Broken Bones, Shattered Resolve

[Magicheart]

Moontears protectively arched his body over Whitepaw. "Don't worry!" he meowed. Whitepaw was like his little sister. She was his future. No one was going to touch her. He arched his back and hissed.

"What is this?" said a disgusted voice. "You don't smell of the clans." hissed Bear as he approached the reddish brown pelted tom with deep blue eyes. "Are the clans employing help? How pitiful." he scowled, noting Whitepaw beneath him.

"Dad!" Phoenixpaw whimpered. "Don't let them take me again!" she screamed, running towards the voice of her father. She should be stronger, deep down, she knew this, but the fear was still so fresh.....

Eclipsedstar collapsed under the weight of the two traitors on him.
"How convenient." hissed Drowingspirit delightedly. "You shouldn't have strayed so far from your camp!" the Riverclan traitor smiled smugly.

A huge black paw swung through the air, catching the side of Drowningspirit's face and sending him in a heap to the ground. "Drowningspirit! Come near my son again, and I will choke the life from you!" snarled Pantherfang, his fur raised in great black spikes, his eyes filled with rage.

(You want Coal or Midnight to kill Jaystar? I'll play him)

Jaystar instinctively ran to the cat he loved, trying to protect Sunstorm. "Sunstorm!" he panted. "You must get to safety, you're already injured, I can't risk anything happening to y---" The clan leader's words were cut off as he was attacked by a Lostclan cat.

[Seraphinu]

"J-Jaystar..." Sunstorm whispered, a weak purr rising in her chest.

"I'm sorry..." she apologized. She hadn't meant to make her injuries worse. She'd lost all control upon the sight of Midnight. Now she realized her mistake. But there was little time to dwell over it. A yowl of terror escaped her as Jaystar was barreled over and pinned to the ground by a black LostClan tom, whom she angrily recognized.

"Coal!" she snarled, struggling to her paws, only to fall again with a cry of frustration and defeat. He turned his head to face her, and grinned, a malicious gleam in his pale eyes. Then he pressed a strong paw to Jaystar's chest, slowly putting more and more pressure.

Midnight was silently seething as he slowly rose to his feet, avoiding putting weight on his right leg. He knew he would have to flee. So, he fled from the camp as fast as he could running on three legs.

Whitepaw cowered before Bear, a knowing fear in her crystal eyes. She glanced over, her heart going out to Sunstorm, who she desperately wanted to run to and help. But she was frozen in fear before Bear's looming form. She spotted Midnight running from camp, limping on three legs. Midnight! she wanted to yowl. Why are you doing this? Why are you fighting for LostClan?

Ghostflight's eyes glowed in anger as Pantherfang attacked Drowningspirit. she ceased her assault on Eclipsedstar, hissing at the huge black tom. She turned her fury on Emberfoot, who was distracted, pouncing with her claws unsheathed, a blur of black and white amidst the growing blood of the battlefield.

[*~ Ember ~*]

Russettail jerked as he heard his daughter's voice She's okay! he thought, breathing silent thanks to StarClan. He ran towards the voice of his daughter... that is, until he was bowled over by a sleek pelted coal black traitor also known as a LostClan cat. His eyes gained that fiery look, from, no, not anger, more like dedication, and the stubbornness to not let anyone get between his daughter and himself. His emotions granted him strength, and he flung the flea-bag off of him easily, swiping the cat across it's muzzle.

(do I need to do anything special to Sunstorm so Emberfoot will be a 'worthy' deputy? Or is saving her life once enough? xD)

Emberfoot let Midnight rise, knowing full well that the defeated warrior would not be able to battle again today! She shook her fiery fur, releasing more of the blood of her enemies onto the hard baked earth. But to her dismay, some of the blood was hers. Somehow she had gotten a scrape across her chest, and it was bleeding profusely. She dragged her rough tongue over it, trying to clot the blood a little bit before she headed back into battle. Another LostClan cat was coming over to her, a she-cat. Emberfoot gasped as she Eclipsedstar on the ground, apparently the momentary victim of the LostClan warrior. A vicious growl escaped her, for she was desperate that her Clan win the battle.

[Magicheart]

(Ah, one other thing about Lostclan- She-cats don't fight. All of them are medicine cats for the toms because they fight so much! No problem though)

Pantherfang seethed as he heard Phoenixpaw cry out, and Russettail respond. It was like hearing his daughter all over again. Fury took him over, and he plowed through the Lostclan cats to fight beside his friend. "Dad!" Phoenixpaw cried desperately again, running towards the large looming silouhette of Pantherfang and his father. She instinctively ducked under her father, her ears flattened. Pantherfang stood back to back with Russettail, ready to defend his best friend's and Windclan's chosen apprentice at any cost.

Moontears lashed out a paw, cutting Bear's nose. "You shall not harm the medicine cats!" he threatened. "I have come too far to be here! There is supposed to be peace among us, it is what the ancestors want!" he protested.
"Ancestors?!" Bear snarled, letting out a roar of laughter. "There is life and there is the end of life, and nothing beyond!" he argued.
"You're wrong!" Moontears cried.
The black tom then landed a blow to the side of the Tribe cat's head, knocking him to the ground. Moontears shook his head to clear it and quickly leapt back up in front of Whitepaw. "You shall come no closer!" he threatened.
Bear took another couple pawsteps towards the tom, but began to notice a fog-like shimmer around both the Tribe cat and the little white Windclanner. "What is this?" Bear growled, confused.

Jaystar struggled for breath underneath the Lostclanner, but could not wriggle free.
Eclipsedstar stood to his feet and noticed Jaystar pinned beneath Coal.
"Jaystar!" the young leader cried out, running towards his equal.
"No matter what happens, Windclan will survive. You can't keep fighting us forever." Jaystar growled. Unable to help himself and his worry, he stole a glance over towards Sunstorm to make sure she was ok. His eyes locked with hers for a moment, exposing his neck.
"Jaystar, no!" Eclipsedstar cried out, pushing off of the ground and soaring through the air, trying to make it in time to save the honorable tom.

[Seraphinu]

((She's describing Ghostflight...

Ember, Ghostflight isn't actually LostClan. She's a traitor from ThunderClan, she's just leading the raid with Drowningspirit))

She stared into the depths of his eyes, and everything felt as though it were going in slow motion. She could feel her heart pounding in her aching chest. She felt her heart stop when Coal opened his maw, reaching for Jaystar's exposed neck, his fangs glinting, stained by blood.

"JAYSTAR!!!!!" she yowled, the tears already spilling from her gold eyes. The battle seemed to pause for that moment, WindClan and LostClan alike stopping at the sheer despair echoing from the deputy's voice.

"Moontears!" Whitepaw squeaked, her voice cracking from fright. "We have to help Sunstorm and Jaystar!" she pleaded, though she knew there wasn't a way to get away from Bear without fighting him. Whitepaw didn't know how to fight, and Moontears was so small compared to Bear's sheer size and muscle. They wouldn't last without help, and Whitepaw didn't notice the strange glimmer about them.

[Magicheart]

Bear scowled when he heard the voice of a tom that sounded like Pantherfang, and narrowed his eyes in delight as he recognized his son, Eclipsedstar, running to save the Windclan leader. He leapt and collided with the black tabby in midair, causing them both to thunder to the ground.

Moontears thanked the ancestors in his heart and twitched his ears. "Come on, then." he meowed to Whitepaw. He ran alongside her so that his pelt never stopped touching hers.
Jaystar gave a slight smile and mouthed the words "I love you." to Sunstorm before narrowing his eyes and turning back to Coal, just in time to block the tom's fangs from going directly into the center of his neck. The Lostclanner's teeth sunk into the side of Jaystar's neck, just narrowing missing his life giving vein. His eyes opened wide in shock and pain as he struggled to free himself, growing weaker by the moment from the loss of blood.

"Jaystar!" Eclipsedstar cried out again, digging his huge claws into the earth as he pulled himself to his feet. He screamed out in pain as Bear dug his claws into his haunches to try and pull him down on the ground again, and he turned around to engage in battle with the already wounded Lostclanner.
"You!" Eclipsedstar screeched. "You're the one who killed my mother and my sister!" Fury lit in his eyes as he lunged for the big black tom.

(I think at least one Lostclanner should die, I might have Bear get killed off. I am going to make another she-cat for Lostclan and I'll make another tom then too probably)

[Seraphinu]

Coal laughed as the two medicine cats raced towards him.

"You're too late!" he crowed, stepping off of Jaystar and gesturing with his ebony paw, as though displaying his work. Whitepaw's eyes widened in horror as Jaystar's life bled away, soaking the dry moor crimson.

"I'll never forgive you for this!" Sunstorm growled, standing despite her weak state. The fur that wasn't matted with blood stood on end, and her eyes burned like flames in her fury. Her entire body trembled with rage.

"Funny, I don't recall ever asking for it... so, no love lost there, dear sister. Well, for me anyway," he laughed, not losing a step. He wasn't at all affected by her anger, and was in fact enjoying it. He turned his gaze towards Bear.

"Bear, quit fooling around and kill him!" he egged the two cats on, the battle bringing him crazed euphoria. Seeing Willowleaf come to stand beside her leader, he pounced, not waiting for the reaction of Sunstorm or her two medicine cats.

"No, no, no. Two against one isn't fair," he cackled, he and Willowleaf rolling in the dirt. The medicine cat snarled in disgust. Coal stank of carrion and blood, and his attitude was far from appealing to her. She, despite her normally gentle behavior, kicked him savagely in the stomach, sending him flying back.

"I'll not be done in by the likes of LostClan vermin!" she spat. "How dare you kill WindClan's leader?!" she yowled. Coal merely shrugged his shoulders, as though that explained everything. "You attack those weaker than yourself! You act as though you are self-righteous in the blood you spill! You do not take responsibility! You disgust me!" she screamed her fury, her words rising to even StarClan.

Sunstorm staggered over to Jaystar, falling beside him. "Jaystar..." she whispered. "Please... don't leave... I love you... I need you..."

[Magicheart]

Jaystar tried to gasp, his wild eyes searching for Sunstorm's. His claws would search frantically for a hold in the ground, struggling with the pain, and then would stop as his remaining lives passed through him. Unable to stay in him, they flowed one by one out of the wound in his neck. All he wanted to do was say her name just one last time, or somehow let her know that things would be alright, but he just couldn't seem to make his voice work, no matter how much he wanted....

Eclipsedstar let out a furious scream and rounded on Bear, forcing the tom's head to the ground with one swing of his massive paw on the back of his neck. Pinned to the ground, Bear snarled furiously, digging his claws into the ground, but lacked the strength to break the giant young tom's superior hold on him. He was even larger than Pantherfang. "Go ahead." Bear spat. "Do it. It won't bring them back."
Eclipsedstar howled in fury, digging his claws into the back of the Lostclanner's neck, forcing the air from his throat as he pushed him further into the ground. Bear looked around wildly for a means to escape, but saw only the chaos of the fight before him.
Eclipsedstar's eyes widened in fear as he saw his medicine cat get tackled to the ground by the tom who had just caused the death of Jaystar. He let out an angry shout of frustration, letting go of Bear to go to Willowleaf's aid. He stood beside his medicine cat as she yelled at Coal. "We need to get help!" He yowled out to anyone that would hear him.

Phoenixpaw twitched her ears. Help? But where would she go? The first thing she thought of was Thunderclan and her mother and brother, but it was too far. It would be too late. Before she was even aware of where she was going, the fiery pelted she-cat bolted from the battle, an ember streaking through the Windclan grass. (She's going to Riverclan!)

Bear let out a momentary sigh of relief, until he saw a large black shadow blot out the light in front of him. He flattened his ears--- there was a cat behind him, and he knew who it was. He wrenched in agony as merciless claws sunk into either side of his neck. "No... killing you won't bring them back. But it will give me peace of mind to know that your presence no longer taints this forest." Pantherfang's dark smooth voice echoed in his ears.
Bear laughed. "Killing me won't stop Lostclan. Your forest isn't safe anymore."
"For the sake of my son," Pantherfang snarled in malice, "I will make it safer."
The giant black Lostclan tom's eyes widened as he gasped in pain. Pantherfang skulked away from the lifeless form on the ground, his green eyes glowing.

[Seraphinu]

"Jaystar..." Sunstorm's eyes widened in shock, seeing only the blood staining the moor, the essence of life spilling out of her beloved. She was blind with agony, and the sounds of battle fell away as she buried her face in his blood-stained fur.

"You can't be gone..." she sobbed. "You can't leave me alone!" She yowled, thrusting her head upwards. "How could you take him from me?!" her unseeing eyes focused on Coal then. His black ears flattened in annoyance. Bear was dead. Midnight had retreated. The only consolation now was that Jaystar was dead, and Sunstorm was demoralized. Of course, he didn't realize that this would later motivate her, as he underestimated her strength of heart.

"LostClan! Retreat!" He yowled, racing from WindClan's camp, his followers dashing after him, swift shadows across the moor.

Whitepaw ran to Sunstorm's side as she collapsed next to Jaystar's lifeless body, sobbing into his pelt, which was already beginning to stiffen as death took the place of life. The beautiful tabby she-cat's strength was spent as she grieved for her lost leader, her lost mate. Is this my punishment? For even desiring to bear his kits? she thought, at the peak of her despair. The tears spilled endlessly from her once fiery eyes, which were dimming as a numb chill took her heart, filling the void where love once was. She lifted her muzzle to the fleeing for of Coal.

"I swear this to StarClan. Next time we meet, brother, I will kill you!" she hissed.

Willowleaf hung her head in defeat. "Eclipsedstar... what should we do?" she turned her gaze on Sunstorm. After this... will Sunstorm even want to be leader? she thought to herself.

[Magicheart]

Eclipsedstar hung his head. He was dealing with his own overwhelming feelings of guilt. Even if he hadn't had to dessert Bear to help Willowleaf, he wasn't sure he'd have been able to kill the tom. The very cat who had murdered his mother and sister. Would he even be able to defend his own clan and do what was best for it? Maybe it was because he was fighting for another clan, or because his own feelings of grief prevented him from wanting any more bloodshed. "I think we should go..." He whispered, feeling very out of place at this intense moment of Windclan's history.

Pantherfang's glowing eyes fixed on his son and Willowleaf, and he padded over to the Shadowclanners. "Things will only continue to escalate, son. Windclan is greatful for your aid...but Shadowclan needs you. You can see how devastating these attacks have been on our camp. I fear for the future of Windclan..." his eyes scanned around the clearing, desperately searching for a particular cat. "Phoenixpaw... have you seen her?!" Pantherfang asked with renewed anxiety. He turned his widened eyes to Eclipsedstar and embraced his son before padding off. Phoenixpaw just had to be safe....he couldn't bear for Russettail to suffer the same loss he did....
"We will see each other soon." he meowed. He padded over to the clearing where Sunstorm, Whitepaw, and Jaystar lay. Pantherfang stiffened as he saw that his leader was dead.

"Come on, Willowleaf." he meowed softly. He was also bearing some guilt for not being able to get to Jaystar in time. Bear... he thought with renewed anger. He was glad the tom was dead.

Moontears stood beside Whitepaw, gazing sympathetically with pained eyes at Sunstorm.

[Seraphinu]

"Pantherfang... you must lend your renewed hope to your Clan. Sunstorm was chosen as deputy for her strength and purity of heart, but I doubt she will ever truly come back from this... you know her pain. Help her... because she must be leader now," Willowleaf nodded her head at the large black tom, and then turned towards his son.

"Let us return home, Eclipsedstar. Timbermoon and Trueeyes should not be kept waiting," she sighed, but knew that Timbermoon's faith in his Clan would lift her spirits.

Whitepaw gazed sadly at her new mentor. She stood, and turned towards him. Her white paws were stained red with blood. The blood of both friend and foe, WindClan and LostClan alike. "Moontears... Sunstorm is hurt..." she mewed, her voice soft, her own heart trembling with shock. Her own brother... the way he had gazed at her... the emptiness she could see in his eyes, she had hardly recognized him. She padded softly towards the ginger she-cat, and nosed her gently. "Sunstorm... come, we have to see to your wounds," she kept her tone calm. The deputy's eyes flased as she whipped her head around to face the apprentice.

"No!" she cried. "Leave me alone, Whitepaw. Why should I live if he is dead?" she whispered, her voice broken in her despair. Whitepaw's blue eyes flared with anger. She struck Sunstorm across the face with a sheathed paw.

"Mouse-brain! How can you say that?! You knew, when he chose you as deputy, that eventually you would have to take his place!" she could barely keep herself from yowling. "You are not the Sunstorm I knew when I first came to this Clan!" she accused.

"When I met you, you were energetic, passionate, faithful, and strong. Now, you are filled with despair and loss. Where has your heart gone, Sunstorm? Jaystar did not take it with him. He wanted you to move on, We all need you to move on."

"Have you ever lost someone you loved?" Sunstorm hissed, a spark of fury lighting her eyes.

"I left behind a brother, who loved me enough to risk his very soul to bring me here. I'm beginning to wonder if his suffering was worth it," she said coldly, hidded meaning in her words. "I thought you were stronger than that, Sunstorm." Tears were starting to form in Whitepaw's eyes. She loved Sunstorm, too much to let her heart rot away with Jaystar's loss.

[Magicheart]

Moontears laid a paw on Whitepaw's shoulder. "Let her grieve, Whitepaw. She is too caught up in her emotions to see the path that lies ahead yet." he coaxed in a soft voice. "We'll bring some herbs to her." he offered, turning towards the den. His eyes were wide in shock. He had never seen anything like this in his entire life. Sure, there were the cats that faught the tribe and had tried to take over their land, but it was nothing like this.

Pantherfang pressed his nose into the lifeless body of his leader, and then fixed his powerful emerald eyes on Sunstorm's. A deep wave of connection passed between them. It was only earlier today that he had lost his mate and daughter. They knew each other's pain. He padded over to Sunstorm and pressed his muzzle into her side next as a gesture of comfort and knowing, and he grieved for both himself and her, and he let her see his tears.

[Seraphinu]

Whitepaw turned to face Moontears, a look of guilt entering her eyes. "I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me..." she apologized, scuffing the ground with her forepaw.

"Just remember Sunstorm. The sun will rise again, and cast the night away," she said, and turned away, padding to the medicine den. She heaved a sigh. "Of dear brother, where has your soul gone?" she whispered. She could still see his reddening eyes, so cold, so unfamiliar. So different from the calm and protective brother that had risked everything to lead her away from the danger of LostClan.

Sunstorm looked into his eyes, seeing her grief and despair reflected in them. But there was also strength in them. "I grew up seeing him as only my leader... and then, something more than respect grew within me. I loved him, Pantherfang... and Coal... he..." she swallowed. "He killed him... because I loved him so much," she collapsed into tears.

[Magicheart]

Pantherfang felt the floodgates of his own grief open as he watched Sunstorm. He pressed up beside her, letting her use him to lean on if she needed to. "My own uncle murdered my child before my eyes." he whispered in empathy. "They have no hearts, Sunstorm. I am so sorry that I couldn't prevent this. If only I hadn't let Bear and Onyx survive...perhaps, Lostclan would have never come back...." he shook his head sadly and winced. "I know how it hurts. I know how it hurts so badly that you almost can't even be angry...because you can't even fathom how someone would want to do something so sick and twisted and horrible." he glanced at her for a moment with his emerald eyes. "I wish I could make the pain less." he said in a heartfelt whisper. "They say time heals these things....but I don't know if I could live long enough to have these wounds healed."

[Seraphinu]

"How can that fiend be my brother?" she whispered. "He, who mercilessly killed both of our mates?" she looked into Pantherfang's eyes and saw her own sadness reflected in them. She listened to his fervent wish.

"Let's work together to heal these wounds, Pantherfang. Make it so none of them have to hurt again. Moontears, who risked his life and lost his family to follow StarClan, and Whitepaw, who was forced to give up her brother to come to WindClan... and for every cat in this forest who is against LostClan..." she promised. She blinked, and the fire in her eyes began to die as she realized how much energy her own injuries and her grief had sapped. She leaned her soft ginger head on Pantherfang's warm, strong shoulder, and it wasn't long before the wings of sleep swept over her. The first time she had really slept in a quarter moon.