#burntiger

Burnpaw couldn't be sure if the messages were solely for him or if he were to pass it along to everyone, so he did the latter. The Clans, of course, were beyond worried and confused. Who do they not follow? Who wants to destroy them? Who is lying? Who is killing them in their dreams?

As the only healer and only cat speaking with StarClan, Burnpaw was immediately pushed into a lot of pressure. Every Clan demanded his help with herbs, every cat demanded his answers for endless questions and worries he couldn't calm.

Wolfpaw was one of the cats to come to him, meeting him on the border and begging for him to make sense of all of this. That was when Burnpaw saw it--a wolf, and darkness, then a light so powerful it could have blinded him. He knew then that Wolfpaw was the key to stopping it, but he didn't know how yet.

They had to work fast, because the strange spirits were working faster. In less than a moon, all medicine cats from every Clan was dead aside from the one that was still in training.

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(doesn't mention them but important context):

Aphidsong, her distinguishable features disguised by a coat of moss, went to the leaders of SkyClan, RiverClan, and WindClan, while Charhoot, also disguised, spoke with those of ThunderClan and ShadowClan. They both convinced the leaders of each Clan that the other Clans were planning on attacking, and they came to warn them. The stories changed somewhat with every leader, some having more questions and others eager to defend their Clan, but the result was the same for all of them: they would go to war.

Owlstar, leader of WindClan, attacked ThunderClan. RiverClan attacked WindClan, while ShadowClan and SkyClan went to ambush the other's camp at the same time, and the two patrols met and battled.

Aphidsong and Charhoot knew that the fighting would not last forever, and that it would not be enough to end the Clans. It was merely a way to get some more bodies to fall. More than that, it was a distraction.

With all the Clans fighting and everyone's thoughts on war, no communication was going on to find out what was really happening, and that gave them more time to work.

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Burnpaw--named Burntiger early, in honour of his mentor--tried to remind everyone of the prophecy, but because he had rushed to defend Wolfpaw, an enemy cat, during one battle, his Clanmates accused him of just wanting to protect her and of being a future Clan-swapper.

Why was Burntiger the only one to live? Why was he the only one to be warned? He must have been a liar, no one was killing them in their sleep. It was the other Clans' doing.

The leaders believed this most strongly. After all, they couldn't know for certain that what Burntiger saw was true, but they could believe themselves--and they knew for certain that they met with a StarClan cat and was told by them that it was the other Clans that were dangerous. Why would they believe anything else?

During the wars, Aphidsong and Charhoot snuck into the dreams of toms. Killed in the Dark Forest in the middle of the night, their Clanmates would wake to find no body, only an empty nest.

More accusations flew. RiverClan accused WindClan and ShadowClan of stealing their warriors and keeping them prisoner to get them to surrender. The other Clans accused their own neighbors of the same thing.

Though there were many fired up with the heat of battle, rage, and propelled by the need to protect their Clan, there were cats that doubted if what was happening was right. They were determined to find out where their missing kin had gone, and worked together behind their leaders' backs to do so.

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(design descriptions edited)

When she held the black cat down, she thought it would be an easy win, but just as she was about to deliver a swift, killing bite, more cats sprang from the trees, lead by a golden tabby tom and a dark grey tabby she-cat.

The she-cat rushed to shield the black warrior, while the others surrounded Aphidsong.

Aphidsong swung around. Her eyes were no use, their bodies blurring together, and they all smelt the same. She could only rely on her hearing, which was filled with growling and spits from all directions. She tried to fend them off, tried to escape, but they held her down before she could move a whisker.

With her head pinned to the ground, her attention was forced on the cat before her, the golden tom. He told her that it was over, that no one would be hurt again because of her. He asked her why she did it, and she growled that Clan life had to end, that it was for the better. The golden tom and his companions didn't seem moved.

When Burntiger told her that they were going to beat her so hard, she would never dare threaten the Clans again, cats argued. They didn't want to just beat her up so that she could return to haunt their dreams and kill more of their loved ones.

They wanted her dead--for good.

Burntiger was hesitant, but eventually dipped his head.

Aphidsong's heart race, blood drumming in her ears so that she could only hear the beating of her heart along with her own rapid breathing as teeth were pressed against her throat.

Was this it?

Was it all for nothing?

The irony wasn't lost on her. She knew that, even if she had a good cause, cats died because of her, were killed by her. She had sunk her teeth into their throats, and now fangs were being buried into her own. It was justice, wasn't it? Or at least it was karma.

But that didn't mean she wasn't terrified. She closed her remaining eye and willed it to be fast.

Then the teeth were gone and yowls split the air once more. The weight was gone. Aphidsong opened her eyes, confused for a moment before she heard Charhoot's voice and realized what was happening.

Immediately, she shoved what cats remained around her away and hurried to his side. The two stood together, back-to-back, glaring at the living cats around them. Charhoot told them that the next cat to lay a claw on Aphidsong loses their life. Aphidsong gave a similar sentiment about him.

They put up a good fight, even outnumbered, swinging and whirling and clawing and biting until at last they were defeated, both held to the ground this time.

Burntiger told them that this was over. Their reign of terror, of haunting dreams, was at its end.

Aphidsong, crazed, rejected that, shouting how they had to keep going, how cats were going to suffer if things didn't end, how if cats didn't die now, more would die later in more painful ways. More cats would grow up to be bullied for being different, non-Clanners would be attacked for a differing lifestyle, cats would be mocked and othered for the crime of loving.

Her ranting only stopped when Charhoot's own shout cut her off. He begged her to stop, to stop everything. He told her, voice quivering, that there was nothing they could do anymore. He asked her if they hadn't suffered enough and told her to look at all this had done to her, to them. He asked if they could just go back to whatever normal they had left before they both faded to nothing.

Aphidsong hesitated, before finally agreeing.

Convinced this time that they wouldn't harm the Clans again, Burntiger gave the order to let them go.

Cats argued against this, again, and in the confusion one dark tom tackled Charhoot, claiming that he didn't get to go free, and shoved him into the depths of the Fool's Puddles.

Aphidsong leapt in after him, darkness surrounding her on all sides. But she was used to darkness now. Soon she couldn't breathe, but she kept pushing, refusing to come up for air before she could find Charhoot and drag him up with her. She would rather drown than go up without him.

At last, her paws brushed against fur and she gripped him tightly--a mirror to the time they had reunited long ago, holding each other--and burst through the surface with him.