&& one shall never forget these Somber Words

[» zero]

^{Blacker the bruise
Coming up clear
Vow to get better}

Sorrow, anger, and bitterness; all directed at the thing that gave them their name, and the thing that had recently made their lives such a living hell. First it had been the toxins, fine, he already had had a plan for how to deal with that, but now this? Was there no end to this reign of horror, this reign of tears? How many would die, before it all got better? How many would perish due to things they couldn’t control; how many would join the ranks of StarClan before this nightmare was finally over? Would this nightmare ever end; or where they all doomed to follow a path that was only marked by death, a path where no light shone brighter than anyone else’s; where the only thing they had to look forward to was death itself?
Oh how he hoped not, how he hoped that his mind was simply getting away with him again, for a life like that…well, it wasn’t a life worth living.

SORROW;
For the tom who had lost his life today, the cat who had been a warrior that the smoky tom had always enjoyed being around, who had cared for his apprentice. Looking down at the body, still wet from the river, so cold, so limp, so…lifeless, it seemed to spark a rage in the young tom. How dare the river do this; how dare it take away a life that wasn’t ready to leave! How dare StarClan take this warrior before he was ready; how dare they allow this to happen! Bowing his head, tail low and ears flattened, Eclipsestar’s golden green gaze closed, and for a long moment, he was silent, drawing in what scent was left of his now dead friend. Remembering his past, when he had been a mere apprentice, and then a warrior. Remembering, how things had been before all of this; wave after wave, sorrow crashed down on the leader, though he knew he must remain stoic; his expression revealed none of the bewilderment that was running through him, nor did it reveal his memories, which danced behind his closed eyes, a movie of the past. Harmonypaw was going to be worse off then he anyway; he needed to make sure she would be OK.

ANGER;
At StarClan, at himself, at the river for the death of this warrior; irrational anger in some parts, but we really can’t control what we feel in our pain, can we? Over and over though, his thoughts kept dancing back toward the river, toward StarClan; a sense of almost abandonment seemed to fill him, all the way down to his paws. And in his mind, he could already feel the notorious ‘what if’ questions forming; there was just no stopping them. Around and around they circled in his mind, taunting him, daring him to do something stupid, to lose his cool. Gone was the laughing, carefree tom he had been earlier today as he had been joking with Jadeclaw; gone was the sense of humor, the easy laughter. There was nothing to laugh about here, unless you wished to be hysterical about what had already happened, and what had happened today. Wasn’t hysteria one of the first signs of insanity? Eyes opening slowly, Eclipsestar sighed softly, pushing himself up from where he had been crouching beside the body of the fallen warrior.

BITTERNESS
At what he couldn’t change, and at what he was going to have to do. Death was a normal thing of life, but did there have to be so much of it? Head bowing once more at the body of his warrior, Eclipsestar silently sent out a prayer for the other cat; StarClan or not, Silvercloud was a cat who deserved all the hope he could get; may he always wander the fields of stars, never hungry, never cold, watching from where they couldn’t see. Raising his head up to the dark sky, Eclipsestar watched as the first stars of the night peeked out, his gaze reflecting the soft light of them; absently wondering if Silvercloud was up there now, wondering what life was like after death…trying to gather up all the composure he could at the moment, wondering how many more times he would have to do this in this moon, it was the duty he found he hated the most.

With a soft sigh, the purple-gray tom turned away from the body, covering the camp in quick, sure strides. Oh he hoped he was doing the right thing; as tempted as we was to let Jadeclaw have the apprentice, he didn’t want to do that, but at the same time, he didn’t want to mess up with the delicate Harmonypaw. Drawing a deep breath, the tom jumped onto the leader’s rock, eyes glowing in the darkness. Muscles rippling under his smooth pelt, Eclipsestar gathered up all that he was before speaking, voice echoing in the near silence of the camp.
”Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the high-rock for a clan meeting!”
Watching as the glittering pairs of eyes all started to swarm around the rock; most of the warriors and apprentices had already been out of their dens, back from patrols, Eclipsestar bowed his head respectfully for a moment, letting the silence speak for a moment, before going on.

”Tonight, one of our warriors has gone to join the ranks of Starclan; may they accept him and honor him for what he has done. Silvercloud was a cat whom I would have at my back anyday, and although it is depressing to see him go in such a fashion, he will always shine in the silverpelt.” Looking up at the sky, Eclipsestar watched the stars twinkle for a moment or so, wondering, if what he was saying was all true.
”The River has become polluted; it makes cats sick who wander in it for too long, and its prey is also a poison to us. The currents have also picked up—and that was the reason for Silvercloud’s death. Let it be known that the river is now off limits to any apprentice without their mentor there; and even then, it is discouraged to go anywhere near it. It has become a poison to us. However, at the next gathering, I shall ask Barkstar if he could allow us to hunt on their territory, ThunderClan has always been strong this time of year. If anyone wants to argue with me on that, come talk to me when I am done.”

Meeting the gazes of the cats below him, Eclipsestar spoke the next part louder than before, gaze flickering with sorrow, but also, with determination.
”I call upon my warrior ancestors to give this apprentice a new mentor. Harmonypaw, you have lost your first mentor, Silvercloud, so your new mentor will be Ashpelt."
Head bowing once more, Eclipsestar nodded once, before jumping down from the leader’s rock; he would be sitting vigil tonight, he’d best get something to eat and deal with any complaints before falling into silence. As he passed Harmonypaw, the young tom gently brushed his tail against her side, giving her a very small, very sad smile.

He only hoped that he had made the right choice.

^{This year it's coming
And guess what we're running from
Too late for running
The stitches are coming undone}

[/sup][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Shadow Da Smiffster]

”I call upon my warrior ancestors to give this apprentice a new mentor. Harmonypaw, you have lost your first mentor, Silvercloud, so your new mentor will be Ashpelt."

Two of the cats below the high-rock had very different reactions; Ashpelt's fur fluffed out in surprise, but settled back to normal when she accepted the fact to be true. She padded to Harmonypaw, licking the younger cat's head as was custom. Ashpelt had mentored several cats over the years, so she was a good choice... However, the other cat, the one with the different reaction, was Jadeclaw. Shock pulsed through his body as he realized he wasn't chosen... shock and disappointment. He shot a glance up at Eclipsestar, his look betraying the feelings in his heart, but knew that his leader was correct in his choice making. Ashpelt was far more experienced then him, not to mention that he was much too close in age with Harmonypaw to make things work.

Yes, he would settle for a brand new apprentice when it was his time. Nodding slowly, Jadeclaw allowed himself to relax, letting out a light purr at the sight of Ashpelt so happy after her initial misery earlier that afternoon. The more Jadeclaw thought about the match up of the two, the more it made sense. Those two were the closest to Silvercloud, from what he understood, and so they would use each other as help to move on.

With a final sigh, Jadeclaw wandered over to the fresh kill pile, picking out a meager looking mouse for himself. He dared not touch the fish after what Eclipsestar had said. Silently, he retreated to a corner where he could be alone, and dug into his food, ripping the mouse's sweet flesh. It was only when the taste of the fresh kill flowed into his maw that Jadeclaw realized how hungry he was. Today had been a nonstop stress-ball for him. So many things to think about, and such little hours in the day.

I suppose I have all night for vigil, he thought to himself.

***

Ashpelt sat next to Harmonypaw as the cats from the small gathering dispersed. She looked down at the senior apprentice with a sad smile, "I may be known to be a tough mentor, but I'll let you have your proper recovery time. The next few days, we'll take it easy. I do suggest you get yourself something to eat though, if you are going to stay vigilant for vigil..." Ashpelt trailed off, a purr of amusement rising from her own maw at her own antics. "We'll make it through this together, Harmonypaw. You are not alone in this."

With that, Ashpelt got to her four and padded away towards the direction of Eclipsestar. She looked at him, a smile greeting her features despite the solemnness of the day, "Do you mind if I speak with you Eclipsestar? I've been meaning to have a chat with you, and now is a good a time as ever I suppose...." Ashepelt trailed off, looking over her shoulder to see if any other cat was listening in on their conversation. After confirming that they were quite alone, the she-cat continued: "I heard you talking with Jadeclaw earlier. Don't worry, I won't go out of my way to embarrass him... too much, but I want to help."

Ashpelt stopped, repressing a mrrow of laughter so she would not come off as immature at such a time. Still, Ashpelt was known to be spontaneous, bringing up random topics at random times, no matter how unfitting the situation was. It made the large she-cat both loveable and annoying.

[♥Rösε]

Harmonypaw

Harmonypaw was already sitting out in the clearing when Eclipsestar found out the news about Silvercloud. He seemed just as devastated as her, and Ashpelt, she knew everyone else was sad as well but it didn't hurt them like it killed those close to him. Maybe He and Elicpsestar were friends like Ashpelt and him were? She wasn't sure she wasn't born then. The pretty cream colored she-cat watched with calm yet sad ice blue eyes as the leader walked towards high rock. It was always a sad day when this happend, and she has sad to say that it was for Silvercloud. He was like family since she had little of that now except for Patiencepaw, whom was not around very much. She couldn't even remember if he had come out to say his respects to her mentor. Part of her did remember an orange and white pelt stop by though.

She broke out of her thoughts as she saw Jadeclaw and Ashpelt come closer, and when she turned her head back up to Eclipsestar, she knew he was thinking of how to put this tragedy into words. She shifted a bit on her forepaws as she waited patiently for him to speak, though in the back of her mind she was getting impatient with all the silence. She knew it was proper respect to be silent when grieving but something must be said. CLosing her eyes the memory of earlier that morning flashed through her brain, it felt like moments ago she was sitting next to him at the river. Part of her hoped that when she opened her eyes she would be back by him again and this whole nightmare never happend. And when she opened her eyes, it was the same scene. Curling her tail over her paws in comfort she watched as he started to speak. Harmonypaw's ears flicked as he spoke the familair words to call a clan meeting together and she gulped, even though everyone by now knew what was happening.

”Tonight, one of our warriors has gone to join the ranks of Starclan; may they accept him and honor him for what he has done. Silvercloud was a cat whom I would have at my back anyday, and although it is depressing to see him go in such a fashion, he will always shine in the silverpelt.”

Harmonypaw felt each word clentch at her heart and with each sentence her head dropped, ears flopped down like a sad wag-less dog. But Eclipsestar was right, he would forever be watching from StarClan, and would never be cold or hungry again. She hoped he was happy, she hoped he was with his family and kits who had all died before her birth. He told her about it once, his mate was Featherfur and his kits, both still born were Pouncekit and Rock-kit. Featherfur had died giving birth to both still born kits. Now they would all be together again. Shaking her head she turned to pay attention to the rest of what Eclipsestar had to say.

Harmonypaw listened as he explained about the river. She nodded slowly as if pieces were slowly fitting together, it would explain why Melodypaw was always getting sick, she had been hunting from the river recently before her illness, shes been struggling with it for a moon or so now. Harmonypaw, was know in a way happy that they never hunted from the river after all, since they would have brought back tainted food. She agreed completly with his decision, Barkstar did have a lot of prey this time a year, and they had very little. Not enough to even feed just the apprentices and queens. She hoped she could go to the gathering this time, seeing as during her whole apprenticeship she had never gone. And now she was pretty much a fully grown female cat, warriorship was but a moon away now.”I call upon my warrior ancestors to give this apprentice a new mentor. Harmonypaw, you have lost your first mentor, Silvercloud, so your new mentor will be Ashpelt."[/color] The she-cats tail flicked in alarm, a new mentor? She didnt want one. She only had a final assesment left anyways whats the point? She wanted to protest but her mind was to tired from the trama of today.

Looking around she notced Jadeclaw was disappointed, though he deserved an apprentice whom he could train fully not her. He relaxed though and went off to himself. She wondered if he would come back for vigil. Turning she caught sight of Ashpelt walking towards her, she seemed pleased. Harmonypaw kept her face calm as she approached her. She stiffened as the she-cat licked her head and stared at her paws. Wanting to wipe the lick from her head with her paw but that seemed to childish. She still felt inside that she was Silverclouds apprentice and she shouldnt be going through this again. The older female sat beside her, as was also custom until the meeting was completly over and most of the cats went back into their den. Harmonypaw lifted her head just as Eclipsestar passed her his tail brushed against her fur gently, and she managed a small smile back. "I may be known to be a tough mentor, but I'll let you have your proper recovery time. The next few days, we'll take it easy. I do suggest you get yourself something to eat though, if you are going to stay vigilant for vigil..."[/color] Harmonypaws ears flicked in annoyance. "It's fine. I want to complete my training. He would have wanted me to finish strong, it won't be necessary to take a break."[/color] she replied cooly. "Im not hungry."[/color] she added and got to her paws.

Her eyes trailed past Ashpelt as she spoke her final words before walking off towards Eclipsestar. She didn't reply to that, since thats exactly what Silvercloud said to her after her parents died as a kit, and look where he was now. She walked slowly back towards his body, sliding down onto her stomach beside him she tucked her paws underneith her stomach and shifted to get comfortible. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/sub][/color]

[Shadow Da Smiffster]

Please Help Me 'cause I'm Breaking Down,
_{this picture's frozen and I cant get out of here.
Believe me, I'm just as lost as you...}

Jadeclaw finished his meal in silence, licking his maw clean of anything that may have stained it as he devoured the morsel. Satisfied with his meal, the young warrior looked up and around the camp. Things seemed to be settling down, and vigil would be starting soon. A sigh escaped him as the weight of the day fell on him again.

Death was always a shock, but it was a fact of life that bound him and every other living thing together. Eventually, they were all fated to die. Some were blessed and died earlier, however. Regardless, Silvercloud's death was one of the events in his life that would never quite leave him, even if he hadn't witnessed the incident. Jadeclaw shuttered as he realized that he now had another thing that would curse his mind forever; first, the torture in the animal shelter, and then the death of his mother... and now this.

Jadeclaw shook his head, forcing himself to move onto other thoughts for the time being. He found himself staring at Harmonypaw, who against her new mentor's suggestion, decided not to eat, and instead go to start vigil early. Jadeclaw frowned, wondering what the point of being so stubborn was. Ashpelt was only trying to help the apprentice.

With a sudden burst of energy, Jadeclaw picked his aching self of the ground, giving his pelt a nice shake to free it from the dust that had accumulated on his fur. With a stretch and a yawn, the tom made his way back to the fresh kill pile, pawing through it like a picky kit. He got a meaningful glance from some of the senior warriors, and a complaint or two about how he was taking more then his share, but Jadeclaw ignored them completely, finally finding something worth noting; a shrew.

Picking up the piece of prey, Jadeclaw shot a glare at the cats around him, and silently padded away. However, instead of going back to his usual dining spot, he turned and headed towards Harmonypaw, dropping the shrew at her paws. "Eat," he stated simply. It wasn't a request, no... it was more of an order. He settled himself next to the apprentice, refusing to take his stern gaze off of her until she bit into the food, "I may not be your mentor, or much older then you, but from my few moons as a warrior I've learned that even when you don't think you're hungry, sometimes you are. Just do it. It'll put Ashpelt's mind at ease...."

And my own, he thought to himself.