The Fall of Darkclan, The Rise of Shadowed Steps

A Moonlight's Past Dream

===Flashback===

Orchidstorm had left the medicine den at moonset, leaving Fallen Feather and her mentor, Breezewhisper, in charge of an injured kittypet named Lola. She and Nightstar had left moments ago to begin their quarter-moon travel to the Pool of Stars.

Fallen Feather sniffed around the kittypet's leg, noting silently to himself about the infected cuts and other various wounds on her hindquarters. "How did these wounds happen, Lola?"As Lola raised her head in response, another cat padded into the den. "Hello, Stormscar. Is there something wrong?" Fallen Feather instinctively leapt over the she-cat, his eye and nose scanning over the thick, grey pelt of the tom.

"I'm just fine, Fallen Feather. I just brought back a large rabbit, I was hoping you and I could share, seeing as I can tell for a fact you haven't been eating. Breezewhisper can finish up on Lola's check-up. I have already asked him for permission to borrow you."The young wolf opened up his jaws in protest, only to be silenced by a hiss. "Just get a move on, Fallen. I was a medicine cat long before you or Orchidstorm was born, I can handle myself." Breezewhisper padded past Stormscar, his tail swatting the wolf affectionately before shoving them both out of the den.

 Stormscar led him out of camp, a rabbit dangling from his jaws."I'm sure you know how concerned I am with how little you are eating.""Yeah..." Fallen Feather said, his head lowered a little, "It's fine, really." "Orchidstorm has noticed missing travelling herbs. You may think she won't notice but she has. Any cat that has refused you to take your well-earned share of prey will be heavily punished." Stormscar set the rabbit on the grass, waving the other over with a flick of his tail. "Orchidstorm noticed?" Fallen Feather sat next to the rabbit, his head tilted. His ears pinned pack a bit once Stormsar nodded curtly. Finally, he bent his head to take a small bite of the rabbit, only to have his face shoved down, forcing him to take more than a mouthful. "You will eat this whole rabbit before returning to camp, Fallen Feather." The grey tom looked at him, his gaze softening as he noticed the hunger kick in. The wolf began eating in fast bites. "There. I've finished; unless you expect me to eat the bones as well.""Of course not." Stormscar chuckled, standing up as he scented the air.From the bushes, a dark grey she-cat and a smaller brown tabby tom emerged.  "There you two are! I've been looking for you, Fallen Feather." Mistgaze smiled happily as she spotted her mate and her partial apprentice. "Whitherpaw just finished cleaning out the elders den, so I figured I'd bring him to see you so he can train."The small tom looked up as he was mentioned, smiling at his mentor. "You promised to show me the way to cross the thunderpath in the dark!" He mewed, standing proudly. "Yes, and I plan to keep it. You may head back to camp now, Fallen Feather. Mistgaze, would you like to help spot us?" The grey tom glanced in the direction of those he mentioned. "Gladly." She purred, turning away to lead Whitherpaw into the forest. Fallen Feather stood up. "You make sure you eat like everyone else, Fallen. You deserve it as much as any other cat. Species doesn't separate us, in the end we all strive for survival and freedom." Stormscar spoke softly before he followed his mate.

  Breezewhisper sat outside the cave, making a quiet noise of acknowledgement when Fallen Feather padded past him. "Lola is asleep. Her wounds seem to be healing well. Foxbranch came back earlier with a open shoulder wound. He said it was from a few brambles but the cuts looked exactly like the ones made by sharp stones. What should we do?" Fallen Feather looked towards the old tom cat, taking a short breath before speaking. "Continue to dress his wounds regularly to avoid risk of infection. Poppyseeds won't be needed after tonight unless the pain gets worse. A poultice mixture would be needed but I'm assuming we will do those anyways." Breezewhisper chuckled, nodding slowly. "Orchidstorm has taught you well, youngster. That is exactly what we will do. We also need to make him tell us the truth of where the wound occurred and what caused it." The wolf nodded, his fur ruffling with pride. "Thank you Bree-" "Fallen! You need to help, Whitherpaw is hurt on the thunderpath!" Stormscar skidded to a halt in front of the medicine den, his ears pinned back as he panted. "Breezewhisper, I'll need cobwebs, marigold, stinging nettle, broom, comfrey and poppyseeds." The old tom nodded, hauling himself to his paws as he bolted into the cave, grabbing the proper herbs and wrapping them in a bundle of moss. "There, now go!" He hissed. Stormscar led Fallen Feather to the thunderpath, his heart pounding in his chest as he ran as fast as he could, his long legs stretching out as he clawed at the air. "Hurry! Please, you need to save him!" Stormscar called over his shoulder. Tufts of grass flew behind him, forcing the wolf in tow to dodge and weave between them. "Help! Help me, please!" A scared voice echoed in Fallen Feather's ears, forcing him to run faster, quickly running beside the grey tom. 

  As they reached the thunderpath, Fallen Feather could see that Whitherpaw had already been moved off the strong smelling, dark, hot ground by Mistgaze. Dropping the herb bundle the wolf carried in his jaws, he dashed to the small cat's side, his eye scanning over his shredded leg. "It's bad...isn't it, Feather?" The wolf pinned back his ears as the apprentice mewed up at him. "Yes. It is bad, Whitherpaw. Stay still, I need to clean the wound and make sure this doesn't get infected. Stormscar, could you start chewing up some marigold? Mistgaze, I need you to come hold Whitherpaw's leg down." The dark grey she-cat nodded, padding to the wolf's side and pressing her paws down on the torn leg. Stormscar had begun chewing up a bundle of marigold. "Stormscar, once you finished, bring me some broom. It is the one with small leaves and little yellow flowers. I'll also need those poppyseeds and stinging nettle, as well as that comfrey." The tom carried over the herbs, spitting out the chewed up, golden plant next to it. "Mistgaze, spread some of the marigold over the torn bits on his back and leg. Whitherpaw, you chew these two poppyseeds. Stormscar can chew up the broom and I'll start the poultice with the rest of the marigold, as well as the stinging nettle and comfrey." Fallen Feather explained the process in hopes to ease any anxiety and stress that Whitherpaw had. Mistgaze spreaded the marigold across the open wounds, while the wolf began chewing up and mixing a poultice. Stormscar pressed the broom to his apprentice's leg, letting it soak in before the final poultice was applied. Fallen Feather slowly began spreading the mixture, licking the side of his friend's face, softly speaking comforting words and encouragement at him. Mistgaze carried over a pad of cobwebs, flexing her claws a little so that she had a grip on them, and began applying them to the wound. "Good. Stormscar, bring that moss over, and get a long but sturdy strip of bark."He faced the grey tom. As he went to fetch the needed supplies, Mistgaze looked down at the brown bundle of fur lying limp on the ground. "Fallen, I've brought the bark and moss." Stormscar set the items down, ready for his next orders. "Cover his leg with the moss, then split the bark in half and cover both sides of his leg. Mistgaze, go find a long vine from one of the willow trees." He focused on the small tom, brushing against him as the other two felines worked. When they finished, Fallen Feather hoisted him onto his back.

  Whitherpaw was limp on Fallen Feather's back, his body bouncing with every step. His eyes squinted in pain. "Stormscar...does this mean I won't be able to train anymore?" The grey tom didn't answer, pushing through the entrance to the camp. Fallen Feather watched as the tom padded towards Rosepelt, the clan deputy. He sighed to himself, padding into the medicine den with the apprentice on his back. "You okay, Whitherpaw?" "Y-yeah, thanks Fallen Feather." The wolf slowly let the apprentice slip off his back onto a soft nest of moss and feathers, being as careful as he could. "Your leg is broken, and your muscles seem to have been torn when the monster drove past you. Orchidstorm will make the final decision on what we do, but for now I'm going to redress your wounds, and then you rest. It'll be a few days until Orchidstorm returns, but I might have Breezewhisper check in on you, too." The wolf kept to his word, cleaning out the wounded leg and redressing the wound. Breezewhisper padded into the den, carrying a small bundle of herbs, along with some reeds and orchids in the mixture. "I have Whispbranch, Honeyspeckle and Pinepaw fetching more herbs. Whitherpaw, you need to rest." "Breezewhisper, I thought you might want to check over the wounds before he slept. However, I just replaced the dressings so it might be best to leave it for now." Breezewhisper stared harshly at Fallen Feather. "It's the best decision for the medicine cats as well as the injured. It lets the wounds take in the poultice and saves us from overusing our herb supplies."The wolf stared back at the old tom with matching intensity. "Good job, youngster. You'll be a wonderful medicine cat- er...wolf."The tom turned around, smiling briefly at the wolf before padding into the pack of the den. Fallen Feather turned back around, seeing Whitherpaw was curled up in the nest he was set in.