'A constellation of tears on your lashes
Burn everything you love, then burn the ashes
In the end everything collides.'

'Light Em' Up' - Fall Out Boy

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He'd seen the plan rapidly forming in Eaglestrike's eyes as the PhoenixClan warrior glanced multiple times at the rushing water behind them. He'd nudged Rainpatch, "I think Eaglestrike's planning to use the waterfall," he'd whispered whislt Icepetal had been snarling at Jinx.

Rainpatch's eyes had widened in surprise but the army had surged forwards before he could say anything. Littleflame was dragged under by Eaglestrike and Icepetal by Rainpatch, leaving Willowclaw to jump into the frigid river by himself.

At the time it had seemed like a good idea, using the waterfall as a way to get away from Jinx and get down the mountain quicker, but it had soon became obvious that Eagleflight had not concerned himself with worrying about just how large the waterfall was.

Now as he hauled himself out of the lake at the bottom of the waterfall onto a small boulder jutting out of the water, Willowclaw wasn't so sure if the idea had indeed been a good one. His entire body felt bruised and battered, aching in places it had never ached before. The muscles in his legs burned ferociously after having been used in an attempt to remain above the churning water. Bruises and small cuts throbbed painfully over the majority of his body, whilst moving his right forepaw sent stars dancing across his vision.

He groaned as he forced open his eyelids to stare out over a bleak scene.

Gray ash floated in small piles on the surface of the lake. Flakes tumbled from the sky like snow, pushed over the mountains by strong winds. He moved his head in the direction of the shore, not surprised when he found the shore to be coated by a thick layer of ash. "If Eaglestrike has survived, I'm going to kill him myself," the RogueClan tom grumbled as he pulled himself into a sitting position, keeping the weight of his injured forepaw. "Where are the others?"

Through the falling ash Willowclaw managed to spot a feline shape slouched against the broad trunk of a tree. He eyed the water lapping gently at the boulder he was splayed out across. There wasn't that much water in between the shore and the boulder. He could probably swim it quite easily if it wasn't for his injured forepaw.

However the idea of being stuck on the boulder until one of the others decided to swim out and help him was even less appealing. With a low growl of annoyance the tom slithered ungracefully into the chilly water with a small splash, wincing as pain flared up in his paw. He sneezed when he accidentally breathed in a clump of ash and released a string of threats aimed at Eaglestrike and his stupid plan.

"Use the waterfall, it can't be too big! I'll show you too big when I get my paws on you," he snarled as he splashed about in an attempt to keep himself above the surface. "I might just climb back up the mountain to throw you down the waterfall again!"

His paw hit unstable pebbles and he nearly toppled forwards into the muddy shoreline. It did not improve his mood in the slightest. Water sprayed off of his thick pelt as he shook it out, unused to the strange feeling of having waterlogged fur. "Maybe I'll just drown him instead."

The feline shape leaning against the tree trunk looked increasingly feminine the closer Willowclaw got. Whoever it was was too busy staring up at the smoke covered sky to notice him as he limped over. It was hard to tell the colour of the she-cat's fur under all the ash, mud and blood that dried so thickly into her fur. But of the two Chosen she-cat's only one had the raw strength to survive the ordeal of escaping a burning forest and tumbling down a waterfall without having some sort of minor breakdown.

"Icepetal?" When the she-cat didn't respond Willowclaw tried a different approach, "I'm surprised you aren't cleaning your fur. Don't you have a thing for perfection?"

"Shut it, RogueClanner," the SnowClan warrior snapped icily. "Now is not the time or the place or the time."

The sky above them was filled with black smoke, tinted red by Crimson's moon and orange by the flames that still roared in the valley. If the sun had risen the sky gave no clue. It merely remained dark; rained ash. All the while Icepetal remained staring up at the sky with a glazed look in her eyes.

Willowclaw's brow furrowed. Perhaps the SnowClan she-cat had been more affected than he'd first thought. Perhaps she'd broken a little on the inside.

"You will never understand." Her voice was hoarse and thick with emotion. "You will never understand the feeling of loss that has settled so deep into your bones you can never truly get rid of it. All you understand is the thrill of spilling blood, the excitement of cracking bones. How can any cat truly enjoy war? How can any cat enjoy the thrill of tearing apart innocent families?"

"Crimson's soldiers are far from innocent," Willowclaw snorted.

"They had a family. Where do you think they come from? Crimson doesn't just make them. They were all born. They all lived before Crimson got to them. Who are you to judge whether they deserve to live or die?"

The tom narrowed his eyes a fraction. "What are you talking about, Icepetal? You've killed just as many soldiers as I have. Stop trying to make yourself look all innocent."

"But do I enjoy killing them? No. You do."

"What is the point of this!?" Willowclaw growled, "what are you trying to gain by making me look like a monster? Yes, I enjoyed killing them, because they deserved it!"

Icepetal tore her gaze away from the clouded sky, focusing on the flaking bark of the tree she leaned heavily upon. Her breathing was short and ragged, chest heaving unsteadily with each sharp breath she inhaled. "There used to be a family here. They didn't deserve what happened to them. Why do you fight against Crimson's rule, Willowclaw? Do you have a reason or do you do it because you have been told to?"

Nothing of what Icepetal was talking about made any sense to Willowclaw. Did it matter why he fought against Crimson's rule? Wasn't it enough that he'd even come along with the others on this stupid journey that had already wound up with them falling down a waterfall? What family? How did Icepetal even know that a family lived at the bottom of a waterfall behind PhoenixClan territory? His mouth felt dry as he opened it to answer, "my reason for fighting is none of your business."

The she-cat let out a short bark of bitter laughter. "That's just another way of saying you don't have one."

"And how would you know?" Willowclaw spat. "Tell me, oh mighty Icepetal, why do you fight against Crimson's rule? What has she done to you?"

"An innocent family used to live out their days peacefully in this very spot. They had nothing to do with the Clans. They had no idea why the moon had turned to blood or why streams of brown-pelted cats had begun to frequent the mountain pass. A happy family that only lacked a father-figure had once thrived by this waterfall moons ago when Crimson's reign was only just beginning. They were happy…we were happy," her voice cracked slightly, "until he appeared; a tom, a Clan cat. Mother greeted him with happiness, introducing him to us as our father. A Clan cat stooped down as low as to have kits with a loner! My siblings and I – though we were young at the time – had heard many tales of how mighty the six Clans were, how much they detested any cat that lacked pure Clan blood."

Willowclaw couldn't believe what he was hearing. The SnowClan she-cat didn't even like him and here she was spilling out her history to him! He blinked in realisation. "You're not a rogue. You were never a full blooded rogue or even loner. You're half Clan…"

"It's even worse than just being a rogue! The treachery my father was committing to even come see his forbidden family would have ended in his exile if he was found out. We had been happy living our little lives without even knowing if our father was alive. We – I – didn't need to know who our father was! We didn't care! But he showed up and Crimson found out somehow. You know what she's like, how evil she is. She saw my family as a way to harm my father's Clan. So she ordered our deaths. We didn't stand a chance; a lone she-cat with little to no fighting ability against six soldiers whilst protecting her kits."

"Father must've decided to come visit us that night. He had two other cats with him. I still don't know why he'd brought friends with him. Mother had been driven back into the den whilst my siblings and I were pushed towards the water's edge. Father charged in with his friends, killing the two soldiers guarding us. When his friends went to help my mother he…he stopped them. He wouldn't let them save mother. He just took me and my siblings away. The Clan wasn't happy when he turned up with four rogue – as he'd decided we were – kits to feed, but they took us in any way."

Icepetal turned her head away from the flaking bark to look over her shoulder at Willowclaw. Grief reflected deeply within her blue eyes but no tears were trailing down her cheeks. "I lost a mother and a sister to Crimson. I lost a happy family to that she-cat. I plan to return the favour by tearing her kingdom apart bit by bit until I reach her. Only then, when everything she has worked hard to create has been destroyed, will I kill her."

A thick silence stretched between the two warriors before Willowclaw tentatively spoke again, "you said you lost a mother and a sister. What happened to your sister?"

"Ebony couldn't take the Clan constantly looking at her like she was planning to murder them all. So she left."

"Oh…but you're from SnowClan. Your father would've had to cross over PhoenixClan territory to get here. That's a long way to travel."

Icepetal sighed, "the path we took into the mountains curved away from PhoenixClan and came out behind SnowClan." She nodded towards the silhouette of Crimson's far away mountain that stood behind them. "Crimson's mountain has always been directly behind SnowClan."

The tom shuffled his paws uncomfortably, nodding slightly. "I don't understand," he mumbled moments later. "You can't even stand me, yet you just shared your entire history with me. Why?"

She laughed a hollow laugh. "I don't know. Call it a moment of weakness if you like. Perhaps I just needed someone to listen. I don't recommend sharing with anyone what I told you. I tend to have a temper," she said dryly.

Splashing drew the attention of both cats away from each other and the strange conversation they had been having. A thick-furred figure stumbled through the shallows, sides shaking with what appeared to be silent laughter. Willowclaw exchanged a confused look with Icepetal before he made his way down to where the water lapped lazily at the shoreline. "That," called Rainpatch as he limped out of the water smiling wildly, "was the most fun I have ever had! Can we do it again sometime?"

Despite himself, Willowclaw couldn't stop the small grin that tugged at his muzzle. "So you survived the waterfall."

Rainpatch waved a paw in a dismissive manner, "a WaveClanner cannot and will not die by water, though I have gained a fair amount of bruises."

"Haven't we all," Icepetal spoke up. Her hoarse and broken tone had been replaced by her usual haughty one. She too had joined Willowclaw by the water's edge and allowed her wounds to be seen by all. There were many both fresh and old. Majority of them were bleeding. Her pelt hardly looked white anymore, too stained by blood, mud and ash for the colour to shine through.

"Yes, but you look like you've been dragged through a thorn bush backwards," Rainpatch purred as he prodded Icepetal gently.

She smirked at him, "would you like me to demonstrate?"

"Not even your fiery spirit could be dampened by that waterfall," the WaveClanner chuckled.

"We're still missing two cats," Willowclaw reminded.

"You're not anymore!" came Eaglestrike's voice from the shadows hiding the cliff face. The Chosen's leader walked stiffly into the dull light supporting a battered Littleflame on his shoulder. "We have all survived, good."

Rainpatch rolled his eyes. "Did you expect us to die? Sorry to disappoint."

The PhoenixClan tom grinned charmingly as he joined the others by the water's edge, "well it's not every day you tumble down a waterfall."

Whilst the others chatted quietly amongst each other, sharing little pieces of information of the run through the forest, showing off new wounds, Willowclaw had his eyes trained on the shivering shape of Littleflame. The small CedarClan warrior hadn't said anything since she and Eaglestrike had appeared. There was no way Willowclaw could say that he trusted Littleflame at all. She was suspicious and looked to be always hiding something. Then there was of course the matter of what she did to that rogue soldier. Tearing a cat's bottom jaw off was something only the most disturbed of cats could even bring themselves to do.

He watched her through slitted eyes; watched the way she kept her head hung low, her eyes focused on the ash smothered ground at her paws; observed the way dark shadows seem to flit back and forth deep within her dark green eyes. There was something strange about Littleflame, and Willowclaw wasn't about to rest until he worked out just what it was.

"Now I don't know about you lot," Rainpatch yawned, "but my old and weary bones need a bit of a rest after all the strenuous activity I have put them through recently. Is there any comfortable, slightly secluded place we can sleep for a few moons?"

Eaglestrike chuckled, "a few moons seems a bit extreme. A few days on the other paw…What about that hole in that big tree over there. Do you reckon all of us could fit in there?"

The small whimper that slipped from Icepetal's lips was hard to hear but Willowclaw picked up on it. He glanced over at the tree, finding it to be the same one the SnowClanner had been leaning against earlier. Is it just the tree that brings back unwelcome memories or is there something inside that hole that Icepetal doesn't want to face..?

"No harm in looking," Rainpatch agreed, already trotting over to it. He was about to stick his head into the darkened hole when Icepetal shouldered him roughly out of the way.

"I'll go in first," she murmured quietly. She didn't wait for anyone to contradict her and slipped inside, tail tip flicking Rainpatch on the nose.

An anguished wail followed shortly after. It was such a heart-wrenching wail that the remaining Chosen felt the fur along their spine bristle uncomfortably as an icy shiver crawled down their spine like a spider. In the silence that followed Rainpatch ducked into the den, indicating for the others to follow him.

It was moderately spacious inside, big enough for all five of them to sleep in relative comfort though one would be sleeping in the den opening. None of them were observing the size of the den however. They were looking at Icepetal's bedraggled figure curled up in a tight ball, one white paw stretched out and touching a cracked skull. A feline skeleton already occupied the den.

Willowclaw exhaled quietly. He was curious. Had Icepetal known that her mother's skeleton still lay within the den? She must've or she wouldn't have been so forceful in entering the den first. He assumed the others had figured it out by now. They knew of Icepetal's supposed rogue heritage, though that was all they knew. Surely it wasn't too hard to put the pieces together and guess that the skeleton belonged to a member of Icepetal's family?

Judging by the sad and sympathetic looks the others were giving Icepetal's pitiful form it appeared that they weren't stupid and had indeed worked it out.

The RogueClan warrior curled his lip slightly. Such sentiments might just be their undoing. How long would Icepetal want to remain by her mother's skeleton to grieve? How long would it be until they started their long journey to Crimson's mountain?

If the five of them were to face off against an emotion-lacking, demonic, twisted, murdering, bloodthirsty, power-hungry she-cat they'd all need to learn to hide their feelings a little better. Who knows what Crimson knows about us? She could know everything down to our most miniscule little habits. She could know the things we fear most…and she could use them and the ones we love against us.

An image of a sickly Plummet being used as a weapon against him flashed before his eyes and he cringed, rubbing his eyes with the side of one forepaw. "We'll sleep in here tonight," he heard Eaglestrike say quietly. "It'll be safer than outside."

Rainpatch nodded before settling down beside Icepetal. He began to groom her matted, bloodied fur the way a brother might groom his sister.

"How long will we remain here?" Willowclaw asked.

"For the shortest amount of time possible. But we all need to rest and recover. We've had a long past few days, some longer than others," Eaglestrike responded. The reddish tom stretched his spine and then lay down. His back faced the skeleton, face turned towards the den opening. His eyes watched Littleflame without showing a shred of emotion; just watched as the small she-cat shuffled over to the furthest corner of the den, tucking her paws under her body and keeping her eyes off of anybody else.

Willowclaw allowed himself a final look at the thundering waterfall before he too let his weary muscles relax, stretching out along the opening of the den.

For the first time in seasons five cats from five very different Clans slipped into a peaceful slumber whilst sharing a single den. But there was no understanding the nightmares two members would suffer as their eyes drooped closed.

AN: I keep forgetting to thank RussianBlues over on deviantart for the wonderful cover she did. Thanks! Anyway. The Chosen have finally made it out of the valley! Only took twelve chapters. Shameless plug alert: there'll be a character appearing in the next couple of chapters that has an interesting past which is slowly coming to life in my other fanfiction 'Sinking into the Setting Dawn'. Hope over there if you're curious.

-нυηтєя