They trudged up to the plains in a sort of dull grief and shock.

Hero turned to check on his companion, to reassure himself that she hadn't been lost another by a stray rock or bout of flame without their noticing. But no, Jayflight still stood strong and unharmed, her posture strong but bent over with an invisible weight.

He knew what it was-- the grief of their dead friends, the worry that more had been lost in the chaos.

The wound on his foreleg throbbed violently again, and he winced, sinking to the ground with a groan of pain. It seemed to pulse with a white-hot fire, scalding his body with pain and heat. He wondered vaguely if it was infected already. "Can we...stop?" he choked out. 

Jayflight shook her head desperately. "No, no. We're almost there. Just to the top of the hill...then you can get a healer, Hero. And we can see the others..."

Hero nodded and forced himself to his paws again, only to have his leg buckle almost instantly. He toppled into Jayflight, who pushed against him firmly. "Please..." he mewed. The fire had risen so hot he was surprised flames weren't leaping off his fur.

Jayflight shook her head again. "No! We have to get up there!" She gritted her teeth. "We are getting you to the top of the hill," she hissed out.

Hero shuddered but pushed hard against the she-cat has she helped him up the hill, pain shooting through his body with every step. I have to do this. I must be strong...

The air was suddenly thick with the scent of blood as the smoke from the City faded, and Hero wrinkled his nose. It was more than just his own wound's scent-- there were scores upon scores of the wounded on the summit of the hill, with only a few healers running around, trying to save them.

Healers...

The wound's pain intensified as Hero pushed harder, his pace almost the same as it was as an uninjured cat now. Jayflight nearly stumbled as he accelerated, but quickly matched his pace.

The grass crunched underfoot, and Hero glanced down absently to realize that it was covered in dried blood-- the blood of the dead and dying on the top of the hill. And then the scent of death hit him, along with the cries of the mortally wounded and grieving...

It was the scene from a nightmare's nightmare.

Hero suddenly stumbled, his leg suddenly going numb as it failed completely. He collapsed, panting and groaning, beside another limp cat who looked strangely familiar, despite all the blood and burn marks coating their pelt.

The death scent hit him then, and he gagged. He noticed then, to his horror, that it was Duststar, the old MossClan leader. His brown, grey and white pelt was scarred almost beyond recognition, an eye was missing, and Hero realized by the bite marks that his Clanmates must have dragged him up here from the battlefield.

Hero tried to roll away from the sight, but his leg protested with loud screeches that ripped through his muzzle despite what he tried to contain it.

He noticed, then, that Jayflight's scent had disappeared. She must've gone to get a Healer, he told himself, but wasn't sure if he believed it. His trust in everyone had been shaken today-- no, it was broken beyond repair.

The scent of a cat suddenly drifted to him, smelling strangely of Lilypool, and his senses struggled to function. He blinked three times. An image appeared then, suddenly doubled, then slowly focused into a light ginger tabby looking at him in concern. "--hear me? Can you hear me?"

Hero tried to nod, but even that small action made his vision swim again.

"Good, good. What's your name?"

"Hero," he tried to say, but the words never quite left his throat. Instead, he coughed violently as the smoke he'd inhaled seemed to catch up with him, and a trickle of red came with it.

I'm coughing blood, he thought absently. How fascinating.

Jayflight's scent suddenly washed over him, and he heard a sharp inhale. 

The ginger tom turned and faced Jayflight, and asked "Do you know this cat? What's his name?"

"T-this is Hero," she choked out. "Oh, Hero...I-I didn't realize you were so bad...great StarClan, you might die...!"

Dying didn't sound that bad right now...he'd see Lilypool and Bling and Foxspring again, and his leg wouldn't hurt so bad. His eyes fluttered shut.

The pain suddenly began fading. In fact, his feeling was fading in general before he suddenly felt something wrap around his leg so tightly it forced his eyes open again. He gasped loudly in pain, then felt something get shoved into his mouth.

He vomited violently almost seconds later, the liquid coming out grey and black with the ash he'd inhaled and swallowed. He heard Jayflight retch and he forced his eyes open just in time to see her notice Duststar. She made a sort of strangled groan as she recognized him and sank to the ground in shock.

Something about the vomit and the bandage had woken him up, and he heard the voice of Tags over the groans of the wounded around him. He struggled to his feet, keeping the weight off his foreleg, and lurched toward the meeting that seemed to be underway. He stumbled suddenly, recovering quickly but wincing at the bold of pain that shot through his leg.

Jayflight was at his side instantly. "What are you doing?!" she hissed.

"I need to know what's going on..." insisted Hero. Jayflight seemed to understand that there was no stopping him and instead pushed against him again to support him.

"...and I will act as temporary leader in his place," Tags was saying. Her tone was brisk and professional. "Any questions?"

"Where is Sunshine?" someone called. 

Tags hesitated. "He...he's dead."

"What about Thug?"

Tags hesitated again. "He doesn't want to take power..."

Now a question rose from the back of the crowd. "But who killed Sunshine, huh? Did you, you power-hungry she-cat?" There were mews of agreement and outrage following the accusation, and Hero stepped forward, wincing as the wound pulsed slightly.

"It was Alpha," he mewed. "They killed each other." He paused, and the crowd roared up again, demanding an explanation. "I threw a crossbow at them. They fell over the edge."

He didn't feel like there was any need for long, drawn out descriptions, and besides, he didn't trust his brain to be able to manage that anyhow. Instead, he ended there, a note of finality in simple sentences he knew would strike clearer with the shell-shook cats of the Factions and Clans.

Now Thistlestar stepped forward, and the glance she shot toward Hero said it all-- that she'd gotten the story from Thug, that she knew all that had happened, that she felt responsible for all the dead. "As the City is no longer habitable, the Factions are welcome to stay with us," she mewed. Her gaze fell on Ghost and Foxy. "Haven, West Faction, would you like to stay with AshClan?"

The two Faction leaders nodded-- Ghost first, Foxy second. "Haven would love to stay with you," mewed Foxy quietly, glancing down at her paws. 

Ghost flicked his tail. "West Faction as well."

Thistlestar nodded, turning to the group once more, "Jig--" she began, but was cut off almost instantly by the cat in question.

Jigsaw stood, his pelt coated in blood and singed on the ends. Yet he stood strong and firm, a true leader determined to save his group. "Hawkstar?" he asked. 

The brown and ginger tom stood up, meeting Jigsaw's gaze hesitantly. "Yes?" he mewed cautiously. 

Jigsaw dipped his head to the BreezeClan leader. "What's your territory like?"

Hawkstar blinked. "Moorland. Open. Grassy." His voice was hoarse from the smoke, and the single words seemed to be all he could force out of his tired lungs.

Jigasaw paused, then nodded to the rest of the North Faction. "We'll go with you," he mewed, turning back to the BreezeClan leader, who blinked and nodded his approval..

Thistlestart nodded, surprised but not disappointed. "Tags?"

Tags gestured with her tail to the WildClan leader. "We'll go with Silverstar," she mewed. Her voice was firm, final. Hero nodded slightly to himself at her choice. The darkness of WildClan would well suit the East Faction, and the two leaders would undoubtedly get along well, from what he'd seen of Silverstar.

Now Thistlestar hesitated. "MossClan..." She glanced toward the South Faction cats-- the cats that had murdered and killed their Clanmates and gang members, and the ones who had begun the war.

There was a silence. No one wanted to take in their enemies, the murderers who'd broken up families and scarred young eyes and minds for all time. The South Faction members lowered their heads and shuffled their paws.

"We'll do it," mewed Rabbitflight suddenly. "The South Faction can stay with us. We didn't lose too many today..." His voice broke slightly and he half-turned to face the place where Duststar laid. His voice suddenly strengthened as he added, "and besides, blaming scared followers of an insane leader isn't fair to them, or anyone."

Hero blinked. Those were the last words he thought he'd hear from any cat, after this day. They were murderers, whether they were following a leader or not, and they had their own free will as well. Surely they could have rebelled, left their Faction?

But maybe he just didn't understand. There were many things he didn't-- why Clans were so tightly bound, why Faction members were so unwaveringly loyal. Why wouldn't they simply save their own necks instead of dying for simple friendships? It was a mystery to him, and would probably be until he died.

Which would be soon, now that he thought about it. If my leg doesn't kill me first, it'll be my brain.

Thistlestar was nodding in surprise, albeit slightly impatiently. "Good, good." She glanced quickly over to the wounded, and a look of worry crossed her features. "I-I'm going to check on the wounded," she mewed, her strong posture finally breaking as she padded over to the bodies of the dead and dying,

She's checking for her Clanmates, Hero realized. I wonder how many lived through this...

Jayflight suddenly straightened beside him. "Snowfeather! Swiftstorm!" she cried out in relief. "You're alive!"

A rush of relief came through Hero as he saw his friends, though the air was still sharp with the tang of blood.

We lived through this... he thought. But at the cost of how many others?

written by ember