camp DEATH AND ALL HIS FRIENDS ⁺˖⋆ invasion

Howlingstar finally finds the medicine cat in the darkness, her adjusting eyes widening. He's already at Lovepaw's nest, crouching with the intent to carry her. The screams and barks sound loudly behind her, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut for a heartbeat before she opens them again, swinging her head around to see Batwing and Flycatcher there, too. Thank StarClan. They'd need all the paws they could get to carry Lovepaw and Stormfeather out, and to help the rest of the injured.

She looks back to Doepaw and Bravepaw who are already preparing to help each other out. The sight breaks her heart. Such young apprentices, and having to help each other through a bloodied battleground. One of their mentors already fallen. She shakes herself out of it. They need to move. "Here," She mews quickly, sliding to Gentlestorm's side to push herself underneath Lovepaw. With both of their stocky bodies, they just might be able to carry her on their own...but a third cat would still make this a whole lot easier. "Batwing, Flycatcher, get Stormfeather," She instructs, grunting under the weight of the grown cat that now rests on her and the medicine cat's backs. "We need help!" She risks a yowl, hoping someone else will come to aid the warriors.

// helping @GENTLESTORM lift @lovepaw
talking to @Flycatcher and @batwing
Calling for more help
 

tonight is a rarity. exhaustion prickles at her bones when she drags her sorry pelt to her nest for the evening and, blessedly, her eyes are weary enough to fall closed on their own. the days seemed longer with three of their best tucked away in the nursery for the upcoming season ; sleep comes and she does not fight it. besides, despite their recent worries, things seemed to be looking up for them. prey begins to return to the forest with each blade of verdant greenery blooming out in the woodlands, the lands easing into a steady defrost. the edge of hunger fades slowly for all creatures of the forest. so when noise begins to stir in the early night, freckleflame is slow and grumpy to wake — at first. the prickly of electric energy hums low over the warriors den, and the molly turns to her elbows, eyes fixing on the sight of her kin stirring nearby. she opens her maw to ask what was wrong, but her ears catch on whispers before she can.

please, no. please, no. her breath comes quick, short suddenly, but she can hear even the snuffling of wet, searching noses and knows they are only tail-lengths away. more than just that one — paws crunch against thickets and twine that makes up their camp, searching in the sparse ravine undergrowth for signs of life. the rapidly spreading bristle of panic rippling the warriors den grows to a crescendo. her head tucks back into her neck ruff, chest heaving, eyes dilated against the moonlit exterior where real monsters lurk. sunfreckle is fretting into rabbitnose, warriors are lifting and staggering from their dens. wolves, they whisper. wolves.

she nearly vomits. a sudden churn of her stomach forces her to a ragged upheave, fur matted and tangled with moss. wolves. her father inches towards the den’s maw and yes — there they were. her limbs tremble. her breath comes quick, head shocked and low. a stumble brings her closer, brings her to the sight of beasts larger than she could truly comprehend. large, thick - clawed paws pad towards the nursery, no doubt attracted by the milk scent and blossoming life inside. her heart drops, sinks further than her paws and suddenly, she feels unreal. roeflame, moonwhisper, flamewhisker.. there wasnt a world where this sort of thing could happen. how would they get out? they were trapped in their individual dens, if they pride themselves from the undergrowth, there was no questioning the pack would follow. what did they do? she’s a warrior, what does she do?

it’s a split second. it’s on purpose, and if she’d had the mind to, maybe she would have screamed at him for it — maybe if she’d had time, she could have made him promise not to. made him wait until she gave him grandkits, or until her little siblings would were given their warrior names. guilt. she could have guilted him into life, into sacrificing someone, anyone else to save thunderclan’s future. there were too many things to see, to experience, to share with him.. selfishness reigns, and all it takes is a second, her father darting away and at first, she thinks ( hopes ) it’s to flee. he’d only three legs, and running from the creatures that sniff closer and closer towards the thistle - lined nursery would take him far longer than most other cats. her head pivots, struggling to keep her attention on their nursery attendants because sunfreckle was suddenly far too close, she doesn’t know what he’s doing. her mouth opens to call him back. she could see damp nostrils flare only moments before the hound snaps.

the world falls from beneath her paws.

a guttural scream comes out instead, stumbling a step forward with it. like something cored, gutted, like her father would soon be,NO! it feels as though her knees would buckle. a splash of crimson, locking, drooling maws coming together with an awful, wet crunch. too - big teeth sink into the same fur that paints her chest in shades of sunning ginger, bleeds it darker than it should be — it arcs hideously as the hounds gather, thrashing their heads with enough effort to send him soaring into the air, a wide spatter that dapples each edge of their clearing before she can force another sound. RUN, he screams, and she can’t — she can’t, she can’t do it. she stands shell shocked amidst the sudden crawling cacophony. warriors push past her, weave around her limbs to the medicine den, to the nursery, up the slope of their camp and into the dense trees that make up their forest territory. jaws crunch again. paws shove onto the same belly she’d nursed at, sending waves of meat and fur and blood to the already gaping wounds. she can’t see his eyes close. she doesn’t know if it still hurts.

cats are running, screeching. flamewhisker tells the kits to look away and she doesn’t have it in her to suppress the broken, “ they’re ripping him apart — my dad, my dad! “ that falls from her maw like water, like sand through her claws, an unstoppable and agonized thing. she crows and crows and crows. her face wet and it’s awful, it’s awful to look, but the wolves surround him and all that’s left are pieces in long, snarling mouths. dread and despair consume her like nothing before and if she continues, the hounds would finish her father and come after her own, hopeless keening.

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  • i. iso.. someone to physically shove her out of this so she can go help

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  • FRECKLEFLAME 𖦹 . LESBIAN, SINGLE. SMELLS LIKE SUN - WARMED OAK AND RICH, EARTHY MUSK. EIGHTEEN MOONS OLD. FRIEND & SISTER TO MANY! NAMED A WARRIOR OF THUNDERCLAN ON 8 / 3 / 2023. MENTORING NO ONE! PENNED BY ANTLERS --------------------------------------------
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    she / her, daughter of sunfreckle and rabbitnose. big, fluffy cream - ribboned tortoiseshell with seaglass eyes. larger than life! each and every part of her is broad ; wide in everything from her face to shoulders to her feathered tail, something reminiscent of her father’s kittypet heritage in the square of her chin and hulk of her figure. she appears illusionarily fluff - ridden at first, thickly pelted in shades of fire and soot, long & tangled, knotted with undergrowth — seeming soft and pudgy, and she is.. that figure curving into hard, hidden bulk along heavyset flanks and well - muscled limbs. a characteristic lack of personal space leads her to a slouching, touchy posture, often inclined to lean or bump against her peers.
    74050405_3z3TRmotTItEoMt.png
    prone to bouts of explosive emotion. all opinions are solely in - character and during these times, often untrue or said only in anger.

 
  • Crying
Reactions: Rai and Blitz Krieg
a howl pierces through her dreams, causing leafhusk to awake in a jolting gasp. the eerie sound of death, the kings stalk into camp, and as her eyes adjusted, she could see their glowing eyes and ivory fangs. wasn’t someone on guard? she thought, and the realization that they were the first victims comes too quickly. the colorpoint rises from her nest in time for the chaos to erupt, cats rushing past her in screams of terror. a wolf’s death isn’t kind, she learned back in the forest with the deer, and the sickening crunch of the fallen clanmate is a grim reminder.

time seems to slow down, she stumbles slightly as clanmates shoulder past her. leafhusk barley begins running until howlingstar calls out for help, and she bites back a swear. the medicine den, of course, the other place closest to the entrance- sunfreckle’s sacrifice is only temporary. the molly twists her body and weaves past escaping clanmates towards the vulnerable den.

"i’m here." she sputters, heaving out a breath. stars, she forgot how bloated the den became, but the thought is quickly shaken off. leafhusk isn’t the stockiest cat, though there wasn’t time to really list the pros and cons for helping each cat in the medicine den; as forces herself between batwing and flycatcher.

"i got her, move."

helping @batwing @Flycatcher & @STORMFEATHER heart smile​
 

-ˋˏ ༻ ☀ ༺ ˎˊ-
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The world outside erupts, yowls and commands thrown up into the sky.
Roeflame does her best to keep her eyes steady on Flamewhisker, until she feels the sensation of something charging right towards them.
The realization strikes her in the same breath it does her deputy, her head whirls to face her demise, her mate screaming her name from somewhere amongst the mess ringing in her ears.
Her breath hitches, but Roeflame refuses to let her eyes close.
Something bright against the wolf’s monochrome collides into its leg, stealing its attention from the group of queens and kits.
Roeflame has to stifle her scream when her brain connects the familiar pelt to Sunfreckle.
Moon-round eyes watch as her friend is flipped, snapped.
Run! He orders on his dying breath, Flamewhisker shouting an echo.
The other queens gather the kits in their jaws, and Roeflame feels another hitch in her chest.
Still, despite the fact she was heavily pregnant, or the looming feeling of a tight grasp around her heart, the cinnamon ticked tabby refuses to give her unborn children anything but their best chance at survival.
Still, Freckleflame’s screams shake Roeflame to her very core, her best friend had just witnessed the same as she, her father fed to the wolves.
So she runs, rushing towards a familiar mottled flank. Urgency takes over the heartbreak, the desperation for her friend to make it out of this alive.
Roeflame aims to come up from the warriors flank, pushing a forepaw against Freckleflames ribs with a newfound strength.
”I’m so sorry Frecks- but we need to move! MOVE!” Her words are biting, aiming to both physically and verbally push the she-cat out of her hysteria.
The reminder of her new priority comes in the form of a sharp kick against her abdomen, and Roeflame would force herself to stay at her friends side for only a moment longer before breaking into another run, a rush towards a familiar ebony pelt.
The short sprint towards the ravine is winding, and when Roeflame cranes her head to glimpse at the very top, the queen cannot help but feel small, useless.
Toadhop, Lightflower, Foxpaw, Stormywing, Flycatcher. All cats who weren’t by her side, all cats she cared about whose fates were unknown to her.
Her beloved Burnstorm, who is always the hero.
Behind her, the caterwauls of confusion and disorder ring in her ears as other clanmates begin to make their flee for sanctuary up the ravine. All in a matter of a singular heartbeat, and Roeflame takes a second one to steady herself long enough to look at her mate.
”Promise me that I’ll see you up there.” Despite the hoarseness in her words, they are steely, unarguable.
There would only be another split second to spare for Burnstorm to react, before Roeflame would force herself to begin the upward climb she had taken countless times before, now made into a struggle.
Soil snakes up her forelimbs as her paws drag, but the queen would eventually make it to the top on the heels of Flamewhisker, prayers to the stars like a broken record in her mind.

  • Briefly Interacting w/ @FRECKLEFLAME @BURNSTORM & indirectly @Flamewhisker

  • ROEFLAME she/her, Lead Warrior of Thunderclan, twenty-one moons.
    petite cinnamon silver ticked tabby with murky green eyes & a small scar over her left eye.
    mate to Burnstorm ☀ mentor to Foxpaw, Lightpaw
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted ☀ underline and tag when attacking
    penned by Noor@toyangel on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 
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Selfishly, when Leopardtongue had finally made her own next within the nursery she had wished that things would be calmer during this pregnancy, that she would not get sick and could simply do what she could from her nest and the camp without being too much of a fuss or a bother. Her children were safe within the medicine den - injured, but safe - and were healing, and she knew she didn't have to worry about Batwing even with the wolves running around the territory. He knew how to climb, knew how to get out of the way and take control of situations to help others do the same. She hadn't thought that it was possible the wolves would find the camp though. It had been a worry that had been mentioned numerous times when the clan found out about the wolves, but she wanted to live in ignorance and decided it couldn't be possible as they were too well hidden and the wolves too stupid.

She was lucky that none of this were things she had said out loud, for she'd be riddled with guilt then.

Ears flicked as the queen woke up from her slumber, head lifting as the realization of something going on in camp but the rough awakening from sleep caused her to be slower, to not understand fully at first. The loud plea from her mate caused her to wake up more quickly and claws found themselves unsheathed by habit as she stood up, head nodding in response to Roeflame as they were instructed to get the kits to the middle of the nursery and quickly she helped, quickly she gathered and watched as the queens around her grabbed onto the scruff of kits and quickly she followed as they left the nursery.

Eyes widened and ears flattened to her head as she climbed and when she was high enough to know that she would not be attacked by the wolves down below is when she turned and watched, looked for her children that were apprentices, once seemingly living so close to her while she reside within the nursery and now so far away since she couldn't jump down to help them, only watch and pray to StarClan that they made it to her safe once more.

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    ⊰❣⊱ LH chocolate rosette tabby with yellow eyes
    ⊰❣⊱ 39 moons old; ages the 15th every month
    ⊰❣⊱ heterosexual - taken by Batwing
    ⊰❣⊱ mother of Bravepaw, Cougarpaw, Hazepaw, and Foxpaw
    ⊰❣⊱ easy to interact with ; hard to anger/upset
    ⊰❣⊱ "speech", thoughts, attacking
    ⊰❣⊱ hard in combat, focuses more on defensive tactics/protecting
    ⊰❣⊱ peaceful powerplay allowed
 
"We have to help them.... But there's so many wolves..." Rabbitnose says, pressed against Sunfreckle. What he doesn't know is this is the last time he will ever feel his warmth and comfort.

It happens so fast. One second he is beside Sunfreckle, and the next, Sunfreckle is darting out of the den to distract the wolves from the nursery. Rabbitnose has only felt horror like this twice before, when dogs ripped his tail off and when Sunfreckle was stolen. When it grips him a third time, he's trying to follow Sunfreckle.

"Sunfreckle no-"

But Sunfreckle is already speeding towards those beasts, and for once, at the worst time, Rabbitnose is too slow. Sunfreckle collides with the beast, gaining its attention and ire.

"NO!!" He screams out as a large silver maw opens to grab Sunfreckle, flinging up upwards. Sunfreckle's yowl alerts the other wolves, and Rabbitnose watches in blood freezing horror as they swarm his beloved. What happens next is from Rabbitnose's worst nightmares.

"NOOOO!!!!" He shrieks, racing towards him as if there was any hope of saving him. He doesn't hear the pounding of familiar pawsteps behind him belonging to his sister, Badgerstrike.

She grabs his scruff and pulls him back forcefully even as his screams pierce her heart. "RABBIT- RABBIT STOP!" She shouts, muffled by his scruff.

Rabbitnose fights against her grip, but it's futile. Badger was always stronger, after all. "LET ME GO I HAVE TO HELP HIM- SUNNY!!! SUNFRECKLE!!!" He screams and struggles, forced to witness the wolves ripping apart the love of his life. His shrieks do nothing. His struggles are in vain as Badger pulls him away. Tears roll down his cheeks from eyes widened in horror and agony.

"HE'S GONE, RABBIT, HE'S GONE!!" Badgerstrike shouts, her own voice cracking with grief. She doesn't want to admit it either, but there was no denying it. Even if Sunfreckle lived.... Nothing would heal those wounds. "WE HAVE TO HELP THE OTHERS, DON'T LET HIS SACRIFICE BE IN VAIN!!"

The scene before him will be forever seared into his mind. Once lively, kind, beautiful green eyes are now lifeless and clouded, and a once beautiful red pelt is torn to pieces in front of him as the wolves show no mercy. Badgerstrike is right. He knows she is, and yet, he is frozen. Half of him has just been murdered in front of him, and he can't even swear revenge. Blinking tears from his eyes, he gives one last anguished shriek before looking to the medicine den. Sunshinepaw was in there. His other kits were in the apprentices den and Frecklefalme is just as broken as he is, but Roeflame is at her side. Heavily pregnant Roeflame. He rushes to his daughter.

"F-Freckleflame... We have to-" He chokes. "Help everyone get out, okay? Help your siblings. I'm going to help H-howlingstar." He says, nudging her. He presses his nose to her head before forcing his legs to move.

His earlier cries hadn't gone unnoticed, and as he rushed to help Howlingstar and Gentlestorm, a wolf zeroes in on him. But his sister is also a great, vicious beast, and intercepts it.

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT YOU HAIRY PILE OF DOG VOMIT I'LL KILL YOU!!" She roars in it's face. Of course, the wolf is offended at her audacity and snaps at her. Badgerstrike was prepared, dodging the bite and smacking the wolf in the nose with her claws. It yelps and draws it's head back briefly, but lunges forward again to snap at her. It finds purchase on her tail.

Badgerstrike yowls in pain and rage. "YOU WRETCHED SON OF A DONKEY!!!" She immediately latches her claws and fangs onto it's face and while she's not sure how much damage she's actually doing, she's drawing blood and it makes her feel like she's ripping it's face off. The wolf yelps again and lets go of her now broken tail. For good measure, she smacks a dirty paw into the wolf's eye to distract it while she makes a getaway.

She'd love to stay and fight, but even she knows she cannot win. If that wolf catches her again, she's done for. She glances in Rabbitnose's direction, he's made it to Howlingstar and Gentlestorm. She looks towards the rest of the clan scrambling to escape, and rushes to help the queens.

"Go, I'll cover you if any of those bastards come this way." She growls.

Rabbitnose's throat is tight, but he has to help. He's overwhelmed. He moves to help support Lovepaw. "I'm here." He manages to Howlingstar.

((Rabbitnose is helping @HOWLINGSTAR and @GENTLESTORM! Badgerstrike is guarding the remaining queens and those trying to climb! Briefly interacting with @FRECKLEFLAME ))​
 
His dreams are full of ghosts tonight. He’s splashed with marshland mud, too-big and too-clumsy paws slipping and sliding in brown muck. Brothers dart around him, their fur fluffed out, their eyes gleaming with excitement, kittenish tails quivering stiffly in the air. Graystorm pounces on him, wrestling him into submission, while Berryheart watches from a lazy sunning spot and Jackdawflight paces. They shimmer in and out of existence, as though they’re caught between some other plane of reality—as though they aren’t really here, and then he awakens when he feels the nest empty. Cool air ruffles his fur where Nightbird has left him. He blinks the darkness from his eyes, focusing on her retreating figure. He wishes she hadn’t left—he misses her already, wants the comfort of her body curled against his and the softness of her fur tickling his nostrils.

When she re-enters, though, his hackles begin to spike. Round silver eyes gleam in the gloom, and her voice is hushed but hurried as she begins to prod the other warriors awake. “Get up; be quiet; they’re here.” He snaps his jaws together, a great vacant space blooming behind his heart. Fear causes his pulse to quicken. The beasts who had slain his brother have invaded their home.

Raccoonstripe pushes himself to his paws, listening to the whispers erupting throughout the den. Panicked whispers, plots, and then Sunfreckle darts between them all, into the clearing. The tabby peels his lips back from his teeth with a startled hiss. “Sunfreckle!” But then he sees what the great ginger warrior is barreling toward—the nursery, where a slanted shadow has set its eyes on easy prey. A shriek splits the silence, a battlecry from Sunfreckle. The rest happens almost before Raccoonstripe can move; all of ThunderClan watches as Sunfreckle sacrifices himself to powerful jaws and blood-smeared fangs.

The camp erupts into chaos. The queens corral the kits, round bellies swinging from side to side. Freckleflame yowls her agony and flings herself toward her father’s body, Rabbitnose hot on her heels with tears streaming down his face. Howlingstar bundles herself toward the medicine cat’s den, where Gentlestorm waits inside with his injured patients.

Raccoonstripe darts after her, to where Batwing and Leafhusk come to help. A howl pierces the night sky, and a shudder erupts through his pelt, clumping the fur. One of the beasts has Badgerstrike by her tail, though mercifully she’s able to get away with her throat unsnapped. “Not alone, you won’t,” he snarls, his claws unsheathed. Even the entirety of ThunderClan could not defeat a wolf, but he would not let Sunfreckle’s death be in vain.


  • ooc:
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  • Raccoon . Raccoonstripe, he/him w/ masculine terms.
    — “speech”, thoughts, attack
    — 37 moons old, ages realistically on the 5th.
    — mentored by n/a ; mentoring none ; previously mentored Wildheart, Moonwhisper
    — thunderclan lead warrior. gray wolf x howlingstar, gen 2.
    — currently mated to Nightbird.
    — penned by Marquette.

    lh black tabby with white and dark brown eyes. charismatic, charming, calculating, ambitious, shallow, manipulative.


 
With the wolves horribly distracted by Sunfreckle's sacrifice, Softpaw found herself with an opportunity to flee the apprentices' den and flee to where the rest of her Clanmates were escaping. She wanted nothing more than to offer her help in some way, but she was barely an apprentice, and small at that - she wouldn't be able to carry any of the wounded apprentices, so the best option was for Softpaw to get out of the way and to safety. She could see that the queens had made it up the ravine that would be their saving grace from the wolves.

If she couldn't help down here - and really, against wolves, there was no helping, not after everything was over - then she might be able to offer her services to the queens and others that had escaped up the ravine. Running on adrenaline and, admittedly, fear, Softpaw propelled herself up the ravine.

"Is everyone up here alright?" She gasped, head frantically looking from cat to cat as she caught her breath. Of course they weren't alright - no one would be alright for awhile after the wolves had decided that their reign of terror was over, but she hoped that other than that given, no one would be terribly injured.
 
Marigoldpaw isn’t asleep for long, before all hell breaks loose. The howls pierce his ears, and the tension in his muscles instead flare up into fear, and he knows he needs to move. For once, he is happy at how his body likes to act on its own, without much input. As Softpaw pressures everyone in the apprentice den to flee, he does so without a second thought.

There can only be one thing that stops him in his tracks. Another tragedy, and nothing he can do. When Sunfreckle falls to the ground dead, Marigoldpaw yells in anger. Anger at him being so stupid as to lose his life to a beast that he would never have survived against, anger at the wolves for attacking in the dead of night. But there’s nothing he can do, except move. Move, move, move.

As much as he wants to get out of here, there’s someone else he’s more worried about. Sunshinepaw. He would need help, and there’s already so many injured…and he would do anything for Sunfreckle. So without another thought, he rushes to those escaping, offering his support to the tortoiseshell. “I got you. Just try your best to keep up,” Marigoldpaw says softly, not wanting to alert the massive monsters. Hopefully the two of them can make it up the ravine, but…

// OOC : Helping @sunshinepaw
 

Screaming. There was so much screaming.

Asterpaw had been in the nursery when the wolves came. He'd been nestled in alongside the queens and their toddling broods, listening to attempted, interrupted, and half formed conversations. It hadn't been long since he'd been apprenticed and he wasn't quite ready to give up spending time in the nursery. His attention had been half-hearted at best, eyes nearly shut and mind wandering. Was he going to go on a patrol soon? seeing the other clans sounded really cool.

Awareness was quickly found when the howling rang out. He didn't know what it was or what it meant but the anxiety that rattled him was immediate. Everyone around him, all the adults, were frantically gathering up the kits. There weren't enough cats to help everyone in the den. There were some queens that were just way too big to get out on their own!

Asterpaw knew he could get at least one kit out of here, he was big enough to carry one of the little ones, so he stepped in to take @Quailkit. as soon as he could. He darted out of the nursery alongside warriors and frantic clanmates, trying to push immediate confusion and concern aside in favour of climbing the ravine. He pushed himself as quickly as he could to bring his charge to safety, sprightly limbs pushing their way to safety.

What was happening? were his clanmates dead? why was there so much blood and stuff on the ground. Asterpaw didn't know what the wolves were and he didn't know that cats could be caught like.. that. Warriors were supposed to be unbeatable, at least Thunderclan warriors were.

Panting from the quick escape and added weight, the apprentice joined his clan at the top of the ravine. He wasn't sure who to give Quailkit to so he gently put them down between his paws. He felt like he was going to pass out.
[ high score! ]
 
Howlingstar's eyes flit up as Leafhusk and Rabbitnose barrel into the medicine cat's den, shortly followed by Marigoldpaw. They're all here to help. Thank StarClan, She thinks as Rabbitnose takes up position by her and Gentlestorm. With the three of them, they'll carry Lovepaw to safety much easier. Marigoldpaw is helping the other injured apprentices, and Batwing, Leafhusk, and Flycatcher have Stormfeather draped across their backs. They can do this. "Up the ravine!" She yowls to them, adrenaline kicking her paws forward to begin the journey.

As soon as they're back out in the clearing, she is briefly overwhelmed by the chaos that is continuing to ensue. Badgerstrike and Raccoonstripe are defending the queens while they climb up the ravine, kits in tow. Moonlight bathes the clearing in a silver glow that sickeningly illuminates the blood that paints the ground just outside the nursery. Sunfreckle's blood. The tabby has to swallow hard as tears gather in her eyes and she forces herself to look away, to keep going. She fights the urge to sob at another loss, another friend fallen, but if breaks down now she will fail the clanmates that are still here. Sunfreckle will not have died for nothing.

They reach the wall and she looks between her clanmates that help her carry Lovepaw. "One paw at a time, but we have to hurry!" She hisses, eyes round with fear and determination. Gritting her teeth, she sinks her claws into rock, doing her best to balance Lovepaw's weight across her shoulders.
 
His heart was in his throat. Bravepaw waddled towards him, asking if Sunfreckle was okay. Stars, he almost felt sick as the question, dizzying as it was. Acornwish. Jackdawflight. Sunfreckle. His heart thudded in his ears, having found it's way up his throat. "No, son. He's given his life to defend others." Batwing couldn't sugarcoat it- wouldn't, for all the madness that was going on. Howlingstar's instruction was quick, biting, and his head nodded. "You go ahead, Bravepaw. I'll be right behind you, okay? Climb." His voice gained strength- green eyes watching his son support Doepaw on their way out.

His head turned towards the others that began to join him in lifting Stormfeather- a deeply appreciative blink given to the support of warriors and apprentices alike to help the injured find safety. "Easy, easy." He finds himself saying as the three of them begin to balance Stormfeather, paws moving across rocky ground. Head tilts back to watch Howlingstar's entourage lift Lovepaw up out of the ravine, and when the path clears for that, Batwing follows their same system.

He does his best to ignore the blood staining their home, the howling of wolves still searching for prey, the baying of the teeth at their ankles. It's fine. It's okay. We'll be just fine- Starclan, please. He prayed silently, hoping his family was watching, hoping his mother was guiding their steps up the ravine, hoping his siblings were keeping an eye on his young, his mate. Batwing would never know, but all he could do was pray. Claws and pawpads dug into the ravine wall as he worked with Leafhusk and Flycatcher to carry Stormfeather free of the ravine.​
"speech"​
 

A sigh of relief parts his lips when Batwing is instructed to help him carry Stormfeather, and, at the request for help Leafhusk also comes to give aid. He is glad for all the cats who have come to lend their paws to the medicine cat and his injured charges. If not for those offering to help, Flycatcher doubts they would have been able to make it out safely.

With a nod of his head, Flycatcher and the others begin the task of getting the injured out. Stormfeather is carefully carried across the backs of himself, Batwing, and Leafhusk. It's a difficult task to begin with, but made worse by the looming presence of the wolves in camp who could turn their attention to the fleeing cats at any time. He could not see Flamewhisker anymore and hoped she and Falconheart had already made it up the ravine and out of camp. After watching Howlingstar do the same with Lovepaw, Flycatcher and the others take their turn in getting Stormfeather up. Flycatcher's lips are drawn into a grimace as he works hard to not only support his daughter but ensure they all get up the ravine safely. "We've got this!" He mews encouragingly to Leafhusk and Batwing. "Just a little...further."
 
THE CLAMOR OF THE CROWD
SO MANY NAMELESS FACES ALL AROUND

quailkit & 02 moons & female & she/her & thunderclan kit

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Quailkit doesn't understand whats happening. One moment she's waiting for mother with sleep-filled eyes - like a good girl; a habit she finds hard to break even as days pass by with no return - and the next cats are yowling. Strange noises reach tiny ears - scary sounds, sending shivers up her spine as hackles raise and fur fluffs up. Whatever the strange monster is, outside, it doesn't sound very nice. Green eyes are wide, glistening with unshed tears s she falls utterly still and silent - falling back on old habits. If she doesn't move... surely mother will come get her? Will keep her safe.

But there is no mother here - instead it is asterpaw who swoops in, teeth digging into her scruff as she falls limp, body swinging as they try to make their escape. Eyes shut tight against the sight of hulking canines, nose wrinkled at the metallic scent of blood. Its just a bad dream, right? Surely it must be. It feels like both a heartbeat and an eternity later that she's being set back down, eyes opening slowly even as she presses tight against the apprentices belly and legs, trembling.

actions & " speech, " & 'thoughts/quotes'

A L O N E I N A C R O W D E D R O O M

 
Once everyone was behind her, making their way up the ravine to safety away from the wolves, it was time for Badgerstrike to make her escape, as well as Raccoonstripe. She had little time to hesitate, the wolves were already looking to her and she loathed to turn her back to them. Her heart is pounding in her chest and blood is roaring in her ears as dread digs its ugly claws into her.

"It's time to go." She says quickly to Raccoonstripe, hoping he'll follow and that no one else will be widowed today.

She rushes for the wall and begins the climb, letting hope into her heart as she scales higher. It was a trap, optimism. It leads you into a false sense of security, makes you let your guard down. She'd almost made it out out of reach when she felt jaws chomp onto her tail, making her let out an agonized shriek.

"YOU SON OF A-"

The wolf pulls on her tail and threatens to yank her from the wall. She digs her claws in as she feels her tail break, clenching her jaw through the pain. Bracing herself, she tries to pull her tail free. She has to push through the pain, she won't go down this way. This wolf may have the end of her tail, but a second decides it wants to help and clamps down higher up. This one is in decent range of her hind legs however, and when Badgerstrike feels her tail break again, she kicks at the wolf, who stumbles over the other wolf and loses it's grip. Unfortunately, all it took was that one extra tug from the first wolf being shoved to sever her tail.

Badgerstrike cries out in pain and fury, but scurries up the wall to safety. She doesn't know if she's trembling in pain or fear, but she can visibly see herself shaking. She won't admit to being scared. Even as she looks back at the damage done to her tail and the reality that could have come to pass, where she was yanked off the wall and mauled like Sunfreckle, she keeps it inside. The pain makes it hard to focus on anything anyways.

"Filthy mange ridden pigs!" She spits harshly. "There's gotta be a big rock around here to push off the ledge." She growls, looking around in vain. She continues to growl in frustration that there is not a rock that will crush these wolves nearby.​
 
—————————————————————⊰☾⊱————————————————————

The screeching outside, red upon the ground in vibrant streaks, she lowers her head to the sound and the shadow before the den falls and suddenly they can see the sky once more. Moonwhisper barely registers what happened, she hears the call to run, to climb, to escape, and she turns to the nearest kit clustered around their limbs to grab; Deerkit, held awkwardly by his head in what could not be a very comfortable position but she has little time to worry about her kit carrying methods when it came to life and death. The tortie point wastes no time in bolting from the den after Roeflame, she can already feel the extra weight beneath her making the mere act of running cumbersome and she clenches her jaw but not so tightly as to pinch the kit between them.
While Moonwhisper might have rejected her SkyClan blood outright there was no denying how it served her now, with a spring upward she hits a ledge and clambers up it clumsily and with little grace, a combination of the skill being unhoned and her pregnant stomach interfering with a clean scale but looking like she knew what she was doing was the last thing on her mind. Moonwhisper wanted out, the wolves howling in unison and feasting on cat blood have her fur prickling as she sets Deerkit down near the top, "Hold on." Before picking him back up and readjusting her grip to be easier for them both.

  • Ooc- Hella late but I wanted to sneak in a few!

  • 75204781_kmRWM9XaLmDg6Vg.png
    Moonwhisper
    —⊰⋅ Warrior of ThunderClan
    —⊰⋅ She/Her
    "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
    —⊰⋅ LH Tortiseshell point w/ice blue eyes

 
—————————————————————⊰𓆰⊱————————————————————

Pigeonpaw is a heavy sleeper, it takes several apprentice trampling over him in a flurry of movement for him to even be aware of what was happening and when he finally joined them to peek outside the den he feels a cold chill sweep down his spine to his plume of a tail. He has never known fear before, not in the way that it sinks in and swills like ice water, the way it seizes you and leaves you a paralyzed fawn upon the thunderpath. He isn't even sure what to make of the shadows lumbering past dens and huffing with rank scent like rotted meat and mildew

The young blue apprentice realizes he would never have been so brave, his fear latches to him like burrs and he knows he'll never amount to the same sense of duty as his father as he watches the red tabby bolt outward to the wolves with a roar like LionClan and a yowl to warn everyone to flee - he doesn't react as teeth score striped fur and a red body is tossed to the air, its only when Sunfreckle hits the ground does he realize the inevitable is about to happen and his mouth snaps open in a scream that doesn't come; choked out by the terror of being seen. At first he's rigid, he can't tear his gaze away from the horrific sight and his limbs are stiff as he stumbles forward with the surge of apprentices all running for their lives, but he catches himself and turns to make a beeline for where he sees Howlingstar and others attempting to evacuate the injured.
Pigeonpaw isn't brave, he knows he's not, but he wants to be. He'll try.

Pigeonpaw's head bursts into the medicine cat den, his eyes wide as his fur parts to reveal their blown out pupils and frightened visage; he doesn't speak but nods, he knows if he opens his mouth it will be only to scream and cry and throw up but he keeps it clamped closed because he can't fall apart right now-not yet.

  •  

  • 62602527_Rj6et8vCTd63fvT.png
    Pigeonpaw
    —⊰⋅ Apprentice of ThunderClan
    —⊰⋅ He/Him
    "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
    —⊰⋅ LH Blue smoke w/white & blue eyes.

 
Dear StarClan... He winces whilst Sunfreckle is scooped up by the wolves, tearing his gaze away to avoid the image being pressed into his mind forever. The screams, however, he cannot drown out. Freckleframe, Rabbitnose - the former lead warrior's family cry their sorrows loud enough that those even beyond the stars may hear. Chaos has broken out between them all, now, and the only way they can go is up.

He watches as some cats dip quickly towards the medicine den, full of apprentices that've met their matches mere weeks ago. Others thrum towards the nursery, where queens hiss and spit and gather their broods. Skyclaw moves to follow the crowd, to protect what he can and guide others out. Skyclaw almost scaled the ravine walls on his lonesome - if not for brown and white fur to capture his gaze.

"Chick -" he breathes, and then louder, "Chikky!" to be frank, the apprentice's name is too much of a mouthful to say properly - not with all that's happening. He hurries towards them, grimacing at the smearing of red on the nearest lupine's face. That's not a look he'll forget anytime soon. "StarClan don't - don't be an idiot, let's go!" He would sooner hook his claws into their pelt and drag them if shoving his entire body into them hadn't worked first. Nonetheless, with the apprentice (hopefully) in tow, he points them away, narrowly missing too-strong jaws nipping at his hind legs. He would guide them up, spotting each clambering step by following with his own.​
 

Night’s peace crumbles with distant howls no longer distant. Cerulean gaze snaps open in wake of hushed whispers alarm-laced. Wolves, he hears, he knows. Wolves have invaded the camp, silver glinted fur mere pawsteps away. What do we do? Toadhop wonders the same, his eyes growing wide, his heartbeat rapid.

Roeflame. How was his sister to get out of this? Moonwhisper, Flamewhisker? The gaggle of kits taken in? If he had time, he would’ve shut his eyes tight, would’ve prayed to StarClan that they make it out of this alive.

But the screams come first. The nursery. His sister. Black fur bolts forward, and Toadhop follows, but it’s fire that cuts them off, blood-forged embers sparked by canine tooth flint. “ Sun — ! “ he shouts. Run!, comes Sunfreckle’s final words in extinguished flames. And Toadhop… Toadhop can hardly breathe in the billowing smoke that follows, cries of Freckleflame, of Rabbitnose, of… of..

Run!

Gnashing teeth move forward, and Toadhop back — a springing motion, a dodge of another spark igniting in him. Tabbied limbs bound toward the nearest opening he can find, and its silvered fur he sees in the fray — a ticked pattern he’s known for most of his life. She climbs to safety atop the ravine, and for a moment, a brief moment, he can find some relief amid the panic. His sister is safe.

But the rest of the clan…

Burnstorm stays planted at the bottom of the ravine, an effort to help those who can’t climb the barrier by boosting them upwards. Toadhop looks to the night-furred tom and hesitates. He feels wrong in running, feels wrong in not making sure no one else succumbs to canid kindling. But he isn’t as tall as Burnstorm — he barely towers Roeflame. He can barely climb the ravine himself, but —

I… I’ll help pull them up — “ he blurts out to the lead, a quick nod to the tom before he scales the wall and plants himself at its ledge with an aim to help anyone who still struggles between him and the dark-furred tom below. ​
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  • // pretend this isn't late oops
  • 75352427_5zJK0BNBCWuj2E9.png
    TOADKITTOADPAWTOADHOP
    ── Warrior of ThunderClan

    ── Cinderfrost x Grime
    ── AMAB; He/Him
    ── A brown tabby and white tom with blue eyes.
    ── Mentored by Stonepool
    ── "Speech"; Attack