Moonspear steal my sunshine

9/10 whumpity whump whump

With the dust the mule deer kicked up, Bronco could see neither Meerkat nor Toad, and over the pounding hoofbeats he couldn't hear much, either. He was shouldered this way and that, and felt hooves glance across his shoulders and clipping his sides as he sought to maneuver around the stampeding creatures. He hoped that the others had managed to fight their way free and for a moment, he thought he caught sight of Toad Amelia's tawny form whirling amongst the stampeding herbivores- until the sharp brow tines of one of the bulls caught him in his ribs, just behind his elbow and with a thrust of its head, he was caught and sent flying off to the side. 

He landed with a thud, and remained where he fell, blinking the dust out of his eyes. A few of the stragglers scrambled after the rest of the herd, keeping well away from the prone predator lying on the ground. Over their fading hoofbeats he could hear Meerkat's cries and coughing, and he tried to sit up, but felt the puncture wounds in his side complain at the movement. He lifted his head and propped himself up slightly to crane his head to look at the damage that had been done- two near-perfect puncture wounds about two inches in diameter leaked dark, scarlet blood into the dust. "Murk," He coughed, hoping she and Toad Amelia had fared better than he had.

Whump avoided 20/20! Poor Bronco D:

Toad heard a bull crashing through, bleating and charging. Everything was so fast, she didn't have time to think. She snapped at him, and he kicked at her. She slowed her run to a halt as the bull sped past with its herd. The hoofbeats shrunk in the air while the dust settled, and Toad heard Meerkat call. I'M HERE! she cried, sure that she was injured but ignoring it for the moment.

Her head flipped from east to west, searching for them. Her feet were quick, her heart racing. She felt the beat hard in her throat and chest. A brief sound, one of anguish, brought a weight to her stomach as one ear twitched toward the noise. Oh God, she exhaled, running toward where Bronco lay. He was alive, but as she grew close she could smell the unmistakeable presence of blood.

MEERKAT!! She yelled as she raced toward him, not bothering to find the girl just yet. Toad hoped desperately that she was not injured so they might be able to move Bronco as a team. Toad had tunnel-vision, unable to see the musk deer left behind from the charge that were curiously eying the wolves. Exasperated, she held her nose over the punctures and licked at them instinctively. She looked at him. We'll have to stem the bleeding, she said.

Toad didn't know anything about healing, but had seen enough hunting injuries in her life to know that walking with an open, bleeding wound was not a doable thing.

She thought she heard a grunted call of her name, though she couldn't be sure over the sound of her own coughs. Meerkat continued to hack for a few moments longer, inhaling sharply when she heard the much more unmistakable sound of Toad screaming her name. This made her coughing worse, though she picked up her feet and moved toward her friend's voice.

When she arrived, Meerkat's eyes immediately dropped to her brother, prone on the ground. With a gasp that burned in her scratchy throat, she dropped down beside him, pushing her face close to his. "Bronco!" she hisspered, licking his nose before lifting her head to see what Toad was doing.

Her head swam a little when she saw Bronco's wounds, the metallic smell of fresh blood wafting over her. Lowering her head again, she pressed her nose to his cheek and told him, "You're gonna be okay." Although she remained hovering there beside his head, Meerkat added to Toad, "Should we call for a medic?"

Toad looked a lot more concerned than he felt, so he tried to sit himself up a bit to see the puncture wounds better. Blood still leaked from the wounds, through the thick fur of his underbelly, but at least they were relatively perfect puncture wounds, and he'd narrowly managed to avoid being gores and have his insides spill out. He relaxed onto his side, huffing a sigh of resignation as Toad immediately began to clean the wounds, trying to keep his muscles from quvering from the pain. 

Meerkat arrived, and reassured him. He half-smiled, and reached up to nuzzle the underside of her chin as it came within reach. "'Course I'm gonna be fine," He said. "I don't think it's as bad as the blood makes it look," He said, and again tried to push himself up so he could see over his shoulder- but it was nearly impossible for him to get a good look at the wounds. "How's it look, Toad?" He asked. It hurt, for sure- but he had much to be thankful for.

Bronco was trying to move to sit up, clearly in some pain. Meerkat swooped in to help calm him, but it quickly became obvious that the young man had the heart of a lion. He seemed to almost shrug off the wound, though his difficulty in moving suggested he wasn't in great shape. Toad licked at the holes in him again, tasting less blood than the first time. It was impossible to see them properly through his coat, but that was a good thing.

I don't think we need to call anyone, but we might want to help get you to @Kukutux or @Lyra. The wounds seem small, but I'm no expert in these things, she said, giving a reassuring smile to the sister. She stepped back from him. See if you can stand? That'll be the test, she said, much calmer. They were lucky that it didn't seem too serious.

It wasn't urgent enough to dial the wolfish version of 911, though Toad said it would be a good idea to take him to one of the pack's medicine women. Meerkat glanced at Bronco as he struggled to sit up properly and wondered, "What if we take him back to our den and ask one of them to come there to see him, like a house call? Would that work?" She knew exactly where it was and how to get there, which she couldn't necessarily say about Kukutux or Lyra, especially with her mind spinning a little.

The sun continued to shine, despite everything else about the day sort of going off the reservation. Whenever her brother managed to get onto all fours, she pressed close to support him. "Today didn't exactly go according to plan, did it?" she mused lowly, shooting him a crooked smile. "But, hey, at least the sun is still shining."

I figure that's a wrap!?

Last from me!

The two made decisions for him, which suited him just as well, as he figured they would've been able to get a better look at his wounds anyway. "Alright," He groaned, somewhat reluctantly. It'd be a bit of an uphill climb to get to the den, but at least they hadn't chosen to go hunting down in the Glen, otherwise he might have protested the idea of climbing all the way up to the den. He shoved himself up first with his forepaws and was disappointed to feel his ribs protest- what was it with ribs? He'd only just fixed his ribs from the last fight with another animal! That's what they were for, though- and they'd protected his internal organs. Slowly, he rotated his back so his hind feet were beneath him and he rose, fighting the urge to shake the dust from his pelt knowing how much that would hurt. 

A couple small droplets of blood fell and left dark circles in the dust, but for the most part, the bleeding was slow. "Ahrighty. Less go," He said, reaching out to touch his sister's face at her volunteer of optimism. He would heal, and they'd cauth those spooked mule deer another day- but yes, at least the sun was still shining, and the rains hadn't come back. That, at least, was enough of a blessing.

Super fun - thanks all :D

Toad, still in a bit of an emergency "get shit did" mode, nodded at Meerkat's suggestion. She knew vaguely how to get to the mica cave from the meadow. As Bronco slowly brought himself to his paws, Toad planned for what would happen. They would help him to the siblings' cavern, and Toad would split from the group when they were close to fetch one of the healers. It was hard to tell given the adrenaline rushing through her whether she herself was hurt or not. She could feel at least some bruising along her side, but nothing more.

Toad said nothing as Meerkat calmed her brother. As they set off, the huntress closed her eyes for a moment to feel the sunlight on her face. It was hardly a romantic date, but she was sure that they would all have a story to tell when Bronco was no longer bleeding from his side.