That night the apprentices were ushered up a tree by Tinypaw's mentor, Houndspots, while Eveningstar and other warriors defended the camp. Riverclan had decided many moons ago, nearly at the start of this onslaught, not to let younger apprentices fight against the wolves. And so Crescentpaw watched with profound disbelief as one wolf branched off, and their leader was cornered into fighting alone. Just like her father had been.

Cornered against a conjoined edge of camp wall, the two animals were nearly completely submerged in shadow. More foilage grew along the camp boundary and overgrown sedge. in Greenleaf it grew in clumps that stretched above the cat's ears in some places. Therefore no one on the ground seemed to notice when she was struck down. The wolf gripped her by the throat; as if she were a mouse- and just like that, Eveningstar went limp like prey.

Soon after, cats started to notice. The warriors wailed and abandoned their defense, swarming up the trees as Eveningstar was ripped apart below.

Despite her half-eaten, bloodied and mangled body, every cat expected her to wake up. And... when she didn't; their anxiety was profound. The survivors in the clan mourned, not knowing what to do without their medicine cat or leader. Eveningstar had been their beloved Star, the only guidance that the clan had left.

"We must recover from this attack. We will sit vigil for Eveningstar tonight... Even without her body." Smallsparrow, the clan deputy, was the first to take charge. The cats around him dissociated, hardly saying a word as they recalled the horrible remains that they could not present for the vigil. Eveningstar's intensities had been strewn out several feet from her torn-open belly; half-chewed into bits. The blood staining that corner of camp was still wet and gleaming against the night grass.

"Tomorrow after Eveningstar's burial we will discuss our options." They had wrapped her in torn-up grass and thick swathes of moss, which were partly blood-soaked. Some cats had retrieved shells from in front of the dens, placing them atop her covered corpse.

But soon after, several cats argued. "Did anyone know she was on her last life?" Emberfawn called, his yellow eyes fiery against the shadow-swamped vegetation. He crouched there with his chest pressed against the peaty earth. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"If Goldenheart doesn't come back then can we even call ourselves a clan anymore? Smallsparrow will have to become leader, and we'll need to appoint another medicine cat by the will of Starclan!" Some other cat yowled in distress.

"Hush. Tomorrow," the Clan deputy murmured, his deep mew sounding tired and resound. Then the cats gathered around a bare patch of earth in the center of camp that had been previously cleared for greenleaf mourning rituals.

Although they could not bear to grieve with Eveningstar's destroyed, half-consumed corpse, the cats stayed in the clearing across the camp from her for most of the night. They mourned her wrapped-up body together, speaking of how quickly her leadership had came and went. The oldest cats in the clan, Alpinefog and QuietDew, were the only ones who had known any other Riverclan leader.

Before dawn came, the warriors lifted her up- or rather parts of her, and took away the pieces to bury.

Late the next morning, Crescentpaw awoke beside sister's occupied nests. The tabby-and-white she-cat had slept fitfully. Her littermates had moaned and twitched all throughout the night, but they were snoring away now.

She heard a few of Riverclan's warrior's discussing something outside, and pricked her ears before emerging. Rowanpaw and Tinypaw roused behind her, giving bleary-eyes glances across at one another.

"-send another cat to the Moonpool. It's not safe, I'm telling you! And Starclan's communication is said to be strongest at night; when the stars glitter in the pool, and the moon has activated its powers." Some cat was rambling on as Crescentpaw shouldered her way out of the frond-stemmed opening. She passed the light pink and smooth pearl-white shells that lined the edges of the apprentices den, trodding the well-worn open path over to the other cats.

Their small throng was huddled beneath the largest elm tree today. It offered shade beneath its thick, lush leaves.

Crescentpaw hardly remembered the cold of her youth, when she'd experienced a leafbare that had been occupied in the nursery den space for most of it. Regardless, she was thankful for the warmth on her back; and the golden rays streaming down upon camp. There was hardly a cloud in the sky.

Oh, yay. Nice fishing weather today, it looks like! The Riverclan apprentice padded beneath the elm trees shade to join them.

"At least that's what Goldenheart told me! We were good friends, you know. I miss her... I hope she arrives back soon."

The meow belonged to Alpinefog. The mature tom lifted his broad muzzle with concern.

"But we can't go at night." Emberfawn sounded stressed, his meows gritty and low-pitched. "Unless... maybe we could send one cat." He lifted a claw suggestively, about to point to himself.

"No, Emberfawn!" Smallsparrow rolled his eyes. "I'm not sending one of the only warriors we have left over Windclan's plains. That would be a last resort." Riverclan's deputy sighed and lowered his voice, glancing at Rowanpaw and Tinypaw as they settled.

"For now we'll have to place our hopes on Goldenheart arriving with news from Starclan. But I fear.." he lowered his voice even further, so that Crescentpaw could no longer hear their exchange.

"That doesn't sound good. If Goldenheart doesn't come back, what will the clan do?" Tinypaw asked.

Rowanpaw flicked her yellow-slitted gaze over her sister's dark pelt disdainfully, as if the answer was obvious.

"Well we'd have to send another cat to reach Starclan. That, or appoint a new medicine cat apprentice."

"But no cat here wants to be a healer apprentice," Tinypaw frowned, wrapping her tail around her paws.

Crescentpaw stayed silent. She thought that both ideas were absurd. Appoint a random cat without a connection to Starclan? Cringe. Losing more Clanmates on the way to the Moonpool? No thank you.

But I could go. I could do it.

Tinypaw turned her head towards the talking cats, pricking her ears and trying to hear their receeding whispers. Then she looked back toward the warriors den, as Crescentpaw began grooming herself.

Only they'd never trust an apprentice to make it to the Moonpool and back. And Aquasplash wouldn't agree either...

Her ears flattened with disappointment mid-lick, as she thought of her stern-but-kind mentor, who would always take the path that led to keeping her alive. Too many warriors, elders, and apprentices had died over the past few moons.

"I wish we could go hunting. If we were warriors already then we could just go." Rowanpaw opened her jaws to complain again.

"Houndspots is still asleep, and Aquasplash is wounded from last night's attack... it doesn't look like mine will be done chatting up the deputy soon." She frowned over at Alpinefog and the other three warriors forming the huddle.

The treetops began to sway with a light after-dawn breeze, shaking a few leaves loose and down onto their pelts. Crescentpaw turned her head towards the fresh-kill pile spot, seeing just a bare pile of earth with a ring of flattened grass around it.

"We could ask Quietdew or-" Tinypaw ventured.

"I have a better idea. Let's just go fishing ourselves. We can come back with something before they're done talking. The clan will be fed and then they'll take us battle training!"

Tinypaw frowned.

"Isn't that not a good idea? Smallsparrow could call us over at any minute. He could get mad if he finds us gone."

"Well... it's tempting." Rowanpaw cut in again. Her bronze chestnut-pelt was dull beneath the deep green swathe of shade. She nearly matched the dark cocoa-coloring of the dirt between the grass stems.

"There's not that many warriors left in the camp to hunt. We would be doing them a favor; and we can stay close together, so it's safe."

Crescentpaw nodded, her whiskers swaying up and down. "We'll come back quickly and leave quietly."

If I can prove that we're capable enough to hunt in the territory by ourselves, that might prove we're capable enough to make it to the Moonpool.

Plus, this could be the reminder Smallsparrow needs about our assessments. Warriors den, here I come!

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Heterochromia fun facts:
These are some of the only not-photoshopped photos I could track down of real tabby cats w heterochromia! That is because it is very rare for any cat to have heterochromia, And it is even more rare for a cat with dark fur to have the condition, although any color of cat can get it. The more melanin produced/ the darker the cat's coat, the harder it is to receive the two-colored eyes trait. So basically, Crescentpaw has a 1/10000 genetic condition. :D look it up iyw2! ❤️