[Empress Of Evil]

Originally Posted by Ivy

She instinctively shrunk further into the fern's cover as she saw a dark outline of a cat rise up. Twitching her ears, she faintly heard it speak, but didn't catch on to what it had said. Slowly, the figure got smaller until it was down to her size. Shaking, she tasted the air and found a familiar scent hit her tongue. Lionfrost? No, her mate was dea-everything hit her like a speeding monster. She shook the terrible memories away, trying to forget.

His beautiful fur soaked with his own blood and the haunting look on his face when she had gazed upon his body. Ivybreeze desperately licking the blood off of his fur and gazing miserably at his broken form.

Thinking that her mind was being toyed with, she spoke in a bitter tone. "Only if you come out first, you monster..." Her last word was filled with fear. Was this her mate's killer? But then why would they come to her? They had succeeded anyways. She sunk lower to the ground so that her belly fur was pressed up against the dirt and her claws were unsheathed into the ground to keep her steady.

It felt as if though a needle had just stabbed him when he watched her shrink back into the safety of the ferns. He kept a small smile on his face but on the inside, panic and sadness ran around in circles. Did she not recognise him? Had she forgotten about him already? Surely not? Lionfrost certainly hadn’t forgotten about his mate yet, and he doubted that he ever would. He would see what she was doing at least once a day and he never missed out on a chance to see how life below was treating her.

He still remembered his spirit living his body and turning back to see the battle once it was over. His heart shattered to see Ivybreeze like that, but fate had set him on this path and there was nothing he could do about it. There was no way he could’ve gone back in time and avoided such a disaster.

“Please Ivybreeze, it’s me, Lionfrost,” He said, his voice pleading. The tom was silently begging her to remember him, or else he would probably no longer be able to put up with the fact that he was no longer living. Cautiously, he took another step forward so that she could see him better. His movements were slow and gentle, as he didn’t want to frighten her.

Originally Posted by Bad Wolf

Lioncry closed her pale yellow orbs, her ears pinned back. She had always imagined that she would be returning home from the battle and everything would be alright, but now she felt foolish for thinking that, and what was worse, Smokeykit had been there, she had followed Lioncry, and had "watched" Lioncry fight the white furred molly that had been the end of her. Lioncry shook herself and looked back, her starry pelt bristling and a deep sorrow flashed in her gaze as she looked at her sister. It was impossible to tell that they were kin, they looked nothing alike, but Lioncry had never cared, and she loved her sister so much, it hurt more to think that Auroraflame would suffer from Lioncry's death than it hurt Lioncry to think that she was dead. She was in a star of grief, not for herself, but for her Clanmates and littermates, and what they would suffer. The golden pelted warrior sat down, the grass around her rustling gently, bending beneath her paws. But sitting felt wrong, and Lioncry was just too restless, so she stood and padded around so that she was shoulder to shoulder with Auroraflame, her golden starry pelt mixing with her sister's inky black one. Tears rolled silently down the molly's cheeks, but she remained silent for a long time. Then at last, once Auroraflame was down speaking, she did speak. “It wouldn't have stopped anything, and we dealt a massive blow to the Syndicate. That doesn't come without sacrifice. . . .” Lioncry whispered, whiskered twitching uncertainly. She knew that Auroraflame blamed herself, just from the deputy's tone and the guilt in her eyes, and she wanted Auroraflame to know that it wasn't her fault, it was simply StarClan's will, because what else could it have been? An accident? Maybe, but Lioncry had a strong faith in StarClan, and held to it that it had been their wish. “It's not your fault.” Lioncry added, half to herself, as she layer the tip of her tail over her sister's shoulders, tears still falling. When Auroraflame hugged her, Lioncry blinked for a moment, then closed her yellow hues and did the same thing to her sister as the moment dragged on in a timeless circle that felt like it would never end. She drew her tongue over the black she-cat's cheek, purring quietly.

Every cat always hoped to come home from a battle relatively unscathed, but not everyone was that lucky. Some suffered deep wounds and others had to be with permanent injuries, and others lost their lives altogether. Lioncry was just one of those unlucky cats who didn’t get to return home safely. The death of a someone could affect so many cats. Not just the one who had died, but the ones who had loved and cared for them. It had certainly affected Auroraflame. Losing her mentor and sister had driven her hatred for the Dusk Syndicate, and now she was certain that she wanted nothing more to do with them. At least the battle had taught them a lesson. She doubted that any of them would be entering SkyClan’s territory any time soon. “No! It would’ve stopped your death,” Auroraflame cried softly, suppressing a wail from escaping her jaws. No matter what she might tell herself, the ebony deputy knew that Lioncry was right. It seemed that victory always came with sacrifice. That was a rule of battle. “Victory never comes without sacrifice,” Auroraflame mumbled, repeating the words that ran through her head. The inky she-cat wanted to change at, but she knew that that was something that could never be changed. Not even StarClan could change the rules of life. For though they might watch over the clans and the land that they lived in, they didn’t rule over it. As Lioncry spoke again, the she-cat nodded her head, but on the inside, she was thinking otherwise. It had been her fault. They were sisters, they were supposed to look after each other yet she had failed her. “I miss you,” Auroraflame mumbled into her sister’s golden fur as she pressed her nose to her shoulder. The warrior wasn’t sure just how long it would take her to move on and learn that she would no longer see her sister's face everyday, but she would learn to live. It would haunt her each day, but at least she had her brothers still. At least she still had some cats to talk to when she was troubled. But it wouldn’t quite be the same. As much as she loved her other siblings, it wouldn’t quite be the same. Lioncry and her hadn’t just been littermates, but also best friends. There was a connection between them that she doubted she would find with anyone else. She trusted her more than anyone. More than cats like her mother, her brothers, and even Grousestar.