Taking Refuge [Open to TC]

Carrying her brother on her back, Hawkstrike struggling through the forest undergrowth until she reached Sunningrocks. The rocky plains were to be their safe haven from the flames that were consuming the forest, and she hoped that she would find all of her children here safe. The cream tabby was overall uninjured, only her whiskers singed and some minor burns. She was better off than many.

She laid her brother down gently on a smooth rocks' surface for him to rest and looked around to take stock of who was here. It was the least she could do, her heart still raced with concern for her mate and kits, but there was little she could do about that. She wanted something else to focus on, something other than the potential dangers the remaining warriors and apprentices were in.

"Is everyone okay? Did all the kits and most of the apprentices make it out?"

Daisypaw limped toward her mother. "My leg…" She said. She looked at her leg, now black from the burn.

Softsong limped somewhat badly after a whole the silver and gray fur that once coated her hind legs and part of her tail was singed and black from being burn badly. Softsong seemed to sort of give a slight hop like limb as she soon sat down with a wince.

Stormpaw was right behind her mother. "I was carrying him fine without your help," the independent she-cat growled quietly. She padded over and sat down next to Soaringpaw, gently licking down his fur. "I have a few burns on my body, but nothing major," the grey and cream she-cat put in.

Frozenflame next trudged in with Firepaw on his back. He gently laid him down next to Soaringpaw. "I think he's dead," Frozenflame purred quietly to Hawkstrike, his mate. Frozenflame had a few deep burns on his shoulders and back, but it wasn't enough to stop him from hunting and doing normal warrior stuff.

Hawkstrike was looking over at her daughter's burns, her heart aching at Daisypaw's wounds. How could Starclan be so cruel to her children, crippling her daughter like this. It would be moons before she would be fully recovered. She licked her kit's head comfortingly, unable to do anything other than that. She could only wait for Coalpaw to arrive and help her. "You are brave and strong, Daisypaw. I know it hurts, but you'll get through this. Hold on."

"I know you were, Stormpaw. But we needed to get away quick. Look after Soaringpaw till Coalpaw gets back, will you?" She spoke to her other daughter, headstrong Stormpaw, with tenderness from her place besides Daisypaw. She was the worst and best of both Frozenflame's and her personalities. She looked on at her with pride for her strength though. She had been brave to remain in camp to help, and amazed her such a cat had come from her mate and her.

But all these warm feelings were quickly replaced with dread when she saw a familiar red-brown shape lowered to the ground by her mate. There was an initial joy when she saw Frozenflame, but horror filled her at Firepaw's limp body. The she-cat leapt to her feet, racing over to her mate.

"No, no, no! Frozenflame, please! Tell me this is a joke, a dream, anything! Our kit, our little boy. No, I won't believe this. Coalpaw?! Where's my sister?! Someone get my sister!" The she-cat yowled, paws shaking as she looked down at her son. She refused to believe one of their kits were dead. "It's okay, Firepaw. Coalpaw will fix this. She will."

Coalpaw soon came in after everycat else. She looked around deciding who to tend to first. Though the thought was stopped when she heard her sister yowl. She pushed her way over quickly looking at the tom before setting the herbs her mentor had told her to grab down. "Hawkstrike you'll need to give me some space so I can see what I can do " Coalpaw mewed.

Softsong glanced over hearing her daughter's yowl and blinked. The she cat would have gotten up and went over but with much of her hind legs burned to bad she didn't know if she could move it.

Making her way towards Hawkstrike with a small limp the older she-cat gave her a gentle nudge. "Hawkstrike, you can't do anything, Firepaw hunts with Starclan. You have to let him go, he's off to a better place alright? Now lets go sit by the water and calm you down." She meowed, nudging the she-cat towards where she was previously laying by the water but before she did lead her she turned her head towards the cats around the scene with a glare to silence them while she did so. "I know how it feels to loose kits Hawkstrike, I've lost my whole litter and they were all still-born's!" She meowed, erupting in a short spurts of coughing as she started to move towards the water, hopefully she'd follow without grief.

Robinpaw was silent, watching the cats around her yowling for lost family members. She was lying on one of the rocks, her hind legs and tail splayed out limply behind her and her head resting on her forelegs. The pain of her broken bones and burnt skin was intense, but she stayed quiet so she wouldn't disturb the other cats. It was obvious Firepaw was dead and, though she was severely injured, Robinpaw felt that she had no place to be complaining. She instead scraped her claws across the hard rock she was resting on, desperate to do something to take her mind off the pain. She glanced around, wishing her family was with her. She'd already lost her father for these StarClan-forsaken rocks; she didn't need to lose her mother and her siblings to a fire. Nightfire had carried her all the way from camp, but then had disappeared. The calico scanned the burning trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of her siblings' black pelts or her mother's beautifully patterned fur.

From his position on the rocks, he could clearly hear the cats wailing in loss or agony. He laid his head on his paws, now black from the ash and soot. Drops of what looked to be tears fell from his eyes. They weren’t, there was literally something in them, a bad something. Hopefully it would go away. It had to. Hissing in the effort to get up, he sat on his haunches. Unable to look for them, he called out weakly. “Sunpaw? Flashpaw?” He hadn’t heard their voices much in the escape, if at all.

Nightfire came onto the rocks, Spottedstar on his back, he slowly let her down among the rocks, and smiled at Robinpaw. Olivepaw and Echopaw followed, Olivepaw carrying Rainkit. He put her down, looking at his sister and mother.

OOC: quick

Coalpaw after a moment realized she could do anything and she looked down before looking over to Nightfire as they joined the others. She let her tail droop some before she padded over quietly from where Firepaw ' s body was.

Softsong tentively licked at her fur flinching some as her rouge tongue passed over her burned,singed,and blackened hindlegs.

Robinpaw lifted her head from her paws at the sight of her family members escaping the forest. She let out a sigh of relief and smiled back at her older brother. She looked at her mother's body, fear building up in her chest. But then she remembered that leaders were gifted nine lives and that, even if Spottedstar had been killed, she would return to comfort her family and her Clan. She was also pleased that Olivepaw and Echopaw had escaped relatively unharmed. She wanted to hurry over and nuzzle her littermates, but she couldn't move her hind legs without feeling an intense burning pain. Instead, the calico stifled her desire and looked back at Spottedstar, hoping to catch a glimpse of the steady rising and falling of breath.

Blazingheart quickly padded into the group of cats, finding his son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. Stormpaw was hovering over Soaringpaw meanwhile Frozenflame and Hawkstrike were hovering over a dead Firepaw. He found the time not right to point out that it was ironic how Firepaw had been killed in a fire, so Blazingheart kept his mouth shut. He left the hot-tempered Stompaw alone and sat down next to Frozenflame, putting his tail on his back and grieving over the loss of his grandson.

"Hawkstrike...Firepaw is with Starclan. He's not dead, he's only started his new life." Frozenflame chose his words carefully as he sadly licked Firepaw's cold, dead body. The multi-colered warrior then turned and licked his mate's cheek.

Coalpaw soon flicked her tail and padded over to Stormpaw and Soaringpaw. She wanted to check over Soaringpaw in hopes she hadn't lost her mate,which was still kept secret between the two. Coalpaw flicked her dark tail Stormpaw please move back so that I can check over Soaringpaw " She mewed.

Marcel wrote:

He found the time not right to point out that it was ironic how Firepaw had been killed in a fire, so Blazingheart kept his mouth shut.

OOC: There will never be the right time. GD Blazingheart.

The queen spoke nothing more to her mate, still unable to fully comprehend the death of one of her kits. The she-cat was shell-shocked, numb and unable to speak. She followed Specklfur as she was physically nudged away, but that was the most action the cream coloured cat would do. She heard Specklefur speak of her lost litters, and had she been right in her mind, would have felt great sympathy or clung to the fellow she-cat in grief.

But she wasn't, so she watched the waters flow on in front of her.