#Major Injury Tw

[notyoinara]

morpho butterfly

[wheresthewarriorcats]

snowtuft

i had no idea who he was growing up but the AMVs about him back then popped so hot

[thesoulesscollection]

Soul, I must have missed it, but what happened to Choc's mouth?

Ooh, I don't think I've ever explained this in posts about him so here it is. Also, I realized that Choc has a lot of mouth trauma. Though I'm still working out his entire design, it may not be the most accurate representation. 

If anyone else wants to know more about him I don't mind sharing some ‘lore’ of Choc. 

There've been a lot of unreliable stories that float around the clan about how he got them, how he got all his scars in general but those around his face are the one that drew in the most attention for people. Now it's relatively unknown which is the true story in the midst of the fabrication as Choc himself tends to play along. He's a good storyteller and can do so with a straight, poker face. 

Sometime in his late thirties it'd appeared to have happened during his long stint away from the clan. He offhandedly detailed it as  needing too serious other than having to help his sister and that stuff went down. But in his return came the fresh gnarly scars traveling up his face up his cheekbone like a mockery of a smile. It wasn't the only thing though as his teeth have been replaced with a gold set,  then both his tongue and gums were stained a permanent black color. Overall people find his smile creepily uncanny and grossly weird while others simply got used to it, finding him to be the same goofy old man.

Though over time, people did smarten up, to realize it's likely to be an illness that went to affect him. An ailment that affected his taste and overall hunger when he suddenly lost a hugely unhealthy amount of weight and muscle. 

Weird and gross fact; he can actually open up his mouth a lot like a snake unhinging its jaw with his tongue being abnormally longer than normal. 

[ignitedfms]

[ froy gutierrez, cis-man, he/they ] Look who just landed! APOLLO LADRÓN, I sure hope you packed all you need. Perhaps you’re not worried as UNDERBOSS of THE GOLDEN TEARS. The city has plenty of spots for a 26 year old CYBORG like you. You’ll be known in the city soon enough as THE PARADOX, being EMPATHETIC and CONNIVING. ( 1anc3a10t, 25, PST, removed for discretion )

00000 - - INTERVIEW INCOMING - - - 001

001101 1- - ARE you A LOCAL OF MARS OR HAVE you LANDED HERE RECENTLY? WHAT IS your OPINION OF THE CITY OF NEW JAKARTA? - 00011011

This was the issue with the MAWAR DISTRICT. He couldn’t have a peaceful brunch without the threat of the OVERSEERS invading his personal space. This would never happen in the Slums, there were so many cracks and crevices he could squirm into and be completely out of sight from wandering eyes…But, no one could beat Café Marco’s Chai and he wasn’t willing to settle for the one credit tea bags the boss so graciously bought for him. 

To: Big Man 

Sun God: Fucking Shit. The Seers are up my ass. Tell the Tears to watch their backs while I fend off these assholes. 

Sun God: You know. Maybe if you weren’t a cheap ass and bought me real loose-leaf tea this wouldn’t happen.

Sun God: 😘

“Please. Sit.”

They weakly gestured towards the chair infront of them, not particularly caring whether or not the Overseer took their offer. It was better to open with an act of hospitality rather than assuming aggression from the get go, even if they were rather pissed the officers were eating up their alone time. “I was born in NEW JAKARTA- specifically in Jakarta general- and was raised here in the MAWAR DISTRICT. My mothers immigrated from Earth, they had sought asylum on Mars as they were escaping a domestic violence situation involving my birth father.  I have spent my life flitting around from neighborhood to neighborhood experiencing each of their unique pleasures.” They paused for a moment, leaning forward to rest their arms on the table. “My mothers own a bakery. They bring in good profit. They are happy, they are healthy. New Jakarta is perfect and nothing needs to change.”

0101022 - - ARE you AWARE OF THE CRIMINAL CIRCUIT OF NEW JAKARTA? WOULD you BE WILLING TO INFORM THE OVERSEERS IF you SEE ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY? - 001200

He feigned a sip of his now lukewarm tea, hiding a scoff behind the rim of the mug. Focused more on the credits they wasted on a now stale croissant they only tuned in to half of the question, “You have such interesting inquiries. Some may venture to say they are even a bit…intrusive. But, do you mind repeating yourself? I found myself lost in thought, wondering how unobservant a person would have to be to not notice the criminal activity buzzing around our city.”

They hummed with a slight nod of their head, “Yes, I’m aware. I spend much of my time roaming the slums, gathering stories and whatever else catches my interest. It’s hard not to run into a criminal or two when you’re sticking your nose into places you don’t belong,” they laughed short and sweet, “Or at least that’s what my friends tell me. Now in regard to being a snitch, you know what they say?-“ He paused, shooting the Overseer an expecting look. He hoped an act of innocence would get them to play along with his game, it wasn’t everyday he got the delight of making a fool of someone of their status. “Under the Revised Code of NEW JAKARTA title 9.A, chapter 25- and please do bear with me, I’m summarizing here- I don’t have to tell you anything until I’m under arrest. Am I under arrest?- I didn’t think so.”

000111311 - - HAVE you BEEN TESTED FOR ANY TRACES OF SIGHIR? HAVE your TESTS ON THE VIRUSES COME BACK CLEAN? - 0012133

“No,” They raised a finger to silence the onslaught of any further questioning, “I have not been purposefully avoiding it, I have simply just not had time to be tested.” If they got their way, they would find a way to avoid testing all together. They hadn’t felt a strong spiritual bond with Mars, nor had they woken up one day with the ability to conjure fire in the palm of their hand - but if there was a possibility that the magic was lying dormant they didn’t want a group of faceless BOARD members to be the first to know. 

They nodded their head, a bit offended that these strangers would even begin to believe they weren’t clean. “I take the utmost care in ensuring my body is in perfect shape. That includes keeping a close eye on my mental health to catch any early signs Cyberpsychosis. I am perfectly fine in every way.”

0113114 - - DO you HAVE ANYTHING TO DECLARE? WEAPONS, AUGMENTATIONS, MECHANICAL PARTS OR AI-RELATED APERTURE? - 0012444

Their smile turned sour and they took on an expression that was much more fit for the Underboss of one of the major criminal organizations. It was almost sinister the way they looked at the Overseer, their gaze scanning the officer for any hint of weakness. When he was content with what he found he began to tap the table impatiently, clearly not interested in dealing with this conversation any further.

“My left arm is a cybernetic implant. When I was sixteen I was caught in the aftermath of a street racing crash. Gasoline is highly flammable and my little legs just couldn’t run fast enough. The doctors said I was truly lucky to have survived, being in the slums the emergency response wasn’t as quick as someone like you would normally receive. I don’t remember much from the incident other than feeling wet, which I can only assume was from the massive amount of blood loss.” He stretched his arm out and turned it side to side letting the Overseer run a cursory glance over the limb. “The augmentation gives me the strength that I lost when my nerves were, quite literally, fried. Other than that it’s simply a prosthetic limb.” Not all of it was a lie. They were sixteen when their arm was blown off, but it was the result of a hit gone bad. An explosion from a plasma grenade took it right off. Luckily, X ACADEMY was more than willing to gift an experimental cybernetic to Apollo. They took well to it with only some minor swelling and sores but unfortunately for them that meant they were the perfect test subject. 

They crossed their arms against their chest and leaned back, their expression perked up as they remembered, “I have a stunner but I do not believe they are a regulated good.- Now, I do hope we’re done.” 

[doctordonovan]

[ 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 ] : sender carries injured receiver to safety.

somewhere between death  &&  life,  between injury and healing,  between humanity and nothingness.   ( she should have mentioned it earlier  -  when things first went wrong on own end  -  when realisation came that everything was beyond out of control.  )    yet she knows her captain  &&   carol,  deep down,  knows how her first officer is,   it's why they've always worked so well.  both reckless with their care for others...  both the first to take full blast of whatever is coming their way to ensure ship flies at it must. 

there is too much good to be done,  too much to be learnt  -  they're just puzzle pieces in a much bigger picture.

green blood seems to stain them both.   half dried,  half fresh,  constant still even if now it only trickles like dying stream.  she should have told @danversiism back when first impact came and yet blonde would have been in impossible position,  a choice no captain should never have to make.   a choice no friend should have to make.  there's no need for romulan's touch empathy to know the worry flooding through other,  to know how once she's put down the contact moving hair stuck to face is desperately checking to ensure air still finds its way through lungs.

she's fine,  scientist wants to promise,  pointless muscle memory when consciousness and sleep all taste the same.  she's fine,  she'll be fine,   it's just a scratch.  but reassurances need a voice to be heard  &&   it requires far more than she has left within herself.

[jae-birde]

Leo sucked in a sharp breath as he awoke before immediately curling into his side as he broke into a coughing fit. His lungs ached with a sharp pain with every cough, and when he moved his hand from his mouth, he saw blood.

Well, shit.

He shifted where he was laying, bracing both arms underneath him to push up, and—

Leo bit back a scream as his right arm gave under him, pain shooting through it in waves. He collapsed back onto his stomach with a groan, looking at his arm before immediately regretting it.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

Yep. Definitely broken.

Taking a shuddery breath, Leo tried again, careful not to use his injured arm this time, but his leg wouldn't move, and when he tried, despite that, pain laced through the veins of that leg, and he cried out in pain. He twisted around the best he could to look and realized, oh shit, his leg was trapped. He thumped his forehead against his unbroken arm with a groan. Situations like this always sucked to get out of. He lifted his head, examining the rubble the best he could. The angle he was at would make it difficult, but there had to be something here that would work…

There!

Leo stretched his good arm out to his side, fingers just brushing the edge of the steel pole. He had no clue what it was even doing here, but he honestly couldn't care less. It was, as Donnie would say, a convenient plot device (whatever that was supposed to mean.) Whatever. He reached again, this time managing to roll it close enough he could grab it. He pulled it close enough to himself that it wouldn't roll away and reached for a piece of rubble. After awkwardly moving it closer to the debris pile, desperately hoping that would be enough to provide some leverage for the pole.

With some awkward angling and moving, Leo managed to wedge the hole under rubble and put as much weight as he could onto it. After a minute or so of pushing down, there was some give, and his leg was free.

Read More on AO3

[doublebattled]

headcanon; I''ve written about the injuries Hilda sustained from being attacked by Ghetsis' hydregion but I think it's due for a rewrite with some emphasis on the stuff Surrounding it, so let's do that, shall we? First, let's talk about the lead up: It's very, very important to note what kind of mental state Hilda (honestly, both of the twins) were in when they fought N. That is to say, fucking STRESSED, what with being tasked with stopping the guy who just summoned a giant castle out of the ground after the five best trainers in Unova had been defeated by him. Of course they went in with the dragons still in the dark/light stones and full intention of fighting N regardless. In fact, I think a part of them was hoping the dragons wouldn't awaken. Certainly a large part of Hilda was. Why? Both N and Ghetsis had sort of psyched them out in that regards. N, perhaps moreso unintentionally, what with his penchant for hypothetical questions and philosophical bullshit, but there was a lot of references to the historical twin heroes, how the Blake twins had a habit of arguing quite a bit, and what if you can't control the dragons, what if they latch onto that Worst Aspect of you two, what if they fight, what if you two end up destroying the region just like the Twin Heroes did in the past haha would that be fucked up or what? So, yeah. Stressed. That all didn't happen, but they were basically both running on pure anxiety through the fight. And another important note: Hilda already fucking hated Ghetsis to begin with, for much the same reasons she hated N. Pretentious motherfucker forcing them into this, probably expecting the twins would fuck this all up. But then they didn't. N failed. So as in the game, Ghetsis has his outburst and goes off on N. And Hilda, who's first reaction to stress is "fight it," still riding the adrenaline high, and has had her hatred of N momentarily redirected to someone else, whom she ALREADY hates, she says—you know what? Fuck this. Fuck you. And she goes to fucking deck him. It does not work. Ghetsis was able to sic his hydregion on her before she could actually reach him. She wasn't thinking clearly, otherwise maybe she would've anticipated that, yeah, no shit he also has pokémon. All things considered, she was incredibly lucky that it was her shoulder that hydregion latched onto. (Maybe not luck, per say, because she does have pretty good reflexes, but damn if anyone who was present was really able to tell, least of all Hilda.) It was only because of their starter, Hanzo, that hydregion dropped her. Hanzo was able to force hydregion to back off Cheren was able to get her emergency treatment. All in all, Hilda suffered from some major blood loss (unsurprising), significant muscular damage to her left arm and shoulder, some nerve damage in her arm, a broken collarbone, and a minor concussion on top of it from when she was dropped. Needless to say, Hilda was not present for N's departure. Duh. (They had a LOOOOOT to work out in bw2 before Hilda was willing to work with him, let me tell you.) After some hospital time and several months of physical therapy (and normal therapy, given the fucking trauma of such an event), Hilda no longer has a full rage of motion in her left arm. She can no longer reach above her head with it, being limited to raising her arm to roughly shoulder height or so, albeit with a bit of strain. Her doctor typically advises her to take it easy when it comes to workouts and the like, but she's kind of hit or miss about actually following that recommendation. Obviously, some things she just flat out cannot do anymore, such as weight lifting, and she has taken the advice of just try to avoid swimming, ESPECIALLY in the ocean or any other sort of moving water, as without a full range of motion in her arm, her ability to swim is considerably weaker. She kickboxes though. She probably shouldn't, but she does.

[wvsteria]

@withinthem

"I've given you a thousand reasons to abandon me, but you haven't yet. So, thank you. For my sake, and for our daughter's. Perhaps it's time to start living, not by my decisions, not by yours, but by what we together decide. Partners. For Hope."

KLAYLEY - THE ORIGINALS

[chronal-anomaly]

@quick-drawn asked:

"Damnit, Lena..." It was barked through gritted teeth in an attempt to hold back a barrage of other...not-so-nice words. He's peeling off layers from her much smaller frame before hands began to scramble for something, anything to help stop the bleeding. "What the HELL were you thinkin'?!" || Unprompted ( always accepting! )

Sound echoed down the distant tunnel that stretched between Lena and the crumpled heap of Cassidy looking up at her from the rubble. Delayed senses attempted to pull together the full picture - the distant tingling of her fingers, the encroaching darkness crowding her vision, and the burning sensation somewhere just below her lung culminating into something sickening and familiar. Usually sampled in brief flashes of agony before being erased again and again, her body recognized the distant pain.

Gunshot, her mind shoved unhelpfully through the fuzzy blur that had begun to overtake her struggling consciousness.

Gravel sliced through her running leggings, shredding through the scarred skin beneath it, as Lena fell clumsily to her knees, then to her side. Body curled instinctively, protecting the grisly wound that punctured the front of her body, as her limbs fell akimbo around her. Lena could feel the tingling crawl up her fingers as the heat gathered in her chest and pooled out onto the rubbled Earth around them.

Cassidy's frame, now level with her own fallen form, sharpened into fading vision. Pieces grinded against one another before slipping into place.

Sniper.

He couldn't hear her calls.

The accelerator.

The accelerator.

Already, the usual milliseconds had lapsed into seconds, ticking quickly into minutes. The failsafe should have activated by now, reverting her back to things as normal. Where was the accelerator? Thoughts raced through her head as she battled the haze that had, by now, taken all but a sliver of her consciousness. There was something important, something on the very edge of her periphery that seemed so critical in that moment, but so far away.

Dark eyes met Cassidy's. The relentless blaze that scorched her very iris had flicker and faded, just as the light on the accelerator had. Blood crusted her nose and lips as the pool of crimson grew every steadier around, staining the dust with a reminder.

Lena Oxton was here.

Lena Oxton existed.

She wasn't exactly sure when Cassidy moved from the ground to over her body, time slipping by like molasses dripping from the bottle. Is this what it felt like to belong? To exist in the correct timeline? To lose track of the seconds until they're measured in laughter and arguments and cups of coffee?

Lena decided it felt nice.

Twitching fingers gripped his wrist with the remaining that pulsed from her figure with each fading heartbeat.

"'nip'r." She slurred, blood pooling in her mouth as she spoke.

Lena coughed, and tried again. "Th'need thei' cap'a'. th'need you. S'no' safe." The last word was punctuated with a wet slap to his wrist, ushering him to some kind of cover from the very sniper Lena pushed him away from.

"Go."

[untoldsoup]

Worked on this all day to make sure I could get this update out earlier than planned lol. Thanks for all your patience over the past 1.5 months waiting for this update!! Anyway big things coming in part two! Please read the tags for this before reading as some content can bother some people. Comments appreciated i worked so hard on this.

previous: chapter 1 and 2

next: here

This is a sequel! First comic can be found here.

[doctordonovan]

❝ can you walk? ❞  | harley

of course he's worried:   last time he saw ago,  only twenty minutes past at most,  she'd seemed close to death.  the red that stains her clothing is entirely her own  -  darker where torn clothing marks where wounds had been,  skin still more than a little too pale to be considered healthy.  she'd looked only minutes from being entirely gone...  and in truth,  that assumption wasn't wrong.

❝ I'm fine. I can walk. ❞   these days she comes back quicker than she used to.   weight is still a tiny bit unsteady on feet,  but it will only improve the more time passes  &&   the more awake she feels again.  ❝ breathe,  @goldshadows.  you're looking at me like I might shatter.  I told you,   I'm tougher than I look.   did you find what you needed? ❞

[dunmeshistash]

hey was wondering did thisle fr die ? since we saw the lion eat his desire and he been asleep for a long while and in his last panels with ``delgal`` he seemed to barely be able to move or talk and didnt eat so it gave off that he is in his dead bed. which id like to see your view in the matter ( im coping ;-; )

I read this manga start to finish twice before I realized people thought he died at the end, none of the two times I read the ending I thought died? Like it didn't even cross my mind it was a possibility before someone else asked me if he died and I was like "no???"

So I have strong feelings about it lol

To me that was about him finally letting go of the fear that kept the kingdom underground and the curse that kept the people immortal, like he finally relaxed he didn't have to shoulder the fear of death from Delgal anymore so the curse was lifted.

The arguments I see for him dying is

He didn't eat what Delgal Offered

Melini is no longer underground

It's a poetic ending

To those I say that Mithrun had 10 years of rehabilitation before he could do anything including eating properly and even now its hard to feed him, but he lives. Plus golden kingdom people don't have to eat and the curse was still in effect even after his desires were eaten. So he's not starving to death here.

His timeline ends with "Escaped from the dungeon on Yaad's back"

They made a point to say even if the Demon ate your desires you can create new ones

Yaad talks about how THEY are part of the circle of life

Thistle had a curse keeping the kingdom underground and a curse of immortality over the people, he lifted both curses when he realized he didn't have to worry about it anymore but nobody died right away, so why would only thistle die?

Instead of peacefully passing away this is what happened to Mithrun

Death isn't poetic or beautiful irl so I don't see how in the biology manga he just up and died in that scene for giving up but still looking otherwise healthy

Anyway I might just be coping but I don't think only thistle OF ALL characters would die, even the corpse retrievers that were thrown on the water show up at the end, and there's nothing confirming or denying his death so if Ryoko Kui did decide he died she decided to keep it vague for some reason and I chose to think he's alive going thru rehab.

[radio-writes]

It's about time for your blood to spill + you should sleep + we were soulmates

(Congrats on the 300 followers btw!)

Now, The Echoes Interlace

300 Followers Event

Warnings: Blood, physical injuries to reader, ambiguous major character death(s), angst

Tags: Alastor x reader, gn reader, relationship can be read in any way

MDNI

"You always have looked so pretty in red, Al." You hummed as your combed your fingers through his soft hair. You pressed your fingers against his scalp, lightly massaging against his antlers.

The light static that varied in volume crackled. "Fuck you." Alastor managed to say as his head laid on your lap.

His smile was strained—present, of course, as it always was, but strained. The trail of blood from his mouth dripped from his chin, joining the warm pool under both your bodies.

"Rude." You scolded him. Your breath coming out in a hiss as Alastor dug his claws into an open wound on your leg. 

"Must you continue to hurt me? You're already dying." You glared down at him as you would at a misbehaving pet.

You leaned forward, easily removing his hand from your body without much of a struggle. He only had so much strength left after all. 

"Fuck you." Alastor repeated, static morphing his voice this time around.

"Yes, well, I get that you're mad, Al." You continued your casual tone. "But it was about time for your blood to spill, don't you think?"

You grunted as you leaned your back against the cold wall again, sighing as the tension on the wound across your stomach was lessened.

"F—"

"Fuck me, yes yes." You cut him off. "Save your strength or you'll die out faster."

Alastor didn't mean to listen to you, but he just felt far too tired to argue otherwise.

Your hand returned to his head, damp with sweat and blood, and yet somehow still so adorably fluffy. Leave it to this guy to still look so presentable even when dying a second time around.

Your fingers scratched at one of his tufts of hair, causing it to give a slight, involuntary twitch.

"So they are ears." Your voice was soft. "I always assumed but was never really sure, you know?"

Alastor didn't respond. His red eyes continued to glare at you.

He adjusted his hands to lay over his chest. A weak attempt to slow his loss of blood. He didn't even have enough energy to press on it anymore.

"Hey, Al." You wheezed, breath slightly knocked from you. You had adjusted the way you sat so the demon could lay more comfortably on your lap. "Do you remember how we first met?"

"You told me that cheesy pick up line. How'd it go again?" Your hand paused as you tried to remember. 

A rather dashing demon slid up to you at the bar; charming, sharp smile, on full display. You've seen all sorts of sinners by now, but none so happy while rotting in hell.

You expected him to sell you drugs, or quite bluntly tell you to sleep with him. What you got instead was a very corny: 

"You must be buried treasure, because I am absolutely digging you." You let out a tired laugh, hand continuing to pet Alastor once more.

The sound of static crackling again was the only response you got. You think it meant fuck you. 

"Well you must be treasure as well, Al. Because it seems I'll be burying you tonight." You met Alastor's harsh glare with a soft smile.

"What? That absolutely was funny, you can't deny it." You defended yourself.

Alastor didn't think him dying was funny at all, actually, but he didn't exactly have any energy left to say that.

His smile was a tight, close lipped one, but you see his lips try to curl just a tiny bit in what you assumed would have been a snarl. 

"You always thought I was hilarious." Your own hand moving over the gash on your neck as if it was a mild inconvenience. You titled your head as you looked down at the demon on your lap. "What changed?"

Alastor merely glared at you.

Your eyes traveled down his body, staying on the deep wound oozing across his chest.

"That's not fair, Al." You laughed tiredly, eyes staying on his bloodied torso. "I always thought you were incredibly handsome—sinfully so really. But your attempts at killing me never changed that."

"Fuck you." The static over his voice was gone now. His tone was as spiteful, angry, and condescending as always, but much, much weaker.

Your eyes drifted back to his face. His smile was still present, but his lovely red eyes seemed more unfocused than they were a second ago.

Your hand in his hair stopped their movements. For a moment, the world was still as you wondered if your company had already left.

But it was merely for a heart beat, as a ragged breath from his lips snapped time back into motion.

You pealed your fingers from his hair, bringing them down to softly rub your knuckles down his cheek. He doesn't so much as flinch, but, you knew he would have had he been able to.

"Hey, old pal." You cooed softly. "You should sleep, you look so very tired."

His fingers on his chest twitched once, but you didn't get much of a reply anymore after that.

You sighed heavily. Your hands rested on his face as you leaned your head against the wall behind you, face craned upwards to the red sky that covered all of Hell.

Your own eyes closed, realizing just how tired and weary you yourself were.

Still, you were never one to be silent around a friend—or foe. It had always been unclear to you when it came to Alastor.

"We were soulmates, wouldn't you say so, Al?" You continued softly. "But in a funnier way, I think, where we were always meant to destroy the other."

Alastor's skin felt as it always did beneath your fingers. The stench of blood heavy as it always was around him. You felt his familiar eerie presence by you, as you always did.

And yet, you were unsure if he actually was still there. You were quite conflicted about how you were supposed to feel about that, truth be told.

"Fuck you, old friend." You sighed, eyes remaining closed, smile tiredly stretching across your own lips.

[aainiouu]

Just…

———

Buck gets reckless again, with his own life, and he gets hurt.

He gets hurt rescuing Tommy.

And when Tommy gets to Buck, him being little banged up but otherwise ok and Buck knocking on death’s door.

Buck grins and coughs out and he’s clinging to conciousness.

”I bet you didn’t see this coming, that actually, you would be my last.”

Tommy screams ”Evan! EVAN!?”

But Buck can no longer hear him.

———

Sorry?

[doctordonovan]

❝ you’re gonna be okay, just hold on. ❞ | kiwi

world comes and goes like a blur.   fading and swirling into nothing but colours  &&   too bright lights,  the pressure from his hands on wound trembling yet never fading.  ( she's strong in so many ways  -   yet still she's a slender thing,  not built to be able to walk off a bullet,  especially one that has already torn its way through blouse and flesh with similar ease. )    @goldshadows' voice has always been most reassuring thing in world:  yet it is too painted with panic and desperation for her to be able to see it as further evidence of how red splatter stains him too.

if she dies,  tired brain reminds her,  bethany is too little to remember anything about her.

so she manages tiny noise in back of throat,  a weak attempt to answer in any way,  fingers simply gently tightening around his wrist.  ( she's doing her best,   after all,  what more can she do than that? )

[clangenrising]

Month 19 - Leaffall

Lakepaw was trying to sleep, her head aching and her skin clammy, when the night was split by sudden caterwauling. She jolted out of her nest, head swimming, as a cacophony of screaming voices flooded into the den from outside. 

“What’s going on?” Sagetooth groaned weakly, trying to sit up.

“I dunno,” Lakepaw whispered. Steadying herself, she crept quickly and quietly to the mouth of the den, staying low and light on her paws. Out in the clearing, a horde of cats was engaged in combat, hissing and clawing at each other with bloody muzzles and fur between their claws. Lakepaw’s eyes widened in fear. 

“It’s rogues!” she whispered back to Sagetooth. “There’s rogues in camp!” 

“Fox-dung!” Sagetooth spat under her breath.

Lakepaw tried to pick familiar faces out of the storm of fur and teeth. There, Yarrowshade dodged blows from two separate kittypets. There, Pantherhaze tumbled with a black and white cat twice his size. There, Ospreymask grabbed a kittypet by the ear and tore him off of Slatepaw’s struggling form only for another cat to lunge for the apprentice’s tail as soon as she was on her feet. The warriors were outnumbered and fighting tooth and nail to keep their heads above the metaphorical water. 

“Get off me!” Lakepaw heard Yellowkit screaming and her gaze whipped to the nursery where a scarred smoky tabby was struggling to lift the kit by the scruff while another kittypet pursued Bluekit deeper into the den. 

“I have to go help them!” Lakepaw said, looking back at Sagetooth. The old healer had heaved herself from her nest and tossed the moss from her forehead, stumbling back to the herb stores with a wobbly step. She didn’t seem to register what Lakepaw had said and suddenly she wasn’t so sure if she should leave Sagetooth alone. 

“This way,” she heard a stranger’s voice close by and instinctively pressed herself against the wall of the den and out of sight. “Their herbs are stored in one of these dens.” 

“Not this one,” another voice said from somewhere to the side -- Goldenstar’s den, most likely.

Lakepaw backed away from the entrance, tail bristling and tried to make herself as big as she could. If the rogues got to the herbs, cats would surely die of injuries. She couldn’t let that happen. Besides, Sagetooth was back there, heat-stricken and vulnerable. Lakepaw took a slow deep breath and tried to remember everything Floodstrike had taught her, deeply grateful she had been putting in extra battle training hours lately. 

Two kittypets pushed their way into the den, the first of them a smallish brown tabby with a dark mask and a silver collar. He narrowed his eyes as he saw her, back arching slightly. The other, standing a step behind him, was a white, snub-nosed tom who raised his brows and cocked his head, an amused smile on his face.

“Aww, she’s trying to be intimidating,” the white cat purred mockingly. “Should we take her with us too?” 

“If you want to deal with her, be my guest,” the tabby scowled. “I’m going to do what we came here for.” He took a step forward and Lakepaw hissed loudly, rearing up on her toes. 

“Stay back!” she spat, “You’re not allowed in here!” 

“Oh no,” the tabby said sarcastically, “I guess we’ll have to turn around.” Then he glanced over his shoulder and said, “Casper?”  

The white cat shouldered his way past the tabby and prowled towards her, grinning. Lakepaw knew she had to move. She bunched her legs underneath her and lunged at his face, swatting at him with a series of quick claw strikes. He hissed and reared back before headbutting her squarely in the nose. She cried out and thumped gracelessly onto the ground. Her pre-existing headache throbbed nauseatingly and she nearly gagged when a heavy paw pressed down on her abdomen. She vaguely registered the tabby picking his way past her with careful pawsteps. 

He opened his mouth to scent the air as he ventured deeper, saying to himself, “Alright, now where are those-” 

He cried out suddenly as Sagetooth’s familiar hiss sounded over the noise of a solid thwap. Lakepaw tilted her head to watch the kittypet recoiling, blood pooling over the bridge of his nose. Sagetooth had apparently been waiting around the corner and now she struck out again, scraping her claws against his cheek. 

“Get out, you faithless, snake-hearted kittypets!” the old healer snarled, swaying on her feet. “Begone! And may StarClan curse you for all your days!” 

“You backwards old hag!” the tabby spat back and struck Sagetooth on the side of the head so hard that her face collided with the wall of the den. With a loud thunk, she slid to the ground, groaning weakly. 

Lakepaw twisted and bit the paw pinning her down as hard as she could. Casper yanked it back with a hiss of pain and she scrambled to her feet then charged the smaller tom. With a leap, she sank her claws into his back and the two of them toppled under her momentum. The tom cried out, flailing his legs in her direction, but she clung tightly with her forepaws and rabbit-kicked as hard as she could with claws unsheathed. His flesh tore under her blows and another wave of nausea overtook her just long enough for the tom to wrench himself free from her grasp. 

“Insufferable little-!” the tabby puffed up as he got to his feet, looking like he’d just suffered a terrible indignity. 

“Lakepaw, run,” Sagetooth managed to say, shifting her weight as she tried to stand. 

“Ah, ah, ah!” the tom said as if correcting a naughty kitten and smacked Sagetooth sharply on the forehead again. She crumpled to the ground but that didn’t stop him. He kept raining blows on her head one after the other after the other. Lakepaw screamed and lunged for him but Casper intercepted her with a hook of his claws, pulling her tight to his chest. She thrashed, vision blurring through tears, but couldn’t seem to free herself. 

“That’s what you get!” the tabby shrieked with one final strike. “How dare you lay your paws on me?!” Lakepaw held her breath and strained her ears but Sagetooth didn’t even moan. A tense silence filled the den, contrasted by the sounds of battle still raging outside. Lakepaw desperately blinked the tears from her eyes and nearly burst into tears again when she saw the blood dripping out of Sagetooth’s nose, the healer’s eyelids moving sluggishly over her fully dilated pupils. 

“Sagetooth!” she wailed, paws shaking. 

The tabby took a deep, slow breath and let it out shakily then ran his tongue over his paw like he had dirtied it by touching her. When he straightened back up, he was wearing a placid smile as if nothing had happened. 

“Right,” he said to himself, glancing over at the cat holding Lakepaw captive. “Are you really going to bother with that thing?” He frowned at her in distaste. 

“Maybe,” Casper shrugged. “We’re here for their kits, aren’t we?” Lakepaw trembled against his chest, too afraid to move. 

“We’re here for the exalted kits,” the tabby scoffed. “This one’s a savage through and through. Look, she’s already bitten you. Just be done with her and help me with the actually important work.” 

“Fine,” Casper sighed and suddenly teeth were in Lakepaw’s throat. She gasped sharply, clawed at his face and kicked at the paws holding her still but they didn’t budge. With a tug of his head, he ripped something in her neck and then dropped her to the floor, stepping over her with a few quick strides. She fumbled to stand but collapsed again, slipping in her own blood as it soaked her fur all the way down her right foreleg and pattered into the dirt. 

“Everything gets destroyed,” the tabby said. “I don’t want a single usable leaf left.” 

“Whatever you say, Sardine,” said Casper. 

Lakepaw crawled across the floor, feeling dizzy. It took all of her strength to drag herself over to Sagetooth and gently rest their foreheads against each other. 

“It’s… gonna be okay, Sagetooth,” she murmured, closing her eyes so she could focus on the words. “We just have to hang on… It’s gonna be… okay…” Sagetooth didn’t respond. Lakepaw sniffled and tried to purr, hoping that maybe -- just maybe -- that would be enough to keep Sagetooth awake until someone came to help them.

UPDATES: - Sagetooth and Lakepaw are killed by rogues.