A hunter, A saviour, A death, A new clan

[Wolfy//June]

Wolfstar leapt on the highrock, his silver fur gleaming in the moonlight. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, join beneath the highrock for a clan meeting!" he sat down as his clan gathered before him.

"First off, I have to make two new warriors! Sprucepaw, Gladepaw, do you both promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend the clan, even at the cost of you lives?" there was a simaltanious pause and the apprentices meowed "I do." "Then by the power of Starclan, I give you your warrior names. Gladepaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Gladetail. Starclan honors you for your brightness and generousity and we welcome you as a full warrior."

He turned to Sprucepaw. His son had a thin layer of cobwebs on his face. "Sprucepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Spruceburn. We honor you for your loyalty and devotion and we welcome you as a full warrior."

"Now, with that said, I have one more announcement, and a sad one at that. Before us lay the dead bodies of Ashcloud, Brindlefeather and Batflight. They faced trouble at the gorge, and I'm sure you can all guess what happened. They fell, and died. It is now my duty to replace Batflight with a new cat as deputy." Wolfstar hesitated, sadness pulsing from him. "I say these words before Batflight so Starclan may approve of my choice. Featherheart will be the new deputy."

[mouse]

"No, Brindlefeather! Are you sure?" Starlingsong gasped in pain and disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, then started to cry. He was starting to love Brindlefeather and now they could never be together.

Sleetmask sat next to Clayheart. She looked over at Starlingsong and frowned. She moved closer to Clayheart's side. She couldn't bare it if she lost him the way Starlingsong had just lost Brindlefeather. Its wasn't just Brindlefeather, but Batflight and Ashcloud. It almost broke her heart and she was suppost to be happy because Gladepaw had become Gladetail.

[xfeatherheartx]

"M-me? But I.......how are people going to want to have to look at me? The deputy...a one eyed cat. But I ACCEPT."

[Greenlily//Topaz]

Greenlily gaze proudly at her kits, but sadness welled up inside her as her gaze slid past them to the three limp forms in the centre of the clearing. Batflight's body in particular caught her attention. Wolfstar had been very close to her, and she knew he couldn't be taking it well. She looked up at her leader with sympathetic green eyes. She hoped he'd be all right. But he wasn't the only cat in pain, she knew. Her eyes sought out Starlingsong, and she felt another wave of sympathy. She'd guessed about his feelings for Brindlefeather. Her death had to be hard on him.

[Spruceburn]

Sprucepaw sat in the entrance of the medicine den, the burnt side of his face concealed in the shadows and the normal side was visible in the moon light. He had been waiting for this moment his whole life, but at the moment the young tom didn't feel up to it. At least with the cob webs no one would be able to see his face, though they were really itchy. He sighed as Wolfstar called the clan together, his sister was already there looking quite excited. I should be as happy as her... Sprucepaw thought moodily to himself. To make matters worse, three cats had died. Batflight, Ashcloud, and Brindlefeather. He hadn't been particularly close to any of these cats but they were still his clan mates and he would miss seeing their familiar and friendly faces. He got to his paws and padded out of the medicine den that had become his home, already missing the shadows that concealed what he had become. He took his seat next to Gladepaw, he smiled at her. There was no point in being angry and ruining this for her even if it already was ruined for him.

The young tom scanned the crowd of cats with his right eye, quickly spotting the light brown pelt of his mother Greenlily. He flashed his mother a small smile then looked back up at Wolfstar, noticing Birdsong beside her. He really didn't want to see Birdsong, or rather, he didn't want her to see him. His plans of them being a happy family had been ruined just like his face. Every cat tried to understand, but none of them really could. Featherheart was the only one who could come close to knowing what it was like. He and the she-cat warrior shared a bit of a bond now, and it was nice to have a cat he could relate to but no matter how much understanding Sprucepaw got the damage was done and he would live like this forever. He missed how he used to be. Sprucepaw knew he had been confident, maybe a little to much for his own good, and out going but some how those traits had disappeared and he wanted them back though he didn't know how to get them...

He listened as his father spoke, naming Gladepaw Gladetail. Sprucepaw wondered what his name would be, and Wolfstar soon answered him. '' You will be known as Spruceburn. '' Sprucepaw, no Spruceburn, was shocked for a moment. Had he heard wrong? Did his father really name him Spruceburn? He licked his father's shoulder, still thinking about his name, and stepped back for him to announce the new deputy. Featherheart was given the title of second in command, a cat in the back round cried somewhere, and the clan began cheering and mourning for their clan mates. It was a very confusing ceremony. Before the cheering was over, Spruceburn made his way back to the medicine den and laid down. He didn't care if he was supposed to sit a silent vigil tonight with his sister, he just wanted to be left alone to ponder his new name at the moment.

[Birdsong]

Birdsong slipped away after the ceremony and snatched up a peice of fresh-kill. She then glanced around, trying to spot Spruceburn's familiar tabby pelt. She finally caught sight of him slinking away towards the medicine cat den, and followed slowly, unsure of whether or not he'd welcome her company. She entered the den warily and padded over to his nest. The bandaged side of his face was towards her, and so she wasn't sure if he was aware that she was there. "Um... Spruceburn?" she mewed quietly. She didn't want to wake him if he was asleep. "I, uh, brought you some fresh-kill... you know, in case you're hungry." She swallowed awkwardly, not sure what to say. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but she was worried that if she tried to tell him now, he'd think it was out of pity for his injury rather than any actual emotion, and that was the last thing she wanted him to think. Birdsong knew she'd been in love with him for moons now, ever since he'd first taken her nest in the apprentices' den. She just didn't know how to tell him.

[xfeatherheartx]

"Just like I said. LOVE BIRDS."

[Clay//Toxic//Coal]

Clayheart sat beside Sleetmask, his heart torn in two. He wanted to be happy for these two new warriors and Featherheart, yet he was over come with grief for the three dead warriors. He felt Sleetmask move closer to him and he pressed his pelt against her's, '' If it had not been there time, StarClan would not have called them. '' he meowed to her and ran his tail against her pelt. All the cats were quiet, Spruceburn had already turned back to the medicine den. '' Spruceburn, Gladetail, Featherheart, '' He began the chanting. Even if it was a sad day, Featherheart, Spruceburn, and Gladetail deserved to be celebrated.

Toxicstep sat at the edge of the group, her face blank of any emotion. Her heart swelled with grief until she felt it would explode. She sighed, the three warriors who had died deserved to be celebrated instead of mourned for like the two new warriors and new deputy did. The cresent moon hung low in the sky and the stars shone brightly above the SunClan camp. Toxicstep looked up, willing herself to believe that three of those stars could be her fallen clan mates, but she could not bring herself to believe it.

[mouse]

"Yeah, I know. It still breaks my heart to see that pain in all of their eyes. I know StarClan has a better plan for them but its really sad to thank it." Sleetmask meowed to Clayheart.

[Wolfy//June]

Wolfstar padded over to his fallen clanmates. He really didn't see the need for a silent vigil, but it's the rules. He let out a long, weary sigh. "Oh, Batflight, what will I do without you?" he choked. Instead of joining other cats and eating prey, he settled himself beside Batflight and slowly grommed her fur, whispering heart-breaking goodbyes into her ears.

Leopardfrost bowed his head as Wolfstar spoke of the warriors. He had never been attached to any of them, accept Batflight. She had been his mentor and had always willed him to do better. Then there was Brindlefeather. Beautiful, soft, and a wonderful hunter, he knew she would be missed. His heart ached at the sight of Starlingsong. He was in pieces. Lastly, there was Ashcloud. She had always had something firey about her, something different. He knew she had liked him, but she never had the chance to find someone else when Maplebreeze stole Leopardfrost's heart. He couldn't imagine losing her.

[Jet$tar]

Coalstorm sat outside the nursery with Snowfur, he sighed. Three clan mates gone forever in one night. To top it all off, Spruceburn was missing half of his face... He looked sadly at the tabby tom who disappeared into the medicine den and then looked at Starlingsong who was mourning for Brindlefeather. He couldn't begin to imagine what he was going through, Coalstorm couldn't bear the thought of losing Snowfur so suddenly like Starlingsong lost the beautiful queen.

[Ember~Rain]

Emberpaw was unsure of whether to be happy or sad. Gladetail was now a warrior, but then three cats had died. Sadness swelled up inside him when he saw his mentor. The tom was obviously torn. He quietly padded over to him. "Starlingsong, it'll be ok. She's probably up there hunting as she does. Maybe Pinekit's there too. She can take care of all the Starclan kits. She wont be forgotten, that's for sure." he meowed.

[Spruceburn]

I'm cold and broken
It's over I didn't want to see it come to this
I wonder if I will ever see your face again
And I know that I will find a way to shed my skin
It's simple I know that I will suffer in the end

Spruceburn turned his head toward Birdsong who offered him some fresh kill. He stared at her beautiful tawny face for a moment, her bright green eyes that weren't unlike his own, her slender frame that was etched against the moon light that seeped into the medicine den. He turned away so the bandaged part of his face was to her again, '' I'm not hungry. '' The young tom muttered without a thank you. Part of him wanted her to go away so he could be alone, but another part of him wanted her to stay so he didn't have to be alone. Right not the part of him that wanted to be alone was more dominent... Spruceburn found it ironic how his face almost represented his feelings, half and half. Half wanted company, half did not. Half was burned, half was not. He sighed, '' Birdsong we can't be together. '' he meowed blankly, almost coldly.

[Birdsong]

Birdsong's fur fluffed up indignantly, and she dug her unsheathed claws into the springy ground. Spruceburn's words had hit her hard, and pain lanced through her heart. How could he say that? She had been sure that he felt the same way she did, and yet here he was, saying that they could never be together. "Why not?" she asked bitterly, her voice breaking with suppressed sobs. "Why? Because of your burns? Well what if I don't care about them, huh? What if being with you means more to me than anything else in the world? What if--" but she stopped herself from allowing her queries to continue. "I love you, Spruceburn, but if you don't want to be with me then fine." She turned away from him and ran towards the entrance to the camp. She had to get away; to be anywhere but there.

[mouse]

"Thank you, Emberpaw." Starlingsong managed to meow quietly to his apprentice, but he never took his eyes off of Brindlefeather. He was going to really miss her and he never got to tell her good-bye.

Sagekit sat by Roseflight and watched Starlingsong leave the clearing, then looked down at the bodies of the fallen warriors. She frowned. "May StarClan light there path." She meowed quietly.