EarthClan returned home triumphant, despite their loss. The real death count of the battle would only be observed once the spirits had left their bodies on earth and not a second before. Marshmumble didn't want to say goodbye to her family, but she knew she would have to do it eventually. She felt . . . confident, somehow, that everything would be okay after she left. Honeyheart would guide the clan morally. Stormstar would find a way to continue, after her absence.

She sighed and sat in the golden light of the sun, taking in its warmth. Honeyheart was nearby, exploring herbs she'd only had few chances to work with in MoonClan. She closed her eyes, feeling a nap, but stopped. She had a few more cats to see.

She looked to Honeyheart and Heatherblossom before walking over the crest of the hill. She had kits to see. (MC camp)

"We aren't apprentices anymore, Nightwhisper, you can't just off and-" She sighed, shaking her head as if to clear it. "No, I'm not going to scold you. I'm not your mother. Let's just get you cleaned up, you look... well, you look bad. Are you sure you aren't hurt?"

He shrugged, scratching some of the dirt and blood caked to his side off. “I’m not really sure. After you died, I kind of just started walking? And I don’t remember much besides falling into a hole, and waking up when Fawndapple found me.”

Silversplash's smile faltered and she stepped back. "I... that isn't a yes, Nightwhisper. What- please don't tell me you've started to run off again? Where have you been, the battle was days ago!"

He smiled. “As long as I am no longer needed, I will stay here.” He looked around, watching all the star-pelted cats come and go. “Well, you all look busy. I could use a washing, and maybe something to eat. Its...been a weird ride. I don’t remember much from the past couple days...or week or so...”

"Are you here to stay?" Silversplash purred, stepping forward to meet him for the nose-touch. The question was little more than a statement, as she saw it, his return was final and complete: how could it be anything else, after what had happened before?

The cat nodded, bowing his head. He looked....messy, tosay the least, and definitely had some scratches on him, but he at least looked safe. And happy.

Nightwhisper’s soft purr rumbled as he pressed into her. “You’re here...you’re actually here...” He looked around for a moment, and then quickl touched noses with her. “I’m so happy to see you.”

Silversplash didn't immediately notice Nightwhisper as the tom walked into the camp, but her mother, Panthergaze, did.

"Sweetie...?" Panthergaze meowed, "It looks like someone is here to see you."

Silversplash looked up and followed her mother's gaze over. Her face broke into a wide smile and she rushed toward him, a loud purr rumbling through her chest, "You've come home!" She exclaimed.

Nightwhisper faltered at the enterance to the camp. He was nervous. But it was time. Time to forgive, forget, move on, and focus on the future. And that all began here. He carefully made his way into the camp, where he found many starry cats working on the camp.

A group of ten starry she-cats had congregated in EarthClan’s camp, cleaning the moon’s debris and doing what they could to repair the neglected dens. Briarthorn oversaw the whole endeavor, directing the others and finding weak spots in their work, happy to give a helping paw where one set proved insufficient. Fawndapple, Briarthorn’s daught, and Spottedshell, Fawndapple’s daughter, worked as a pair in the nursery, clearing out the mud that had accumulated, then starting on fresh mossy nests. They were joined by Rustfeather, who shared their reddish pelts. Panthergaze, Dawnlight, and Bluesage were the largest of the crowd and worked to clear wayward branches from where they’d gotten entangled in the medicine den, as Winterstorm and Silverpool finished arranging nests in the apprentice and warriors’ dens.

Only Silversplash stood apart, drifting from one task to another. She exchanged pleasantries with these cats and while she could not help but see their obvious relation – the curve to their muzzles, their graceful builds and tall ears, the silver of her pelt mirrored as far as eight generations back – she felt detached from them. She’d been told that her roots in the clan went deep, that her many-times-great-grandmother had acted as leader when the founder’s health failed, but seeing them was another thing. These cats were history incarnate, but they all seemed so… she struggled to put her paw on it, whatever it was that made her feel suddenly overcome with shyness.

(Hi Hack! There is currently a battle going on in the EcC-SC border thread, with all of the clans participating. If you'd like to jump in, please post your characters to the Character Updates Page, then you can go ahead and jump into the battle.)

Wind whistled over the abandoned camp.

Milkypaw waited for Flankpatch beside the large tree, the scent of bird overwhelming her.

"We are the search patrol," Milfoilcloud whimpered, staring toward where Sandbreeze had disappeared under the waves. Her eyes were wide and she seemed held in place a long moment, her heart torn, before she pulled herself back to the situation. "No, the kits- let's just get the kits back and wait for the rest of the patrol to return. We can decide what to do then. Blossomstar will know what to do."

Firelight moved to go after Milfoilcloud but Jayflower stepped in front of him. She set down the kits. And shook out her soaking coat before she leaped into the frigid water and swimming toward Milfoilcloud. Jayflower may not have been an experienced swimmer like Firelight but she did have strong legs. Along with Milfoilcloud being in her clan. She needed to protect her clan-mates with her life. Her open wound on her side stung as she swam toward the other she. Once she reached the other cat she got behind her and pushed her further on land. Once the she was safe she joined her on the higher land. "Oh Starclan." She cursed. "Are you alright? We can go back to our clan and get together a big group to help find your sister." he rumbled slightly.

"Help me!" Milifoilcloud shouted up to Jayflower and Firelight, still struggling to catch up to her sister even as the cat was swept further and further away. Milfoilcloud dove under the water, biting back the sense of panic that rose in her as she blindly felt through the water, praying to StarClan that she could find her sister. She coughed and sputtered, water filling her mouth, and it was through luck alone that she happened to be battered to the shore and her claws scraped against the ground. She heaved water out of her lungs, coughing violently as muddy water slipped through her fangs.

Jayflower looked up and Milfoilcloud as she jumped into the water. She stood and walked to the shore. She froze as the she-cat's sister disappeared under the water. She lowered her head and watched Milfoilcloud struggle in the water. She waited for the she to swim back to shore. She returned to attention back to the freezing kits. She lowered her head to the kits, the sadness heavy in her. She lifted one of the kits, twisting her head and laying the kit on her shoulder. She moved to the other and lifted the kit in her mouth. Firelight sat heavily and looked down at the sight of Sandbreeze vanishing. He turned to Jayflower as she picked up the helpless kits. "Do you know your way back?" He mewed over the rain. Jayflower nodded.

Sandbreeze tried, but her exhaustion was inevitable and her paws were churning like blades of grass through thick molasses. She looked upwards at the stars before getting lost in her sister’s eyes, a sorrow mourning tainting the scene with faint nostalgia. Sandbreeze stopped paddling, breathing in to catch the air in her lungs, and then bellowed as the tide swept her out further, “Milfoil, I’m so sorry! I love you!” The water swept her under, out of view, and out of the clans.

Milfoilcloud dove into the water and paddled after her sister with as much strength as she could muster for the unfamiliar task.

"Try and get to the shore!" She sputtered as the filthy liquid filled her mouth and nose, sending her in a fit of coughs as she struggled to reach her sister.

At the sound of voices, Sandbreeze’s head tilted upwards through the slush of exhaustion, and she lifted her voice in a cry of alarm just before the heavy water reduced her to a mass of heaving limbs and frantic breaths as her paws slipped on the mossy stone, plunging her deep into the dark water. She gasped, inhaling the vaguely oily, muddy liquid, and it choked her enough to garble her cries for help. She did, however, see Milfoilcloud’s startled face as she clawed for purchase on the mud-slick logs- she thought it a cruel trick, but would do anything to delve into her sister’s dark fur. “Milly!” she cried out with a beautiful breathful of air, but her swimming skills were lackluster, and she was dragged further and further away, with no hope of rescue.

Jayflower tilted her head at kits. "The rain is really bad and we are here to take you back to your other clan-mates. And I know you guys are cold and scared but I promise I will take care of you. And when we get to safety I will let you play and run around as much as you want. Is that ok?" She laid in the cold water to get closer to the kits eye level. Her eyes soft and her voice calm.