[ti]Private[/ti]I Need a Little Help

[silverfang218]

Lionpaw had waited in the apprentice den nursing his wounds until he saw Cedarleap leave; this wasn’t something that he could ask her for help with. He wasn’t really happy with this idea to go to his sister, as he figures she’ll have endless questions with terrible answers, but he doesn’t have much of a choice.

Once he’s sure that Cedar is gone, the ginger apprentice trots over to medicine cat’s den to find Elkpaw; he’s used to being injured, just not quite this badly, so he forces himself to not limp or show pain on the walk over. He’s thankful for his thick, orange fur. Up close it would be easy to tell that blood was matting in his fur, but from a distance it would be difficult for cats to see.

He steps inside the den before calling for his sister. “Elkpaw? I kinda got myself hurt and would like your help.” He asks with a bit of nervousness in his voice. He was aware that most of his clanmates and family members had noticed the multitude of scars, but now his sides are scored with deep, painful cuts thanks to an angry she-cat’s claws… that sounds really bad, actually. Lionpaw lays down where he is, hoping his sis takes care of the deep claw marks before ripping the rest of his pelt off herself.

[pebble]

Elkpaw pranced around the den, placing herbs in their correct places and moving moss to certain parts of the den. Her movements were delicate and well practiced, clearly she was adapting well to her position as medicine cat apprentice.

However, the metallic scent and taste of blood tingled her senses and she was shocked to hear her brother's meow at the entrance. She looked at him and gasped. "Lionpaw! What in the name of Starclan happened to you?!" She exclaimed as she looked his wounds over, gingerly parting the red fur to get a better look. She hissed quietly and scurried to get the marigold and cobwebs, as well as some poppy seeds incase he was still in pain.

"Who attacked you? Which clan? Why, I'll give them an earful! Maybe even feed them a bit of my medicine to kill them!" She rambled as she applied the marigold to his wounds, soon followed by the cobwebs. "Here, eat these." She paused in her murderous rambling to nudge the poppy seeds to him before continuing to doctor his wounds up. "I'll have to speak with Mothstar about this... who did this, Lionpaw? Who!?" She demanded. This was outrageous!

[silverfang218]

Lionpaw allows Elkpaw to demand to know who his attacker was and rant a bit before speaking. He stays perfectly and absolutely still as Elk tends to his wounds, though his expression is one of regret at the terrible choices he’s made in his life. He takes a singular poppy seed; he figures she won’t let him off without eating at least one, but he also doesn’t want to waste their herbs. There are more important cats who need the seeds more than he does.

He waits for a lull in the pain in order to answer. “They weren’t from any clan, Elkpaw. It’s all fine though. Just a little scuffle is all.” He tries to brush it away, though clearly his definition of a small scuffle is a bit… different than most other cat. His tail flicks up to gently brush against Elk’s side, trying to soothe her a bit; he is calm considering the situation he’s in, and he’s hoping that him being a strong, silent fluffball will help Elkpaw calm herself down. After all, he’s not dying or anything. He’s fine.

[pebble]

Elkpaw looked at him, gaze unnaturally dark as he flicked her with his tail. She stepped over him to start tending to his either side, whiskers crooked as it was killing her. "Where at, Lionpaw? Where did you get into a 'scuffle' with these cats? We can't have rogues running around the place!" She exclaimed as she tended to his wounds. She slapped the marigold on his wounds on purpose, basically telling him that if he didn't tell her the truth there were gonna be consequences.

"Stupid rogues... attacking my clanmates like that," She mumbled, ears pinned. "Eat all of those seeds, Lionpaw. You're not leaving until cedarleap has a look at the wounds." She told him quietly while waiting on his response. She needed Cedarleap to look over Elkpaw's work, just so she could be sure she did it correctly. This is probably one of the more basic stuff but wounds this bad? She didn't want it infected or something.

[silverfang218]

“A long ways away.” Lionpaw answers simply, “A dark place where there are no stars.” Perhaps she can figure it out from here; either way, Lion stops explaining himself there, not bothering to correct her assumption that his attacker was a rogue. He has already said far too much. He lets out a soft hiss as she gets a bit rough with his injuries. “Easy, Elkpaw. I’ve had a rough night.” He mews softly, a huff in his voice. No need to remind him of past mistakes, jeez.

Once she tells him to eat the rest of the seeds, he shakes his head; as she says he’ll have to stick around in order for Cedarleap to take a look at him, Lionpaw stands up. “I think I’m okay actually. I don’t hurt that bad, just wanted you to take a look at it. Thank you, Elkpaw.” Lionpaw turns to leave; he’s going to bail unless Elk stops him. He’s not sticking around for all these questions, oh no.

[pebble]

A dark place with no stars? Elkpaw furrowed her brows as she thought this, half ignoring him for a second. Place with no stars... Place of no stars... PLACE OF NO STARS. What in the holy hawk was he doing in the Dark forest? Alarm spread across her face and she scurried to chase him, jumping in front of her floofy sibling.

"Tell me it's not real!" She half wailed, desperating in her eyes. "Oh, Lionpaw how could you!? How could you?" Her voice died down and she grew a dark expression. "Why are you in the dark forest?" She muttered, as not to draw any more attention to them from the outside world. Her gaze was dark and stern and... scared. She was scared for him.

[silverfang218]

So she did figure it out. Lionpaw purrs softly, trying to be soothing, as he wraps his tail around Elkpaw as he leads her back to the spot he had been laying and gently pulls her down with him as he flops back down onto his stomach fluff. “It’s very real. I’ve been going there since we were kits.” He admits. He told himself if Elkpaw, the most likely of his family to figure it out, were to work out what was happening, he’d tell her the truth. He doesn’t feel he can lie to her, not about this.

“There are a lot of cats who ended up drawn there, and I was one of them back when I was a kit. Some of us stuck around; I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve survived this long. I know what I’m doing you don’t have to be scared.” He tries to ease the fear he sees in her eyes. He knows it’s dangerous there; the scars and claw marks riddling his hide are clear reminders of how he knocks on death’s door every night. Thus far, he’s always managed to escape with his life, if not his hide or soul, intact. “I’m always as careful as possible when I’m there.”

[pebble]

Elkpaw held disbelief in her gaze, ears pinned flat to her skull. She pressed her head against his, closing her eyes as she rested her tail against his back. "Oh, Lionpaw... What have you gotten yourself into?" She mumbled, though it didn't sound truly directed at him. More so herself.

"Promise me you'll be as safe as possible... and I'll keep it secret, okay? Promise me!" She lifted her head to look him in the eyes. She needed him to be safe; she didn't know what she would do without him! He was her brother! He had been there since the beginning. He was always there to comfort her, to urge her on. She couldn't bear to lose him.

[silverfang218]

“Lots of things, it seems. I’m quite the troublemaker, I suppose; I’m just getting into all sorts of trouble when you all aren’t looking.” He answers her first question whether or not she’s actually asking him. He pulls her against him, completely ignoring his wounds in favor of comforting Elkpaw. Snuggles are always more important than taking care of one’s self.

“I promise.” He reassures her without hesitation. He has no reason to be reckless or stupid when he’s in the dark forest; he knows how dangerous it is, and he will not screw around there. “Thank you, Elkpaw. I appreciate it.” He replies to the promise that his secret is safe. He nuzzles her head, burying her in his glorious fluff. He tries to keep from suffocating her, though. He tries.