◈ ASHENSTRIKE ◈

[ Blazing_Echoes ]

Ashenstrike's claws scored the earth as he narrowed his mismatched coloured eyes. His golden eye blazed with anticipation while his light grey eye emitted an eerie calmness. He was stalking his prey - a hawk perched on a low tree branch. The brown bird had not noticed the light grey warrior, ruffling its wings casually and generating a weak breeze in the process.

It was a hushed silence - the tom crouched and stared ahead, all focus directed at his prey. The silence would have led others to ponder if they were deaf, but Ashenstrike could not care less. All he wanted was the hawk in his jaws.

Despite the sky being a dark shade of melancholy grey, its borderless flow of clarity was beautiful. The clouds resembled Wolfclaw's light grey patches. The grey tom had lighter grey patches, and his pelt resembled the state of the sky.

Ashenstrike recoiled at the thought. Why am I comparing my Clanmate with the sky? That tom is scary, always acting tough. I should be focusing on the hawk.

The sun was peeking through the clouds, struggling to have a view of the ground below. Sprinkles of rain started falling onto Ashenstrike's pelt, but he paid it no heed. The only thing that mattered was the hawk.

His Clan was starving, and if he could catch this hawk, he would be their saviour - maybe even become deputy. He would be respected among all Clans, yet feared for his violence in battle.

No one would dare cross him.

Time to claim my reward, he thought eagerly. As he took one last pawstep and wiggled his haunches, the tom leapt forward, claws outstretched, towards the hawk. I can see you in my claws-

"Ashenstrike, wake up, you flea-brain! Yellowjacket has been calling your name for the past moon and he's not happy," a ginger tabby she-cat hissed, appearing in his line of vision as he opened his eyes.

"Oh. It's you, Blazingsouls," Ashenstrike muttered, blinking wearily. Blazingsouls looked annoyed, and was lashing her tail.

"You're less productive than a pile of rocks!" the she-cat hissed. "Get up!"

Bossy she-cat, Ashenstrike thought resentfully. He wanted to sleep in more, but one glare from Blazingsouls changed his mind in an instant.

"Okay, okay! I'm up," the light grey tom groaned. He stood on his paws and arched his back, jaws stretching into a yawn. He curled his tail around himself and sighed.

"You're not even worth my time at this point," Blazingsouls grumbled, turning tail and exiting the den.

"He's up!" she yowled - likely to Yellowjacket, the deputy of EclipseClan.

Ashenstrike padded out of the den calmly, treading over to the deputy. He observed his Clanmates; Palekit and Hollowkit were tussling with each other by the nursery, while Dustkit was watching. Their mother, Missingfire, did not seem to mind the kits' play fighting.

Further off, it seemed that Blazingsouls was leading a hunting party, with Robinstorm, Rainspirit, Juniperpaw, and Flarefur gathered around her.

"You're late," the black-and-ginger deputy remarked, snapping the light grey tom out of his thoughts. He turned his head towards Yellowjacket and waved his tail lazily.

"Go. Sapfall is leading the border patrol," Yellowjacket meowed, turning away from Ashenstrike.

He dipped his head and turned away swiftly, not wanting to cause more distress for the deputy. His abrupt movement nearly led to him crashing into Pantherpaw, his apprentice.

"Oh, hi," Ashenstrike purred, his eyes glowing with fondness.

"Hey!" Pantherpaw replied, smiling. "Am I coming on your patrol?"

The light grey tom looked over at the cats gathered around Sapfall and shook his head. "I don't think so. There are already enough cats on the patrol."

"Oh," Pantherpaw mewed, looking crestfallen.

"But hey," her mentor continued, grinning. "Why don't you go help the elders with their ticks? I heard Skypatch tells quite mean stories."

"Whatever," Pantherpaw muttered, turning away and sulking towards the elders' den. Ashenstrike turned to join the patrol, frowning. I tried.

"About time!" Willowbranch hissed. "You took longer than leaf-bare ending."

"I'm here now, so let's leave," Ashenstrike replied nonchalantly.

"Mouse-brained toms," Willowbranch growled under her breath, striding after Sapfall, who had already started heading out.

Sapfall's apprentice, Copperpaw, followed the she-cat closely behind. A pale grey pelt brushed past Ashenstrike, earning his attention.

The pelt belonged to Palewhisker, who was also on the patrol. Ashenstrike narrowed his eyes.

"Are you sure you should be coming?" Ashenstrike asked the pale grey she-cat, flicking an ear in disapproval.

Palewhisker turned her head his way, looking slightly surprised that he had even spoken to her.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll be fine," Palewhisker reassured, purring.

The pale grey she-cat looked down at her swollen belly. She would be a queen soon, and EclipseClan would have even more kits. They were doing pretty well this newleaf, despite a slight shortage of prey.

"If you say so," Ashenstrike replied, turning to face the front.

The five cats walked in silence, with Copperpaw speaking occasionally to her mentor, Sapfall. Ashenstrike enjoyed the sweet tunes of the forest - the cooing of birds and rustles of the leaves high up in the trees. It seemed that Sapfall wanted to break the silence, as she turned her head back slightly.

"DriftClan has been quiet lately," Sapfall commented. "I wonder what's going on over there."

"Who cares?" Willowbranch snorted. "Those cowardly cats are probably hiding from a fox in their camp. Wouldn't be surprised. We'd probably be even better off without them."

"DriftClan makes us whole," Sapfall responded, scolding the dark brown tabby she-cat. "Without them, we would be a lone Clan with nothing to live for."

"I say we cast them out and live on our own. It would be so much easier!" Willowbranch countered, her green eyes gleaming with a certain coldness. "We wouldn't have to check the borders all the time and worry about getting into fights. We wouldn't have to drag our tails all the way to the Gathering Stones to hear about some silly news no one cares about. If DriftClan doesn't exist with us, we would have more territory, more prey, more herbs, more freedom..."

Sapfall narrowed her eyes and lashed her tail. "Remember when I asked for your opinion? Yeah, me neither."

Willowbranch turned on Sapfall, her hackles rising and fur bristling. Her jaws were open, baring her teeth.

"Stop," Ashenstrike ordered. The words slipped out of his jaws before he could stop them.

Willowbranch glared at the cream she-cat. "I'm going to go up ahead and get started, take as much sweet time as you need," the brown tabby she-cat declared, padding forward and out of sight.

Sapfall sighed and shook her head in disapproval. "She's too hostile for her own good."

The four cats walked in silence for a while, Ashenstrike once again immersing himself into the sounds of nature. Clouds rolled in the sky, darkness in the horizon - it would rain soon. This actually resembles my dream, he mused, looking up at the sky.

Suddenly, an angry yowl split the silence, followed by grunts and snarls. Ashenstrike and Palewhisker exchanged glances, looking worried.

"That sounds like Willowbranch!" Copperpaw exclaimed, widening her amber eyes.

The EclipseClan cats raced towards the border, bursting through the trees, realising that Willowbranch was engaged in battle with Iceglare, a DriftClan cat. She was spitting insults at him, but the black tom did not respond as he dealt a blow so hard, it knocked Willowbranch off her paws and onto the ground. The black tom raised his icy blue eyes to the EclipseClan patrol.

Blood was pouring out of Willowbranch, wounds scattered all over her fur like rats gathered around crowfood. Palewhisker's jaw dropped and she rushed over to the her side.

"What did you do?" the pale grey she-cat yowled, horrified.

"She was picking fights and needed to be taught a lesson," Iceglare responded, snarling. The scar on the right side of his face was taunting, as it looked like he had a permanent snarl.

Sapfall, though usually calm and collected, let out a yowl and leapt at Iceglare. The two engaged in battle, both not holding back.

A smaller grey tom, who Ashenstrike knew to be an apprentice named Falconpaw, sprung at Copperpaw without warning. The copper-coloured she-cat batted him away with her paws and sunk her teeth into his neck. Falconpaw shook her off and raked his claws down her cheek, drawing a satisfying amount of blood in that exchange.

Palewhisker was dragging Willowbranch away from the area to safety, her eyes looking around wildly in panic. Troutsplash crashed into Ashenstrike, knocking the air out of the EclipseClan warrior. The light grey tom tried to spot Palewhisker, calling out weakly, "Get her back to camp!"

Ashenstrike lashed his paw out, catching Troutsplash by surprise and smacking him down. Ashenstrike leapt to his paws and snarled. "This is not a battle worth wasting herbs on! Stop!"

But this time, his order had no effect on the enraged cats. This was a skirmish now - a very unnecessary one - but there was no stopping it with mere words.

In his trance, Troutsplash caught his claws in Ashenstrike's ear, ripping it apart. The light grey tom let out a shriek of pain and rammed headfirst into the silvery-grey tom. They rolled in a flurry of grey and silver fur, swiping and scratching at each other. Ashenstrike threw Troutsplash to the side and sank his claws into the DriftClan warrior's belly.

A light grey pelt slammed into Ashenstrike, causing him to stumble. When he caught himself, he narrowed his eyes at the she-cat he identified as Fallingfeather.

"Stay away from Troutsplash!" Fallingfeather spat, attacking the EclipseClan tom from multiple sides.

Growing increasingly agitated, Ashenstrike grew angry and slammed his paws down on the she-cat's head. She connected with the ground and groaned, but swiftly recovered, reeling up and smacking him square in the jaw.

Ashenstrike stumbled back and felt pain shooting through his entire face. Fallingfeather, eyes shining in triumph, raked her claws down his cheek, giving him multiple wounds. It was to the point that he could no longer stand, slumping to the ground in near defeat. The pain was almost too much to handle, and wounds inflicted by Troutsplash were starting to take effect, hurting too much for him to try and fight.

Fallingfeather leapt on his back and sunk her claws relentlessly into his shoulder, earning a cry of pain from the light grey tom. The DriftClan warrior's weight pinned him to the ground firmly, not allowing him to struggle. He blinked his mismatched eyes as the image of crimson red blood pooling around him became even more apparent. He attempted to struggle, but to no avail. His strength had left him, and his consciousness was slipping from reality's grasp.

Darkness flecked the sides of his vision, piled with a pounding headache; he was losing too much blood. Fallingfeather left Ashenstrike and began dragging Troutsplash to DriftClan's border. As she was doing so, Copperpaw, who had seemingly defeated Falconpaw in battle, attacked her.

Ashenstrike let out a heavy breath. He would not allow himself to faint - not a chance. He was the strongest warrior in EclipseClan, vicious and unforgiving in battle. He could not - and should not - lose to DriftClan.

But as the darkness from the corners of his vision spread, Ashenstrike found it hard to see anything at all. His breath became short and staggered, as if his lungs were on the verge of collapsing. Without warning, the whole world was engulfed in black and Ashenstrike felt himself slipping out of consciousness.

Deputy, huh? Ashenstrike thought, scoffing at himself. And it became a silent, lonely, darkness.

Sometimes, even the strongest warriors lose.

◉❀◉

◈ PALEWHISKER ◈

[ Jade-of-the-stones ]

Palewhisker was dragging Willowbranch along, having trouble with the brown tabby she-cat's limp body. What did you eat to get so heavy? Palewhisker groaned internally. Or perhaps it's just me growing weaker... I'm expecting kits, after all.

Willowbranch muttered inaudible words; she was most likely slipping in and out of consciousness. Palewhisker was not particularly fond of the other she-cat, but she would help a Clanmate in need anytime.

Palewhisker halted abruptly; the spruce trees seemed to enclose around her as she felt rising pain in her stomach.

No... There's no way, She thought, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to negate the pain. My kits... How are they coming? It's too early!

She groaned in pain and began to stumble. Leaving Willowbranch, she tried to find an open space. She noticed the training clearing from afar and attempted to run there as quickly as she possibly could, but instead, Palewhisker tumbled to the ground. She let out ragged breaths, shutting her eyes tightly in pain. They're coming! Great StarClan, my kits are coming!

She flailed her paws in an attempt to stand back up, but it was futile. She tried keeping a clear mind by staying calm, trying to think of what she could do. Large... large stick... to bite down on to distract myself from the pain.

The pale grey she-cat spun her head around wildly, trying to locate a suitable stick. However, she could not spot any large, wide sticks - just small, brittle twigs that would snap in a heartbeat.

I... I have to deliver these kits on my own, Palewhisker thought to herself, trying to swallow her pain. No one is coming.

Another thought crossed her mind, sending waves of panic to Palewhisker. What if I don't live?

She shook her head, inhaling sharply before exhaling slowly. Just breathe, Palewhisker. Breathe.

The pale grey warrior closed her eyes and pushed. She let out a wail of pain, but pushed harder, imagining what Webcloud or Sunpaw say while she was kitting. Just breathe and stay clam. Your kits will be fine.

She felt a rush of excitement to meet her kits, and felt determination course through her veins. I won't let these kits die. No matter what.

She pushed harder, despite the fact that the pain felt worse than her neck being ripped open by a DriftClan warrior. She felt a bundle of fur slip out and gasped out in slight relief, ushering the kit closer to her with her furry tail. She opened her eyes and quickly nipped its sac. The kit was a she-kit, and was dark grey, with lighter grey flecks and unusually long whiskers - just like Palewhisker. She let out a coarse purr. She looks like me.

Her short moment of joy was cut short as more pain shot up her lower body. Yowling, she pushed as hard as she could. She felt another bundle of fur and used her tail to guide it towards her, nipping the sac.

This time, the kit was a tom with a black pelt. Palewhisker hardly noticed his dark grey dapples, which made him resemble a panther. Maybe we can name him Pantherkit...

She looked down and horror struck her vision. She was surrounded in blood - her own blood - and was choking on her own breath. She knew there were more kits, but she was hoping for just one more.

Palewhisker kneaded the ground in pain, opening her jaws to let out a choked yowl. She tried pushing, but only saw more blood pooling around her - crimson red blood. Great StarClan, please let Webcloud and Sunpaw find me.

Her attempts at pushing were getting weaker, as her strength started diminishing. Her pants were getting heavier and she had started coughing. Crying out, she hoped that there would be a cat nearby that heard her.

Gritting her teeth, dark thoughts whirled in her mind. I'm not going to make it. I have to at least try saving the last kits.

Palewhisker pushed so hard that she felt pain spreading throughout her body like a merciless wildfire, more blood flowing out. She yowled, this time so loud, the startled birds flew out of the trees. Some cat has to have heard that!

Immensely relieved, the last kit greeted the world. Palewhisker slowly peeled opened her eyes and gazed at the kit. She nipped her sac quickly and observed him. The tom was dark ginger, with black stripes like a tiger, complemented with golden flecks. He had the softest fur she had ever felt and had very long whiskers - just like her and the dark grey she-kit.

Palewhisker felt her life slipping away; she knew she would die, she knew Tigercreek would feel dolorous when he learnt of her death, and she knew her kits would grow up without a mother.

The thought made her heart ache painfully - even more than the pain of kitting - and sobbed. She wrapped her tail around them and closed her eyes. My beautiful kits... My beautiful, beautiful kits.

"You will be great w-warriors one day," she choked. "You'll be strong - Tigercreek will raise you right. M-Make him proud... I-I will never stop loving any of you, remember that. I will watch over y-you from StarClan, and support you all the way."

She was desperately fighting against death, stubbornly clinging on to life; she must bid her kits farewell before dying. "Goodbye, my beautiful kits."

She felt the pain beginning to dwindle as her head fell to the ground, everything fading away. She smiled as she laid in her own pool of blood, welcoming the sweet, painless oblivion.

I love you, Tigercreek.

◈°◉❀◉°◈

▣ Author's Note ▣

Whew, edited close to 3000 words. For those who had read the previous version on Paint's account, you would already know that Palewhisker died while kitting.

What are your thoughts on the increasing tension between DriftClan and EclipseClan?

Do you think EclipseClan will lose in the end? If so, how do you think Zephyrstar will react?

Did you notice a certain cat missing in this skirmish?

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to drop any other views you may have - it'll be very nice to hear some theories.

The next edited chapter may be up tomorrow, or at a later date. I hope you've enjoyed reading! For those who have read the previous versions, please bear with me!