Say Goodbye [p]

[Natalia]

@yeah

Natalia was shivering as she cried.

Tears stained her red tabby fur, along with the blood flowing from her wounds. She was curled up in her nest, as blood leaked from the various gashes and bites on her body. Her left ear had been torn, her side shredded, and wounds dangerously close to her throat. He'd tried to kill her.

Thomas tried to kill her.

She wasn't sure if it was lucky or unfortunate that Castiel, that admittedly strange tom, had come and driven away Thomas with more wounds to add to the ones Jude had given him from before. But he'd come admittedly too late for Natalia to come out unscathed.

Now she was hurt. In more ways than one.

[Deleted]

Jude was taking a walk back to his den. He wanted to make sure nothing had happened to it while he was staying at the barn. It wouldn't be out of character for a DeathClanner to try and steal it.

He hardly payed attention when Natalia's den neared. He figured she'd be out and about like most cats at this hour. But then the scent of blood drew near, and he could faintly hear some whimpering. Alerted by this, he immediately rushed into her den. His eyes widened at the sight of her. "Natalia! What happened?" He asked, bounding to her side. He settled next to her, wrapping his tail around her and giving her wounds a quick look. "Who did this?"

[Natalia]

Natalia struggled to lift her head to see who'd come in.

It was Jude. He'd leaped to her side and was awfully close, wrapping his tail around her. She shivered. She was sure her blood was tainting Jude's fur as well as her own. He seemed to be demanding answers.

She shakily shook her head. "T-Thomas...." She whispered. Her ears folded back. "I-I only went to see Ginger... I wasn't being c-careful...." Tears continued to fall.

[Deleted]

Jude dug his claws into the ground as she spoke. 'Thomas?' He frowned when she continued. 'Now why would she want to go see Ginger? I can't believe this...' He stood up, deciding not to say anything about the kittypets. It would only make things worse. "So you need... You need cobwebs, right?" He leaned close to sniff her injuries, then quickly left the den.

He returned soon after, one paw raised in the air. It held a stack of cobwebs. He took a seat beside her, slowly beginning to apply them to her wounds. "You're gonna be okay." He said softly, watching her cry. He couldn't imagine the awful things Thomas must've said to her.

[Natalia]

Natalia only nodded shakily.

Then her head fell back to the ground. She remembered Patch put cobwebs all over her wounds and that had helped.... So she supposed it would work for her as well. She couldn't do anything. Her wounds still burned painfully. She just lay there. She wondered briefly if Jude would just leave. He could. There wasn't anything stopping him.

Then he returned with cobwebs. Her emerald eyes moved without her head to see Jude with the cobwebs. Then the reassurance. She cried harder, quietly sobbing. She didn't cry usually... But this was a special circumstance. All those old wounds that she'd spent practically her entire life trying to heal, had just been torn open brutally and mercilessly. 

[Deleted]

Jude kept adding more webs, slowly moving them around to make sure they'd stick. Then he did the same to her neck wounds. He made sure to be as gentle as he could, not wanting to give his friend another reason to cry.

He lowered himself down when he finished, wanting to be eye level with her. He reached out with a paw, trying to softly brush her face fur as an attempt to dry her tears. "You're so strong for getting through that. You really are."

[Natalia]

The cobwebs felt rather strange.

That was the primary thought going through Natalia's mind as Jude applied them to her wounds, making sure they'd stick. She wondered what weirdo thought 'Hey look some cobwebs, I'm gonna go stick them on some cuts.' It was a little weird if Natalia was being honest.

Then she had to look him in the eyes. She was too tired to move her head. Jude tried to dry her tears with a paw. Then he.... 

She just cried some more. "I-I... I'm n-not...." She sobbed.

[Deleted]

Jude continued to wipe away her tears. He didn't like seeing her like this. She wasn't a weak cat, so he knew whatever happened must have been devastating. He set his paw back down, giving her a soft smile. "But you are. You're the toughest cat I know." He murmured, hoping to calm her down. "You're going to get through this just fine."

He rested his head on his paws and stayed next to her, ready to be there to listen. He really wanted more answers about Ginger and Thomas, but silently decided to bring them up another time. Or at least until she was feeling better.

[Natalia]

Natalia couldn't bear it.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She whispered. Why did Jude have so much faith in her? She failed. She always failed, she was pathetic. Why was he still here? She couldn't understand. Why was Jude saying these things that... She just couldn't believe them.

Then Jude lay down resting next to her. She closed her eyes, still wet with tears. "I'm sorry." She whispered and then succumbed to her exhaustion. She'd been injured all the way back from Twolegplace and she was tired. It wasn't long before she was unconscious, sleeping instead of hurting.

[Deleted]

"Because I care about you." Jude said quietly, watching as she closed her eyes. He had no clue as to why she apologized. "You don't need to be." He replied, sighing as her breathing evened out and the crying stopped. He stayed there with her for a bit, wanting to be there in case she suddenly jolted awake. He hoped she'd be too tired to have a nightmare.

After a while he finally stood up, giving her wounds one last sniff before heading out. He took a seat outside of her den, almost like he was guarding it. It wouldn't be a surprise if Thomas or Ginger tried to follow her, so he wanted to make sure that they wouldn't get very far if they did.

[Natalia]

Natalia woke up a long while later.

The pain from her wounds had dulled so they were more tolerable. Though it was still extremely uncomfortable, some of that dull stinging being on her neck. She raised her head and looked around.

"Jude?" She called out quietly, uncertain.

[Deleted]

Jude's ears perked up at the sound of her voice. Giving the area one last look around, he headed back inside. He took a few steps in before stopping and tilting his head. "Are you feeling any better?"

[Natalia]

Natalia's thankfully intact tail curled around the rest of her body.

"Well... I can sort of ignore the pain now..." She murmured. She really didn't want to talk about why she went to see Ginger. She just... She knew it was selfish, but she didn't want to give Jude a reason to be upset with her.

[Deleted]

"That's good." He looked over her, thankfully seeing that the cobwebs had stopped the bleeding. 'Maybe I can ask the medicine cat for tips when I go back to the barn.' He doubted they would listen to a DeathClanner, though. He sighed.

[Natalia]

Natalia looked uncertainly at the wounds on her side.

They were covered up, but she could still see the deep slashes. "... You think these will heal properly...?" She asked her closest friend.