Horrible Surprise

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((Carefeather, Stargaze and Crow arrive! WEE!))

With the help of Carefeather and Stargaze, it seemed he had made it into Shadowclan by the reek that stung his nose. His breaths were coming in gasps, but he looked up to see the camp.

What would they think? It didn't matter, but he dared them to insult him right now when he was weak. He'd gladly fight them here and now, but he saw no challenges yet so his fur lied flat and he consentrated on walking as best he could while leaning on Carefeather and Stargaze. His paw was sort of dragging now on the ground to avoid the pain that came with moving it at all.

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Carefeather was carefully walking in the same pace as Crow was, letting her ears flick about. She knew that cats would come out any minute now, due to his loner stench. She didn't mind his stench; he was in pain, so she cared.

"ClawHeart!" she screamed, "We have a hurt cat!"

Her head spun towards the warrior's den, as a black cat sprinted over, and nudged Crow rather gently.

"C-Crow? Are you okay?" the black shadowclan cat asked, "What happened?"

The black cat was RunningPath, that was true, and she looked back and forth from Stargaze and Carefeather. Her look was threatening, it was rather soft, as if she was asking for an answer.

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Mudstripe had been inside the warriors den when the young warrior had first brought the tom into the camp, so when he heard the call his ears pricked in alarm. Immediately his thoughts went back to which warriors had been out of camp. Which one had been harmed- and by who or what? The tabby rose quickly from his nest and onto his paws, his eyes wide with dread, and dashed out of the den. Before he was out into full view of the camp, he began to call out, "Who's hurt?" But his call faded away when he came to a sudden halt, his eyes finding the familiar tom leaned up against Carefeather.

A deep, furious growl sounded in his throat. Runningpath's daughter had brought the loner scum right into ShadowClan territory. How ironic. And just the thing she hadn't been supposed to do! Spottedstar had told her to meet outside of Clan territory. Hurt or not, Crow didn't deserve to be in their camp!

The warrior stalked right over to the three cats, his fur prickling with every pawstep. "Why have you brought him here?" he growled accusingly, his question aimed both at Carefeather and Runningpath. They must have both been at fault.

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CareFeather looked back at Crow, worry filling her eyes. She looked right back at her mother, and was about to explain what happened--even though she didn't know exact detail--, before a brown striped warrior started charging in.

She couldn't help but growl at him, letting her tail swish side to side.

She started to speak in a threatening growl, making sure her words came out ice cold, due to his growl and how he spoke, "The tom is hurt, Mudstripe. Keep your nose out of it, and stop acting like you're the leader, because you are not! Stop acting like you are big and bad, because you're not that either!"

Her eyes narrowed, while her mother started to growl loudly at Mudstripe. She stopped though, because she remembered that SpottedStar didn't want that. So, all she could do was look down at the ground. letting her ears go flat against her head.[/center]

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When Carefeather announced their presance, he was startled as a new pelt brushed his. He opened his eyes to look around again and was glad to see it was Runningpath. Crow opened his mouth to speak until he was cut off.

A voice he knew too well, sprang into the middle of camp and then the form materialized. His eyes met the tom's and his fur bristled. It was Mudstripe and as rude as ever. Carefeather intercepted the tom quickly. He didn't want the tom to see his weakness, so he pulled his body back onto all four legs. Crow held back his wince as his shoulder erupted into a violance.

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Mudstripe just hissed in reply. "So what? Loners get hurt all the time. We don't take in every cat with an injured paw." He turned his head around to glare at Crow. "What makes this cat any different than the rest, huh?" This tom had given ShadowClan nothing but news of bad blood ever since he poked his nose into their territory. Both she-cats in front of him were probably of loner blood.

The stripped warrior lashed his tail out behind him. "And I don't need to be leader to know that Spottedstar said she didn't want him on our territory. Besides, what's even wrong with him? He looks dazed, sure, but so what? Fell and hurt his paw?" Mudstripe knew he couldn't have cared less about this tom's health. If he were to say, be out of the, ShadowClan could put this whole matter behind them.

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CareFeather watched as Crow tried to get on all fours. She couldn't help but wince, and whispered in his ear, "Don't, calm down. It's okay, he won't hurt you. Lean back on my shoulder, don't 'cause more pain, please..."

After whispering that to Crow's ear, she looked right back at Mudstripe. She let out a nasty snarl, and hissed, "What would you know? Why do you care? He's hurt, and I can't stand it! You should try to help any cat who's hurt, not let them lay there and rot!"

She had to dig her claws into the ground below her to keep her from attacking the ShadowClan tom.

-

RunningPath just held her ground, and just ignored him. She didn't want to anger Spottedstar again, no matter if Crow was in the matter or not. She can't do anything. She sighed softly, letting her tail lash back and forth. She hoped SpottedStar would arrive soon.

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Mudstripe rolled his shoulders in rage. Runningpath's daughter was just as much of a traitor as her mother- a cat who dwelt with loners and stood with them against the warrior code. Nothing but filth, everywhere. "So there'd be one less loner ShadowClan would have to deal with. I'm not seeing much of a down-side to that argument."

~~~~~

"Enough, Mudstripe!" Spottedstar came bounding through the entrance to the camp, her eyes narrowed as she approached the three cats. The leader had been out doing some solo hunting for the last while, and on her return had picked up the scent of loner mixed with that of her own Clan. Once she had reached earshot of the camp, it hadn't been hard to assume what had happened.

The she-cat slowed to a stop as she rounded the group so that she was facing Carefeather and Crow. Her gaze flickered from the loner to her warriors, showing her displeasure. "Mudstripe, leave it be. Carefeather, Runningpath- what happened here?"

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Stargaze had helped hold the tom up, his white flecked pelt glimmering faintly. it had an odd effect on sunlight, the way it refracted was quite pretty sometimes. Stargaze let his mother in between himself and the tom. He backed up, snarling at Mudstripe. "Oh will you just quit!" he hissed irritatedly. Whenever Spottedstar appeared his ears flattened and he backed up even more, his fur lying flat as he crouched low to the ground. It wasn't aggressive, like he was stalking her. It was more....fearful. Submissive. What was up with this tom lately?

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At Carefeather's comment, he held his ground stubbornly. He wasn't letting Mudstripe pick on these cats because he'd been involved. It seemed this warrior was more cowardly than he would have thought.

His eyes burned as he looked at Mudstripe, driving the pain away by his shear will. Stargaze and Carefeather were standing up for themselves and him, but Runningpath just sat there and that disturbed him. A cat should defend itself!

A sudden meow made everyone shut up as a she-cat approached. The way Stargaze submitted to her made him quesy. Clearly this was the leader, but why was the male doing that? What the heck was going on here?

The leader eventuallly spoke and quickly told Mudstripe to be quiet from his understanding. Her questions were then given to Runningpath and Carefeather. Crow turned his gaze towards the she-cat. The whole time he wasn't realizing that the pain was causing him to flush under pelt more and more. Wanting to prove that he wasn't a rotten piece of dead loner, he continued to stand on all four legs with his tail straight up.

He black legs began to shake every once in a while in their effort to give and not give.

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Carefeather turned her gaze at SpottedStar, and well, froze for a few moments. She never wanted to get in trouble, but then it hit her-- she didn't care. She didn't care, as long as this tom felt rather... better. She cared for cats. She didn't want any to be harmed.

She moved closer to Crow, and nudged the tip of his ear, "Lean on me, please... don't hurt yourself!"

She stood there, worry starting to prick in her eyes.

-

RunningPath rose her head slightly, and looked at SpottedStar.

"My daughter-- she brought in a tom, Crow, the one I was speaking of earlier, miss. He's apparently hurt, and Mudstripe had to start blabbing, saying that it doesn't matter and whatnot.."

After that, she looked down again.

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With a quick, odd glance to Stargaze, Spottedstar felt almost a bit uneasy. What was going through that tom's head? These past several moons, he'd acted almost afraid of her shadow. The leader couldn't guess why. Maybe she'd try to talk to him about it later, once this issue was dealt with. The leader turned her attention then back to the four other cats.

"Well, then, carry on, get this tom into Clawheart's den quickly. I'll pay a visit once he's recovered, see if anything more can be found out. But as for you," Spottedstar added with a growl as she rounded on Mudstripe, "I thought I told you not to interfere any more with Runningpath and Crow. It's none of your business what happens to either one."

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Mudstripe flinched at Spottedstar's words, his ears falling back as he sunk his claws into the earth. "But, but they were..." The tabby trailed off and just lashed his tail. "Forget it. It's not like you care about what I have to say." The warrior lashed his tail again in frustration. He still respected the ShadowClan leader, his truly did, but she wasn't making it any easier on his part! Letting out a sharp hiss, the tabby tom turned sharply and swiftly padded off towards the warrior den.

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RunningPath perked her head up while CareFeather suddenly dashed after MudStripe. Did Carefeather feel bad for the tom? Since she saw this, she quickly took Crow's side, and sighed softly.

-

Carefeather nodded to SpottedStar, but at Mudstripe's response, she couldn't help but perk her ears and stare at him. She watched him hiss and run towards the Warrior's den, which made her dash after him. What is wrong with him? He seemed so out of it!

She slid into the entrance, and spoke softly, "MudStripe?... Are you okay?"

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Mudstripe had almost gotten to his nest when Carefeather's voice made his ears prick. The tabby's eyes narrowed. What did she want? He highly doubted that the she-cat actually cared about if he was alright or not. She had become part of the problem, tending to that loner.

"What do you think?" he growled, though without much threat. The warrior was tired of explaining his point over and over again on deaf ears. "And why should you care, anyways? Shouldn't you be helping your mother move that loner into our medicine cat's den?"

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CareFeather padded over, and nudged his shoulder gently.

"I do care, Mudstripe," she purred softly, and looked at him, "Mudstripe, I understand what you mean, but... I couldn't help it. I can't let a cat just sit out there hurt. After his leg is mended, I bet you, we are throwing him out afterward."

She smiled lightly, letting the tip of her tail twitch, and nudged his cheek with her nose softly, "Just calm down a bit, okay? If not, then feel free to talk to me, I'll listen!"

She blinked slowly, and smiled softly.

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