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Change was coming. Devotedcrow could feel it in the air, as nights began to grow colder and the fields began to lose their summertime vibrance. He knew that, soon, their lush lands would be dominated by the brutal, frigid snows of leaf-bare and lots of empty bellies, but he knew with how prosperous the clan was currently, there was nothing to truly fear. Against the sensation in his stomach, a slow and creeping apprehension, he felt content.
He felt content enough that, despite knowing his and Orchiddrop's second litter was expected soon, he could take one more trip to SwiftClan before things got far, far busier, maybe convince his family to take a vacation home with him and meet his family at last. A purr rumbled in his throat, extending to the rest of his body and vibrating softly against Orchiddrop's side, who shifted against him. He nuzzled her cheek in response, then gently rose and ambled across camp to where Ratstar was practicing some new flower crown techniques shown to him by Sunpetal. "Heya, boss," he greeted the tom, "I think I'm due for a trip out to see Ghostcrown. It'll probably be my last chance before the kits come."
"Ya should go, Crow." If there was anything the SummerClan leader understood, it was takin' the time to spend with one's family. He was fortunate enough to live with his own, to see them daily and get to watch over their interactions in between taking care of his own duties, and he was pleased to see his deputy gaining confidence in maintaining a relationship with his out-of-clan kin, despite previous complaints about where his loyalties would lie. "Orchiddrop'll be taken of while yer gone, but ya already know that. There's still a good bit of time left today if ya leave now," he encouraged warmly.
And so he did. Crow left behind his clan, fully expecting everything to be the same when he got back, just like it usually was. Except... Change was coming whether SummerClan was ready for it or not.
It was a mere two days after he left that it happened.
As Crow ventured closer to SwiftClan, a patrol crashed into the SummerClan camp and raced to Vulturemalice's den. "Ratstar's hurt! Come quickly!" As he settled down in SwiftClan that night, surrounded by his father and littermates, back at home Sunpetal sobbed and begged, "Please, birdie, you have to save him. Don't let him die, don't let Papi die. Please!" As dawn broke the next day, SummerClan's deputy relaxed and enjoyed the good weather, SummerClan mourned for their leader, who's conditioned was still unstable. And as dawn turned to dusk, as Crow smiled up at the appearing stars and felt thankful for the life he knew, a patrol of NightClan cats crossed in SummerClan territory, just as it was announced: "Ratstar survived, but he isn't fit to lead in this condition. I'm not sure when he'll wake up. Someone should go get Devotedcrow and get him back here."
(Please wait for @ian to respond and then have at it!)
Maybe this wouldn't have happened if Aspenstar had been in therapy. A proper professional could probably tell her that this wasn't her best idea, and perhaps, was one of her worst yet. But, she wasn't in therapy, and few cats these days dared to challenge her. Instead, the StarClan-scorned leader was left to her own devices, and it was becoming more and more obvious to everyone around her that her devices weren't that good.
And since it was happening, the fawn colored leader was loving the ride.
When she had first wandered into SummerClan's territory, she didn't know that it was going to set in motion the things that had led up to this moment. It really had been an accident, but now, Aspenstar wondered if fate was finally throwing her a bone. After all, it was just too perfect that Sunfreckle had let it slip that SummerClan was without a leader. Of course, the other she-cat had no way to anticipate exactly the monster that she had been talking about. On the surface, she was perfectly normal. In fact, she was a people pleaser, the kind of cat you wanted to be able to trust. No one could fault the SummerClan warrior for falling into a carefully laid trap. She had no way of knowing that Aspenstar would take that information back to her den and come up with a sinister plan. There was a part of her that almost felt bad for using Sunfreckle, but truthfully, Aspenstar was growing quite used to using cats.
As they approached the SummerClan camp, the fawn colored leader turned for the first time back to the army that followed behind her. The smile on her face was one her warriors hadn't seen before. It was the smile of someone who had finally accepted her nose dive into the darkness. It was the smile of a cat who knew exactly what she was doing, exactly what it meant to be doing what she was doing, and was doing it anyways.
"Remember, darlings," she meowed, her voice filled with affection for her loyal subjects, "we aren't here to negotiate. We are here to do a job, and we aren't leaving until that job is accomplished." Her tail flicked back and forth as she let her gaze slide between her warriors, giving each of them a proud nod. "Tonight, darlings, is the night we become kings." She was right; tonight would be the night that NightClan evolved from creatures to be tolerated to creatures to be feared. After tonight, the warriors would go down in NightClan's history as the best that they had, the ones that opened the path to true greatness for the group. When Aspenstar became leader all of those moons ago, this would never would have been something that could be done. They were weak, but in the moons that they had worked together, NightClan had gotten stronger and stronger. Tonight's display of power would be her magnum opus: from the ashes, she had helped NightClan rise into something no one could ever anticipate. Tonight, they were reclaiming any ounce of power they had. Tonight, they would become kings.
"Remember, you may not touch the old, the young, or the weak. Anyone else is fair game, as long as we walk out of tonight with SummerClan in our control. Each of you has a mission to complete tonight. It is only once these things have been accomplished that we truly have won." She blinked twice, before nodding.
"It's time," she then purred, a profound deviousness in her voice. "Enjoy yourselves tonight, darlings. There will be a feast awaiting our success."
With that, the leader moved towards SummerClan camp, the half moon's light muting her pelt even whiter than normal. The midnight breeze ruffled her fur as she entered. As soon as they entered the camp, she flicked her tail, releasing her warriors to their duties. She then let out a chuckle, before calling loudly into the air:
"Good morning, SummerClan! I apologize that we've come at this hour-" she wasn't, and they would immediately know that, "but I believe we have some business to take care of."
TASKS FOR NIGHTCLAN PATROL : You may pick which task sounds most interesting for your cats c: - Secure a perimeter: CLAIMED - Move all of the elders into the nursery. Secure the nursery. - Secure and subdue all members of Ratstar and Devotedcrows' families (including but not limited to: sunpetal, raystrike, orchiddrop, eveningpaw, cinderpaw, poppymask, etc.). Move them all to the elders den, which will now serve as prison. - Secure Vulture and replace with Pinesimmer - Locate Foxpaw and Rosethorn, secure them in the leader's den. - Fight if necessary, we must show NightClan's strength - Ensure the safety of Aspenstar and Stormreign at all costs
Rosethorn It had been a long day, and Rosethorn was just trying to sleep next to her heavily pregnant sister when she heard the familiar voice. She froze, the drowsiness wiped from her body at the realization that something was going wrong outside. Ratstar had been injured, they were waiting for Crow to come back to assume command, and the Nightclan cats just happened to show up now? Aspenstar wouldn't come alone. She'd be flanked by members of her guard, which meant- No, this was all too convenient.
"Aspenstar," she whispered to her sister, who lifted her head in confusion.
"Go," Orchiddrop responded, glancing at the back entrance to the warriors den, meant for slipping out to make dirt.
Rosethorn wriggled loose from the group of Summerclan cats, all stirring from their sleep and some slipping uncertainly out the front of the warrior's den to see what was happening. She squeezed out the back entrance, moving as silently as she could along the camp wall to the back of the apprentice's den.
"Come, Foxpaw," she whispered, meeting her son's wild and confused gaze. "We have to go." She wasn't sure what was happening, why Aspenstar was here, but she wasn't going to stick around to find out. She'd leave, find Crow or something, and come back with a plan. Foxpaw joined her, and she pushed through a small hole in the camp wall, setting off at a trot towards the Summerclan border. "We have to move quickly," she told her small son, though she knew that any prolonged physical activity would be difficult for him.
Cinderpaw Cinderpaw slipped out of the apprentice's den, rubbing sleep from her eyes, and freezing at the unfamiliar cats in the midst of their camp. "What's going on?" She asked, uncertainty in her soft, drowsy voice. The chubby gray apprentice swung her head back and forth, finding only one familiar face- the scarred one of her former uncle. "What are you doing here?"
The cat to arrive at Aspenstar's shoulder would be easily recognizable among many members of SummerClan, having been one of them once upon a time. They'd have known him before the deep, everlasting wounds that marred his face; they'd have seen him in the crowd at Gatherings, either off in the shadows on his own or mingling with a certain cream-and-gray Garden Keeper; and they would know him from the day he'd charged into camp, beelined to the medicine cat den, to cradle his weeping lover after their stillborns. Coyotewild or Phantomfox - at this point it didn't matter what they remembered him as; today, he was their worst nightmare, striding in loyally beside his leader, jaws parted and dripping with saliva. He looked positively rabid, bathed in the evening glow of the sun as it set on SummerClan's freedom.
"I will handle Rosethorn and our son," he promised to his guard before, grazing against Aspenstar's side, he leaped into camp. The first to be victim to his gunmetal gaze was Cinderpaw, who saw him in the same moment. His lip peeled over his scarred muzzle, revealing he wasn't there to play games. "You're going to take me to your aunt," he loomed above her, his shadow erasing the sun behind him like a solar eclipse, "or you'll watch the rest of your family die." sunlight
SummerClan
Her cheeks still stained by her tears, Sunpetal cowered in the medicine cat's den, but as the sound of urgency began to grow louder right outside, she stood protectively over Ratstar's unconscious body. She sent a silent prayer to StarClan that she'd have the strength to ward off anyone coming to further harm him. "Birdie," her lip trembled as she spoke, "I think you should run and try to escape. I think you should go," she pleaded, gazing at her adopted brother. baewolf
The past two days had left the young tom bone weary and paws dragging. He had done everything he could to make sure that Ratstar lived - and he succeeded in that - but the leader was not able to be at the head of the Clan anymore due to his injuries. With Crow out in SwiftClan, that basically left Vulturemalice in charge of the Clan along with the help of the senior warriors. He had Ratstar safely in the medicine cat den, being kept watched over by Sunpetal.
From the way the watery silver light entered his den, the young medicine cat realized it must be close to moon-high. "I should have been asleep hours ago," he grumbled to half to himself, half to Sunpetal, still cleaning up herb debris that dusted his den floor. That was when he heard the singsong voice of Aspenstar dance across the clear. Fear struck him like an adder strike, sending panic flooding through the medicine cat. The panic though was quickly pushed down by rage and fury, fear more for his Clanmates than himself. Her words sent daggers through him, but he shook his head fiercely. "Keep watch over him," was all he said over his shoulder.
With a snarl, the long legged tomcat burst out of his den, olive eyes growing wide as he saw the onslaught of NightClan warriors swarming around his camp. He spotted Aspenstar, her creamy pelt glowing like liquid starlight. The fur along his spine stood straight up, ears pressed against his skull. "What in the name of StarClan are you doing?" he snarled, taking a few quick steps towards the NightClan leader, confusion and anger clear on his face.
Post by goldcrest on Sept 25, 2021 17:54:45 GMT -5
SUMMERCLAN
Sunfreckle had expected a normal day—wake up, go for her walk, come back. She hadn't expected to be woken up early, the stars still visible in the sky, at the sound of a familiar voice. Still drowsy, she stumbled out of the warriors den in a slightly clumsy rush, blinking sleep from her eyes. She made a noise of confusion, a sound that wanted to be a word but wasn't quite there yet. It took her a moment to notice the barrage of Nightclan cats, but soon enough she gained her wits, feeling her hackles rise. Anxiety bubbled in her chest. She was a terrible fighter—much better at evading. She was quick on her feet, could tire out her enemies, dodge, but was hardly able to land a good blow. Instead, she focused herself on her clanmates.
She caught Aspenstar, her light pelt a dead giveaway, and she hesitated a moment. She had thought Summerclan and Nightclan were on good terms, or at least not negative ones. They were in a difficult spot, with their current leadership issues but how had they—oh. That's how. She lowered her head in shame, could feel her ear-tips heat up, but tried to push it all from her mind. Her feelings weren't important right now, but she couldn't help the growing knot of shame in her stomach.
NightClan The blue tom strolled in and glanced around his new camp with interest. SummerClan had never been very interesting to him; it was a clan so distant on his radar that he had not often stopped to take a look. That was going to change now that the clan was arriving, and he was becoming more comfortable here already. Stormreign stepped around Vulturemalice and started to look around the dens, humming to himself as he took note of their fresh-kill pile. It was running a bit lower than he'd like, but maybe SummerClan liked starving.
Floodfate slipped into the camp and stalked toward the dens, his ears flat. Far from thrilled about the task he'd been given, he showed very little enthusiasm as he poked his head into each den until he came across one that contained only elderly cats. "Wake up. Get moving before I drag you out by the scruff," he growled. Whitemuzzle
SummerClan Sootstep cracked open his eyes to the darkness of the warriors' den. It was still night; why did he hear voices? He concentrated a second longer and the unfamiliar scent struck him the moment he processed their words. The gray tom surged to his paws with a snarl and headed for the exit of the den. "SummerClan, we've got intruders!" he yowled.
Summerclan Cinderpaw Cinderpaw's round amber eyes, much the same color as her aunt's, welled with tears at the expression on Phantomfox's face and the threat in his words. "O-okay," she agreed quickly, mostly because she saw the way her mother was emerging from her den, rounded belly slowing her down. There was no way Phantom would hurt her, but she wasn't willing to risk it.
"She should be in here," she mumbled, moving to the warrior's den and feeling the large, looming presence of the guard captain at her side. Cinderpaw poked her head in the den, scanning the various cats exiting or waking from sleep, shifting to the side to let Sootstep run past her. There was no sign of Rosethorn in the den. Mousedung.
Cinderpaw turned back to her former uncle. "... But she's not. I'm sorry, I don't know where she is. Don't hurt my mom, please, she's going to have kits soon," she pleaded, almost wild with desperation, tears dripping off her chin and onto the ground by her feet. There was no way that she could've known that her aunt was trying to put as much distance between herself and her ex as possible before he caught up to them. All Cinderpaw knew was that she was disoriented, terrified, and unsure of what was going to happen next.
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Post by achromatic on Sept 25, 2021 19:23:37 GMT -5
SummerClan
Sunpaw, as much as her name indicated her love for the day, found that she couldn't quite sleep tonight. She had shifted in her nest, twisting and turning before groggily standing up to go out of camp, for perhaps a stroll or a quick bathroom break somewhere. She had almost considered going to the medicine den to complain about her inability to sleep, wondering if they had anything for sleepless nights like this, but she had remembered that Ratstar was still in a dire condition and certainly, Vulturemalice wouldn't have appreciated her complaints at this hour in the night.
As she finally returned to the camp, she heard voices, unfamiliar ones. With a frown on her face, she trotted a little faster. Was something happening? As she neared, she heard the snarl and the sing-song voice, and suddenly, she was aware that something must've been wrong. It didn't take long for her to notice Rosethorn and Foxpaw sneaking out of camp. "What's going on?" she asked in a small voice, her eyes wide and confused, "is there something happening?"
Aspenstar laughed at Vulturemalice's aggression. " StarClan,," she hummed, debating on whether or not to tell him outright that StarClan couldn't save them now. That was particularly forward, and as much as she appreciated forwardness, she figured it was better to keep her thoughts in her head. "You must be Vulturemalice. It's a pleasure, it really is. I really wish we would have met under better circumstances. Or, at least, better circumstances for you." She offered him a smile, one that was surprisingly friendly, her tail sweeping back and forth.
"I recommend that you think carefully before being too unfriendly, though, darling. You wouldn't want to get hurt."
Shamrocksavior, a SummerClan warrior, seemed not to care about her warning. Perhaps he hadn't heard it. If he had, he'd quickly ignored it, and the large white tom found himself leaping at her. His body hit hers, and the leader stumbled slightly, letting out a hiss that was a mix of pain and annoyance. So, this was how SummerClan would play it? What a shame, she'd almost hoped there would be no casualties.
The ensuing fight between the two was much quicker than anyone could have anticipated. The tom's body soon laid on the ground, his blood seeping into the earth. Of course, the leader herself was not unhurt; she was skilled, but she wasn't perfect. He had managed to get a few good swings at her before Aspen went for the kill. She had gone for the jugular as soon as it became an option; there was no use in saving face. This, after all, would teach SummerClan their first lesson: if they didn't submit, they would die.
"I apologize for the distraction," she meowed, pausing only to spit the tom's blood out of her mouth. "As for what we are doing here this fine evening, we've come because we've heard that you all are experiencing a little bit of a ... leadership deficit. I hear Ratstar's completely incapacitated, and our dear friend Crow has been visiting family. Now, NightClan normally doesn't like to get into other's business, but we simply could not let you struggle without offering our help. This," she meowed, waving her tail, "is our way of offering our help."
She let out a soft sigh, before continuing. "Now, it is really up to you how we continue this evening. On one hand, you could accept our help. Now, this is preferable for both parties. We don't want this to be anymore painful than it has to be. On the other hand, you could fight. You've seen how well that goes over," she finished, glancing over to Shamrocksavior with a casual shrug. "It is completely up to you, but either way, our help is inevitable." baewolf
SUMMERCLAN Foxpaw could sense the urgency in his mom's voice, but he didn't understand. He was still only half awake, but he ran next to her. The further they got from camp, the harder it got. Before long, he was on the ground, gasping for air. "Mama," he whispered between coughs, "what's going on?" Eveningpaw had been one of the last cats to be woken up by the noise. Intruders! The yowl that came from camp was enough to send a chill up the young girl's spine, and she groggily got to her paws. She scanned the den, immediately noticing that her siblings were no longer in the den. Fear crept into her gaze, but she tried to blink it away as she poked her head into the camp, desperately looking for someone, anyone to let her know what was going on. Unfortunately for her, she poked her head out just in time to see the brutal murder of her clanmate. Her blood ran cold, and the apprentice found herself vommiting into the dirt. Whatever was happening, it was bad. It was worse than bad.
Summerclan Rosethorn Rosethorn had never cursed her son's lack of athleticism, but she cursed it now, wishing they could keep up the pace. Phantomfox was fast, and they weren't far at all from camp- she could still hear muffled screams though she didn't know the cause. Suddenly Sunpaw's voice came from nearby, small and frightened, and Rosethorn looked over at the apprentice. "Run, Sunpaw. Don't go back to camp. Nightclan's here. You can come with us, if you want. Get up, Foxpaw," she said gently, but the nose that prodded his shoulder was urgent. "Summerclan's under attack. We need to go, love, please try to get up." achromatic
Orchiddrop
The pregnant Red Guard member paused, taking a deep, shaky breath as Shamrocksavior's body fell to the ground. She would've fought if there had been a chance, and if she hadn't been so heavily pregnant. How did her pregnancies always align with the worst circumstances? As it was, she kept her head down, wondering if they'd be coming for her and her children, since they were Crow's family. Quietly, she pushed her way over to Eveningpaw's side, resting her tail on her daughter's back and pulling her in to her side. @ian
Juniperdust
The gray-furred she-cat slid up beside Sunfreckle, watching the way her head drooped, her eyes taking in the new developments with an intense curiosity. She would not rise against the oppressors, nor would she side with her birth clan. Not until she knew how the odds were stacked. She simply took it all in, watching and waiting. "You alright?" She mumbled under her breath, glancing sideways at the usually bubbly she-cat. goldcrest
Phantomfox emitted a snarl at Cinderpaw's uselessness, shoving her beneath him and snapping his jaws an inch from her nose. "Stay in here. Do not leave this den and maybe they'll let you live," he spat into her face, then wrenched away. He was in the midst of turning away, the intention being to scour the camp for signs of his ex-mate, when a gap in the back of the warriors' den caught his attention. As he drew closer, the scent of jasmine was unmistakable against the edges, a tuft of gray fur snagged there. He snarled, feral and growing increasingly deranged, and tore through the gap, thundering into the territory beyond. "I'M COMING FOR YOU, ROSE," he vowed, howling it into the deepening night. sunlight
Vulturemalice felt the hot spray of blood across his face, eyes widening as he took in the scene before him, the dead warrior and bloody maw of the female feline. This was a new type of enemy to him, not one he could fight with herbs to cure a sickness, but one that was fought with tooth and claw, and that was not a battle he could win. That much he knew, though with his little warrior training he would leave some scars. The medicine cat looked around as his Clanmates were bundled out of their dens and into the clearing where the darkness that was NightClan was waiting. For a brief moment, he flashed a glance up at the stars, wondering if they were even watching and if their cared. They just stared back in their cold, white light.
Looking at the fallen body before he, he knew by the amount of blood that had already pooled there was nothing that could be done to save the white furred tom, pelt now scarlet in his own blood. He turned his gaze back to Aspenstar, still clouded with confusion, though the fear and anger had grown stronger. "I don't know how you got this information, but Devotedcrow will be back any day now. Our leadership is none of your concern, and if this is what you think help is, I'd hate to tell you that you're wrong," he said, still holding his chin high, claws curling into the ground. He could already feel the blood from the dead warrior seeping into the dirt, becoming red stained mud around his paws. "I don't know what kind of help you are even offering, our Clan is none of your concern."
As he spoke, he hoped the warriors around him would stand up against this battalion formed against them, to hold their own until they could figure out what the hell was going on. The tip of his tail trembled slightly, the scent of blood and fear thick in the air. He almost resorted to begging, but he wasn't at that point yet. Mainly just confused as to why this was happening.
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Post by achromatic on Sept 25, 2021 20:21:26 GMT -5
SummerClan
Sunpaw didn't know what to do. On one hand, her clan was in trouble, they needed her help, but on the other...she eyed Foxpaw. Poor thing, he didn't look like he was going to make it past the territory. She wasn't the type of cat to flee from trouble, but...it seemed like the two of them could use some help, after all. "I'll come with you," she whispered, as she followed quickly behind, occasionally sending the other apprentice a worried glance or two.
When he collapsed, she glanced up at Rosethorn, before looking to Foxpaw again. "What if you lean on me?" she spoke immediately, her bright eyes didn't hold sympathy or pity for the other apprentice, just a worry that they might not get far away enough, "it's only a little ways from the border." @ian
Edited Sept 25, 2021 20:21:53 GMT -5 By achromatic
Post by goldcrest on Sept 25, 2021 20:28:29 GMT -5
SUMMERCLAN
She startled at the voice, fur on end, claws scraping the ground. Everything was so confusing, she could hardly tell who was who. "Juniper—right. I. . . I think so, yes." She shook her head. She wasn't near the heart of the fight, a little way off to the side, watching, trying to wack some sense into her brain and make it work. But it wasn't, and she had no idea what she was doing. She was terrible at thinking on the spot, seemed to short-circuit and freeze in intense situations. Her legs trembled slightly.
"My main concern is the apprentices, really, they're. . . they're young and—I think Nightclan is moral enough to not go for the nursery." She went to move, but stopped in her tracks. As far as she was aware she'd practically caused this whole mess to begin with, and she couldn't even help defend them. Maybe she shouldn't have come back.
Summerclan Juniperdust "I think the best thing we can do is nothing at all," Juniperdust remarked, speaking more to herself than Sunfreckle. "They've caught us off guard, when we're disconnected from leadership. They've presented themselves as a unified group, and they'd win against any disorganized attack we could muster up. I don't think they'll harm us if we submit- for now."
"Are you scared?" She asked, glancing at her shaking legs. There was a flash of faint concern for the she-cat she'd gotten to know a little bit. "Don't be. I won't let them hurt you." She wasn't sure why she promised that, but the words were already out of her mouth. goldcrest
Rosethorn "Thank you, Sunpaw," Rosethorn murmured, helping her breathless son to his feet and moving him so he was leaning on Sunpaw. They had started off again, towards the border, when she heard it.
I'm coming for you, Rose. She could sense the anger, the fury. Why wouldn't he be mad? She'd stolen his son away with no warning, even if he had been the one to drive them off. Still, he sounded far too close for comfort. Rosethorn picked up the speed, but something in her heart told her it was too little, too late. He was coming.
Post by stardance on Sept 25, 2021 20:41:50 GMT -5
summerclan Oh boy. Raystrike had been asleep in the warriors den when all this commotion started, and she wasn't. She emerged from the den covered in her usual SunClan decor, and then she saw who it was: the Two-eyed Twit. Fantastic. Just what the doctor ordered, a therapy session. A smirk firmed up on her face as she called out to the leader. "IT'S THE TWO EYED-TWIT!" She bounded over to her former captor with no fear whatsoever. She was from SunClan, cats invading and being invaded was kind of normal for her. "You know, I hoped I'd never have to see your ugly mug ever again, but whatever." She gestured over towards the sound of Phantomfox's voice. "You know, downgrading to that guy, the one that tried to carve a map into his skin? I thought you could do better than that cheating slob of tom, but maybe you deserve each other after all, hmm?" @ian
Igziq did what she usually did in SummerClan: stayed in the corner. These cats didn't know how to fight anyway, she wouldn't waste her time.
Post by goldcrest on Sept 25, 2021 21:20:06 GMT -5
SUMMERCLAN
Shamefully, she answered, "Yes," because it was best to just be honest than attempt to lie. She'd always been terrible at it. "I don't know what to do." She could feel heat on her face, but she tried to give Juniperdust a small smile. It was shaky.
"I appreciate that. I don't think you'll need me to do the same, but I can try." She was a skilled warrior, of course she wouldn't need Sunfreckle and her lack of skill to save her. She was no knight, no warrior (even if that was her rank—why had she chosen the path of a warrior anyway?), nothing at all really. She took in a deep breath, trying to calm her beating heart.
"I messed up so bad." Her voice was lower, hardly audible over the fighting and the yelling.
Doefreckle’s first instinct, when he’d seen the NightClan leader enter the camp at the head of an army, was to find his children and make sure they were safe. As cats began to fight and bleed and die, their cries and howls and snarls echoing against the cold, uncaring light of the moon, he didn’t spare them a look. He was unsentimental about war; a kithood spent within reach of SunClan had left him numb to it. It would have been easy to think that he didn’t care, then, that his heart wasn’t breaking; the tremors running through his legs were the only signs to the absolute contrary. With his children as safe as he could manage, and with kits ushered gently but quickly back into the nursery in passing when they stared out with huge, terrified eyes, he hurried next to the warrior’s den and forced his head in through the trailing leaves, shaking them from his ears.
“My stupid ex-Clan is invading,” Doe told Shadedsun bluntly, his voice brusque and sour and betraying little of the trauma beneath, stepping into the gloom only to touch his nose briefly to his ear. It said everything he didn’t have time to say then: I love you; no heroics; please don’t die. “Stay in here. In all likelihood, we’ll be NightClan by midday. Oh, joy. Be safe.” He slipped back out of the warrior’s den. He knew they stood little chance. If SummerClan was falling, his only concerns now were for the cats he cared about. He could grieve for his home later. goldcrest
After all this, Doefreckle’s next priority was Sunpetal. He knew that if Aspenstar was here to overthrow and usurp SummerClan’s leadership, Ratstar’s daughter would be the first collateral damage and the greatest target. He knew, too, that she hadn’t left the medicine den after her father’s accident. Doe ducked discreetly around the edge of the camp, trying to avoid the attention of any NightClan cats. As he watched them swarm around him, shrieking and washing the clearing with blood, some of them his former Clanmates that he recognised from his youth, he was numbed by the realisation he felt no kinship with them anymore, only a simmering hatred. He wondered, once, if his mother might be among them, but the one thought was all he gave her. Then, when he was nearing the medicine den, Doe caught sight of Vulturemalice standing up defiantly to Aspenstar, a slaughtered tom at his paws and blood on the NightClan leader’s muzzle. Fear thudded his heart inside his chest; what was the medicine cat thinking, defying the she-cat who had just stalked into camp to make herself a tyrant? If there was one thing Doefreckle had learned, it was that heroism got your throat ripped out. “Vulture,” he hissed, his usually impeccable fur bushed around his tail and starting to rise along his shoulders. “Come here. Now.” baewolf
Waiting a heartbeat, hoping Aspenstar’s attention wouldn’t now be turned to him, Doe slipped into the medicine den, hoping Vulturemalice would follow. He found Sunpetal immediately, still crouched over Ratstar. “You need to go,” he told her urgently, crouching down at her side and darting a quick look at the entrance to the den. “Aspenstar will want you out of the way. She’s killing cats indiscriminately. You’re senior royalty - you can’t stay here. A garden keeper can’t fight off trained warriors.” He didn’t say what he knew they would both be thinking: your father is as good as dead. But he would give anything for Sunpetal not to be. “SummerClan needs you, Sun. Alive. If we’re to come back from the ashes, we need someone - a flame - to gather around. It needs to be you. You need to live.” The snarling of fighting cats close by the entrance to the den made him stiffen but he didn’t look away from Sunpetal. Already blood was beginning to seep beneath the walls. woof
The young tom had still been staring the enemy leader down when he heard his voice whispered in a voice he knew as well as his own. Hoping that Aspenstar's attention would now be on the snarling and screeching cats around them, the brown and white tom ducked back behind a fighting pair and slipping back into his den to friend Doefreckle talking to Sunpetal. As he listened, he let out a small hiss. "I should have thought of that," he said, shaking his head. "You could find Crow and bring him back, fix whatever this mess is. I'm still not exactly sure what is going on, but we need a leader." He looked down at Ratstar with a look full of sorrow, touching his nose to the toms ear tip. I'll take care of her like she's taken care of me, he thought, turning his olive gaze to look back up at Sunpetal, then over to Doefreckle for a moment. It was hard to look at him, but Vulturemalice didn't know if he was going to have another chance to do so.
Vulturemalice knew he was about to get a scolding from the dappled tom next to him, but he flattened his ears fiercely and growled, "I had to do something, I couldn't just stand by and let her waltz into camp without some sort of explanation. The Clan is my priority, I had to say something." As he spoke though, the shock was starting to set in, his body beginning to tremble.
