Chapter 45
Hey babes! I'm so relived we finally finished UTSD! WOOOOHOOOO! I'm so proud of us . Three good friends of mine helped me write this lovely chapter, and I'm very proud of how it turned out. I'm not going to stay for long, because I'm too excited for the chapter! CYA IN DIVIDED STARS! Love you my Ashes!
Pouncer's amber gaze bore into her own midnight blue orbs, pain piercing his heart like the sharpest claws. He tried to turn away and run, run from the heartache and problems, just…run. Something stopped his limbs from moving, but nothing stopped his heart from hurting. "H-How, w-why?" he muttered shakily. He couldn't explain the suffocating pain in his chest, the endless blow to his heart.
Nightfall lowered her head shamefully. "P-Pouncer…I-I'm sorry…" she squeaked quietly. The battle started to spin around the gray tom. The forms of the cats around him became fuzzy, his head started to buzz. He had to get out; now.
He started to run, his paws barely grazing the ground as he barreled through the swarm of cats. He heard Nightfall's voice behind him, willing; no begging for him to stop running. To listen to her. I'll never listen to you again! Suddenly he tripped over his own paws, and tumbled into Lightningfall.
"What's wrong?!" The golden tom asked, eyes battle crazed and energized. He tried to choke out a yes, but no words came out. Pouncer nodded stiffly. His amber gaze traveled to Talon creeping up behind his golden clan-mate, when reality clicked in.
"Lightningfall!" He screeched, leaping behind the tom onto Talon. The Sangs fangs piercing his shoulder, fiery pain pulsing through his veins. Lightningfall soon joined Pouncer to help him.
Lightningfall and Pouncer started to claw the tom's pelt, tuffs of fur and blood splattering on the grass. Pouncer's shoulder started to throb when Talon let go of him and Lightningfall started to chase him.
He crashed to the ground in a heap of limbs. He tried to get up, but his shoulder was bleeding violently, preventing him from movement. It's not my time Starclan, don't take me away yet. I beg you…
Suddenly a lithe paw grazed his pelt, and he rolled over to see Nightfall sitting next to him. "Get away from me," he hissed through his pain, clenching his teeth.
Her eyes looked hollow and empty, all from the pain she caused him. "Stop, stop please," she sighed. Nightfall got closer to him, close enough that her nose was inches away from his. His skin crawled with discomfort as her eyes bore into his.
"G-Get a-away," he whimpered. "You've caused enough pain." Suddenly she crashed her nose against him. His limbs became jelly and he closed his eyes. Soon his bitterness and pain kicked in and he pushed her off roughly, hurting his shoulder even more.
"This is your fault, and you're not going to make it up to me anytime soon," he growled. He hauled himself up, his shoulder wrenching in pain. Desperation clouded her once vivid eyes as he started to limp away.
"Pouncer, wait!" She called, padded up next to him. He shoved her away.
"You broke me heart when I was just beginning to realize that I truly, truly loved you!" Tears started to build up in his amber eyes.
"I-I did it for us!" She wailed. He scoffed and turned away before his tears started to fall. Nightfall moved over so he could she her. "I never loved him the way I love you. Y-You have to understand! I was trying to help you!"
"By breaking my heart?! If that was your plan, you've succeeded." He started to limp away, when she yanked his tail back.
"Listen for a moment!" She snapped. "I stayed with him, to plan. I stayed with him to help your Clan! Pouncer, he sister was his mate before me. His logics are that is his mate dies, her sister must become his new mate! I've tried to leave dozens of times!" She cried, her voice cracking.
"But you didn't. I offered plenty of times for you to live with me! You always declined," he growled. "We could have avoided this; you could have been fighting by my side!"
"I still can," she whispered, drawing her tail across his cheek. He tried to turn away, but he kept his gaze on her.
"How can I even trust you after all of this," he hissed. "Y-You hurt me, badly. How can I ever trust you again?" She dipped her head and drew circles in the dirt with her claw before looking at him again with a small smile.
"Because you've never stopped trusting me, just like I've never stopped trusting you. Love forms an unbreakable bond, true love." Her eyes dazzled like stars. He willed himself to walk away and leave, but he couldn't.
He crashed his nose down on hers and exhaled deeply. "I believe in you Nightfall, don't break my trust," he whispered in her ear. Pouncer gave her a quick lick on her cheek before limping away, back to the battle.
I love you…
~Written by Majesty's Warrior Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zeldastar's forest-green eyes, identical to her brother's, met Terror's blood-red ones. Time seemed to slow down for a split second, before Terror lunged forward, teeth bared.
Zeldastar dove to the side, avoiding the attack. As she did, she twisted and slammed her paws down onto Terror's right flank. The leader of Sanguis fell to the ground, but not before hooking his paw around her front leg and bringing her down as well. Simultaneously, they both rolled to the side, back on their feet in an instant.
Zeldastar dove low, raking her claws over the soft skin of the Sang's underbelly. Terror hissed and pinned her, inflicting four deep scars on her cheek. She pummeled his underbelly in retaliation, and eventually threw him off.
The battle continued, a twisted, brutal dance as two masters of the art tested their skills against each other.
They were facing off, blood dripping into Zeldastar's right eye, obscuring its vision when another Sang collided with her. The collision dragged her away from her opponent, and into the throng of the battle. Cats raged around her, immersed in the violent conflict of war that claimed lives and shattered hearts.
Turning to face her opponent, Zeldastar found herself staring into insane hazel eyes. The cat's pelt was orange, but it was matted and unkempt as well as bloodstained. Saliva dripped from open jaws.
With a strangled cry or rage and insanity, the cat launched himself at her, raking claws along her left shoulder. Hissing in pain from the wound, the leader countered with a lunge, trying to sink her teeth into the rouge's pelt.
Her teeth only met fur, though, instead of sinking into flesh as she had hoped.[1] Dread pooled in her stomach before she was pinned to the ground. Growling, her hind legs made contact with her adversary's stomach, throwing them off.
Rising, with blood oozing from her shoulder, she realized what she had to do. She watched, waiting for the right moment, as the rouge leaped through the air towards her. Then the tortoiseshell dodged to the side as he landed and slammed her front paws down onto his neck.
There was a snap! and then the life faded from his eyes. Zeldastar looked down at him with no pity in hers, before seeking out another opponent.
She turned her gaze back to the battle, scanning the fight for someone in need of assistance. Her eyes landed on a cream cat with lighter splashes cowering as a huge Sanguis cat towered over her.
Deli.
A growl rumbled in the back of her throat. She shot forward, leaping over two cats engaged in battle, before skidding to a halt in front of the former kittypet. As the Sang reared up, no doubt going to use the same tactic Zeldastar had used earlier to kill the insane orange rouge, she took advantage of his exposed belly and raked her claws down the length of it.
Blood splattered her paws and the ground as the Sang toppled backward and landed with a thump, his life force leaking out onto the ground.
Wasting no time with the slowly-dying cat, she spun around, meeting Deli's scared blue eyes. "Deli! Are you okay?" she demanded. "Did he hurt you? I'll kill him, the bastard- Oh wait, I already did..."
"Z-Zeldastar? He- he d-didn't hurt me, but y-you look hurt..."
The arrogant she-cat laughed derisively. "'Course not. I've handled worse- Look out!"
A Sang suddenly dropped from a tree above, crushing Deli beneath her. Zeldastar snarled and raked her claws across her face. The Sang, a shorthaired brown she-cat, looked fearful for a moment before slamming her paw on the leader's head, hard.
Black spots danced in front of Zeldastar's vision, and she stumbled, exposing herself to attack. A pair of teeth latched onto her scruff, and she was shaken violently.
Her head felt as though a mountain had fallen on it, black began to show at the edge of her vision.
A fearsome yowl then ripped through the air, hurting her head even more. Then the teeth around her scruff were gone- Not without some pain as the fangs were ripped out of her skin- and she closed her eyes, enjoying the bliss for a few seconds.
A screech of pain brought her back to reality, and her eyes snapped open. Struggling up, she saw Lightningfall engaged in a fight with the rogue who had attacked Deli.
The last spots of black in her vision faded away and she staggered over to help her friend. Slicing the rouge's flank open, she then gripped her tail in her jaws and yanked on it. The rogue let out a cry of pain, and Lightningfall seized his opportunity. With a sweep of his forepaw, he knocked the Sang's legs out from under her and pinned her to the ground.
"Give up?" he snickered.
The Sang looked fearful, and Zeldastar realized how young she was. "P-Please let me go," she whimpered, green eyes fearful.
Lightningfall sighed heavily. "If I must," he drawled, before sheathing his claws and releasing the rouge. "Go on, shoo. Get far away from here," he snapped.
With a nod, the rouge shot off, whimpering as she went.
Zeldastar met his gaze. "Thanks for saving me," she grumbled.
Lightningfall dipped his head. "My pleasure, your majesty," he snickered.
The tortoiseshell cuffed him over the head before turning to Deli. "Are you okay?" She asked, worriedly.
Deli shook her head pitifully. "No, i-it hurts, it hurts everywhere," she whimpered.
A cat suddenly appeared beside them. "I'll take her," she murmured, before helping the former kittypet up and leading her off.
Zeldastar watched them go, silently wishing for Deli's safety, before glancing at Lightningfall out of the corner of her eye. "You ready?" she asked, smirking.
The warrior looked back at her with an equally arrogant smirk. "Let's go."
They turned and surged into the fight, fighting back to back, raining blows down on their opponent.
They were both injured and
bloodstained, but neither cared, intent on getting revenge and fueled by adrenaline. Cats fell before their combined ability. Similar to Zeldastar's fight with Terror, it was almost like a dance- But in this one, the two dancers worked seamlessly, combining skill instead of contending for who had more talent.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, Zeldastar noticed her brother engaged in a fierce battle with a bluish-gray tom[2]. Regnant knocked the tom aside with a fierce blow and then turned to fight another adversary.
But the rogue was not so easily beaten. He staggered up, shook his head, then shot forward, claws outstretched, making to slice her brother's stomach open. Regnant turned at the last moment, fear showing in his eyes, and a wave of protectiveness, hate, and love for her kin came over her.
"NOT MY BROTHER, YOU BASTARD!"[3] she screeched, racing to the site. She bowled the tom over and dragged her claws along the side of his neck. As blood spewed from the fatal wound, the rouge gripped her neck in his jaws and clamped them shut.
The last thing Zeldastar, leader of MemoryClan, heard was her brother screaming her name.
And then blackness rushed to meet her and she sank into the confines of death.
~Written by Keeper of the Starry Night~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stormwind snarled at the approaching Sanguis cat. He flicked his tail, signaling Skyflower to attack from behind, while he fought up front. "Come and get me," he smirked, darting around the burly tom. The dark gray tom watched him struggled to throw off Skyflower. She growled and pulled on his ears.
Stormwind chuckled and leapt for the tom's belly, slicing gashed into the Sangs matted fur in quick movements. Blood pooled on the grass soaking his paws. The Sanguis cat started to loose consciousness, so Skyflower leapt off his back. She stared at him triumphantly with Stormwind and started to pad away, when the cat hooked his claws into her spine and pulled her back.
Skyflower let out a cry of sheer pain as the Sang pulled her closer to him with a murderous stare. "Skyflower!" He shrieked, racing to her side. His paws barely grazed the dirt as he raced to the love of his life's side. "Get off of her!" He growled, leaping onto the tom's back, raking his claws down his spine.
The Sang let out a snarl and threw Skyflower. Stormwind watched her motionless body collide into a tree stump. She slumped into the grass motionless, a thin line of blood trickling out of her ear, and her hind legs bleeding violently.
Anger overwhelmed the gray tom. All he wanted to do was cause him pain and suffering. His sharp claws raked down the Sangs face and flank.
Stormwind jumped off of him and started to circle the tom, baring his fangs. "I'll murder you!" He spat.
The Sang licked his lips, growling throatily. "My name Scar. You cannot kill Scar," he roared.
"You don't even speak properly and you think you can kill me? Pathetic," he growled. Stormwind leapt into the air and hooked his paws under Scar's belly, flipping him over. The Sang barreled over, but grabbed his scruff as he fell.
Stormwind felt his neck fur tear under the tom's strong jaws. Blood started to fell up in his fur in fiery bolts of pain. He tried to squirm from Scar's grasp as his pain grew and grew. "Let go!" He yowled, batting his face with his paws.
The dark gray tom started to feel his strength ebb away, slowly and painfully. He fell limp against his will. Skyflower…I'm so sorry…please…I love you so much. I love you…
His vision started to blur as blood pooled around his body, soaking into his heavy pelt. Suddenly a blurry brown shape attacked Scar. Timberfrost? Stormwind hazily watched Timberfrost beat the tom viciously. "Never touch her again!" He spat, raking his claws down Scar's face.
Timberfrost kicked the Sang one last time before rushing over to his mate, scooping her onto his back. Stormwind hauled himself up and limped over to the. He was aware of the blood spilling from his belly.
"Thank…you," he rasped to the tabby. He dipped his head distractedly, fretting about Skyflower.
"Y-You saved her. Thank you," Timberfrost breathed. Skyflower started to stir. She slowly opened one silver eye, the other was closed shut with sticky blood.
"T-Timberfrost?" she whimpered. He let her off his back, but she crashed to the ground in a heap of limbs, shrieking. "MY LEGS!" She wailed.
"Skyflower!" Both toms cried. Timberfrost pushed Stormwind out of the way and stooped down next to the trembling she-cat.
"I-I-I ca-can't move m-my l-legs," she shivered. Her eyes had a terrifying hollow look. In his head, Stormwind replayed the horrific memory of Scar tearing at her legs and spine. With dreadful horror, he realized she would never walk away.
"Sk-Skyflower," he breathed before crashing to the ground, unconscious.
"STORMWIND!" She wailed, crawling towards him. He felt her paws move around his motionless body frantically. "N-No, no. You're not leaving me again! You've risked your life for me so many times, my family," she sobbed. Skyflower buried her face in his bloodied fur.
He had enough strength to roll over and touch his nose to her cheek, his blue eyes full of tears. "I love you," he whispered. He set his head on the grass and let his eyes close slowly. Be gentle Starclan. Like wind blowing through long ferns, he seemed to leap from his body.
Stormwind purred and nuzzled Skyflower. His new starry pelt shone brightly as he intertwined his tail with hers. She seemed to understand that he was gone. He licked her wounds gently, careful not to hurt her. His blue eyes shone vividly with his youth and final peace.
"I will never stop loving you," he whispered. Suddenly a new starry shape approached him. Petalheart. His sister purred loudly as both litter-mates nuzzled each other's cheeks.
"Let's go brother. Father is waiting, as is mother," she smiled brightly.
"M-Mother went to Starclan?" he gasped. She nodded.
"Skyclan descendants." With that, he followed his sister to Starclan. He looked past his shoulder to see Skyflower crying into his lifeless form, cursing the stars. Mourn not my dear. I am always with you…
~Written by Majesty's Warrior Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shadowwalker stepped out of the shadows next to Frost. "When do we attack?" she said in a whisper as to not alert the battling cats to her presence.
The violet-eyed mutant kept her eyes trained on the battle. "Soon," she answered in an even lower whisper. "The time will come. Have patience."
The darkness-manipulator gave no sign of her annoyance and nodded. "Okay," she said, before turning her gaze to the battle.
As she watched, the dark gray cat with the blood-red eyes that seemed to be the leader of Sanguis leaped onto a rock and let out an ear-splitting yowl.
The battling cats all paused for a second and turned to look at the rouge. A psychotic smile made it's way onto the Sang's face, and suddenly Shadowwalker was gripped with a paralyzing fear.
For an agonizing few moments, she was consumed by it, brought down to the ground. Then it lifted- a result of Crimson's emotional manipulation, no doubt. But when she saw the origin of the fear, a new emotion ran through her- Shock.
Grotesque shadowy figures with odd green stumps had surrounded the clearing. As she watched more figures appeared, though not of the same sort. From her knowledge of the paranormal, she knew that they were demonic creatures. The MemoryClan cats seemed paralyzed by this same fear, yet the members of Sanguis seemed unaffected.
Beside her, Frost raised her tail and then brought it down again swiftly. With yowls of rage, the assortment of mutants stormed forward, targeting the creatures around the edge first. The MemoryClan cats abruptly were able to move again, and they seemed to realize that the newcomers were friendly.
Shadowwalker went directly for one of the shadowy beasts who had heralded the arrival of the fear- A fear demon. Tapping into her power, she reached out to the shadows that comprised the demon and then pushed them outwards in a blast of energy.
The creature disappeared in wisps of smoke.
Smiling, the mutant swung around, coming face-to-face with another one. She repeated the attack, before receding into the shadows and turning invisible. Spotting Tawny engaging in battle with a Pain Demon, she crept over to the battling duo.
She lunged forward, gripping onto the Pain's arm and causing shackles of darkness to bind it to the ground. "Get the crystal!" she screamed to Tawny. Her fellow mutant nodded, and using her speed dashed up the body of the Pain Demon, before slamming an unsheathed paw hard on the central crystal in the demon's forehead.
There was a blast of red light, and then the Pain dissipated into a pile of dust.
Tawny looked at her and nodded. "Thanks," she said briefly, before turning back around to fight.
Shadowwalker yelled, "You're welcome!" after her before blasting another Fear Demon to bits and throwing a darkness blast at a Lesser Demon, killing the beast.
A chorus of screech-ish howls rang through the air, and Shadowwalker, curious, twisted and saw Hoyttaler burst out of the shrubbery at the top of the ridge with four foxes at her heels. But they weren't chasing her- On the contrary, they were running with her.
The foxes vaulted into the battle, gripping Sanguis cats and throwing them to the side. Many cats on either side scampered out of the way out of fear.
Hoyttaler hastened over to Keeper and barked something. Keeper nodded, before yowling above the noise of battle. "They're on our side! Don't run!"
The MemoryClan cats froze at the sight of the winged mutant, who glared at them before spreading her wings and rising into the air. She sped towards a Pain and crushed the crystal, and with a freakish scream, the demon dematerialized into dust.
A low rumble alerted the umbrakinetic to something behind her. Freezing, she slowly looked behind her to come face-to-face with a Desire Demon.
What looked like a huge, horned, gray twoleg with a purple aura stood behind her.[4] The twoleg-that-wasn't-a-twoleg smiled, and Shadowwalker's head was filled with images of her ruling the group of mutants in Frost's place. The members were loving her and praising her, and she sat on a polished rock decorated with flowers.
The demon leaned down. "All that could be yours," she breathed. "if only you help me..."
Dazed, Shadowwalker nodded, and the demon a smile. "Good," she cackled. "Very good..."
Shadowwalker's amber eyes stared up into the Desire's. In the back of her mind, she knew that this was all part of the demon's plan, but she couldn't bring herself to care.
There was a cry of "NO!" but it barely registered with her tainted brain. As she was staring into the demon's eyes, they suddenly grew lifeless and its hold on her was freed. She blinked, then stared at the scene before her.
What looked like a stick was buried in the Desire Demon's chest. The creature fell backward, landing with a thump on the ground. Dazed, the umbrakinetic turned and saw Frost staring at the dead demon with no remorse in her purple eyes.
Shadowwalker opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly a huge, shining twoleg object came out of nowhere and tossed the telekinetic into the air. At the same time, a Lesser Demon crashed into Shadowwalker from the side, preventing her from helping her leader.
This particular Lesser Demon looked like a giant spider, with thousands of blood-red eyes. Hissing, she formed bolts of darkness and pounded the Lesser Demon with them.
When the spider-like thing was finally dead, it was too late.
Frost lay on the ground, multiple wounds littering her fur. The most prominent was a deep slash along her stomach, that was spilling blood over the ground.
A scream of rage reached her ears, and then a sphere appeared. Shadowwalker could see another area of the battle in it, but a cat leaped out and it disappeared.[5]
The cat was a long-haired gray tabby with striking blue eyes that went by the name of Wurmloch.[6] Frost's cousin, he could create spherical portals to any given place.[7]
Now he was looking directly at Frost's killer- A huge, black-clad demon with horns and flaming eyes- with pure hatred. A portal opened directly in the middle of where the demon was standing. Before he could resist, the demon was sucked in, screeching as he went.
The portal disappeared, and although neither Wurmloch or Shadowwalker noticed, many of the demons froze and began to slink away. Some remained, however, and the still-alive mutants began to battle them.
Wurmloch raced over to Frost, Shadowwalker at his heels. She remained some short ways away, wanting to give the two some privacy.
"Frost," Wurmloch said, voice cracking. "Come on, let's get you to Evening Star-"
"No," Frost rapsed, looking at him with tired purple eyes. "There's no time."
"Don't say that!" Wurmloch snapped. "Evening Star will heal you-"
"Do yourself a favor and stop lying to yourself, Wurmloch. I'm going to die, and I know it. But... Promise me one thing," she gasped.
Her cousin's blue eyes softened. "Anything."
The telekinetic drew in a ragged breath. "Promise me... Promise that you'll... Take care of them... when I'm... gone..."[8]
Her head rolled back, and the light faded from her eyes. Wurmloch let out a primal cry of grief, and Shadowwalker stepped back, leaving him to mourn his cousin in peace.
~Written by Keeper of the Starry Night~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was watching from a tree with my brother, him shaking from how much we had seen in such a short time. My claws dug deep into the tree, my eyes watching the ground like a hawk. My mother was on the battlefield when I had 4 moon old sibling! My small group of friends and I waited within the trees. I saw a paw swing at someone. It missed, but the force of the swing carried the cat forward to hit Tempest's and Paige's tree. (Leap and I were in one tree, then Pounce and Holly in another.)
Paige's fur went on end and her fur started sparking. Tempest placed on paw on her head, causing her to shiver from his icy touch. Crimson signaled for us to go, and Tempest leaped down. Paige followed, fur slowly lighting with fire.
I jumped down as well, fur fluffed. Everyone else came after with their own individual flare, and we ran into battle. My speed helped with avoiding the attacks, and Leap's jump ability allowed him to dodge easily. No one dared to touch Paige's flaming fur or Tempest's icy circle that was around him.
"You'll never touch me, you filth!" came a she-cat's voice. It didn't sound like it normally did, but I knew it was my mother. I turned my head in time to see a Sangius cat clamp their jaws down on my mother's feathered, light brown and white dotted wings.
My face contorted with rage. I saw a drop of her blood, then more and more. The cat who was clamped to her wing stopped biting her wing when she saw the color of her blood. She pale teal blood stained the attackers mouth as well as my mother's wing.
My fur fluffed up and I ran at my mother's attacker. I lunged at the she-cat, pinning her down. With a swift bite, I latched onto her lower spine. When I heard a crack, I knew I had gone too far and broken her lower spine. My own eyes widened in shock when I noticed that she was young, younger than me, about 5 moons. Why was she fighting!? Worse yet, I believe that I'd broken her lower spine.
"Why are you fighting?" I hissed at her.
"I-I had to," she whispered, looking into my eyes fearfully. I sighed.
"A battlefield is no place for a kit, I don't even feel like I should be here and I'm 8 moons!" I had to help this kit, it wasn't right for such a young she-cat to fight.
"But I had to," she said. I looked right into her eyes.
"What's your name?" I asked, lifting my head. I knew my brother had my back, so I was safe.
"S-Sweet," she said, looking confusedly at me. I grabbed her by the scruff and started looking for a way out. The only way was up. I closed my eyes, and when they opened I looked at my torn wings. I spread them, taking a step back before taking a running leap.
My wings caught the wind. It whipped at my and Sweet's fur- It was hard enough to fly, but holding a cat while flying and trying to find a place to land to get help was much, much worse.
~Written by KalypsoKari87~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Winter took off, now all I have to hope for is that she lands safely with that kit. I darted in between cats, looking for injuries. Thankfully, I didn't see much, only living and dead cats.
I remembered Spottedfern's wing, but when the Sanguis cats near her saw the brightly colored teal blood of the mutant they freaked out. Most of the cats in our group did have at least some variation in blood color- I myself with pale blue and Wither with her dark indigo. As far as I knew, Frost was one of the only cats without a blood variation. The least varied blood was Holly, having bright red blood instead of the normal darker red.
My eyes darted around the battlefield, trying to find any abnormally colored blood so that I could bring an injured cat to Evening Star. I continued running through the battlefield. A small bit of olive green blood told me Mika was injured but still fighting.
I ran to where I suspected Mika to be and saw her with a gash in her side. Olive blood leaked from a nasty claw mark in her side. If I could see it through her long silvery-blue fur that meant she needed help. I raced to her side, my heart beating quicker, and used my power to scare the cats fighting her away.
"What was that for?" she hissed at me. She's very independent, so this was the expected response.
"I need you to get that wound cleaned and checked before you get really hurt, or lose too much blood," I said, keeping my voice low.
"Why? I'm already useless. I can't have kits or hunt well, all I can do is fight. Why not let me die doing the only thing I can do?" she said bluntly. I must have done something to make her change her mind, though and we ran quickly to a temporary Healer base setup. Evening Star looked up at me, surprised that I had only one cat this time.
"Most are dead. Spottedfern had a bite on her wing but it isn't bleeding anymore. I left her be, but Mika has a deep gash in her side," I informed him.
"Thank you, Wisp. Can you find any more injured cats?" he said, looking me dead in the eye.
"Okay, but before I go I have to inform you that at the moment Winter is flying here with a Sangius kit who was forced into battle at 5 moons. The kit may have a broken lower spine," I told him, before walking out through the dense undergrowth. As I emerged, I came face to face with a Sanguis tom.
~Written by KalypsoKari87~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whiskershadow flatted his ears, desperately trying to block out the chaos of the battle. It was impossible, there was no escape from the gruesome and bloody battle. All around him monsters, Sangs, clan-mates fell dead. The smoke gray tom scrambled over to Vitapool, his paws slipping on the blood stained grass. His mate was frantically racing around from clan-mate to clan-mate, desperately trying to heal their wounds. He ran over to help her, but tripped over Wishpelt's extended hind legs. The silver she-cat's fur was covered in blood, all from the large gash on her right flank, bleeding at dangerous levels.
He stooped down next to her and started to clean her gash. Runningbreeze was soon by his side, pressing cobwebs into her wounds, only to have them ruined and soaked by blood. She's dying, there is nothing we can do. He pulled the fluffy black she-cat away.
"What are doing?! She's dying!" She wailed, squirming against his strong grasp.
"Exactly," his mumbled. "She's dying and there is nothing we can do!" He let go of Runningbreeze, wincing at her disgusted expression.
"You taught me to never give up on a cat in need, and you just gave up on her," she snapped, staring at Wishpelt. "I am ashamed of you! We lost a clan-mate and it was at the fault of your paws!"
Whiskershadow narrowed his eyes at the medicine cat. "I pulled you away so you wouldn't have to see her die at your paws! She is dead, Runningbreeze! Next time I won't pull you away so that you know what it feels like to be powerless to help someone!" Bitter memories of Daisymist's death started to replay in his mind, endless spirals of pure pain. It was torture.
Runningbreeze let out a choked sob. "It's not fair! We are medicine cats and we are supposed to help no matter what!"
"SOMETIMES YOU ARE POWERLESS AND HAVE TO WATCH CATS YOU LOVE DIE!" He roared, anger washing over him like a wave. Runningbreeze flinched, cowering from him. He let out a shaky sigh "I-I'm sorry, Runningbreeze. You just need to understand so you don't react this way when you fail to save a clan-mate," he sighed, leaving his apprentice to join his mate.
He found Vitapool in the bushes, treating a member from Frost's group. Once he was sure she had done all in her power to heal the wounded cat, he pulled her away. "Are you ok?" He asked worried.
She nodded. "Of course Whiskershadow, love. I can handle myself," she smiled. Whiskershadow smiled at her innocence. He licked the scarlet droplets of blood of her face, and nuzzle her cheek. "We need more herbs, I'll be right back," she purred. He nodded reluctantly, watching her disappear into the sea of battling cats. Stay safe my love…
Vitapool's POV…
Vitapool snaked through the battle silently. Her white fur was full of dirt and blood, making her invisible in the fight. Grab the horsetail and run back. I will come back to my love. Suddenly the desired herb came into view. She looked around to make sure no one was watching or following her, and started to nip at the stems of the plant. The bitter taste danced on her tongue as she grabbed the correct amount. Ok, time to get back. Whispering a quick prayer to her ancestors, she bolted back to Whiskershadow.
As she ran, Vitapool slipped, crashing to the bloodied grass. Black dots filled her vision as her head collided with the ground. She rose to her paws shakily, and gathered her fallen herbs. Come on Vitapool, keep going.
Suddenly heavy paws crashed down on her spine as Sanguis tom by the name of Talon attacked her from the trees. Vitapool let out a cry as he dug his claws into her belly, tearing into her flesh. Blood started to pool around her as her vision got fuzzy.
"S-Stop please! I beg of you!" She wailed. Tears cascaded down her cheeks. He started to drag her bloody and beaten body over to gorge. The same one that had killed Stormwind seasons ago. "Help!" She cried loudly. Talon growled and pressed down on her leg harder, crunching the bone. She let out a wail of pure agony.
Talon grabbed her scruff and dangle her over the edge, a murderous look gleamed brightly in his fierce eyes. Starclan tell Whiskershadow I love him and our children. I-I love him so m-m-much!
Suddenly her body was flung as Talon was tackled to the ground. She watched Canine press his big paws down on his muzzle. Vitapool knew he was mute; she had done her best to fix his scarred throat with no success. It was heartbreaking. "C-Canine," she croaked. "D-Do not kill him, you k-know better," she whispered. As she lost consciousness, both toms started to fight in the background. Starclan…I'm coming…
Back to Whiskershadow…
It had been a while since Vitapool had come back. How long does it take to get herbs?! Something is wrong, very wrong. He started to pace, doubt and fear clawing at his belly. "Runningbreeze! I'll be right back!" He called.
"Where are you going?!" She asked, cobwebs sticking to her fur.
"Something is wrong!" He called over his shoulder. He started to run, dashing through the fight until the stench of death hit him like a blow. Starclan… I beg of you…please…
As he stumbled through the long grass, be noticed tuffs of bloodied white fur scattered, overwhelming fear overpowered the medicine cat. When Whiskershadow advanced near the gorge, Canine's black and white pelt came into view.
The large tom was towering over the limp body of none other than the love of his life…Vitapool. "No!" He screeched, rushing to her side. He pushed Canine away and started to run his paws over her wounds. He was desperate to stop her bleeding, but in the back of his mind, he knew she was gone.
"Vitapool…" he cried. "I love you, I-I love you so much, how could you leave me. O-Our kits, all three beautiful warriors. I see a part of you in each of them…i-it's not fair. We were supposed to become elders together, tell all the younger medicine cats stories, and scold the warriors of their stupidity. Y-You're the only cat that keeps me sane. I love you so much," he whispered, tearing clouding his vision and staining his smoky cheeks.
He stumbled away from her body, heartbroken. He looked over at Canine, who had bowed his head sadly. "What happened?! Who is her killer!" He growled, advancing on the tom. Canine shook his head frantically.
"Everyone I love leaves me," Whiskershadow hissed. He unsheathed his silver claws, his anger growing. Canine shook his head again, looking at Vitapool.
"He didn't kill her," an unknown voice snapped. Talon emerged from the undergrowth, a smirk tainting his face. "I did," he hissed. Whiskershadow growled, his fur fluffed up three times his size.
"I HATE YOU!" He roared, leaping for the tom's throat. Talon leapt at the same time as the medicine cat, meeting him in the air. Talon raked his claws across Whiskershadow's face, splattering blood onto the grass. He hissed, clenching his teeth through the pain.
"Little cat, go back to smelling grass and leaves," he scoffed, kicking Whiskershadow back. The breath knocked out of his lungs as he collided with the earth. Just as Talon was about to deliver the killing blow to the medicine cat, Canine pounced onto the Sang, knocking him over.
Whiskershadow crawled over to his lifeless mate, and held her close as both Sanguis tom's fought each other. "I love you," he whispering, feeling weak. He crashed next to her, sobbing quietly. I love you so much Vitapool…
Vitapool again…
The white she-cat shook her pelt, blinking at the starry shapes surrounding her. "A-Am I dead?" she squeaked, tail brushing the starry grass. Suddenly a she-cat she new all too well approached her. "Daisymist?"
"Hello Vitapool," she smiled softly. "Walk with me." Vitapool nodded reluctantly, and followed the silver she-cat through the swarm of Starclan cats. Too many of loved ones are in Starclan…
"Do you hate me…for falling in love with Whiskershadow," she blurted out. Daisymist looked at her in surprise. She let out a long breath, shaking her head slowly.
"I don't hate you, not at all. Was I…sad, betrayed, angry? Beyond," she chuckled. "But I love him, and you make him happy. I love to see him happy." Daisymist stopped walking and sat down. She beckoned for Vitapool to do the same.
"Your life is far from over, Vitapool. But my mother will give you trouble. Where I was born, medicine cats cannot have mates or kits. My mother left her position for me and my father. She will give you many trouble because you are with Whiskershadow, but you must not give up."
"She does not realize, that if I were alive, she wouldn't be as harsh. But because I am not, you must defend your honor. For me, and for you. I want you to make a code. A code that medicine cats may choose mates and may birth kits, for they should be able to follow their passion and follow their hearts," she smiled. Vitapool dipped her head silently, too grateful to speak.
"T-Thank you," she whispered. The silver and white she-cat bowed her head in silence.
"Be patient with my mother, she's quite head strong," she chuckled. "She'll warm up to you soon."
"I doubt it. She hates me for taking away Whiskershadow from you," Vitapool mumbled crestfallen. Daisymist smiled at her.
"You didn't take him from me. You opened his eyes at a chance of love again. Never doubt yourself, he loves you very much." Daisymist leant closer to the medicine cat and smiled brightly. "I will help you with this code, if you promise to love Whiskershadow till the end of his days."
"I promise," she laughed, eyes dazzling with happiness.
"I will stand by you Vitapool, I promise," she winked, slowly diapering. Starclan started to dissolve around Vitapool until she found herself back with Whiskershadow.
"My love," she croaked. "Help me treat my wounds." Whiskershadow eyes lit up in astonishment and he started to lash his tail back in forth excitedly.
"My love! You're okay!" He cried, licking her face swiftly, cleaning her wounds. He pulled her up, letting her lean on his shoulder for support as he guided her back to the Runningbreeze. "Thank Starclan you're alive," he breathed, through breaths.
She smiled and licked his cheek, closing her eyes. Thank you Daisymist. A small breeze ruffled her fur. She chuckled slightly and focused on Whiskershadow's beautiful blue eyes. "I love you," she wheezed.
He smiled and give her ears a swift lick, still focusing on getting her back safely. "And I always will," he finished as he led her through the battle. I always will too my love…
~Written by Majesty's Warrior Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nightfall grappled with a large brown Sanguis she-cat, a growl rising in the back of her throat. "Murderer!" she spat.
"Traitor!" the she-cat hissed back, and the struggle continued.
Nightfall raked her claws along his side, only to have her legs knocked out from under her and teeth rip into her flesh. Snarling, she retaliated with pummeling the Sang's stomach.
The brown she-cat raked a claw along her right eye. Nightfall yowled in pain and tumbled backward, sticky red blood obscuring her vision.
She heard a cruel laugh and lifted her head to see the Sang wearing a twisted grin. "Oh, darling," she purred. "you'll never see out of that eye again."
With a strangled cry, Nightfall lunged at the Sang, teeth bared. But the larger she-cat nimbly twisted out of the way, and Nightfall crashed to the ground.
She could hear insane chuckling as the Sang slipped away, no doubt moving on to another opponent. Gasping for air, the black she-cat dragged herself away, hiding in a crevice in a rock.
'You're pathetic,' she thought dismally. 'Just pathetic... Can't even defend yourself.'
Her right eye burned, and she let out a small whimper. Closing her left eye, she took a shuddering breath, then another. "Stay calm. Keep fighting. You have to. For Pouncer..."
Snapping her eyes open, she darted out of the crevice. With her good eye, she scanned the battlefield for a good vantage point, only to realize that there was one behind her. Smiling, she turned around and scrambled up onto the rock she had taken shelter under.
When she reached the top, the scene laying before her took her breath away.
Cats battled everywhere, teeth tearing at flesh and claws ripping at fur. Blood- some multi-colored- was seen everywhere she looked, and huge monsters battled superpowered cats. She even saw a fox battling two Sangs at a time.
But even more terrifying than looming creatures, multi-colored blood, and mutant cats was the death.
Dead cats lay scattered on the ground as cats fought over their bodies; more cats fell dead as she watched. A sickening bile rose up in her throat, and she felt the urge to vomit. Swallowing it down, she prepared herself for what she was about to do.
Inhaling, she let out a screeching yowl that caused everyone to momentarily pause what they were doing to stare at her. She felt her pelt grow hot beneath their stare but steadied herself.
"Cats of Sanguis!" she called out. "Have you thought about what you are doing? You are fighting for Terror- the same cat who has hurt you thousands of times.
"What do you think will happen if you win this battle? Do you honestly think that everything will get better from then on?
"It won't. Trust me. And you will be condemning others to the same pain you've had to live with.
"Not all of you will agree with me, and that's okay. But today- Today, I ask you one thing. And that is to fight with me, to fight against the terror[9] that has plagued our lives!"
"So, cats of Sanguis- Are you with me?"
There was a moment of silence before a chorus of yowls answered her. Some were yowls of indignation- But Nightfall heard chorus' of 'Yes!' as well, and hope blossomed in her chest. She smiled, before leaping back into battle.
There was one cat who didn't give any outward emotion, though, and this cat's red eyes flashed dangerously. He slipped through the throng of fighting cats, scanning the crowd, looking for the one who had rallied his fighters and turned them against him.
His crimson eyes locked onto a jet-black, scarred pelt, and a cruel smile twisted his lips.
With a raw scream of rage, he sped forward, bowling the other cat over. Nightfall yowled in shock before her face was pressed into the ground. Warm breath tickled her ear. "You thought you could get away with that?" a voice growled. "I don't like traitors. You should have known that."
A twisted smile made it's way onto Nightfall's face. "I know," she said, before flipping over and scrambling away from her opponent.
Terror growled, then lunged at her, rage in his eyes. He raked his claws along her side, opening deep wounds. Nightfall winced, but shook it aside and grabbed Terror's tail before yanking it back.
The Sanguis leader gritted his teeth in pain. Hissing, he spun around and opened shallow gashes in the black cat's chest. Nightfall gasped before gripping onto his ear and tearing it.
Terror pulled away, deepening the rip. Snarling, he tackled the she-cat and sent them tumbling across the clearing towards the edge of a cliff.
Nightfall dug her feet into the ground, dragging them to a halt. Blood matted the right side of her face, and the rest of her fur was also clumped together.
Terror growled and dived low. She made to dodge him, but the Sang changed direction at the last second and, with an insane cross between a cackle and a snarl, knocked her aside.
Nightfall flew through the air, the side of her roughly colliding with a tree. 7 snaps[10] could be heard, and an excruciating pain ached on her left side.
Wearily, she lifted her head and saw Terror laughing and then stalking away. He was no doubt going to rejoin the battle, to hurt even more cats.
She couldn't let that happen. Even if it cost her her life.
Gasping for air, Nightfall dragged herself to her feet, wincing as the pain reverberated through her side. She watched as Terror strutted across the clearing, and then with a primal cry she charged across the clearing.
Terror turned, surprised, as Nightfall careened into him. And then they flew off the cliff, and air rushed past them, and the ground hurtled up to meet them and she was going to die but that didn't matter because Pouncer and MemoryClan and her kits were safe-
Nightfall, double agent, sister of Lily, collided with the ground- bringing Terror along with her- and
She didn't see the battle stop. She didn't see Canine mouth "No!" with such a pained expression that the surrounding cats bowed their heads in respect. She didn't see as a universal realization dawned on all the cats there that Terror was dead, and Nightfall was too.
~Written by Keeper of the Starry Night~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The clover green eyes of a white she-cat drowsily opened. The torturing pain in her belly was gone, but tiredness racked her bones. Looking around, she realized that she was in the makeshift medicine cat den. Moss was beneath her and it rustled as she shakingly got to her paws. She then realized what had happened. The battle. The blood. The death. As she stood, a black tom whisked around in surprise.
"Foxflame! You're awake!"
He walked over and nuzzled Foxflame's head.
"I was so scared that I may have lost you." he murmured, grief glittering in his midnight blue eyes.
Foxflame looked at him lovingly.
"It's alright, Vista," she soothed. "Your parents gave me another life, remember?"
He smiled sadly at the mention of his father and mother, along with the sound of his kit name. Foxflame noticed that the medicine cat den was full of her bloodied Clanmates, but she knew that there must be more injured cats outside. As she studied the other cats in the den, noting to herself what cats looked the worst, the ginger pawed she-cat turned to her right. A foreign black and gray coat draped the nest beside her. The she-cat was covered in wounds, dried blood matting her pelt. A single large scar slashed like lightning across her right eye and a small black mark on her shoulder looked like a claw.
You.
Foxflame's face twisted in anger.
"What's wrong?" the black Tom asked worriedly.
"I told this she-cat to leave, Whiskershadow," she hissed. "She's pregnant and if she dies from her wounds, it will cost the lives of her unborn kits. This cat risked the lives of the innocent, as I would do anything to protect them."
Whiskershadow seemed to understand that she was thinking about Flamekit. But his paws shifted nervously. Foxflame realized that he had never really seen her mad before. She got up and nuzzled his head.
"Sorry, little one," she whispered. "I'll help you treat everyone. I'm still a medicine cat at heart."
Relief seemed to wash over Whiskershadow's face.
"Thank you." he sighed, returning to the herbs he was laying out. "The worst cats are outside, we didn't want to drag them down here or risk anything."
"Alright. I want to see every cat's wounds and how many we have lost." Foxflame added the last part sadly.
"Okay," meowed Whiskershadow. "Vitapool and Runningbreeze are up there too."
Foxflame dipped her head and walked out, only to stop at the sound of a familiar voice coming out of the medicine cat den.
"Is she awake? What happened? Why didn't you wake me up?" a Tom meowed frantically.
"Wolftail, you needed rest, and she just now left," Whiskershadow hissed.
Foxflame poked her head back into the den to see her mate turn to her in surprise and relief.
"My love! You're alright!" he yowled happily, running and crashing into her outside of the den.
The light gray tabby stood over Foxflame, his muzzle less than a mouse length away from hers.
"It always scares me when you lose a life," he whispered sadly, his sky blue eyes burning into his mate's grass green ones.
Their noses touched, and Foxflame took in his warm sweet breath that was beautifully unique to him.
"Wolftail," she breathed. "I must help the other medicine cats."
His eyes widened.
"O-Oh yes," Wolftail meowed awkwardly. "Sorry Beautiful."
He backed up to let her stand and she licked his cheek. Foxflame still loved when she called her pet names like that. She turned around and whisked away up the tunnel entrance. Bright afternoon sunlight pierced her eyes as she emerged from the hole. Bodies lay in the clearing. Some dead, others just clinging to life. Sorrow wormed in her belly as she saw her fallen Clanmates being mourned by the others. A white she-cat stood over a splotched and pale mound of fur covered in blood.
"Runningbreeze!" she snapped to a fluffy black cat rubbing herbs into a cat's deep scratches. "Get more horsetail and cobweb!"
The young night colored cat clumsily jumped to her paws and raced off toward the tunnel entrance, crashing into Foxflame. The longhair looked horrified.
"It's alright," she meowed quickly. "Just go."
Runningbreeze raced down the tunnel on herb-stained paw pads. Foxflame turned back to the white she-cat. She raced over to the medicine cat and looked down at the white and gray tabby that was covered in blood and matted fur. She instinctively put her forepaws on one of the she-cat's deep scratches. Vitapool turned to her.
"Thank you," she breathed.
Foxflame didn't say anything. She just stiffly nodded her head and went back to putting more pressure on the cat's wound. A black and orange tom leaned over her other side, eyes wide with terror and worry. A gray tabby was beside him, looking away and shifting her paws awkwardly.
"Larkstar," The tom whispered in fear. "I-I love you. I always have and I always will."
The tabby behind him scrunched up her face in frustration.
"I'm so sorry for moving on so quickly," he continued. "I just felt so lonely. You took and shattered my heart when you left and I tried to fix it."
"Bluestream helped hold me together," he sobbed. "but I wasn't the same without you."
The gray tabby behind him bolted away, crying.
"Blue-"
He then stopped himself from chasing her and shoved his muzzle into his past mate's fur.
"I'm so, so sorry," he cried "Don't leave me again, my love!"
Foxflame hesitantly lifted her paws out of Larkstar's fur, their ginger pattern stained red. The black and orange Tom now looked at her with horror.
She looked up at him, sorrow clouding her mew.
"Flamestorm," She whispered. "There is nothing that we can do for her now."
"No!" he screeched. "No! No, no, no..."
Flamestorm laid down next to the white and gray body of his ex-mate.
"I-I love you..." he whispered into her ear
Larkstar's shallow breaths became shallower and soon her flanks came to a still.
"I'll never, ever forget you." Flamestorm sobbed quietly.
Foxflame backed away and nodded to Vitapool, who backed away as well. They left Flamestorm to be alone to say goodbye before the vigil. They walked back into the medicine cat den and collected more herbs to head outside. As they looked out, Runningbreeze was walking away from a long haired red she-cat. As they looked closer, Foxflame noticed that the cat wasn't ginger, she was white in fact, just coated in her own blood. She swallowed back sorrow.
Fluffytail.
A golden tom let out a yowl as he stared at the she-cat. She knew that those two cats had always loved one another, even though they fought. Foxflame shook the thought of that being Wolftail, and her yowling in grief...
Foxflame snapped back to the present. Every wounded cat in the clearing had now passed, and it struck her like a claw. She turned to the other two medicine cats.
"Let's go help Whiskershadow," she mewed. "Let the others grieve."
They picked up herbs and headed for the tunnel. Runningbreeze went in first and Foxflame stopped for a moment, cobwebs wrapped around her paws. She placed the herbs in front of her. Vitapool turned to her and Foxflame let out a sigh.
"Vitapool," she mewed huskily. "I've been wanting to talk to you for a while now."
The white she-cat looked away nervously and her eyes started darting around to random objects.
"You know as well as I that medicine cats cannot have mates."
Vitapool shifted her paws.
"Y-Yes..." she stuttered. "B-But I love him."
"I don't care. Medicine cats cannot have mates. Or kits. Especially kits."
The white she-cat's face hardened.
"You know why they made that rule, right? So medicine cats wouldn't care about their kits more. All of the Clan is supposed to be your brood. That is why that when I fell in love with Wolftail, I stepped down from my position and became a warrior. Soon enough I was a mother and then leader. Whenever there was a large battle, I would help, but I could care about Daisymist first because it wasn't really my job to help everyone else."
Vitapool looked as if she was going to snarl.
"What are you trying to say?"
Foxflame turned to her, anger starting to fizzle up inside of her belly.
"Did you treat your kits first?"
Vitapool growled. "Maybe."
"That's what I thought," Foxflame stated coldly.
Vitapool reared up and started to snarl.
"The only respectable thing to do now is to make you a warrior," Foxflame whispered sternly.
"No!" Vitapool screeched. "You have no right to tell me what to do! I love Whiskershadow and that should be all we need to be mates! No laws should keep us apart!"
Foxflame stared at the white cat. The anger in her belly was starting to be overtaken by sadness.
"What about my daughter?" Foxflame whispered.
Vitapool's eyes widened.
"What about her?" Foxflame's voice became a tone higher.
"What about Daisymist?"
Another tone higher.
"She loved him!"
Foxflame was screaming now.
"My daughter loved him more than he could ever know!" she screeched, standing over Vitapool.
"They couldn't be mates! Daisymist loved him and they couldn't be mates! What gives you the right? What makes your love better?" she cried.
"Because I can give him a family!" Vitapool yowled back. "You can't. Daisymist of course can't. She's dead! And so is her aunt. If he is with me and my kits, he won't feel that pain. It will just be us. No death. No hurting. No suffering."
Foxflame couldn't take another breath. Through her whole spell, all that Foxflame could get was "and so is her aunt."
"W-What?" Foxflame whispered.
Vitapool's blue and gray eyes became wide as she backed away, as if she just realized what she had said.
"Stop!"
A yowl sliced the air. Whiskershadow bolted over to the she-cats.
"What's going on here?" he demanded.
Both of them stayed silent.
"W-Whiskershadow," Foxflame mewed, barely audible. "What is she talking about?"
The black tom looked puzzledly at Vitapool, but all her face showed was horror.
"What happened?" Foxflame screeched. "Where is my sister? Where is Juniperfrost?"
The cats who had ventured into the clearing were all looking at her with apologetic glances. Not a bird sang. All was silent. A light touch on her shoulder distracted her. She turned and saw a blurry tear-covered picture of a gray tabby. He was sobbing too.
"Grayfur w-was attacked by a Sanguis cat and J-Juniperfrost fought back," Wolftail whispered as he pressed against Foxflame's shaking flank. "Th-They're in StarClan now."
"No," Foxflame cried, legs buckling beneath her. "NO!"
Wolftail curled himself beside her trembling body.
"I-I promised," she choked. "I promised M-Mother that I would t-take c-care of her."
"Look how trustworthy I am!" she cried in sorrow.
Foxflame got a glimpse of a white and golden lump of fur. Her pelt was whisking in the small breeze as six others lay beside her.
Her kits... And Grayfur.
As she stared at them, Wrenpaw swung his little head to her. His eyes were big blue pools of sorrow. He and his littermates were orphans now.
Foxflame shakily tried to stand. Wolftail bolted up beside her. Resting her weight on his flank, they walked over to their kin's bodies. She collapsed next to her sister and shoved her muzzle into her fur.
"I-I'm so sorry I wasn't there." She sobbed, her mew muffled. "I-I love you, my sister."
She laid like this for quite a while. The rustling of bushes made Foxflame lift her head. A group of cats walked into camp. Canine was in the lead, followed by a scrawny brown tabby and several others.
"W-We would like to take our lost members home." A dusty brown tom stated. Canine nodded beside him, his blue eyes locked on Terror's body.
"No," snarled a tom. "You took the love of my life away!"
"So did you." The skinny long haired tom stepped forward, mew thick with grief. "I'll never be able to tell Dagger how much I loved her."
He tore his gaze away and scanned the clearing, as if looking for the body. The tabby's yellow eyes seemed to be struck with horror.
"Where is she?" he breathed. "What have you done with her?"
Before anyone could say anything, a black and gray head popped up from the tunnel. A jagged scar ran across green eyes.
"Dagger!" he yowled happily, running towards the she-cat.
Dagger fully emerged from the tunnel entrance, her pregnant belly swaying with her kits near due.
The tom pressed his nose against hers.
"D-Did you really mean what you said, Scrap?" she whispered. "That you love me?"
Scrap stepped back, shyness creeping over his face.
"Y-Yes," he stuttered "And if you'll allow me, I will try to be a good father to your kits, even if they're not mine."
"I'd love that." Dagger said quietly.
"So may we take them home?"
A husky voice made everyone snap back. It was a burly dark brown Sangius tom.
Everyone was silent.
"Please." a desperate voice pleaded "I want my sister to have a proper burial."
Foxflame turned to the speaker. He was quite young with a dark red spotted pelt and a cream underbelly. A small black she-cat who looked his age was trembling next to him, their wide eyes fixed on the body of a small silver tabby.
Whiskershadow opened his mouth as if to object.
"Let them." Foxflame's voice cut through the air like a fang ."That's their sister..." she looked down at Juniperfrost's body, a paw still on her shoulder. "I-I know what that's like. Think if Juniperfrost died somewhere else and I couldn't get her body back."
Whenever Foxflame actually thought about it, she cried harder.
Zeldastar stepped forward.
"Foxflame has spoken. She is wiser than most here, and I will back what she says, even if we have tended not to in the past." She looked around at her Clanmates and then to Canine. "Take them. Bring them to their families. Give them a proper burial."
The Sangius cats stepped forward and suddenly starlight lit the dark clearing. Foxflame looked up from where she was laying and saw dark blue eyes staring from a starry face.
"Juniperfrost!" she yowled in joy.
She sat up and rubbed her head against her sister's. Juniperfrost's crooked jaw was gone, and not a single scar ran through her white and ginger pelt. Foxflame felt warm fur as Juniperfrost's three youngest kits ran up.
"Mommy! Mommy!" shrieked Blossompaw. "You're alright! We thought you were gone!"
They all nuzzled her starry fur as she touched each one of them on the head, sorrow clouding her indigo gaze.
"My babies," she said quietly. "I can't stay with you now."
"What?" Fogpaw yipped, his blue eyes wide.
"I'm going to go to StarClan." she whispered with sadness.
Grief tugged at Foxflame's heart. Her sister was really leaving.
"No!" Blossompaw piped, wriggling between Juniperfrost paws. " I'm going with you!"
The golden tabby patched she cat leaned down and licked her daughter's head.
"You get to stay with aunt Foxstar now." she tried to sound cheerful.
"We love aunt Foxstar but we want you to raise us." Wrenpaw mewed.
"Sorry loves," Juniperfrost said, touching each of their heads with her nose.
Timberfrost and Summerheart came up behind them and nuzzled their mother, crying. All of them rubbed on each other, saying goodbye. Foxflame looked around the clearing to see all of the fallen saying their own goodbyes. Larkstar spoke longingly with Flamestorm. Mudraven nuzzled Bumblecloud. The tiny silver Sangius cat was with her littermates. Then there he was. Terror. He was talking with Canine. Almost if he could tell someone was watching him, he turned towards her and his red eyes showed something powerful. Love. Realization. He strode over to Foxflame until he was right in front of her. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but he couldn't seem to get the words out. Almost as if he didn't want to speak them.
"Foxflame," he managed. "I-I'm sorry I didn't listen to you sooner. Love is real... And it comes in different forms." he said, looking to Canine. "I know that I'm going to the Dark Forest that Lily talked about... But... I want you to know that I finally came to my senses. Everything I've done has been wrong..."
He turned away. "None of that matters now. I can't change the past. There is no hope for me."
Before anything else happened, a burst of light spread throughout the clearing. More StarClan cats. A pretty pale ginger she-cat with snowy white paws gracefully strode up to the gray tom, kits bouncing behind her.
"L-Lily," he choked.
The starry kits ran up to him and bounced at his paws. He hesitantly nuzzled each one. Foxflame watched with warmth until a light touch of a feathery tail hit her shoulder. She turned to see a star-covered, longhaired red tabby.
"Mother!"
She nuzzled the she-cat and saw a tiny starry shape bouncing with Foxflame's two kits.
"Flamekit!" she cried with joy.
The baby tabby ran and crashed into her paws. She lightly lifted him by the scruff to sit him back up. She nuzzled him for a while until she saw Juniperfrost, Grayfur, Blossom and the other spirits stand together in a straight line.
"It's time for us to go back home," Blossom announced
Flamekit bounded up to her with one last glance back towards Foxflame. The white and ginger she-cat followed him over to the starry figures. She stood in front of her sister.
Pouncer was nuzzling Nightfall with tear bleared eyes as everyone said their farewells.
"I'll never forget you, Juniperfrost." she whispered in tears.
"Why would I ever let you?" the tabby splotched she-cat said with a smirk.
Foxflame smiled. "I'll miss you."
"Just remember the prophecy," Blossom said
Foxflame just looked into her sister's dark eyes, memories swirling in her mind.
"Let's go home."
"Wait."
Lily stepped forward beside Terror. She turned and stared at him with calm blue eyes.
"Terror," she mewed. "I speak on behalf of StarClan. They have accepted that you are sorry for the things you've done."
"S-So sorry." he whispered.
"Because of the cats who loved you-" She quickly glanced at Foxflame and Canine "-they have given you a second chance... In StarClan. So that you may prove yourself and be a good father to your kits."
Terror started crying. It was an odd sight. The tom that had killed so many... Was crying. It actually warmed Foxflame's heart. It showed even the worst cats had a soft spot.
The three little starry kits bounced around the tom's paws.
"So, Terror," Lily mewed. "Are you ready to go to StarClan?"
The gray tom looked up at her with his deep red eyes as the kits watched him intently.
"Please, call me Hawkfeather."
~Written by Foxstar354emma~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1]- The rouge's fur was so matted that Zeldastar couldn't penetrate it, in case anyone didn't catch that. I wasn't that clear on it.
[2]- The tom here is Spark/Sparkheart's brother, who was taken by Terror along with his sister, Eagle, as a kit.
[3]- A reference to Harry Potter.
[4]- A lot of the demons were inspired by the video game Dragon Age, but the Desire Demon is taken directly from it. Credit goes to BioWare.
[5]- Has anyone seen "Interstellar?" This is another wormhole.
[6]- Means 'wormhole' in German, a nod to his ability to create wormholes. I chose German because Albert Einstein, one of the people to come up with the notion of a wormhole, was German.
[7]- Many cats of Frost's group find going through these portals to be very disconcerting and uncomfortable, so they didn't use them to get to MemoryClan.
[8]- Frost's group has a monarchy-type leadership, and Wurmloch, being her cousin, is set to take the leadership if she dies. (She has no siblings and any other relatives are too old to take the leadership.)
[9]- Yes, that was a pun.
[10]- Nightfall broke 7 ribs, hence 7 cracks.
It's been a lovely adventure with all my babes and Ashes! I'm so happy that UTSD did so well, and it's all thanks to these amazing people in my life. And of course my Ashes. CYA IN DS!