Apprentices huddled together in small groups, shivering with fear and pain. Murkclaw lay, unmoving, on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Tawnymist bent over his corpse, yowling sorrowfully. Goldenstream was helping Windstreak over to the medicine cat den.
Lilypetal was busy distributing herbs. Snowpaw was hot at her heels, a bundle of borage clamped in his mouth.
Nightfrost had a large scratch across her face, but she was insisting that Lilypetal check that her kits were okay first before she was treated.
Why, StarClan!? Pinestar thought. Just then, Fallowheart approached him.
"We won, Pinestar," she panted, blood seeping out of a slash in her side.
Pinestar nodded, but his eyes were grim. "But our Clan is still in ruins..." he murmured, turning away.
~~~
He limped aimlessly between the trees of the Gorseledge, his eyes darting this way and that, not looking at anything in particular. His heart was filled with anguish for his Clan, and he wondered why StarClan had let this happen.
Pinestar then noticed yellow eyes gleaming in a bush beside him, and whirled around right as the eyes winked out.
Snaketail... an unidentifiable voice whispered in his mind. The snake... The bushes rustled.
Pinestar shouldered aside fronds of bracken as he chased the intruder. Every few heartbeats, those gleaming golden eyes would flash at him through the thick foliage.
He ran faster.
A hissing sound filled his ears. Ssssssssssss...
An adder. An adder was hissing.
Sssssssss...
He ran even faster, paws thundering on the soil beneath him, claws unsheathed, ignoring the stinging pain in his leg that was getting worse and worse.
Sssssssss...
He fell to the ground, breathing hard. The hissing was right near his ear. He opened his eyes a crack and saw an adder hissing above him, its fangs dripping with venom, deadly venom, as bitter sweet as fatal juniper berries.
This was it. Pinestar closed his eyes, and the razor sharp fangs pierced the skin underneath his pelt...
Everything went black.
~~~
Fallowheart left the clearing, now blood soaked because of the fox attack. She raced up to the leader's den to check on Pinestar. She had had to drag him out of the battle and into the den when he lost a life.
To her relief, she found him sleeping soundly.
She approached him and prodded his flank with her paw.
He didn't move.
She ran to the medicine cat den, yowling, "Goldenstream! Help!"
The tortoiseshell she-cat had a bunch of marigold leaves in her mouth.
"Yes?" she answered, her voice muffled behind the marigold.
"Pinestar...he won't wake up!" Fallowheart hissed, panicked.
Goldenstream's eyes widened, and she spat the marigold leaves out of her mouth.
"Take me to him!" she ordered.
Once they had arrived at the leader's den, Goldenstream pressed her ear to his flank.
"He's having a dream with StarClan," she murmured, rising. "Leave him be."
~~~
Pinestar stood up and stretched.
There was no snake bite on his flank.
Was it all a dream? he wondered as he checked out his surroundings.
He was back in PoplarClan camp. All was calm. There was no blood, no corpses, no foxes. Maybe there was no fox attack, no adder...
But where were all his Clanmates?
He padded forward curiously. Suddenly Fallowheart appeared in front of him.
"Pinestar!" she greeted him warmly.
"So...there was no fox attack?" he asked. He was still confused.
"What fox attack?" Fallowheart purred with amusement. "We never had FOXES!"
"Good, because I had a strange dream."
Fallowheart sat. "Dream?" she asked innocently. "Explain."
Pinestar sat as he began his tale.
"I was walking through the Gorseledge, and saw a pair of yellow eyes watching me. I chased them."
Fallowheart's eyes darkened.
"Then I heard an adder hissing."
A soft rumble started up in Fallowheart's throat.
"I fell to the ground, and then was bitten by an adder," he finished. "But then again, it was only a dream!"
Fallowheart's hazel eyes hardened, and suddenly turned...yellow.
"Um...Fallowheart?" Pinestar began to back up.
Scales replaced Fallowheart's fur. Her legs dissapeared, and her head became long and narrow. Sharp, glistening fangs replaced her teeth.
She had turned into an adder.
A loud hiss reverberated around the clearing.
"Basil! HELP!" Pinestar yowled.
His brother's voice echoed in his ears.
"The snake is coming soon...Both Clans must beware...Warn the pike..."
~~~
Goldenstream and Fallowheart watched Pinestar anxiously, then both sighed with relief as his eyes snapped open.
"Pinestar...are you alright?" Goldenstream asked.
Pinestar looked back and forth between both she-cats before answering.
"The snake is coming soon...Both Clans must beware...Warn the pike..."
**Pinestar**
((On a further note, the Gathering is tonight! The cats that will be going to the Gathering are as follows:
-Windstreak
-Thunderstorm
-Goldenstream
-Shootingstream
-Patchedtail
-Windpaw
-Seapaw
-Seabreeze
-Stargaze
To get to the gathering, just click HERE.))
"It must be part of the prophecy..." Fallowheart murmured, and she and Goldenstream traded frightened glances.
ReplyDelete**Fallowheart**
Pinestar stood up shakily and shook himself, dust flying off of his pelt. Then he headed out to the clearing and stood up on top of the Stonepile.
"Cats of PoplarClan!" he yowled. "We have fought a tough battle...but more danger is along the way." His brother's words echoed in his mind.
He briefly made eye contact with each of the cats of the prophecy before continuing. "The pike...The pike must be warned." He hoped that the prophecy cats would understand what he meant.
**Pinestar**
Windstreak said...
ReplyDeleteWindstreak crawled as best he could out of lilypetals denbut he was just to week. Seapaw was there trying to get me to stay in bed while seabreeze was in the Warriors den sleeping. She was very week from yesterday. He layed back down and slept to.
Pinestar surveyed the blood soaked camp grimly.
ReplyDelete"Will all medicine cats please let me know when they have healed all injuries?" he called. "Once most cats are healed, PoplarClan needs to get back up on its feet. Apprentices and younger warriors, please help rebuild the dens. All except for you, Snowpaw," he added, seeing the small white tom stand up. "You need to help Lilypetal and Goldenstream.
"I need several senior warriors to make sure that all foxes have left our territory. Ivydawn, Lithefoot, Tawnymist, and Windstreak-Where is Windstreak? Goldenstream, is he alright?"
**Pinestar**
Windstreak said...
ReplyDeleteHe woke up a couple minutes later. He just couldn't sleep. Seapaw was with the other apprentices rebuilding their den. So he just laid there deep in tought.
Tawnymist padded over to Windstreak.
ReplyDelete"Are you alright? Did Goldenstream treat you yet?"
**Pinestar**
Windstreak said...
ReplyDeleteYes. Is your leg alright? I'll be fine I'm just a little week, make sure they do do something with yuour leg.
Tawnymist sighed. "I will, don't worry." She looked around camp.
ReplyDelete"I'm going to go help build up some dens." Her eyes brimmed with sadness. "PoplarClan is in ruins now. Every cat that can help counts."
She sighed again, then grabbed a bundle of twigs to help rebuild the nursery.
**Tawnymist**
Windstreak said...
ReplyDeleteHe stared at her sadly. She truly believed she would be lonely for the rest of her life. Then he saw Sebreeze padding over to him and pushing Tawnymist to the back of his thoughts and said Hello breezy.
Tawnymist pulled the bundle of twigs apart with claws and inserted each twig one at a time into the build of the den.
ReplyDeleteShe was sure she would never find love. No one would feel "that way" about her, she was positive.
In her frustration, she accidentally broke the twigs. Sighing sadly, she went to find another.
**Tawnymist**
Windstreak said...
ReplyDeleteHello darling. How's your leg/ Your probably doing much better than me right now huh.
Tawnymist sighed. She wanted to help her Clan, but she was too sad to think.
ReplyDeleteWhen would anyone love her?
She curled up in a corner and wrapped her tufty black tail around her nose.
**Tawnymist**
Windstreak said...
ReplyDeleteWhat are you doing here anyway. I thiught you were supposed to be helping to rebuild the dens.
Tawnymist watched Lightheart drag Murkclaw's body across the clearing, a long streak of blood trailing behind.
ReplyDeleteShe would never be loved again...
**Tawnymist**
Seabreeze nudged Windstreak and and purred. "I was just checking on you."
ReplyDelete**Seabreeze**
Tawnymist couldn't take it anymore.
ReplyDeleteShe raced across the clearing, yowling at the top of her lungs, and scrabbled up to the Gorseledge.
She raced away between the trees, not knowing where she was going and not caring. She just wanted to get away.
**Tawnymist**
windstreak said...
ReplyDeleteWell thankyou very much but i'll be fine. He nuzzles the side of her stomack and says at least nothing happened to you and our kits.
Tawnymist stopped, panting, in the middle of the forest. She was tired, and woozy from the battle. Not only that, but she was extremely lonely.
ReplyDeleteSuddenly Murkclaw materialized in front of her. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Then Murkclaw snarled, the most frightening snarl Tawnymist had ever heard.
She bolted away, Murkclaw's pawsteps sounding behind her. She yowled fearfully and leapt up a tree. When she looked down, Murkclaw had dissapeared.
She couldn't take it.
She collapsed and fell off the tree.
**Tawnymist**
Seabreeze licked Windstreak's cheek then went to Goldenstream for some comfrey. Seabreeze padded back to Windstreak's side and made him eat it. "I learned a lot from Goldenstream about herbs," she said calmly.
ReplyDelete**Seabreeze**
*Windpaw niodded to Pinestar, Dustpaw and herself seemed to be wound-free, cats stared at them suspisously and Windpaw purred to Dustpaw*
ReplyDeletePinestar stepped back from the Stonepile. He suddenly fell to the ground.
ReplyDelete"My...my leg!" he moaned. "Goldenstream, Snowpaw...Help!"
**Pinestar**
The sound of hissing woke her.........
ReplyDeleteWhere am I? thought Stargaze. She was in a forest......with Pinestar....Pinestar couldn't see her....What was going on.....She trotted after her leader curiously. He began to run as a hissing filled the clearing. A deadly hissing. Pinestar collasped....Stargaze tried to yowl out but couldnt. she fell to the ground too, her leg feeling as if it were broken....her flank scarred with scratches from the deadly fox attack. Hisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss The hissing wouldnt stop she watched, hopelessly, as it embedded its fang in her leader.
Pinestar, she yowled silently. She herd an errie whisper..........."Thje snake is coming warn the PIKE...BEWARRE THE SNAKE..." she jolted awake in the medicine cat den where snowpaw was sitributing herbs......she had to talk to pinestar immeadiatly.
Stargaze
Windstreak said...
ReplyDeleteWindstreak walks out of Goldenstreams den. His sides still hurt a bit but esides that he felt like a new cat. He was walking around trying to fing Seabreeze. He spotted Star thoug and decided to go and talk to her.
Pinestar saw Stargaze trotting over to him. "Pinestar, I need to talk to you," she said. Pinestar saw a strange understanding in her eyes.
ReplyDelete"You can talk to Pinestar, after I see what`s wrong with his leg," Goldenstream said firmly. "Pinestar, what do you think might be wrong with your leg." She lowered her voice and murmured, "I had a vision the other night, I`ll tell you later in your den."
ReplyDelete"What's wrong?" Seabreeze padded over to the group and sat down beside Windstreak.
ReplyDelete**Seabreeze**