━ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐗

[anathema]

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[anathema]

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[anathema]

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[anathema]

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[animated]

𝙿𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚞𝚝𝚢 3249

Pale sunlight dappled through the leaves that lined the top of the warrior's den, casting pools of warmth along Pineheart's fur. He laid still for many moments, letting the morning sun soak into his muscles, before slowing blinking open his eyes to take in the sights surrounding him. It was early but many cats had already left the den and the sounds of a bustling clan wafted through the entrance, filling Pineheart's ears with mild chatter. His heart was bursting with pride. He had been appointed as the Thunderclan deputy a mere four moons ago, despite being a relatively young cat, and each morning, if only for a few seconds, he worried about whether he was doing a good job and if the leader had made the right choice. But the second he heard clan life going on as normal, his worries seeped away. Everything's fine. He told himself, No one cares more for this clan than I do. With a quick nod to himself, the dark tabby warrior rose to his paws and padded out of the den, ready to tackle his duties for the day.

Pineheart's day had been completely normal. He organised patrols in the morning, leading the patrol at sunhigh himself, and in the afternoon he took his apprentice, Thistlepaw, out for some hunting training. He had forgotten how tiring it was to have an apprentice; they had so much energy and wanted to see, and do, everything at once, especially when they had just begun their training like Thistlepaw had. The two of them had been assigned as mentor/apprentice only a quarter-moon ago when Thistlepaw and his littermates had turned six moons old and even this early on Pineheart could tell this bundle of energy had all the makings of a fine warrior.
"He needs to learn to contain his excitement while hunting," He mewed aloud, his thoughts finally being given a voice. "He'll scare off all the prey across all the territories if he keeps lashing his tail like that."
"Oh Pineheart, can't you remember what it was like to be a new apprentice? Eager to learn everything at once?" The voice that replied to him was as smooth as honey and as warm as the sun itself.
The deputy blinked in appreciation at the owner of the voice. His mate, Dapplewillow, was lying beside him, gently rasping her tongue over a stubborn patch of fur on Pineheart's shoulder, pausing for a slight moment to blink back slowly at him in comfort, just as she always did. The mother of his kits, Patchkit, Lightkit and Songkit, had been the biggest blessing in his life; it was as if she had been sent to him by Starclan themselves. He turned his head to watch his kits tumbling around with each other near the entrance to the nursery and sent a silent prayer to the starry warriors for his wonderful family.
"You're right, like always, Dapplewillow." He replied, "I'm sure he will make a fine warrior, just like our kits will."
"It won't be long until they're made apprentices now." Dapplewillow nodded thoughtfully, "Has Birchstar given you any hints as to who will be their mentors yet?"
Pineheart shook his head in reply, "Not yet. But I'm sure he will closer to the ceremony."

The couple stayed sharing tongues and watching their kits play until long after the sun had set below the horizon before Dapplewillow rose to her paws and rounded up the kits to say goodnight to their father. Pineheart gently touched his nose to each one in turn before mewing a goodbye to his mate and watched as they all piled into the nursery to sleep. A hint of sadness crept through the deputy as he made his way back to the warriors den. He missed Dapplewillow sleeping next to him at night. As he settled down into his nest, Pineheart couldn't help but shiver. He could of sworn it was a sense of foreboding, but as he curled into a ball he shook his head and passed the feeling off as just a drop in the outside temperature or his thoughts of missing his sleeping companion. Trying to think about patrols for the next day, he closed his eyes and it wasn't long until he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

The sound of cats yowling in terror awoke Pineheart with a start and the second he opened his eyes the thick, bitter smell of smoke filled his nose and lungs. Fire! Fire! Fire! He sprung to his paws and darted out of the warriors den only to be greeted with absolute chaos and horror. Bright orange-and-red flames lapped all around him and into the forest above, cats were sprinting in every direction, desperate to escape the blaze and falling debris that accompanied it and the heat the seared at his pelt and onto his skin underneath had none of the comfort the early morning sun gave. The tom had a mere heartbeat to assess the situation as a smouldering branch teetered on the edge of the hollow, threatening further destruction at any moment.
"Get out!" He yowled into the warriors den at any warriors who might have still been inside, "Now! There's a fire!"
He sprung into the centre of the camp, making a beeline for the nursery which had flames creeping towards it and what seemed like half a second later, the burning branch tipped over into the hollow and directly onto the beech tree where warriors den was, almost immediately combusting the dry bark and leaves until they too were a ball of flames. Pineheart froze in shock. He hadn't even stopped to see if anyone had still been asleep inside and if there was, there was no chance they could now escape alive. The deputy didn't have time to grieve. He once again darted towards the nursery, only to once again freeze in shock. Dotted all around the camp laid the limp bodies of his clanmates; fellow warriors, apprentices and elders alike. Their fur was singed to a crisp and stained a dark grey with ash, the dancing glow of the fire making it look like they were running on the ground. Pineheart scanned the clearing for any sign of Dapplewillow or the kits and was relived to not find their bodies among the rest of the clan. No sign was a good sign right now. The tabby shook his head and continued to the nursery, very aware of how close the fire was spreading towards it. He reached there in a few strides and was startled when Dapplewillow shoved her head out of the den, almost colliding with him.
"Oh thank Starclan you're safe!" She mewed in distraught, thrusting her head into Pineheart's shoulder.
"Of course I am." He replied bleakly, "What about the kits? Are they safe? Where are they?" The questions tumbled out in a single breath.
"They're fine, Palepoppy and Longclaw are just-" She was cut short when the two warriors pushed their way out the the nursery behind her, a kit each dangling from their mouths and Songkit right at their paws. Pineheart nodded his appreciation at his clanmates and bent down and picked Songkit up by the scruff, swinging her around and dropping her at Dapplewillow's paws.
"Take them and go to the beach; it's near the water so it should be safe. Once you're there follow it around to Windclan territory, the open plains shouldn't be effected." He shook his head as Dapplewillow opened her mouth to reply, "No, you have to go right now. I'll meet you there when I can but I have a duty to the clan to stay behind and make sure everyone is safe." He turned to Palepoppy before his mate could protest. "Where is Birchstar?"
"I saw him heading towards the elder's den but I haven't seen him since."
Pineheart nodded and turned back to Dapplewillow. "I love you." He choked out, his words barely audible over the roar of the fire around them. "I love you all. Please stay safe. Now go." He touched his nose to hers for what felt like a lifetime before drawing back and turning to the two warriors carried the most precious cargo in their jaws. "Please keep them safe."
"We will, Pineheart." They mewed in unison through the fur of his kits before a last nod to their deputy and taking off towards the thorn tunnel that led out of the camp.
Pineheart felt as though his heart was breaking into a million pieces as he watched them go and felt tears fill his eyes as he waited until the last tail tip could be seen going through the entrance to the camp. I might never see my family again. He thought in despair. He shook the tears out of his eyes and straighten his shoulders. No. He had to have hope. Starclan would protect them and he had a job to do here. He spun on his ash-covered paws and bolted towards the elder's den, hoping to find Birchstar there so he could guide him through this disaster. However, when Pineheart reached the elder's den he once again stopped dead in his tracks. He was greeted with the sight of the elder's den completely ablaze, the branches of the beech tree and honeysuckle that once guarded the elders from everything now blackened with char, and the bodies of Birchstar and Cedarfur sprawled across the ground. It had looked as though the leader had tried to drag the elder from the burning mass of the den and neither one had survived. This can't be! The deputy despaired; he knew Birchstar was not on his last life. He rushed over to his old mentor's body and crouched beside it, sniffing frantically at his fur for any signs of life. Suddenly, Birchstar's body convulsed and the tom's amber eyes shot open and stared up at Pineheart in fear.
"Pineheart!" He exclaimed, his once fierce voice now hoarse from smoke, "You're alive."
"Of course I am, Birchstar." The deputy tried to smile meekly at the light brown tabby lying at his paws. "And so are you. Let me help you up." He lowered himself closer to the ground so that the leader could put his weight on him. But Birchstar didn't move.
"No my dear deputy." He shook his head with what seemed like all the strength he had, "I am about to lose my last life, this injury is too great for even Starclan to heal." He motioned with his nose to the lower half of his body and for the first time Pineheart noticed the extent of the older tom's injuries; the entire lower half of his body was blackened with burns, his tail looking like the burned branches of the trees around him and not a patch of fur left anywhere. A lump rose in his throat as he turned back to face Birchstar.
"What will I do without you Birchstar? I'm not ready and the whole clan is gone." Pineheart wailed as though he were a young kit who was losing their mother. "Palepoppy and Longclaw have taken Dapplewillow and the kits out of the camp, but there's no one else left! They're all... Gone." Tears rose in his eyes once more as he thought of all the loss that had happened here tonight.
"Starclan will guide you. You will make a fine leader Pineheart; I always knew it was your destiny." Birchstar's eyes flickered in pain as he stared at something behind Pineheart. "You must go now, and so must I." Pineheart shook his head, not wanting to leave the cat that had taken the place of his father after he had abandoned the clan. He opened his mouth to protest once more but was silence with the touch of Birchstar's tail to his shoulder. The tail burned and left a stinging sensation where it touched and the deputy grimaced at the pain his friend must be going through. "Starclan be with you, Pineheart." The leader's voice was barely a whisper as he shuddered and then lay still, the last of his lives fading from his eyes.
Pineheart buried his face in the dead leader's body, letting out a wail of heartbreak as he said an internal goodbye to the cat who had done so much for Thunderclan in all his lifetimes. Heat drummed against his pelt, daring him not to move so he could meet the same fate but the tabby didn't care. He was the only one left who would be able to mourn Birchstar as he passed. So he didn't move. He stayed, with his head pressed into his old mentor's pelt until the flames crept so close that they scorched at his fur and at least Pineheart rose to his paws, taking one last look at the place he had called home his entire life and the clan he had loved so dearly, before running half heartedly across the camp, up into the thorn tunnel and out into the forest beyond.

Pineheart's paws pounded on the dry, scorched earth that was once home to a vibrant and luscious forest. Even in the middle of the night, he could hear the wildlife humming peacefully as they coexisted alongside the clan cats but now he could hear nothing other than intense roar of the fire that blazed all around him. The dark tabby ran blindly through the flames, trying to pick up any scent of his family and just hoped he was going in the right direction towards the beach, not that he could even seen the sky through the fire. After what felt like a lifetime of running, he caught scent of Longclaw. It was close but that made him worry. Had his family not made it out of the flames? He changed direction and chased after the fading scent as quickly as he could, the smell of smoke drowning it out with every passing heartbeat. At last, he skidded to a stop in a small gap of the flames and was greeted with the charred body of Longclaw lying at his paws. Pineheart couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as he realised that there were no other cats lying around him, including Lightkit, who Longclaw had been carrying. With a passing touch of his tail to the fallen warrior's body, he leapt into the flames ahead of him once again, hoping to find his mates and kits -and Palepoppy- soon. Smoke was filling Pineheart's lungs, making it harder for him to carry on running, fire was sizzling at his pelt and his paws had lost all feeling from drumming against the hard, hot ground, but still he continued. He must find his family. His thoughts were interrupted when he tripped and skidded along the forest floor, charcoaled branches scraping at his underbelly. He rose to his paws and, shaking the soot off his pelt, turned around to glare at what he thought was a fallen tree trunk, only to be met with the sight of an ash-covered Palepoppy, her once cream fur dark grey. Sadness choked in Pineheart's throat; he had liked Palepoppy, she was a strong and loyal warrior Pineheart had always believed should of been deputy over him. And now he knew his family were along, lost in a forest of fire. He trotted back towards the warrior, limping with every few steps, and touched his nose against her pelt before turning on his paws in one last hope of finding his mate and kits alive.
Pineheart had not been running again for very long before he felt the wind change, now blowing towards him, and tasted the scent of salt from the lake. He pressed on harder, hope of his family reaching the beach giving him new strength. He leapt over tree trunks, dodged around flames and crawled under cindering branches until he was met with a wall of flames that stood between him and the beach. It was a couple of fox-leaps ahead of him and there was no way around it; the only way out for him was to turn around and go back the way he came. The tom stared at it in defeat. There was no time for him to find his family now if he was to survive. He collapsed to the ground and let out a yowl of despair. He laid there for many moments, watching his tears disappear in the dirt the second they dropped and then heaved himself to his paws. He had no energy left. He had lost everything. A gust of wind from across the lake hit him in the face and cooled his burned fur for a heartbeat. Half heartedly, he looked up and his heart fell when he looked through the flames. There they were. Dapplewillow, Patchkit, Songkit and Lightkit laid together in a heap of grey pelts, their bodies not moving. Pineheart swung his head from side to side, desperately looking for an opening through the flames for him to pass through. But alas, he could not get to them. He couldn't say goodbye. But deep down he knew it was already too late for that and that they were already walking with their ancestors.
"I'm sorry!" He screamed to them over the roar of the fire, all energy draining from his body. Pain shot through the side of his body as flames lapped up against his pelt. He couldn't stay here. He knew that but he couldn't bare to leave them on their own. He stood, motionless, his heart breaking into a million pieces as he took one last look at the cats he loved most in this world, begging Starclan to tell him what he did to deserve them taking away his family. He tipped his head back and glared at the sky, and as if in answer a single star shone brightly through the flames. He felt a small morsel of energy flow back into his muscles as he prepared to run once more. He couldn't stay here. With one last glance at his mate and kits through the flames, Pineheart turned on his paws and headed back into the depths of the forest.

The deputy ran blindly through the forest as reality slowly started to dawn on him. He was the sole survivor of Thunderclan. What was he supposed to do now? A branch scraped at his face as though to snap him out of his misery. For now he needed to survive and for that he needed to have a clear head. With a nod of encouragement to himself, he decided to follow his own advice and head towards Windclan's territory; it was his best -and only- option right now. He pressed his paws harder against the ground, eerily aware of the blaze closing in around him, and ran faster than he ever had before. He coughed heavily; the smoke was thicker than ever and he could feel it settling in his lungs. Crash! Pineheart tumbled over his paws as he collided with something. Muttering to himself, he shook off his fur and looked up at the grey -no black- pelted cat that he had crashed into. They were small; they looked no older than an apprentice and though he couldn't smell much through the smoke he knew this wasn't a Thunderclan cat. But what were they doing here? And who were they?
"Who are you?"

[selasphorys]

𝗡𝗢𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗟𝗘𝗣𝗔𝗪

the shadowclan apprentice
(location: thunderclan forest)
(tags: pineheart)

A creature of the night, Noctulepaw rose with green eyes gleaming while her clanmates slept. Pangs of hunger had twisted her belly and forced her awake. The restless apprentice made up her mind to take a solo night hunt. Any warrior could do it, and she was pretty much one already! Her assessment would come any sunrise now. Only the stars watched her poke her head out of the Apprentices’ Den. Noctulepaw slunk close to the edges of camp, finding safety behind branches drooping with needles. Staying downwind of the camp entrance, she scented Swampburr standing watch. Old Swampburr was the perfect guard on nights like these. Though his senses had dulled with age and he often drowsed on the job, the tenacious tom refused to become an elder. This fierce pride was a quality Noctulepaw greatly admired… and greatly exploited. Whiskers twitching in a smirk, the dark she-cat crept a few tail-lengths closer.

“You’re a clever apprentice, aren’tcha?” Noctulepaw stopped in her tracks when she heard Swampburr’s gravelly voice. Had she been caught? The warrior snorted and continued, “Acornpaw, we’ll make a warrior out of you yet. Hrk. Snrff…” She breathed out a tiny sigh of relief, satisfied that he was dreaming of his timid grandchild. Tiptoeing past him and squeezing through the thorn tunnel, Noctulepaw darted out toward freedom. The mischievous apprentice bounded through the pines. Tail waggling in delight as she drank in the cool night air, Noctulepaw wondered why her clanmates didn’t hunt after dark more often. The Greenleaf heat was scorching on her thick pelt! Besides, weren’t ShadowClan cats supposed to be masters of darkness and stealth? Fogstar ought to be praising her for crafting this great escape, for taking the initiative to hone the skills of her clan, and for making the fresh-kill pile grow overnight! But as the apprentice reflected on her leader— surely the coolest of all leaders— she wasn’t sure what Fogstar would think. Fogstar always carried herself with perfect calm. She remained undisturbed in any circumstance, and the recent twoleg activity was no exception. Even when they began clearing ShadowClan forest and scaring away ShadowClan prey with their monsters, her graceful, glacial demeanor remained to soothe her clan.

But something didn’t sit right with Noctulepaw about all this twoleg business. And that something was her grumbling belly! Yesterday, she had to share a rat with her brother, and Owlpaw ate like a greedy fox! Though the clan had just barely enough prey to go around, apprentices always got the scrawny leftovers. How could she face a whole ‘nother day of hunting and fighting on a half-filled stomach? She supposed an older cat like Fogstar could endure this. For generations, ShadowClan had grown tough on toad-toes and lizard-tails, all while ThunderClan strutted around with full bellies. Noctulepaw’s knotted tail lashed with indignation. She decided then and there: she’d hunt near the ThunderClan border just to see what was so great about their territory and their prey! Not like anyone was around to stop her.

Despite her optimism, Noctule’s late night hunt did not go well. On the way to the border, she had barely managed to catch (and quickly release) two maybe-poisonous salamanders. Even a mouse had escaped her jaws at the last moment! It seemed that today would be the day when everything slips through her claws. By now, the horizon had turned to the hazy gray of a blazing dawn. Noctulepaw’s stomach ached and she couldn’t help but drag her paws on the dry grasses. Knowing it was too late to return to her nest before her mentor found out, she resolved to bring back something to make up for her mischief. That was when a morning squirrel darted past her toward the border. A plump one at that! Drooling at the prey-scent, Noctulepaw rushed toward the squirrel with her characteristic bursts of energy. When it crossed the rank markings at the border, she stayed so focused on her target that she neither noticed nor cared. The squirrel ran long through ThunderClan territory before Noctulepaw caught up to it. With a victorious pounce, she dispatched the prey.

The hungry apprentice ate before checking her surroundings, before even thanking StarClan for the squirrel’s life. Noctule only stopped when she saw stars glistening through the branches, as if reminding her to be good. After a hasty prayer, she picked up the half-eaten fresh-kill and began trotting back toward ShadowClan territory. But something was different here. The far trees seemed to shine with the colors of an early Leaf-fall, and great thunderclouds gathered in the sky above them. Though the prey-scent of the squirrel flooded her senses, a sharp, acrid odor seeped through. The hairs of her ginger ruff stood up on end. After a moment of electric confusion, she finally recognized the scent from those little burning circles in the Greenleaf Twolegplace. Fire! Dropping the prey, she sped toward the distant flames. Noctulepaw wanted to be the first to warn Fogstar about the fire. When her leader saw how she fought through flames to raise the alarm, Noctulepaw would be made a warrior for sure! Wait ‘til Owlpaw hears about how I ran through a huuuuge forest fire! His eyes would go rounder than moons and he’d wail like a kit! Perhaps the naive apprentice did not realize the gravity of the situation… at least, not until a flaming tree came crashing down in front of her.

The blast of heat knocked her off her paws. Then came a shower of burning splinters, stinging her face and scorching her fur. With a frightened cry, Noctulepaw scrambled backward into the bracken. The undergrowth had always sheltered her in the past, but now it betrayed her to the flames. Her shield crumbled into smoldering ash. The apprentice was forced from the shadows into blinding light, surrounded by searing walls on three sides. Unlike the small, enclosed fires she knew from the Greenleaf Twolegplace, this blaze spread much faster than she imagined. She searched high and low for a path to ShadowClan territory, but flames stretched along the border as far as she could see. Noctulepaw could only run further into ThunderClan territory. With one last look at the smoky pines of home, she turned around. The apprentice reassured herself that a wildfire would’ve been discovered by her clanmates long before she arrived. Fogstar will know what to do! She’s the best leader ever! She probably took the whole clan to the RiverClan border already. And with this weight off her hammering heart, she ran.

In the distance, Noctule spied a high hill that had not been touched by the flames. She locked on to this hope. But each time she caught a glimpse of it through the smoke, it seemed to be in a different direction. Everything looked the same, all leaves and trees and flames. The apprentice had gotten herself hopelessly lost in unfamiliar enemy territory. She began screeching and shouting to alert ThunderClan about the fire, as a “kind gesture” to those fox-hearts. She wouldn’t admit to even herself that she hoped one of them would hear her and lend a helping paw. These yowls turned to mewls and finally rasps as smoke choked her lungs. No one came.

The blaze gave relentless chase. Noctulepaw had wasted precious seconds in her foolish rush toward the burning trees, and now the flames had caught her. She scrambled, stumbling over tree roots and into ravines. In this mad dash, it finally occurred to her why that squirrel had run so fast away from ShadowClan territory. And it wasn’t because of her. Now she followed in that squirrel’s footsteps, turning from predator to prey. Burning smoke clouded her vision and filled her nose as roaring flames drowned out all noise. Left blind and desperate, she didn’t notice the other cat until it was far too late.

Slam!

The collision shocked the sense back into her, clearing the haze in her mind. “Hey! Watch your paws, flea-brain,” she spat out on instinct, her voice barely above a rasp. Just spewing that venom left her crouched over in a fit of coughing. Noctulepaw peered up at the stranger with bleary, smoke-stung eyes. Soot and ash dusted the warrior-sized creature. Parts of their dark tabby pelt seemed heavily scorched by fire. Sniffing them cautiously, she recoiled. Under an awful burnt-fur smell, she detected a putrid whiff of ThunderClan. The she-cat stood up straight to hide her previous moment of fragility. “I’m Noctulepaw,” she responded curtly, as if they ought to know it already. “Who’re you?” Hopping from paw to paw, Noctule looked from them to the high hill above the flames. Even Mystery Mouse-brain here should know that this was no place to make polite introductions.

[Nyverria]

The Riverclan Queen

Mews of newborn kits had woken up the new queen from her slumber just as the sun was rising. It was different now sleeping in the nursery even though it has been a moon since Bluestream had figured out about her pregnancy. Lifting up her head from her nest, she saw that it was Lilyblossom's kits wailing at the fact they were hungry. "Oh! Sorry Bluestream, I didn't realize my kits had woken you up." the calico she-cat mewed quietly as if she were almost embarrassed at the fact her kits woke up Bluestream. It was easy enough for Mistfur and Ravensong to sleep through the noises of newborn kits since their own were much older, however their kits were starting to take up too much room in the nursery. "It's alright Lilyblossom, there is no need to apologize." Bluestream purred as she watched as her den-mate's kits nursed. They were adorable which made Bluestream think of her own that would be born soon. What would they look like? What should she name them? All these questions flooded her head until the other two queens and their kits began to wake up not much longer after Bluestream woke up.

Ravensong's kits were the first to wake up and soon they all began chattering loudly until their mother woke up to discipline them for being too loud. Her kits turned six moons today so it was obvious they were excited about becoming warriors today. "Bluestream! Who do you think Rowanstar would pick to be my mentor?!" the older kit of the litter asked, the young tom would become Otterpaw while his other littermates would become Shadowpaw and Mudpaw. "I'm not exactly sure Otterkit but I know Rowanstar would give you, Shadowkit and Mudkit amazing mentors." the blue tabby purred happily. Soon Ravensong's kits ran outside the den to play in the meantime while Mistfur's kits went out to join them; they were about two moons younger. The four queens mingled amongst themselves until Mistfur suggested they all go and stretch their legs besides Lilyblossom. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Mistfur asked before leaving the den, "No thank you, maybe later." the calico queen replied; thus the three queens left the nursery. As the blue tabby exited the den she saw as the rest of the clan had already been awake and her mate assigning the morning patrol but it wasn't long until she got the craving to get something to eat. The queen sat and waited for the crowd of warriors to clear away and go about their duties, before Bluestream could even make it to the fresh-kill pile she was met facing Rowanstar with a fish in his maw.

"Sorry Mistfur, Ravensong." Rowanstar mewed after he sat down the fish, "I'm going to have to steal Bluestream for a moment." Bluestream's eyes lit up as she gazed at her mate and picked up the fish to follow him towards his den to share the fresh-kill. There was a slight sway in her walk from carrying their kits which did slow her down a bit which she generally wasn't fond of. Once the blue queen made it into her mate's den, she hunched down and began eating the fish hungrily. A chuckle rumbled in Rowanstar's throat as he watched her eat and gave her a lick on her head. The two conversed about the clan while sharing tongues and even Ravensong's kits were brought up in the conversation as well. He had told her that he would hold their ceremony once the patrols have returned. Bluestream did miss going out on patrols, she practically jumped at every opportunity there was to go on patrols whether it be hunting to just checking the borders. A little time had passed and the couple exited the den so Rowanstar could continue his duties leading the clan.

Bluestream had caught up with Mistfur and Ravensong after the had also mingled with the clan and their own mates. Soon the patrols had returned with fresh-kill and no threats of any kind in Riverclan territory. Before long, Rowanstar had called the clan to appoint Ravensong's kits to their new mentors. The three queens sat outside the nursery and were accompanied with Lilyblossom this time. During the ceremony, Bluestream glanced to see Ravensong with a proud look on her profile as she watched her kits get their apprentice names. They all had cheered and the clan dispersed once the ceremony was over. In the meantime before dark, the blue queen went to check on the elders before they all got too grumpy and were ready to sleep. Once she had finished helping the elders with their needs and shared tongues with them, night began to creep over the camp.

Nightfall had taken over the camp with all the remaining kits sleeping and the camp was completely silent. Ravensong decided to stay in the nursery to help the remaining queens take care of their kits. Bluestream was woken up suddenly instantly smelling what seemed to be fire. Fire? Fire! It wasn't long when the rest of the clan had woken with the sounds of yowls in the camp. The air had became thick and hard to breath so quickly that the queens were overwhelmed as they rounded up the kits to be taken to safety. Lilyblossom was frozen in fear as the fire rapidly came closer to the camp with her tail covering her kits as if she were trying to protect them. Mistfur, her kits, Ravensong and Bluestream had left the den already to find Lilyblossom's mate along with their own. Bluestream frantically looked around for Rowanstar within all the clan cats darting around trying to escape. At first she had found Lilyblossom's mate frantically trying to get to the nursery to retrieve his mate and kits. The fire had come so quickly that as soon as Lilyblossom's mate had ran into the nursery, the brambles had collapsed and trapped the family.

Bluestream stood there frozen as to what she had just witnessed until Rowanstar had snapped her out of her daze. "We have to leave now! we need to make it to the lake shore and get through the marsh! Quickly!" he yowled trying to get his mate to move. Bluestream looked around the camp frantically to find a quick exit out of the camp but all she could notice were her clanmates lifeless bodies laying scattered on the ground from suffocation and singed fur. There was a small exit between the warrior's den and the nursery to escape but it had already been cut off so the only exit left was the camp entrance. The queen did her best to be quick but her stamina wasn't like it use to be before she was carrying her kits. As the two passed the warrior and apprentice dens, the blue she-cat noticed a small limp figure just outside the apprentice den. It was Otterkit.. no.. Otterpaw along with a few other apprentices laying within the fallen brambles that was once their den.

Bursting out of the entrance were only a few remaining warriors along with Rowanstar and Bluestream trailing ahead of them. It seemed selfish of Rowanstar to only focus on the survival of his mate and kits but any father would do so. He had told them to meet at the lake shore in case they were separated in the fire. As the two kept running through the fiery blaze, Bluestream began to slow down a little more until she stopped to catch her breath with what clean air she could. "We have to keep moving Bluestream." Rowanstar mewed as he tried to get her to kepp going. "I'm trying.. I just need to catch my breath." the queen replied as she gasped for air but all she was doing was choking on the fumes from the fire. The scorching hot blaze had caught up to them and once the couple began to run once more..

Crash!

A boulder had given out to the blaze and came crashing down towards the Riverclan cats, crushing Rowanstar in the process. He yowled out in pain until quickly there was nothing but his limp body laying under the boulder. "Rowanstar!"" Bluestream called out for her mate as she ran to lick his cheek for him to wake up. Tears filled her amber eyes as Starclan had revived him suddenly, "Run!" he yowled before he had lost his life once more. Starclan couldn't heal his broken body, all they did was make him suffer through the last of his five lives as he yowled the same thing over and over.. "Run!" It was all Bluestream could do at this point as the fire began to start singing her blue tabby pelt. There was no time to grief.. not now. The queen began running once more trying to reach the lake but was soon cut off with a wall of fire blocking her path.

Bluestream frantically looked around for another way and soon realized she would have to cross into Windclan territory. What about the other warriors? Surely they had made it right? It didn't matter now, Windclan would help a queen in need.. right? The she-cat had to make it through the marsh and pass the horseplace in order to make it to Windclan's camp. It was difficult making her way through the marsh due to her pregnancy slowing her down. Soon she had made it through the marsh with the fire still only a fox-length away from her now. There was no time to stop. She had to keep moving.