Lostheart stepped calmly into the darkness of the forest, but she found no sign of Willowstar.
Sniffing lightly for any faint traces of his scent, Lostheart moved forward into the familiar dark brush of her territory. Only now, everything suddenly seemed unfamiliar to her amongst the rotting trees and sharp brambles. She remained on high alert, ears perked for even the slightest sound of another cat.
Lostheart could almost feel her legs shaking from anxiety, but as she looked to her paws, they were as stationary and stable as ever. Something about this situation bothered her, not knowing where the tom was. Still, Lostheart continued on at a hunter's crouch, red eye flickering to and fro as she took in every tiny detail of her surroundings.
Her ear twitched and she narrowed her eyes slightly as she caught sight of a lightly swaying bush up ahead that looked as if someone might have pushed past it earlier. Lostheart padded on in the eerie silence with a light ringing in her ears, a silence so deep that she could even hear it herself. The storm overhead had darkened their already gloomy territory considerably, but Lostheart's eyes were suited to the darkness.
She padded quietly around the bend of the bush, and as she did so, she was able to pick up on even more of the tom's scent from earlier. He had gone this way.
A small rustle from above her made Lostheart's blood run cold as her eyes snapped up to find the source of the noise. The fur on her neck slowly began to lie flat though as she realized it was only a bird. A single crow sat perched on a branch high up above and was watching her with curious, beady eyes as it turned it's head slightly.
Lostheart shook herself and continued on her trail in pursuit of the TreeClan leader as she stepped deeper into DarkClan territory, willing herself to move forward; as long as she could get Willowstar to admit defeat was all that mattered.
"You think I would actually try to escape?" Greysight growled. "I've been waiting for this battle for moons, I'm not afraid of any of you!"
Morningstar met the sightless eyes of the blind she-cat and let out a weary breath, "We don't want to fight you, Greysight."
Brisingstar said nothing from behind her; the tom's eyes were still as dull as they were when he had watched Sunstar's death.
Greysight clenched her teeth tightly together and dipped down into a fighting position, claws unsheathed.
"Then why are you?! Fight with us, we can defeat Willowstar if we work together! If not, then you're just cowards!" Greysight yowled.
Brisingstar slowly began to fade back into reality as his eyes narrowed at the blind she-cat in front of him who had the audacity to question his bravery.
"You know nothing of courage!" he growled lowly, "Or anything of what it means to be a leader, Greysight of DarkClan. You think it is so simple to turn against Willowstar?! Don't you see what he's done, what's become of us?! We tried to protect our clans, we did with our lives; you have no idea the pain we've suffered for their protection!"
Greysight hissed back at the OceanClan leader as her rage began to build. "Oh? And what did you do to stop him?! Nothing! You would have rather let DarkClan be destroyed than keep peace in the forest, or even bothering to help your friend! Get out of my way!" she growled.
"Greysight..." Morningstar meowed quietly. "I'm sorry, but Brisingstar and I have no choice, we have to do what's best for our clan... Willowstar, he told us that if we complied and let him take one of our lives, he would leave our clans alone. But...he lied, and we were foolish to believe him...we only wanted to keep our clans safe. Now, in order to stop him from stealing the lives of our clanmates, innocent kits and warriors, we must aid him in whatever way we can." The she-cat closed her eyes and dipped her head for a short moment. "I'm sorry, Greysight."
Greysight darted to the side as she felt the shift of Morningstar's weight and immediately moved to flank the two leaders from the side. She knew there would be no getting around them both; fighting two leaders seemed impossible to most, but she knew she could do it. If not, then all her training all these moons had been for nothing! She couldn't let Willowstar get away, and she couldn't allow Lostheart to get hurt.
She felt Morningstar's pawsteps as the spotted she-cat pelted after her while Brisingstar slid to block her path once more. Greysight gritted her teeth and flipped her body around, skidding slightly as she did, but she was able to keep her balance through the use of her tail. Morningstar was taken aback by Greysight's sudden shift in movement and was unable to stop herself as she neared the she-cat.
Morningstar propelled herself off the ground, instantly disappearing from Greysight's sense of touch; however, the blind she-cat could still hear and smell her. All it took was focus.
She knew from their pawsteps that the two leaders had both been weakened considerably by Willowstar, but she wouldn't underestimate them, especially being as experienced as they were.
As she felt the small rush of wind at Morningstar's approach, and the faint touch of her whiskers, Greysight fell onto her back and kicked the she-cat away with her hind legs. Once Morningstar was pushed back, Brisingstar instantly moved in on Greysight in an attempt to get her while she lied vulnerable. The black she-cat rolled to the side just in time to avoid his claws and promptly regained her footing, rising up to four legs once more.
Morningstar shook the dirt from her pelt as she scrabbled off the ground while Brisingstar lashed out at Greysight, who dodged his attacks with ease. The she-cat was fast, and no matter what he did, she always seemed to avoid him, even if by only an inch. Greysight could feel Morningstar running at her from behind again, but she was too busy dodging Brisingstar's rapid blows to turn back to the she-cat.
Greysight's heart beat rapidly as Morningstar was no more than a tail length away, and in her short moment of adrenaline, Greysight leapt onto Brisingstar, latching onto the tom with her claws as she bit into his shoulder. Just as she had hoped, the tom twirled around in an effort to shake her off, successfully pulling her away from Morningstar's well aimed slashes.
Morningstar and Brisingstar were both very formidable warriors to be sure, but in their currently weakened state and lack of synch, their attacks were often sporadic and did not match with each other. It made sense considering the two leaders were from separate clans and had probably never worked together in a battle in their lives; each clan had their own unique battle style, and it just so happened that when she was an apprentice, DarkClan had focused on fighting multiple opponents at once.
Greysight winced as Brisingstar slammed his body against the earth in an attempt to crush her beneath him, but she would not release her grip, despite the throbbing pain in her head; she knew she couldn't lose this fight.
Greysight wrestled with Brisingstar as the two tore through the grass, and Greysight slowly began to grow more anxious as he began to overpower her. Normally, she focused on defense and keeping away from her enemies' paws, fitting in attacks here and there when she could. Brisingstar was much larger than the already rather petite she-cat, and despite her talent and unusual strength for a cat of her stature and disability, Greysight was beginning to fall victim to the OceanClan leader's strength. She hadn't expected him to have this much strength left, a misjudgment that was proving to be a major mistake.
Morningstar remained at the side while the two fought, but when she saw her opportunity, when Greysight was held still, she leapt forward to attack the she-cat, but her paws had barely scraped the blind cat's pelt when she was suddenly slammed into from the side. Morningstar fell back onto the earth with a dull thump, her head spinning from her awkward landing due to the unexpected attack.
While Morningstar was down, the cat rushed over to Greysight, pushing her and Brisingstar as far away from each other as she could in one quick move, shoving themselves between them. Greysight instantly leapt to her paws, panting as she turned to her savior.
"You looked like you needed some help." Moonfur meowed.
The pale she-cat quickly glanced over to Morningstar, but the LightClan leader had yet to move. She was awake, yes, but she could not find the energy to pull herself up. Instead, the frail she-cat remained on the ground, eyes looking dully up at the sky. Willowstar could hardly prove she hadn't tried.
This left Greysight and Moonfur turning to face Brisingstar. The tom stood a few tail lengths away from them, panting as a few trickles of blood fell from the scratches Greysight had managed to inflict. The tom's bright, blue eyes darted to Moonfur and Greysight before he tiredly moved into a fighter's crouch, and the she-cats did the same.
Lostheart came upon a small clearing formed by the dying trees around her as she followed after Willowstar's scent. Carefully, she padded to the center of the clearing, looking around warily; the scent stopped here.
Lostheart's eyes narrowed in confusion as she turned to look around her, but the forest was completely silent. There was a large, rotted tree just ahead that caught her attention; most of it's bark had already fallen off, but the tree remained standing firm, roots deeply embedded into the earth. She squinted slightly; there was something over there...
Lostheart slowly approached the base of the tree, and as she came upon it, she noticed the small scrape of a claw against the tree's roots. It was a small scratch, as if a cat had barely nicked it, but it was still there nonetheless.
Willowstar must have moved past this way, she realized, but where was the tom going? Nothing about the pattern of his trail made any sense; they were practically in the most useless, decaying section of DarkClan's territory. Was the leader really trying to hide here while he let his forces take care of his work for him? Lostheart didn't think it was very likely, and she frowned a bit at the thought; she would just have to retrace her pawsteps- and very carefully too, she didn't want Willowstar to be alerted to her presence.
Lostheart's eyes flickered as she prepared to turn around and she caught sight of the shadow of the tree suddenly moving behind her, and before she realized it, a large shadow had come over her from behind. In the split second she turned, all Lostheart could see was the flash of Willowstar's claws as his paw came crashing down towards her.
A sickening crack resonated around the clearing, and Lostheart's eyes widened in shock. Willowstar's attack had struck, but before he was able to touch her, a blurred shape had flown out from the trees and leapt in front of Willowstar, blocking the attack.
Lostheart stood in frozen shock as the world slowed around her and she met large, brown eyes before Willowstar's claw came crashing down onto the tom's back, forcing him to the ground with a snap. The sudden exchange left Lostheart stumbling back against the trunk of the tree behind her, and she gasped in shock as a branches and debris came tumbling down from the rotting canopy above.
Willowstar's eyes darted around the clearing and narrowed in anger at having missed, but as his eyes fell on the pile of fallen branches, he smirked to himself and promptly darted away, disappearing into the forest once more.
Lostheart's eyes were clenched tightly shut from beneath the pile of sticks, but with a heave of determination, she pushed the branches from her back, panting as her eyes scanned over the fallen wood and leaves. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the familiar silver figure she was searching for, and she quickly rushed to the tom's side, pushing away the sticks and debris that covered his body.
Blood ran from the corners of Browneyes's mouth as his eyes moved to look up at the black she-cat above him.
"Browneyes..." Lostheart managed, voice quivering at the sight before her and the blood that now stained the earth. "Great StarClan... Y-You'll be okay, we have to get you to Roseclaw." she meowed hurriedly, trying to ignore the sharp scent of blood burning her nostrils.
She moved to try and pull the tom up, but stopped as Browneyes let out a sharp yowl of pain.
"-Don't!"
Lostheart let the tom fall back against the ground. His head hit the earth with a small thump and his brow furrowed slightly as the pain began to fade away again, leaving him numb. He couldn't feel his legs.
"Lostheart, my body is broken." he meowed, "I can't move..."
Lostheart stood speechless above him, and she felt her eyes burn as the audible crack from before resonated in her mind; his back was broken. Browneyes blinked tiredly as he met Lostheart's eyes and the small trail of tears that were now beginning to fall from them.
"Why..." she meowed. "Why would you do that?!" The tears slowly rolled off her pelt as the she-cat's body trembled lightly.
"I..." Browneyes's gaze remained focused on the trees above for a moment before he met Lostheart's eerie mismatched gaze with a small, pained grin. "I didn't want you to get hurt..." he meowed sincerely.
A pair of cats sat side-by-side at the edge of a grassy cliff, watching the sunset in silence as light wind rustled the swaying grass around them.
"Why?"
Ivyfoot blinked not completely understanding what the young she-cat meant, but even so, he gave her his full attention. Lostpaw met Ivyfoot's gaze, and the tom could see the clear confusion in her bright red eye.
"Why did you do that? Leap in front of Cherrynose...now you're hurt." Lostpaw meowed quietly, looking down at Ivyfoot's injured foreleg that he had now lifted off the ground slightly in order to lessen the pain and the pressure on his injury.
Ivyfoot smiled lightly and stared off into the orange-toned sky above, watching the setting sun as it descended into the horizon, trailing a wave of bright colors behind it.
"Because I love her." he meowed.
Lostpaw blinked up at her mentor, but said nothing as the tom continued on, his green eyes flickering to the side at Lostpaw before he smiled and returned his gaze to the sky.
"When someone loves you, your life is more important to them than their own. Your safety is all that matters."
No one had ever done something like this for her before, and she had never believed anyone would. It made her feel a great pain in her chest.
"You shouldn't have, you didn't have to-"
"I wanted to." Browneyes meowed, moving his head slightly. The tom's body lay limp against the earth, broken and bruised. "It's the least I could do." he muttered quietly, voice fading. Lostheart clenched her eyes tightly shut; this was all her fault.
"I always looked up to you."
Lostheart was silent, and slowly she reopened her eyes, revealing a new sort of confusion trapped within her gaze. Browneyes's gave a wry sort of smile as his vision drifted to the canopy, unable to meet Lostheart's eyes.
"You were always alone by yourself, and you always looked so sad, but my mother told me that I wasn't allowed to talk to you; I could never understand why...but I listened to her. I shouldn't have- I should have talked to you, but I was afraid..." he said, trailing off.
"I was afraid that if I did, the clan would get mad at me; you were all alone, and I did nothing."
Lostheart could see that speaking was only causing Browneyes to feel more pain, and she shook her head in a motion to let him know that he didn't have to say any more.
"Its okay, you never had to do anything."
"No, it's not okay." Browneyes breathed. "I tried to approach you so many times, but I never knew what to say. We had so much common, and there were so many things I could have said...You always worked so hard, and even with everyone against you, you never gave up." Browneyes let out a light chuckle, his breathe wheezing slightly. "I've never been that special,an average tom at most, but more than anything, I wanted to see you smile again. Like you did when you were a kit."
"I always thought you had the prettiest smile, you know." Browneyes managed to smile softly to himself before his eyes fell slightly, dark rings already forming under his gaze. "Lostheart, could you do something for me?"
Lostheart blinked away the tears in her eyes as she listened closely to the silver tom's words.
"What is it?"
"Darkpelt...please look after him. I promised our mother that I would always be there for him, but now I don't think I'll have that chance. He's not a bad tom..."
Browneyes paused for a moment.
"I promised that we would always have each other as brothers... I've already seen him become so much happier since we were apprentices, and it makes me...glad." Just as he spoke, the corners of his mouth quirked upward slightly, and a truly content look overcame the tom's expression.
Browneyes's eyes suddenly clenched in pain as he let out a thick cough that shook his body, spattering a small bit of blood onto his pelt.
"Browneyes!" Lostheart exclaimed at the sight of the blood. "Don't say things like that, you're going to be okay!" Lostheart managed, not believing her own shaky words.
Clouded, brown eyes slowly re-opened, revealing dark rings of tiredness under the silver tom's gaze as he watched the small crystalline droplets beginning to fall from her face and unique set of eyes.
"Lostheart...don't cry." he whispered tiredly. "I'm happy, I am. I was able to do something...it's okay..."
Lostheart watched as Browneyes's eyes fluttered closed, and his face twitched lightly. The tom's breath faded as his head finally tilted forward and the warmth left his dull, brown gaze. Lostheart's eyes widened and she froze completely, the fur on her neck suddenly becoming stiff. For a moment, she sat there in silence.
There was no sound from the forest around her, or any watching crows; it was just her.
Lostheart let out a shaky breath and took a few steps back from the tom's unmoving body after a moment, she couldn't-
Browneyes couldn't be dead, he was a part of their family. Lostheart's claws dug into the ground in anger. Willowstar had killed him... And worst of all, Browneyes had done it to protect her. Lostheart couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her scarred face; no one was supposed to die, especially for her!
Before the she-cat even had a chance to react, Willowstar leapt out from the brush and rammed his body into her own. Lostheart was sent flying back into the large, rotting tree nearby, and she felt her heart stop as the wood and ground disappeared rapidly from behind and beneath her, and she fell downwards into a dark hole. The small light filtering in from her entrance above was all she saw before the world went black.
