The River is dead [RC Flood Topic]

Brookpaw was probably one of the last ones to realize what was happening. The she-cat had always had a heavy sleep and not even the screams could wake her up. She only opened her eyes when the water reached her nostrils and she woke up coughing, too confused to properly react. The siamese she-cat looked around but almost everyone had left the den. When she tried to escaped, the flood entered faster carrying debris and the she-cat was swept away from her running clanmates. She barely had any swimming training so she struggled to keep her head over the surphace. "WOLFSONG! SWANPETAL! HELP!" She cried to her mentor and mother, waving her paws clumsily just to take another breath.

Stormstrike grunted, nodding slightly. "Stay close to me." He mewed, turning to look for Blossomstream once more. She was just behind him a moment ago...
He saw her a short ways away and couldn't help sighing in relief. "Blossomstream! Come on, we need to get to the Beech Copse!" He had his apprentice. He had... her. The only thing missing was his son, but...
Ivystar's voice reached him. There's no time for emotions until after the battle.
He shook himself, launching himself into the current and swimming powerfully towards the trees. Hopefully, Blossomstream wouldn't risk her life for another cat, although he knew that she'd be inclined to do so. "Don't stop swimming until we reach the trees," He instructed his apprentice, a snarl hidden in his voice. His apprentice was obedient, but it never hurt to use a little bit of authority.

Suddenly, something caught Stormstrike directly in the chest. He winced, gasping softly. What in Starclan's name...?
He looked down. A branch was embedded in his fur, and a crimson cloud was beginning to surround him. He shook his head, pushing on further. Ignore it. No time for pain, no time for emotion, until after the battle.

Flood.

Dark waves lapped at Cloudstone's mind, the nightmare of helplessness and crashing water replaying and old, but never forgotten memory. He held no power as he watched herbs and Clanmates alike by the torrential flow of the untamed river. The terrible yowls from the living and dead piercing his ears over and over, until it felt as if all of StarClan were screaming in his face. The water soaking into his pelt felt all too real, too real, too real... And then he woke. It was real. He looked around him.

No herbs. No patients.

So this wasn't the same nightmare. It was a new one. For a brief moment he saw the tail of Goldeneye flick out of the elder's den and he rose to follow her out, trying to stop shaking at the feeling of water where it shouldn't be. Though instead of seeing his former apprentice aid the clan, he watched dumbfounded as she gave an order or two to Fallowlight, then left completely. 'Did I make a mistake, Goldeneye? To turn you into a deserter?' He shook his head, for now was not the time to think about such a relatively unimportant thing. He waded through the water, white tail just below the water's surface, and otherwise invisible with his dark fur. Though his face showed little emotion, he was terrified to his core. The tom made a beeline for Finchstream, his gaze flitting around for any of their children. There were two he could see now; Ospreykit and Magpiepaw. But there were still two remaining. In that moment, he couldn't care less if they were discovered. He needed to know they were safe. "Raggedpaw! Egretpaw!" He touched the tip of his soaked tail to the queen's flank, trying to remain as a solid force in this disaster.


Why was everything so wet? Egretpaw had sat up in her nest, poking around with tentative paws at the layer of water on the den floor. 'A flood?' She trudged through the den entrance, pushing some of her denmates through along the way. Ears pointed back in alarm, she moved to hurriedly yank some of the slower cats in the den out with her.

"Egretpaw!"

Her head jerked as her name was called by the elder Cloudstone, standing beside her mother. The silver tabby half-bounded half-waded towards Finchstream, but heard a cry from one of her denmates. "Brookpaw!" Barely thinking, she dove back into the apprentice's den, broad paws helping her to paddle towards the fellow she-cat. She ducked below the water's surface, keeping her eyes closed to protect against all the debris. She pushed Brookpaw upwards with her shoulders, trying to pull both of them out with all the strength she had.

Heronflight woke up, startled by the water on his nose.  The tom realized that the den was flooding, and quickly.  He nudged his son with his nose and informed, "Larkfeather!  The camp is flooding!"  The gray tabby tom started to run through the flooding camp, following the other cats towards the Beech Copse.  He stuck his tail up into the air as a signal to alert his clanmates of the flood.

~

Larkfeather felt something nudge him on his shoulder.  "Not right now, ma..." he mumbled sleepily before he realized the camp was flooding.  "Never mind!" he shouted.  The brown tabby followed his dad towards the Beech Copse, sprinting as fast as his paws could take him.

~

Badgerpaw woke up, confused a the commotion outside. When she stepped out, she realized. Flood. The black-and-white she-cat dashed towards the other cats. She was panicking, panicking for her life.

Like the comforting sound of birdsong at dawn, Jaystar's deep voice rang through the camp, instructing them at last.  The Beech Copse...I don't think I could carry Sparkfrost all the way there, he's too big now...  As if summoned by her thoughts, the gray tabby leader himself appeared by her side and grabbed her son's scruff, taking away one of her many current burdens.  "O-Okay, make sure he's alright...I'll see you later love."  For a heartbeat, she rested her nose against her adopted son's forehead, eyes closed, before backing out of the den and beckoning for Magpiepaw to follow her, along with Ospreykit who she had put down.  The water was rising even higher, and every moment without sight of her other kits or her mate sent a stabbing pain into her chest.  Suddenly, she felt a weight against her shoulder and turned to see Cloudstone, to her shock.  At once, she felt as if she could breathe a bit easier, and allowed herself to lean into his touch for a heartbeat before returning to the search for their children, calling out their names alongside him.  "Egretpaw, Raggedpaw, Cranepaw!"

---

Magpiepaw followed slowly behind Finchstream, and now Cloudstone as well, his whole body trembling furiously.  It took all his strength to keep his tail wrapped around his brother Ospreykit, guiding the silver tabby tom along as they looked for his sisters and other brother.  I hope they're all right...  Above the sounds of the rushing water, he heard a frantic call sound from the direction of the apprentice's den, and so did Finchstream.  Turning, he was with a rush of relief that Egretpaw was bounding towards them through the water but suddenly, she turned back, and dove into the waves.  "E-Egretpaw, where are you g-going?!"  As his mother took off after his sister, he stepped closer to the pitch-black elder with the white tail, sheltering himself and Ospreykit as much as could be possible from the current world by leaning against the tom's flank.  This isn't happening...this can't be happening!

---

"Egretpaw!!"  Dumbfounded as her daughter turned around and ran away from them, Finchstream began to wade through the water towards the apprentice's den, gasping as her silver-toned kit dove down back into the flooded den.  It was then though that she saw it; another sodden pelt.  "O-Oh StarClan...I'm coming!"  Kicking off from the muddy bottom, the skilled she-cat swam towards the two young apprentices, and managed to grab Brookpaw's scruff in her small jaws.  She couldn't speak, but she signaled with her ears towards the shallower waters near the camp center, directing Egretpaw to help her get Brookpaw to safety.

Lightstep's dreams had been slowly growing stranger for what had felt like only a few moments, but was really a slow transition through the night. The tom had always been surrounded by the river, and the sounds of the water had always lulled him to sleep and comforted him. That night, however, the little sounds of splashing in unfamiliar places made him restless. His dreams warped into odd, abstract things which slowly grew to be more and more chaotic and foreboding. Wherever he went - if it could be called that in his abstract state of thought - he felt stuck and uncomfortable and unnerved. The sound of splashing near his head woke him with a start just a moment before a voice called, "Everyone, get up!"

The white tom's pale yellow eyes blinked away sleep rapidly, and Lightstep gasped, "Flood!" as he scrambled to his paws, making small splashes that sloshed in his mossy nest. The water was just above his toes by this point, but suddenly the strangeness of his dreams made sense and the feeling of foreboding was justified: the water level had been climbing all night, and it was still rising fast. Lightstep saw Swansong moving around the den to rouse the other warriors. He looked at Flurryshine, who had just stumbled to her paws, before he dashed out of the den in search of Cinderpaw and Myrtlepaw, his two apprentices.

As soon as Lightstep emerged into RiverClan's camp, the whole scene was chaos. There were yowls and gasps and cries of fear, orders being yowled as everyone awoke and realized what was happening. By the time the white warrior had reached the apprentice's den the water had risen just a mouse-length - maybe less, but Lightstep was worried whatever the amount. He spotted Hailsong, his aunt, and called, "I'm looking for Cinderpaw - have you seen him?" Though Cinderpaw was his apprentice, she was Hailsong's son first. Lightstep would ensure that Cinderpaw made it to safety; as soon as one of them found him, the other could focus on helping another cat.

Flood. Water everywhere, trying to drag every cat into its depths, sucking the life out of them. It was how her mother had died. Panicking as she always did, Meadowpaw raced out of the apprentices den, struggling through the rising water. "Coldgaze! Flurryshine!" She called her siblings names, swimming to the first one she saw. "Flurryshine!" She meowed, vainly attempting to keep her head above the water. She would not die! Struggling back to the surface, she finished her swim to her sister. Flurryshine was trying to keep her former mentor, Dewshine, afloat. The water thrashed about her, Meadowpaw was having a very hard time trying to resist the currents.

Flurryshine spotted her littermate, one of her only two living sisters left, wading towards her. Meadowpaw looked as though she were really struggling to reach her. She didn't want to leave Dewshine's side, but she couldn't leave her sister like that, either. She let go of Dewshine's scruff, letting her apprentice take over. "Help Gingerstripe bring Dewshine to higher ground, Hawkpaw!" Turning, she pushed her way through the rising water over to her sister and grasped her scruff to pull her closer. "Meadowpaw, you fish-brain! You should be evacuating with the others! As a matter of fact, so should Hawkpaw...." She quickly turned her head back to her apprentice where he was helping her former mentor and his mate. "Hawkpaw, go with the other evacuating apprentices! Head for the Beech Copse!"

Minkpaw lay in the medicine den. Though by all rights he should have been back in the apprentices' den by now, considering his leg was mostly healed, the disappearance of his mentor had... delayed... him being able to go back, and no one had bothered to try and make him go back either. So for now, he simply lay, dreaming strange dreams of water everywhere, his mentor drowning in a cloud of bubbles where there was neither up nor down. He tried to reach him, but never managed it, the currents of the river dragging him away from those eyes that seemed to accuse him. You left us. You left us to die. He could hear them, Sharptooth, Lionpaw, his mentor. He had betrayed the currents, and so they took him down to their depths, swirling in water so cold, sickly yellow eyes boring into his own.
Gradually, yowling broke through to his ears, oddly distorted through a sound like rushing water-
The river! He bolted upright with a splash to see everything in chaos, water gurgling across the camp's floor. It had already soaked his bedding, but he didn't notice, his sleek fur repelling it for the most part. As he leapt to his paws, he noticed Finchstream standing over Sparkfrost, trying to get the tom out. Turning to them, he splashed through the shallow water towards them.
Before he got there, however, Jaystar bounded past him, speaking quickly to the molly and taking the younger warrior out. Unsure of what to do, Minkpaw followed, ignoring the drops that splashed into his face and across his pelt. The camp outside of the den was even more chaotic once he could see all of it, cats dashing backwards and forwards, yowling desperately as they tried to make sure everyone got out. For a panicked moment he ran his gaze over the cats there, trying to pick out a familiar silver tabby pelt.... "Littlestream!"
He started towards her, not noticing the smaller cat dashing towards him until he was nearly run over. "Yarrowpaw, what are you doing? We need to get out! If the river's flooding you need to get to safety!" He started nudging her towards his mother, trying to keep his voice calm as a thousand thoughts ran through his head. "Your fur isn't water-proof enough yet to swim far, if you get caught in this...."
He hurried up to Littlestream, searching his mother's eyes for any sign that something worse had happened. Fortunately, she looked only about as confused as he did. "Littlestream? Where's Copperpaw and Lionpaw? If they haven't gotten out yet we need to help them. Is Wolfsong here?"
His eyes darted everywhere as he searched the clearing for them. In the chaos it was hard to tell where everything was happening; his mind, still not quite awake, bouncing from one thought to another without rhyme or reason.

In recent times, sleep had not come easily to the RiverClan deputy. Following the trial at Highstones, when Goldeneye had been demoted and Jaystar had been stripped of his lives, clan life had been lulled back into a sense of normalcy. But all was not as it had been before. Doubt continued to lurk in the darkest corners of the camp, and the sense of betrayal that Scorchclaw felt every time he looked at the two cats was impossible to brush aside. Whether it was intentional on both sides or merely one-sided, the relationship between leader and deputy had evidently grown cold. That night, hours had ticked by before Scorchclaw was finally claimed by sleep. Perhaps worn out from the accumulated stress of the past few days, he fell into a much deeper sleep than he usually did.

What Scorchclaw dreamed of, even he did not know. The realms of unconsciousness were vast, dark, and unpredictable. What seemed like a long stretch of time within them could very well be only a few minutes in reality. He thought he saw grotesque creatures squirming and clawing all around him, but the shadows kept their full forms from view. Trying to reach out with his paws, he grasped only nothingness. A hundred whispers echoed around him, their words slurred. No matter how much he strained, he could not make out anything. Who are you? What are you trying to tell me? What do you want? He opened his mouth to speak, but he was incapable of making any sound. Where was he? What was happening? His senses were confused, on edge. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a memory of being forced underwater surfaced. His terror mounted as his panic did. It was happening again. He had not run far enough, hard enough. After everything he had tried to do, he had come back here. Claws dug into his fur, pulling him deeper and deeper down. He was drowning. He could no longer breathe. He—

Scorchclaw!

With a start, Scorchclaw's eyes snapped open. In the very next moment, the large tabby almost lost his breath as a heavy weight came landing on top of him. His cheek made in contact with something cold and wet. "What in StarClan's name?!" He sputtered angrily. Still half-asleep, he made out his apprentice's scent. "Wasppaw?!" It was indeed the small tortoiseshell, her wide eyes glimmering in the darkness. What kind of new-fangled prank was— All of a sudden, he became aware of the water filling his nest. Instinctively, he flew to his paws, knocking Wasppaw off. Her words began to sink in. A flood? Were they flooding? All this water... it had come from the river?! He had certainly heard tales of such disaster as a kit or a young 'paw, but he had never experienced it until that very moment. How quickly the water was rising! There was no time to think. At this rate, his dream could really become reality. "Let's get out of here!" He snapped at Wasppaw, tone sharper than he had intended it to be. By now, every other inhabitant of the Warriors' Den was awake. With a last glance back to make certain of this fact, he splashed off towards the exit.

Outside, everything was chaos. The atmosphere was rife with fear and confusion, as cats darted back and forth in search of their loved ones. Amidst the cacophony, Jaystar's orders rang loud and clear. Scorchclaw lifted his gaze to the Willow Branch, pale-green eyes narrowed. Even after everything that had happened, the silver tabby was still their leader. His words united them all during times of unrest. He gave his clan a direction to follow. Galewind's words came to mind: "One day, you'll make a fine leader but there's still a lot you need to learn before that." Scorchclaw acknowledged those words now. Turning to his apprentice, he ordered her firmly, "Wasppaw, evacuate with the others. Your safety is of the utmost priority." If she had not been here, if she had not woken him up... He definitely needed to thank her later... For now, he had to do his own part of the work. There was also one more cat he absolutely had to make sure was safe.

As Scorchclaw half-bounded, half-swum his way across the clearing, he looked about wildly in search of his best friend. Adderfeather had not been present in the Warriors' Den when he had woken up. Had she already evacuated? All was well if she had, but on the off chance that she had not, he had to find her. Wherever he turned his line of sight, he could find no trace of the gray-furred she-cat. It seemed likely that she was no longer in the camp. Just to be on the safe side, however, he cried out once, "Adderfeather!"

Had any cat been left behind, overlooked by the others?

Wolfsong heared his apprentice inside the apprentice den and just before he reached the den he saw Egretpaw and after that Finchstream enter the den. He dove in after them, this was his fault, he should have made sure that she could swim better. Annoyed with himself he swimed forward to his apprentice he looked at Finchstream and motioned for her that he'd take Brookpaw and that she should get her daughter and join the rest of the clan outside.

OOC: Short hehe

It wasn't until her physical abilities were put to such a test like this that Nutfur realized she was getting old. She was old enough to have became an elder moons ago, but she hadn't felt that way. Hunting and fighting still came easily to her. Sure, the cold was a lot more bothersome now, but she could still push through it. But when she woke up to be surrounded by water, her limbs felt paralyzed. With great effort, she was able to move, to stand up, and as soon as the adrenaline kicked in she was on her paws. Having been trained to swim all her life, she had hardly any trouble navigating the nearly submerged island that made up RiverClan camp. Though escape wouldn't be the most difficult thing she had ever done, she knew she couldn't. Others had to be saved first. Seeing Finchstream risking herself to save kits and apprentices made her certain of what she had to do. Diving towards the almost submerged nursery, she grabbed the scruff of a (NPC) kit and tried to get back out of the den. Though she had swam in the strong currents of the river many times, this was by far the strongest current she had ever had to fight. Even as the rain stung her eyes, she fought to get out, paddling with all her might. After managing to leave the nursery, she strugled to keep going, her muscles becoming both sore and numb at the same time. A burst of strength filled her as she paddled to drier land, stretching her neck out far enough to place the kit on safer land. However, the movement caused her to stop paddling for just a moment, long enough for her to be pushed back a couple of tail-lengths into the water. Fighting with all her strength against the current, she hoped what she had done had been enough.

Lilytail had a kit in her jaws and one holding onto her back as she made her way through the chaos at the camp's clearing. She heard instructions on where to go and began to exit the camp. She had felt absolutely relieved after having spotted her daughter, Softpaw, and her son, Creampaw, leaving the camp a bit earlier with other apprentices. Her main priority now was making sure these kits would be alright and that everyone else would make it out okay.

His panic ebbed slightly as his mate stirred, and he felt a tiny spark of relief as Blossomstream made her way in. His family was safe, for now... but they all had to get out of here as quickly as possible. He supported the pregnant Dewshine as she started getting up, nodding gratefully to Flurryshine as she ran in to help as well. As the fluffy white cat who looked like her mother and the apprentice Hawkpaw supported his mate's scruff, Gingerstripe stayed behind her, nudging her and his daughter onwards from behind, ready to catch her if she slipped in the paw-deep, but steadily rising, levels of water. They could get out of here, he knew it... they just had to make it out of camp, to some higher ground. But where? Fourtrees? WindClan? In the distant chambers of his mind, the highest ground that he knew of was Highstones, where the Moonstone sat in caverns and strange lands lay beyond. They needed to get there, to be safe from the flood when worse levels hit. Which he knew they would. "Just focus on getting out of camp for now," he panted, "but when we get to dryer ground we should head for Highstones. It'll be safe there."

The dam is broken and RiverClan must reach Highstones to survive. As the waters are too rough, to survive, each RiverClanner must scramble on top of floating debris to avoid being impaled to death/crushed/wounded/drowning. To see if your cat makes it, roll the Hunting Die.

1-5 - You make it.
6-10 - You fail, and get swept away... Who knows where you will go?

Disabled cats must roll 1-3 to make it.

All kits must be carried by a warrior or they get swept away by default.

Where to find the die?