Ashes to Ashes [Swiftpaw/Deathpaw]

[swiftpaw]

She watched in horror as Ashpaw riled himself up and began to attack the badger. She wanted the end the mousebrained apprentice herself at that moment, but there was no time for anger. Deathpaw sent her a glare that seethed exasperation, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn't control her little friend, and she had bigger issues at hand, as once again the swinging badger slammed her between it's thick skull and a nearby tree. The bark bit into her skin and she hissed, putting up a stronger fight, scoring the badger's face further with long claw marks. Deathpaw was now attacking it as well, opening wounds in it's thick skin, Ashpaw had gone for it's legs, throwing it off balance. One rear paw raised higher, and with satisfaction for Swiftpaw, the beast screamed out a strangled cry as one of Swiftpaw's back claws hooked into it's eye, she swung up her other paw, aiming for it's other eye, wishing to blind the beast, but her luck ran out. All of her decoy training, killing any warrior, put her at no match with the badger, especially not one in a blinded frenzy. Her claws were ripped from it's skin as it threw her off, and she tumbled to the leafy ground.

For a moment, the world spun and her stomach lurched, her body throbbing from the impact with the frozen ground, but she was quick to hoist herself back up to her paws, and lunge back at the black and white creature, ready to help her friends once more. This time, she didn't get a hold on it's head but the side of it's neck, her teeth locked into it's ear- but it's teeth locked into her leg as she aimed her back paw toward it's good eye, the other leaking blood. She shrieked out, and dropped the badger's ear in the cry, her front claws wildly searching for a purchase on the beast. She wasn't looking for escape, she was looking to inflict as much furious damage on the badger as possible. In that second, she hated the thing. How dare it bite her with those disgusting teeth, sink into her skin and draw her blood, blood with now was leaking from the badger's mouth, splattering her body it tried to avoid the wailing claws, tearing at it's sensitive nose. If she wanted free, she knew, she couldn't attack it. As it swung it's head and slammed her body to the ground, she went limp. If she wanted to keep her limb, she had to. Another whack to the ground legitimately stunned her, the world blurred and pitched violently. The next thing she knew, the pressure in her leg was gone, and she was laying on the ground, her head throbbing, the world spinning, and the sound of fighting was far away- but the beast, neck torn from Deathpaw, hardly able to stand from Ashpaw, it's eyes rendered useless by Swiftpaw, seemed reader to retreat- trying to get the apprentices off of it, trying to turn and flee. She attempted to rise, but her leg was rendered as useless as the badger.

She eyed it's injuries for a moment, and took inventory of her leg, the throbbing fading. It wasn't broken, and this fueled her with strength. Suddenly, she was back, her eyes alert, the feeling returning to her leg- it ached, and was cut up, but hell if that was gonna stop her. She charged the badger, rearing up on both hind legs, the pain sharp, but quickly ignored, and she began to swipe at it's face, hissing, "Get out of here, you rotten piece of crowfood!" After assuring herself Ashpaw couldn't see her, she looked a Deathpaw, sending her fellow decoy a knowing look. Let's get this piece of garbage out of here before Ashpaw notices no one got killed. She couldn't help but feel a rush of pride. She had killed warriors and apprentices alike, but to say she drove off a badger? No apprentice- aside from the three of them, could really ever claim that.

[[Ashpaw]]

Swiftpaw was getting battered by the badger in the heat of the battle. Not only did the badger slam the black-and-white apprentice to the nearest tree, the large animal also chomped down one of the she-cat’s legs. Not contended with the damage it made to Swiftpaw, the badger also did a heavy strike on the she-cat, leaving her unconscious for a couple of heartbeats. Fortunately, Swiftpaw was still alive after all the beatings she received. She even scored a nice bite on its ears as well as long and powerful scratches on both of the burly badger’s eyes. She did blind their enemy, giving their small patrol a good chance of survival.

For Swiftpaw, Ashpaw told himself as he readied to retaliate for his friend’s injuries, arching his back and flexing his claws to battle. He was ready to claw its blind eyes off or bite its head off for what the badger did to Swiftpaw when he saw the large animal back away from their fight. Surprised, Ashpaw froze at his place for a bit. Did both Swiftpaw and Deathpaw afflict this much damage to the badger for it to run away? Ashpaw couldn’t believe it for a while, for the two she-cats, not mentioning apprentices, were the only ones who attacked it. The badger didn’t had injuries before it attacked them also. Maybe it was either sick or old…

The stench of blood woke the tom from his thoughts. Swiftpaw! Ashpaw quickly ran to her side and inspected her wound on her leg. The large mark from the badger’s bite was still there. Fresh blood was still oozing out of it, and it wouldn’t be long before Swiftpaw faints again from blood loss. He was no medicine cat, but the tom definitely knew that her wound needed to be dressed with cobwebs. He wasn’t going to give Swiftpaw trouble by taking her straight to camp. No, that would be too risky for she may suffer from blood loss along the way. But before that, Ashpaw decided to say something about what had happened earlier.

“Swiftpaw, I… I… I’ll fetch cobwebs for your wounds.”

Ashpaw positively wanted to apologize to his fellow apprentice, but with Deathpaw in the scene, he couldn’t possibly say sorry. Not that he didn’t wanted to, but he felt timid around those two. The two she-cats were close friends, as he had observed, and although Deathpaw seemed friendly, he really couldn’t know whether or not she’ll attack him if Swiftpaw didn’t accept his apology. He had grown distant from the Clan that Ashpaw wasn’t so sure about the two anymore. Embarrassed with Swiftpaw’s possible answer, he held his head low and searched the forest for cobwebs.

“I’m sorry,” came an inaudible meow.

[---d e a t h p a w ||]

[atrb=colspan,2][atrb=border,0,btable][atrb=style,width: 500px; border-top: 5px solid #000000; border-bottom: 5px solid #000000; background: url(http://i56.tinypic.com/14cb0pf.jpg);,bTable] [style=text-align: center; font-family: helvetica neue; font-weight: 100!important; color: #8b8d92; font-size: 25px; letter-spacing: 0px; text-transform: lowercase; text-shadow: 1px 1px 1px #000000;]Death darker than a black shadow in Moonlight, Beckons its prey into the unknown[/style][style=margin-top: -20px; font-family: helvetica neue; letter-spacing: 0px; font-size: 50px; color: #2E0854; font-weight: 100!important; text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px #000000; text-align: center;]Deathkit[/style][style=font-family: helvetica neue; font-weight: 100!important; color: #8B7B8B; margin-top: -7px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 4px; font-size: 12px; text-shadow: 1px 1px 1px #000000; text-align: center;]By a soft whisper in the Soul[/style][style=width: 90%; background-color: #555555; box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #050505; margin-top: 5px; border-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius: 10px; padding: 10; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: justify; color: #000000;][scrolly:h(245),w(446),sy,as(position: relative; top: 11px; left: 0px;)]Her eyes flashed. As she dug her claws in deeper and deeper into the creature's flesh, out of the corner of her eye she saw her ally meow in triumph as one of her sharp claws touched base with the badger's eye. She allowed herself a slight smile, and pulled her claws up harshly, gauging mildly decent scores down the badger's back. Quickly, she looked at her paws to confirm that she hadn't lost a claw or whatnot. Satisfied with the small glance, she jumped further down it's neck and on to it's rear. Suddenly, and quite forcefully, the badger swung it's head around, or to be more precise, back and forth quickly, trying to rid itself of Swiftpaw. She narrowed her purple eyes as Swiftpaw reached up and tried to hook her second paw in the only remaining eye. With a grunt, the badger shook it's head for the last time, reaching it's goal as the cat tumbled down off it's head. Fool, she started to murmur, but eyed the apprentice wearily as she jumped back to it's neck. She jumped down off of the thing, watching Swiftpaw, amusement flickered around her face for a split second before she gasped in horror. Ah, this is quite amusing, Swiftpaw's gone mad and Ashpaw was just staring dumbstruck, I haven't had this much fun in a while. She then jumped back onto the beast, paws extended, claws unsheathed, mouth opened wide to bite the nearest thing that got into her way. Anyone would have admired her courage and loyalty to her friend, but alas, it was only the thrill that kept Deathpaw battling. One last bite at the neck, a kick to the stomach for Swiftpaw and then the battle was over. The beast backed away, it's eye sockets bloodied, it's entire body bloodied. Any other day, she would've gone after it, but common sense told her that she would fail miserably, and no sane apprentice would do so. She raced at it one last time, however, following swiftly behind Swiftpaw, striking it full in the face, and then, it retreated for real. With effort, she stopped the smirk that was willing to spring to her face Holy StarClan, I fought off a badger! and put on a horrified, sympathetic one. Swiftpaw!! she feigned horror, Swiftpaw, are you okay!?!? Are you, do you need me to get the medicine cat?! Uhh, well, um, cobwebs right? Cause it's supposed to stop the bleeding and stuffs? Right, Right? Ohh, StarClan, PLEASE be alright! You're my best friend!! Are you gonna die! Tears flew the the apprentices eyes, Wait, no, I don't think so, I'm being stupid sorry. Should I go get the medicine cat now? OH WAIT! Ashpaw! Are you okay? . . . you . . . you did a really good job, she said shyly, So, um, what should I do? Thank god that that badger was sick! Couldn't you smell it? It reeked! I guess that's what saved us . . . hey, what's that? IS IT THE BADGER AGAIN!? oh, OW! she yowled as started to run around the two. She looked down at her stomach, a scar ran across it was bloodied badly. She started licking it, I'll be okay . . . I'm sorry if I'm overreacting or being stupid and not helping much, I just --I just don't know what to do! Huh. Really the cut wasn't that bad. It had only been a few gorges, not enough to make her bleed to death; but it'd be suspicious if she wasn't hurt from an encounter like that, so when Ashpaw turned his back, she quickly raked a claw making it larger, and more intimidating. 00c;; bleh, sorry for the wait!! template by columba of on the edge [/style]

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[swiftpaw]

With a few final swipes and a few furious hisses, the badger retreated, tearing off into the woods. Swiftpaw heaved a sigh and relaxed herself, it was finally over, with no serious injuries. She winced as she flexed her leg, but found it was still in tact, although oozing a bit of blood. She placed it on the ground and put her full weight on it with the adrenalin fading from his system, but although she gritted her teeth, it was obviously only a small flesh wound, maybe some bruising. She looked at her friends, Ashpaw seemed to be staring at her leg, he began to speak, but suddenly, with his change in tone, he knew he had given up on his original statement, changing the subject to getting cobwebs. Secretly, inside, she found that hurt more than her leg, and her eyes narrowed slightly, before she allowed her body to relax. As the tom turned and began to walk away, his head low, looking for cobwebs, she shook her head. "I'm fine. I can wait until we go back."

She turned back to Deathpaw, who seemed to be in a acting fit over her friends wounds. With Ashpaw looking away, she watched her friend look over her own wound, and use her claw to slice it further. She narrowed her eyes, quietly warning her friend to tone it down and knock it off. "If it gets infected, it's your own damn fault." She hissed under her breath, assuring herself Ashpaw was far enough away to not hear. She quickly picked up her voice, her entire demeanor relaxing, "I'm fine, Deathpaw really I am. And you're right, it reeked of illness. It was probably almost on it's deathbed already. I almost feel bad for it, you know, if it hadn't tried to kill us and rip off my leg." She forced a chuckle, and began to limp towards the camp. "Lets go back, they're probably wondering where we are, we can get patched up and rest." She started through the undergrowth, not even looking back at the pair. She was tired, and a coldness had settled into her gut. Her and Deathpaw, more or less alone, had driven off a badger in front of Ashpaw. If he didn't buy the "sick" story, then how would it look on the pair of decoys? Would be be suspicious. She prayed that, if he didn't believe it was sick, then he'd think their mentors were just lovely fighters.

[[Ashpaw]]

As Ashpaw went away from the two she-cats in search of cobwebs, the newly-apprenticed Deathpaw quickly bombarded the injured Swiftpaw with words so many, it would look like a wall of text when written by two-legs. It was a good thing that the younger cat wasn’t as damaged as their den-mate for she looked more fragile compared to the two of them. She looked so delicate and little that Ashpaw couldn’t believe that she survived their encounter with the badger with a few scratches. Swiftpaw, too, survived despite her grave wounds. The two fought so bravely and fiercely that the tom couldn’t believe the three of them were sharing the same training, or did they?

Thoughts and suspicions clung around the brown tabby’s mind like the thick cobweb that he had just found. It was quite a damp spot, the place where Ashpaw found the cobwebs. He gathered them in his left front paw and limped back towards the clearing where he left Swiftpaw and Deathpaw. He still thought of how the two she-cats could’ve shared a secret battle training together or something. If they were hiding it from him, they better watch out. Ashpaw may not be ambitious, but he definitely is not as strong as them. If he wants to protect those cats he’s fond of, he would need to have the same skills as those two she-cats.

As he returned, he found Swiftpaw limping back to the direction of ThunderClan’s camp while Deathpaw still looked as if she was worried that her friend would die all of a sudden. She seemed to be braving the pain the badger dealt to her leg, but she couldn’t hide the wounds that go with it and the blood that was lost. He quickly limped towards Deathpaw when he noticed that a larger wound was there instead of the scratches that Ashpaw saw earlier. He offered her part of the cobwebs as well as asking if she could help him. “If you’re sure that your wound would be okay, would you help me apply these to Swiftpaw?”

Did they really fight that beast? Maybe it’s just my imagination...

OOC: Sorry for the long wait. ^^'

[---d e a t h p a w ||]

[atrb=colspan,2][atrb=border,0,btable][atrb=style,width: 500px; border-top: 5px solid #000000; border-bottom: 5px solid #000000; background: url(http://i56.tinypic.com/14cb0pf.jpg);,bTable] [style=text-align: center; font-family: helvetica neue; font-weight: 100!important; color: #8b8d92; font-size: 25px; letter-spacing: 0px; text-transform: lowercase; text-shadow: 1px 1px 1px #000000;]Death darker than a black shadow in Moonlight, Beckons its prey into the unknown[/style][style=margin-top: -20px; font-family: helvetica neue; letter-spacing: 0px; font-size: 50px; color: #2E0854; font-weight: 100!important; text-shadow: 1px 1px 2px #000000; text-align: center;]Deathkit[/style][style=font-family: helvetica neue; font-weight: 100!important; color: #8B7B8B; margin-top: -7px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 4px; font-size: 12px; text-shadow: 1px 1px 1px #000000; text-align: center;]By a soft whisper in the Soul[/style][style=width: 90%; background-color: #555555; box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px #050505; margin-top: 5px; border-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius: 10px; padding: 10; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-align: justify; color: #000000;][scrolly:h(245),w(446),sy,as(position: relative; top: 11px; left: 0px;)]She frowned quickly, in deep thought. She was startled out of it with when Swiftpaw quickly addressed her with her poor choice of imitating a greater injury. She smirked back, whispering, "I'm not going to die by a little scratch in the stomach, I'm alive, and there will be a lot worse wounds in the future that we will have to bear," Regardless, they both were loosing a good amount of blood, and they weren't invisible; so she merely nodded and turned to leave. She didn't think that Ashpaw was too convinced of the sickness excuse, so they'd have to do something about that; but what? Worse comes to worse, the leader or deputy would most likely send a patrol to eliminate it, or chase it off into enemy territory. And to be frank, she wasn't looking forward to a battle just within the minute. Perhaps later. She'd get Seafang to say something or other, he wasn't a decoy, but he could have been if he wished. But that just takes time. Her thoughts switched to Ashpaw. Maybe if she convince him that he had done a good job and that he had done most of the work, they'd be worry free --but he didn't seem that stupid, so the thought was pushed away. "T-thank's again for charging in --it was like you did it at the best moment, I thought I would've died! You were so brave!" truth rung within her words, he was brave for the average apprentice, and that took guts --but still, he wasn't great enough to be a decoy, all's the pity. Yeah, I'll be fine, she smiled wearily, I'm just so tired . . . you better catch up to her if you want to help her, she pointed at Swiftpaw, She's almost halfway there! She blinked. post scriptum:: JO#)$(#($(#()(OJSFJJE30) >.> sorry, it's suckish, and I don't feel like putting the table atm XD --Evening template by columba of on the edge [/style]

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