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ghostclangen · 1 month

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Marshlily’s head swims as she stares at the scene in front of her. She’s aware, dimly, of what’s going on—the blood spilling from Hornetstar’s torn throat, Fireflash’s chest heaving with grief—but her brain refuses to process it, as if there’s a layer of fog between her eyes and her head. Her body knows, though. Her stomach clenches with disgust and worry, and her breath is shaky.

“I’m sorry,” Fireflash whimpers, though whether it’s to her or to Hornetstar alone, she’s not sure. “I’m so sorry.”

Marshlily drifts in and out of awareness, her brain having to re-notice the situation every few moments, as if it’s spitting the knowledge back out over and over. Hornetstar is spasming on the ground now. There’s no light in her eyes. Marshlily had blacked out when she herself took one of Hornetstar's lives, and only now does she come to realize how merciful that was.

She’s unsure how long it takes, but at some point, Hornetstar opens her eyes again, as if life has been physically breathed into her lungs. They look different, though. There’s no warmth behind them; instead, it’s a heat, something akin to fire, if fire could feel frantic. Marshlily’s ears ring with the words of the voice from the dream she had moons and moons ago: Hornetstar’s not here. As much as she tried to deny it, she always knew the meaning of it, and here it is, right in front of her. There’s nothing left in Hornetstar’s eyes but an animalistic rage.

Still, when Fireflash unsheaths his claws again, she calls out, almost involuntarily: “Fireflash, stop! She only has one life left.”

Fireflash doesn’t look at her, still braced in anticipation of Hornetstar’s claws on his flanks. “We need to do this,” he says tersely. “Look at her.”

“But she’s not always like this!” Marshlily protests. “And- and what if she does get through it? We can’t just give up on her!”

“I don’t want to do it either,” Fireflash says, backing away from Hornetstar as she rises unsteadily to her feet, “but I have to, okay?” His voice cracks on the last word.

“Look, I’ll- I’ll figure something out. I’ll go to the Moongem. I’ll consult with StarClan.”

“She’s dangerous now,” Fireflash points out, then growls lowly at Hornetstar as she approaches on unsteady feet.

“I’ll get poppy seeds,” Marshlily says. “Our whole stash. Just get her to eat them.”

“Marshlily, I love you, but you’re crazy.”

“Don’t you want to help her!?”

“Of course I do!” Fireflash shouts, turning sharply to face her. There isn’t anger in his eyes, though, not really; mostly, it’s a mix of fear and crushing grief. “But she’s right. I have to do this.”

Marshlily gives him a stern look, falling silent for a few moments. Then, she says, “Can you please just trust me? I won’t be long.”

The corner of Fireflash’s mouth twitches, and he turns back to Hornetstar, who thankfully is still too unsteady on her feet to be too much of a danger from so far away. “Just- just get the seeds. Right now.”

Marshlily nods. “And … and if something happens while I’m not gone …”

Fireflash glances back at her, shooting her a meaningful look, and nods. “Right. I will.”

Marshlily is only dimly aware of the shards of glowing crystal that dig into her pawpads as she runs down the path toward the Moongem. She’d made sure Hornetstar was subdued by a large dose of poppy seeds before she left, having practically shoved them down her throat, but she still has to hurry.

Although GhostClan’s camp isn’t too terribly far from the Moongem—it’s the same cave, after all, and the mountain is only has so much hollow space—it still feels like an eon to get there. Somehow, though, she does, and finally, Marshlily comes to a halt in front of the giant blue crystal. She takes a moment to brace herself, but only a moment; she doesn’t have time to waste. Heart pounding, she settles down next to the Moongem and presses her nose to it.

“You have to help me,” Marshlily says, swinging around to look at Nettledawn, desperation in her eyes. “Hornetstar is sick. She killed Charredtail.”

She’s yowling before she even opens her eyes into Silverpelt. “Nettledawn!” she cries. “Nettledawn, we need your help! Please!”

Trembling, she waits, claws digging into the ground with impatience. It’s only when she hears Nettledawn’s voice from behind her that she allows herself to relax the tiniest bit. “Marshlily? What’s going on?”

Nettledawn’s eyes fall into a compassionate frown. “Oh, not Charredtail …”

“We’ll have time to grieve later. I need you to help me.”

“Look, I know some about Waterfur, but-”

“Why did I live when so many others didn’t?” Marshlily demands. “What do I have that they didn’t?”

Acquiescing, Nettledawn sits down and turns her head to one side, thinking. “What was it like, breaking free of the curse?”

“I- I was- I was in the Dark Forest,” Marshlily says. “Waterfur was screaming in my head, worse than ever, and I was coughing up blood. But then I heard my Clanmates’ voices calling for me.”

Nettledawn’s tail swishes anxiously from side to side as she thinks. “What then?”

“I followed their voices,” Marshlily says softly. “They lead me to a wall of fog. I jumped through, and … I woke up.”

With a sharp shake of her head, Nettledawn squeezes her eyes shut tight and says, “I don’t … The rest had clanmates, too …”

“That’s exactly why I don’t know!” Marshlily snaps, though she’s not truly frustrated with her. “Sorry. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be. I just don’t understand.” After a second of thought, she asks, “Which clanmates did you hear?”

“I … I heard Hornetstar.” Marshlily’s own voice as she says her name; she forces herself not to cry as she continues, “And Celebi, and Crageagle, and … and Charredtail.”

“You’re close with them?”

Marshlily nods. “They’re my closest friends. I’d be lost without them.”

Nettledawn thinks for a few moments before her eyes widen again, not with shock but with the excitement of discovery. “Did Wolfstrike and the others have any close friends?”

“I suppose I am pretty well-liked …”

“I …” Marshlily tries desperately to recall, dragging her brain through the fog that surrounds it. “I think- I think they mostly kept to themselves. They didn’t have mates or anything, or anyone I’d call their best friend, really.”

“I think that’s it, Nettledawn says. “You have bonds, connections. Plenty of them. Right?”

“Well, maybe that’s it.”

Marshlily nods as she realizes what Nettledawn is saying. “I wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint it if there weren’t so many voices… I would never have found the way back.”

“So, then …”

“They died,” Marshlily says, “because they were alone.”

“Well … I can’t say for sure. It’s a hypothesis.”

“I’ll take a hypothesis,” Marshlily says, then nods sharply, trembling with renewed energy. “Look, I gotta get back. Just look out for us, okay?”

“Good luck,” Nettledawn says, worry in her voice.

“Thanks. We’ll need it.”

Her clanmates’ eyes fix on her as Marshlily runs across camp toward the leader’s den, leaving small spots of blood on the stony ground beneath her paws. Paying them no mind, she bursts into the small niche, panting with exertion. To her relief, Hornetstar is still passed out on the ground—though not peacefully, from the looks of it; even in her sleep, she spasms and growls. Fireflash stands over her, eyes fixed on her flailing body. Charredtail’s body has been taken away somewhere, though his blood still lingers on the ground.

“Fireflash,” Marshlily calls softly, and the other cat turns and lifts his head. “Is she okay? Did anything happen?”

Fireflash turns back to Hornetstar and shakes his head again. “She’s been sleeping since you left.”

Marshlily breathes a deep sigh of relief. “Okay, good. Um, I think I know what’s going on.”

Fireflash stretches, his whole body looking exhausted, and pads over to her. “Did StarClan say something?”

“Nettledawn helped me figure it out, we think,” Marshlily says with a nod. “Wolfstrike, Scratchpounce, and Stormfall were all sorta loners, right?”

Fireflash cocks his head to the side to think for a moment, then nods. “Right.”

“But people like me,” Marshlily continues. “When I broke free of the curse, I was in the Dark Forest, but my friends’ voices lead me out. Except it took time to figure out where they were coming from, right? I needed a lot of help.”

Just like Nettledawn had, Fireflash opens his eyes wide, hope glimmering in them. “So you’re saying she’ll survive if she has enough cats that love her?”

“Well, it’s technically only a hypothesis,” Marshlily admits. “But it’s the only thing we could think of. And Hornetstar has a lot of people who love her, too. Me, you, Crageagle …”

“Let’s hope you’re right,” Fireflash says, turning his head back to Hornetstar. “So, what are we supposed to do about it?”

Marshlily falters, worriedness sinking in again. “I didn’t really come up with a plan,” she says. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do besides wait and see.”

Fireflash swallows with apprehension. “Right. I guess … Can you wait with me?”

Marshlily huffs a humorless laugh. “You thought I’d leave her side?”

With an equally humorless smile, Fireflash shakes his head. Then, with a deep, anxious sigh, he buries his face into Marshlily’s plush fur.

#warrior cats #wc #clangen #clan generator #wc oc #warriors oc #gc update #marsh #fire #hornet #kinda #nettle #i never talk about it but it's kinda sweet how hornetstar + marshlily + crageagle are a cute little friend trio #i headcanon it as kinda like #youre close individually with two close friends but for whatever reason youve never gotten around to hanging out all together #or making a gc or anything #so they have the potential but none of them act on it bc they keep forgetting #but yeah their friendship levels w each other are all really high in the game

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