Waging War Book 3: Blood Red Moon {COMPLETE}

Chapter 27

The silence and cloud of pain and sorrow that hung over MoonClan felt suffocating. Leopardpaw sat in the medicine cat den, the weight of what had happened the previous night weighing heavily on her shoulders. She felt a burning pain in her heart, and a lingering sense of fear deep in her belly. She didn't feel safe in her home anymore, nothing felt right.

The sudden attack from AshClan had been one thing, but to learn that Riverstar killed Shadowstar was an endless pain. Knowing that the Clan leader so many cats looked up to was now gone, living in the stars. Leopardpaw lifted her head slightly, looking around at the other cats in the den with her.

She saw Ebonywing who had deep claw marks on her foreleg, Daisyheart who had suffered deep bite wounds on her shoulders and forelegs, Swanfather who claw marks running up and down her flank, and then there was Ferretpelt. Leopardpaw had come across her Clanmate after Slatepaw nearly killed him.

She knew that Slatepaw had been an aggressive and violent cat, but in that moment she found herself terrified that he would kill Ferretpelt, so she attacked him. She ended up wounded pretty badly from Slatepaw's attack, with deep claw marks across her chest and her foreleg. She would make a full recovery, but the burning ache of her wounds was still very much there.

Shellpaw was also in the medicine cat den with the deep bite wound on his foreleg, the claw marks on his belly and his now shredded ear left him bloody and beat up but Oneflight promised that no cat was in danger and in time, they would all recover.

Oneflight was currently gone with Tallsong watching over the injured cats with minimal wound training knowledge as the medicine cat had gone with Violetfur to the Spirit Garden so she could receive her nine lives.

Leopardpaw sat up in her nest, no longer wishing to sit in the den. She felt her wounds ache but she looked at them and saw they weren't bleeding or anything. They were covered in an herb coating and cobwebs.

"How are you feeling, Leopardpaw?" Tallsong questioned from where she sat across the den.

"I feel alright." Leopardpaw responded. "My wounds are a little sore but other than I'm okay. Can I step outside and get some fresh-air?"
"Sure." The dark-gray she-cat nodded. "Just take it slow, Oneflight told me you weren't too bad."

"Thank you." Leopardpaw dipped her head and carefully stood up, walking out of the medicine cat den and into the open air of the camp. The air was cold, but the sun was high in the sky and the chilled air felt better than the stuffy medicine cat den.

"Leopardpaw!" She heard a relieved cry and noticed Peachblossom and Breezetail rushing up to her. "I'm glad to see you on your paws." Her mother purred, gently nuzzling her. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel...okay." Leopardpaw sighed. "My wounds feel fine, but everything else..."

"I understand." Breezetail nodded, looking down for a moment. "Shadowstar has been leader for a so long, he was an incredible leader."

"He was." Peachblossom's eyes were shadowed with sorrow. "Without Shadowstar, Berryheart and I never would've been made MoonClan warriors." Breezetail leaned closer to Peachblossom and nuzzled his mate affectionately.

"It hurts a lot," Breezetail responded and looked at Leopardpaw. "But MoonClan will survive, we always do. Violetfur will make an incredible leader." Leopardpaw looked lovingly at her parents, grateful for their assuring words. But I worry still worry about what comes next. She thought. Violetfur declared war on AshClan. I want Riverstar to face the consequences of killing Shadowstar but war? How many more cats will die? She looked at her family, she didn't want to lose anyone she cared about.