Rebuilding

[Seraphinu]

((You're going to have to tell me about that. xD I have no idea who the other two are. xD))

[Magicheart]

(( I may be bringing Lynxpelt back soon. I'm going to have Moontears be her son, which would make Rippletail his step father and Rippletail and Lynxpelt's son his half brother. She was taken away by twolegs and ended up in the mountains...I figured it would be an interesting plot twist!))

"Time passes quickly. Do not despair....Starclan is will always be with you..." Shadowstar consoled, slowly stepping backwards and fading away into the sky.

[Seraphinu]

((Oh. Lynxpelt and Hazeleaf, then? Interesting that he and Rockpaw are such good friends, huh?))

The dream faded, and Willowleaf was slowly brought back to consciousness. The words of Shadowstar, her trusted confidant, still swirled around in her head. Eclipsedstar had already lost his sister. She couldn't let her leader lose his father as well. She got up and stretched, her claws unsheathing from her delicate, silvery paws. She sniffed at her store of herbs. In the height of greenleaf, her store was thriving. she had little to worry about except running low on cobwebs. So many injuries...

She quickly padded from her den, returning to Eclipsedstar's side once more. She dipped her head respectfully. He was so young, but so trusted. He was a blessing to Shadowclan.

"Starclan has found me at last. Your father needs you, Eclipsedstar. You are the only one who can raise him out of the grief of his lost daughter and mate, your sister and mother," she pleaded, her blue eyes stressing the importance of Shadowstar's message.

[Magicheart]

Eclipsedstar raised his head in a jerky motion. "My mother....too?" he stammered, his eyes glazed in pain. He shook his head, trying to process what was going on. "But we've tried so hard and kept this secret so long. Will Shadowclan lose faith in me when they find out I'm a banished Windclanner?" he asked, the last few words stinging his pride still, after all this time.

[Seraphinu]

"ShadowClan will never lose faith in their leader. Some of them may still think that heritage matters, but none of them can deny that you have always been a strong leader," She meowed proudly. She had always believed in the strength of Eclipsedstar, despite his origins. Of course, since she was a medicine cat, she was above Clan rivalry.

"No pure ShadowClan cat could do more than you have," she added.

[Magicheart]

Eclipsedstar sighed. "I was just getting to know them. There was so much I never got to....." The Shadowclan leader trailed off, too overcome with grief to speak. "My father loved my mother and sister more than life itself. He must be destroyed..." he gazed up at Willowleaf, his eyes worried. "What if I can't do anything? It must be horrible and desperate if Starclan is telling you to have me go to him! What if he's dying too? What if they just send me so he can tell me something important before he dies? I can't watch him die..." the young Shadowclan leader began to pace in his den, his eyes wide and his nerves on edge.

[Seraphinu]

"Whether he is dying or not, he is your father, and you should go to him," Willowleaf cut into his worry. Her eyes were firm, yet filled with compassion. She brushed her pelt against his, trying to comfort him.

"Do not worry. I will go with you. No Clan will go against the word of a medicine cat," she said, sure of her words.

Timbermoon returned from the head of a patrol, looking exhausted. He'd taken both the dawn and sunhigh patrols. The two warriors behind him too, were as tired as he was. He murmured words of thanks, flicking his tail on their shoulders. He sighed as they padded away to eat and rest. He tried not to limp as he followed them, a wound in his shoulder bothering him severely. Willowleaf is going to personally send me to StarClan for this... he thought to himself. He was hungry and tired, but he knew he had to report to Eclipsedstar. With another sigh began to pad towards his leader's den.

[Magicheart]

Trueeyes nodded to Timbermoon as his tail brushed his shoulder. At least there was no more trouble on Shadowclan territory. No other sign of Lostclan as of yet. Trueeyes padded to the center of camp and picked up a mouse and began to eat it with a sigh of exaughstion.

Eclipsedstar glanced up at Willowleaf and closed his eyes, silently nodding acceptance and thanks to her. "I have lost so much....at least Starclan sent Blackheart back to me." he said quietly, thankful that he had her love and support again. The giant black tabby stood up, summoning his courage and trying to ease his fears. "Shadowclan would never survive without you, Willowleaf. I'll have to make sure I don't get you too far out of my sights." he said with a soft smile.

[Seraphinu]

Willowleaf took in his praise, knowing it to be true, but at the same time, knowing that it was the will of StarClan and not hers to take the credit for.

"I could never let ShadowClan fall under my watch," Willowleaf purred gently. Her eyes turned to Timbermoon, who was approaching.

"I told him to be careful..." she muttered to herself. "He must be reporting from the border patrol," she guessed.

"Eclipsedstar, am I interrupting?" he asked, his tone formal, but polite. He tried not to look Willowleaf square in the eyes, but he knew she was glaring at him. His shoulder was starting to bleed again, and he knew she knew.

[Magicheart]

"Not at all, Timbermoon. What's the word on the borders?" he asked, hoping the news would be optimistic.

[Seraphinu]

Timbermoon nodded, and stepped forward, entering the den.

"You opened your wound again," Willowleaf hissed, thrashing her tail.

Timbermoon ignored Willowleaf, but there was a slightly anxious twitch in his silver tabby tail.

"Good news. There is no sign of LostClan in ShadowClan territory. Those vile kittypets were prowling around though, we had a hard time avoiding them. Another fight is the last thing we need," Timbermoon reported, referring to the Twoleg nest that was still home to nasty little kittypets who weren't afraid to attack forest cats.

(I've recently brushed up on the Lake territory. xD)

[Magicheart]

Eclipsedstar flicked his ears in irritation. "Lazy mangy furballs! If we didn't have enough trouble as it was, I'd send out a patrol to teach them a lesson. Thank you for going out, Timbermoon. And try to take care of that wound of yours, hmm?" The tom said the last part under his breath to his warrior, so Willowleaf didn't hear.

[Seraphinu]

Timbermoon too felt irritated at the prospect of running form kittypets. The thought of those lazy, Twoleg toys made his fur crawl. He nodded nervously when Eclipsedstar mentioned his wound. When facing an enemy patrol, he was brave as a member of LionClan. But the prospect of facing Willowleaf turned him into a frightened kit.

"Come with me, Timbermoon. I'll fix your shoulder. But I swear by StarClan, open that wound again, and I'll claw your ears off," she growled, fur bristling in annoyance. Of course, she didn't really mean it, but with medicine cats, you never really could tell. The two of them left Eclipsedstar's den with a respectful nod, padding over to Willowleaf's den where she kept all her herbs.

[Magicheart]

Eclipsedstar closed his eyes a moment and sighed, wondering where Blackheart was. He could use her comfort right about now. The tall Shadowclan leader sat a moment in silence, reflecting on the loss of his mother and sister. He was still nervous about seeing his father, Pantherfang, but was much more at ease with Willowleaf going with him. He padded out of his den and into the clearing. The camp looked extraordinary. He couldn't believe how quickly his clan had risen to the challenge of fixing the camp. The sun was at its peak in the sky, sending beams of sunlight cascading through the sparse trees surrouding camp and spilling into its contents. Eclipsedstar waited outside the medicine den for Willowleaf to be ready to take the trek to Windclan.

[Seraphinu]

Willowleaf turned on Timbermoon once they were inside the den, batting him across the face with her paw. Timbermoon's ears flattened and his tail twitched, giving him the look of a kit who had just been scolded by its mother.

"You keep opening that wound!" Willowleaf hissed, clearly annoyed, though she was gently dabbing cobwebs into his wound to stop the bleeding. She ground some marigold between her teeth, spitting it onto her paws, and applying them into the injury to prevent infection.

"I'm doing what I can for the Clan," Timbermoon defended himself. "All of us are pushing ourselves, Willowleaf, even you," he added.

"I know. You've always put the Clan first, as always, Timbermoon. But you need to take care of yourself, otherwise you won't be able to take care of your Clan," Willowleaf's voice softened with understanding.

"Thank you, Willowleaf," Timbermoon said appreciatively. He limped out of the den, nodding to Eclipsedstar, before heading towards the fresh-kill pile, picking out a vole, and settling down next to Trueeyes to eat with him.

Willowleaf emerged from her den a few moments later.

"Are we ready to leave, Eclipsedstar?" she asked. "Are you sure we shouldn't take a warrior with us?" she suggested, then looked around. Who would go? All the warriors were exhausted. "... perhaps it should be just the two of us," she corrected herself.