Owlpaw took in a deep breath as he watched a piece of the branch break off and fall towards them. Reddish-brown fur flashed at the edge of his vision.

It was Adderflight, PetalClan's medicine cat.

The apprentice watched as the splintering branch fell right in front of him, inadvertently creating a way to escape. In a moment, Finchtuft was swarming up the branch, leaping expertly as he jumped his way to the top of the crevice. He stood on the firm ground and backed out of Owlpaw's sight.

Adderflight followed. His steps and jumps were more clumsy and slow as he struggled up the branch. The medicine cat finally made it. Robinstar and Lilybreeze launched themselves up the splintering branch and landed on solid ground. The branch creaked as they leaped off.

Owlpaw felt as if he were rooted to the ground with terror. Fear sent icy streaks of horror through the tom as another creak from the tree filled his ears. He felt a sharp shove from his right.

"Go!" It was Logbite. The she-cat's gaze was lit up with a ferocity Owlpaw had never seen in her eyes before. She practically shoved him forward, which caused Owlpaw to stumble.

Duckfrost, appearing out of nowhere, grabbed Owlpaw's scruff and dragged him towards the branch. Lurching forward, the apprentice shook off the warrior and jumped nervously up the branch. It groaned as he continued to jump up the branch.

Owlpaw felt relief pulse through him as he made it onto solid ground. Pressing his paws firmly against the ground, he turned around to see Duckfrost wildly scrambling up. His eyes were wide and panicked as he hauled himself up and whipped around.

"Logbite! Get up here!" he screeched and suddenly Owlpaw saw that the she-cat was trying to get up the falling branch. It splintered and everything seemed to stop.

Logbite mustered an enormous leap, her back legs clearly shaking from the effort as she launched herself up. Her flanks were heaving as she scrabbled at the flat wall of stone. The branch shifted and everyone seemed to hold their breath as they watched.

The branch landed on Logbite's back, and with an ear-shattering roar, she fell. A SNAP! pounded in Owlpaw's ears as he looked nervously over the edge.

Logbite lay at the bottom. Her neck was twisted and her mouth was open in a soundless, panicked, horrified, agonized yowl. For a moment, her gaze brightened as she suddenly choked, letting out a coughing noise that sounded restrained, before falling limp and exposing her twisted, broken, bloody back. It was contorted and broken, the bones clearly sticking out where they shouldn't have been.

"We need to get out of here," snarled Hazelberry. Everyone's gazes seemed to drag toward her as she hissed, "Come on."

She marched off. Owlpaw, with a quiet and resigned sigh, trailed after her.

"Come on!" The medicine cat demanded, whipping around. Her lips drew back in the beginnings of a snarl.

PetalClan and PineClan shared a glance before trudging after her.

^~^~^~^

"Finally, we're here," announced Hazelberry after she squeezed through the small, leafy entrance of the Gathering island.

Owlpaw gazed around. The whole island seemed a little less than perfect. The tree seemed weaker and not as confident as it had been, its branches now reaching nervously into the dark sky. The nighttime sky confidently shoved them away and the tree shriveled under its harsh, starlit gaze.

"Oh, Sedgestorm and Flintpath are about to arrive-"

"Hazelberry? Stonestar? Owlpaw? We smelled blood. Is everything okay?"

It was Sedgestorm, padding through the entrance with SquirrelClan trailing after him and Flintpath, who trotted after him a moment later.

Owlpaw recognized Shrewfoot, SquirrelClan's medicine cat, along with Talondust and Mossheart. The latter looked much healthier than the two MudClan warriors had described him as, and Yellowstar followed them up. As Owlpaw realized Nutgaze would not be following, another relentless wave of grief crashed into him. It was numbing by now; all the death was no longer uncommon.

"Well... The camp collapsed," the she-cat replied bluntly, "Logbite, Rainpad, and Heatherstar died."

Sedgestorm's eyes widened, "What will they do without a leader-?"

"Shush," she hissed, "The plan, remember?"

Sedgestorm dipped his head, though Owlpaw could see the fur on his shoulders rising. Hazelberry gave a happy little twitch of her tail before she quickly scaled the tree. Her claws dug into the bark as she scrambled up. The medicine cat hauled herself onto the branch and let out a yowl. All of the cats walked over, gazes dark and ears flattened.

"Cats of all Clans," she announced, "I, Hazelberry-"

"MudClan," interrupted Sedgestorm quietly.

"-have decided that," Hazelberry glared at Sedgestorm, "Clans must always be in this place. I mean, StarClan wants it to be so... Therefore, I propose we make one big Clan."

Uproar did not break out. A shocked silence settled over the cats.

"How will we choose deputies? And leaders and medicine cats?" Lilybreeze called out.

"And what if StarClan does not agree?" asked Robinstar.

"StarClan will send clouds to cover the moon," Hazelberry snapped as if she was talking to an incompetent kit, "Haven't you learned anything?" She scoffed quietly.

"So what will we call it?" shouted Duckfrost.

Adderflight questioned, "And where will we live?"

Shrewfoot shared a concerned glance with Yellowstar and then the latter queried, "How are we going to rebuild the lost herb storages? And provide for all of these cats?"

"We will live here, on the Gathering island. It, of course, will need some additions and changes, which will be made in time. The herb storages can be replenished, don't worry," she assured the SquirrelClan cats, "I can fetch some from MudClan. We'll get herbs and prey from all of the territories now, so it'll be easier to feed all of these mouths."

"So what are we calling it?" Duckfrost yelled, louder this time.

"Depends on what you all want," she meowed graciously, tail waving.

"FrostClan!" Someone yowled.

"JuniperClan!" Another cheered.

"GaleClan!"

"HeatherClan!"

"RainClan!"

"MeadowClan!"

Suddenly, Hazelberry's voice broke through the clamor.

"Silence!" She screeched, "You id- independent cats need to think more like a Clan. Think of what each Clan needs or wants... or what saved us."

"RosemaryClan!" A cat shouted.

"That sounds absolutely ridiculous," scoffed Hazelberry.

"How about RoseClan? It still represents rosemary," offered Robinstar.

Everyone glanced at each other as if saying "this is too easy". Making a Clan didn't seem this easy. The warrior code and their ancestors were already saved from previous Clans and they were sure they weren't giving up their beliefs. But was it really that simple to decide on a name, a leader, a deputy, a medicine cat, and then call yourself a new Clan? 

"RoseClan!" cheered Lilybreeze. She was soon joined by the newly-formed RoseClan cats, their voices loud and confident.

"Okay... and now what?" called Finchtuft, "Nice, new Clan. We'll decide who is medicine cat and deputy in a little bit. What do we do now? Most of our families are dead. Sure, we have friends, but family is different. How are we supposed to move on?"

"Oh, and, as your leader, you will look to me for guidance," meowed Hazelberry smoothly.

What?