[ and be a simple kind of man ] (bramblefang)

[Crowzerplorodon]

He let out a shout of joy, watching Bramblefang attack the badger's eyes. They could do this! They could take on the beast easily! Empowered by his thoughts, Jaypaw flung back into the battle with full force, nipping at the badger's hind legs and scratching at the beast's face with deadly speed. The air was growing hot with the smell of the badger's blood and the air seemed to hold still with it, blocking out all sound but the squeals of the badger they fought. Jaypaw's eyes burned with fury, why did it seem like the creature was asking for mercy of all things? Mercy, that was funny. This animal didn't deserve mercy. Or did it? Why were they fighting it again? To chase it away or to kill it? The way they both fought screamed murder to Jaypaw, and it almost shrunk his fighting spirit. Only the adrenaline of the battle kept it going. Besides, this was no time to debate if what he was doing was right or wrong, now was it? He was in the middle of fighting some animal more than a few times his size. He needed to be at his top game so that he and Bramblefang could defeat the badger. They would defeat the badger, no questions about it!

Then he stopped, feeling the badger quit and seeing Bramblefang's tail.

… Was it over?

Time snapped by in a second after that. Before he knew it, Jaypaw was screaming, urging Bramblefang to move. Clicks after that he was covered in the deputy's blood, throat raw from screaming but he refused to stop. He barely heard Bramblefang's dying words over his yowling at the badger's grunting. Kestrel...? Kestrel? Who was Kestrel – wait. There was no time for this. There wasn't time for anything because Bramblefang was dead and Jaypaw was alone and the air reeked and the badger was turning to face him and before he could come to terms with reality, Jaypaw leaped, and felt blood cover his paws as he claws at the badger's eyes. He hardly felt the pain from the badger biting his back leg, snapping the limb with ease. Jaypaw fell, a few inches from Bramblefang's bleeding body, mouth still open in a scream. But the badger was lumbering off, stumbling and bleeding and blind. And in that moment, Jaypaw lost consciousness, his blood mingling with Bramblefang's.

“This way, Stormclaw!” Tigertail yowled, paws carrying him faster than he thought they could. The sun was higher in the sky now, high enough that it urged Tigertail to go out hunting that day, bringing Stormclaw along. But his hunt was interrupted by ferocious mews and heartbreaking yowls. He followed the noises, hoping his friend was behind him, using his ears to lead him. And his nose, as the clogging scent of blood and death took over the air as he neared. Oh, he could only think the worse. Only a few cats had left today, and seeing how the scent of badger filled the air as well, Tigertail knew exactly who was in danger.

When he stumbled on the scene, Tigertail wondered if he had ever seen something so pitiful. The badger was fallen away from the main bloodshed, but it was definitely dead. Blood pooled in the grass, soaking the dirt and the air. He recognized the two bodies almost immediately, feeling his skin pale under his thick, brown fur. “Damn it...” The warrior whispered, awkwardly approaching the two cats, eyes stone cold. “No...” This just was not happening. “Stormclaw...” Hopefully the gray tom had caught up, because Tigertail's legs were buckling underneath him.

[/blockquote]

[Cloud of Diamonds]

"I'm coming, Tigertail! What is happening?" He meowed as his lithe gray body moved quickly over the grass and ground. What had so transpired as to make his dear friend so upset? He wondered. And what had those strange, distant yowls been?

He would soon found out, he was sure.

The Russian Blue tried to think of what might be happening as he raced almost blindly, nearly crashing into a bush in his haste...had a rogue attacked a patrol? Had some cat made a mistake and had gotten injured? Or had that badger that he and his friend had driven out so long ago come back. Oh, the MeadowClanner hoped not!

He arrived at the scene...the scene that could not be happening.

Horror struck, the warrior froze next to the brown tabby as he looked at the fallen toms. He heard his name whispered, and mewed back uneasily "It's...it's...we'll take them back to camp, old chap. Cedarstar will know what to do." He couldn't say it was okay, it was all right. Because it wasn't. Not only was it too horribly real, it brought back such strong images of such rage and pain....

He was younger now, back in the garden where he had grown up...and they were there. Dead. His parents. Two cats, who though different in name and personality, were just like the ones who lay now in front of his terrified green eyes...

And the rogues that were around them...he wanted to kill them. He wanted to kill them all like he wanted to rip the heart out of that badger whose scent lingered strongly in the air...

He felt like it was heart now, not his body that was being attacked by so many claws...and the same blindness seemed to fill eyes...

Stormclaw came back to himself with a shudder. The shades of the past were gone. He had to deal with now. Whispering to Tigertail, he said "I'll take Jaypaw." Gently nuzzling his friend, he swiftly padded over to the gray tom, and began to have him into a position to be carried, trying to ignore his own horror and rage.

[Crowzerplorodon]

Tigertail took a deep breath, but instantly regretted it as the scent of death clogged his nostrils. Oh, how wretched that smell was. If it wasn't for the fact that he felt the need to stay strong right now, Tigertail would have puked. A few seconds ticked by before the brown tabby moved again, padding around the blood as best he could. The sticky liquid still muddied his paws though. That would not be a fun experience, getting it off. All he would be able to think about was... Was... His eyes snapped shut, sending him back to when he lost Daisy. He had to clean the blood off his paws after that, too. And when he lost Hiss... Redtail... Well, then he had to clean the proverbial blood off his paws.

With a sigh, Tigertail came back to reality. The next time he saw Redtail, he would apologize. He needed to apologize, before something like this happened to either of them. Tigertail would hate himself if one of them died with a rift still stuck between them... Death was so real, especially in this moment. And after he apologized, he would leave Redtail alone. No more Hiss, no more brother. Just Redtail, an enemy warrior of StreamClan.

In that moment, Tigertail could feel his heart crumble.

“Jaypaw's still alive,” he commented dully, unable to feel the pure joy that the young tom was still breathing. He could see Jaypaw's flank move up and down and up and down – if anything, it did make him smile a little. Tenderly he gripped Bramblefang's scruff, dragging the deputy out of his own blood. The walk back was long and completely unpleasant, and all Tigertail could think of was how these two cats had been alive and kicking this morning. The thought squelched his stomach, making everything so much more uncomfortable. But they made it back to camp, finally, and already he could see cats crowding around, gasping at the sight before them.

ooc; Ok, so, Cloudie you'll need to bring in Cedarstar as well. To prevent inter-rp, Tigertail will talk to him. xD And Slug needs to drag Sandpaw in.