Lostheart limped forward, blood dripping down her foreleg from the gash on her shoulder. Around her lay the bodies of several injured cats, some possibly even dead. She had been outnumbered, but she had done it. The camp was empty now; all cats were either lying in the clearing defeated or hiding in their dens. A good portion of the TreeClan warriors had managed to escape, and it wouldn't be long now until their reinforcements arrived.
DarkClan's warriors had begun to gather by the entrance to the camp where Sunstar stood waiting for them. The entire clan looked horrible, pelts stained with blood, spirits broken, every pawstep painfully placed; Lostheart moved toward the group on shaky paws, exhausted from having fought off so many warriors at once. It required constant motion and the utmost precision, her training with Greysight had definitely helped in that matter. The wounds she received from the battle were deep, and even the spots free of cuts or scrapes felt like they were covered in bruises. The she-cat was so tired, she could hardly feel her legs beneath her as she wobbled on.
"The attack has to be called off. Willowstar could send in reinforcements at any second, we have to get out of here now!" Sunstar meowed hurriedly. Greysight stood amongst the cats with a defeated expression, that and her lack of Amberpaw proved her failure to retrieve the apprentice.
From where she stood amongst the warriors, Moonfur felt her heart stop in her chest. They didn't find her. The thought that her daughter was being horribly mistreated, or lying dead in a ditch filled her mind, causing her to hold back the choking feeling rising in her throat. Thankfully, it looked like everyone else was okay for the most part. Moonfur blinked as she looked among the faces of her battered clanmates, fear suddenly lighting her eyes. "Where's Raggedear?" she questioned.
Sunstar blinked and turned to look around, as did the other warriors, but no cat could find any trace of the mottled tortoiseshell. Thistleprick stepped forward past the group with wide violet eyes as he looked over the bodies spread across the camp; some were still moving slightly, but most lay still.
Sunstar shook his head. "There's no time! We have to go, now!" Moonfur was about to protest, but Thistleprick shook his head. "His body isn't here, he must have escaped." Thistleprick spoke with confidence, knowing his brother was smart to do something like that.
"Are you saying he deserted us?!" Darkpelt growled, eyes narrowing at Thistleprick. Moonfur stepped between the two toms, pelt bristling. "Raggedear would never do that!" Her eyes suddenly widened after a second of holding Darkpelt's midnight blue gaze. "He must have found Amberpaw and taken her back to the river! She was probably hurt!"
"She's right! Raggedear would never leave us, I know my brother."
Lostheart stumbled a second time, her paws falling beneath her as she lay no more than five fox-lengths from her clanmates. Her movements finally seemed to catch their attention as six pairs of eyes turned to look at the black she-cat lying on the ground, ending their previous conversation. Lostheart moved her head so that she was looking up at the group, her eyes meeting those of Sunstar's while the others looked down at her speechless.
Greysight winced inwardly as Lostheart's forelegs collapsed as she tried to pull herself up, her breath coming out in small wheezes. Sunstar's gaze remained emotionless as he looked down at the she-cat, eyes a hard, uncaring green.
"Let's go." he meowed, turning his back on Lostheart's crumpled form as he padded toward the camp entrance. He paused before the opening and turned to look back at the cats standing between him and Lostheart, irritated that they had yet to move. "I said," he hissed, "Let's go. That's an order."
The clearing was still as the cats stood, staring down at Lostheart with unreadable expressions. The she-cat's eyes fell slightly as she looked into the eyes of her clanmates; they were leaving her... Lostheart's tired eyes moved to stare at the earth beneath her paws, her legs twitching slightly as she made another attempt to move.
For a long moment, no cat moved, but slowly Lostheart heard the soft movement of pawsteps and looked up to watch her clanmates leave her behind. Her eyes widened slightly, however, when she saw pale gray paws standing beside her. Lostheart turned her head, mismatched eyes looking up to meet Moonfur's own mismatched gaze with a frozen expression.
Sunstar's eyes widened slightly before he narrowed them further and snorted. "Fine. We'll leave you too." he hissed while turning to pad away once more. Moonfur kept a stern gaze, but said nothing in retaliation against the golden tom, letting her eyes speak the words for her.
Sunstar's ear twitched at the sound of more pawsteps, and to look expectantly back at his clan, only to see Greysight and Moonfur standing on either side of Lostheart. Sunstar blinked, and opened his mouth to question the two she-cats, but the words died in his throat as Browneyes padded up to the two she-cats, stopping briefly before them before turning to face Sunstar as well with a stony expression.
Darkpelt's eyes widened slightly as he watched his brother go, meeting his large brown ewith surprise. Sunstar looked shocked, anger and confusion evident in his features; and his tail lashed behind him as Thistleprick moved to join them, turning to face Sunstar with a small, lighthearted smirk. Sunstar's neck fur bristled in anger, how dare they defy him! He was clan leader!
"Fine then! You can all stay!" he hissed. "Come, Darkpelt."
Sunstar padded forward, refusing to look back at his so-called clan. The remaining cats stood in silence, watching Darkpelt with unreadable expressions. Darkpelt blinked meeting the eyes of his brother and averted his gaze in silence.
"Darkpelt!"
Sunstar stopped to look back at the flecked tom, eyes burning with anger. Darkpelt met his gaze, eyes shadowed with a sort of confirmation. Wordlessly, Darkpelt turned away from Sunstar and padded up to the cats standing around Lostheart, moving to stand beside Thistleprick with an impassive expression. Sunstar had never looked so appalled in his life as he stared back at his warriors, consumed with anger and confusion. Thistleprick shot Darkpelt a small smirk from the side which the warrior chose to ignore, amusing the calico all the same.
"I'm not leaving Lostheart behind." Moonfur meowed. "She's my friend."
"And mine." Thistleprick added. "Lostheart is our clanmate, we're not going to leave her."
"Warriors don't abandon their clanmates." Browneyes meowed; Greysight nodded confidently with a small smile. "Yeah, we're a family."
Lostheart lay on the ground still in shock, heterochromic eyes wide despite the tiredness that spread throughout her body. They...cared about her. The thought made Lostheart's chest ache with pain, but it was a strange kind of pain.
"I will always love you.
All you have to do is open up to people and let them know you, then they'll love you as well."
Memories of Silentshadow echoed in her mind, and Lostheart couldn't help the tight sensation rising in her throat. Without even realizing it, the she-cat had opened up more to the cats of DarkClan than she had known. No one had ever paid her any mind after Ivyfoot had died, but then for once in her life, someone had reached out to her. Greysight had been her friend.
They included her in their lives, and without even knowing, she had begun to open up to them. Then she met Moonfur, a cat much like herself; shunned and alone. Lostheart had given Moonfur a new hope, and a place she could finally call her home. The black she-cat had saved her life in more ways than one; Lostheart was her closest friend.
Lostheart had always done what was best for the clan, and despite their hardships, she did whatever she could. She may have looked intimidating, and she may have been a quiet cat; but the she-cat had a kind heart.
Not only had Raggedear and Thistleprick finally found a home, but when the rogues had come after them, she had chosen to defend them. She didn't care that Raggedear had an issue, or that they were just rogues; she had let them stay in their camp.
They were simple little interactions: organizing patrols, eating as a group in the clearing, talking about how to deal with TreeClan or who would go on hunting patrol. But even so, through these small interactions the cats had begun to get to know each other, and without even realizing it, were finally able to build a relationship amongst themselves. They were friends, a family, a clan; and Lostheart was a member they cared about, despite the way they might show it.
Sunstar said nothing as he stood in silence, watching the cats before him. Finally, the tom snorted. "Fine. Have it your way." he hissed. "You had better hurry!"
Lostheart blinked wearily as Browneyes and Greysight pulled her onto Darkpelt's back while the tom crouched down to support her. Once they made sure Lostheart was secure, the cats followed hurriedly after Sunstar, Browneyes and Greysight running by Darkpelt's side in case Lostheart slipped.
The black she-cat was beginning to nod off as she watched the blur of green grass below her while the sounds of the forest began to fade into the background. Lostheart's eyes blinked wearily in surprise as she felt something wet roll down her face and drop to the rushing grass below. She blinked again in confusion at the strange occurrence, wondering what had happened. Too tired to fully comprehend anything at the moment, Lostheart's strange eyes began to blink shut and closed lightly as the she-cat drifted off to sleep.
When Lostheart's eyes had finally opened again, the she-cat found herself lying in nest of soft grass, the smell of herbs lingering in the air. Lostheart let out a small breath and carefully began to move, she was a bit sore, but all her cuts had healed up for the most part. She did however wince at the burning sensation on her shoulder as she moved, that was definitely the worst she decided.
"Lostheart!"
Lostheart's ear twitched at the sound of Roseclaw calling her name, and she turned to see the white she-cat pad into the den with a bright smile on her face. "I'm so glad you're okay. You had me worried there; its usually Greysight who winds up in the medicine cat den." Roseclaw meowed in relief, genuinely concerned about her sister.
"I'm fine." Lostheart meowed quietly, rising to a sitting position. Roseclaw smiled softly and nodded in agreement. "What about Amberpaw?" Lostheart asked quickly. "Is she alright?"
Roseclaw curled her fluffy white tail over her paws and leaned toward the nursery entrance. "Why don't you go see for yourself?" Roseclaw grinned, knowing Lostheart would be questioning her in her mind. "Don't worry, you're all set. You slept for an entire day you know...Just don't let Greysight know I let you out early." she added chuckling slightly.
Lostheart still felt a bit of anxiety in her paws, but Roseclaw's words reassured her. Stretching slightly as she walked, Lostheart entered the clearing, squinting to adjust her eyes to the dim light after being away from it for what seemed like forever. It was hard to believe she slept for an entire day. The camp wasn't exactly lively, but there were a few cats littered about the clearing. Immediately, Lostheart's eyes began to scan the camp as she searched for the apprentice she was looking for. The black she-cat blinked upon finding Amberpaw's dark brown pelt beside that of Wetpaw's not far from the leader's den. The leader's den... Her thoughts were instantly pulled to Sunstar, her supposed father, as she remembered the events at TreeClan's camp. He was going to desert her there, to die at the paws of TreeClan, or worse... It was true that Sunstar had never been particularly kind to her, but the fact that the tom wanted her dead was... There was always the chance that he had simply wanted to act in the best for the clan, but the decision was made so easily. There was only one explanation to why Sunstar treated her the way he did; other than that of shame. He blamed her for the death of Silentshadow and Ivyfoot, the ones most important to him. In that perspective, Lostheart supposed she could understand...it was her fault.
Lostheart blinked out of her thoughts as she realized she was standing in front of the two apprentices, both of which were now looking up at her strangely. "Amberpaw." Lostheart stated simply. "Are you alright? How did you escape?" As far as Lostheart remembered, they had been unable to locate the young she-cat by the time Sunstar ordered them to leave.
Wetpaw's body stiffened at the question and he glanced at Amberpaw warily from the corner of his eye. Amberpaw's normally bright eyes were uncharacteristically downcast and focused on the ground. Lostheart immediately took notice of both the apprentice's reactions and felt a small sense of dread, something bad had definitely happened.
"What is it?" Lostheart meowed, her tone more anxious than it had ever sounded when she had spoken before, a fact that both apprentices appeared to pick up on. Was someone hurt? Or...
"Pineneedle was keeping me trapped. I tried to get away, but there were so many cats! And I got scared..." Amberpaw meowed, struggling with her words as warm tears began to roll down her face. "I didn't want anybody to get hurt! And Raggedear, he...he-"
Wetpaw hastily pressed against his sister's side and looked away from Lostheart's intimidating gaze. The black she-cat was completely silent, seemingly frozen in place as time ticked by and Amberpaw sniffed lightly beside her brother. Questions filled her mind, only causing her more to arise.
"Lostheart sat down in front of the two apprentices and dipped her head shortly. "What happened?" she asked again, voice as calm as always. However, inside the she-cat felt anything but. What happened to Raggedear? Where was Moonfur? Where were Greysight and Thistleprick? What had happened?
"Raggedear saved me." Amberpaw meowed trembling. "But now..."
Lostheart said nothing, a shadow covering her face, as she stepped back from the apprentices, choosing to give them their space. Raggedear... Lostheart could feel a sudden sort of heaviness drop down inside of her; he couldn't be gone. And where was Thistleprick? Lostheart blinked as a cat suddenly crossed in front of her with a dull expression, and she was somewhat to surprised to see Greysight's sightless gray eyes. The blind she-cat's head turned toward the apprentices with a small frown and weary eyes.
"Greysight. Where is-"
"Come on." Greysight meowed dully, stepping past Lostheart as she made her way back to the medicine cat den Lostheart had just left from earlier. The black she-cat in question said nothing and chose to follow Greysight, wanting some cat to fill her in on what had happened. When they came to the entrance of the den, Greysight gave a slight nod for Lostheart to go in; and as she did, Lostheart immediately noticed the two figures huddled in the corner.
The den itself was deathly silent, and as she approached the two cats, it was not difficult to recognize their familiar spotted and pale pelts. They were sitting in front of something.
Lostheart slowly walked up to the pair, choosing to move up beside Moonfur to see what they were looking at, but a part of her already had an idea. As she fell in alignment with the others, a single teardrop echoed around the floor of the den as it met the earth.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Sorry I haven't written one of these in a while. By the time I end up posting, I never really feel up for it. Anywho, here is Chapter 50 whew. Getting there guys. Have to take the SAT again tomorrow... I also have a TON of work and projects to do which is just lovely, so I can't say when exactly my next chapter will be up
Lost
P.S Never posted it, but a song that really helped me visualize and inspired the scene where Raggedear saved Amberpaw is called 'Armed with Death'- the Walking Dead Game OST
P.P.S YOU ALL need to see this amazing animation that I don't know why I didn't tell you about sooner. Its called "Reversal of the Heart" it will be the first video that appears most likely and has a dragon on it. As you may or may not know, I love animation, and this is by far one of my favorite pieces. If you see it, be sure to let me know what you thought in a review!