DuskClan | The Skytrees

Hawksky chuckled, then started coughing again, feeling his chest burn. He blinked, exhaustion overtaking him.

Palesmoke, after a long moment of hesitation, padded to Sootpaw and settled down by him. The sandy tabby flattened her ears and rested her head on her paws. "It'll be alright, Sootpaw," she mewed quietly.

Hickoryshadow stared into the distance, already having been awoken by the commotion. He swallowed harshly as Bramblepaw was dragged inside the medicine den, and as Palesmoke wandered up to his son. 

Bramblepaw whimpered, closing his eyes again and leaning into Tulipsnow.

Coalpaw walked up to Willowpaw. "I need to.. um.. talk to you." he whispered. His eyes saddened as he glanced over to the medicine den, where one of his closest friends was currently residing. "It's a.. uhm.. about the Gathering.... last night."

Daisypaw looked for her mentor in the crowd.

Dustmask watched his sister.

Fallowpaw switched her tail eagerly. "Want me to show you the sticks?" she chirped.

"Of course, Fallowpaw. We should see what warriors can come with us, though. That way we can carry more." Scorchthicket purred and opted to call on a few random warriors, scanning the crowd. "Dustmask and Melodyfrost, come with Fallowpaw and I to gather some branches." 

Willowpaw glanced up as Coalpaw approached her, blinking amber eyes at him. "Okay, what is it?" She curled her tail around her paws, offering a friendly purr.

Coalpaw felt a hot bullet of anger rush through him at her ignorance, even though he knew that she couldn't possibly know what he was even talking about in the first place. "I saw you.. um... t-talking to a, ah.... another apprentice," He narrowed his eyes. "In a p-pretty friendly way, actually..." his voice was slowly becoming a low growl that didn't suit his anxious demeanor. 

Dustmask jumped as his name was called, expecting to be in trouble, but sighed in relief when he heard that he was just gathering some branches.

"Oh, you mean Flamepaw! He's in BrightClan. I was talking to him and his brothers." Willowpaw's ears heated as she thought of the tom, ducking her head. She shrugged and looked back at Coalpaw, finally registering the slight growl to his tone. "Is there something wrong with me making friends? You can't really control if I do or don't," she mewed evenly.

Coalpaw felt embarrassment rush through him. "It took you, l-like, five seconds to fall in love with a cat from another clan! D... Do you n-not know how... uh.. dangerous he could be??" His stutter was dropping. "I d-don't care if you make friends, but you might as well h.. have had kits with him right then and there!" A familiar stinging sensation welled up in his throat, making him shut his eyes tightly. "You've always been like... like we don't even matter! I-It... It must be true.. s-since you uh..." he lost his train of thought, a horrible feeling gathering up in his stomach as he stared up at Willowpaw. He couldn't believe he was yelling at his best friend. He whipped his head away from her, pursing his lips and turning so that he couldn't face her.

Willowpaw tilted her head in her confusion. The pair had gained a few odd looks from some passing warriors. She curled her tail around her paws and sighed. "Coalpaw, you're being really judgmental. I didn't fall in love with Flamepaw." She rolled her eyes at the thought, narrowing them after. "And who is this we you keep mentioning? We're friends, Coalpaw. I'm friends with Flamepaw too. There's not really much else to discuss about it. I appreciate your worry about him being dangerous towards me, though." She purred and bumped her head against Coalpaw's, then glanced around for Hickoryshadow, trying to find her mentor. 

Dawnflower had watched the interaction between the apprentices with a good bit of curiosity. Poor Coalpaw, Willowpaw is completely oblivious to his feelings. She shook her head and went to Fallenash, sitting beside him with a purr of greeting.

Fallenash purred at his daughter, licked her ear in greeting. "Good morning. Any plans for today?"

Coalpaw whipped around and stared at his crush as she walked away, hurt lacing his stature. His face flushed and his eyes stung, but before he could call out to her, he turned around again and slid into the apprentices' den, moving to the dark corner where he was invisible.

Fallowpaw hopped up and dashed into the undergrowth, sniffing for the spot they had passed last night. She spotted the branches, at the base of a partially collapsed old tree. "Here!" she chirped.

Tulipsnow's attention turned back to the apprentice, and she frowned a little. "Coldfoot, can you sit with him? He's rather cold, I think he's in shock," she mewed quietly. 

Sootpaw rolled his eyes a little, shifting in the nest. "Go away."

Coldfoot snorted, annoyed at being ordered around by his apprentice, and settled next to Bramblepaw, wrapping his fluffy tail around his scrawny frame. He sniffed the apprentice's injured leg. "Doesn't look broken." he grumbled, "Probably just fractured."

Palesmoke flinched and narrowed her eyes. "No," she mewed and sighed. "We don't have to talk but I'm not going to let you be alone."

Scorchthicket nodded his thanks to Fallowpaw and wrapped his jaws around what he could of the branch, beginning to drag it back toward the other cats.

Fallowpaw dragged the branch behind Scorchthicket, her neck straining under its weight.

Larchmask muttered a quick apology to Dustpool at waking her, and also stood up. He shook out his fur. "I heard something about a ravine. Did it collapse from the quake?" He stretched his neck up, trying to see Bramblepaw without getting too close.

Basilpaw rushed over to Coldfoot. "Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked confidently, barely hiding the shake in his voice. He'd never seen something like this, and was trying to hide the pain from losing his mother. The shock of the day kept a thick haze in his mind, almost not registering his surroundings.

The old tom scrunched his nose. "These two need water," he mewed, "Find moss, soak it, and bring it back."

Tigerstorm sighed, happy not to be in attention anymore. His idea of talking to Coltfoot vanished, noticing the apprentices that were injured. What is Dragonpaw’s injured? He thought, before shaking his head. He’d pushed it last night, so he wasn’t going to do anything. He decided to sit away from anyone. He started to lick his shoulder, wincing every time he got close to the wound.

Basilpaw nodded. Filling his mind with his task, he trotted out of camp. It helped ease the numbness, having something to do.

Fallowpaw let out a labored breath and shoved the branch against the side of a hollow stump, letting out a triumphant "Mrow!" at the den she had started.

"Your shoulder still giving you trouble?" Coldfoot inquired.

Scorchthicket purred his thanks to the apprentice and set the branch he'd grabbed beside hers. He shoved it into place with his shoulder, shaking out his fur after.

Firefall, still injured from being hit on the head at camp, very slowly opened her eyes. She lifted her head groggily, her head pounding in pain as she tried to get a good look around. “What.. what happened? Where am i?” She asked anyone around her, her voice barely audible from her ears having a slight ring as well. 

Dustpool grunted at Larchmask’s apology, trying to get a good look at Bramblepaw from her spot but failing. She was a bit too short to see over the other cats, so she resorted to listening as best she could. 

Sunpaw had been awake for awhile, her eyes wide as she watched the medicine cat work and Bramblepaw injured. She felt needed, but she wasn’t sure where. She began to shake a little, from the chilly wind and the fact that her clan’s home was not safe.

Basilpaw returned to camp, his fur ruffled from the cold. He saw Firefall waking up, and chose her first. He set down his large hunk of soaked moss next to the injured cat. "Hey, you should drink some water," he said. "You got hit with a rock." Firefall's confusion worried Basilpaw, but it may have just been from being half-asleep.

Larchmask looked back at Dustpool. "I think that he's okay," he stated, somewhat uncertainly. "But I'm not sure..." his voice trailed off.

Ebonyrose padded into camp carrying a few pods of poppy seeds.

Fallowpaw darted up to Basilpaw when she saw him. "Hi!" she chirped, "Want to help me build dens?"

Hawksky drifted in and out of consciousness on the floor of the makeshift medicine den.

Bramblepaw struggled to keep himself awake, but ended up passing out again.

Daisypaw curled around Sootpaw, still silent since the night before.

Coalpaw padded up to Basilpaw. "I'll.. um.... help too," he whispered, heartache still gripping at his chest.

Basilpaw paused, jolted out of his state by Fallowpaw. "Uh... yeah! But can you help me first? Bring some of this soaked moss to Bramblepaw and make sure he drinks water," he said, stuttering at first.

"Alright!" Fallowpaw chirped. She took the moss and trotted to where the injured cats were, fluffy tail held high. She lowered the moss to Bramblepaw's face and wait patiently for him to lap at the water on it.

Coldfoot nodded a thank you to Ebonyrose as she dropped the poppy seeds at his paws. He lifted the pod and padded into the makeshift medicine den.

Riverswoop magically poofs back into the camp, while Tulipsnow derps in the corner.


Tulipsnow padded over to Scorchthicket, waiting until he'd finished to speak. "You need to rest," she mewed firmly. "You've been up all night."

Turtlestar padded lightly across the forest floor, towards the strong scent of DuskClan. They didn't seem like they were planning an attack at the gathering last night, but the amount of cat scent was making her alert. How many cats were here?

Scorchthicket parted his jaws to protest, but a yawn interrupted him and he gave in. "Alright. Wake me if I'm needed?" He stretched out, purring a greeting to Ebonyrose once he saw her emerging from the medicine den.

Willowpaw shifted about anxiously upon spotting her mentor. He looked rather... distant. She decided to leave him be and trotted after Fallowpaw, subsequently bumping into Coalpaw again. A purred greeting and she affectionately nudged her sister's shoulder. 

Softecho followed Ebonyrose in and gently set the seed pods she'd grabbed by Coldfoot, padding out quickly so she wasn't in his way. 

Kitekit shivered and fluffed up her fur, perking up when she saw Riverswoop come back. An odd scent distracted the she-kit however, and she nudged her mother when she spotted Turtlestar. "Mama, who is that?" Kindleflame turned to look where her daughter was pointing, and she bristled, moving to her paws with a muttered command to stay behind her.

Turtlestar looked into the makeshift camp, tilting her head in curiosity. Was their camp damaged in the quake? "Hello?" she called, standing up in a dignified posture with a calm yet concerned expression.

Coalpaw bristled, and ran out towards Scorchthicket. "Turtlestar is here! S-She could've brought warriors!" He kept looking up towards the leader.

Scorchthicket released a heavy sigh and padded over to the WaterClan leader, trying to mask his exhaustion. "Turtlestar," he greeted, stretching out. "Care to explain why you're in our territory?"

"Hello Scorchthicket," Turtlestar mewed, "I was going around to make sure everyone was alright after the quake." Her lie was close enough to the truth not to make her feel nervous or guilty.

Fallowpaw looked at Turtlestar with wide, admiring eyes while Ebonyrose bristled suspiciously.

Dustpool growled suspiciously at Turtlestar’s arrival, narrowing her eyes; half from being old, and from being curious. 

Firefall groaned from her head, but licked at the water-soaked moss as she tried to glance around. She tried to find Crowtail, wondering where he was and feeling a bit worried. “Crowtail.. where is he? What happened at the camp?” She asked Basilpaw, her mind a bit cloudy. She remembered everything up until the camp started to collapse, getting bits of her memory a little after.

"I haven't seen him," Basilpaw answered. He glanced around the camp. "Wait... Is that WaterClan cat?" Distracted by the newcomer, he flattened his ears. Why was there another cat?

Larchmask put his paw up in front of Dustpool. "It's probably fine, she doesn't have any warriors with her. WaterClan probably was hurt last night, Turtlestar could be asking for help or offering." But it was hard to push away the unease that hung over the cats like a stench.

Tansypaw looked up sharply from where she was laying. Her tongue was still sticking out of her mouth from being in mid-lick, and she quickly pulled it back in as she saw Turtlestar. Waterclan? She thought what are they doing here? 

“I just don’t have a good feeling..” Dustpool muttered so only Larchmask could hear. She hissed a little under her breath, still squinting her eyes to see. 

“Find him..” Firefall muttered, stifling a yawn before closing her eyes again. She felt exhausted even though she had stayed passed out for awhile.

Robinstar turned around, smelling raw fish and narrowing her eyes. She followed the smell, glancing at Scorchthicket for a moment before turning to the other leader. She caught the end of her explanation of why she was here, and tilted her head to the side, tail swaying slightly. "That's nice of you. Well, as you can see, we're fine. If that's all...?" she replied, wondering if there was another reason Turtlestar had come to their temporary camp. "How did you know we were here, anyway?" she added, ducking her head to hide a yawn that escaped before looking back up.

Scorchthicket resisted rolling his eyes. "As big of a group as ours puts off a large scent trail, Robinstar," he explained, looking then to Turtlestar. "How is BrightClan then? Did they fair well?" The deputy cocked his head to the side, waving his tail behind him. Having the WaterClan leader around was only going to put already nervous cats even more on edge.

Hazelpaw's usually confident nature was now dimmed by the shadow of what had befallen DuskClan. Like many others, she wanted to approach Robinstar, but saw that the leader was putting the Clan first at the moment. Hazelpaw decided that just seeing her mentor safe and in the area was enough for now. And now, with Turtlestar in the area, the opportunity to talk with the DuskClan leader was not yet right. She remained behind the base of a nearby tree as she watched Scorchthicket, Robinstar, and the RiverClan leader interact. Despite the sense of confusion Hazelpaw felt at the Turtlestar's sudden appearance, her whiskers twitched curiously as her ears flicked to listen in to what was said. Scorchthicket was obviously tired, she observed, but she admired how his questions were confident enough to show the RiverClan leader that DuskClan's strength had not waned.

"I haven't gotten there yet, we decided to stop here first," Turtlestar mewed, "I was heading towards your camp and caught your scent here so I followed it."

"That's Turtlestar!" Fallowpaw whispered to Basilpaw, "I saw her at the gathering last night! She looked so much bigger up on the tree..."

Scorchthicket sighed and dipped his head. Could he trust the WaterClan leader? He shifted on his paws. "Come with me, Turtlestar. I'll walk you back to the border now that we're done here." He gave the leader a look, hoping she would catch on to the fact he had more to tell her. "Robinstar, patrols need to be organized. Could you help Tigerstorm with them, please? Tulipsnow said I need to rest but I can do this first."

Robinstar resisted a slight glare towards Scorchthicket when he answered her question, tail flicking from side to side as she continued to wait for Turtlestar’s answer. She opened her mouth to ask the other leader something, then shut it after Scorchthicket started talking. Ears flattening slightly, she forced them to stay upright and waited for her deputy to finish, not wanting Turtlestar to think there was any arguments. She narrowed her eyes when he said he could walk her out, and raised her tail. “Well, if you need to rest, you shouldn’t be walking to the border, should you?” she commented, tone casual. “In fact, it would probably be less exhausting organising the patrols, and faster, so you can rest after. You’ve had a long night and I need you at your best, therefore I can walk Turtlestar out and you can make sure all the cats here are safe and well fed,” she answered, meeting his gaze and flicking her tail from side to side once more. “Tulipsnow knows what she’s talking about and I don’t want you to be fatigued when we need you most.”

"I'll be fine, Robinstar. I appreciate your concern, but really, I'm okay." Scorchthicket purred to his leader, gently nudging her shoulder and leading her a little away. "WaterClan might take us being so close to the border as a threat of attack. I was going to explain what happened as I walked her," he murmured, trying to reassure Robinstar.

Robinstar hesitated before following him, listening to his words and nodding. “I trust you. That makes sense. I’m sorry, I’m a bit all over the place. Just make sure you rest once you get back, and tell me what you found out on the patrol, whether that’s before or after you rest,” she sighed, nodding as she relaxed. Swaying her tail slightly, she hesitated then joked, “Make sure you’re up for doing deputy duties again soon, I’ll probably forget everybody’s names as I’m trying to sort out patrols.”

Turtlestar gave Robinstar a puzzled look. Was she feeling okay? "Okay, send warriors my way if anything comes up," she called gently, padding out of camp, looking back to see if Scorchthicket was following.

Tigerstorm limped towards where Robinstar was standing, looking towards his leader, glancing between Turtlestar and her. “If you wish, I can start organising patrols, Robinstar.”

Tulipsnow rolled her eyes as the warriors bristled at each other, padding back into the relative warmth of the makeshift medicine den and gently nudged Bramblepaw. "You need to eat some poppy seed," she mewed softly to the injured apprentice.

Hawksky pricked his ears at the sound of Tulipsnow's voice, opening his eyes lazily to look at her cream and grey pelt outlined by rays of sunlight.

"Come on Basilpaw! Let's get more sticks!" Fallowpaw mewed enthusiastically.