Firestar |Leader of Skyclan| Glancing over his shoulder as he briefly makes sure his clanmates were following behind him as he once more leads his clan to the Ghostly flats. That’s right it was time for another gathering. Just the thought causes Firestar to sigh as he could imagine a million other important things he could be doing right now. Like tracking down the ripper, as Auroraskies had told him. His mate sadly having been familiar with the monsters handiwork. He had left a few trusted warriors behind to mind the camp, selecting a scout to report any suspicious activity happening around Skyclan. A lone warrior could have the trek to the sacred grounds in less than an hour, while it took even longer when traveling with a large group. Firestar could not help but feel uneasy, something just did not sit right with the large fiery ginger Maine Coon. His trusted deputy, Bayleaf had reassured him that going to the gathering was the best decision as the rest of the clans needed to know.
Though, Firestar already feared that the other clans have experienced the work of the Ripper. Frowning as he remembers seeing Granitemask’s dismembered corpse, anger coursing through his chest as he had failed his fallen warrior, but he would not let anyone else in his clan die by the Ripper’s claws. Pushing onward, ignoring the bitter cold nipping at his paws with each step. Tufted ears perked up as he was on high alert, disliking the thought that he was bringing his kits from his first two litters with Aurora with them. Their third litter too young to come along, leaving them in the trusted paws of a queen. Snapping out of his thoughts as he feels a familiar form brush against his side. Tilting his chin downwards as his bicolored eyes locking with violet-amber. Giving his mate a small reassuring smile as he gently bumps his shoulder against hers.
Everyone was rightfully on edge, he was thankful to have his mate by his side in that moment. Shoulders releasing some tension as he breaks through the threshold of foliage, entering the Ghostly Flats. Taking note that his clan was the first arrive, giving his mate one last glance as he lightly pressed his lips to her forehead before gesturing to his deputy to get Skyclan settled. Once making sure Bayleaf understood, the leader swiftly makes his way to the large boulder. Admiring the size and strength the boulder represents before skillfully leaping on top. Turning to look down at his clan, watching them as they settled and quietly talk amongst themselves. Breathing heavily through his nose before settling down in the center. A faint smirk forming on his lips as he wondered what leaders he would see this time.
Desertrain
Warrior of Windclan
For a cat who had mercilessly slaughtered many, his touch was surprisingly delicate, gentle, even, and as Renly trailed a paw lovingly down her cheek, their eyes met. Desertrain stared up at him, heart fluttering in her chest. Normally his eyes were entirely black and devoid of life, yet she watched intently as they flooded with warmth as soon as he looked at her. The way he looked at her was different from the way he looked at everyone else, and in his gaze, she recalled the day that they met. He had angrily confronted her after she’d made a kill, scolding her for being so sloppy and using his name as a coverup, sullying his reputation with her amateurism. She remembered how she bared her teeth and attacked him, thinking he was there to kill her, and finding herself pinned beneath him and taking in his ridiculously perfect visage of a chiseled jaw, broad shoulders, and deep, amber eyes. Desertrain smiled to herself at the memory. From that moment on, she found herself returning to the moorland at dusk to wait for Renly to come find her. She began to let down her guard, telling him stories from her kithood, sharing pieces of her that she had thought were long dead. He was scary, he was a monster, and yet she never felt more safe in his presence. All she’d ever wanted was to feel protected, to have someone love her unconditionally and tell her that everything would be alright, and now, she had all of that and more.
Renly the Ripper.
While his gaze was towards Auroraskies, his dark ember eyes narrowed slightly when suddenly a ginger Maine Coon had moved her away from him, an amused snort escaped him as the Skyclan leader made his way towards the Ripper until they were face to face. It was almost amusing, playing the hero. Tilting his head up, Renly wasn’t clearly intimidated by Firestar and it showed. Letting out a soft hum, Renly watched as Thunderclan and Hawkstar retreated before his emotionless gaze returned towards his mate “I thought you had mentioned that all five clans would have the guts, but in reality it appears there’s only four.” Renly observed, clearly not impressed with Thunderclan. It seemed like he shouldn’t need to take the clan seriously, as he was aware of how quickly they fled into the shadows. Moving towards Firestar, he was sizing up the ginger leader. The Skyclan leader was all bark with his words, but was he truly bite?
“It won’t be long until the rest of you lot will end up running in fear… I just need to add a little more..” Renly said before lowering his face until his dark eyes met Firestar’s bicolored gaze. At the corner of his eyes, he quickly saw Juncostar leaping off the high rock and onto the ground in search for Aspenpaw. Clearly the Shadowclan leader took the Ripper’s threats seriously. “Pressure.” Renly said before turning around and padding towards his mate, rolling his eyes before addressing the other felines around him “Witness your titans as they flee, for their thoughts are only of themselves.” Renly called out to the cats within the island, his gaze towards the direction of where Thunderclan had left and Juncostar leaving his own deputy to fend for Shadowclan as their sole protector. How could the clans count on felines like them when they couldn’t even think of others but of themselves and their home clan?
Watching Auroraskies as she brought her daughter in closely to her, the black and golden molly had clung on to Scarletpaw as if life depended on it. It was almost a mockery to see how much the Skyclan Queen had changed from her previous days. “The Ongoing Storm had settled, how disappointing.” Renly said as he knew Aurora had flinched when her old nickname was mentioned. While his tufted ears perked at Firestar’s heroic words, a sense of irritation had overcome him. Renly didn’t like that, the Skyclan leader was giving hope. One thing for certain, The Ripper was always unpredictable with his actions. “My beautiful Rain.” Renly suddenly purred loudly, facing his mate. His dark ember eyes were softened at the sight of her as one of his paws went up to slowly caress her cheek.
Words couldn’t describe how much he loved her, Desertrain was his weakness.
“Tick Tock…” Renly said, his dark ember eyes suddenly darkened once more as the paw that was caressing the small Bengal’s cheek moved within a flash. A loud shriek escaped the Shadowclan Elder, Leafstorm as Renly had stuck his long black curved claws into the foreleg of the older cat. It was a low blow, but Renly never played by any rules nor morals. Noticing Firestar taking a step forward while Auroraskies brought her daughter in closer to shield her from the horrific view, Renly smirked as his huge sharp teeth came into view. “Not another step from you, Titan.. Otherwise He’ll be lying in his own blood in a couple of hours.” The mountain cat said, letting out a soft hum when his black claws were sinking more into Leafstorm’s leg. The elder let out a cry of agony as Renly’s claws began sinking into the flesh and into the raw meat, Renly knew arteries, he knew how to make a feline easily bleed out if he ‘accidentally’ popped one.
At the corner of his eye, he finally saw Mercuryrose jump off the leader’s rock and began shoving past everyone in order to reach himself and Leafstorm. Bingo, she fell into the trap. It wasn’t until Renly heard a loud voice nearby “Papa?!” Aspenpaw’s panicked voice echoed the air as the gray tabby tom was being sandwiched between felines that were trying to back away from the serial killer. “Papa! Help!” Aspenpaw called towards Juncostar, as he was trying to prevent himself from being stomped and trampled on. The Shadowclan Apprentice was properly in danger. Looking up at the leader’s rock, a smirk appeared on his face when looking towards Desertstar and the pure devastation on her face before turning to look at his mate, Desertrain “I won’t let anything happen to you, as I’ll let the world burn first.” Renly promised her, his gaze finally on Copperstar before baring his fangs at the Riverclan leader “Why don’t you come down here, I see you’ve been awfully quiet.. You weren’t when you were in that cave”
This confirmed, Renly remembered Copperstar.
“Tick Tock…” Renly said, turning towards Firestar once more. It appeared that the Skyclan leader was the clans’ champion. He didn’t like that, it gave them hope. Letting out a low growl, Renly released Leafstorm from his grip. The brown tabby elder collapsed in pain as others began surrounding him. The Ripper got what he wanted, Mercuryrose was coming towards him. If the black and rose-gold deputy made it to him, there was a possibility that she wouldn’t make it out alive. “Do you really want more blood on your paws? For you to attend more funerals and watch more stars appearing in the sky?” Renly challenged Firestar and the other leaders. Something popped into his head, as he let out a purr “Since I’m in a good mood, I’ll give you a choice.. Bring me a sacrifice from each of your Empires, doesn’t matter if it’s your youngest or oldest.. Bring them to me and I’ll leave your empires.” Renly said, as he heard the gasps and cries of the others. The Ripper was playing mindgsmes, ensuring in others’ minds that their leaders would sacrifice them.
Noticing that Mercuryrose was near, his bloody claws came out. This was it.. He would be able to finally kill her just as he wanted.
Sleekfeather
Warrior of Riverclan
Sleekfeather sucked in a breath, the color draining from his face as he stared up at the trees. Seeing the bodies hanging overhead unknowingly struck an old, still open wound. Swanpath. The Ripper. His surroundings began to spin violently and the ground felt unsteady under his feet. Stiffening as he struggled to catch his breath, he tried not to remember how he found his dear mother decaying in the river after endlessly searching for her, or how he and Edgefrost never avenged her. Panic flooded his body as those memories swallowed him whole, eating him alive. He trembled, his breaths coming out in short, tiny pants. All the memories. All the pain. Shame, anger, and guilt washed over him in waves, threatening to drown him. He was reliving it all in the span of just a few, short minutes.
Distantly, though, he heard Renly’s voice, rough and cruel, as he uttered Auroraskies name. ‘Why is he saying her name? Where is she? Is she okay?’ his thoughts raced, pulling him from his panic attack. He slowly blinked his eyes, coming to, and the first thing Sleekfeather registered as he slowly became aware of his surroundings was that The Ripper was walking towards her. He felt his heart drop seeing the cat he had come to care about so deeply in danger, and without thinking, Sleekfeather stepped forward to put himself in front of Auroraskies until Firestar could be there. When the flame-colored tom finally made it over to them, he moved out of the way. Even though Auroraskies would always hold a special place in his heart, he knew that she belonged to Firestar, and he had no intention of coming between them. Instead, he stood nearest to Firestar, ready to defend his friend’s mate— even though he likely wouldn’t need to. Firestar was a big guy, and unlike Sleekfeather, he had extra lives to spare. Still, he would throw in his only life and fight the ridiculously large mountain cat if he needed to.
Juncostar
shadowclan leader
(he/him)
His fight with Hawkstar broken up far too early, Juncostar batted weakly toward the other tom as he was pulled away. He was ready to spring back toward the other tom, but the look on Mercuryrose's face as she shouted, reprimanding him, was enough to cause his shoulders to slump and his head to hang low in shame. To many it might seem that she was the one actually in control within ShadowClan, even. He just knew he was going to be grounded to his den again when they got home; he didn't know if he could count on any-cat to sneak him moss balls to play with, either, now that Ravenclaw was a warrior and had other things to worry about. Maybe Aspenpaw would help...
His sulking was cut short, however, as Mercuryrose seemed to notice something he hadn't yet. Looking in the direction she was trained on, Juncostar gave a toothy grimace, side-eyeing Hawkstar. "Well there's your smitin'," he commented under his breath, ears falling to his skull as he slowly began to back up, as though hoping to fade into the surrounding cats. If this guy knew he was important, he might come after him next. After all, isn't that what he'd done to Copperstar?
Panic struck him as he realized he'd lost track of Aspenpaw, and he began making his way through whatever open spaces he could to find his son. If they were lucky, they could slip away entirely unnoticed. Of course, they wouldn't be able to come back home, but Aspenpaw would be safe-- and Juncostar would remain in one piece, as well. He elected to stay out of the action, devoting his energy to his search as his ears rang with each word the cats spoke. Betrayal? Torture? Desertstar's daughter?! His head was spinning.
Venomrose, Medicine Cat of RiverClan
Too much was happening all at once, the dark feline didn't know where to begin to look. They wanted to look nowhere, but they couldn't bring theirself to close their eyes. Where was Spottedpaw? Toxic green eyes scanned the frightened faces around them until they finally found her. She looked absolutely horrified, and they didn't blame her. She didn't need to be seeing all this.
The lanky feline quickly left the other medicine cats behind, enveloping the she-cat with their tail and drawing her closer to them. "Don't look anymore, just close your eyes and follow me," they muttered, carefully leading Spottedpaw back to the medicine cats, saying any comforting words they could think of as they walked. When they reached the collection of medicine cats, though, they noticed the group was down one. Where in the world was Little-
Their stomach dropped when they spotted the small tomcat face to face with one of the monsters that had caused all this. If it had just been the WindClan traitor alone, whatever her name was, Venomrose wouldn't have been too worried for his fellow medicine cat... but that freak of nature standing beside her? The black feline turned to the cat closest to him, who just so happened to be Waspsight, mouth agape. "Is he crazy?!" the young cat hissed quietly to the ShadowClan medicine cat. They wanted to call for the patched tom to come back to where he was safer, but they stopped when they noticed the frightened face of Copperstar. It was then that they realized that if it had been the ginger tom where Desertstar stood, being threatened like that... they'd be standing in Littlewoods' place. If it had been any of their clanmates, or even one of their fellow medicine cats, they'd be standing at their defense.
Maybe they were crazy too.
Firestar
Leader of Skyclan
Firestar sighs softly as he knew that his announcement would cause unease among the five clans, but he knew that he could not hide such information, not when he knew that the killer has killed several felines before Granitemask. The Ripper had deliberately used other body parts of fallen warriors when placing Granitemask’s torso strategically in front of skyclan camp. Fire knew the killer was toying with them, wanting to install fear within them all. Well the bastard had certainly succeeded. It was a dangerous game The Ripper was playing, a game that everyone else was hilariously 10 steps behind on. The leader settles back down next to Desertstar and Juncostar, signaling that he was done talking for now, yet his attention never wavers from those below. His bi-colored gaze studying every single feline, noting their reactions to the fact there was a serial murder lurking in the shadows. He especially studied Mercuryrose, noticing the shift within her posture and the way her eyes flittered around as if waiting for something or someone to appear. Furrowing his brows as seeing the usual calm and collected Shadowclan deputy seemingly rattled definitely made the fiery ginger tom feel the need to be on high alert. He could tell that he was not the only one having noticed her change in behavior as most of Shadowclan who paid her enough attention noticed. He barely paid attention to Juncostar’s announcements, only caring to know if Shadowclan had any run ins with The Ripper.
Brows furrowing as it seemed that Shadowclan was never personally targeted by the ripper, though in a way it made sense. Auroraskies had informed him that Mercuryrose and Grimrose were sadly very familiar with the killer. So the ripper had purposely avoided Shadowclan, meaning he knew just who to avoid to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Huffing as he tunes in when Hawkstar begins to childishly argue with Juncostar—something about kits, he did not particularly care about their argument. All he cared about was that the five clans needed to put aside all of their differences in order to put an end to all of these killings. Taking note from Copperstar and Desertstar’s leader announcements that they too had sadly encountered murders happening within their clan. How was The Ripper doing this? He was making it seem so easy to cause mayhem. Snapping out of his thoughts as Junco plays dumb and innocent when it was clear that he wanted to push Hawkstar’s buttons, and it certainly did not take much. How did they get stuck to listening to two grown leaders fight like kits? Now he understood what Wolfstar, Wisteriastar, Hornetstar, Hollystar, and Blazestar had gone through when Kass and himself had caused a scene years ago..
Feeling a headache come on at the bickering, wishing he could just shove them both off the large boulder to shut them up. Giving the two leaders an unimpressed look as their arguing turns physical. “Just great. Exactly what we need at a time like this” Firestar mutters in irritation as he glances over at Desertstar, smirking as he could tell that she was as fed up as he was with this whole situation. He could only imagine what Shadowclan and Thunderclan were thinking at watching their leaders fight idiotically. Hearing Mercuryrose’s booming voice as she commands the two stooges to break up their fight. The sudden shift in the air causes the fur along his shoulders and spine to rise with unease. His intense gaze flickering over to the large black mountain cat that stalks through the clearing. The whimpers, screams, and cries for the fallen as several mangled bodies hang limply within the trees, the horrid stench of blood and decay wafting through the Ghostly Flats as the Ripper makes his grand entrance. Tensing up as he notices the murderous cat making his way towards Auroraskies, letting his instincts and protectiveness guide him as the fiery ginger Maine Coon quickly rises to his paws. Without hesitation he leaps down from his perch as strides to his mate, gently ushering her behind him as he stands before Renly.
Jaws clenched as the two large toms stare one another down, both sizing the other, determining just how dangerous the other was. Refraining from wrinkling his nose in distaste at seeing the matted blood on The Ripper’s maw, tensing up as the large mountain cat addresses Auroraskies while mockingly looking over at a horrified Grimrose. Narrowing his eyes into dangerous slits as the intruder continues to spill the villainous nonsense of why he was here. Though he found the speech to be the typical bullshit of ‘You took something from me, now it’s your turn’. If it weren’t for the severity of the situation, Firestar would have laughed in Renly’s face, but knew that such an act would set the already unstable feline off. No now was not a time to make a scene, not with so many young apprentices about that could easily become an unexpected target in a sporadic killing. Scowling down at Scarletpaw, now was not the time to act brave and into harms way. “Scarlet, stay behind your mother” Firestar mutters firmly, what is she thinking? Sighing to himself as he hears the faint sobs of his daughter as she presses against her mother. Features hardening even more when Desertrain steps forward, her mask slipping until it falls off completely. He could only imagine what Desertstar was feeling in this moment of betrayal, after all he knew how she was feeling in that moment. Turning his head slightly as Hawkstar orders his clan away, wanting to get the thunderclan bystanders out of harms way as soon as possible.
He could not blame the Thunderclan leader, but he could not order his clan away during a crucial moment. Not with their common enemy right in front of him. Glancing subtly over at Desertstar and Desertrain listening to a mother’s heart breaking for a child she once had. Tensing as the young warrior mentioned mutilating only those from Sandadder’s group. So she had killed the ones from Windclan? It would seem that the ripper did not only have an admirer but an accomplice as well. “Now this chat is lovely and all. Very enlightening to say the least , we have gotten your message loud and clear. One wanting to cause chaos and one wanting petty revenge because of something out of mother’s control” Firestar drawls out, he has had enough of the dramatics. “You speak of empires…but there is a reason why that system fails. It is flawed. You may think you can weasel your way in, try to topple and crumble us within ourselves” Taking a step closer to Renly, his eyes blazing with fury as the two large felines stand head to head.
He would not let this feline intimidate him, while he was certainly caught off guard that Renly the Ripper decided to invite himself to their gathering, he would not let fear grip his heart. “There will always be some of us left standing. Just when you think you are at your highest—is when you will hit your lowest….When that happens you know damn well that I will be part of the reason for your empire falling” Firestar seethes, the anger and promise radiating from his words as his tone remains level. If Renly and Desertrain could declare war upon the clans, then Firestar could only think of one thing: ‘Bring it on.’
Desertstar could barely hide her revulsion as Renly The Ripper spoke, both rage and disgust twisting in her stomach, though her golden eyes widened in alarm when she noticed her daughter walking towards them. “Desertrain! Don’t get too close to him, it’s not saf—“ her voice trembled with fear and desperation. She’d nearly jumped off the rock in order to protect her daughter, though she soon skidded to a halt, small stones tumbling over the edge once she realized that Desertrain wasn’t in any danger at all. Renly was expecting her. The leader’s thoughts whirled in confusion. She watched Desertrain stand beside The Ripper as though they knew each other, and an immense sadness gripped her heart, the likes of which she had never felt before. “Why..” was all the could manage to say, barely able to formulate thoughts, much less a full sentence. Maybe it wasn’t what it looked like.
Desertrain’s smile widened at the myriad of emotions on her mother’s face. “Why?” she scoffed, then chuckled, the sound somehow conveying both amusement and slight annoyance that her mother would even have to ask. “There are so many reasons why, but let’s start with the fact that you allowed the same cats who aided in my capture back into our clan; the same cats who either stood by or took part in the unspeakable torture my siblings and I endured,” she growled, her voice dangerously low. With a heavy heart, she recalled the day when their camp was attacked, and she and her siblings were whisked away. She remembered fighting against her captors with every ounce of determination she could muster, but she was rendered powerless in the endless cycle of torture and soon lost all hope of ever escaping. The memory itself weighed heavily on her shoulders, but Desertrain bore the familiar sting with only a slight twitch of her lip. “What happened to us was horrible and yet you, our mother, let them sleep and hunt right beside us,” she told them, and though her tone was harsh, she felt a grim sort of satisfaction in the way the Windclan leader paled at her revelation, surprise rippling amongst the clans.
Desertrain let out a short laugh, her blue eyes flickering like a cold flame. “Seriously, how did you fail to notice that every cat I mutilated was a part of Sandadder’s group?” she asked, tilting her head in mock confusion. If it weren’t for the keen, predatory sharpness in her eyes she would almost look innocent staring up at Desertstar. After a moment, she heaved a disappointed sigh. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised that you didn’t notice. There were a lot of things you didn’t notice,” she admitted, and then when her mother still looked confused, she rolled her eyes and said, “Oh, please. Try to imagine how hard it is to look like you, have the same name as you— and be nothing like you. I wasn’t fast, brave or strong. I was clumsy, terrified and weak,” she explained with a sneer, a quiet power now emanating from her. Hardly any trace of the soft, sweet-natured feline remained. All of the light within her had been viscously stomped out, and now, she was the monster. “I have only ever lived in your shadow— so I thought, maybe instead of being inferior and afraid, I could become something to fear.”
It didn’t take long, however, for someone to shove themselves between her and her mother, and to her surprise, it’s Littlewoods. Admittedly he was the last cat she expected to bare their fangs at her, and she stared at him in awe before narrowly avoiding a nasty swipe to the face. Desertrain looked momentarily taken aback, realizing now that she’d clearly underestimated the tom, but soon her attention was redirected to Scarletpaw, who had scrambled on top of the highrock to stand by her parents. Desertrain smirked at the young apprentice, unaffected by her insults. In truth, if she weren’t so loud, she would have barely noticed the little thing shrieking from the highrock. “Life is unfair and power comes to those who take it, kid. The quicker you learn that, the better off you’ll be.”
The ground was unforgivingly hard when they landed. Hawkstar, being the one on the bottom, absorbed most of the shock with his bare back which twinged painfully. But the adrenaline pounding through his veins drowned it out as he beat at Juncostar with a flurry of paws. Hardly any time seemed to have passed before something lifted his opponent away from his reach. Mercuryrose, the ShadowClan Deputy, was hauling Juncostar away like a misbehaving kit. For a brief moment Hawkstar’s paws chased him, still trying to claw at any hair within their reach.
But a blood-curdling cry split the night, and tore him from his rage.
Corpses hung like puppets with cut strings, draped unevenly across the snow-covered branches overhead. What remained of the bodies, some of them brutalized beyond recognition, oozed dead blood that crept down the branches and dappled the hollow floor in a rainstorm of red. It was a vision straight out of hell.
For a moment Hawkstar thought he was dreaming. Since finding the bodies of Alderpaw, Spiderpelt and Lilywing his sleep was marred by ghastly visions such as these. But when others began to cry out, he soon realized this was no nightmare. His blood ran as cold as the snow beneath his feet.
It’s him. This ‘Ripper’.
And what an apt title it was, too. Ripped was what these bodies were, torn from life and those who loved them. Hawkstar watched as the large tom made himself known. He’s an ugly bastard, he thought distantly, as he remained rooted to where he stood with fear and shock. The tom was ignoring himself and the rest of the hollow, seeming intent on one cat. What was her name again? Another of those longer ones– she was Firestar’s mate, he knew as much. And she seemed to know this beast, for he spoke to her with an air of familiarity. Hm, a family affair I suppose, Hawkstar thought.
His jaw fell open with shock as many others did when a WindClan cat strode over to stand beside the serial killer.
A Warrior aided in these tragedies?! He could hardly believe what he was seeing. A small part of him was thankful that it was not a Warrior of his own Clan, but it was still a cat who lived by the same code. Or had at least pretend to, all while committing those unspeakable acts.
His mind turned to his own Clan but Hawkstar himself refused to play that game. He could not expect that any Clanmate of his would have had anything to do with it. Going down the rode of pointing fingers was useless.
When the two took off he was freed from his state of shock, he turned on his heel planning to rally his Warriors, but it was clear that the Ripper could move unnaturally fast– perhaps due to his oversized body. Hawkstar bit his lip, deciding it might be best to regroup before attempting to deal with the problem. He turned to his fellow Leaders.
“We must confront this creature, as a united front. I will send an envoy with a meeting time and place– those of you who wish to lend your Warriors to this cause, we will decide then what we must do.” He was looking at Mercuryrose when he spoke. He neither knew nor liked her, but she clearly knew about this ‘Ripper”. Her intel would be valuable.
“THUNDERLCAN, TO ME. We are heading home, apprentices, Queens, and Elders will travel in the middle. I want a circle of Warriors guarding them.” And with that, he signaled with his tail for his Clan to follow him out of the hollow and back home.
Littlewoods
Windclan Medicine Cat
It was sick. The entire thing was sick. Littlewoods was a medicine cat, and to protect and serve his clan ran through his veins stronger than his blood itself. His heart ached for those he couldn't save. Clanmates or not, the suffering of any cat was something that he couldn't bear to witness. He cared little for the ripper, he cared about the suffering he had caused. What he cared more for was Desertrain. The little tom's pelt spiked with fury as Desertrain revealed herself as the traitor she truly was.
The normally docile tom puffed his entire pelt up, and with a flash of multi-coloured fur he stood protectively in front of Desertstar. His hackles bristled, and he bare his teeth in an open-mouthed snarl.
"Keep away from her!" His heart thumped in his chest, pumping red-hot rage throughout his entire body. The fact that one of his clanmates could help concoct something so sick was enough to bring bile into his throat and make him feel queasy. He lunged forward threateningly, swiping a paw toward Desertrain, showing that if she even tried to lunge that he would be ready to meet her. Protecting his leader was more important to him than protecting himself.
~Copperstar The Fledgling Leader of Riverclan~ Copperstar swore his heart came to a complete standstill within his chest as Renly the Ripper made his way through the crowd of cats, the Riverclan Leader all but leapt to his paws. The fur on the ridge of his spine bristled rapidly, and his claws sheathed and dug into the surface of the boulder, he could feel fear flowing through his veins and turning them to ice. Everything that had happened that night in the cave returned in crashing tidal waves to the tabby, and he wondered how in the name of Starclan that he had gotten away from this colossal mountain cat without losing a single life.
Renly was one of the largest felines he’d ever seen in his life, and he had seen a great many of large cats before in his time. But they all paled in comparison to Renly. Copperstar’s long and fluffy tail curled around his front, as he lowered his body, attempting to keep his pregnant belly out of sight from the disturbed beast of a feline before them. He tried to keep his sights off the bodies in the trees, for he knew that he’d end up losing his mid-day meal from earlier if he continued to stare.
Copperstar’s wounds burned with the memory of Renly’s claws raking them into his pelt, and he felt as though he’d faint then and there. However, he knew he couldn’t spare to show any weakness, all of the Clans were in danger, his clan was in danger, his kin were in danger, and his unborn kits were in danger. He had to remain focused on the Mountain Cat, lest the tom target him once more.
Copperstar knew he was a victim that got away, and he was certain that Renly did not like leave loose ends untied. The tom understood he had a target on his back, and as long as Renly remained, he would likely never know peace again.
And when it was finally revealed that Desertrain, Desertstar’s own daughter, had a paw in orchestrating this bleak ballad, Copperstar could do nothing but stare on in pure shock. His mind racing as he began to wonder if anyone else was aligned with Renly...
Chills curled round his spinal cord, and a little voice whispered a grim thought within his mind.
What of Riverclan? Are there members of my own clan that have been working alongside this monster?
___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________
Oasismist, The Fractured Mind of Windclan Chaos, pure and rampant, descended upon the clans as Oasismist soaked it all up. Though they were by no means a dangerous feline, they were certainly not as moral as others believed. As the crescendo of hysterics rose in shocked shrieked and piercing wails of woe about the Gathering, Oasismist stayed silent. They relished in the pandemonium; it was the only way in which they felt any solace anymore.
See, after being taken hostage as a young apprentice, and having lived underneath the bitter edge of Rootfrost’s curved and deadly claws... it had changed Oasismist in ways that no one could have foreseen. Their turbulent and toxic relationship with Rootfrost had tainted their very mind, body and soul and Oasismist doubted that even Starclan would welcome them once they left their mortal coil.
Nothing but chaos brought the respite anymore. Peace was torment, and chaos was freeing. Oasismist felt their heart flutter with elation, as they stared wide-eyed and intent at the bodies in the trees. Oasismist’s breath was taken away, and they couldn’t get enough of the view. Delight danced up and down their spine.
Oh, those bodies...
Beautiful.
Utterly enchanting, the way they pained the leaves and branches a rose petal red, Oasismist was rather fond of the color red. In fact, it was their favorite.
Then within the erupting bedlam, Oasismist’s eyes caught sight of Renly through the crowd and suddenly they couldn’t look away from the massive mountain cat. Oasismist took note of how his paws were stained with the rose red and their paws tingled, and they took in the rest of the tom. His black mane, and the way his shark-tooth necklace dangled around his throat.
It was as though they were looking at Rootfost all over again, and their heart skipped one singular beat.
And if their clanmates thought them insane for beaming a bright and twisted smirk as they gazed at Renly, then they would think them utterly psychotic when their smile only grew when Desertrain revealed her treachery to the clans.
It’s not as though Oasismist harbored any ill will, but their mind was fractured beyond repair.
Death, destruction and war made sense to them...
Living, creation, and peace did not.
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Ratshadow, The Broken of Shadowclan
This wasn’t real. This wasn’t real. This wasn’t real. He was dreaming, he had to be. This was a night terror. This would go away when he blinked his eyes, it had to. Yet, no matter how many times the tom blinked, once, twice, thrice and more- it didn’t go away, and he didn’t wake. A thousand-yard stare possessed the Shadowclan tom, and the entire forest began to spin faster and faster, his stomach churning violently, and his chest throbbing with razor-edged devastation.
Though the corpse was mangled, and nearly unrecognizable, missing limbs and coated with dark dried blood- he knew one of the cats on the branches.
It was Thistlebite, the tom of his secret affections, strung up between two branches, as though a putrid prize for Renly. Thistlebite had only just been alive this very morning, and now by nightfall he was deceased. Ratshadow hadn’t worried when the tom hadn’t returned to Shadowclan camp, for why would he?
The majority of his clan knew nothing of Renly the Ripper, and there would have been no need for Ratshadow to even have an inkling that Thistlebite would have meet with a terrible fate such as this.
All Ratshadow could do was stand, frozen, unable to move... unable to breathe.
Unable to think.
He was a petrified statue among the crowd of terror-filled and grief-stricken felines.
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Scarletpaw, The Skittish But Loyal Soul of Skyclan Scarletpaw’s entire world was turned upside down in a matter of moments, as she hid herself away among her clanmates. Her heart beating wild and fast within her chest, the dread threatened to drown the Skyclan apprentice, and she wanted nothing more than to turn tail and vanish into the night. Every last nerve inside of here was shrieking at her to run, to escape from this place and never return.
To find a remote place to hideaway and live out the rest of her days safe and secure, without the threat of Renly looming over her head. Her belly burned and loathing leaped from its depths and into her chest, cursing herself for being such a mouse heart. She despised just how terrified she was of everything, and it caused her nothing but heartache and misery. She yearned to be brave, to be like the rest of her family, who faced things head on.
She was so useless, she was nothing, a nobody.
She had nothing to offer, she had no value. Her clan would be better off if she had never been born at all. A spineless cat such as herself had no place among the clans, she would fare better off as a kittypet at this point.
As Scarletpaw continued to berate herself, trying to keep her eyes off of the bodies upon the trees, she caught the sound of her mother’s name coming from Renly. The Skyclan apprentice snapped to attention as the Mountain cat addressed her mother, and something inside of her sparked to life.
Suddenly there was a fire in her belly, and it wasn’t the burn of self-loathing that had settled there prior, but it was one of a protective nature.
She also caught the revelation that Desertrain was a traitor, but she wasn’t focused on the Windclanner at the moment, all her attention was on Renly and her mother Auroraskies and father Firestar, who had protectively placed himself besides Auroraskies.
Something in the way that Firestar stood there, it made Scarletpaw’s paws start to itch, and suddenly she was pushing through the crowd. Everything inside of her driving her forward, telling her to get to her parents and stand with them.
She finally broke through the crowd of panicked cats, and rushed over to her mother’s side, and turned around, pressing herself her. Scarletpaw had no idea what came over her in this moment, but something else had taken over her and though her voice shook with undeniable dread she spoke up.
“You, stay away from my mom and dad!” She stared directly into Renly’s eyes, her fur puffed up, stance rigid. “Why...? Why did you do this? All this....” She flourished her tail, gesturing to the bodies at the trees. “Why would you do something so abhorrent? What is the reason? Life is precious, you monster. Go away and leave us alone. What did we ever do to you?” She could feel her eyes sting with unshed tears, and her heart ached for the lives lost.
“And you!” She looked over at Desertrain, “Traitor! You’re a traitor to your clan, to your kin, to Starclan! How could you?” Her body tremored violently as tears rolled down her cheeks and she pressed herself harder against her mother’s side. “It’s wrong! This is wrong. You’re a monster too! These cats had kin that loved them, and they loved their kin, and you just took their lives away! The Darkforest has a special place for cats like you!”
She turned her head away and buried it into her mother's side and began to break down into sobs.
A concoction of terror and of heartbreak.
Desertrain
Warrior of Windclan
Screams of terror filled the air, inciting a hum of adrenaline just beneath her skin. Smiling, she breathed out a gentle sigh and relaxed against Scorchedbones, enjoying his warmth and the way his heart began to nervously pound in his chest upon seeing the bodies. She looked up at the night sky, at the stars and the fresh corpses dangling overhead, and spoke softly so only he could hear her. “I’m sorry that it has to end this way,” she apologized, feeling a bit guilty for stringing him along, “A part of me wishes we had met before of all of this, before this life ruined me,” she quietly confessed, her voice carrying with it an odd note of sadness as she turned to look at him, something vile and depraved lurking within those seemingly innocent blues, “maybe then we could have been something.” As far fetched as it seemed now, she wondered if maybe he had met her before, when she was still pure and loving, that they could have possibly had a normal life together. Perhaps they would have fallen in love, had children of their own, and retired to the elders den together. Not that it mattered now.
Head on Scorchedbones’ shoulder, she studied his features, eyes roving over him appreciatively. The hysteria around them poured over her like a summer rain, and the soft light of the stars overhead bathed him in a silver glow that made him seem almost ethereal. She sat there, soaking it all in. As much as she’d love to stay by his side in his warming presence for just a little while longer, listening the to panic around them, she knew she could not as she had promised her heart to another— someone who did not fear the darkness within her, and loved her for exactly who she was.
But did you think I could really could do this whole thing alone?
Desertrain stood, a bit of warmth flashing in her icy gaze as looked over her shoulder at Scorchedbones one last time. “In another life,” she whispered, then turned to walk away. Just like the tide receding into the oceans, the icy prickle of Desertrain’s true nature took over. The ‘scared little good girl’ act fell away, quickly replaced by shark-like indifference. No more having to fake her old stuttering problem. No more pretending to be a sensitive, little crybaby. She strode across the clearing with her head held high to stand next to the Ripper and look up at her mother with defiance. They say that the hottest fires burned blue, and her eyes were no exception— raw, burning and wrathful. The look on their faces were priceless. Loud, fearful screams and gasps echoed around them, but in that moment, all Desertrain felt was victory. She felt proud for fooling all of them and to help cause so much destruction within the clans. After all, it’s what they deserved.
“Hello, mother.”
Renly
The Ripper
A low growl was rumbling softly within the bushes, a pair of dark ember eyes staring at the group of felines. Watching the blood dripping from the bodies that were hanging on the trees, a couple of shrieks echoed around the group of felines along with gasps of horror. Everything was going according to plan, just as he had wanted. The dark brown and gray tom was crouching in the bushes, observing the Gathering since the first clan had entered. The massive Mountain Cat began making his way out of the bush and towards the entrance of the island, Renly’s steps were slow and almost haunting. On his paws, signs of fresh blood were spotted along with his teeth that seemed to stick out. Feeling all eyes were on him, Renly let out a soft hum and turned towards the leaders “I apologize for being so late, I had taken a detour towards the moors and..” Renly said with almost a wicked smile on his face, tufts of white and ginger fur were almost stuck in his teeth. Standing there for a moment, Renly’s expression was almost unreadable for a moment before spotting Mercuryrose on the leader’s rock
For a moment, the mountain cat was tense while his ember eyes had darkened at the sight of the Shadowclan deputy. Renly’s amber gaze turned to look towards the familiar faces of Orion and Aurora, both siblings sitting nearby Sleekfeather and Edge, both of their expressions were full of dread. His dislike for the kin of Twilightfoot was strong, but those stubborn siblings had unbreakable spirits, even at their lowest moment that occurred years ago due to him. “Aurora.” Renly said with a low hum, suddenly making his way towards her. Felines from all five clans began quickly clearing the path so Renly could approach the black and golden Maine Coon molly, the massive tom noticed how the ginger Maine Coon quickly shot up from his spot on the high rock and was making his way off the rock while shoving everyone out of his way and towards the direction of Aurora, quickly stepping in front of the smaller Maine Coon before Renly was nearby. It was quite obvious that the ginger tom was Aurora’s mate. Aurora’s violet-amber gaze looked at the massive tom with an unreadable expression, but the small Maine Coon molly was preparing for anything. “Tell me Aurora.” Renly chuckled before his gaze turned towards Grimrose who was watching the serial killer in horror, Ravenwatcher had his tail wrapped around her protectively while giving the serial killer a warning look
“Does your brother’s widow still weep for him?”
Before Aurora could react, Orion suddenly came into view as he shoved the Mountain Cat away from his sister and brother-in-law. A smirk appeared on Renly’s face when looking at the black Massive Maine Coon tom, he knew that he hit a raw spot, especially with Orion. Knowing that reminding his enemies about his past actions, they knew how capable he could be. Turning his gaze towards the direction of the leaders, deputies and medicine cats, it warmed his heart to see the many looks of hatred, anger and sadness coming from them. “It’s almost amusing, you see.” Renly began, approaching the high rock. A smirk appeared on his face when watching the leaders were remaining in their spot, of course they didn’t want to pick a fight with him.. Look at the damage he had caused around the territories. One wrong move from those leaders and he would start snapping the necks of felines nearby him, Renly always resorted to violence. “Watching your Groups, how you manage to function as a society and living together in somewhat peace.” Renly observed, the shark tooth necklace was dangling and hitting his chest.
The fall breeze had went through his black mane, his dark eyes were looking at all the faces that were looking back at him. “In my traditions and upbringing, we call these kinds of groups.. Empires.” Renly said, moving carefully towards the leader’s rock that Mercuryrose had stood at the edge, ready to leap down Incase Renly started an attack. The mountain cat was challenging the leader and deputies, almost wanting them to come down the rock to fight them. With a relaxed expression on his face, The Ripper turned away to look back towards the swarm of felines. How could one cat that caused so much damage in so many lives look almost peaceful and content? “An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That's dead... forever.” Renly observed, looking at the confused expressions that were surrounding him. Clearing his throat, Renly looked around with a smirk on his face when turning to look up at Mercuryrose whose facial expression remained cold while her tail was lashing from side to side.
“An eye for an eye… A heart for a heart, you took away something that mattered to me.. But did you think I really could do this whole thing alone?”
Mercuryrose
Shadowclan Deputy
Closing her eyes for a moment, a sense of annoyance had entered her. Feeling a migrane overcome her, it wasn’t until Waspsight was shouting at her that caused her to open her eyes. The Shadowclan Deputy had enough of this conflict. “ENOUGH!” Mercuryrose snapped as she moved towards the direction of the leader’s rock and leaped onto it, moving towards the fighting leaders. Grabbing Juncostar by the scruff, she began dragging him off the Thunderclan leader. Mercuryrose turned and gave both toms a death glare, causing them to both fall silent. The black and rose-gold molly was giving Juncostar a disappointed look, biting the inside of her cheek as she wanted to knock both of their heads together before pushing them off the rock all together. This wasn’t a time for conflict, but for them to come together for a common purpose.
“I won’t be repeating myself when I tell you this, but we have a common enemy ahead of us.. One that doesn’t take mercy on anyone, if you keep fighting amongst yourself, you might as well kiss your clans goodby-“ The deputy was cut off with a screech of fear below from the felines, Mercuryrose couldn’t pin-point where it came from but soon the source.
‘The Trees!’
Squinting her eyes for a moment, it wasn’t until Mercuryrose’s facial expression had fallen at the sight. On six of the trees, there were dismantled bodies of felines that hung on the branches, blood dripping from the benches and onto the ground. The deputy’s breathing was hard, the black and rose-gold molly went towards the edge of the leader’s rock. Suddenly dread had filled the air, the cries and screams of felines were echoing the area. It was nearly impossible to keep everyone calm, as panic had finally set in.
It wasn’t until the black and rose-gold molly had looked over at the entrance, Mercuryrose’s face had lost all it’s color. A lone figure was standing there, dark ember eyes were staring right back at her. It was impossible to miss the figure, due to his massive size and blood covering him. Feeling her breathing had stopped, it was incredibly rare to see Mercuryrose spooked, but when that happened.. It was serious. In that moment, she knew that the clans were too late, they had run out of time.
“He’s here.” Mercuryrose said, her voice was barley a whisper.
Juncostar
shadowclan leader
(he/him)
Glowing eyes on Desertstar, Juncostar could see the dissatisfaction in her own at his interaction with Hawkstar. He dipped his head, preparing to answer her thanks when suddenly the ThunderClan leader was shouting again, throwing accusations that-- of course-- were entirely accurate. "Every-cat here knows that's not true," he joked at the other tom's announcement that Juncostar wasn't dumb. A giggle bubbled at his lips, but was quickly cut off with a girlish shriek as he was smacked. Eyes widening, the grey tom stared in horror as Hawkstar stepped forward, lowering his voice with a threat.
The ShadowClanner lifted his paw to his cheek at the feeling of stinging wetness there, and pulled it back to see a couple pitifully small drops of blood from where he had been swatted. Horror turned to unbridled rage as he immediately began to fear it would scar and maim his truly gorgeous features. Tail lashing hard and pelt bristling, Juncostar stepped forward himself, standing nose to nose with Hawkstar. "Oh, no, you did not just hit me," he snarled, "That's my face! My favorite part of me!" And with that, he launched himself forward, bowling Hawkstar over. The pair of them toppled right over the edge of the boulder, Juncostar flailing pitifully against the larger tom with spits and hisses.
Desertstar
Leader of Windclan
“Do not blame Littlewoods, Figheart,” Desertstar quickly intervened, not wanting her fragile-hearted medicine cat to take the blame for this in front of all the clans. Though he handled the situation perfectly with grace and diligence, he did not deserve to feel guilt over something that wasn’t his fault. “The fault is mine. I did not want him traveling on his own with a killer roaming the territory, and I truthfully didn’t think the other clans were being targeted. I should have organized a patrol to come check with the other leaders, so if you’re going to blame someone, you can blame me,” she told the Thunderclan medicine cat, an apologetic expression on her slender face.
At Juncostar’s response, though, Desertstar resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the Shadowclan leader. As much as she wanted to call him out for being childish, she held her tongue. Getting the clans to cooperate was much higher on her list of priorities. “Windclan thanks you for your participation,” she responded in a clipped tone, her normally abundant patience wearing thin. Soon after, she shot a look at Hawkstar, leveling him with a withering glare as if to strongly advise him not to engage. The last thing they needed was two leaders hashing it out and angering Starclan over a custody battle when cats were dying left-and-right.
Sleekfeather
Warrior of Riverclan
Although he wasn’t facing her, he immediately recognized Auroraskies voice and felt his face grow hot. Heart pounding, he whipped around, quickly disguising his initial surprise with his signature smirk. ”And miss seeing you? I would never,” he answered her sweetly, though when his turquoise eyes flicked over to Cometchaser, his charming smile faded slightly. Narrowing his gaze, he asked, “Another sibling?” and eyed the rather large, disturbingly cheery Maine coon. ‘Their parents certainly stayed busy’, he thought.
At Cometchaser’s poorly executed joke, the dark tom stifled a groan. Normally he wouldn’t hold back but Auroraskies was there, so because of her, he chose to be polite. “Charmed,” he forced a smile, trying not to sound annoyed, though his attention was soon redirected to the gathering when he heard his sister mention his name. Reddening under his fur, he locked eyes with the golden leader, deciding to awkwardly dip his head in response to her thanking them. He stayed in that position with his face pointing down. Looking at the ground, he could feel everyone turn their gaze, and it wasn’t until he no longer felt any eyes on him that he rose from the unfamiliar gesture. With wide eyes, he turned to look at Edgefrost as though he wanted to jump off the nearest cliffside— which, surprisingly enough, there was one nearby.
Desertrain
Warrior of Windclan
“Oh— y-yes! Where are my manners?” she began, obviously flustered. She had completely forgotten that her friend had no idea what was going on. Even though Scorchedbones hadn’t been born in their clan, she sometimes felt like she’d known him her entire life, so it was easy to forget that he wasn’t clan-born. “All five clans meet h-here on the night of a full moon to share news and d-discuss significant events. Many use t-this chance to meet their friends and family from other clans a-and exchange information and stories,” she looked up at Scorchedbones, blue eyes twinkling beneath the starlight as she hurriedly explained everything to him, “It is considered a-a great honor to be chosen by a leader t-to attend a gathering,” she told him, her voice growing quiet when the gathering began. Normally everyone stops talking once the leaders do, but she wanted to explain everything first— and what was the harm if no one else could hear her? None. “The s-start of the gathering marks a time of truce between the five clans,” she whispered, scooting closer to him so he could hear her better, “If the peace is b-broken, Starclan will send clouds to cover the m-moon to show their d-displeasure, in which the gathering ends a-and each clan returns to their r-respecting territories.”
W A S P S I G H T
The shared news that had been given from the Clan leaders regarding the gruesome deaths of cats within their territories had understandably ruffled pelts. Cats of all origins were scowling and muttering their discomfort and dissatisfaction on how the circumstances had been handled- but to say that he was surprised when Figheart spoke up and turned on Littlewoods was an understatement. He had never known the oriental tom to be the slightest bit abrasive, not to mention how close the medicine cats usually were with one another. Perhaps that’s all the more reason why the ThunderClan healer was upset to find out the news now? Waspsight didn’t know, but as he watched the two, he found himself becoming more and more unsettled as the Gathering commenced.
Figheart’s comment seemed to create a wave among the cats near them who had overheard his incredulousness, for bitter murmurs followed nearby. The ShadowClan medicine cat’s ears flattened as he heard this. We need to be coming together now, not cursing each other! He thought desperately. Surely, deep down, his fellow Clanmates understood this too. “I know you meant no ill will, Littlewoods,” Waspsight soothed, hoping to ease tensions before they hit their peak, “Besides, I’m sure the last thing you wanted was to imply a murderer was among the other Clans.” He added, casting a glance among his fellow healers. Given that such an implication would have in fact not have been the case, he for one was grateful for the WindClan healer’s hesitations.
Feeling as though he was helping to ease the wounded egos of his peers, Waspsight relaxed a little. Maybe now we can get back on track, he thought. Unfortunately, this proved to no longer be an option, as his leader Juncostar began provoking the ThunderClan leader. The calico tom’s jaw went agape in disbelief. What are you doing? He thought exasperatedly, finding himself pleading internally that some other leader up on the rock would silence them before it went too far.
Unfortunately, no one did anything. Except for Hawkstar, that was. Before their very eyes, the black tom all but back-slapped the somali, earning incredulous gasps from the crowd. Unwilling to be one of the spectators that did nothing as they watched, Waspsight was on his feet immediately, abandoning his post with the other medicine cats to reach where the deputies perched.
“Do something! Stop them!” He urged Mercuryrose with a hiss. He didn’t care if she and Juncostar were at odds right now, they couldn’t let the Gathering erupt into chaos over wounded egos between Clans.
It had been a nice night, up until now. Hawkstar had spent the afternoon with his younger children, hearing about their training and checking in with their mentors. There was a nervous undercurrent about seeing cats from ShadowClan, but he had not been very worried at the time about an incident occurring.
The best laid plans, and whatnot.
The evening might have gone on quite amicably, had Juncostar not gently prodded Hawkstar’s already-inflamed temper. His loaded comment about the kits had been bad enough. But when he proceeded to play dumb, as though he didn’t know that he was being provocative, that was when Hawkstar really lost it.
“DON’T play dumb, because I know you aren’t.” He snarled, only vaguely caring that he had the eyes of all Clans on him. “And I won’t have you hide behind the tradition of peace, either. Do you really think you can insult a cat with impunity merely because some ghosts are watching us?” He added sarcastically, his once-sleek tail now a bottlebrush of bristling black hair.
He then reared back, and brought his paw paw down across Juncostar’s smug face with a decisive smack. He let his claws slide out, just barely. So as not to tear the poor tom’s face off, but still score him deeply enough to let him know that Hawkstar meant business.
A beat of silence followed.
“Oho, seems as though the ghosts have yet to smite me? Do you think they’re napping right now?” He laughed loudly. "Or maybe...." He lowered his voice so that only Juncostar and perhaps the other Leaders might hear.
"They know I'm right."
Littlewoods
Windclan Medicine Cat
The small tom flushed beneath his pelt upon feeling eyes turned toward him. It was always embarrassing to be singled out in front of all five clans- he still remembered the utter horror he had felt when he was announced as an apprentice, and when he met the other clans' medicine cats for the first time. But he still smiled sheepishly and dipped his head in response to his leader's praise.
However, Figheart had quickly turned his smile into a frown.
"It wasn't a deliberate effort-" He started, turning to face the younger medicine cat fully. "The last thing I wanted to do was to spread fear among all of the clans- I was pretty sure it was just an us problem..." He hung his head, a sense of shame crawling beneath his fur now.
"But... that should not have stopped me. Figheart, Peachblossom...all of you. I apologise for my mistake. Next time, I will make sure to warn you as soon as something comes up. As long as you do the same." Twitching his whiskers, he begged for the other medicine cats to understand. He was a loyal Windclan cat, making his clan seem like an easy target could be dangerous. As much as he would want to tell them... he had a feeling Desertstar or Hailgaze would have complaints.
Juncostar
shadowclan leader
Thoroughly pleased with himself as Hawkstar reacted angrily to the jab, Juncostar could barely contain his giggles as the other tom made a scene. It was everything he was hoping it would be, and smugness settled over him. He was content to just leave it at that, until the other leaders drew attention to the little quarrel. The ShadowClanner was quick to turn wide, innocent eyes on Desertstar as she suggested that they put aside their differences to figure out this murderer business.
Lifting a paw to his own chest, Juncostar released a gasp of disbelief. "I want nothing more than to help you all out, Desertstar; believe me," he pressed, almost as though he was begging the other leaders to see his side. "I dunno how an announcement of kits could'a made my buddy Hawkstar here start shoutin'," he went on, throwing a grin in the other leader's direction. "We're s'posed to have peace at gatherings, right?" he challenged, "'Would'a been nice to keep that. Just tell us what ya need, and ShadowClan is here for you. We haven't seen this guy; we don't know what we're goin' up against."
Figheart Medicine Cat of ThunderClan
Figheart smiled at the WindClan healer's words, "I feel just the same! Just tonight I was telling Peachblossom that perhaps we should keep more apprentices and elders at home during winter gatherings. No gathering is worth green cough," he responded, nudging his mentor as she fell in line beside him.
Soon, everyone had arrived and a seemingly impatient Firestar began the meeting. When SkyClan hosted, Firestar always seemed to put on a little bit of a show. The young healer listened intently. His fur bristled. They'd found similar bodies in ThunderClan over GreenLeaf but nothing had come of it. A known murderer? And SkyClan had neglected to inform the rest of the clans?
Then ShadowClan went, and ThunderClan answered in a roar. Figheart had been torn on the matter. He understood the wants of the father for the kits to return to ThunderClan, but what if this was StarClan's wish?
As RiverClan's newest leader began to speak, a clear pattern was forming: there was a murderer within their midst, and the leaders involved did absolutely nothing to ensure the other Clans didn't fall into the same fate. "You think they would tell the other clans before the gathering, I mean, it's against the warrior code to kill another cat outside of battle." He mumbled to the other medicine cats.
WindClan went next, and revealed more than just a civil war, but they had been visited by the same monster. Figheart eyed Littlewoods, "You didn't think to mention this to us?" He asked incrediously, a little louder than intended. For them, it had been random, but it seemed the other clans knew more than ThunderClan did.