The stars that fell (clan announcement post gathering)

Light filtered through gathered clouds as Oakstar led the clan home from the gathering. His face sorrowful, pelt ragged and torn in places. A distinct limp carried in his gait with an old injury provoked by the night’s events. He dimly recalled the flash of teeth from the dog that had torn into his thigh once before. He’d gladly take that again over the truth. His mouth was dry as his paw touched the Thunderclan camp since the first moment he was driven away by the very stars he had once prayed to so often.

It hurt. More than he could say when he looked back at the other cats around him, and saw faces missing. Dacedream hadn’t deserved her death. He had no idea if any other cats had been killed unjustly. It hurt to think of the once bright forces he admired being so dark. He looked back at the camp. It seemed filled with anxiety, cats probably didn’t sleep that well. It was well founded. He padded over to high rock and leapt onto the cold stone.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Highrock for a clan meeting!" He yowled. His voice broke the quiet of the morning as he sat down. Hind leg finally giving out on him, but he tried to make it seem controlled. As calm and proud as he could, despite the urge to scream, cry and hide away with Dustcloud and his family where the world couldn’t find them.

It would do no good. He knew that, but the impulse remained.

Essentially unscathed, Cherryblossom followed her Clanmates back to camp, filing in through the ravine. Head low and tail drooping, the little tabby was ready to return to her nest in the warriors den, but her hope for immediate rest was dashed as Oakstar called a meeting, voice noticeably weaker than usual. She chalked it up to the fact that he'd lost a life, and his throat had to be sore despite StarClan's healing powers, but she didn't complain, and took a seat in the clearing, attention on him.

The Gathering had been a rollercoaster of emotion for Cherryblossom, first starting with grief over the death of Dacedream, the pain of breaking the news to her grandmother, then the rage of being confronted with her mother's murderer. Even though it had been satisfying to see Vixenstar die at the claws of her grandmother, the little spark of revenge that she hadn't known had been residing in her heart was gone. Now, with her mother avenged, and her apprentice having become a warrior, the little tabby was unsure of what to do now.

Batbite followed Oakstar back to ThunderClan's camp in something of a daze; settling in place as he called the clan together for a meeting. There was still much to discuss before anyone could truly rest, after all that had happened, but she found herself sticking to her mate's side as her father's words and oh-so-familiar face echoed in her mind, a lingering illusion that she could no longer reach.

Sleep would not come easy this night, but at least something good had come of all this.

Nettlefire followed alongside her clanmates back to the camp. She felt entirely drained of energy, yet she was nevertheless delighted (all the messy, unfortunate circumstances aside) to have her father back again.

She had hoped he would've gone straight to getting some rest and left any outstanding business for tomorrow; but she supposed the immediate announcement of his return and an assurance of a return to status quo was essentially a necessity. At least, she assumed that's what he would be announcing.

Hopefully this could be short, just a laying of the groundwork, and the details could come later. For the first time in her life, Nettlefire was eager to just get some rest and set business and formality aside for a while.

She sat patiently, waiting for the meeting to continue on.

Cedarheart was exhausted, and tired. But her green eyes glowed with a small smile, as they had won. They had won. The Righetous Few were gone, faded into wherever they came from. But if all seemed different. Like nothing would be the same again. And maybe it was true. Maybe they wouldn’t live the same way. But only time would tell. As her leader called a meeting, directly as he entered camp, she nodded slowly and walked over, and sat down. He didn’t look good, and it did worry her a bit. She glanced around for her brother, who had fought bravely, and for her mother, and father.
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Daisybloom walked into camp, her breaths shaky. She had been frightened, but she had tried her best. To her, however, it didn’t seem like it was enough. Many pelts looked injured, and her own father had died. She had seen it! A life of his had been lost, surely. And he didn’t look well. He needed some healing. The she-cat heard the call and sat down, hoping that Mossbloom would sit near her. She gazed up, her blue eyes twinged with concern.

Ferretnose poked her head out of the warrior den at the sound of trampling paws. She had not slept a wink. She had a terrible, evil, unyielding feeling that something would go terribly wrong... and what was worse, all of her family and friends had decided that this was the night that truly mattered. Ferretnose has seen things in the sky, shapes and forms that Mossbloom may have been able to interpret as something otherworldly, had she been around. It was almost enough to make the senior warrior wish that she has gone. Someone had to defend the camp. These times were desperate, and she did not trust the powers that be. She was too weary for the things that had been happening. She tethered herself to protecting her Clan, and nothing else. All this time, had StarClan really been against them?

The scent of blood and pain touched her nose, and she felt as though she may wretch. Ferretnose kicked up dirt as she spun to face the cats returning to camp. Oakstar called a meeting. Ferretnose began to heave as she looked in the crowd. "Is everyone okay?" she called out, voice trembling as she struggled to keep her composure. "Does anybody need help?"

"I might!" a small, timid voice called. Beepaw stumbled in Ferretnose's direction and rested his head on her shoulder. "Ma, we won. They're gone. ThunderClan is free... they kind of kicked my tail, though."

Ferretnose's eyes watered as she leaned into her son's embrace. "I don't care," she whispered. "ThunderClan's victory is yours to share. What do you mean, we're free?"

Beepaw shuffled back to look into his mother's good eye. "StarClan banished them," he whispered hurriedly. "I met Leopardstar. Ma, Cedarheart and Harefoot fought like LionClan... I've never seen anything like it. Okay, let me go. I gotta sit down so the ground stops spinning."

Ferretnose couldn't help but laugh. Her joy was insurmountable. For just one moment, everything was okay. She was sure that by Oakstar's tone, that would soon change. Ferretnose was determined to indulge in what was surely an overwhelming victory for the forest. "Cedarheart! My sapling!" she proclaimed as she nuzzled her daughter. "I'm so proud of you. You've honored me, and your Clan. Seasons from now, you'll be able to tell this story, you know that? Where's your father?"

Rainstrike was at the back of the pack as ThunderClan returned home, her icy eyes flicking from one ragged form to the next, one ear trained backwards to make sure no cat could sneak up on her. The clans had won in the fight against the stars... but what had it cost? There was no going back now, no redemption from this lawlessness. She had failed.

She came to a halt at the entrance of the tunnel that led into camp, weary eyes following the last cat as they returned, and Oakstar's summons carried even this far. Part of her wanted to turn and leave, to abandon these cats to their own devices, but she wouldn't. She wouldn't run. Sore paws carried her through the tunnel, and Rainstrike sat heavily at the edge of the cats who gathered beneath Oakstar, every muscle in her body screaming for relief. Hopefully this would be over with soon.

Willowheart followed to rest of her Clan to join all the other warriors and apprentices beneath the Highrock. She looked around, trying to find who she knew. She was weak and tired from her battle...and was very confused. Rainstrike...wait...where was Dawngaze? Frowning, she looked around, slightly confused. Rainstrike and Dawngaze were betrayers, but she could only spot one of them. Slightly curious and angry at her mentor, she looked around, scanning the crowd of cats...but finding no one that she really knew. Sighing, Willowheart tried her best to not collapse onto the ground and sleep.

Minkstream padded beside Batbite, his paws like rocks, an odd cloudy feeling numbing his mind, separate from the sickness that had become a near-permanent part of him. His eyes flicked briefly up to Oakstar as the leader called a meeting, mixed emotions running through his body. It had been days since ThunderClan had last seen their leader in camp, and now he was back, after everything....

He sat down next to Bat, his pelt brushing hers, and closed his eyes, longing to forget, unwilling to. They'd won. Yes, they'd won.

So then, why didn't he feel victorious?

Perhaps it just needed time. Time to heal, time to come to terms with all of this, time to settle back into life with his family. Time to let the wounds heal. And sleep, a lot of sleep.

Harefoot hurried into camp with a little more vigor than most of the other returning cats. The battle had been terrifying even if he'd managed to avoid any serious damage. He was immensely grateful that the real StarClan came in to save them when it seemed all was lost... when the leaders had all died. If none of them ever got back up again, Harefoot was sure the Righteous Few would have seen their vengeance through and slaughtered the whole forest. The idea was very frightening to the dusty warrior, and he brushed off his unprocessed realization that he was quite possibly the closest he'd ever been to dying. Instead, he searched about camp for a few heartbeats before he saw his family grouped to the side and hurried over to them, covering Beepaw and Cedarheart in an abundance of relieved licks and purrs. "Oh, stars, I'm so sorry! I should have been with you two the whole time. But we're all safe! I'm so proud of you two. You've kept us all safe, you have." He meowed, deeply distressed that he hadn't seen them most of the battle.

The dusty warrior nudged Ferretnose to the side. He was extremely pleased to see her beautiful face and her gleaming eye, and he rubbed his cheek softly against hers with a gentle lovestruck purr. He pulled back to meet her gaze and then grew serious. "There were casualties, dear." He meowed softly, then glanced up at their forlorn leader. "I'm sure Oakstar will explain. But... there was treachery in our ranks."

Exhausted, Mossbloom padded into camp towards the rear of the group, having made sure that no stragglers had been left behind or fallen too far behind the group. A small bundle of herbs was all that remained from the battle, and as she found her apprentice in the gathering cats she made her way to her side and settled down carefully, setting the herbs between her paws. Her jaws ached in relief as she released them, grateful that they had been relieved of the pressure of carrying them. Her tail curled around her paws as she gently brushed her shoulder to Daisybloom's, giving her a strained smile. "You did well, Daisybloom. I'm sorry I couldn't be by your side more during the battle, but I'm very proud of you." She mewed softly while she waited for Oakstar to speak.

Echofrost padded into the ThunderClan camp behind his Clanmates, sitting down on the outskirts of the gathering cats as he usually did. There was no reason for everyone to know that he had hidden instead of fighting, so it was better to just not talk to anyone. He looked over at Rainstrike, who was also sitting on the edge of the group. She had attacked her own Clanmates, fighting along side the righteous few. What was going to happen to her? Whatever it was, she probably deserved it. She was the one who brought Dacedream's body back to camp. Had Rainstrike been more involved in the death then she had claimed?

His heart lurched as he watched families reunite. It pained him to realise he would never see Dawngaze again. That she had chosen a path of darkness he had no hope to redeem her from. Worse still, he wasn’t sure if Starclan would accept her… if they should. The decision that rested on then, weighed heavily in his heart.

"ThunderClan…" He swallowed back his misery. He tried for a neutral tone, but failed a bit as he remembered the blood… that it wasn’t him who led Thunderclan to it, but Nettlefire. "Tonight, we had a battle against… the StarClan cats who attempted to destroy our clans. ThunderClan fought bravely against those cats, who put the code above the lives of their own descendants." He paused. Let the clan react for a moment, as he took a steadying breath. "I wish I could say I had done more… but a traitor rose from our ranks. Dawngaze of ThunderClan… used her claws against me, and I lost a life." His voice broke slightly. The pain still felt so raw… so unreal. Still, there was more to deal with. He had to try and push on even as tears burned his eyes.

"Rainstrike. I can see well the hostility between you and your clanmates. I must ask, did you fight on the side of ThunderClan… or did you fight for the fallen stars?" He turned towards the cats from the battle. "Does any warrior here, question her true loyalty?" He hoped not. Prayed not, though he was not sure whom to pray to. He didn’t want his granddaughter to be disloyal as well… but he had to make sure. He had to know. Even if the truth felt like claws stabbed him through the chest.

Then it was Dawngaze…

Back at Fourtrees, Nettlefire had thought-- no, more accurately, she had wanted to think that she had simply misheard what Oakstar had said about how his life had been lost. But no-- she had heard correctly. Dawngaze had betrayed the clan and taken one of his lives.

She found herself pulled into the recollection that it had been Dawngaze who she had pushed out of the way of that flaming branch.

Suddenly, she almost wished she hadn’t.

Nettlefire listened on, already feeling significantly more miserable than she had before.

And maybe Rainstrike, too? Throughout the battle, Nettlefire hadn’t really been paying attention to the fight as a whole, just to the cat who had been in front of her at the time, and to the fears that had been rocketing through her mind-- a fact which she was feeling increasingly guilty about. She hoped no one would answer Oakstar’s question in the affirmative. Rainstrike was her brother’s child, her brother whose death she was still trying not to really think about. And she didn’t want to find out that another clanmate, let alone another family member, had betrayed them.

But she had never really had any particular talent for optimism. And that was not about to change now.

"Are you a leader or a mouse-brain?"

The cold retort came from a smoky tabby, blue eyes narrowed in a snarl as she regarded Oakstar. Her white paws were caked with mud and dirt, sharp white claws glinting from their sheathes. She was fashionably late, having stayed much longer to bury Dawngaze and sit vigil for her, so she'd missed everything but Oakstar's question to the traitor."A newborn kit could tell she's a traitor. Vixenpaw, Willowpaw, Batbite. We all saw her attack Minkstream. SHE WAS HELPING VIXENSTAR!"

With a screech she bounded forward, landing atop of Rainstrike. "You should have died instead of Dacedream, you no-good, scaredy-mouse, pain in the tail, crowfood eating, slime pelted, fishfurred, bat-blind, rat-faced, two sided, foxhearted, mouse-brained, fish-gutted, carrion-breath, worthless, lame, mousefodder excuse of a cat!"

The snarl was infused with raw hatred, and with great effort, she left her claws sheather, or well half-way sheathed. With as much force as she could muster, which was a lot, she pinned Rainstrike to the ground, refusing to let go. Stormpaw cared not what anyone else thought. Rainstrike would die, one way or another.