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Post by Wickedstar on Feb 11, 2011 19:20:06 GMT -5
Blackheart raced through her territory jumping over logs and racing through bushes and dodging rocks. She scooted herself under a tree branch and got a little stuck for a bit but pulled herself out and kept racing to her home. Tears fell from her eyes as she felt herself go closer and closer.
She burst through the enterence and saw everyone was okay. Did they know? no, not yet. She panted and shook and sat down and felt as if she were about to throw up. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down but nothing worked. Her body shook violently. Chills went down her spine and she couldnt stop. Her mouth went dry and she didnt know how to get any words out..
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Post by Magicheart on Feb 13, 2011 13:30:26 GMT -5
Eclipsedstar picked up the body of his dead deputy and padded after Blackheart as quickly as he could. He pricked his ears when he got close to camp and gingerly set down Orangeleaf's motionless body to taste the air. No sign of Lostclan. He picked up his deputy and padded into the camp clearing, his paws feeling heavy as stones. He set Orangeleaf's body in the center of camp and raced towards his den, bunching his powerful muscles to leap on top. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath my den for a meeting!" he yowled loudly, his voice shaking with anger.
Trueeyes padded back into camp with his mouse and gasped, his ears and tail drooping in sadness. He set down his mouse and raced over to Orangeleaf's side and pressed his nose into her cold fur. "It's so unfair...why you too?" he whispered. He had been developing feelings for the she-cat for the past moon, though he never knew if she returned them.
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Post by Wickedstar on Feb 13, 2011 13:42:20 GMT -5
Blackheart watched her leader some into the camp and set the body in center of camp and jumped up onto high rock. She let her eyes go back to the body and she felt tears streaming down her face. She stayed away from the body and let the other cats touch her fur and greive. She gave a gulp and didnt meet her leaders eyes.
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Post by Seraphinu on Feb 13, 2011 19:14:54 GMT -5
Willowleaf's tail drooped with grief at the sight of the dead deputy. Orangeleaf had held so much promise, such vigor and heart. The Clan had needed someone like her. And now she was gone. Her ears barely swiveled as she heard Eclipsedstar's call for a meeting, and she trudged out into the clearing, trying to keep her expression an unreadable mask.
Timbermoon sighed, touching his nose to the dead deputy's forehead, breathing in the familiar scent that had already begun to fade. He had seen so many cats die, but every time was as bad as the first, each striking a more brutal blow to his heart. His eyes blazed with anger for one instant, but were dampened again with grief and weariness. He stepped back to let other Clanmates grieve, and soon felt Greypaw's small form press close to him.
"Shouldn't you be with Trueeyes, little one? He is your mentor, after all," he nuzzled the top of her head in comfort for an instant, wondering if she would move to be with her mentor, but she seemed to always look to him for comfort. Did she see him as a father?
He turned his attention on Eclipsedstar, who had called for a Clan meeting. Was it to choose the new deputy? Had he picked one already? Or was there something more to discuss, perhaps?
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Post by Magicheart on Feb 13, 2011 20:01:43 GMT -5
Eclipsedstar began to lose his nerve as he stared down at his wary, grieving clanmates. He wanted to wail like a kit for losing his third deputy since he had been made leader, and for how young, inexperienced, and alone he felt standing as leader above his clanmates. He wanted Lostclan to let him have a deputy that could support him as leader and survive for more then 5 moons. "On the way back to camp through the pine forest, Blackheart and I found Orangeleaf dead. Her wounds were clearly deliberate." he struggled to keep the wave of hatred and anger he felt towards Lostclan out of his voice. One of Lostclan's warriors had bitten into the back of his deputy's neck and killed her like a piece of prey. "Her body carries the scent of Lostclan. Have any of the patrols scented or seen Lostclan on our territory?" Eclipsedstar questioned.
Trueeyes rose to his paws. "There was nothing near the Thunderclan border. I just came back there from hunting." he meowed.
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Post by Wickedstar on Feb 15, 2011 18:30:23 GMT -5
Blackheart stayed where she was and with her eyes full of tears she saw the cats come up to the dead body and cry. She felt her mouth go dry and listened to her leader speak. She let her eyes shift down to her paws and she didnt look up. She heard Trueeyes give his answer and thought, How could no one smell them if they had killed the deputy? Wouldnt their sent be all over the place? Something didnt seem right. Could Eclipsedstar know it also? Trueeyes? She did. She glanced to the enterence of the camp and then looked back to her leader. Once this meeting was over, she knew what she was going to do.
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Post by Magicheart on Feb 15, 2011 19:29:41 GMT -5
"There is no evidence of a fight" Trueeyes meowed. "Could it be that just one of their warriors attacked Orangeleaf?" He ventured.
"How would they know where she was and that she'd be alone?" Eclipsedstar shook his head, his long fur cascading around his neck. The Shadowclan leader then glanced at the moon. "We will grieve for Orangeleaf, but now is the time of the full moon, and we must go to the gathering to meet the other clans."
Eclipsedstar placed his large paws at the tip of the boulder and balanced himself on the very edge. "I say these words before StarClan, that the spirit of Orangeleaf may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of Shadowclan will be Cinderheart." Eclipsedstar glanced down at the she-cat. "Shadowclan is in need of your courage and strength, and I hope that you will serve the clan with me for many moons." he meowed.
He leaped off of his den and padded over to Cinderheart to touch noses with her. "Cinderheart, Trueeyes, Willowleaf, Blackheart, and Canyonpaw will come with me to the gathering. Timbermoon, I want you to be in charge of the camp while I am gone." Eclipsedstar yowled across the clearing.
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Post by Seraphinu on Feb 15, 2011 23:45:13 GMT -5
The celebratory call that rose with the naming of the new deputy was only half-hearted by the Clan, for this was a bittersweet moment for Cinderheart and the Clan- the grief over Orangeleaf was still too fresh, stinging as though their flesh had been flayed open by the claws of loss.
Willowleaf took a breath once Eclipsedstar named her to go to the Gathering, pulling herself and her wits together. A medicine cat could not falter. She had to be strong for her Clan. She had to be able to offer them support and comfort in times such as these. But it was hard when her heart was just as broken as theirs. Every time she had to say 'it will be all right', it felt like a lie. She padded over to the camp entrance, waiting for Eclipsedstar and her Clanmates.
Timbermoon nodded with understanding, hiding the pain behind his eyes. "I will do my best to protect our home," he said, and gathered the warriors who were staying behind to him with the sweep of his tail, and began organizing the camp guards and moonhigh patrols.
Greypaw took comfort in the fact that Timbermoon was staying behind, but she considered his comment from earlier... why didn't she feel as comforted by the presence of her mentor, Trueeyes? Shouldn't she be more worried that he was leaving and she was staying behind? Perhaps they just hadn't had that much time to bond... she hadn't been an apprentice long, after all.
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Post by Magicheart on Feb 17, 2011 19:30:02 GMT -5
Eclipsedstar nodded to Timbermoon and led his cats out of the camp entrance with a swish of his tail. He hesitated part way through. "Don't hesitate to get help if you need it." he meowed to the senior warrior before vanishing through the brambles (continued at gathering)
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