Sunstar | 29 Moons | Co-Leader | Healthy | [Thunderpath] | Mentions: Willowstar, Earthquake, Stormberry (ID), Snowecho (ID), Glade

Nodding at Earthquake, Sunstar watched as he tackled Willowstar to the ground. A small smile came across his face, but not a happy one. A one of longing, and sadness. He missed being young, and he missed Stormberry. He wished things would calm down so he could finally have some happiness again. If he had to keep fighting enemies left and right, over and over again, he was going to lose his grip on himself. He would lose who he was supposed to be. Maybe he didn't want to be a leader anymore.
Maybe he could still end it all right now. If he was in Starclan.. he could finally be happy. He could roam, and be free, and visit Stormberry in his dreams.. but wait. If the Dark Forest really was in Starclan..
How could he ever be happy? Fighting every day.. only brought him pain and exhaustion. Sunstar needed a day or two to just rest.. and catch up on nature and everything normal.
He threw away all his current emotions, getting down to business. His brilliant, almost glowing blue eyes pierced into his friend's fun. "We have to visit the Moonstone. That's the only way we'll know for certain if what happened actually happened. Then we can finally start getting some answers.. and I can see my brother."
Sunstar knew they needed to retrieve some herbs from Horsetail and Snowecho. They'd have to head out early in the morning. Which means tonight they would have to make a final decision on what to do with Glade. And maybe even the newer mysterious visitors to the clan.
He hoped, at one point during the day, he would be able to sit down and spend time with his niece and nephew. They were his priority now, and he had to talk to Stormberry and give him a firm answer.. that Hollowfall would've wanted his brother to take care of his kits. If he couldn't accept that.. he knew what he would have to do.

Hawkstrike|14 Moons|Warrior|30/30 Health|Camp|Mentions: Pebblesplash

Hawkstrike looked to Pebblesplash his eyes full of amusement. "I would love to go hunting with you." He purred. "Come find me when you're done." He meowed flicking his ear. Hawkstrike touched his nose to Pebblesplash's and walked away humming to himself. The tom then remembered something. He walked over to the apprentice's den and to his nest. He looked at the object he had found in the river and grabbed it. He walked out and dug a small hole away so no one would trip on it. He dropped the object and covered it with dirt. He would come and get it back later. He didn't know why he had kept it, but he just did.

Horsetail|Co Medicine Cat|24 Moons Old|Health: 30/30|Mentions Directly: Harefeather|Mentions Indirectly: Clearsong, Snowecho, {Stormpaw NPC}|Location: territory

The medicine cat wrapped his long tail around his legs, he did not say anything as Harefeather spoke. Once in a while Horsetail would nod his head or give her a reassuring smile. Before Harefeather was done speaking, Horsetail was already sure that the young warrior was completely and utterly in love with Clearsong. "Well....", the tom started, "first up, Starclan: if they are doing something again, it is nothing for you to worry about. That's something that Snowecho, Sunstar, Willowstar, and I have to deal with. Now, about Clearsong: If there really is another cat inside of him, than you can be sure that he is very confused right now. So you, if you do love him- which it definitely sounds like- than you need to be there for him and with him. Even if you can't be overly brave, because it is just not who you are, just having you there by his side will give him more than enough strength to help him overcome whatever is happening to him", Horsetail paused for a moment and shuffled his by now freezing paws around, moving around the snow.
"And Harefeather", Horsetail said, tapping the she-cat on her shoulder to get her attention again. "You're not a bad friend. The only reason why Honeyfrost was able to help Clearsong, is because she is older and more experienced than you. Evenso, you can still help Clearsong by being with him and give him a sense of security and comfort", the dark sand colored tabby tom told Harefeather. As he had spoken, Horsetail's eyes had gotten dull and his gaze had dropped to the ground. Lifting his eyes again, he nodded back to camp, "You should go back too Clearsong, be with him", giving her a kind and somewhat sad smile, he added, "Even if he does not know it, he needs someone right now."
As he had spoken, memories of Stormpaw had started to flow into the tom's mind. Maibe, if he had been more tenacious and showed his love more too Stormpaw they could've been together even now. He did not want the same thing that happened to him, to happen to anyone else. He only prayed to Starclan, that Snowecho would come back to himself and that they could finally be together.

Lionkit|Kit|3 Moons Old|Health: 5/5|Mentions Directly: Maplekit/Starlingkit, Stormberry|Mentions Indirectly: Lioncloud, Glade|Location: Burial Site

Lionkit was still staring at Stormberry, still not really believing what had happened. The young fluffy kit jumped a bit, as Maplekit suddenly started to speak behind him. Not because he had not been accepting his sister to say something, but because of how she had spoken. His blue eyes glanced behind him at Maplekit, no this was not his sister. Even before Maplekit had introduced herself as Starlingkit, the young tom knew that something was wrong. "Starlingkit?", Lionkit whispered the name, trying it out.
He could tell that there had been something strange with his littermate for quite a bit now, Lionkit could just never place his paw on it. Quickly moving forward, Lionkit stopped almost nose to nose with Maplekit/Starlingkit. His blue eyes, looked deep into his littermates amber ones. He was looking for any sign that this cat was different and that Maplekit had not just banged her head, when she was hit. As he looked into his sister's eyes, there was a strange sparkle in her eyes. He was used to his sister's eyes, but now... there was something strange. The spark in the she-kit's eyes was stronger, fiercer than ever before. This was not Maplekit, he was sure of it.
Taking a step back, he eyed the she-kit before him. Lionkit did not say anything at first, but just nodded his head. "You're not Maplekit", it was no question and it was not accusational, but just a statement. Lionkit chuckled, "Guess I have two sisters now", the young tom said, there was irony in his voice. Well, he'd just seen a cat being killed, so this.... Lionkit just accepted it. Might just be more interesting to have two sisters, than just one. Starlingkit also seemed to have a lot more fire in her, might be interesting to play with her.
Lionkit turned back to Stormberry, "I agree with MapleStarlingkit, let's just leave him and head back to camp", the fluffy kit said. Looking to Glade, his gaze narrowed and suddenly there was a pounding in his head. "He deserves it", Lionkit added in a whisper, there was something dark in his voice. His blue eyes tore from the lifeless body and looked to the mound where Lioncloud was buried, not really knowing why, Lionkit nodded his head to mound.

Softsong | 17 Moons | Warrior | 30/30 | Camp | Mentions: Aldershade, Mosspaw, Olivepaw, Open!

Softsong felt pleased that their little patrol seemed so easy to manage. It was a good thing too, as he did not think he could handle any more arguing within the clan. Especially not after Honeyfrost and Quietshadow. The only reason he did not get cold feet and run off was the fact that he was now a mentor. He had to set an example for his apprentice, and running off would definitely not be a good one. If he had not been assigned a mentor, he would have spoken to Aldershade and asked him to join him in becoming rogues. In the time he had been on his own, he had been able to feed himself, and keep himself sheltered. But that was wishful thinking. The reality was that Sunstar trusted him more than he expected. Enough to give him an apprentice. It warmed his heart to know that, another reason to stay with the Clan. Of course, he also had Snowstorm/echo, but he had a feeling that his half-brother could cope without him.

He quickly followed after Aldershade, gesturing for Mosspaw to follow. "Hmm, take how big you think the territory is, then add several tree-lengths in every direction. It's much bigger than you'd expect." He told Mosspaw as they walked along, loud enough for Olivepaw to hear too. "But it's no issue patrolling it when you know what you're doing." He quickly added, keeping pace with Aldershade. It was nice being the mentor for once during a patrol, and he looked forward to training Mosspaw to be the best warrior he could be. Just like Sunstar had trained him when he was an apprentice. The only regret he had about his apprenticeship was his mentor being absent from his ceremony, though he forgave him for that. It was easy for him to understand that Starclan had other plans, and definitely liked messing with the living cats more than perhaps the medicine cats and leaders would like to admit.

He spent a few moments thinking of a way to kick-start some conversation that would not only be entertaining, but also informational to the apprentices. He brightened up a little as he came up with a question to ask them. "Can any of you tell me why it's important to mark and patrol our borders every day?" He asked, turning his head briefly as he walked to look at the two younger cats. He hoped that Aldershade did not mind him focusing on the apprentices at the beginning of their patrol, after all, he had to make sure they were actually up for going a bit ahead before suggesting it. They had been continuously interrupted whenever they finally thought they could talk. Either some random cat stayed with them so long that they suddenly had other things to do, or they were sent on different patrols. It was really too bad, and annoying. This might be their first chance to finally talk properly, or in between instructing their apprentices. Either way, Softsong was hopeful that he would finally be able to tell Aldershade how he felt, instead of just showing it.

He gave the apprentices some time to think of a reply, and in those heartbeats, he leaned close to his fellow warrior and lowered his voice. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you for several moons now.” He whispered. It was a little awkward for him to have to lean up to be able to be on level with Aldershade’s ear, and he quickly dropped down to his usual height to pay attention to what the apprentices could think of as reason for the border patrols. A thought flashed into his head of being completely honest with their apprentices, tell them that the two warriors needed to talk and request they explore the area around the border, perhaps trying out hunting techniques. That did sound better than just sending them ahead to Starclan knows what. He would have to consult Aldershade about that idea.

World Update

The Final Battle has begun!

Quietshadow | 46 Moons | Warrior | 30/30 |Temp. Camp| Mentions: (ID) Swallowfall, Clearsong, Pebblesplash, NPCs
——
Something is wrong. Quietshadow barely had time to react before Swallowfall gave the word. They’re here. The Dark Forest is here. Mother is here. The she-cat scanned the crowd, looking for her kits. She had to find them. Just in case the worse came…
No amber or grey fur graced her vision. Hopefully they could keep each other safe. Scanning the rising shadows, she searched for Slateleaf. A thought suddenly jarred her.
What if she is still inside of Clearsong? What if she still controls him? If Slateleaf controlled Clearsong… StarClan help them all.
Turning her green gaze back to the gathering masses, she narrowed her eyes. Maybe if the Dark Forest was here, StarClan was here too. The real question was if Amberstone would be here.
Amberstone.
Maybe she would get to finally apologize. StarClan knows how much she wants to do that. Shaking thoughts of her mate off, Quietshadow turned back to the brewing fight. One thought ran through her head.
They will not lay one paw on my children.

Slateleaf | Mentions: Clearsong

Calculating green eyes scanned the clearing; she had made it safely. The clearing was sprawling with fighting and brief conversation as she watched from a distance, the mayhem ensue. Despite having her own form, she could still feel what Clearsong felt. Slateleaf felt detached as he watched him fight, his orange and white, tabby coat twisting and turning to dodge and strike back at a brown spotted she-cat. Slateleaf slipped from shadow to shadow, making her way, unseen, to the warrior, her grandkin.

Clearsong | 20 Moons | Warrior | Healthy | Camp | Mentions: Slateleaf, Harefeather, Whorlpaw, Pebblesplash (ID)

"Go find the other apprentices! Use all you know and work together with them! I trust your skill and judgement, Whorlpaw, use the little I taught you to the best of your abilities." Clearsong nuzzled his apprentice quickly, before leading her away with his tail.

He spun around, he needed to find Harefeather and Pebblesplash, they had to fight together. What greeted him, however were the malicious amber eyes of a brown spotted she-cat. Caught off guard, Clearsong was barreled over and gain advantage of. He felt the she-cat's hind claws dig into his stomach as her front paws pinned him. She hissed in his face, baring her teeth, however Clearsong was larger and more powerful. He was built to fight. Gathering his strength, he bunched his muscles and flung her off, leaping on top of her back and grabbing her scruff. The she hissed in fury and lashed around, but Clearsong held strong, pinning her down. Her strength slowly ebbed and she lay in submission, her form slowly disappating into black smoke.

Panting heavily, Clearsong stood, stepping aside into the shadows to collect himself, when he felt fur. He spun around again, ready to fight once more, when he saw piercing green eyes stare back at him.

"Greetings." Slateleaf hissed, a smirk on her muzzle, "A good fight you put up, however, sadly, not your last."

Clearsong's claws itched to turn her to smoke, to send her back to where she couldn't cause any more harm. He had realized how much the she cat loved controlling him, a little too much. "Protection!" Shed proclaim, whilst she'd attack every cat in the vicinity.

"You just love causing chaos, don't you." Clearsong spat, bunching his muscles to spring on her, he lept, however she jumped aside easily, knowing his movements.

"Not yet." She growled, stepping back. She lashed her smokey tail and slipped away, but the anger that rose in him when Clearsong saw her never left.

Noticing Harefeather padding into camp, Clearsong dashed across the clearing to her. As soon as he reached her, he pressed himself against her, nuzzling her ear. "I'm so glad you're safe. I was worried about you." He mumbled through her fur.

Stripecloud|17 moons|30/30|Warrior|Camp|Mentions: Finchpaw, Raindrop, NPC

Shadows appeared all around the camp. At last Stripecloud thought they were shadows. He stepped back not knowing what to do. He looked over to Raindrop and Finchpaw. "Okay, let's just-" He was cut off by a cat who snarled behind him. He turned around. Who is Thornberry? "Who are you?" He asked stepping back. The tom stood in front of FInchpaw. He wouldn't let the apprentice get hurt. He looked around feeling his throat close up. What on earth was happening?

Raindrop | 14 Moons | Warrior | Healthy |Camp | Mentions: Finchpaw, Stripecloud

Raindrop took note of the taller apprentice next to her, laying her tail on her back for comfort. She didn't feel the need to say anything to her, accepting her presence.

"Thornberry. I thought you had run off to be a twoleg toy." A snarling voice rang behind her.

Raindrop whorled around, pelt bristling, she heard Stripecloud ask who this person was, but her mind became clouded, "I'd prefer we not to talk about her." She hissed in response, eyes searching for the source of the voice when they landed on a she cat, one clearly of the Dark Forest as made evident by the black fog rising around her. "My mother's name has no business leaving anyone's mouth."

Her scathing retort surprised even herself, she hadn't realized her loathing and lamenting about her mother leaving to be with her father moons ago had built up to such pent up resentment. Raindrop unsheathed her claws, going defensive rather than offensive out of intruige of this new character.

Pebblesplash|20 moons| 30/30| Warrior|Temp. Camp|Mentions: Clearsong, Harefeather, (D), Raindrop, Hawkstrike, Earthquake, Quietshadow, Slateleaf (ID)
————
Shadows. Shadows everywhere.
The dark cats sprang up from the ground, laughing maniacally. Pebblesplash had leapt to her paws, fear coursing through her.
Clearsong!Hawkstrike!Raindrop!Quietshadow!Earthquake!Clearsong! her brain rattled off cats to find. Protect. She bolted into the crowd, looking to and fro.
Pebblesplash slammed into a dark forest cat, and shock pulsed though her. Unsheathing her claws, she attacked him, trying to at least scare him off. The she-cat missed a strike, and stumbled forward. Crouching down, she stalked toward the large tom. He hissed at her, and lunged for her, slicing his claws along her flank as she desperately tried to avoid him. Blood welled up where his claws met her flesh. He turned around for a follow-up, nearly pinning her to the ground. I will not die like this! Snarling, she backed off into the crowd, hoping to loose him.
There!
Clearsong stood with Harefeather toward the enterance.
”There you are! Have you seen Hawkstrike or Earthquake?” she asked, anxiety for her kin and friend welling up in her. She shook off the pain from the scratch, still fuming about it. Clearsong looked upset, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why.
”She here, isn’t she,” Pebblesplash whispered.