Faded Hope [Shadowclan Finale]

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There will be a little bit of time for the clans to interact one last time with those chosen to be sacrifices before the fighting begins.  

StarClan is not here yet, nor are the stars back yet. Additionally, unless your cat was told, they do not yet know about the sacrifices.

Once the fighting begins Medicine Cats with the appropriate rank will give their allies a Defending Buff. Please keep that in mind once the fighting starts!

Harepaw stared up at the full moon curiously. She'd heard stories of the clans meeting at fourtrees, though she'd never seen the place. Tonight they wouldn't be leaving camp, which was a shame. She would've liked to meet cats that weren't from Shadowclan, but staying in camp was cool too, it meant she could spend more time with her family, too.

Nightstalker looked up to the sky where the full moon rose and glimmered, flashes and streaks of Silverpelt arose and Nightstalkers heart soared his fur prickling along his spine as his eyes shined with unshed tears. He felt almost kittish as he witnessed the blank canvas of black empty night filled with the souls of their ancestors. Finally, he could see the end of this horrible tunnel that was tormenting his family for so long, and at last, his mother would come back, and he could enjoy her warmth again.

Snowfoot was stunned. After several moments of silence, she let out a primal yell. Seriously, no words, just a joyous scream. StarClan!

Swiftheart gathered around with her family and clan, friends surrounded her and she was happy as ever. Despite the dark forest constantly being a pain she had always kept the best attitiued she could.

Suddently, everyone started looking skyward as dots of light started dotting across the sky. She grinned and held her breath momentarly watching more and more flicker up above. ... This was it! Starclan was coming back!

Duskflight looked for his kits, however not finding them in sight, he decided to head over to Swiftheart instead. A cool breeze passed by, and somehow.. he felt something change. Even if it didn't seem much like so. The tom raised his head, finding himself looking at the sky — his eyes slightly widening as it seemed... clearer, somehow. StarClan didn't seem to be back, though. What was happening? "What's happening?"

Echopaw had slowly pulled himself out of his nest as the night started to rise to its fullest point. He knew tonight he wasn't going to be doing much training. It was supposed to be a gathering night. At least so he was told. He heard stories of how the clans gathered at the Fourtrees and shared stories from the previous moon, and he couldn't help but grimace at the thought. Talking to others? That was his least favorite thing to do. The dark tom quickly settled beside his sister, hoping she would do all the talking for him.

The glow of the full moon illuminated the muddy clearing as Dappledlight walked out of her den. It would be a gathering tonight if the Dark Forest cats weren't here. She was frustrated with the dark spirits that haunted her home. Her fur ruffled with unease, and she took a seat amongst the gathering cats.

Frostgaze slowly emerged from his den, quietly watching the full moon rise into the starless night sky. Every tail-length the moon rose was more weight on the tom's shoulders, more responsibility that he knew he would hold that night. There would be no meeting of the clans, no leaping onto the Greatrock in place of his leader. Instead, he would have to leap upon the Jaggedrock above where Murkystar's perpetually sleeping form lay, and speak to his clan as if he could still dare to hope, to pray. It was difficult, yet it was something he would have to do.

Was there even anything to announce? The moon, high in the sky as it was, was not quite there yet. Even then, however, his clan was beginning to gather. In preparation for the moment, he leaped onto the top of the Jaggedrock, sitting quietly. Pale eyes observed the mess of cats emerging slowly beneath him, alive and undead alike. What could he say that would not invoke the Dark Forest's ire? He certainly could not speak of Starclan's plan... those who had been chosen for the task... The thought alone caused Frostgaze to clench his jaw. The smallest display of his negative emotions. It had not happened yet, though it would occur soon. So the tom simply sat, and waited.

Leopardsun had heard stories of gatherings at Fourtrees, where new warriors were presented to all the Clans. This was the first full moon since she'd earned her name, but there would be no Fourtrees, and no one would cheer her name tonight. Still, as interesting as that experience would have been, there was something to be said for time spent among Clan and kin; and so she sought out her sister while looking around for Sootwhisker and Deerleap.

Despite that positive thinking, though, the atmosphere hanging over the camp was heavy. Like the anticipation of a storm you knew was coming, but had no way to prepare for. It wasn't unfamiliar, but she'd noticed it was stronger at times like this.

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Thalia sometimes felt suffocated in the occupied ShadowClan camp, and that was especially true of what presently passed for a full-moon gathering. It wasn't that she disliked being surrounded by her clanmates - far from it, it was one of the few joys of the situation - but rather that the dark atmosphere looming over them all made for a rather unpleasant experience. It made her feel, at times, like the shadows might close in on them at any moment.

She had settled not far from the center of camp, an easy way of keeping an eye on some of the cats she cared for, and waited to hear if there had been any news she somehow hadn't known about despite living in ShadowClan. She doubted it, but maybe it would be a surprise.

Sootwhisker looked up at the full-moon, a strange sense of calm filling him. For the first time in his life, he was at peace with himself. The events of the past few moons had made him realize just how short life was, and how much of it he'd wasted beating himself up over things he couldn't change. They may not have been able to have a normal gathering, but Sootwhisker was still determined to enjoy this night with his clan.

He padded over to Leopardsun while keeping a watchful eye over his shoulder. He would never truly be able to relax as long as Shadowclan was occupied by the stench of death, but he refused to dwell on the matter, banishing the melancholy thoughts from his mind if only for tonight.

"Hey Leopardsun." He spoke, his voice quiet but his tone friendly.

Honeypaw has been wandering around, occasionally giving greetings to his clanmates. He was excited for his first gathering as an apprentice, even if it wasn’t a real gathering with the other clans. Eventually he sought out his mentor, just wanting to be close to her.

He lightly brushed against her side and briefly bonked his head into her shoulder. “Hi,” He whispered before looking back up at Jaggedrock.

Webshadow emerged from the warrior's den quietly, his tail twitching with agitation. They should have been arriving at Fourtrees right now, yet they were still trapped in camp, surrounded by beastly shadows of their former kin. The air felt especially tense, and it made his fur bristle and rise to stand on end. Attention flicking towards the Jaggedrock, he slowly approached its base and gingerly sat down, looking up towards Frostgaze. "Hello," he called gently, blinking up at the white tom. With Murkystar's unprecedented passing, so much had fallen quickly to his shoulders, and especially with the Dark Forest still roaming around... Webshadow shook his head, lip curling against the slight way it dizzied him.