Perilous journey (Sitewide)

They were too far ahead to turn around and go back, and too close to home to consider stopping. Even as there had been times that the snow came up so high the tortoiseshell disappeared in her entirety, there was no other option than to push forward. As they had all been chased from their temporary homes, it had been the cries of the Riverclan leader that Mottlestar had unknowingly echoed. As they moved, she found herself seeing Riverclan's cats zipping about--and it wasn't much longer before the tortoiseshell took the company of the silver-and-white leader on occasion.

Looking behind her, she sought out the bushy of her deputy. Having to bounce through the snow in order to make any usable maneuvers, she panted with the exhaustion of having to make such an effort. "Have you spoken to much of the Clan? How are the kits faring?" She'd run back if she had to, having carried some of Comfreyheart's litter whenever possible. "Do we need to take a break? At this point... we're going to push through to get back to the forest." She made the decision. It was just the best task for them... and she prayed the forest had healed enough for them to return to.

This was the last thing that Acornstem had wanted. She had been certain - determined - that the Clans would wait until Newleaf to make the trip home as the mountain had been perilous enough without Leafbare sending snow to choke the paths they had traverse... But those... Beasts had forced their paws. And so they forced forward - from the bared fangs of predators into the sharp chilliness of the snow. The deputy's breath curled around her as she panted - she was excusing herself fighting through the snow as she did her best to check on her Clanmates.

Darkspirit and Twilightkit were confirmed dead. Wiggleworm had been gravely injured but at least lived...For now. Everybody was tired, forced to run at a heartbeat's notice but it was hardly the time to stop so she did her best to keep spirits up - listen to concerns and press the Clan onwards. That it was almost over - they were heading home... A hiss escaped her as the snow she was walking on gave away, one leg sinking to deep that the snow brushed her shoulder. It took quite a bit of effort to pull herself free, before she continued forward - her eyes falling onto the snow before her in hopes of keeping off of patches that couldn't hold her weight. She glanced up at the sound of snow crunching in an odd pattern - watching as Mottlestar was forced to hop as her small stature gave no clearance to walk.

A sigh escaped her at the question, glancing over her shoulder. "I've been doing my best to speak to who I can. I've asked the warriors to help carry the kits - mainly the..." she drifted off, she still didn't have a proper name to call them. "...Mix-bloods as they can also carry the kits rather easily on their backs to keep them above the snow," she meowed, before her expression fell. "...But we've lost at least Darkspirit and Twilightkit. They were...Seen being killed by the wolves. Wiggleworm also was injured but was alive when I checked in on him." A sigh escaped her, shaking her head. "A break wouldn't be remiss but I don't know if there will be any good locations to take a break - the snow covers nearly any spot that would be suitable to rest and if we hesitate too long, the snow could get worse and trap us entirely up here," she noted with a grimace as she kicked at the snow beneath her paws. "I...I never thought this would happen - as much as I hated spending so many moons away, I had accepted us waiting until Newleaf to return to avoid this very thing. We're between a rock and a hard place."

A long pause, recalling the words that Firefly had given her. Getting caught up in what-ifs and the future had overwhelmed her when she had been forced to take on the mantle of leader for a bit when they were arrived. As a deputy, her job was the here and now. "...That being said - if we focus on now, yes, a break is needed. Injuries need to be tended to, breath needs to be caught and everybody has to know the plan while we make sure a proper headcount is done. We can't afford any chance that somebody could fall behind because that will spell their deaths in such horrid conditions."

Acornstem is speaking with Mottlestar, admitting that a break is likely needed.

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He....He couldn't breathe. It took all of Creamsky's effort to keep moving, pushing through the snow to keep up with his Clanmates but his mouth was parted - gasping for breath. It had been unpleasant once they had started to climb the mountain even with Lightningbreeze's help...But it had quickly taken a turn for the worse. His back - no, his lungs itched with a strange heat. He wanted to flop into the snow, to try to numb his body to quell the itchiness that prickled along his spine. Whatever air he did manage to take in was a strained wheeze as he was forced to come to a sudden stop as he started to cough violently as he raised a paw to scratch at his throat as if it could ease whatever blockage was keeping him from being able to take in air.

Creamsky is facing the full blunt of his newly founded asthma, which gets worse in cold weather/air, acting up.

Paledove struggled along through the snow, one kit clutched securely in her maw and another perched carefully on her back. Her entire litter was within eyesight, of course, carried by Stormwatcher, Honeypaw, Mistflower and Smokepetal, safe and sound. For now, at least. The cold was biting, but she continued to plough through the snow, long fur keeping her safe from the worst of the chill.

“Remember, darlings,” she called quietly, talking expertly around the scruff in her mouth, “try to keep moving, a little, to keep yourself warm, and don’t fall asleep. If your paws start to go numb, let me know, alright?”

She kept the kit dangling from her maw close to her chest fur, blocking them from the worst of the wind, but there was only so much she could do. Hopefully they would rest soon. Her paws ached, and her joints horrendously so, and she wasn’t as strong as she used to be. She was getting older, but she could shoulder this. She had to. Concealing the quiet tremble in her paws, Paledove scanned her kits once more. They’d seen things here that even she had not. They would be alright, of course, but they might need a little encouragement, and a reminder that No SkyClanner cried.

She would have to speak to Yewkit. Later, of course, but it was quite frankly unacceptable that one of her litter would need the comfort of another kitten, instead of the other way around.

Paledove is keeping close to the cats who are helping carry her litter, and is carrying two herself despite her exhaustion.

Kitespring couldn't keep going. Not for much longer.

She gave everything she had trying to hunt for the clan - before they made the decision to leave the territories for a better land. It was a good decision - even in her current state she could understand that - but it especially harmed Kitespring's wellness as a whole. Then she got sick, which almost made her even more likely to die. She wanted to protect her clanmates, barely moving to the fresh-kill pile to eat (something she knew she had to do once they actually had fresh-kill). And it finally felt like she had started to improve before those stupid wolves forced them out of their new home and into the passage they came from in the middle of leaf-bare.

She was dizzy. She was tired. She was ready to collapse in the snow for an eternal slumber. The only thing that kept her going was Poppyshine - and her other clanmates, of course - and how they needed her to keep on going. They needed her to not die, like Egretswoop did. They needed her to be okay.

I'm not okay.

It didn't matter. Kitespring pushed on anyways, each paw crunching a cold path as she trudged forward. It was miserable living like this, to the point it was almost better letting StarClan take her rather than make the hard journey back, but she couldn't see Poppyshine cry over her dead body, even from the stars. She wouldn't give up.

At the end of the day, though, she could only delay the inevitable.

Honeypaw

As SkyClan had caught up with them, Honeypaw began to relax. Surrounded by the familiar faces and scents of her clan, and with the howls of the brutes - wolves, they were called - fading into the distance, she was aware that the distance between her beloved clan and the horrific creatures was steadily increasing. They had slowed down, however, once they reached the snow-capped mountains. The snow here was so deep, Honeypaw could barely navigate.

"Yewkit, I'm going to put you on my back alongside Mallowkit now," she warned the kit. "It'll be warm up there with all my fur, so just tuck your paws and face in there and get cozy, okay?" Though her own paws felt like they might fall off at any moment, the steady movement of travel kept her from becoming too frozen. "Let us know if your paws start to feel numb," she echoed Paledove.

Reflecting upon their journey so far, Honeypaw realized with a pang that she would never see the lake territory again. She had been born and grew up there; it was like her home, and she knew she would miss it. But the warriors seemed pleased and eager to be headed back to their old home. So long as there aren't wolves there, Honeypaw thought, it can't be too bad.

Honeypaw kept her head raised above the drifts as she bounced through the paw tracks of the warriors ahead of her. Her eyes sought the familiar pelts of her littermates - Shatteredsky, Brackenpaw - who was thankfully alive after foolishly attacking the wolf - and Harepaw, for whom she feared might not fair the greatest in this snow, due to his illness. Perhaps if we walk together, we can share our heat and help each other if one starts to lag behind.

Her stomach growled. It felt so long since she last had any freshkill. I wonder what we're going to do about hunting, she pondered as she bounced through the drifts.

Honeypaw has Yewkit and Mallowkit on her back to keep them away from the snow, and is looking around for Shatteredsky, Brackenpaw and Harepaw. Honeypaw is feeling hungry.

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Given her height, Silverpaw was able to avoid the worst of the snow. The silver she-cat waded through the snow, here ears constantly swivelling in case the howling winds became the guttaral howls of wolves. So far they seemed to have lost them, but Silverpaw wasn't willing to lose anyone else. Her eyes drifted to Wiggleworm, one of her only friend's, and they cringed at the sight of his grave injuries. Thankfully he would make it, but it was shocking none the less to see how savaged such a powerful cat had been by the beasts. Their heart ached, she couldn't imagine how awful this journey was for him. He was still sick too. The fact he had clung on so long was a miracle within itself. Their eyes then turned to the ferals behind her, and the kits they were carrying. Silerpaw's ear ticked, feeling that she was being unhelpful compared to them.

"I can take a kit if any of you grow tired. I am stronger now, and the snow is not much to me." meowed Silverpaw approaching her mentor.

Silverpaw is walking with the ferals and offering to help with the kits.

Wolves at her back, endless snow before her, Blazefang trudged on. One paw in front of the other, one breath at a time. “Are you okay, Dayquill?” she mewed, voice full of concern. Snow was snow, whether you could see it or not, but still Blazefang didn’t leave her mate’s side. After all, he was all she had left.
Blazefang is walking with Dayquill.

After all was said and done, Lighttail found herself walking with SkyClan. She hadn’t set paw in their camp, but now she hoped they would accept her as one of their own. A shiver rippled through the silver she-cat and a tear escaped her eye. “Stoatclaw, I’m sorry it had to be this way,” she mewed.
Lighttail is with her mate.

Sunflare limped along behind ShadowClan, wounded from the fight with the wolf. He winced in pain but kept his head held high, unwilling to show any weakness. He had made an error challenging the beast, but this would not be his legacy. His only regret now was that he’d had to leave his trophies behind, the Twoleg collars he’d saved lost to the wolves.
Sunflare is hurt but still moving.

Snow seemed to creep into every spot on Sageroot’s body, soaking through to her skin from all sides. The cold and the wet were inescapable and she could barely keep her mind on the path ahead of her. Her breath collected in icy clouds as she moaned under her breath, willing her mind into a dark, warm silence. Tears threatened to freeze on her muzzle as the she-cat sobbed. She couldn’t take any more of the sounds or the light or the cold or the change.
Sageroot is overwhelmed but still walking.

The snowflakes that fell from the clouds above clung to Snailpaw's long dark brown fur, just the same as the snow below him stuck to his paws. It was freezing cold, the snow and ice. And as desperately as he wanted the weather to clear up or the snow to be shallower, there's no way it'd get warmer. Not until he was back home. Not until it was Newleaf.

Snailpaw felt weary, but whether that was from his recovery or from walking was unclear to him. All he knew was that he was tired, but he had to keep moving. Whether he moved slow or fast, he knew he just had to move forward. He'd be home soon enough..

Snailpaw is fatigued, and still partly recovering physically from the toll he took from the sickness.