Firepaw's head snapped up when he heard pawsteps rushing into camp. He and Stormpaw had tended to their duties, which meant cleaning out the elders' nests and checking them for ticks, and had started to share a tan rabbit. The ginger tabby hadn't expected to see a bloody Ravenpaw, his chest heaving desperately for air.
"Ravenpaw!" Bluestar called, jumping to the top of Highrock. "Tell us what happened."
"RiverClan…!" Ravenpaw gasped, hardly able to breathe.
Spottedleaf ran up to him, holding a yellow flowered plant. She set it at his paws. "Eat this, and then speak," she advised.
Ravenpaw shakily snatched the herb with his teeth and swallowed it quickly. He took multiple deep breaths before padding forward and jumping onto Highrock. He just barely missed, and had to scrabble up with his claws. Every cat of ThunderClan had gathered around now, watching with curiosity and concern.
"Redtail…" He breathed some more. "Redtail is dead!" he shouted, his light eyes wide.
Gasps and hushed murmurs erupted among the crowd. Even calm Bluestar appeared shaken. "Ravenpaw, where's Tigerclaw?" she asked the trembling apprentice.
"H-he and Lionheart are coming," Ravenpaw breathed. "Willowpelt… she fled as well. I don't know where she is."
"Calm down," Bluestar told him quietly. "Breathe in and out. Start from the beginning."
Ravenpaw took a few moments to do as told. He seemed to finally be at least slightly calm. Then, "The four of us had just arrived to Sunningrocks. From the shadows came Oakheart and four warriors. He said that we needed to leave, and that the stones belonged to RiverClan now. Redtail refused and told him that we would only give them up if forced. So Oakheart said that they would do so, and he flicked his tail. Then…
"Then RiverClan warriors came upon us," Ravenpaw continued. "Willowpelt was forced to flee from a big black tom almost immediately; he wounded her severely. Not long after, I had to flee too. Tigerclaw told me to go, a-and that I wouldn't die in my first battle. But I came back after running a bit; I couldn't leave without seeing the end of the battle and knowing that everyone was okay. I was crouched in a thick shrub when I saw boulders begin to fall. Oakheart was right in the middle of it, and R-Redtail…"
Tears came to the black tom's eyes, and he began quaking again. His panicked look returned to him. Only heartbeats later, his olive eyes rolled back into his head. He fell sideways from Highrock. He almost crashed to the ground, but Spottedleaf rushed to catch him on her back. She carried him to her den just as three cats arrived.
Tigerclaw stood with Willowpelt on his right and Lionheart on his left. On his back was the bloody corpse of Redtail, his amber eyes dull. The large tabby padded forward and gently slid the body onto the ground. He looked up at his leader.
"Bluestar, it's with a heavy heart that I announce Redtail's demise," he meowed gravely.
Bluestar jumped down and approached the three. "Ravenpaw only got up to the boulders crashing down onto Oakheart and Redtail before fainting," she mewed calmly. "Please, finish it. The Clan deserves to know what happened."
"Very well," Tigerclaw agreed, looking around at his Clanmates. "Ravenpaw was incorrect. The boulders fell not on Oakheart, but on Redtail! Redtail was nearby, so Oakheart pulled him in the path and got out with only a hind leg stuck underneath. That was when I tore his throat out to avenge our fallen deputy. Lionheart and I chased off the remaining warriors, then dragged his corpse out."
Bluestar's eyes seemed to fill with anger, yet her meow remained calm, "Thank you, Tigerclaw." She jumped back up. "RiverClan has done something unforgivable. We may have kept Sunningrocks, but it was hardly worth the death of Redtail. May his spirit rest peacefully with StarClan."
"I'll tend to wounds, if you'll come to my den," Spottedleaf called to the wounded warriors from the mouth of the split rock that she inhabited.
Willowpelt immediately ran to the tortoiseshell, tears in her deep blue eyes. They embraced in a nuzzle before padding inside. Lionheart padded after, and Tigerclaw followed even slower. Another patrol suddenly entered camp: a white tom, a mottled gray she-cat, and Sandpaw. The two mollies' eyes widened.
"Redtail!" the older one meowed, running up to the body. Sandpaw followed, whimpering.
"Poor Brindleface and Sandpaw," Stormpaw mewed quietly. "His mate and daughter…"
"I'm sorry for your loss," Bluestar meowed from her place. "It's an awful thing to lose someone you love."
"Every cat of ThunderClan shall mourn today," Brindleface agreed sadly, her emerald eyes full of tears. Sandpaw had buried her face into her father's bloody fur.
"Bluestar, what will we do?" a pale golden queen asked from the nursery entrance, two scared kits beside her. "Will we wage war on RiverClan?"
"I don't know, Goldenflower," Bluestar sighed. "Only time will tell."
She jumped down and approached Redtail. Sandpaw looked up, but didn't move. The pale ginger apprentice began grooming the body. After a few moments, she moved to the side. Bluestar started licking his wet tortoiseshell fur as well. Every cat of ThunderClan began gathering around, waiting for their turn to do the same.
"What is this?" Firepaw whispered.
"They're sharing tongues with him, one last time," Stormpaw mewed. "Even those who didn't know him well will likely do so. To not share tongues with your dead deputy is more disrespectful than anything I can think of."
A few moments later, the other three cats on the patrol emerged from the medicine den and got in line as well. Spottedleaf looked on from the entrance to the den, her pale eyes sad. Firepaw left his friend to approach her.
"What's wrong?" Firepaw asked. "Did you know Redtail?"
Spottedleaf nodded without looking at him. "He was my brother."
Suddenly, Firepaw remembered: only yesterday had Redtail referred to Spottedleaf as his sister. The poor she-cat had lost two family members in less than a year. Had Thistleclaw been kin, or did she say he was like kin? He couldn't remember, but surely it hardly mattered. She had lost loved ones, and that was what he cared about.
"I'm so sorry," Firepaw meowed sympathetically, although he couldn't understand the pain of loss. "I couldn't imagine losing someone so close to me."
"I've lost plenty of patients, but it hurts even more when you know them well," Spottedleaf mewed quietly. "I hope you never feel the pain of it. My parents, my mentor, my… my friend." She shook her head, gazing at the ground. "And now my littermate. I suppose this is why the medicine cat code forbids certain things."
"The medicine cat code?" Firepaw asked. "Is that like the warrior code?"
"Yes," Spottedleaf nodded, although she didn't seem to be in the mood for teaching. "It contains everything in the warrior code, as well as a few extra rules. The biggest one is not being able to have a mate or kits."
"You still fall in love, though, right?" Firepaw meowed. "You're just not allowed to act on it."
"That's right," Spottedleaf sighed. "I wish to be left alone now. Please go, Firepaw."
Firepaw suddenly realized how rude he'd been by bothering a heavily grieving she-cat. "I'm sorry," he murmured before padding back off to Stormpaw.
Stormpaw had apparently been watching. "Let's finish this rabbit and then go share tongues with him," he meowed.
Firepaw nodded, watching as Spottedleaf joined the crowd. "Okay."
A short one for y'all.