Blossompaw's Escape
Part Six: The Battle
"Blossomstar!" a painfully familiar voice called out. The cry rang out in the darkness, and Blossomstar spun around madly - searching for its source.
"Flintmask hang on!" she responded with an equally pained cry, only it was different kinds of pain. Hers was mental pain; her best friend, and maybe something even more now, was captured by the enemy. They were doing who knows what to get information from him. And he was being used against her in the worst imaginable way. His was physical pain; exhaustion from lack of sleep. Agony from raw wounds inflicted by Shane and Echo. And the pain of knowing Blossomstar won't be able to face the battlefield if it meant hurting Flintmask.
"Blossomstar listen to me," he panted, fatigue was slowly taking over and he didn't know how much longer he would remain conscious. He paused for a moment and heard Blossomstar let out a whimper, but she was listening. "You have to be strong for Ashclan, you have to be strong for my sister. Whatever Echo threatens to do to me on that battlefield you have to fight - no matter what. Even if I die-"
"No!" she interjected fiercely. "You won't die."
"I might! And you have to fight Echo and Shane anyways. Tell me that you'll fight, swear it," he demanded, although his voice was weakening.
"I'll fight Flintmask, as long as you swear you won't leave me."
She waited for his answer, but there was only silence.
Blossomstar woke from the dream in a cold sweat. Her claws had been tearing into her moss bedding instead in Shane's cats. She looked around the mass of nests, most of then had been created only yesterday when the pack arrived and made temporary beds of twigs and leaves. And...there were a few more nests outside of the Ashclan camp. Not right outside, Blossomstar would never reveal where the blue twoleg nest was to city cats.
But a few minutes walk away, to the edge of the cliffs overlooking the ocean, was five nests. Niko's and her closest friends, if you could call them friends. The thought made Blossomstar's fur crawl. But she was Niko's ally, at least for now as they opposed Shane and Echo. They would have to work together.
Icefire and Whisperheart were going to be in more danger than Blossomstar had first anticipated. The medicine cats were to rush out onto the battlefield and grab any animal who was wounded, no matter if it was pack clan or city cat, and treat them. But with so many animals and animals much bigger than them, they were going to be in the thick of the battle for longer than would be safe. City cats didn't listen to the rule that medicine cats were outside of battles - anyone on that field would be fair game.
She didn't want to sacrifice any warriors since they'd need everyone they had - but Whisperheart and Icefire also needed a guard. The medicine cats would just have to make due, she supposed, since every cat and dog needed to be focused on fighting Shane - not on watching the medicine cats. Icefire was strong, she could defend Whisperheart and herself if necessary.
Blossomstar shifted in her nest, she needed to be sleeping and gaining her strength. It was going to be a busy day tomorrow. For the first half her clan was going to hunt and gather as much prey as they could from the forest. The pack would hunt in the cherry tree orchard where the pickings were easier. Then every cat and dog - including Niko's group - would eat until they could hold no more.
She doubted they would continue to train fighting skills. The clan was very apt at fighting, and the pack had skills of their own much like the city cats. Plus Blossomstar didn't want to share any of her clans hidden moves with Niko - a cat who she might meet in battle one day on opposite sides. Whatever training they had now had to be enough to fight Shane.
So after eating all the animals would gather and discuss their battle plan. And then the day after tomorrow would be the battle against Shane and Echo and their half of the city. Blossomstar stood and stretched her legs, knowing she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Quietly she exited the camp and breathed in the cool night air. Green leaf was drawing to a close, she could feel it in the nip of the wind and the cold earth underpaw.
The sound of peaceful snoring diminished as she moved farther away from the camp. She walked under the trees until she saw a clearing that revealed the open skies and the waxing moon. She closed her blue eyes and pictured Flintmask as she knew him best - smiling with a crooked grin and teasing her. His orange and ashen pelt messy and rumpled. His green eyes bright and alive.
She blinked her eyes open and stared at the moon once more, knowing that Flintmaskw as staring at that same moon wherever he was. As sense of eerie acceptance washed over her. Cats and dogs were going to die in that battle. One side would win, one side would lose. She didn't know who would remain victorious at the end of it all - she just knew one thing. She was going to fight with all of lionclan to protect her clanmates and friends.
The group hungrily tore into the pile of freshly caught prey. Niko and her group didn't think twice about joining in on the feast, everyone was sharing the tender prey and the atmosphere was almost happy. Once everyone was satisfied and full they began to discuss their plan. Niko situated herself in the center of camp where Blossomstar usually gave announcements. The white furred leader sat next to Niko to show they were on equal grounds.
"Echo knows where your camp is - which means Shane knows as well. What is the easiest path to reach your camp from the city?" Niko asked the surrounding animals.
"There's a stream which runs almost all the way from the city to our camp. That's the easiest path to follow, plus if anyone gets thirsty there is ready water," Frost called out. Aspen who sat next to her nodded.
"There is a large clearing about halfway between the camp and the city. We can intercept Shane's group before they reach the camp."
"Good idea Aspen and Frost," Blossomstar appraised her warriors. "We want to keep the camp safe - it's where those who cannot fight or who are wounded in battle will go. The clearing would be a good place to fight, open grounds."
"I can have a group of my she-cats help guard the camp in case Shane's gang gets passed the clearing," Niko offered. Blossomstar nodded. Bugs knew he wouldn't be able to fight, but he was going to help Whisperheart and Icefire treat the wounded to the best of his abilities.
"Ashclan and the pack will wait on the front lines of the battlefield - then Niko you can come out as a second wave to ambush them."
"We need to find a way to tell each other a part!" Rabbitleap added. "With so many cats running around we don't need our forces fighting against each other. If we marked our coats with a splotch of mud we'll be able to tell each other apart."
"Smart thinking...for a tom cat," Niko smirked. No one had further suggestions after that. Niko summoned her companions and they left for the city where they would gather all of their forces. Tomorrow three separate groups would come together to stop Shane an Echo, each fighting for their own reasons. But they all had one thing in common, they'd be fighting for their lives.
No one seemed t say a word for the rest of the evening, the stakes were too high. At one point Blossomstar couldn't stand the restlessness anymore. She found Whisperheart and asked him if he was low on any herbs before the battle.
"Only on Juniper berries and Coltsfoot, which we won't need for what I'll be treating. But we can search for herbs if you'd like to take a walk."
"Yes, thank you. I just need to clear my head."
The pair left the camp and headed towards the mossy cove where many herbs grew. Blossomstar didn't know what she wanted to talk about, just anything to get her mind off of the looming battle. Whisperheart seemed to notice she needed small talk, so he started speaking.
"Do you have any siblings Blossomstar?" he asked. She was surprised by the question.
"No, I was an only kit."
"It's interesting, the way one feels about their littermates. You hate them one minute, and are fiercely loyal the next. It's a strange thing."
"Yeah, that's interesting," she agreed, not knowing why Whisperheart was telling her this.
"Flintmask and Shiverspots have other siblings too you know."
"You mentioned that before. That have another brother, Cloud, and a sister, Ginger."
"Cloudtail and Gingerfern actually. Both of them joined the clans as well. Different clans, far away from us. Gingerfern had joined Cedarclan, Cloudtail joined another clan you've never heard of. It's interesting how all four siblings haven't had contact since they were separated by twolegs at kithood, yet they all found the clans as their homes."
"It's where they belong," Blossomstar smiled softly.
"Yes, it's where they belong. I had siblings too you know, two brothers and a sister. But we all wound up in completely different places, with completely different morals. But at the root of it all is still the clans. Blossomstar I think you'll find that the clans have affected more cats than you'd ever realize. In good and bad ways. And sometimes you just have to trust that things will work out the way they're supposed too."
"Thank you for talking with me Whisperheart. I feel better I think."
"Good, now let's get back to camp."
Sorry for the short chapter, but I promise a lot is gonna happen in the next one ;) ;)
I'm kind of sad this story is drawing to a close, only a few chapters to go. It's been a wild ride, and I'm thankful for all of my viewers who've been here since day 1. You're commenting challenge is to tell me:
A. What do you think the outcome of the battle will be?
B. Can Niko be trusted?
C. Who's gonna die? (You know someone will)
