[BlooRey DVD]

65 Moons Tom NightClan

                        S U N P U L S E

Ginger ears flattened slightly against his skull as a fat raindrop landed squarely between amber eyes. Shaking his head as though that would prevent further assaults, Sunpulse stood up from where he had been seated, gaze casting out toward the distant mountains. He had come here with the intent of visiting an old friend who’d gone to live with the Tribe. He and Dusk had set up these meetings so as not to let one of Sunpulse’s only remaining friendships wither away. But it would seem today they would not see one another.

Not that Sunpulse could blame Dusk. His waiting period here had been filled with unease; the river was swollen, water tearing down its bed at a much faster pace than was usual. In fact, it looked almost as though it were ready to escape at a moment’s notice. Add to that the dark storm clouds that hung over the mountains, Sunpulse could only assume Dusk had been deterred from making the journey because the Tribe had been caught in the storm that was just now engulfing the valley.

Amber eyes widened in alarm as a sheet of rainwater seemed to materialize out of nowhere, surging forward with unexpected ferocity. So thick it was that Sunpulse not only found his fur quickly drenched, but the ginger tom also found himself blinded for a heart stopping moment. Squinting through the heavy rainfall, the NightClan tom’s jaws parted as he inhaled a breath. I have to get out of here. He thought to himself.

Turning his back on the cloud-covered mountains and quickly rising river, Sunpulse set as quick a pace he dared back toward his home territory. He didn’t want to risk running, for the grass underpaw had grown slick with rain and the tom could hardly see a tail length before him. Still, his quick trot covered decent ground, though it would not be quite enough to save the unaware tom. For behind him, the banks of the river could no longer hold the gushing river, and just as RainClan’s camp was over taken some distance away, so too was the very ground he stood upon.

Water surged to overtake his paws, sweeping beneath him and crashing into his belly fur. A ginger head snapped up in alarm, the NightClan warrior moving in sharp bounds now as he attempted to escape the cold wetness around him. But the current was persistent, and as icy liquid continued its unhindered and unforgiving path over fox lengths of territory, Sunpulse found himself swept away. Unskilled paws thrashed in the water as he fought to keep his head above the surface. Every time he found himself pulled under, he briefly lost track of which way was up as the river tossed him in confusing pirouettes.

By some StarClan given miracle, he would breach the surface again, coughing and sputtering as fear-widened amber eyes searched for something familiar. But having started so far from the lands he called home, factoring in the river’s seemingly random flow pattern, the poor tom had little chance of orienting himself while trapped in the water’s cold grip. I have to get out, get to drier land. He thought suddenly, ginger paws still attempting to swim. But the river was not done with him yet.

He registered the general impact first. His body collided with something beneath the water’s surface, forcing the breath from his lungs. Claws scraped against bark, the ginger tom gasping for air only to hiss in pain as a stinging sensation bloomed from just behind his right foreleg. Despite the roaring river and the pounding of blood in his ears, he heard something snap. The bark-covered protrusion was quickly left behind as Sunpulse’s forced journey downstream continued.

Claws dug desperately into a raised piece of land as he drifted by, muscles funneling every bit of strength he had left into hauling himself onto the protruding piece of land. His right side revolted at every movement, his skin attempting to let him know something was terribly wrong. But all he could think about was getting out. Back legs scrabbled feebly on whatever hold they could find, and eventually the sodden tom crawled safely onto somewhat dry land.

Though his legs trembled, threatening to give out beneath him at a moment’s notice, the hammering of his heart and the associated panic were enough to keep him standing. In almost every direction he looked, all he could see was water. He could no longer tell where the river had originated, or where the scentlines were. Was he even still in the valley? Where had he been washed to? Rain continued pelting down from above, stinging his side and hindering his vision. He could only see one direction that looked remotely dry. And that is where he would go.

Staggering forward in a lurching, three-legged run, the NightClan warrior moved away from the rising river as fast as he could manage. He ran despite his lungs pleading for air. Ran despite the burning in his muscles. Despite the sting in his side. He had to put as much distance as he could between himself and the crazed river that could swallow him whole.

He lost track of how far he ran. He lost track of where he was. But eventually, the events of the last day overcame him, and his paws would carry him no longer. His hind paws were the first to give out, his rump crashing to the ground mid step. Because his right foreleg refused to hold much weight, the sudden loss of his hindquarters caused him to lurch to one side. Just barely managing to stop himself from slamming into the ground, the sodden ginger tom cat slumped onto his left side in the middle of the open ground. Rain continued to batter the defeated warrior, exhaustion swarming him in the form of dark spirals congregating at the edge of his vision.

Lifting his head with what little strength he had left, he finally looked to his complaining right side. Wet ginger fur was darkened by a slow flow of crimson blood, seeping forth from a puncture behind his right foreleg. Protruding from his skin were bits of a branch, splinters centered around a larger piece embedded in his side. His head collapsed to the ground again as he lost out to the lethargy, darkness swallowing him and quelling his pain for the time being.

He was woken by the sound of something familiar. Bleary eyes cracked open, and the semi-conscious tom managed to register that it had at least stopped raining. What he thought odd, however, was how he could feel as though he were simultaneously on fire and plunged into a river in Leafbare. His body trembled in short bursts, wracked by chills that had set in after spending too long alone and in the rain. He felt sluggish, confused. He was cold, yet his jaws were parted as he panted sharply, trying to regulate the burning heat that tore through him at random.

Why had he come to, again? And was he hearing voices? Dragging his head along the ground, he moved enough to direct his gaze in the vague direction of the voices. Are... they calling to me? Maybe I’m dying, and these are my escorts. He thought grimly, amber eyes shutting and hiding the black form approaching at the head of the two-cat patrol. He didn’t particularly want to die; despite recent misgivings, he still felt as though dying would mean he would miss out on so much. There was too much he would miss if he were to die now. But every rise and fall of his flank sparked little pinpricks of pain from his injured side, and only served to bring back that exhaustion.

He wanted to sleep. But every brief crack open of his amber eyes revealed a little something more. Black fur. Green eyes. Such bright green eyes. Holly..?
--
Word Count: ~1300 words
Tags: Fawn
Notes: I am just as surprised as you xD

Believe that it is darkest before the dawn of a beautiful new world.
You will see it when you believe it.

[Fawn]

Baby I need light, I need fire

51 Moons Warrior NightClan

"I should've went with him," growled a lanky tom stalking through the wet, muddy expanse of no-man's land.

"Blaming yourself won't fix anything," Hollystorm retorted, tired of Vinetail's continued self-bashing. "How about you use your nose more than your mouth?" Vinetail's jaws parted to argue but he got the message, and dutifully shut up.

Hollystorm's green gaze traced the outlines of Moondance's ears, Sunpulse's littermate leading the way through the outskirts of Clan territory. They had been forced to walk around NightClan's perimeter with the mountains and avoid RainClan entirely. The flooding must have forced them from their home, their camp being right on the river bank. It was enough to make her stomach tighten in sympathetic dread. The flooding in NightClan's cavern had been trial enough; she couldn't imagine how it would feel to lose over half NightClan's territory from a single event.

An eerie silence lay beyond RainClan's scentline, which had nearly faded to oblivion after so much rain. Hollystorm caught up to Moondance's stride, speaking as she overtook the skilled huntress. "It's not much farther. He would meet Hazeheart in this wooded copse on the other side of the river." She knew the way, though her voyages beyond Clan territory were few and far between. Hollystorm couldn't stop herself from breathing deep, leaving her jaws parted as she walked for even the faintest whiff of Sunpulse.

Where are you, sunshine? Don't tell me you're in some sort of trouble.

If he died just when they were starting to make things right between them, she'd never forgive him.

"He didn't cross the river," Moondance spoke with such certainty, Hollystorm believed her in an instant. "He's no fool."

Vinetail's posture straightened, heartened by Moondance's surety. Hollystorm, however, kept her eyes narrowed, heart beginning to pound with discomforting rapidity. "Spread out, we'll find him more quickly."

And so the search began. Vinetail had doubled back towards RainClan territory on the off chance that Sunpulse had sought shelter with their neighbors; Moondance and Hollystorm combed the riverbank just beyond Clan lands. The swollen river looked monstrously large, and Hollystorm could not tell where the original bank actually was - only that the fast-moving, cloudy water could drown even the strongest swimmer. Her throat tightened, half expecting to see a flash of sodden ginger fur floating in with all the other debris.

A soft tickle of fur on her flank made her freeze in her tracks, a familiar-yet-distant scent coaxing her in the direction of a sodden embankment. Hollystorm's eyes widened. A faint wind carried her mother's sweet scent right to her heart, and with it, the smell of blood and Sunpulse.

Thank you, Mother.

"Sunpulse!" Hollystorm hurtled towards a slumped figure upon the ground, his body so covered in mud and plastered down by water that she had almost missed him entirely. The iron tang of blood hit Hollystorm's tongue, and she nearly choked on her fear as he failed to respond to her calls. Moondance ran to her brother's side, nosing him in short, frantic motions. "He's breathing, but his leg is injured bad."

Hollystorm flushed with relief. "We're going to need a medicine cat."

"We need to carry him back to camp," Moondance demanded, tail lashing. Hollystorm's eyes gleamed as she squared off against Sunpulse's littermate. "It's too long a journey to make with him hurt like this! Even if we cut through RainClan's territory. You and Vinetail are fast. Get back to camp as quick as you can and bring Shadowchaser." Hollystorm's tone softened. "You know it's his only chance."

A few slivers of gold were all Hollystorm could see of Sunpulse's face, the tom's head on the ground as though all the strength had been squeezed from his body.

Moondance's muzzle scrunched as though she wanted to argue, but the she-cat only nodded - and took off on hare-fast paws for RainClan's border. Hollystorm looked at the fallen tom, heart in her throat. She padded over hesitantly, before leaning down to sniff the jagged stick jutting out of his leg, and then one of his paw pads. Hollystorm reeled back, shocked to find it so hot.

He's sick, she realized, throat going dry. "Hang in there, sunshine," Hollystorm whispered, pressing her nose gently to Sunpulse's forehead, "we'll get you home."

BlooRey DVD 711 Words

[BlooRey DVD]

65 Moons Tom NightClan

He could hear voices bickering above him, and his eyes rolled behind closed eyelids as though he were trying to find the cats responsible. His mouth was open, and though he wanted desperately to find the words to calm the quarrel between the two familiar voices, he found his mouth to be uncomfortably dry, and severely lacking in words to speak. It would seem as though his intervention would go unneeded, however, for soon the voices ceased and he thought he heard pawsteps receding over the muddy terrain.

One cat remained near him; he was dimly aware of their presence, as well as the soft sound of them checking on his wounds. A nose pressed to his paw pad, causing it to twitch half-heartedly. An amber eye barely cracked open at the sensation, pupil contracted to little more than a slit despite the flat lighting all around them. His chest continued to heave in short pants, interspersed by small bursts of shivers as his body warred with an unseen opponent. Despite it all, he was able to focus in on a voice speaking to him.

Grimacing through the roughness in his throat, the mud-caked tom urged his maw to move. “Home... Home must be... Pretty near, if you are... Standing here.” His voice was hoarse, and though he wasn’t sure just where the words came from, they felt right. His lips twitched in a trace of a smile before his body was wracked by a series of short coughs. Wheezing feebly as the coughs subsided, Sunpulse’s eyes rolled as he shut them against the surrounding air.

Each gasping pant brought Hollystorm’s scent to his palette, and he clung to that. Used it to stay conscious. His world had been so dark before the arrival of Hollystorm; he feared that if he were to fall asleep again, he might not wake up. StarClan, I don’t want to die. Came the jarring thought, a spike of fear piercing his heart. Groaning in a combination of exhaustion and pain, the ginger tom struggled to find any strength. Unable to open his eyes, he made another attempt to speak.

“Don’t... Don’t go.” He croaked, until his recent trauma crashed over him in a wave. His head reared up, though his eyes still refused to open, a desperate edge creeping into his tone as he clawed his way through a sentence. “Wait... The river... Flooding. You have to.. To get out of this place. Leave at a brisk.. Brisk pace. The water... All, it will consume. The river will... Will be your tomb. And in my heart I know it’s true... Nothing else matters, I just... Just can’t lose you.”

He fell into another fit of trembling coughs then, the tom’s body attempting to curl in on itself despite the protrusion in his side. Anything, anything at all to stop him from feeling as though the very heat of his being was leeching from him into the ground below as another chill wracked his frail frame. He didn’t care what happened to him. But he would never forgive himself if anything were to happen to Hollystorm.

Despite all that had happened between them, despite the dark color of her pelt... The sun-colored tom had come to re-learn over the last few moons that she remained the brightest light in his life. He couldn’t quite discern what they were on a good day, never mind when fever was wracking through him. But whatever it was... He would come to accept it, as long as he could keep seeing her smile.

I don’t want to die.
--
Word Count: ~600 words
Tags: Fawn
Notes: -innocent face-

Believe that it is darkest before the dawn of a beautiful new world.
You will see it when you believe it.

[Fawn]

Baby I need light, I need fire

51 Moons Warrior NightClan

The ragged, mud-caked tom trembled at Hollystorm's touch. It broke her heart in pieces, filling her with the same kind of helpless rage that had filled her father as Ghostlight slipped away to StarClan. No, she gritted her teeth at her starry ancestors, you don't get to take him.

“Home... Home must be... Pretty near, if you are... Standing here.”

Hollystorm's maw parted to abruptly shush him, scolding him to conserve his strength for what was guaranteed to be a grueling few hours - but Sunpulse's words struck chords, stilling her breath as if he had momentarily frozen time. The gravity of the words hit later; in that instant, all she heard was that warmth-giving ring of a melody, a rhyme. The flood had stolen almost everything but his voice. "Oh Sunshine," she whispered, curling her body tight to his shivering form, willing to give him every last ounce of warmth she had. His feeble 'Don't go' skipped right past her ears and into her heart. "I'm not going anywhere, not without you."

Sunpulse thrashed, more matching words spilling out as he remembered time and place. The weak pleas for her company fell apart, crumbling under the weight of his concern for... her. Hollystorm almost bit him on the ear, not knowing whether to scold this beautiful sunny fool she loved so much - or laugh at his inability to see the whole picture, yet again.

"How about I make you a deal?" Hollystorm's voice cracked, the emotion she tried to keep in check threatening to escape. "You won't lose me, and I won't lose you. First, Shadowchaser's going to fix you up," her voice softened into reassuring murmurs, the she-cat grooming him between the order-of-events. "Then we're going to get you back to camp. Then, when you're well enough, I'm going to cuff you around the ears for making me worry so much."

Something between a purr and a growl, Hollystorm pressed closer, counting the seconds it took for the sounds of a rescue party to finally be heard above the rush of the water. Hollystorm raised her head, "Over here!" she called, and in a moment, a harried looking Shadowchaser burst through the foliage with Vinetail and Moondance at his side; Vinetail's mouth was full of herbs, and Moondance, with an order from Shadowchaser to start collecting cobwebs, had already taken off in search of this new quarry.

Even though Shadowchaser was here to help, and said so in soothing tones, an expert glint in his golden eyes, Hollystorm felt protective at the slender tom's approach. That feral desire to chase away threats to Sunpulse had to be stomped down. Hollystorm scooted over - just a little - to give Shadowchaser room to work.

"Hollystorm, please get him some moss soaked in water." Shadowchaser's request earned a withering stare; right, because Sunpulse needs MORE water. He cut that sassy retort down with a gently raised paw. "He needs to stay hydrated, he has a fever and this injury is going to cost a lot of energy to heal." Shadowchaser walked away for a moment, then returned with a small but sturdy stick, Hollystorm watching with sharp eyes as he coaxed it towards Sunpulse's mouth. "Bite on this. I have to remove the one from your leg, and it's going to hurt."

"I'll get him water after," Hollystorm said, not about to leave him when he had to endure this next step.

Vinetail set down the herbs he'd carried for Shadowchaser, and picked up Hollystorm's task. She blinked gratefully at him, before all her focus went to the muddy ginger tom fighting his own battle by her paws.

BlooRey DVD 603 Words Notes

[BlooRey DVD]

65 Moons Tom NightClan

                        S U N P U L S E

He struggled through waves of darkness, his consciousness wanting nothing to do with the cycles of pain, of heat, of freezing that his body was being put through. The only thing that kept him fighting through the sleep clawing at his mind was her. He found himself clinging to her voice, to every word, desperate not to miss even a moment.

Just in case it would be his last.

He could feel her coat pressed to his, and briefly he felt guilt for he must be rather uncomfortable to lay beside, as soaked through as he was. And yet, her warmth kept him close to her, thankful for whatever heat he could pull.

Somewhere among the delirium, he found a smile, accompanied by a short exhale resembling a laugh. “D-Deal.” He rasped, regarding her order of events. StarClan, he really wanted nothing more than to return home safely. If you had asked him when he was younger where he would be in his life during his sixth-fifth moon, he certainly would never have imagined he would be laying in the aftermath of a flood, in the aftermath of so many ruined opportunities, cradled by the she-cat with whom at one point he had imagined spending the rest of his life. With whom he still imagined spending the rest of his life.

It was clear to him now. Despite the cloud of fog in his head, he had never been so sure of anything in his life.

StarClan, if I make it out of here... I’m going to tell her. I have to tell her.

He had to make it through this now, didn’t he?

The mud-caked ginger tom had long since lost any sense of time. Too overwhelmed with the pulsing pain in his side, and the strange back and forth of his body temperature, he didn’t have the energy to lend to counting the heartbeats trickling by. He did become aware that something changed, however, when Hollystorm suddenly called out. Too tired to move his head, he left it perched on Hollystorm’s paws, amber eyes dragging slowly to catch a glimpse of whoever it was that was approaching.

He did have the sense left in him to recognize Shadowchaser’s voice when the young medicine cat spoke. Maybe Sunpulse had a chance to make it out of here after all. He could hear brief bickering, and some shuffling, noting that Hollystorm scooted slightly further away from him, presumably to let Shadowchaser in. The feverish tom managed to find the dark furred healer as something was pushed toward his muzzle. His short, panting inhales told him it was a stick, despite the surrounding smell of wet earth. Feebly shifting so he could collect the bark covered object in his jaws, the ginger warrior shuffled it about in his teeth until it safely crossed the span of his jaw.

Breathing heavily around it, Sunpulse dropped his muzzle in a barely noticeable nod to indicate he was ready. Whether or not he was truly ready was another thing entirely. Were you ever ready to have an impaled stick yanked from your side? He guessed not. Still, it couldn’t stay there forever, now could it?

He wasn’t sure whether it was a blessing or a curse that Shadowchaser gave him little warning before heaving on the embedded branch. With a muffled howl, the warrior’s amber eyes snapped open, his pupils but a claw-scratch in a sea of sun. His jaw snapped shut involuntarily, needle sharp teeth embedding themselves into the bark, a snapping sound following as he put the stick’s structural integrity to the test. Although he thought he heard voices arguing above him, the shock prevented him from hearing clearly. His body trembled as a new wave of agony swallowed him whole.

When his head finally stopped spinning, and his lungs stopped screaming from the pain, the golden tom sputtered, expelling pieces of bark from his mouth as his claws curled in confusion. “I’m.. Okay, I’m alright.” He croaked, his gaze searching out a family green one. “Didn’t... expect that bite.” He finished, a shaky laugh spilling from his jaws. Another shiver shook his frame, and he found himself instinctively pushing his head into Hollystorm’s shoulder. He didn’t want to see the bleeding mess that would certainly be his shoulder just now. He could already scent the renewed stream of blood as Shadowchaser worked to patch it up properly.

“S-StarClan, how is it possible that... I find myself frigid one heartbeat, only to... To change in a breath and overheat?” He mumbled half heartedly, finding that his eyes wanted to close again. He couldn’t let himself succumb to that sleep. Sunpulse still feared there would be no waking him up if he slipped out of consciousness now.

Breathing alone seemed an impossible task.
--
Word Count: ~820 words
Tags: Fawn
Notes: -rolls around-

Believe that it is darkest before the dawn of a beautiful new world.
You will see it when you believe it.

[Fawn]

Baby I need light, I need fire

51 Moons Warrior NightClan

Sunpulse's howl ricocheted through every bone in Hollystorm's body. She couldn't stop herself from fixing Shadowchaser with a murderous expression, her eyes narrowed into icy green slits in a look so like her father, Shadowchaser took a visible step back. That moment of intensity subsided seconds later, as Sunpulse began to spit out the stick, spraying bits of bark and dirt as he coughed weakly against her. Hollystorm wrapped her tail protectively across the muddied, sodden back of the formerly ginger tom.

"You're alright," she echoed, as if words alone could staunch the bleeding just as effectively as the cobwebs Moonshine had just brought. While Shadowchaser worked tirelessly on Sunpulse's shoulder, Hollystorm found she couldn't keep her eyes away from Sunpulse's face. She saw the pain and the fear and the confusion swirling around inside of him. She wanted to catch each of those emotions and shred them with her claws, leaving him with peace and comfort and relief from the temperature-war his body was waging on him.

She didn't understand it, and it scared her.

It reminded her of Ghostlight's final days. Hollystorm clenched her jaw until it ached, then forced herself to relax before Sunpulse, his nose buried in her fur, could detect even the faintest whiff of her fear. "Let's get you home, Sunshine." It was a soft murmur meant for his ears and his ears alone, but Hollystorm soon found herself locking gazes with Shadowchaser, just as he stepped back, a stray strand of cobwebbing draped across a chestnut-brown chest.

"Can he move now?" Hollystorm asked, eager to get him out of this miserable, wet place. She shifted aside to let Vinetail bring the soaked moss to Sunpulse's head, their Clanmate's eyes bright with relief.

"I want to wait to make sure the cobwebs hold before we try to get him home," spoke Shadowchaser earnestly. "In the meantime, I'll go get some feverfew." Before he took even one more step, Shadowchaser gently smiled at Sunpulse, though something not-quite-so-easy-to-read hid behind his eyes.

"If you're not nauseous, I want you to put something in your stomach before we go." Shadowchaser's words came out calm and patient, but Hollystorm's own gaze narrowed, pinpointing that peculiar look as if she were targeting prey. She let the medicine cat get a harelength's head start before she gently extricated herself from Sunpulse's side with a quick murmur about being right back.

The fur along the medicine cat's back prickled at her sudden appearance at his tail, her protectiveness lending her strength of purpose and stealthy, determined steps.
"What was that about?"

"P-Pardon?" Shadowchaser blinked, looking both taken aback and guilty at the same time.

"That look you gave him. There's something you're not telling me." He wasn't going to wiggle his way out of answering, and he seemed to sense that, because he let out a small sigh of resignation.

"It's... It's possible he's hit his head... Have you noticed that he's speaking in--" Shadowchaser gulped. "--Well, he's speaking in rhyme?"

Hollystorm stared at him. He doesn't know! Then, in an uncharacteristic show of freedom, the black she-cat laughed. It felt good to laugh, even with Shadowchaser looking incredibly bewildered and uncomfortable all the while. "You're too young to remember, Shadowchaser. Sunpulse rhymes. It's... It's what he does. Did." Before I called everything off.

Shadowchaser looked bemused, as if he were struggling to accept that this was simply Sunpulse's way.

Hollystorm's heart squeezed, and being away from the ginger tom suddenly felt impossible. She needed to get back. She needed to be with him; to make sure he was safe and - perhaps selfishly - to hear the rhythm of his words and the feel the warmth they always provided.

Shadowchaser must have been an apprentice when Sunpulse lost his voice. It was strange, coming to the realization that there were whole generations of NightClan cats who did not remember or had never experienced Sunpulse's unique way of speaking. That brief bout of humor faded, and she left Shadowchaser to collect his feverfew. Her paws carried her swiftly back to where they she had last seen Sunpulse, and something inside her chest loosened it's iron grip when she laid eyes on him again.

Moondance and Vinetail were keeping him company, the tom no longer sprawled out in the mud, but had been carefully maneuvered to the base of a tree, where he would be more sheltered from the elements. Hollystorm approached softly, as if afraid her presence might intrude upon the healing process that had begun. "Vinetail, help Shadowchaser find feverfew. Moondance,"

Sunpulse's littermate gave her a narrow-eyed stare, sensing the authority in her tone and definitely not enjoying it.

"Catch something small for Sunpulse. That is your specialty, isn't it?" Hollystorm's green eyes flashed in challenge, fully aware that Moondance would never tolerate a negative word said about her hunting prowess. The she-cat stalked off without a word, leaving the two of them alone once more.

BlooRey DVD 824 Words Notes