"Well I wasn't and I only had so much time when I realized the Gathering was tonight." Firepaw replied, "but-"
"But you wanted to he a hero." Stagkit challenged, slipping out to glare at Firepaw, "you always think you're so brave, when you ran and hid-"
"Your mother told me to take you-"
"My mom's dead because of you!"
"Stagkit!" Mossypaw scolded, Stagkit smacked his tail on the ground and hissed at Firepaw, who blinked at him.
"I- StarClan Stagkit I miss Thistlewhisker. She was a great cat and mentor and-" Stagkit tried to ignore the guilt rising in him at Firepaw's voice, his mom would be here if Firepaw hadn't run, "I miss her. She'd know what to do. I just wanted- I was trying to-"
"to impress Mossypaw." Stagkit cut him off, flicking his tail. "Because you like her."
Firepaw's eyes widdened and he quickly looked away from Mossypaw, who snapped her head to look at him.
Eaglepaw shoved her way forward, "okay. That's enough. Our Clanmates died to keep us safe and we- we can't fight. We can't. We're all that's left."
Stagkit growled, but Eaglepaw blocked his view of Firepaw.
"Let’s- let's go to bed." Mossypaw meowed awkwardly, "and we can talk in the morning, when we've slept."
"Are you going to leave me out again?" Stagkit asked, lashing his tail, "I'm five moons old! I can-"
"Go to bed." Firepaw snapped at him, still not looking at anyone. "You've said enough."
"I want to be part of this!"
"Say please." Eaglepaw pushed him away from Firepaw with one paw, "say please and we'll let you."
Stagkit snarled at her and turned around, "fine then! Maybe I should just go make my own Clan since you're all going to keep secrets and sneak off!"
---
Moon: 1
Cats: 4
Stagkit quarrels with Firepaw and reveals something embarrassing in front of other cats.
Stagkit never says Please or Thank you.
Firepaw misses the warmth Thistlewhisker brought to his life.
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Mossypaw padded forward, to the center of their camp, to take a deep shaky breath. She’d imagined this moment so many times in her life.
And it would be nothing like any of the times she’d imagined. But Firepaw brushed his pelt against her and blinked warmly, and she took comfort from her friend’s presence.
Eaglepelt sat in front of them, technically holding the ceremony, but none of them were ready to see StarClan, to try for nine lives. To declare themselves leader.
But this?
“Mossypaw, Firepaw, you’re ready to be warriors?”
She was.
“I am.” They spoke together, Eaglepelt pulled herself up, eyes brighter than they’d been at her own ceremony, she’d seemed to come back to life since she’d gotten her name.
“Have you two picked out names yet?”
Mossypaw shook her head, and looked between them, “I was… hoping you two would come up with one?”
Firepaw laughed, his tail swished back and forth behind him. “Me too.”
Eaglepelt reached over to shove him with a paw, “should I give you a plain name too?”
“You like Eaglepelt!”
“I do.”
Firepaw shifted his paws and looked to Mossypaw, his amber eyes lingering on her before snapping away. She tried not to remember Stagkit’s claim about him and tilted her head.
“Something on your mind?”
“I thought Mossyleap for you?”
She paused, tasting the name like the scent of prey on the wind, “Mossyleap.”
“Oh that’s a good one!” Eaglepelt was nodding, “it fits you!”
Mossypaw ducked her head to hide behind her whiskers, “well if you two like it.”
At her friends’ nods, she lifted her head again, to curl her tail around her paws, studying Firepaw. He could be arrogant at times, but he was also sneaky, and supportive, and clever. He was her friend, even under that bravado.
“Firebeetle.”
“Firewhat.”
Mossypaw also turned to look at Eaglepelt, who flattened her ears sheepishly.
“I thought, since you like to climb, like all the time, and you’ve got a shiny black coat, like a beetle shell.”
Mossypaw met Firepaw’s gaze and saw he didn’t like that name, she also frowned.
“It’s not a bad name, but I don’t think it fits him.” She offered.
“Yeah, yeah you’re right.” Eaglepelt flicked her ears and gave Firepaw a playful look. “Firecatcher.”
“Okay but that name is amazing.” He and Eaglepelt devolved to playful teasing as Mossypaw continued to watch him, how as he laughed his amber eyes caught the sunlight.
Something in her chest grew tight before she spoke. “Firelight.”
“Hmm?” Eaglepelt and Firepaw paused, mid some suggestion from Eaglepelt. Firepaw tilted his head, amber eyes piercing into her.
“Firesight.” She changed her answer slightly under his gaze, feeling warm under her pelt. “I said Firesight.”
“Oh you keep coming up with good names,” Eaglepelt twitched her whiskers, “what do you think?”
“I- I really like it.” He pulled himself up, “Firesight.”
“It’s very good.” Eaglepelt nodded, and rose to her paws. Mossypaw and Firepaw shared a look as Eaglepelt lifted her head.
“Survivors of HornetClan, gather here for a Clan meeting!”
The only cat that brought out was Stagkit, who came out of the shared den, looking at them all in confusion. “What’s going on?”
Eaglepelt flicked her tail for him to come join them, “two of us are ready to take the oath to become Warriors. Firepaw, Mossypaw, do you swear to protect HornetClan, even at the cost of your life?”
A heavy question to be asked, but Eaglepelt had flinched from it and neither would she. “I do.”
“I do.” Firepaw echoed.
Eaglepelt nodded and looked to Mossypaw, “then, your Clanamates recognize your boldness, and welcome you as Mossyleap!”
She dipped her head in thanks and stepped back, so Firepaw could step forward.
“Firepaw, you’ve… you’ve been an apprentice the longest, so you probably should’ve been first out of us.” Eaglepelt didn’t flinch though, her head held high, “but you knew yourself, and what your Clanmates needed. You took responsibility on yourself, and we recognize that hard work, and welcome you as Firesight.”
“Mossyleap! Firesight!” Stagkit sounded more enthusiastic for one of them than the other, but Eaglepelt cheered equally loud, and Firesight bounded over to shove his head into Mossyleap with a loud purr.
Mossyleap shoved back, pressing into him, trying to put all her love for her Clan, for those who couldn’t be here, into the action.
Once they’d settled down, there was the second half of the ceremony, they stepped to the side, Stagkit gave them an odd look, before Eaglepelt continued.
“There’s also one of us who has reached six moons old.” She paused, as Stagkit sat up straighter, eyes going wide. “Stagkit, you… I’m sorry. This won’t be like how it’s supposed to.”
Stagkit gave a small nod, Mossyleap felt Firesight lean into her, and twined her tail with his for a heartbeat.
“Stagkit, you wish to be a warrior, yes?”
“Of course!”
Eaglepelt nodded and took a deep breath, “then we name you Stagpaw. There- none of us really feels ready to be a mentor, so we’re going to share mentoring you, if that’s okay?”
Stagpaw looked down at his paws for several heartbeats before he answered, “that’s fine.”
Mossyleap stepped forward, brushing against Firesight before pulling away, to reach over and place her paw under his chin, “hey.”
When he looked up, she blinked at him warmly, “we’re all learning together. But, you’re doing something really brave now. This is different, but it’s keeping HornetClan alive.”
That seemed to perk him up, and Stagpaw raised his head, “then I’m going to be the best apprentice I can be!”
Warm purrs met the claim and Firesight called out from behind her, “Stagpaw!”
She and Eaglepelt joined in on the second one, as he beamed under the praise.
Eaglepelt stepped back, “well, you’re starting with me. These two are going to go hunting.”
Stagpaw paused, his head tilted. “They have vigil tonight don’t they?”
“I think we need to change a few things, if only for a bit.” She glanced over at them, Mossyleap nodded in agreement, and Firesight shrugged.
“We can’t have half the Clan exhausted.” She pointed out, Mossyleap was impressed how confident she could sound. “And the point of the vigil is to reflect on being a warrior and what it means right?”
Stagpaw considered the words, as did Mossyleap. That was the point of the vigil, wasn’t it? They hadn’t made Eaglepelt sit one, it had… felt odd. And she’d become a warrior to prove she’d be better. Do better. That was the same idea, wasn’t it.
“So, you want us to hunt?” Firesight offered, “so we serve the Clan?”
Eaglepelt nodded, “unless you two think otherwise.”
“I think StarClan would understand.” Mossyleap shook herself off, “We’re not just doing whatever we want! We’re doing this because it’s what we need to do to survive. So, let’s stop hesitating.” She flexed her claws, “let’s try something new! Let’s make new traditions, the old ones came from somewhere! They served the Clan but we’re making a new destiny, a new life. We need to change.”
Firesight laughed warmly as he came up to join her, “always looking for the next adventure.” He twitched his whiskers and pulled himself up, head raised proudly. “Let’s do it.”
--
Firesight trotted back into camp carrying a large squirrel, to drop it in the middle of camp and sat next to it, tail tucked around his paws and chin raised.
“Alright, we get it, you’re the best climber in the Clan.” Mossyleap teased him as she brought in her catches to join his, “but look at this!”
It was quite an impressive collection of mice. They’d have some for tomorrow, none of them would have to patrol on empty bellies.
“Well done.”
Mossyleap looked pleased at his compliment, and he washed a paw and dragged it over his cheek to keep from staring at how the evening sun was catching in her fur. They hadn’t… talked about what Stagpaw had announced, and Firesight didn’t think he was ready to. Not yet.
Not today, not when a rejection would ruin the good mood.
But Mossyleap was still watching him, and it was getting hard to ignore the way she made him feel. Just when the silence between them was about to get awkward, Stagpaw came trotting up, his eyes grew wide.
“Whoa!” He went for the squirrel, Firesight reached over to gently push him back.
“Where’s Eaglepelt?”
“She’s coming!” Stagpaw’s tail lashed but he sat down, heavily, to glare at Firesight, but he didn’t go to eat.
Eaglepelt emerged from the den, her eyes got wide as she took in their haul, “you didn’t have to show off.” She teased as she padded over, “were you all waiting for me?”
She grabbed the squirrel and pulled it from their makeshift preypile to a place where they could all share.
It wasn't how she'd imagined her first meal as a warrior and it hurt. It hurt deep in her, in a way she thought it might always hurt. But it was also nice. She had her friends with her, and a delicious meal and it was good and she would cling to that part.
But StarClan did it also hurt.
Firesight finished first, washing his whiskers and getting to his paws.
“I'm going to go to the stream for a drink.” He announced, “might grab some moss while I'm there.”
“Don't bother.” Eaglepelt perked up. “Stagpaw already did! He did a great job gathering moss for everyone's nest."
“Oh!” Mossyleap looked over to him, where he continued to eat. “Thank you.”
Stagpaw grunted and flicked an ear, continuing to eat rather than reply. Once Firesight was out of earshot, Mossyleap turned to Eaglepelt.
“How do I talk to him without it being awkward.”
“You could do better.” Stagpaw muttered only to yelp as Eaglepelt shifted her weight. “You stepped on my paw!”
Eaglepelt ignored him. “It's Firesight, Mossyleap. We've known him for ages. You're making too much out of it. Just go for it, if that's what you want.”
“Not, not yet. But…” Yeah. She was thinking too much about it, “I just-”
“Talk to him like you used to. Before.” Eaglepelt reached over to rest her paw on Mossyleap’s. “It'll come back. I did. So will this.”
“Thanks.” She reached over to press her head into Eaglepelt's shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Now, you keep hesitating though and I might-”
Mossyleap shoved her playfully, the two laughing and it still hurt. And that was part of it. How every attempt to return to normalcy hurt.
“He's back.” Stagpaw muttered through his food.
Mossyleap made space for him again, Firesight flicked some water off his whiskers as he settled in.
“Do you want me to sneak to the gathering again? It's only a quarter moon away now.”
Mossyleap and Eaglepelt shared a look, before Eaglepelt nodded.
“Don't take risks though. The Moon Pillars are really exposed, and you said BeeClan is already rolling over for Oakstar.”
Firesight laughed, and shook himself off. “I'm always careful.”
He’d always been sneaky, able to slip out of camp without a word, would’ve made an excellent spy on WaspClan had his paws not been pulled elsewhere.
For all the good it had done him.
What good was known that dock and yarrow would soothe his paws if he didn’t have his store? Didn’t have his Clanmates to treat, to help him gather it, to speak to.
He wished Mossypaw was with him. The she-cat had become something of a light in the Clan after so much loss, to war and Green-cough, and he could use her sense of adventure right now.
If he had to make the terrible choice of who should’ve lived. Of course he wished Bigspeck had, he almost wished they’d killed him rather than have to hear her fighting to the end behind him as he ran but… that was what she would’ve wanted. To die for her Clan. Not the old age slowly creeping up on her.
But where was he to go?
WaspClan would kill him before Darkfeather could speak.
AntClan maybe? They were isolated, and he and Silverspeck had always gotten along. She’d started training shortly before he’d graduated, she was young, and might appreciate having another set of paws around.
But would Icestar welcome someone hunted by WaspClan?
Unlikely.
And he couldn’t blame him. And Icestar at least might let him stay the night before leaving. Batstar would not allow BeeClan to be pulled into this, and might possibly hand him over to WaspClan personally if it kept them away. And the Clan- well, Lavenderhusk might say something but the rest would stay silent.
So if he headed anywhere, it could only be AntClan, and he was headed the entirely wrong way.
A burst of wind buffeted him, hard, blowing him back, forcing him to stop, claws sinking into the ground.
“StarClan?” He looked around, scenting the air for any of his fallen Clanmates, but there was nothing but him, and his scent flung back the way he’d come, to what had been HornetClan territory. “No. There’s nothing there. I’ll be killed.”
Silence met his words. Acceptance from his ancestors as to what he had to do?
He took another step forward, and nothing tried to stop him.
Except his own heart, screaming to go back.
He screwed his eyes closed, and flattened his ears, blind and deaf to his own wants. His Clan was dead. HIs friends could not help him.
He could not go back. Only forward.
--
Moon: 1
Cats: 4…
??? is missing Mossypaw.
Moon 1 is finally over, the others shouldn't be quite like this, I just wanted to introduce every one!
Speaking of introductions, @tales-of-fieldclan, @archive-of-antclan, and @babble-of-beeclan are well, one person, who is a friend of mine and the stories seem to interconnect... How odd.
[Featuring a certain someone from @tales-of-fieldclan]
As the clouds drifted away from the moon like the cats scattering from the eventful Gathering, Firepaw flattened himself down, hoping no one would catch the scent of a Clan that shouldn't be there.
Two BeeClan cats walked past and Firepaw didn't dare breathe in case they heard him.
"Lavenderhusk..."
The smell of milk and kits hit Firepaw's nose as one if the cats swished their tail.
"Do you really think they killed him?"
"To kill a healer..."
"A whole Clan..."
Lavenderhusk and her brother. Firepaw placed them now, as they continued on, murmuring anxiously. Before... Before she had been a good friend of Cherrytiger's, he'd seen them talking at Gatherings.
Probably as weird as he is. Was. Firepaw looked around cautiously, to his relief no Clan had wanted to linger, not after everything. Only he remained, he and the last few clouds, as though StarClan still disapproved of the announcement that had rocked the Gathering.
"HornetClan is gone, and the territory is now WaspClan's!"
Not even the healers had stayed behind, though Firepaw didn't blame them. Cherrytiger had been weirder than his mentor, friendly, but just this kinda strangeness to him, like he saw more than he should. Made Firepaw's pelt prickle.
He took a deep breath and slipped out of the shadows that hid his black pelt. He slowly stepped out of the treeline, into the open. The only cat from HornetClan to come to the Gathering.
Well, and one other.
His paws pulled him forward, into the moonlit clearing, freezing as the moon once more shown brilliantly on the grass.
His fur rose along his spine, his paws the only black spot on the blindingly silver clearing, as once more a cat's shape flickered into view, stars caught in his pelt like dew on the grass.
"StarClan has bought .... time, ... one, but the Clan ... hide forever. HornetClan must ... ... take flight."
Firepaw shook his head, paws frozen to the ground, "Frog-" his voice cracked and he tried again, "Frogstripe I can't- what are you saying?"
"Take flight Fire-. StarClan is ... you."
"Can- Is Thistlewhisker there, can I speak to her, maybe-"
"Take flight!"
Frogstripe's eyes bored into Firepaw like one wasn't still clouded over from an ancient scar, the once deputy, from a time even before The Attack, stepped towards him, and Firepaw had to blink, the light was too bright, blinding him.
When he opened them, the clearing was empty, no longer silver but simply lit, the only sound his ragged breathing, as the moon shown, unhidden, overhead.
The she-cat blinked, and shifted, surprised to find her body resisted the movement. She swallowed and her throat felt dry, as she looked around, confused.
Mossypaw flicked her tail, amber eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Have you seen Firepaw?"
Eaglepaw nodded, and then sliwly nidded more. "He was... just here. He asked me how I was and was helping me..." she trailed off, looking to the crow feathers caught in her tail still. "He had a feather stuck to his face. I told him that and he laughed and got it off. He should’ve just left."
Mossypaw was quiet for several heartbeats, Eaglepaw began to wonder if she'd said something wrong. As more heartbeats passed she finally asked, "Mossypaw?"
"Eaglepaw, you know it's sundown right?"
Eaglepaw lifted her head up to the sky, mouth parted, "but..." it had just been sun-high. She would swear it had just been sun-high.
Mossypaw sighed softly, her tail lashed again. "And where's Stagkit?"
That kne at least, Eaglepaw was sure of. "He was trying to climb a tree, and making a racket, so I asked him to play mossball instead. He got mad and went to sulk in the den."
There was only one den. They abandoned the old camp. WaspClan had torn it apart, and even after they'd buried everyone... Eaglepaw's paws shook at the memory and she screwed her eyes shut. She couldn't got back to there. Not ever, she didn't think.
So they'd found another spot. Further in the territory, safer. They'd turned an old badger set into one den, it was silly to make Stagkit slep elsewhere, there was four of them.
Oh StarClan, they were only four of them.
A paw in her side made Eaglepaw's tail bush out in surprise, and she blinked sheepishly at Mossypaw.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"Was Firepaw with you when Stagkit was noisy?"
"Oh. No, I guess not." She ducked her head to wash her chest and hide her embarrassment, what little she could muster. It all still felt like a dream.
Mossypaw sighed out her nose and stepped back. "Alright. If you see him, let me know, okay?"
"Sure thing." Eaglepaw turned to pull a feather from her tail and sighed heavily. Newtleaf would want her to clean herself up. But picking out all these feathers felt... exhausting. There were so many and it was just... work.
Maybe she could just wash her paws. And her face. Groom herself a little, and see how that went. And maybe Firepaw would come back and help her.
---
Moon: 1
Cats: 4
So much grief and death has taken a toll on the Cats of HornetClan. Eaglepaw in particular is shaken by it.
Eaglepaw always seems to have crow feathers stuck in her fur.
Eaglepaw is wishing Stagkit would play more quietly.
Mossypaw thinks Eaglepaw is being annoying.
Eaglepaw appreciates how Firepaw always seems to ask how she's doing.
Firepaw appreciates Eaglepaw telling him he had a feather stuck to his face.
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"Firepaw!" Thistlewhisker shoved Stagkit at him, "you need to go."
Firepaw floundered, staring at his mentor as more enemy warriors poured into camp, he could hear his Clanmate's yowls, "No! I can help, I can fight-"
"You need to take Stagkit and go." Thistlewhisker ordered, shoving her son to him, "now, Firepaw."
Stagkit looked frantically between the two of them, "what... what's happening?"
Firepaw swallowed and touched noses with his mentor, "we need to go, Stagkit."
"But Firepaw, we can't leave- we-
"We have to go Stagkit." Firepaw grabbed him by the scruff to drag the kit, his eyes meeting Thistlewhisker's for a heartbeat.
"We'll come for you. When it's safe." With that his mentor turned and leapt into the throng of cats, leaving Firepaw alone with her son.
"Come on Stagkit, and don't stop."
The yowling grew quieter as Firepaw dragged and herded Stagkit away from camp, which made it harder to ignore the kit's repeated questions, and whimpers, and noises.
"Alright, Stagkit." Firepaw put his black paws against a tree and looked down at the kit, "we've been practicing climbing, yeah? Go on, up you go!"
"But Firepaw..."
"I taught you didn't I? And I'm the best climber in HornetClan, so go."
Once Stagkit was partially up, Firepaw placed his muzzle under his back paws and pushed him further up.
"H-hey! No pushing Firepaw!"
Firepaw ignored him to climb up the tree with ease, to the lowest branch, waiting for Stagkit to grab him by the scruff and pull him the rest of the way onto the branch.
Stagkit hunched his shoulders and puffed out like the angriest owl chick and wouldn't look at Firepaw. "Now what?"
"We wait." Firepaw dug his claws into the branch, ignoring the chill sweeping through his body. "We wait for them to get us."
.
. .
. . .
Firepaw's legs had grown stiff sitting in the tree, and Stagkit had huddled into the tree for support, possibly having fallen asleep.
A rustling of the undergrowth made both of them jerk to attention, Firepaw crouched down to the branch, squinting into the woods, where the shadows lengthened under the setting sun's light. "Stay here."
"Don't go Firepaw, please."
"Stay here, Stagkit."
"You stay here." Stagkit snapped back, glaring at him, but Firepaw was tensing to spring.
A tortiseshell head popped out of the bush, and then another, "who's there?"
Firepaw leapt down the tree, landing stiffly but eyes wide with relief, "Mossypaw! Eaglepaw!"
The two other apprentices jerked in surprise before Mossypaw stumbled forward to shove her head into Firepaw's shoulder, "oh thank StarClan. Firepaw, you're alright!"
Firepaw nodded and looked between the two of them, "I can smell blood- what... what happened?"
"Where's my mom!" Stagkit tumbled the last tail length down the tree, Firepaw whirled to look at him.
"I told you to stay up there!"
Eaglepaw and Mossypaw shared a look, Firepaw pinned his ears back and licked his muzzle nervously. "What happened? It's safe right?"
Eaglepaw spoke, "it- It was WaspClan-"
"I saw that, it's safe to come back, right?"
"Firepaw." Eaglepaw's voice was hard, with exhaustion, with grief. "Yellowstar's dead."
Firepaw's blood froze, as the fur along his back raised, "what?"
Mossypaw nodded, her eyes wide with grief, voice cracking, "And Su-Sunchase too, I saw her- and then Yellowstar was dead and Eaglepaw and I- we ran, anyone who was left ran, and I-"
"No one else is coming." Eaglepaw touched her nose to Mossypaw's ear gently, glancing at Firepaw, and then down to Stagkit. "We're all that's left."
Mossypaw padded out of the den to find Eaglepaw already awake and bathing herself in a pool of sunlight.
“Good morning?” She meowed hesitantly, unsure how her Clanmate felt this morning, between last night’s argument, and how Eaglepaw had acted like she was in a dream since… everything.
“Good morning.” Eaglepaw replied, before she flicked her tail for Mossypaw to come join her. “Is Firepaw awake yet?”
“Not yet.” Mossypaw settled next to Eaglepaw to look over their makeshift camp. Eaglepaw still had feathers in her coat, but she’d arranged them more, to wear them rather than just being stuck. “Stagkit’s still sleeping too.”
Eaglepaw huffed softly at that, “we can let him sleep. StarClan help us, he’ll…” her eyes grew hazy for a moment, and she looked at Mossypaw, “when does he turn six moons old?”
“Around the half-moon I think.” She meowed slowly, with a glance to the den, before lifting her head, “we’ll figure it out. We’ll find a way to mentor him.”
“Well, don’t ask me to do it.” Firepaw slipped out of the den with a long stretch, and padded over to join them, in the sunlight Mossypaw could just see the tabby stripes in his black fur.
Eaglepaw nodded to him, and Mossypaw flicked her ears in greeting, she had trouble meeting his gaze, after what Stagkit had yelled the night before.
Firepaw however just shook himself off and began, “let’s not beat around the bush, you two want to know about the Gathering.” He washed a paw to drag over his ear, “about what you’d expect.” A low growl rumbled in his throat, “Oakstar was up there, proudly announcing how they’d wiped us out-”
“Did anyone say anything?” Mossypaw burst out, flexing her claws against the ground, “we- we had a kit, our medicine cat, did-”
Firepaw’s amber eyes blazed, “they started to! Even Darkfeather, the WaspClan medicine cat? Even she seemed upset- and then Batstar-”
“Batstar?!?” Mossypaw was glad that Eaglepaw shared her shock, BeeClan had always kept to themselves, why- “He supported this?”
“He told everyone to let Oakstar finish speaking! Like- Like he was just announcing the new warriors!”
Mossypaw could only stare at Firepaw, who looked as hurt as she felt. No help was coming. “What… Icestar wouldn’t help us, would he?”
Firepaw shook his head, “he seemed upset, but Darkpatch was backing Batstar, so Oakstar announced that he’s claiming our territory.”
A chill doused Mossypaw, her mouth moved but no sound came out, like that horrible moment at the camp entrance again, her, Eaglepaw and Firepaw staring over what had been their camp, filled with the bodies of what had been their clanmates and knowing that they were alone.
Her throat was too dry to speak, and Eaglepaw was making a choked noise, Firepaw lifted a paw, reassuringly.
“He’s not coming.” He took a deep breath, “because AntClan and BeeClan probably would’ve let him, but…” He pinned his ears back, “I swear, I swear on my claws, everyone was yowling, it was chaos and then suddenly the moon got… brighter?”
“I thought StarClan covered the moon when they were angry?”
“I did too, but it was like- It was like they wanted us all to see what they had to say, and standing there, with the leaders, it was.. Do you two remember Frogstripe?”
“You’re not that much older than us,” Mossypaw pointed out, though she barely remembered the tom, “he was the deputy before Yellowstar. WaspClan killed him.”
Eaglepaw nodded, “we were all kits then, and Yellowstar became deputy, and then leader pretty soon after.”
Firepaw nodded, “it was him. He was standing there with the leaders, and he was staring down Oakstar.”
“Everyone could see him?”
“Everyone. It went silent.” Firepaw shuddered, and Mossypaw reached out to touch her paw to his, “ and he said that StarClan had a message. That HornetClan territory could not be claimed until the last cat with HornetClan blood gave up their claim.”
Eaglepaw let out a soft wheeze, and Mossypaw’s eyes grew huge.
“Do you- They’ll come looking for us then.”
“Let them come.” Firepaw’s eyes blazed, lifting his chin, “StarClan spoke. Oakstar can’t do a thing about it. He doesn’t know we’re here.”
“We’ll need to stay away from the borders.” Eaglepaw murmured thoughtfully, tapping her tail against the ground, “but we can try and rebuild our strength, maybe find some rogues to join us. We can rebuild HornetClan.”
Firepaw nodded and looked to Mossypaw, “I think we can. What about you?”
“I’m not leaving the two of you to do this on your own!” She got to her paws, waving her tail behind her, “we’re in this together.”
Firepaw gave her a look of relief and moved to shove his head into her shoulder, “thanks StarClan.”
Eaglepaw stepped forward, and Mossypaw nodded, she joined them, resting her head on Firepaw’s neck, while Mossypaw touched her nose to Eaglepaw’s cheek.
“We can do this.”
Eaglepaw made a soft noise, her eyes flickered to Mossypaw, before she pulled away, Firepaw sat back up as well.
“I- I know I’ve been…” she shuffled her paws, took a breath and raised her head, and Mossypaw saw the Eaglepaw she knew. The one who was certain every hunting patrol they’d bring something back.
“I want to do better than I have been.” She started, “you two have been carrying things, with Stagkit and then I’ve been… grieving. I want to do more. Do better.” She flicked her ears and gave them a warm look, though when she spoke, it was hesitant, “if it alright with you two, I’d like to become a Warrior. I’d like you two to pick my name.”
Mossypaw turned to meet Firepaw’s equally shocked gaze, before they both nodded to each other.
“Eaglefeather?” Firepaw offered, playfully, Mossypaw swatted him with one paw.
“Eaglestrike.”
Eaglepaw made a slight face, “it doesn’t have to be fierce or anything. I just want a name you two pick.”
“What, you don’t want to be Eaglecatcher?” Firepaw teased, his whiskers twitching, “Come on Mossypaw, give us a good one.”
“Eagleroar.”
“Eaglestorm.”
“Eaglelightning.”
“Too much of a mouthful.”
“You said Eaglecatcher.”
Eaglepaw was laughing at them though, and Mossypaw felt a wave of relief, to see her look more alive than she had in over a moon.
“What about Eaglepelt?” She asked slowly, the other two settled as she spoke. “I know that’s… really simple. But I think a straightforward name suits you.”
“Eaglepelt.” She repeated slowly, as though tasting it. “I think I like it. Thanks Mossypaw. Do you two…”
Firepaw shook his head, “I’m… I’m not ready yet. I-” He pulled his ears back and screwed his eyes shut, “I miss Thistlewhisker.”
Mossypaw touched her nose to his cheek, “I- I’m not ready either. We’re only ten moons. You’re braver than I am.”
“We need to be ready.” She paused. “I need to be ready.”
Would Yellowstar have wanted her to take her name now? Her aunt had been leader, was it her place to step up? Even if she wasn’t ready? She flexed her claws again, and decided she’d stay with Firepaw.
Not ready yet. But all three of them together.
“And hey, I won’t be your mentor or anything, Firepaw’s still older than I am. This is for me. So I can hold myself to it.”
Firepaw stood up, and raised his voice, “survivors of HornetClan, gather here for a Clan meeting!”
The words, changed as they were, still gave Mossypaw a thrill, like something was coming back.
Stagkit came stumbling out of the den, to give Firepaw a glare, but Mossypaw scrambled to her feet, to join him.
“One of us has…” She paused, meeting her Clanmates gaze. “Is ready to take the oath to be a warrior. Do you swear to defend our Clan, at the cost of your life?”
“I do.”
“Then we, as your Clanmates, welcome you as Eaglepelt!” Mossypaw waved her tail in excitement, as joy spread across Eaglepelt’s name. The words weren’t all correct, but the intention was there, and hopefully to StarClan that was all that mattered.
“The Clan honors your resilience.” Firepaw added, right, those were the words. He gently bumped his shoulder into Mossypaw’s, “we welcome you as Eaglepelt.”
“Eaglepelt, Eaglepelt!” It was only the three of them, only three voices, but for a heartbeat Mossypaw swore she felt everyone in the Clan with them.
---
Firepaw, Mossypaw, and Eaglepaw took a sunbath and have a little chat.
Hi everybody! First of all, thank you all for your interest and dedication in this group. It means so much to the three of us that you believed in our little world of superheroes and adventures. As you can probably tell, the three of us have been kind of sparse lately. I know real life has hit me a lot harder than I anticipated, so I haven’t been around as much as I wanted to. It doesn’t seem fair of me to keep stringing everything out when I can’t give it all 100%.
As hard as it is, we’ve all talked and decided that it is probably best for us to close Hero Complex for the time being. We have absolutely adored every second of it and every single one of you, but unfortunately we’re running dry on inspiration. I don’t believe in doing something halfway, and want this to be as good an experience for everyone involved as possible, and, sadly, this wasn’t the right time for it. We’ve still got some awesome ideas in mind for this group, though. Hopefully in the future we’ll be able to give it a better go and let the stories develop fully.
I’m sorry this group didn’t last longer (although it was still a solid little run), and I’m sorry to those of you who recently applied. It would be unfair of us to let you into a group we cannot properly care for, but we recognize all of the work you put into your applications and sincerely wish we could have had the chance to write with you. To our current members: if you'd like to continue using your characters, go ahead! You wrote them, so they're yours to work with; we just won't be manning the main anymore.
Thank you again for all of the time and love you’ve put into this group, and I wish I could have given you more in return. With any luck, we’ll see you again soon enough. If you want our writing blogs, skypes, etc, just shoot us a message! I know I’ll still be here for a while, and absolutely want to stay in touch with all of you.
