a warning to the people [closed battle topic]

[OOC Status Update!

WindClan
Sleepyhollow and Fuzzface have both timed out due to the 36-hour time limit!
Adderdawn and Flutterpetal are dead.
Active: Smallbean, Owlshade

ShadowClan
Batswarm is dead.
Active: Leopardsun, Sablestrike, Pineblossom, Moondancer, Badgermask]

It seemed the yank on Sleepyhollow's tail was all that Badgermask truly needed to turn the tides in her favor as the she-cat seemed to lack the strength to recover as she was knocked to the ground. A sigh of relief escaped Badgermask with her victory, turning her gaze onto the battle raging around her. There were a few cats down - including her brother. Her whiskers twitched in annoyance, had the lazy tom truly lost the energy to fight so easily? Or was his attempt to get out of dirtying his paws?

She started to cross the field towards where Batswarm laid - before her eyes fell onto one of the other cats - a WindClan tom...And the lifeless gaze that stared off into the horizon. That caused her to halt, confusion sweeping over her. ...A...Death? There weren't to be deaths - this was a warning, nothing more. Her eyes fell back onto Batswarm as she quickened her pace towards her brother - inhaling to scold him, to tell him to get up but the sickening, thick scent of blood that welcomed her made her freeze. It wasn't blood from the WindClan tom, no - this was mixed with the scent of ShadowClan.

"...Batswarm?" she breathed, one paw raised as she hesitated. Her mind felt torn - she thought herself above such hesitations. She didn't want to question her actions, not now while a battle still raged on against her but she couldn't make the choice to move forward or away. She... Her gaze lifted up - tearing away from her all-to-still brother to where her sister stood...Standing over a WindClan tom of her own who laid unmoving. There was a look in Moondancer's eyes that sent a pang of fear through Badgermask - she had never seen such a look on her sister's face. Moondancer had...She had killed somebody - she had turned the battle into a warning into something much more. Her teeth bared for a second as she tried to inhale to speak but as another wave of Batswarm's blood overcame her senses, her words failed once more.

It...It was not hard to put together the pieces. The first tom slain, then Batswarm who seemed to have been fleeing towards their border....And now Moondancer stood, the WindClan tom's blood still fresh on her paws. This wasn't how it was suppose to be - nobody was suppose to die! It was against the Warrior Code, they were better then that but... Who had started it? Blood for blood...It had to have been Batswarm, hadn't it? Had it been an accident? ...It had to be, her brother wouldn't stain his paws with death for no reason other than it being out of his control.

"Moondancer..." she finally breathed before she spun - scanning the battle until she saw her mother still locked in combat with the WindClan deputy. Fear of her own started to surge through her - how would WindClan react upon seeing the death that had been wrought? Blood for blood, would they seek it? It was what had led to the death that now surrounded her. She...She needed to help her mom, she was still in combat! In danger! She raced across the moor, eyes becoming focused. She would shed no tears - not yet, maybe not ever.

For now, she had to protect her family that still stood.

Reaching the deputy, she wasted no time in rearing up and bringing her paws down in a surprise blow to the head - a snarl escaping her throat but she could offer no words to explain what had transpired to her mother. What news they would have to bring home to Echomist and Harriertalon...

Badgermask used Upright Lock on Smallbean, dealing 10 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Badgermask:
15/50 HP
59/120 (-10)

Leopardsun
26/70 HP
99/160 SP

Smallbean
4/70 HP (-10)
113/160 SP

Owlshade could feel himself weakening, and as her claws drew furrows down his flank, several more streams of blood followed, further decorating his white coat with rows of crimson. He hissed angrily, stumbling forward and sinking low to the ground, tail bottlebrush, teeth bared. As much as he hated to admit it, he was outmatched. This ShadowClan she-cat fought with the ferocity unlike anything he'd encountered before, and he simply had not been prepared for it.

His breath quickened, eyes darting this way and that. He could flee, of course... though she was stronger, he was faster, even with his heritage being decidedly non-WindClan. Another few seconds of crouching and bleeding had his mind made up... ShadowClan's point had been made, they would not follow even if they could. Spitting angrily, Owlshade lashed out with a paw, but his heart wasn't in it, and the blow was nowhere near connecting. He wanted to go home.

Without a word, Owlshade turned and sprinted towards his clanmates, leaving Pineblossom behind.

Owlshade used Disengage.

Pineblossom
50 / 70 HP
121 / 160 SP

Owlshade
8 / 60 HP
0 / 140 SP

Swift paws carried him despite the rush of blood in his ears, the trembling in his limbs. He bled from a dozen wounds, and droplets followed him across the moor. "WindCl-" he started to call, but it died out in a surprised gasp as he tripped, tumbling over something he hadn't seen... a dark body, sprawled in the grass. His eyes cast downwards, brow furrowing in confusion as he lifted a paw to see it slick with blood, not his own this time. "Flutterpetal?" His voice was a whisper, colored with bewilderment. But the WindClanner did not stir, and the stillness of his form read that ne never would again.

Cold horror washed over him, his pale eyes widening on the corpse at his feet. No... no, this was a skirmish... this... this wasn't supposed to happen... No one was supposed to die.

The caterwaul of combat very close by drew his attention, and Owlshade snapped his head in the direction just in time to see a silvery she-cat standing over top of Adderdawn, the WindClanner desperately attempting to stand, to fight, but his limbs only raked the earth uselessly. Owlshade surged forward, screeching angrily and charging to the defense of his clanmate. He slammed into Moondancer, and the two of them rolled over and over before skipping to a halt. Without a second thought, the pale tom snapped his head forward, plunging his teeth into the she-cat's neck.

Owlshade used Killing Bite on Moondancer.

A voice ripped him from his internal panic. Above the sound of blood rushing in his ears, Leopardsun spoke. What she was saying never reached his ears, nothing beyond vague noise. He studied her with furrowed brows when an impact to his head knocked him from his paws. His head hit the hard ground and the world spun. A ringing filled his ears. He saw white. For a brief moment all he knew was the paws of his enemies. Then, his gaze moved. From Leopardsuns paws, to Badgermasks. Then to the pools of blood behind then, and the crimson-soaked pelts of his clanmates. Unmoving. Unbreathing. It seemed that Windclan stood no chance after all. Shadowclan wanted far more than revenge. They wanted the lives of Windclanners. Bile rose in his throat.

Breaking from his hopeless daze, he scrambled from beneath his enemies, desperately avoiding another attack. Feverishly, he looked around. Only one warrior was still standing. He couldn't tell who it was through the nights darkness, but he didn't have time to sit and find out. "WINDCLAN, RETREAT!" His voice was tired, hoarse. Defeated. Instinct was the only thing keeping his paws moving. His thoughts ran, but he ran faster. Feelings of guilt and "what if"s filled his mind as he left the bloody scene behind, but he knew that if he fell there now, that the rest of the clan would follow... without his warning. Veering off the path, he chose a different way back to camp in case the Shadowclan patrol wanted to follow. Silently, he repeated reassurances over and over again as he sprinted for camp. He wouldn't forget about them. He would come back.They would all come home. There would be help. The members of tha patrol would be okay. Windclan would be okay.


Smallbean has used Disengage, costing all remaining SP.

Smallbean:
04/70 HP
00/160 SP

As Badgermask came to her aid and the WindClan deputy turned and ran, calling for a retreat, Pineblossom's sudden call sounded distant to her ears. Leopardsun turned her attention to the warrior, and froze. Later, she would swear her heart stopped for at least a moment or two when she came face to face with the destruction that was left.

Bodies, still and bloody, lay around them; WindClan cats whose names she didn't know, and-

Batswarm.

Moondancer.

Her son, her daughter-

No, no, no-

This wasn't how it was meant to go, this wasn't what she wanted.

What had she done?

The cats still standing pulled her back to reality, from the dark place her thoughts had headed, and she shook her head desperately; as if that might undo what had been done.

Pineblossom held the last remaining WindClan warrior in her grasp, and Leopardsun raced forward, choking back a sob and forcing the words to sound less desperate and raw than she suddenly felt.

"Pineblossom," she whispered, unable to keep her voice from feeling heavy with grief and regret for what she hadn't known. "What happened?"

...Bodies fill the fields I see, the slaughter never ends...

Sticky red coated her paws as the Windclan tom struggled weakly, legs flailing for a moment as he choked. Moondancer was vaguely aware that his claws caught her legs, more red dripping to join what was already on her own paws and staining the ground beneath them. Batswarm's killer lay dying - at her paws.

She had never imagined that whata was supposed to be a border skirmish would turn into this. Her brother, dead. Two Windclanners, dead. The fighting raged around them still, but Moondancer hardly noticed, transfixed as she was by the bodies before her. None of this was supposed to happen, and now that it had, the adrenaline was beginning to fade. She felt lightheaded, like her world was spinning. The scent of blood was overwhelming, and suddenly Moondancer was very aware of how much of it stained her pelt. It stuck uncomfortably to her fur, making it stick together. The thought made her stomach lurch.

Stumbling a step backward, the dark silver tabby forced her gaze away. Pale green eyes traveled around the battlefield, noting who was still standing and who wasn't. A face loomed out of the darkness and she caught herself from flinching, gazing up at Badgermask with wide eyes. It took her a moment to register that her sister had spoken at all.

"He killed Batswarm, I-" Her throat felt tight, too tight. "Help mom. I'll help Pineblo-" Her sister was already turning. Moondancer knew she should do the same, but her paws felt weighted down by heavy stones. She was keenly aware of every wound, of how much they stung painfully. Keenly aware of her own exhaustion. The fighting had felt like an eternity, and standing here, Moondancer couldn't be sure how much time had passed. The yowls and screeches of other cats in battle sounded distant to her ears.

A pale tabby with a pelt nearly as bloodstained as hers darted toward her, rage burning in his eyes. Was that how she had looked to the Windclanner who killed her brother, she wondered? Instinctively, Moondancer tried to move, to shy away from his fangs. Too slow, and a sudden fire laced her throat. Suddenly she was choking on the very breath she tried to inhale, something warm and wet rushing to fill the tear the pale Windclanner had made. Moondancer stumbled, exhausted paws giving out even as she struggled against it.

No, no! Not like this!

...Was this sensation what that Windclanner had felt? What Batswarm and the cat before him had felt? The tom who had struggled beneath her so feebly, his struggles dying so quickly. Wide green eyes stared up at the pale tom in shock, but her vision was already beginning to fade.

Dying, she realized. She was dying. Just as the others had. Who now would kill in her defense? Would the cycle continue, so vicious and bloody? Would her mother and sister want vengeance as she had? Would Pineblossom? She wanted to warn them away, keep them from the vicious cycle she had started with the namelss Windclanner who had killed Batswarm. The words would not come, and her body wouldn't obey her attempt to speak, to move... Anything.

Her vision went dark, as the screech she was distantly aware of faded to nothingness.

-

Moondancer stared down at the crumpled silver tabby, blinking slowly. The light had gone from her eyes as her heaving chest finally stilled. Three bodies lay near her, just as unnaturally still. Slowly, she lifted her head, eyes widening slightly as they landed on the seeming mirror images of the dead. Her gaze fell, avoiding the Windclanners instinctively. Sorry I just killed you... But you deserved it, would not go over well, she was sure.

Silently, the silvery ghost padded toward her brother. I always said you'd be the death of me... Her lips twisted into a wry smile. I'm sorry Sorry she hadn't been faster, sorry she hadn't intercepted the Windclanner first. It had been done, though, and all she could do now was watch as Pineblossom pinned the pale tom who had struck her down into the dirt, as Leopardsun bounded up to her. Leopardsun, and Badgermask... Moondancer could only shake her head.

Twelve cats had done battle here, and four of them were now dead. Had the higher ranks had any inkling of what would happen, Moondancer wasn't sure that tonight's battle would have happened in the same fashion. At least, she hoped it wouldn't have.

It was too late to change how the dirt was now etched in blood. Too late to regret her choices, not that she would have.

In the distance, the sun was beginning to rise.

...Finished here, greeting death, he's yours to take away

As Smallbean broke away, calling for a retreat, Badgermask stumbled back with heaving breaths. She felt her mom shift beside her - glancing towards her. "Mo-" she started, before her voice broke with the simple sentence. She had to tell her, she had to warn her but she couldn't. Not with the familial intent she had managed. She steeled hereself, straightening up as she tried to stand tall like a deputy - acting or otherwise - should. "Leopardsun, Batswarm is..." Her ears echoed with Moondancer's words - she had truly killed the tom responsible. "Moondancer, she...She ki-" she didn't manage to finish the sentence as she spun. She had been expecting Moondancer to have stepped towards Batswarm's body - or maybe she would be checking on Pineblossom as she had started to promise to do but...

No. No....No, no, no, no.

Moondancer was on the ground. She wasn't moving. But she had been fine! Badgermask's teeth bared as her fur prickled as she numbly raced after her mother to where Pineblossom was standing over a downed WindClan cat, paws pinning him with intent...Crimson still fresh on the WindClan tom's jaws. Her eyes were fixed however on Moondancer's body. She was dead. How was she - that wasn't... She was suppose to protect them! Moondancer had been fine and she turned her back and she was! Her face felt hot, something prickling in the corner of her eyes but she didn't let them fall as she mutely stood at her mother's side.

Batswarm...Moondancer...

She - she had promised to protect them. It was where she had found her strength as an apprentice. She would protect her family from anything - and she had failed. So...So utterly. She had left Moondancer and now she was. Her fault. It was entirely her fault - she should have... Refused to the mission, stuck by her siblings. She... Slowly, she felt everything start to fade. Her terror, her grief. She felt...Nothing. Slowly, the light fled from her eyes as she hung her head. She...

She didn't want to feel anything...

So she didn't. She just stood there, a shell of her former self - unsure of what she was now that she had failed her single purpose. What was there left to do...?

What good was she if she couldn't even protect her loved ones?

"Batswarm?"

Her son, who tried so hard to avoid anything that would get the slightest hint of dirt on his fur, killing a WindClan cat? It didn't make sense, didn't line up in her mind- that couldn't have been what happened. Moondancer's story was too easy to piece together: her brother had fallen, she must have seen it, and taken the matter of vengeance into her own capable paws.

And all while Leopardsun had been distracted by her responsibility, only steps away.

Had they called to her?

"Batswarm... Moondancer..."

She choked back a sob. The enemy was gone, other than Pineblossom's captive.

"I never meant for this," she murmured, touching her nose to their fur. Words whispered just for them. "I never wanted this for you. Please. If you're listening now, I need you to know."

Once upon a time she had looked at the bodies of her parents, still and bloodless on the ground, and wondered what she was meant to tell her sister of their passing. Now she looked at her own kits, ones who ought to have lived far longer than they had, and was left with the thought of Echomist.

How was she meant to tell him? What was she supposed to do?

How could she look anyone in the eye again?

It was-

It was WindClan's fault, pushing and pushing to see how far they could go.

It was her fault, lost in what she thought she had to do to keep them safe.

Maybe it was both, in the way that the dawn is not night or day but the mixing of the two.

Leopardsun felt something cold and bitter rising in her throat, but swallowed it down. Pineblossom was right: there were things to attend to, and no time to grieve. "Right. Yes. There's always something to be done, isn't there?"

It was her own words that echoed in her mind.

Focus on the living.

No time to hurt, no time to grieve.

"If you can handle that one, Pineblossom... I'll take care of the rest," she said, feeling like the words came from a distant stranger. She would struggle to move both bodies, yes, but she would not ask this of Badgermask- not after everything else- and she wasn't sure she would trust anyone else to do so.

Like everything else she'd taken on her shoulders, this was her responsibility.

Something she had to carry.

The weight of her son, the weight of her daughter, the weight of grief and guilt that threatened to cloud her vision.