never let your guard down [c]

Badgermask, like wise, was not thrilled to be in the leader's den. The last - and only - time she had been allowed to sit in on a council meeting had ended with the decision to wage the battle that had slain her littermates. The warrior sat near the entrance, tail curled around her paws as she stared at the ground.

She had only been invited in because she had been part of said patrol with her mother - she had also witnessed the eerie emptiness that had struck the Carrionplace. She had little else to add however - her mother had stated the simple facts and if her option was asked for, she would give it...

But she was starting to wonder why she had agreed to sit in...Perhaps to finally put to rest the question to herself of how she felt about Leopardstar...?

Two half-moon meetings ago, Heatherberry had received the unfortunate visit from StarClan when she had closed her eyes and touched that star-forsaken rock. Everything from the appearance of the small, disease ridden cat, to the twisting landscape that couldn't seem to settle on what it wanted to be - to the cries that fell into a deafening silence - all swirled around in her head almost every night since.

When she heard Leopardstar call for her deputy and medicine cats, Heatherberry knew it meant nothing good. When cats touched by the wretched StarClan had to group up, it was certain they would need to speak of things they'd rather not. She cast a quick glance at Badgermask in confusion, before remembering her sister had gone on that patrol to Carrionplace. She did wonder how that interraction with their mother had gone. She hoped they had some kind of fruitful chat. "Unfortunately not, Leopardstar. This should have been shared the moment it was recieved, but the last meeting I attended with Burdockroot did not go well:

...Numbers soon will begin to fade. The misfortune festers, decays, and grows, killing all that which once was known. Your only hope clinging to what remains, look forth, and see the red path right that lays. A future uncertain, if you hold still. Run, dear kits, the trial is here.

As long as it is, the visuals that came with it was enough to make a cat remember it by heart. I apologize for neglecting duty, Leopardstar. Sablestrike." Other than the words spoken to her, the dark she-cat would not repeat what all had happened in that vision unless asked.

She stepped back to give Burcockroot the floor. Although she hadn't gone to the last meeting - instructed by her mentor to stay behind for her mental health after what happened with Snowfoot - Heatherberry knew it was probably worse than the last time.

Burdockroot hesitated outside the den before entering. It was no secret that she had been distant against the clan recently... not that it was much different than before. But this time, it was. As much as any cat wanted to deny it, Burdockroot had tried to be involved in the clan. She really had made an improvement. But then, Batsong... She ruined it all. The betrayal still hurt. The sting of Nightstalker's words still ran deep. The selfish dung still had never apologized... She realized she had walked in and sat down when she came to from her thoughts at the mention of Nightstalker leaving no trace. "Good." she muttered. Not quietly, but breathily. "Let him be gone for good." She shut up then, letting Heatherberry carry on. Sablestrike sat there too. Burdockroot was still upset about that choice - it was a leading factor on her retreat to her den. When Leopardstar took position, she had hoped she'd enjoy the new lay of the ranks... But she had invited the second coming of Nightstar.

Heatherberry spoke of the first portion of the prophecy, leaving out the crusty cat. She would do the same.

"The red sun calls for you, and for your children. Choose your path, trust the suns warmth. Your rivers will run dry, and your trees will die, and any meat you eat will turn to ash should you stray from your forsaken path."

She repeated in her monotone drone. "It clearly states of some plague, or disease. Mixed with the rats missing - perhaps they are running. Additionally, even the medicine cats have closed ranks. ThunderClan and RiverClan seem to be sharing some sort of secret with each other and not the rest of us. We should consider moving in on SkyClan or... WindClan as allies."

Batsong was gone. Falconstar was gone. There was no use holding old grudges in a time like this.

Sablestrike stared despondently at his paws as the meeting commenced. Carrionplace being empty didn't surprise him at all, though the disappearance of Nightstalker along with it certainly made him worry. He found it odd that Nightstalker made himself scarce as soon as the rats had invaded camp, could it be that the tom had lead the swarm to them? Once, the thought never would have crossed his mind, but now he could imagine such a thing. Nightstalker was still bitter from what Sablestrike could tell, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume he would do something like that...

Heatherberry was next to speak. Numbers soon will begin to fade, he had a few ideas as to what that meant, but they all pointed to Lighttail. Surely Starclan wouldn't refer to her in any capacity though, it was only one cat as far as he knew, but the next portions were different. All he had were half-baked ideas for those. A red path, a festering misfortune, could that be referring to the swarm? Though if Nightstalker had been the one to lead them then it wouldn't be much of a misfortune. None of it made any sense, but then again they didn't have the full prophecy just yet. They lacked the visuals that accompanied it. Finally prying his eyes from his paws Sablestrike turned to Heatherberry, mouth opening just as Burdockroot spoke.

"No, not good. We have no clue what Nightstalker's involvement in this is. If he's responsible for any of this then we may be in a very bad position. He knows of this clan's secrets, he knows how dangerous the territory is. I wouldn't put it past him to share what he knows with the other clans, especially if he thinks it might be to our detriment." If he was even alive, but Sablestrike wouldn't assume him dead unless a body was found.

Sablestrike quieted himself as Burdockroot continued. "Not Skyclan." He growled. He'd rather stay in Shadowclan and perish than ask for that clan's help. Windclan on the other paw was filled with feather-headed fools, but would they really allow Shadowclan to move in after what they had done? "I'd at least like for either of you to speak of the visions you saw. We'll need the entire prophecy if we're going to decipher it."

Heatherberry was losing her patience. There was no use protecting a cat that selfishly destroyed the trust his clan had in him, all for his own agenda and pettiness. He had fallen far from grace after the stunts he pulled in his last few moons as leader; she would be surprised if the forest didn't curse his name at the mere thought of him. The only thing keeping her from drowning the fallen leader out completely was Swiftheart. She had had it with that tom, but his sister was a blessing. "Our focus should be only on the cats who remain in our ranks. We can't afford to think of anyone else until we know why any of this is happening." She addressed Leopardstar directly, her green eyes meeting her mothers. "His scorn for ShadowClan isn't a secret. I will say this now: I will not be on board should you find him and want to bring him back here; his true colors have already been shown more than once. Just leave him."

She didn't look at her mentor as she spoke. An alliance with WindClan...? It felt like betrayal just hearing the suggestion. She could stomach SkyClan. Never WindClan. Just because instigaters were gone, didn't mean the hurt was too. "...I wouldn't set aside creating an alliance with SkyClan, but right now isn't ideal. We haven't built up any trust after Nightstalker, and we don't know how everyone else is fairing - or if we even have anything left to give in return. But it would be something to keep on paw for the future. Remaining neutral would be ideal. That I agree with."

She watched as Leopardstar mulled over the prophecy, thoughts tumbling over each other as she tried to make sense of it. Her eyes trailed off to linger on Sablestrike as her mother spoke, before they eventually moved back to Leopardstar. "It was hard to make out the landscape, not even the clouds would sit still. Everything was tinted orange and pink, and the sun split into two. It wasn't night yet the stars were out... All of them red." Heatherberry looked to Burdock for reassurance, glad to have the she-cat with her. She recalled the disturbed wailing and gurgling sounds that were replaced with silence that was somehow louder than the shrieks. "A single cat approached. Small. It's eyes glassed over, yet it still seemed to know where I stood. As it spoke, blood poured from its eyes, ears and nose before falling to the ground with a heartbreaking sob." It took a moment for Heatherberry to realize that she hadn't shed a single tear. The nightmarish vision had her bawling for several nights afterwards, but now she just stood like stone as if she were telling kits a scary story. How... Odd.

"The other medicine cats seemed just as shaken when it was over. It would be safe to say that this was not exclusive to ShadowClan, but maybe Burdockroot will have more to add? Did that cat come back? Did the others react in any way afterwards?"