The Limping River (Closed)

Waterpaw was limping back as mistedsong healed his wounds. He couldn’t get his leg fully healed until he got back to his camp so the Skyclan medicine cat let him go. As he limped next to the river on Riverclan territory, He thought about what he would tell his family. His father would definitely want to know what happened, and of course his mother wouldn’t let him be out of her sight. He never wished to get hurt but he had to save lilypaw before she died. He hoped his brother wouldn’t be mad at him also.

It had been quite a slow day for Whitepaw. Things seemed to progress at a crawling pace and the fact that he lacked much to do didn't help his situation. After taking some time to ponder what he could possibly assist with, he finally decided on taking a stroll to settle down his buzzing mind. Even when he was asleep, his thoughts never seemed to rest. Maybe this was why he was a relatively light sleeper. Or maybe he was just used to his brother's boundless energy, which also extended into the night, that the eldest was always ready to awaken in case Waterpaw decided to try anything while everyone was sleeping. Thinking about his family, mostly his little brother who he had spend so much time with, brought him immense joy. Lately, he wondered what Waterpaw was up to since he didn't get to see him as often as he'd like. Hopefully, very soon, they'll get to go out together and hang out like they used to. It was something Whitepaw looked forward to.

"Huh? Who-" the apprentice asked under his breath as he stopped and stared at a limping figure that was coming closer to where stood. It wasn't too long into his walk when he heard the sound of heavy pawsteps in the distance. At first he believed this was a warrior checking the borders but then his mind wandered and filled his head with other, more dangerous scenarios. He unsheathed his claws just in case. He wasn't ready for any battles yet but he at least had to try and ward the intruder off of RiverClan territory.

Little by little, as they came closer, Whitepaw was able to discern more of the cat's features. He shook his head and blinked a few times when he finally recognized the figure. Waterpaw? What was he doing? Where did he come from? Why was he limping? He had so many more questions but he pushed them away as he ran up to his brother in concern. "Waterpaw! Where are you hurt? I saw you limping. Were you attacked? Where did you even come from?" Whitepaw pressed himself against the younger, allowing him to lean into him for support. His brain raced as he looked around for any immediate threats. As he waited for answers he made sure Waterpaw was secure against him.

Waterpaw was silently limping along every so often wincing as his leg touched the ground. He could smell his brother before he heard him so when whitepaw came running out with loads of questions, the white tom wasn’t surprised. “It’s just my leg, Mistedsong healed the rest of my wounds, but he did tell me I might not be able to use this leg anymore.” He mewed trying to hide his sadness.


The white tom loved to break the rules and even loved his training so he knew that’s what got him hurt. He broke the rules and now he was paying for it. He wondered what Starclan was thinking and why it was him. Of course, he was glad it wasn’t lilypaw but still. “Let’s just go home.” He sighed tired of the day’s events.

"Wait! Mistedsong? Like SkyClan's medicine cat named Mistedsong? What am I missing here Waterpaw? P-Please you gotta tell me what happened..." the older apprentice trailed of, voice no longer wanting to come out due to the rather intense desperation and worry he was feeling. His heart ached as he looked at his brother's tired and pained expression. He looked exhausted and ready to collapse. Whitepaw quickly pressed against his brother with a bit more force to keep him upright. He then nodded at the younger's request to just head home.

The tom slowly and steadily began leading Waterpaw back to the camp, eyes always shifting around nervously. They walked in silence for what seemed like a while. At the same time, Whitepaw's mind was still processing the information that he had been told. Waterpaw...he might lose the ability to use his leg? Oh StarClan let this not be true. Mistedsong healed the rest of his wounds? Had Waterpaw been in SkyClan? Why did he go there? What happened? The larger apprentice couldn't hold his tongue any longer as his thoughts multiplied.

"Waterpaw," he began "tell me what happened. I promise I won't get mad. I just...I just need to know why my little brother is injured and struggling to walk and why SkyClan's medicine cat was the one to heal his...other wounds. Also, I-Is it true that you might not be able to use your leg anymore?"

He ignored the first barrage of questions but as they walked he knew his brother would ask them again. When whitepaw asked the questions again Waterpaw sighed and sat down, because he was exhausted and it was hard to talk and walk. “Okay, I will tell you, but you can’t tell anyone yet. They will just know part of the story, not all of it.” He mewed to his brother.

Waterpaw sighed before he started to tell the story. “I was walking around, bored, trying to find something to do when I noticed a cat in the river. She was drowning so I jumped in and saved her. She was really weak and by her scent I could tell she was Skyclan, she was also beautiful. I decided to take her back to her camp as she was too weak to travel alone. I know that it is against the code to go into other territories but she was so weak. Along the way a dog attacked us. The dog grabbed her and wouldn’t let her go so I fought the dog. It bit down on my leg then shoved me to the side. I didn’t give up though and the dog dropped her and ran off. As she was now weak and injured I limped the rest of the way with her leaning on me. We got to Skyclan camp, I got shoved away by Her mother, And went to the medicine den to get healed. Mistedsong did his best and sent me home. And here we are now. The dog bite on my leg messed it up really bad and on the walk to Skyclan camp it started healing so it healed wrong. Softcloud needs to check it out but mistedsong said there was only a little bit chance that my leg would fully heal correctly.” He mewed and looked down at his leg covered in cobwebs.


(BIGGEST POST :D)

The older apprentice felt relieved when Waterpaw decided to reluctantly oblige and recount the events that had transpired that day. Once they were both seated, the younger began to speak. However, before telling the story, he spoke of a condition Whitepaw had to agree to. What did he mean that the others will only know part of the story? What was he going to leave out? Why was Waterpaw deciding to tell only him the full story? The eldest knew the answers to most of these but he was slightly in denial. He begrudgingly agreed, shown in the form of a quick nod. He didn't want to deter his little brother from telling him so he held his tongue and refused to let himself speak. Whitepaw made sure to listen carefully when his brother began to explain what had occurred.

It felt like a long while until Waterpaw finished but in reality, it only took a few minutes. Whitepaw head swirled rapidly with the information he was just given. It was so much to take in and process. He swears he feels the faint throbbing of an incoming headache. He mentally shook himself out of his spaced out stupor to look right at his brother, neutral expression on his face. He didn't really know what to say. He replayed Waterpaw's words in his head, attempting to find anything he could ask him to elaborate on. After analyzing carefully, one of the things that stood out a bit more to Whitepaw was that the she-cat's name was never said in the whole of the story. That was a good place to start.

"What was her name? You...You never mentioned it..." the larger apprentice inquired with a soft tone that didn't unveil any feelings, neither good nor bad. He was now as composed as he could be regarding the situation. He was trying his best for his brother. He wanted to help any way he could. He needed a clear head to even remotely be of comfort for his sibling.

Waterpaw was shocked to see no emotion from is brother when he finished the story. He knew he couldn’t tell the others about being in Skyclan so was only going to tell them he was attacked by a dog. When whitepaw asked about lilypaw he instantly smiled thinking about how nice, sweet, beautiful, and brave she was. “Her name was Lilypaw.” He mewed with a big smile.

Despite the slight unease he was feeling, Whitepaw returned his brother's smile with one of his own, albeit a bit shaky. The somewhat dreamy expression Waterpaw had when he spoke the she-cat's name worried the larger apprentice but he managed to push away any negative feelings. He had to be a clear-headed older brother. Whatever may come of this, he needed to be there for his siblings through thick and thin. It seemed like a lot of responsibility but he was willing and ready to fulfill his role.

They both sat there in silence, each with their own thoughts. It felt like a while before he snapped out of his rapidly swirling mind. He scrambled to come up with something to say, something to lighten the mood and disrupt the quiet that was beginning to bother him. Whitepaw cleared his throat but instead of saying anything, he abruptly pressed himself against the younger tom. It appeared as if he were offering the other comfort but in reality, he was also doing it to calm himself down. This was still so much for him to process and it didn't help that it had occurred in such a short time.

After a little bit, the contact had soothed him well enough. It was time to say what was now on his mind before his voice could die in his throat again. "Waterpaw...I think what you did was a bit reckless but very brave and honorable. You saved someone's life and handled the situations like a good warrior would. I'm proud of you brother. I'm sure Lilypaw and her family are grateful for what you had done for them. It makes me happy knowing how amazing my little brother is. I know for a fact that you'll adjust well even if your leg doesn't fully heal." he offered a warm smile and a small nudge before he continued, "I'm here for you Waterpaw and I will be here as long as i'm able to. I hope you know that. I'll try my very best to do what I can to support you. Please understand that if I ever get mad or obnoxiously worried, it's because I love you and I hate seeing you injured in any way. This also applies to our sisters. It's just a big brother's way of dealing with things."

Waterpaw smiled as his brother did a very good speech. "I understand, I would feel the same if it evolved the others also. I will try to not be reckless anymore but if I see another cat in danger I can't promise anything." He mewed than looked at his leg knowing he should get back to camp but he wanted to spend more time with his brother before he got bombarded by the clan.

Whitepaw couldn't help but sag with relief at his brother's response. He felt assured that Waterpaw wouldn't take any unnecessary action that could result in any sort of disaster. He wasn't ready to lose his brother, or anyone for that matter. He doesn't know what he'd do if someone he loves would be gone for good. It'd probably be like a piece of him would leave with them.

"Thank you for understanding Waterpaw...Oh! I almost forgot! We have to head back to camp to get your leg thoroughly checked and to have you rest for a bit. You deserve a bit of a break after what happened. Hopefully mother and father won't bother you too much about it today. Actually, hopefully nobody would bother you too much when we get back. I know it can get a bit annoying if there's others hovering over you for too long when you just want to have some peace and quiet while you recover." the tom said with a slight sheepish expression when he had noticed the younger glance at his injured leg. He then proceeded to get up, stretch, and then carefully help his brother get on his paws. He made sure to steady him as best as he could. He couldn't have him crumpling to the ground and irritating his wounds further.

"Ready when you are brother. You can lean on me as much as you need to. Make sure to stay off that bad leg." he mewed as he gave Waterpaw a reassuring smile.

Waterpaw smiled at his brother and leaned on him as he walked back to camp.


(Sorry, busy)