Orange sunset light bled into ShadowClan's camp, and a slight chill filled Smokeflood. It was a mix of the cool air, and seeing her great leader's deputy stand before her. Pearlfrost. The right side of his face was covered in blood from a cut vertically down the outside corner of his eye, though he seemed to be able to see fine. Multiple other cuts lined his body, most notably on his lower jaw, across his shoulder, and a rather hideous missing patch of thick white fur on his flank.

"Pearlfrost..!" His name left her mouth, her eyes desperately seeking his attention. The crowd gathered was loud, all noticing that Pearlfrost has arrived, that the deputy was alive and even he had abandoned RiverClan camp. "Pearlfrost!" How many others are alive and trailing behind? How many more?! Don't tell me this is it— there has to be more! She called to him again, and finally his green eyes swept over to her. His forest colored gaze was slightly lost, yet solid and firm at the same time. Their eyes locked.

She took a step to approach him, but the cats grew even louder as something happened, and suddenly she was pushed aside by a cat next to her. Smokeflood curled her lip to snap at the cat by her side, but she noticed what was happening. The crowd was parting. Down the center of the part strode a russet she-cat. The fur along her back and spine was tipped black, and her head and cheeks were crowned with dark shading as well. She walked with her tail high through the spongy nettles of the camp floor, her eyes ahead. The dying light blanketed her, shadows of trees striping her as she approached. The talk died down to silence, and crows calling in the distance could be heard.

"Cherrystar," Pearlfrost meowed, bowing his broad head. She dipped her head as well.

      "I heard about what happened from one of your warriors, Murkyripple. We're very sorry about it." Pearlfrost blinked, but Smokeflood saw his minute hint of his jaw tightening.

      "Thank you," he whispered.

      "Our medicine cats will heal any injuries you need help with, and you may stay in our camp," low murmuring started up, but Cherrystar flicked her tail sharply. "Any able bodied warriors you have must hunt, though. I can assign my own warriors to aid in teaching the basics of hunting in this foreign terrain."

      "Very reasonable and very kind." The white tom agreed. Cherrystar let out a breath.

      "I will have to be leaving now, though, for the Gathering; you have impeccable timing." At the words, the ShadowClan warriors pre-decided for the meeting parted from the crowd, heading for the entrance. Smokeflood strained to hear her final words. "I'll meet with you directly after." After the Gathering cats had all left, talk slowly started up again, and the ShadowClan cats dispersed. The few RiverClan cats who had also been there, lost in the crowd made their way to Pearlfrost. Smokeflood hung back a few paces, watching the ten or so of her clanmates check the deputy over. Leopardnose, Kiwipaw, and two ShadowClan medicine cats also made their way over, bundles of herbs prepared for the just-returned survivors.

      "Pearlfrost, what happened at the end?" The black tom Rooksplash meowed, green eyes wide. Pearlfrost shook his head slowly.

     "It.. uh... most of ThunderClan had left camp. All of us that were just brought back appeared dead...," his gaze was trained on the ground. "ShadowClan's patrol came in, and they were able to fend off ThunderClan while we got out." 

"And ThunderClan?" The weak whisper of Olivestripe sounded.

"They're crawling around in our territory like maggots on a rotting fish," Beechfeather growled. The brown she-cat leaned heavily against Sandstripe, the flesh along her foreleg ripped open deeper than Smokeflood dared to stair. Pearlfrost twitched in ear in grim agreement.

      "Alright, alright, we've got work to do. Please find somewhere else to go," Leopardnose meowed, his amber eyes distant as he warded the cats away. "Smokepaw, if you can, please help me move Pearlfrost." The lithe spotted medicine cat moved to the humongous deputy's side, and Smokeflood cake to the other side to take the brunt of his weight.

      "Smokeflood, actually," she murmured. Pearlfrost cast a thoughtful glance down at her. "Miststar named me before Pearstar.. took her...." Both of the toms were silent as they stiffly made their way to the medicine den. What are they going to say, though? Congratulations, you were named because your leader knew something terrible was happening to prevent a future naming ceremony? A warrior's naming ceremony is supposed to be good, happy, a celebration. Mine was to give me strength for coming pain.

      "The nest over here will do." Leopardnose bounded ahead a few steps at they entered the medicine den tucked behind bramble walls and made into the roots of the fallen pine. Many of the conscious RicerClan cats were quietly speaking to each other, watching the newly injured struggle in. Kestrelkit was sitting numbly by his mother's side; the cold honey-colored queen most likely would be taken out to be buried soon.

Smokeflood grunted under the sudden weight of Pearlfrost shifting to be supported completely by her, but she managed fine to get him laying down. By the time she had done that, Leopardnose had unraveled a bundle of herbs. It was then that Smokeflood noted how unkempt the medicine cat was— his under-eyes were dark, his fur unkempt and lacking the typical glossy sheen. A thought occurred to her.

      "Hey... have you...," Smokeflood swallowed thickly, glancing down before picking her gaze up again. "Did Sandleaf make it...?" Leopardnose didn't look up from his work, his paws dabbing cobwebs at the blood from wounds that hadn't been able to start healing due to constant movement.

      "No..... No, she, uh.. she died. Back in camp. She, um." Leopardnose stopped what he was doing, eyes still trained on the patch of fur he was working on. "She, Kiwipaw, and I were trying leading cats out of camp out of the back of the medicine den.... A wood elemental got her."

Oh.

"I need to get some celandine." The auburn tom stood suddenly, padding away to the herb storage in the rotting pine's core. Flurrypaw called out weakly to Leopardnose, who promised to stop on the way back to Pearlfrost.

"How bad is it..?" Smokeflood whispered. Pearlfrost blinked his eyes open blearily, waving her over with his tail. She neared, sitting down. The blood stained his fur an ugly red, and she breathed lightly before raising a paw. The trickle of water was almost too far for her to call, but after a few moments it came to her from a stream just outside of camp. Gently, she ran the water through the deputy's snow colored fur. The blood and dirt in his coat caught in the flow, coming out of his fur and leaving a slight reddish tinge. It would take another wash to get the rest out, she noted.

      "It's bad," he finally murmured, eyes closed. She knew he wasn't talking about his injures. He'd heal as long as he was treated soon, although the many of the wounds would definitely scar.

"Did you see Miststar at all? Where is she?" Smokeflood pressed, ears back. Pearlfrost turned his head away.

      "When Pearstar came into battle, he showed off that he had Miststar. He was heavily guarded, none of us could touch him or Miststar. She was... pretty beat up. He left with her not too long after heavily injured ThunderClan warriors started to flee, and he took the cats they were taking prisoner as well." Smokeflood stopped cleaning his fur, the water flowing mid-air, and she stood up with an indignant glare to the pine trees around them.

      "The stolen warriors— we need to get them back! We have to go save them!" Smokeflood's fur bristled. Pearlfrost blinked calmly.

     "You're getting ahead of yourself—."

      "Every moment they're sitting with ThunderClan, the closer they come to death. We need to go, I can get some...!" Many of the injured cats were watching. Some seemed startled, others annoyed, and many just seeming pained and melancholy.

      "Smokepa—flood— calm down. You're getting ahead of yourself, as I was trying to say." Smokeflood lashed her tail before sitting down with a sharp sigh. "I understand what's happening to you. We all do. Something terrible just happened, and we all react in different ways. I know you want to go fight, you want to try and make things right, but right now Cherrystar is going to the Gathering. She'll gather information, see what ThunderClan wants, and then we can make plans." Smokeflood exhaled, she's falling to Pearlfrost. He wasn't gazing back, rather, he was staring up into the dusk sky with a look she couldn't quite read.

      "...Right now I would be finishing up training with a few laps around the Buzzing Meadow." Smokeflood finally whispered. She dropped her hold on the water, letting it splash to the ground. However, the usually comforting element hitting her fur felt numb this time. Pearlfrost stretches out slightly with a grunt, laying his head down. Leopardnose was speaking with Flurrypaw now, a few flowers at his paws, and Laurelstep was trying to get in a word as well.

      "You know, I remember when Miststar told me one of the kits was showing great promise. I had just become deputy, and Miststar had only been leader for a season or so. She had said, Blackripple's kit was trying to get outside to go see the river, and when none of the warriors would take her, she brought a wave of water down so that she could be in the river." Smokeflood's fur grew hot and she ducked her head. He was talking about her. That was the first time I had manipulated water. "I know you had a rougher apprenticeship because of your gift. And I'm sorry about that." Pearlfrost sighed. "For what it's worth, though, you've turned out as a great warrior. I'm willing to help you as much as you'd like the rest of this messed up journey."

"Really..?!"

"Yeah, I never trained you during your apprenticeship, someone will need to know my special water moves." Smokeflood's eyes lit up. With training from Lightspark and Pearlfrost, there's no way I'll lose to ThunderClan again..! "It will be a while, I still have to heal a bit." He grunted, but she nodded.

      "Of course, of course."

      "Sorry it took me so long, their herb storage is unfamiliar, and I stopped to check on Flurrypaw and Laurelstep." Leopardnose finally returned, eyes focused on Pearlfrost. "Smokepaw—flood— thank you for washing the blood, but there's not much else you can do." He settled down, beginning to chew up small yellow flowers. Smokeflood flicked an ear, standing and leaving the deputy's side, understanding the invitation to leave. She dipped her head in goodbye, leaving the den.

Instantly, she ran right into a cat.

"Watch where you're going—!" The RiverClan warrior growled, hazel eyes inspecting the cat before her. She was met with a dark brown and ginger tortoiseshell, their fur short and slightly unkempt. Their frame was lean and lithe, though, sturdy muscles were visible. Dull blue eyes stared back with a gleam.

"Whatever," she flicked her tail. Smokeflood grit her teeth, but held her head high, gazing down haughtily.

"What are you even doing back here? The only ShadowClan cats in this den are medicine cats, and I don't see a scratch on you." The tortoiseshell raised a brow and took a step back.

"I'm actually here to carry the dead body out." ...Oh.

"There's no reason for ShadowClan to have to carry out our fallen cats. I can do it," the gray mottled water she-cat meowed, still hanging onto the disdainful look.

"Hey man, my mentor told me I had to do this, so get out of the way." She moved to push past, but Smokeflood stepped in the way.

"No. Even if we were to let you lay a paw on Honeybreeze's body, her son is still at her side." Smokeflood meowed. The dusky tortoiseshell stood up straight.

"Look. I don't want to tell you guys how to deal with the dead, but really, the kit'll be there until she's nothing more than bones and scraps of flesh if you let him. Let me bury the—."

"Slatepaw, what are you doing?" A flash of pale brown-ginger. Smokeflood looked up. Ferntail? He's her mentor?! This Slatepaw is a real thorn-in-the-paw, there's no way her mentor is Ferntail! "I'm sorry Smokeflood, Slatepaw doesn't like listening to me. I told her to wait for me to ask if you wanted help." He let out a short breath of air, looking to his blue-eyes apprentice.

"Smokeflood, huh? I've heard about you at Gatherings. You're supposed to be RiverClan's hot-shot apprentice." Slatepaw took a step back, sizing her up. Smokeflood was much larger and muscled than the slim ShadowClan apprentice. The new warrior was aware of the fact, and felt a smugness tug at her.

"Yeah, that's me, don't piss yourself," Smokeflood growled, her tail swishing.

      She glanced up as the rest of the orange light was smudged away from the horizon, replaced by a warm brown fading into darker night sky. Starts started dotting the furthest from the fading sun, lighting up the sky alongside the full moon's relentless glow.

"Both of you, stop. Slatepaw, go back to the apprentice's den. I'll talk to Pearlfrost by myself." The tortoiseshell apprentice twitched her nose, pressing on.

"Ferntail, just let me put this cat in her place. I don't think she understands that she's a guest of ShadowClan, not the leader." Slatepaw unsheathed her claws, embers slowly flitting around her paws. Smokeflood readied herself, eyes narrowing.

"I think you'll only hurt your pride, kit."

"Slatepaw, please..!"

"Ferntail I'm only testing my abilities. This is a friendly challenge." She insisted. Ferntail's leafy green eyes were wide, and he shook his head.

"No, I won't allow you to fight with fire in the middle of camp for selfish reasons." Slatepaw curled her lip at this, and blinded forward. She's quick. And she must have some sort of skill with fighting if she's confident enough to try and fight me. Smokeflood stepped to the side last minute, but Slatepaw didn't seem to shocked. However, I have all of RiverClan's pride to uphold. So not only do I have more experience and a better fighting physique on my side, I also have that. This is nothing.

And it was nothing. Slatepaw bounded forward and leaped, forepaw raised with flames licking around her claws. Smokeflood gave a small scoff, ducking low to the ground, and unsheathed her claws. The water outside of camp was a bit too far to come to the summon on time, but her paws, like a magnet, could feel water even closer. I've never had to use this but.... The earth didn't groan, didn't shake, and it wasn't noticeable what was happening until it happen. The pine nettles went flying as the ground ripped apart in a small thorn sized holes, thin streams of water shooting up and spraying Slatepaw in the face. Groundwater.

Slatepaw hit the ground, coughing water that had gone into her mouth and nose, her paw no longer flaming. Smokeflood crouched down to be eye-to-eye.

"Stop being such a shriveling worm. Grow up. Be a respectable warrior." Slatepaw curled her lip and spat, a hot ember landing on Smokeflood's nose. She backed up, hissing in pain, the groundwater flying to relieve the hot burning feeling. Ferntail was hanging his head, but picked his gaze up to look at Smokeflood.

"I'm sorry, Ferntail, I didn't mean for her to—."

"No, you did mean for it," his eyes were downcast, and he shuffled over to Slatepaw. "Apologize to Smokeflood."

"She'll get over it. After all, she's a 'respectable warrior.'" She mocked, standing up straighter. Smokeflood blinked slowly and turned, beginning to pad away back into the medicine cat den.

"Sorry Ferntail," was all she said as she ducked under the bramble cover. StarClan, why did Ferntail have to be her mentor, of all cats. I bet he'll tell Lightspark when he gets back from the Gathering, and Lightspark is going to hate me. I think I may have just messed up our deal.... The dark she-cat padded past Pearlfrost, who was still being treated by Leopardnose. The white deputy spoke quietly to Beechfeather, who was laying in a nest near his head and being worked on by Kiwipaw. The silver apprentice sat back a moment, giving a soft, tired whine

Thymeclaw has also made his way into the den, and was laying next to Laurelstep. The slim, fluffy white trainer was looking better than the day before, but his pale pink-blue eyes were still clouded with exhaustion. She could also see Kalepaw sleeping, his paws twitching from a bad dream. Then she looked to Kestrelkit. The dark ginger tabby sat a mouse-length from his mother. One of the medicine cats had put fronds of grass, rosemary, and pine cones around the queen at some point. They hadn't wanted to use any of their limited supply of medical plants that were typically used in RiverClan for the dead. "The kit'll be there until she's nothing more than bones and scraps of flesh if you let him," is what Slatepaw said. I think she's right. The warrior padded over to the kit, sitting at his side. After a few moments, he looked up at her with large green eyes. She remembered just a few days ago when those eyes were mischievous and playful. Now they were blank and full of pain.

     "Do you think... she's... in StarClan...?" He whispered. Smokeflood took a breath. It hurt her stomach to watch what was happening to the kit.

     "A fierce warrior like your mother? Of course she's up there. I bet right now she's watching you," Smokeflood hoped those were the right words. Talking to kits was hard, and talking to grieving kits was even harder. I remember others telling me this when my mother died. She's in StarClan. She's watching over you.

      I wonder if StarClan is watching over us now. They probably are, since their ranks have grown greatly in under a day. Kestrelkit watched the sky, stars still appearing and dotting the dark blanket. I wonder why StarClan didn't warn us. I wonder why StarClan didn't protect us.

      "Honeybreeze used to say 'May StarClan light your path.' Do you know what that means? I used to ask her, but she told me I'd figure it out one day. Please tell me...!"

      "It.. uh.... it's wishing for our ancestors and comrades and friends who are in StarClan to guide and show us the way through life." Smokeflood breathed the explanation. She could feel a shiver pass through Kestrelkit, and she pressed closer to the young cat. Her own coat was long and thick, perfect for cool nights. He was still young, and only had kit-fluff to keep him warm. He whimpered softly.

       "May StarClan light your path, Kestrelkit," she whispered.

       "And may StarClan light your's."

//

AN

I messed up a bit on the coloring of Smokeflood lol oops. And I should have tinged the gray with red for Ferntail since he's cinnamon silver.

Also I don't know if anyone ever caught it but Smokeflood's suffix does have meaning I don't remember if I ever noted that in an AN.