Out of your Element? So am I [Tagged]

[Dyzzie]

Tagged: ℓυиαя

The she-cat was so outside her element. Hopelessly outside of it, and she didn't like it one bit. but one of the kits had wandered off, and she was determined to find the missing kit and return it to the distraught mother. The clan had been searched by the queens, and not wanting to be a bother to anyone, the life-long queen had volunteered to look outside the camp. She didn't remember the last time she really went outside the camp with out someone with her . . . And she was feeling very outside her element. Unknown to her, the kit had long been found, and Brightblossom had been forgotten, leaving the dilute calico on her own, unknown that she no longer needed to search for a missing kit.

The calico jumped as she felt something claw at her long fur, only to laugh to herself in embarrassment to see it was just the low limbs of a bush. She sighed softly as she looked around slowly. The she-cat shook her head as she lept over a limb of a tree, nearly stumbling over it. This was horrid, what was she thinking. She wasn't a warrior. She hadn't really been out and about like this in a long time! She shook a head slowly before flicking her tail and gathering her wits before continuing her search, glancing at the darkening sky. Great. It was cold. It was getting dark, and she had no idea the kitten had been found. She had a sneaking suspicion though. No way a kit would have strayed out of camp with out someone noticing. None were really that sneaky.

She twitched her nose before sighing and sitting down, looking around the pretty land. Rocks creating unique ledging among the trees and bushes. Birds twittering above. She'd forgotten how pretty it was, though it was rare for the female to leave the nursery. She wasn't fit to be a warrior, so she was often desperate to prove herself - which meant she rarely left her 'post' of watching over the kits, and other queens in the nursery. She glanced around once more, feeling completely lost, helpless almost before jumping as she looked around as she heard paw steps. Please be another warrior. Please be another Talonclan member. I'm not a warrior, I can't handle a tresspasser, but she forced herself to remain calm, moving towards the sound, "Someone there?"

[ℓυиαя]

The silent warrior too heard the paw steps off to the right and yellow eyes narrowed within a ashen grey pelt. He took time to check out the source of the sound anyway and caught the scent of a rabbit among the fallen leaves. Nothing to worry about. Walking closer from his post, his paws never made a sound, his pace leisurely but alert at the same time. He had been out here the majority of the day, some of that time spent looking for a lost kit - which he had found and returned with the efficiency of the stalker he was. That was the thing with the silent tom, nobody saw him coming but he always saw them.

That's why, when a voice broke out not far from him, he wasn't surprised. Brightblossom had made such a racket by his standards he had already sensed her before the rabbit. Maybe it was his conditioning that meant he could do this, maybe his silence. Or perhaps he had been doing this for too long. 

"Someone there?"

He was downwind from her and so he caught her words and scent easily. He had seen her around camp only on rare occassions but often saw her somewhere in the Nursery. She however probably wouldn't know of him. Very few cats even in his own clan had spoken more than 2 words with the silent tom. He preferred to keep careful watch, like a gargoyle - seemingly set in stone. He protected his clan and clanmates and though not a verbal guy, he was always there if needed. Brightblossom sounded unsure and scared, which would make sense if she never came out much. Stepping into her line of sight, Ashnight kept his face neutral, knowing that whatever he did, it would probably scare her anyway - others always got scared when he showed up out of the blue. 

Silence

He said nothing which was not unusual for the Talonclan tom. There was nothing he could say anyway, his scent would speak for itself and anything he said would be stating the obvious. An ear flicked in her direction, his yellow eyes calm.

[Dyzzie]

OOC: He totally has the silent, mysterious thing down, huh?

The she-cat glanced around nervously, more than eager to just turn back and go home. Go to the nursery where she could cuddle up close to her beloved nest and sleep away the trauma of being stuck in the woods. The she-cat looked orund slowly before jumping when a figure suddenly appeared in front of her with out warning. Silent, a single step and he was there. She blinked, taking a step back in surprise, her furry tail twirling around the air to nestle close to her side, the soft plume cuddling against her feet as she stared at shock at the sudden arrival of the tom. The scent he carried though, helped in keeping her a tad calmer. He smelled like clan . . . but . . . she couldn't place him. At all. He really didn't look famiiliar to her. but that wasn't much of a surprise, the shy calico tended to stay closer to the nursery, "Oh, uhm. Hello." She mumbled shyly, her gaze dropping as she stared at her paws, before slowly glancing back up at him, tilting her head as she tried to place him. She made it her job to try and memorize all the face. She knew the prefix. Or at least she thought she did. It was like . . . Soot, or, no, maybe it was . . . . She tried not to make a face, "I'm terribly sorry to ask, but, I cannot seem to recall your name . . ." The she-cat mumbled, thankful for the fur that helped to hide her embarrassment at having to admit it, her ears falling back before tilting her head in confusion, not entirely sure what else to say, her gaze dropping to her white paws again, pale yellow eyes shy and uncertain. It certainly didn't help that he hadn't said anything yet either.

[ℓυиαя]

OOC: Yes I wasn't joking haha :3

His yellow eyes didn't miss anything. He watched her jump, saw her tail curl around her body protectively, saw her search her memory for his name, heard her aplogise when she couldn't remember. He took no offense, this was a common occurrence for the silent warrior - in fact, he would have been surprised if she had acted any differently. It wasn't because it was an outcast, it wasn't because he didn't fit in. It was because he chose to be like this, he preferred it this way and the clan had started to get used to it. That wasn't to say he didn't enjoy having other cats around him, in fact, he liked sitting  in the camp surrounded by his clanmates. but he rarely talked.

Unless the situation called for it. Like now.

He couldn't just leave her sitting here in the woods alone and she needed some reassurance before she blindly followed him, no cat was that stupid.

And so, he spoke, only a single word but to him it felt like 1000.

"Ashnight." Gruff, clipped from it's rare use. His voice was remarkably deep, which often surprised the few that had heard him but it was trusting, reliable. Flicking his ears again, the warrior turned his body and looked over his shoulder at her. "Come." He would show her back to camp as he could tell by her body language both this encounter and place were uncomfortable for her.

[Dyzzie]

The she-cat really didn't know what to do, what else to say to this odd tom who was unusually silent. but finally she was gifted with one, single, word. His name. Ashnight. Her gaze flickered over his features, memorize the name to his face, "Ashnight . . . ." She repeated his name softly, quietly, before nodding. Yes, that was it, that was right. It was Ash, not Soot. She still felt horrible for not knowing it. He turned away, and she almost panicked. He wasn't about to leave her out here alone - right? She didn't really even know where she was! And it was getting dark, and she wasn't a fighter. And what if she did run into a cat not of Talonclan. Or, or worse, a fox . . . or a badger! Oh god, he was going to leave her here and she was going to die, and Come. She glanced up, her features composed as she met his gaze before slowly standing, flicking her tail to force the thoughts out of her head. She moved forward slowly, her tail low to the ground and ears back as she glanced around. At least if they ran into an enemy cat, or a fox, or a cat-eating badger, she wouldn't be alone. She glanced back at him slowly before looking ahead, not sure if she should say something, or if she should just walk quietly with him. She did keep a tad bit further away, not walking exactly 'close' to him, but staying close enough to not get lost. She glanced towards him, feeling the need to at least say thank you, "Thank you . . . for taking me back. I . . . don't normally leave the camp. Ever." She murmured softly, eyes on the ground just infront of her paws. The faded calico tilted her head slowly as she looked around before glancing back at the tom. Surely they'd get to camp just fine. Right?

OOC: Dude. they totally need to run into like a NPC enemy cat, or a fox, or something xP I've never played her in that istuation before. Ever. I've always been curious that in such a real 'fight' for her life situation, if she'd be able to fight or not ;P

[ℓυиαя]

Her apology was appreciated, and though the grey tom would have helped her regardless, it meant more to him than she knew. Ears flicked in acknowledgement and his head turned so that his calm eyes met hers across the small distance between them. Ashnight had a lot of time to think and so he often wondered how a cat like Brightblossom had made it as a warrior. She wasn't at all confident out here alone and she didn't look like a fighter. Granted, some females were just Queens but if that was the case, then how did they pass their training? Starclan knew Ashnight had done it. Even now his blackleg gave him trouble but he had worked through that. Regardless of those thoughts, Ashnight still had an appreciation for the sole Queens, they did after all bring new life to the clan. It was just a pity they didn't do much else. Look at everything they missed out on.

What he was thinking about never reached his eyes to pass along the visual connection to the she cat next to him, his eyes remaining calm and neutral, like the eye of a storm. It was as he turned his eyes back ahead of them that he sensed it. An unwelcome presence, one that his gut told him was going to belong to a rather unwelcoming cat. He saw it in the swaying of a branch and in the slight disruption of leaves to his left. His body stilled and he flicked his tail for Brightblossom to stop; a silent command, one that held a lot of weight and authority.

Stop, don't move.

Ashnight lifted his nose up higher in the air. There it was, the scent of an intruder, still fresh and reeking of no clan he had ever come across. Rogue. That was the worst possible scenario. Clan cats would at least be out of their territory, loners just passing through. but Rogues? They craved blood. Yellow eyes narrowing, Ashnight held his stance as he sensed the scent growing closer once more. There would be no time to fade into the shadows and watch, especially with an untrained she cat by his side. There was nothing they could do.

Flicking his gaze once more to Brightblossom, Ashnight checked she was OK and gave her a brief nod. He gave away none of the worry towards her that he felt and he pushed it away also. Nothing was wrong now, he could worry when he needed to. It was then that a rugged ginger tom stepped out from behind the boulder to his left. Nothing changed in Ashnights posture, his muscles still bunched, his eyes still narrowed. It was in those first few seconds before the intruder spoke that Ashnight gathered information.

Young tom, no more than 20 moons

Green eyes that moved erratically

A tear to his right ear

Favouring his left side

Clearly this tom had previously had a run in with someone else, about a moon ago. Ashnight had a suspicion that this tom was out to prove himself, something that was common among young toms. This one however had chosen the wrong cats. Ashnight didn't have time for obnoxious behaviour and rude sarcasm. The rogue spoke: "What do we have here? Two little clan cats far from home. My favourite." An ugly glance at Brightblossom made Ashnight step up and shield her with his body, obscuring her from view. "Carry on, rogue." Once more that deep, gruff voice emitted from Ashnight as he matched the rogues stare with his own solid one.

[Dyzzie]

The young female was grateful to have a 'guide' to walk her back to camp, the life-long queen not really comfortable with being out on her own. She wasn't strong, or a skilled fighter, like some of the warriors. She couldn't hunt with a mastery skill. She could climb, she could jump, and she ccould take care of the other queens and kits. Truth be told, she should never have been bumped up from apprentice-hood, but upon realizing she was a hopeless case, and really was only useful in the nursery, she'd been given her warrior name, and them promptly turned into a life long queen, her name reflecting her new role. At least she was semi-useful to the caln. Not really, but it was good enough, right.

She flushed when the tom suddenly caught her gaze, quickly turning hers shyly away. She spent most of her time with kits . . . kits and their mothers. She didn't have much experience around toms, and definitely not ones so mysterious and quiet. And his attention on her was a little unnerving. Then there was the sudden touch of a sound, a very faint one that had the she-cat lifting her head, looking up to see the tom had seemed to notice it to. When his tail flicked, she immediately obeyed, standing still and glancing around slowly, nervous - especially when the scent reached her. Rogue. Here. Now?! She forced herself to remain calm, to at least look collected.

Ashnight's gaze flicked back to her, and she let a brief flash of concern touch he vision before looking up when a tom emerged ahead of them. It took all of her self control to not move closer to Ashnight. Especially as she took in the ginger tom infront of them. She couldn't dissect the male as quickly as her companion did, but she read the look in his eyes well enough. This wasn't going to be good. Her fur bristled at the glance sent her way before glancing at Ashnight when he used his body to block the rogue's view of her, his voice entering the air in an almost chilling manner, telling the rogue to carry on.

The ginger tom chuckled in response, eyeing the tom in front of him with an almost maniacally amused glint to his green eyes, his chuckle deep and sending a chill down the queen's back. "Now why would I do that . . . . It seems so interesting here . . ." The younger male stated before smirking at the way Ashnight hid Brightblossom from view with his own form, "What, am I improper company for her?" He asked with a sneer in his tone, but an almost joyful expression on his face. Brightblossom remained quiet, lowering her head slightly to be able to peer beneath Ashnight's limbs to eye the male,

"Ashnight . . . be careful." She whispered, pausing between his name and the rest of the words, changing what she was going to say. She'd originally thought to suggest they head back, so he could gather an actual group of warriors, rather than be worn down by a battle-shy female. but she doubted he'd have agreed, leading the female to express her worry over the situation, and more importantly, her concern about what would happen to Ashnight, and by extension - herself.

[ℓυиαя]

"Now why would I do that . . . . It seems so interesting here . . . What, am I improper company for her?"

Wasn't it obvious? Hearing the sneer in the young toms words yet the joyful expression on his face, Ashnights tail swatted at the air slightly - the only give away of his annoyance towards the rogue. He could feel Brightblossom close behind him and heard her words of worry. Unlike him, she was unable to hide her emotions the way he could. What if she had stumbled upon this waste of space alone? The monster would have had a field day. Taking a breath in, Ashnight forced those thoughts out of his head as he watched the tom with a neutral gaze.

As the red tom stepped closer to the couple, Ashnight held his ground and lowered his head, claws unsheathing. He knew that this rogue wasn't simply going to walk away, it would come down to a fight. Ashnight just hoped Brightblossom would be ok. In fact, scratch that, she would be ok. He would make sure of it. Then he stepped forward upto the younger tom, his whole body still yet still keeping between Brightblossom and the rat. "Leave."

The silent warrior knew that he had to drive this intruder away or else this could go on for ever and the situation could escalate. Rapidly. Moving as if he was to step foward normally, Ashnight planted his paw casually on the tom, on the side he was favouring. Claws shot out from his paw, straight through the rogues foot but he didn't let up, didn't move. He was like a strong grey wall, keeping the furball from the Queen. And he wasn't about to crumble. As the tom hissed, Ashnight drove foward pushing him backwards but the ginger tom retaliated, catching him on the side of his head with his free paw.

Silence, not a sound from Ashinight as blood welled up on his face.

Ripping his claws out from the intruders paw, Ashnight slashed his claw against his opponents face, drawing blood. His gaze never faltered, his expression remained cold and closed. His eyes moved to Brightblossom, she could run, she could go get help and get to safety. Why was she still here?

[Dyzzie]

The female twitched her tail slightly, nervous as she watched the male step forward, staying between herself and the other, demanding he leave, before moving forward, paw atop the other's paw, claws slashing through the other's foot and the scent of blood hit the air, and the shecat felt her heart rate pick up in fear, though it didn't really have to much of a hit on her until Ashnight was hit. Her breath drew in with concern, taking a half step back. Should she go get help, get to the clan. No, she didn't even know which way to go. Besides, what if the other would have taken off after her if she were to take off at a run. Still she kneaded the ground with her uncertainty, watching Ashnight rake his claws down the opponents face, before he glanced at her.

It was then that the other reacted again, while his eyes were on her. The rogue moved forward, leaping to grab the tom's shoulders with his claws, aiming to bite down on his neck, and Brightblossom panicked, alarmed. Had she just gotten Ashnight hurt - because he'd paused to look at her. Startling, the smaller, weaker female turned her gaze back to Ashnight, determined to help him properly. She had to get to the clan, to help. And she took off at a run - half doubting she was going the wrong way.

As predicted, seeing the weaker of the two cats, the female, take off, the rogue immediately abandoned the harder to vanquish tom. He wanted the feeling of being able to be all power, to make a cat bow and quiver before him, to lick his paws in loyalty. The female would be easier to defeat than the tom. And thus, the ginger tom took off after her.

Brightblossom gasped, glancing behind herself to see the rogue taking chase, nearly stumbling in shock, fear, worry. She moved as quickly as she could, over tree roots, under bushes, over rocks. She could hear him gaining, hear him trashing the territory, and she prayed that Ashnight took chase to - especially at the sight of a large rock wall in front of her. She did the first thing she could think of, leaping and clawing her way up from one tiny ledge to the other, her fluffy tail out for balance, her smaller paws fitting neatly onto each ledge until she was about half way up the wall. And she ran out of ledges. She could hear the rogue attempting to follow, his paws not fitting on her small stepping ledges as well as she had, and the sound of him snarling vulgar slurs her way. Her fur ruffled as she quivered, terrified, and in a brief moment her gaze locked on a pile of rocks. Could she really bring herself to hurt another cat though. She took a step towards the rocks befor eback tracking again. Quivering, the sound of claws against rock alerted her of the danger she was and she moved towards the rocks, pushing some to the edge, and then over, knocking the tom off the wall he was attempting to scale.

"Come down, kitty . . . and I'll forgive you for that, for running . . . I'm not going to hurt you." He called, the queen refusing to believe him. Her yellow gaze slowly looked over the edge, flinching back at the smirking sneer, "Come down, now, or I'll have to come up." She used her tail, sweeping the last rock off the edge, flinching at the mrow of pain from below, pain. She'd hurt him. She'd hurt another cat. She bit back the tears of that knowledge, looking around for a new method of escape, scanning the surrounding area for the silent tom. Surely Ashnight was out there somewhere. Surely . . . he wouldn't abandon her to this rogue.

[ℓυиαя]

OOC: Whoo super long post! I think she did pretty well :3

Muse: Insanely high

Words: 1037

It all happened so fast. The moment Ashnight's eyes moved from his opponent to Brightblossom, the rogue was on his back sinking sharp teeth into the flesh of his neck. The silent warrior hissed then, jaw locking against the pain, yellow eyes flaring as he felt the blood trickle down into his grey fur. Oh he would pay for that. However before he had time to counter, he heard movement to his left and those yellow eyes flashed once more to settle on a fleeing Brightblossom. Good, she would be safe while he dealt to this poor excuse of a cat.

Not so.

Ashnight felt the moment the rogue decided to go after the vulnerable queen, the cat atop him freezing, head turning as she fled. No! A low growl emitted from Ashnight as he felt the rogue rip himself off his body and pelt after her. Without a second through he spun his lean body around and followed in their wake, yellow eyes scouring everything around him, detecting tree roots and brambles that he avoided expertly. His long afternoons of traversing this territory really did come in handy. Ears pricked forward, all he could hear in the distance was the sound of vulgar obscenities; then, the sound of rocks tumbling from a height. Brightblossom!

Spurring his body faster and ignoring the protest in his aching hind leg, the grey feline followed by both scent and sound until he was standing behind the ignorant tom, just in time to see an avalanche of rocks tumble down at hit their mark. An intense gaze followed their origin until he saw Brightblossom high above them, seemingly looking for him with sadness and fear in her eyes. His gaze returned to her strength and courage. She was going to be ok. His neck throbbed and he felt his fur around his neck mat with blood, his hind leg whined but he ignored that too. There would be time for pain later, it was a fleeting thing,  but if anything happened to his clanmate... that guilt would never subside. Even with the assault from the timid Queen, the young rogue was still running his mouth, clearly not getting the message. "You have to come down sooner or later. And just think, nobody knows where you are. Your mate back there clearly isn't going to be of much use without a neck." Change of tact. He was cunning (but stupid), using someone else against a vulnerable individual and to top it all off, Brightblossom hadn't seen how the fight had ended. He could have been left for dead. Luckily for them, Ashnight was much more experienced and also not one to lie down and give up. This young buck was over confident and trying to prove his worth - and failing mind you.

Kicking his body into action again, Ashnight ran as silently as he could manage with the screaming of his hind leg (though it was still incredibly silent by any cats standards, he is just fussy) towards the troublesome tom, before leaping into the air to land on the smaller toms unguarded back. Feeling the air change, the tom spun around in the next instant, claws waiting for Ashnight and the two landed in a tumble of sharp claws, teeth and a multitude of fur. Ashnight felt the sharp claws tear at his coat and took another huge hit to the side of his head. Narrowing those eyes and shaking his head sharply, he worked up his good hind leg and raked it through the soft skin of his opponents stomach, causing the younger less experienced cat to throw his head back in a yowl. It was then that Ashnight chose to sink his sharp teeth into his neck causing a violent spurt of blood to erupt around Ashnights mouth. It was a matter of taking the risk, of taking some big hits but as soon as he had done so the toms strikes beneath him became less and less, weaker and weaker. More and more bearable.

Ashnight wasn't one of those cats that did more than they needed to and so while he could have had a field day with the injured tom, the Talonclanner stepped up and away, his breathing unusually heavy, his ears uncharacteristically flattened against his head. Various scratches peppered his body and his neck still seeped but he had no time for that now, no, he had to get her home. All to the soundtrack of a over the top tom's moans of pain it seemed. He wouldn't last much longer anyway, his movements already feeble, his breathing already weak. Unlike his own neck wound, Ashnight had made sure to bite through the part that would cause the most blood loss. No return from that, he could think of it as his last life lesson: How to successfully bit and kill to the neck. Working to get his breathing in order, Ashnight kept a stern gaze on the slowly dying tom. He'd be dead before they left this place. Eyes narrowed as he thought about how she shouldn't have to see this. Hell, she had hardly been out of the camp before today. Shaking his head once more to fight off the darkness and dizziness that threatened to cloud his vision, Ashnight walked over to the mostly still tom, forgetting to disguise his limp in the process. Dipping his head, he sunk his teeth into the scruff of the tom and dragged him away out of sight of the queen. She had been through enough today without having to walk past this mess. He would let the other warriors know about this and have it seen to. Dumping the cat behind a log, Ashnight turned and walked away but apparently he wasn't finished. "...hate..you." The tom gasped behind him, last words that Ashnight promptly ignored. He had brought this upon himself.

When he was back at the base of the wall, having limped his way back, yellow eyes flicked once more to the queen above him and he gave her a stiff nod, eyes slightly warm rather than his trademark neutral. She could come down, it would be ok.

It was time to go home.

[Dyzzie]

The she-cat had thopped to do the right thing. Leave, get help,make sure Ashnight would be okay. She hadn't expect the tom to chase after her, and that fact alone terrified her, helplessly so. She took off desperately trying to outrun the tom. It was then that she'd found the ledges in the wall, leaping from each tiny ledge until she was above the male. Despite having to talk herself into it, she managed to send the rocks tumbled down to the side, flinching at the sounds of pain below. Her panic increased slightly at the realization that she was now out of the ammo.

Her gaze returned to down below the moment she heard him speak, refusing to accept the fact that she'd go down to where he was, but her eyes startled open wide at his comment of Ashnight, about to fall into another fit of panic befor pausing. Ashnight, dead. Impossible. Not that quickly. She didn't fight, but she'd been forced to supervise others. "You're lying. Ashnight's far to skilled to allow a mongrel to take him out." She retorted, trying to bite back the quiver that threatened to present itself into her voice.

She didn't get a chance to say anything else before the tom jumped into action - suddenly entering the scene, attacking the other. Startling back, the she-cat backed away from the edge, lowering her belly to the ground, paws over her ears, tail half hiding her face. She could hear the screams of pain from below - still. Her tail twitched nervously, before hearing the sounds die down and slowly looking over to see Ashnight stepping away from a very harmed rogue, and the she-cat flinched at the sight of the blood laying down at the edge and watching Ashnight drag the body away. Her paws hung half over the edge, her head draped over slowly as she watched the tom come back, a soft frown on her features as she watched him. Limp. Matted blood on his neck. Face. As his gaze flicked up to her, he nodded, and she let out a soft sigh before standing, shaking out her lengthy, feathery fur before quietly jumping from each small, inch-wide ledge, from the high height until she was on the ground in front of him.

She slowly moved to his side, before circling him once, "You're hurt . . . are you alright?" She asked softly, concerned for the tom, before her eyes fell to the wound on his neck. That one was her fault. She should have run before, and he'd have never altered his gaze to her, "I'm sorry . . ." She whispered softly, gaze falling to her paws, her tail laying low, the lengthy threads of her pelt draping over the ground, as she fought for something, anything else to say to express how truly sorry she really was, and how thankful she was that he'd been there to help. Failing to find any of the words to express herself, she lightly licked his shoulder once in thanks for his help, "Let's go home." She finally said softly - before another thought clicked. What was he going to do - they didn't have a med cat anymore. Who was going to help him. She glanced back at him, pale eyes concerned before speaking one last time, "When we get back . . . I'll treat the wounds for you." She offered, turning her gaze from him to start in the direction he'd originally been leading her - back to clan. Or at least, she thought it was the direction.

[ℓυиαя]

Yellow eyes never left her as she made her way down the tiny steps on the wall. She was lucky she was so petite, a larger cat wouldn't have been able to maneuver them the way she had done. He checked her for injuries even from her distance, yellow eyes not missing anything as he watched her move - checking to see if anything was different. No, she was OK but shaken. Understandable.
Eventually she was at his side once more and he could feel her eyes on him checking for injuries like he had just done to her. The only difference was, he hadn't been so lucky. In all honesty he had had worse and his limp was due to an aggrevated old injury - a limp that he usually concealed. A curt nod and then a sharp shake of his head: Yes he was ok and then a dissmissal of her apology. She had nothing to be sorry for, she had down well considering the circumstances. This was a cat that hated to fight, that only lived to care for others. Regardless of whether she jumped into battle or not, she had shown courage.

"Let's go home." A pause. "When we get back . . . I'll treat the wounds for you."

As she moved off ahead, going in the right direction, Ashnight followed her. As he walked he forced his injured back leg once more into correct alignment and disguised his limp like he always did. It came easily, a habit now after many moons. Nobody else knew that it was that bad, merely thinking it was an old scar. In reality it had brought the threat of early eldership to him as only a kit. It was something that had pushed him harder to prove them wrong. The matted blood along his neck was growing colder in the air and his thoughts moved to the fact that they had no medicine cat apprentice, hence her earlier offer. It was sweet and though he thought he would be fine, he knew it would make her feel better, relieve the guilt that she shouldn't have to feel. Even injured, Ashnight still manage to catch up so that he walked beside her and when he was there, he measured his pace so that they walked together comfortably. One word left his lips, his voice still gruff, still curt. "Thanks." It wasn't much but the fact that he said anything to begin with spoke of something.

It wasn't too much of a trek home and soon enough they were coming into territory that was probably more familiar to her. Hopefully it would make her feel more at ease. He was silent as he walked but not one that spoke of pain, no one that spoke of moons of training. It was a comfortable silence and others often used it to speak their mind.

[Dyzzie]

The female had been lucky on many levels this day. Lucky Ashnight had found her. Lucky that she'd gotten a decent head start. Lucky she'd been able to easily climb a ledge few others could. Lucky that he'd shown up again. Lucky she wasn't hurt. Lucky. It was the only way to put the situation. She tilted her head as she landed on the ground, hating to see him injured, feeling that at least the wound on his back, his neck, was her own fault. She'd distracted him, in result, he'd been hurt. but, as luck would have it, they were both okay now. And, to her relief it was time to head home. When she spoke, he gave her a single nod followed by a shake of his head. She didn't push the apology, but accepted that he was alright.

She moved ahead then, her ears twisting to hear him following, the sound of a silent stride, limp no longer in effect, or at least hidden. It didn't take long though, before he'd caught up at her, soon matching her pace so they could talk together. She didn't expect for him to say anything, her gaze turned towards him after a brief moment of silence, before a faint, small smile, "It's no problem." She replied, turning her attention ahead. The moment they were closer to camp, the area looking familiar, the she-cat visibly relaxed, her steps less rigid, stance easing, and her stride turning into something softer, relaxed as she looked around. A few moments after she crossed into camp, her gaze immediately turning to the nursery, checking that no one was looking for her, no one needed her.

She turned towards the tom, using her tail to indicate that he needed to find somewhere to lay down so the queen could take care of him, letting him decide where he'd be most comfortable at, before making her way to the old Med cat den in hope of finding anything useful there that would help him, of course with how long they'd been with out a med cat, nothing was viable to be used except for a few herbs that might help with any pain he might be filling. She would have grabbed something to help with the blood as well, but it'd already stopped bleeding so she saw no point that. The pain was her first concern.

Making her way back, she lay the herbs down infront of him, "Incase you want to lessen the pain." She knew only a few things she'd rememebered having been treated with when she was younger, and not quite as graceful as now. She glanced over the wound on his neck, before her gaze danced to the side of his face. both covered in dry blood, "We're going to need to get the wounds cleaned up so I can see how bad they are . . ." She added with a concern meow, before looking down at him, meeting his gaze after a moment, "Honestly, how bad is your neck?" She asked, wanting to be prepared in someway for what she'd soon find.[/b]"

[ℓυиαя]

The ashen warrior didn't realize how exhausted he was until he made his way over to settle himself near the entrance to the now unused medicine cat den. Even in his fatigue, mostly due to his loss of blood, Ashnights eyes remained open, still watchful over his clanmates around the camp. This was one of the first times in a while that he actually sat somewhat near the other cats - usually he was away on the periphery but he couldn't bring himself to move any further away, plus, Brightblossom needed to be able to find him.

As she made her way back, he noted the herbs in her mouth and was actually surprised that there was still something useful in that den. He could have done without anything and a quick clean but she had gone to all the effort and so he nodded in thanks before selecting a herb from the line spread out before him and swallowing it. A small nod in thanks and then he gestured with a swift flick of his tail to take a seat next to him. She was right, the wound on his neck needed cleaning but he couldn't reach it alone and moving it for any extensive amount of time would only aggravate it.

And still those yellow eyes never stopped watching. Finally he spoke once more in that hoarse voice of his. "You are.. good at this. Did you never think to be.. a medicine cat?" Was that the longest sentence or what? It certainly was for him in quite a while but sitting her with a sharp ache in his neck and throb of his hind leg, he wanted to forget about being completely silent. After all, she was here when he normally would have done this alone.

[Dyzzie]

The she-cat smiled when she watched him take a herb, before accepting the command for her to sit, gently licking the fur around the wound, frowning as she cleaned some of the blood away with her own tongue before shaking her head. It wasn't too deep, but it still had bled furiously. At his voice in the air, she startled, looking up before smiling faintly, talking as she looked over the wound, "My place is in the nursery. I'd never be able to see so much pain, and not fall in despair over it. Besides, I'd never be able to truly have kits of my own - at least not legally - if I were to become a medicine cat. And I'd be heartbroken to not have a chance to raise my own kits in the clan. No, I'd be far happier in the nursery than as a medicine cat." She said, purring softly as she sat back away from him, "It's not deep, the wound. but you'll want to be careful while it heals up. Make sure it's kept clean." She added, glancing at him briefly before turning her attention to the scratches on his face, hesitating before touching the fur near them with her nose, "You're scratched up pretty bad, though . . . . I don't remember what the herb looks like that helps to make them heal faster though, I'm sorry. If I didn't I'd go find it for you. but this is all I'm able to do." Her gaze dropped before the she cat managed a soft, half smile, "You might want to avoid getting in a new fight for a while though." She was far more comfortable now that she was back in camp, finding her ovice again, even as she spoke softly, her tail flicking, briefly brushing against his as she moved to clean the rest of the blood from his back, and then silently worked to clear away the blood from his face, relieved to see those wounds were small despite the blood loss, "Yes, I'm certain you'll be fine, once you heal up. You might have some new scars though."