.:itonlyjusthurts:.

[Cloudstone]

The camp was quiet. Nothing was going on, and no one was hurt at all. Now was a time for her to be alone, a chance to have her own time. And she wanted it now, especially now. All she had to do was sneak out, and quietly. It wasn't usually too hard, but she had been caught a few times. A quick excuse usually fixed it, and she had gotten away. Now though..She wasn't so sure. Was sunhigh really a good time? She shook away the thought. Now was as good a time as any, and she was going to. It'd be better if I had an apprentice now. She thought. I wouldn't have to worry about any cat needing me while I was gone. Many cats were in the camp, and green gaze looked nervously around, hoping no-one would notice her. That was her largest goal. Just to get out of camp. Passing through, doing her best to look as if she was going to collect herbs. It worked, and she went through the camp entrance without a sound.

Finding the same area would be a challenge, though. It always was. She had to scent herself, her blood, and it was never easy to do, when all she scented was herself. But it has to happen. It has to. She continues to tell herself, repeating the sentence over and over, and it kept her going. That, and thinking of Seedstorm. He wasn't here anymore, and that was what had mostly caused this. And she had to make it happen. It had to always happen. Always. The she-cat sniffed the air, and it was easy enough to find it. Had it ever been hard? She couldn't think of a time where it had been too hard. And now, she had found it quickly. This is becoming a routine.. She thought.

Now was the easiest part, in her opinion. She found the moss and vine hidden log simply, and it was never hard, in fact. The medicine cat curled up in the thick layer of moss and leaves, and lay silent before she knew now was a good time to start. It had to happen. And it had to happen now. Gingerly, she lifted a paw, and a claw protruded out of her paws. Quietly, with no sound out all, she dug into her flank. A small noise escaped her lips, but she continued. It took no time at all, and it was just enough to hurt. Grabbing a wad of cobwebs near the entrance, she put them on her leg. Silently she stood, her leg stiff. I'm limping..This hasn't happened before! Oh, this can't be good.. Nervously, she walked out and looked around, making her way back to camp.

[Calamity]

Sunhigh was usually the time where the black-and-white tom took it upon himself to take a bit of rest, some alone time if you will. He may not be the leader of the Clan, but being the deputy, first and foremost, was almost as strenuous. After all, he did have to organize hunting patrols and help Amberstar when absolutely necessary, which could occur more than you would really think. And then hunting and patroling throughout the whole day (and occasionally checking up on elders and how mentors and apprentices were doing) truly took their toll on him. But tonight, he was uncharacteristically alert, ears perked and twitching every once in a while. For some time, Galeclaw had been closely keeping a scrutinizing glower on Cloudstone, whose face was painted with unease and a twinge of nervousness. The tom was positive, by the way her stare circulated around the camp warily, that she planned on doing something that she wished for no eyes to see. Why, though? What secret did an important figure in the Clan, a medicine cat, have to hide other then disturbing prophecies or omens only taken to the leader? From her cautiousness, she didn't even want the leader to notice her slinking off. It was confusing and, with eyes narrowed, the deputy flicked his tail and continued his watchful, silent vigil on Cloudstone.

Galeclaw was certain that the medicine cat couldn't spot him; he was too carefully concealed, and his dominately-black pelt helped a lot. The few white that could be found on his body didn't stand out enough to give him away, and for that he was grateful. For one, he didn't want to be caught by the she-cat. She might make up some excuse to cover up her true intentions, and what could a deputy like himself say or do to make a medicine cat such as herself reveal them? Nothing, really. Threat or force was definitely not an option, and nothing that he would say could pry any secret from her. Stifling a snort and a disbelieving mutter, the black-and-white feline collectively curbed his patience meticulously; it would do no good for him to burst from his hiding place and spring in to action too soon. He intended to find out what she was planning to do all by herself, and without an escort. All he knew was that a herb excuse wouldn't work on him - it made no sense to culminate medicine at sunhigh when sunrise, or during the middle of the day, was one of the perfect times to do it.

Finally, Cloudstone made her move. Thanking StarClan, if sarcastically, for having the she-cat get her rear in gear, the tom waited a bit longer until he was more sure than StarClan themselves that she was a little further along. Pacing slowly from the shifting shadows, the amber-eyed cat picked his way through the camp, swivelling his ears and occasionally taking a sniff of the air. Luckily, he was downwind from where Cloudstone was, so his stealthy antics wouldn't be figured out. Crouching, the stubborn deputy continued along the medicine cat's trail, stopping here and there when he thought he was too close. Eventually he reached the vine covered log, which also happened to be riddled with moss. Finding the she-cat nowhere in sight, Galeclaw speculated that Cloudstone was in the fallen tree, and decided to hide himself a top the log quietly. He doubted the medicine cat would think of some cat being on top of the log she was kept in, so it only made sense that it was the perfect spot. After all, it wasn't as if there were any better places to keep oneself out of sight in the territories of CreekClan. It was the one aspect that was actually an advantage to the land's owning cats; the opposition found it terribly difficult to launch any sort of sneak attack on them. Even if their camp was poorly hidden.

The stench of blood hitting his nose, Galeclaw screwed up his face, glancing skeptically down at the rotten wood beneath his white paws. What in StarClan was that cat doing? Squinting his eyes in thought, the deputy didn't have long to wait until the cat he was in pursuit stepped out from inside the log. Taking note of the cobwebs on her leg, Galeclaw waited, feeling oddly triumphant when Cloudstone looked around, but didn't bother peering behind her. He had to congratulate himself for thinking of standing stock-still on the log. Considering his line of action, he pounced a short distance from his position to the ground in one lithe movement, casually trotting after the she-cat. This time, he didn't bother with being quiet, or to worry about his scent reaching her scent glands. After all, he wanted to be seen and heard now.

Eyeing her limp for a second, he growled softly. Answers were what he wanted now. And to tolerate side-stepping the issue from Cloudstone? Not going to happen. "What in StarClan were you doing?"

[Cloudstone]

Her leg felt unbearably stiff, and she winced feeling it hit the ground. Moving forward slowly, she smelled something, faint, yet still very fresh. As if it was following her. Silently, Cloudstone willed StarClan would help her get back to camp without being seen. Of course, with her leg so stiff, even one of the kits would wonder. I hope this limp doesn't stay..I went too far this time. Biting her lip, she stopped. There was the scent again. What was that? There was no way it was prey. Prey wouldn't stay and come back if it smelled a cat. That, and it smelled distinctly cat. And from her Clan. Biting her lip, she paused long enough to see Galeclaw, and listen to his voice.

"Er, I was..Er..Um.." She tripped over her words, desperate to somehow get a reasonable answer. He had obviously follwed her, and the herb excuse wouldn't work. "I was..Er...Looking for something! I saw a certain herb yesterday, and I couldn't remember what it was until earlier today. I was worried someone would need help, so I had to sneak out of camp." Cloudstone smiled, stifiling laughter. It was a good enough excuse. But then I'll have to explain my leg. Brambles? A thorn in the moss? Oh, Mousedung. She remained silent, keeping her eyes off of Galeclaw.

Cloudstone was almost posotive he would figure it out. He knew Seedstorm was gone too, as did half of the Clan. But they didn't know what she'd been doing, for a long time as well. Yet..She felt like she needed sympathy. But, She needed to give more. I am a medicine cat, after all. All the Clan are my kits. I don't need love. Why had she thought of love? Shaking away her thoughts, she realized she had bitten her lip this entire time, after speaking. Tasting blood, she gingerly licked her lips and released it. "I shouldn't have left, I'm sorry."

[Calamity]

Surreptitiously Galeclaw studied the medicine cat before him, hardly paying any attention to her words. He was too preoccupied trying to figure out what she had been doing in the log; after all, it would make any cat worry to smell blood. Especially when they had been following what seemed to be a dishonest cat that had been skulking out of the camp. What could she have been doing? All he knew, and quite suspiciously, was that it had something to do with her leg. It had been perfectly fine before he had followed her to the vine-and-moss covered log, where he couldn't see what she had been doing after that. When she had come out, well. There was the result right in front of him.

Flicking his tail irritably, Galeclaw sniffed, not at all convinced with Cloudstone's fib. "Lies, Cloudstone. Do I look like a mousebrain to you?" Suppressing a snarl, the deputy instead contented himself with squinting his eyes imperiously at the she-cat, looking the very definition of no nonsense. "Look. I smelled blood when you went into that log. And, lo and behold, there is cobweb on your leg. Plus, you're limping. What does that tell me, Cloudstone? Cobwebs are used to stop the flow of blood, and to keep it clean, am I correct? I may not be a medicine cat, but I'm not entirely ignorant." Wrinkling his nose as if he believed the cat before him thought him oblivious, Galeclaw went on. "So, all I have to ask is why. Why sneak out in the cover of sunhigh, without an escort, and then attempt to come back with a limp, a cobwebbed leg, and, dare I say it, empty-pawed. I thought you went to get a herb."

Unhappy with the medicine cat's attempt at lying, the deputy shook his head almost sadly. Of course, he had noticed how she had started to act after...the incident. Brushing his tail lightly over Cloudstone's back, Galeclaw nudged her in the direction of CreekClan camp. "I know you've had a peculiar behaviour going on after Seedstorm's death, but you don't have to go about maiming yourself, got it? I don't know why in StarClan you're doing it, beyond the fact that it might have something to do with said warrior. Actually, I don't even want to know. I just want you to cut it out. You're going to end up hurting yourself real bad. A medicine cat, injuring herself. Hah!" Twitching his whiskers briefly, the deputy ushered the she-cat forward again. He had to admit, he was beginning to feel tired. Though perhaps he had to keep a much more careful eye on Cloudstone than he first thought.

It couldn't be helped, however.