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"Crescentsky, stop freaking out! Calm down." Lagoonstripe sat down on the wet earth, extending a paw and setting it atop hers.

"We aren't going to throw you guys out for that. I mean, how much can I do about something that occurred a moon ago? And it wasn't as if you asked for such a thing to happen."

"But she's useless to the clan! She barely brings any prey back. And when she does it's not even hers. It's some other cat's prey that helped her to lie about feeding the clan," Rowanpaw jabbered.

"She's got other cats in on her lies. We have to do something before half the clan turns corrupt."

"She isn't lying about her hunting. It's sparse, but I've seen her catch prey, so she must've found some way to hunt.

And she fought against the wolves; Oh, wait-." Lagoonstripe angled her ears sharply.

"How did you manage that? It's far less believable though I'm sorry to say so, Crescentsky. Did you really try and defend the camp without claws? What really happened?" Her green eyes were sharp and clear, even through the haze of rain.

"Surely you can't climb trees now. So explain yourself."

The she-cat's voice softened. "It's okay if you and Tinyflame got your injuries running away, and fibbed to try and make yourselves look less cowardice. I mean, it's understandable. You wanted your warrior names..." Lagoonstripe trailed off.

Does she really think that little of us? Well I guess that's the only explanation, in her eyes.

Crescentsky's head hurt. She had really wanted to sleep for a while before getting into all of this. And to say the least, her body felt like it had been dragged along a Thunderpath.

Her own heartbeat was echoing in the hind-leg that was torn. If she could curl upon the ground here and go to sleep, she would- without hesitation.

"It's not that. Uh no, I can't climb trees anymore." She answered one question while she struggled aimlessly to find the words for another.

There was no right way to say it. No way to soften the blow, so to speak.

"You see- I did fight against the wolves when they attacked Tinyflame. I tried to defend the camp walls. But we didn't climb a tree after that. Um, well..."

Above them, the bleary blue-gray sky was indistinguishable. Both she-cats had their ears pricked in waiting to hear what came next. Rowanpaw had a snide expression on her face, clearly pleased that she had begun to unravel Crescentsky's lies.

"You and Tinyflame against three wolves. Without claws?" Lagoonstripe sounded skeptical as ever.

Pain sang along the entirety of Crescentsky's flanks, reaching all the way down to her paws.

I need to... lay down.

"Still goes the question of how you are alive today. Even with some kind of miracle, it doesn't make sense. Please, Crescentsky. Trust me enough to tell me the truth. How'd you two get away?"

"Spit it out!" Rowanpaw sneered. "Or are you scared of what everyone will think of you now?"

Lagoonstripe gasped with fright. Her eyes flashed as her head twisted to look behind her.

It lept over the gully and down on top of them chest-first. It had been following Lagoonstripe's scent-trail from deeper in the willow forest, done time and time again by wolves who'd come before it.

Crescentsky was still so enervate that she couldn't react as quickly as the two other cats. She didn't realize what was happening as fast as they did.

"Run! To the-" Lagoonstripe's shriek was cut off as the wolf bent and grabbed her head in-between its pulverizing jaws. It lifted her up and thrashed the she-cat back and forth, while Crescentsky stood there horrified.

Mere heartbeats later she was trying to switch into her wolf, shaking out her pelt so desperately that she stumbled sideways on her paws.

It won't work! It's not nightfall yet. It's not even sundown. Terror spazzed her nerves. Any trace of her previous lightheadedness had vanished, and a ghastly look was painted across her face.

What can I do?

Rowanpaw had already fled or climbed a tree. Which one, she didn't know. Lagoonstripe was getting torn apart right in front of her, wailing and screeching as her legs jerked about her.

"Lagoonstripe!" I'll fight for my clan whether I'm a wolf or a cat!

Crescentsky braced herself and stalked forward rapidly. She lept for the figure of grey fur best that she could, spitting and spinning with her pelt puffed out to three times its size.

This wolf wasn't as young as the last two had been. It didn't hesitate in letting go of Lagoonstripe and making a grab for her. Crescentsky felt fangs sink into the soft flesh around her belly as she was seized instead.

She twisted violently and flicked her hindpaws up and toward its muzzle. She knew that if she could dig those rear claws into its gums and lips hard enough, it would let go. She just had to not die first.

Lagoonstripe was attacking. Crescentsky had thought she was down. When the she-cat lept for the wolf's eyes and tore thin ribbon-strips into its cheek, it finally let Crescentsky go.

There were deep welts in her spine and belly now. Staggering, Crescentsky felt the blood running from her new wounds. Her chest swelled as she fought for breath.

"Go hide in the brush!" Lagoonstripe urged.
When Crescentsky caught sight of the warrior she nearly gasped and withdrew.

Lagoonstripe's entire head was covered in blood.

Both of them saw the bite forthcoming and lept back and out of range. It was a wonder that Lagoonstripe could see at all, but Crescentsky didn't get much of a chance to consider how she was managing.

The wolf's assailant snarling was loud. Ears pinned low, it weaved its head between them, looking at one or the other as if it couldn't decide which to finish first. Crescentsky bit the animal's stinking grey forepaw, sinking her teeth in as Lagoonstripe lept for its face.

The Riverclan she-cat paused, panting. She felt slow and uncoordinated. She could hardly fight with her hind-leg either hoisted up in a limp or dragging along the ground. Whenever she moved it, the sting of pain nearly made her bite her own tongue off.

"Crescentsky, I said go." Lagoonstripe spat between her assaults, her voice gurgling. Maybe with blood.

"Run!"

"Rrrrowr!" A cat's warning growl rolled over the gully edge just before four warriors streamed over it. Two of them took the path of running down the ridges sides, so that they surrounded the wolf on all angles.

Pretty soon it was hard to tell what part of the surging, struggling mass was cat and what part was wolf. Cats swarmed over the neck and face of the wolf. Cats clung onto sallow furry shoulders while others targeted hind-limbs. Crescentsky heard the tearing sound when a chunk of Nighthowl's ear got caught between teeth.

Regardless of the familiar faces that had arrived to help, the warriors were still sustaining serious injuries. Crescentsky saw Quietdew's spine seized and ground into the earth, before she clawed herself free and sped away.

The grey-black animal showed teeth and snapped at warriors a few times, grabbing and ripping their flesh and fur, but not managing to land a killing blow with such a swarm of cats assailing.
Each time the wolf twisted to bite, another warrior ripped at it again.

Then it began advancing on her, Wolfpaw and Lagoonstripe, ignoring the other cats behind or beside it.

The wolf pushed them back and into a wall of bulrush stems. Patches of nettle grew on either side of them so that they were boxed in.

Lagoonstripe made to leap over the nettles. But just as her paws left the ground, her neck was gripped between strong jaws.

Crescentsky was sickened by what she saw next. She did the best she could, screeching and tearing with non-existent claws, showing teeth and snarling. Wolfpaw did the same.

But there was no point.

She knew the power of those teeth when they were aimed well. She'd felt it in her own jaws before. She had experimentally snapped the strongest of sticks inbetween those canines.

Crescentsky knew the terror they could bring. Especially unto a cat. She'd seen it before.

Eveningstar. Echofrost. Cloverpaw.

Her own neck was soaked in blood but it might as well be rain. It might as well be any other insignificant thing as she charged, her blows frail and incompetent.

Unable to do anything but strike out valiantly as she watched her mentor die.

🐈‍⬛

The remaining warriors managed to chase off the mature wolf. All five had injuries, but all were determined to be survivable- as long as they sought the immediate treatment of a medicine cat.

Quietdew did point out that Crescentsky looked especially 'disheveled,' though.

"But you're still lucky," the grey-and-white warrior carried on unhelpfully. "You have thick fur that helped to cushion your injuries. It feels like my spine nearly got split in two."

"She's had that one injury for a while now, though. Hasn't she? And it's not healing." Nighthowl asked.

"Tinyflame has hardly had time to treat it, remember. She only just became Riverclan's medicine cat." Someone else commented.

"Well, she looks out of it. She's shivering. Maybe she has a fever from that infected wound," said Nighthowl.

"Or maybe it's just grief."

"It's probably both." Wolfpaw summed up.

Crescentsky hardly heard them, and so she didn't bother acknowledging any of it. Some unseen force between the back of her skull and her forehead was grinding and twisting, so that it hurt to even think.

Apart from the gaping wounds along the ridge of her back, Quietdew's other injuries included a mangled foreleg. The gash was twisting and long, and wrapped all the way from her dewclaw up to her elbow. She held it out stiffly, grimacing.

"Well if you'd soon get up, I'd like to make it back to camp to get these wounds looked at."

Cheetah was crouched beside Crescentsky in quiet solace. She had arrived just before the very end of the attack, and asked Lagoonstripe permission if she could join in.

But Lagoonstripe hadn't been able to answer at that time. Because she was slumped over inside of the tall stinging nettles, bleeding her life away underneath a cool greenleaf rain. They'd pulled her out after the ambush.

Crescentsky scooted forward and leaned over to whisper into the she-cat's ear; quietly enough that Quietdew couldn't hear.

"Lagoonstripe. I'm so sorry that I never told you the truth. Starclan gave me a gift, but not at a time where I could use it to protect you. That's how I defended the camp walls. That's how Tinyflame and I survived."

Does it even matter what I say now? Not really. She bit back a wail.

It doesn't even count if she's already dead!

As she crouched in front of the she-cat, Crescentsky could detect no traces of life. She shivered.

"Come on, Crescentsky. You know we have to get her body back to camp before sundown." Quietdew urged again.

Sundown. If only the wolf had waited until then or after to come. Then I could've saved you.

I don't care what it would've cost. Let Rowanpaw and the rest of the clan see it happen. I wouldn't have cared.

We waited too long, she realized just then. It felt like a blow from a rabbit had thumped against her chest.

This wouldn't have happened if we had told the clan sooner. Rowanpaw wouldn't have ran off to snitch. And Lagoonstripe would've been back to camp by then. Before-. She swallowed, but her throat still felt closed up.

Before that wolf came.

"Crescentsky."

Cheetah raised her head, her yellow eyes narrowed in irritation. "Let her grieve for Lagoonstripe!"

"That wolf could come back," Quietdew went on matter-of-factly. "Or other ones."

Crescentsky couldn't stop the thoughts from flowing, now. Grief was spilling out of her. Was she doomed to never see a mentor grow old?

"Hey. It's alright." The green-eyed silver tabby whispered back suddenly, in a shuddering quiet breath.

Crescentsky gasped aloud, silencing all of the cats around her. Lagoonstripe is alive..!

"You could have trusted me. I always wanted that trust from you." Lagoonstripe paused for so long that Crescentsky nearly wept again.

"I always wanted you to achieve all your dreams, because I knew that your determination could take you there. You're the light of Riverclan now, Crescentsky. You have been for awhile."

Crescentsky shook her head hopelessly as her voice cracked. "Why are you making this about me? We need to get you to the medicine cat's den. We need to-."

"What's she saying? I thought she was dead."

Quietdew broke into their conversation, but her son Emberfawn snapped, "Mother! Are you seriously so used to death that you've lost all sense of manners and respect? Lagoonstripe is-" their voices faded into the background as Quietdew was led away.

Lagoonstripe's striped silver legs were stretched out and still beside her. She laid with one side of her red face looking up toward the sky.

"I knew I couldn't have kits when the clans were in such a predicament. To say the least." The she-cat wheezed.

"Plus, no toms ever returned my interests in being their mate."

"But-..." Crescentsky began, her eyes fluttering as she leaned back indignantly.

This is random. Why say this now? Plus, Lagoonstripe is definitely a head-turning warrior to any tom! (Around her age.)

"Why wouldn't they? You're-" Crescentsky was cut off again.

"Listen to me. None of that matters now. Know that I always wanted what's best for you. You were like a daughter to me. A daughter that I could never kit or call my own; but one that I just— I, just...." she was forced to pause in her grappling breath, which had grown more ragged and desperate.

"One that I was proud of. I know that you'll save Riverclan. I'm only sorry I can't stay to help you along the way, and witness you grow up some more."

Crescentsky could barely make out her face for the blood pulsing from it. She couldn't see the wound site, and she didn't think she wanted to. She licked Lagoonstripe's cheek and sobbed.

"I should've told you this before, Crescentsky. But trust other cats. Please. Trust the other cats." Lagoonstripe went on, her voice clipped and painful.

"Tell them the truth.

I suppose I'll be hearing about this Starclan gift-." Her flickering green eyes focused on something behind Crescentsky. The Riverclan warrior quickly glanced over her shoulder, but nothing was there.

"After we go to Starclan."

Cheetah's touch couldn't reach Crescentsky any longer. And she couldn't hear anything else, as if her ears were stuffed with thistledown.

The tabby she-cat's eyes shimmered as she stared at her previous mentor's face, drowned in red.

Lagoonstripe isn't talking to me anymore.

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