This one-shot is for WillowClan's monthly writing challenge and is inspired by Toby Mac's song: Get Back Up.
Lionstorm flung himself back into battle, trying his best to ignore the painful gash in his side. The young golden warrior growled as a black tabby ran into him. Lionstorm leapt into the air and kicked his hind legs out into the black warriors face. The warrior turned and sprinted off to safety as Lionstorm had begun to attack again. The golden tom scanned the clearing. Blood was pouring from every cat, bushes had been trampled on, the golden sand was now splashed with red and every cat looked red. He watched as a younger black she-cat also took a quick scan around the clearing: Nightpaw. When Lionstorm was an apprentice they had always trained together, their nests had been next to each other and they had often shared prey. They had a great friendship and occasionally Lionstorm had wished for them to be more than friends. He remembered the nights they had ran out of camp to go exploring and the time he had fallen into the river and Nightpaw had helped him out.
Lionstorm quickly snapped out of his daydream when he heard Nightpaw's yell. His head shot up and he saw Nightpaw lay on the floor; the black warrior who Lionstorm had attacked earlier was standing over her. The black tom's claws were sinking further into Nightpaw's fur. Lionstorm sprinted forwards, and lunged at the black warrior. Horrible thoughts entered his mind as he ran: what if it's too late? What if she's gone? What if she's dead? Lionstorm knocked the black tom off Nightpaw and winced slightly as they both hit the floor. The black tom clawed at Lionstorm's face. Lionstorm hissed before rearing up to kick out but the warrior was too fast for him and rammed straight into Lionstorm's stomach. Lionstorm hissed as he fell back onto the ground. The tom jumped on top of him and started clawing at his fur. Lionstorm hissed before kicking out once again. This time he managed to hit his target and he sent the black tom flying into a tree. He winced as he heard a crack and the black warrior fell to the floor. "ShadowClan retreat!" Lionstorm took a sigh of relief as he heard the words from the ShadowClan leader. It was about time that the ShadowClan leader realised he was never going to win. ThunderClan warriors were too strong for ShadowClan. The pride in Lionstorm's stomach turned into horror as he remembered about Nightpaw. He ran over to her limp body.
"Nightpaw," he whispered. He waited for a while but there was no reply. "Nightpaw, don't leave me." Nightpaw was covered in cuts and only clumps of here black fur was visible. The rest was covered in a dark red colour: blood. Lionstorm glanced up from Nightpaw's body to see a tortoiseshell she-cat standing above him. "Speckledleaf," Lionstorm greeted. "Will she live?" Speckledleaf didn't reply but started treating Nightpaw. As she worked she replied.
"Once I stopped the bleeding she will have more chance to live," Speckledleaf explained. "However blood from her scratches have probably got into her eye which means she may be blind and it also looks like her leg is broken. I can't do anything about that. She'll have to get used to it." Lionstorm nodded and hope surged into his heart: she has a chance to live.
(A few days later)
Lionstorm awoke from his sleep when he heard a groan. He glanced across at Nightpaw. He had been sleeping in the medicine cats den since the battle a few days ago. "Nightpaw?" he murmured, whilst glancing out of the den: pitch black. It was night.
"Lionstorm?" Nightpaw asked tiredly.
"You're awake!" Lionstorm exclaimed.
"Why is the den misty?" Nightpaw questioned.
"What?" Lionstorm frowned before remembering what Speckledleaf had told him. "Well, blood got into your eye. I think you blind in your left eye which will make everything misty. And don't move your leg that's closest to me."
"Why?" Nightpaw continued to asked questions.
"It's broken," Lionstorm sighed. Nightpaw glanced up at Lionstorm, shook in her eyes. "Are you alright?" Nightpaw turned away and hesitated.
"I'm fine," She said after moments of silence.
"You sure?" Lionstorm checked.
"No," Nightpaw snapped. "Why would I be alright? I've broken my leg. I'll never be able to become a warrior now."
"No," Lionstorm disagreed sternly. "We'll get through this together. You'll get back up on your feet. I'll help you walk again. You will become the best hunter in the Clan once again. You'll just going to need to have some patience. It's never too late to get back to training again."
"Enough of your wise words Lionstorm," Nightpaw muttered. "I'll never walk or hunt again. Just leave me alone."
"You're not out forever," Lionstorm mewed as he stood up. "I won't let you give it all up. I believe in you too much." Lionstorm turned and walked out into the darkness.
(A month later)
"That's it!" Lionstorm exclaimed. "You're doing it! You're walking!" Lionstorm watched as Nightpaw moved easily around the medicine den. She was limping but Lionstorm knew she would never be able to walk again without the limp. Nightpaw's eyes shown in delight.
"I'm doing it!" Nightpaw yelled in delight. "Lionstorm, you were right! I will hunt again. I'll become the best hunter in the Clans!"
"I'm sure you will," Lionstorm smiled. Hope shone in his eyes as he realised his words had actually become true. He had worried that his words were just his fantasy and that Nightpaw may not have ever been able to walk or hunt again. But he had been proven right. It had taken time but he was right. Now all he needed to do was think of some exercises that would help her get used to hunting once again.
"Know you need to help me become the best hunter in the Clan again," Nightpaw laughed.
"That may be difficult," Lionstorm hesitated. "You know how bad I am at hunting."
"Maybe I should teach you!" Nightpaw joked.
"Very funny," Nightpaw purred.
(A couple of months later)
"Fighting skills," Lionstorm mewed. The sun shone down on the clearing where Nightpaw had broken her leg many moons ago. In those moons, Nightpaw had got to grips with hunting with her broken leg. The last thing she needed before she could become a warrior was fighting skills. This would probably be the trickiest part as hind legs were pretty important when it came to fighting as well as being able to see both sides. "I'm going to attack you from your blind side, try to fight me off." Lionstorm stalked round silently to Nightpaw's blind side before flinging himself at her. Nightpaw tried to aim at blow at him but she was too slow and was pushed to the ground. She let out a wail of pain before going limp. "Nightpaw, are you ok? I'm sorry," Lionstorm started to panic. The black she-cat didn't reply. Lionstorm crouched down but stumbled back as Nightpaw pushed her front paws off, hitting Lionstorm in the stomach.
"And you're meant to be a great fighter," Nightpaw snorted as she got back to her paws.
"I was worried about you," Lionstorm defended himself.
"You worry too much," Nightpaw purred.
"Now back to attacking skills," Lionstorm quickly changed the subject.
(Half a month later)
"Nightpaw," Froststar spoke. The white she-cat had gathered the Clan and Lionstorm knew exactly what was coming. "You have trained hard to learn how to hunt and fight with the injuries you have. From this moment on you shall be known as Nightfrost. ThunderClan honours you for your bravery and confidence." Pride shone in Nightfrost's eyes as she received her warrior name. She dipped her head.
"Thank you Froststar," she mewed as the Clan split up after calling her name. Nightfrost turned and padded over to Lionstorm. "Thank you."
"For what?" Lionstorm asked.
"Helping me," Nightfrost mewed. "Without you I would have given up. You were right those many moons ago. It was never too late to get back to training again."
"I knew you'd become a full warrior of ThunderClan one day Nightfrost," Lionstorm took a deep breath before continuing. "I love you."
"I love you too Lionstorm," Nightfrost purred.
"Now it's time for your vigil," Lionstorm mewed whilst looking up at the sky. "Let's see how long you can stay silent for."
"Well," Nightfrost started to reply but was cut off by Lionstorm.
"Not long then," Lionstorm laughed. Nightfrost gave him a glare before stalking off to the camp's entrance, limping slightly. She sat down at the entrance and began to think. This was the day she was training for and it finally came. Lionstorm was right to persuade her into training. It was never too late to get back to training again.
I had the song on loop while I was writing this and now I've got it stuck it my head. Great. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed it!