From the Ashes

When Murkystar has finally woken, night had fallen once more. Rising to her paws, her body bruised, bloodied, and battered, she stumbled slowly into her camp. It seemed to be untouched, thank the stars, but her clanmates were not so lucky. Well, most of them weren't. Her eyes narrowed as they landed on Marshmallow, who sat untouched, not a hair on her pelt out of place. The rest of the warriors present had answered her call to battle, what in StarClan had she been doing? She neared Jaggedrock and stared up to it for a time before giving up on the thought. The wounds from her battle with the badger had reopened, and been criss-crossed with even more. If she didn't rest soon, then she would pass out again, but first she had to call her clan together.

"ShadowClan! Gather in the shadow of Jaggedrock." Her mew shook slightly, but she sat tall as she tried to do a quick headcount of her clanmates. Burningwing and Amberdawn had most certainly been lost to them... But perhaps they had managed to avoid further deaths.

When did Murkystar get up?

The thought drifted half-formed through Webshadow's mind, and the tabby lifted his head to the sound of her call. His head spun, and for a frightening few moments, he wasn't entirely sure where he was. The last of the battle came back to him slowly, and mostly when he tried to move too much. The image of the rogue's leader resting comfortably on Frostgaze's body and spitting warnings made Webshadow's fur bristle. He wasn't awake long after... couldn't have been. He was laying next to Frostgaze now, though, and it looked like they'd both stopped bleeding. Reluctantly, he pushed himself to his paws, biting back a hiss as his body rose. Something as simple as taking a step made pain shoot through every part of him, but Webshadow persisted in stubbornly nosing Frostgaze to consciousness before drifting wearily to return to camp.

Swiftheart limped out of the shadows hearing the call of the meeting. Her white pelt looked more red and brown from all the mud and blood covering it and staining it completly... the problem with white fur is it showed every drop of blood or mud... she sighed she looked like a mess... she usually did in the sense that her fur was usually unkempt and ruffled, but this was really bad.

Her brother (Nightstlaker) always had such nice fur that cooperated nicely and always looked his best... but he looked just at tattered and torn up as she did right now.  This had been the worst day of her life... ever. Her clanmates (Amberdawn and Burningwing ) had been murdered right in their back yard and her mother.... she had lsot a life and Swiftheart was powerless to stop any of this. She felt like a total failure.  On top of all this her crush had told her that he did not feel the same for her. That was perhaps the worst injury she had right now... ok maybe not really but it stung alot and was a really tough way to end an already miserable day.

The young white warrior who was usually so cheerful and energetic and happy now sat in front of her mother looking at her with a defeated downcast face.

Mommm... i- ... im sorry she meowed in a hushed whisper barely able to get the words out... it was so unlike her. usually full of words and energy... this defeat had left her scared. Her lower lip quivered I... failed you mom she closed her eyes trying to hold back the tears but could not.

Swiftheart was indeed a highly emotional cat and she began sobbing softly, thinking about her lost clanmates and how she had failed to protect her mom from losing a life.

She whished so much that someone would sit next to her... anyone ... it would be better than having to deal with this alone... she relied heavily on others when it came to things like this... in that sense she was total opposite of Nightstalker he hated showing weakness like this ... but she wished that maybe he would come sit by her and comfort her... even if just this once it would mean the world to her.

she lay there exhausted her wounds still ached heavily. moving hurt alot. in fact everything hurt alot. She closed her eyes squeezing them shut. she wished she could have a bunch of poppy seeds right now... to just be able to pass out in Basilblooms warm den and have her older sister fuss over her ... but right now Basilbloom was gone and with it alot of shadowclans morale as well

Nightstalker listlessly padded over to the rock, drooping and exhausted, wounds having barely just stopped bleeding. It seemed to take everything in him to stay sitting and to not hit the ground, which seemed the most comfortable position he could take. Regardless, he kept himself up, though he wasn't really taking everything in at the moment.

Flintshard sat barely visible in the entrance of the elder's den, watching his Clanmates with his standard flat expression but his tail was lashing back and forth as a clear show of his concern. He had been stirred at the scent of blood, the heavy, limping pawsteps of his Clanmates returning home... A fight had happened - a fight that they didn't seem to have won. The retired leader had been tempted to demand answers, sharply question what had transpired but it wasn't his place anymore - he would get his answers from Murkystar at her own time...And that time seemed to be now. His ears twitched as she called out for the Clan to gather - the elder simply pushing himself to his paws so he could limp into the moonlight - taking a seat only a tail-length from where he had been watching before but this time in sight of his Clanmates.

Batglow trudged into camp, cold mud sticking and soaking his paws from having to carry his friend through the territory. It took a lot longer than he would have liked to reach camp. As soon as he stepped inside though he froze.. He thought the smell of blood outside the camp would have prepared him for what happened, but it did not. Everyone looked so battered and bruised. Open wounds here and there. Oh stars.. He should have been here.. He pushed himself to move again, setting Mistyfalcon just outside the medicine den, before disappearing inside and reappearing with cobwebs.

"Who has it the worst my dear?" He called up to his leader, his voice solemn and almost broken but he had to remain strong. His yellow green eyes glancing over his clanmates before they landed on Marshmallow.. Who remained untouched. Did.. did she not fight? Did she sit back and do nothing? He held his tongue for now, but he couldn't help the anger rising in him.

"I see they found you too. Burningwing and Amberdawn are dead." Mistyfalcon's tone was flat as he and Batglow entered camp. The smell of blood and tufts of fur that littered the ground were proof enough. He was exhausted and felt like he could sleep for a thousand moons, even though the poppy seeds were beginning to wear off. There had been only so much that Batglow could do out in the territory, and despite those efforts his wounds were stinging something fierce.

Dark eyes raked over the camp as he was set down near the medicine den, taking in injury after injury.Snakedung, he thought. Batglow posed the question to Murkstar, though to Mistyfalcon's untrained eye it seemed like most of the warriors had the worst of it, not to mentioned Murkystar herself. He was too tired to say anything else for the moment, staying silent as he waited for Murkystar to speak.

Emberleap wasn’t sure how long he’d been lying there. Long enough for the blood to dry into a crust along his neck and back, save for where it mixed with frigid slush; long enough that the spitting pain in his tail had subsided to a mere throb. And, he realized, long enough for someone to take part of his ear as a trophy. Considering he’d expected to wake up as a pelt if at all, though, he couldn’t bring himself to complain. He was alive. Something like shame flashed through him. Alive and useless. Though he’d never fought so hard in his life, he might as well have slept through the battle for all the good he’d done ShadowClan—and now he’d be taking up space in their medicine den rather than helping heal their wounds.

A call threaded through the night air. Emberleap’s eyes went wide, and he propped himself up on his steadier foreleg. Murkystar. She’d lived. Around him, stragglers emerged from the shadows to answer their leader. They still had a Clan, a home… And he had nowhere else to go. Shoving his previous train of thought to the side, Emberleap allowed himself one careful breath. Then he hoisted himself up onto his paws and hobbled toward ShadowClan’s camp, his tail dragging through the muck. His eyes lit up again at the sight of Mistyfalcon near the medicine den, but he swallowed and continued to the Jaggedrock, where he slumped into a sitting position at the crowd’s edge. There were more familiar faces than he'd expected. All bloody and exhausted, most worse off than him, yet relief drew his throat tighter at each one he counted.

Loudnose stirred, a creeping feeling waking him from a stressful dream. Soon after simply opening his eyes a headache arrived, something he had grown familiar with over the past while. They had said he had whitecough, a contagious disease that caused coughing and fever. The yowl didn't help the pounding in his ears. Murkystar's yowl to be exact, calling for a clan meeting.

He shifted his spot in the medicine den closer to the entrance, laying down his head as he tired to focus on the words Murkystar deemed important enough for a meeting. The anxiety in his chest worsened as he saw his clanmates fill in the camp. Their fur dripping with blood, thousands of scratches and wounds. Terrible things had happened, but what? What had Loudnose missed while sleeping?

He saw Batglow approach, carrying an injured Mistyfalcon. Loudnose moved away from the entrance to make room for Batglow as he rushed in and grabbed cobwebs. After the stand-in medicine cat exited Loudnose peeked his head out of the shadowy den. "Dad.. what happened? I..I think I slept during something. It was really hard to stay awake while sick, sorry. Is Shadowclan in trouble?"

Cicadashriek was awake, he could have stood if he wanted to, but he didn't. He was alive, which meant he could have fought more. He could have killed that rogue rat and avenged his mentor, but his traitorous body shut down before he was ready. Now two of their warriors were dead in pieces and the gang of rogues wandered off unpunished. He had failed his mentor, losing to the cats he had most vehemently warned him and his clan about.

It was only Murkystar's call that was enough to push him back to his paws. He kept his eyes to the ground, mostly to avoid seeing Burningwing's pelt... if it was even still there. For all he knew, the rogues took it to keep as a trophy. Hopefully they had been courteous enough to let them bury their dead with all of their pieces, but that didn't make him any more enthused to look Burningwing's pelt in his face and admit his failure.

The patchwork tom crouched next to Nightstalker, curling his paws beneath himself in a subdued loaf. He didn't feel like keeping his head high in his usual confident theatrics, it wouldn't convince himself or others so there was no point. So he simply lay quiet, waiting for Murkystar's announcement.

deerpaw pushed through the tendrils of the camp entrance in time to hear the call from Murkystar. the apprentice's mood had been dampened ever since there had been a battle and she had been hunting, unaware of the danger. the least she could do now was hunt for the clan when few warriors could. and she had been doing well, the point further proven by the pigeon and vole swinging from her jaws.

noticing Swiftheart crying softly, concern for her mentor pushed away all other thoughts. deerpaw quickly dropped all her catches at the fresh-kill pile. the sight of the fresh-kill pile that contained almost nothing aside from her catch other than a scrawny mouse and a couple of lizards send frustration crawling under her skin. the whole clan was starving and weak from the battle. if any other hungry clan knew this, they would surely take advantage of it. deerpaw hated knowing that any second now and enemy patrol would burst through the camp entrance and it would be all over for shadowclan. sooner or later, cats would notice how the same apprentice keeps on showing up on border patrols. and with all the predators in the forest...

shaking her head, dearpaw rushed to her mentor's side and pressing reassuringly against her side. the white warrior had been through a lot since the battle, both emotionally and physically. if deerpaw could trade places with Swiftheart, she would in a heartbeat. but she couldn't, and it pained the apprentice more than any battle wound to know there was nothing she could do for her defeated clanmates.

"What's happening?" she asked Swiftheart, curious to know and also hoping to distract the warrior from other bad thoughts.

Marshmallow gathered with her fellow clanmates. She noticed Murkystar staring at her with narrowed eyes, her fur bristled uncomfortably under her gaze. Protect the camp, protect weak cats. That's what I did. I didn't have to fight... Her tail flicked, glancing at Loudnose. He looked so confused. Hmph...
(OOC: short- I'm running out of muse...)

Murkystar's head ached, her vision swimming as she was hit with sudden dizziness, swaying in her seated position as the clan gathered around her. She had lost a lot of blood, too much of it. It was so dreadfully cold, too... Her eyes lifted to Swiftheart as she sat in front of her, and she leaned forward to nuzzle her head tenderly as she began to cry. "Shhh, dear, it's alright. You've failed no one, you fought hard and gave it your absolute best. I'm so proud of you." Her battered clan collected, and she found herself at the center of it, picking out her clanmates one by one. Frostgaze, who looked as terrible as she was sure she did. Webshadow, supporting him along the way. Batglow and Mistyfalcon... Great stars, Mistyfalcon was in terrible shape. They must have found him along with Burningwing and Amberdawn. The thought stuck in her throat as her eyes lingered on the pelt of her mate. Thank the stars he was still breathing, would be okay. He had to be. She couldn't imagine a life without him. Without them both. Nightstalker, quiet and . Her eyes glanced over Marshmallow, anger swelling over her sorrow briefly as she did so at the sight of her unruffled pelt. Batglow spoke, and Murkystar glanced to him again. "Frostgaze. Mistyfalcon, Cicadashriek. Emberleap. Nightstalker was still healing from his own wounds before this. Really Bat, everyone is in bad shape." She named off the clanmates that seemed the worst, but in her heart she knew that they all were in rough shape. Those that had fought, at least. The dried blood and weeping wounds that littered those that had answered her battle summon felt as though they were her own, and she knew that her pelt matches theirs without even looking. She winced visibly at Mistyfalcon's comment. Taking a shaky breath, Murkystar leveled her gaze as she began to speak.

"ShadowClan. There is no doubt about what happened here today. An organized group of rogues attempting to find our camp were engaged in battle, and we lost." The words were bitter on her tongue. "They claimed that our warriors had killed one of their own. I have gotten no reports of this, but at the end of the day it didn't matter. We were already attacked for the supposed death. Now, what all of you may not know was that their leader revealed his identity." She breathed deeply, her tail flicking before she continued. "Their leader was none other than Dawnhawk. Most of you will recognize his name from past gatherings, but for those who are younger, he has a long list of crimes attributed to his name. Those crimes include betrayal of his clan to work with Asylum, their influence made clear by his skinning of our deceased clanmates, murdering a kit in cold blood, murdering several other warriors from various clans through recent moons, and disguising himself to hide among WindClan at one point as a different cat. He is clever, and conniving - and will stop at no ends to get what he desires out of those he encounters. However, while we may have lost this battle, we can always rise from the ashes. Just as the forest regrows after leaf-bare, so too will we. We will train, and advance. We will organize patrols to better our security. We will work together to rebuild stronger and better than we've ever been. First, however, we must rest and recuperate. Batglow, I need you to look over every cat who fought. Shira and Flintshard, I would like you both to help support him as much as possible. Apprentices, we rely on you now more than ever. Collect material for nests and moss soaked in water. Work together, and don't stray too far from camp. Stay in groups of at least four whenever you leave camp. Marshmallow." Her voice hardened and her eyes were cold as she looked to the she-cat. "As the only able-bodied warrior who did not fight, you will be responsible for keeping watch over the camp. You will not stop patrolling around and watching over camp for the entire night." The words were left unspoken, but her intention was clear. Marshmallow would be monitored, any slip up or slacking off would result in severe punishment.

Her orders had been given, and she rose to her paws. "We will get through this, together. Those of you that fought were brave and unfaltering, and I'm so proud of each and every one of you. We are ShadowClan, and we will rise taller than ever before in the face of this defeat." She mewed, raising her head and voice in her final words. "You all are dismissed, if you are wounded please go see Batglow, if you see a cat unable to carry themselves, please assist them." She mewed, padding forward to Batglow. "Are there any herbs you need? I need to pay a visit to SkyClan, and inform them of Dawnhawk's presence in the area. He's a product of their clan, they should know. Perhaps they would be willing to part with some herbs in exchange."

deerpaw froze at the leader's words. Dawnhawk... she had heard that name before, but only from the elder's tales. she thought he had died. she thought he was all make-belief, made to keep little kits in place. looks like that wasn't the case. shaking her head, she stood up, half-whispering under her breath, "I can join a patrol now. I didn't fight." it all sounded stupid, even to herself, but if there was anything she could do for her clan, she had to. even if she had just finished a patrol. she would go on a dozen patrols if it ensured her clanmate's safety. guilt still churned in her belly. if only she had been there when the clan needed her...

Murkystar started speaking, and Webshadow's ears lowered as her voiced echoed their defeat. There would be a warmer future ahead of them, there had to be, but in the moment the weight of loss pressed heavy against his shoulders. He was exhausted– they all were. He wanted nothing more than to retreat to his nest, spend the next moon or so curled there nursing wounds. Their leader's voice rose again, and Webshadow's head rose slowly. For now, he would just listen. They all would rest later.

Whiskers twitched with interest when she offered the leader's identity, vague wonder turning into something horrified as Murkystar announced his name. Fury and frustration flashed warm under his fur, and Webshadow grimaced. The thought of Burningwing's pelt draped over Dawnhawk's shoulders made him shudder. I see why wars were fought over him.

The rest of Murkystar's words faded into ambiguity as promises of future destruction rose in Webshadow's mind. As much as he wanted to believe ShadowClan would never allow that to happen (and really, he did believe), the rogues had already proven themselves lethal. Even the young ones fought hard and recklessly. But with Dawnhawk at the head–

Webshadow twisted slowly to look towards the nursery. Towards the elder's den, where Flintshard was making an unsteady appearance; where his mother lie.

His mouth tightened, and he turned towards Murkystar again as she announced their dismissal. Body aching, Webshadow tried to will his legs to carry him forward, but he remained in place, looking wilted. She has enough to worry about. His tail curled briefly, anxiously, around his paws. I can... I can tell her later. Webshadow heaved a sigh, gaze lingering on Murkystar for a long moment before he slid away from the crowd to move closer to Frostgaze.