FrostClan | Camp

Risingscorch only shook his head in response, offering a partial shrug of his shoulders. 

Silverwind looked worriedly at the two apprentices, scooting closer and trying to comfort them with the warmth of her fur.

Aurapaw darted into the medicine den when told to, and she curled up with her tail over her face. Everything was slowing, and she peeked outside after a moment to eye the red stain in the flattened snow. "I'm okay," she mewed.

Lupinfrost pawed at the snow, breathing a sigh of relief when he realised it was easy to move. "We should make tunnels between the dens," he mewed. "And out of camp. There were patrols out that need to be found." What if Poolstar got caught like Azurestep?

Poolstar dug her way cautiously into camp, her amber eyes going wide. She stared at the stained snow, then looked to where she could hear Lupinfrost, digging slowly to set her prey down in the pile before going to her deputy. "Avalanche," she started, glancing down to her paws, "Who was it?"

Fennelclaw squeezed through the entrance, falling into the sludgy snow and grumbling in annoyance. "Crisppaw, stay close," he mumbled.

Mapleglow peaked out over the snowdrift then ducked back down. She turned to the other cats in the nursery. "Poolstar's safe," she mewed.

Erminepaw gave a sigh of relief.

"Azurestep," Lupinfrost's heart felt heavy. "He saved Lichenpaw's life."

Poolstar's breath caught, and she lowered her ears to her head. She glanced toward each of the dens in turn, and shook her head. "At least Lichenpaw is safe," she mewed.

Risingscorch let out a relieved sigh, which was echoed by Frostflower and Silverwind. "That's good," he meowed and shifted how he sat, licking his mate's ear.

Lupinfrost nodded curtly. "Well, with all this snow we need to do something. I want tunnels built between the dens."

"I can start working on that," Fennelclaw mewed to Lupinfrost.

Mottledsting was the first to return from Wolfwatcher's patrol, and he dug his way through the snow until he reached Lupinfrost and Poolstar. With a nod to them, he went to drop his prey with the others, trying to avoid asking any questions about what might have happened.

Poolstar stretched and nodded. "I'll start toward the nursery," she mewed, turning to begin digging through the snow.

Mapleglow pricked her ears at the sound of scraping claws digging through the snow towards the nursery. "Poolstar?" she called, hope the leader could hear her.

Erminepaw perked up at the sound of cats digging toward them.

Lupinfrost nodded to Fennelclaw. "I'll make this tunnel to the entrance more safe." He turned to Poolstar. "Your group didn't bring anything back, did they? The rest of the fresh-kill would've been swept away by the snow."

"I managed to hold onto mine, but the rest got swept away," she called back to Lupinfrost, perking her ears when she heard Mapleglow. "Working my way towards you all, just hang on," she mewed back, scooping away the snow with her claws. 

Aurapaw peered out of the den, padding closer to Lupinfrost. "Can I help?" She questioned lightly.

Fennelclaw felt the skin around his claws start to split as he dug through the snow.

"Can we help?" Erminepaw called.

"Yes. Try to dig lower down so we're not breaking the top of the snow. Make sure it's flattened on the bottom, and be careful of any stones or branches in it," she called back, the skin around her claws beginning to ache and split as she dug through.

Hailfeather hesitated at the entrance to the camp, not ever remembering this much snow covering...well, everything. "I'll dig towards the medicine den," he mewed down Poolstar's rough tunnel.

The rumbling of the earth began anew, followed by loud crashing of boulders as they tumbled down. Poolstar jolted and broke through the last barrier. "Everybody out!" She yowled, snatching up Frostflower's newborn kits, two of them in her jaws. 

Risingscorch nudged his mate, grabbing the third of Frostflower's kits before he followed. 

Mottledsting huddled up with Aurapaw, keeping his niece close while searching for Crisppaw and Glasspaw.

Wolfwatcher shoved Erminepaw towards the exit. "Run!" He screeched, glancing around.

Blacktail stumbled, fear seizing his muscles.

Fennelclaw began to flee when he was struck on the side by a falling stone. He toppled, rolling part of the way down the slope before finally striking a tree, velocity stopped. He wheezed, trying to stand but unable to feel his paws.

Mapleglow clambered out of the nursery after Risingscorch, scrambling out of camp.

Erminepaw lunged towards the exit, pelting out of camp and down the slope.

Silverwind shoved Lichenpaw toward the camp exit then darted to Fennelclaw while calling for Lupinfrost. She skidded to a halt by him, trying to heave him to his paws. "Come on, come on!" 

Aurapaw was hit next and she went with a cry, darting toward her mentor. Crushed beneath a boulder, her eyes remained wide open as she passed, a look of horror painted on her features. 

Frostflower tried to follow after the others, but froze when she saw Aurapaw be crushed. She gasped and stayed still, frozen in shock. It was then her head was hit, and she crumpled to the floor, body laying heavy in the snow. 

Mottledsting wailed and crouched by Aurapaw's body, letting the rocks rain down onto him.

Fennelclaw coughed out a spurt of blood, weakly dragging himself forward with his front paws. He doubled over with a gasping cough, blood dripping from his mouth.

Erminepaw ran to Silverwind's side, nudging her. "We have to go," she cried, trying to ignore the coughs coming from Fennelclaw's sunken chest.

Silverwind shook her head violently and glanced up. She looked back to Erminepaw and offered a heartbroken purr. "Stay with your sister!" She shoved her away then, crouching protectively over Fennelclaw, only to be crushed against a tree as a boulder hit.

Wolfwatcher gasped as a rock crashed into his hind leg, but forced himself forwards through the pain. He took a milisecond to glance down at the injury, and noted that it didn't look broken. He ran over to the exit behind his apprentice, before tripping and tumbling down the slope, gasping in pain when he finally rolled to a stop.

Blacktail was hit in the back first, losing the feeling in his hind legs. The rocks slowly engulfed him, but none hit his head, and he screeched while bleeding out to die.

Erminepaw let out a cry of horror, then continued down the mountain, attempting to choke back her tears.

Mapleglow skittered on the gravel, trying to keep her footing as she descended.

Risingscorch rushed to help his mate keep her balance, keeping a tight hold on the mewling kitten in his jaws. He moved quickly down the mountain with her, panic gripping his chest.

Poolstar narrowly avoided a boulder, a determined look on her features while she grasped the two kits in her jaws. She glanced back, catching sight of what happened to Silverwind and almost losing her balance because of it.

Flickerlight saw his mate fallen and wailed. "No, no, no, no not again," he mewed, his voice breaking. His knees were weaker than twigs and he stumbled, oblivious to everything around him.

Coldcall, having been knocked to the ground by the quake again, saw through hazy vision Frostflower. He tried to scrabble to his paws, but he couldn't. Before he could even cry out, a boulder crushed his side, bouncing off and leaving him a bloody mess in the snow. He coughed, whimpering. "Someone... Help Frostflower..."

Crisppaw gasped when she saw her mentor hit. She started to run over, crying out. "Fennelcl-" A boulder cut her off, slamming into her and crushing the small cat into the snow. She didn't even feel a thing.

Quartzshine spotted Blacktail in the still-gathering rubble. The normally cool-headed cat was panicking. He couldn't save everyone... Fennelclaw,  Silverwing... Everyone... He couldn't waste his own life. He turned and pelted down with the few others that were fleeing. Guilt ripped through his body, but the chances of Mintsky and Vanillapaw surviving were slim.

Phoenixkit dug her claws into the ground. She was paralyzed with fear, seeing cats much bigger than her crushed and bleeding. "no," she mewled. She looked to her right, at a sludge of rock and ice and snow sliding towards her. She was too small, too young. It enveloped her, leaving her to suffocate.

Stormlotus, his ears flat against his head, yowled for his mate. "Where are you? We have to get out!" He ran one way, then another, then tripped in his haste. He looked up defeated, and waited for death. But the ruthless boulders were less than kind. The warrior, feeling smaller than a kit, closed his eyes.

Wolfwatcher trembled with effort as he pushed himself up from the ground. He ground his teeth together, vision blurring as his mind was still spinning from his fall. "I have to... save them..." he whispered to himself, finally getting to his feet and stumbling forwards as fast as he could.

Opalfrost bolted forwards, going faster than she could handle. She narrowly avoided a few obstacles, throat closing as she finally understood the weight of her situation. Everyone is dead, she realized. There's nothing I can do.

Lostroot ran, her heart racing, her muscles aching. She’d run far, she knew, but she was never the fastest and she knew it wouldn’t help now. But she was nothing if not an optimist. Even with that in mind, she couldn’t run anymore. She stopped for a moment, and that was it.

Lupinfrost watched the last of his surviving Clanmates leave the clearing, his chest pounding. He turned to follow, only to see his impending doom rushing towards him. "SoulClan, protect my kits," he mewed solemnly.

Softpetal ran as fast as she possibly could, focusing only on her paws as they slammed step by step over the ground littered with rocks. She could already feel the sting of the cuts on her pads but told herself to push forward. She only let herself scan the clearing for a few moments to try spotting her sister, Dappleshine. She frowned, not being able to find her, but only praying to SoulClan that they would meet again once Poolstar led them to safe grounds.

Glasspaw watched, traumatized as a boulder fell from seemingly nowhere and completely crushed his sister, Crisppaw. He looked up to the sky, cursing to SoulClan before taking off towards the camp exit, hoping to find his mother, Glowingstride, on the way there.

Briarstem's eyes frantically darted from cat to cat as her clanmates died around her. She stifled her growing panic and made haste towards the exit, trying her best to keep the weight of the situation out of her mind. Unaware of her footing, she glanced back at the camp before promptly tripping and tumbling down the slope.