Salvaging What Little Remains (OPEN TO ALL EAST COAST SURVIVORS)

Scorchstar stumbled up to his paws, his thick fur weighed down heavily by mud, sand, and flood water. Stars, what a nightmare that flood had been. He and his Clanmates -- and more than likely the rest of the Clans as well -- had been swept away very far from their territories and homes. Now he had no idea where he was. All he knew, though, was that he was alive -- thankfully he hadn't lost a second life to the floods. He also knew that if he was alive, there would surely be other survivors around as well.

Thankfully, he was able to count his son Asterspark as being a survivor. It had been a little while since he had convinced him to let him go off on his own to bring back some prey. Yet he very well knew that hadn't been his intention at all. Asterspark had just wanted an excuse to try and look for his missing brother Poppyheart, who had been gone for over a moon now. A part of him feared that his missing son was probably dead at this point, or at the very least unable to come back home for whatever reason, and he also knew it wouldn't be the best idea to let a disabled warrior roam unknown territory without an escort. But at the same time, he knew how capable a warrior his son was, and he still held onto a small bit of hope that his other son was still alive. Hopefully Asterspark would be able to find him and bring him home, if luck was on his side.

For now, he couldn't think too heavily on that. He needed to begin his search for survivors. Not just ShadowClan survivors, though, but survivors from all five Clans. He had no idea if any other Clan leader were around here, but if by chance he were the only one, he needed to demonstrate and show why destiny had chosen him to be leader in the first place. He needed to work to save whomever he could.

Trying to walk off the limp in his hind leg, Scorchstar began his search, scouring the destroyed landscape while staying relatively close to the place he had first woken up at. Taking a deep breath, he called out, "Hello? Hello! ShadowClan, WindClan, ThunderClan, RiverClan, SkyClan! Are there any survivors?"

Littlestream the former River clan queen now warrior again had found brief company with two Skyclan cats luckily one having been a medicine cat that she could thank for at least assessing her wound.  The deep gash on her hind leg still hurt which caused her to not be able to move as much.  She still wished it didn't but she wasn't worried about herself but rather the wellbeing of her family including her mate and kits.  Her ears pricked hearing a voice and blinked stumbling up to her paws her legs out at an awkward angle as she made her way over. "Hello there are some here!" She me we'd tail flicking as she continued to half limp half stumble towards the voice.

Meanwhile Echopaw of Wind clan heard and thankfully wasn't injured scrambled towards the voice quickly.  The young fresh out of the nursery apprentice looked up at the leader once reaching him and blinked taking a step back"Hi....boy am I glad I'm not the only one "She mewed.

Falconwing stood by her mate and daughters, calling out to the ShadowClan leader. "Four here! Me, Flintfang, Mosspaw, and Lilypaw!"

Ravenmist hurried towards her father's voice, but tripped frequently, the terrain unfamiliar to her paws. "Scorchstar! I'm here!" Eventually she managed to stumble near enough to his calls and breathing, the point where she assumed he probably was aware of her.

As Falconwing spoke up, Mosspaw's tail twitched as she looked around at all of the other cats. So many... She thought as she gazed at the unfamiliar faces around her. Looking back to the large cat who had called out, she leaned towards her mother. "Falconwing, who is that?..." She asked, looking at him with curiosity in her eyes. Her question was answered by another cat who came stumbling towards them. Her expression shifted from curious to alarmed, and she looked between her parents and the ShadowClan leader. "That's Scorchstar?," she whispered to no one in particular, as her expression shifted once more to respect, with just a pinch of apprehension.

Barleytuft had been awake for most of the night, keeping a well-meaning but helpless guard and watch over Graybriar as the two of them floated with the floodwater's current on a strange hard black piece of a twoleg monster to who knew where. He was no RiverClan cat, but he did his best to steer the makeshift raft to allow his companion to rest. Her leg had been injured by a raccoon a short time ago and again by a fox even more recently. Though it hadn't been broken, thank StarClan, it had been pretty badly mangled. The brackish floodwater couldn't have been good for such an injury, and so Barleytuft had tried to help get Graybriar properly sprawled across the strange circular object to keep her wound out of the water. The WindClan warrior was exhausted by the time the sun had risen over the horizon, but he had no intention of sleeping until he found safety for himself and his mate.

Even in all of the turmoil, the thought of Graybriar as his mate kicked up little butterflies in Barleytuft's belly. Other emotions came bubbling up - fear of losing her, guilt at choosing her over Oakberry, terror that Oakberry may have died, worry about the Clan, confusion about where he now was floating - but reality became more pressing than those. The sun had finally risen enough for Barleytuft to see a nearby riverbed. That can't be a riverbed, though, he thought wearily, we're too far from the river by this point. And there's no other bank... What shore is this? 

But land was land. The long, lean warrior struck out with slender hind legs that felt like jelly, slowly propelling the flotation device towards the shore. As they neared it, Barleytuft realized that the entire coastline was littered with debris: trees, sticks, rocks, twoleg trash, and things unrecognizable. He pushed the raft as hard as he could onto the shore after finding a large enough clearing for it to float to; it made an uncomfortable grinding sound on the rocks and muck, but at least it was solid. Barleytuft wearily pressed his broad forehead against Graybriar's, murmuring, "Wake up, Graybriar... W-Wake up. We're on land."

Almost immediately Barleytuft heard a call in the distance, and his fur would've stood on end with surprise had it not been solidly plastered to his body with water and muck. "Hello? Hello! ShadowClan, WindClan, ThunderClan, RiverClan, SkyClan! Are there any survivors?" "That sounds like Scorchstar," he mewed, recognizing the voice from several Gatherings by this point. "He must have been swept here, too... Graybriar? My love?" He turned his attention back to the slender gray tabby, saddened to see the bandages had been pulled from her wound during all this. "I think we should go to Scorchstar - maybe there's a medicine cat with him." Would it be too much to hope for Briarpaw? he thought nervously.

It had been the longest, most exhausting night of her life. After being rescued by Barleytuft, she'd tried her hardest to keep a hold on the strange floating object, claws sinking deep into it and refusing to let go. It was hard to balance with only three paws, but with her mate supporting her, she'd managed. My mate... It was strange to think using that term again, but what other word was there for the amazing tom who had decided to love her? If not for him... she probably would have drowned.

As it was, she'd been dragged onto the object and pushed into the best position, trying not to pay attention to the embarrassment of being as useful as a pile of wet moss and the pain of her injured leg, which the bandages had abandoned at some point during their extended swim. Graybriar had drifted in and out of a black, uneasy sleep, waking up with more worries and aches and pains until her body forced her to shut down again. If it weren't for the sheer exhaustion, she would have stayed awake- the sight of Briarpaw's face as she'd been swept off and concern for Barleytuft were the strongest emotions she'd known in a while. They consumed her, forcing her to feel nothing but  worry and fear until lack of sleep took over. At some time during the night, she'd lost consciousness completely, unable to control her need for rest.

When the silver tabby awoke, she could tell that she was on solid ground, even though some fleeting sense of rocking motion still moved in her head. Dazed from uneven sleep and overwhelming emotions, she had to blink several times before coming back to reality. The flood. The panic. The raging water. Everything came back in a flash, and her head shot up with a gasp, feeling all the fear from the previous night return with a vengeance. But when she saw Barleytuft's face, she was able to relax a little bit. At least... at least he was safe. But, where... "Where are we?" she murmured, casting confused eyes around the rubble-strewn landscape. She'd never seen anything like this place before.

She felt a little bit guilty for not trying to help him stand watch, because he was clearly exhausted. But hearing him call her "my love" awakened a tiny round of warm shivers all over her body, the only good feeling that she'd experienced since the temporary relief at their safety. The decision they'd made to open up to each other was one that she would never regret. She met his eyes, hoping he wasn't in too much pain himself.

"I think we should go to Scorchstar - maybe there's a medicine cat with him." She nodded a tired agreement to his statement, and tried to stand up- before letting out a pained whimper. Her injured leg was no longer numbed from the cold water, and exposure to the debris and chilly air was not helping her reopened wound. Graybriar looked at the mess behind her, then back to her mate's concerned face. "Let's hope so," she meowed, determination breaking through the numbness in her voice. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she drew herself up on her front legs- ignore the pain, ignore the pain- and her good hind leg. She would limp all the way there, if she had to.

A faint ringing in Copperheart's ears was the first thing he was met with upon re-awaking. His usual bright, lively eyes felt dull and tired, and for the first few seconds of opening them, his vision was blurry and clouded. When they did adjust to the light, they saw a horrific sight. Mud was all the ground consisted of. Broken and mangled trees were scattered everywhere, along with other pieces of rubbish of debris. In the distance, he could spot several other cats' bodies, lying on the ground.

Oh, right, he was still laying down as well.

The moment Copperheart even attempted to move, he felt immense pain madly shoot through him instantly. His teeth bared in a hiss. He had a massive headache, his muscles were sore, and his right hind leg stung as if acid had been dropped straight onto it. The warrior soon realized why; the long scar on that same leg had likely been re-opened due to his thrashing and slamming into various objects when he was washed away. Dirt and grime definitely washed straight into it if it stung this badly, and it would get an infection if he didn't take care of it, so now all Copperheart could do was hope somecat who had been washed up in the same area knew about herbs.

Baring through the pain, the tabby managed to stumble to his paws. His orange pelt felt heavy, wet, and dirty, contributing nothing to the current unpleasantness he was experiencing. For the first time in his life, Copperheart wished he was hairless. He tilted his head a bit, letting most of the water that clogged his ears and caused the ringing spill out. Once he fully regained all his senses, Copperheart's first thought was, 'Where are my siblings...?' He looked around for his sister's purplish-black pelt or his brother's unique brown pelt, but to no avail. There were plenty of cats with the same color, but not the right shade or pattern. Worry flooded through him, and he started to take his first steps in the mud. He needed to find them. 

His searching was interrupted by a loud voice in the distance, a cat's, and it was oddly familiar. He thought for a moment, then it clicked. It was Scorchstar- the tom could easily see how it was, having heard the large black tom several times in Gatherings. At first, he ignored it, not wanting to deal with the ShadowClan leader, but then he realized something. If there were other cats awake, then there was a possibility that Batpaw and Lynxtail were with him as well, and maybe his dad, too. He trudged towards the voice, calling out to it. "Yes! Here!" His pace sped up, scrambling towards the black figure. Once he reached him, he looked at his surroundings in hopes of finding other cats with him, his ears drooping in disappointment. Copperheart sighed, "This is probably useless to ask... but have you seen a small black she-cat or a brown tom with large ears and a short tail anywhere...?"

All around him, Scorchstar saw cats from different Clans begin to approach him. Thank StarClan some of them survived, including his beloved daughter Ravenmist. He approached the blind ShadowClan warrior and brushed his cheek briefly against hers with a brief purr of reassurance. Lifting his head back up, he called to the slowly assembling cats, "Is everyone okay? If...." He briefly stopped his own train of thought before he could give out any orders. So far, only Ravenmist was the only cat in his company who could truly do as he asked, as all the other cats had different leaders they looked up to and followed. Yet at the same time, if they weren't anywhere nearby, they'd need someone to follow. Plus, if cats had something they could do, it would be the best for everyone.

Clearing his throat, Scorchstar forced himself to push away the feeling of discomfort worming within him at the thought of directing other Clans' cats. Right now, at this moment in time, it shouldn't matter what Clan each cat belonged to. They all needed to survive. "If anyone is well enough to be productive, we need fresh-kill, dry moss, and a search party to find other survivors. The injured cats should follow me to the patch of grass over there. I will assist in searching for any medicine cats who could be nearby." He approached the limping Graybriar of WindClan as she neared him, seeming to struggle with staying upright on her three good paws next to a WindClan tom, and he kindly mewed, "Would you allow me to help you?" He didn't know how proud this molly was, so asking permission to help rather than just offering it without her discretion seemed like the more polite thing to do.

Before the gray WindClanner could respond to his offer, Scorchstar turned to Copperheart at his question. His response was a solemn shake of his head and a mew of, "I have not -- not yet. However, I will assist you in searching for them, if you will allow me to."

---

It was a long and rather painful journey back to where he had first woken up after being swept away from the Clan territories, but Asterspark and his long-lost brother Poppyheart, whom he had just found during his outing searching for him, had managed to make their way back to the others. They both were limping, Poppyheart more than Asterspark, the two of them sporting fresh battle wounds after their scuffle with a dog. "Just a little further, Poppyheart, then you can rest," Asterspark mewed gently to his brother, who stared down at the ground with a hard, concentrated expression, obviously fighting through a lot of pain with each step, knowing the bite wounds on his back and hindquarters were killing him.

Coldgaze had woken up a few moments ago and were just starring at the ground trying to comprehend what had happened and where she was when she suddendly heard a voice, the voice of Scorchstar. She flew up on her feet and turned towards the sound of his voice, she couldn't see him so she started limping in the direction of the leaders voice, her whole body ached but she couldn't care less, she were stuck here, with Scorchstar, like it wasn't bad enough. Hopefully Asterspark wasn't here too.

When she saw the leader she let out a low growl "Thought I heared something...". She looked at the tom as he spoke. Hunt? For other clans? She shook her head with a grin on her face "I mean yeah, I could hunt I guess but no, I'll only hunt for my clan. Not Skyclan, not Windclan, not Thunderclan and especially not Shadowclan.". She tilted her head and looked at the large tom, waiting to see his reaction.

She quickly looked around but couldn't see Asterspark, altought she thought that she could smell the faint scent of him. She hoped that she were wrong though, being stuck here with Scorchstar was something she could manage but Asterspark? She'd rip him to pieces.

OOC: Just had to post here, she's gonna be so happy to see Poppy, she'll just be like "There, you see him? Told ya I didn't kill him"

Scorchstar shot Coldgaze, the cat who had attacked his son for no reason, a hard glare. Pardoning him temporarily from Copperheart and Graybriar to deal with the molly, he padded away from them and up to the soft gray tabby. "I seem to recall telling Jaystar the night after the Gathering I would collect you to join ShadowClan so I could keep a better eye on you, in which he agreed to. Well, now that the time has come...." Standing up straight and tall, keeping an air of confidence about him, he meowed powerfully, "Coldgaze, from this moment on, until future development regarding your fate, you are now no longer a warrior of RiverClan. From here on out, you shall be loyal to ShadowClan. Now, with that out of the way, as your new Clan leader, I order you to hunt for not just your own Clan, but for every Clan here. Right now, I don't care about boundaries or loyalties. All that matters to me is that we all make it out of this mess in one piece and head towards Highstones to reunite with our other Clanmates. This is not up for debate." After a few more moments of staring firmly at his new Clanmate, Scorchstar looked up and began searching for a cat from his Clan who would be able to help him keep the molly in line.

He quickly spotted Asterspark approaching, noting how he seemed to be limping more than usual. The other cat he spotted made his eyes widen in absolute disbelief. Right next to his son was the long-lost warrior whom Coldgaze had attacked. "Poppyheart? Poppyheart!" He rushed over to his returned son and nuzzled his broad muzzle deep into his missing son's russet fur. "Oh, Poppyheart! Oh, how I've missed you! Welcome home, my son!"

Poppyheart greeted his father with a hearty purr and a happy swish of his bushy tail. "Scorchstar! I'm so happy to see you again! I'm so sorry for being away for so long, but now I'm going to make up for my absence." He turned to look at his littermate. "Asterspark found me. Or rather, I found him being attacked by a dog. We both drove it off together, though, so that's one less predator to worry about."

"But now Poppy's got this, uh ... what'd you call it, bro, a collar? He's got this Twoleg thing 'round his neck, and he needs help gettin' it off," Asterspark explained.

"I see...." Scorchstar mused, studying the orange thing wrapped around his son's neck for a few moments. "I would be more than happy to help you remove it, but for the time being I have other matters I must attend to. Asterspark, Poppyheart, if you two are well enough, would you please escort Coldgaze over there on a hunting patrol and make sure she doesn't get into any trouble? She is now a part of ShadowClan, at least until I discuss with Jaystar about her situation in the future now that you have returned, Poppyheart."

Both brothers' eyes widened in surprise, and they glanced at the gray tabby molly. Asterspark's fur bristled along his spine, and he narrowed his eyes at her with a rather furious grin. "Sure thing, Scorchstar, leave her to us. We'll take good care of her and make sure she doesn't get into any trouble."

Poppyheart, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, only nodded in agreement.

"Thank you both very much. I will see you both again soon, and then I will help you remove that thing from your neck, Poppyheart. Stay safe." With a parting nuzzle to each son, Scorchstar approached Coldgaze and meowed firmly, "Asterspark and Poppyheart will accompany you as you hunt for all the cats. Do as they say, or there will be consequences. That's an order." With that, Scorchstar finally padded away to continue assisting Copperheart and Graybriar.

---

As Scorchstar walked away, Asterspark fixed his furious glare on Coldgaze again. The cat who had attacked his beloved brother who didn't deserve such a mauling over a dirty pigeon was going to be their new Clanmate? He was certain he and the gray molly were able to share their first mutual feelings together over the thought that neither of them were happy with this new development. Still, they had been given orders by their leader, so it was their duty to obey. Padding up to Coldgaze, he meowed rather coldly, "Well, well, well. If it ain't our new Clanmate. Howzit goin', Coldgaze? Attacked any innocent allied cats over dirty pigeons on neutral ground lately?"

Poppyheart followed after his brother and shot him an uncomfortable glance. "Asterspark, you don't need to be so mean to her. Just treat her like you would treat any other Clanmate. She is our newest ones now after all." Turning his head to the molly he had tried to befriend at Fourtrees over a moon ago, he dipped his head politely. "Greetings, Coldgaze. I hope you are well. Well, we'd might as well begin our hunt now. You ... might want to obey Scorchstar's orders, at least while you're a member of ShadowClan. Trust me, you do not want to see him angry. He may be a really sweet tom most of the time, but he could rival Brindlestar herself when it comes to coldness and intimidation. It won't be bad, though, promise!" Beaming a grin at her, he began padding back off from the direction he and his brother had just come, forcing himself to walk properly in spite of the wounds on his back and hindquarters.

"Yeah, ya wouldn't wanna see Scorchstar angry," Asterspark agreed hostilely with another glare at Coldgaze, "but the real cat you should worry about makin' good to is me. Step one paw outta line an' I'll make your life a livin' nightmare. And by that, I mean I'll make your sister's life a livin' nightmare." He stepped around behind her and nudged her quite roughly from behind to usher her onward, making her follow his brother.

Barleytuft was relieved when the silvery tabby she-cat stirred, though it was clear to the warrior that she needed food and rest. She awoke with a jolt and quickly began to draw in her surroundings; however, her confusion seemed to only grow. "Where are we?" Graybriar asked, and Barleytuft answered with a dejected sigh, "I'm not sure. It can't be the forest - everything is wrong." Still, he looked into her eyes and saw the love and concern, so he offered her a smile.

Hearing Scorchstar's voice inspired a bit of reassurance. Though he would've preferred to have heard Brindlestar, Finchbreeze, or even Swiftstep, any semblance of life from the forest was some hope to hold onto. He was grateful that Graybriar seemed to agree they should head towards the ShadowClan leader. When she struggled to stand, however, he had to fight hard not to question his decision. We're safer in a group, he told himself, even if we may have to suffer a little more to get there. Barleytuft felt dead on his feet, but watching his mate gather her determination to draw herself to his paws filled him with a stubborn determination. The slender warrior immediately moved to Graybriar's bad side and offered himself as support, giving her something to lean on as they slowly traversed the aching distance to where Scorchstar's voice had come from and now others joined.

When at last they neared, the large dark tabby that was ShadowClan's leader, Scorchstar, came over, meowing kindly, "Would you allow me to help you?"

However, almost immediately the leader's attention was torn away by the arrival of another Clan cat. Barleytuft pressed a little closer to Graybriar and responded to Scorchstar, "I'll help Graybriar to the grass; you've got your paws full." He dipped his head respectfully to the tom and look at Graybriar, murmuring, "We'll find you somewhere to rest... You've been through enough lately."

Mosspaw swished her tail across the ground as she watched more cats come forward, and listened as they announced themselves. Her head tilted slightly as things unfolded before she took a tentative step forward, leaving the sides of her parents and heading towards Copperheart.

"H-hi... I was walking beside Batpaw when we wave hit.. She didn't seem to get swept off of her feet, so maybe she's safe with the rest of ThunderClan.." She trailed off, hesistantly brushing her tail to his shoulder in an effort to be comforting.

She turned to Scorchstar as the leader approached, and lowered her head respectfully. The apprentice took a deep breath to calm herself and consider her words before she looked back up at him. "I.. I can help hunt too, if you need me too.. If you need me somewhere else, I'll help there too." She cast a glance back to her loved ones, their presence strengthening her resolve to help and she straightened a little before the ShadowClan leader. "I'll help however I can."

Littlepaw shook and groaned as her eyes cracked open, water lapping at her hind-quarters as she grasped onto the barest sense of consciousness. Light bled through and made her head hurt and her eyes feel like they were splitting in two... or was that her head? She didn't know, couldn't tell left from right, up from down. She was lost as she struggled in her spot in the mud, frigid cold but too worn to do anything about it. She shuddered, her eyes cracking open just the littlest bit. "H-Hello..? Anybody?" She mewled weakly, dim green eyes searching for any cat, to see if she was not as alone as she thought she was. A distant call reached her mud-filled ears, not enough to know the words but the pitch of the voice recognizable. Scorchstar? Oh, she hoped that it wasn't Starclan pulling tricks on her, they were scary enough as it is. They had done so many different, horrible things... she wouldn't put it past them. Littlepaw struggled to get her paws under her, finding just enough of returning strength to put her legs beneath her before collapsing right back into the mud. Boo.

The she cat glared angrily at the leader, this was what he prioritized at a time like this? Making her a warrior of Shadowclan? She had expected him to tell her off but no, he decided that making her a warrior of Shadowclan was the most important thing to do now? She had to keep herself from attacking the large tom. When the tom said the name of his lost son she snorted, first thinking that it was some sick joke since attacking Poppyheart was the whole reason why she now were a Shadowclanner, when he then rushed over she turned her gaze and saw Asterspark who she shot a glare before she saw the tom by his side, the red-furred tom she had meet at Fourtrees a while ago.

She gulped before taking a few steps towards him, he had a scar across his throat, the scar she had given him, this truly was Poppyheart. He was back, she hadn't killed him, he was alive. She had known that she hadn't killed him but there had always been a tought in the back of her mind that maybe he had died after she'd left. When Scorchstar approached her and told her that she were going to hunt with Asterspark and Poppyheart she nodded and quietly mumbled "Okay Scorchstar.".

She looked over at the two brothers and padded up to them. She looked at Asterspark, she were nervous but she wouldn't let him have to pleasure of knowing that. She grinned slightly "As a matter of fact Asterspark, no I havn't.". She then looked at Poppyheart, her expression changing drastically, when she had looked at Asterspark she had tried to keep her normal cold expression but once her gaze turned to Poppyheart she looked small and weak, she were so ashamed of what she had done "I owe you an apology Poppyheart, I know it won't change anything but I'm sorry for what I did to you.".

She started following the red-furred tom when she heared what Asterspark said before nudging her forward, she spun around quickly, without even thinking she'd unsheated her claws and slashed him straight across the muzzle, before starting to yell at him "You do not get to speak about my sister that way when you have your brother right here, alive! I don't know were Flurryshine is and I know nothing about her condition, she could be dead for all I know so don't you dare speak another word about her, alright? If you do so then I'll be happy to kill you, slowly, got it?!". Her eyes were now filled with tears. Since the moment she had woken up and hadn't seen any of her family she had been terrified that they were all dead and when Asterspark had mentioned her sister Flurryshine she had snapped, she know it had been wrong to attack him but he had hit a nerve.

When Heronflight heard the ShadowClan leader call for all of the clans’ survivors, Heronflight stood up from the muddy grass that he was lying on.  ”I have survived,” the gray tabby declared to the ShadowClan leader.  ”Not unscathed, but I live.”  The tom saw Coldgaze’s (Switching-Clan ceremony?  Exile to another clan ceremony?  The gray tabby didn’t know what it was called), acknowledging Scorchstar’s decision.  Even if I didn’t like it, it wasn’t my decision to make, the gray tabby concluded.  The gray tabby then realized that Larkfeather and Badgerpaw were missing.  They may not be here, he thought.  ”I see a lot of Twoleg nests, I think,” he told Scorchstar.  

Suddenly, a voice called out, ”You fool.  You know nothing about Twolegs, not where they live, not how they live, not how they look like.  So HOW do you know that they look like that!?”  Heronflight almost jumped in surprise.  Badgerpaw, laughing, started to walk towards Heronflight.  ”Oh, you old geezer.  You actually got something right.  Those are Twoleg nests.”

”And how do you know that they are Twoleg nests?” Heronflight countered.  ”You have never seen one yourself.”  His rebellious nature started to show again, usually buried deep within his pelt.

”The elders, mousebrain,” Badgerpaw replied.

Heronflight held his tongue and decided to not talk back at Badgerpaw.  I can’t lower myself to her level, he thought.  I almost did just now.  I have to be careful with my words.