[TNT] Rising Over the Dawn

"Fire will rise over the Dawn, just as a Torn leaf falls into the Clay."

Firegaze sits peacefully, basking her face in the sun as Whiteadder groomed her fur. The two were simply sharing tongues in the warm, Newleaf afternoon, when, suddenly, a yowl of warning breaks through the peaceful silence. Firegaze jolts, immediately at her paws, and spots her mentor, Claypatch, with half of his tail, wobbling urgently into the clearing. Cats were starting to poke their heads out of their dens, their claws unsheathed and ready for battle.

"C-Claypatch!" She shrieks in fear. "Wha-what happene-" However, before she could finish her words, a wailing howl shatters through the day just as Claypatch's yowl did.

Just as suddenly as the wail broke through the uneasy air, a dozen coyotes stormed into the clearing, snarling and snapping their jaws menacingly. 

"CanyonClan, defend the camp!" Firegaze yowled, but just as the words leave her maw, she is hauled into the air by one of the dogs, snapping at her leg angrily. "No, no no no, Whitea--!" However, just like her command, she can't even get the words out before the familiar, white tom is on the coyote's face, slashing into it's eyes. The dog screams in anger, dropping Firegaze, and the she-cat darts away, as fast as she could with her now-numb leg. 

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She turns towards Whiteadder, who was still attacking the coyote, now with the help of Ghostheart and Twilightsky. She feels fear prickle her pelt as her gaze turns to the camp's entrance, which was now crumbled to the ground by the coyotes' rampage. They needed to leave. CanyonClan needed to go, now.

Firegaze was about to yell for someone to get Hollykit, when she spots Leafstripe already hurrying out of the nursery, the small, black kit in her jaws. They'll be fine.

"CanyonClan, get the app-apprentices and the elders, we ne-need to go to MoonClan!" Surely MoonClan would take a clan in need, right? They... they'd have room?

Just as she was getting ready to try and round up as many cats as she could, Firegaze feels a chill go down her spine. What... what about Dawnstar? The sickly leader filters through her mind, and the young deputy shuffles, ducking under a coyote and running towards Dawnstar's den. However, when she had a view of it, her heart drops.

A coyote was just going inside. 

"Firegaze, what--?" She hears a familiar voice, and throws her head back to see Whiteadder and Claypatch looking at her, fear and confusion clear in the twos' eyes. 

"Da-Dawnstar!" She shrieks, before turning back towards the leader's den, bolting inside.

The first thing Firegaze registers is the sound. Loud, gutteral snarling, and an agonizing, blood-curdling screech. Just as the screaming registers, it halts, then continues to another painful degree. It makes ice pour into Firegaze's veins.

'She... she's losing all of her lives?'

"No!" Just as the she-cat crouches, ready to leap at the coyote, another she-cat leaps from out of Firegaze's line of vision. A calico that she can recognize as Tornleaf leaps onto the beast, sinking her teeth into it's shoulder.

"If you want to destroy this clan, you need to go through me, first!" The older she-cat hisses defiantly.

The coyote howls in pain, lifting it's bloodstained jaws from the small leader, and it turns, snapping at Tornleaf. Just as the coyote's jaws snap shut, a keening yowl breaks through the den, as Claypatch barrels towards and into the coyote, slamming it into the canyon wall, and knocking Tornleaf off of its shoulders. She hisses and swipes at the dog's face, her face curled back in a snarl.



"No, Tornleaf!" The tom yowls in anguish, just as the coyote clamps its jaws over Tornleaf's head. Both Firegaze and Claypatch leap onto the coyote just as they hear Tornleaf's shrieks of agony. Claypatch bites at the coyote's haunches, and tries to find anywhere he could scratch the beast.

Firegaze, unluckily, was at the monster's face. It lifts a monstrous paw, slamming it down on the she-cat and raking her shoulders. She shrieks, before managing to slash and bat the paw away. Eventually, the coyote decided that the pair weren't worth the effort, and slinks off, but not before it snatches up Dawnstar's body. 

"No, Dawnstar!" Firegaze howls, about to race after it. The scene before her makes her paws slow, and she stops, turning towards her mentor sadly. 

"No, no, no no no, Tornleaf, please, please, stay with me." He whispers heartbrokenly.

"You know I'm no-not going to make it, Claypatch, so... so quit yer' tryin'." The she-cat wheezes out, managing to give the tom a small smile. 

"I need you, Tornleaf! You- I-I..." Claypatch leans down to give Tornleaf's face a small nuzzle. "No. No, you're going to be fine, do you hear me? Fine."

"You...you're the best idiot I've... I've ever known, Cla-Claypatch." The she-cat interrupts him, licking his cheek weakly. "Don-don't let anyone in-in the c-clan... don't let them st-stop you..." Her voice became fainter and fainter, until the only thing heared in the den was Claypatch's soft cries. 

Firegaze hesitantly moves to sit next to her mentor, sweeping her tail behind him. "C-Claypatch, I... I know you're hurting.. but we ne-need to leave. Now." 

He turns his head slightly, casting a glance towards Firegaze. "I... I understand." He meows thickly, before brushing his tail over Tornleaf's face. "...I'll come back for you."

"Claypatch!" Oh, no. "Firegaze, are you alright?" Whiteadder quickly steps towards the two, nuzzling Firegaze's face. 

"We need to go." She mews curtly, her wobbling gait causing her to stay behind the other two toms. But...

Firegaze hears a distant, almost hollow yowl, and turns, letting out a small gasp. She immediately feels tears pool in her eyes, trailing down her cheeks.



Coyotes were in the elders' den, and she could see a pair of familiar, icy blue eyes looking at her pleadingly.

Sandcloud. Firegaze's mother, and the only family she has left.

"Mom.." Firegaze meows, her voice in a whisper. The deputy takes a step towards the elders' den, but just as she was about to break into a sprint, the toms' next to her block her path. 

"She would want you to get out of here." Claypatch whispers. "We can't save her."

His words meant nothing to Firegaze, as the she-cat struggled to push past the toms. "Mom! Mom, no, please, please no, mom!" She wails, feeling tears pour down her cheeks, and her heart break more and more.

Her whole family, gone. 

Gone.

Dawnstar is gone, her family, Tornleaf...

Firegaze feels her legs give out, but hardly feels the impact of her body thumping against the canyon dirt. 

"Mom..." She murmurs, her eyes beginning to droop shut.

The last thing Firegaze sees are two pairs of eyes staring at her fearfully.

Then her world goes dark.

---

So I noted most of you on if your cats got injured/scars or not, and this is the time to fix their references with those scars! You all know where to put them, so I trust you will all put them where you told me they will go. uwu
The people who were either too late or requested their cats not to be injured were not injured, just some minor cuts and bruises that will not scar over!

Cats Killed:
Dawnstar (cheetahlover14) (Note me for more info Cheetah)
Tornleaf (TheCatsPupil)
Sandcloud (3Dkind, Firegaze's mother, NPC)

Cats Injured: 
Firegaze (3Dkind) - Shredded ear, Scarred hind leg.
Desertmouse (Cerberuswarczenie) - Scarred face.
Claypatch (Cerberuswarczenie) - Half of tail torn off, Multiple other scars.
Whiteadder (QueenVivi) - Claw scar going from cheek to chest.
Twilightsky (QueenVivi) - Scarred muzzle and side.
Ghostheart (MapleSyruq) - Shredded ear.
Oakflame (SolarNightengale) - Scarred on his chest.
Amberbrook (stormemes) - Scarred from her back to her hip.
Bristle (ufoboyy) - Scarred leg.
Thrushpool (Thistle619) - Scarred face.
Swiftwater (TamedWolf12) - Scarred muzzle.
Goosewing (Aquamarine748) - Scarred face, Scarred back legs.
Poppypaw (AmethystSheep200) - Scarred muzzle.
Weaselpaw (Battle-Kitties) - Shredded ear.
Vulturepaw (caprisunadd1ct) - Shredded ear, Scarred mid-back.

Cats Not Injured: 
Blossombreeze (mackie0607)
Leafstripe (xXRisingSun98Xx)
Duskface (delcatts)
Finchflight (delcatts)
Almondbreeze (3Dkind)
Coldstep (SunnyTheKitteh)
Whirlpool (cheetahlover14)
Rosepetal (cheetahlover14)
Leopardpaw (lceshadow)
Hollykit (KatsumiKazuka)