then let my heart be hardened [RC/TC vs SKC BATTLE TOPIC]

There was a fury that now charged her paws as the stars had forced her back into her body. The blow to her skull had been healed by the stars that had blessed her, but it didn’t stop the surge of venom that had practically barreled itself into her at the sight that appeared before her.

Perchstar.

Downed.

From defending her deputy.

From the same paws that had taken her down.

Surging forward, the tortoiseshell hissed. A leap, and her paws came down on top of the tom’s head, slamming it into the dirt below.


Mottlestar used Upright Lock on Falconmoon, dealing 14 (12+2) damage and using 9 stamina.
Mottlestar
30 / 80 HP
45 / 170 SP (-9)


Falconmoon - K.O. Pending
-3 / 73 HP (-14)
61 / 160 SP





General ooc note; Wednesdays are a day I am forcibly away all day due to IRL obligations (literally 730am to 10pm). Please take this into consideration!

It was only a lucky blind swipe, Briarthorn reasoned with herself when the blow from Comfreyheart made contact. At least she was effective in that it wasn’t as hard of a hit as she’d ordinarily expect. Letting go and quickly rearing back around and onto her hind legs, she used as much of her weight as she reasonably could without crushing the younger she-cat’s skull to land a hard, disorienting blow.

Briarthorn used Upright Lock, dealing -12 damage and using -10 Stamina Points. Confreyheart is no longer held by Teeth Grip.

Briarthorn:
32/70 HP
106/160 SP [-10]

Comfreyheart:
18/65 HP [-12]
95/130 SP

Perhaps she had underestimated the cream warrior. Honeydew recovered quickly lunging at Silverdusk, but with an impeccable timing the silver warrior stepped aside, letting the warriors teeth clamp shut on empty air. Still, they hadn’t managed to fully recover from the shock of the sudden surge of strength within the tree rat, missing their chance to gain the upper hand again.

Silverdusk used Dodge and Fight! it was a failure ! costing -6 SP

Silverdusk

18/30 HP
54/80 SP (-6 SP)

Honeydew

17/30 HP
51/80 SP

The member 'Midnee' has done the following action : Dice roll

---

'Effect Dice' : 2

Stormwatcher squinted from the spray of poppyshines blood.  It was disgusting, the scent of her blood and he almost felt sick... not from what he was doing to her but sick from the fact that her blood was getting all over him.  The blood of an inferior clan was staining his pelt.

"done all you have came for!?? You wanna leave now!?" if it was not for his focus on tearing her to shreds he might have doubled over in laughter at this.  She thought... SHE THOUGHT she could just up and leave after this? Oh their business transaction was not complete! Did riverclan really think that?  Was Perchstar so much of a logical non emotional cat that Poppyshine really thought that was the case? That they could just trespass onto their land, kill Beech on her own home land and just call it a day?? All logic and 0 emotion, like a monster off the thunderpath: cold, uncaring and set on her path with no way to change it, that is what Perchstar was.  A cold she cat who probably never felt love or gave it.  She probably did not even know what emotion were, just a walking husk that brough her 'justice' wherever she went.  Cats that demanded this fake 'justice' were sick, no different than that whats her face med cat that caused all that drama that one gathering he slept through mostly since it was not his clan or problem, no matter cats like this were dangerous and needed to be put down in their place.

Not nearly enough of Poppyshine's blood had stained this earth nor enough of her fur been torn from her pelt to atone for the sins of aiding in the killing  of a skyclan cat and leaving so many others hurt.  Stormwatcher understood, that yes Beech had long ago killed and that killing was wrong on a fundamental level. Bad Beech!  He understood that she had atoned for such a sin. However, for an inferior clan, with inferior lifeforms to come take something from skyclan the best clan was a mock against nature itself.  Just as rabbits did not kill cats and likewise riverclanners did not kill skyclan without paying tenfold! The level between cat and rabbits may have been a bit extreme but the point was there was a difference, they were not the same. His mind raced to his beloved apprentice, these cold cruel 0 emotion monsters would probably want to kill her too wouldn't they? Just because she was born skyclan??  Well he would just have to end it right here and now for all the forests sake.  Ospreypaw would not be taken by these abominations of nature, these murder hungry savages. If riverclan saw him as a monster as well so be it, he would GLADLY become that. It was worth holding such a title if it meant driving them off their land.

His eyes twitched flashing a crazed look that he never held before.  The once peaceful tomcat who loved naps in the sun had his true inner Skyclan awoken. It took the death of a clanmate and seeing Sunfire nearly beaten to death as well to awaken what had for so long been asleep "that cannot be permitted now" his fangs flashed in a twisted snarl dripping with blood from the both of them. "no running now, you get knocked out and Birdstar will decide your fate.  He had changed his mind... Poppyshine would not die today, not in the heat of battle like they had done to beech.  No, she would stand trial.  Be locked away and made to wait the last of her day looking out of a guarded den while her fate was discussed and laughed over.

He shuttered slightly as a small part of him hoped that Birdstar would choose a public execution for this fool of a riverclan deputy. Oh what a spectacle that could be! He momentarily fantasized... daydreamed even being chosen as his older 'sisters' (/adopted) trusted executioner, the one to get to put an end to riverclans treacherous high ranks with his own fang.  His eyes sparkled at this prospect, Birdstar would finally see what a great younger brother he could be!! She might even go so far as to not see him as adopted anymore but truly her brother.  The thought was enough to make his tail flick happy which to anyone observing probably made him look like something out of a horror movie as he stepped ever closer to the wounded deputy as if hunting a squirrel.  The difference in his mind that, made them better than riverclan (besides the obvious) was that Poppyshine would not be killed in heat of battle now!  NO she would get a trial first! Something beech never got!  Poppyshine would undoubtedly be found guilty but shhhhhhhhh ... so long as Birdstar was judge and he was executioner they were keeping the powers separate. Yes that is what everyone wanted wasn;t it? yes, separation of powers. Or at least that is what everyone thought they wanted, in reality skyclan always had the power, don't kid yourself.  Perchstar could not have both roles, who did she think she was!? Getting to be judge jury and executioner?! huh? DISCUSTING! Sickening even!

The inner part of him that was not evil/battle shocked screamed at him that he was too much in the heat of battle, to slow down.  He did not want death, only for these annoying trespassing foxdungs to be gone from his land and his family.

You are better than this storm!! it screamed and it caused him to hesitate momentarily...

He looked at the deputies eyes flicking his tail... It was hard because he believed her... momentary as a passing second yes, but all the same for that second he really did believe that she wanted peace now. He blinked looking at her for once seeing that perhaps this could be over?

What she wanted now however did not change what was owed. He sighed as if a disappointed parent about to beat some sense into their kid. "peace must be earned now and you will pay it with your blood. But not your life... not till you stand trial"

He probably did not make much sense, a whole vision of the potential future had played out in his mind prior to talking about any trials.

He bared his fangs and went to bite down on her scruff again to shake her around all over the place like last time, that had seemed to work pretty good!

However, at the last second he got hit hard over the head by the leader he had taunted so much earlier and he yowled in pain it causing his attack to miss and instead he bit into Poppyshine's ear

eww gross ear!?? he thought panicking spitting bits of it out in a mangled mess.

(OOC note:  Xaan requested scars.  I have intestinally left it vague as to how much damage the ear took and vague as to which ear it even was so that the details can be decided easier in art later on.  This also kinda had to be squeezed into the battle post and also my fighting post turn so this is not causing damage damage and is not his actual move, is purely cosmetic)

He groaned about to face the leader of riverclan.

"so you did come face me huh??" and just as fast as Perchstar's attack had come, Falconmoon swooped out of nowhere and finished her off...

He blinked looking at his friend who was now calling the med cat over??

"y-you saved me!" he meowed.  Falcon really did care about him!!! If it was not the middle of battle he woulda run over and given him a chest bump too just like he had to sun earlier.

As it was however the perfect time to end poppyshines role in this battle, he could knock her out here and now!

he rolled low and went right at her belly!  With Falcon taking out the leader and now him the deputy! Birdstar would have to acknowledge him now!

attempting a belly rake -20 sp

SUCCESS BELLY RAKE IS A HIT

His claws raked and tore right through whatever little resistance the deputy could put up and slashed finding their mark.  His two front paws clawed deep trying to knock her out while his hind paws kicked upward to knock the breath out of her!

He grunted kicking over and over into her soft belly flesh until he could feel her weakening from it.  Not to much to kill her but enough to let her be claimable as his gift to Birdstar!

"sleepy time for you!" he hissed tossing her to the side as she fell limp

ko is unblockable but I think kitty says is still nice to leave as pending

Poppyshine ko pending:
0 hp

Perchstar:
(I really hope I grabbed the right stats for perch... it might be worth double checking I just grabbed the post revive ones since I think that is correct at this time)
30/80 HP
82/170 SP

Stormwatcher:
23/73 HP
74/160 SP  (-25)

The member 'speedy' has done the following action : Dice roll

---

'Effect Dice' : 6

Exhausted. She still felt exhausted. Perchstar fought her way to her feet, forcing her eyes open, but around her were the starry plains--a beautiful sky stretching over what looked like an exact copy of RiverClan territory, minus the fighting that was currently going on just across the border. Fighting. Poppyshine. That hypocrite had threatened to kill Poppyshine. She had to get up. She had to get up and she had to unsheathe her claws again, right now, because if any of her Clanmates died--!

"Hey. Hey, sit back down and rest for a moment. You're not returning until your wound heals."

Perchstar whirled around to see a ginger tabby tom, his fur studded with stars. One that she vaguely remembered from her leader ceremony, what seemed like ages ago. He regarded her with ears half-pinned back, a look of concern. "...Gingerstripe." So she had died, then. It wasn't the end of the world--a minor inconvenience, really, though the knowledge that she now only had two lives left felt like someone stepping repeatedly on her queasy stomach. But she had the lives to spare. So at least it had only been her.

He nodded, his dark green eyes glimmering. "War is awful, isn't it?" he said quietly. "All the bloodshed. All the misunderstandings. All of the death that could have been avoided."

"Death?" The leader blinked. Gingerstripe waved a cream-colored paw over the starry river. Swirling images of what was happening below appeared in it. She padded over, paws slow and heavy, to see Mottlestar on the ground, unmoving. Her throat tightened. Her friend and fellow leader... It was like that night on the Great Rock all over again, but this time she'd helped cause the tragedy. ThunderClan had joined this fight of their own volition, due to a lost life and a brutally murdered apprentice, but they had initially agreed mostly on the grounds of their alliance. Perhaps if she hadn't asked, there would be a RiverClan cat's corpse in her place. The thought made her nauseous, but she swallowed it down. She didn't know what would be worse. "It was too optimistic of me to hope for Beechfang to be the only casualty."

"Everyone fights for what they believe in. Even if logically it would be better to lose one for the sake of many, you know that your opponents don't see it that way." Gingerstripe's long tail flicked behind him. In the river-mirror showing the events below, Mottlestar got up and lunged for the tom that had killed Perchstar. Poppyshine and her opponent continued to trade blows. Perchstar could see now that Cindersky was on the verge of defeat in her combat as well, with Mottlestar's former enemy coming in to snap at her just as she appeared free. It was chaos. "No matter how much you wish everyone thought like you, they don't. Everyone reacts. Since you chose to act, they choose to react... and that ends in claws and fangs. Though you did not start the chain of events that led here, you participated in it. It is not solely on your conscience, but you know that you cannot look away." His voice was inexorable, pounding on her heart and forcing itself in.

"Yes," Perchstar murmured, flicking her torn-up ear. She felt a tenuous link to her body, felt the exhaustion slowly leached away, but the aching mostly came from inside. Shellwater had confirmed--this was the only way to achieve justice. And she had done it. Beechfang was gone forever. Unfortunately, all of her diplomacy had failed, and the only way to achieve justice had been to involve others. She knew that other cats would get hurt. Her fault, her fault, always her fault. She choked back the guilt. "But what other choice did I have? Your counterpart told me as much herself. When this is all over, they will be safer." When it was over. If it was ever over. What if their opponents stopped at nothing? What if Cindersky and Poppyshine and Littlesplash and Mottlestar all died, for good? She unsheathed her claws, only to lash at nothing. None of this was real, solid ground for her to dig her frustrated paws into. Nothing here could help her.

"I wish I could tell you. There is no easy answer. If Beechfang died, SkyClan would cry vengeance. If Beechfang lived, you would cry justice. It is simply how this was fated to be." Gingerstripe waved a paw over the river again, and all images vanished. His eyes bored deep into hers, seeking for something. She hated but could not ignore the wisdom in them--wisdom born of a long, troubled life. Born of experience. "There is no question of should or would. There is only a question of will. Will you continue chasing justice until your last breath? Or will you practice mercy, however small, and spare the lives of your Clanmates... and the lives of your opponents?"

A fair question. A question that made Perchstar want to scream and demand that someone else take the responsibility for once, that someone else think about these hard decisions, that someone else have all happiness torn away from them, that someone else have to sacrifice everything they were for others to have even a chance at life. Someone else, anyone else but her. Birdchaser just did whatever she wanted and cats followed her to their deaths. If Perchstar thought and pondered for days and decided on a reluctant course of action, even her best friends and most trusted senior warriors would question her. Even Poppyshine. There was no winning. She'd never been meant for this life, never been meant for this position, but such a knowledge was far too late now. She had no choice but to keep going. No choice but to sacrifice every bit of herself until there was nothing left. No choice but to run herself ragged and throw herself beneath claws and be doomed if she did or didn't. So Perchstar closed her eyes for a moment and let out a deep, exhausted, tortured breath. Two more lives. That's it. She would wake and she would fight and she would protect in whatever way was necessary. To the Dark Forest with her pride and with Birdchaser's pride. Life was what mattered.

"If mercy is the way to save those I protect, then so be it," Perchstar declared solemnly. She opened her eyes, ice-blue gaze staring out into the starry landscape, then back at Gingerstripe. "But if my mercy is not accepted, I do not know what more I can do. I will save the lives of those who I love, no matter the cost to myself or my enemies."

The StarClan tom nodded. Was that approval in his eyes, or resignation? He was hard to read. She supposed that made sense, given the backstory he'd told her long ago of his journey between Clans and between lives. A tom who had been through more change than most cats were capable of. A tom like that could not be easily read. "That is your answer, then. Use it how you must, and I hope that the light of the stars blesses your paws. Many of your ancestors are on your side--Shellwater you know, Cloverheart herself, and many of those you have lost. They watch for you. Do your best, and keep the Code to the best of your ability, and your line will not end."

What did any of that mean? Perchstar felt the adrenaline in her body begin to race as her heart started to pump again. Her spirit was drawn back towards her resurrected form, but she managed one more sentence, packed full of a simultaneous bitterness and resolve. "All I have ever done is my best."

--

And the next time her eyes opened, it was to chaos--screaming--bloodshed. The peaceful reprieve was over. War raged on, with or without her. It was time to put an end to this. Mottlestar was up now, avenging the loss of RiverClan life. Beechfang's corpse had not suddenly recovered. Cindersky was putting up a fight for her life, which briefly gave Perchstar a swell of pride for her apprentice. But there was no time for any of that, because Poppyshine was still in danger. Her best friend, despite their recent arguments. Her deputy.

Perchstar got up, allowing herself a singular wince as crusted-over wounds reopened and dried blood crackled along her sore skin. But the deadly blow had been healed, and so she was back in the fight. Save Poppyshine's life first. We'll go from there. And RiverClan will either retreat, or we will defend ourselves to the last.

Of course, she'd taken too long to revive. Of course, she was too late, and made it to her feet just in time to witness the bloodthirsty tom raking claws through Poppyshine, causing her to drop heavily to the ground. No. Not on my watch. Not again. Not ever. You piece of crowfood! As he stood gloating over his perceived victory, Perchstar set her teeth into his tail and pulled him to the ground, drawing blood and yanking him prone. With claws unsheathed, eyes wild, but limbs still straight and untrembling, the leader of RiverClan stood between this paltry, pathetic excuse for a warrior and her deputy. "Stay away from her, you rat."

Perchstar used Tail Yank on Stormwatcher, dealing 12 (10+2) damage and costing 14 (15-1) stamina. Stormwatcher is stunned for 1 turn.

Perchstar:
30/80 HP
82/170 SP

Stormwatcher:
11/73 HP
68/160 SP

OOC: Poppy's KO is technically still pending, but since Belly Rake cannot be dodged, it is allowed for me to use a stun move here since it will not be a double-team.

OOC: Mobile post

Falconmoon used Dodge and Fight. KO denied. Dealing 0 damage and -7SP

Falconmoon
11HP / 54SP

Mottlestar
Damage Failed
30HP / 45SP (-0HP)

The member 'Tara' has done the following action : Dice roll

---

'Effect Dice' : 1

Even as he evaded her blow, she was ready. Darting towards the tom’s hindquarters, she bit right into his tail. She didn’t care what blood leaked from her wounds; she was going to bring him down. He had gone for her friend, her beloved, Perch. That was ignoring the fact that he had gone after her, too, having taken her ire all for himself.


Mottlestar used Tail Yank on Falconmoon, dealing 12 (10+2) damage and using 14 stamina. Falconmoon is stunned for 1 turn.
Mottlestar
30 / 80 HP
31 / 170 SP (-14)


Falconmoon - K.O. Pending
-1 / 73 HP (-12)
54 / 160 SP