Faded Hope [Thunderclan Finale]

Mintpool trembled, but as the misty, spectral warrior rose she held her ground; she wouldn’t let her littermates be hurt. It was my choice to attack her. And perhaps it would save lives… even if not her own.

Still, determination flared in her eyes. I won’t allow this to kill me. I will not!

Mintpool is still stunned this turn! 2/2. Is no longer stunned.

Starlingflare's chest heaved as the tom he was fighting just faded away. Thankful the fight was over, he was losing and that much was clear but at least he wasn't going to get killed in the end for his betrayal. "Looks like I won't be paying for that." He said to himself before turning to everyone else. There were others who needed more medical attention than he did, they could go first. He would wait his turn. The gray tom just settled down in his spot, needing rest from the exhausting fight.

--

Tatteredleaf looked around as the Dark Forest was banished once again back to where they belonged. Relief filling her body as things seemed to return to normal aside from the wounds everyone had sustained. Cyan eyes turned upwards as a smile appeared on the white and gray she-cats maw. "It was an honor fighting alongside my clan once again." She knew it was her last, but at least she served Thunderclan to the very end.

--

Dovefrost had jumped up as soon as the two apprentices approached him, calling for help. Of course he was quick to react, grabbing the needed herbs. He quickly applied cobwebs to the open wounds, green eyes looking over every inch of the apprentices body to assess everything he needed done. "It's okay, he will be alright Comfreypaw."

--

Smokefang growled as she felt her body falling apart even more so than usual. Of course Starclan took hold once again. She wouldn't be able to stay much longer. "I will be back, I swear it." One day, those who wronged her would pay, she would make sure of it. Soon enough her body dissolved fully, the only sign she was there came in the form of lingering mist.

Darkheart stared at the Starclan cats, in a fit of rage and confusion, he began to speak. ''No! What's happening? Morningstar said we'd be here forever! I thought we had taken over the clans for good! I thought I could've had a chance to show everyone everything I did right when I was alive!'' He said, withering away, he leapt at Tatteredleaf, but just before his unsheathed claws were able to swipe at the Starclan cat, he fully withered away, leaving behind only memories and leaving kits to tremble in fear. Darkheart was gone, whether he would ever make his return would be unclear, but unlikely, not for at least a thousand moons.

ooc: if we want to be specific for the amount of moons/months, 1200 :] (one thousand two hundred months is just over a hundred years!)

One moment, he was fighting viciously against a Dark Forest cat, the next... everything had faded away. Whether it be his own frail strength, the of Softfall, or a weakness to his newfound will, Stoatstar had been knocked out by his opponent. Everything seemed to ache. The sweeping numbness that had wracked him for sometime and blocked out any other sense of sensation had been replaced with pure exhaustion. For a while now, the leader had failed to take care of himself. Thunderclan, his kin, they were the only reason that he was still alive. Comfreypaw. Appledapple. Minnowfin. Mottlerose. All their names ran through his mind as he lay there.

Morningsun.

He groaned, softly, a recognition of a deeper pain. Loss. The young tom must have overheard somehow, knew what was going to happen, and gave his life for the good of the clan. From the earliest moments that Stoatstar could remember, Morningsun had been a ball of well-intentioned energy. Just like any other kit, he had gotten into trouble. But ultimately his joy and determination had brought something special to the clan. There was grief now, as he shifted slightly and willed himself to his paws. No doubt his deputy would be feeling a more penetrating sense of longing for the loss of his kit. And Mottlerose too. Neither of them had deserved such an unexpected heartbreak.

Lingering on the dead, especially in this moment of sacrifice, was necessary. But he couldn't forget the living either. Stoatstar settled back on his haunches. Minor scratches were across his pelt, yet nothing that would become a serious scar. It had been his already ailed strength that had fallen him so easily, surely. Eyes swept the clearing as he assessed the damage. The pale light of the stars speckled the blood-stained scenery in silvered light. Such a sickeningly beautiful thing. All of this pain and suffering, it was hard to derive meaning from it. Everything that each one of them had gone through these past moons. The loneliness, the unspeakable horrors, and crushing suffocation... and for what?

He felt more hopeless than ever before and yet, even still, there was a peace. Not for the things churning within, at least not entirely so, but for the clan at large. Their common enemy had been defeated with the intervention of the ancestors above. Stoatstar's tail flickered, calling the clan together. It stuck on his tongue and dried his throat but they were owed this, after everything. Finally, there came a low rasp, "I'm sorry. For everything." An honest admission passed through the sides of his maw. The leader's voice rasped with honesty - one that was well-deserved. He couldn't stop there.

"I tried so hard to protect this clan and keep you from the claws of danger but I failed. And for that I apologize. I will never be able to make it right. I'll try though." He spoke to no cat in particular and his eyes fixated on the ground. A sad little broken creature he was. There was a pause and then he finally looked up, "Gather our fallen clanmates in the center of the camp. Their vigil will last three days. We will honor the things they've done for this clan, now, and forever." He rose to his pads despite the protest of his body and immediately padded towards Morningsun's side. Tears welled up in the sides of his eyes as he pressed his faced into the late tom's fur.

'You are a member of the clan. When someone is going through a difficult time, we want to check in with them.' The words echoed so clearly in his mind. Such a pure-hearted tom deserved so much more life. If it could revive him now, the leader would have given up every life bestowed by Starclan. There was one thing he'd learned all these moons, however, that no amount of will could bring back a life lost. He had to stop living like this, he had to do better. For Morningsun, for all of them.

ooc; the three day vigil will consist of the normal paying of respects. bodies will be buried after the first night and replaced with a memorial of sorts (made of stones, sticks, and flowers) for the sacrifices to be honored for more than a normal day. their graves will be marked as well and buried closer to camp/in traditionally honorable places.

Comfreypaw nodded to Dovefrost and stepped back to let him work. She sat still, willing herself to calm down. He'll be okay, he'll be okay, he'll be okay, she assured herself. She looked at her paws, realizing Eveningpaw wasn't why she still felt so scared. Her tail curled tight. The she-cat held herself still as a statue, forcing herself to keep her eyes straight down. Nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong, nothing- She looked. A glance in the direction of her friend's corpse. She stared.

Comfreypaw hadn't realized how still her breathing became until Stoatstar's voice summoned her attention. She turned her gaze, watching her leader. He apologized. She didn't know how to feel, or how to react. So she didn't. And when Stoatstar brought up.. him, she didn't respond either. She didn't even move. She couldn't. She was frozen. Again.

Mintpool’s struggle ended abruptly. It’s… over? Truly?

She almost didn’t believe it. And so for a moment the young warrior just stood there, half-trembling from adrenaline.

Blood ran warm from her cuts and Mintpool ignored it. She only stared at the place where Smokefang once was. Blinked. “And that’s that, I suppose,” she rasped, barely a whisper. And then Stoatstar spoke.

She turned, shivering slightly and locked upon Thunderclan’s leader. Feeling rose in her, prompting her to speak — but at the sight of Morningsun’s still pelt she bit her tongue. Not now. Instead Mintpool shakily stepped toward her littermates, and wordlessly pressed close to both of them.

They had fought together, and it had been close… but all of her family was still here. Mintpool’s gaze flickered grimly to Morningsun, and then she slowly looked away.

It was all she could ask for.