Bad Tidings {WINDCLAN MEETING}

Sometimes Sunstar wondered why Hazelstar had ever chosen her to become deputy of WindClan. The brown she-cat had never seen herself as deputy material. But that was the thing that made Hazelstar unique, the old leader had the ability to see in a cat what that cat could not see in themselves. In this case, Sunstar's leadership. It felt so natural for Sunstar to fall into the lead that she never noticed how much she did it, and how much others looked to her to do it. And now all those times she missed seeing it came tumbling onto her shoulders. The drops of blood clung to her face and pelt. The blood had dried, but the scent linger heavily in the air, especially around the stiffening body of Morningstreak, the WindClan deputy. Or, who had been the WindClan deputy. Although it time had hardly passed since the ominous warning and death at the gathering, to Sunstar it felt like moons. And there was still so much to do. Sunstar had until the next moon high to appoint a new deputy, she had to consult with Cloudstep, and most importantly she had to tell the clan something. Sunstar had sent two of her warriors ahead to warn the clan of their arrival and meeting. The scent of blood would be strong, and she didn't want them to think there had been an attack, or that an attack was coming their way. The warrior knew that once they came over this ridge, the camp would be in sight. And she was right. It lay nestled securely in the brambles and heather of the moor. Many of the clan cats would still be sleeping, having not yet heard the news. But Sunstar could see movement; the clan was beginning to stir. Sunstar picked the pace up only slightly, and in just a minute they were entering the camp. Sunstar went straight to the middle of camp, and yowled at the top of her voice. "Let all WindClan cats who can catch their own prey gather!" Sunstar knew her wording was off for the familiar gathering call, but this was anything but familiar. [bg=ffe69c][atrb=border,0,true]

Ladybird
» "There are no walls, no bolts, no locks that anyone can put on your mind." ~Otto Frank

Although the blood had long dried by the time Ladybird, Flamestrike, and Honeystep had dragged the limp body of Morningstreak through the camp entryway, the scent was still fresh and pungent in the she-cat's nostrils. Several times on their journey back from Fourtrees, Ladybird thought she might be sick, but she swallowed hard each time the bile rose in her throat. With her jaws clamped firmly in Morningstreak's ginger fur, she was forced to breath through her nose, choking in the smell of death and fear with each intake of air. Her stomach was twisted by both the horrific event at the Gathering and the sharp tang of the darkening red spatters on their former deputy's tattered pelt. Further, her legs ached from the impact of her leap to fell the crow. She would not have been surprised if she had sprained a limb, but the shock of it all had numbed her pain.

Despite her discomfort, she would not dishonor her deputy by pausing even for a moment. Morningstreak deserved a warrior's send-off to their ancestors, and it was up to her, Flamestrike, and Honeystep to usher her still form safely back to camp. Upon their entry, Ladybird joined her two companions in laying Morningstreak to rest in the center of the clearing. Sunstar's call to the clan, while departing from the norm of meeting summons, was rousing the sleepy camp. Soon the caterwauling would begin, cries of anguish and confusion filling the night at the discovery of their fallen deputy. Ladybird closed her eyes and pinned her ears, preparing her senses to drown out the noise. She must focus on the task ahead of her -- preparing Morningstreak for the clan vigil.

Mournfully, Ladybird helped to arrange her body in a peaceful position, resting her lifeless head on her paws and tucking her tail around her. She fought back tears when she realized that her Clanmate's body was still warm to the touch, though it was quickly cooling as a chilly breeze picked up in the clearing. Sighing, Ladybird thought it would be best to also lick the blood from her fur, to lessen the haggardness of her appearance. When their job was finished, an observer might think her to be merely asleep.

Smokepaw

Woken from a fairly nice dream, a small white tom clambered from the apprentices' den, grumbling in his mind about how late it was and wondering what could be so gosh darned important that It couldn't wait until morning. Shaking himself awake, and giving himself a quick grooming, Smokepaw found that he was finally awake enough to look around. What he saw made his pelt stand on end. The leader was spattered with blood, and the deputy who was laying in the center of the camp, having the blood groomed from her pelt. The stink of blood filled the camp like a tidal wave and Smokepaw fought the urge to dive back into his nest and wail like a kit. What happened at the gathering? Was Morningstreak dead? Who killed her?!

Able to move after a few heartbeats of being frozen in place, the small, long-legged apprentice raced to where the deputy of his clan lay. The cats who had returned were subdued and the scent of fear and sorrow seemed to coat each of them in the tangy sourness. He was almost afraid to ask and as Smokepaw looked toward Sunstar, he realized that this was not the only thing that needed to be said. Great Starclan! What is going on?! Smokepaw shook as he took a seat and waited for the other cats to take their own places. By this time, any cat who had woken up seemed to be bristling from the scent of blood. Smokepaw almost feared what his leader had to say.

~~~~~~~~~

Word Count: 256, Short
Muse: Bleh

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Cloudstep felt numb. He felt as if he should run away from all this. Run away from the pain and the blood. Run away from the eyes that stared at him with accusation. He knew something was wrong. Why hadn't he told Sunstar. He was so stupid! He hissed at himself and laid his ears back. He saw Sunstar glance at him, but keep going. He just followed his paws, knowing they would take him home. Two warrior were sent ahead to warn the clan. He slowly scanned his clan mates that traveled with him. He wondered how many he would have to sit down and talk to, tell them everything would be okay, even if it wasn't. his eyes rested on Swiftpaw for a moment. Yes...he would need to talk to him. As they entered the camp he wanted to run and hide in his den, wait until morning, but Sunstar had already called to gather all the cats. He took his position near her, sitting with his tail around his paws, watching as the cats gathered. Confusion, anger, fear and pain all filled their eyes. He just sat there, not daring those emotions to meet his eyes. He didn't want to be cold, but he had to be strong for the clan. "I am sure you want to meet after this," he murmured to Sunstar as the last few cats gathered, "Let me get something for Ladybird and then I will meet you in your den." He had noticed the she-cat's muscles tensing. He hoped she was okay, even for the leap after the spectral crow she did. He was medicine cat; his duty was to check on the clan cats. If nothing else, poppy seeds to help her sleep would be useful. Word Count: 292 Tags: Sunstar Thoughts: This will be interesting

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Tansypaw Tansypaw


Tansypaw hadn't been chosen to go to the Gathering. It was amazing any of the apprentices had been chosen to go, considering how mouse-brained they'd been to follow Flintpaw's stupid ideas. At the sight that greeted her when she rose from her nest to answer Sunstar's summons, she was kind of glad she hadn't gone. A wail grew in her chest, but she swallowed it. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't. Crying was for kits, and she was not a kit!

Regardless of her thoughts, Tansypaw found herself reluctant to approach the deputy's body. If she approached, it made it more real. No matter how far away she stayed, though, the smell of death and blood wreathed around the clearing. The apprentice stared up at Sunstar and demanded, "Who did this? Was it one of the other Clans? I swear, if one of them k-killed her," she stumbled over the word, having not used it before in relation to another cat, "then I'll shred them!"

She'd try to, of course. Honeystep hadn't taught her any fighting moves just yet. They'd barely gone over the territory before the ill-fated venture to Outlook Rock and Tansypaw had been, for lack of a better word, grounded. Essentially confined to camp.

Sunstar watched with clouded eyes as her clan gathered around her. They began mumering among themselves as they smelled the blood. Cries of shock and fear filled they clearing as they spotted the still form of Morningstreak's body. Sunstar watched as many went over in silence to examine the body of their dead deputy. She spotted Ladybird who had taken charge if preparing Morning streak for burial. With a deep sigh Sunstar turned her attention to her gathering clan in order to address them, but before she could speak, a nervous voice spoke up.

Sunstar turned to look at Tansypaw. Immediately after the young apprentice had spoken others began to call out their agreement. Sunstar needed them to listen, and so she stood up and flicked her tail; the clan fell silent.

"No, Tansypaw, this was not the work of a Clan cat." Sunstar moved her gaze to look over all of her clan "It was not even the work of something that could be physically seen." Sunstar hoped her clan was listening and would believe her.

"In fact, I can't really tell you what happened. Morning streak tried to tell us something, something I believe very important. Before she could say it, however, she started to bleed. Everywhere she was bleeding, and all she could say is 'They're beneath us'."

"It happened so fast there was nothing anyone could do. I tried to help, but it was already to late. She died. Almost immediately after her death, crows appeared everywhere, attacking cats and covering the sky. It was pitch black.

Sunstar took a deep breath an continued with the report. "We ended the meeting to return to our camps and to meet individually with out medicine cats. In a weeks time I will be meeting with the other leaders at Moonstone. I will appoint a new deputy by the next moonhigh. For now we must mourn the loss of our deputy, and prepare her for burial."

<sup>Flamestrike kept his legs steady as he fought against the wave of emotions that were threatening to overcome every single muscle in his body, he couldn't, wouldn't allow his feelings to get ahold of his mind. It felt wrong to loose his usually state of mind at the brink of disaster, but he couldn't help the occasional shiver or fearful gaze, he was carrying the body of his deputy after all. The young tom felt the pungent smell fill his nostrils, it wasn't something you could get used to, it always made a tentative wave of fear try to run rampage through his mind, he didn't even dare look at Ladybird or Honeystep for they might see how lost he felt. But that's exactly what he was fighting against. Fear. That one emotion that blurred judgment away and drove the most decent of cats insane. He had to keep his head or his whole world might collapse. He had to be strong for his clanmates, specially for Birdpaw, his apprentice, whom will most likely need his guidance in this dire time.

But could he give the little apprentice that guidance? He swallowed the bile that rose through his throat and instead concentrated on getting Morningstreake's body safely back to camp. He knew they were almost there. When they crossed the barrier that protected camp he was greeted by many confused and terrified glances. Apprentices gasped, elders mourned, warriors fought back tears.

He helped Ladybird clean Morningstreake's body until not a speck of blood was left in her fur, she could be sleeping if it weren't for the pungent scent of death that clung to her body. He took a step beck and joined the rest of the Clan, he tried to concentrate in his leader but his thoughts kept drifting back to the crows, the screeches, the blood... Flamestrike shifted uncomfortably, it still hurt where the crow had grazed his skin but there was no wound to be seen. As he usually did he suppressed the pain, if there was no real wound to treat it was illogical to feel pain he thought. His mind was brought back to the Clan when the nervous voice of Tansypaw drifted through the Clan, those who had attended the Gathering remained silent but the rest called out their agreement. Where they blind? There was no wound in Morningstreake's body, no cat could have done this. But what could have? Sickness? Poison? He didn't know, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He tuned Sunstar's words off almost automatically, he didn't want to listen to it again, if he did he was sure he would succumb to fear. He looked for Cloudstep amongst the crowd, he thought his friend might needed his support more than ever. He just hoped he knew he could always trust him and that he could help with anything he needed.</sup>

<sup>Tanglepaw padded into camp with a heavy heart. For once the words didn't leave his tongue - they pressed themselves deep into his throat and refused to come up. The tom's mind was reeling, only a few days ago was Morningstreak scolding them for leaving camp, and here she was - dead. He cast Flintpaw a long sideways glance, he could only imagine what the tom was thinking. Were they on the same page? The two had been idling time with flimsy conversation, oblivious to their surroundings, and then suddenly the gathering had begin. Tanglepaw barely paid attention, instead he passed his companion petty comments and snide remarks. He never could take anything serious. And then it was Windclan's turn to speak. He always grew quiet at the sound of his mother's voice, it was habitual really. He remembered hearing Flintpaw mutter something in his ear before it happened - before Morningstreak bled out. But Tanglepaw couldn't make out the words. Instead he watched as his deputy muttered her bloody chant until she could no longer speak. He could still see her gaping maws; the blood stained pelt, and then the sky went black.

The tom had been too petrified to move, the only thing on his mind was her ominous message, "They're beneath us." Only when everything had cleared did Tanglepaw regain use of his limbs; his mind. He slid his fellow apprentice a widened glance, "Flintpaw." The words left his mouth bluntly, "What's beneath us." The look on Flintpaw's face confirmed his suspicions, they were on the same page. And it wasn't Morningstreak who had made the discovery, it was them.

The two padded into camp in silence. They settled on the edge of the clearing, too absorbed in thought to pay any attention to Sunstar's words. Tanglepaw's mind was crumbling, what was his fate? With a sharp intake of breath he turned to Flintpaw and meowed quietly, "What are we going to do?"</sup>

❈ Medicine Cat Of Windclan ❈
Show Me Heaven

Cloudstep let his mind wander as he thought about his dream. Had he missed something? Was there something that Starclan had shown him that could have stopped Morningstreak's death. He closed his eyes some, trying to hide the shivers that threatened to take over as he recalled the dream. Blurry faces, but he knew them, Hazelstar and Heatherflower. There was no mistaking it. It was them. But why had they attacked him? Or had they been attacking him? Were they warning him? No...they looked mad, no....furious.

He slowly opened his eyes listening to the clan-mates around him. They were worried and he felt eyes on him, as if they expected him to know. He swallowed his fear and kept standing tall for them. He couldn't show his fear. As his blue gaze he saw Flamestrike, one cat he knew he could trust with his life, watching him almost worriedly. So apparently he wasn't hiding his anxiety very well. but again, Flamestrike was good at picking up when he seemed off or upset. He flicked his ear just a little, letting the orange tom know that he would try to talk to him as soon as he was done with his duties and discussing things with Sunstar.

There was also someone else he wanted to talk to. Snowpaw. He hadn't been able to see her before Riverclan left. He wanted to know she was okay. This probably wasn't helping her anxiety and fear. He could just see her now, curled up trembling and crying, wanting someone there to curl up with her and tell her it would be okay. He wanted to be the cat who wanted to do that.

He stopped dead, his stomach dropping. It him like a brick. Maybe Starclan wasn't mad at the clan...but him. What he was doing right then--caring for a she-cat, wanting to curl up with her and protect her for all he was worth, to keep her from harm-- was against everything a medicine cat was. He had to care for all cats, not just one. No, this could be happening.

"Have I fallen in love?" he mentally asked, staring ahead of him, eyes focusing on nothing. "Is all this my fault?"

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Word Count: 368
Tags: Flamestrike
Thoughts: Is he really falling in love? Or is he just a dang good medicine cat? <.< >.>

<sup>Two weary round eyes appeared from the apprentices den as Jaggedpaw heard the familiar call of a clan meeting, he was reluctant to get out of his nest but the stench of blood had shook him to his senses. Blood? was their an attack? an invasion? an array of terrible things flashed through his mind and he felt a tight knot in his stomach; something wasn't right, the cats had returned from the gathering, Starclan had vowed a truce on that day. Jaggedpaw crawled and shook off the wooziness that was still upon him from his disturbed sleep, he wasn't a cat who recovered quickly from not sleeping enough, hopefully his mood wouldn't show too much.

The clearing was crowded with his clan mates as they huddled around the body of a cat, Jaggedpaw could only see the tip of the cat's ears as the tension began to rise in the camp, the clan was mourning. Who was it? Jaggedpaw gritted his teeth in frustration as he struggled to make out the scene before him, he opened his mouth only to be filled with the dank stench of blood as he tried hard not to retch. Sunstar was covered in wounds too, the blood had dried around his leaders face and there where patches dappled against her pelt. Waves of panic lingered in the air as Jaggedpaw cautiously sat down on his paws at the edge of the gathered cats. This is something new.. who could have possibly done all this? 

The clan looked like a mess, he could see Smokepaw gazing up at the leader, anguish and confusion reflected her gaze, Cloudstep looked more emotionless in comparison to the rest of the camp. Good call, the clan would be helpless if their medicine cat was in pieces, he had to focus on his duties. Tansypaw had called up to the leader in a desperate cry, demanding some kind of explanation, but even Sunstar didn't fully understand what was going on. Jaggedpaw looked down at his paws in silence, drowning out all of the desperate cries of his clan mates and focused only on his breathing. 

Sunstar's explanation of what happened only made things worse. They're beneath us? What in Starclan's name was that meant to mean? and crows, attacking so suddenly? how was that even possible? Jaggedpaw hissed to himself at how undeveloped the situation was, there was so much we didn't know. If this was a new enemy, they'd clearly have an advantage with how oblivious the clan was. 

Count: 422
OOC: yay first post! c:</sup>

<sup>Flamestrike nodded at his friend, he understood the message perfectly even if no words had been traded, he would check on Cloudstep later when all his duties had been tended to. He still couldn’t help but worry they were good friends after all and the anxiety that his friend’s eyes and body betrayed made him wonder if he was really as okay as he wanted to seem. The young tom’s thoughts raced towards the river, he wondered if Moonshine was okay, his pelt bristled just the slightest bit. He head seen before he left the Gathering, she had been relatively well, if one didn’t take the anxiety and fear in consideration. He silently cursed the border, the invisible line that separated them, if that line didn’t exist the he would be able to comfort her, to hold her close and make the fear go away.

But she’s a RiverClan warrior and you’re a WindClan cat.

The thought made his bone chill but then the memory of her beautiful eyes made his mind shrug those ideas away. It felt right so it had to be right. He once again looked at his friend and decided some of his duties would have to wait, something was obviously wrong with the medicine cat.

The warrior clicked his tongue and ever so discreetly took a few steps towards his friend until he was sitting side by side with Cloudstep. He winced slightly and the non existing injury but quickly discarded the pain, it didn’t make sense anyways. Flamestrike studied his friend for a few heartbeats, something had scared the wits out of him because he looked troubled, scared even. “Hey,” he muttered loud enough for him to hear, “You okay?” The question was simple but the orange tom hoped he could get a truthful answer out of him.

Words: 304 words
Tags: Cloudstep
Notes: I think they’re both confused xD</sup>

Cloudstep
As I Walk Among the Stars
I Plant My Feet on the Ground

Cloudstep saw the orange pelt of his friend slowly make his way over. He glanced that way and smiled some as his friend settled in close. So apparently he didn't hide his emotions well enough. At the question, Cloudstep flicked his ears back some, not in annoyance but almost as if he had been smacked. He sighed some.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked softly looking at his friends. When he received a nod he grew quiet for a bit debating on how he should tell his friend. It wasn't that he didn't want to help him, in fact Flamestrike might be able to help him more than anyone else. his claws kneaded the ground some and he finally figured out how to explain the situation to his friend.

"I'm just....worried....about the other clans. The other cats," he paused some collecting his words again, "No, they haven't lost any cats yet, but who knows what else is going on with them. I just...feel like we should all work together."

It wasn't a lie. He had never seen the reason for four clans, because he believed the clans could work together if they really tried. Plus cats wouldn't have to worry about caring about someone in a different clan. But even then...that didn't help how he felt. He shrunk a little then flicked his ears shaking out his fur, trying to brush it off as a cold chill.

Word count: 234
Tags: Flamestrike
Thoughts: Cloudstep is such a peace keeper...lol

{{I'm doing a short time lapse to moon high for the deputy ceremony}}

Sunstar opened her eyes and peered at the entrance of her den. It was dark and the moon was nearing it's highest point of the night. She needed to appoint WindClan's new deputy. She had escaped to her den in order to think. Sunstar knew that the grape vine would have been running all night in the Clan. The cryptic events of the gathering put all of them on edge, especially since their deputy died.
Sighing, the she-cat pushed herself up and exited her den. It was time to name the new deputy, a task she hadn't imagined would happen in this way.

There was hardly any need to call the clan together. Those who had known Morningstreak well were mourning at her side, while curious and fearful bystanders stood nearby. Sunstar still tasted the hint of blood in the air that clung to Morningstreak. Most of it had been washed away, but it was a near impossible task to remove it all from her pelt.

The aging queen took her place at the head of Morningstreak's body. She gently placed her muzzle against her former deputy forehead, said a quiet prayer to StarClan, before raising to meet the watchful gaze of her clan. "Let all those old enough to gather their own prey gather for a clan meeting!"

Tanglepaw had left his companion for the company of his nest. He needed to rest - even if it only happened to be for a few minutes. His mind was reeling. One second Morningstreak was corralling them into camp, the next she was littered dead-center, limp as a rag-doll. He could still taste the metallic scent of blood on his tongue. It made the apprentice sick. But perhaps it wasn't the morbidity that churned his stomach most, no, it was the moments before her death. The hour or two spent before the gathering. The she-cat hadn't returned to camp until much later than the scolded apprentices, and there was something off about her. Had she seen something they hadn't?

The tom shivered involuntarily, he could remember the rotting bones and hollow eyes. He could remember the voices drowning out his senses. What in starclan's name had they stumbled upon? And then it hit him like a ton of bricks. They had to go back. They had to go back to the hole and investigate. It was the only logical solution. Another shiver traveled down his spine - but that meant they had to go back. The ginger tom set his jaw, he was determined to return, he had to do this for his clan before it happened to anyone else.

With new found courage the tom emerged from his den and scanned the mourning silhouettes until he picked out Flintpaw's lanky form. He and the crimson-colored apprentice had been the front runners of the entire 'escapade'. It made sense to go to him. It made sense that they would both return. He didn't want to rap Birdpaw up in this mess. She didn't need to deal with this. They could handle it. But before Tanglepaw could even approach the tom, his mother interrupted with her slow, pained walk toward the Tall-Rock. A wave of sympathy washed over him. He hadn't even considered what his mother must be feeling right now.

She must be devastated.

The tom curled himself into a sit. He would have to wait. It was wiser, and far more considerate to wait. Sunstar was going to appoint a new deputy. The tom cast Flintpaw a long, side-ways glance, they would have to go quickly, as soon as the ceremony was finished. They would have to be quiet, stealthy - words almost foreign to Tanglepaw's regime. He was usually obnoxious, reckless, and loud - but tonight things were changing. A sense of calmness had come over him, a sense of responsibility that hadn't been present before. He was finally growing up.

Cloudstep
As I Walk Among the Stars
I Plant My Feet on the Ground

They prey was sick, or pathetic, the warriors and apprentices were getting weak and now his herb supply was starting to run low. Why was his supply always low? He never used it! Cloudstep grumbled under his breath and started making a mental list of what he needed to go out and get. Of course, he would have to get a few warriors to go with him. Flamestrike would probably agree to go with him. Who else could he ask? Sunstar needed to get out of the camp, for her own mental health, but he couldn't tell her what to do, only advise.

He stopped hearing her call out for a clan meeting. She must have finally made her decision on the new deputy. He stood there quiet for a moment then sent up a silent prayer to Starclan, even if they weren't listening to him, or anyone for that matter. Leaving his list for later he slipped out of the den and slowly made his way through the crowd of cats and took his spot near the base of Tallrock.

Heatherflower had told him that she had always seen this as she perfect spot for a medicine cat. It was close to the leader, to show support but also close enough to the clan to show that they were still there for them.
'Being a Medicine Cat is a bit of a contradiction,' he thought to himself, 'Gotta be a leader figure, yet understand the life of the warriors. A kind soul as well as a harsh truth.'

Scanning the faces of the cats near him he saw every emotion he thought possible. Fear, sadness and curiosity were the majority, but he also saw anger and a light hope that the they were moving on. Yes they were. It would always hurt but they had to move on. They would always have to move on, or perish in the darkness that was sure to follow.

Word Count:: 322
Tagged:: Erm...whole clan? lol
Thoughts:: He is growing up too quickly for my liking. But that is the life of a Meddie Kitty. -pets him-