A.N: So, sorry about that. If anyone goes on my profile nowadays, they'll see that I had some... technology problems. Still did, SkyDrive is just... Satan. In disguise. For a writer. Ugh. Here. Take it.
With renewed energy, she leapt to her feet and flew through the forest until it blurred to darkness in her vision and she found herself waking up at the side of the Moonpool.
Hollystar woke with a jolt, the taste of starlight still on her tongue. Her tail twitched as she stared into the once-dark waters, which were now tinged with pink with the rising sun over her head. The water seemed almost peaceful with the water splashing into the pool, glittering like diamonds while the ripples swung outward from the waterfall. Nearby a little stream carried the water down into a hole, that Hollystar knew led to the border stream between ThunderClan and WindClan border.
"Hollyleaf?" A voice called down to her, and she glanced up to a tabby face. One that was not from her home Clan.
"Hollystar," Came her brother's low voice as he too peered over the edge of the basin that contained the pool. "This is Sedgewhisker of WindClan. Seems that Onestar sent his queens- and kits- to the Moonpool for safety. Hopefully they can find some."
The new ThunderClan leader nodded, and stood up, pressing her shoulders down to the ground in a stretch and curling her tail over her back as she heard joints popping under her pelt. She felt whole and limber despite the wounds in her dark fur, and turned toward the slope that led back up to the rest of the world. It was already occupied by two queens and a number of kits who were scrambling with large dark eyes and clumsy paws on the smooth stone. They slid down to where Hollystar was waiting, and clustered around the she-cats paws, ignorant to the fact that she was not their mother. Their small bodies quivered with fear, and for a second, Hollystar remembered the time when she was a warrior and she didn't know whether to become a warrior or a queen; now she could understand that she could be both. The kits stirred something in her heart and she hoped she could survive to even have kits.
"Come here, Grasskit," One of the queens murmured, and all of the kits detached from Hollystar's legs and scrambled over to the other cats. The she-cats looked at her silently and then moved away from the trail, hiding in the shadows of the waterfall. Without hesitation, she then leapt up the path to her two warriors.
Lionblaze dipped his head to his sister, pride gleaming in his eyes. Thornclaw did the same, and then said "It's time to head back. It's almost dawn." He was right, the sky was lighting up slowly to the east, staining the lake pink and yellow. It would be a cheery, warm Greenleaf dawn if not for the quiet screaming the three cats could hear up on the bluffs of WindClan's territory that came from all the territories around the lake. Some would think that the light of the sun would diminish the power of the Dark Forest cats, yet they seemed to still fight on.
The small patrol stood highlighted against the lightening sky and stared down, feeling the wind ruffling their fur, bringing the scent of carnage and evil, if there was such a scent. "We should move," Thornclaw goaded again. So without another word they moved off through the long grasses, the smell of blood strengthening as they followed the river down toward the lake again.
There were trees close by when Lionblaze hissed and the three cats flattened themselves to the ground. He had seen, rather than scented, the dark cloud that seemed to be moving through the field opposite of them. "Hold on," he murmured, and slunk away into the grass. Thankfully, his golden pelt blended easily into the stalks of grass and heather, so the tom soon vanished from sight. Hollystar shrunk into the shadow of a sage bush to keep herself hidden while she and Thornclaw waited. Soon her brother returned, brow furrowed angrily. "They were talking, but I didn't recognize any though. They said that they knew that Onestar had told the queens to flee… they're going to scout the hills for them." Lionblaze spat angrily at the ground after his sentence. "There's only two though, we could take them," He offered darkly, claws sliding in and out of this paws.
Hollystar nodded, her ears pinned back to her head. Take them by surprise. Brambleclaw said that if they're dead warriors, you can only kill them by taking off their head or slitting their stomach open. Go for that." The two toms nodded tensely, and then the three slid into the long fronds. Soon they came upon the two Dark Forest cats, and split into a hunting patrol like-pattern. The black cat found this much like stalking in the forest, taking shelter in the dark dawn shadows and waiting silently as she looked for the telltale sign that her Clanmates were in position as well. The two cats were still, a tom licking a claw and a tabby talking quietly while trying to see over the plants. Apparently they hadn't been WindClan cats while alive. Soon a waver in the curtains of the heather behind one told Hollystar that one cat was in place, and a soft crunch confirmed the other. Unfortunately, the Dark Forest cats also heard the soft crunch, and both of their ears shot forward immediately.
"Did you hear something?" The silver tabby murmured, suspicious. She had been the one trying to crane her neck to see over the plants.
"Probably prey." A dark tom grunted, and continued to try and pull something from his claws, oblivious. "They actually have that here, despite what other cats say."
Hollystar crept forward and she could see the shadow of another cat doing the same opposite of her. It looked like Lionblaze, with his golden fur a bit lighter than the environment.
"Are you sure…?" The she-cat continued to question, and sniffed the air.
The heather in front of her waved and Thornclaw leapt out, perfectly blending with the striped shadows of the foliage. He dug his claws straight into the she-cat's throat and tore down to her chest, spilling black sludge everywhere. At the same time, Lionblaze leapt and caught the tom's scruff in his mouth, pulling his head back as the cat attempted to back away in surprise. The black she-cat then joined them and sunk her fangs into the tom's fur, feeling them meet resistance as she hit skin and then the bitter taste of the dead cat's blood. Her teeth met each other inside the cat's throat, and she backed away with a mouthful of dirty flesh. Her nose was clogged with blood and her muzzle was slick with it as well, yet it seemed that it hadn't been enough for the tom. He wriggled and spun from Lionblazes' jaws, liquid the consistency of mud dribbling in chunks from the dark hole in his neck. His snarl was bubbly and coarse as Hollystar jumped onto his back, dragging him away from her golden brother with all her might. The dark cat turned on her then, and she slashed blindly at his throat again, feeling her fur grow heavy once more. Her body braced to meet claws that never came as the tabby fell to the ground, gurgling as it went. The two siblings exchanged glances and sighed in relief, then turned to help Thornclaw.
Two bodies leaked poisonous blood into the heather after they were finished, and the three ThunderClan warrior panted before coming to an unspoken agreement. Lionblaze helped decapitate the she-cat with Thornclaw, also slitting open her stomach to cut the entrails as well. Hollystar went back over to the tabby tom and hacked away with her claws, gagging on the bile that threatened to make her choke. She repeated what the toms were doing as well, then stepped away and retched whatever was left in her stomach. Everything in the Warrior Code was about honoring your Clan while you lived. StarClan obviously didn't think they would need to tell the Clans that defiling the dead of their enemies was wrong as well. It was just so morally wrong that it made all three of the cats sick in their hearts and stomachs before continuing their journey back to ThunderClan territory.
Thornclaw leapt the stream, his strength failing him as he jumped, and so he ended up with his hindquarters in the water. Black and red seeped out of his tabby pelt as he struggled out of the cool water. Hollystar waded through, feeling the cuts on her flanks and chest sting as the clots of blood and gore in her fur washed away. Lionblaze didn't bother, and bounded across the stream without a second thought, the black stripes of Dark Forest blood in his fur making him look like a TigerClan warrior of the past.
As soon as the small patrol entered the woods, they were amazed by the still silence. Not a bird sounded, or a branch rustled; nature itself had stilled as spirits warred on its land. So it obviously surprised them when a soft hiss came from the bushes. It was quickly joined by another and another until the ThunderClan cats clustered together, thoroughly terrified.
"Wait," A younger voice murmured, almost intelligibly. "Hollyleaf?"
The black cat skimmed the silent forest around her and her Clanmates quickly. It took her a while to find Dovewing's fluffy grey face peeking out of a juniper bush, next to another silvery shape she assumed was Ivypool.
"Dovewing?" She questioned, unsure of her guess at the cat's identity.
"Oh for StarClan's sake," mewed a familiar voice as Jayfeather strolled out of a dark bramble bush, his blue eyes fixed on his sister. "Congratulations. We had to move the Clan. The Two-leg nest made them feel trapped, but we left the queens… Or, at least Poppyfrost and Ferncloud. Sorreltail and Brightheart chose to come with us."
The rest of the Clan crept out of their own hiding areas, most were covered in wounds and looked badly beaten. It was amazing some were still on their feet.
Murmurs of "Welcome back," greeted the new leader as she wove through them, leaving Lionblaze to talk with Jayfeather about the cats they had found while she looked for her new deputy. Sandstorm touched her shoulder warmly, though the old she-cat looked dazed. Blossomfall had her head hung in shame next to Cloudtail, who looked more black than white.
"Has any cat seen Bumblestripe?" She mewed quietly, assessing the small amount of her Clan in front of her. She was trying to block out the dark emotions when she noticed there were only around eleven present. From a Clan that had been stronger in numbers than almost all the other Clans, it was heart wrenching to notice these small things. The cat that she had originally believed was Ivypool was really Whitewing, and most of the cats she had grown up with were dead. An entire generation wiped out in merely one night.
"He was with Dovewing last time I saw him," Jayfeather mewed, and no cat commented on the tom's lack of sight; they all knew that the medicine cat was just as sharp as any other cat.
Hollystar mewed a quick thank you and separated from her shattered Clan, leaving Thornclaw and Lionblaze to discuss the idea of leading the kits and queens to the Moonpool like WindClan had. Instead, she began peering behind bushes and circling steadily outward in search of her Clanmates. Eventually it was the scrap of grey-speckled fur that caught her attention among a clump of ferns, and she hissed quietly as not to startle the two cats.
Bumblestripe turned first, his amber eyes glowing as he sat up, though Dovewing stayed in her crouched position, ears turning quickly back and forth. "Welcome back, Hollystar." He greeted warmly, but in a hushed tone. "I say these words before StarClan and all the spirits of our fallen kin tonight so that they may hear and approve my choice," Hollystar murmured quickly, paws working the ground. "Bumblestripe, I have never been more certain that I wanted you to be the deputy of ThunderClan. You're strong and agile, you have your Clanmate's respect and you do not hide from the responsibility of a warrior."
The dusty warrior looked stunned and blinked a couple of times. Then he dipped his head to lick the black she-cat's shoulder. "I am deeply honored, Hollystar. I'll serve you as long as I can." His grave tone made them both shiver.
A soft, distant congratulations came from Dovewing, turning both of the cats attention back to her. Hollystar surveyed the silvery she-cat, then turned to Bumblestripe with an unspoken question. "We had a plan, see, not all of the cats got out of the camp," The deputy started, whiskers twitching with excitement.
The leader nodded solemnly, thinking of all the cats that she wouldn't see anymore. "Many of them left for StarClan, yes,"
His tail flicked back and forth with the same excitement, which seemed extremely out of place. "No, when we vacated the camp, Mapleshade seems to have taken some of our cats prisoner. They're still alive! Dovewing can hear them."
Hollystar's fur bristled after a brief moment of digesting the news. "How many cats? Can you tell?" she rounded to Dovewing, who was still motionless save for the flickering of her ears.
"At least nine warriors. Ivypool is down there; so are Berrynose and Rosepetal." For the first time since Hollystar approached, the she-cat moved, fixing her with an intense gaze. "We need to go back and save them."
A.N: Yea, so there's not too many cats left from ThunderClan, what do you guys think? I've already decided but it's fun to see what you guys think anyways! Had to clear up some stuff in this chapter, very VERY filler, so sorry. More action in the next one ^^' Promise. Pinky Promise 3