Warriors of the Plants

In Forestclan camp 

"CACTUSCLAN! C-CACTUSCLAN!" Stonevine yowled as he darted into the camp. He panted, shaking his fur gently. He looked around for any available warriors. "Cactusclan warriors in the territory! A whole patrol! About four, they're taking a huge chunk of the woods!"

Smogwillow looked up mid lick from grooming her fur, "For Starclan's sake..." She growled under breath.

Crowtalon stepped out of the Nursery, where she had been helping Gloomfreckle with her kits, to see Stonevine storming into camp. When she processed the words, she growled. "Where are they?"

"Far end over the bushels...past a couple clearings from here, towards the border. They're a lot deeper in then they were last time they took from us...if we head towards their last border markers, w-we'll find 'em...but there's also more than last time, I think...5? 4? I-I don't remember the exact number..." Stonevine mewed between breaths

Smogwillow sighed, standing up, "Crowtalon, let's go." She ordered, "Stonevine, stay here and guard the camp."

Crowtalon's face became enraged. She turned to Gloomfreckle. "Take the kits away from here. It might not be safe here much longer. I'll make sure they won't touch any of you," she said, unsheathing her claws. She looked back at Smogwillow and nodded. "Lead the way."

Stone'Vine let out a shaky sigh and nodded. "A-alright...but don't go just the two of you...the only support out in the territory is Jackdawwing and I don't even know where he went!" He was relieved he didn't have to fight.

Stonevine was right, and Crowtalon knew it. So, without much thinking, she shouted to where the entire camp could hear her. "Cactusclan has invaded our home! We need all the cats we can get to fight back. Now!"

Auburntail started padding up next to Crowtalon, followed closely by Nettletear.

Smogwillow pushed herself through the crowd, towering over her clanmates as she went to stand next to Crowtalon.

Alderkit cuddled up to Gloomfreckle, sensing something was wrong.

Stonevine turned to Gloom'Freckle. "I can help carry them if we need to leave now..." He mewed quietly. "I-I think I remember a passage through the woods leading to Castleclan..." 

Gloomfreckle looked half dazed but there was certain look of shock and anger flaring in her cool gaze. “We’re evacuating?” She asked intently. Just when she thought things were settling down.

Stonevine's tail perked up. The situation was really going to be that bad!? They had to get out! "A-alright, Gloomfreckle...just tell me when you're ready...if you can carry them both I can grab some prey for you and the kits while we leave...I think just you and the kits for the most part...the elders too, maybe..." Stone'Vine shrugged

Gloomfreckle brought her twins close to her fluff. She looked around the camp, her eyes sharp. “Ashcloud! Deerwhisper!” She called, beckoning the warriors. “You’re staying with us too. I’m not endangering my kits whatsoever.”

Ashcloud faltered, opening her mouth to protest. She was a warrior for crying outloud! But at the queen’s fierce stare, she immediately bowed her head and nodded.

Deerwhisper nodded to Gloomfreckle. "Sure thing." He said politely, not really eager to fight anyway.

Crowtalon flashed a pained look at Gloomfreckle. Her and her kits had their whole lives ahead of them, and these prickly pieces of dung were going to take that away from them? Crowtalon wouldn't tolerate it. "Be safe," she whispered to Gloomfreckle and her kits, knowing they couldn't hear her over the commotion. Seeing that Ashcloud would help keep them safe, Crowtalon felt a little bit better.

At Crowtalon’s words, Gloomfreckle’s glare softened. It mellowed out to something bittersweet. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to the lean warrior’s shoulder. “You too. Stay safe out there.” She said softly before pulling away. Gloomfreckle then turned to Stonevine. “Let’s go! Deerwhisper, can you pick up Cloudingkit?”

"I know a thicket in the woods we could probably get away with staying there. It's near the Castleclan border, but also pretty deep towards the end of our borders..." Stonevine stepped back a little, turning his head to point into the forest opposite of where he described where the Cactus cats were

Deerwhisper leaned down to pick up the small kit, closely following Gloomfreckle out of camp. "Where are we going?" He asked.

Stonevine nodded, prancing away from the clearing to escort Gloom and the rest out of camp. He stopped to grab some squirrels and then stopped to lead them away.

“To a thicket near the border,” Ashcloud said. “According to Stonevine.”

"Y-yes...I adventure in my free time to find more prey. I'm not a fighter, so I go out more..." Stonevine admitted, taking a couple paw steps out of camp

Alderkit squealed slightly. "Whas happenin?" He asked, souning afraid.

Smogwillow nodded, "Okay Forestclan! Move out!" And with a flick of her tail, the dark warrior charged put of camp.

Nettletear and Auburntail rushed out, following the charge, both eager to defend their clan with their life.

Crowtalon felt warm. She didn't know if it was the adrenaline or Gloomfreckle's touch, but she felt warmer. However, before she could say anything back, the queen was gone with her escorts. She turned around and rushed after Smogwillow.

In Forestclan territory 

Ivybloom got into a standard defensive stance, "Guys I think they're coming."

Quailleap turned to face their group. “Remember, we are warriors sculpted out of Sandstone.” Quailleap said. “We will be ferocious. We will be victorious.”

Sandripple began to tense up as her previous fears and anxieties started to boil up to the surface. Quailleap's words helped her steady herself. "Right," she said.

Drizzlepaw nodded, his face looking stern, but also somehow craving battle.

"You might want to reconsider that." Smogwillow growled, her eye and fangs glowing in the shadows. 

Gorseclaw flinched. “Oh my...what large teeth you have.” He said, feeling pin pricks of dread grow.

Crowtalon emerged from the foliage, following behind Smogwillow. "And you won't have any teeth after I'm done with you," she growled at Gorseclaw.

Drizzlepaw let out a small hiss, the tension in the air crackling.

Sandripple froze, staring at the Forestclan cats with wide, fearful eyes. "Oh StarClan..." she muttered.

Ivybloom's stance faltered slightly but she bit back her anxiety and stood up tall, "I'm sorry to inform you but this is our territory now darling~" It wasn't as sinister as she wanted to be, probably because of Smogwillow and Crowtalon staring them down.

Quailleap tried to not look unnerved. Her glare stood strong  as the forestclan cat’s. “That being said, it’s time for your eviction.” She said cruelly. 

Nettletear's weathered and spindly figure set a intimidating shadow on the five cactusclan cats. Hissing lightly, he gave Ivybloom a deep glare. 

Crowtalon's icy glare got more intense as she slowly stalked towards Ivybloom and Quailleap. Any moment now blood would coat the ground underneath them. No matter how intimidating they seemed to be, Crowtalon would not let them push her new family around like this. "Leave, or else you'll have to fight over territory in the afterlife. This forest is already taken, so why don't you go to the Dark Forest for some scraps of flesh instead?" 

"That's quite rude in'nit?" Ivybloom tsked, though she can't deny that she was getting nervous about this fight, why are most of their warriors so big? No fair.

Drizzlepaw winced. When would they attack?? Better to strike first than let Forestclan get the better of them with their words.

“Oh you sweet little jerboa,” Quailleap said, tracking Crowtalon. “Not even the Dark Forest can stop us.” With that, she reared back and scored her claws down Crowtalon’s scar. 

Ivybloom stared at Quailleap slack jawed, her claws were unsheathed and ready to spill some blood but her paws were rooted to the spot, she can hear her heart pounding in her ears. 

Crowtalon cried out in pain and recoiled back. She glared back at the she-cat and hissed. She tried to attack back, but Quailleap was able to dodge it. 

Sandripple saw her chance. While Quailleap was distracting the other Forestclan cats, Sandripple slipped passed and tackled Smogwillow. 

Oh now they've started it, but before Smogwillow could raise her paw she was tackled to the ground, hissing in frustration as she realized that she's pinned and couldn't move her front paws, instead she squared her hind legs and kicked the Cactusclan warrior off. 

Gorseclaw threw himself onto the back of a nearby warrior, raking his claws down their sides. 

Auburntail was caught off guard by Gorseclaw, and he rolled over to escape his clutches. Leaping back up, Auburntail started slashing Gorseclaw's nose, hoping the warrior would back away.

Gorseclaw shrieked as he failed to dodge an oncoming attack. “YOU RUINED MY NOSE!” He yowled in anger. How dare this cat? How dare this bushy eyed cat even think of it! His claws shot out, hooking onto the side of Auburntail’s face, sending a hefty jab across his skull.

Ivybloom stepped back, looking around frantically, cats were yowling and screaming with blood splattering like rain. 

Drizzlepaw took a step back, intimidated by the sudden fighting. Unsure of his footing, he tripped over, exposing his very soft stomach.

Sandripple tumbled backwards before landing on her paws. She sprint forwards and rammed into Smogwillow again. She whipped her clawed paw back and slashed Smogwillow side with a clean, deep stroke. 

Auburntail raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly, before he felt a heavy impact on his face. His smile dropped, and he fell to the ground, temporarily dazed. He attempted to continue clawing at Gorseclaw's face, but it was far out of reach.

After regaining her balance from missing Quailleap, she pivoted back around and saw what seemed to be their leader overwhelmed. She smirked. Crowtalon rushed at Ivybloom tackled her and knocked her against a tree. 

Drizzlepaw looked around. It did not look like they were doing to well, so Drizzlepaw snuck away from the battle. He was going to get re-enforcements.

Smogwillow coughed out blood as her vision flickered, her warm blood gushing out was a harsh contrast to the chilly air. Her panting made smokey puffs of air as she struggled to stay on her paws. 

Quailleap faced off against Firefly and Bearsnap, holding her own against the two warriors. She threw Firefly to the side and snarled, circling Bearsnap. The larger warrior shot forward, but Quailleap was faster. She slipped under him and raked her claws down his underbelly. 

Crowtalon glared at Ivybloom with her eye. "Call them off. Now!" 

Ivybloom bared her teeth, "No way in hell meat face!" She raked her hind paws against Crowtalon's exposed belly. 

Gorseclaw darted to Auburntail’s side. While the warrior was momentarily blinded by his own misstep, Gorseclaw whirled around and struck down another warrior off to the side

Auburntail got back up, recovered from his daze. He looked around, and flicked his claws over Gorseclaw's back.

Nettletear looked around, eyeing up someone to attack. He stood firmly in the middle of the chaos, and stared down at a Cactusclan cat. 

Seeing as one of Forestclan's stronger warriors were down, Sandripple took the opportunity to rush to easier prey. She tackled Nettletear to the ground and pinned him there. With a small, yet twisted, smile, Sandripple effortlessly snapped his neck. This prey was hers. 

Seeing the cat he had eyed up rushing. towards him, Nettletear faltered. He was being pinned. He attempted to bat the larger cat off, but all his blood was rushing to his head. With a light shriek, he felt a sharp pain, and it all faded away.

Bearsnap felt his fur heat up with embarrassment. He was supposed to be one of Forestclan’s proficient warriors yet he kept faltering when fighting Quailleap. She read his moves easily, stepped ahead and used his own attacks against him. While she flashed by him, her eyes glittered with mirth as if this whole fight was a game to her. 

Whirling around in fury, Bearsnap stomped down on her tail, cutting her off from leaping away. She rocketed to the ground. But she was a smart fighter. Without even hesitating, she twisted onto her back, swiveled her leg around and kicked him in the nose. He felt pain shoot through his muzzle, and for a second he couldn’t see, but she was already up.  Claws raked down his chest, snagging through him

Smogwillow coughed again, sputtering out more blood, but in the chaos that is the fight, she heard a distinct sound, one she'll recognize no matter what, the sound of a bone snapping. The warrior looked around, her vision still hazing, "Nettletear..?"

Crowtalon howled in pain only to shoot back down at Ivybloom. She forced the CactusClan cat down and slowly raked her claws from the cat's head down to her belly. She wasn't aiming to kill her -- she was aiming to torture her. "Now," Crowtalon gritted out. 

Sandripple lifted her head up from her prey. She felt alive. She felt at home. She felt-- Then she saw Ivybloom, held down and being tortured. She rushed towards Crowtalon, sank her teeth into her neck, and flung the warrior away from her leader. Crowtalon yowled and tumbled backwards before hitting a nearby tree. "Ms. Ivybloom! I'll protect you!"

Ivybloom held back the scream, her face twisting in sheer pain as her body went limp because everytime she tried to move, sparks of pain would shoot up like lightning.

Sandripple looked around and scanned the area. She had been lucky during this fight, but the rest of pro wasn't. She looked back down at Ivybloom. "Do we retreat?!"

Ivybloom twitched, blinking in pain, "Yes...we're leaving..." She somehow managed to croak out, biting her tongue as if that would help with the blood rushing out, she stumbled up to her paws.

Gorseclaw scrabbled over to Ivybloom’s side. “Flea ridden snakedung! DRIZZLEPAW! DRIZZPLAW GET OVER HERE—where is Drizzlepaw—you know what, never mind!” Gorseclaw snapped, he grabbed Sandripple, “Grab me cobwebs now! Go look at fallen logs or something, just get me webs and many of them!”

Sandripple gasped at all the blood spilling out of her leader. "Shouldn't we retreat to a safe place first?!"

Gorseclaw glanced over his shoulder to see Quailleap shouldering on several warriors on her own. “No time! She’ll bleed to death before then! JUST GET ME COBWEBS!!”

"I'm...fine-" Just as she said that, Ivybloom's legs buckle under her and she fell back into her puddle of blood.

Gorseclaw looked as if he were about to slap Ivybloom, “Quit moving! You’re making the bleeding woRSe!”

Sandripple nodded before dashing through the chaotic mess of warriors fighting each other. Still, no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find anything. "There aren't any webs, Gorseclaw!" She hollered back.

“THEN GET ME LEAVES!” Gorseclaw bellowed. “DIG UP THOSE DOCK LEAVES I FOUND! QUICK!”

Smogwillow trudged her way to Nettletear, his head was crooked in an unnatural way and his tongue rolled out of his mouth, she stared at the dead warrior for a long while, not acknowledging the Cactusclan cats screaming at each other in the background.

Gorseclaw sighed out in relief when Sandripple finally got some leaves(and a bit of webs too). “Don’t hiss at me girlie.” He teased Ivybloom. “This is gonna sting~”

Ivybloom somehow still had strength to glare at Gorseclaw.

Gorseclaw managed to haphazardly stop Ivybloom’s bleeding with the equipment he was given. It wasn’t much, but it would definitely hold until they got back to their own camp.

Firefly was the first to break away from fight, bleeding heavily and ragged. “Smogwillow!” He keened, glancing back at the cactusclan cats. “More of them are coming! I can smell it!”

Smogwillow closed her eyes, "Tell them that the battle is already over." She muttered, throwing Nettletear over her back and started lumbering back to camp.

Firefly staggered back, shocked. He didn’t even notice Nettletear’s limp form. “What? But we can still fight!” He called to her. His voice was strained and he had to yell over the sounds of his clanmate’s yowls of retreat.

Smogwillow turned her head, just enough to glare at the ginger warrior, "One of our ranks is dead Firefly," She reminded, "And one of theirs is dying, this battle is over."

Firefly flinched under her hard stare, saying nothing.

Gorseclaw sighed in relief when Ivybloom didn’t immediately die in his paws. “You’ll live, girlie~. But we definitely need to head back so I can properly fix you.” Gorseclaw turned to relay his message to Quailleap but faltered, being frozen in pure shock and horror

There was nothing good to describe the other warrior. Quailleap’s pretty ginger fur was drenched with crimson, soaking her to the bone. Her eye soullessly stared off, a manic smile carved upon her face.  She had fought several warriors on her own, wounds littering across her form like constellations and galaxies. Yet she didn’t pay them any mind. When she spoke, it was soft like a mother consoling her child. “You will heal me.” She said. “And we will go on.”

In Sandstone camp 

Later that night, long after the group settled back in camp, Gorseclaw was given a reason to use the deathberries.