The River is dead [RC Flood Topic]

"Ah!" Raggedpaw gasped as he slipped from having tried to run in the water. He felt pain shoot up his right forelimb as he quickly tried to get up. Great, an injury. He had to be strong! He wanted to help out but first, he needed to tell his mother that he was okay. The usually stoic tom grimaced as he began to wade toward where he believed his mother was. The tom began to pick up his speed, which wasn't very fast, when he realized the water was starting to rise even faster. His injured paw was causing him trouble. "M-Mom!" he gasped out as a particular strong water current swept his paws from under him and caused him to dive under. The young tom soon rose and shook his head to clear the water from his eyes. He could barely tell what was happening anymore. What he did know was that he wasn't giving up!

After what seemed like an eternity of trying to get up, Raggedpaw finally achieved his goal. He was now standing. The water was now up to his lower chest. He had to trek carefully now. If he kept stumbling, he'd cause his other limbs some damage. As he slowly proceeded to move, he heard someone call his name. He soon recognized it to be Cloudstone's voice. Someone was actually looking for him! He huffed and attempted to hurry his movements. It was proving more and more difficult to move in the water because it was continuously rising. Soon enough, he had to start swimming. It was very difficult with his hurting paw. He was tired and fear began to rise. "H-Help!" He had to do it. He had to call for help. He was supposed to be strong but it probably wasn't meant to go his way in this scenario. His limbs ached as he rapidly tried to keep his head out of the water. It was painful but he couldn't give up.
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Mistpaw had made it safely to where most of the apprentices were. His light eyes searched around to see if anyone needed help. He was ready to go to their aid.
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"There little ones. You both stay here and do not go back to the nursery!" Orchidpool had rescued two kits from the nursery and had left them in the paws of some apprentices. She was going back to see if some of the other warriors needed help.
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"Hailsong! Are you okay? Are our kits safe?" asked Blizzardshell as he reached his mate's side. He pressed himself against her as he looked at the rising water. He was worried for his kits as well as his clan. How did nobody notice the rising water days earlier? Maybe they have but brushed it off as not concerning enough. All that mattered now was that everyone made it out alive.
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Duskpanther let out a sigh of relief as mostly everyone looked to be alright. The flood was beginning to pick up the pace so they all had to be evacuated by then.

A gut-wrenching crack in the distance made Lightstep's fur stand on end. The sound did not cease; rather, it changed. What was at first a quiet yawning sound in the distance rapidly became a thunderous roar, and Lightstep cried out, "Everyone, get to higher ground!" The ground was vibrating and Lightstep could only think, Oh, StarClan, what's happening? as he stared desperately into the apprentice's den. He who hesitates is lost. Please let Cinderpaw have made it out. The white tom whirled around and began to race from camp, looking left and right to find anyone who might need help. Lightstep saw his first beech tree.

Then the wave was upon them.

With nowhere to turn and nowhere to run, Lightstep simply braced himself for the coming wave. In those few moments he tried to remember everything he had ever learned and everything Jaystar had ever taught him about swimming in harsh currents. Then it swept the long white warrior off of his paws, fumbling through the wave until he gained his bearings again. Lightstep struggled to keep his head up with such unpredictable water and waves, but he kept paddling fiercely and hoping he would soon find something to hold onto.

The member 'sumashira' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

Eyes open with surprise, a deafening crack pierced Pantherpaw's ear fur. Glancing towards his mentor for a microsecond, he rolled over a decision in his head. He's injured. But he would want me to save myself. He risked just enough time to give a warning. "Stormstrike! Hold on to anything you can find! More water is coming!" The wave hit him just as he wrapped himself around the branch of a beech tree, luckily sturdy enough to withstand the force of the water. It tried to rip him from the branch, but his moons of training under Stormstike weren't about to fail him. With the pain, he gripped ever tighter.

The member 'Falconwing' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 5

Sunpaw had burst out of the apprentice den, locating her mothers pelt imedietly. She cried out. "Flurryshine!" And dashed to her. Until she was shoved to the ground. SHe felt weight on her hips and turned around. A rock had landed on her hips down. Crushing everybone.

Gingerstripe gasped as he heard the crack, and saw the giant wave of water descending on them all. "Run! Runrunrun!" His breath escaped his lungs in a desperate plea to Dewshine and Blossomstream and everyone to get out, while he ran as fast as his shaking legs would take him and pushed with all his strength at them from behind. When the flood reached him, he hadn't gotten far enough... and his minimal swimming skills were nowhere near enough to combat this beast. The water was full of thick mud, debris, tree branches- the second it swept him away, he was pummeled on all sides by hard objects underwater. Where was up? Where was down? His paws paddled uselessly, and the force of the current sealed his eyes shut. He couldn't find the surface. He couldn't find Dewshine. He... he couldn't... Though he fought as long as he could, the former ShadowClan tom slowly weakened, lungs clenched for lack of air, and all sense of feeling left him. His broken body no longer felt the pain of the log he'd crashed into, or the thick viscosity of the water seeping into his lungs, or the blood from his cuts that was churning in the river. Dying was peaceful. He hadn't expected it to be so. With one last wish that Dewshine was safe, the "murderer" who had fought for so long to be accepted sank down into the dark depths, never again to resurface. There was no way out this time.


Peace.

When the tom opened his eyes again, it was surprisingly light. He wasn't wet anymore. It was warm, and dry, and the light shining down on him felt like the greenleaf sun on Sunningrocks. He just wanted to lie here forever, on this plain of green grass that smelled like his home...

"Gingerstripe. Gingerstripe, wake up."

He... he knew that voice. Confused, the warrior opened his eyes, wincing at the sudden brightness. As he sat up, he saw the cat sitting across from him, smiling gently with a genuine love in her eyes. Soft golden fur, light amber gaze, sweet scent.... "Honeydrop." When the she-cat- his mother nodded, everything came back with a flash. He'd killed her. He'd killed his mother, and now she was here. He... he deserved everything she was going to say to him. Gingerstripe hung his head, unable to look the kind medicine cat in the eyes. "I... I'm so sorry. I was young and reckless, and so, so angry. Angry about the lies, about the broken code... but that was no excuse to kill you. You can send me to the Dark Forest now, if you want... just promise that you'll welcome Dewshine whenever she comes here. And say hi to Firepaw for me."

"Oh, Gingerstripe..." The golden medicine cat padded over, raising her son's face with a paw. He was startled to see that she had no scar on her throat, and that her eyes were shimmering with tears- and she was still smiling. "Gingerstripe. I've been watching you this whole time. I know how you've changed. I've witnessed every battle you've had to fight, every decision not to give in to the darker side, every good deed you've done. StarClan and I have seen them all. And we agree."

He looked into her eyes, stunned and confused. "Agree.... on what?"

"We forgive you." Honeydrop's smile grew wider. "I forgive you. And you deserve to be here, in StarClan. With your family... with your son."

"Dad?"

Gingerstripe's eyes widened, and he looked to the side, where the second voice had come from. Sure enough, it was his son... standing there, looking as good as ever. As he'd been before the battle with Lichenmask and Shade. "Firepaw? Is that- is it really you?"

"Dad!" Tears came to the bicolored tom's eyes, and he ran towards the newly dead warrior, embracing him with a passion. Gingerstripe held his son, weeping, feeling the kit he'd been bereft since he lost. "I missed you." Honeydrop looked on, smiling, glad that her son had finally seen the light and had come home.

"I missed you too. Oh, Firepaw..." With his face buried in his son's fur, the warrior felt a warm blaze of love in him, along with a sense of peace. He'd finally done it... finally, he would be accepted. He no longer had to choose. He could be ShadowClan and RiverClan. Devoted father and loving son... He- he was Gingerstripe. "Thank you, Honeydrop. Thank you." Everything would be okay. Nothing would be wrong... never, ever again.

The member 'Ash' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

Stormstrike's summer-yellow eyes widened as the echos of a distant CRACK! reached him. The water began to swirl. "Pantherpaw, stay close to me- that sound can't be good. Blossomstream? Blossomstream, where are..."
Stormstrike turned and was greeted by a solid wall of water. "Oh, son of a-"
The tom was hit by a solid wall of water. With a strangled yelp, he kicked desperately in search of the surface. He could no longer tell which way was down and which way was...
There! A glimpse of light was all it took- Stormstrike swam for the surface, kicking desperately, fighting the water as it tried to force him back down. The stick in his chest made swimming difficult, but the burning in his lungs far surpassed any other pain he could've felt. With a triumphant gasp of air the stormy gray tom broke the surface, paddling to stay afloat. He spun, trying to find anything to hold on to.
Aha! A short ways away, a branch stood out of the water. Eyes narrowed, the dark tom made his way towards it. He reached out, nearly grabbing it with his jaws...
When suddenly, Stormstrike felt a sharp sensation just below his chest. He winced, pulling himself onto the tree that the branch was attached to, only to discover that instead of one stick in his stomach, there were two. His paws shook as the tree rolled, sending him once more into the water below.

The member 'Drippy' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

The distant sound of something cracking reached Swanpetal's ears as she saw the wave approach. It wasn't like the river on a good day, this was dangerous and downright terrifying: she had felt fear in her life, many times, but nothing like this. There were shouts all around, and her own voice was just another addition to the cacophony: "Wasppaw! Brookpaw! Where are you?" She wondered if her voice could reach them over all the others, if they were too far.

The member 'Holly' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

Dewshine's paws churned up the heavy mud between the apprentice helping her and Gingerstripe, who's strong support aided her. When Flurryshine came to help as well, her heart warmed... But sank as the precious stone the young she-cat had kept for so many moons fell into the water with a distinct 'plunk' that made her heart sink with it.

"Flurryshine! Your precious stone..." gasped as water suddenly rocked into her. Flurryshine went off to help her kit, and suddenly Dewshine heard the sound... Her head turned to bash into a log that came on a wave.

Her jaws clamped shut against the impulse to yowl in terror as muddy water pushed her heavy silver body away from her Beloved mate.

As she crashed into a log, she had the sense to grab onto it with her claws. They scored deep into the wood as it churned and rolled over, revealing a forest that was... No longer a forest. It was swelled with angry roaring water that flooded down further and further from camp as she yowled to Flurryshine, Blossomstream... And looked for Gingerstripe desperately as the log continued to carry her helplessly away.

The member 'Cays' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

The sudden slam and rush of water scared Flurryshine out of her wits, and the sight of the sudden tsunami terrified her even more. Great StarClan above! She turned to Morningpaw and yowled, "Find something buoyant and ride it until the water goes down!" She began leading her sister to a large, sturdy branch and pushed her up on it, hoping she would be able to stay put.

Two screams filled her ears. One belonged to her only living kit Sunpaw, and the other belonged to her former mentor Dewshine. Sunpaw was trapped under a large rock, while Dewshine was flowing downstream. Completely torn between who to save, Flurryshine's eyes watered. Then tears began to fall, mingling with the flooding water, as she finally decided who to save.

She turned her head to Sunpaw. Her poor kit. She had been crushed underneath the rock weighing her down. It would be too heavy for Flurryshine to move. Even if she could move it miraculously, Sunpaw could never be a warrior now due to the injuries she would have sustained. She wasn't savable.

But Dewshine was.

"I'm sorry, baby girl," was all Flurryshine mewed before she turned away from her kit to follow after Dewshine, kicking hard against the strong current to catch up to her. Finally, she did, grasping tightly onto the log that her mentor and motherly figure held onto. "Don't worry, Dewshine! I won't leave you! We'll be in this together until the very end!"