Ravenpaw watched in absolute horror as his sister's white and silver frame was thrown through the air and smashed with a heavy thump! against the side of an oak tree. His claws dug into tree branch of the tree he was in, desperately wanting to leap down to his sister's aid as the enormous dog moved towards her. Next to him, Jaypaw flexed his muscles and leaped form the tree, not even bothering to climb down.

He raced for the dog, yowling a curse, but it didn't distract the dog--it was still going for Blossompaw, who could barely even move her head. Ravenpaw saw her open her eyes, and was horrified by the glossy stare in her gaze. Then, a shape flew from the bushes, a flash of gray and white. It landed in front of the dog and lashed out with sharp claws. Ravenpaw thought it was his brother, but Jaypaw was still racing across the clearing...

Then, it hit him with a shock. Boulderclaw! He thanked StarClan for his father's great sense of danger and prayed for their safety, as he had already done quite a few times since the dog appeared. The dog jumped back as Boulderclaw caught it's eye, splattering blood everywhere. He growled and hissed and puffed his fur to make him look twice his size.

The dog snapped at him, but Boulderclaw didn't flinch, instead he scratched the monster's nose. When it drew back, Boulderclaw leaped at it, teeth flashing. Just as Blossompaw had done, Boulderclaw attached himself to its face, his claws digging deep into the skin right around the dog's eyes. It cried and screeched and threw its body, trying to get the warrior off, but he was trained by countless moons and held on tight.

"Don't you dare attack my kits!" Boulderclaw was yowling as he bit deep into the dog's ear, and it collapsed, rolling onto its back to free itself, and the tom finally jumped away. Not wasting any time, the dog turned and fled, blindly running through the bushes and whimpering for its Twoleg.

Ravenpaw struggled down the tree and raced to his sister's side, where Boulderclaw and Jaypaw were already trying to tend to her. Boulderclaw saw his smallest son approaching, and nudged Jaypaw out of the way, much to the young tom's displeasure.

Ravenpaw crouched by Blososmpaw, watching her for movement. Yes! Her side was slowly moving up and down, though it was with sharp breaths. A light trail of blood came from her pale muzzle, and her eyes were closed. He nudged her cheek, and she groaned, though she didn't open her eyes. He pushed her again, needing to see her gaze up close, and she finally opened them slightly.

He was terrified by the pale, bloodshot look in her gaze. Her eyes loosely tracked his. "I... I can't see..." she whispered.

"Completely? Or is it just blurry?" Ravenpaw rushed. Blossompaw blinked, seemingly surprised by the questions. She didn't seem like herself.

"Blu...blurry..." Blossompaw's eyes went weak and she leaned her head back. But her sides were still moving, showing she was alive.

Ravenpaw forced himself out of his shock, knowing it was no time to get scared. "Boulderclaw, go back to camp and get Mossrain. Bring the strongest warriors in camp and get back here quick." It almost felt natural to be ordering around the senior warrior, a very different feeling than what he felt when he first started healing.

Boulderclaw thundered away on quick but quiet paws, and Ravenpaw leaned his ear down to his sister's chest, listening to her rough, ragged breathing. "Jaypaw, go to the river over there and grab those plants." He flicked his tail to the small supply of coltsfoot growing by the water's edge. "Bring it back to me then soak a ball of moss."

Jaypaw looked hesitant about leaving his sister, then realized he needed to trust Ravenpaw and raced for the small stream. Ravenpaw leaned over his sister and sniffed at her back where she had slammed against the tree. He touched her spine with the gentlest touch he could, and she cried out in pain, her body curling in agony, which made her yowl in pain even more.

"Stay still, Blossompaw," Ravenpaw whispered desperately, feeling terror for his poor sister. He had heard stories of cats who had broken their spines and lost the use of their back legs, and he was terrified his sister would turn out the same. She was rude and didn't truly understand being a warrior yet, but she didn't deserve to live the rest of her life confined to a nest.

Jaypaw returned with the coltsfoot, and Ravenpaw instantly began to chew it into a pulp, barely noticing the sharp taste, and forced his sister's jaws open with a racing heart. She groaned and weakly tried to fight him away, but gave up and he spit the herb into her mouth, closing her jaws tight. He leaned down and licked her throat until she swallowed. A few moments later Jaypaw approached with soaking moss in his jaws.

"Let the water drip onto her mouth, she should react and try to drink it," Ravenpaw ordered, and once again gently touched his sister's spine. She groaned sucked in her breath, but didn't react anymore. He gently placed pressure more near her tail, and was incredibly glad when she whimpered in pain--at least her spine wasn't broken.

Ravenpaw watched as Blossompaw weakly licked at the water dripping down onto the side of her muzzle for what felt like moons before he smelled the familiar scent of his mentor and father. A moment later, they both appeared, followed by Oakcloud, Silverstrike, Maskdapple, and even Eagleclaw. Ravenpaw was curious why his mother hadn't come, but then remembered she was on patrol. Hopefully, Boulderclaw sent someone out to find her.

Mossrain ran forward and began sniffing the poor kit, then raised a paw to touch her spine, having the same fears as Ravenpaw. "She feels everything along her spine, even down by her tail. I don't think it's broken." Ravenpaw wished desperately to be correct. To his surprise, Mossrain withdrew his paw without even testing the cat's spine. He immediately believed in Ravenpaw's skills.

"If it's not broken it's likely fractured."

"Fractured?" Ravenpaw wasn't sure what the word meant, but it sounded bad.

"There may be a crack in her spine," he explained. "It can heal, but it will take some time." He noticed the coltsfoot remains on the ground, and nodded his approval. "Good call, she probably got the wind knocked out of her when she hit the tree. Coltsfoot would help clear her breathing. We need to get her back to camp so I can get a full look at her, and treat her with more herbs."

Oakcloud and Boulderclaw, with similar muscular body shapes, stepped forward to volunteer their service in carrying the poor apprentice. "Why are we all here?" Eagleclaw pointed her tail to the other members of the patrol. Mossrain looked at Ravenpaw, also curious about the young cat's thinking.

"The dog is likely running back to its Twolegs, what if they follow its trail back here? We can't move Blossompaw quickly, so we need protection."

"So I came out here to do nothing? Twolegs are too dumb to follow our trails!" Silverstrike lashed his tail, looking irritated. Ravenpaw instantly felt embarrassed about his fear of the dog, and was ashamed he took these warriors from their duties.

"Actually, I agree with Ravenpaw," Boulderclaw meowed, surprising his young son. "These Twolegs seem a little smarter than others, and their dogs are definitely smart enough to lead them back here. We'll have to make the patrols be a little more careful--the Twolegs will see one of their dogs injured and may try to find us."

Silverstrike snorted and looked away from his littermate.

"All right, we need to lift her up, but very carefully. Her back needs to stay straight." Mossrain instructed Boulderclaw and Oakcloud to crouch down, and he had Eagleclaw and Silverstrike help gently pull Blossompaw onto the backs of the two toms. The apprentice whimpered and groaned, her eyes still closed.

"Her vision is blurry," Ravenpaw meowed, having forgotten the important detail. "I think she hit her head. Will it get better?"

Mossrain looked overwhelmed. He looked small and scared and his ears flattened against his head. Ravenpaw could see the clear look in his eyes--What would Goldenpool do? He was barely older than an apprentice, after all, and obviously still relied on the golden tabby. What he would do after she died, Ravenpaw had no clue. Once again, he just wished his vision was wrong.

"If she rests, then yes, it likely will. But I need to get her back to camp first." He nodded and Boulderclaw and Oakcloud rose together and very slowly started forward. Jaypaw came forward and pressed against his brother, fur bristling.

"I brought her here..." Jaypaw whispered. "This is all my fault..."

Question #1: What's your opinion on the shorter chapters? Would you rather longer waits and longer chapters, or shorter chapters with less wait?

Question #2: What do you think will happen to Blossompaw?

Question #3: Do you think this incident  will change how Blossompaw acts?