TW: Sensitive Content Open Camp better days || returning with injured [open]

[WOLFPACK]

AND I AM SORRY MY CONSCIENCE CALLED IN SICK AGAIN

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Trigger Warning For Injuries/Blood!

The slope into camp was slick with last nights rain, but Wolfpack didn't slow– just dug his claws into the slick mud as he began to slide, letting them snag on the sticks and rocks and pine needles that were in place to help ease a cats descent into the hollow. His legs were already caked in mud from the run back to camp anyways, Marbleshines blood smeared across his shoulders like war paint. Her injuries overlooked his own– a shallow tear above one eye and stinging of lines across his flank.

He hardly even felt them, too distracted by the sticky warmth of her blood matting his fur as he did his best to keep her balanced on his back. He'd tried to find something to use to slow it– cobwebs, like she'd said– but a cursory glance had offered him nothing and he wasn't sure how much time he had to spare on it. Between treating her himself, and risking the rush back to Cicada, he knew which one he had to bet his luck on.

He hit the ground of the camp hard, spraying grit and muck underpaw and not sparing a single glance at any of the heads that turned in his direction to complain or watch. "Cicadabuzz!" he called, not breaking his stride as he rushed toward the healers den. "There's been a fox attack."

---

​

OOC NOTES . ◭ . CHARACTER INFO

• ooc : — @Marbleshine @cicadabuzz !! Wolfpack's injuries are fairly minor - he got clipped on the face right above his eye, and on the flank! Fox retreated after Wolf got a very lucky claw in it's eye.
  ​
• shadowclan deputy - male - a large, monochrome chimera with mismatched eyes and several scars

 

[Marbleshine]

In the morning when I wake and the sun is coming through
Oh, you fill my lungs with sweetness and you fill my head with you

.

Trembling weakly atop Wolfpack's back, Marbleshine could feel herself slipping every so often, but just as quickly, he would shift, steadying her without a word. Each time it happened, she murmured a soft, breathless "sorry," but he didn't answer, didn't slow. His steps were relentless, focused, driven by the single need to get her home. All she could do was hold on with what little strength she had left. Her shoulder throbbed with sharp, pulsing pain. She was still bleeding. No cobwebs, no herbs... she hadn't even managed that. And... Oh. Oh, Stars. They'd left their prey behind. All that effort... someone else would find it now. Some fox or badger or rogue. Not the clanmates who needed it most.

Her head lowered slightly, cheek pressing faintly into the warmth of his fur. I'm sorry. The words swirled in her chest, too tangled to form on her tongue. She had tried. She really had. But it hadn't been enough. Eyes fluttered shut. Everything ached. Her pride. Her body. Her heart. But then... Movement. The camp. She felt it before she saw it. The way the air changed. The faint scents of home. Pawsteps muffled by familiar paths. Her ears folded back as her stomach twisted in shame. They were here. And everyone would see her like this... Bloodied, broken, useless. I'm sorry, she wanted to sob. I'm sorry, I'll do better. I'll be better. I promise, I will.

" Wolf... " Her voice was a whisper, barely audible above the thundering in her own ears. She heard him call for Cicadabuzz, firm and clear. Strong, like always. She wanted to thank him. She wanted to say something... Anything... But she didn't know how. Didn't know where to begin. Her chin dipped lower. A breath hitched painfully in her throat as her lips parted in a tiny murmur... A single word...

" ..Sorry. "

Whether it was for Wolfpack, for Cicadabuzz, for the Stars above, or for herself she wasn't sure. All she knew was that it sat heavy in her chest, aching and quiet. The only word she could offer.

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

6 MOONS

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SHADOWCLANNER

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SONG

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bio

 

[Sealpaw Sealpaw]

You Say That You Are Close

Is Close The Closest Star?

x

There's a wailing that echoes around camp, aghast and fearful, that's only silenced when Sealpaw shoves her face into Marbleshine's cheek to muffle the sound. What had happened. What had happened? Wolfpack's words don't reach her, not really. The word 'fox' echoes in her mind like a dirge and the tabby apprentice vaguely recalls Leopard mentioning in passing once that the reason her father was no longer around was because of a fox. As a kit she hadn't really understood what that meant but now seeing her adoptive mother in this state it was all entirely too real.

"M-marble- Mom!" Her breath caught in her throat, painful with guilt. She'd been avoiding the other since their fight, any conversation had been cold or dismissive at best. Outright ignoring her at worst. If that was going to be her last conversation with her mother she was going to kick herself. "Y-you're ok... Please be ok..."

Her gaze briefly shifts to Wolfpack properly, noting how compared to Marbleshine he hardly had a scratch on him and somewhere within her chest a growl is dragged out. "Why didn't you do anything to stop it?" It's quiet, barely above a whisper before Sealpaw finds herself in the tom's face with teeth bared and fur bristling. "YOU'RE THE DEPUTY AREN'T YOU!? AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO PREVENT STUFF LIKE THIS!?"

Reason had flown out the window. She couldn't lose a mother a second time.

Be okay... please be okay...

You Just Feel Twice As Far

SEALPAW

— Shadowclan Apprentice
— She/They
"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
— Grey Rosetted Tabby With Blue Eyes And A Bobbed Tail.
#4c66bf

 

[possumgrin]

Wading through the grime and muck of Shadowclan terrain, he plopped the dead frog on the pile with venom.

Tufted cheeks, chest and legs tarnished with mud. Personally, he despised the slimy little wretches, but it was among the few morsels easiest to catch after rain. Coalstrike had been running him into the dirt, and left grunt work as reward. The ex-Night Guard had no leg to stand on let alone the gall to complain. Possumgrin would do as his namesake and bare it. Except something felt off as they sought a drier spot. Sighting the oddly shaped cats and what smelled like Wolfpack. Next he heard the wail and his skin crawled. Curious, he crept closer back spiking up. The outcast didn't want to bring more attention than he already had.

Once the cats came into focus, his stomach hit the floor. All caution was thrown to the wind, and his insides felt bruised.

"NO!" His own cry tore emptied lungs, nose catching the ichor of blood well before making out the slumped body of his sibling. Muscles trembled with terror, orange hues flickering in a blur. Paws struggled to maneuver the damp patches as he rushed at the trio, closing the distance haphazardly and matching their gait. She is alive! Momentary relief twinged at his chest before constricting with worry once again. Vision willfully unaware of those around as he followed the deputy.

"Did you kill the fox?!" The bluer feline questioned, wide eyed, a look that opposed his rougher meow. Rage quietly brewing below the surface of visible concern. I'll rip it apart! He observed in heartache as blood trickled from the mollies pale pelt, her eyes moving sleepily. Possumgrin had never seen Marbleshine in such a state, conscious blinded in horror. How can I save her? They held no Star powers and sure could not believe in them. Never knowing a single healing technique wasn't the most useful. Lazy idiot! She could die. Their pale jaw fell slack as he cursed himself.

Noting how Marbleshine's snowy appearance was stained a rusty color. His throat constricted hard from emotion. Holding back the need to bury his face into fur just as the apprentice had.

Willing a soothing internal mantra, he backed away, head whipping in a frantic search for Cicadabuzz. She needs to be looked at now! Catching movement all bravado deflated, and he called to her. Mouth puttering with disbelief, praying that it would all be okay. "Marbleshine?" The name cracked as it left him, falling at a much softer tone.

No. Not you. I can take humility, hatred, or worse but how can I live without you?

"It will be okay... You have to be." Yellowed fangs chatter as tears well and break the dam of his lashes. Camp seemed to crank in volume, and he barely caught the last whisper. Confused, he echoed back. "...Sorry?" Not gathering the first half as his attention dragged to yelling. Tearing his watery maw away, he sighed as Sealpaw shouted at the deputy. Fluffy ears pinning flat, earlier anger boiling back up.

Do not involve yourself just focus. You are already in enough shit. The rich and sickly scent of blood intensified and he felt like he was drowning.

"Enough!" Their dark coat moved before another thought could interrupt. Aiming to push himself between the two, leveling the youth with a firm expression. Wily pelt bristling as he tried to keep Sealpaw back. "This solves nothing. Get it together kid." It was not often he floated above the sea of emotions but his sister was hurt, and Sealpaw was acting out. There needed to be some stream of thought that did not involve more chaos.

Marble does not need this...

A part of him could still agree with the accusation. "We can argue later but right now she is what matters." Simmering down, he turned his heated face onto Wolfpack. Pupils thinning and dragging across the minor damage the other received, tongue clicking sharply. "She better be okay." There was a hidden growl in his thoughts. An unspoken promise. Directed squarely at the chimera.

OOC
Pushing @/Sealpaw away.​

 

[Stoatpaw Stoatpaw]

——————————————— Together, we'll make our way home ✦

Stoatpaw had been curled comfortably, unaware of the disturbance in camp, only bristling in confusion as Sealpaw roared past, the smallest glimpse she could see of her friend's expression was enough to drive a panic into her own chest. Seal's face was wrought in sorrow, and as Stoat rose to see what was the matter, she could see just the reason why.

She padded over, apprehensive of interveining into something so personal seeming. Marbleshine was a mess of blood and messily applied cobwebs; something had attacked her and Wolfpack. Stoat swallowed hard, nauseous at the scent of blood in the air. Part of her considered running to grab Cicadabuzz, though her fur bristled as Sealpaw rounded towards Wolfpack, her fur stood on end. Was she blaming the deputy for whatever happened?

Before she could take another step, another blur of fur passed by, Stoat had to take a pause, realising it was... Possumgrin? She hadn't seen anything of him since his frankly embarrassing public demotion. It took her a moment as she slowly approached, trying to comprehend the mess of back and forth with speech that was growing difficult to read in the escalating upset that she remembered Possum was Marble's sibling. It was no wonder he was just as upset...

Stoatpaw hurried her paws, steeling herself to have to drag the upset Sealpaw away herself so Marbleshine could get some space to get to the medicine den, but Possumgrin helped in that manner, pushing her away from Wolfpack. He was a little rougher than she would have liked, but then again, it was better than letting Seal work herself up more for something that may not have been Wolfpack's fault. She made her way over, slipping between the space Possumgrin had made between Seal and the others, shooting the warrior a grateful smile for helping.

Very gently, she nudged Sealpaw's shoulder, eyes still mottled with worry. "Let Possumgrin take her to Cicadabuzz, she can't get help if we start fighting more, Seal." She worried Sealpaw might turn her rage to Possum for being shoved away, so she didn't mind bringing the attention to herself instead. It was like the last time with Fleapaw, her friends wouldn't hurt her on purpose, right?

She didn't shove more, instead pressing her nose against her friend in a comforting gesture. At least giving the warriors some space to help Marbleshine to the medicine den would be more constructive than an argument that could happen once they knew she wasn't in any more danger. For now, she was gonna try to keep Sealpaw from lashing out at anyone and causing more injuries than needed.

——— While you were sleeping,

Everything changed at once. ———

• 
  Stoatpaw
  ✦—Shadowclan apprentice | 8 Moons
  ✦—She/Her
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK, PAWSPEAK
  ✦—A slender white cat with faint lilac markings and blue eyes.
  #96d5f1/#50BBF0
  
  ⤷ Written by Phoenix ​

 

[WOLFPACK]

AND I AM SORRY MY CONSCIENCE CALLED IN SICK AGAIN

______________________________________________________________________​

Wolfpack didn't flinch at the first shout. Or the second,. Or the third. Not at the sound of paws scrambling over themselves, wet earth churning as cats flooded to meet him with claws half-unsheathed and voices ready to assign to blame.

He kept walking.

Marbleshine was still on his back, her blood seeping into the muddied black and silver of his shoulders, stocky and warm. Her apology barely reached him– not over the noise. Not over the fire steadily crackling behind his teeth where instinct still itched to finish what the fox had started.

Instead, he just pushed forward, straight for Cicadabuzz's den like it was the only thing that mattered. Possumgrin falling into stride with him was only half-noted, the question of did you kill the fox, answered with a brief and distracted, "Took it's eye. Didn't have time to chase it down."

Not without Marbleshine bleeding out on the floor.

Even Sealpaws panicked cries fell away to background noise– until she was right up in his face.

That's when he stopped.

"YOU'RE THE DEPUTY, AREN'T YOU!? AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO PREVENT STUFF LIKE THIS!?"

His gaze locked onto hers, unreadable at first, but then, a flicker of something. His lips twitched just for a moment. Not into a snarl, but something caught between restraint and disbelief.

"I stopped it, didn't I?" the answer came low and flat, from between clenched teeth and a set jaw, trying to remind himself that she was just a kid– that she didn't know what she was saying, and that even if she had, Wolfpack shouldn't care. "Be grateful she's alive at all."

He could have left her there. Could have cut his losses and bailed the second she went down, writing her off as a lost cause and claiming an easy escape for himself. If it were any other cat– certainly any non-shadowclanner-- he very well may have.

Possumgrins voice cut through next, and for a moment Wolf thought he'd snap too– but the other warrior surprised him, stepping between him and the apprentice to offer Wolf an easy out. Just as well– another heartbeat of lingering and he would have shoved her aside to continue toward the medicine cats den anyway.

Without another word, Wold turned away and closed the distance between him and medicine cats den, ready to sink his teeth into the next cat that tried to get in his way and slow him down. He slipped into the cool gloom of Cicadas den without pausing to announce himself, making for the first clean nest he saw and doing his best to gently slide the shacat into it.

"Fix her.""

A command he had no right to make. No cat, alive or dead, commanded Cicadabuzz. And he knew that, but still. The alternative was unacceptable. "She's not–" his jaw snapped shut, cutting the rest off. Allowed to die? he thought to himself, almost cruel toward his own inner-conflict.

Everyones dies. He'd never cared about it before and he shouldn't care about it now.

He dragged a paw across the side of his neck where her blood had crusted into his fur, still damp in parts with russet clumps. His teeth grit so hard they ached.

"Just fix her."

---

​

OOC NOTES . ◭ . CHARACTER INFO

• ooc : —
  ​
• shadowclan deputy - male - a large, monochrome chimera with mismatched eyes and several scars

 

[Sealpaw Sealpaw]

You Say That You Are Close

Is Close The Closest Star?

x

Sealpaw was making a scene, she knew, but did not care. She's vaguely aware of Possumgrin's voice, trying to comfort Marbleshine, and a question about the fox shot towards Wolfpack. All of it useless background noise to Sealpaw. The only cats she wanted to hear right now were Marble and Wolf, in that order.

Wolfpack's mismatched eyes train themselves on her, something flickering in them that passes by far too quickly for her to meaningfully parse before he opens his stupid, uncaring mouth.

Be grateful she's alive at all.

Her mouth opens to snap at the deputy before Possumgrin's shoving himself between them with something she's not interested in hearing right now and she growls, whirling on the tom with bared teeth. "Don't touch me."

By the time Sealpaw turns back Wolfpack is walking away, towards Cicadabuzz's den. "IT SHOULD'VE BEEN YOU!"

It should have been you.

It should have been. You.

Why wasn't it you?

Vaguely she feels Stoatpaw press against her, an attempt at comfort that isn't nearly as much of a balm as either hopes. Sealpaw steps back, shaking her head wordlessly at her friend before turning and barreling out of camp.

You Just Feel Twice As Far

SEALPAW

— Shadowclan Apprentice
— She/They
"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
— Grey Rosetted Tabby With Blue Eyes And A Bobbed Tail.
#4c66bf

ooc: there she go

 

[Marbleshine]

In the morning when I wake and the sun is coming through
Oh, you fill my lungs with sweetness and you fill my head with you

.

It hurt. Stars, it hurt so much. Marbleshine drifted between the pull of unconsciousness and the sting of reality, caught in a haze thick with pain. Every breath burned, every heartbeat throbbed through her wounds like a drumbeat of agony. She wanted to let the darkness take her, to sink into its embrace where there was no more hurting… but she couldn't. She had to hold on, for them. So they wouldn't worry. So they wouldn't see how close she was to breaking.

A voice cut through the buzz of her fading focus. Familiar. Fierce. Sealpaw. Marbleshine blinked slowly, eyes sluggishly dragging toward the sound. The young apprentice stood there, so bright, so strong, so full of fire. Her heart ached with love and pride and a wash of doubt. Have I done right by you...? Can you still be proud of me? Do I even deserve to be called your-- The word withered before it fully formed. She didn't have the right to call herself that. Not yet. Not if she kept failing... But wait.. Hadn't the word slipped from Sealpaw herself...?

She heard Sealpaw's voice rise in alarm, screaming to Wolfpack. Marbleshine wanted to reassure her, to say I'm okay, it's not that bad. But all she managed was a faint, pained groan, barely a whisper against the storm in her chest. Then another voice. One she knew just as deeply. Possumgrin. He reached them with a choked sound, pain raw in his throat. Her bloodied cheek pressed against Wolfpack's fur again as her eyes slid shut briefly. Safe. She was safe. And they were here. They were all here.

More shouting. She wanted to tell them not to fight, no need to yell, not now, not like this. Everything was too loud, too sharp, her body ached with every step. But then they were moving again, and the camp fell away behind them. The cool shade of the medicine den wrapped around her like a shadow, and-- " Seal… " The name slipped from her lips in a gasp, like a prayer. She couldn't see her anymore. Wolfpack didn't slow. Sealpaw hadn't followed. Please don't be angry. Please don't cry.

Possumgrin. Her gaze found him again, just barely. He looked scared. So scared. She mustered what strength she had left, forcing a faint, warm blink. A flicker of reassurance through all the pain. " I… will be okay… " she breathed out, the words barely audible.

And then Wolfpack lowered her from his back. The instant she hit the nest, the weight of her injuries crashed down like a landslide. Her body screamed. The pain was blinding. A strangled cry tore from her throat as tears welled in her eyes again, hot and helpless. But even through the pain, she clung to one truth: They were here. She wasn't alone. And somehow… that was enough.
Speech, thoughts/emphasis

6 MOONS

𖧧

SHADOWCLANNER

𖧧

SONG

𖧧

bio

 

[cicadabuzz]

CICADABUZZ, 32 moons / shc + med. cat
a SH cinnamon tabby/chocolate tortie chimera w/ black eyes
parent to cloudberrypaw, hemlockpaw, mistletoepaw ; mentor to magpiepaw
a reserved, pragmatic healer driven by duty rather than sentiment

Cicadabuzz hears their name before they sense the blood. It clings to Wolfpack's voice, coats it like the copper-rot of wet decay. They don't need to look to know. Something terrible has happened—something still happening—because Marbleshine's scent floods the clearing like the saccharine sweet scent of bruised petals crushed beneath thunder. The medicine cat steps from the darkness of their den, silent and angular. Their limbs unfold like a mantis woken mid-prayer, all angles and tension, their mottled bronze fur still half-marbled with the husks of pressed herbs and saffron stems tucked into their ruff. They are moving before anyone speaks again. Before Possumgrin howls. Before Sealpaw breaks.

Their eyes are the only part of them still. Unblinking. Watching. Assessing. The way a dragonfly's gaze skims just above the surface of water. The warrior's cries, the apprentice's wails, the frantic scuffle of Stoatpaw moving to soothe—it all washes past Cicadabuzz, as distant and indistinct as the memory of summer thunder. It is Marbleshine they see. Marbleshine, slumped across Wolfpack's back like the faded shell of something once luminous. Blood-slicked. Unsteady. Sinking.

The moment her body touches the nest, Cicadabuzz is there. No pause, no ceremony, no hollow words of comfort. They do not ask what happened. They do not need to be told. Their voice finally stirs, rough with irritation. A hiss more than words. "Out." The command cuts the air like a stinger through flesh. It is not cruel, but it is final. There is no room in this den for fear, for shouting, for what-ifs. Only work. Only the act of warding off death. They lean in close to Marbleshine, their senses antennae-sensitive to every twitch and tremble of her breath. Their touch is uncharacteristically gentle—long-legged paws sweeping over her with quick, practiced care. Strips of moss already soaked, cobwebs unfurled, marigold chewed to bitter pulp.

"I know it hurts," Cicadabuzz murmurs, voice low, barely wind across bark. "Let it hurt. It will keep you here." Here, breathing, alive. To let the pain fade is to let the life leave one's lungs. Their paw presses damp moss to the wound to slow the bleeding. There is no hesitation, no gentle care, only firm efficiency. They do not look at Wolfpack when he speaks. Not at first.

"Fix her."

The words hang in the space like rot on still water. Cicadabuzz's head turns slightly, their gaze unreadable in the gloom. Not angry, only still. "Bite your tongue, Wolf," they murmur, paws pressing firm even as they speak to the deputy. "Do not deign to instruct me on my own work." Of course they will fix her. They do not need to be commanded to do so. Then, their eyes shift. They flick, briefly, down to his flank, up to his bloodied face, his twitching jaw, the set of his shoulders as if they carry not just her weight but some invisible, unbearable weight of his own. Something lingers behind Cicadabuzz's stare—not pity. Not empathy. But understanding, old as fungus blooming on bone. A pause. Then, "You are bleeding too. Sit. Wait. I will cleanse it when I finish with her."

Another voice chokes the den—Marbleshine's. Cicadabuzz doesn't move, but the tip of their tail curls faintly at the sound. "I will be okay," she whispers, and their words are neither calming nor caressing when their response spills forth like ants from their hills. "You will live, so long as you are not stupid." Others have disregarded their instructions before, allowed infection to sink in flesh, to burn and bubble within, writhing like worms in dirt. They press the poultice into her wound, herbs crushed between teeth to form a pungent paste, and the scent of marigold rises, sharp and steady. Their ears tune out the outside, where chaos rings through the clearing. Where apprentices shout. Where warriors reprimand. Where grief gnashes its teeth on blame. Their focus remains solely with the steady comfort of staving off death.