Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's note: Hey, I finally got around to updating. Sorry it took so dang long. Pidgeonfeather don't fall out of your chair and hurt yourself at this announcement. I have decided to post three chapters today.
Hawkpath gasped in agony when she woke up. Her body felt as if it was on fire. Burning pain shot through her head, her ear, her side, everything.
She was hungry too; she hadn't eaten for a couple days and her throat was parched.
Hawkpath decided she would have to do something about it; she would go to the entrance and ask politely for water, food, and healing in order.
She got up slowly, swaying slightly. Her pelt was tangled, matted, and dirty; she would have to clean herself up. She padded stiffly to the mouth of the cave, hoping the guard wasn't Thorntail. He wouldn't give her anything. Hawkpath wished he wouldn't be so suspicious.
She peered warily out at the cat sitting guard, her dark green eyes narrowed to slits. Then, her shoulders sagged with relief, for the first time since her imprisonment began, Brightpelt was guard.
"Brightpelt." She rasped quietly to her friend.
Brightpelt turned to Hawkpath, and then opened her mouth, tasting the air.
"Are your wounds infected?" She asked in alarm. Hawkpath nodded weakly.
"Toadpaw!" Brightpelt called. Her apprentice came bounding across the clearing.
"Fetch a medicine cat! Quickly!" She meowed to him. Toadpaw nodded and ran to Leafwhisker's old den. Hawkpath lay down and closed her eyes to rest.
"The medicine cats aren't there." Toadpaw panted.
Hawkpath moaned, "Get some marigold."
"You heard her. Go!" Brightpelt told her apprentice. Toadpaw ran off to the medicine cats den yet again.
"How did you know what to use?" Brightpelt wondered curiously.
Hawkpath wished her friend wouldn't ask her questions. Her head was pounding. "My best friend's sister is our medicine cat. She taught him a littler. He…" She took a deep rasping breath, "He taught me."
Her tongue felt thick and heavy and her mouth was dry. Her stomach ached from hunger.
"Are you okay?" Brightpelt asked anxiously, "You sound funny."
"Could you get me… some water?" Hawkpath wheezed.
"Oh! Sure! But I'm suppose to be guarding you and Cedarstripe is on patrol now of all times." Brightpelt looked around camp, "One minute, I call Gustpaw. Gustpaaaw!"
Gustpaw padded over, "What is it?"
"Could you get some wet moss for me? I'd get it myself but I have to stay on guard." Brightpelt said.
"Okay!" Gustpaw bounded off.
Brightpelt turned to the limp form, next to her. "I hop you don't mind that I didn't tell him the truth. He's a bit of a gossip and I don't want him to tell Thorntail."
"That's okay." Hawkpath mumbled, "Thanks actually."
Just then Toadpaw returned with the marigolds.
"Now what do I do with them?" He asked, spitting out the plants and licking his jaws, "They taste weird."
"Umm…" murmured Hawkpath, trying to remember what to do.
"Phew! We got these herbs just in time!"
Toadpaw turned, "Oh, the medicine cats are back."
"Yes Nettlepaw, with this frost, the herbs have been wilting." His mentor, Swallowstep, replied.
"Good thing Leafwhisker kept her supply well stocked." Pebbleshine mewed. The MoonClan medicine cat headed into her den.
A few seconds later, Hawkpath heard, "Hey! Some marigold's missing!"
"Uh-oh." Toadpaw gulped.
"Oh, I see it!" Toadpaw has it by the prisoner's den!" Nettlepaw bounded over to him, "Why do you need- oh." Nettlepaw had noticed Hawkpath. Swallowstep padded over to see what was going on. She drew in a breath when she saw the limp golden-brown heap that was Hawkpath.
"Nettlepaw, chew that marigold up and make a poultice. We need to give Hawkpath some water."
Hawkpath weakly rose her head and licked her lips, "Brightpelt sent Gustpaw to get some."
She rasped.
"Here he comes now!" Brightpelt meowed in relief.
"Here's the water you wanted, Brightpelt." He said setting a dripping bundle of moss at her paws.
"Thanks Gustpaw." Brightpelt said.
"Hey what's all the fuss? The prisoner isn't escaping, is she?" It was Thorntail, just back from a hunting patrol. He and Cedarstripe padded over.
Oh, no, Not him. Hawkpath thought miserably. Her pelt began to raise nervously along her spine, but she forced it to stay flat.
"Why is she lying there like that? What's wrong with her?" He demanded. He poked Hawkpath with his paw, his tail lashing in Cedarstripe's face.
"Thorntail if you don't stop lashing your tail in my face I will bite it." Cedarstripe warned. Thorntail glared at the striped tom but stopped however he poked Hawkpath with his paw again.
Now indignation was burning in Hawkpath's pelt as well as pain. She couldn't keep her hackles down and couldn't help letting out a hiss.
Pebbleshine had wandered over too.
"She's dehydrated, weak form hunger, and her wounds are becoming infected, that's what's wrong with her!" She snapped.
"Pebbleshine, calm down." Swallowstep mewed, lying her tail across Pebbleshine's back.
Thorntail looked offended, "Well she should of said something!"
"I did." Hawkpath hissed, "And you didn't – she coughed – do anything!"
Thorntail sniffed indignantly a whisked of to deposit a mouse on the preypile, swishing his tail. Unfortunately for him it swung in Cedarstripe's face. Cedarstripe promptly bit it. Thorntail jerked his tail away with a yowl. Cedarstripe spat a tuft of black and white fur onto the ground.
"Thorntail bring that mouse back." Pebbleshine said, "Hawkpath needs to eat."
"It's a waste of food. It's treebare. Lightclan needs it more than her." He growled.
"Just do it." Cedarstripe snarled, "We caught more than enough to feed her as well as the clan." Thorntail knew he was outnumbered and spat the mouse out and stalked away furiously.
"Puh. He should be called Braintail because that's where he keeps it." Nettlepaw muttered as he rubbed the poultice on Hawkpath's wounds.
Cedarstripe snorted, "True." He looked at Hawkpath, "The wound on her leg is bleeding."
"It is. Should I get some cobwebs?" Nettlepaw asked.
"Yes, you do that. I'll take over with poultice." His mentor, Swallowstep instructed.
"Hawkpath, drink some water." Brightpelt mewed, nosing the moss towards her friend.
"Thanks." Hawkpath said, "That was really refreshing." She sighed with relief. Her pelt was no longer burning.
"Here, you can have this mouse." Toadpaw meowed shuffling his paws.
Hawkpath mewed a thank-you and gulped down the prey. Mouse had never tasted so good.
"Thank you all so much." Hawkpath said, "And Nettlepaw, you were right, Thorntail does keep his brain in his tail."