Beechpaw's Hunger .wip

Chapter 2. Safety

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Beechpaw blinked a couple times, before completely waking up from the sun throwing it's blinding, but already pale light on his face, before beginning to prepare for it's rest.

His eyes scanned his surroundings before he dared to move.

Beechpaw was about to look around with his head before finally feeling the pain his entire body felt. It was very annoying to be honest. Beechpaw seemed to always be so soft and useless. He wished he could have the same perfect build as young warriors, but oh of course he was very far away from getting it. He was just an apprentice anyway.

"Oh, hey Beechpaw, you woke up already?"

He heard a familiar voice coming from behind him, but he didn't dare look back, as his neck would hurt even more then anything else.

"How are you feeling, buddy?" Torrentleaf, who is also the medicine cat of ShadoClan, asked while loudly purring. The medicine tom always seemed too positive about most things in his life, doesn't matter if they were good or bad.

I wonder if he really is happy that another clanmate he knows came out alive from the fight with that dog.

Beechpaw hoped it wasn't what he thought anyway.

"I'm alright I guess." Beechpaw quickly answered. "What about Pigeonpaw?"

Torrentleaf's warm smile seemed to slip away, a heartbeat after Beechpaw's question.

Oh no.

Torrentleaf hesitated for a moment, before finally squeezing out an answer.

He- he's not so fine as you are, though."

Beechpaw's stomach filled with fear for his friend.

He didn't die, right?

He gathered all his strength to get up to go search for Pigeonpaw, but yelped as he fell back in the moss bed.
Only after his unsuccessful struggle, he noticed that most of his small body was covered in moss and different herb poultices.

"You can't go, just yet." Torrentleaf tried to calm down Beechpaw as he lightly tapped the apprentice's back with his paw. "You are still very weak, you know."

I swear, if I won't be able to get up this time, I will make my way crawling instead.

Beechpaw winced as he tried to get up on his paws.
He collapsed once again when he realised his pawpads were covered in another portion of poultice too.

...I guess I am his shelf for herbs now...

Beechpaw tried to cheer himself up. He settled himself in the nest. There was nothing for him to do now, as he realised he will be stuck here for a while, so why not make himself comfortable.

"Pigeonpaw isn't dead, as you seem like you thought, but he is very injured."
Torrentleaf began, as he curled his paws with his tail. "That dog seriously damaged his leg, I think it's broken though."

At least he's alive.

Beechpaw quickly thanked StarClan before Torrentleaf continued.

"But you aren't in a better state than Pigeonpaw. You were able to heavily injure that dog's vision, but you fell off shortly after and it grabbed you... Thankfully it dropped you not too long after and warriors were able to chase it away." Medicine tom finally finished.

Beechpaw felt piercing pain in his back,
as a hint, as he heard about the dog grabbing him after he fainted.

"I know nothing else, since i immediately ran to grab you and Pigeonpaw."
Torrentleaf stated before getting up and looking down at Beechpaw, which looked like checking for any leftovers of wounds on Beechpaw's soft pelt.

Beechpaw sighed as he checked around the medicine den.
It was filled with wounded cats and he noticed Palepaw, the medicine apprentice, chaotically running from one patient to another with a mouthfull of leaves and moss.

Beechpaw only wished to never get to suddenly sense death scent appear next to one of the "resting" warriors.

There were many extra moss beds placed around the medicine den.

There surely can't be so many injuries in such a small period of time?

Beechpaw heard distant cries of a she-cat somewhere in corner of the den.

NO! THEY CAN'T BE DEAD!
THEY CAN'T!

Beechpaw barely heard it, but the things he could were too terrifying to listen to.

"What is going on over there?" Beechpaw pointed at the corner where the crying was coming from.

"Oh... Lowbite's kits. Don't know how they got hurt, but others said the dog ran into nursery instead of continuing biting everything around the camp, then it knocked over Lowbite and attacked the kits...Poor ones didn't have time to notice... Otterkit was the only one to survive." Torrentleaf's ears pressed against his skull as he quietly mewed.

Beechpaw felt a wave of guilt cover him. Beechpaw liked all of Lowbite's kits a ton, they always reminded him of himself in his kithood. They were all so active... and silly...and fluffy... It's surely going to be hard for Otterkit.

Did I tell them about Sandthroat?

Beechpaw realised he didn't even tell anything about what has happened with the senior warrior.

"Torrentleaf- My mentor- Sandthroat- that dog killed her before I ran to the camp..." Beechpaw looked away as he mewed. Even thought he didn't quite like his mentor, she was still a very great and loyal warrior to ShadoClan, so it was important to tell the clan about her.

Does that mean I will get another mentor?

Torrentleaf seemed sad to hear Beechpaw's words, but less horrified than Beechpaw expected him to be about Sandthroat's death.

"I know. Today's dawn patrol already found her." The medicine tom said, in the same calm tone as always. It was weird, wasn't he even a tiny bit sad about the she-cat's death?
The medicine tom silently got up and walked off.

Torrenleaf always sounded pretty suspicious to Beechpaw, to be honest. Of course, he was the medicine cat of his clan, he was supposed to be used to seeing death. Healing not always helps everybody.

Torrentleaf is, indeed, a very... interesting cat.

The black tom sighed, settling his head in his mossy nest. It was warm and cozy.
He felt his eyes slowly close as sleepiness covered his exhausted body. Beechpaw tried to fight it for a while, but he gave up eventually.

Beechpaw slowly fell asleep, slightly purring.

(Death count: 3)