Darkness Surrounds Us

Murkystar led the way into ShadowClan's camp, the stench of death and decay surrounding her and her clanmates. She had picked up Loudnose's body herself, carrying him on her own back just as she had when he was only a kit. This time, he wouldn't wake up. Grief sat like a rock in her chest, and she was sure that the rest of the clan would be able to gather what had happened quickly, but still.. She needed to address them. After carefully placing her son in the middle of camp, laying him as gently as she would in the nest in the nursery, she stepped away to climb Jaggedrock in a couple strides. "ShadowClan! Gather in the shadow of Jaggedrock. I have important news for you all." She mewed, planning her next words carefully.

Swiftheart followed behind her clan on the long way back to shadowclan camp from the gathering... not that it was all that long of a distance but the chaos that had ensued the gathering made the distance feel tenfold. She saw Loudnose (her brother) being carried first by Basilbloom her sister and then switched to Murkystar her mother.

She felt numb and still could not... would not belive what was going on right now. It all happened so fast. One moment she was standing huddled next to Loudnose the next... she shuddered as tears fell down her face. "Loudnose" she whimpered in a soft quiet whisper.

When they entered camp, Murkystar laid him to rest in the center for all to see. She approached him on shaky paws and wept bitterly over him her sides heaving as she looked down at him. She squeezed her eyes shut. This was not real! This was just a dream! She would wake up any second now and find herself in the warriors den currled up next to her older brother... right? ... right??!

half sitting half slumping over she remained ... dreams didnt hurt this much not even the nightmares from DF could cause this amount of pain.

She glanced up to see her mother standing upon Jaggedrock... even from down here Swiftheart could see the grief in her eyes. She wished so much that she could run up there and embrace her mother in a long hug... but that was not the time now. later perhaps for sure.

Rookfire grumbled as he returned to ShadowClan. Was it cowardice to not fight with his clanmates against a threat he couldn't defeat? He knew that ShadowClan was outmatched, and that Flintstar would have retreated immediately. He waited for Murkystar to make her choice, to which she had finally done, calling to retreat. He wanted to fight, but he felt that it wouldn't have been good for ShadowClan to fight back. At the same time, he couldn't defend his clanmates from anything that happened, and Loudnose paid the price for it.

He felt helpless. The same feeling he felt when he was captured by Twolegs, the same feeling that he felt when Iniko was killed. There was nothing he could have done then, and there was nothing he could have done now. But this time, it was different. This time, it felt like he could have done something, even if a part of him knew that it wouldn't make a difference. If... If I fought back, with my clanmates... would Loudnose have died? He didn't know the answer to that question. He didn't think that anyone knew the answer to that question. Waiting for Murkystar to announce what had happened when ShadowClan arrived back at their camp, the black tuxedo sighed with a groan. I should have fought with my clanmates, shouldn't I? He couldn't take it back now, of course. He didn't have any power to change the past.

Still, the tom could only wonder what could have been.

Confusion and grief drowned Duskflight as he followed ShadowClan back to camp. Though the distance wasn't as dreading, the events that happened were. Loudnose was gone, and the Dark Forest cats have risen. Fortunately— he hadn't been caught in the horrific mess of the roaring fights, though he felt as if he had.

The grief that overcame him since the Gathering was indescribable. One of his dearest friends— ever since apprenticeship, was now gone. His body lay flat in the center of the camp, and just as many cats didn't dare to, he didn't want to see what'd been done to him. Though, Duskflight still cast a glance at the warrior, now running along with StarClan... if they still were there. It'd been a starless night ever since the Gathering, and still even now. He trembled, never once silently mourning for someone as badly as now. Why must they have arrived?

As the tom set himself down beside the crowd, Duskflight reluctantly gazed at Murkystar, not yet daring to question out loud.. despite the racing thoughts in his head. She'd know what to do. Not just her, or him, but the whole ShadowClan was. It was just nearly half a moon ago they've got to catch up again, and now, he was gone. With dull eyes, he continued to observe.

Snowpaw returned to camp, depression having turned to rage, her tail puffed up and lashing wildly. How dare some dead mousebrains come marching onto ShadowClan’s territory and kill her Clanmate? If only she knew how to fight them, she’d be on the ground rolling and hissing in seconds! Common sense kept her restrained as she sat, straight and formal, below the Jaggedrock.

Thalia hadn't gone to the Gathering, choosing to instead spend the night helping out around the camp - the best time to touch up nests was, after all, when no one was using them. As Murkystar and the other cats who had been in attendance returned, however, it was immediately obvious that something was seriously wrong, even before their leader called the Clan to meet: there was a body in the center of camp, and Murkystar's grief was as clear as the night sky.

Of course she was grieving. That was her son.

Thalia bit back the desire to ask what had happened, sure that an answer would come when Murkystar finished her announcement and no sooner than that. Whatever that answer was, it had to have been something truly awful. Nothing good could happen at a Gathering that ended with dead cats laid in in the center of camp.

Batglow walked into camp slowly. His chest ached, the wound seemed to sting more than a wound normally would. Of course he would make sure Basilbloom would check it out but he couldn't just ignore his mate when she had called a meeting. He could tolerate the blood running down his chest and legs a little longer.

Besides the grief hurt worse than the actual wound.. The fact that he had to sit and watch as his clanmates were hurt and killed while he was occupied by one of the strange creatures that now accompanied them. He couldn't help.. Not without getting killed himself. So he had to suffer with the wound he received as a warning.

The lanky black tom settled among the crowd, careful not to disturb anyone with his wound.

Deerleap walked into camp with a dazed look in her eyes. one moment she was with Mistysky, and next every cat was fighting for their lives. she sat down next to Swiftheart, eyes fixed ahead but seeing nothing. and she had lost campmates... cats who had helped her through every difficulty she ever faced. tears soaked her fur as she leaned onto Swiftheart's shoulder. she closed her eyes as if she could wake up from this awful nightmare.

At some point, the fear and confusion became so overwhelming that Emberleap stopped feeling them. There was simply too much to process. Harebounce, Brick, was alive and in RiverClan. Duskflight didn’t hate him. Raisha had killed Moonshine, had been welcomed into WindClan of all places, had slipped into the same not-dead state as Dawnhawk (who, out of everything, made the least amount of sense). Cats whispered about something called “Dark Forest.” After the first deaths, all five Clans had folded near-instantly; watching them, Emberleap heard echoes of that golden she-cat’s body rolling across the sand, only this time he stood on the opposite side. None of it made sense. Dead cats didn’t come back. Even his conversation with Dappleshine had taken place far away from the land of the living.

Suddenly the walls of ShadowClan’s camp were behind him. The walking corpses drifted throughout with an ease ill-suited to their mangled frames. Loudnose lay in the camp’s center; the thick crust of blood trailing down his front told his story loud and clear. He was dead, truly dead. Something was different there, and Emberleap couldn’t begin to understand what. He had enough presence of mind to brush his tail against Duskflight’s shoulder, the only consolation he could give; his tongue seemed stuck to the roof of his mouth. Then he retreated to stand silently at the back of the crowd, his eyes on Murkystar.

The clan gathered around her, those that had been at the Gathering in shock, some sporting wounds, the ones that had been left behind confused, and surprised by the dead figure of Loudnose in the middle of camp. The Gathering was supposed to be a time of peace... But it had been anything but. She lowered her head for a heartbeat, staring hard at the cool stone underpaw before gazing out at her clan. Her voice cracked as she started to speak, taking care to not look at Loudnose's body lest she crumble. Right now, her clan needed her, her reassurance, her strength. She could mourn after letting all of them know what had happened. The nightmarish shadows that circled and stalked through the shadows of the camp were witnesses, reminders of the horrors that had befallen the clans only moments ago. "ShadowClan. Even those of you that were not at the Gathering would have seen the moon disappear. The Dark Forest has risen to walk among the living once more. To prevent further bloodshed, we are going to comply with their demands. StarClan... Is no more. I know this is a lot to take in, but we need to rely on and trust each other now more than ever. Frostgaze will assign patrols as normal, which will resume after the mourning for Loudnose's death." Her claws extended slightly, lightly scratching the stone underneath as she swallowed hard and continued. "He will be mourned as usual, before being buried outside of camp. If you have any questions... I will do my best to answer them." She mewed, her broken heart audible in her tone as she jumped down, striding over to Loudnose's body and laying down next to him, burying her face in his neck. He was too young to have died, and to such a monstrosity too... These vermin would pay, of that she was certain... But how? A plan would take time to develop... And right now, she wanted to mourn her dead son.

By the time they had reached camp, Webshadow was exhausted.

He was long before they left Fourtrees, really. But the return home– half of it spent trying to convince Frostgaze he could walk on his own (and disproving himself immediately when he would stumble, sway, let his legs almost crumple under him), the other spent half-draped across the deputy's shoulders. Not much crossed the dark tabby's thoughts. Mostly, his head was empty, except for the distant feelings of pain and numbness. He wasn't entirely sure he had been conscious for the entire walk, either. One moment he was sprawled across the snowy earth in Fourtrees; then he was halfway through the marsh, Frostgaze at his side; and then they were in camp, paws knocking clumsily against his mate's legs.

At their return, he slid off the white tom's back gracelessly, collapsing into the ground more than he properly landed. A low groan rattled through him, and an attempt to readjust himself earned only a shiver of protest from his body. He'd landed on his... good side? Whichever side the Dark Forest cat hadn't struck him. And now, trying to look up, or just around at his Clanmates– he couldn't see a thing. A keening noise left him unprompted. "I think I'm just going to lay here," he murmured between whines, words thick and slurred. What was left of his vision was getting spotty again as his consciousness swam. Murkystar's voice echoed against his ears, but he couldn't quite make out the words; and despite trying to will himself to at least sit back up, Webshadow let himself fade, lapsing into a half-sleep.

Mistyfalcon trudged back to camp in silence alongside Batglow, head and tail low with exhaustion. Like many, his pelt was covered in blood, his wounds aching with every step. He stared ahead, eyes dull. Loudnose was gone, and all he'd been able to do was watch. Murkystar carried him, and Basilbloom looked absolutely beside herself. As they entered camp, Mistyfalcon wearily sat, ignoring the blood that was congealing in his fur. That and the injuries could wait, though he wanted nothing more than to curl up in his nest with Murkystar and forget the night's events. Her announcements were more for those of the clan that hadn't attended the gathering, though he had too little energy to do anything but listen, at the moment.

Deerleap watched the scene with a misty look in her eyes. Loudnose had been the one to save her from that racoon ages ago, but she wouldn't be here if not for him. she glanced at the still figure of that once-lively tom, her claws digging into the frozen ground with rage. he shouldn't have died like that. No cat should have died like that. Those cats were going to pay, whether they were dead or not!

A growl rose in Nightstalkers throat as he looked up to his mother, the death of his brother and his best friend? The blinding of his clan-mate, Webshadow, and here, his mother, stood, upon her rock as if there was not anything to address in full. His teeth gritted as anger rose in his chest, suffocating him with a tightness he was unfamiliar with. He was hurting, just moments ago it seemed everything was fine and normal... but now... now everything was different. Casualties were had, and he wanted to resolve it. Now. "Why are we bowing our heads like dogs? My brother is dead! My best friend is dead! And Webshadow is without sight! We should be fighting!" He yowled, his hackles raised. Perhaps he'd be more reasonable, he'd understand normally that this was not how things typically were, he knew that death came with the life path he walked. But, it was just so unnatural, jarring, cats were dead because some other dead cats decided they had a problem.