"StarClan, have leaders always been that young?" Icewind commented to Frostfur.

"Fallenstar was younger than that," Frostfur reminded her.

"You'd think they would have learned..." Icewind sighed and called over, "So, what's the plan?"

Curlypaw had no memories of this strange place that was known as Eclipseclan camp, the scent of the abandoned twoleg nest was terrible for him, he almost sneezed, the tom dropped herbs that he found while travelling to the camp. ''We need your help in organizing the camp!'' He meowed to Winterpaw, with a hint of sadness in his voice, he had no Starclan relatives to see him and comfort him, the only kin that he saw was his father who everyone would attack if he followed Eclipseclan, Buckpaw was also dieing and he could do nothing to help her, like many other cats during the battle that died, these facts made him uncomfortably silent, his mind was stll heavy, too heavy for him.

Winterpaw padded in carefully. She’d spent most of her life in Raven’s Fortress so this camp was new to her. She turned to her sister and parents. She shuffled her paws, not knowung what to do.

Pumastar strode into the once familiar camp. The place now seemed odd to her, feeling as if she’s been away for moons. She shook herself, ‘nonsense’ She thought angrily to herself, flicking her tail. She turned to watch as cats fililed in behind her. Her tail flicked as she watched. She knew what she wanted to do first as soon as every cat returned.

Icewind and Frostfur worked side-by-side in the camp. While in life their story had ended tragically, with Frostfur murdered as a young warrior and Icewind living just long enough to see the full extent of what Snakestar's war would become, they had been reunited in death and had enjoyed generations together in peace. Now, they saw no purpose in chatting as they effortlessly pushed out the debris of the neglected camp and began arranging nests. Frostfur hummed to herself as she worked, while Icewind was silent.

Eaglepaw was one of the first cats to trickle back into EclipseClan's camp following the battle, finding the home of her youth overrun with rats and abandoned garbage. The she-cat curled her nose in disgust, dropped the corpse she'd born over the dangerous streets of the city, and began work to make it home again.

(Hi Greenka, welcome to the site! EclipseClan is currently living in Raven's Fortress, which we're roleplaying in the SunClan-EclipseClan Border thread.)

Wind whistled through the empty camp.

"Let's get going, then. The rest of the clan can follow, they know where to go," Kudzuthroat meowed, more to assure himself than anything else. With one last look across the camp, he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and trotted out of the camp, heading southward. [EcC-SC Camp]

"Perhaps i can ask Fencestar once she returns if that would be possible. Even so, you will be an apprentice soon and you will have a ceremony then anyway. As for visiting the moonstone, I'm not sure but we can certainly ask about that too." she said, overjoyed that her daughter was happy here "But you can start going by Eaglekit as soon as you would like, you can start now if you wish"

Eagle looked up at Ravenflower once more, this time her yellow eyes full of fire. She wanted nothing more than to become like the cats around her. She watched the warriors with a strange sense of enchantment. She had been building up the courage for days to ask her mother to change her name.

"Yes!" she squeaked out, her tail shaking. "Do I get a ceremony to become Eaglekit? Can I go to the moonstone, like the medicine cats do?" she asked, repeating stories she'd heard from the various kitsitters.

Mapleshadow nodded, "Ok, ill get it all together now" she said before quickly going to get the herbs she needed. She gathered together her herbs, horsetail for infection and bleeding, a few pieces of lamb's ear for strength, poppy seeds, and of course a healthy supply of cobwebs. She returned to the clearing with the supplies, "Im ready" she said confidently. "I can probably carry them on my own, but I wont refuse any help offered"

"That's fine, I don't mind." Snowleopard meowed, nodding slightly at his words. She blushed softly at his touch, and followed him, gently picking up another kit to help him start the move.

----

The silver she-cat was unusually quiet as she padded beside her mate, the news she knew she had to tell him weighing on her mind. She wasn't sure how he would react, but she hoped he would be happy, as she had been when she had first found out. Though, with his fear of the loner cats, she wasn't sure if he would be, which is why she'd been quiet, trying to think of the right words and the right time to tell him.

Kudzuthroat leapt down and walked along the edge of the camp, trying to nudge cats in the right direction. The idea of an orderly patrol seemed optimistic at best, but he put that aside as he finally succumbed to his anxiety and poked his head into the medicine cat den.

"Fencestar and Dieseltooth aren't back yet, I think we should go ahead to Raven's Fortress." He told Mapleshadow and Quailwing. "We can have the warriors bring your supplies over. It's probably nothing but..."

The sounds of gathering cats in the clearing caught his attention, gaze shifting toward the doorway that led into the room with the High counter. Tigermask rose, paws itching to see the cats who had returned. ears pricked, Kudzthroat's order ringing in his ears. He turned back to the snowy she-cat. "I'm afraid we may have to continue this conversation later." Then, he touched his nose to her cheek and padded inside the nursery. His gaze briefly fell on demeter's cold body, a frown marring his features at the sight. "We're moving to raven's fortress." He announced, grabbing the closest kit to him, which so happened to be Spottedkit.

----

"Let me go! I want to go back to my mother!" She squealed in protest, trying to wriggle free of the warriors grasp.

----

Winterjay padded along side Moonsplash, a kit in his mouth as well.

Kudzuthroat muttered something rude under his breath and lept up onto the high counter, giving up on getting the clan's attention in any other way. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, join me here at the high counter for a clan meeting!"

He waited for a few beats for the clan to gather. "We are moving to Raven's Fortress now, as Fencestar announced this morning. Keep the queens, kits, and elders in the middle of the patrol and move as a group. Let's head out!"

She laughed a little, "from what i've learned, you cant be an apprentice till your 6 moons old, and your not quite there yet. But if you want, your name can be Eaglekit. All the other kits have a name like that, and once you are an apprentice you become Eaglepaw. Then your trained to be a warrior, and you get another name that is unique to you. Like my name used to be just Raven, but now its Ravenflower" She tried her best to explain, still learning the clan cats ways.

Eagle shrugged again- she was a wet blanket of a cat. "I'd rather be an apprentice already. I'm nearly big enough- don't you think I could help out better if I was named? Then I could take care of you better," she said, already helping the apprentices to change her mother's bedding when the schedule dictated.

(Hi guys! This is where EclipseClan's and SunClan's dual camp will be roleplayed: Sc-EcC border)

Ravenflower nodded, pushing the thoughts of her dead mate away, "Im not sure" she confessed, "But it will be just fine. We will meet new cats, maybe even some more kits for you to make friends with" she smiled happily

Eagle shrugged her shoulders, unbothered. "Okay," she said, looking up at Ravenflower with a quizzical expression. She yearned to know why her eyes kept darting behind her- why she was nervous.

"When're we going to that other place? By the sun cats?" she asked.

Ravenflower opened her eyes from her nap smiling as she gazed down at her daughter. "hm?" she purred, glancing up to see what the kit was concerned about. She took in a sharp breath, taking in the scene before her. She stood up, making sure not to disturb the rest of her kits. "Eagle, please stay here, ill explain once i'm back, but don't leave the nest ok?" she said calmly before leaving the nursery to find Mapleshadow.

Mapleshadow heard Ravenflower call her name after entering the medicine den. She turned around, "what do you need" she asked

"One of the other queens, I think her name was Demeter, she appears to be dead" she said, getting straight to the point.

"I was afraid this would happen soon, she was getting rather old" Mapleshadow nodded sadly, "don't worry, ill be right there to take her out of the nursery. For now, you best explain to your kits what happened" she advised, before retreating back to her stores to gather some lavender and rosemary.

Ravenflower nodded and returned to her nest on the nursery, laying back down to block the view of her kits so that wouldn't see Demeter. She looked down at Eagle, who appeared to be the only one awake "Demeter has gone to sleep, but she wont wake up here again" she began to explain, on a soft calm voice, "she will wake up someplace better, somewhere where she will never have to fall asleep like this again. This is something that will happen to everyone someday, even me and you. But its nothing to be scared of, because there will always be friendly faces there, like your father"

"I wonder if you could guess~" She purred, smiling gently up at him as his eyes met her own. "I'm sure it won't be too difficult. You actually know him quite well, if I'm not mistaken~" Her ice blue eyes held a bit of playfulness in them, making up for his own nervousness. She knew how to use her words, and she thought it was kind of cute how he was a bit awkward around her.

Eagle looked up from Ravenflower's belly, at the stilling body of Demeter. She looked up at her sleeping mother. "What's wrong with her?" the observant cat asked monotonously. Not even the bengal's chest was moving.

The gathering cats are coming back, Kudzuthroat noted, craning his neck to spot Dieseltooth or Fencestar among the pack. When the last few filtered through without either of them, he called out. "Where's Fencestar?"

He did his best to keep his gaze focused on the ground, much more interested in the dull grey of the floor than the pretty she-cat sitting beside him. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable, he just didn't know how to interact with her. He'd prefer to be out hunting or battle training, but his wounds prevented him from doing so. "Who might that be?" Tigermask shifted his gaze, meeting Snowleapords eyes at the exact moment her tail brushed his own.

In the nursery, Demeter's body was beginning to cool.

She'd felt a vague sense of something being wrong for the moon previous but dismissed it as simple age, especially as no clearly symptoms presented themselves. As usual, when her kits earned their apprentice names, she'd set to her usual work of finding a willing tom and preparing to deliver another litter into the clan, but had found, for the first time in her life, some difficulty getting pregnant. When she felt a splitting pain in her head and a strong sense of nausea, she'd gone to bed only assuming it was some new challenge, one she could deal with in the morning. She'd been wrong and instead what she'd felt was the first signs of strong, which had struck in force while she slept.

The death was a peaceful one and like much of the work of her life, she expected her clanmates to take little note of it.

The she-cat followed his gaze, realizing what he might be worried about; the Gathering patrol should have been back by now, but she also didn't know how long they lasted, being still so new to Clanlife, and told herself things were most likely fine as she turned back to the large tome beside her. At his gaze, her heart fluttered, and she smiled more at his words. "I do, actually. I have my eyes on someone right now, as a matter of fact~" She purred, her tail flicking around to just barely brush his as she shifted an inch closer.

Tigermask shifted his gaze toward the entrance of camp, partly because he was worried for the gathering patrol, but also because Snowleopard's presence was making him uncomfortable. He wasn't used to affection and he did think the white she-cat was beautiful, but his specialty was fighting and hunting, not flirting. At the mention of Jupiter, he frowned. the scrawny gang leader had done so much damage, Tigermask had barely scratched him. "Your welcome." He mewed, turning his gaze back toward the she-cat. "Do you uh... plan to find someone here...?" Wow Starclan, he needed help with flirting.

The flush in Snowleopard's cheeks deepened, and she smiled more, shifting closer to the large tom slightly. "Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me. And to the others. I don't know what his plans were, but I don't think he'd be stupid enough to come after us here, not after how you treated him." She almost purred, her ice blue eyes looking up at him and sparkling in the light.

"At least now, any future kits will be safe. I'll make sure of it." He said, yellowish-green eyes burning with determination. If it was the last thin he did, Tigermask would hunt down and kill Jupiter. No one deserved to be treated like that.

Snowleopard flushed slightly, a smile gracing her face at his words. "Thank you. That means a lot. I do try, I did what I could to stand up to Jupiter, but it didn't mean it made it any easier every time he took my kits." Though sadness welled up in her eyes, she managed to keep the smile on her face. Tigermask had saved them, and any future kits she had would be free; that was enough to keep her strong and what helped her to keep on fighting.

The large tom-cat nodded, glad she liked clan life so far. It hadn't been too long ago that she and the two other queens, had been trapped inside that two-leg nest surrounded by gang cats. Just thinking about that scrawny gang leader caused his muscles to ache. A ghost of a smile played at his lips. "I'm sure with training you'll be a great warrior. You've got the fierceness to be one."

She moved closer to him, sitting beside him and raising a paw to lick it, drawing it over her face thoughtfully before answering. "Yes. It's new, and different, but I like it. Everyone seems really nice, and I think I'll really like it here. It makes me want to grow into a strong warrior...like you."

Tigermask lifted his head at the sound of his name, yellowish-green gaze landing on the white pelt of Snowleopard. He hadn't been able to talk to the she-cat since he saved her from the loner gang. He offered her a slight nod before shifting himself in a seated position. "Adjusting to clan life?" He inquired, doing his best to stay polite even if he was in a sour mood.

At the first opportunity, Blackrabbit's path diverged from Silhouettechase and he instead walked toward the nursery, nearly bumping into his brother along the way.

"It's good to see you on your paws," Kudzuthroat meowed.

"It feels less good to be on my paws. What's all this ruckus about?"

Rust grinned thoughtfully as he settled himself down beside Lavender and began to eat the other scrawny squirrel. "I wish I could do more for you, Lavender, you deserve it," he meowed quietly after taking a few bites of the creature. His mangled tail lashed slowly at his side when he began to think of everything they had been through.

Silhouettechase sat in her usual spot, a small corner windowsill. The Turkish Angora groomed out her long, smokey-black fur while her back faced the foggy window. The molly's ears flicked only once when she realized that Blackrabbit had followed her a few fox-lengths behind and now was within the main room as well, but her copper gaze didn't dare reach his again. At the sound of his brother's voice, Silhouettechase decided stock up the fresh-kill pile and go hunting. 'I'd rather go alone than disturb anyone else...' The timid molly thought silently to herself as she stood and walked right past Blackrabbit, for it was the only way to get to the entrance. (EcC Territory, anyone can follow, but she is a timid bean ;3)

Kudzuthroat circled through the camp once more.

"Everyone be ready to head out an in hour!" He called, his ears turned back in annoyance at how little the others seemed to have taken note of Fencestar's announcement.

The white queen slipped out of the nursery, starting towards the fresh-kil pile before noticing Tigermask beside the den. She could see he was upset, understandably so with what happened with Hydrantbreath, so she approached him carefully, wanting to comfort him but not wanting to upset him further. "Tigermask..?"

Tigermask shouldered his way by one of his clan-mates, barely turning his head enough to mutter an apology. After the death of Hydrantbreath, he was all out of sorts. Of course the young she-cat had annoyed the fur off of him, but that didn't mean he didn't care for her. The large tom-cat sat down beside the nursery.

Lavender smiled more and purred happily, leaning into the lick he gave her. "You're so sweet~" She purred, licking his cheek lovingly before dipping her head to take a bite out of the squirrel he placed in front of her.

Blackrabbit scowled as Silhouettechase walked off. Good, at least she's standing up for herself. He thought and got to his own paws to stretch as gingerly as he could to let some time pass before he followed her out into the camp, wanting to see how cats were preparing for the camp move.

Silhouettechase's ears flattened and she quickly stood up at the abrupt scoff that reached Blackrabbit's voice. "I-I don't feel sorry for m-myself...A-and I never have." She managed a quiet, however stern meow, trying her best not to show just how broken his words made her feel. All the molly wanted to do was help Blackrabbit, although now she didn't want anything to do with him. Silhouettechase turned away and padded out of the room, not another word escaping her gentle voice as she left.

Rust felt a low purr ring at the back of his throat, for he was still so thankful to have Lavender back. "Only the best for my beauty," The flame-pointed Siamese mix meowed lovingly, the warmth still filled in chest as he gave his mate a lick on her ear.

The smaller she-cat blinked open her deep blue eyes, smiling up at Rust softly and yawning sleepily. "Thank you love~" She purred back, sitting up slowly and nuzzling him affectionately.

"What? If only you hadn't killed the gang cat then there'd be more of them? Then we wouldn't have had a clear trail back?" Blackrabbit scoffed, his tail flicking behind him impatiently. "If you want so badly to feel sorry for yourself -and for me to feel sorry for you, which seems to be the case- then feel sorry that you didn't kill the other before they got to me."

Silhouettechase nodded in agreement at the black tom's words. She certainly wasn't a big talker either, that was obvious. Her flowy tail curled securely around her paws. The molly frowned, her voice wispy and light once more. Silhouettechase had to get it off her back."Yeah...Um...I'm sorry for w-what's happened t-to you...If only I-I hadn't killed t-that gang cat...-" She paused, taking in a deep breath and preparing for the worst as her thoughts got the best of her. 'Those other cats wouldn't have looked for blood if I hadn't done that.'

"I'll have to," Blackrabbit sighed, sounding resigned to the cause. "Though I can't say I'll enjoy rubbing pelts with the SunClanners. They're like sparrows, always flocking together and chatter, chatter, chatter..."

Silhouettechase sat down beside the tom's nest, her ears flicking uncomfortably when his gaze met her copper eyes, but the molly knew this conversation would last longer than a second. "Well...N-now Sunclan can come here, and we could go there...A-although I r-really don't see t-the purpose...A-and in Raven's Fortress, both our clan...a-and theirs will have sick, injured, and dependent..." Her gaze flickered down to the ground with a hint of worry sinking into her eyes. "W-will you be able...to-um-make the trip?" She asked with a soft voice, not meaning for him to get offended, and honestly was genuinely worried for Blackrabbit.

Rust came back to Lavender with a couple of scrawny squirrels in his mouth. It was the best that he could find in the pile. He placed one in front of his mate and gave her a gentle lick over her forehead. "I brought yous somethin' t' eats sleepyhead..." The city cat meowed quietly, a low purr rising in his voice.

GingerPine scanned the clearing forgetting about the vole and the gathering not worried about going. She began cleansing her pelt, Zoned out in thought.

Lavender shifted in her sleep when Rust got up, but didn't wake, though a soft mew of protest escaped her lips at his absence.

"The SunClan alliance?" Blackrabbit frowned, visibly displeased by the turn of events. He adjusted his pose, wincing as it tugged on one of his wounds, and looked back up to meet her gaze. "Do you know anything more about it? I couldn't hear much from in here."

Silhouettechase tried to smile, but after the events with both Blackrabbit and Flickstripe, she just couldn't bring herself up to do so. Her warm, copper gaze turned to the ground reluctantly. "N-no, everything's fine...I'm sorry f-for bothering you," She managed a soft meow, taking a couple steps into the room. "Everyone's g-gone off to t-the gathering mostly...Fencestar said that Cranestar is going t-to tell everyone about the alliance..." Silhouettechase bit her tongue, uncertain whether or not to say more. After all, she didn't know how long Blackrabbit had been resting.

Blackrabbit blinked and groggily looked up as Silhouettechase greeted him.

"Yes, is something wrong?" He croaked.

Silhouettechase watched as Flickstripe padded away, her ears flattening with a frown. 'Why do I ruin everything?' She wondered and stood, deciding to give the black and white tom some space. The smoke black molly let out a quiet sigh, her flowy tail dropped to the ground. 'Maybe I should check on Blackrabbit...' Silhouettechase felt as though his injuries were her responsibility, however she hadn't seen him since the gang cats attacked. The molly padded to the medicine cat den and peaked her head in hesitantly. "Blackrabbit? A-are you in here?" She asked in a wispy voice, looking for the pure patch of black.

"You're nearly an apprentice now, you should be practicing with some of the other older kits, not just jumping about and having fun in here," Demeter answered. "You need to be ready."

Kudzuthroat headed toward the elders' den to make certain no one was there before looping back to the nursery and calling inside, "Will all of you be ready to head out in an hour?"

"Head out? Where?" Demeter asked.

"Fencestar just had a meeting. We're moving our sick and dependent to a second camp where they'll be safer."

"You're moving our kits in with someone's sick?!" Demeter asked, horrified.

Kudzuthroat merely shrugged in response. "That was the announcement."

"That makes sense. Then it's me being a mouse-brain." Flickstripe cussed at himself under his breath. He stood up and murmured, "Sorry to both you." He turned and slowly padded away, mad at himself.

---------

When Demeter pulled her tail away from Littlekit, he frowned. "But Mama, I wanna play!" He squeaked.

Rust awoke to the sound of his mate's soft snores ringing in his ear. He chuckled softly then stood up slowly to stretch out his legs. His neck felt as though it was burning, so his ears flattened and his muttered a quite cuss to himself, "d**'*." The ragged tom couldn't stand laying down any longer, so although his head hung low and scraps of cobwebs clung to his neck, the flame-pointed tom walked to the fresh-kill pile slowly. The city cat's cold blue-grey gaze glared at anyone who dared to approach him.

"Flickstripe..." Silhouettechase chase began, testing the tom's new name on her muzzle slowly. Her copper eyes flickered from him to the building around them before she turned her head shyly toward him. "I d-don't know...Maybe...I-I've been busy though...too." The black molly's flowy tail curled tightly around her paws as she spoke with a wispy, soft voice. "I just k-know...I-I'm not like her even t-though you-you think that I am..." Silhouettechase's voice shriveled as she touched her nose to her injured shoulder. 'I don't think that I could possibly be anything like your sister.'

Dieseltooth lept down from the high counter and made her way to Kudzuthroat. The pair exchanged a few brief words before breaking apart again. Kudzuthroat hung back, waiting for the gathering patrol to filter out, while Dieseltooth took up position at the head of the patrol, leaving its rear for Tigermask. [Gathering Clearing]

Moonsplash smiled softly, nuzzling Winterjay back happily. "Did everything go alright..?" She asked softly, eyes shining at his affection.

Fencestar's head turned sharply towards Kudzuthroat, his speech ripping her away from her interpretation. She kept her answer simple.

"Until we decide it is no longer mutually beneficial."

With that, the leader bowed her head. "With this being said, it is indeed the night of the gathering. I expect MoonClan will be tiding towards retaliation towards our action, but even they will not attack during a truce. Do not tempt them. At the gathering, we must be a cohesive clan, separate but friendly with SunClan. Cranestar has agreed to unveil the alliance tonight, where EarthClan and MoonClan can only watch on. Any cat not gravely injured or contagiously ill may make the journey to the clearing- please, judge your strength accordingly. We depart within the hour."

Fencestar jumped down with a mighty oof, wondering if she herself would make the journey. Her kittens somersaulted, but according to the medicine cats, she had time before the birth. Time to rest- but not now.

Herding EclipseClan to be ready to leave was like herding cats, but when the hour was up, the she-cat nodded at the envoy. "Tigermask, Dieseltooth, one of you up front, the other at the rear," she said, taking her position at the front. Her paws still ached from her journey to SunClan's camp, but the she-cat would lead the clan proudly from her short stature. The picture of a war general- she could almost laugh. A short, skinny yellow tabby, waddling towards a gathering.

"Over and out." (Gathering clearing)

Gingerpine watched her sit down next to her. "Sure." she said sliding the vole over "You can have the first bite."

GingerPine watched her pad a little a ways then come back. "Well are you hungry?" Gingerpine began to walk to the fresh kill pile. she picked a nice sized vole out of the pile and walked a little ways from the pile then sat down. She flicked her tail signaling to Cottonfur to come over.

After asking the question GingerPine scanned the clearing. Her eyes stopping on Cottonfur, thinking nothing more of her entering alone she scanned the rest of the clearing. Unable to find anyone she padded to the side of Cottonfur. "Hello Cottonfur how are you?" she asked hoping she would stop to talk.

"How long will this arrangement last?" Kudzuthroat asked Fencestar, exchanging a questioning glance with his sister, Dieseltooth, whose expression remained stony and unreadable.

Tigermask sat quietly beside the high counter, head raised as he listened to Fencestar's speech. He was proud of the little brat. She'd been a handful, but Hydrantpaw had shown him how to have fun in times of trouble. A ghost of a smile grazed his lips after hearing her warrior name. He agreed with the alliance, even if he was too headstrong and stubborn to admit it. He believed Eclipseclan didn't need outside help, but if Fencestar deemed it necessary, then he wouldn't complain.

----

Winterjay slipped away from Tigermask having spotted Moonsplash among the cats gathered. He nudged the she-cat's cheek and sat down beside her.

Gingerpine looked toward Fencestar. She gave no signs of disagreement, but no sign of agreement either. She thought it would be best if they kept the wounded and dependent within the camps so it was easier to watch over them."What is the point in moving them to a new location if we can watch them easier here, instead of running back and forth in between the camp and the fortress?" She asked out of pure curiosity.

When next to Dieseltooth, Fencestar was dwarfed, but with confidence she addressed the room.

"Much has happened in EclipseClan's borders since the leaf-fall- most pressing of all, death. It is with great sadness that we release Waterfang and Hydrantpaw to StarClan for final judgement. With my authority, as was my intention before I set off for SunClan, I posthumously praise Hydrantpaw a warrior. She worked hard to serve EclipseClan, and in her death I call her by her given name, Hydrantbreath." It seemed odd, to insult a cat's breath after they were dead and gone, but Fencestar felt that the she-cat would've taken it in good humor. She was forced to move on quickly by necessity and refused to dwell. She could deal with her personal grief in her own time. Right now, she had a speech to give. In true Fencestar fashion, her words turned dramatic with an audience.

"I grieve for our lost and honor our injured for their commitment. It is not unnoticed. While you worked to defend your home, I journeyed to SunClan to speak to Flintstar, only to find that Cranestar had taken her place. This held no bearing on our standing, and I am happy to say that we have friends in SunClan. Through generosity on Cranestar's part, a confederacy has been struck, and SunClan warriors are to be welcomed and helped in our territory, just as we are welcome there, and there will be a joint camp established at Raven's Fortress where our sick, injured, and dependent can be looked after by both clan's best. There will be no hostilities to our south- any cat contesting this, speak now." Fencestar observed sharply, her olive gaze searching. Her gaze settled on Gingerpine while she waited, wondering if she had anything to say.

Dieseltooth heaved a powerful pounce up onto the high counter and crashed into the landing, her already limited grace further decimated by her exhausted limbs and the nagging complains of shallow wounds across her pelt. She sat down beside Fencestar, tucking her tail around herself as she looked down at the scattered camp.

Fencestar nodded along, having known about the queens from her definitely-not-a-loophole briefing before she'd left.

She nodded in thanks, stomping all the way to highcounter. She began to bellow before she began the jump, "All cats old enough to escape a rabid dog, gather beneath the highcounter for a clan meeting," she said, jumping and struggling to scramble onto the granite. She settled, and motioned for Dieseltooth to join her.

"Waterfang was also killed by gang cats at the border and Blackrabbit was badly injured." Dieseltooth quickly summarized, uncertain how much Fencestar had been brought to speed on. "Tigermask's patrol returned with a few queens, I told them they'll have the same moon-long trial period as everyone else. As long as nothing more than that happened while I was away, I'm ready."

Fencestar lowered her head, her ears plastered against her head as she stared at her paws, lost in thought. Her last surviving kin was gone, along with the warriors lost from the rogue attacks. It all had to happen in the middle of leaf-bare too, a detail that Fencestar loathed. And the day before she planned to appoint Hydrantpaw her warrior name. It had been long overdue.

"N-No, I haven't called a meeting. I got back and was waiting for your return- ah, it's just a giant storm of wind and ****," she spat, her tail lashing as fury burned at the border losses. MoonClan's arrogance knew no bounds.

"Are you ready to address the clan with me?" she said, the deaths reminding her very suddenly of the lives in her belly. Dieseltooth would take over whether she wanted to or not- but she didn't know that yet.

The silver warrior looked up from grooming her fur, seeing Winterjay and getting to her paws, trotting over to him. She did hang back a little though, not wanting to interrupt the report going on, but swiveling her ears to listen.

"Yes. She was badly injured during her fall, then was killed by a MoonClanner." Dieseltooth tersely reported. "Have you called a clan meeting about your meeting with Cranestar?"

Fencestar registered the fight before she registered the fact that her sister was dead, but ultimately managed to keep her trap shut at the off-chance her warriors would blame her absence for the violence.

"We'll have to try ha- Hydrantpaw's dead?" she said, suddenly distracted as she looked to Dieseltooth to confirm. My sister?

"There was a fight with MoonClan." Dieseltooth reported to Fencestar, her voice raw and angry. "Hydrantpaw fell over Snake Gorge and when we tried to retrieve her, the MoonClanners attacked. She died, but several of them have as well."

Gingerpine walked out of the warriors den, and walked into the clearing after Tigermask and Winterjay had past. She sat at the edge of the clearing hoping someone would give her something to do or atleast just talk to her. She wrapped her tail neatly around her paws and looked around the clearing.

Fencestar emerged from the nursery, spotting the returning patrol with a knowingly pained gaze. She caught the scent of MoonClan mixed with blood and rage and approached cautiously, though upset that Tigermask had ordered about the cats.

"Tigermask, Winterjay," she greeted calmly, "What happened?" she said. Tragedy after tragedy had befallen her clan over the past moon and she instantly knew she had made the right choice in allying with SunClan.

Tigermask stumbled through the camp entrance, eyes ablaze with barely contained fury. The sight of watching hydrantpaw's threat being torn out was fresh on his mind. He was angry and wanted nothing more than to do the same to the moonclanner who'd done it. His yellowish-green gaze washed over the faces of his clan mates, their eyes filled with horror at their bloodied pelts. "Stop staring and get back to work." He snarled, heading toward the high counter in search of Fencestar. The tiger-like Tom-cat paced back and forth as he awaited Dieseltooth's orders.

----

Winterjay was quick to follow behind Tigermask, thoughts racing with the scene that had unfolded at the gorge. He hoped Fencestar had been successful with her mission.

Fencestar laid herself out delicately on the highcounter, exhausted from walking to and from the SunClan camp within the day. Her stomach bulged, cold tickled her nose and left her sneezing, and her paws were bloated from travel as she examined the camp. She'd returned the previous night and gone straight to sleep, but emerged feeling equivalent to when she'd entered, sans the anxiety that filled her stomach as she looked for Dieseltooth. Or any of her senior warriors- where were they?

She jumped with a thud from the highcounter and poked her head into the nursery, smiling at the queens that found their home there after Tigermask's successful journey, and nodded her head respectfully as her breath hissed with a whisper, "Excuse me, have you any clue where most of the warriors have gone?" she said, her tail-tip twitching. The kittens were adorable- soon, hers would be joining them. The thought made her grin, though trauma existed just under the surface. Clarisse, her miscarriage, and her mother's return had colored motherhood with a bad-hued brush. But as always, Fencestar was optimistic.

"Careful..." Demeter pulled her tail away from Littlekit's feeble grasp, her impatience with the kit clear in her voice. Unlike the others, he hadn't been thriving and barely seemed ready for his imminent apprenticehood- nor did she expect he ever would be. She cared for him enough to keep him healthy, but she remained distant, assuming that he wouldn't live to get his warrior name.

"Flickstripe..." Silhouettechase chase began, testing the tom's new name on her muzzle slowly. Her copper eyes flickered from him to the building around them before she turned her head shyly toward him. "I d-don't know...Maybe...I-I've been busy though...too." The black molly's flowy tail curled tightly around her paws as she spoke with a wispy, soft voice. "I just k-know...I-I'm not like her even t-though you-you think that I am..." Silhouettechase's voice shriveled as she touched her nose to her injured shoulder. 'I don't think that I could possibly be anything like your sister.'

Rust knew that it had been a long day for them both, although he hated to admit that sleep began to cling to his eyes as well. He watched the kits for a little longer before reluctantly closing his eyes.

Flickpaw, now Flickstripe, looked hesitantly up at Silhouettechase. "Have you noticed we've been... avoiding each other?" He started slowly. He sighed and kneaded the old cushion he was sitting on, looking down. He said in barely a whisper, "I feel like it's the secret I told you."

------------

Littlekit listened to Spottedkit and Demeter talk. He squeaked, twitching his tiny whiskers. The tom was quite frail and small compared to his sister. He spotted his mother's tail tip and weakly pounced on it, giggling.

Snow felt a shiver run through her body as the warrior passed her, her sharp eyes noticing the hitch in breath he'd had upon spotting her, and a smile gracing her face. She padded in and settled next to Raven, nuzzling the queen gently. "What did you name your beautiful kits?" She purred softly, gazing down at the four of them.

----

The lavender she-cat blushed softly at Rust's touch, and she smiled as he nudged one of the kits to her. They fell silent as they fed and she nuzzled him gently, closing her eyes slowly and resting her chin on her paws.

----

Moonsplash nodded slightly and nuzzled him back, watching as he slipped out through the entrance and headed towards the border. She silently wished him good luck, hoping he would come home safely.

"That was Tigermask, sweetie, he's one of the warriors," Demeter answered Spottedkit. She sat back and started to groom her pelt again, thinking over the tom's visits. It might not be bad to humor him, she considered.

Spottedkit watched Tigermask leave with a frown, upset she couldn't continue to practice her pouncing on him. "I thought I was doing just fine." She mewed, voice barely above a whisper. The young kit turned her attention back on her mother. "Who was that, he was huge!"

"Alright, love, alright." Rust placed his tail over Lavender with a quiet meow, however his eyes drifted to look at the ceiling with wonder, looking at ever little crack carefully. He hadn't the slightest idea why any cat would want to be forced to stay in an abandoned human den, but then he supposed it was a shelter. His blue-grey gaze turned to look down at the kits and a small grin fell onto his muzzle. ' They sure will be safe here...' The city tom thought as he nudged a small kit to Lavender's stomach.

Silhouettechase looked back up at Flickpaw hesitantly, her copper eyes reaching his gaze for a curious moment. The Turkish Angora lay onto a ragged, blue cushion, her shoulder aching once more, however waved her flowy tail to a rug next to her. "N-no, come sit...W-what's wrong?" The timid molly asked as she shuffled her paws onto the cushion.

Winterjay nudged Moonsplash's cheek. "I'll be back, my love." He mewed, following after Dieseltooth.

(Over ten)

Running out of patienece, Demeter took the few assembled cats she could and started northeast toward their MoonClan border. Kudzuthroat followed along, healed of enough of his wounds that he would, once more, patrol without slowing down his clanmates or forfeiting their chances of success, should they be attacked. [MC-EcC Border. If you want your character to be involved in the skirmish, please poof them there.]

"Be sure to bunch up your hindquarters before you pounce," Demeter lightly corrected the kit, her voice glowing with pride at the ferocity of her little kit.

"They're nearly apprentices now," She reflected.

Tigermask nodded, the small smile still on his lips. He was a little unsure of himself, not used to being inside the nursery so much. It seemed he'd become more inclined to visit in order to see Demeter. He glanced away from the nursing queen to watch the new eclipseclan members. He caught sight of the snow white pelt again, almost forgetting out to breath. He was a little irritated by the effect she had on him. Grumbling, the tom-cats attention shifted toward a small bengal kitten that just so happened to latch onto his paw. "Whatcha doin you little furball?" He bent down to look at the kit. She looks so much like Demeter.

----

Spottedkit smirked once she saw the giant of a cat. Her immediate reaction was to attack. She crouched real low and wobbled her way over to Tigermask before finally pouncing his foot. She squealed triumphantly, blue-grey eyes gleaming. "I've caught the enemy." She answered.

Dieseltooth had to hold herself back at rolling her eyes at Moonsplash's fresh wave of affection. StarClan knows we need more kits... she thought, and started toward the Warriors' den to gather more patrol members. "Half-face, Firestorm, Apocalypse, Nightwillow, Bronzecrescent-- if any of you are in there, I need you out here now. I know you haven't been on patrols yet today."

She moved onto the apprentices' den and issued similar warnings to Flickpaw, Echopaw, and Starlingpaw.

Snow padded towards the nursery slowly, peeking her snowy head in and smiling softly at the sight of the kits. "How are you, Raven..? Your kits are beautiful." She purred, her eyes sparkling in the scent of the new kits. Her icy gaze found Tigermask, but she didn't want to interrupt him, so she didn't greet him just yet.

----

Lavender nuzzled Rust back, licking his cheek affectionately. "I know it's hard to trust other cats, but they helped you, so that's good enough for me right now." She meowed softly, pressing closer to him and bringing their kits closer with her tail. They mewled hungrily, and she let them suckle at her belly as she laid on her side.

----

Moonsplash looked up at the sound of her mate's voice, her eyes lighting up with happiness. "Winterjay~ Did you have a good time on your mission..?" She asked, smiling softly and rubbing against him slightly.

"Good, you'll come with me to MoonClan. Be ready to leave soon," Dieseltooth answered Winterjay, craning her neck to look back over the crowd and find any other cats that didn't seem busy or injured.

"Crowded is good, it means that the clan is growing stronger," Demeter answered Tigermask, happy to see a familiar face in the crowd.

Winterjay approached Dieseltooth, dipping his head respectfully toward the deputy. "If you need to send out a patrol, I'll volunteer to join one." He mewed

The large tiger-like tom-cat slipped away from the high counter, not entirely satisfied with the days events. He'd had his tail handed to him by a scrawny loner. His wounds were nothing compared to the one's Rust received, but it still put him in bed rest. He'd failed to- or chose not to- tell Dieseltooth of Hydrantpaw's idiocy. He knew well what might happen if Fencetsar found out and thought of this as a lesson the young feline could learn. He grunted slightly, the cuts on his shoulders and legs preventing him from journeying very far. I'm useless at the moment. I can't even walk to the warriors den. Tigermask grumbled, catching sight of a familiar ginger pelt slipping into the nursery. He followed after the apprentice, ducking his head inside to inspect the new members of Eclipseclan. He took note of the birth-scent, watching Raven with her kits. Soon his attention was drawn away to Demeter. He thought it funny, the she-cat looked quite out of place. "Hydrantpaw, don't get too comfortable. We're going out to train later." He said, yellowish-green orbs glancing at the small feline before they returned to Demeter. The large warrior padded further into the den, stopping beside Demeter as she rested with her kits. His gaze washed over her new litter, the faintest signs of a smile tugging at his lips. "Cute little runts. I hope it's not too crowded in here for you."

Demeter lay curled in the edge of the nursery, not certain of what to make of the new queens and the kits. The mothers seemed and the kits healthy but she felt overwhelmed by their sudden presence and how crowded the place suddenly felt shy and out of place in her own nest. Dieseltooth said they'll prove their place here, the thought, and decided to be glad for their presence. Either, she supposed, they'd continue to have litters like her and provide the camp with warriors, or be warriors themselves.

Silhouettechase looked back up at Flickpaw hesitantly, her copper eyes reaching his gaze for a curious moment. The Turkish Angora lay onto a ragged, blue cushion, her shoulder aching once more, however waved her flowy tail to a rug next to her. "N-no, come sit...W-what's wrong?" The timid molly asked as she shuffled her paws onto the cushion.

Rust flattened his ears a little, not happy with how trusting of the clan cats that Lavender seemed to be. He wasn't used to being around such a large group, and the ones whom he had been around, Rust would either fight with or choose to stay away from. "You're right. You're not bad ands our kits aren't eithers...It's just hard." He let out a quiet murmur to his mate, the city cat's blue-grey eyes closing as he hesitantly reached his injured neck out to nuzzle Lavender behind the ear.

Dieseltooth lept down from the highcounter, waiting for her clanmates to gather for the patrols. One north and one west, she figured. And one to MoonClan, no one has checked there since this morning.

Raven smiled softly and gave eagle a little lick on her head. She gazed back up at Hydrantpaw, "hey, its ok. I know how bad it was there, we should be glad we got out. And you helped us, you helped save my life and theirs" she said, motioning to her kits. She knew the apprentice was struggling, after all, she had been kidnapped and had witnessed the murder of a kit. Who wouldn't be traumatized?

Hydrantpaw entered the den, trying to step lightly so as to not wake the little sleeping kits. She found them adorable- perfect in every way, and she was proud of herself for Being part in their rescue: she remembered watching the death of Lavender’s. It brought er great pain and she anxiously stepped back after taking a sudden intake of breath. her mind hadnt healed.

”sorry- I-I’m-“ she said, beginning to close her eyes andtake deep breaths.

eagle stirred underneath her mother’s forelimb, her white head buried to nurse. She unlatched with a soft pop and yawned, squeaking.

She smiled proudly, "just a few days ago" she said, smiling down at them. "This one is Starling, and her name is Eagle, his is Robin and the last one is Dove." she explained, nudging each with her nose as she said their names.

Hydrantpaw Looked up with an incredulous amount of gratitude that she hadn’t been kicked out of the clan. Fencestad Wasn’t back yet- Hydrantpaw wondered if Dieseltooth was just waiting for her return before exiling her for her crimes.

she turned her head slowly upon hearing Raven’s request, her ears pricking at the sight of the newborns. What a success the mission had been!

”Wow, when did you give birth?” The apprentice asked dumbly.