are you all right hon`?" she purred softly, licking the young cat's ear. "Try not to move, but please, tell me what happened? Why didn't you stay in camp when I said 'light chores'? Patrolling is not light, it can be tragic, like this." She explained, laying beside her patient.

[/color]

[Yellowstar]

Fernstar paced outside of her den, brown tabby fur fluffed up against the cold but doing little to help her paws, which were now tired and freezing from the hard, cold ground. As soon as she had been alerted to the disappearance of Dapplepaw, she had sent out search parties to scour the territory for any sign of the young apprentice. Any normal apprentice wandering out at night would have been cause for alarm but not to this degree; Dapplepaw was still injured from the fox so whatever she was doing outside of camp, harmless or dangerous, she needed to be found in case something had happened. After the search patrols had been sent out Fernstar had set to waiting anxiously outside of her den in the cold night air for any sign of Dapplepaw or returning patrols.

Then she heard some shocked gasps and worried voices, and Fernstar turned her head to see a patrol of cats returning to camp. Dapplepaw was being carried, unmoving, between two cats and Fernstar felt her heart sink with dread. What in StarClan had happened? She thought helplessly, though knew the question could only be answered if she went over to investigate. And she did; quicker than she realized it her paws were taking her toward the medicine den to intercept the path the cats carrying her were walking.

Thank StarClan, Dapplepaw wasn't dead but only slightly conscious. That still wasn't good but it was better than having a dead Clanmate. The leader noted the pathetic, defeated looking state the younger she-cat was in, as well as the new injuries on Dapplepaw's pelt. Lashing her tail angrily, yet still unable to help the pure worry that clouded her eyes, Fernstar meowed, "What happened? Why did you leave camp, Dapplepaw?" She then looked at the nearby cats, noticed Redfang and his reopened, blood oozing wound and narrowed her eyes at him. Wouldn't some cat explain what was going on?

[Heathclaw]

Cloudfur. Of course it had to be Cloudfur. It was as though StarClan was trying to punish him. The clouds cleared, revealing three cats, and a scene of blood, torn fur, and pain. "Redfang, what did you do?" she shrieked at him, making his ears dart backwards in annoyance. "Yell at me later. Help Dapplepaw first," he grunted tersely, turning away from Cloudfur and staggering to Dapplepaw's other side.

Fortunately, a patrol arrived a few moments after Cloudfur had. StarClan was showing some mercy, after all. He allowed them to help carry his apprentice, and walked by himself, at the rear end of the patrol. How have things gone so wrong?

-----

Their arrival at camp was met by shock and worry, much like their return from the fox fight of before. It was an absolute disgrace. But Redfang, always mindful of his position as Deputy, raised his head up as they walked into camp, and looked each cat in the eye as he passed. He felt dead inside, dead to the pain in his shoulder, dead to emotion, his eyes faraway and distant.

And then there was Fernstar, blocking the way to the medicine den, demanding an explanation. "Take Dapplepaw in, get her treated," he told the rest of the patrol, making his way to face Fernstar directly, speaking in a low murmur so that only she could here. "She needs rest, Fernstar. But I'll tell you what I know. I found Dapplepaw at the ThunderClan border. She was under attack by a ThunderClan tom. Worse than under attack. Look at her injuries. You'll see. That cat... was Pinestorm."

As he mentioned the name of the ThunderClan offender, a flicker of the old fire flared up in his dead eyes. That cat had made himself a personal enemy of Redfang forever. "I chased him off. The patrol came shortly after. You'll have to ask Dapplepaw for the rest." And with that, he followed the patrol into the medicine den.

-----

He woke up the next day, wounds treated. He would be fine. His apprentice... would his apprentice ever be fine? He couldn't look at her. He couldn't deal with the shame. Even Icewhisker's somewhat dense comment didn't get a rise out of him. What apprentice would go out on patrol in the middle of the night, alone?

[Yellowstar]

Fernstar

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Fernstar could just stare helplessly as the patrol carried Dapplepaw into the medicine den, knowing she would only get in the way if she followed, and in all the likely chaos she wouldn't get many answers anyway. She lashed her tail again in frustration, then glanced over as Redfang remained outside. Good, at least he would explain what was going on. Though she didn't like the look of his reopened wound, she needed to hear what in the world had happened.

ThunderClan border... ThunderClan... Pinestorm? Fernstar didn't know what to think at first, not knowing why any ThunderClan warrior would attack an injured apprentice. Whitestar kept his warriors under control and following the code as best he could... worse than attacked? Though not fully understanding, Fernstar nodded grimly to Redfang. Then her deputy was gone, back into the medicine den where she knew she shouldn't follow. And so that night she was left to only imagine what had happened.

---

She woke up early the next morning and made her way as quickly as possible to Icewhisker's den. Pausing at the entrance, she hesitated, not wanting to wake up the injured cats but still wanting to hear exactly what the story was. At last she padded quietly in, deciding that if everyone was still sleeping that she would come back later. Although she really didn't want to; she wanted to know now. After glancing around the den and noticing that Icewhisker was awake and tending to Dapplepaw, Fernstar padded further in, though still kept her voice hush.

"Icewhisker? Is Dapplepaw awake? I need to speak with her."[/blockquote][/justify]

[ivyy]

.: The sun had come up, rising as merrily and brightly as any other day. Perhaps it was just any other day for some cats, but as it were, Dapplepaw was not one of them. She awoke almost unthinkingly, not yet feeling the sting of her freshly formed scabs, not yet feeling that dull ache in the pit of her stomach that made her so uncomfortable. With a small huff, the battered apprentice became more aware, leaving her content dream-like state. Her large amber eyes fluttered open at the faint sounds of paws hitting the dusty earth.

.: Fernstar, it was Fernstar. Fantastic. Immediately, the mottled brown cat lay down, trying hard to appear asleep. Although it wasn't the best evasive move out there, it was all that had come to mind. Dapplepaw faced away from the entrance, mimicking the slow, deep breaths that one takes while asleep. The make-shift nest the apprentice 'slumbered' in gave her little warmth, leaving her already sore muscles clenched and aching. Only when Dapplepaw heard light breathing and footsteps directly behind her did she open an eye, spying through the sparse moss that made up her bedding, she saw what could only be Fernstar's paws. Her tail lashed subconsciously.

[Icy-son]

Oh, good greacheous. Fernstar, why come now? The medicine cat lashed her tail in mock anger. Why does she have to come in when she was talking to her patient? "Yes, Dapplepaw is awake. Although, I was attempting to get her fully awake." She explained, turning her gray and white dappled head toward the apprentice. "Come on; Fernstar seems to really want to speak with you." She purred, padding toward her patient and nuzzling the young she-cats' paws.

[/blockquote]
(Not the best post, but I procrastinated long enough. )

[Yellowstar]

So she was awake? From the look of it, Dapplepaw was curled up tightly and not the slightest bit awake. She supposed the injured apprentice could be faking, but Dapplepaw wasn't the type to do that. Looking curiously at the young tortoiseshell and then back at the medicine cat, Fernstar murmured gratefully to Icewhisker and promised not to be long. She just needed to talk for a moment.

"Dapplepaw? If you're awake, I need to speak with you." The dark tabby padded closer to the patient, sitting less than a tail-length away from the younger cat and adopting an even more concerned tone to her voice. "I need you to tell me everything that happened. Please, I need to know in case it's something important." 'Important' meaning something severe enough to require speaking with Whitestar about it. She was aware that Dapplepaw might not want to talk, and Fernstar didn't want to hear a terrible story, but it needed to be done.

[Heathclaw]

...Why? Why bring it up now? Why so soon? But Redfang knew why. Better to get it out soon soon, and even better to get it out now, rather than to bring up painful memories again later. He sighed, and forced himself to get onto his feet. He still couldn't meet her gaze, but he did manage to speak. "Please, tell her, Dapplepaw. It has to be done. Be brave, like the apprentice I know you are. You've been through so much- just one bit more. You can do it."

[ivyy]

Well, it seems that her devious plan to escape the unavoidable had, unsurprisingly, failed. Fernstar was horrible enough.. but Redfang too? She had fail him to many times. First the fox, then this, how could he ever depend on her? All she could do was go out and get herself hurt in some ridiculous fashion. In Dapplepaw's eyes, her assault was her own fault. She should have been strong enough to go back to camp, or better yet, strong enough to get away from her attacker. Shrugging away the flashbacks that sprang to her mind, Dapplepaw slowly twisted over to face the two cats before her. Every single part of her was sore, aching, or stiff. The battered apprentice looked (and felt) like utter mouse dung.

"F-Fernstar." Dapplepaw said quietly, her voice still cracked and hoarse from the previous night. ".. And Redfang." the mottled brown apprentice murmured. This was the last thing in the entire world she'd want to be doing, the last thing in the world she'd want to be reliving. She'd had enough reminders of the attack in her sleep, the darkness of her dreams, the deep growls and grunts replaying over and over and over and- Dapplepaw blinked hard. She couldn't let herself get worked up in front the two most respected cats in WindClan. She had to be strong.

[Yellowstar]

Fernstar was rather shocked to see Redfang suddenly getting to his feet. As far as she knew her deputy was still recovering from the fox attack and whatever had happened the previous night hadn't made his condition any better. But he was awake, which at least meant he was all right. Pushing back concern at what exactly had Redfang so worked up, though, she turned her attention back to Dapplepaw.

The apprentice's cracked and hoarse voice caused a sorry frown to appear over the elderly leader's face. Yet even though Dapplepaw looked to be in an even worse condition than Redfang, Fernstar couldn't leave without getting information. Redfang seemed to know what was going on, and she could ask him if Dapplepaw refused to talk, but she would prefer to hear it straight from her first. "Go on Dapplepaw, I'm waiting." This time her voice was more strict, necessary rather than cruel.

[/blockquote]

[ivyy]

Dapplepaw gulped quickly, her gaze flicking back and forth from Redfang to Fernstar. She sat up, straightening her back with a wince. It would be a while until the apprentice was back on her feet. Physically, that is. Mentally.. who knows when the poor she-cat would ever recover.

Fernstar spoke again, this time Dapplepaw could hear the agitation growing in her voice. She'd like to know that the leader's frustration wasn't directed at her.. but, she couldn't find another reason. She needed to just get on with it, no matter how painful. "I'm s-sorry, Fernstar." Dapplepaw said softly, the tip of her tail flickering amongst the moss in her make-shift nest. "This is just.. really hard to talk about." she whimpered quietly, ducking her head. If she was going to tell Fernstar about what had happened, she sure as heck wasn't going to be able to make any sort of eye contact.

"I-I don't know if you're aware that I sometimes.. er.. sleep walk." Dapplepaw said quickly, her ears burning. "Usually I'm stopped before I get out of camp.. or I just wake up some place random like by the elder's den or in a bush." she said. Now that she was describing her strange sleeping patterns, she felt like an idiot. No one would believe this far fetched truth.

"I suppose I-I got out this time. I found myself in a frosty little hole some area a-aways from camp" Dapplepaw began, eyes glossy as they trained in on the nest beneath her. She was reliving the previous night. "It was dark. I couldn't find my way back to camp... I ended up at the border. I-I thought about turning around from there, since I then had s-some grasp on where I w-was." she said absently. "I heard footsteps and a voice.. and then I saw a huge cat. He stank like Th-thunderClan." Dapplepaw said somberly, hating that she had to pin this on ThunderClan. She knew that this would mean trouble. How stupid could she be?!

"He asked me why I was out. I wanted to run away so badly but my leg.. f-from the fox. I tried and he jumped on me-" Dapplepaw lost her composure and failed at holding back a guttural sob. "I'm sorry!" the apprentice moaned, looking up at Fernstar. "I couldn't stop him."

[Heathclaw]

As hard as it must have been for Dapplepaw to recount her story, it was difficult for Redfang to relive it as well, to see it as it happened from his apprentice's eyes. "I'm sorry! I couldn't stop him." I couldn't stop him either. I failed you. Redfang thought miserably to himself. "That's enough, Dapplepaw. Please, rest- I'll cover from here," said Redfang.

He motioned with his tail for Fernstar to come over, before settling gingerly back down on his paws. It was still far too early for him to be on his paws for any length of time. He motioned for her to bend down, so that he could reach her ear, and he with great care, he whispered. "She was raped, Fernstar. I don't know what Pinestorm could have been thinking. I gave him what for... but... I was too late." Fire and shame burnt in his eyes as he spoke, and as he leaned back down, he locked eyes directly with Fernstar, and asked the uncomfortable question that had to be asked. "What are you going to do?"

[Yellowstar]

Fernstar

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By the time Dapplepaw had finished her story, Fernstar was silent. Not out of shock, although that was part of it, but out of needing to hear more. ThunderClan... a tom... attack... the pieces were falling together in her mind but she needed more detail than that. If something like this really did happen- which it probably did, there was no way Dapplepaw would lie about something like that, especially with her new injuries- she needed to know everything.

But she still spared a piteous look for the apprentice. It was obviously difficult for her to explain and she wouldn't make her talk for much longer. Redfang seemed to realize this too, for he let her stop talking. Moving closer to her deputy, Fernstar sat down beside him and listened, completely unprepared for what he would have to say.

Pinestorm... that name sounded a bit familiar, but it wasn't like she went around trying to remember the names of every cat in other Clans. She did not know who this tom was, but the deeper explanation that Redfang gave left a sour taste in her mouth and her stomach suddenly twisting into knots.

By this point the brown tabby was clearly bristling and she flexed her claws to keep from overreacting. "Thank you, Dapplepaw," She said, careful to keep her voice calm, as she turned back to the apprentice. "I'd like you to rest for now and do what Icewhisker tells you in order to recover. I need to speak with Redfang in private."

Casting a brief glance- thinly disguised with anger for whoever had done this- in the medicine cat's direction, Fernstar motioned for Redfang to follow her and padded out of the den. It wouldn't do for Dapplepaw to overhear their conversation; she was scarred enough as it was.

"I need to speak with Whitestar about it," she growled lowly once they were outside. "If this really happened- not that I doubt your honesty, Redfang,- he needs to know about it. This doesn't just go against the warrior code, it's disrespectful to both ThunderClan and me."[/blockquote][/justify]

[Heathclaw]

Redfang inhaled sharply as he got up to follow Fernstar out of the medicine den- reminding himself, not for the first time, that getting into a new fight with old wounds was a bad idea. Once they were clear of the den, his leader turned towards him, with some of the same anger burning in her eyes.

"He'll deny it," Redfang predicted tersely, when Fernstar announced that she would have to tell Whitestar. "I wouldn't trust him to admit to any guilt. Not to another clan. But I agree- he needs to know. This... what has happened is outrageous. If I see Pinestorm again..." He let the sentence trail off, but the meaning behind it was clear in his eyes.

"If you're going to go to ThunderClan, I hope you won't go alone. After this, I trust them less than ever before. Perhaps Ratfoot and Rowanwhisker? Ratfoot's tough, and Rowanwhisker's got a good head on his shoulders. I'd go too... but- I don't think I'd be any good right now."