"Raggedear!" Thistleprick meowed, rushing forward as he pressed forehead to his brother's. "You're okay!" Tears of joy began to form in the corners of Thistleprick's eyes as he let out a laugh of pure relief, joy, and despair.

From where she stood, a soft smile graced it's way across Moonfur's features while Lostheart blinked from beside her as she watched the two toms. Raggedear's eyes were outlined by dark circles of exhaustion, and the tom himself seemed a bit stunned, if not confused. "...Thistleprick?" he mumbled softly, eyes rolling to the side to get a good view of his brother from where he lay in the makeshift nest Roseclaw had put together for him.

"Yeah, its me." Thistleprick replied, blinking away the tears from his face as he nodded. Raggedear was silent, but slowly the tom turned to look up at the roof of the den, eyes glazed over in a tired sort of daze. Roseclaw stood at the opposite end of the medicine cat den, watching the group with a small relieved smile as Moonfur and Lostheart padded back and eventually out of the den altogether to give the brothers some space and for Moonfur to inform Lostheart of what had happened while she was asleep.

"...Amberpaw?" Raggedear questioned lightly as he attempted to pull himself up to look for the young she-cat, but was unable to do so as he weakly fell back against the ground. Thistleprick instantly moved to cushion him and shook his head. "She's safe, we have her. You always have to go and play the hero don't you?" Thistleprick meowed. "Don't ever scare me like that again...I can't lose you, Raggedear."

Raggedear was silent as he took everything in; a mixture of emotions filling his tired body. His immediate feeling was one of relief; Amberpaw was okay, he had done it... However, as he looked up into his brother's semi-blurry form, guilt clawed at his heart. It had been selfish of him not to think of Thistleprick, he would never try to intentionally abandon his brother. "I'm sorry..." Raggedear meowed.

Thistleprick pawed him lightly on the shoulder as he always did and shook his head. "It's okay." A small smile grew on Raggedear's face as his eyes crumbled into a happy grin. "Hey, someone's gotta protect you." he chuckled lightly. Raggedear's eyes slowly re-opened and his grin faded slightly. "What happened? Is everyone-"

"Everyone is safe, don't worry." Thistleprick answered seeing the look on Raggedear's face. "And yes, Moonfur is too."

"I thought...it was really the end for me. But how did-"

"It was Moonfur." Thistleprick meowed, causing Raggedear's eyes to widen slightly. "After we found Amberpaw at the river, Moonfur was determined to find you, Sunstar ordered her against it, but she went anyway. Most of us were too injured to go any further and needed Roseclaw's medical attention. As the others went on, I stayed behind to wait on Moonfur in case she found you...I'll admit, I was thinking of the worst. But then when I saw Moonfur dragging your body out of the forest..." Thistleprick trailed off, voice suddenly tightening. Raggedear shook his head, signaling that it was okay for him not to go on.

'Moonfur...'

"You had lost a lot of blood by the time we had found you and took you back to camp, but Roseclaw was able to fix you up." Thistleprick continued with a grin.

Memories of the previous night suddenly flashed in Thistleprick's mind as he remembered how he and Moonfur had burst into the medicine cat den with Raggedear's body while the white she-cat had been tending to Lostheart's wounds. Thistleprick had begged, pleaded with Roseclaw to save his brother; he knew that if anyone could have saved him, it was her.

Raggedear let out a soft sigh, feeling more tired than he ever had before. Everything just seemed so..unreal; he was alive, Amberpaw was safe, Moonfur was safe, Thistleprick was safe, and no one else had gotten hurt. It seemed almost too good to be true. A part of him wondered why he hadn't just died back there; it would have seemed like a fitting end for him, dying alone in enemy territory... But a part of him felt like had finally been able to recompense for the past, and maybe- just maybe, that was why he had been allowed to live.

"You should rest." Thistleprick suggested. "Err, at least, that's what Roseclaw told me to say." he finished, tilting his head awkwardly. Raggedear nodded as best he could and listened as his brother padded away before lying his head against the soft grass of his nest.

Thistleprick stepped out of the medicine cat den and immediately breathed a sigh of relief as a small, warm breeze ruffled his fur. It seemed that everyone was already on their way to a quick recovery; Raggedear was probably the only cat who needed a bit more rest, but he would be fine in a day or so. Thistleprick dragged his paws slightly as he moved to sit in a small sandy patch to the side of the medicine cat den, observing the small creek that trickled through their camp. It almost looked like a crack on a stone in the way it stood out against the ground.

Thistleprick's tail tip twitched anxiously as he listened to the bubbling water as he zoned out, thoughts occupied by his musings. Quietly, Roseclaw approached the spotted tom from behind and padded up to sit beside him. Thistleprick's violet eyes blinked surprisingly out of his stupor and glanced to the elegant, white she-cat by his side.

Roseclaw could have rolled her eyes at the look of surprise on his face; was it really so surprising that she would sit with him? The blue-eyed she-cat refrained from performing such an action outwardly, but only because she knew the tom was likely going through some tough feelings at the moment. Despite this, Thistleprick's mouth quirked into a small grin as he closed his eyes in delight.

"Roseclaw." he meowed. "Hey."

Roseclaw's vibrant blue eyes were lined with concern as she looked at the lively tom. "How are you?" she asked.

Thistleprick's eyes opened and he shrugged indifferently, "I'm fine. You know how it is." he said grinning. Roseclaw was silent for a moment, noting how the smile didn't quite reach his eyes as it normally would have. "Are you sure? Because if you want to talk about it, it's okay you know."

Thistleprick's eyes immediately developed a mischievous glint that made Roseclaw's pelt prickle in annoyance. "Wh- Don't give me that look! Its not because I like you or anything! I just felt bad because we're supposed to be clanmates and all, but if you don't want to talk then fine." she sniffed, pelt heating up with embarrassment as she averted her eyes with an angry scowl.

"No." Thistleprick meowed, shaking his head with a dull tone once more. "I do, its just-" his eyes fell on the creek as his tail twitched again. "He really scared me, ya know."

Roseclaw's bristling white fur began to lie flat against her back as she listened to the tom's words. "What's wrong with that? It's okay to be afraid, especially when it concerns someone you care about." Roseclaw replied easily, eyes focused on the tom's expression.

"I know. I just can't stand the thought of Raggedear sacrificing himself like that. I guess its selfish of me, but he's my brother- my family; I can't let him go."

"Sometimes it's okay to be selfish." Roseclaw meowed, smiling slightly.

Thistleprick let out a small chuckle. "Maybe." he replied, turning to face Roseclaw. "If it wasn't for you, he might not be alive right now." Thistleprick's eyes lit up with sincerity. "Thank you."

"It was nothing." Roseclaw meowed, averting her eyes. "I couldn't let any cat die, especially one of my clanmates."

Thistleprick rose to all fours and stretched out his paws behind him, "I'll see you later." he meowed, turning to pad away without another word. Roseclaw watched him go with a small frown and a small amount of concern; she hoped Thistleprick would return to his normal self soon.

Lostheart was silent for a moment after Greysight finished her account of the day previous. There would definitely be repercussions for their actions soon enough, it seemed like things would finally be coming to a close; only Lostheart couldn't help the small feeling of dread that overcame her.

It was already late, and all the patrols had returned to camp for the night. They only had a few days until the next Gathering, and until that time came, Lostheart had a feeling that everyone should train their hardest during those few hours- who knew what could happen.

"We need to hold a clan meeting to discuss what we're going to do." Lostheart said seriously. "Do you mind gathering everyone up?"

Greysight nodded, "Sure, I'll move as quickly as I can."

It didn't take long until the entirety of DarkClan sat in the clearing; even Sunstar had come out to join the meeting. Raggedear was sitting beside his brother, finally up and moving with Amberpaw pressed by his side. The apprentice looked completely lit up beside her mentor, and Lostheart could only imagine her reaction at seeing Raggedear out of the medicine cat den.

Darkpelt and Browneyes sat together near Greysight and Moonfur; and for once, Lostheart noticed, everyone was sitting closer together than they normally would have-save for Sunstar of course. The golden tom sat at the head of the group with a hardened expression, and it was clear that this might be their most serious meeting yet.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I was going to make this chapter longer, but I'm being really slow at the moment and its been forever since I updated and just-liafaskbf So I had to post it xD

Lost

P.S Yup, I've seen the Butterfly Dragn and I agree that it is beautifully done.

P.P.S I hate being busy.