A.N: Guys. Guys we're almost there. Guys, like two more chapters and then I'm done. Holy... Well, since we're getting to the end, and it's been kinda long, I do apologize if the characters end up teleporting all over the place (I may have forgotten who was with the Clan and who wasn't by this point) So... I mean, you can leave a review and complain or just deal :) Enjoy.
Hollystar gazed around sadly, desperate hope in her eyes. "I told him that when the time came, I would take the Clan and I would flee. And I think that's what has to happen now."
There was silence for a few heartbeats. There was numbness and sadness and the desperation of the leader in the center of the cats. Then there was acceptance.
Murmurs spread outward from the epicenter of the meeting, whiskers twitching and ears flattening as the cats soaked in the news and discussed it quietly. It was obvious that they were not happy with the decision that their leader was implying, but this battle had cost them more than their pride and name as ThunderClan. Instead, they were losing themselves by fighting the hopeless battle that seemed to have no end. Already there were more cats dead than Hollystar wished to count, and each one was a bit more ice that had formed over her heart. When she and her siblings had been young, even as apprentices, she was known as the one that followed the Warrior Code; she wouldn't stray, couldn't wander, and yet now she was the one offering the choice to flee from the terrors that haunted the Lake. There was no guarantee that the Dark Forest wouldn't follow them, hunt them like mice and systematically annihilate the Clan cats until there was nothing remaining from their ranks.
Worry scorched her pelt as the leader looked around at her tired, wounded Clanmates. It was a wonder that many could stand, nevertheless live through the battle to fight again. 'You keep sending cats out, as if we have more to spare' her brother's words echoed, unwelcomed, in her head; Hollystar could not fight the truth in them, and instead tucked her head downward in shame.
"You didn't discuss this with me," Bumblestripe mewed quietly, his amber eyes shining with mixed sorrow and bitterness.
Hollystar could only sigh wearily and shake her tucked head, avoiding eye contact with her deputy. "What would it have changed, Bumblestripe? This war would still be going on, this fear still terrorizing my Clan."
The silver and black tomcat stood and lashed his tail. "I would've told you to ask StarClan," He hissed, "We need to trust our ancestors as much as we can right now."
"StarClan is fighting their own battle, losing their own numbers. We cannot disturb them Bumblestripe, we must only help them. Without our ancestors, who are we?"
"We are a Clan! A bound family that fights and lives together!" The younger cat fought back, but Hollystar could tell that his thoughts were scattered and confused. "Besides, I don't see any StarClan cats helping us, saving us. Why aren't they keeping our Clanmates from harm?!"
"They have been, Bumblestripe." The black cat looked up sharply at the near blasphemy that was coming from his mouth. "You don't remember them."
Bumblestripe scoffed angrily, his tail curling slightly, but his pelt spiked with fear. "I think I would remember a cat of stars crossing my path, Hollystar." He rebutted.
"Who was the leader before me?" She asked suddenly, eyes narrowed to intense beams of green.
"F-Firestar," Bumblestripe stammered as he answered the surprise question.
"And before him?" She pressed,
"Bluestar!"
"And who was Bluestar's first deputy, murdered by Tigerstar?"
Bumblestripe opened his mouth to reply and stopped, then shook his head. He tried again to speak but only achieved a befuddled look as he stared at his leader. "I remember the nursery stories. I grew up knowing his name. Briarlight and Blossomfall would play this scene…" He tried desperately to remind himself to no avail.
"Redtail." Hollystar clarified, her tone suddenly gentle. "Redtail was killed by Tigerstar when he was still in ThunderClan. You saw him today; you saw him murdered before your eyes." The silver tom looked at her with confusion, and the dark leader touched his cheek gently with her nose. "When StarClan warriors die, it's not only their spirits, but their memory that is also destroyed. That's why we can't let them continue fighting. Without the memory and code of ancestors, we are nothing more than a band of rogues. We have to protect our way of life."
The tabby cat nodded slowly, his eyes troubled as he shook his head. "If that's true, how do you remember him, Hollystar?"
"Within StarClan, the pain is fresh—there is a part of me there still after the ceremony. Normally they keep their transactions to themselves, but now they are so desperate and scattered that we—the medicine cats and leaders—can hear them."
Bumblestripe sat down tiredly, only now realizing the burden that his leader had held. "How long have you been able to hear our ancestors?"
"Well that depends, Bumblestripe." Hollystar whispered, scuffling her paw on the wooden floor. "In the tunnels, there were ancestors of an ancient Clan—one that lived here before us. They spoke of the time of Darkness, when shadows would rule the hallowed land. They could feel it coming even before our own generation. They're the reason I came back. But right after the leader ceremony I could hear the plans of StarClan. It's really very… unbalancing to hear them all the time."
"I—" The silvery tabby begins, but is quickly cut off by an impetuous yowl. Both cats turned to see Lionblaze and Whitewing, the former towering over the white she-cat with his hackles raised.
"We can't leave!" The tabby snarled, no longer attempting to keep the ThunderClan plan a secret. He towered over the smaller she-cat, who looked frail and old by comparison; somehow Whitewing stood her ground, hissing angrily back at the younger cat. "My daughters have suffered enough—my mate is dead and so are my family. I would rather have something left of my heart after all of this!"
"Well I'm sorry for you, really," Lionblaze hissed, his voice turned mocking, "But the Clan—"
"You know nothing of the pain I suffer!" The white cat screeched, whiskers fully splayed and tail lashing angrily. "Your brother and sister are alive. You got to say goodbye to your father—the one you actually considered your father at least. Your real one is still alive."
The Clan recoiled like a snake from the feud, along with a few glances to their leader as well. All the secrets had become something of a reality for the few who knew everything—the prophecy, their parents, the dirt that ThunderClan had been sweeping under the proverbial rug had piled up so high …
"To all who don't know, Crowfeather was our father, Leafpool was our mother." Hollystar revealed tiredly, to those who knew and those who didn't alike.
Disjointed murmurs rose from the Clan, and then a snort from Cinderheart, a broken sound that seemed broke with semi-hysterical laughter. "You really think that this is news, after everything that's happened. Spirits are flying through the air alongside us to face our dead, evil ancestors—as if this was something out of a legend!" She spun to look at Lionblaze. "I don't care about whatever prophecy you're in, you're not immortal, Lionblaze, you can't win this battle."
Hollystar sneaked a glance at their neighboring Clan, worried by the glowing pairs of eyes she could see reflected by the paling moonlight. A soft hiss to her Clan reminded them to keep their voices down—as if one enemy was not enough, it would mean the end if WindClan heard their plans and attacked them. 'Of course,' Hollystar reflected, 'I would accuse ourselves of being traitors as well, if I were them.'
"I don't want to fight anymore, Hollystar," Cinderheart turned to her friend, blue eyes beseeching.
"Neither do I; And my daughters come with me too." Whitewing pushed, fierce with the need to protect her children. A single glimpse of Dovewing and Ivypool, the sane protecting the insane, spoke of the need to remove the cats that were no longer fit for battle.
Her deputy scuffed his paws again and lowered his ears in novitiate inexperience. With a soft huff the black-furred cat leapt back upon the wooden structure, quickly tucking her head down onto her chest and flattening her fur as much as possible. She didn't know if she was doing the right thing anymore—the moment Brambleclaw had called her name, she had not known what she had gotten herself into. But her next words could split her Clan in half. "I know that some of you can't fight anymore, can't take this anymore. I'm offering you a way to leave now, while the rest of us hold them off, so something of our Clan survives. I can't ask this of every member—a warrior's death is to go down fighting for what you believe in; but we also need a life, a world, to return to when all of this is over. I won't judge you for your choice, and neither should your Clanmates."
The soft utterance turned implying, she looked down on the crowd, searching out each cats' eyes to meet them. "There is no shame in leaving. I'm not going to make you say who you are. But when we leave with WindClan today, we'll take your absence as a sign." Hollystar finally closed her mouth, stopping the rest of the jumbled ideas from coming out. Holding her breath, the she-cat waited for her Clan to react with her heart in her throat. Bumblestripe looked up at her with the constant fear that had haunted him, along with the confusion the dealings with the Clan had brought him. But she could feel the amount of trust that he had in her as leader, and she hoped the rest of ThunderClan trusted her as well.
Below her, Hollystar could already see the Clan separating slightly, Whitewing and her daughters drawing away, the crackling stare that Cinderheart and Lionblaze shared, the amount of bitter words that they would share later—in private—was obvious and awkward. No matter what she had said, it was already obvious that her warriors were separating themselves, forming new friendships were forming and old ones were breaking quickly. Surprisingly, Thornclaw stepped away from Lionblaze as well, joining the she-cats.
"Hollystar," Bumblestripe called up to her "I need to go with them."
The she-cat didn't even bother questioning, instead the tomcat walked away without another word. The majority of the cats—five of them—had chosen to leave. Lionblaze hissed angry words across to Cinderheart, who stared at the wall, ignoring the tabby. By his side, surprisingly, sat Sandstorm, Rosepetal and Blossomfall. Realizing that she would join her brother shortly, the she-cat leapt down from her perch, ready to set out with her divided party.
As she flew through the air, aghast shocks met her ears, and she landed sideways, facing a group of WindClan cats that blocked the entrance of the two-leg den. Immediately her fur spiked and her tail lashed—the Dark Forest cats had yet to attack them inside the nest yet, had they now? Instead a mottled form pushed through the crowd of felines, who stood paralyzed in the way. As they cleared, the leader began to recognize the ginger and white cat striding toward the small ThunderClan group—a queen she had thought of as dead. The familiar face made Hollystar's heart wrench—not because Poppyfrost had returned, but because of the small bundle she carried in her teeth.
The little bundle used to be brown, the fur so soaked that it appeared black, even as the sun began to break the horizon outside. Fur and flesh had been ripped away to reveal bloody slime that inhabited the insides of the body—one that still oozed fresh blood and twitched spastically. Molepaw was nothing more than a bloody heap of fur, his eyes glazed and dead already as his mother carried him toward the Clan, her eyes narrowed to angry slits.
As her son gave a last jerk and died, Poppyfrost dropped him to the floor with a soft thump, and let her head hang. Just behind her, unnoticed, had walked Berrynose with the tiny, equally mutilated body of Cherrypaw. There were no more apprentices in ThunderClan now.
"Hollystar," The she-cat had been out of the action hence far, but seemed to see what was going on. "They've murdered my children." Behind her, Whitewing let out a small, broken mewl. "And I want to fight."
The she-cat's eyes jerked up with flaming anger, something the leader had never seen in the gentle queen before. Berrynose seemed more subdued, but nodded along with her.
"Well then," Hollystar nodded, trying to hide the sadness that had taken root in her soul. "We leave at noon. We will make this the final battle."