WindClan 'Gathering' April 2022

Sagepaw's eyes widened and she stood frozen in shock as the entire situation happened before her. No... She'd assumed it was a meaningless argument, nothing more. She could do nothing but watch, helplessly, as the Dark Forest cat took out not one, but two cats she'd known and cared for all her life. She should have stepped in earlier, maybe things would have been different.

Leaping into action, she bounded across the clearing to stand next to her sister with her fur standing on end and her claws unsheathed. She'd never known a time when the undead cats weren't part of the clan, so she'd tolerated their presence, not knowing much about them. Now, all she knew was that she wanted them gone. Still, she refused to show weakness, even in the face of such tragedy. She lifted her head, tail lashing angrily. She wanted nothing more than to leap into battle, to avenge her mother, but Swiftspirit had been a trained warrior, and she was taken down easily. Deep down, she understood that fighting this cat would only lead to her death, but she was willing to protect her siblings with her life if she had to.

Fawnsong offered his brother a gentle nod when he sat by his side. Even if he still felt uncomfortable... Scorchtalon was there for him no matter what he looked like, whether he was a warrior or not. Without him, the tom would have probably fallen deeper into his own depression a long time ago.

The medicine cat anticipated to wait calmly by his brother's side for Goldenstar's announcement, but fate had other plans. In just a matter of seconds, tension began to rise among the cats gathering at the clearing. He saw the Dark Forest cats at the centre of it, arguing with Swifspirit and shortly after, with Mistysky. As soon as the latter got involved, the Fawnsong got worried. Why wasn't she staying with her kit, out of trouble? Didn't she know that these cats were dangerous and ready to kill? Fawnsong stood up and looked at Scorchtalon, concerned. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he had to do something. The tom made his way to the clearing, ready to break off the arguing. But everything happened so quickly. Without a single warning, the cat named Raisha slashed at Swiftspirit's throat effortlessly. His amber eyes widened at the sight of blood and all his senses activated... Fawnsong's warrior training urged him to fight and claw the she-cat's face but his medicine cat training ordered him to go and fetch the herbs necessary to stop the bleeding.

In a fraction of a second, the medicine cat in training opted for the second option... fighting wasn't going to save Swifspirit. Fawnsong rushed to his den and gathered everything he needed as fast as he could. However, as soon as he left his den, the scenery that unfolded in front of him left him paralyzed. With trembling paws, the tom managed to break his way through the crowd to meet the two lifeless queens laying on the ground, covered in blood. Mistysky...

The medicine cat fell under his own weight in front of the she-cats and fearing the worst, he placed his head on their torso. And he heard... nothing. The herbs and cobwebs he brought fell from his jaws and his scarred eyes were now teary-looking. "I was too late..." He muttered to himself, his body trembling in shame and guilt. Why did Starclan choose me to be a medicine cat when I can't even do anything to save my clanmates...? Why did they abandon us... when we needed them most? Guilt overtook his mind as he closed the eyes of the dead mollies with one paw. Barely, the tom managed to stand up on their feet and looked down at the queens. "I'm sorry... I failed you both." His eyes fixed on Raisha's last victim and pain crossed his chest like a dagger. "I hope you found your peace, Mistysky. Let your spirit be reunited with your kits. I... will take care of Specklekit... for you."

The ginger tabby turned his body to Shrikestorm, his eyes pleading with him to make this stop. But truly... what could the deputy do to stop these monsters? A hiss escaped from his mouth when he finally faced Raisha. With rage reflected in his eyes, he hissed with poison in his voice. "You will both pay for this..." He lashed his tail and turned their back on them.

Fighting would give them nothing but a dead medicine cat in a time of need. And the clan sure didn't need dead apprentices. Fawnsong took Shrikestorm's side and made sure to help him with keeping the apprentices at bay. Though deep inside he admired the apprentice's courage as a former warrior himself, the tom was well aware of what that blind bravery could cause. Frowning, Fawnsong looked at Sagepaw and Ryepaw with strict eyes. "You two. Don't unsheath your claws unless you want to end up like them or like me: dead or maimed. I understand your frustrations and if it was up to me, I would love to sink my fang into their throats and watch them disappear from existence. But this is not the time nor the place. Starclan and the clan will admire your bravery but a brave heart doesn't mean anything when it is not beating... so... STAY. DOWN." The medicine cat then lowered his head to reach the apprentice's ears. "You will get your fight eventually. This cannot go unpunished."

Ryepaw looked Fawnsong in the eyes and narrowed his eyes orange eyes. "There will be pride if I am maimed, they are scars of courage for most cats." The silver tabby believed in Starclan, although the Dark Forest warrior's were more of an influence in his mind.

He didn't have a problem with the dark warrior's within the clan until now, he would have to talk to someone about it. Murdering the clan cats, especially two queens would not keep the peace for long. Killing elders or warrior's was one thing, but queens? One queen with a newborn kit as well, that was uncalled for and the most that Rashia should've done was maim Mistysky.

Batsong had left Swiftsprits side after her head nuzzle into her shoulder and had walked toward Mistysky. At the time she didnt know that would be the last time she ever touched her mother while she was still alive. As she walked over to Mistysky she gave a warm smile to her purring as she neared her moms kitten Specklekit ... maybe Specklekit and her kit could be friends she thought to herself.

Then the argument behind her that she had just left got louder, turning back she gasped as time seemed to slow down as Swiftsprit was struck so hard and violently by Raisha. A loud scream came out of Batsong in shock and horror as blood soaked her adopted mothers pelt... no ...nooo noo... this wasnt happening.

She was frozen for a couple of seconds not beliving that this had just happened. Then a flash of movement past her eye as Mistysky ran at Raisha. The next second Misysky had fallen HARD to the ground as she also was hit hard by Raisha. Batsong felt a pit inside her noooo this wasnt happening. not now...

Things had just started to be looking up for her... Slightfrost and her were together.. her kit was doing well and all had been okay...

Without wasting another second she rushed to their sides... Fawnsong was there too and was checking for their pulse.... she could tell from his facial expression that there was nothing he could do at this point .

"No... n--n...nooo" she stuttered... this was not happening ... not again ... her throat got all choked up and she fell to the ground in heartbreak beside her two adopted mothers.

They had taken her in and raised her when her birth parents both died. Her birth parents had died just as suddenly and this was all too familiar to her... the pain this brought reopened this old scared wound that she hoped to have burried in her past.

The ones that always looked out for her always left too soon. Nothing was fair and she burried her nose into each of their pelts... "d---dont leave me.... y--you p-promised you would be there for m-mme" she sobbed heavily tears running down her face as she stuttered the words.

For all she knew Raisha could be right behind her about to do the same to her... so be it she thought giving up.

Her ears twitched as she slowly glanced around... Raisha was actually getting attacked by.... Owlpaw her apprentice! ...Swiftsprit's son...

Nooo she could not lose him too ... Swiftsprit was gone she would not lose her son too

"Owlpaw please" she begged of him to not push Raisha any further... She wanted so much to also lash out at Raisha ... to rake her claws along the dead dark forest cats back and end them sending them back to whatever shadow that she had crept... but she knew it was a death wish...

if Raisha hurt Owlpaw she wouldnt be able to live with herself ... she had promised Swiftsprit to look after her kits.... but how could she when they were so eager to jump into fights they could not win.

Ryepaw was also getting very agressive towards Raisha... Since they were a kit Ryepaw had asked her about sneaking into the leaders den and such ... he was cool and had a hint of mischief just like she did when she was a kit and she didnt want him to end up hurt either...

It looked like Shrikestorm her old mentor and Fawnsong the medicine cat were also trying to break up the fight not wanting any more windclan blood spilled.

Her eyes scanned the crowd and seeing Brackenpaw she hurried over to him and stood between him and the dark forest cats... she wasnt about to let him get hurt .... owlpaw and Ryepaw would hopefully be broken up from the fight by Shrikestorm and Fawnsong. But in case Raisha decided to try anything against Brackenpaw she was not about to let that happen. She saw the pain in his eyes and felt it just as much herself. She didnt know if he would understand... but she knew exactly the pain this was ... and also knew that there really wasnt anything or anyone that could really take it away ... sure it could be numbed but it was a deep feeling that never truly passed... she wished it on no one ever and now it happened to her a second time and to her "brother" now ... all she could do was give him a sorrow filled look as tears kept falling from her eyes.

A lot of things happened after the death of the two WindClanners. First, an apprentice leapt at her, in which Raisha moved to the side, before slamming the apprentice to the ground, her paw keeping the tom's head down, claws wrapping around his skull. Cats began to fight amongst each other, a chaos the fox pelted molly enjoyed quite a lot.

Hornettuft had joined her, and Raisha merely tilted her head. "What, do you want them to start acting all and mighty? What do you think would have happened had I walked away from our dispute? These Clan cats would let it get to their heads. They clearly needed to be reminded of who had the power. I did just that. Now, you can go have your fun, let me have mine."

With a grin, Raisha turned her focus to Owlpaw once more, and she bent her head to whisper in his ear. "Aren't we having so much fun, little one? Care to have your friends walk away, now? Or was my example not good enough?"

He felt claws tug into his pelt as he was slammed to the ground, but before he could even shift a muscle to right himself, a heavy paw came down on to Owlpaw's head, and the prick of claws against his face stilled his thrashing for a moment as he struggled to keep his nose and mouth out of the dirt. He exhaled shakily, fear gripping him more tightly than the claws that held him, and as Raisha bent down to whisper in his ear, Owlpaw lashed out instinctively with a clawed paw and a muffled hiss from beneath her grip. His swing was wild and aimless, though, and his own heartbeat in his ears drowned out every other sound.

One pale eye found Brackenpaw, and then shifted to Batsong, both of them calling out words he could barely hear, but he knew what they were saying: "stop, don't fight!" Good advice for thirty seconds ago, but that seemed out of his control, now. Owlpaw was scared.

Batsong felt completely numb looking down at the two queens who lay dead before her. This was the lowest she felt in along time.  It seemed that she could never have anything good last for long.

She barely felt whisperpaws nudges or heard their words spoken but she knew they were there for her and that was what counted.... however at the same time them being here was not safe at all.  

A sense of urgency washed over her as whisperpaw also tried to help her cover brackenpaw... no this was her job alone she would not risk whisperpaw too she couldnt keep losing those she cared about... anyone close to her seemed to die or get hurt. Her birth parents, her kithood friend Daisypaw, her uncle Berrypaw, her apprentice Rosepaw, her 'sister' magpiesight' and now her adopted parents too. No she would not lose Whisperpaw too.  She was one of the few cats she had known for awhile who did not meet the same fate.

For once in her life Batsong snapped at Whisperpaw like she never had before the anger of what had just happened and the fear of losing them too was enough to push her off. Batsong, a cat that had never raised her voice and was usually shy, reserved and very slow to anger whipped around to face Whisperpaw.

"G-..GET BACK! I W-..WONT LOSE YOU TOO" she said with a growl

"GO ... APPRENTICE DEN NOW!"  she ordered not at all in the mood for negotiating or even arguing with them. Whisperpaw would be safe there... or at least safer... were any of them really safe with these monsters about?

"UNLESS YOU WANT TO BECOME APART OF THOSE VOICES YOU HEAR IN THE WIND" she finished as she nudged whisperpaw toward the den. ... Which I do not intend to have happen she thought quietly to herself.

She also tugged on brackenpaw but was less forcing with her... she had just watched her mother get killed right in front of her... still at the same time she felt responsible for her... who else was going to make sure no more blood was spilt unnessarlly today.

Lavenderpaw had been contented to hide away in the apprentice's den. The creatures that lingered around were unpleasant and he had no desire to interact with them. From his place in the den, he heard the shouts and yowls that broke out. Fear coursed through the young tom and every muscle of his slender frame had tensed. He buried his face behind his own feathery tail. After sometime, he began to tremble slightly. It was the crippling terror of the unknown horrors that prevented him from moving for quite sometime. And then he thought of his kin. The cats of his clan. Those he had grown to like. Slowly, he unfurled himself and rose to shaky pads. Peering through the entrance, just over the edge, he drank in the scenery the blood. So many brave cats and he was not one of them. He watched silently, a desperate plea to any forces at work that his mother wouldn't die and that no more death would befall the clan. But there was nothing he could bring himself to do - it was hopeless, and he was powerless as ever.

Ryepaw rolled his eyes at Whisperpaw, the fact that the tom had the nerve to say that outloud showed that he was just as mouse-brained as the rest of them. These cat's wanted power and only respected those who pushed back a little bit but not to much. Ryepaw looked Rashia directly in the eyes. "There is no fun in holding down an apprentice that you have clearly beaten. In fact, it just shows that you know nothing about honor and actually being a warrior. A true warrior knows when they have beaten someone else and will let that cat go." he narrowed his eyes at the dead she-cat. "Some might even argue that because you are holding an apprentice down it means that you are scared of the apprentice. If you let him live it shows that you have grace for the clans and are indeed a warrior."

Ryepaw was indirectly and directly challenging the deadh she-cat in order to make her let go of Owlpaw. If she didn't, it would look like she was being a bully and if she did it would make her look like she was slightly weak. If she killed Owlpaw on the spot it would look like she was scared of an apprentice and then all of the dark forest cats would know this.