ooc; Siri: Tis okay, Swiftdarkness is different, and I know that that just suits him to say that.  And If it is alright, if you already haven't noticed, Rosepaw has a crushie on Redpaw <3. Oh won't that fail once Redpaw finds out. >D

bic; 

Rainstar sighed. Swiftdarkness is right, we have become nothing but rouges. Rainstar turned to Swiftdarkness, sadness clouding her wild ice flamed eyes. "Painfulpaw will be named, not because he has killed a cat I made the mistake not to kill," she meowed strongly, "Painfulpaw will be named because he has been trained," mostly... her mind interfered, "and we need more warriors if we are to succeed in this journey." Ducking her white spotted silver head to Swiftdarkness's ear, she whispered, "I need talk to you  later, for now, I need you to be by my side."

Featherpaw searched out Starpaw among the audience, Ignoring that Crimsonfang just called her name, she needed to talk to the apprentice.   "Starpaw," she hissed as she padded up to him, "Follow me. Now." she meowed angrily, her voice tuff at the mention of Eaglestar's death. She padded little way out of the Camp, and then spun around and let out an annoyed hiss. 

"Why do you care so much about Nightfall?" she asked, her spotted fur rising, I need to know this.  she felt as if she shouldn't be asking him about this, but her voice in her head broke in. "Well?" she asked.

Crimsonfang coughed a bit from the impact and glared at Leopardwind. "My father killed my family. He drowned my sisters one by one and destroyed my mother. I had to kill him myself." he stated and got up. "I didn't cry. He had what he deserved." he growled and padded off.

 Painfullpaw kept his head down. Looking at Rainstar he was pleading to not be named till he proved he was ready. And not a traitor. Looking at Leopardwind he smiled lightly at her words. Jerking his head back a bit he was scarred for Crimsonfangs words. If they were true...then the two were not that much different. Looking up at the sky he noticed it was getting darker. Smelling the air he sensed the earth around and his clanmates all were so different. Most were like strangers their hatred and anger filled the air like a badgers. Senses flaring into uncomfort he put his head down and snorted a bit. Shaking a bit he knew some of the cats glared at him. Crimsonfang was one of them and he took a deep breath. Holding his head up he looked determined. 

((I love the fact that he's still the oldest of the apprentices. XD He's like 19 20 now.)) 

OoC: That was a heck of a lot to read, but dang if they did not evoke some serious emotions! This has officially made my crappy weekend so much better (: Eklipse: Shadowpaw's name will be Shadowkeeper. Long, but it fits him. 

BiC: Watching the battle waging throughout the camp, though it was more mental then physical and washing through the cats eyes, Silentheart stood lifeless and calm. A stone in the torrential winds of a storm. The cat detested what was going on, what was being forced upon so many cats and the scarring this would creating for the rest of so many cats eyes. Rainstar; the cowardly she-cat, was just standing there allowing a apprentice to destroy the fox-hearted traitor. She should have killed the black tom, given him a swift death blow as to allow him to rot in the dark forest for the rest of eternity. Some leader she was making out to be. Somehow, though, he could not find any anger for Painfullpaw, the poor apprentice was doing something no cat should be forced to do. He was not close enough to hear exactly what was being said, nor did he really want to know. As for Blackwolf, the look in his eyes haunted him, the sparks of insanity sent shivers down his all-to-visible spine. Instead of the toms cold eyes, he was looking at green eyes that were once filled with so much comp*censored*ion and love and now brimming with pain and animosity. They were Falconwing's eyes, that day she was killed. Did something happen to Blackwolf that made him this way, was his past so awful and heart breaking he found himself needing to take it out on innocent cats? 

He was not sure he wanted to watch what would happen next. There had already been to much anguish in the last moons, and so much of it this day, so he looked away, closing his eyes and thinking of Starclan. The brightness, the elation that came with it. He was knocked out of his revere by a light weight, knocking his flailing paws from under his thin form. Opening his blue eyes he blinked in annoyance, about to rip the offending cat a new tail. "I've missed you my silent friend. We've been separated far too long." His anger diminished as if he'd been dunked in cold water. Feeling the weight leave his body, and dis-tangle from himself, Silentheart purred roughly in slight amusement. There was little to be happy about anymore so the sound was eerily off. But having Patchpelt beside him again, not bristling in anger or looking at him with misery in her eyes, was definitely something. One thing he hated was seeing her hurt, knowing that her eyes should always be sparkling and happy. He loved Mistsoul, thought he knew he would never have been enough for her. But Patchpelt was something special, a cat that understood him, did not mind his quiet nature, could see the goodness in him even when he himself could not. She was the personage of pure, at least to him.

"I'm scared." She whispered, and curled up against him. The contact was surprising, having expected her to stay at least a tail length away due to the fact that things were...different? between them. He absolutely hated to admit it, that they were not as close as they once were, that their bond had diminished until he really did not know where he stood. He'd thought it was below Cheetahwind, that she would go to the large tom before any cat. But to him? A burst of contentment turned his veins to lava, and he leaned down slightly to lick the top of her head like she was a kit needed comforting. "Don't be scared." He murmured, tail brushing her shoulder. "I will let nothing happen." No more words were needed, he put as much strength into those words as his frail body would allow. "Blackwolf killed Eagelstar." He told her first, the words sticking in his own throat. "He's been using poor Featherpaw, for what i'm not really sure. He confronted Swiftdarkness after, what I think,was a plot to end Rainstar and himself. Littlepaw got in the way and Blackwolf attacked the tiny cat." He remembered that, the fact he almost threw himself into the frey. Of course Rainstar's interference put a halt to that. "Swiftdarkness and Rainstar stopped the fight and Painfullpaw, the stupid apprentice, called for a pause. I'm not sure what going on, but I have a feeling Blackwolf won't live much longer." He was slightly glad his body obstructed her view of the scene. "Don't watch, somethings don't need to be seen." He hated that she might see what could be a brutal slaying. 

Suddenly a loud yowl broke through the air, forcing him to flatten his ears to block out the offending sound. There was so much pain in that sound, it almost made his heart cringe. Keyword, almost. Blackwolf deserved what he got. "What kind of clan are we?" He asked himself.

---

Shadowpaw could not help his wail of delight as his sister took a breath, sputtering something to their father. But her words fell on his deaf ear, blood pounding to loud through his suddenly weak body. "Your alive." He whispered, licking his sisters ear in relief. I'v already lost my mother and sister, I could not lose Littlepaw as well. "What were you thinking?" He asked softly, body shaking from the cold, hunger, and utter solace. "Attacking Blackwolf like that?" A sight escaped his muzzle, ears suddenly twitching as his father spoke, voice resounding through the make-shift camp. "Rainstar says we shall praise this act of merciless revenge by naming the apprentice. I will not challenge her, but I will not call his name. Not until I have seen a noble act from him; one that shows undeserving kindness to another." Shadowpaw leap to his feet, nearly falling as the world tipped to the right, and yowled his agreement. What Painfulpaw had done, the appalling act he'd committed screamed for vengeance. But Shadowpaw was not a cat to have such a cold heart to seek eternal condiment, so search for the rest of his life for revenge. Blackwolf deserved what he got, but it could have been done in a way that did not offend so many cats. 

Suddenly the words rang something else in his mind, made him feel somewhat hypocritical. I have done nothing to truly prove my worth to my clan. I did so little, almost nothing on the journey and have not served my clan to the full potential. Giving his sister one last sorrowful look, Shadowpaw padded slowly over to Rainstar head low in respect yet tail dragging the ground. "Rainstar," He started, fur flushing in embarr*censored*ment as his voice squeaked. "I...I want to ask you not to give me my name as of yet." He breathed, the words not wanting to come out. He wanted his name, badly, but not now. "Not under these circumstances. I do not want the ceremony to happen just in the light of such a tragic happening. I also do not feel worthy of my name as of yet, I have done little to deserve it." Looking around at the other cats he hoped he did not look weak, like some kit afraid of the future.

---

Starpaw flinched as Featherpaw drew him out of the camp, feeling as if the past was repeating himself. This was the same as with Blackwolf. He desperately wanted to know who he might have killed. The thought made him want to devolve into the ground, to disappear all together. Why do you care so much about Nightfall? The words lashed out at him, hitting him like a thousand icicles, turning his blood to ice. Why did he care?  He shuffled his paws, tears once more coming to his eyes. He did not remember even crying this much after his mother was killed. Maybe that was because he had someone to lean on, now he was alone, a tiny, defenseless cat among so  many who would want to kill him soon.

"I care because out of all of you clan cats Nightfall saw my potential, not just some puny, worthless piece of fur!" Her was surprised at the venom in his voice. "Because out of all of you there is a goodness in her that was not diminished even thought she gave up what she wanted most, just as I did. Because she would have died for you and for me. Can you say the same!?" He took a small step to punctuate each of his words until he was nose to nose with the taller she-cat, blue eyes slitted with fury. He was not sure where his anger stemmed from, but he wanted some cat to hurt as much as he was, as much as Blackwolf would have made his mentor hurt if he failed. Which he did. 

ooc; Okay, I will name them maybe... tomorrow.. xD I need some sleep, and don't want to make a big post.

bic;

Rainstar's eyes met Shadowpaw's, "You are correct, I won't name any apprenitce's today... " she breathed in. "Oh want am I doing?" she hissed, then turned to Shadowpaw, "Please, I need some time to be alone." Her Ice blue eyes were clouded and lost some of the light they normally carrie, and they were darkened too. By a steady flowing pleading sorrow inside of her.

  She padded away from the apprentice, fur bristling. "I can blearily lead this Clan, and now I am taking orders from apprentices." She spat, her words like sharp hail. Her Ice blue eyes were troubled, and her silver fur wasn't as it normally was, shining and slick. "StarClan, .......... no. Eaglestar made this mistake," she hissed, "She chose me because she felt sorry for me, not because of my warrior skills. I have none." Looking down at her claws that were no longer sheath able she hissed, "I can't even sheath my claws fully, I can't ever train an apprentice for battle training because I can't do that. And my judgement is always false it seems. Or that is what the Clan thinks.." 

Turning to pad into her temporary den, she meowed, "I can't even walk through my Clan withought being called weak, or thought of as it....." Ice blue eyes scanning the cats, she turned her face to her den. All her stress and sorrow over swallowing her as it crashed down on her thin body she looked at the ground. Eyes brought to the dull failure she was. She lifted her head once more, Iceheart's daughter, the leader of IceClan. pff.  she thought, as a steady stream of tears trickled down her cheek."I am a horrible leader. I'll never lead this Clan right.."

>>

Featherpaw was taken back from Starpaw's flash of anger. Her own anger building up inside her, she meowed more calm then expected, "Do you know who you killed?" Circling Starpaw, she dragged her feet in the sand mixed snow, her tail sweeping over the tufts of snake gra.ss.  She circled him more, I better give the kit time to think about it. She knew that he would be. 

"Because after you set that prey outside Rainstar's den, she put it on the fresh-kill pile, for some other cat to benefit from." She continued walking slowly. The aggressive happiness in her eyes was unmistakable. Hissing, she opened her mouth. "The last time I checked, that prey was gone from the fresh-kill pile."

Rainstar's ear's pricked in suprise, her ice blue eyes widened, stretching the black markings at the bottom her her eyes. As Rainstar listened Crimsonfang talk to her back, she wished that she could only worry about the simple things in life. Hunting, and living. But it was obviously more complicated than that for what she was. She was a leader of a huge Clan. 

"It is not that simple," she meowed to him and turned around. "Nothing is for me, My whole Clan is rebelling against my decisions. I am weak." She turned her head back to the in side of then den. Her eyes darted nervously back and fourth. "I am a terrible leader. My own deputy is against my decision, and he is doing the right thing. I think that rebelling against me is doing the right thing? Oh StarClan was are you doing to me......." Then a sharp prick hit her side, "And the other Clan leaders are coming over in under an hour...... Oh how am I going to do this?"

With a burdened heart, Swiftdarkness looked around the clan. So many cats were giving venomous stares to Rainstar and others, while more just mourned silently. It was hard, even for him, to believe that this clan had once been cheerful and prosperous. Thin and starved like savages, Swiftdarkness couldn't even remember what it was like to wake without the cramps of hunger. He was sure that others were just as broken, but Swiftdarkness held a quality that was rare, each cat in IceClan held it actually; the will to live. No matter the price, he was determined to survive. Instincts blurred out emotions as he became a predator again. His heart was frozen behind layers of denial and determination, but they would thaw with time.

"Dad? I-I'm not dead. I'm alive! Right here! Remember? I promised..."

Looking over his shoulder at the ebony pelt marred by crimson lacerations, Swiftdarkness blinked slowly. His mind was working slowly. This cat was important to him, he knew. She was my kit. He calmly thought, StarClan took her to be with Falconwing, Midnightpaw, and Lostkit. Another slow bl
ink. I'm imagining this. This is because I wanted to see her live beyond my years, and now I'm imagining it. After his third slow bl
ink, Swiftdarkness softly mewed, "I love you, kitten." He hoped that would make the cruel imagination leave. Swiftdarkness had so many other things to think about, this distracting ghost would only make him grieve further. Turning away, he let Shadowpaw coo over the ghost. His son disserved that at least, since he had been so strong from the beginning. His paws heavy with grief, Swiftdarkness padded over to Rainstar.

Being deputy, Swiftdarkness knew that there was much to speak about with Rainstar. The she-cat leader had wisely postponed the naming ceremonies. This was a topic of conversation that he wanted to speak of, but he wanted to name them under happier circumstances. He didn’t know when or how to test them, but that was why he had Rainstar to talk to. Seeing that she was busy speaking with Crimsonfang, normally a cat he would interrupt, he padded over to the fresh-kill pile. It was pitiful but a stringy mouse looked edible enough. Giving into the hunger, the ebony tom ate in silence; his slate blue-gray gaze always drifting over to Shadowpaw and his Littlefire, who was imagined. There was simply no way for such a frail looking kit to survive an attack like the one Blackwolf had given. Yet he could take his eyes off of how she moved, spoke, and breathed. A sweat started under his mangy coat as his heart rate increased. The imagined Littlefire was so alive that Swiftdarkness wondered how he could create such a real looking vision. Blinking his eyes for a moment, hoping to see what was truly there, he nibbled up the last of the prey. Done with his food, Swiftdarkness couldn’t bear to turn his back on the imagined Littlefire so he kept her in sight as he padded up to Rainstar. Hoping that he wasn’t interrupting something important, he meowed gently, “I would like to speak with you, Rainstar, when you are done. I have much to say.” Dipping his head respectfully, Swiftdarkness’s attention we right back to Littlefire.

Great StarClan, is it true? His pace became more rapid as he approached her. “Littlefire?” he choked out with a hoarse rasping purr. Rubbing his cheek and nose over her fur, he felt tears of joy fall down his face. “Oh, thank StarClan! You’re alive!” He couldn’t believe it. A small part of Swiftdarkness’s mind taunted that she wasn’t real, but she felt so real to him. He could smell her scent, watch her breath, and feel her life. It was the most wonderful thing he had ever experienced. Looking to Rainstar, he noted she seemed to be a bit shocked by whatever news Crimsonfang was telling, so he knew that he had a bit of time to spend with his daughter. Purring and licking the crown of her head, Swiftdarkness poured his love out. “I don’t want you to leave me.” Gazing over Littlefire’s shoulder at Shadowpaw, he mewed full heartedly, “I don’t want to lose either of you. I love you, my kits. With all of my heart.” Looking up into the sky, which was darkening with nightfall, he smiled up at Falconwing. I love you my mate, he purred to her knowing that someday, maybe soon or maybe later, he could join with her again.

Seeming to forget all the trouble around her, Patchpelt basked in the warmth and comfort Silentheart gave her. It was true that they fought, but it was also true that they were loyal to each other. As she felt the rasp of his tongue grooming the top of her head, Patchpelt closed her eyes and purred. For a brief moment she had feared that Silentheart might have turned away from her. He would always accept her and be a friend, but they often fell away from each other for long periods of time because of complications. Their feels seemed to mixed in a risky explosion. His tail brushed her shoulder in a display of companionship while he told her about the sadness of the clan. She had been gone for one single day and the clan had turned so vicious. It was horrifying, but Patchpelt loved each cat within her clan. Nothing would stop her from salvaging all the broken pieces of each cat's broken soul. Stubborn to the end, Patchpelt knew that when moon high came and the other leaders were here to talk she would ask to have every cat leave the coming sun-high. It was time for the clans to move.

"Don't watch, some things don't need to be seen," Silentheart's words were spoken with a soft intensity.

With her eyes closed, Patchpelt used her other senses. The feel of Silentheart's fur against hers was the first feeling, warm and soothing as the silk of their fur brushed with each breath. The steady beat of his heart was both a wonderful feeling and a glorious sound. Its rhythm echoed around hers as she pressed her ear closer to his chest. It was a beautiful melody to her, since it could have been Silentheart who died. Thank you, StarClan, for keeping him safe, she praised hoping that Falconwing and Lostkit heard her. The ground beneath her paws was chilling with the loss of the suns heat, but she gathered Silentheart's warmth easily in her smaller frame. The gritty sand combined with dirt itched between her paw-pads because of her travels that day but it was tolerable for the while. Patchpelt could also smell the relaxing scent of lavender. It was her own since she would roll in the bushes whenever time allowed. Yet more smells imposed upon her sensitive nostrils. Masculine, fresh, crisp, and clean the heady aroma of trees surrounded her. The scent of pine needles was everywhere. Then, with such abruptness that Patchpelt spooked, a yowl broke through her resting mind. Emerald eyes wide with fear-scent surrounding her, Patchpelt shivered. She had almost fallen asleep sitting with Silentheart as she listened to her surroundings but was now frighteningly awake.

"What kind of clan are we?" she heard, and felt, the rumble of the rhetorical question. So much emotion was held in those few words, and Patchpelt understood. Having seen Featherpaw progress from kit-hood Patchpelt had become concerned with her changing behavior, yet the stress of training her first apprentice made her too busy to take real notice. Blackwolf could have been stopped sooner but how was the clan to know. Trust had been so strong only moons ago, yet the hunger pangs had made every cat moody and irritable. Every cat was at fault, yet none were.

Lifting her calico patterned face to his still surprising ginger one, she whispered, "With time we will become united again. Much has challenged us as a clan, without any mercy, Silentheart." Glancing around, Patchpelt hoped that no cat had heard her slip. "When we reach the new land everything will change, you'll see..." She didn't want to say his new name, so Patchpelt stayed silent at the last part. It's not that it wasn't beautiful or fitting, it just wasn't...Silentheart. Rubbing her cheek along his, enjoying the smell of their mingling scent; lavender and pine needles. Getting warily to her paws, Patchpelt felt unbalanced for a moment as exhaustion clouded her mind like a snowy day. Arching her back in an effort to relieve some of the tension, she was sad to note that it didn't help. Her emerald eyes were not as bright as they used to be. Hardened by many moons of trials they were still vibrant and full of life, but not as open or innocent, though never to be called jaded. As much as she loved to experience life, though, Patchpelt knew that it was time to fall into the land of dreams. Gazing up at Silentheart, she took in a deep breath to gather the courage to ask something more of him.

"Silentheart," she meowed softly with a serious stare, "do you really want..." Her tiredness made her hesitate and Patchpelt lost all of her courage. Looking away, her delicate orange ear flickered nervously, "Nevermind me, I need some rest." A small smile curled her lips as she shyly glanced up at Silentheart, "Do I still get a nest by your side?" She had missed that during all of the journey, even when Kestrelheart had curled up beside her. It just hadn't been the same.