WindClan Camp

Pausing a fair way from the camp at the sight of a herb he'd been needing for a while. It was a pretty plant, with small delicate blue flowers and hairy leaves. Picking a few of the larger leaves, he showed them to the pup. “Borage,” he said bluntly, checking to see if there was any more. It had helped Lilacsplash give her pups enough milk, and so his stock was running quite low right now. “The leaves help with milk in nursing females. Whenever you find a herb you want, make sure to leave enough of the plant left that it will keep growing.” Only slightly gentler than his normal tone, he barely checked to make sure she understood before continuing the rest of the way to the camp. Tucking the borage away in his den, he motioned around the small area. “We sleep here, make yourself at home, then find me in the leader's den. You're smart, you'll sniff me out.” Moving outside again, he went for the leader's den, not bothering to stop to see if the leader was asleep or not. She was young, she could deal with getting woken up. “Larkstar, a moment alone.” Aiming a cold glare at Wrenclaw until the male was nicely out of earshot, the old medicine wolf sat and scratched his torn ear, waiting somewhat impatiently. “Lilacsplash escaped the Dark Forest. No need to feel guilty now. She brought a message. Be wary of the shadows - they're not friendly, and quite sadistic.” The long walk back had meant he'd had plenty of time to think about the gentle female's words. “She'll help as she can from Starclan, but there is no guarantee.” Deciding that for now, he was finished, he turned to head out, pausing in the entrance. “I have an apprentice.” Satisfied that there was nothing more to say, he moved out and checked in on Honeybadger, wondering if she'd want anything more for her aching joints. Finding that she was still curled up with the pups, he left her alone and settled in his sunspot just outside his den, closing his eyes in pleasure at the warmth.

The little pup had not slept long, her sleep usually just consisting of many frequent and short naps. Soon waking and yawning, she snuggling closer into Honeybadger's fur, enjoying the warmth. Feeling eyes on her, the huge eared female looked up in time to see Dappledpup bounding out of the nursery. Deciding that she wanted to have some fun with him, she wriggled out of her favourite elder's embrace, licking the greying female's cheek affectionately. “Thank you for the story, Honeybadger,” she said seriously, always remembering her manners. With all the serious stuff done, she bounced out of the nursery, pausing abruptly enough to tip over her legs and stumble into a tangled pile. Unbothered, she detangled herself and made her way over to Dappledpup, giving him a friendly nudge. “Hi Dappledpup,” she said softly, licking his ear in comfort. It had to be so hard losing his mum, she wasn't really sure what she should do. But he was one of her bestest friends, she'd do her best to be around and keep him company if he needed it.

Mutely obeying Honeybadger's firm nudges, the black pup padded into the nursery, choosing not to snuggle up with his siblings, but instead sit a little distance away and ponder. He didn't really listen to the story, not particularly interested in it. As soon as he could, he slipped back out of the nursery and settled back in his dark corner, still deep in his thoughtful contemplation. He had a lot of questions that he'd end up asking Honeybadger, but that would happen later, when she was awake and not covered in his siblings. Noticing that Ashfrost had come back in with a black female following him, the puppy tilted his head to side side, adding more questions to his list that he'd ask later. He knew better than to ask the grumpy medicine wolf, so he'd just wait for Honeybadger.

The brown-furred warrior was sitting off by himself, lost in his thoughts. As he often did, he was thinking of the lands that lied beyond WindClan's territory. The only time Ferretdash had ever been out of Clan territory was when the Clans made the trek to the new forest. That had been quite an interesting time. Even though it was a rather sad occasion, it had been exhilarating to see new places for a change. Apart from that, his only other knowledge of outside lands came from the stories his father had told him when he was a pup. Someday he wanted to go on an adventure and see some of the places his father had told him about, but that would probably entail leaving WindClan. His Clan was all he knew and he didn't want to leave, which made the situation more complicated. He shook his head. It's not important, anyways. There are better things to do rather than imagining something that likely won't happen.

Pushing his thoughts aside, his dark amber gaze shifted toward the fresh-kill pile to determine if he should go hunting. It was quite low, so perhaps he would go out and see if he could catch something. Before he could decide if he'd head out now or later, however, he noticed Dappledpup approaching him. "Hi Dappledpup. What's up?" If the pup wanted to play a game or hear a story or the like, Ferretdash wouldn't mind. He could always go hunting later.

With the clan meeting over, and everyone dispersed, the pale pup wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do. Guilt was filling her over the death of her mother - surely it was all her fault. After all she'd been the last born, and so much bigger than her siblings. It had to be all her fault. Unresisting Honeybadger's nudging, she followed her siblings into the nursery, curling close to Darkpup as Honeybadger rambled on about something. She wasn't really listening, more interested in curling up close with her brother. he understood her, and didn't reject her like everyone else did. Sniffling very softly to herself, she retreated into the darker corners of the nursery, trying to keep her paranoia and distress to herself. She couldn't disturb anyone, no one else would want her to cry because no one else even liked her except for Darkpup and Lilacpup.

The Leader let out a slow sigh as she absorbed the news of Silentpup's death. With the grief of his passing came much hurt and also guilt at not noticing that the pup had gone missing. A part of her knew that the young male's death could have been prevented, had they only kept him from leaving camp. Yet the clan had simply only known too little too late, and there was nothing that could be done for him now.
Before she could really say anything more to Wrenclaw, a familiar figure padded into the den. Ashfrost was not one to withhold saying how he felt, and he quickly made it clear that he wanted to speak to the she-wolf alone, sending a cold glare in her brother's direction. "Of course, would you excuse us a moment Wrenclaw?" She asked, sending him a small smile and dipping her head. Once the male had left, Larkstar turned to the Medicine Wolf. With widening eyes, the leader listened intently at what Ashforst had to say, the sensation of relief filling her heart with warmth. "She really did escape huh..." A grin spread onto her features as she realized that the wolf that she thought would be lost to the Dark Forest forever, had found her way to her starry ancestors in the sky. "What about the others? Will they be able to find their way out too?" She didn't voice these questions however, because she knew that Ashfrost would not have an answer to them. Instead she heeded what warning Lilacsplash had given them, to be weary of the shadows. "Thank you for telling me this," she responded gratefully, feeling a weight being lifted in her heart now that Lilacsplash was free. While on his way out, the Medicine Wolf paused to announce that he had taken on an apprentice, and the she-wolf could guess who he had decided to train. But there were much more urgent matters to tend to at the moment so Larkstar decided to check in on his new apprentice later.
Once the male had left, the she-wolf sat idly for a few moments, taking in all that had occured. Silentpup's death was definitely tragic, yet the news of Lilacsplash escaping was like a breath of fresh air. "So they can escape after all? But what about Silentpup? Surely he's too young to be able to get out on his own...?" She frowned as she thought, wondering how on earth they could possibly help the poor young male. Would Starclan be of any help to them? Surely if there was anything that could be done their warrior ancestors would know what to do. She recalled that Ashfrost had visited the Mooncave earlier, yet she could only wonder if Starclan or Lilacsplash would have any information for her. "Would it be a bad idea if I went and checked? It isn't too long of a journey from here." Yet she knew venturing out of camp alone may be a bad idea, especially with all of the shadowy wolves roaming about. She considered asking another wolf to go with her, but had the nagging doubt that they would talk her out of going. "I've been to the Mooncave many times before, I know how to get there. And I have eight lives left from Starclan to protect me anyways." Of course there was nothing to worry about. She would slip out of camp and be back before anyone knew she was missing.
Making up her mind, Larkstar emerged from the den, her amber eyes scanning the camp. She noticed Embershard and Diamondfang leaving, but figured that they would be fine since they were capable warriors. Once she decided that no one would notice her leaving, Lark padded steadily forward, making her way to the camp entrance. "Where are you going?" A familiar voice sounding from nearby made her freeze. The she-wolf sighed and turned to see her brother tilting his head in her direction, his gaze questioning. "Just out for a little while," she answered coolly, though from the look Wrenclaw gave her, she could tell that he didn't believe her. "I can go with you," he responded, and Lark couldn't help but be frustrated at his prying antics. "I'm fine, thanks." Her reply was polite yet curt, and she began to trot forward again. While she walked, she could feel Wrenclaw's stare boring through her, and it was beginning to annoy her that her brother was suddenly being so overprotective. "Well, you're not going to go too far right?" The she-wolf couldn't help but let out another sigh, and she turned to face her sibling, a look of exasperation on her face. "I'm not a puppy Wrenclaw." She replied in a somewhat irritated tone. "I already said that I was just going out for a little while." The male gave her a hard look, and Lark couldn't help but feel antagonized by his gaze and questions. His next words infuriated her even more. "You're not a good liar you know." There was some accusation in his voice, and the she-wolf flattened her ears in annoyance. "Unlike you I guess," she retorted, her words with a biting edge. Hurt briefly flashed in the male's eyes, yet it was instantly replaced with callous. "Fine, do what you want." With that he stalked off, his disposition cold and impassive. Guilt coursed through the she-wolf, and she hesitated as he padded away, debating whether she should apologize to him. "I shouldn't have said that.. but he was being too controlling." Even with the remorse, Lark frowned and still turned away. "I'll just apologize to him when I get back," she decided, starting forward again. Once she was out of camp, the leader broke into a steady trot, her pace brisk on the open moors.
~Lost Plateau~

Flicking an eye open to study his apprentice, the old wolf grunted a little. “Rest.” Giving a sigh, he yawned and made himself more comfortable. He honestly didn't mind her questions, not when she was invested in learning from him, though he would keep an eye on her as she grew. She had the look of a dangerous wolf, and those scars on her weren't from defending herself. “The clan would name you Shadowpaw while you are learning.” Settling down nice and comfily in the sun, he shut his eyes again. “With the shadows lurking around at the moment, being called Shadow's Daughter will only make them suspicious, best if you keep that to yourself so they don't take fright. For now, we're resting. You need to heal before you do too much more.” He'd had a quick check on Honeybadger and the pups, and they all seemed to be okay, with Blackpup and Dappledpup already badgering another wolf. As long as they weren't badgering him, he didn't care what they did. “We'll leave in a bit to restock the herbs, you'll start learning then. Rest for now, you need it.” He was firm with her needing to rest, not bothering to push her to sleep in the medicine den. He'd noticed that she didn't seem to like enclosed places, and that was fine by him. Thinking through his thoughts, he figured out a way to explain to her how the clan worked, and did so in short blunt sentences. “A strange pack, but it seems to work for them,” he concluded, still of the opinion that the clan could do with some waking up so they didn't laze around all day like they seemed so fond of doing.

Dragging the unconscious clan leader into the camp, by now he’d changed his grip and now had his teeth firmly around the bone of the leg that had once been attached to metal. Tossing her to the ground infront of him, he swifly redid his work, ripping open her flesh to show her skull that had his teeth marks all over it, having gnawed and raked his teeth over it. Her jaw was mangled, and front leg injured more to the point where the magical regeneration of her life would likely only heal the injury that had caused her death not the other various ones that would now haunt her for the rest of her life. Spotting Wrenclaw, a savage grin showed the white blood splattered wolfs long slightly yellowed fangs, he killed Larkstar with a bite to her throat that’d kill her slowly and darted to the side before he was attacked. Easily over powering the lean wolf, the heavy set brute of the dark forest pinned him and murmured into his ears “This is your fault Wrenclaw, you didn’t defend her, this is punishment for breaking the warrior code, all your fault and you’ll never redeem yourself pup” throwing back his head in a loud, testosterone savage, bloodthirsty tone howled, it echoed around the camp and indeed the prairie that surrounded it and with that became mist and appeared to vanish, for now in reality he was hiding watching the misery that he’d created and was savoring it hungrily.

Prancing after the pair with the metal leg held proudly in her jaws, the thief was distracted by a faintly familiar scent. Dropping the leg for now, she ignored the scent long enough to take the leader’s last life that she was allowed, and then ignored the clan wolves, padding over to the other black female with single-mindedness in her mismatched gaze. “One of us, aren’t you, small shadow,” she whispered, her soft voice lingering around the camp. Even so, she made sure to be certain that only the female in front of her, and the old greying wolf beside her, could actually hear her. “Blood calls to blood, small sister. We know you.” Cackling, she seemed to vanish into thin air, her liquidy shape merging with the shadows of brambles that made up the area around the camp. Taking hold of her metal prize, she buried it deep within the brambles to save for later, and settled down to watch. She and her sister would stay, for this was interesting that one of their blood was alive and in a clan such as this.

Pleased that she’d been able to make a couple of kills of her own, the assassin hadn’t kept her shape that long, preferring to observe the clan from her next-to-invisible place with her sister. Being careful to keep out of the full sun, where she could sometimes be seen, she circled the black female that interested her sister, curious about her. Indeed, there was something familiar, something that boded ill or well – she wasn’t sure which yet. It would do good to keep an eye on her. Settling in nicely to the brambles with the thief, the older female kept watch, pleased with their day’s work with the leader. Such a prize would be savoured.

"Unlike you I guess."
When his sister had retorted a stinging reply, Wrenclaw could only turn away with callous at her words. Although he feigned a cold demeanor, the truth was that those words pierced him more then what he would ever let her know. It wasn't the fact that Lark had been able to shoot a good comeback, it was the fact that her comeback was true. "I would lie to her all the time back when I would meet Weedfang... her and everyone else in the clan..." The guilt pricked him more then ever, and with it brought more reoccurring bouts of grief that his lover was dead. "Its like I can't mourn Weed because our relationship was a sin to begin with... but I can't just forget her either.." In the past, Wrenclaw had always had a war between his mind and his heart when bonding with the Sunclan she-wolf, but in this new predicament his heart was practically waging war with itself.
He was still worried with Larkstar leaving by herself, but since she had been so adamant about going, there was nothing he could do but wait for her to return. He considered the idea of following her while she traveled, but if she caught him he would likely get into more trouble, beside the fact that following a sibling around without them knowing bordered on being creepy. "If she was telling the truth, she shouldn't be out long anyways." Although he had a nagging feeling that Lark hadn't been so honest about going only a short ways from camp...
While he waited, the warrior decided to make himself useful. Knowing how apathetic and lazy he often was in the past, and still feeling guilt hanging tightly on his chest, the male decided that he would change the leader's den bedding while Larkstar was away. "Maybe that'll make up for something..." Although Lark had a temper that could flare up at times, she could still recognize her mistakes and forgive others. Besides, sitting around only made him more anxious, and the distraction could ease his mind. There were a few places around Windclan that moss could be found, but the one close to the camp entrance was where he went. After collecting the old moss out of the leader's den, he gently picked it up and disposed of it outside the camp. After he busied himself gathering new soft material to replace the old one. The male had just finished flattening Lark's new bed when he heard a rustle at the camp entrance.

Something was wrong. Before he could even hear or see what was happening, he could sense a menacing aura fill the air around him. Like the calm before a storm, even without any rain or thunder an electric current could still be felt, and this is what he sensed now. Flicking an ear, Wrenclaw padded out of the leader's den, just in time to hear the gasps and hushed screams of his clanmates. "No..." Bile rose in his throat, and for a moment the world seemed to swirl around him as his legs became unsteady. A large white wolf held his sister cruelly by her back leg (or what was left of it) and tossed her pathetically on the ground. "No.. no.. no.. this can't be happening...this can't be real..." For a moment or two he just stood, a dazed look on his face. It was the male ripping open his sister's flesh on her head and throat that seemed to bring him back to reality. "....No..No..NO!" Watching as her life blood spilled into the clearing, a burning feeling engulfed him, and in a moment denial turned into pure rage. "How.. How DARE you!" He snarled, fur spiking up in fury. "DARK FOREST SCUM! HOW DARE YOU HURT MY SISTER!!" Wrenclaw's eyes flashed with hysteria, and without a second thought leapt towards the other male, sights locked on his opponent's throat. "I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS! I'LL KILL Y-" But the larger male was a trained veteran and jumped skillfully to the side before Wren could snap his fangs shut to do damage. Nimbly turning around to face his enemy, Wrenclaw was caught off guard as he was bowled over by the male's superior strength, and was quickly pinned.
“This is your fault Wrenclaw, you didn’t defend her, this is punishment for breaking the warrior code, all your fault and you’ll never redeem yourself pup.”
Wrenclaw heard the words but only snarled and growled louder, snapping his fangs to unpin himself. "GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!! I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID YOU PIECE OF FOX-DUNG!" The dark forest wolf proceeded to let out a bloodcurdling howl before vanishing. The Windclan male immediately shot up, his fur spiked with hysteria. Snapping his head to where his sister lay, the male raced to her side, gasping in panic as he saw how dreadful her wounds were. "No.. nononono! Lark! Larkwing? You can't do this to me! Please! Please don't leave me! You have... You have to get better... Y-You can't..." She bled heavily, and on instinct he made an attempt to stop the bleeding on his own, yet the gash on her throat was unstoppable. "Ashfrost... Someone get Ashfrost now!!" He barked, his gaze full of panic. Turning his head, he spotted a couple of Lilacsplash's pups watching nearby and growled. "Stop standing around mouse-brains! Get Ashfrost or leave!"

Wordlessly, the male stood by his sister, the scent of her blood hanging heavily in the air. "How... How could I let this happen?" His attempts at clotting the wounds had been useless, and now his mind hurt too much to focus. With his breath coming in shorter and shorter gasps, the world might as well been falling to pieces around him, everything but a noisy blur as he took in the one reality that he could grasp. Lark appeared to be dying. Nothing else mattered. No one else mattered. The love of his life, Weedfang, had already been cruelly torn from him. But now... now he had lost everything. "No, no, no, no, no. This is a nightmare, there's no way this can be real...there just can't be..." Now that the dark forest wolf had left, the rush of anger he had felt earlier subsided, replacing it with a plethora of dark emotions. Wolves talked and rushed around him, yet he could find no meaning in anything they were doing. How could he? None of them mattered to him anyway, they could all go rot in the dark forest for all he cared. They were all meaningless and useless playthings of Starclan, only given validation by all the trials and tragedies they withstood. Yet, they were eventually going to die anyway, so why did it even matter if he acknowledged or spoke to them. But Lark mattered. And now she lay unconscious in a pool of blood, her life slowly ebbing away. "How the hell could I let this happen? Lark was the only family I had left. I would give up a thousand lives just to save hers, and yet..." Weedfang had told him to be loyal, to put the clan above everything else, but in the end, he couldn't even manage to keep the wolves he loved safe.  Was he really that useless? "If only I would have gone with her...if only I would have tried a little harder to convince her how dangerous it was out there. I knew it wasn't safe! How the hell could I have let Lark go out there alone?" Guilt, like a ton of boulders, crushed his being, and the pain that coursed through him was unbearable. Yet, he stood motionless, his entire body being hurt in a way that was unimaginable.

The old greying wolf had moved from the sun into the medicine den, tucking away the herbs he’d found while on his wander when he’d found the black female. Not appreciating the loud shout and being barrelled into in the slightest, he snarled crankily at the pup, snapping at her and barely missing her. Ignoring that she was cuddling into him, he moved away from her, not caring if she fell over or not. He wasn’t one to comfort pups, he never had been, and he pushed her out of his mind. If the idiot leader had gotten into trouble even after his warning, then maybe she deserved it. Listening to the young female as she spoke, he gave a nod and followed her out to glance over the hapless former leader. He had no doubt that she wouldn’t be leader after this, her injuries were far too serious. “Bring her into my den,” he said bluntly, thoroughly ignoring whatever else was happening. Turning and heading back inside, he growled at the pup that was still there. “Get out. Never shout and race in my den again, understand?” Very firmly and rather roughly pushing the puppy outside, he moved aside as Shadowpaw dragged Larkstar into his den. The mysterious wolves were pushed to the side for a moment, though the two that had spoken to his new apprentice would require some digging into. He’d talk to her about that later, when things had died down a bit more.
Knowing that Honeybadger would take charge of the milling clan, he focused his still sharp gaze on his patient before giving Shadowpaw a few orders. He made sure o describe the herbs he wanted since she likely didn’t know what was what yet, and together they were soon labouring over the horrifically injured female. He held no hopes about her surviving, privately thinking that perhaps it was kinder on her to kill her swiftly instead of making her linger out. Whoever had attacked her had made sure that she’d survive her wounds and not die quickly, it seemed. Flicking his tail irritably, he continued to patch her up as best he could, starting with some poppy seeds so that she’d go to sleep and he wouldn’t have to worry about her moving or complaining. He had enough complaining on his paws with the rest of the clan, he didn’t want to listen to someone else’s as well.
When they were finally done with patching the battered female up, he stepped back with a sigh, nudging her surprisingly gently into one of the nests so that she could sleep out of his way. From the sounds of it, Honeybadger had done what she did best and snapped everyone into action, so he flicked a glance at his apprentice. They were both covered in Larkstar’s blood, and he wanted to get out of camp for a while. “Come,” he said simply, padding out of the den and out of camp. They’d go find somewhere quiet and peaceful where they could wash the blood off them and he could answer any questions that his apprentice might have now.

His breath was coming in shorter gasps, and the air around him seemed too heavy to breathe. Swallowing bile that rose up in his throat, the male followed Ashfrost in a daze as he took Larkstar into the Medicine Den. Afterwards he stood, numbly watching the events unfold in front of him. Ashfrost and his helper buzzed around the unconscious fay, getting to work at stopping the bleeding and patching the wounds. While they worked, Wrenclaw remained idle, his paws as still as stone, shock from the incident beginning to set in. "This is all your fault...all your fault...all your fault..." The voice of that dreaded Dark Forest male echoed in his mind, making him shudder. Of course, logically he knew that what happened couldn't be blamed on himself, and yet his heart would not condemning him for what had been done. "I could have...stopped this. I could have..."

For some time, the male remained in a daze. Snapping back into reality, he quickly realized that the Medicine Wolf had left and that him and Lark remained in the den alone. Gazing at the limp form that had been his sister, Wrenclaw swallowed and took a couple steps over to where she laid. Despite Ashfrost's best efforts, she still appeared nearly dead, her breath coming out slow and shallow. He stood over her for several minutes, barely registering the world around them. Since he was alone now, it seemed like a good time to let out his feelings and cry, but no tears formed. Earlier when she had first been brought back, emotion had bubbled forth from him endlessly. But now he only felt numb where earlier he had felt outrage and despair.
Time ticked on, and Wrenclaw finally ended up sitting down next to her, his eyes bleak and staring at nothing.