Number of Cats: four ♀ - two ♂
loststar sniffed the air, sending a glance to burningclaw. "seems like it will rain soon." the tom said, and burningclaw just nodded, unusually silent. "what's wrong?" he asked her, and she lashed her tail, turning to face him for the first time since they stepped into the forest. "i hate wolfstrike!" she hissed, her ears laying flat on her head. her claws dug into the moist dirt. she continued with a snarl, "he's so weird, and rude too! if i could slit his throat, i would." loststar felt his fur bristle, but he attempted to remain calm. "burningclaw. no one says he has to be your favorite cat in the clan, but you need to respect him. don't get injured and you won't have to deal with him, yeah?" burningclaw sent him a withering glare, but nodded, her left ear twitching. "well, anyways. what did you do to silvermask?" she asked, a sly look in her eyes. loststar felt confusion twist his facial features. "what do you mean?" burningclaw snorted, shaking her head. "i mean, that molly has been as stealthy as a dog in the forest mooning over you. haven't you noticed?" she asked mockingly, and crowed in delight when his eyes widened. "oh loststar, you don't know anything about mollies! when they keep staring at you, it means they want you!" she purred in amusement, a cruel smirk on her muzzle. "silvermask wants to be my mate? but why?" he asked in bafflement, and burningclaw shook her head with a roll of her eyes. "loststar, you can't be serious." at his blank look, she sighed. "you're the leader of the entire clan. besides deputy, the only way to really secure a good future is to carry the leader's kits. obviously." she said, and he shook his head, slightly overwhelmed. "i liked the silence more." he grumbled, and with a peal of laughter, burningclaw fell silent as well.
the hunting patrol had gone well, loststar thought with pride. he and burningclaw worked well together whenever she wasn't trying to make him uncomfortable. the molly was starting to calm down some, either from accepting her responsibilities as a deputy or just because she was older. either way, she was no longer as abrasive, and for that he was thankful. he was pulled from his musings when silvermask came careening through the bushes, her scent acidic with fear. "loststar. there's a cat stuck in an abandoned two-leg nest nearby. she's almost a kit. we were talking and she said she wanted to join lostclan, but she had to get something from where she was sleeping. i-i waited for her outside the nest, but when i tried to get in rats were all over the floor. please loststar, you have to help! she managed to jump to higher ground, but she's still stuck in there." she panted, her eyes wild. loststar flicked his tail. "show us." he snapped, and silvermask nodded quickly, turning around and sprinting away. loststar followed her, burningclaw not far behind. he felt a breeze ruffle his fur, and without slowing down, he looked to his side. a shadow was right next to him, matching his pawsteps. "help this cat at any cost." the shadow hissed lowly into his ear, and with a start he realized it was darkfang, one of the cats he had heard in the Dark Forest. he nodded and ran faster, his heart pounding inside of his chest. he would ask why this cat was so important later, once she was safe. a red two-leg nest came into view, and he started to hear the yowling of an angry cat inside. burningclaw gave him a wary look. "what now? how do we save her? and more importantly, why?" she snapped, and loststar hissed. "you said she's above ground?" he asked silvermask, and she nodded. "yes." loststar looked around, his eyes narrowed. "there! burningclaw, do you see that pile of hay?" he asked, and she followed his eyes and nodded. "you and silvermask, push that towards the opening near the top of the two-leg nest. i'll go in and tell the cat to jump, she'll land on the hay, and we can leave this dank place." he said quickly, and silvermask gasped. "but loststar, there's at least twenty rats in there. you can't go alone!" her voice was drowned out by the whisperings of darkfang, who had once again appeared. "you have nine lives, loststar, and they were not for old-age." his resolve hardening, he growled, "i didn't ask for your opinion. do it, now!" the two mollies fixed him with incredulous looks but ran to the hay pile, and he took a deep breath. "why is this molly so bloody important?" he hissed, crawling forwards slowly. he could see how to get in now, a hole about as big as a fox on the side of the nest. he caught a glimpse of the molly, her fur long and standing on end. "i'm not going to die because of some food that has teeth!" she yowled, her voice shrill. the rats squealed and tried to climb the walls, their tiny claws scratching on the sides of the nest. loststar took a deep breath, his heart pounding in his throat. when he had steadied himself, he slithered into the nest, yowling, "you! jump through the square right there! hurry!" the rats were on him in a heart-beat, their teeth ripping his fur and their tiny claws digging into his skin. he fought them for what seemed like a moon, and when the last one had stopped twitching, he closed his eyes, bleeding all over the ground.
"good job, loststar. you have lost a life, of course, but you already knew you were going to. you have listened to my directions well. when you awake, you'll be almost as good as new, in your medicine cat's den. silvermask, burningclaw and thistlepaw have dragged you here." a beat of silence, and then, "thank you for saving my daughter."
loststar lost a life from rats.
burningclaw and thistlepaw are patrolling.
silvermask is hunting.
wolfstrike used x1 marigold on loststar.
lostclan ate the rest of the hare and a mouse.
