Faded Hope [Skyclan 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!

It was the full moon. It typically was a time for great rejoice amongst the clans, where camaraderie brought them all together in peace.

Peace.

That word had seemed long forgotten on the tongue of many cats within the forest. A darkness that loomed about in every single corner of their minds, of their homes, had taken over. A gentle gaze studied the camp, and many emotions hid behind that very gentle gaze. Sorrow. Hope. Fear. Hesitation. Longing. He carried with him a knowledge that burdened him heavier than any other in the camp. Even his fellow Medicine Cat held a lighter load than he did. The message from their ancestors had been heard loud and clear, and he would heed their call.

The fluffy tom found himself at the mouth of the camp, watching the sky above. A yearning for acceptance itched his paws. He thought over the journey of his life, faced with its end on his own terms at the very least. Desperation seemed to shine in his eyes as he tried to look for a glimmer of the stars. His mind floated back to his time as an apprentice. Watching all of the others find their place within the Clan, honing their skills, all the while he seemed... detached from it all. As if he truly didn't want to be there, like he felt out of place. Those feelings were only deepened by his moonstone, the only time he'd ever gotten to truly speak to his kin among the sky. A deputy of time past telling him to find another fate if he couldn't suck it up and become the warrior Skyclan needed him to be.

So he had tried - he found a great deal of joy in being the one Muddythorn took on as an apprentice. Learning all about the herbs, their uses, guiding apprentices towards their journey of warriorhood... All without a single glance from Starclan. It was almost impossible not to feel as if it somehow was a personal vendetta gainst himself. Muddythorn presenting him to Starclan to be his apprentice was met with nothing but emptiness, and his chest tingled with the long-known feeling of rejection. Logic had told him quickly that it in fact wasn't their rejection that plunged every attempt he made to the void... but he couldn't help but feel that way.

Earning his name was no better a tale. Hushed whispers had been exchanged between the two toms, only for a wicked grin to cut down whatever sense of normalcy Myrtledove had managed to obtain. His full name hadn't been given in the name of Starclan. Morningstar himself had bestowed it unto him in the name of the Dark Forest. There was... quite a bit of confliction that resided in him as a result. Both out of fear and a bit of guilty pride he honored it, wearing his name of Myrtledove with a sign of pride.

Now, he hoped to live up to his name. Myrtledove.

When the ancestors had whispered their need of cats to sacrifice themselves in the name of the stars, to bring them back home... His mind had been made up the moment they heard the news. There was a primal urge that filled the tom to make his presence known to his ancestors, for them to show some sign of acceptance. What better way than to give up his life?

He would be a dove for Skyclan. He would help bring back their peace.

There was a small smile of acceptance that rested upon his maw as he reflected. His fluffy tail curled around his paws, and he opted to take everything in. Myrtledove didn't know where he would find himself once he became the martyr his ancestors asked him to be, and on the chance he would never get to see it again... He wanted to remember it. To appreciate it all, one last time. The memories he had as a fluffy kit in the nursery, to the time he spent practically living in the Elder's den and keeping them company. His frustrated nights in his nest as an apprentice, to the very short time he spent feeling out of place in the warrior's den. To finally... where Muddythorn had given him a true home. As a medicine cat, trained in the ways of herbs and being the vessel for the stars.

He was ready. He was at peace, himself - No longer a slow, trudging turtle. He felt free as a bird, at peace much like a dove. Should any cat wish to speak with him, they would find comfort in a friendly face.

Lionboar has never had so many racing thoughts in his head, and that is saying a lot since most of his monologue was to himself, in his head. He had been fine the last few days; calmer than usual and happier. But there was something about the moon starting to rise that caused his heart to race as fast as a rabbit's about to be caught in a hunter's maw. His paws were Shakey as they entered the clearing with his clan mates. Everything felt different now and he halted, eyes scanning the pelts of the cats he called his clan. The tom frozen, his fresh injuries stinging with the sudden movement. Had he ever actually studied these cats before? With deep breaths, Lionboar sipped in the cats around him like it was the first water after a long and hot day. Studying them. Soaking them in to his memory.

Beechfang rested quietly near the edge of camp, dark yellow-green eye narrowed in contempt at the idea of the full moon's peace. It had always been a lie, hadn't it? She'd never known a gathering to be truly peaceful in her lifetime, and now stuck in SKyclan's camp to make a mockery out of the tradition of mingling with the other clans at Fourtrees, Beechfang found herself almost wishing to be at that oh-so-hated hollow. If only to mingle with the few cats she called friends in the other clans. She found herself wondering how Basilbloom was doing, how Dovefrost was doing. Even though she'd recently met Dovefrost at the border, she found herself missing the fluffy Thunderclanner's company.

With a sigh, Beechfang rested her head back on her outstretched paws, dully eyeing the few clanmates that seemed to be in the camp clearing.

The full moon's light washed over Dandelionflight, turning her pelt to a pale, silvery brown. She wished that they could go to Fourtrees for an actual gathering. She missed the excitement of meeting cats from different clans. The spirits that had been haunting the forest since Morningstar's arrival had prevented her from doing so.

Dandelionflight looked up towards the empty night sky. The only thing that glowed was the moon. She wondered how her friends were doing in StarClan since they had been cut off from the clans. Oliverain, Dawnfeather, Rabbit-chaser, Crickethop..., she recalled each of them fondly. Grief tugged at her heart when she thought of them. Dandelionflight let out a shaky sigh and looked at the ground below her paws, wrapping her fluffy tail around herself for comfort. It had hard been after losing them, especially so close together.

His trance was broken by a cat moving and sitting next to him. Blinking, he slowly moved his head to take in Aether. It was odd. He had been avoiding the tom since he started staying here. But in this moment, he sunk into the conversation. With a forced chuckle, he pressed into Aether and sucked in the comfort of another's warm pelt. "It's an odd time now-a-days... Even my brave efforts moons ago couldn't chase you away... Fortunately." The last word came out of his mouth like a hesitancy he wasn't used to. None of this was what he was used to. Every word felt savory on his tongue. Instead of dull like they were before, they now were sharp and intense. He turned to look at Aether with guarded curiousity. "You almost killed me that day. Well, the coyote at least. I could have taken you, for sure, and the coyote. Just not together." He chucked again, a little less forced than before.

Internally, Lionboar's heart sank, but he forced out a small smile. "Yeah. We'll spar... Some day we'll spar. That will be... Fun." He mused to himself for a few seconds, forcing himself to shove the thoughts away and focus on the moment. "I haven't killed a cat either. I'd probably have killed the cat that killed my brother too, if I have one... I'd kill... Anyone for my clan." He shifted his paws slightly, but retained contact with Aether. "You're not as bad as I thought, y'know. A little dumb, but not bad. Are you planning on staying in SkyClan when this is l over? Maybe your warrior name would be Raccoonface." Another joust at the tom. They were always sparring, in words. Perhaps he shouldn't have avoided the tom so adamantly since his arrival.

Cedarkit didn't understand why all of the warrior's were looking bored and lonely....he had only been born a few moons ago but this was not what he had heard from the elders and the warrior's stories of the gatherings. "Why are we all laying around when we can have a gathering?" he asked to no one in particular. The long legged-golden tom was kinda irked by the fact that no one was doing anything and the camp seemed to be dying.

The older kit understood the fact that the stars and the moon was gone and that the dark forest cats were looming over him, however that was nothing new to him...This was his first gathering since he was alive but that was no excuse.

Beechfang glanced up at the sound of pawsteps, offering Dreamflight a small smile. "Hey, Dreamyflight." She rather liked the younger warrior, she'd been a good friend to Dawnfeather, and seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. Very much unlike Beechfang herself. "Goodbye? Don't speak nonsense, Dreamflight. You're not going anywhere. You know they'd never let us leave." She mewed quietly, motioning to the dark forest cats with her fluffy tail.

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Smokefeather was a silent shadow watching the cats milling about camp. The sight of her clanmates didn't bring her joy anymore, only a deep sense of sorrow and regret. It was because of her that they suffered so, because of her that Dawnhawk was... Well, that. Her mind kept turning back to the message she'd delivered to Myrtledove and Muddythorn. She didn't know if this could be fixed, but they had to try. She had to try. Dawnhawk was her mistake to fix. Perhaps this was why she had been stuck wandering camp this past moon, rather than moving on. Her faith in Starclan had always been a rocky thing, but that didn't matter now. Whatever it took to cleanse the forest of the beasts that ravaged it, she would do.

She watched as Dreamyflight and Beechfang talked, reading lips from a distance had become a bit easier, and she sighed quietly to herself. Beechfang had blinded and deafened herself to Starclan's words a long time ago, so too had she deafened herself to Dreamyflight's meaning. She avoided Smokefeather's gaze too, still unable to hear her when the medicine cats had finally been able to. Wasn't your fault, my kit. I only wish you would see sense. This stubbornness... It's unnecessary. Smokefeather shook her head sadly.

Maybe what she was about to do would give the clan some semblance of peace... If it worked. Her gaze returned to idly scanning the camp once more, searching for an ever-hated golden pelt.

SkyClan seemed especially lively tonight, considering their circumstances. She'd expected them to buckle quickly under Morningstar's rule, and while they had given in without much fight, they held on to whatever sense of normalcy they could sink their claws into. It was amusing, in a sense, to watch. The large molly stalked back and forth at the mouth of the nursery, ears flicking occassionally in the direction of passing conversation. The night air bristled with tension, and the corners of her maw twitched up into a smirk. It'd been a long time since she'd properly sunk her claws into something; maybe tonight would give her that chance.