ECHOES

Chapter Twenty-One

"Family must be willing to die for one another."

~•~•~•~•~•~

The battle was over and the rebellion won.

The flanks of the victorious heaved with every breath, their flank expanding and sinking at a maximum. Their eyes were almost shut, exhaustion tugging at their eyelids. Their ears were pinned against the back of their heads and their fur was being pulled at by the strong force of the wind. For the first time in a long time, every single one of them had sheathed claws, a miracle that some thought they would never live to see.

At the head of the crowd was Dimstar, his russet pelt matted and painted with blood. His mouth was parted as he exhaled loudly to show a clear sign of his overwhelming exhaustion. The leader was battered, multiple open wounds lacerated through his skin and specked with dry blood. His tail was hung low to the ground behind him and his head was ducked to be leveled with his spine. But despite his clear signs of exhaustion and torn form, a smile was draped over Dimstar's visage.

Pride welled into a fiery source deep inside of the noble leader. His eyes were luminous with an overbearing sense of courage and gratification. Dimstar had just guided his Clanmates straight into a battle many of them questioned if they would ever win. For once he feel as if the vines wrapped tightly around his necks were loose and the thorns in his paws were no longer visible. The agonizing pressure of being controlled to where it felt as if boulders were placed down upon his spine was uplifted. They were all free, and could be known as EchoClan once again without wincing at the mention of the name.

Dimstar lifted his head upright as they stepped out of the territory that once used to be proclaimed as Archangel's and into the rebellion territory. He inhaled the scents of nature around him, the smile upon his face growing vivid and prodigious at the fiery sense of satisfaction and calamity within him. Dimstar turned to eye the cat who flanked him, his ears twitching and now pointing towards the sky.

Flamepetal was at his right side, her head ducked and her eyes narrowed. Despite the recent victory, Flamepetal seemed down and disappointed with the whole turnout of events. Was she enraged at the fact that she didn't ger the opportunity to murder Archangel as vengeance for the tyrant's surprising murder of Quailchaser? It was the only reason that made sense to Dimstar on why his daughter seemed so unsatisfactory with the victory and extremely distant.

On the other side of Dimstar was Slap, his head surprisingly lifted towards the sky and his eyes practically wide open. Slap pushed away the choice to stay with the deceased and the cat's staying to protect them until all the other's were brought back to camp and decided to come along with Dimstar. The scrawny medicine cat was standing tall, a rare sense of courage wavering within the tom. Who knew that so much agony and terror would not shatter the tom into pieces and leave him broken, but instead cause Slap to develop a new feeling of courage and stability.