Show me the way, brother [open, WindClanners]

it is darkpaw's first taste of war, and the tang of blood in the air brings waves of nausea rolling into him. his ears are flat against his head, hoping to block out the screams of skyclan and windclan alike while they rip into each other, as he trails after cranecatcher into the fray. the wind whips at his short fur, but darkpaw does not think it is the source of the chill that runs down his spine.

it is the first time that he's been without his pebble, and he can feel the absence of its reassuring weight in his empty mouth. a reminder that starclan has not followed him here, into this cruel blood bath. they don't want this. darkpaw has to stop this, before anyone dies-! (in the chaos, he does not notice the corpse of a windclan warrior being dragged away from the battlefield. naively, he hopes that he has arrived before anyone could travel to the stars.)

keeping his claws sheathed- he doesn't want to hurt anyone, he just wants to stop this senseless violence- darkpaw runs towards the first windclan cat he lays eyes on; a young she-cat, not much younger than he is, mottled with black and orange. the riverclan boy would attempt to knock her over with his weight, in the pursuit of intercepting her from hurting anyone, but he would not lay tooth or claw on her. "stop!" he yowls. it is frantic, and desperate, a reflection of his stricken gaze. his paws are shaking, his blood pounding in his flattened ears. the screams, the blood scent- it's all too much. he wants to run, he wants to bury his face into the fur of his mother and forget that such violence exists. but he has to stop this; it is what starclan expects of him! "you have to stop! starclan doesn't want this!"

[ "attacking" @strawpaw ; please don't interfere for now <3 ]​
 
a warmth is quick to coat her paws as claws found their purchase slicing through a muscular shoulder, the feeling of having landed her hit sent a rush of pride through her small frame. the point felidae couldn't revel in it for long as a snarled maw is driven right towards her face but fortunately there is enough distance where even if teeth were gnashed all they'd achieve is a mouthful of nothing. instead, it seemed the skyclanner used this closeness to spit out her own retort.

like striking a match, the blood in her veins are alight with rage. teeth are quick bare at daisyflight, a loud snarl ripping from her throat as venomous words begin to pool on the tip of a bristled tongue but shrewtuft isn't given time to say them as she's cut off by the sound of a heart-wrenching scream from galeforce. something twists horribly in her stomach, sunsetbreeze is gone?

unfortunately, this distraction leaves shrewtuft open and suddenly there's a force colliding into her flank followed by the stinging pain claws digging into flesh but she's also sent careening into the blunt edge of an unseen boulder that causes a screech to force itself past her maw. there's electric shocks that ripple across her frame causing the small warrior to flinch involuntarily and grit her teeth.

"ya'll just love clumpin' us together cause all of you skyclanners got yer head too far up yer asses to see that windclan is more than just our fuckin' leader!" shrewtuft spits out, plumed tail thrashing back and forth. "we got friends and family too, depending on us to get them the help they need but ya'll would rather watch us all burn makin' ya hypocrites no better than the monsters you like to paint us as!!"

pushing through the ache, the earthen-toned molly manages to rip away from daisyflight in order to regain her bearings and doesn't give the other a second to think as a furied caterwaul bellows out from shrewtuft who charges right for her. there'a a burn in her mucles as they bunch before she's suddenly flying at the older warrior once more with outstretched claws, if successful she'd latch onto daisyflight trying to rend whatever flesh she could reach while also attempting to snap her jaws around a chunk of flesh at side of her throat.

/ @Daisyflight
[ THE HUNTER'S MOON IS SHINING ]​
​
 
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Into the fray he follows the rest of his Clanmates. He did so out of a fabricated loyalty—he was trying to mimic something he wished he had. Was this how his father felt? He often wondered if he would ever gain his warrior name. How strongly some could feel for their group which had only existed for less than an apprentice's lifetime. So if he wasn't here for arbitrary lines drawn in sand, what else could he be for? His friends, perhaps, but who where they? He had been an outsider the moment he stepped paw on the rivers.

Do something! He whipped his head around, finding that he had lost his mentor in the fray. The sounds of yowling cats and ripping fur filled his large, soft ears and he cowered, the giant, lanky cat he was. Do something! It screamed again and Ravenpaw suddenly leapt up to his feet in a crazed frenzy, darting for the first cat he saw—a red and white tomcat stinking of WindClan grappling with another tomcat who smelled of SkyClan. While an apprentice, Ravenpaw was abnormally tall for his age due to his breed, so he decided to rush forward and attempt to ram into the red and white cat's flank to catch him off balance.

attacking @speckleclaw. , aiding @SLATE​
 
Strawpaw has stayed in the background, nervousness in their belly as they watch the battle explode around her. Cats clawed at each other, went at throats and- oh, Stars, they feel bile rise in their throat, paws frozen against the ground as they watched Sunsetbreeze slump forth. Galeforce screeches and goes off in a frenzy and Straw cannot help but wonder: are they doing the right thing? Did they even get enough to heal their sick? They hope the stealth patrol was doing okay, they hope Icepaw isn't... She swallows. They hope Icepaw didn't face the same fate that Sunsetbreeze met. They squeeze their eyes shut to knock out the thoughts

Eyes land upon Firepaw who is getting two-teamed and theyre teetering over to her until a weight knocks them straight over and right in to the snow below, eyes look up, terrified. Oh, oh no, is this the end? Would they slash them like Sunsetbreeze? They quake before they realize in their stupor that this cat isn't laying fangs or claws upon them and their shoulders relax slightly; he screeches for them to stop and Straw only looks at him sadly. "We can't." a croak because there are about to be tears shed because hes just as scared as they are. "And-" a deep breath because their clanmates are relying on them. "We won't." Starclan willed this, Starclan would have let them die if they didn't take matters in to their own hands. Despite them being half on their back and half on their side, a paw unsheathes and swings forth, hoping to catch him anywhere upon his face. Fight me and make it hurt so I don't have to live with the guilt. They want to cry. In any other world, any other universe, they hope they could have been friends instead.

// @DARKPAW ​
"speech"​
 
darkpaw is successful in knocking over the windclan apprentice, and there is a spark of hope at the reluctance they show towards him. maybe, he was already getting through to them. but they croak that they cannot stop. that they would not stop. yet, in their misty eyes, he sees his own fear reflected back to him; they are both children in the midst of a war waged by adults, and he wants to take away the pain in those orange eyes. they hope that they could've been friends in another life, but darkpaw wishes to be friends in this one. he could change windclan's mind, somehow. the apprentice in front of him, denies it. but he could, he would-

to his surprise, a white paw flashes towards him. he freezes, finding himself unable to move. darkpaw has never felt the sting of claws on his skin, he has never seen his blood drip from a wound inflicted by his own kind. sheltered, with only the mock fights where claws remained sheathed, to draw experience from. it had seemed like nothing more than a game, back then. but in true battle, with claws approaching his face, he could not remember any of the defensive tactics houndsnarl had taught him. he could not even remind himself to move, get out of the way, before a pain unlike anything he's ever felt blossoms along his snout. the force of their blow knocks his head to the side, the apprentice stumbling back- and he pauses, pupils constricting into thin slits as he stares at the snow. the snow where crimson is beginning to stain the pure white. his blood, dripping down his muzzle, and onto the snow.

his chest heaves, and he wants to cry. it hurts, it hurts so bad, not only on the outside but on the inside. they injured him- he had only been trying to help, his claws had not even been unsheathed, and they injured him. why? why are they so insistent on drawing blood? why do they continue to seek out violence instead of peace? why isn't starclan stopping them? why, why, why?!

his head whips back around with a strangled cry. darkpaw acts without thinking, blinded by his own frustration at windclan's cruelty- he lurches forward, aiming to batter @strawpaw 's own face with his paws, not even realizing that his claws had unsheathed in the middle of the attack. "why?!" darkpaw echoes his frenzied thoughts, tears pricking at the corners of dual-toned eyes. "why won't you stop?! what did skyclan ever do to you?!"​
 
There were no words exchanged, now. The blood-soaked smells, the air seething with rage and hatred... it was infectious. Slate was no loyal SkyClanner, but right now, all he was focused on was winning this battle. The fate of his ego depended on it.

However, it seemed that his ego would sustain some damage before the day was done. Like a mouse scurrying from under his paws, Speckleclaw had darted behind him seemingly in the blink of an eye. Being large and bulky had its disadvantages for sure, as he struggled to keep up with the quick-footed WindClanner. A sharp pain jolts from his back hind leg, crushing and jarring, and he lets out a surprised yowl. Son of a bitch!

Slate nearly crumples to the ground but his remaining paws catch him, tensing up as to keep him standing... barely. As he violently yanked his leg in an attempt to free it, a blur of obsidian flew in from the corner of his eye towards Speckleclaw. The younger tom did not look ( nor smell ) familiar, so he could only assume it was one of the RiverClanners who had just arrived on the scene. "I don't need help, kid." Well, Slate wasn't sure exactly how old this RiverClanner was, but he could tell that he was far younger than he was. He didn't need anyone else's aid. He was a city slicker, a rough-and-tumble rogue; he fought his own battles. "Go help someone else." Slate states; an order, not a suggestion.

With that, Slate lashed his in Speckleclaw's direction, hoping to rake it down his face.​

— * ✰. ooc information recent events * ✰. —
  • fighting @speckleclaw. and interacting with @RAVENPAW.

  • ✰ SLATE
    —— amab, uses he/him pronouns. twenty-nine moons old. warrior of skyclan; former rogue.
    —— unrefined, rough and tumble rogue who is not accustomed to clan life. only trustful of his littermate, duskmane.
    —— link to tags. @ on discord for plots.

    quite the hulk of a cat, slate stands above the average clanmate with an arrogant gait. he has a dark gray ( bordering on black ) colored pelt with a pale-brown-tinged underbelly and whisps of tan at the tips of his chest hairs. amber-colored eyes contrast against his dark palette. notable features include a jagged scar across his right eye and two small scratches across the bridge of his nose.


​
 
They almost throw up as claws meet flesh and its nothing like how Wormtail or Skymoon taught them. Windclan trained with claws out but never have they struck so deep against another. Blood sprays and their paw is red, oh- oh, oh fuck, Stars, theres blood dripping unto the snow. Horrified at what they just did eyes flicker between their paw and the red upon glistening white, it looks near ethereal in the blizzard. He stumbles back and they momentarily forget this was even a fight, hauling themselves up to their paws and nearly collapsing in his direction as they move. "I'm sorry, i'm sorry-" they know Windclan is in the wrong, it doesn't take a genius to know that they had been rejected of help for Windclans wrongdoings but they have to try, they have to, they have to fight for their home, for those that are dying in the badger set.

A loud screech tears through the air just as claws tear through soft skin. Theyre stumbling backwards and their face is on fire, their own blood drips down to join the red on the snow. They should have seen the attack coming, this was a war, a downhill slope and Windclan was sliding down faster than they could manage and at the bottom of the hill was death. Is this what they'd be condemned to? "Have you noticed we're dying?!" a hiss dripping with venom leaves their mouth as they attempt to lunge forwards and hook the toms legs out from beneath him. "Starclan doesn't care for us! They'd rather let us all d-ie!" their voice cracks with the effort because now they're shaking and theres silent tears mixing with the red rolling down from various cuts on their face. "Our Medicine Man tried." a growl that boils from their chest. If their previous attack had landed, they'd place an unsheathed paw on his chest. They don't want to hurt them more than they have but they have to drive it home to them that they need this, that they'll all perish under 'Starclans watchful gaze'. I don't want to do this. They hesitate because when it boils down they truly are just two kids fighting for a cause they won't truly understand until they're older.

Strawpaw thinks they're only giving Darkpaw mercy because hes of Riverclan and not a Skyclan apprentice. But they're trying to stop us, aren't they just as bad? Teeth grit and gnash together. Now wasn't a moral dilemma, they decide once and for all if Darkpaw raises claws against them one more time then they wouldn't hesitate. They'll show everyone how bad Windclan can truly be if thats what they want to believe. No amount of talking would erase the sins committed from their clan, anger floods through them as their tail lashes. I'm doing this for Firepaw and Icepaw and Rampaw and Wormtail and Badgermoon and those that need it, and their convincing had worked within themselves.

// @DARKPAW ​
"speech"​
 
The sensation of his claws through the flesh of Orangeblossom's leg was buttery-smooth, and even as he crashed into the ground Badgermoon couldn't help himself from letting out a ragged laugh, one that got louder as he watched the way her freshly injured limb buckled underneath her. "Far less than you deserve." the black-and-white tom spat, the first time had had spoken since the battle had begun. He meant it, too; the world around still hardly existed to him, and as the SkyClan deputy came to stand above him he felt no fear, only a whirling frustration that she was still alive. He missed her question, unable to get up in time to avoid her claws, and despite the disorganized nature of her attack, it hit home, deeply scoring the yellow-eyed WindClanner's chest. He gave a roar of pain and rolled over, blood flowing freely now onto the snow; the white patches of his coat were stained a gruesome pinkish from his trio of wounds.

He forced himself to his feet and listened as Orangeblossom spoke to him again, his white-tipped ears so flat as to be nearly invisible. Badgermoon opened his mouth to hiss out some reply, only to become aware of other cats' proximity to him and his opponent. The rancid, salty tang of RiverClan was suddenly upon him and the broad-shouldered cat gave a rasping bark of laughter. "Pathetic kittypets can't fight their own battles." he would have to remember to thank Wolfsong later, for it was now clear that the one-eyed warrior had come to his aid and kept Cranecatcher's claws off of him. Regardless, in this moment of stillness, the world outside of his enemy became perceptible to him again and he realized it was time to call a retreat. His paws still tingled with adrenaline, and the hunger had not gone away, but the edge had been taken off, taken off enough for him to recognize that they had suffered the loss of Sunsetbreeze, that SkyClan had called in reinforcements, and that they had certainly provided a distraction. He could only hope their stealth patrol had found some success, at least.

"WINDCLAN! These Twoleg pets aren't up for a fair fight tonight, it would seem. Let us return to our home, knowing we alone may claim to have a warrior's honor." the deputy raised his voice above the sounds of war and bellowed out the order, allowing the gradually intensifying pain throughout his body to add urgency to his tone. With a final look of loathing Orangeblossom's way - his eyes seeking hers, and hoping to communicate through them that he was not finished with her - Badgermoon began to stride away, hoping and assuming his Clanmates would follow in his stead. He thought, perhaps, he could hear and smell the stealth party somewhere up ahead of them, already on their way back to the moor, and he anticipated they may return home shortly after one another.

[ @orangeblossom @cranecatcher @WOLFSONG

@ everyone in this patrol: the returning thread is right HERE! the stealth party returned just before the patrol members in this thread <3 ]​
 
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He scents RiverClan as soon as the rest, and a snarl curls his lips to expose his fangs. Hellish eyes glint with fury as Badgermoon calls the retreat, but at the very least, he hopes the other patrol had gotten ahold of some catmint before they were all chased away in the midst of such a ruthless winter storm. With poisonous words, he spits toward Thistleback, "Lucky RiverClan came to save your hide." Tigerfrost speaks with a wrathful growl before he turns to disengage, bounding first toward the fallen body of Sunsetbreeze, and the mournful WindClanner who was tugging at the corpse.

"We need to leave. I'll help you carry him." The snow was deep and frigid, and it would do nothing to aid their passage back to the moors. With any luck, SkyClan at least had the honor to let the group carry the body of one of their own home, unhindered by further bloodshed. As a fellow WindClanner surges past in retreat, Tigerfrost's vocals snap through the frosty air toward them, "You! Help us carry Sunsetbreeze." He leaves no room for argument, it would be a slow and bloody march back home.

( disengaging from @ThistleBack, helping @Galeforce carry @SUNSETBREEZE . Also snapped at a third WindClanner to help carry the body, can be anyone's OC if you'd like. ) ​
 
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His first battle. His first blow. It had missed, but the almost sickening whzz of air that rushes beside the seal point's face causes him to pause, hesitate. How much damage would that strike have done to her lovely features? Would he have taken her head off? He's never had to use his strength like this, in this manner, and he's suddenly stunned by the chaos of bodies streaming around him.

She attacks again, while he's still and panting and afraid, and her claws find their purchase along the soft fur of his lower chest. Raking, blinding with pain. His yowl pierces the air, but it seems to freeze before it can shatter the chaotic veneer of the battle.

Dizziness. Blood begins to wet his paws, melt the snow around him. He sees Cosmospaw, a heartbeat too late, rushing the WindClan she-cat with bravery shining in his eyes. Come to defend a mentor who could not defend himself, his Clan.

He sinks into the snowbank, his vision losing color. Everything becomes like the snow, blinding white, shades of gray pulling from his world and leaving him with swimming shades of nothing. The pain is numbed, incredibly quickly, by the cooling snow beneath him.

Blazestar is only vaguely aware that another cat has died, a WindClanner. He joins her in wintry slumber, shock glazing his dark gaze, though he will not find her in StarClan. The silver forest he walks through is his alone, and he meets the star-pelted cats again who look upon him with neutrality, with kindness.

"Rise, Blazestar," the cat tells him, a cat he'd never met in life but has now seen twice in death. Hare Whiskers, the cat who'd led before Briarstar.

But it's several heartbeats before he can rise. He only jerks awake, spasms radiating from the frosted tips of his pale fur. His gasp emits a clot of blood that freezes in the snow. His formerly blank blue eyes find Spiderbloom's, staring as life returns to him.

But they're calling for a retreat now, and Blazestar doesn't understand why. Is it the snow? It takes almost a minute before he detects unfamiliar pelts through the blizzard.

RiverClan.

// tl;dr spiderbloom kilt him​
 
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She hadn't been coated in blood like this since she sent her parents to the depths below. Her front, splattered in the blood of her enemy. She stood over him, looking down at his body.

She just killed a leader. Sure, he was a kittypet. But still. Would he do the thing???? Would he come back like Sootstar????

He sure did. It startled her. She stared at him wide eyed for only a moment before she heard the call to retreat.

Should she kill him again????

No, there's no time for that. She saw Riverclan coming to Skyclans aid. She hissed to herself. She turned and quickly began her escape, weaving through cats like a slippery eel.

She hoped this was worth it. The herb patrol better have succeeded.
​
 
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Chrysalispaw escaped the maw of the great monster that beheld him, like a pebble rolling from the mountain that birthed it, a smaller action in the sea of life-or-death. It was not before satin ribbon of fur pulled upon the weight of clasped jaws, tearing at it with no care to leave it neat, as though to mar the artwork was the masterful goal of his opponent. Still, the apprentice wasted no time in getting up again, as his veins ran with iron-cold adrenaline, the winter melting into blood and bone. He felt excitement, palpitation, heat. As molten metal rushes to match the shape of the blade, he, too, would become the instrument of his clan. If she wanted to hurt him, she would have to do a lot more than that.

A familiar tan-and-white blur whipped past him, with an annoying voice to match, as though his guardian angel had made sure to descend upon wings of sardonic humor. She crashed into the Windclan apprentice with claws of her own, and through the ringing of his own ears he heard the defiant cries of his opponent, as if it attempted to match his own serpentine tongue. An ephemeral eternity took hold of him in the blink of an eye, and the moment seemed to drag on for innumerable seconds, like each heartbeat had swallowed a cruel season. Time froze, and so did his movements. What is that idiot doing? Focus on your own battle and let me fight mine! I don't need your help!

And yet, such heroism had stricken Firepaw off of him, and allowed him to regather his strength. He caught his breath as open air whistled through fresh wounds, as leaf-bare bit at the wells of hot ichor, though stings and throbs did not deter the clan cat. Blood crawled down his dirtied nape, though meager as it was, like slivers of streams upon the soft soil. As the river did, he would carve his own path. He would move forth, even as the earth stood to his fore.

"Get off of her!" He yowled as Firepaw struck for Bananapaw's fragile ear, and though he knew he should just let that bumbling cat get what was coming to her, there was a compulsion that pulled him towards the fray again. He should be saving his own skin, fending for himself. And yet, here he was. He aimed one quick slash to the other's charcoal canvas of a coat, attempting to rip through the paper of her skin, to reveal mellow flesh that cowered behind. He wanted to draw out her crimsons just as she did to him, give her a scar to remember him by. Don't mess with me!

Then, Badgermoon's caterwaul knelled through the smog of war, a light through the darkness of the battlefield. The chimaera saw how all the rats of the pack froze upon their leader's invocation - such sniveling scaredy-cats, too afraid to fight for a battle that they started. "That's your cue, dung-eater. Go back to whatever hole you slithered out of." A growl erupted from Chrysalis' throat, a daggered stare trained at Firepaw, and one that refused to let up until she was but a silhouette consumed by the starving snowstorm. For the first time in forever, he would wish for the blizzard's benediction.

@Firepaw @Bananapaw ​
 
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Jaws clash in the air, miss his muzzle by inches with a brutal click. Thistleback's throat stings, his coughs carry on but he was able to swing away from the mutilation, sparing the agony of razored skin. Tigerfrost's taunts carry on, a whippoorwill of snarky song. Thistleback presses a spread of toes to the lacerations on his neck, streams of red run rivers down each knuckle. The lead warrior growls lowly, teeth peeled into the light as he takes a step away. A silent symbol of retreat, he had kits to care for. He had a family to live for, if he did what he wanted to do- he'd die too.

He would probably have to. Thistleback breathes, grey eyes lost to the calamity of the moment. Then the smell of wet rocks pours around them, sleek pelts slip into the cracks of the blizzard's warring pattern. Riverclan.

Who had called for their aid? Thistleback's jaws flex as he lumbers toward his own kind. He spots the body of their beloved leader, blood pooled from a lifeless maw. The windclanner looming over him, seems more curious that she should be. Watches and waits, the piebald steps as quickly as he can toward Blazestar's vulnerable revival. He sees the magic of the stars stir a carcass, he'd baffled internally but his blood matted paws carry him till he stands over Blazestar protectively while he wakes and rises. Harsh coughs pulse from his ribs, his torn throat soaked his collar. Grey eyes slitted, he huffs an exhausted breath.

" welcome back…." he rasps with scarlet spittle dribbling through his teeth. " It's over " he kneels a bit, aiming to offer his shoulder to help Blazestar up but he staggers and stays kneeled with the pure exertion. Frustration and weakened limbs, an unforgiving sting in his throat where claws had only just missed a jugular.

​

OOC INFO REF
  • — Disengaged with Tigerfrost, Talking and aiding @BLAZESTAR
  • MqZ0nzd.png
    ✧ T H I S T L E B A C K
    thirty-three moons
    — Lead warrior of Skyclan
    — taken by
    Deersong 9.29.22
    — mentoring quillpaw
    — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
    — voice & accent
    — biography･ﾟ✧​
  • bVBPWus.png
​
 
Teeth sank into flesh, almost enough to completely unbalance the brute. He doesn't enjoy the pained yowl that sounded from his opponent, instead suppressing a grimace at the metallic tang filling his mouth. While never a fan of violence, it was a necessity at the end of the day. He would have tried to hold on for a few seconds longer, though a glimpse of dark fur against the snowy foliage startled him into releasing Slate's leg. A young cat, oversized for his age, was barreling toward him — Speckleclaw sprung out of the way, just in time to avoid being trampled. His claws flashed out, a last-second attempt to catch the apprentice on the flank as he raced by.

Just as he whipped his head back around to continue facing Slate, Badgermoon's order of retreat reached his ears. Mismatched eyes narrowed at his opponent, disguising his relief behind a sneer. He wasn't sure if he could take on two at once, especially given their sizes. Assuming they wouldn't pursue, the piebald tabby backed away from the scene, eyes tracking Slate and Ravenpaw for any final lunges toward him. Only to be called out by Tigerfrost, to help carry the body he witnessed fall before. His patched face set itself into one of grim acceptance. He recognized Sunsetbreeze, vaguely. Galeforce's sorrow twisted his heart, painfully squeezing it as he was reminded of his own grief, so far in the past yet as clear as yesterday even still. The least he could do was help. Once a safe distance from Slate, he would wordlessly approach to offer his clawed shoulder as support for the body. It was going to be a long trek back to camp.

disengaging from @SLATE and @RAVENPAW. + helping @Galeforce and @TIGERFROST carry @SUNSETBREEZE ​
 
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They begin retreating, dark skinny forms obscured by the opaque white storm. Blazestar is still stunned, still gasping deeply, breaths clutching at the cold air for oxygen to fuel his scorched lungs. A familiar voice, comforting despite its gravel, murmurs near him, and Blazestar sinks deeper into the snow. Relief. "Are you hurt, friend?" He could see the blood from the lead warrior's throat, the weariness heavy on his body, but he's grateful for the support. Blazestar leans heavily on Thistleback, wincing visibly with a gasp at the raw wound on his belly.

"That one... surprised me," he says, but then he almost laughs. "I'll never get used to dying. Not until the last life is gone."

He finds Cosmospaw in the wintry gloom, giving the young ginger-eared tom a blink. "You fought bravely. Like a warrior." And it's not as though Blazestar knows what it is like to fight like a warrior, not when he lost his life during his first battle with another cat, but...

Perhaps I do know, that every time a cat goes into this battle they are sacrificing the only life they have. His daughter, that WindClan warrior, Haze, Rain. Every time a warrior meets another cat with unsheathed claws, there is a chance they will not return to their loved ones.

He's known that, especially after losing Morningpaw, but now he truly knows. And his face is filled with tired anguish as he surveys the scene. RiverClan warriors, still antsy to fight, alongside his bloodied but standing Clanmates.

He turns to Thistleback. Had there been others, besides that red-pelted cat? Besides himself, with lives to spare? "Is our... is our side okay? And what about..."

Their camp, he thinks, and fear spikes through him with claws made of icicles. He can't hurry anywhere, but they must go, must return.

"SkyClan, to camp," he orders hoarsely. The effort causes his jaw to clench against the pain weeping from his chest and belly. "RiverClan, please follow us back. You must get any wounds you have treated."

He doesn't know if Dawnglare will be able to do such a thing, doesn't know if he'll have the stock or if he's even still alive ... no, he won't permit himself to think that.

Guided by Thistleback, he sets his sights on their camp through the blizzard.

// interacting with @ThistleBack and @COSMOSPAW, out!​
 
❝ INSTEAD OF WORRY ABOUT WHAT YOU CANNOT CONTROL ✧°.☀ ————————————
Teeth made contact with the soft flesh of her ear and it made her cry out in pain, swinging her head around to dislodge Firepaw from her ear. Bananpaw swung around with a paw aiming to slash at anything she could while Chrysalispaw also swung for her. Though then the sound was called- Windclan was retreating! She moved freely away from the other appretnice and hissed loudly, "Go back to your moors!" She lashed her bushy, white patch tail and bared her teeth slightly. Though then noticed her sister was down for the count and she backed up to stand beside Chrysalispaw, their pelts brushing, and she found comfort in his presence. Did she do good for her first battle? She was uncertain.

speech

[penned by wolf - ☀]
———————————— ☀.°✧ SHIFT YOUR ENERGY INTO WHAT YOU CAN CREATE ❞ ​
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☁ Sharpeye had to admit it, being a fluffy lad had it's advantages. It still hurt and occasionally the claws penetrated deep enough to find skin, leaving him certain that blood had been drawn at some point. But he insists on keeping his weight bearing down on her in the hope of stopping her from escaping him. However, he makes no bid to bite or claw in retaliation towards Bunnywhisker, he simply gawks down with a tired expression that conveyed the message "really? are we seriously doing this? I'm so tired", not really something a normal warrior would bear during a raid.

He becomes aware that a WindClanner has died, unfortunately it seemed to be a young one. Such a waste of life. Then he overhears the call of a retreat. There's no point in prolonging the fight and he moves to hop off of Bunnywhisker with no sign of further violence. "Get going, go to your wounded clanmates and remember this day." Sharpeye exhaled slowly before he took up the duty of ensuring that the WindClanners actually left.

//Pinning, then letting @bunnywhisker go
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"SUREFIRE, YEAH, THE SETTING SUN WANTS COMPANY"​
/oml sorry this is so long

Despite her claws cast like a jagged net, the impact of the rock slid her opponent from her grip. Daisyflight bore onto her skull as the windclanner spat at her, slicking her silhouette into that of a snake. "Then prove it, mousebrain- Sootstar made her nest and has forced you all to lay in it. Take issue with her, not us!" Chill sliced the warrior's throat as she hissed back, the moon's half-light glancing off the blood on her chin. In other circumstances, she might of pitied them. But their leader had slighted- hurt Skyclan too many times.

The terracotta feline began their retaliation, talons flaying the fringes of her frame. Daisyflight's head ducked low so as to avoid the brunt of the assault. Each cut was barely felt, not as her shoulder thrummed with pain.

Between the snow-clot, a pale shape fell. A frame so familiar- one that she walked beside near every day. Blazestar was clasped by the white out of sight, and Daisyflight knew he was dead. Again. Low caterwauls raked from her lungs, patience with the fight thoroughly through.

Her opponent struck out for her neck and she promptly lurched up, trying for a bit of height. She attempted to part-jump over the attack, throat waning painfully. A wheeze tore from the warrior before gravity got its paws on her. Daisyflight allowed her atwist body to fall with its full weight, trying to take the windclanner with her with a clutch of teeth and claw.

Whether successful or not, she disengaged the instant her side hit the snow. The calico's face was split with a snarl, ready to begin once more, when Badgermoon called for retreat. Like rain through pigment, the ugly ferocity washed away to a more neutral wariness. Her days of killing out of fear were gone, and if Windclan were turning tail she would do nothing to stop them.

"Go on! Before Riverclan makes fishmeat of you." Caustic eyes looked down on the other warrior. And then, almost dismissively, she added, "Your claws are sharp… a shame your mind isn't." A tattered tail signed off the encounter, Daisyflight loping off as quick as her shoulder would allow her. She needed to find her son and escort their leader home.

/ separating from @SHREWTUFT and gathering up her clanmates
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✿ ✿ ✿​
 
It's a fatal mistake to turn your back on an enemy no matter how torn up they were, if she cannot fully register the stinging aches of her own wounds and cuts then it's doubtful her opponent feels his own. She mistakes him for a toothless of, all bark no longer any bite. Her focus is on the apprentice Gravelpaw let slip away, she teeth grit into thin skin pulling at it threatening to sever through but she doesn't get the opportunity she doesn't hear him coming doesn't get a chance to jerk away and retaliate no claws sink deep into her skin and involuntarily she lets go of Bananapaw a yowl roaring out of her, frost dancing from where her hot breath meets the freezing air. The she-cat too manages to get a swat at her but it pales, it doesn't tear through her fur and deeply into her skin. The mark he leaves is unlike the pain she's felt while sparring, nothing even like the scratches the two had previously scored on her, it's deep leaving a lasting impression on both her mind and body and she jumps to the side paws splaying out and a warning hiss coming out of her as she stares at her two opponents eyes full of bitter hate. It's the tom who's captured in the flames of her fury, she can see her handiwork dribbling down his fur into the snow just as his begins crying from her side. ❝I'll gut you! I'll turn you into crowfood and piss on your grave! Kittypet scoundrel!❞ she yowls every muscle in her body tensing as she prepares herself to ram right back into him if not both of them. Gravelpaw was close too between them both these two stood no chance against their might... She'd make these damn apprentices feel far worse then the pain she was feeling now!

Before she can Badgermoon's yowl pierces through the roaring storm and flurry of battle, Skyclan had called for backup; typical mousehearts couldn't even even handle a single patrol of them and had to go crying to another clan to save them. Part of her wants to ignore it to fight till her body couldn't take the strain of her own weight, she doesn't want to disengage to let these foxhearts win her brows knit together bloodied teeth gritting and she knows i's to dangerous to stay not when she hears the paws of her clanmates already retreating. It was over before she was even close to done, ❝Grraah!! Lick your wounds for now Skyclanner just know one day I'll come back for you and finish the job!❞ she hisses in Chrysalispaw's direction before eventuating her words by spitting in the snow near his paws. And with that Firepaw too bursts into a run, zooming away from the battlefield to join her clanmates once more, to take in what she didn't notice. To run with them towards a uncertain future.

// out
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( PLACE ME IN MY CASKET TONIGHT ; BECAUSE IM ALREADY DYING INSIDE )
 

His attack to the WindClanner comes too late, he eventually learns. Sky blue eyes turn to look back at his mentor, only to see him on the ground, crumpled in snow that matches Cosmospaw's fur - white dusted with red.

Oh stars, no.

He's seen this before, seen Blazestar's blood spill to the point of lifelessness - at the strike of a fox, rather than a moorlander - but even so, Cosmospaw finds himself stopped in his tracks, finds himself holding his breath, just as the last time. He knows that Blazestar will come back, will descend from the stars and return to his form, but it doesn't stop the fear that continues to build in his chest. A fear that, Blazestar could simply stay within the stars, leave SkyClan without a leader in the midst of battle. Leave Cosmospaw without his mentor.

Cosmospaw can't stay still for long, with the skirmish that surrounds him. No, someone could harm Blazestar further, stop him from coming back. Someone could hurt Cosmospaw, but he thinks of such an idea as a much smaller problem. SkyClan needed their leader, they could go on with one less apprentice.

He's swift in his return into the battle, warding off any moor-dwellers who dare to step close. A motion soon he finds himself beginning to falter in - too many WindClanners surrounding him for his own good. But, it is a blur of black and white, that swoops in to fight beside him. Not because he's forgotten. A face he does not recognize, a name he cannot place, solely for not seeing it before. But, his scent gives way to who he is, brings surprise to Cosmospaw's face.

A RiverClanner. RiverClan was here to help.

And soon, the battle is able to slow to a stop, as WindClan is called to retreat, to run away with their losses. Cosmospaw bows his head in thanks to his sunny-eyed battle partner. If it weren't for him, he might have met Blazestar in the stars.

Pale eyes flicker back to his mentor's form, now standing, leaning on the side of one of SkyClan's lead warriors. He doesn't look good, but he is alive, and the battle is over. Cosmospaw feels like he can breathe again. He pads back to his mentor, eyes wide in concern.

"Blazestar..?"

"You fought bravely. Like a warrior."

The words cause him to pause, uncertainty weighing heavy on him. Had he really? Had his strikes been worthy of such words? Cosmospaw isn't sure, but it must have been, for Blazestar to say it. He should be proud.

The white tom bows his head to his mentor, paws stepping forward to follow behind Blazestar and his lead warrior on their march back home. What lies there is a mystery, but for now, Cosmospaw lets himself feel the calm before the storm that may await them.

"Thank you, Blazestar," he says, "I tried my best."
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