sign away our peace [allofdustclan]

[frosty]

ooc. Episode two of my killing spree. Guess who this issssssss.

Anyways, I need most of DustClan to reply to this, as this drastically affects the whole Clan.

bic. Birchstar sat undernearth the High Tree at the edge of camp, just watching. She was just surveying her camp, her cats, her Clan. She had felt somewhat out of place lately, overwhelmed with the entire situation with MarshClan. War was the last thing she wanted for DustClan, but she would not have her cats back down from a challenge. DustClan would not be pushed around like a bunch of mouse-hearted fools. They were fighters til the end. That was what each and every one swore to on the night of their warrior ceremonies after all, right?

But the creamy brown she-cat couldn't help but feel overly stressed, tired. Her shoulders hunched and her pelt was ruffled. There was a defeated gleam in the depths of her deep green eyes. Her tail dragged lazily in the dirt behind her. In truth, Birchstar was already beaten. But she would never admit it. Hawkstar had won. He had driven her to the point of breaking, where a breeze could blow her over. She didn't even know if she had the strength to lead her cats into battle again. Was it her time to step down? She had heard StarClan whispering in her ears many times prior to this day. Were they calling her? Did they want her to come home? Did Sootstorm need her? More than her Clanmates? But how could she leave them in such a broken state. Closing her eyes, Birchstar tried to exhale all her pain, and then tried to inhale strength.

But her moment of peace was interrupted by a panic-striken wailing. Gravelpelt! And Cougarheart was with him! Birchstar was on her paws in an instant, racing to the camp entrance to meet her two grandsons, their eyes wild and their pelts on end. Their fur was drenched and fear scent radiated off of them in waves. The two warriors exploded into camp, almost colliding with their leader in their blind state of panic.

"Flood!" Gravelpelt screeched, skidding to a halt.

Birchstar rose to the challenge. "Every cat get out of camp! Head for higher ground!" she yowled. She could hear the water clearly now, hissing through the territory as it rushed towards the camp. It couldn't be long before the torrent swept through the camp, sucking cats into a watery grave... Birchstar blocked out the thought, and stood a little straighter. She would lead her Clan through this. "Warriors, check all the dens! Apprentices, help the elders and Flickerstorm! Gather as much of fresh-kill pile and herbs as you can carry! Save what you can! Don't panic!"

[Dawn]

Pebblepaw sat outside the apprentices den, grooming her pale gray tabby fur. The camp was peaceful enough, warm and quiet. Typical of a new-leaf afternoon in her opinion. Her eyes wandered to stare up at Birchstar, sitting beneath the High Tree. She looked distracted, lost in her own thoughts. Pebblepaw hoped that their dear leader was not worrying too much about all that was going on. Of course the MarshClan fiasco had cast a shadow upon the clearing, but Pebblepaw did not want to think that it would defeat them; any of them, including their fearless leader.

Birchstar did look tired though, very tired... the sight of her unusually bedraggled form made Pebblepaw shudder slightly. She did not want to think of Birchstar as anything but the strong, dependable leader she had known since birth. Where would they be without her? Pebblepaw didn't even want to imagine. The prospect of Birchstar being defeated by this whole ordeal scared Pebblepaw.

"Hey, you okay?"

[/color] Pebblepaw jumped as the voice of her half-brother jolted her back into reality. She looked around at his brown tabby face, creased with concern as he gazed down at her.
She nodded slightly, shaking her head to clear it. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." She mewed, forcing a smile she knew Buzzardfang would not buy. Indeed, she was not surprised to see doubt in his eyes but he did not press the point.
"Where's Gravelpelt? Did you already go out training today?"[/color] He asked, and Pebblepaw was relieved at the change of subject.
She shrugged slightly and shook her head. "I think he and Cougarheart went out but I don't know why. I haven't been out today though."[/color] She mewed, looking around the camp once more.
Buzzardfang nudged her ear with his nose. "We could go out hunting if you want, I can show you my method as to how to catch a rabbit."[/color] He meowed, smiling slightly as her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"Alright, sounds like a-"[/color] But she broke off then, at the sound of a wail from the outside of the camp.

She leapt to her paws at the same time that Buzzardfang turned to face the entrance of the camp, his hackles up and his claws unsheathed. Pebblepaw saw her mentor and his brother skid into the camp and immediately knew something was wrong. They looked terrified; but why? Her question was answered almost at once and in one word.

"Flood!"

"Every cat get out of camp! Head for higher ground!
Warriors, check all the dens! Apprentices, help the elders and Flickerstorm! Gather as much of fresh-kill pile and herbs as you can carry! Save what you can! Don't panic!"

Pebblepaw cast a terrified glance towards Buzzardfang who looked back at her through determined green eyes. "Come on, let's go help."[/color] He meowed and darted off, little Pebblepaw dashing at his heels, hardly knowing where she was going. She saw Beechtail dart past her, running towards his brothers, a determined look in his blue eyes.

She cast a look back towards Gravelpelt before following Buzzardfang into the medicine cats den. He started to push herbs towards her which she gathered in her jaws until she could hardly breath around the multitude of leaves. The varied scents in combination was nauseating, but she pushed through in order to serve her Clan. A nod from Buzzardfang, his jaws also stuffed with herbs, sent them both running back into the clearing to see where Birchstar wanted them to go.

---

Beechtail skidded to a halt beside his brothers, his eyes wide with fear, though masked by determination. "Which way is it coming from? How quickly?"[/color] He asked, looking sideways as a flicker of moment caught his attention. Pebblepaw and Buzzardfang had run back into the clearing, jaws full of herbs. "Helpful apprentice you have there, Gravelpelt."[/color] He remarked, turning back to Gravelpelt and Cougarheart.
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[Rachel]

Leopardfur had been sitting in her den, maintaining a position where she could keep an eye on Birchstar while checking her stores at the same time. Her chocolate brown eyes were fixed on the dwindling number of poppy seeds. How many had DustClan's leader gone through since Hawkstar's attack? Leopardfur had stopped keeping track. She had not received word from StarClan, however if she were to trust her eyes, it was time for Birchstar to step down.

The bengal sighed, and closed her eyes. She never thought she would ask for the Birchstar of old, the one who was stubborn and possessive, sure she was always right. She remembered when Flickerstorm had her first litter, and how the leader had decided that she had more right to her grandkits than their own father. Such fire had burned in her eyes, and Birchstar had seemed to live through her passion; now she almost seemed to be no more than an empty shell.

It is quiet now, she thought to herself, and it's my duty to her and the Clan to make her step down. I must speak to her. She slowly stood up and began to pad towards Birchstar, however she had only gotten a few steps outside of her den before Gravelpelt and Cougarheart burst into the camp.

"Flood!"

Leopardfur froze on the spot. Had DustClan not suffered enough in the past moons? She was only pulled out of her stupor when Buzzardfang and Pebblepaw pushed past her, jaws filled with her herbs. "Swallow nothing, and wash your mouths out with water once you drop those off!" she hissed before she bounded into her den. Her eyes scanned her den, her home, trying to figure what herbs to save. Finally she decided on the last of the poppy seeds. Birchstar would need them.

Sparing one last glance at her den, she bounded out to the clearing. Her head was spinning, where could they go? DustClan was flat and merciless when it came to floods. There weren't even any trees near the camp to climb. Her eyes turned to Birchstar, and she hoped with all of her heart that she could pull it together for this moment.

[Little Bee]

Burrclaw lay outside the warriors den head resting on his paws. He was on patrol later in the afternoon but for now he watched his clan mates through half lidded eyes. The day was lovely and with the sun baked earth pleasantly warming his belly he should have been content. But ever since the events with Marshclan he’d been uneasy, unable to relax fully. He’d noticed the same tension among some of the other Dustclan cats and his gaze flicked up to Birchstar.

Their leader sat under the High Tree, removed from the rest of her clan as she watched them all. She looks old, Burrclaw thought tail flicking pensively. A few moons earlier he would never have though such a thing. As a kit Birchstar had seemed almost eternal – the dependable leader they’d all wanted to someday be. Somehow he’d never thought of her growing old. The last few days had transformed her though. Half the time she moved through the camp as if in a trance. He knew he wasn’t the only cat worried; most of the clan seemed to share his concern and watched her out of the corner of their eyes. At the same time he couldn’t help but feel a spark of anger. It was her job to keep the clan together - reassure them. She was the clan’s heart, if she was a broken as she now looked were would that leave them?

A wail from outside of camp brought him quickly to his paws, claws sliding out to score the earth as he turned towards the entrance of camp. Gravelpelt and Cougarheart burst through the gorse entrance their coats matted with water and the smell of fear rolling of them in waves.

“Flood!”

"Every cat get out of camp! Head for higher ground!
Warriors, check all the dens! Apprentices, help the elders and Flickerstorm! Gather as much of fresh-kill pile and herbs as you can carry! Save what you can! Don't panic!"

A knot clenched in his belly and the fear that raced through him was almost palatable. Birchstar’s orders spurred him to action and he turned and ran into the warriors den. Relief that she seemed to have returned, at least temporarily, to her old self dampened his rising panic and he let himself trust that she would lead them through this as she always had.

“Everyone out!” he yowled to those cats who weren’t already moving, “Get those who can to carry fresh kill out of camp to higher ground.” Turning he raced out and over to Birchstar, green eyes wide with fright. “Where can we go? Everywhere is flat.”

[Dawn]

"Swallow nothing, and wash your mouths out with water once you drop those off!"

Pebblepaw looked back at Leopardfur as she and her half-brother darted towards the entrance of the camp. She nodded slightly to the medicine cat to show that she understood and would do as she said, though couldn't speak around the mass of herbs she carried with her. She turned back to Buzzardfang, stopping suddenly as she almost ran into him.

He had stopped and was looking around at Burrclaw. He had put down his herbs.
“Where can we go? Everywhere is flat.”

"The Openland, it has more hills than anywhere in the territory. And it slopes up as you get closer to Tall Trees."

[/color] He meowed urgently, silently thinking that PineClan would not take kindly to the whole of DustClan being so near their border. They would just have to deal though, this was much more important than worrying about angering PineClan. He bent down and scooped up his herbs once more, flicking his ears at Pebblepaw to follow him.

She did obediently, her ears laid back and her tail between her legs. Her eyes were wide with fear and watering slightly from the overpowering scent of herbs she held. She followed quickly, her eyes falling upon her mentor, Gravelpelt. He would help them, he would save them... she knew it. She believed that he could do anything.

She was worried about where they were going to go though. Even if the Openland and Tall Trees were the highest parts of the territory, would they be high enough? The River couldn't be sending that much water their way... could it? She knew it was deep, but how deep was it? She heard Beechtail behind her, yowling for his kits. "Bearkit, [Elmkit], come here now. We need to go."[/color]

She looked behind her and saw him emerge from the nursery, his son Bearkit held in his jaws. He was still a young thing, perhaps 4 moons old. He was usually such a lively kit, but now his eyes were stretched wide and she could almost scent his fear scent from here. Or was that her own? [/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]