𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗥𝗦ᶠᵃⁿᶠⁱᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿ 一 𝔅𝔩𝔞𝔷𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔱 [𝟑]

❆☾𑁍𓆱ᥴhᥲρtᥱr 𝟹𝟺𓆱𑁍☽❆

It's a wonder I haven't died by now.

As soon as Sunray had disappeared, Larkwing collapsed. Her legs felt like thin twigs that could snap in two at any moment. Then there was the tearing pain in her neck, which prevented her from moving her head.

Only now did she realise that she was in a ruin, one that was barely bigger than a bramble bush. The entire roof was missing, revealing the orange-red colours of the morning that were gradually replacing the night.

Tiredness overcame Larkwing. She couldn't help but open her mouth wide to yawn. As she did so, she became aware of the sticky feeling on her face again. The blood seemed to have stopped flowing and was now drying in her fur. The pain had also subsided, making it more bearable.

With difficulty, as if she were carrying stones in her body, Larkwing dragged herself across the ground to Crowshadow. The sight of her twisted leg caused a tight feeling in her chest. To get it out of her field of vision, Larkwing closed her left, green eye.

"Crowshadow." Her voice was little more than a toneless croak. Larkwing moved as close as she could to the former SnowClan she-cat and pressed her mouth to her ear. "Crowshadow! Wake up!" she repeated louder, each word as strenuous to meow as running up a mountain.

An agonisingly long time passed before a soft sigh sounded. Hope swelled in Larkwing. She placed a white paw on Crowshadow's shoulder.

Finally, Crowshadow opened her eyes. They were empty, dull and glassy, yet they were directed straight at Larkwing. "What's wrong?" she mumbled sleepily. "And why do you look like someone died?"

Larkwing couldn't hold on any longer. With a stifled whine, she buried her muzzle in the older one's soft, thick fur. She didn't care that all the blood was rubbing off. The only thing that mattered was that Crowshadow was alive — that her heart was beating.

"You! I thought you were going to die!" Larkwing explained, her voice a strange mixture of purring and wailing. "Your leg, it..."

She broke off as Crowshadow stiffened. Unsure, she moved back.

"I can't feel it," Crowshadow whispered. "My leg... I can't feel my leg."

There was a twinge in Larkwing's chest. "Sunray did this to you. But don't worry. It will heal again. We need to get out of here and find the others."

It will never heal again.

Menacingly, Sunray's last words swirled around in her head. That simply couldn't be true. Sunray was a rotten liar. She had only said that to break Larkwing's spirit. Surely Crowshadow's leg was only broken.

That reminded Larkwing that she had never seen a broken leg before and therefore couldn't judge how drastic the injury actually was. Still, she refused to admit that there might not be any hope after all.