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xindentthe image was burned forever in cyanstar's head, a scene he would never be able to forget. the sounds of wails throughout the entire night, eyes gleaming with tears of sorrow. no cat slept the night that redstar died, and none had been able to rest easily since, wouldn't be able to until they'd had their chance for revenge. the camp stirred, moving seamlessly between the dregs of grief that would last for seasons to come - they'd all lost so much, after all - and the desire to avenge the fallen. cyanstar saw it in oakseed, in marshstripe, in crakepaw. still, cyanstar took his time, wanting to ensure that there would be no more battles when they were finished, they would have their revenge soon enough, at any cost. as much as he hated the thought of having to kill another cat, it was clear that, so long as nolan was alive, there would be no peace. his clan would continue to swirl in pain. he, cyanstar, would continue to look over his shoulder at every sound.
indenthe sat in the middle of the lower camp, watching through half-lidded eyes as the apprentices wrestled, practicing their moves. thunderpaw and plumpaw circled one another to one side, and valleypaw advanced from behind. the pure white molly lunged forward at the last moment, catching thunderpaw off-balance long enough for plumpaw to dart forward and sweep his paws out from underneath him. valleypaw let out an excited yowl and jumped on top of thunderpaw, though plumpaw hesitated long enough to look back at cyanstar. when he caught his eye, cyanstar smiled and flicked his ear. in turn, plumpaw grinned and joined valleypaw to pounce on thunderpaw who tried to bat them both off.
indent"i like seeing you smile," a voice came from his left, and a purr rumbled immediately from cyanstar's throat. he'd been so engrossed in watching the apprentices that he'd entirely missed falconflight's approach. "the training looks like it's going well," falconflight added after a beat, when he had settled beside his mate. he leaned down to rub his cheek against cyanstar's, earning another purr in response. before them, other apprentices joined the fray from where they had been practicing in separate groups. cricketpaw and finchpaw teamed up to help plumpaw and valleypaw when dandelionpaw, magpiepaw, and kestrelpaw moved to help thunderpaw get to his paws and bat away his attackers. together, the mates watched in pleasant silence until falconflight spoke again, "have you been to see hawkrise? is that why you're so happy today?"
indentat the mention of the clan's newest kits, cyanstar shrugged slightly. "of course the news of the kits was good. i went to see them early this morning. they're cute, aren't they?" at that, falconflight murmured his agreement, otherwise remaining silent long enough for cyanstar to gather his thoughts. "we're almost ready," cyanstar said at last, not missing the way falconflight's whiskers twitched, though there was no surprise in his eyes.
indent"when?" he asked instead and cyanstar hummed softly, allowing his gaze to move back to the apprentices. dovepaw, frogpaw, hootpaw, and branchpaw had all joined in, taking sides, with ploverpaw and rootpaw running over as well.
indent"i need to tell badgerstar and pantherstar. tallpeak is going to groveclan sunhigh tomorrow," he said, leaning against falconflight. "would you go to hazeclan with snakespots?" only a moon earlier, he had sent the same cats out to their allies to tell them that redstar was dead and the leadership had been passed down to cyanstar. moon earlier, the rain ravished the cats and cyanstar met badgerstar for the first time. to hear the older and more experienced leader pledge himself to quickclan's aid eased some of the tension, to know that their allies would come to help them after all. the same news had been brought from hazeclan. not that it should have been much of a surprise - the ties between the clans had run deeply for seasons. still, it was good to know that the alliances would remain even though redstar had passed on, that groveclan and hazeclan would be there to help quickclan fight their enemies in the same way that quickclan would go to help them in turn.
indent"of course," falconflight said, and he followed cyanstar's gaze to where cricketpaw, dovepaw, dandelionpaw, and finchpaw had come together, laughing. finchpaw had pinned cricketpaw down, and dovepaw swatted grass in dandelionpaw's direction. "you really think we can do this?" falconflight asked after a moment, voice dropping to a quiet whisper, to which cyanstar let out a low sigh.
indent"we have to. the moor is out home, and they won't stop with us. they'll move on to hazeclan, to groveclan, to anyone else if we let them." he thought of the barn he had spent so much time growing up in, the barn where he met falconflight and blizzardrush. the barn that had served as a symbol of the moorland, just as much as the open stretches of ground, the twisting tunnels, and the winds. the barn was rightfully theirs, and nolan had taken it in the same way he had taken lives and the pride of quickclan. "we have to survive this." for their kits, for hawkrise's newborn kits, for the generations of quickclan into the future. there were no other options. it was a terrifying thought, and cyanstar twisted his head to touch his nose to falconflight's shoulder. "when the time comes, i need you to stay here with them. i won't let you come," he murmured and felt falconflight tense under him.
indent"you're serious?" falconflight said, and cyanstar nodded. "we've been together for everything. don't make me stay now."
indent"stay for them," cyanstar said, raising his eyes to meet falconflight's gaze. "i'll be protected. but i already lost redstar, we've lost so many. i can't - i won't - lose you too. if something happens, you should be the one to lead quickclan."
indentthere was a beat of silence, in which falconflight said nothing, his mouth a hard line and eyes narrowed. finally, he let out a low breath and nodded just once. "you'd better come back to me or i'll drag you back from starclan myself." despite everything, cyanstar couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up from his chest. they leaned against each other and watched the apprentices wrestle under the bright sunlight, the sounds of play resounding against the cliff face of the camp, echoing from the lowest level of the camp up to the moor above them.
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indentthe sun shone brightly overhead when cardinalheart found fleetingmoon, who was helping oriolefeather and ravengaze weave sticks and brambles together to form a covering for the dens. rumors spread quickly that the battle was coming and that the camp needed to be reinforced in the case that the rogues tried to strike the camp again. when he approached, fleetingmoon looked up with a bright smile. "hey, i thought you were on patrol. did tallpeak send you our way to help out?" he asked, and cardinalheart glanced towards oriolefeather and ravengaze, who were looking expectantly in his direction, before shaking his head slightly.
indent"i just got back from patrol. all's quiet out there," he said, and oriolefeather and ravengaze nodded to themselves before returning to their work. "and, no, i came because i was hoping that i could talk to you for a minute," cardinalheart said, not missing the way fleetingmoon's ears pricked with obvious curiosity.
indentfor a moment, fleetingmoon said nothing, just bent his head to tug a stick into place. when he pushed his piece towards oriolefeather, he looked up at the pair of warriors. "would you guys mind if i go for a minute? i'll be back, or can send someone in my place," he said, then stood and turned to cardinalheart when ravengaze nodded, his eyes keen as well, though the dark tom said nothing further, and the brothers turned away. cardinalheart led the way through the camp, his shoulders tensed, even when fleetingmoon piped up. "you're being awfully secretive today," he said teasingly, and cardinalheart managed a tight smile.
indent"i'll explain in a minute," he said, to which fleetingmoon merely shrugged and followed. they made it through most of the throng of warriors set to working on hauling prey from the middle of the camp into one of the unused dens, another group working on a barricade for the path down into the camp, and more warriors weaving the reinforcements for the dens. if something went wrong, quickclan was preparing to barricade themselves into their camp. just as they nearly made it to the path to lead up towards the moor, however, a voice called out, cutting through the din.
indent"cardinalheart! wait up. hey, fleetingmoon!" ploverpaw shouted, and the pair of warriors turned in time to watch the small molly duck between sweetecho and hickorypatch, who were carrying a mound of moss between them, headed towards the medicine cats' den. ploverpaw skidded to a halt in front of them, her fur fluffed out and eyes bright. "where are you going, can i come?" she asked, "duneserpent told me to go gathering more sticks for the nursery and to find a warrior who would go with me."
indentthe tension that cardinalheart had been carrying on his shoulders began to ebb away when he looked down at ploverpaw. she was always bright and cheerful, and cardinalheart knew that he would never be able to say no to ploverpaw. "yeah," cardinalheart said after a long moment, "fleetingmoon and i are going to talk but... you should hear it too," he said, catching the way fleetingmoon tipped his head to one side, puzzled, though cardinalheart didn't offer an answer. instead, he ducked his head down to lick affectionately between ploverpaw's ears. "c'mon."
indentthe wind on the moorland was warm when it ran through cardinalheart's fur. ploverpaw and fleetingmoon spoke amicably, and cardinalheart took the time to gather his thoughts as they neared the hazeclan border, where the moor began to give way to trees where they could gathering supplies for the camp. it was only then that cardinalheart came to a halt, soothed by the wind in his fur and the distant rustle of leaves. when they noticed that cardinalheart wasn't walking with them anymore, fleetingmoon and ploverpaw turned, but cardinalheart didn't give them a chance to question him between he tipped his head to fleetingmoon. "do you remember what you said after heatpaw? that we were the oldest and we had to protect our siblings?" he asked his brother. fleetingmoon's expression darkened at the mention of their dead brother, though he nodded once. "you said it, even though the entire clan knows that i'm not your littermate."
indent"cardinalheart, what are you talking about? it doesn't matter," fleetingmoon said, voice strained from the grief that was being dredged up, uncertain what cardinalheart was leading him towards. ploverpaw glanced between the warriors, her eyes round. "we grew up like brothers. you're my brother." his voice was so sure that cardinalheart had to breathe deeply to steady himself.
indent"i am your brother, but sweetecho isn't my mother," he said, his gaze flicking up towards the sun overhead. "sweetecho isn't my mother, but redstar was my father. he told me so." it took a moment for it to register on the faces of his half-brother, and fleetingmoon's whiskers quivered.
indent"you mean it's all true?" fleetingmoon asked, not giving cardinalheart a chance to reply before he turned away. his tail lashed and he paced back, so that he and cardinalheart were nose-to-nose. "there were always rumors, and honeyflower but... i always thought... i thought that maybe it wasn't true. that maybe it was just honeyflower. and you knew. for how long?" there was a violent swirl of emotions in fleetingmoon's face: grief, that their father was dead, that the illusion he crafted for himself was exactly that; betrayal, that the rumors of redstar's relationships were more than rumors, that cardinalheart knew but hadn't told the truth; but there was aalso a hint of acceptance, as if he had always known the truth.
indent"since we were apprentices," cardinalheart admitted, and fleetingmoon dropped his head with a long sigh. "he told me before i was ready to know. i didn't... i didn't know what to do. but now he's gone, and you should know the truth." fleetingmoon's shoulders shook with a silent sob before he steadied, nodded his head once.
indent"when he told you, what did he say?" fleetingmoon's voice was strained, and cardinalheart pressed his nose to the top of his brother's head.
indent"what i told you. that he's my father and my mother is from a different clan." over fleetingmoon's head, cardinalheart locked eyes with ploverpaw and he shot her a sad smile. "but there was something else. he told me the truth because there are other kits, and he wanted me to look out for them, because he didn't want the clan to know the truth. but he's gone and... i think they should know." though fleetingmoon continued to press close, cardinalheart watched as his words sank in, and ploverpaw's eyes widened further, her shoulders drawing up.
indent"who are you talking about? we have more siblings?" fleetingmoon asked, but ploverpaw padded forward.
indent"you mean me, right? that's why you let me come, because redstar's my father too?" ploverpaw asked, and fleetingmoon pulled back to look at them both when cardinalheart nodded. there was a beat of silence between the trio before ploverpaw crossed the distance to press into cardinalheart's side. "i always thought of you like my brother, now i have more than one," she said, and her gaze flickered to fleetingmoon, who straightened up with a small smile.
indent"you were right, fleetingmoon, we are the oldest and we have to protect them. there are just more than you thought," cardinalheart said, looking towards the silver tom.
indentfleetingmoon's laugh was surprisingly light and airy when he leaned down to touch his nose to ploverpaw's cheek. "we need to all protect each other. i'm not losing another member of our family, not like this." the wind continued to whip across the moor, warm and comforting before fleetingmoon looked back to cardinalheart. "there must be other, right? do you know who they are?" like that, the three half-siblings bunched together, cardinalheart listed the names of the cats he thought they were related to, the kits he had watched over for moons since redstar brought them to the clan. the weight didn't fall away from his shoulders, but he felt comfort that it was now shared, more manageable.
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indentwhen peckernose stepped into the medicine cats' den, he had been expecting to see the medicine cats hard at work. he hadn't expected to hear autumnpaw's exasperated sigh from where she was sitting with flintpaw in the opening of the den. "- and if you think that's a good idea, you're a fool," she was saying, though she cut herself off and whipped around to face peckernose when he padded forward. "thank starclan, someone with a little bit of sense. can you try and talk to your brother? he's driving me up the wall," autumnpaw said, her cloudy blue eyes narrowed slightly before she lashed her tail and stalked past peckernose. peckernose watched her go until she was out of sight, deep in the other side of the den, before he looked to flintpaw.
indentonce, peckernose had thought of himself as a the calm and composed one of the pair - reserved where flintpaw was a whirlwind of energy. now, however, his brother looked the image of serenity, his tail wrapped neatly around his paws and his sleek fur lying flat on his shoulders. flintpaw's chin was tilted slightly upwards towards the ceiling of the den. though several moons had passed since the battle that cost flintpaw his eyesight, scars still ran across his eyes, and peckernose was beginning to wonder if the fur would ever grow back completely. "she's being dramatic," flintpaw said with a simple shrug of his shoulders. in return, peckernose snorted. he took autumnpaw's place, sitting across from flintpaw with his hind leg stretched out to accommodate for the way it was twisted.
indent"i always thought she was a little hot-headed, maybe, but never particularly dramatic," peckernose said in turn, this time earning a huff of laughter from flintpaw. "so, what'd you say to get her so worked up?" he asked at last.
indent"i just told her that i wanted to talk to cyanstar about going with the battle patrol. i can still fight, and gorseberry might need help," flintpaw replied, his tone so casual that peckernose thought they might have been discussing the weather rather than his brother potentially going across the moor to help with the battle. unsure of what he could possibly say in the moment, peckernose remained silent and flintpaw flicked his tail tip indignantly. "she said that if gorseberry really wanted help, then she or alpinemask would go. but neither of them have formal training like i do."
indent"you're really serious?" peckernose asked, wincing slightly when flintpaw sniffed and puffed out his chest. "i just mean - you haven't been formally training in moons. and you and autumnpaw are still working on how to get you to travel with minimal assistance. you think it's a good idea to put you in the middle of a battle?"
indent"the last thing i saw was heatpaw and those rogues. you want me to sit here and do nothing? like i've been doing this entire time. i couldn't help heatpaw, i can barely get around the top of camp without getting disoriented," flintpaw began, and peckernose caught the traces of the flintpaw he knew - the one with a sharp temper and pride to match. it had been moons since he saw this flintpaw, and he had missed him. "i don't need to be able to see to fight, to do something that can help. just point me in a direction and i can do the rest," flintpaw pressed, his claws digging into the floor of the den.
indent"and you just want us to sit back and let you be killed in the meantime?" autumnpaw chimed in from behind peckernose, scoffing when flintpaw turned his face away from her. "you're not useless, flintpaw, you're just out of practice. but whatever you think this is, it's a dumb idea. first of all, cyanstar wouldn't let you go. gorseberry said that chanterellestep is the youngest warrior going, and that's because he begged and hickorypatch said she'd claw him if he got too close to the middle of everything. you want to be a hero, but this isn't it." there was a pile of herbs at her paws, and she ducked her head to pick them up and carry them over to where the brothers were sitting.
indent"you think she's right, don't you?" flintpaw asked, tone lingering between tired and accusatory, which alone was enough to give peckernose pause.
indent"if you were trained, then i'd agree with you but... you're not. if you want to fight, then you should talk to nightfall and cyanstar. i'm sure they could figure out a way to train you since you feel ready. but this, this isn't the way to go about it," he reasoned. when flintpaw's shoulders slumped and his chin dropped, peckernose finally allowed himself to let out a breath he wasn't aware that he was holding. "we'll help you. like you said, you're going to be one of the best, you have to be."
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indent"can we talk?" miranda was surprised when she walked into the medicine cats' den. though she was only there a few times, she had always thought of the space as clean and meticulously kept, organized and clean so that nothing was in the way in the case of emergency, and to ensure that it was easy for autumnpaw and flintpaw to get around. flintpaw wasn't in his usual nest, but miranda looked to the trio of medicine cats who were seated together, working on bundling herbs together.
indentalpinemask must have caught the searching glance, and flicked his tail. "peckernose took flintpaw to the moor for a walk," he said, and miranda took the unspoken invitation to claim an empty space between gorseberry and autumnpaw, across from alpinemask.
indentit seemed that the three were waiting for miranda to speak first, as it was clear that there was much to say. a moon earlier, she'd told them that she was a traitor, that she had joined quickclan with express orders to gather information and pass it on to nolan. she knew that it brought everything she said and did from the outset into questions. all the times she gathered the apprentices and kits together to tell stories to when she joined autumnpaw and gorseberry to help gather herbs. she wouldn't be trusted again, she knew that, though she was even more surprised that, seemingly, none of them had immediately told cyanstar the truth; they didn't say that she was the reason why so many cats had died. in the moment, it was all she could do to meet alpinemask's hard gaze and speak: "i haven't been in contact with my son since they attacked your camp. he's sent me signals several times, asking me to meet with his second, graham. but i haven't, and i won't. i'm not telling them about groveclan and hazeclan, about the attack."
indent"so you say," she heard autumnpaw mutter, followed by a sharp hiss from gorseberry, though the apprentice merely shrugged. miranda looked to gorseberry.
indent"she's right, you have no reason to trust me but... you haven't told cyanstar yet." when miranda spoke, gorseberry pointedly avoided her gaze, fixated instead on sifting through the various leaves. instead, miranda looked to alpinemask. "you haven't told."
indent"so you say," alpinemask said, pushing a pile closer to gorseberry for the smaller tom to reach. he shrugged his shoulders. "i'm not sure i like the idea of seeing you exiled or worse, even if you killed our cats. but i may change my mind. you should convince us," he said, and miranda straightened up, meeting his gaze without flinching.
indent"a mother would do anything for her kit. i adopted him, i raised him. i love him. he's always been... wanting for power, but it got worse when his mate, layla, became so sick she couldn't move. she became better eventually, but it took a long time for her to recover since we had so little food and no permanent home," miranda started, feeling like she was pulled back into the past, tagging along and watching herself from seasons earlier. "we had a lot of trouble finding a home. we were driven away so many times, that nolan decided that he couldn't do it anymore. so he found graham and the rest, who would fight for him in exchange for a place to live. the barn was never going to be enough, so he wants the moor. and i... he asked me to find a patrol, that i would be accepted. why not? a frail elder couldn't mean any harm," she continued, "i met graham every quarter moon or more, giving him names, any news from the clan. i didn't know that they had killed the other medicine cat -"
indent"gullfeather," gorseberry cut in, his tone sharp and blunt, "her name was gullfeather, and she was murdered." for a moment, miranda looked to the young tom, but he never paused from his bundling and sorting. in fact, only alpinemask appeared to be paying attention. miranda looked back to alpinemask, who offered nothing in return.
indent"gullfeather, then... i didn't know about her. but when the apprentice - heatpaw, was it? - was killed and flintpaw... i started having my doubts. i met with graham less, told him less when i did. but it was too late. graham told me that they were planning the attack on the camp and training hollow, so i made sure that you got out, so you wouldn't be hurt," she said, taking in a deep breath when she glanced between gorseberry and autumnpaw, though neither offered any acknowledgement, and she didn't expect thanks. "but when i saw everything they did, what my son did, i didn't answer anymore. i didn't think he would kill redstar and sootstone, truly i didn't." her words caught in her throat. "i know cyanstar and the others want him dead, and i know that he'll never allow for peace so long as he's alive but... he's still my kit."
indentthe words were bitter and hard to swallow, the realization that it was bound to come to a head not new, but still not easy to take in. even still, there was no sympathy for her, not when her son had taken so many lives from the clan that had trusted her and accepted her as one of their own. alpinemask finally shrugged his shoulders again before standing and taking a bundle from gorseberry. "i recommend that you stay in your den, get some rest. we have some work to do here now." even as miranda stood and left the den, she could feel alpinemask's eyes boring into her fur.
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indenthawkrise regarded the nursery through half-lidded eyes, drowsy and lulled by the soft snores around her. sagetuft was curled up in her nest, her belly large with her kits, and willowfrost was in a similar state further towards the back of the nursery. the queen had come to quickclan earlier that moon, given refuge despite the whirl of chaos around them, as cyanstar had been unable to turn down the pregnant mother who was in need of a home now that leaffall was approaching all too quickly. hawkrise, for her own part, was glad that she had her kits when she did, left only with the thought that she wised genetstorm was nearby. but she hadn't heard from him in moons. hawkrise wasn't a fool, she knew that he was gone and that she would never see him again. she'd been pulled in by his quick charms, and now she was alone with her young, fatherless kits.
indentalready, she loved her kits. they were small, but warm against her belly, and there had been no greater pride than when alpinemask announced that they were all healthy and strong. they were strong, they were beautiful, and they were her kits. honeyflower was the only other cat awake in the nursery, busy grooming vermilionkit's ears while starlingkit and smokekit were tucked against her side. even heronkit and scorpionkit rested peacefully, the brothers tucked together in a knt of limbs and fur. it was in that same moment that a face appeared in the entrance of the nursery, and hawkrise perked up when duneserpent cleared his throat quietly. he slipped inside the nursery when hawkrise blinked warmly at him, and he brushed his nose against her cheek. "hi," he breathed out softly, quiet as to not disturb the other queens and kits. "i hope it's an okay time i just - i wanted to see how you were doing, if there's anything you need." duneserpent had always been a reliable friend, quiet and resourceful, a skilled warrior who was dedicated to the clan, but also a good companion to keep patrols entertaining. that fact that he came to visit made hawkrise smile broadly, her previous drowsiness dissipating for the moment.
indent"i'm alright," she replied easily, only to butt her head against his shoulder, "but you must be busy. you haven't been to visit at all. i was getting worried you didn't want to meet the kits." at that, duneserpent flashed a bright smile at the teasing, and he pulled back to sit and gaze down at the kits.
indent"introduce me," he said simply, and hawkrise purred softly, shifting slightly so that she could crane her head and point to each kit in turn.
indent"waspkit is the oldest," she started, pointing to the largest kit, her first son, "he's already becoming a menace, always kicking the others. the only one that fights back is accentorkit, who seems like a nice molly but she's been protecting the others from waspkit, especially sedgekit," and so down the line of small kits hawkrise continued with a purr when she looked to the youngest and smallest of her kits, "sedgekit seems to be pretty shy so far, a little more passive than the others. copperkit seems like he'll be pretty level-headed, and will probably keep the others in line and make peace. unlike chaserkit, who is also going to be a lot of trouble. he's already tried to escape the nest," she commented, finishing. duneserpent looked down at the kits fondly, nodding along the entire time. when she was done, hawkrise met his eye and felt her smile disappear. "you came to tell me that you're going to the barn, is that it? you're going on the patrol," she said. duneserpent looked away, down at his paws, and hawkrise knew the answer.
indent"i have to," duneserpent said after a moment. "it's for the good of the clan. and don't act like you wouldn't volunteer if you weren't here," he pressed, and this time it was hawkrise's turn to look away.
indentat her stomach, chaserkit let out a small huff and turned in his sleep, and hawkrise shook her head slightly. "those cats are dangerous, all of our friends they've killed... they'll take you too if you give them the chance."
indent"i won't give them the chance. i'll be okay," duneserpent said, ducking his head to catch hawkrise's eye again. he held her gaze, unwavering. "i need to go, to protect the clan. to make sure that those rogues never come here again. you and your kits - i'm going to make sure you're safe, hawkrise."
indentthe tabby queen paused and closed her eyes long enough to draw in a deep breath. "you just... don't do anything stupid, duneserpent, or i'll never forgive you. you'd better come back just fine, alright? i want my kits to meet you too, i want them to have a role model to look up to." in the dimness of the nursery, hawkrise could make out the softness that rounded duneserpent's features, though her heart clenched for her friend, fearful of what was to come.
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indentsweetecho ducked quickly when a large paw was aimed for a blow at the side of her head. she moved away at the last moment, able to feel the air whisk by her ear, ruffling the fur there. but there was no time to linger before she moved forward, quick on her toes. she took in the dark fur and muscle mass, knowing well that there was no way she could win if it came down to pure strength. instead, she fainted to the left and moved right before crouching down and darting underneath oakseed's belly. her friend was surprisingly agile for his size, however, and reared back. sweetecho moved to aim a blow for his belly, but oakseed was faster. he knocked her off-center with a well-aimed paw, this time making his mark. together, they rolled on the ground before sweetecho escaped his grasp and found her paws first. they faced each other, panting heavily and pelts fluffed out. at last, they exchanged a nod and sweetecho stood, stretching out her muscles while oakseed sat back to pull a burr from his flank. "that was good," sweetecho said when their breathing began to even out. "really," she pressed when oakseed merely shrugged, non-committal. "you've come a long way from the lap pet i met all those moons ago in the next garden over."
indentindeed, the tom across from sweetecho was no longer the pet that she met while she'd been trapped with twolegs. from the moment they met, she had always known that oakseed would be suited for clan life. however, though his muscles were hard under his dark tabby pelt, there was no mistaking the darkness in his expression. even at the light teasing, oakseed flicked his ear dismissively. instead, sweetecho was left to stretch in silence, taking a break after a long afternoon of training with her friend. she looked up only when oakseed spoke. "how are you doing it, sweetecho?" he asked, and she blinked in return, not sure what he was referring to. "you lost your mate, your kit... how can you still hold your head up? i can't bare it. i think of them - of him - constantly. and it hurts... i miss him with everything i have in me," oakseed said, and sweetecho didn't hesitate to cross to oakseed and press herself into his side.
indent"i do it because i have to. because i can't let the pain take over. i miss heatpaw and redstar more than i could ever say. they're everywhere, in everything... but i carry on because i have to." she spoke into oakseed's shoulder, seeking to offer him more comfort. it was easy to see how much he had been hurting ever since screechwing and swooppaw were killed. he needed his time to grieve, but she also knew that he was one of the first to volunteer for the battle patrol when word circulated. she was gentle, leaning into him to groom the fur on his flank. "i need to be strong for my kits, but... it helps to do things. i need to fight these rogues for them. redstar, heatpaw, piperkip, mothtail, all of the others. screechwing and swooppaw too," she murmured, not missing the way oakseed flinched at the sound of their names.
indent"rootpaw, hootpaw, and branchpaw are so much stronger than i am. they miss them, of course, but they can still play games and train and... carry on. i can't," oakseed replied, matching sweetecho's soft tone, his volume little more than a whisper. she felt his body tremble, as if holding back a sob. "will beating the rogues really help?" he asked after a beat, pulling back enough to fix sweetecho with his amber gaze. she couldn't lie to him and had to shake her head.
indent"it won't bring them back, and it won't heal your wounds but... it's some sort of closure. revenge isn't the solution, though, i don't think there is one. we just have to make do," she said, and oakseed let out a shuddering breath.
indentfrom there, she assumed that her friend would lapse into silence, though he spoke again: "i can't even look at swiftscreech. it's not right to her but... her name is just so painful, sweetecho, it's like another constant reminder that he's gone," oakseed continued, and sweetecho noted that oakseed couldn't seem to even say his mate's name. "i miss him so much, i love him more than anything."
indentthere was nothing that sweetecho could say to her friend, nothing that would take away the pain he felt, nothing that would ease her wounds as well. instead, it was all she could do to press close again and offer her presence. "i know, i know..." she cooed to him. finally, oakseed let out another sob in the quiet of the training hollow and sweetecho listened.
───────────────────────
indentwhen cyanstar gave the shout to gather the clan together, most of the cats were already in the lower camp. overhead, the sun was beginning to lower from its apex, and the anxious murmurs fell to a hush; rumors had been circulating for days, of cats sent to groveclan and hazeclan, of cyanstar's plan for attack on the barn cats. at last, the time had come and the warriors were beginning to speak to their friends and loved ones in preparation. they were a clan who already lost so much, who knew what they had to lose. pairs of eyes gravitated up to cyanstar, who stood above them all, tallpeak seated under his perch.
indent"quickclan, you all know what i am going to say," cyanstar began, his bright blue eyes scanning the cats he had grown to love as his family. falconflight with their kits, snakespots curled around kestrelpaw and frogpaw, the former-graveclan warriors and their reunited families, and so on. all of the cats who meant the world to him, the cats he wanted nothing more than to keep safe at any cost. "a moon ago i became your leader after we lost redstar. along with many other warriors and apprentices, we have suffered an immense loss these past few moons because of nolan and his followers. but, tonight, we will drive them from the moor, and all will know that this is our home, now and forever." several shouts went up from the crowd, and cyanstar dipped his head to recognize them. "tonight, we will be joined by our allies in this fight. badgerstar and pantherstar have pledged themselves to our aid, as good friends of quickclan. with their help, we will make sure that nolan will not terrorize us or any other clan."
indentdaffodilstem and bouldertooth sat side-by-side, oakseed was surrounded by his kits. owletcry leaned across cardinalheart and webtail to whisper to sweetecho. "i would like to thank all of the warriors who will be joining me, tallpeak, and the groveclan and hazeclan warriors in this fight. starclan willing, we will succeed tonight." there was a long pause before cyanstar let out a deep exhale. "in the meantime, i am entrusting falconflight to be in charge of the camp. he is the the warrior who have been here the longest alongside tallpeak and i. you will be safe in his care. our allies will be here soon, and i urge the patrol to use this time to be with your families, and for all cats to finish your preparations of the camp defenses. starclan be with us and bless us." sparrowcall and his kits were seated beside aspenwish and her sons. cyanstar jumped down, dismissing the clan, who split up into various groups to continue to speak as earlier. from then on, it was simply a matter of waiting for their allies to arrive and for the sun to disappear from the sky.
indentin the meantime, cyanstar found falconflight waiting outside of his den, their kits in tow. cricketpaw was nestled neatly in falconflight's flank, dovepaw on falconflight's other side, and finchpaw got to her paws as soon as cyanstar came close. together with dandelionpaw, she bounded to her father and tucked her face into his chest. "you're going to be okay, right? everyone is going to be okay," finchpaw said, and cyanstar ducked his head to lick gently between her ears, then twisted to do the same with dandelionpaw.
indent"we've gotten this far, i'll be back," he told his kits, tucking finchpaw and dandelionpaw under his chin and directing his glance to dovepaw and cricketpaw. "stay with your father, alright? he'll keep you safe in the meantime. i don't want to hear of any of you causing any trouble," he added, giving finchpaw a pointed look, and his daughter had it within her to let out a soft laugh.
indent"forget about someone?" a voice sounded, and cyanslash turned his head to face twiteflight, who wore her usual smile, showing off sharp teeth. even still, he caught the glint of sorrow in her eye, and he knew that, as much as he said that it would be fine, they all knew the truth: that nothing was certain. redstar hadn't come back, and cyanstar was leader now. it was impossible to predict what would happen next.
indenteven still, cyanstar managed a low purr and gestured for twiteflight to join them, and he pressed his nose to the crown of his adopted daughter's head. "i want you to know that i love you all," he said, his voice catching on his words. as if by a signal, cricketpaw and dovepaw darted forward and joined cyanstar and their siblings, burrowing their faces into his short fur. falconflight met his mate's eye and followed more slowly, though there was no mistaking the fear and worry that softened along the edges of his face. "c'mere," cyanstar murmured to him, and falconflight offered a watery smile before cyanstar pushed his face into falconflight's neck. "i love you all, and i'll be back for you. there's nothing that could keep me from coming home to you lot," he promised. together, the family shared a meal and chatted from there, about the apprentices' training, twiteflight talking about a hunting patrol she had been on earlier that morning, until a shout rose from the upper level of camp. cyanstar touched his nose to falconflight's once more before he got to his paws, meeting rowanfoot when the young warrior reached the bottom of the path, panting softly.
indent"groveclan is here," rowanfoot said, and it was only a moment later that cyanslash followed his warrior through the camp, weaving between the groups of cats spending time with their families and going about finishing preparations to the camp. he sat at the top of the path of the moor, tallpeak seated beside him, and together they watched the groveclan cats approach, before they finally stood to meet badgerstar and his warriors.
indentwith a dip of his head, cyanstar greeted the older leader, "badgerstar, lionheart, welcome back to quickclan. we are very thankful that you came," he said with a tight smile before leaning forward to press his nose to badgerstar's in greeting. to the rest of the groveclan warriors he nodded and flicked his tail to gesture to the camp, "please, feel free to make yourselves at home." his gaze snagged on dusklight and falcongaze in particular, those he recognized from the last moon, and it made his chest swell that quickclan was truly among friends. with that, he led the way down into the camp, past the branching paths that led towards the dens, and to the lower level of camp, where many of his own warriors looked to the groveclan patrol, curious and friendly. "we are still waiting on hazeclan, but we still have time before departing. we can go over the final plan when pantherstar arrives," he said to badgerstar and lionheart, pausing only long enough to let eagleheart and splashfall to pass by, dragging a long string of woven brambles in the direction of the medicine cats' den. "we've been reinforcing the camp. if anything happens... we've been prepared to barricade inside the camp. once we leave, the top path will be blocked off, the camp will be entirely secure." he cleared his throat then before nodding towards his den, "please, we can talk in here," he added, ducking inside his den.
indentit was only a matter of time until pantherstar arrived with hazeclan, and tallpeak brought the hazeclan leader into cyanstar's den and took her place at the leader's side. once they were all settled, cyanstar nodded to those gathered. "again, i thank you for coming and standing by quickclan. i wish we could have all gathered together under better circumstances," he said, shaking his head slightly. "we will leave at moonhigh, and i suspect we should have the element of surprise by our side. even if nolan has scouts out, he will not be ready for the combined force of our patrols. hazeclan will surround the left side of the barn, and groveclan can cover the right. i'll lead my cats in front, to hopefully trick any scouts or guards that nolan might have set out. he will not be expecting your clans." as he spoke, cyanstar glanced among the den to the leaders and deputies. "gorseberry and mousestone will be able to treat any cat who is wounded on the battlefield," he continued, dipping his head to badgerstar once more in thanks for bringing one of his medicine cats as well, "together, we will make sure that these cats do not cause trouble for other clans ever again. after this, i suspect that we will all be able to rest easily, knowing that nolan will no longer be an issue."
writing continued here
→ actions
moonpool requesting a queen
trading quickclan gives groveclan x2 birds and gives hazeclan x2 birds for their aid against the rogues
consumption quickclan eats five hares
mates gorseberry becomes mates with dusklight of groveclan (biologically cannot have kits)
rank changes dandelionpaw, magpiepaw, and tinselpaw are ready to take their assessments. if they pass they will be named dandelionspring, magpiesong, and tinselstorm
hunting sparrowcall, chanterellestep, marshstripe, hollyfur, rainypath, and patchwing
tallpeak, snakespots, flurrywind, marshstripe, dartersplash, and bouldertooth
eagleheart, thistlestrike, kindleflare, cardinalheart, fleetingmoon, and fluffytuft
oakseed, loonlight, acorntail, minnowjump, mulestomp, and sproutclaw
border patrols nightfall, swiftscreech, ravengaze, owletcry, webtail, and grassthorn
blizzardrush, oriolefeather, peckernose, rowanfoot, roselight, and hollowfang
training dovepaw, plumpaw, and thunderpaw learn swimming
valleypaw, kestrelpaw, frogpaw, rootpaw, hootpaw, and branchpaw learn fighting
ploverpaw, pinepaw, crakepaw, charredpaw, and lagoonpaw learn stalking
herb hunting alpinemask, gorseberry, and autumnpaw look for herbs - priority for cobwebs/heals battle wounds
medicine cats alpinemask and gorseberry practice medicine
deaths during the battle with the rogues, frostfur and duskflower are killed and cyanstar loses a life. please roll for injury (not death) on duneserpent, hickorypatch, and treespirit
notes i'd prefer if no cats die on patrols, though injuries are fine, thank you! xx
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LEADER ⎯⎯
cyanstar, 44m, ♂
→ 8 lives remaining
DEPUTY ⎯⎯
tallpeak, 56m, ♀
MEDICINE CATS ⎯⎯
alpinemask, 49m, ♂ - 5sp
gorseberry, 30m, ♂ - 5sp
MEDICINE APP. ⎯⎯
autumnpaw, 12m, ♀
→ blind
WARRIORS ⎯⎯
sparrowcall, 79m, ♂
snakespots, 61m, ♂
sweetecho, 53m, ♀
blizzardrush, 51m, ♀
brackenrose, 50m, ♀
falconflight, 49m, ♂
flurrywind, 49m, ♂
splashfall, 48m, ♂
hickorypatch, 48m, ♀
aspenwish, 47m, ♀
nightfall, 46m, ♂
xx
WARRIORS CONT. ⎯⎯
hollyfur, 42m, ♀
eagleheart, 42m, ♂
thistlestrike, 42m, ♀
kindleflare, 41m, ♀
fluffytuft, 39m, ♂
oakseed, 37m, ♂
duneserpent, 36m, ♂
loonlight, 35m, ♀
patchwing, 32m, ♀
pearsblossom, 32m, ♀
treespirit, 31m, ♂
berrypad, 30m, ♀
whitesnow, 30m, ♀
flamestrike, 30m, ♂
alderpatch, 30m, nb
brightcreek, 29m, ♀
acorntail, 27m, ♀
minnowjump, 26m, ♂
mulestomp, 26m, ♂
canaryleap, 26m, ♂
chanterellestep, 25m, ♂
swiftscreech, 24m, ♀
twiteflight, 22m, ♀
sproutclaw, 21m, ♂
mintstem, 21m, ♀
cherrydawn, 21m, ♀
xx
WARRIORS CONT. ⎯⎯
ravengaze, 20m, ♂
grassthorn, 19m, ♀
oriolefeather, 19m, ♂
peckernose, 19m, ♂
→ limp
rowanfoot, 17m, ♂
roselight, 17m, ♂
hollowfang, 16m, ♂
marshstripe, 16m, ♀
dartersplash, 16m, ♂
cardinalheart, 15m, ♂
fleetingmoon, 15m, ♂
owletcry, 15m, ♀
webtail, 15m, ♂
rainypath, 15m, ♀
bouldertooth, 14m, ♂
daffodilstem, 13m, ♀
finchthroat, 13m, ♀
cricketchirp, 13m, ♂
xx
APPRENTICES ⎯⎯
flintpaw, 19m, ♂
→ blind
dandelionpaw, 13m, ♀
dovepaw, 13m, ♀
plumpaw, 12m, ♂
tinselpaw, 11m, ♀
magpiepaw, 11m, ♂
thunderpaw, 10m, ♂
valleypaw, 9m, ♀
kestrelpaw, 9m, ♀
frogpaw, 9m, ♂
rootpaw, 9m, ♂
hootpaw, 9m, ♀
branchpaw, 9m, ♀
ploverpaw, 8m, ♀
pinepaw, 7m, ♀
crakepaw, 7m, ♂
charredpaw, 7m, ♀
lagoonpaw, 7m, ♂
xx
QUEENS & KITS ⎯⎯
willowfrost, 63m, ♀
→ due in 2m
honeyflower, 54m, ♀
→ vermilionkit, 2m, ♂
hawkrise, 32m, ♀
→ waspkit, 0m, ♂
→ copperkit, 0m, ♂
→ chaserkit, 0m, ♂
→ accentorkit, 0m, ♀
→ sedgekit, 0m, ♀
sagetuft, 23m, ♀
→ expecting in 1m
heronkit, 4m, ♂
scorpionkit, 4m, ♂
starlingkit, 1m, ♂
smokekit, 1m, ♀
ELDERS ⎯⎯
miranda, 113m, ♀ ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
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MENTORS ⎯⎯
gorseberry, autumnpaw, 4
nightfall, flintpaw, 4
brackenrose, dandelionpaw, 4
pearsblossom, dovepaw, 3
cyanstar, plumpaw, 3
aspenwish, magpiepaw, 4
alderpatch, tinselpaw, 4
brightcreek, valleypaw, 2
twiteflight, kestrelpaw, 2
falconflight, frogpaw, 2
berrypad, rootpaw, 2
whitesnow, hootpaw, 2
flamestrike, branchpaw, 2
canaryleap, thunderpaw, 3
duneserpent, ploverpaw, 1
xx
MENTORS CONT. ⎯⎯
sproutclaw, pinepaw, 0
cherrydawn, crakepaw, 0
splashfall, charredpaw, 0
mintstem, lagoonpaw, 0
xx
MEDICINE ⎯⎯
xx
DECEASED ⎯⎯
xx
FAMILY TREES ⎯⎯
xx xx
PREY PILE ⎯⎯
minnow, x20, 1 serving
mouse, x11, 1 servings
rabbit, x7, 2 servings
small fish, x12, 2 servings
squirrel, x13, 2 servings
hare, x15, 3 servings
big fish, x10, 3 servings
bird, x7, 3 servings
total: 191 servings
xx
ALLIES ⎯⎯
hazeclan, nightwolf950
groveclan, solyn
ENEMIES ⎯⎯
n/a
BORDERS ⎯⎯
north, hazeclan, nightwolf950
north-east, n/a, n/a
north-west, n/a, n/a
east, n/a, n/a
west, quartzclan, miles morales
south, n/a, n/a
south-east, n/a, n/a
south-west, swiftclan, phina d wolf
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