The River is dead [RC Flood Topic]

The small apprentice tried to dig her paws into Egretpaw's shoulders and forced herself to swim when she glanced at her mentor approaching him. For a second, she thought there was hope but soon, the cracking noise accompanied with more flood changed her mind. The camp was now being completely destroyed and so many were being swept away. Not able to keep her paws on Egretpaw when a wave came, Brookpaw yowled in fear.

However, it was too late. The waves sunk her deeper and deeper into a black pit of water, dust and debris. For an apprentice who didn't know how to swim, the she-cat couldn't make it much longer and her lungs were soon filled with the muddy water.

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Tinytip didn't want to leave the nursery. No. The small, senior queen knew from the moment she heard the panicked yowls that tonight... she was not going to make it. But if she was going to fall, she would die doing what she loved. The tuxedo she-cat helped each warrior and queen that entered the den to take the remaining kits in the den. She heard the voice of her leader and friend outside but she wasn't going to follow him. When every kit was safe and out the nursery, the waves arrived and Tinytip stayed in the den, by Splashwillow's side. Farewell, my friend, my leader. I'll watch from Starclan... She thought.

The queen pressed her paw against Splashwillow's and rested her head on her chest."It has been an honour to serve my clan taking care of the nursery with you." She mewed before the wave destroyed the nursery completely.

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Jaystar wanted to answer every question that his son made him but there was no time. The waves came inside too quickly and Sparkfrost blacked out before he could do anything. The weakened leader struggled to keep his head over the surphace at the same time he fought against the current to reach a safe place... But the water was too strong and before he could even see what was happening, the current separated him from his son. "SPARKFROST!" He shouted wtih tears of despair but his dilute fur was nowhere to be seen in the chaos. The leader looked around, forcing his paws to move forward at the same time but it was in vain. There was no sign of his son.

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The dilute calico looked at Lightstep, her son's mentor who also came to find Cinderpaw, and Blizzardshell, her mate. The short she-cat looked at him with concerned face, worried about her son, Cinderpaw. "Hawkpaw is helping others and safe. I don't know anything about Beepaw and I can't find Cinderpaw!" She cried, desperate. But before they could even nod or open their mouths, the wave was upon them. The water hit the short she-cat in the face, diving her down as she rolled underwater. For a few seconds, she could not swim or find anything familiar in the darkness of the water swirling around them. Hailsong was lost, on her own.

When she finally managed to swim back to the air, there was no camp to be seen and no cat near her. The current kept draging her away further and further and the only thing she could was to try to keep her nose over the turbulent water. Oh, please Starclan... save my kits and Blizzardshell! She thought while she pushed her paws to keep swimming in the flood and debris.

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Berrycloud saw everything from the moment he left the warriors' den. Everyone rushing to escape, the water waking up everyone and after that, the cracking sound that was soon accompanied by the massive waves after them. Before the current went to him, the warrior had a few seconds to glance at the medicine cat den, where he knew that his brother was healing. For that few seconds, he spotted their leader, Jaystar, trying to move the body of his confused yet calm brother. And then...

Water...

The flood covered everything. Berrycloud tried to swim back to the surphace but the strong currents kept pushing down. A piece of debris cut one his legs but despite the pain, the RiverClanner knew he couldn't stop moving or he would drown. With the help of his strong legs and webbed paws, the golden-furred made his way to the surphace but what welcomed him up there was no better. He could see so many cats being swept away, just paws trying to grab something invisible in the sky before dissapearing once again under the merciless flood. Where were his clanmates? Where was Jaystar? Where was Finchstream and his brothers and sister? He was afraid, lost. For a second, he thought all hope was lost until... a body touched him. Without thinking twice, Berrycloud managed to be fast enough to grab the other cat's scruff before the current could put him out of his reach. To his surprise, the misterious cat was no one else but his brother, Sparkrfrost! Making use of his last bit of strength, the tom put his smaller brother on his back and just kept his focus on keeping them both over the surphace. No matter what... this time, he was going to save him.

The member 'Jay Bord' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 6, 2, 5, 6, 7

Finchstream obeyed Wolfsong's orders, backing out of the water with her teeth now embedded in Egretpaw's scruff, dragging her daughter back to safety.  "It'll be fine honey, he'll get Brookpaw, we need to go!"  Once she was confident that Egretpaw was able to stand, the fluffy tabby warrior - her fur flattened down and freezing - raced back towards Cloudstone and her other two babies; but two were still missing.  Heart racing, she glanced around, trying to catch sight of Raggedpaw or Cranepaw.  'StarClan please...please...RAGGEDPAW!"  She saw him, running towards them with fear in his eyes, and she was about to run forward and greet him when, with a horrible crack, a titanic wave of water bore down upon the camp, sweeping away her friends and clanmates...and heading straight towards them.  There was no time.  For once though, the she-cat left fear and hesitation in the dust, and grabbed up Ospreykit in her jaws once again, guided Magpiepaw and Egretpaw with her tail, and bundled them all on top of a woven reed den that had collapsed in the chaos.  "Hang on, it'll be okay...CLOUDSTONE!"  She was on the floating den, but her mate still wasn't, and the wave was drawing closer...

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Magpiepaw let out a huge sigh of relief as Finchstream returned with Egretpaw following close behind, the terrified tears in his golden eyes rapidly fading.  "M-Mom!"  He didn't know what else to say as he dashed forward from beside the elder, leaning against her chest for a moment before realizing that...something had changed.  A strange sound was ringing through the willow trees, a rumbling, kind of like a purr...but much, much scarier.  Almost before he had time to react, his mother had pushed him over to an abandoned reed den, one of the ones made to float, and pushed him onto it alongside his brother and sister before climbing on herself.  He crouched, terrified, as more and more water began to pour into camp, washing away not only food and mud...but cats too.  With a gasp, his innocent eyes watched as his clanmates were stolen by the waves, only some making it to safety.  His denmates...was Adderfeather okay?  He hadn't seen his mentor at all...should he have looked for her?  Would they all be okay?  His mother's voice interrupted his thoughts as she called for Cloudstone, her voice high-pitched and worried.  He hadn't known that his mother and the elder were friends...nevertheless, he shuffled aside to make room on the den, at least as much as he was able to.  He felt numb; why is this happening?! I don't like this...what if those cats don't come back?

What if I don't come back?

Blossomstream watched with terror as water rushed in with the sound of a falling tree. Her green eyes wide and terrified as she looked frantically to her mother and father... and to Stormstrike. Certain that her mother would be safe, she began to run towards him when the water hammered into her. It stole her breath away, the world suddenly twisting as she felt her body slammed violently into a log. She caught sight of Pantherpaw, who had been at her mate's side until now. Her dilute calico pelt darkened with mud and debris as she tried to catch sight of his pelt or those brilliant amber eyes that she felt weak for.

That she called him her mate in her thoughts trailed in slowly. Being mates required more than just respect... admiration. She loved his strength, his courage... perhaps those were the wrong reasons? Pain lanced her side as she felt something rip into her with force. A shrill yowl from her jaws as she lost her grip on the log she had been slammed into. Blood washed away with mud as she caught it. A single fleeting glimpse of him in the distance until her forepaws struck something beneath the water. It tripped her, sent her falling face first into a rock beneath the water's surface.

Coherent thought was difficult. An ache built in her chest as she realised the things she would never experience. The worst of it all, was the single fleeting thought of Stormstrike with another she-cat. The strong, handsome and courageous tom... he had no shortage of she-cats who would want him. It was hard to see it in her mind, but the vision never faded. It clung like a vice until she felt the softest of whispers, her father... her siblings. Pain seized her chest through a soundless sob. The end was here. Never again would they fish together, share prey and stories... never again would she be able to press up against his strong pelt for comfort against the cold leafbare chill... or sleep in the same den. She would never be able to tell him... that...

she loved him.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

Palepaw searched around frantically for her mother. She couldn't see Flurryshine. "M-Mom! Where are you?" she asked with a frightened tone of voice. She grabbed a hold of some floating debris as she continued to look around. She felt more and more anxiety fill her. She wasn't aware of the wave that was about to hit her.

She squealed as she felt a particularly strong current hit her back. Instinctively, she swam using the debris and managed to move out of the way. She had saved herself from being carried by the flood.
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Cranepaw had been at the other side of the camp after she had awoken that day. She was now paddling toward her mother, Finchstream. "I-I'm here momma! I'm going there!" called the apprentice after having heard her mother's voice calling for her a bit earlier. The she-cat flinched when she heard a loud crack from somewhere. She sped up her swimming and soon made it to where Finchstream and her siblings were. She was about to speak when they began to move. "W-Wait!" Why were they moving so fast? The apprentice looked behind her and saw water approaching at an alarming speed. She gasped and attempted to rush to them.

"MOM!" cried Cranepaw as the water began to take her away. She attempted to swim against it but by doing so, she swallowed mouthfuls of dirty water. She let out a final gurgled wail before sinking into the water.

The member 'Lincoln Park' has done the following action : Dices roll

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#1 'Hunting Dice' : 5

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#2 'Hunting Dice' : 8

Egretpaw felt herself getting dragged away from helping Brookpaw, and for a moment she struggled against whoever had her gripped, before realizing they were her mother. She waited to be put back down and took a backward glance at what remained of the apprentice's den. When would they come back? The thought of her family being broken apart before returning didn't even cross her mind. That couldn't happen. With ears pinned back against the rain, she followed Finchstream in a hurry, practically skidding onto the piece of woven den floating in the grimy water. Then a great crack shook the apprentice to her core. In the distance, a wall of brown and white water was rushing towards them. "Foxdung."


The camp was in total chaos, though it had not nearly reached its climax. In the back of his mind he knew what was coming, even if just on a subconscious level. Upon seeing his family on the little raft Cloudstone swam hurriedly on the rising waters, quickly pulling himself towards them and hooking his claws into the flotsam. For a second he hesitated. 'Can this support all of us?' His head turned at his daughter's voice, still behind him. Then, the sound. In a jolt of alarm he pulled himself up, feeling it sink a bit in the water beneath his weight. Dripping wet he swirled around to face the terrible noise. What was this? In-between them and a rushing wave was Cranepaw, and off to the side, Raggedpaw. Things were about to get far, far worse than before. "Raggedpaw! Cranepaw!" He had someone to lose now. With a painful realization that he couldn't do anything quick enough to save either of them, he dug his claws into the mat of reeds. "Hold on!"

"MOM!"

Cranepaw's heartbreaking cry rang through the air as Finchstream's head swung towards her missing daughter, jaws opening to call out for her to run too late.  Gasping, a sob spilled from the queen's throat as she watched her beloved daughter sink beneath the wave; she reached out a paw in vain, as if she could grab her from her feeble position fox-lengths away, and her heart yearned to leap into the water and retrieve her black and white speckled form...but it was too late.  The wave swept the den away from the camp, and the petite she-cat hunched down over her remaining three kits within her grasp, tears spilling from her beautiful golden eyes.  After a moment, she lifted her head and glanced up at Cloudstone, their mutual grief displayed without words.

"A-Are Cranepaw and Raggedpaw g-going to be...o-okay?"  Magpiepaw's wavery voice rose above the clamor, and Finchstream bent her head to lick his forehead, not able to speak.  Anxiety flaring in his chest and pressing against his lungs, the black and white apprentice turned to meet Egretpaw's gaze, chest rising and falling rapidly.  "W-We have to go back for them!  And the o-others...they can't breathe!"  Yet, his cries were only met with a sickening silence, and he felt tears begin to prick at his own eyes.  We...we can't leave without the clan!

Suddenly, a particularly brutal wave lashed against their little raft, and to the group's horror, the reeds began to separate and break apart under their paws, letting in more and more water.  With a gasp, Magpiepaw jumped to the side as the place where he had just been laying became part of the river, squishing him up against his mother, siblings and Cloudstone.  Looking up, he saw that Finchstream was pressed against the elder, rather by necessity or choice he couldn't tell, but all he knew was that their happy dream of escape was quickly fading into a horrible nightmare.

Finchstream felt no warmth as she pressed her body against Cloudstone's, but she could remember when there had been, so many moons ago.  She savored the moment, this brief show of affection that had always been forced into the dark...for good reason.  Their relationship, the kits standing before them, might've been a forbidden mistake, a choice which could cost them both dearly...but in this moment, on the brink of death with tears rolling down her distraught face, she could see only light.  Hope, a future, a bright new dawn for RiverClan that would rise out of the ashes of what was once lost and broken.  She had already made her decision the moment she had given birth, there was no thought needed to put behind what came next.  It was inevitable, a solid, unbreakable truth.  She just wished...she had said goodbye to Nutfur first.

"Everything will be fine my loves...you'll be fine."

Her eyes drifted up to meet Cloudstone's.  He could see it too, didn't he?  That truth about being a parent, the passion that was born within you as soon as you knew you would be bringing new life into the world.  The feeling that nothing could hold you back from protecting them...and that, if there need be, your life would be sacrificed in exchange for theirs in a heartbeat.  I may be lost...but they will go on, no matter what happens to me...or him.  She was still scared though, as she always had been.  Her body shook; she didn't want to leave them!  She wanted to watch her babies grow up, get their warrior names and find mates of their own...she wanted to play with her grandkits outside of the elder's den, where she and Cloudstone could finally be at peace, together, without secrets.  Yet, that was all just a hopeless fantasy, and she knew as she rose to her paws beside him that this was their last dance.  She tried to remember every tiny aspect of his face, the way his eyes shone in the darkness, those caring eyes that had carried her through the trial of a lifetime.  In a moment though, it could all be over; but at least, they would be safe.

Crouching down, Finchstream gently touched her nose to each kit's forehead, Egretpaw, Magpiepaw, and Ospreykit.  Her blood, her greatest mistake...as well as her most beloved prize.  "I love you a-all, so much...I promise, even if it's not tomorrow, or the day after that or the day after that...we will meet again.  We'll be a family, beyond the storm, with Cranepaw and Raggedpaw...Berrycloud, Sparkfrost, Ivypaw and Galepaw too.  And Shrikekit.  We'll meet again, when the sun is out and we can play in the stream, catch minnows, and look for pretty stones...until then, I will always love you my kits, and even if you can't see me, I will be there, forever."  Turning, she smiled at her forbidden love, whispered words ringing through her mind.  I'll see you again soon, when we can finally love without guilt.

With such an inconsequential splash it could've been a simple stone tossed into the waves, Finchstream leaped from the breaking den and dove into the torrent, her silver tabby pelt vanishing from sight.

She kicked out with her strong webbed paws, clawing her way towards the surface, but on all sides she was buffeted by the current, one even the strongest RiverClan warrior would have trouble fighting.  Her cheeks bursting with air, the she-cat's golden eyes strained ahead to see the surface through the muddy depths, to catch sight of a branch or...or something, anything she could grab onto, so that she could pop back up and smile at her kits, reassuring them that she was fine.  Alas, there was nothing there, and the undertow pulled her down so far she could no longer see the light.  She still fought though, kicking out blindly, not sure if she was going up or down anymore...until her lungs ran out of air.  Her mouth opened, expelling a few bubbles that contained the last air she would ever breathe.  She closed her eyes as muddy water flooded her mouth, her body falling still as she drifted down, and down, and down...

Ospreypaw...I'm scared.  

What if all I did...was in vain?

What if they're there to greet me when I cross over, instead of the other way around?

Will Cloudstone be there?

I hope you're not mad that I fell for another cat...I don't think you would be.

You always just wanted me to be happy...just as I was when we went minnow fishing on the leaf-bare ice...

I hope...that they don't have to see me.

I don't want them to inherit my fears, or my struggles...I just want them to live.

To follow their hearts, and do what they feel is right, till the end...

Just like I did.

Clinging to the tree, Pantherpaw could only watch as the wall of water crashed upon his mentor. For the first time in his life, a new feeling flooded into his brain like the waters rushing around him. Pure, absolute terror. He screamed but didn't hear a thing from his jaws. He so desperately wanted to leap into the rushing waters, be next to his mentor. Until Stormstrike's voice rang in his head. "The weak don't deserve to be saved." No. He isn't weak. He is the bravest cat I knew. But... His mind was a torrent, his body numb with shock. He... He was physically strong. But his care for others made him mentally weak. Will I ever see him again? He was bleeding when he was swept away. I can't care for others, or I might meet the same fate. Thoughts rushing, swirling, Pantherpaw didn't know what to think, say, or do. all he could hope for was to hold on until the waters receded, and find Stormstrike.

The floodwater hit like a wall. Meadowpaw was tossed around, as she vainly tried to reach the surface. She hit a tree, a rock, the remnants of the nursery. She finaly managed to brake the surface. "Somebody help me!" Meadowpaw yowled, before being forced down under the water again. Her legs churned frantically, but it was no use. The water was sweeping her far, far down stream. No! No, I can't die! I won't die! She kept into objects, trying to hold on to anything at all. I need to live! For whats left of my family! Farther and farther from the RiverClan camp she was swept. It was getting harder to stay on the surface. Finaly, with mud plasters on her soaked through fur,  Meadowpaw managed to hold on to something. A branch, jutting into the river. She dug her claws in, panting from exhaustion. What could she do now?

OOC: Trying to decide weather she should die now, find her way back to the clans and die later, or become a kittypet and be never seen again...

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 8

The chaos in camp became something concerning as Littlestream  had got Yarrowpaw to leave with those that tried to exit camp she moved to help the warriors with the remaining kits grabbing one by the scruff the petite she cat started to take off as the flood waters started to rise around her paws until it was practically at her chest. Though it was long until she heard and seen the wall of water and the former queen scrambled to get from the camp after those she had seen leave. Up ahead she seen Yarrowpaw climb a nearest tree knowing her daughter was probably terrifies out of her mind.  Running as fast as the water would allow she scrambled for the same tree just as the wall of water hit her hard.  She had just enough time to see her daughter see her before the water swallowed Littlestream up in its depths.  The kit she had was gone and the former queen struggled against the water for the surface feeling oobjects hit her one particular item hit her hind leg hard enough that Littlestream felt a searing pain causing her to yowl in pain in the water.  The water quickly filling her lungs as she was swept away.

Yarrowpaw had managed to get out of camp but the noise and the running took her off guard searing fear right into the only fresh out of the nursery apprentice as she scrambled for a tree clinging as hard as she could to a thick branch.  She watched eyes wide as the water took her mother down into its depths before shaking about the tree and pulling the thick branch she held onto lose.  Water pulling at her thick fur as before her everything was in chaos.  Tears welled in her blue eyes as she couldn't make out where any of her family was"mom... Mom where'd you go"She cried her paws dipping into the water but she couldn't even see the ever familiar pelt of her mother.  Just as she had let go she felt herself slip into the rain is water taking her down once before she pushed with the best of her ability back to the surface where she clung to the branch trying to pull herself up a bit scared and unsure where the water was leading"Dad!!!  Mom!!  "She called ears flattened at the sound of roaring water around her as she called for her family and her half brothers.

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

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#1 'Hunting Dice' : 9

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#2 'Hunting Dice' : 1

Blizzardshell
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Orchidpool
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Mistpaw
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Duskpanther
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Raggedpaw

OOC: Will edit once classes are over!