We’re On An Adventure (Stormwind)

Newton tried to get comfortable, his injured leg making things awkward, but he eventually managed, laying his head on Lady’s shoulder as she curled up into him.

Lady curled up by Newton's side, too exhausted to even think of grooming either of them or cleaning their (minor scratches in her case) injuries.

Newton awkwardly dragged himself inside with his one good foreleg, watching as Lady joined him inside.

Finally, Lady managed to find a hollow in the ground at the roots of a large oak tree, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She helped Newton over to it.

Newton was on the verge of just falling asleep where they stood, the injured tom so tired from the search that he could just fall over at any moment. He tried to help look for shelter, but his lidded eyes made it hard for him to be of much use.

Lady worried as it got darker and darker and the pair still hadn’t managed to find any shelter that would fit both of them. Her searches gained a frantic edge.

While Lady looked for shelter, Newton watched as the sky got darker and darker over their heads.

Lady winced with each noise of pain that Newton made, searching the surrounding area for any shelter they could use.

Newton took in a sharp breath or growled out in pain every once in a while, but gritted his teeth and kept moving. The mud-stained tom knew that stopping before they made it to shelter would do neither of them any good in the long run.

Lady awkwardly helped Newton the rest of the way out of the gully, and the pair struggled across the muddy ground.

Newton still had to bite his tongue to keep from focusing on the pain throughout the rest of his body, but at least with Lady holding him up he could walk.

Lady quickly scrambled to do what he’d suggested, helping the tom up and letting him lean heavily on her.

Newton thought for a moment. “...Everything hurts, but my right front is the worst.” He mewed through gritted teeth as he tried to stand back up. “Maybe let me lean on you?”

"How am I going to get you away from here?" Lady asked meekly, having never had to deal with an injured cat before. She'd just been a sheltered house cat!

Even if he couldn’t, Newton still tried to get up on his own, which obviously failed as soon as he tried to use his right foreleg.

Lady glanced up at the sky worriedly then back at Newton uncertainly. She didn't know how she'd be able to move him, but she had to try. He couldn't move on his own, after all.

As if I know, thought the tom grimly, though he knew he had to help the younger she-cat keep it together. “Well... we don’t want to be down here much longer, do we?” The tom glanced around and above them. The clouds didn’t look as threatening as they had, but they were still there.

Lady worriedly pressed her nose to his cheek. "Newton!" She said, even more worried now that she had seen how bad off he was. "What do I do?" She half-asked him, half-wailed despondently.

Now, it was obvious that the Tom’s flank was rising and falling, albeit slowly. Newton lifted his head weakly, one of his eyes caked over with mud too thick for him to open it. Despite being badly injured, his muzzle curled into a slight smile at the sight of his friend.

"Newton!" Lady gasped with relief, quickly darting across the ground to reach the limp, sodden form of her best friend.

Finally, there he was, looking sad and small with his mud-soaked fur plastered to his body. It was impossible to tell at her distance wether or not the tom was alive, but either way, he sure looked broken.

(Okay, that's what I thought.)

Hurrying downstream, Lady searched the flooded gully with renewed vigor, having been revived by the sight of Newton's fur.

(That’s just some of his fur. He’s further downstream!)

(Wait, is Newton clinging to the tree branch or just some of his fur?)

Newton coughed up water, his eyes shooting open for the first time in a while. He tried to scrabble to his paws but yowled out as fiery pain shot up his right foreleg.