Chapter 88: Wobbly and Blinded
After much pestering from Ravenfeather, Fireheart, Ashfur, and Bluestar, I dialed back my overworking tendency slightly. By that, I meant not being physically active. Instead, I was spending my time scheming. How could I realistically kill the other three dogs? I say kill because I would not allow for an alternative. I was going to make their death happen, one way or another. They hurt what was precious to me too much for any other option. Snakes? No. They'd be too wary the second time around. Poison? No. That'd likely only get one of them, and I can't guarantee what we'd consider poisonous would be lethal to a dog. All out assault? No. We simply lack the weaponry needed to pierce their skin in a meaningful manner. Maybe I could fashion some? No. It'd take too long to train and possibly prove more dangerous than the dogs. We needed some kind of trap, a means to trick all of them at once into taking a lethal hit. My mind immediately went to the classic spiked pitfall trap. If only that were a possibility.
My scheming was interrupted by Cinderpelt shoving me. "What's going on?" I mewed to the medicine cat.
"I eased the two apprentices off poppy seeds, so they should be waking up soon. Fireheart is already in the medicine den, but I thought it would be important for you to be there as well." She ushered, making me leave my lounging spot.
Despite all medicine cats having generally the same job and skills, I must say that the medicine den tends to change scent based upon which medicine cat rules it. As I've described many times before, when Spottedleaf ran this den, it stank strongly of mint. When Yellowfang ran it, it stank of ammonia and a slight hint of swamp water. I have to say, Cinderpelt's version of the medicine den scent was the most pleasant so far. It smelled of marigold, lavender, and a bit of smokiness left over from the fire.
After a little while, Brightpaw began to stir. Unfortunately, it wasn't the kind of stirring that happens when once eases themselves out of sleep. No, she was thrashing, caught in the kind of nightmare that makes one wake screaming. She was mewling and whining. Fireheart was clearly worried for the apprentice, but I took the proactive choice. I shook her.
"Brightpaw. Wake up. It is just a dream. You are in camp and safe." I mewed while shaking her gently.
Her eye flashed open and she let out a brief shriek before recognizing she was not in the clearing with the dogs. The scream seemed to have startled Swiftpaw awake as well. His head was raised and his eyes were alert as he looked to Brightpaw. His shoulders were tense, so that was a good sign. Brightpaw was still hysterical though.
Fireheart, the ever compassionate, laid down beside Brightpaw so she could feel him as he gently groomed her. Slowly, her fear began to subside. While Fireheart played good cop, it was my turn to what happened, the repercussions of the apprentices' actions could have done much more than just wound them.
"Brightpaw, Swiftpaw. You two yet live, and I am grateful for that. What happened to you two was a tragedy. Every cat in the clan prayed for your recovery. Despite all these things and the wounds you received, I unfortunately have to punish you both. Your actions could have led the dogs right into our camp. I do not plan to be too harsh. Your own injuries will punish you plenty. Instead, I am delaying both of your warriors ceremonies until such a time that we believe you realize the error of what you've done. I do not only give you this punishment for the purpose of punishing you. It is also time both of you will need to recover from your injuries." I stated, hoping my words gave the apprentices some level of grounding in the real world.
Brightpaw seemed to have calmed down, but she suddenly noticed something wrong. "Smudgefoot? Why can't I see out of my right eye?" She queried, tears beginning to flow down her face. "Why can't I see out of it?" She begged again. "It's gone! My eye is gone!" She cried, breaking down into a sobbing fit. "How will I be a warrior with one eye? How can I serve the clan like this? I'm useless." She uttered between sobs.
Swiftpaw, caught up in Brightpaw's emotions, trotted his way over. That was when the affects of his injury made itself know. His muscles suddenly relaxed, forcing him to flop onto the ground. He righted himself quickly, but as soon as his focus left him, the limb would go lax once again, making him collapse. It took a little while for Swiftpaw to figure something out. He managed to get himself into a sitting position, locking his front legs to try and have some semblance of posture. He was actively balancing himself as he looked down upon his friend, slightly swaying from side to side as he had to readjust his muscles that just would not hold their position.
"This is my fault Brightpaw. I should have never forced you to join me. Please blame me. I'm the one who made you lose your eye." He commiserated, head sunk as he accepted his role in what happened. His focus lapsed and he collapsed once again.
"Swiftpaw please! It isn't your fault about what happened to me. I chose to join you. I chose to hold off on my warrior's ceremony." She rebutted, causing Swiftpaw's eyes to widen in shock.
"What?" He uttered slowly, realizing what the second part of her statement meant.
"I… I passed my assessment, but I chose to wait for you. Cloudtail wanted to as well, but he also didn't want to leave his brother Ashfur to get his name alone. Same as when I chose to wait for you, I chose to follow out to something I knew was dangerous. I could have tried to stop you, but I didn't. I wanted to help you earn your name. I am just as at fault as you." She apologized.
"I… I'm sorry." Was all Swiftpaw could mutter, ending their moment.
I let them run their emotions dry before speaking again. I am a doer. I would not let them wallow in their self-pity. "Brightpaw, for the time being, you will train under me. I've been keeping one of my eyes patched for a good while, so I have a pretty decent understanding on how to get by as a warrior with only one ye. Swiftpaw, I believe Longtail is willing to work with you again. From what I can tell with what I witnessed, you still have control of your body. Your paws still go where you want them to go. The only problem is that they don't keep tense, likely a result of the damage to your spine from when that dog bit you. Basically, when you stop, you drop. I want to test this a little bit before I give Longtail a report on your condition and give him advice on how to train you." I commanded, forcing the apprentices to nod in acceptance.
"Swiftpaw, I am going to roll you onto your back. All I want you to do is try to hold a paw straight out." I ordered, rolling Swiftpaw over.
He tried to hold the paw straight. I could see the determination in his eyes. Despite this, his paw swayed from side to side. His muscles tensed and untensed as he tried to correct himself and hold it still. After a couple minutes, he conceded. He just could not hold it straight.
"Maybe in time you'll develop the muscle memory to keep yourself straight again. For now, I suggest practicing going to a prone position whenever you are done moving, and practice going from laying to running. You'll likely be running down prey instead of pouncing from now on." I assessed.
I left Fireheart to do the whole, it's not the end of the world spiel. He'd reassure them that they still had a purpose and the whole clan was backing them. I already did my part and laid out the plan to recovery. Now I just needed to find Longtail and let him know what all he needed to do for his apprentice.