Dreamsplash bowed her head but continued to dress Feralwind's wounds, "if its not my fault, then why do I feel so guilty?" she asked when she had finished, looking up at her former mentor.

Moonsong woke up when Limefeatehr started looking her her wounds. She gritted her teeth as the pain hit her, "its my ribs." she said, "i think they are broken."

__

Cougarfeatehr sat beside Poppypaw and wrapped her tail around her shoulders, "its alright Poppypaw. Theres nothing any of us could have done. The dogs did too much damage. But I don't think they will be coming back any time soon."

__

Adderstrike and Finchtail looked around. The ground was stained with blood. And Dreamsplash and Limefeather were busy taking care of cats.

Finchtail looked at her brother, "Birdfall!" she yowled, running to his side, "no! He was so alive this morning. And the last time we talked...we had a fight." her voice cracked and she felt so guilty. She pressed her nose to his fur, "and I never got to say I was sorry."

__

Windrush nodded, and turned back toward camp. Once he got there, he noticed it was mostly empty, "where is everyone?" he asked. 

Poppypaw snarled, unable to hold herself back, and lunged at Finchtail. She ignored Cougarfeather. "You hurt him," she hissed. "I heard you two this morning. I comforted him. Made him feel better." She swiped at Finchtail, claws missing by millimeters. "You didn't care two mousetails about him! I loved him!" She started to tremble again. "I cared more about him than you ever did," She added on with a threatening hiss as she puffed out her black fur. "You two-faced liar! Where are your kits now? My mother-"

"That is enough Poppypaw!" Limefeather roared, glaring at the two she-cats. "Finchtail, step away before she claws your muzzle off." She turned back to Moonsong, gently touching her sides. "Two broken ribs on the left," she murmured.

She answered Dreamsplash, "Because you're supposed to. It's only natural, but you must consider there are more what if's that don't apply to you. Starclan had a plan." She closed her eyes. "They needed him more than we did."

~

Oakfeather padded up to Cougarfeather, eyes wide. "Cougarfeather!" he said, rubbing his muzzle on her's. "Are you okay?"

~

Lionfur frowned. "I don't know..." She looked at him. "But we shouldn't go find them. We should guard the camp."

~

Snakepaw padded over to Wishcomet and pressed himself against her. He tried to block his sister's anguished cries out of his mind. He tried to ignore Birdfall's dead body. He tried to ignore everything around him except her. But one word came to mind.

Tigerstar. 

Finchtail looked at Poppypaw. Then up at the sky, "you right. We did fight. But it didnt mean anything more than when you and Snakepaw fought." She looked back at Poppypaw, "deep down, no matter what, you love him don't you?" she thought about her last comment, "do you really want to know where my kits are? In a gang, which is basically a clan with less rules. They chose that, and I chose this. And I'm starting to think I made the wrong choice." The usually firey Finchtail's voice was quiet and soft.

___

"If fine." Cougarfeatehr said, rasping her toung((that dont seem right for some reason. *can spell or is crazy* XD)) over his ear, "I made it out with the least amount of injuries."

___

Moonsong nodded, "I thought so." she said, "how long will they take to heal?" she asked.

Dreamsplash padded over to Moonsong, "just a few weeks, maybe a little over a moon depending on how bad the break is." she said. Then she looked to Limefeather, "maybe so, but tell that to your daughter." she murmered.

___

WIndrush shuddered, "this is giving me the chills." he said, glancing around, there was hardly a warrior in sight.

___

Adderstrike padded up to Feralwind, "still breathing eh?" he asked his brother with a slight grin.

Feralwind rolled his eyes, "shut up and help me back to camp." he said. Adderstrike nodded, "lets just wait Limefeather and Dreamsplash to finish looking at the other cats." he said.

"Of course I love him," Poppypaw said, pressing herself against Birdfall's limp body, as if her warmth would bring him back to life. "I've never loved anyone else more." She closed her eyes, still quivering, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that he wasn't coming back. He was gone. "I should have been with him," she murmured. "I shouldn't have let him leave camp by himself..."

~

Oakfeather fluffed out his fur unhappily. "I should have been here!" he said. "But instead I was taking a nap!"

~

Limefeather stood up, eyes sweeping over all the cats in the small clearing. "She'll get over it eventually," she said softly. "She doesn't blame you, Dreamsplash. She's mostly blaming herself right now."

She froze for a moment. "Is there anybody in camp at all?" She meowed shrilly. "The only cats not in this clearing seems to be Lionfur and Windrush."

~

Sablepaw scented the air, ears twitching slightly. Her tail still hurt badly, but she couldn't complain because she was much better off than Birdfall was... She smiled up at Cougarfeather, forcing herself into a sitting position. "Did I fight okay?" she meowed quietly.

~

Lionpaw nodded, blinking a few times. "Do you think that yowl came from in the forest? Because nobody seems to be here.." He eyes swept around the clearing. "And there's no blood or fur to suggest an enemy invasion..."

~

Wolfstar blinked a few times, taking in Limfeather's words. "Snakepaw, Wishcomet," he said. "You can head back to camp now. I think there's enough of us here to get the rest back to camp." He blinked at them. "And tell Lionfur and Windrush what happened. I'm sure they're confused."

~

Snakepaw nodded, flicking Wishcomet lightly with his tail. He started to trot into the forest in the direction of camp, feeling his pelt prickle where his mother's gaze burned into his fur. But, turning around slightly, he saw that she wasn't even looking in his direction. He knew who was watching him now...

Fur standing on end, he continued into the forest at a slower pace, trying not to picture his angry amber gaze...

Finchtail looked up at the sky, "he may be gone, but it still feels like he is here. Like he is looking down on us." she whispered.

__

Cougarfeather shook her head, "its okay, relax. The only reason I camp is because Moonsong happened to run into me and Sablepaw. Its all okay." She looked at her apprentice, "I didnt see you, but I oculd hear Moonsong praising you." she [urred, "and I was right, that when you are really fighting, fighting to survive, you would know how." she said.

__

Dreamsplash nodded, "well, we will have to find them, after we get these cats back to camp."

Feralwind forced himself to his paws, but leaned heavily on Adderstrike. He ached all over, "lets hurry up and get out of here." He said, starting ot walk forward with the Aid of Adderstrike.

__

Wishcomet padded alongside Snakepaw, "you okay?" she asked, tilting her head.

__

Moonsong got to her feet, grimancing in pain, but Pushing Dreamsplash aside when the other shecat tried to help her, "I can do this." she said, "its just my ribs, my legs are fine." she said, walking slowly in the direction of camp.

__

Windrush looked around the camp, "Should we wait here for the clan to come back? or go looking?" he asked.

"Stay here, I think." Lionfur said. "One cat is bound to come back sometime; we should at least stay and wait." She pricked her ears, listening closely. She could smell someone approaching. Definately from their clan. "Told you."

~

Wolfstar hovered near Moonsong nervously, watching her with a frown. As soon as she started to sag in the smallest way he would be there to help. His tail tip twitched slightly. 

~

Poppypaw stood up, eyes sorrowful, and bit down gently on Birdfall's scruff. "I'm gonna bring him back to camp," she said through a mouthful of fur. "It's the least I can do for him now."

~

Sablepaw puffed out her chest, standing, being careful not to move her tail at all. It still throbbed, and she felt oddly off-balance. She'd always depended on her long tail to keep her on her feet. "Thank you," she said, "Now let's get back to camp. I'm so tired..."

Limefeather padded over to prop Sablepaw up, with a flick of her ears. "Your balance is off," she said. "That's not very good... But you'll be stable in a few days. You just need to get used to your new tail length."

Sablepaw chose to walk next to Feralwind, forcing Limefeather to get stuck walking in close quarters to the tom she'd been avoiding for a couple weeks. Adderstrike. She tried not to look at him. 

~

Oakfeather sighed, nosing her gently, afraid to hurt her. "Come on. We're moving." He chuckled, "Wouldn't want to get left behind, now would you?" 

~

Snakepaw nodded, and forced a smile, "Yeah, yeah.. I'm fine..." Wishcomet knew that he had seen Tigerstar...when he was younger. He didn't want to bring it up again. He didn't want to loose his only friend. Okay, maybe they were crossing the friend line, but that wasn't the point.

~

Windrush nodded, "Smells like Snakepaw and Wishcomet." he said, waiting to see the familiar oange and black fur of his sister, and the black pelt of Snakepaw.

___

"if you say so." Wishcomet meowed, padding into camp. Seeing her brother, she broke into a smile, glad to see him alive. After seeing how devastated Finchtail was at loosing her brother, she was grateful that hers was still alive and well.

___

"I'm fine you know." Moonsong said, flicking Wolfstar with her tail, "honestly. YOu dont have to watch me like I'm going to fall or anything." she said with a small smile.

___

"Do you need help carrying him?" Finctail asked quietly.

___

Adderstrike looked over at Limefeather, saying sorry silently with his eyes. If only she knew the world of hurt he went through every day, when she wouldnt talk to him. And to think, none of it would have happneded, if he had not twisted his paw chasing a rabbit.

___

Cougarfeather nodded, "lets go then." she said, getting up and padding toward camp, keeping a normal pace. She was a little sore, but nothing to serious, just a few cuts and bruises. She would live and be able to be up and abaut by the next morning.

Limefeather only blinked back for a moment, eyes unreadable. She missed him. He missed her. But it wasn't that simple... His words rang through her head. 'If you had another chance with Chestnutclaw, would you take it?' But her own words were more painful. 'No. I learned my lesson the first time.' 

She liked Adderstrike a lot, possibly on the brink of loving him, but she didn't want to do this again. There was no room for her with Finchtail around. She looked away from him, pretending to be more focused on Sablepaw.

~

Sablepaw smiled weakly at Feralwind. "I bet you could use a nap right about now, huh?" She blinked sleepily. "I'm reading to sleep for a moon..." Her usually liveliness had died from her body, being replaced with pain, drowsiness, and a little bit of guilt. Five minutes sooner. Just five minutes, and they could have saved Birdfall.

~

Poppypaw nodded, blinking her green eyes once at Finchtail. As much as she loathed the she-cat for doing horrible things to Adderstrike and Limefeather's relationship, they had one thing in common. Birdfall.

~

Wolfstar tried not to look guilty. "I'm not," he said, tail tip twitching. "I'm just making sure you're not going to hurt yourself..." He still felt bad for his fight with her; it was making him sick to imagine if Moonsong and Birdfall's places had been swapped. Gone. Without even an apology. He blinked.

~

Snakepaw padded up to Lionfur, and explained to her in a quiet voice about what had happened to Birdfall. He avoided looking her in the eyes, or mentioning Poppypaw.

Lionfur's insides twisted. "Poppypaw must be destroyed," she said quietly, trying to imagine herself loosing Windrush. "I'm so sorry... I didn't know Birdfall well, but I feel terrible..." she and Windrush hadn't even noticed anything.

The rest of the clan was fighting dogs and helping each other; they had just been sitting around camp.

~ 

Oakfeather and Cougarfeather were walking at a quicker pace, so they easily pa ssed the rest of the group. "You smell different," he said airily, like it didn't matter. "No much, but there's just a tiny bit difference in your smell. I can't pinpoint what it could mean..." 

Adderstrike sighed and looked at teh ground. Feralwind glanced at him with an eyebrow raised, but Adderstrike just shook his head and the brother lapsed into silence. Untill Sablepaw spoke to feralwind.

"I will have to sleep in the Medicine Cat's dne." he said with a small laugh, but cut it off short when it hurt, "I will need some poppy seeds to fall asleep though." he said, flicking his tail.

___

When Finctail helped to pick up Birdfall, she couldnt resist asking, "was coming back to the clan a mistake?" she asked Poppypaw, preaying for the apprentices honest opinion. not what Poppypaw thought she would want to hear.

___

Windrush shook his head, "Poor Poppypaw. And poor Finchtail, I don't know what I would do if something happneded to Wishcomet." he said, glancing at his sister, "I mean, friends may come and go, but family is for life."

___

Cougarfeather tilted her head, "what do you mean?" she asked. It wasnt like she could smell herself, but she did feel a little different. In a wierd way. But she thought it was just her imagination running wild.

Sablepaw nodded, flicking her ears. "I don't think I'll need poppy seeds."

~

Poppypaw and Finchtail were the rear of the group. She mumbled through Birdfall's fur, "No. I just think that jumping on Adderstrike like that was a mistake. We understand that you missed him, but you should've talked to him first." She flicked her ears. "He and my mother were...close. You kinda messed things up," She smiled faintly through the pain. "But everyone's glad to have you back,"

~

Lionfur tried not to look uncomfortable. Lionfur had never really known her family well; her father never came around, her siblings were never there and her mother had left when she was young. She only fidgeted and started to chat with Snakepaw.

Snakepaw ignored Windrush's words, careful not to show his discomfort. His words didn't really aplly to him; he didn't like his mother, and he loathed his sister. So he was an exception to that rule. He started to talk to Lionfur about an unrelated topic. 

~ 

"Oh nothing," Oakfeather said with an easy smile. "I'm just imagining things. Worst case, you can go talk to Dreamsplash or my sister." He blinked as they stepped into camp. "We're here."

~

Wolfstar sighed. "Yeah, I guess..." 

Finchtail nodded, "sorry if I made if hard for you guys. But I don't think he feels the same about me as I do about him anymore anyway." she muttered.

__

Feralwind laughed, "more power to you then." he said.

__

Windrush and Wishcomet sat beside eachother, chatting Idly about the next CLan Gathering. They would be announced as warriors in front of the other clans. Wishcomet looked exhilerated.

__

Cougarfeather smiled, happy to be back at camp. She padded to a sunny spot and lay down, closing her eyes with a contented sight.

__

Moonsong smiled, "al right then." she said. She flicked Wolfstar's ear with ehr tail, "thanks for worrying though." she said.

Sablepaw smiled, and asked in a curious voice, "How big were the dogs? I couldn't really tell.. I was more intent on not dying." 

Limefeather pricked her ears, lifting her head to look straight ahead of them. "We're close to camp," she mumbled under her breath. She glanced at Sablepaw. "Are you okay to walk on your own?" The smaller she-cat nodded, so Limefeather stepped away and started to walk further away from them. Sablepaw wobbled a little at first, but she found her balance just fine.

~

Oakfeather curled up next to her, fur brushing against her's. "You must be tired," he remarked quietly with a low chuckle.

~

"Welcome," Wolfstar said with a low chuckle. He paused. "We're close to camp, I think." 

~

"I'm sure he does," Poppypaw said, "He'd probably just confused about you two. But it'll work out, I promise." She paused. "And it was hard for everyone before; lot's of drama." She smiled and said, "I just recently found out I'm not supposed to exist." 

Feralwind nodded to Adderstrike, who disappeard back into the forest to do whatever it is he does on his free time. Then he turned back to Sablepaw, "well, they were a heck of a lot bigger than us!" he said with a laugh.

__

"Very." Cougarfeather purred, opening her eyes and looking at Oakfeather. She yawned, then closed her eyes again.

__

Moonsong flexed her claws, "I actually don't know, I usually stick to the trails, so I cant really tell where I am. I was expecting you to lead my." she said.

__

"Oh thats right." Finchtail said, having an ipifany, "Limefeather was Medicine Cat. " she chuckled softly, "I've always thought of her as a warrior at heart, we were good friends as apprentices, so I didnt really notice that she was even a Medicine Cat's aprrentice, since we spent a ton of time together and not to much time training." she said with a laugh.

Oakfeather purred lightly. "Let's sleep, then." He blinked a few times, and then lapsed into slience.

~

Limefeather disappeared into the trees as well, keeping tabs on Adderstrike's scent. He was close.. but not so close he'd be able to see her. She only flicked her ears and kept trotting towards camp.

~

Sablepaw smiled weakly. "Sounds scary," she said in an honest tone.

~

Wolfstar chuckled. "Sounds like a plan," he said, smirking. He knew where he was going; he used to play around this area as a young apprentice. He and Oakfeather had always snuck out of camp and gotten into trouble together. Too bad they'd grown distant as time went on. "Just follow me. I'm familiar with the forest around here."

~

Poppypaw nodded her head a little. "She's not one anymore, though," she said. "Dreamsplash outed her in front of the entire clan. Told everyone about me and Snakepaw," she sighed gently. "Now Wolfstar's looking for someone she'd allow to teach her the ways of a warrior instead." She blinked. "But there aren't many cats she likes... and my uncle's with Cougarfeather all the time now." 

Cougarfeather only nodded, dozing off almost immeadeately, curling up in a tiny ball beside Oakfeather. ((their kits should be Ravenfeather, Cloudfeather, and Skullfeather XD *random names*))

__

"Are Oakfeatehr and Cougarfeather mates?" Finctail asked, "because it seems like it, but I don't think its official."

__

Feralwind let his tail rest lightly on her shoulders, "it was. You were really brave back there." he prasied.

__

"Okay." Moonsong purred, "I trust you." she added.

__

{ LOLs. What about BoneShatter?. 'Cause I thought Bonekit was supposed to be the next Med. Cat apprentice. 

Unless that will be one of Lionfur/Windrush's kits ;O } 

{ And I like those names <3 }

"I think so," Poppypaw said, scenting the camp briefly. "They're awfully close." She paused. "We're almost there..."

~

Wolfstar flicked her with his tail, padding up to the camp entrance. "Here we are."

~

"Thank you," Sablepaw said. "You were really brave too." She purred, rubbing her head gently on his shoulder. "Do you think...do you think I'll get to be a warrior now?" They approached the camp entrance, where Wolfstar and Moonsong were. Limefeather's tail tip was just visible as it disappeared into camp.

~

((okay, Boneshatter will be son of Winrush&Lionfur. their single kit XD

Cougarfeather&Oakfeather-Ravenfeather & Cloudfeather

Waht about Moonsong&Wolfstar?? Dawnshadow(i want that one) u can pick their other kits XD))

Moonsong smiled, "I can smell that." she said with a laugh, padding into camp.

__

Feralwind flicked his tail, "I hope so." he dipped his head to Wolfstar as he padded past him.

__

Finctail blinked, feeling another pang of grief, but choked it back, "yeah. here we are." she said with a sigh.