Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2020 6:36:49 GMT
trigger warning: character death & natural disasters!
Stormpetal's ears flicked as she watched the moon twirl above her, as if suspended from the dark navy blue sky by nothing but a spider's web. Her amber gaze floated over the territories, head tilted slightly. Everything here felt a bit.. off. The territories seemed smaller, more compact... or was she just seeing things, being up on the high hill her paws stood upon? She frowned, tucking her paws underneath her chest and watching the grasses rustle softly in the gentle blowing of the wind. Much to her surprise, ears popped up over the grasses and rolling dunes of sand, the sharp and round faces of each respective leader coming into view.
None of them seemed to notice each other, instead standing quietly on the outskirts of their respective territories. The realization that she was dreaming came to her when she watched the stars twinkling in the sky- start to drift down. Nine each danced around each of the leaders.
Stormpetal's head cocked to the side curiously while she blinked slowly at the leaders, jumping a bit as a couple of the stars trembled and shattered apart with faint, crackly noises like twoleg sky lights. Runningstar's and Tickstar's stars blinked down to eight, while Wolfstar's remained the same, dancing around her brother like fireflies. But Cranestar... well... Stormpetal never thought she could jump as hard from the sudden banging sound that split her ears like the bang of a firestick. Rumbling clouds floated over PeakClan's territory, bleeding into the lands of GladeClan and ValeClan. White hot lightning crashed from the sky, striking the white PeakClan leader. Another crash followed with all nine stars spontaneously erupting into stardust. And Cranestar was.. gone. No body, no scent, simply... gone. What would PeakClan announce, come the next gathering? Would Stormpetal even be able to see, granted her status of a loner? Surely she would, if StarClan was to give her an omen.
Her ears folded back when a buffet of wind and cruel, cutting sand came from the left, prompting the leader to turn and see Tickstar's lanky form vanishing into a blanket of windswept sand. Stormpetal's heart hammered nervously in her chest as she whirled around, gaze locking right into Runningstar's cold blue eyes. She broke eye contact, only for a minute, glancing to see if Wolfstar would be there. But her brother was already gone, swept away in the flooded marshes of GladeClan's hilly territory.
But Runningstar was fine. ShellClan was fine. No storms rocked their waters, no lighting ripped fires through the palm forests, no sand buffeted against their pelts and cut at their eyes. "You." she hissed, eyes narrowing at the ginger pelted leader. Hot hatred rolled up her throat at his smug face, ears flat against her skull and lip peeled back to expose her teeth. Her own disgust overpowered logical thinking. Why would Runningstar be the last one of the leaders, looking too smug. Too confident. Was this his fault? Was he responsible for StarClan's rage?
The anger she felt made her mind blank. She didn't notice the violent rumbling underpaw, nor the cracks that split the dense sandstone of ShellClan's territory. Instead she leapt, claws outstretched at Runningstar's form. To her surprise, he moved, evading her claws and matching the blow. She couldn't tell what was from StarClan and what was manifesting from her own mind anymore. The rush of battle made her paws tingle as she exchanged blows with the leader, stumbling at the trembling ground. The stars that floated about the tom blinked out one by one, until only one remained.
The ground fell out under her paws into an abyss, but all she knew was that her fangs had sunken into the white-furred throat of Runningstar. Liquid metal filled her mouth, hot and red and viscous. But it was washed away with the loud crashing of waves over her head, sending her tumbling through murky waters with her teeth snug firm in the throat of her old leader. His final life shattered like the bright sun on a green-leaf morning, blinding her and forcing her to release the grip she had on his neck. Next thing she knew, she was back in the territories, the aches of her wounds being only faint memories of stinging- the iron in her mouth nothing more than imagination. Her once drenched pelt was fluffy and dry again. The territories were at peace once more, undisturbed by storms, wind, or the cruel twinkling of StarClan's eyes in the sky. The ground didn't rumble, and no cruel claws cut at her shoulders- no waves came down to drown her.
Stormpetal closed her eyes, opening them to the sound of waves and the gentle feeling of wind tickling her whiskers. Her heart pounded like a hammer in her chest, threatening to claw up her throat as she staggered to her paws. She prayed the sleeping form of Dunewatcher beside her didn't awaken from her rough rousing. The makeshift nest she'd made for that night tore apart while she staggered to her paws, staring past the ShellClan border with her teeth bared and her breath whistling out between them. It was clear she'd recieved a message from StarClan. Her angry amber gaze settled on ShellClan's little camp island. It was clear as day to her mind, wasn't it? Runningstar had to go, lest the clans fall into destruction.
Her paws left prints in the sand as she slunk past the border again, back into the territories of the clans. She knew what she was to do.
Unfortunately for her, Stormpetal did not notice the warning in her dreams. Of the disasters upon all four territories, nor of the death-stuffed air of the dream after Runningstar had fallen. She'd failed to notice the fallen warriors tucked in the grass, or hidden in the sands, when she recovered from her stinging wounds. The territories had seemed fine, but alas, they'd become devoid of life. She'd taken StarClan's lack of presence as peace- they were upset, were they not? But really, all it meant was there was nothing for them to watch over any longer.