The crown has fallen

Daisypaw was having such a great day. To start with that was… she had caught a big hare, had done her tasks and chores all before noon and was enjoying a sunny nap in camp similar like how her dad liked to.

All that came crashing down when a warrior brought back something that changed her forever. Her brother golden paw had been killed by a fox and his limp body was just brought back.

Daisypaw stood there shocked, jaw dropped in disbelief and sorrow. This wasn’t real… was it? No not like this . Golden was her last remaining sibling and although the two sometimes competed a lot she was always super close to him.

She teared up running to his side and hurried her nose into his blood fur and wounded body . Her voice was chocked out from the crying and her throat ached. She heard around her talk that a fox had gotten him. She swore to herself if she ever saw a fox she would avenge her fallen sibling.

As the day turned to evening she remained by his side mourning . As was tradition, it would be left for 1 night before burial the next day and she wasn’t leaving. She felt aweful and like she couldn’t move . The evening got cooler and she shivered a little.


(Ooc mobile post so sorry for spelling ext… )

Coyotegrin was speaking to Shrikestar and chatting with him in his den for a bit. Her heart felt good, tingly, if you will. She rounded the corner with a laugh and glancing back before her head swiveled around to face forward. The laugh died in her throat in a choke. Her brain could hardly comprehend what she saw before her; the mangled body of her one and only son. A copy image of her mother, with fur as golden as the freshest honey, the softest of sun rays on a beautiful day ending in a sunset. But now, oh StarClan, now it was ripped apart and dripping with the blood that kept him alive. The warrior felt rooted to the ground, before the most heartbreaking yowl emitted from her maw. With the cry carrying on, Coyotegrin charged forward to greet the body of her son. She joined Daisypaw at his side, burying her muzzle in the chilled fur. "Goldenpaw..." She wailed, panting in grief as she slammed into the ground. "Someone get Hawkheart!" She cried, a raspy shriek in desperation for her rock. He needed to know- his son, his first born, was gone. Her heart was broken.

(Ooc; mobile post)

Flutterpaw trotted happily back from his patrol, his mouth full of carefully selected flowers to give to all his friends. Some tansy for Adderpaw, lavender for Hazelpaw, and celandine for Daisypaw. He had also caught a few rabbits, but those had been brought back before his excursion to the flower field. Who should he give flowers to first? As he walked in through the gorse-bush that marked the Clan entrance, he scanned the clearing, looking for recognizable pelts. There-- a calico pelt. Daisypaw! A warm smile growing on his face, he began to make his way over to her. Hopefully some flowers would make her day even brighter. However, he stopped short when he saw the deep red blood staining the earth near her paws... and the tom whose body it came from.

Goldenpaw. He'd never known the tom well; Adderpaw had always been a bit closer to their denmate. The tom was... Daisypaw's brother, wasn't he? And the son of Coyotegrin, who was currently sobbing on the ground by his despondent-looking friend. Oh. No matter whether he had known Goldenpaw well. The tom had been his Clanmate, and the sibling of one of his friends. Still eyes, dark blood, limp paws... was this what death looked like? Flutterpaw didn't know how to feel. He didn't know what to think. This was the first time that death had ever come face-to-face with him. The reality that Goldenpaw was no longer alive... his paws felt numb. Still-- that didn't mean he could just sit and do nothing.

His carefully selected flower gifts lay forgotten on the ground as Flutterpaw moved forward. Silently, he sat down by Daisypaw and gently licked her shoulder. Hopefully he could help soothe her wounds. They weren't external, like the ones that Batsong had told him about... but they were still there. Wounds on the heart would likely hurt more than a torn claw. Just because they couldn't be treated by herbs didn't mean they were lesser. All he could do was sit by his friend and be there for her. He could deal with his own feelings about death later. She needed someone. For now, he would do what he could.

Daisypaw sobbed her sides shaking as her mother joined her in grief. She hugged into coyote not wanting to let go. Their brother and son was gone now and it felt like it was sur-real and fake somehow. She wished so much that any moment she would wake up from a nightmare and find that none of this had actually come to pass … but the pain was too real and as time passed it settled on her that she would never get to see golden again. She hugged coyote close tears dropped down her face and onto her moms pelt.


Shortly afterwards, flutter was by her side. She meowed softly still unable to speak much but her friends presence was comforting… as much as it could be in a time like this. She looked over to him her eyes not hiding any of the pain she currently felt. The usually so confident and competitive apprentice was anything but right now. She leaned against her friend glad he was here.

Shrikestar had been talking with Coyotegrin about the tunnels, and things seemed to be going okay. The sun was shining, and it appeared that everyone was having a good day. That was, until the body of Goldenpaw was brought into camp. With eyes wide, he hurried after Coyotegrin, stopping in front of the body. There was no doubt: it had been a fox's doing. He shook his head, knowing there were things he needed to do. He needed to be the one in control right now.

"Gather the others. They need to know what happened to Goldenpaw. Smallbean, make sure we have patrols out there looking for the foxes. We need to be prepared." He settled down next to Goldenpaw, pressing his nose to their fur. While things were getting done on his orders, he would mourn with the rest of the clan.

With his duties settled for the day, Adderpaw had chosen to spend his afternoon relaxing in the hollow that made his den. There was plenty he could be doing, plenty to practice– socializing too, of course, but that still daunted him –but he couldn't resist the call of more rest. He'd curled up in his nest, letting the sun-baked earth surrounding him warm his fur, and the chatter of his Clanmates lull him into a half-sleep.

He would have slept properly he thought, a bit begrudgingly, as the noises of camp changed. There was a hush first, very brief... and then wailing. It shocked Adderpaw so deeply his limbs splayed and went stiff for a moment out of terror; and just when he'd thought he'd recover, another pained yowl beat against his ears. He could feel his blood turning cold, and an oppressive sense of dread clung to his pelt as he wormed his way out of the hollow. Cats were huddled around the center of camp, Shrikestar was giving orders, Flutterpaw was comforting Daisypaw... Daisypaw? She was crying, and Coyotegrin, too. Not just crying– screaming. Adderpaw stiffened.

He had never seen death before. As he padded closer, ducking below the taller cats, Adderpaw wished desperately that he hadn't now, or that he ever would. The body that lay before them was almost unrecognizable, what with the blood-soaked pelt and the deep wounds that scored him. But underneath the dark blood, the honey-colored fur was unmistakable. There had never been a day where there had been a hair out of place on Goldenpaw's body, and now- now he was- brutalized. Adderpaw felt heat pressing against his eyes. And not just Goldenpaw's ruined coat, but the way his legs were splayed, too; he looked limp, no weight in his body, yet somehow equally stiff. And his blue eyes, rolled back and glassy, no sense of mischief or life in them at all. Just... hollow.

"He looks uncomfortable." The noise that came out of him was thin and loud, almost desperate in its strain. Adderpaw nearly didn't believe it was actually himself speaking. Stepping closer– gingerly, to avoid getting too close to Coyotegrin or Daisypaw, he didn't want to intrude on their grief –he settled near Goldenpaw's flank, nosing at his hip. "He looks uncomfortable, and–" he hadn't cried yet, but there a sob broke his voice, his words trembling and broken by hiccups, "he's dirty, there's blood all in his fur... And he's uncomfortable, look at him, look at his legs." Broken as it was, there was urgency in his meows. And just as urgently, Adderpaw pressed his nose, his head, his paws against Goldenpaw's body, trying to push him into a position that looked more normal, less lifeless, but he wouldn't seem to budge, and he couldn't disrupt the others–

Adderpaw wept, and settled for burying his muzzle in the dense fur at the hollow between stomach and hip.

Flutterpaw simply sat with the others, feeling somewhat dizzy and strange at the tears being shed and distant wails from Coyotegrin. Even Shrikestar arrived, expressing his grief in short sentences. It was so... surreal. Was this really happening? Goldenpaw had seriously died? Death seemed like... something that happened to rabbits. Prey. Goldenpaw was a WindClan cat. He had been arrogant, strong, untouchable... alive. Now his body lay at a strange angle, no longer inhabited by the spirit that he had been. He must be in StarClan now. But why? And how? He stayed outwardly calm as Daisypaw leaned into his shoulder, tears soaking his fur. He just felt odd. The normal warmth in him was snuffed out, like when the final rays of the sun disappeared behind the hills and night came over the moors. Except without moon, or stars. He didn't like the feeling. But he just sat there, staring with confused eyes at the empty, bloodied body of Goldenpaw.

Until he heard Adderpaw. Flutterpaw's ears perked up, his head turning desperately towards the sound of his brother's voice. He had been so close with Goldenpaw... he must feel so much worse than what Flutterpaw was feeling. And it seemed that his initial fears had been right. He had never seen that emotion on Adder's face. That emptiness, that frantic despair. No one should have to feel that. No one. The thin, strained tone to Adder's voice felt like a blow struck directly to Flutterpaw. His brother... he needed him.

Gently, but quickly, he shouldered Daisypaw back into the grieving embrace of her mother and then moved with fast, decisive movements towards the dark-furred tom at Goldenpaw's hip. Something strange was happening to his eyes. They felt wet. His chest hurt, too. It was difficult to breathe. Yet, without a word, Flutterpaw was at his brother's side. He lay down next to him, pressing his slightly larger form into that of his brother. Black fur meshed with dark brown, like when they had snuggled as kits. What could he say? What could he do? He was just there. All he could do was lay there and try to convey the strange emptiness that he felt looking at the body... and the wild fear that struck him when he saw the tears rolling down his dearest companion's face. His whisper was quiet, lost in the wind, a warm breath for only his brother's ear. "Adder... Adder."