Water choked her lungs as she plunged into the river, darkness surrounding her at all directions. The she-cat coughed violently, only allowing more water to start to consume her. Limbs began to flail around at a hurried pace, trying to allow her head to reach the surface. Even if she was underwater, the muffled sounds of screeching cats and fighting rang in her ears. A sudden thought crossed her mind, and green eyes hurriedly began to skim through the water's darkness. Though vague, she could spot a shadowy figure swim towards her menacingly. The same cat that had shoved her into the river, most likely.
The brown tabby hissed and gagged on the water as she tried to lash out at the cat. They glared down at her, throwing their limbs forwards to shove her head further down into the water, near the hard rocks. Instinct kicked in, and the tabby fastened her claws onto the Riverclan warrior's shoulders. With her hindlegs, she scrapped her claws down their stomach. The warrior coughed, and the she-cat swam away quickly. As she forced her head above the water, she began wheezing for air. Water dripped from her jaws and it was a chore to keep herself afloat. Heavy breaths escaped her mouth, air trying to regain control over her lungs.
She didn't get much time to, as something brushed up against her paws. Red began to spread across the water around her, and claws sunk into one of her hind legs. The tabby gasped, and quickly lashed out at the attacker's face. The warrior from before still held on, and frantically tried to pull their enemy into the water with them. The she-cat hissed loudly, but a sense of relief washed over her as she noticed the shoreline she was nearing.
With a final kick to the enemy's head, the tabby made a swimming beeline for the shore. It wouldn't take too much time, and she let out a gasp for air as she quickly scrambled onto the sandy ground. She paused, trying to catch her breath. She was shaking wildly, yet she still held a bold expression on her face. Her amber eyes widened as she noticed a dark figure drag themselves to the shore behind her. She bared her teeth in aggression, coughing lightly. "Will you ever quit!?" She hissed, taking a step forwards with her clawed paws.
Blood was running down the warrior's stomach and claw marks were harshly brought down on the side of their face, and yet the expression on their face seemed like they were determined to keep going. The warrior stepped forwards threateningly, their tail lashing the air around them. "I won't quit until you're dead, Dawnstar," they hissed. The tabby hissed back, recognizing the voice speaking to her.
"Jokes on you, I still have my lives left. And I'll eat my tail before I let you take one of them, Oakwater," she spat at the Riverclan deputy. As the other cat stepped further, Dawnstar took the time to grimace at his moon-lit brown pelt. He was staggering, and the look of murder was in his gaze. But instead of being afraid, she huffed in annoyance. The bleeding tom growled, and then pounced at his enemy. The tabby hissed in response, though it was cut off as the large deputy crashed into her skinny frame and sent the two tumbling in the dirt. They both began to claw at each other in a frenzy, wrestling in a bloody heap.
Though, it didn't last forever. As the two warriors continued their fight, Dawnstar would begin to notice the heavy breaths for air the deputy was making. He was getting weaker by the second. The tabby saw her chance, narrowing her eyes as she broke away from their wrestling as began to back up. She crouched down as she did, letting Oakwater get to his paws and begin to glare at her. He let out a war cry as he rushed forwards towards her. The leader tightened her muscles, and waited until he was close enough before harshly headbutting him. The tom tumbled backwards from the sudden attack, allowing the time for Dawnstar to rush forwards and tackle him to the ground, pinning him.
Oakwater struggled under her weight and his steadily infesting weakness. Blood had stained the shoreline by now, and it was still streaming from the war-scarred tom's stomach. He hissed at her, lashing his limbs around in desperation. Her green eyes simply narrowed, and she let out a huff. "You want a quick death or shall I just leave you here to bleed out?"
"I'm not done just yet! I'll kill you! I'll kill you if it's the last thing I ever do! Windclan deserves to rot, starting with you!" Oakwater spat, lashing out one final time before stopping. The brown tom fidgeted violently, trying to lift his claws only to have them fall back into the dirt. Dawnstar looked down at him in what seemed to be vague pity. She sighed, flicking her torn ears. "Quick and easy it is," she murmured after a pause. Claws rose high in the air, slammed down, and the tom's voice suddenly came to a halt.
Dawnstar watched as the life faded quickly from his eyes, blood oozing from her stomach and throat. His mouth was gaped open, trying to shout words but was cut short. The leader took a long sigh, staring down at the deputy with a small nod. She was silent and still for a moment, suddenly turning towards the screaming cats in the distance. Her brown tabby fur was a blur as she tore through the terrain as fast as she could, trying to rejoin her clanmates in their fighting.
What she returned to was a bloodbath. Corpses and blood of both Riverclan and Windclan alike decorated the battlefield. Dawnstar felt like gagging as she realized her paws had brushed by a familiar small body. "Barkpaw," she whispered, now scanning the land for who else had fallen. She recognized a few warriors she knew, including Barkpaw's mentor Jumpinghare. Her breath hitched, and she turned towards the remaining warriors that were still fighting. But the ratio of her warriors to Riverclan's was just... Horrifying. Fear for her clan swelled in her throat, and she turned to the nearest warrior. "Pineshadow! Tell the others to retreat!"
"What!?" The black and brown she-cat replied, looking at her leader in shock.
"I said retreat! We've lost enough, there's no use losing all of us!" Dawnstar shouted, although the words felt like venom on her tongue.
The younger she-cat hesitated, but nodded as she ran through the battle to lead her clanmates away. Dawnstar hissed to herself, her bold expression fading as she soon joined with the now retreating Windclan warriors. She could hear the Riverclan warriors in the background, crying in victory as if to mock them. A part of the leader's soul wanted her to turn back, to slash all of those warrior's throats for laughing at their defeat. But she knew better, and continued to run back to camp in shame.
The camp was silent and still as the attacking party returned. The first thing that greeted them was a small apprentice, limping on a paw as he hurried over. His green eyes were round in worry as he stared at the group. He winced, almost hesitant to speak. "Wh-Where's Barkpaw?"
Finchfall, the small tom's mentor, stepped out from the group and gave a sympathetic look to the young cat. "... He's dead," her old, hoarse voice came out as blunt as possible, sending the poor apprentice flinching and crying out in shock. Dawnstar's expression was empathetic for a few moments before she took a step forwards. "Rockfall! Where's Rockfall!"
The large scruffy medicine cat staggered out of his den, carrying several herbs in his jaws. He turned towards the group, his eyes widening as he rushed over towards them. He seemed to mentally count who was remaining, and a somber look was on his face. Dawnstar stared at him in the eyes, hesitantly nodding. "Rockfall, check everyone for wounds. Everyone help him out if you can, he'll appreciate it."
The clan began to disperse, and Dawnstar's attention was now turned to the white queen that had arisen from the nursery. Her green eyes were wide in worry as she paced through the wounded cats, suddenly making a beeline for a certain warrior among them. The queen let out a cry of worry as she tossed herself at a large dark brown tom. He looked down at her, his eyes swelling in love as he nuzzled her. Dawnstar's expression softened, taking a small sigh as she turned away. At least one family wasn't broken tonight.
The leader sat away from the rest of the clan, simply licking at the scratches along her pelt. She kept sheathing and unsheathing her claws, growing lost in thought as she stared down at them. She felt her tail twitch wildly as she looked back up to her clanmates. Her green eyes swelled in sadness as she looked over at each cat, each with their own wound, whether it be physically or emotionally. Dawnstar took another sigh, trying to think of what to say. She was going to have to announce this to the whole clan, even if they already knew. She needed to find the words, the words to empower them to keep going. But how? How could she when her promises of the war ending soon ended in more death?
Dawnstar winced as she shuffled her paws around, eventually growling in anger as the new memories of the battle replayed over and over in her mind. She looked over towards each of the cats again, remembering that each of these cats had lost their family to this war some way or another. The leader growled, looking back over towards the direction of Riverclan. Her fur spiked out in anger, and she slowly began to collect the words in her mind. She hissed, sinking her claws into the dirt. Someday, there would be a day that Riverclan didn't destroy Windclan families and friendships. There would be a day that Windclan would live and prosper as they once had, full of life and energy. But that day wouldn't come if they backed down now. The fight might be tough, but they had to keep going. They had to keep going to survive.
Windclan
Leader: Dawnstar - Scarred, light brown tabby she-cat with green eyes and white underbelly.
Deputy: Pineshadow - Small black and brown she-cat with yellow eyes. Mentor to Leafpaw.
Medicine cat: Rockfall - Old dusty brown-grey tom with amber eyes.
Warriors:
Beetlewing - Black tom with white paws and blue eyes. Mentor to Breezepaw.
Finchfall - Old brown she-cat with a greying muzzle, darker brown spots, and green eyes.
Fallenbird - Dark brown tom with white patches on both sides, yellow eyes.
Waterfur - Bluish-grey she-cat with yellow eyes.
Sparrowflight - Brown tabby tom with white points and amber eyes.
Apprentices:
Breezepaw - Dark grey tom with blue eyes.
Leafpaw - Calico she-cat with yellow eyes.
Queens/Kits:
Snowwillow - Snow white she-cat with green eyes. Mother to Sparrowflight's kits.
Whitekit - Fluffy white tom with yellow eyes.
Turtlekit - Small tortie she-kit with green eyes and white specks.