WICKED GAMES [ open, injured + medics needed ]

[center][fancypost= border-width: 0px; width: 450pt; font: arial][align=justify][size=9][ tw for gore + WT prompt ]

She should have known better. She should have known better than to try and go back to see Katherine. She have known better than to think they would have let her leave so easily. She should have known that they would hunt down a traitor. For someone so intelligent, Imperia made plenty of stupid decisions. No, that was incorrect. No one could penalize the girl for wanting to think that she could stay in touch with one of her oldest friends despite residing in enemy clans. Imperia had a good, kind heart, and could not bear the thought of abandoning someone she cared about; although that is what Katherine seemed to think now - that Perry abandoned her.

The night before, the young wolf was suddenly overcome with a deep, intense sadness. Her life in the Exiles had been terrible. They beat her for being weak, forced her to do terrible things that still woke her up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat; but there were still a few individuals who tried their best to lessen her suffering. Most notably was Katherine Xerses, Imperia's childhood friend and protected. When she had left, Perry had promised to return when she could and visit. It had been several weeks since then, and the guilt was beginning to eat at her. It was dangerous to go back to the Exiles, but the girl would not be able to live with herself if she failed to fulfill her promise. So like the good girl she was, Imperia quietly exited her den and descended the great stairway without anyone noticing her departure. And that was probably a bad thing.

After two hours of travel, the moon shone brightly in the sky, casting everything below in a pallid silvery-white hue. She was careful as she walked, each step carefully placed so not to make a sound as the canine bobbed and weaved through the foliage. Luckily, Perry had enough foresight to cleanse herself of the Blizzardclan scent so that anyone who encountered her would not discover her identity immedietly. However, it did nothing to prevent against people who knew her personally, and that meant she had to be extremely careful. Imperia was almost to the Exiles' cave system when an unknown voice hooted, "Where do you think you're going, stranger?" She froze, searching around her for the source. A quiet flutter of feathers beating against the wind drew her attention to a large tree to her right when a pale hued barn owl was perched on a slender branch. Imperia cursed herself. She should have noticed the bird, but it was just too easy to overlook animals that did not usually partake in clan life.

"N-nowhere. Just, um, visiting a friend?" Talk about an unconvincing answer! Not only did Perry manage to contradict herself, she also verbalized it as a question rather than a statement. The lack of expression on the owl's visage was terrifying, but she thought she could see a dangerous glimmer in its dark, dark eyes. The silence hung thick in the air between them, suffocating her. And then, the Exiler made a clicking noise. Imperia waited for it to respond, but nothing happened. She got the urge to run a moment too late. The owl launched off its perch suddenly, releasing a terrible screech that chilled her bones and froze her in place. Her body wouldn't respond, she was paralyzed with fear. Imperia was helpless to defend herself as she felt it's talons tear into the flesh around her left eye. A painful howl spilled from her lips, the sheer agony of her flesh tearing and sensation of warm blood spilling down her features unlocking her limbs and allowing her to finally make her escape.

Even half-blinded, Imperia sprinted swiftly through the trees, practically flying as she raced to safety. By the time that the young wolf collapsed at the top of the stairway back in Blizzardclan, her entire body was numb. Perry couldn't feel anything besides the pounding in her skull that told her that she was still alive. The blood still flowed copious from the deep wound on her socket, coagulating over her eye and sealing it shut. "Help.." she squeaked, trembling as she stared into empty space. The adolescent was in shock. Frozen.

[center][fancypost= border-width: 0px; width: 450pt; font: arial][align=justify][size=9]Dazed grey eyes merely blinked in response to the gentle words of the unknown snow leopard. Her words were kind, and Imperia did not feel threatened. At least, she assumed the sentences the woman spoke were meant to be comforting as all the outside noises just sounded like incoherent buzzing. The young wolf was obviously confused, expression blank as her mind desperately tried to catch up with the night's events. All she knew was that her eye throbbed painfully and her body was weak with fatigue. She watched as the female started pulling things - medical supplies - from a bag. Oh, the stranger must be a doctor! Furrowing a nonexistent brow, Imperia tried to force her brain to translate the noises made by the medic into words she could understand. Something about, um, what happened?

"Attacked..." she murmured in a small voice. That much was obvious, but she was too ashamed to admit that she was the one who had been trying to sneak into the Exiles' territory. Would they be mad at her? Imperia could not bear the thought of her clanmate's disappointment in her actions. The girl had only wanted to keep her promise, to visit her childhood friend. Was that wrong? It must have been, considering her eye was nearly torn from its socket. "Owl." Perhaps that would give the doctors enough information, assuming they could determine that her wounds came from owl talons. Perry was somewhat aware of more people arriving, even detecting a concerned "Perry!" exclaimed over the ringing in her ears, but it was hard to see with one eye practically sealed shut. Plus, her mind was still in shock. Although, at the advice to sit down and tilt her head upwards, the canine promptly followed the directions without a second thought. Talking was hard and so was thinking, but following commands did not require much focus.

[center][fancypost= border-width: 0px; width: 450pt; font: arial][align=justify][size=9][ it's the flesh surrounding ]

As her clanmates poked and prodded her, Imperia was slowly becoming a bit more coherent. The ringing was gone from her ears and her vision was no longer blurred, so that was good. The only thing was that now she could feel everything. From the sting of cuts lining her limbs from the frantic sprint all the way home to the dull ache in her ribs from running as fast she her body could handle, not to mention the way her flesh screamed and burned as it tried to heal the deep wound on her brow. The pain was so sudden and she began to cry. Big, shining tears welled in the corner of her good eye and her petite frame began to tremble once more. Imperia hated being so weak, but she couldn't help it. She wasn't like the others who could channel their fear or anger into something useful. All she could do was cry. "I'm s-sorry," murmured the girl mournfully - ashamed. "I just w-wanted to keep my promise," and see her friend. Was that so bad? Could she not visit someone important to her? Apparently so. She was too idealistic, too naive. It was time to grow up. Maker, she was so stupid.