Deafening screeches battered Lichennose's ears, as he fought with a bushy-tailed ShadowClan warrior. The gray tom hissed and growled, dealing painful blows to his face.

Lichennose snarled, as his enemy pinned him against the blood-stained ground. The other members of the patrol battled around them, fighting with ShadowClan cats. The pale tabby reared his hind legs and pummeled the opponent's stomach, making him gasp and topple over.

Lichennose leapt up onto his paws, hissing fiercely. The ThunderClan warrior was suddenly beat down again, as a fluffy brown she-cat tackled him. He recognized her as Mudfoot.

   Lichennose kicked her with all his strength, but it didn't falter the older warrior's stance. She raised her claws and tore at his ears, pain seeping through Lichennose's body in waves as he yowled in failing attempts to get her to jump off.

   Mudfoot, seeming satisfied, paused her shredding for a moment. In that heartbeat, a tortoiseshell head-butted her shoulder, and both she-cats were sent grappling at one another. Lichennose sprang to his paws, and realized the cat who'd saved him was Aspenshade, heaving for breath as Mudfoot sliced at her muzzle.

   He abandoned the two, narrowly avoiding a strike from a brown tabby, though he lost his footing and collapsed onto the hard ground. Stunned, he blinked, frantically trying to shoo the dizziness from his head.

While Lichennose lay there, the cat—whom he knew as Burdocktail—slashed at his flank, leaving burning wounds that soon swelled with fresh blood, adding to his pain. Burdocktail was shouldered aside by Stormgaze, who sliced at his cheek, both toms toppling over in a seething mass of claws and teeth.

Lichennose, numb from pain from his ears to tail-tip, staggered past them and collapsed a mouse-length from the crowd of battling cats. He drew in deep breaths, and was about to get back up when another ShadowClan warrior took advantage of his weakened state and pounced.

   It was Mudfoot again, hissing furiously. She'd escaped Aspenshade. Lichennose growled, attempting to fight back but unable to, soon succumbing to her attack. The fluffy she-cat tore at his cheeks, and was about to send a killing bite to his throat when a voice rang out over the fight.

   "ShadowClan, retreat! We have won this battle, retreat! Retreat!"

   Mudfoot glared at Lichennose, then hopped off and started back towards her leader, who had been watching with a black-and-white tom. She growled a seething retort, but Lichennose was far too exhausted to pay mind to it. As ShadowClan headed back over the border to their territory, he laid his head on the ground and tried to rest.

Lichennose thought back to what had caused this battle. It had been four sunrises since the storm, Quailflight announcing she was expecting kits. He had been sent on a border patrol, ShadowClan attacking them.

A sharp jab in his shoulder alerted Lichennose, and at first he was terrified, thinking Mudfoot had come back. But as he glanced at the figure looming above him, he instead found Aspenshade, still gasping for breaths while coughing in-between.

   Another one of his Clanmates, this time Asterfoot, appeared at her side. He had fur missing from his foreleg, and harsh scratches across his face. Aspenshade had ripped ears and a scarred shoulder.

The two helped him to his paws, supporting the injured warrior. He hung his head; it was his first battle as a warrior, and they'd lost! The pale tabby soon spotted his brother, being supported by Webtail. The rest of the patrol was beginning to gather, with the sturdier warriors helping the ones with the worst injuries. Bramblefoot's left eye had a deep gash just above it, and his twisted forepaw was wrenched sideways.

   The cats returned to camp silently, and the trek back home seemed to drag for countless seasons. Bramblefoot kept muttering about his stupid paw, the only one breaking the silence as they pushed into their camp.

   ThunderClan cats immediately swarmed around them like frenzied bees, asking questions and gossiping about what'd taken place. Berrystar shouldered to the front, eyes glittering angrily. Willowwhisker trotted up beside him shortly after.

   "Take them to my den." the medicine cat ordered before Berrystar could speak. At once, the patrol started towards Willowwhisker's den, as instructed.

   Bramblefoot and Lichennose had the worst injuries. The rest of the patrol had mainly just bad scratches and ripped ears. Willowwhisker immediately went to fetch herbs, returning quickly with a poultice and cobwebs, hurrying over to Bramblefoot.

   "I'm assuming someone tripped you." he mumbled, not breaking from his work while he dressed the paw in the poultice. The brown tabby nodded stiffly, wincing in pain as Willowwhisker sniffed it, "I'll need to shove it back into it's socket, it's dislodged as well."

   "Bite this." he ordered, shoving a stick to Bramblefoot's muzzle. The tabby nodded, clasping it between his jaws as Willowhisker nipped the paw, pushing it harshly back into place. Bramblefoot immediately yelped loudly, startling everyone in the shady den.

"There, that's better." the matted medicine cat dressed it in cobwebs, then moved to another warrior, Asterfoot. Bramblefoot grumbled, setting his head on the mossy nest and letting out a loud sigh.

Willowwhisker went from cat to cat, treating injuries and continuously padding back and forth from his storage to the patients, fetching and leaving herbs until the den was musty and scattered with leaves. Golden evening light filtered into the cave as he sent the final warrior to their den, stating they could return if their wounds grew worse.

He sighed, turning and looking at Lichennose, who was still awaiting their help. "Cloudpaw, treat Lichennose." Willowwhisker ordered, "I'll watch."

Cloudpaw groaned, the fluffy she-cat trudging over to him with a lashing tail. She grabbed a bunch of cobwebs on the way, sitting at his side. The medicine cat apprentice swathed her paw in webbing, then dressed the scratches along his flank.

Lichennose winced sharply, tail bristling with pain.

"Eat this." she snarled, shoving a thin-stemmed, white, flowering plant to his muzzle. He sniffed it. Must be a healing herb, he thought, nibbling on the leaves before swallowing the flower.

   A few moments later, he gagged, vomiting onto his nest and choking. Willowwhisker looked up from Bramblefoot, snarling and shouldering his apprentice away. "I'm sorry," he muttered, turning to fetch some actual herbs.

   The medicine cat soon returned, holding a leafwrap. He sat it down, unfolding the bundle as Lichennose retched again.

   "Could you please eat these?" Willowwhisker murmured, nudging some long, thin leaves to Lichennose. He weakly noddles, quickly swallowing the herbs. Both toms sat in silence for a moment, expecting the ill warrior to get sick again, but it didn't come.

   Lichennose, tired, rested his head on the ground. Willowwhisker had him eat some blue berries, which helped to settle his stomach further. The ginger tabby medicine cat fetched some damp moss, cleaning up the mess then replacing Lichennose's filthy moss with fresh bedding.

Willowwhisker, without a word, then dipped back behind a rock and returned with cobwebs and sticks. Lichennose thought it was for himself, but soon realized it was for his brother as the medicine cat hurried towards Bramblefoot.

"Hold your paw still for a moment." he instructed, gently wrapping it in webbing, then securing it in place with four thin sticks. "There, that'll keep it still while it heals. Tomorrow I'll add a poultice to keep out infection."

"Both of you must stay in my den overnight," he stepped back to address them both, "And in the morning I'll see if your wounds are healed enough to return to your den."

Lichennose parted his jaws to protest, but was too exhausted from the long day for a retort. He shifted on his mossy nest, relaxing. Soon, he drifted into a light sleep.

- – = + = – -

The pitter-patter of rain broke through Lichennose's dreams, forcing him awake. He yawned, glancing around the black den, then outside. It was storming, again, and by the bleakness he guessed it was close to midnight.

   He was about to fall back asleep, when he was suddenly aware of a throbbing pain in his side, where he'd been clawed earlier. Lichennose shifted, suspecting a twig was stabbing him, but the pain didn't cease.

"Willowwhisker!" he called drowsily, spotting two lumps of fur snoozing in the far corner. He soon spotted movement, as the medicine cat rose to his paws and strode over sleepily, his pelt still messy and tangled.

"What's the matter?" Willowwhisker asked calmly, turning to head for his herb storage.

"My flank feels like it's on fire." Lichennose snarled, trying to keep his voice soft but unable to due to the pain. He shifted again, but as he expected, nothing changed.

Willowwhisker paused, turning back towards the injured warrior. The medicine cat sat down at his belly, carefully peeling off the cobwebs he'd applied earlier. As he stared at the wound, worry clouded his dull eyes.

"The scratches are infected. I knew I should've applied more of the poultice." he sighed, "I'll go get the herbs." Then hurried off towards the rock where everything was kept.

Lichennose's mind filled with dread, listening to the steady beating of rain. "But, I'm barely a warrior!" he protested, preparing for more, but couldn't form the words. If he was already too weak to speak, than maybe he should stay in the medicine cat's den.

Willowwhisker soon returned. Lichennose couldn't recognize the herbs through the darkness, only that they smelled strange and would probably taste as bad, maybe even worse. The matted tom quickly sat and dressed the wound in a new poultice and more webbing, making Lichennose wince.

"You sleep. If it hurts worse, tell me." Willowwhisker meowed, quickly returning to his own nest and settling back into it. Lichennose flicked his ear, the pain was slightly better.

The pale tabby laid his head down and watched shadows dance on the wall. He was exhausted by the day; a battle, rain, infected wounds... He couldn't imagine anything worse. Except picking ticks from Hollyfire's pelt.

   Lichennose tried to stay awake, but eventually gave in to his mind's demands, and fell asleep in the darkness.

-

Hope you liked! Any questions, theories? All comments are welcomed.