Icy Waters

Chapter 4

Echoclaw pounced on a fallen leaf, water spattering her already soaked pelt as she wrapped her paws around it until the leaf crumbled. "Ha!" She exclaimed, turning around to face Whitefeather. The old tom laughed, exhausted. "Yeah, that was great." He commented. "Let's see if you can go to the fresh-kill pile." Echoclaw suggested optimistically. The rain had finally stopped, and even though thunder shook the ground every so often, it was refreshing to feel weak rays of sunlight without getting a drenched pelt.

Puddles still pooled on the ground, and everything was wet except for the sheltered areas. "Echoclaw, we're barely out of our den and I'm exhausted." Whitefeather groaned, sinking into the mud. "Let me rest for a minute...." He trailed off. Echoclaw sprinted over to her mentor and ran a gentle paw over her mentor's spine. There were still disturbing ripples and jagged edges midway across his back. "DON'T DO THAT!" The tom screeched, writhing out of her reach. "Hey!" Echoclaw slammed a paw down on his flank, stopping him almost immediately.

"Ow!" Whitefeather hissed. "Never experienced your own treatment before, eh?" Echoclaw asked, keeping a paw firmly in place as he tried to stand up. "Stop, and maybe it'll hurt less." She growled, satisfaction surging through her as Whitefeather stopped, his muscles easing. "Let me feel your spine, unless you want to be like this forever, defeated by your apprentice's front paw." She ordered. His flanks heaved as Whitefeather rolled over.

Echoclaw felt the curious gazes of her Clanmates as she ran a paw across his jagged spine. "This needs supported." She observed under her breath, remembering how she had made a splint for Whitefeather's paw until it had healed. "You'll need some comfrey for that," He supplied. "I knew that!" Echoclaw snapped, flicking her ears in the direction she could hear Firepaw and Carmelpelt meowing about flying badgers. "Could you get me a stick? The straightest one you can find." She requested, padding away from Whitefeather.

She hooked some comfrey leaves with a paw and drew them out of their storage compartment before grabbing some catchweed to keep everything in place. Low murmurs sounded in camp as Echoclaw carried her herbs towards Whitefeather. Since it was his first time actually moving since the tree branch had fell, it was Echoclaw's first chance to treat him, which just happened to be in the middle of camp.

She took the stick Carmelpelt had brought her and placed it flat against his back, securing it with comfrey and catchweed. The comfrey would help the bones heal, and the catchweed would keep it all in place. "Now stand up." Echoclaw instructed, taking a step back. "I...can't. It's too stiff, I can't sit up." Whitefeather complained from his spot on the ground.

Her Clanmates let out disappointed sighs and resumed chatting and organizing patrols. "Just try and stand up." Echoclaw meowed, nudging his side. With a grunt of pain, Whitefeather rolled to his paws. "Echoclaw, I know you can't see this, but, uh, I sort of can't bend my back, so I sort of can't walk." Echoclaw let out an exasperated sigh, tracing her claw in the muddy ground as it began to sprinkle rain.