Quote:
Originally Posted by Role
Oakpaw felt determination rushing to her limbs. Her yellow eyes focused ahead to the den entrance. Bright sunshine beckoned her to come forward, and the sounds of mingling cats seemed inviting. Oakpaw stuck her tail out to balance as she continued to slowly step. As Shinefang's encouragement reached her ears, she began to walk better than before. How could she let him down, of course? Days full of defeat and countless tries of moving her paw had made her angry and sour. She hated staying still for too long. She felt weak and useless to the Clan like that! But today, that was her time to shine. Oakpaw reached the den entrance. A gust of wind ruffled her fur, taking her breath away. This was it. The moment of truth. Oakpaw hopped forward, placing her healthy paw outside of the den. Despite the cold, the sun felt warm on her brown paw. Oakpaw glanced at Shinefang, grinning. "I'm really walking," she breathed. "Does this mean I can be a warrior?" |
Shinefang watched with pride as the young apprentice stepped into the light, bent but no broken. And here came the question that had been on both of their minds since the accident happened. Could she be a warrior? Shinefang had seen enough cats in their time carry on with their warrior duties in spite of injuries and difficulties. But still, the tom guarded his hopes. It was one thing to walk and another thing entirely to hunt and fight. “If you can move, there’s a chance. A good chance. But your mentor will have to help you learn ways to get around your injury... I don’t think your leg is going to improve much from this point forward. It might, but I can’t say for sure that it will.” The Golden tom’s Raül gave a swish as he rested his paw on the apprentice’s back. “But my guess is that you won’t let a little thing like a bad paw stop you,” he added with a purr. “You and I may need to work on strengthening that leg with some daily exercises for a while, but there’s no reason you can’t sleep in the apprentices’ den tonight.”