After a rainy leaf-fall collapsed most of their dens, badgers attacked ElementClan’s camp. Maybe it was because they blamed the new water-powered cats on the high rainfall, maybe they wanted the cavern for themselves, or something else entirely. No cat truly knows what goes on in the head of a badger. But what is known is that a badger attack is devastating. The elder Strawberrytrail (140) tried to defend herself, but proved too old and frail to fend off a badger for long and died. Steppemimic (35) was trying to protect Whistlepaw (7) and Rockypaw (7), who had gotten ill after eating a bad rabbit, and all three of them were brutally killed. Once more, not even powerful magic could save them. Finally, the badgers attacked the nursery, where the almost apprentice-aged Creekkit (6) and Songkit (6) were the only ones left. The badger immediately went for the kits and snapped Songkit’s neck before he could do anything. Gladepatch (28) arrived and leaped onto the badger’s back to try and protect Creekkit, but another badger was coming into the nursery. Creekkit tried to use just her fire powers to fend them off, but, once she saw the dead body of her brother lying on the ground, she snapped. With the Clan as spectators, she used her dark-cursed powers to drain both badgers of their life. But somehow spared Gladepatch, who was still in contact with one of the badgers. Afterwards, she collapsed to the ground. Yuccastar (131) was furious that Gladepatch and Conegoat (35) had hidden the true nature of the kits from her, but other Clanmates were just glad that the badgers were dead. Peakspots (121) reminded his mate that his mother, Shadestar, had been a dark-cursed cat, and that she had proven herself in a similar way to Creekkit, albeit when she was a bit older. With most of the Clan badgering (bad joke?) her to allow Creekkit to stay, Yuccastar relented and granted the young cat the status of proven dark-cursed cat, something that her grandfather, Yellowcreek, had never managed to earn. She does decide to train the young cat herself once Creekpaw is made an apprentice. The Clan is grieving from the loss of several beloved members. Volcanoblossom (79) has lost all three of her kits just three moons after joining the Clan. If that isn’t a sign that she doesn’t belong, she doesn’t know what would be. But she’ll give the Clan another chance. Maybe it has some worth she hasn’t seen yet. Fry (59) is also reeling from the death of his kit. He feels like he’s living through a nightmare. Steppemimic can’t really be dead. As Fry’s clanmates comfort him during the vigil, he can’t help but wonder if things will ever feel normal again without Steppemimic in his life. Wildcave (35) feels sick to his stomach at the loss of his sister. The last time he saw her, they had fought, and now all Wildcave can do is beg for forgiveness and hope Steppemimic is watching from StarClan. Peakspots is also hit hard by Steppemimic’s death and grabs a piece of her fluff to add to his nest.
Meta: I like that Creekpaw proved herself in a similar way to Shadestar (Shadestar killed a group of foxes attacking the camp). And yes, if any of you were wondering, Yellowcreek killing a fox who snuck into the nursery should have been enough to prove him. But Yuccastar is a jerk and refused to, making the argument that he was only protecting himself (he was the only kit in the nursery at the time). In this case, she couldn't do that because Creekpaw protected Gladepatch.
