Thunderclan

Mapleleaf knew this was a loss to the kits. "Maybe we can recover Blackleopard's body," she meowed, trying to soothe them, "And then have a special ceremony. How does that sound?"

Whitekit quickly tried to pull herself back together. She managed to stop keening , but the tears refused to stop. Sniffing, she replied "Yes, Mapleweaf. That.......would be very nice of you." She stared at the ground. Blackkit stood, and, putting her tail on her sister's shoulder to get her attention, said "Come. Let's go back to the nursery. We're in the way here." And it ws true. The clearing was quickly filling up already with the wounded. Whitekit nodded a dead nod, and leaned against Redkit for support and comfort as they dragged their way back to the now-too-empty nursery.

Mapleleaf charged into the nursery first, pushing the dead queen Millie and all of her dead kits out of the way, burried under a pile of dirt. She would recover them later, she reminded herself, and it was better for the kits to not experience the whole blow of the battle at once.

Redkit, of course, noticed the change imediatly. It only took a few minutes for the sickly sweet smell to catch his own nostrils. But he shrugged it off, having always been the better of the three about that kind of stuff. Not too much later that night, after Whitekit had fallen asleep, Blackkit turned to her brother, whispering "I can't smell it....but I know. It feels so empty in here, and I could sense your mind register it. I'll...I think I'll stay here, in case she wakes up, but you need to go find Mapleleaf or Firest--" she caught herself "Heatstar, and ask them to move them. She WILL smell it when she wakes. And I can sense she wouldn't be able to take it." Redkit nodded, knowing his sister would know whats best. He stood, stretched, and looked whistfully....worriedly at little Whitekit's sleeping form, before loping out with a silence that was uncanny with his size.

It didn't take long to find both new leader and deputy among the sleeping forms in the clearing. They were still up, conversing, about what, he couldn't tell. He padded up to them, secretly pleased at how he didn't really have to look up to them any more - he was almost thier height now. He bowed his head respectively, then quietly mewed "The bodies in the nursery are starting to stink." He saw Mapleleaf's eyes widen in surprise. "Blackkit and I think...I mean, Blackkit says that if Whitekit wakes and they're still there, stinking so bad, she WILL notice and know what it is." Only now did his voice falter. "Please...she won't make it if she knows she was sleeping so close to death. I worry for her...please." He finished in a whisper, his head in a grievingly bowed position never seen before on him by most. He was truly worried.

"How should Blackkit know?" Mapleleaf meowed. "And sure, I'll go ahead and recover the bodies. Blackkit is one smart kit," She muttered, padding out of the clearing and into the nursery.

"You have no idea" he muttered smugly, for he could feel Blackkit's own smugness through the tie. He padded after his new adopted mother. He wanted to help.

Mapleleaf snorted and dug up Millie, Brairkit's, Bumblekit's, and Blossomkit's bodys and laid them in the center of the camp along with Firestar's matted-furred body.

After having helped drag the kits out, and saying his goodbyes to them, Redkit gave himself a quick grooming, trying to take as much of the lingering stench off as possible. Blackleopard had always been the one to groom them, and his sisters had caught on to it much faster than he had, but after a while he could smell the progress he'd made. Only once he was sure Whitekit wouldn't be able to smell it did he gladly stop and go back to the nursery. He laid back down in the position he'd been in befroe he left, and Blackkit caught his eye. "Thanks" he saw her mouth the words soundlessly, but he was positive he'd heard her voice in his head......I must be getting far too sleepy. I'm already starting to dream the impossible. He thought to himself, shuddering and shaking the odd feeling off of himself. He heard her purr. Then "Nothing's impossible, Red" He shrugged it off for his head playing tricks, and finally went to sleep next to his sisters. The last thing he heard was Blackkit's smugly amused purring.

Mapleleaf started to patch up parts of the nursery that hadn't survived in the battle with brambles.

Blackkit watched Mapleleaf for a while, then, with a glance at Whitekit's sleeping form, she got up, stretched, and padded up to the deputy. "Mapleleaf?" She began, getting the warrior's attention. "Do you mind if I help?"

"No." Mapleleaf meowed sternly. "I would let you, Blackkit, but there just has been a big battle. I need you to fall asleep and get your rest, like a good--" she almost said the word kit. "cat, okay?" she meowed after a while.

Blackkit's green eyes gleamed in amusement. She hadn't missed the almost-mess-up. Ignoring it, she replied "Honest, Mapleleaf, I'm not tired at all. I have too much nervous energy." She protested. Her voice took on a sad sound now. "I just need to distract myself a bit, from what happend today. I just know if I sleep, I'll be seeing whatever nightmares Red and Whitekit have, anyway, so I really won't get any rest. Please, Mapleleaf? I'll be good, and not complain, I swear."

Mapleleaf sighed. "Fine!"

She mewed in triumph, then set quietly to helping the older cat. She went out to get new branches every so often, and marveled at how much the clancats had suffered. How horrible this fight must have been... she let the thought trail off. She did everything Mapleleaf asked of her, just as she'd promised.

"Hey, Blackkit?" Mapleleaf called. "Would you like to become an apprentice a moon early?" Blackkit was clearly gifted.

Blackkit almost dropped the branch she was holding in place with her paw. She turned her head to look at Mapleleaf, wondering if the warrior was messing with her. She forgot to wipe off the surprised look on her face, then, once she managed a calm look, she responded "Would I ever, Mapleleaf! All three of us are close now, but...I would love to see the look on Red's face when h find out!" She grinned mischeivously.

"Can I have a real answer?" Mapleleaf meowed. "Such as yes or no?" then she added, "You remind me of your mother. She was a smart mouth. As an apprentice, I hated her because she got onto me."

Blackkit smirked knowingly, and shrugged, mewing "Like mother, like daughter." the smile faltered as the day's events swept over her again. "She had no idea what she'd possessed, having us kits. Her attitudes carried to us, each different aspect in each of us. Red got her strength and fearlessness. Whitekit, the lucky, got all the kindness, care, and love we saw in mother. And I got her smarts, and ability to be a smartmouth along with it." Her eyes became unfocused as a memory came to her. They cleared, and she shook her head to clear it, then she looked Mapleleaf in the eye. "My answer, naturally, is: of course! Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes! I finally have bragging rights on Red!" A huge grin stole over her small black face again.

"Ah, yes." Mapleleaf placed a small smile on her face. "One of my kits, Bearpaw, died in this war. They said if he would survive, he would become a warrior. His sister, Quailflight, is in SkyClan. It was.... tough."

Can I post here even though this topic is old? :/

((Yes.))

Mapleleaf sorrowfully planted her feet into the soft moss. They sank in. It's too old. She almost opened her mouth to order Bearpaw to change the moss. She closed it, remembering the past events. It's too much.... The overall emotions washed over her: Sorrow, anger, and the sense, the strong sense of revenge for the killers. Her claws sunk deeper into the moss. Calm down.... Maple.... She gave herself relaxing orders that Thunderstorm had taught her.... Stay still... Nothing seemed to work. It seemed as if there was a knot in her heart, inside of her, and if she thought of her kits, it grew tighter.

( what happens now? Me no want to read the whole story. D: )

((you wouldn't get it unless you read))

(ok, I read it.)

Rainpelt came padding over from the warriors' den. "Mapleleaf," Rainpelt respectively said. She nodded her head and heavily sighed. "What a wicked war this was," Rainpelt softly said. "The loss of Firestar and Brambleclaw...and many other cats..."

((No powerplaying please.))