Rising Stars {Warrior Cats}

Chapter 8

       Owlheart was at Cloudstream's side at the blink of an eye, her heart pounding. She nudged him and licked him and said, "Cloudstream! Are you hurt badly? Cloudstream!" She sighed when she saw his chest moving up and down slowly. She grabbed his scruff and was able to pull him a couple of fox lengths, but he was too heavy. What do I do??
       Just then, Breezeleaf appeared, running with a bundle of herbs in her jaw. Leafstorm and Cloudleap were close behind. "Breezeleaf! Please help him!" Owlheart wailed.
       Breezeleaf replied, "It's okay, he'll live. He's just losing some blood from that huge wound on his side. What happened? Cloudleap heard a screeching noise, so I came." She quickly grabbed some cobweb from her bundle and stuck it to the bloodied fur on Cloudstream's wound.
       Owlheart replied, "We encountered a b-badger, and C-Cloudstream killed it..." Breezeleaf nodded and quickly got back to treating the muscular white tom. A few minutes later, after putting some herbs on other wounds, Breezeleaf peeled off the dirty cobweb and chewed some leaves into a poultice and applied them to the wound. Cloudstream started to wake up and whimpered in extreme pain. "Quickly, get some water!" Breezeleaf ordered.
      Owlheart immediately found some wet moss and brought it to Breezeleaf, then went to Cloudstream. "Cloudstream! Are you okay? You made me worried sick!"
       Cloudstream gently mewled, "I-I'm so s-sorry, Owlheart." His blue eyes were cloudy and his ears laid back.
       Owlheart licked his cheek and replied, "No, Cloudstream. I'm sorry." She licked him like a mother would lick her kit. Cloudstream winced as Breezeleaf added more herbs.
       "Cloudleap, Leafstorm, bring Cloudstream back to camp, and make sure his wound doesn't touch anything. Cloudleap and Leafstorm immediately ran to Cloudstream. Cloudleap gently grabbed his former mentor's scruff and pulled him up as far as he could while Leafstorm let Cloudstream lean on his unwounded side. Owlheart was on his other side, careful not to touch his wounds. Cloudstream limped back to camp, grimacing. With every wince and grimace, Owlheart's heart broke.

       "You should go get some sleep," Breezeleaf meowed to Owlheart. "Cloudstream will be fine." She was applying new herbs to Cloudstream's large wound.
       However, Owlheart shook her head. "I'm staying with him." Breezeleaf nodded and walked back to her own nest, adjusting the moss.
       Long after Breezeleaf had fallen asleep, Owlheart put her nose into Cloudstream's soft neck fur. She quietly whispered to his sleeping body, "Cloudstream... You need to come back stronger than ever. You need to be your clan's deputy. You need to be here for our clan...for me..." A single tear ran down Owlheart's cheek.