Heartaches [open]

[Follows this topic]


The drum of his paws on the firm soil matched the rapid rate of his beating heart as he sprinted towards camp, leaving a thin trail of blood behind him. The rush of blood in his ears was all he heard, although it wasn't as if the night had any other sounds to offer. Adrenaline kept his pace quick and breathing rapid, but as it wore off, the wounds on his body began to hinder his speed. The constant pace he'd been keeping slowed to an uneven limp. The severity of his wounds was now brought to his attention, but he couldn't bring himself to check them. Not yet. They weren't bad enough to kill him right now. There were worse things to worry about. His clanmates were dead. They were dead. He needed help.

It was pitch black as he stumbled through camp's entrance, dragging branches along with them as they got snagged in his pelt. His clanmates were asleep. He called anyways. "Shadowclan! Patrol, attacked us!" He managed to speak between gasps for air. His voice was tired. "Please, we need to get someone to help! Wake up, please! I couldn't help the others back, I barely made it out!" The deputy padded forwards, looking towards the warrior den. Time was of the essence, if some of the patrol was still alive, they needed to go quick. When his clanmates began to stir from their nests, "Shrikestar!" He limped towards the leader's den. "Shrikestar. A Shadowclan patrol attacked the defense patrol. I don't know if they followed, I took a longer route home. I.. I tried my best. I think.... I think there were losses, but I'm not sure. We need to get a patrol out there soon, please. And guard camp."

Sootstorm's head snapped up at the sound of urgent cries outside the warrior's den. He caught some of the words: "A Shadowclan patrol attacked... there were losses... get a patrol out there... please" His blood ran cold. A battle? Why was Smallbean the only cat returning? He ran out of the den to meet the deputy. "Are they still fighting? We have to go, now!" He paced anxiously about. There had been six cats on that patrol, where were the other five? Smallbean was bleeding heavily. "Sparrowthorn? Batsong!" Sootstorm called for the medicine cats. His heart was racing. Where was Fuzzface? Flutterpetal? His friend?

Ferntwist was calmly sleeping in a nest close to Sootstorm's when the voice of the small tom came interrupted the silence of the night. She quickly stood up and rushed outside the den, only to meet a wounded deputy alone, screaming Shadowclan's name. Thay finally showed their true colors... She thought bitterly as her claws unsheathed and a hiss started to form in her throat. The fiery she-cat wanted to run to Smallbean to help, but the deputy announced there were missing clanmates. The young molly looked at the camp entrance. "I'll fetch Batsong! Sootstorm, you're stronger and faster! You should look for the rest of the patrol!" She shouted to her clanmate before going to the medicine den.

"Batsong! It's me, Ferntwist! There was a Shadowclan attack, Smallbean is hurt... maybe more are hurt. Do you need my help carrying herbs? Or bringing the wounded?" The molly mewed as she entered the den, noticing the black-furred she-cat inside it.

Sootstorm nodded, darting away to rouse more warriors from his sleep. Smallbean would be safe with Ferntwist. "Eaglefly! Coyotegrin! Wake up!" He called, shaking the warriors awake in turn. He didn't want to take too many warriors, in case Shadowclan decided to invade their camp as well. "Stay safe," He murmured to Ferntwist when she passed, pressing his cheek to hers. If Shadowclan was to attack again... there was a chance he might not make it.

The sounds of yowling woke the elder from her sleep, and she carefully pulled away from her nest, head poking out of the den's entrance with narrowed green eyes. Shadowclan had attacked, she gathered from Smallbean's frantic yowling, and Sootstorm was up and trying to rouse some of the clan's few warriors. Ferntwist was already moving to find Batsong, and Brackenwing felt her claws sheathe and unsheathe as she stared at Smallbean's wounded frame.

Smallbean was the only one who returned. Unable to help the others... Fled, Brackenwing thought was the more likely situation. "Adderdawn and Flutterpetal were with you, weren't they? And my brother?" She fought to remain calm, but anxiety bloomed in her chest like the flower fields in newleaf.

Batsong head snapped up from her shallow rest as Ferntwist called her name. Her heart sunk deep in her chest hearing the news. The deepest feeling of anxiety and fear ate away at her as she quickly got to her paws the smell of blood lingering outside in the camp as she gathered herbs. Passing some to Ferntwist to carry with them as well grateful for the warriors willingness to help with this.

"Alright come on" she said hurriedly rushing to her injured clanmates.

Getting to Smallbean and Sleepyhollow she worked as quickly as she could to get their bleeding stopped. Pressing cobwebs to their wounds to pressure the bleeding wounds.

"Sparrowthorn" she called for her apprentice as she continued to focus best she could on her work.


When sleepyhollow broke the news that Flutterpetal and Adderdawn were both dead. Batsong froze up, luckily it was only for a moment or two before she forced herself to work through this not wanting anyone else to die.

She felt utterly sick and awful that it had come to this. All she had wanted was to prevent a war by removing the unfit leader from power. A deep feeling of guilt and utter dispair took her as she continued to do her best to now save the clanmates she had left.


She felt that this was all her fault, but in the back of her mind alot of anger as well. She was not the one who controlled shadowclan's warriors and ordered them to attack. Her claws flexed in and out of the soft grass below her as she worked thinking of that smug face nightstar always had on.

As mad as she was at nigthstar, she was more mad at herself. The regret and guilt was so strong, what hurt worse was how she had thought at the time that what she did was the right thing to do, her clanmates getting hurt in the first place was the whole reason she stood up to shadowclan and now blood was spilled on both sides.

Batsong is working to heal small and sleepy. [once fuzz gets back I can either post again or maybe alex can help fuzz with sparrow? Am good with whatevers :) ]


--------------------

Eaglefly jerked awake at sootstorms call. He looked at his friend and clanmate and nodded understanding. His adrenaline was spiking as he bolted out of the warrior den to help Sootstorm find the rest of the patrol. He stopped dead in his tracks seeing his sister Sleepyhollow injured. Rushing over he was shook by how hurt she looked. "Sleepyhollow, its eagle i'm here you are gonna be ok" he said voice shaking a bit with worry.

However, the news of Flutterpetal and adderdawn death hit like a ton of bricks for the young tom. Flutterpetal was his mentor and the shock of it didn't really set in for him just yet. His mentor dead?? His eyes filled with grief as he ran after sootstorm as fast as he could. The news was still so fresh for him that it was not fully even processed yet.

Eaglefly is going to help Sootstorm

Sootstorm's world stopped when Sleepyhollow broke the news. Flutterpetal and Adderdawn, dead? It had only been a few sunrises ago that he had been hunting with Flutterpetal and ran into an owl. The tom had seemed so alive, it was hard to wrap his head around the idea that the warrior was dead. He nodded numbly as Eaglefly joined him. "We'll have to bring back the... the dead bodies," He chocked out the words. Why did Shadowclan do that? Adderdawn and Flutterpetal had done nothing to them, they just happened to be there.

Yowling from outside the Medicine Den broke Sparrowthorn's concentration, much to her annoyance, as she dropped the herbs she had been sorting through, checking to see if any of their stores were too old to be used. An apprentice's task, sure, but she was an apprentice again. Why she had been doing it in the middle of the night was her business. Her business being she was becoming only slightly obsessed with the organization of the den's herbs, but no one else needed to know that. Ferntwist was quickly at the entrance, saying that Smallbean was hurt, that more might be hurt. This was it, wasn't it? Shadowclan's first attack? Batsong was up and grabbing herbs as Sparrowthorn swiftly moved to the side, letting the more experienced of them be out the entrance first.

With a maw full of cobwebs, Sparrowthorn was out of the den not long after Batsong called for her. With a simple nod, she dropped some more cobwebs near her mentor, applying some to Sleepyhollow's wounds. Stop the bleeding first, then they could worry about the other things. The more dangerous things.

Then Sleepyhollow recounted the battle. Adderdawn was dead. Her clanmates were dead. Gritting her teeth, she continued applying pressure to her sister's wounds, angry tears threatening to burst forth any moment now. Adderdawn was dead, her former mentor. Her friend. The only thing keeping her from snapping at Batsong was the blood she was trying to contain. It was all she could focus on now.

Green eyes looking up at Sleepyhollow, she gave the answer to her plea before their father could. "No," She mewed thickly, tears now flowing as she continued to look over her sister's wounds. She would give no further explanation, but it should've been clear. The molly was injured, and she could not go back.

Yowling split through his dreams, waking the restless leader up. Shrikestar heard Smallbean's voice, anxious and hurried. He was on his paws instantly, bursting from his den to find his deputy panicked and clearly injured. A ShadowClan patrol had attacked? 'Nightstar...' Shrikestar scowled at the thought. They had gone from a tense partnership to enemies in the blink of an eye, and now this? An attack on WindClan land? It was beyond the pale now.

There was worse to come, though. Why was Smallbean the only one back? There should have been a full patrol. "We will go after them," the leader snarled, preparing to call for others to join him. Then Sleepyhollow appeared in camp, bloodied and bearing news that Shrikestar didn't want to believe. Adderdawn, Flutterpetal, dead? It couldn't be. It... His features tightened up as he stepped to the front of the clearing, where cats were gathering in confusion and panic. He could hear the voices of his clanmates, and he had a feeling that he knew what awaited them. He had a feeling he knew what awaited himself. That wasn't important now, though. What was important was piecing the puzzle together.

"Sleepyhollow, I..." There was fear in his heart. Fear for his clanmates, fear for his daughter. They needed to know where to go, though. "Take us to where the battle happened. If there are still ShadowClan cats there, I want you to run back to camp, okay? Do not engage. Smallbean, I want you to lead the cats remaining here to defend the camp in case they come here." He then turned to a few of his remaining warriors. Why did it feel like there were so few left? "Amberstone, Sootstorm, Eaglefly, come with us." In case there were still stragglers, they would need to be taken care of. If... If worst came to worse, they would still be needed regardless. There were still cats unaccounted for, and he needed to know the truth. With the sound of panic ringing in his ears, he anxiously followed Sleepyhollow out of camp, the patrol he had called for following suit. For once, he was terrified of what he was going to discover, but he was the leader. It would always be his burden to bear.

The sudden appearance of his clanmates allowed him possibly the biggest wave of relief he'd ever felt. "No, there's no more fighting, but they might still be out there. They could be coming here. They trespassed, they had an intent of attacking us. They wanted blood, they wanted our lives. You can't go out there, not yet, not alone." His tone was desperate, pleading that Sootstorm would wait for company before going out. "Nobody is to go out alone." He called after Ferntwist as she disappeared into the medicine den. He hadn't heard what she said before dashing in, but it was clear she was fetching Batsong.

Voices questioned him from all angles, but he wasn't able to provide any answers before he padded towards the leader's den. Shrikestar was already awake, and his growl in response made Smallbean's stomach turn. It yearned for blood. To avenge those who had fallen... that was how it seemed.

As Shrikestar exited his den, Smallbean swiftly dashed out before him, catching the tail-end of Sleepyhollow's words. So it was true. They really were dead, then. He had hoped that they were somehow still alive, but if Sleepyhollow had gotten a better look, then it must be true. The deputy's heart dropped, guilt immediately occupying's the pit in his stomach. He glanced at Brackenwing with eyes that could only say 'I'm sorry' Because there was nothing else to be said. At the mention of three bodies, Smallbean looked up. "Owlshade. Owlshade was on the patrol. Did you see him run off?" He worriedly questioned, turning to Sleepyhollow. He hoped that she could confirm that she had seen him leave.

Pulling the clan's attention, along with his own, Shrikestar called to them, picking warriors to take to the scene of the attack. Smallbean wanted to tell him not to go, that he should wait, but he said nothing. Shrikestar had made up his mind. Hopelessly, wordlessly, he watched as Shrikestar left camp, a band of warriors behind him. He could only wish them the best, and pray to Starclan that the Shadowclanners had returned to their territory.

Turning to the rest of camp, however, he was tasked with defense. Although patched up, he was wounded. Heavily. Tired. Exhaustion dragged at his heels. Even if he was able to sleep, his nerves wouldn't allow it. Instead, he had to trudge though it, forcing his heavy limbs to move forward, to climb the Tallrock. His anxiety would have no place there tonight. "Windclan." Although unwavering, his voice was weary. His exhaustion would be obvious to all who are in camp. It clung to his every word, each heavy breath. "Much was lost tonight. Far more than just a fight. We... have lost our clanmates, loved ones, kin." He paused, letting his eyes fall closed, allowing just a moment of rest before continuing. "There is much to be done, much to be thought upon. Tonight, I only ask one thing of you all. Be safe. Stay alert. I don't know what the rest of the night holds, but be prepared, whatever happens. I won't be sleeping until Shrikestar returns. I suggest all able-bodied warriors do the same."

"If any of you have questions, I can answer. And I will answer honestly. I do not have all the answers, but I will answer what I can." Having concluded his announcement, and was reflecting on his words, he could only hope that his words, weighed by his exhaustion, got across his point. That he was sorry. He was sorry, he tried his best, and that he wanted to make it up to them. There was nothing that he could do to completely make up what had been done, but he would try. It was the least that he could do.

---

Jayfrost stood. Expressionless. Motionless. Unless you stopped to look, you wouldn't have thought he was breathing. It was outside of the warrior den he watched. First the bloody deputy, then others follow. The medicine cats. His father. Worried warriors. And Jayfrost couldn't get himself to move. It was shock, he supposed, that Shadowclan would actually have done something. That their fears were actually validated He'd always believed that Shadowclan would get payback, but the fact that it had actually happened still somehow managed to render him speechless. He'd never really known any of the warriors who'd supposedly been killed. Flutterpetal. Adderdawn. Owlshade. But it still put an anxious feeling in his stomach. Bile rose in his throat. He choked it down.

Silently, he stood, gaze locked onto Shrikestar as he gathered a patrol. His pale blue eyes stayed locked on until he watched his tail tip disappear though the camp's entrance.

It was the blood that hit Shrikestar's nose before he saw anything on the moors. It was cold and powerful, sending shivers down his spine. His pawsteps slowed down as the bodies came into view, and he could feel his heart twist as he saw them. 'Adderdawn, Flutterpetal...' A part of him expected them to just get up suddenly, to shake it off and come back to camp. That wasn't happening, though: they weren't ever getting up. On top of that, Owlshade was nowhere to be seen. Shrikestar scanned the clearing, but couldn't see hide nor hare of the warrior. Perhaps he had made his way back to camp, but... "It's possible," the leader murmured, looking back to the two bodies. "Everyone, help me carry the bodies back to camp. They deserve a proper burial. I will send out a search time to look for Owlshade." If he had been taken by ShadowClan, though... That would be an explicit declaration of war.

Sootstorm skidded to a halt as the stench of blood reached him. The warrior took a step back, coughing in an attempt to get it out of his lungs. His green eyes found the two mangled, bloody bodies in the clearing, and bile rose up in his throat. Why did Shadowclan have to do this? Flutterpetal and Adderdawn had done nothing wrong, nothing at all... Sootstorm padded to his friend's side, gently shifting Flutterpetal's stiff body onto his shoulders. Already, the body felt cold. The dappled brown tom lurched under his clanmate's weight, but refused to stop.