Enemy spotted? [Open]

Wailingpaw was still sick, his lungs weaker than usual, and his every step ached his muscles. But he had been given leave to stretch his legs just outside camp as he was significantly better than before. He barely coughed now, except when he took in breaths too deep, and could walk without feeling exhausted immediately. And with so many cats ill, he knew that he had to recover as soon as possible. So he set out on his walk, carefully avoiding patches of ice as he did a lap of the camp, drinking in the scents of the wetlands.

That was when he scented it. A Thunderclan cats nearby the river. It was a pair, a brown tom and a black she-cat, and they were hunting a thrush that had landed nearby the river. The brown one had the same scent of illness that clung to Wailingpaw, but the she-cat was healthy. So he hid in the reeds and waited to see what they'd do.

The brown tom went to pounce on the thrush, but it took off when he slipped on a rock. And it land on the Riverclan side of the river bank. The brown tom seemed undeterred and raced across the frozen section of the river to pounce on the thrush. The black she-cat called out in alarm,
"Wait, Duskpaw! That Riverclan territory!"

But it was too late. Wailingpaw watched as the brown tom took down the thrush on Riverclan territory, and a sense of fury filled him at the audacity of the brown tom to chase prey into their territory. With a ear splitting yowl to call out to any Riverclan cat nearby for backup, he pounced onto the brown tom. Claws out, fangs bared.

Shimmerlight heard the yowl as she was hunting and she raced into action. She hissed as she ran into the area where then quarrel was happening. She stopped and crouched down, eyes slit, claws out, and a snarl on her face. She scented Thunderclan and saw that wailingpaw had tackled a brown tom and a black she-cat was on Thunderclan territory.

Blazingpaw had heard the yowl from a while away. There was no doubt that was a Riverclan cat. He ran to the river, following the yowls. He stopped next to Coalpaw, seeing the two Riverclan cats and Duskpaw on Riverclan territory. "Duskpaw, get over here," he hissed, not angrily, but urgently.

It was safe to say that Duskpaw was genuinely surprised by the grey tom that tackled him out of nowhere. He'd been so focused on hunting the thrush, pressured by the knowledge prey was scarce that he'd failed to thinking through the implications of cross the river border. All that went through his mind was that in front of him was prey, and that it could feed his clan. So when he was attacked, on reflex he attacked back, claws scoring through the flank of the grey tom who had his teeth buried on the back of Duskpaw's neck. If Blazingpaw was calling out to him, he couldn't hear. Not with blood pumping through him in a fight or flight reflex.

Coalpaw bristled when she saw the second Riverclan cat, her fur rising to make her look twice her size. She had no real desire for conflict, especially considering they were in the wrong this time, but if the grey she-cat made any move towards her brother, she was going down. Her blue eyes locked onto the she-cat's, and her haunches were up while her forepaws were bent ready to pounce at the slightest movement.

Wailingpaw hissed when claws raked across his flank, but he made no move to dislodge his fangs from the brown tom's scruff. What he lacked in flexibility and speed, he made up for with sheer strength. Strength that came from having a decent amount of prey available despite the season. And when the tom went for a second strike, he batted the paw away, sinking his claws into the shoulder of the brown tom.

"Wailingpaw, get off, now," Shimmerlight commanded. She didn't want a fight, but she would if she had to. "It was obviously an accident." She wasn't the least bit scared of Coalpaw. She could take her easily...hopefully.

Blazingpaw crouched down, not wanting to fight. He couldn't stand seeing Duskpaw getting beat-up. "Thats it," he said as he launched himself at the grey tom. He raked his claws in Wailingpaw's back. "Get off of him!"

Shimmerlight hissed as Blazingpaw landed on Wailingpaw. She growled as she jumped at him, knocking him off Wailingpaw's back and tackling him to the ground. She slashed his face, drawing blood. "This'll teach you not to let your stupid Thunderclan apprentices trespass." She was okay until someone hurt her friend. "And not to mess with Riverclan!"

Wailingpaw yelped in alarm at when the ginger tom, which when he last checked was on the other side of the river raked his claws down his back. He, however, was in no position to react without risking getting an eye clawed out by the brown tom under him. Luckily Shimmerlight's intervention saved him from having to fight a battle on two fronts, and he could focus on the tom beneath him.

The grey tom was far stronger than Duskpaw had predicted, and his strength was superior to his, despite the grey tom also smelling like he'd had greencough recently. Brute strength wouldn't work, so instead he twisted in the grey tom's grasp and bit his shoulder. Duskpaw's jaw ached at the odd angle, but his put all his might into it while his hindpaws scrabbled to get up. And when Blazingpaw intervened by attacked the tom's back, Duskpaw used this chance to escape from underneath while the grey tom tried to adjust his grip. He twisted around, biting the tom's tail and raking his claws on his hindquarters.

The moment the grey she-cat moved, Coalpaw was onto her. A part of her wanted to help her brother, but she knew better. Judging by the size of the she-cat, she was most likely a warrior, and the tom was likely an apprentice. Blazingpaw needed her more. So she leapt quickly over the frozen river and tackled the she-cat, sinking her teeth into her shoulder as her hindpaws scratched at her.

Icepaw had come running as soon as she heard the call, but came too late as the battle was already in action. On the other side of the river, a Thunderclan she-cat heard the cries and ran over. Icepaw tackled her in a split second, the dappled she-cat having no effect on her as she struggled to get her neck. "Please! Let me go! I didn't cross, I swear!" She wailed.
Icepaw growled. She was still mourning Gingerpaw's death. She couldn't let another cat die, too. "Please!" Icepaw snapped out of her thoughts of finding Gingerpaw lifelessly on the rock. She realized she was still piercing her neck. Letting go, she realized this cat was small, a new apprentice named Tawnypaw. Of that, she heard at the gathering. I nearly killed a six moon old.. She backed away. But as she saw the other Thunderclan cats her eyes widened.

Shimmerlight let out a yelp of pain as Coalpaw attacked. Shimmerlight was under the other she-cat, so she jabbed a paw at Coalpaw's throat hard before rolling over onto her back and throwing her off her. She didn't know weather to attack the black she-cat  or the ginger tom. She went for the black she-cat, running over and raking her claws on her face. She noticed Icepaw. "Icepaw, don't get hurt," she yelled to her best friend.

Blazingpaw was breathing heavily and coughing. Blood dripped down his face. He was torn between helping Coalpaw or Duskpaw. He decided that Duskpaw had things under control enough with Wailingpaw, so he decided to help out Coalpaw fight off the warrior. He ran at Shimmerlight and slammed into her side, knocking her to the ground. He then tackled her and pinned her down, clawing at her belly.

Icepaw struggled. The she-cat had her pinned down, now. Even though she let her go, she was angered at being attacked and ran at her. Ignoring Shimmerlight's words, she raked her claws across Tawnypaw's muzzle, resulting in her belly being nearly shredded open. Wailing in pain she jumped on the she-cat, and then realized a tactic she could use. They were next to the river!

She pushed her down in it and jumped in. She pushed the she-cats head down, making her eyes bulge and struggle for breath. When she thought she had enough, she brought her up and whacked her in the face. The brown she-cat yowled, but took her by surprise, ramming into her at full force.

Icepaw was pierced under a six or seven moon old apprentice again. She hissed, and raked her claws across her neck, not piercing anything deadly, but to show a warning of what would happen if they messed with her clan again. But blood started to come out, and the she-cat cried in pain.

Coalpaw paid no attention to the third Riverclan cat that had appeared, she was a bit busy being scratched and jabbed at by the grey she-cat warrior. Blood blurred her vision as she saw clawed in the face, but she didn't let that stop her from lashing back at the blurry cat shape in front of her. But she was distracted when she heard Tawnypaw's plea for life. When Blazingpaw tackled the warrior she-cat, Coalpaw raced over and slammed into the new she-cat, raking her face.

Wailingpaw twisted to claw at the brown tom's head while yowling in pain. The position he was in was a dangerous one, and he knew it. He wasn't having much luck, and his muscle were getting tired from contorting oddly to fight. But when he saw Shimmerlight being clawed at, and his sister, Icepaw, tackled, a new wave of strength overcame him. He lashed out with his paw once more, he used brute strength to bat the brown tom's muzzle. An audible click as the tom's jaw clicked out of place and back in as his muzzle hit the frozen earth. Wailingpaw could almost taste victory, and he pounce for the final blow.

Duskpaw laid in shock, his jaw ached terribly and everything felt woozy. But even through this pain he knew that he couldn't just stay still, that would be his death. So he focused once more, and pounced from underneath, slamming himself into the grey tom's belly. Winding the tom, Duskpaw clawed with every paw he had, blindly attacking in hopes of doing some damage.

Shimmerlight spat in Blazingpaw's eyes, blinding him for a moment before she pushed up, throwing the tom off of her. She jumped onto him and gave him a good scratch on his side before turning to see who to help. She ran and yanked on Coalpaw's tail as hard as she could, then swam into the river to get her to follow her in. It would be easier to fight in the water.

Blazingpaw yelped as he hit the ground with a thud. A sting shot through his side and once the warrior left to attack Coalpaw, he knew that Riverclan was going to win. He was running out of strength. Blazingpaw shook his head to get some of the blood out of his eyes, then slammed into Wailingpaw with full force and pinned him down. He bit down on his ear and pulled, not hard enough to rip it off, but hard to hurt a lot. He was using the lat bit of his energy.

Icepaw hissed as the she-cat clawed her face, and she ripped her claws at her flank. But blood welled at her stomach. "Ow.." She wailed and clutched it. She recognized these cats. Coalpaw.. The she-cat attacking, I think. Tawnypaw, the dappled one. Blazing.. Blazingpaw? Duskpaw.. That must be.. She stopped as the wounded brown she-cat, Tawnypaw ran off, wailing and crying for her life. She fell down, hoping the she-cat would take it she was giving up.

Coalpaw, unlike her brother, was more of a thinker, and she knew that following the Riverclan she-cat into the River would mean certain death. She wasn't a swimmer, and wold fare badly in the icy waters. So instead she hissed at the warrior she-cat before turning to face the small she cat whom was lying on the floor.

"Leave!" She hissed, teeth bared and claws out. She was ready to chase the cat off if necessary.

Wailingpaw was surprised to be stopped mid pounce, then attacked on two fronts as the ginger tom and the brown tom worked together. He yowled loudly in pain, as his ear was bitten and then was pinned down. He was thoroughly trapped, and a part of him wanted to flee. This situation had gotten out of hand, but they were in the right. Thunderclan shouldn't have crossed the river, so how could he give up? He twisted, and turned, trying to flip over the ginger tom cat with his strength. The brown tom looked far too exhausted to keep going any longer, all he needed was to get the ginger tom off and strike.

Duskpaw was dead on his feet. It was an exhausting battle, and it require more energy than the recently ill tom had. He acknowledged that perhaps this time, he was in the wrong, but that didn't mean the grey tom had to attack him with the fury of the lionclan. A simple warning would have sufficed, he didn't mean to cross the river. But it was too late to complain, as both sides were at war, and it seemed that only Coalpaw was still in shape to fight. No surprise, considering she was the only cat here who hadn't been sick recently, but she was still too young to take on a warrior alone. How could they stop the fighting with minimal casualties?

Shimmerlight sadly watched as Icepaw ran off. We can't loose a battle on our own territory, she thought. The adrenaline rushed through her as she hissed and helped Wailingpaw by tackling the ginger tom, who was weak from fighting. She clawed at his face with her front claws and his stomach with her back claws until he was pleading for mercy, but she still continued until he was half un-consious. She jumped of. "That'll teach ya to stay off of Riverclan's territory," She growled with her teeth bared and her fangs shining in the light. Shimmerlight turned to see who she should attack next. 

It took great effort for Blazingpaw to scramble to his feet. "Coalpaw, Duskpaw, let's leave! Now!" He saw that the Riverclan she-cat had turned into some kind of fighting machine with hardly any mercy. But, he could tell that she didn't like fighting that much. Before he could see if they were coming, he ran as fast as he could off of Riverclan territory and towards camp, leaving a blood trail behind him and crying out in pain and terror.

Duskpaw heeded Blazingpaw's warning and bolted off to the Thunderclan camp, though he had the sense not to leave a direct blood trail to camp. He took as many false paths as his body could stand, before running into camp, bloody and exhausted. If he had any strength left in him before, it was gone.

Coalpaw, on the other hand, wanted to stay and finish the fight. Anger coursed through her alongside adrenaline, fueling her rage and strength. But when she saw that Duskpaw was barely walking, she knew this battle was over. Spitting in anger, she hissed at the two remaining Riverclan cats.

"Next time." She spoke in a quiet warning. It was here that Coalpaw vowed  that she'd be sure to win against these cats, she wouldn't forget their look or scent. Afterwards she turned tail and fled, disappearing into the woods.

"Pft." Wailingpaw snorted at the black she-cat that bolted off. He limped over to his friend, Shimmerlight, and sat down next to her. Without being asked, he licked at the messy matted fur to help her clean up and spoke between licks. "Next time? Really. They act like we were in the wrong or something. They were the ones who cross the river."

OOC: Icepaw didn't run off, Tawnypaw did. She just is weak.

IC: Icepaw watched victoriously as the stupid Thunderclan fleabags ran home. "Serves them right." She was weak again as she had beenas a kit, the same cats here; Shimmerlight and Wailingpaw. Yet her father wasn't here too, she didn't mind. But unlike how she had been as a kit, now she wanted to be strong for her clan. Getting to her paws, not even minding to clean her horribly bloody, matted fur, she swished her tail to tell them she was heading back to camp. Though every step was painful, and blood oozed endlessly out of her wounds, she still went on with it.