The First and Final Meeting

[Stormeh]

The sun blazed down on the small she-cat's back as she stalked across RavineClan's territory. She was close to the CherryClan and TealClan borders, she knew, and as she reached them, she turned and began to pad in a northwest direction until she saw a rabbit. Her pupils dilated and she crouched. It was already captured by her eyes, and would soon be by her claws as well.

Her haunches rocked back and forth as she readied herself for the chase, the exhilarating chase that gave her such an adrenaline rush, until some creature came crashing through the underbrush that marked CherryClan's border. With a hiss, Goldenwing sprinted after the rabbit. She moved quickly, her paws barely hitting the ground, and she finally came side-to-side with it. With a little push from her powerful hind legs, she outraced it and whipped around, ensnaring it in her claws. The tortoiseshell she-cat ended its life with a quick bite to the neck and kicked dirt over it.

The she-cat's tabby stripes blended in well with the dappled sunlight that the trees at the border threw on the earth. Whatever the creature was that had almost cost her the rabbit was going to be sorry. The tabby-tortoiseshell waited by a bracken bush, tail lashing angrily, until another tortoiseshell form stepped away from the foliage. The young warrior sprang onto the older she-cat with claws unsheathed.

As the RavineClanner batted at the intruder, she found that the cat beneath her paws wasn't even trying to fight back. In fact, she had just fallen to the ground, not moving. Goldenwing stepped back quickly, tail fluffed and close to her body. She gasped as she recognized the she-cat in front of her who was standing up slowly.

"Tawnystone?" she mewed, remembering the aging CherryClan medicine cat's name. The warrior nudged the she-cat gently to help her get to her paws. "Are you insane?" the she-cat whispered, giving the medicine cat a lick on her forehead. "You should have announced your arrival! If I had known that you were coming to speak to Silverhawk, I would have..."

A flicker of confusion was in the she-cat's bright blue eyes for a moment. It cleared away only seconds before she began to speak again. "I'm not here to talk to Silverhawk, young one," she rasped. "I'm here to speak to you."

Goldenwing moved back a couple of pawsteps once she was sure that Tawnystone could sit on her own. Her golden eyes narrowed into slits. "This was not the place to speak to me, whatever you want," she growled hostilely. "For all I know, you're invading on RavineClan territory, and that's what it looks like right now, as a matter of fact."

Tawnystone purred. Her eyes closed for a few heartbeats, then opened. Happiness and memories seemed to pool around in their depths. "You're just like your father," she mewed. "He was always quick to judge, too, and quick to chase cats away." She sighed. "It's a wonder that he did what he did...the one deed that lead him to his death."

Goldenwing's ears perked up with interest. "You knew my father? For real?" She stared at the medicine cat, the one who more about her lineage than her own Clan members did. Actually, not a single member of her Clan knew where she came from....

Tawnystone nodded. "Of course I knew him," she mewed tautly. "I was his mate."

Anger flashed through Goldenwing's eyes and her body stiffened, but before she could speak, Tawnystone had opened her mouth again and was beginning to explain.

"You see, young one, you were not always from RavineClan." Memories seemed to flood back into her eyes as she recounted this tale. "You were supposed to be a CherryClanner, but you weren't because of one little technicality: your father was the CherryClan leader and I was the CherryClan medicine cat. Nightstar was strong, brave, and he knew what was right. He was so very just. It was just this one mistake he made, falling in love with me, and mine was falling in love with him. Not to say that you were a mistake, of course," she added quickly. "No, you most certainly were not."

The tortoiseshell coughed a racking cough, one that seized her whole body. "I don't have long to talk," she wheezed, "so don't speak, my warrior.

"Anyway, when I found out that I was to have kits, I did everything I could to make sure that no cat would ever find out besides Nightstar. He didn't know, even, until I finally told him, at which point he apologized profusely. Though what did that do? I still had you inside of me, and we had still broken the warrior code. I just simply...left my den when I knew it was time for me to kit. Luckily, I didn't show because you were the only one I was blessed with...and such a fine warrior you grew up to be. I left you on RavineClan's territory because I knew that you would be safe there; there was a patrol coming. After depositing you in a patch of garlic, it's amazing that those cats could find you. They must have thought I was such a mouse-brained fool, leaving my kit in garlic, of all things," she purred. "But it was the only thing that would mask your scent and my scent. I traveled quickly back to the camp, and no cat knew what had happened besides Nightstar.

"After grieving for my loss of you for some time, things became harder in the forest. Cats weren't trusting each other as they used to, and we were having fox and rogue problems. That's...how Nightstar perished.

"He lost his last life in the battle with Fernstar's rogues. I already knew that this would happen. I warned him, oh, I warned him, but he wouldn't listen. His words still ring in my ears..."

"Nightstar, I really don't think
this is such a good idea..."

The CherryClan medicine cat sat in the CherryClan leader's den,
staring at the young black-and-white tom with worried eyes.

"This is truly not going to bring about any good for CherryClan."

Nightstar scowled. "Tawnystone, I trust you more than
any cat in this Clan," he growled, "but I've got
to make sure that CherryClan is safe. It matters more to me than
just myself..." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but
I can't just send my warriors out to patrol the new boundary
without me. I've got to make sure that they lay their scent in exactly
the right places."

Tawnystone looked down at the den floor. "If you say
so," she whispered, giving up. She looked back up at him
with pain in her eyes. "You're an excellent leader,
Nightstar."

Nightstar laughed. "If what you say is correct, then I
was an excellent leader,"

[/color] he meowed with a grin.
"Now, come on. I've got to organize my patrol."
He padded out of his den, then turned back to look at his medicine
cat. "Even though I disagree with you," he
added, then turned back to face the camp clearing.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather
beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" the tom yowled.
He waited for a few moments for his Clan to gather, then began.

"As you all know," he started, eyes filled with a
strong power, "I agreed to let BrookClan share very
little of our territory. Today, we must mark the boundary of that
territory and from now until the next moon defend it very
well." He looked to Meteorcrash. "I'll need for
you to select dawn, sunhigh, and moonhigh patrol from now on. I
would prefer for them to consist of at least two cats." He
turned and addressed his whole Clan once more. "I
would like to select this evening's patrol. Meteorcrash, Rowanclaw,
Whispertail, Clearpool, Stormpaw, and Brackenpaw with me to help
mark the new boundary, as well as help me decide where it shall be
exactly." He nodded to the newly picked patrol.
"I would also like for Tawnystone and Firestone to help
me with this as advisors." He looked around the cats.

"Any questions?"

With an affirmative nod after no cat spoke, the tom lead the patrol
out of the camp, never to be seen again.[/i][/center]

Tawnystone shook her head and let the reverie leave it. "He was never seen again after he exited the camp that one last time. We went to mark the new border for BrookClan, and those rogues attacked all of us.

"I have walked with him in my dreams. We have both watched you grow and progress from an apprentice to a kit, as I do believe you were an apprentice when he did, and it did take some moons of begging and pleading other higher authority StarClan cats to let him come see me, much less to take me to see you."

Another cough sent spasms down Tawnystone's lean body, and she smiled at her daughter.

"I waited your whole life for this moment. Now I have met you as the beautiful warrior Goldenwing. This is not to say, of course, that you must switch your loyalties to CherryClan; that would be foolish. You're a RavineClanner, through-and-through. There's no doubt about it."

She smiled and sank into a crouch, then she dropped her body to the ground. Goldenwing dashed to her side.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked, giving the medicine cat licks on her forehead. "Something's wrong, isn't it? Please tell me what is the matter, Tawnystone! We can fix it...I'll run and fetch Silverhawk, please!" After just finding out who her mother and father were, she felt like she was losing the cat who meant the most to her, the cat who had meant the most to her in her dreams and her thoughts. She needed her!

But Tawnystone merely smiled. "This was a miserable existence, this one without my mate and daughter," she mewed weakly. "I let you know the truth, and now the deathberries will send me to the cats who punished me twice, once by taking my mate and the other by keeping me from my daughter." She let out a sigh and her breathing became more shallow as Goldenwing's eyes widened.

Deathberries?!

Tawnystone's head sank to the ground. Her blue eyes, however, turned towards Goldenwing, but they seemed to be gazing directly past her. "Nightstar?" she whispered. "My love...I'm ready to come home."

Golden eyes brimming with sadness, Goldenwing nudged her mother. "No...no! You can't go! I need you!"

The blue eyes were fixated back on her daughter for the last time. "We shall both leave our pawprints in your dreams," she murmured before letting out a final breath.

Goldenwing crouched beside her mother and pushed her nose into the she-cat's fur. "No," she whispered into the still-warm fur. No...

[/font][/size]

[D a R K - R a H]

His paws had been carrying him after mouse. Despite his bulk, Brownspot was one of RavineClan's best hunters. While his brother had taken their father's skill in fighting (despite his rank as medicine cat), broad-shouldered Brownspot had taken his mother's talent for hunting. His muscles were fine-tuned for any sort of prey, from measly mice to swallows or bluejays. Once he'd even caught an adder. It had once been a feat he'd bragged about, but now it seemed a pathetic victory. What good was an adder? It couldn't feed the clan. No, a better feat would be a pheasant, which could feed all of the apprentices at once.

There was a noise, and the mouse looked up in fear. Whether it saw the brown tabby warrior or not, it fled. Brownspot swore quietly to himself, ears angling to catch the sound once more. Surprise lit up his eyes. It was voices! He couldn't imagine who would be out chatting this far towards their borders... Instead of using his ears to find out, he opened his mouth and breathed in the scents with the gland on the roof of his mouth. There were two cats, both she-cats. He was surprised by how similar their scents where. What she-cats were like that in RavineClan? After Darkrain's death, there were no mother-daughter pairing's left... But it could be Dreampaw and Waterpaw. He breathed deeper and felt a surge of surprise running up his spine. CherryClan! One of the cats was a RavineClanner, that was for sure, but one wasn't...

He moved closer, his well-trained paws not making a sound as he walked. He carefully hid himself beneath two brambles, with a small gap to see out. A strange sort of shock tingled at his paws as he saw who the two cats were: Tawnystone and Goldenwing. What did the CherryClan medicine cat need with RavineClan's newest warrior? But, as he looked at them, Brownspot recalled something odd. They had only just left on the Journey when Brownspot(still Brownpaw at the time) had noticed Tawnystone giving Goldenkit a strange glance. Was there something going on between the two of them? He silenced his thoughts, listening to their words.

"You see, young one, you were not always from RavineClan."

Brownspot felt his heart skip a beat. Sure, he knew Goldenwing had been found on RavineClan's land without an explanation. Had anyone ever told the young warrior? Surely she had grown up thinking there was something odd about the way she had no family. And what did Tawnystone have to do with it? Was she saying the young tortoiseshell was born a CherryClanner? But the medicine cat wasn't done. Brownspot listened with growing horror to the tale the medicine cat painted. His jaw dropped open. Not only was Goldenwing born of CherryClan, she was concieved from the most unholy union... The only thing that could possibly be worse, perhaps, was a medicine cat having kits with a rogue. It was like taking the warrior code, dropping it off a cliff, stomping on it, and covering it with soil like you did your dirt. It was utter disrespect for StarClan and any cat who followed the warrior code.

But something stopped his thoughts. Would he have done the same if he and Gryffinwing were in Nightstar and Tawnystone's places? It was impossibly to know for sure, but Brownspot knew there would be no way of ignoring his emotions for the beautiful brown she-cat. She was his oxygen, without her it was hard to breathe sometimes. He couldn't imagine having the entire warrior code keeping them apart. For Gryffinwing, he might have even left RavineClan, that's how much he loved her. He slowly turned his attention back to the two she-cats, looking at Tawnystone with a new sort of understanding and pity. Now that he looked at them, how could he have missed the similarities? Their pelts were so very similar: both tortoiseshells with similar patterns. It was like seeing some of Redmartin in Brownspot: unmistakable.

Tawnystone's words went on, growing in strangeness. Brownspot couldn't imagine how Goldenwing felt hearing all of that... She finally found out who her family was, only to find she had no siblings and her father was dead. Coughs ran through the medicine cat's body. Brownspot's ears perked up in alarm. It didn't sound healthy. If she was in such a condition, why had she come so far? Panick filled him, and he nearly leapt from his hiding spot. But what could he do? Sure, Brownspot knew some of his brother's herbs and skills, but that was only if he knew what was wrong with the cat... An unidentified sickness was much too powerful to one so untrained. Brownspot let out a small, silent sigh. He had a feeling he knew what was going to happen. Tawnystone had only come this far to say goodbye to her kit. Now that she'd finally gotten that horrible weight off her shoulders, there was nothing keeping her amongst the living anymore. Still, Brownspot wished there was something he could have done.... He let his chin hang down on his chest, tilting his ears backward as to give mother and daughter some privacy for at least Tawnystone's last few moments...

&&&

He pushed his long legs faster, breathing heavily. The same sort of panick he'd felt only a short time before was echoing in his chest: not quite continuing, but not gone. It was something mind-blowing, horrible even. He had no idea what it was, but it vibrated in his mind, echoing throughout his body. When the feeling had first come to him, he hadn't even paused to ponder where it had come from. He'd merely launched himself into his den, gathering up random herbs in a frenzied hurry. Dreampaw had tried to ask him what was wrong, but Silverhawk hadn't paused to explain. He doubted she'd have understood anyways. If he'd paused, perhaps he'd have recalled feeling similarly in past moments of his life. One such time had been when his brother had nearly been killed by a pack of foxes. Another time had been when Gryffinwing had started kitting while Silverhawk was still away from the group along the Journey. He had no idea what was happening at that current moment, but he didn't dare pause to ponder what it could possibly be.

He finally skidded to a hault, unable to run onward. He stood there, head hanging low as he tried to catch his breath. The bundle of herbs lay before him on the ground, carefully wrapped in a leaf. He looked up, his strange panick keeping from resting any further. Scents came in with his breaths, and he struggled to make sense of them. The first that hit him sent a renewed sense of panick and worry down his spine: Brownspot. With Gryffinwing's kits so close, he wasn't sure the clan could handle something happening to Brownspot right then... But that wasn't the only scent he caught. There was also Goldenwing, RavineClan's young warrior. As a medicine cat, Silverhawk could recognize the scent of any clanmember, as well as most cats from other clans, as well. That's how he knew exactly who the last cat was: Tawnystone. He expected to feel some sort of relief that the other medicine cat was present. If either Goldenwing or Brownspot were injured, there was no doubt Tawnystone would help them... But something didn't feel quite right.

He snatched up his herbs quickly, paws moving furiously over the ground as he followed his nose towards their scents over the powerful aroma of his herbs. Finally, he broke from the underbrush to see what had caused his horrible panick. Goldenwing was leaning close over Tawnystone. Any other cat might have feared Goldenwing had done something to the intruding medicine cat, but Silverhawk knew better. He'd always had his suspicions that there was some link between the two she-cats. Besides, Goldenwing certainly wasn't the type to hurt a medicine cat. That must mean there was something wrong with Tawnystone.

As he launched himself forward, Silverhawk barely noted something odd in the way Goldenwing was leaning over the CherryClan medicine cat. But he took no time to ponder it further. "What happened?" he questioned as he leaned in to listen for Tawnystone's heartbeat. Not a good sign: there was none.

[Diamond]

'Please Hexspell, PLEASE? There are plenty of birds out there. Could you just go catch one or two? Then I'll go hunting myself, I promise! Just give me sometime to go play tag with some of the kits.' These were the words of Jinxcharm, who had begged her sister, Hexspell to go hunt first so she could hunt later.

So here was poor Hexspell, all the way out here near the other clan's boarders. She had been hunting for a good solid minutes and had yet to see even one bird. If Hexspell had seen one, she probably would have caught it by now, but no, not a single one. Which made Hexspell a very cranky young she-cat.

Hexspell stood up, a mouse hanging from her mouth. Just because she couldn't find any birds didn't mean she couldn't find other prey. She practically spat out the mouse and then disdainfully buried it. Sitting up, she licked her black paw and wiped her face, her orange eyes then looking around, scouting the area. She didn't smell any cat's sent around her, so she took that as a chance to complain to herself.

"WHAT A PAIN!" Hexspell said loudly. Then she quickly quieted down. Hexspell knew that even if she thought she was alone, she was still near other clan's boarders. So she preceed to complain some more...quietly. "Honestly...does my sister always have to play with the clan's kits? HM? Would it hurt to skip a day? NO. No it would not." She growled to herself, as she walked forward, err, rather stalked forward some more. "...Still...Jinxcharm hardly ever takes a break from her duties...I guess I can grant my dear sister this one break..." Hexspell whispered to herself. She looked up and shook her head. "But she only asked me because I'm good at hunting. I do not deserve to be taken advantage-" Hexspell didn't finish and instead, silenced herself instantly.

'What happened?'

Hexspell looked around. She didn't see anyone, but she knew that cats were nearby. She sniffed the air. Three RavineClanners and one CherryClanners. Hexspell's fur stood on end. She didn't know who they were, or why they were there, but she knew that they out numbered her and neither of them were from TealClan. Still, she had to know what was happening.

She crept forward...for about five minutes before three cats came into sight. One cat, the CherryClanner, was down. The two RavineClanners were standing over the CherryClanner. What had happened? Did the RavineClanners strike the CherryClan she-cat down, or was this another story? She hid behind a tree nearby, crouching down low to watch. Who were these cats? She never really cared to know about other clanners, except now of course. And where was that third RavineClanner Hexspell had smelled? Hexspell just shook her head and watched in silence, hoping they wouldn't find her.

[Raven-chan]

The morning had started out pleasant enough, with the usual yawning and stretching and greeting of Tawnystone...worry once again riddled Firestone's heart, for there hadn't been the usual greeting of Tawnystone, and he couldn't figure out why. She was always there when he greeted her, always gave him a smile, always said his name with well-hidden pride.

Then again...lately, that hadn't been happening. She'd barely been acknowledging his presence of late, as if she were distracted, worried by something else. The bright pelted tom contined on his walk towards the mossier trees. Collecting moss, oddly enough, always soothed his mind. His white-socked paws tread softly over the ground, his bright and colorful tabby pelt standing out against the neutral, yet beautiful tones of CherryClan territory.

A smell wafted towards him, and he realized that he had unwittingly and unconsciously headed towards the RavineClan border. He- he knew that smell. He knew the smell of the other Medicine Cats as if they were his own Clanmates; often times, even better. Silverhawk...and his brother, Brownspot. Who was that other one? RavineClan, he didn't know her. Then, there were TealClanners, he didn't know them either. It didn't matter. The next smell that hit him was Tawnystone- but not the Tawnystone he knew and loved. No, a far different one.

He bolted, taking long strides, loping over the ground as if he were a warrior, fierce amber eyes focused intently ahead, solely ahead, for there was nothing else for him to be looking for. All thoughts of moss, of calm, of his sister, of anybody were gone. All that was, was Tawnystone. His mentor. His friend. Sometimes, at the direst of moments, even a mother.

A low log was ahead of him, and he leapt easily onto it, before leaping off of the log and into the scene, where what he saw made his blood run cold. There were cats, too many cats, cats he knew and didn't know, cats he loved and didn't even care for at this point. The easy-going and laughing Medicine Cat walked forward, as if in a daze, gazing at Tawnystone...or, what was left of Tawnystone. He stopped, looking at her, amber eyes shadowing with grief and pain.

He had known it was coming. Firestone couldn't have been a Medicine Cat of any kind and not know it was coming. But...not here...not like this. Not here. She...she was supposed to go peacefully, in her den. Why was she here, anyways? Looking up, he saw a cat that had many of her traits, but this information didn't click. His mind was dull, empty, void of anything but the awareness of pain.

"Tawnystone..." That was all he managed before the tears pricked his eye, before the heart-wrenching pain got to him. His voice broke on the second syllable of the word, his throat constricting. He touched noses with her for one last time, memories of their first such contact rushing at him like an avalanche of pain. Then he stepped back, not looking at anyone, not feeling anything at all...nothing but the weight of new responsibility and an absolute longing for Tawnystone...

[Stormeh]

Goldenwing couldn't get past the fact that the dead she-cat at the
tip of her nose was her mother...

She shut her eyes tight and let her ears fall back to her skull as far
as they would press. Things weren't supposed to happen this way.
She was supposed to find her mother, invite her into RavineClan
[with the leader's permission, of course], and they were to live
happily ever after...just like the other cats did. Why was it that
hard?

She heard the words of the Clanners, the ones from each of the
three Clans, but she couldn't bring herself to speak for a few
moments. Her father was a...a leader? How proud he must have
been to have his own kit! His single kit! And from the love of his life,
at that. He must have loved Tawnystone, certainly, for him to break
the warrior code as he did.

The tortoiseshell-and-tabby just pressed her nose further, taking in
the scents of her mother deeply. She smelled of medicine and of
some other cat...a tom cat....

Goldenwing's ears perked and her fur prickled. Certainly she wasn't
in love with another tom! Not after Nightstar had been dead for
some moons, and she had walked with him in the skies!

Surprisingly, she smelled the same tom right next to her. He touched
her nose and she realized that this tom also smelled like medicine.
He must be her apprentice, she
realized, her fur lying flat again. The warrior allowed her eyes a
glance towards him and it registered that he was Firestone, the
medicine cat appren--no, just medicine cat. Now he would be free to
take on his own apprentice, not be the apprentice of some other
cat...particularly one like Tawnystone.

"What happened?"

Although she had heard Silverhawk's words, Goldenwing felt that
she couldn't answer him adequately. Would she just tell him that
the she-cat had died here and Goldenwing had found her? No, no,
medicine cats knew if a cat was lying. They had some innate sense
of cats that helped them see straight through everything.

With a sigh, Goldenwing considered more options. She could tell a
part of the truth--she had killed herself with deathberries. That
would be interesting to speak. But why would a medicine cat eat the
poisoned red berries that glittered in the dappled light of the forest?
She surely had known better. Why would she forsake her Clan like
that?

Goldenwing finally pulled herself into a sitting position and opened
her eyes a tiny bit wider. She turned to Silverhawk, the depression
still glittering in her golden-hued eyes. "She
died," she whispered to him. "Tawnystone
killed herself with...with deathberries. She had to speak to me first
before she passed on." She let her eyes close and her head fall as if
she were staring at the ground, and then looked up to the tom
again. "I tried to get her to see you, but I don't
think she would have done that on purpose, and she...just...died
here." Her eyes flickered to the tortoiseshell body in front of
her before they lit on Firestone again. She stared at him for a
moment.

He was handsome, that was for sure, with his bright ginger pelt and
built frame. He seemed to be extremely intelligent, as well, and it
didn't surprise the warrior that he was chosen to become the next
medicine cat.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she mewed to
him. They were hard words to squeeze from her tightened throat,
and even harder because she didn't know whose loss was worse,
his or hers. "I'd be more than happy to help you
take her back to your camp," she mewed, casting a glance at
Silverhawk. She wasn't sure that the peace would hold over if a
RavineClanner took CherryClan's dead medicine cat back into their
camp, but there were no other CherryClanners here and she
had been Goldenwing's mother.

Besides, Firestone would probably be wondering, anyway...

He would certainly want the truth.

[Raven-chan]

Cats were around him, looking at Tawnystone as if she were an oddly-grown tree, something to gawk at, something to whisper about. (That's what he felt, anyways.) He looked at the other RavineClanner, the she-cat, the one whose name he could remember now. Goldenwing. She knew something, knew something about Tawnystone.

The words that she uttered reached straight into his soul, and he remembered phrases and words from Tawnystone that hinted at something hidden, someone hidden. Firestone always remembered too much. And this Goldenwing knew something...what did she know? He had to know, had to find out.

Tawnystone killed herself. The truth that Firestone had dreaded was finally out. And he hated it. Hated it and believed it, and knew there was nothing he could do about it. Goldenwing offered to help him take Tawnystone's body back to camp, and he nodded silently, mutely, agreeing.

He didn't want Clanners to know that Tawnystone had killed herself. Looking to Silverhawk, he portrayed this message clearly enough with his broken, fierce amber eyes. Surely Silverhawk would understand, tell these other cats, whoever they were. Silverhawk was family to Firestone. All medicine cats were.

Looking Goldenwing in the eyes, Firestone whispered softly, unable to hold himself back, "I'm sorry for yours." Nobody else heard his words. Then he stood, strong and poised, meowing to Goldenwing, "We should..take her back now. The others need to know." His normally bright tenor voice was low with pain, soft with sorrow and concealed of the true heartache he was feeling.

He missed Tawnystone...and he wanted the truth. All of it.

[D a R K - R a H]

Cold dread and shock filled his heart. His tongue rasped over the still medicine cat's chest, as if she might somehow come back. But there was nothing he could do. He took a tiny step backwards, his pale amber eyes staring numbly down at her. He recalled the first time he'd met Tawnystone; it had been at a Gathering back in the old forest. She had seemed so ageless at that point, powerful with her mystical medicine cat abilities. He'd admired her for her power, but not for her skill or wisdom. The second time he'd met her, it had been when he'd had to go the the Moonstone alone, only a few days after Watermint's death. At that point, she'd seemed so different from the distant figure he'd seen her as at that Gathering. At that second meeting, she was actually a fellow cat, one who coped with the pains and responsiblities of being a medicine cat well. She always held her head tall with an air of respect and passion. That strange presence didn't linger now in her still-warm body. Even when she was asleep [the medicine cats had often slept near eachother along the Journey], Tawnystone had seemed larger to life, even as Silverhawk had grown to tower over her. To see her laying so unbelievably still made a cold shudder run up his throat.

A strange feeling spread out from his stomach. It moved up his sides, around his shoulders, and finally found its way to his mind. The thought surfaced slowly, as if rising from under a large amount of water. When it splashed into his consciousness, though, it was like an iceberg surfacing from sun-warmed waters: cold, chilling, and as shocking as a sudden touch from a frozen hand. I could have saved her. If only I'd been faster. He felt his heart drop like a stone. His head sunk low for a moment, the burden on his shoulders increasing until he didn't think he'd be able to carry it any longer. Another death rested on his head. He pulled his ears close to his head, barely catching a sound nearby. He had only just opened his eyes as Goldenwing leaned closer to him to explain.

"Tawnystone killed herself with...with deathberries."

He almost expected himself to be relieved. If she had eaten deathberries, then Tawnystone would have been too far gone for him to do anything anyway. But, strangely enough, the heavy weight didn't lift from him. He lifted his eyes slowly, catching a vibrant ginger tom approaching. He suppressed a moan: Firestone. In a sharp wave he recalled the bitter, numbing pain he'd felt when Darkrain had died. It had been somewhat different when Watermint had died, as Silverhawk hadn't known him very well. But Darkrain had been more than just a mentor to him; she had guided him throughout his life, from kithood well past becoming a medicine cat. Her wisdom and love had helped him through many situations. She had been the closest thing he'd ever known to a mother. He imagined it was very much what Firestone was feeling.

The tall silver tabby stepped forward and touched his muzzle to the ginger tom's ear. "All four clans shall mourn your loss." He didn't even realize how inacurate his words were. It would be odd and strange to say that all three clans would mourn for Tawnystone. There were always four clans. Silverhawk didn't know if he was just thinking of the Druids as a clan, or if his mind was still sub-consciously counting BrookClan as one of the clans of the forest. All the same, his eyes shown with sorrow and concern as he watched the ginger-and-white medicine cat stare down at his dead mentor. Silverhawk's pale amber eyes glanced between Firestone and Goldenwing as she volenteered to help him return her to the CherryClan camp. He had a feeling there was more of a reason behind why Goldenwing made the offer. "I'm going with you," Silverhawk said, his eyes lingering on the young warrior. It was not an offer, but more of a command. His voice had been slightly hardened as he said that, but it softened as he spoke again. "I'm not sure the two of you could walk a straight line right now, let alone make it all the way to CherryClan's camp with Tawnystone."

He turned suddenly, finding Brownspot standing not far away, halfway out from beneath a bramble. The large brown tabby returned his brother's gaze with a look of wonder and confusion. Even if Silverhawk didn't hear from Goldenwing what was really going on, the medicine cat got the feeling his brother already knew. "Brownspot," he began, his voice now raised above a gentle whisper, "there is a TealClanner nearby. Investigate, then return to camp and alert Phatomsun." The brown tabby nodded softly then turned away with his mouth opened for scenting. Silverhawk turned back to the two younger cats. "Come on, then."

[Diamond]

Hexspell watched as one CherryClanner and two RavineClanners started to leave with the other CherryClanner's body. She hadn't managed to hear anything, nothing at all! They all whispered. As if...as if they knew she was there. That couldn't be...could it? She had been so careful to stay quiet...but those other cats must have picked up on her scent.

Hexspell soon became very hyper aware when she saw one of the RavineClanners talking to a third RavineClanner. He was the one she had scented earlier but never saw. So he finally came out of hiding. 'Now they know I'm here. I'm sure of it...' Hexspell thought.

She backed away, slowly, trying to withdraw into the shadows. Hexspell hadn't gotten much information by coming here. The only information she had, she got from scent. The dead Cherryclanner was a medicine cat. The other Cherryclanner who came after she arrived was a medicine cat. Then that was it, she had nothing else. Which meant nothing very usuful to report to Loststar.

Now Hexspell was sure that the Ravineclanner who just came out of hiding was after her. "Darn it..." She quietly hissed to herself. He had opened his mouth to take in scent. He was gonna find her if she didn't bolt! As quietly as possible, Hexspell turned to try and run away.

(Well that was a whole lot of nothing X.x'. Talk about writer's block. )

[Raven-chan]

Unfamiliar feelings swept through Firestone, clutching his heart in their relentless grasp, holding his heart and soul tightly, unwilling to let go.

Foremost in his heart was sorrow. Not the fleeting, brief sorrow that he had felt before, the kind that you could get over, but a deep, lasting sorrow, one that wouldn't leave very easily. A sorrow left behind by the loss of Tawnystone.

Firestone stood, his countenance one of a grief-ridden tom, but of a tom who knew that his loved one was in StarClan. He picked Tawnystone up by her scruff, gingerly, tenderly, mentally cringing at how cold she was. So cold...

How could she? Anger flooded him, an anger that was burning and strong. How could Tawnystone do this to him? Why was her last wish to talk to this...this...RavineClaner!? How could she do this? Didn't..didn't she even love him? Didn't she care?

Memories flooded back, of a Firepaw so desperate to prove himself to his mentor, so desperate to earn her love, and never feeling satisfied. He recalled those feelings now, of how she never said she loved him, only that she was proud of him. Really, what claim did he have to her love? Just because he had loved her with every particle of his heart, didn't mean that she had to even like him.

But why her? Why Goldenwing? It was obvious that she meant very much to Tawnystone. Why...why not him? Why couldn't Tawnystone have loved him that much? Not even enough to say good-bye?

ooc: Ech, not as much time as I'd like...

[Stormeh]

[Oh, goodness, Raven, your post almost made me cry....]

Goldenwing nodded. "I guess we'll just
kind of...take turns carrying her, then," she mewed
awkwardly. She grasped the dead tortoiseshell's scruff as if she
were a kit. The medicine cat had lost so much weight in the past
couple of moons to the point where she weighed much less than
any warrior should, and medicine cats were the most amazing
warriors, the ones that could fight and save lives at all times.

"Come on," Goldenwing mewed through
Tawnystone's fur as she pulled her gently forward. She silently
thanked StarClan as they trekked that there was just a soft blanket
of leaves and grass that was under their paws the whole way to
CherryClan.

[I'm not thinking that there's much that we can do any further
with that, soo...I'm just going to say that they're back at camp,
okay? That way more CherryClanners can role play and such...]

Goldenwing moved towards CherryClan's camp's center with her
burden. She finally let the tortoiseshell she-cat be at rest on the
ground in front of her before she turned her gaze back up to the
CherryClanners. Not many were present at the time--most must
have been in their dens--but a single one was who held such a
strong hatred in his gaze that Goldenwing felt as if the daggers
were stabbing her literally.

Ravenflight.

The tom bounded forward and shouldered Goldenwing out of the
way of his sister's body. He thrust his nose into her pelt. He was
murmuring words that were unintelligible to Goldenwing's ears, and
he finally turned his golden gaze back up to her. "What
happened?" he growled, the words broken from each other.
"What happened?!" he yowled after there
was no reply from any cat.

Goldenwing shuffled her paws in the dirt, unsure of how to address
CherryClan's grieving deputy. She stared at the ground as she
finally mustered up the courage to quietly mew, "I'll have
to speak to you about that in due time,
Ravenflight. Firestone needs to know as well."

The golden eyes of hate were fixated on the she-cat.
"I'm supposed to know what happened to my
sister"--he spat the last word for
emphasis--"from some worthless RavineClan
she-cat?" He snorted. "You can leave CherryClan
now or be escorted out later with your fur in my claws and your
blood staining the leaves."

Goldenwing flinched. What was wrong with this cat? She knew that
Tawnystone was his sister, yes, but this was no way to treat a
warrior from another Clan! ...In particular...his niece.

And to add to that, she knew that he was saying these things out of
anger and sadness, not because he hated RavineClan or
Goldenwing or any cat in particular. It was just his way to grieve.

"No," Goldenwing mewed, eyes still trained on the
ground. "If I can't speak to you," she began
to add shakily, "then I at least need to let
Firestone know the whole story." She glanced at the
medicine cat. "Would you mind showing me to
your den?"

The she-cat knew that Ravenflight would follow them, anyway, but it
was worth a go at trying to speak to Firestone. He seemed
hospitable. It was strange, though, that Ravenflight hadn't even
noticed Silverhawk... Maybe because he was a medicine cat?
Goldenwing wasn't sure, but she did know that she didn't want to
be alone with CherryClan's deputy.

She was positive that his words weren't a threat, but a promise.

[D a R K - R a H]

She smelt it before she saw them. It was a vague scent on the wind, scarcely there. And yet, it sent a shiver down her spine. Worry clutched at her, and she drew in a ragged breath. She'd caught this scent only several times before. Once had been when Hazefur had fallen down a rockside as he'd attempted to save a TealClan kit. Another time had been back in the old forest, when a band of rogues had struck down CherryClan's beloved leader. It was the acrid scent of death. It was a hard scent to catch, and most cats never did, but Brackenwing seemed to have a knack for it. It wasn't a very useful talent, either. All it meant was she knew someone was dead before she saw the body. She clamped her eyes shut and tightened her jaw, dreading finding out which cat it was now. She was tempted to just stay in her nest in the nursery and pretend as if she didn't know. But a different scent tickled at her nose and made her curiousity flare: RavineClan. Perhaps it was a RavineClan cat that was dead, instead of one of her clanmates. But that seemed unlikely. Why would a dead RavineClanner be brought to CherryClan's camp? Even if a CherryClan patrol had fought and killed a RavineClanner, they wouldn't bring the body back to camp. No, they'd probably leave the body by the border and run back to camp to alert Redstar. A third scent made its way to her nose, shoving away all curiousity and filling her with a sense of urgency: Firestone. She leapt to her feet without pondering anything. Her small tabby paws pulled her quickly from the nursery, eyes casting about for her brother's bright ginger pelt.

There he was. There was an expression on his face that made her heart drop like a stone. She looked past a few cats she didn't care to recognize, and saw a beautiful tortoiseshell pelt laying ruffled and still. Much too still. A gasp left the queen's throat and she bound forward, literally shoving past the clan's deputy Ravenflight. She didn't register the fact that the dark warrior had just lost his sister. All that she could see and think about was Firestone. Her beloved brother had just lost his mentor. Pushing herself up close to the tall ginger tom, Brackenwing touched her muzzle to his ear. She took a small step back, just small enough to look him in the eyes. Her amber eyes were filled with worry, compassion, and sorrow. She didn't dare look down at Tawnystone's still form, for fear that it might fill her with the same deep sorrow that had enveloped her brother. She held his gaze for a moment, before turning. Her gaze suddenly hardened, wanting to see the RavineClanners that had caused her brother such pain. The first was a young warrior she didn't recognize whatsoever. The other one, however, made confusion whirl through Brackenwing. Silverhawk? Surely one medicine cat wouldn't kill another? No, she told herself, Silverhawk wouldn't do that. She'd known him along the Journey, and everything in his personality was kind, playful, and gentle. He must have had nothing to do with Tawnystone's death.

Her ear angled to the side, catching the words Ravenflight was spitting at the young RavineClanner. It was then that Brackenwing finally realized the pain the deputy must have been going through. She was heartbroken just to see Firestone sad, but... Her mind completely blocked out even the thought of losing her brother. She couldn't bare it at all. She wondered if that's what Ravenflight was feeling.

"If I can't speak to you, then I at least need to let Firestone know the whole story."

Anger sparked up in Brackenwing. The entire clan needed to know the truth. Their medicine cat was dead, for StarClan's sake! She was about to growl that aloud when a long tail fell over her muzzle. Tall tabby Silverhawk was at her side, gently shaking his head. Brackenwing took a small step back, her mind buzzing. What could possibly have happened that the entire clan couldn't know the truth? A new sort of fear shook her. Maybe she didn't want to know. She turned away, letting her tail stroke her brother's side one last time before she finally looked down at Tawnystone. The beautiful medicine cat was barely recognizable. Her fur was dusty and unclean. Her face seemed to show with a strange sense of peace. The young tabby frowned. What burden could she have possibly bore that made death so welcoming? Shaking off her thoughts, Brackenwing lifted the body gently by her scruff, as she had done for moons with her kits. Walking gently, she pulled Tawnystone out to the center of CherryClan's camp, where everyone would see her. Releasing her gently to the ground once more, Brackenwing closed her eyes and rasped her tongue over the dusty tortoiseshell fur before her.

[Raven-chan]

Surreal; that was the word to describe Firestone's heart and surroundings. Everything was entirely too surreal. It was as if this were all a nightmare, a bad dream, one that he could wake up from and tell Brackenwing about...Brackenwing! As he entered the camp, her smell wafted over him as she pressed up against him, a comforting and warm presence.

His clouded amber eyes snapped into focus, his tail winding around Brackenwing's. Sorrow still resided within him, but worry for his sister slammed into his heart as well. He vaguely saw Ravenflight, and felt heartache for hte deputy. Ravenflight's sister was gone! Firestone felt Brackenwing leave his side, and a shiver ran down his spine...what...what if it had been his sister?

He didn't even want to think about that...didn't even want to contemplate it. He let Brackenwing go, let her go to confront Tawnystone's death. Words echoed within his mind, Goldenwing's words.

I at least need to let Firestone know the whole story... Firestone stood, nodding to Goldenwing, pain still deep in his eyes. He looked to Ravenflight, the deputy, the brother of Tawnystone, heart-broken...

"Let's go." He meowed quietly, padding resolutely into Tawnystone's den- er, well, his den...

ooc: Argh, brain-dead, and I have to leave now...*sigh*

[Stormeh]

Ravenflight snorted. "As if I'm
going to leave you alone with him. No RavineClanner should be in our
camp at all."

Goldenwing sighed. Why was this tom making everything so
complicated? "I already told you that I didn't mind
if you came," she tried to mew as respectfully and patiently
as she could. "We just need to talk."

She turned from the deputy and followed Firestone into his den. The
many scents of herbs washed through her nostrils as soon as she
entered, as did Firestone's and Tawnystone's separate scents. It
was strange how these things were, how she could be here at this
time....

The tortoiseshell turned to Firestone. "Let's start
from the beginning," she suggested. "What
all did you know about Tawnystone?"

[So short... --' My apologies...]