What Shall We Die For? [P8]

Barbarossa looked after Gingerheart, but there was no gleam of victory in his eyes. He stood still, barely even flinching as the young ShadowClan warrior raked her claws across his pelt. Without a word, as they dragged him away, he began to stalk through the Deomilites ranks. Barbarossa flicked his tail, and another round of cheering rose from the Deomilite ranks as the defeated ShadowClan cats began to retreat.

Shagrat yowled in victory, along with the others, grinning widely with blood stained teeth. She watched the ShadowClan cats retreat, and as they carried off the bloody corpse of their puny leader, got up and ran after them, as if to make sure they all left, shouting cries of victory and her sick joy.

Blanche's response was one much calmer, for she was nothing like the light brown she-cat. Licking at her claws, she purred in content. After a moment of grooming her fur, cleaning the blood off, she looked around and turned to face her leaders. She keep glancing at the camp not to far away from them. She began to wonder what they would do with it. Destroy it? Steal all their stuff? Both were pleasant ideas.

Philip was forced to stay still, trying to catch his breath as he watched the events unfold. "He's dead! Haha! Now you can all die too!" He cried, a insane laughter bubbling up in his throat as he glanced at the retreating cats. They had been defeated. ShadowClan had been defeated.

What hope was there for the clans now?

Bernard scampered up to Anna, excitement in his eyes. "We won!" he purred excitedly, before it died away. "I just wish I could have fought with you..." Bernard sighed, disappointment entering his voice.

Anna touched Bernard's muzzle sympathetically with her tail tip. "You'll get to fight next time." she mewed, touching noses with the brown tom. "There's still three Clans to go!" Anna said, prompting a mrrow of laughter from Bernard.

"If there is a next time!" a light growl sounded from behind the two young cats, Conrad walking out of the shadows. "You were supposed to wait behind with us!"

Anna flattened her ears and bowed her head. "Sorry Conrad..." the pale ginger she-cat mewed, pressing her tail to the ground. Conrad's eyes softened and an amused glint came in his eyes.

"You did well, though." Conrad added, nodding his head. "You helped your fellow cat despite what your superiors asked of you. To act beyond orders to do what is right is a quality Urban has always admired." he said, Anna looking back up at him with a cheery grin on her face. "I'll be sure to tell him about it. And that you flayed a ShadowClan cat by yourself." Conrad said, winking before bounding off towards Barbarossa, who was padding among the injured but victorious Deomilite cats.

"Thank you!" Anna called after the older warrior, her heart swelling with pride and happiness despite her stinging injuries. She pressed her cheek against Bernard's muzzle. "We should be heading back soon. Better to see Antioch now rather than later." she mewed, a bit gravely at that. She wasn't looking forward to being treated by the Deomilite healer, and a small involuntary shiver ran through her.

Bernard nodded. "I'll meet you there. I'm going to see if Baldwin needs help first, though." Bernard replied, looking past Anna and at the brave warrior. His leg was splayed at a strange angle, and he yowled in pain occasionally. "See you later." Bernard began to pad away before turning back towards his long time friend. "And... you fought really well, Anna." Before she could say anything, he sped up and headed towards Baldwin's direction.

Anna felt light, like she her chest and head had been pumped full of air. She started to walk in a separate direction, towards her fellow soldiers of the gods, failing to suppress the cheesy grin plastered onto her face. Her denmates, friends, fellow believers, had won. The war against StarClan was far from over, but she knew that the Deomilites would celebrate this victory.