Dripping Shadows (SC/SKC Clan-wide)

"Get up."

A voice filled Froststar's mind as he took in a sight he had hoped to not see for a long while. He wasn't entirely sure if it was Burningwing's voice, or his own as he rose to his paws, looking at the starry form of the dead cat. He didn't feel any pain yet, but was that how it was to die? He had gone unconscious soon into his journey, slammed against a tree. He recalled the crack of bone... and... Ah, there was the memory. He had drowned, his chest burning. He dare not dwell on it further, as Burningwing's form dissipated, and Froststar was left alone for a moment.

And what a blissful moment it was, before he awoke.

His first breath was painful, and suddenly Froststar was coughing up what felt like an entire pond's worth of water. His ribs were sore with every new breath, and the tom wasn't entirely sure how he was awake. That was until he remembered he had died... he had lost a life. He also had a clan to lead, to find. With that thought fueling him, the tom struggled to his paws, gaze sweeping out across his surroundings. Hoarsely, he called out, "Shadowclan! Shadowclan call out if you can hear me!" He could only hope that his clan had not been swept too far, that he could still get to them.

Swiftheart lay shivering on the ground. Even in the warm summer night she was drenched to the bone and was freezing cold from the water and being exposed for so long. She coughed heavily water coming out alot. But she had made it... but where was she. She remembered back at the terrified screams as water flooded their camp.

where was her family? her clanmates? HER KITS?? she tried to struggle to her paws but took it too fast falling back down to her side. Breathing heavily she looked around at the thick forest scared. She was cold, wet and exhausted. She nervously got up much more slowly and found that she could stand and nothing appeared to be broken.

The forest was dead calm... almsot and eerily quiet. The way it often is after such a big storm.

Shivering she tried to dry off but there was no way that was happening... there was no dry spot around anywhere. Her pelt and fur clung to her soaking as she tried despertatly to look for her kits.

"Crow? ... Murky? ... Willow? ... Ashen?" she called for them and waited listening.... her heart sank as no response.


She walked around a little for what seemed like ages searching for anyone or any clues as to where she was either. (The scent markers of skyclan were all washed away)

She was scared, alone and had no idea where her clan was...

if they were still alive the negative though flashed by her mind.

Pushing it aside she refused to linger on that and tried her best to stay her positive self even in this awful time.

"Shadowclan?" she called out weakly her throat sore and everthing feeling miserable.


No answer. Still nothing. Squeezing her eyes shut she just wanted to lay down for a little bit . To just give in and rest but she knew she had to get help with how cold and weak she was... if she laid down now she might not get up.

Forcing herself onward for a little further her ears twitched...Focusing them was difficult as they were filled with water.

Her spirits were lifted immensely hearing her leaders call. She found new energy and a second wind as she walked quickly in his direction too tired to actually run.

Froststar?? Its me! Swiftheart! she called back to him walking in the direction she thought he called from.

A little further and she saw his white fur coat peaking through some of the thick forests undergroath.

She ran/limped over to his side purring loudly "Frosty!!" she called him by his nickname she had always given to him.

He looked terrible, and she was sure she did too but just seeing him alive was enough to relive her a great deal and make her feel alot better... he would know what to do.

She shivered a great deal however her teeth chattering

"Frosty ... I'm cold" she muttered. It wasnt like her to complain about something unless it was pretty bad.

"where is everyone else?... my kits?" she meowed.

Leopardsun could deal with water. It was part of living in the marsh, being wet wasn't exactly optional- it wasn't as non-optional as she imagined it was for, say, RiverClan; but it was sort of a requirement. That said, the water that had washed them away from ShadowClan's marsh was- different. It was stronger, it was moving, it was less predictable.

Shaking her head in an attempt to clear her mind, she took into account where she was now that she was awake. The worst of the flooding hadn't reached this far, it seemed- except, perhaps, for the force that had carried them here. The ground beneath her paws was strong and sturdy, a strange feeling when she was so used to the more malleable marsh, but not an unwelcome one given the circumstances.

The woods were thicker than she recalled, and she wondered just how far they had been carried; given her current state (shock, mixed with general soreness that she could only assume was from being tossed and turned in the waves), it was more difficult than usual to get her bearings- not to mention that this was clearly unfamiliar land to her. Once she managed to organize her thoughts, however, there was only one course of action: to find the cats she cared most for.

It wasn't that she wasn't civil, or even unfriendly, but Leopardsun could be fairly distant; only a handful of her clanmates truly capturing and keeping her attention for longer than a conversation. She did her best to be calm, dependable and capable; pushing herself to and past her limits for the good of her clanmates, but the loss of her parents weighed heavy on her shoulders and ensured she tried to keep some distance. Now, as it had on the night of Dark Forest's defeat, her uncharacteristically panicked voice called out, "Vixenpaw! Vixenpaw! Please, answer me-! Please, please, she has to be here..."

This can't happen again... Please, StarClan, haven't I suffered enough under your so-called mercy? Bring my sister back!

No answer came from her sister, but the voice of her leader and mentor did reach her ears. "Froststar!" she shouted, running in the direction his call had come from. As she dashed, she called out other names, hoping to hear a response. "Vixenpaw! Vixenpaw... Echomist...? Honeypaw? Swiftheart?"

Murkyhope couldn't feel her paws.

She felt cold, but so, so warm at the same time, her fur felt slicked to her body and she wasn't sure if she should open her eyes just yet. But... At the call of her clanmates in the distance, her warm-toned eyes blinked open- but just as she did she sputtered out way too much water than what was probably suitable for her silvery body. She heaved herself slowly up onto her paws and slowly looked around, flicking an ear in a little confusion.

Where... Was she?

She didn't recognise these tall trees, the spaces felt almost claustrophobic between them. Was this just a quiet secluded place in her own territory? Or... Was she somewhere else entirely? She shook her fur out, just trying to think for once, but stars, she was nowhere near dry. Did she even hear her clanmates? She turned around, she could only really smell water, but she tried to scent them out anyway, ears perked desperately. "Shadowclan?!" She called, not quite sure if her clanmates were near. "Mum? Froststar?! Anyone..?" Murkyhope flattened her ears slowly, being alone so soon after earning her name was certainly less than ideal, to say the least.

Worried something bad could happen if she didn't find her clanmates quickly, she trotted towards the direction of what she thought were voices. Soon, she could actually smell cat, at least, and as she sped up, she finally saw the pelts of her clanmates. "Crowspirit! Mum! Froststar!" She purred, coughing a little, but that's... Fine, right? She sat next to her sister and mother, curling her completely soaked tail over her paws with a slow sigh. "We need to find clan cats- we couldn't of been washed so far away from the territories, right? Though, our other clanmates could've ended up somewhere else entirely!" She lowered her head slowly. "I... I just hope everyone's okay..."

Echomist let out a sputtering cough.. everything.. it was all so unexpected.. one moment it was raining, the next everything seemed to disappear as water took over. He tried his best but it was clear that the water was stronger.. His body ached.. He could feel the sting of various wounds and cuts on his body as he struggled to sit up. Water being forced out of his throat with every wheezing cough.. just how much had he inhaled? Just how much damage was done..

The spotted tom finally pushed himself into a standing position, wincing when he put weight on his front right paw.. he didn't notice it at the time but now? Something was certainly wrong.. Dull green eyes scanned the area.. looking for a sign of life other than the first around them. Where was his family? His father? His sister? Even Leopardsun? Fear gripped his heart.. he didn't want to assume the worst.. he wouldn't.. no matter how much it ate at him.. for now he needed to find the others.

Ears perked upwards when he heard a familiar call. Voices sounded in the distance.. Froststar..? Was he here with him? Other voices sounded shortly after. It seemed he wasn't the oy one to end up over here. Quickly the tom limped his way closer to the voices. His croaking out an "I'm here." It wasn't very loud but it was the best he could do. He could see pelts in the distance when he heard another familiar voice. "Leopardsun?" He called out as best as he could. He hoped she was in better shape than he was.

Leopardsun had hoped to look to Froststar for guidance, had hoped that if anyone would know where they were or what to do it would be their leader. Before she managed to reach him, though, an answer to her call sounded out- it was faint, but present; and not so far away. "Echomist! Yes, it's me!"

She moved toward the sound, hoping to reach him halfway and help him reach the rest of ShadowClan- or what was left of it. From the faded sound of his voice, he wasn't faring well. Then again... She supposed that none of them were.

"Let me help you," she said. Simple, practical words; they served her well in her everyday life as a warrior. But now they were accompanied by a look that bordered on pleading.

Please. What will I do with myself if I can't be useful?

She was tired and sore, much like she was after long training sessions, but she didn't think she was injured otherwise. A few minor scrapes and scratches, maybe, but nothing she couldn't push through- pushing herself to her limits in training, it seemed, had paid off after all.

Fuzzybelly’s pelt still felt like it weighed twice his size. He saw Froststar earlier, and came to his side.

“I’m glad to see everyone’s okay.”

Fuzzybelly breathed a sigh of relief as more cats gathered. It wasn’t ideal by any means, but at least they weren’t flanked by the endless torrents in ShadowClan.

“I hope things dry up soon.”

He turned and felt even more relieved as he saw his father. Thank StarClan, he’s okay.”

The torrential downfall SkyClan had experienced as of late had seemingly passed, for which Briarthorn found herself immensely grateful. A thick coat of fur didn’t lend well to heat, but it certainly didn’t lend well to the heat and being soaking wet. It was miserable to patrol and direct duties around camp when your pelt had become so soaked that it nearly made your legs buckle. Though the humidity was still abhorrent, the molly much preferred patrolling in this type of weather as opposed to the rain. It was how she found herself outside of camp, observing the territory now- looking out for any fallen limbs, broken branches, or otherwise potentially dangerous results of the weather that she may need to warn her Clan about. What she wasn’t expecting, however, was to find a large group of cats from another Clan washed up on her territory.

She first realized their presence when the overwhelming scent of ShadowClan (one she recognized immediately, of course) overcame her, and nowhere near close enough to the border to be as strong as it was. The next clue was the sound of voices calling out to one another. Immediately, she went on the defensive, claws unsheathed and both eyes and ears carefully tuned into her surroundings. Following the source of the scent and frantic voices eventually led her to a group of them, crowded together looking soaked and helpless. It was clear this was no invasion, but Briarthorn didn’t let her guard down. Froststar was among those gathered around, and she called out to him froma. distance as she slowly closed the gap. ”Froststar, what in the name of the stars has happened to you all?” She mewed, an odd mix of concern and defensiveness, considering they were on SkyClan land, regardless of the circumstances.

"I.." Echomist started. He didn't really want to burden his friend, considering he would just weigh her down and he didn't believe anyone needed that after what they dealt with, but there was something in her tone that him falling silent.

"Yes that's fine." He told her, turning to put some weight on her side to take it off his injured leg. They still had to meet up with the others, but he could smell the scent of Skyclan in the area.. Were they on Skyclan land? Oh stars.. the last thing they needed was a fight.