Crescendo [closed skirmish/CLAIM]

Bloodstar had no sooner clamped his teeth over Starlingflare's throat that a she-cat jumped toward him and hooked her claws into him. His eyes swiveled in their sockets to look at her as he held fast to his original opponent and he raised a single eyebrow. Once he felt the gray tom go limp, he released him and finally turned his head to look at the she-cat digging her claws into his ribs.

"Most toms don't have the stones to come at me like that, young molly..." He gave her a smile... however accidentally threatening it looked since the left side of his lip was in a permanent snarl. At that moment, he spun to face her, ripping himself out of her hooked grip. In one fluid motion he pushed off of the ground and pinned her as he had pinned Starlingflare.

"That was brave of you, but you're far too young and inexperienced to be fighting me."

He dug his claws in and went to work on her as well. He doubted she'd last much longer than his last opponent... but she at least had the chance to see for herself now.

Bloodstar used Leap and Hold on Appledapple, dealing 10 damage and -15SP
Stormy Strength does not allow Thunderclan Cats to be pinned more than one turn!

Bloodstar
63HP / 129SP (-15SP)

Appledapple
Pinned for One Turn
13HP / 19SP (-10HP)

The tom was terrifying. He was saying some words as he pinned her to the ground, but Appledapple couldn't make them out past the ringing in her ears. How dare Bloodstar himself come to challenge their territory? It wasn't fair! Why was he so bent on stealing territory from ThunderClan that he wasn't taking care of his own stinking Clan? Starlingflare sank to the ground, but he seemed to be breathing-- at least he was okay. Good. That meant she could focus on hurting this cat as much as possible. Of course she couldn't beat him. That was obvious. But she could weaken him enough that maybe Prickletail could come and finish him off? Eventually, she managed to free herself from the pin, but wasn't quick enough to attack him again.

Appledapple is no longer pinned.

She wriggled away, her Thunderclan strength making itself known. Well... it was time to finish this. Bloodstar wasn't going to just let her go and she made no verbal request to be spared and to surrender. The giant tom reared back on his hind legs and came down with his claws towards her head. He would put her out quickly, hopefully fast enough that she wouldn't feel this right away. Once she was asleep like Starlingflare, he'd clean up whatever was left of Thunderclan and send them home.

Bloodstar used Upright Lock, dealing 15 damage and -20SP


Bloodstar
63HP / 109SP (-20SP)

Appledapple
KO Pending
-2HP / 19SP (-15HP)

Suddenly, Appledapple saw stars. A final blow from the leader left her sprawled on the ground. No, I have to get up and keep fighting. Starlingflare and Waterlily are down, and I just... Her claws dug into the ground as she tried to force herself to get up. ThunderClan needed this territory. But what were a couple of warriors supposed to do against a leader? Her efforts were futile. Appledapple couldn't get up. As she blacked out into unconsciousness, her anger curled up into the faintest hint of shame.

Appledapple is KOed.

Two down... He surveyed the area around him and saw that a surprising number of Skyclan cats were down as well. He sighed, making a note to put in very strict training regimens now. They shouldn't be losing this many warriors to a rag-tag team of Thunderclan cats. His eyes landed on Prickletail who had Oliverain pinned. He made his way over probably more casually than he ought to, but this fight was over. Prickletail could fight if he liked, but he was going to lose like his comrades had. Bloodstar jumped the last fox-length away, an effortless gap for a Skyclan cat, and tore into his flesh with his claws.

Down you go, buddy.

Bloodstar used Jumping Strike on Prickletail, dealing 13 damage (+3 for unfocused) and -7SP

Bloodstar
63HP / 102SP (-7SP)

Prickletail
22HP / 55SP (-13HP)

Oliverain
32HP / 100SP

It was hard keeping the upstart down… he focused on her, blocking out the yowls… and then pain seared through his side he tasted bile in his throat he turned. It was that overgrown brute. Was he the onl… yes, yes he was. This was bad.

This was very bad.

Prickletail slowly stepped back, sheathing his claws and releasing the molly. “Nothing personal,” he mewed in as pleasant of a voice as he could muster. “I’ll admit I’ve lost.” His patrol was strewn across the ground, unconscious and bleeding… yes, they’d lost. “Have a nice day, I’m sure-“ and then he turned and ran, ignoring the bleeding from his side. They could send back a patrol to help the others once he got back to camp-

But he would prefer not to die, thank you very much.

Ooc: seeing as I technicallly timed out and that there’s no point in Prickle continuing to fight, he has fled. SkyClan has won the battle for the Fallen Oak.

As the other she-cat's paws slammed into her head, Spottedfrog's skull bounced off the ground, and stars popped across her vision. Her teeth snapped together, and she tasted blood as one pierced through her tongue. Winded and dazed, Spottedfrog lay there, eyes swimming, as the weight of Appledapple's body moved off of her and away. She heard commotion, snarls, and Bloodstar's voice, but her ears were ringing too loudly to make out what he was saying.

"I'm-" she wheezed, "-coming."

Rolling to her paws, the she-cat stumbled, shaking her head, but by the time her vision cleared, the battle was over. She limped over to her father, head down in a mixture of shame and anger. That she-cat had been younger than her, she was sure of it... but she'd lost, anyway.

Bloodstar saw the flash of fear in Prickletail's eyes. The tom began to speak, but abruptly turned tail and ran. That was it then. The Fallen Oak still belonged to Skyclan. He turned to look at his clanmates as they stirred awake.

"Skyclan has won!" He declared proudly. He let a moment pass so they could digest this information. "However..." He pointed a single massive paw in Prickletail's direction as he fled. "If I see any of you ever doing that," He pointed his paw harder with a flick of his wrist, indicating that Prickletail was retreating in a hurry. "I will not be happy with you. Skyclan doesn't run. Skyclan fights until they drop, does everyone understand?" He set his paw back down.

"I don't care if you're the last one standing. Skyclan. Does. Not. Run." He felt that couldn't be reiterated enough, but he'd stop for now. Now they were free to celebrate their victories. Bloodstar moved over to Ashstorm and lent her a shoulder to lean on while she got to her feet. Then he noticed Spottedfrog... and how clearly disappointed she was in herself.

"Everyone has an off day, Spottedfrog. It's alright." At least she didn't cower away. That was all he could ask of anyone.