NightClanAs the reentered the SummerClan camp, the first thing they would notice was the foul, cloying, throat burning scent of dried blood melting into the soil. Phantomfox breathed it in, his lungs warmed by it like it and they were old friends, while he observed a scowl turn up on Foxpaw's maw. This,
this was the moment he allowed himself to accept that his little boy, his precious, preserved gem of an offspring, was finally becoming a man worth his unimpressive weight. This marked the after - after tragedy, after triumph. "Look son, this is what the real world looks like," he purred lowly, "Your mother and I have done a perfect job of hiding you from this, but now I want you to look at it. This is the true essence of the world. There are no dragons to be slain by light. Your enemies, the true monsters of life, will often look like your comrades until they're pushed to their breaking point. The only one you can trust to have your back is yourself, son."
He lifted his head then to observe what was taking place - Aspenstar negotiating the terms of SummerClan's surrender, Orchiddrop surrounded by her children and being led to the elders' den, torn ears and fur and flesh spread out across the clearing, scarlet stains seeping into the earth, someone dragging themself out of the healer's den… It was only Doefreckle intrusion on their peaceful little paradise that prevented Phantomfox's eyes from widening at the sight of the feline, instead lunging to slam his chest into the calico tom's and hug him beneath him. "Why don't you go on and take your mother to Ratstar's den, son? I trust you can handle her from there until we're ready to come get you." Though phrased as a question, and Phantomfox never looked up from where he stooped snarling over Doe, it was clear that there was no room for Foxpaw to disobey.
-
SummerClanThe cry stilled in Sunpetal's throat was forcibly ripped out, lifted by a great gust of breath burning up her lungs as Doefreckle reversed their positions again. She wanted to object. She wanted to fight. She wanted to beg and plead and kneel and do whatever it took to ensure her father - her best friend, her confidante, her hero - was not unjustly murdered by these guards and their vile disgrace of a healer. She wanted to do anything that wasn't stand there, numb and cemented to the spot, and watch as her clanmate spat and raged and defied in her place.
But she couldn't.
More than resist, more than defy, all she really wanted was her Dad to be okay, and if that meant that Sunpetal had to bite down on her bottom lip and swallow the lead in her mouth, then she'd bite the damn bullet. She glared out from behind Doefreckle - though he wasn't exempt from the cold blaze ruminating there - and silently let him throw enough of a fit for the both of them, dragging her paws behind him and tossing a sour look over her shoulder at where their escorts were berating her friend. Her gaze was harder than sapphires, deciding then and there that after tonight, when the sun broke through the night once more, she wouldn't allow this to happen anymore. Tonight, just tonight, she would be everything they wanted — obedient, submissive, eyes kept low and voice of dissension strangled in the back of her throat. She could be that for tonight.
-
As she ducked into the den, casting a sidelong glance at Pinesimmer as she passed him and feeling a sense of foreboding creep into her gut, she was hit with renewed grief. There in the center, chest heaving with every ragged breath, Ratstar was still unconscious and wholly unaware of the wolves at his door. Maybe that was a blessing; to Sunpetal it felt like a curse, deprived of his advice and comfort making her feel naked and suffocated all at once. This reality, one where he wasn't there to guide her, felt so much colder than just a few days ago had felt, back when the sun still shone and everything was soft and she could move freely, untouched by adversity. She scarcely registered Doefreckle leaving the den nor the presence of their escorts hanging off near each exit, nor did she heed the warning beginning to flare wildly in her stomach, desperately careening around and hoping she might see, might know, might feel and understand the danger behind her. But all she wanted to do was collapse, the weight of the world the weight of her shoulders. Just collapse, and sleep, and maybe when she woke up, everything will have been just a bad dream.
Outside, she could still hear cries and agonized screams, and somewhere in the mix was her mother and brother's voices. She dared to take a step closer. She dared to creep towards the sound of them, wondering if maybe the tides would have turned in her absence, but she was no more than two whisker-lengths away from where Pinesimmer now loomed dangerously over Ratstar.
You or him try to run… She wasn't even midway through turning back to the medicine cat when the distinct rip of flesh cut off his threat, and then things were moving very fast — blood gushing free of Ratstar's throat; Pinesimmer speaking again; Weevilspike surging in and bowling himself and Pinesimmer over and over each other, until he was holding the medicine cat beneath him, and he was shouting something, but sound bled out when her father's throat was sliced. Suddenly, Sunpetal knew every move she needed to make and how swiftly she needed to make it.
"I can heal him," she announced in a surprisingly level voice. By time either tom would notice she even spoke, she'd already be sifting through Vulturemalice's stocks - for the first time cognizant of how her close relationship with the tom had more benefits than either of them ever would have imagined -, scooping out all the herbs she knew she'd need and chewing them feverishly into a poultice. Now, with a remedy prepared and cobwebs bunched into a paw to soak up the blood, she gathered as much courage as she could, assured herself that
this is what her paws were perfect for, and set to work…
-
At the same moment…"W-we didn't foresee this," murmured a feline whose fur was shimmering, vaguely speckled by stars.
"No, this… was completely unexpected." Another, one he would recognize as Satinshore, agreed, as they matched the bewildered expression on Ratstar's face.
For the first time since arriving -
again - in his ancestors' hunting grounds, the SummerClan leader found his voice and tentatively spoke up, steadying it despite how his audiences' confusion was unsettling him. "W-what's goin' on? I thought ya'd said my wounds were healing? I shouldn't have lost another life if that was the case."
"Well, we were
obviously extremely wrong!" Satinshore retaliated, rolling her eyes. "Maybe you should have chosen a better time to get mauled by geese and maybe, oh I don't know, not do it when MightClan-"
"NightClan," the other corrected wearily.
She dismissed him with a wave of her tail. "I said what I said. They look pretty mighty from my angle," she hmphed, "Anyway. When
NightClan decides to colonize...whatever it is you lead. We can't always be all-knowing and see EVERYTHING that's happening down there because, well, to be frank with you RapStyle, since we're such good friends and I always knew you were in love with me - because who wouldn't be? - Earth sucks. You should think about staying around here. It would be worth your while," she winked.
Lost for words, Ratstar's eye flitted helplessly between his former clanmate and her partner. Was he in StarClan or was this a terrible divine joke? "I - um - what?"
Satinshore looked vaguely disappointed, which the leader would have found more unnerving than his most recent death if he had enough time to do so; before he could react, her paws were planted on his shoulders and, with a "I knew you'd say that. TTFN: TA TA FOR NOW~!" he was shoved through the ethereal barrier between life and death, jolting unceremoniously back into his body.
When he came back to, the first thing Ratstar felt was the heaviness seep back into his limbs, his sight blurry as if coming out of a fog, but he soon noticed that the pressure he felt wasn't just the bloody knots in his fur; it was his daughter, her paws pressed against a crimson wad. He hazarded a chuckle, but that turned into a frail cough. Nevertheless, the grin he gave Sunpetal was soft and loving, as if he'd just woken up from a nap and she'd come into his den to complain about babysitting duty. "Hey there, darlin'."
"P-papi! Y-you… I thought you were dead." As if his revival was the last thing holding back her tears, now the floodgates were slammed open and aching sobs were racking her body.
He pulled her into a hug, ignoring the pain that flared up in response, and rasped a gentle tongue around her ears to soothe her. "I've still got some life - or lives - left in me. I'm not leavin' ya just yet, sweetheart. Come on," he nudged her after a moment, "help ya old paps to his paws, won't ya? We have some things to take care of." The first thing on his agenda was right here in the same den with them; taking in the sight of his son pinning down a stranger - unwittingly, the very one who'd taken his life -, and twitching an ear at the sound of his mate's voice outside, he recalled the strange encounter he'd just had with… what was her name? He couldn't remember. From his several diplomatic meetings with the NightClan leader, he knew the scent of Aspenstar's clan almost as well as his own - but this was the first time he knew it didn't spell for anything good. "Weevilspike, let the guy up. I need ya t' come with me an' your sister now, alright?"
Aided by his son on one side and his daughter on the other, Ratstar staggered from the medicine cat den. The sight awaiting him… wasn't an easy pill to swallow. His eye watered, but now with his clan looking to him, he couldn't afford to show anything less than the strength of their leader - though, after tonight, he wasn't sure he would still be that for them. "Aspenstar," he greeted his ally? - rival? - fellow leader? None of them seemed correct. His gaze scoped the camp; the ruin, the blood stains, the strench of death, the shattered hope in his precious clan members' faces, and at the center of it all, Aspenstar. He could be naive, but Ratstar was no fool. It took him seconds to deduce what was happening here and just what his Poppymask meant when she said
SummerClan surrendered. "I'd say it was a pleasure t' see ya, but I think I'd rather if my eye was plucked out by a porcupine quill." Despite his condition, he still had a lot of fight left in him, but after glancing around camp, seeing his loved ones and the struggles they'd clearly endured tonight, he knew that he needed to put them first. He slowly bent down until the tip of his nose hovered above the ground and, gesturing for his family to do the same, the cats of SummerClan would witness the royal family admitting their defeat to the NightClan leader. Ratstar's voice was clear and strong when it next spoke, echoing Poppymask's: "SummerClan surrenders."
As he kneeled before the rival leader, his eye traced the scarlet ground - SummerClan's camp was now a hallowed place, consecrated by the blood of its inhabitants. It would take many days of rain before the memory was washed out of it, but the second thing to notice would assure anyone that no matter how the land might recover, the survivors would never forget this loss. The kits trembling in the nursery would wake screaming in the night, crying out and begging their mothers to soothe their fears. Shadows on moonless nights would be more real and terrifying than anyone ever thought possible, looking like the faces now standing triumphant over them. Battle practice would be dreaded by apprentices and mentors alike as they gazed across the training grounds at one another, their bodies rooted to the spot but their minds tied to this moment, this scene.
full disclosure i can't be bothered to tag anyone you get what you get LMAO anyway
this marks SummerClan's defeat. They have surrendered to NightClan and will now live under the rule of Stormstar, so all threads started after today will take place during NightClan's occupation of SummerClan! @ian will reply with Aspenstar, after which everyone is free to post their characters' reactions to everything or not 🧡
