Badgering the Camp

It was as early as morning could get; the first rays of light were just bringing vision to the dark ground, though the sun had not yet risen to the treetops. It was at this time that Falconfang was awoken from a short but peaceful sleep: his dreams had been nothing but darkness and the slow, soothing rumbling of a distant monster hailing 'cross the Thunderpath. The sound had come to soothe the young warrior in times of stress - which had compounded since he had started to take care of the whole clan instead of doing apprentice duties under Duststorm's orders - but now that he had awoken, he wanted nothing more than to curl back up in his nest and sleep... nope, not happening.

Yawning and stretching his limbs, Falconfang padded out of the warrior's den and into the clearing, the morning air nice and crisp against his muzzle. As he headed for the fresh kill pile though, something else hit his senses... an unfamiliar scent, yet he felt like he should be able to place it. Suddenly, a loud stomp made the brown-furred warrior jump in surprise. As he watched in astonishment, a huge lumbering creature strode up from the crest of a hill and walked almost purposefully towards the camp. Falconfang couldn't place a name to the creature - a tall black-furred... thing with a long white stripe across its back - but whatever it was, it sent shivers down his spine and made his fur stand up on end. It looked dangerous, that's for sure, and it was heading straight for him!

Yowling in alarm, Falconfang turned tail and ran straight for the warrior's den. In his sleep-adled state, he hadn't noticed if anyone else was in there, but the first thought that crossed his mind was get Duststorm! His loud yowl of alarm rang across the camp as he raced for the den: "Something's attacking the camp! Something's attacking the camp! Everyone get up, hurry!"

Duststorm had been up late the night before, resulting in his sleeping later than usual. Groggily, he was on his feet before he could even register what was happening. The tom staggered to the den entrance, nearly falling over once. Leaning heavily on the wall, he shook his head to clear his mind before finally looking up to see Falconfang staring wildly at him.
"Something?" he grumbled. This kid had better not be pulling a prank. I am not in the mood.

Falconfang looked at his former mentor, his blue eyes wide open and full of fear. Suddenly, the name jumped onto the tip of his tongue: he had heard it once before, and hadn't bothered to remember it... but now seemed a perfectly apt time to remember it. "B-badger!" he finally was able to yowl out to Duststorm before he turned around. His tail shot up in alarm when he saw that the badger had already lumbered its way into the camp.

OoC: And with how little people are actually looking at this, I assume the badger has already killed Windclan.

The sound of the creature's name snapped Duststorm to alertness. He fixed his stance and padded a little further from the den entrance, mesmerized as the creature shuffled in slowly. After a split second, however, he turned to Falconfang.
"You take this side, I'll take his other," he ordered his now-companion as he moved. Slinking low to the ground, the tom slid himself over to the creature's other side.

Fear still coursed through him, but slowly Falconfang nodded and slowly began to creep up on the badger's side, opposite of Duststorm. As he moved closer, the size of this creature really dawned on the young warrior, and a shiver he couldn't suppress slid down his spine.

Mintpaw moved out of the apprentice den when she heard the comotion. Seeing a large badger in camp, her heart-beat quickened. The apprentice's eyes flew towards the two warriors. Mintpaw had no idea what she should be doing, so she waited.

Raccoonheart was returning to the camp, when she had smelled the scent at the opening in camp. She saw the two warriors, and Mintpaw. Raccoonheart ran over to the apprentice and crouched beside her. "Be careful, keep away from the Badger's claws and mouth. If you want to fight you can but be very careful." She whispered.

Noticing the other cats, Duststorm hissed at them, "Attack it all at once! We have the strength of numbers on our side."


OoC: Falcon, you're welcome to RP the badger.

The badger swiveled its massive head and glared through slitted eyes at Duststorm, hearing noise coming from the troublesome feline. It moved its paw, ready to swat down at the warrior, but Falconfang leapt up and slashed his claws down its side. The beast cried out in surprise, turning its attention away from Duststorm and whipping its arm full 'round. The brown-furred warrior could only stare in surprise before its huge paw smashed into his body from the side, sending him skidding across the clearing.

Falconfang came to a screeching halt as he slammed into the apprentice den. He wasn't extremely hurt, but the breath had been knocked out of him, and he could only stare dizzily as the badger turned its attention back to Duststorm. "Duststorm!" the young warrior yowled weakly, the ground lurching beneath him as he stood up and shot forward back towards the creature. However, every step felt heavy, and as he made his way towards the badger, it felt like he was slogging through a thick swamp. He thought he hadn't been hurt, but something was obviously wrong, and now Duststorm would just have to escape its clutches.

There was a loud gasp from the entrance of the camp, followed by a soft thumping of prey hitting the ground. "What in StarClan's name is going on?" the WindClan leader gasped, his eyes gazing at the large badger. "WindClan, attack!" He yowled as the large tom raced forward, leaving the dead rabbit he had caught on the ground, worried more about the badger then feeding his Clan right now. He gazed around the clearing to see what cats were fighting, almost the whole Clan... Pushing his strong back-legs on the ground, Stormstar leaped a good fox-length into the badger's back and sinking his teeth in. He was aware that this wouldn't do much to the monster, perhaps just making it turn on him, but he was willing to give his life to keeping his Clan safe.

Raccoonheart leapt onto the badger biting into the top of the back next to Stormstar. She looked at Stormstar but turned her attention back to the badger trying to keep her grip. She dug her claws into the back of the badger as well.

The badger growled, spitting fury as the Windclan leader and deputy jumped atop its back, growing tired of the nuisances that were attacking it. With a couple great bucks it threw Stormstar and Raccoonheart off, but now blood was dripping down its back, and while it was distracted Falconfang was finally able to rush in and bite down hard on its leg. The great beast stumbled and slammed its paw down, the young warrior dodging it by a whisker. Falconfang came to an unsteady halt and tried to pinpoint the badger again, but his vision was still blurry and it looked like there were three badgers instead of one!

Now the badger was growling and lumbering towards Stormstar and Raccoonheart.

Duststorm joined in with Stormstar and Raccoonheart, leaping towards the badger. The tom bit hard on one of the creature's legs, filling his teeth tear through sinew and muscle. For one terrifying moment, the warrior thought his teeth were stuck. He was dragged with the leg but finally managed to let go and go for another leg.

Raccoonheart tumbled on the ground fro a moment, before standing and shaking out her coat. She drew her teeth back in to a snarl. She jumped and dug her claws into the badger's back refusing to let go this time. "Leave my clan alone." She growled at the badger not caring if it understood or not.

Stormstar let out a moan as he forced himself to his paws, having lost his breath in the thrown. He felt something sticking into his side, and looked over to see a stone. Pulling out the pointy stone in his jaws, he quickly dropped it at the taste of blood. His eyes turned to the badger as he raced forward, going for the leg that Duststorm wasn't on, his teeth sinking in.

Occ: Remember, Stormstar is going to lose a life or two in this fight, but perhaps during the end of it would be better. (I highly doubt he is going to lose two lives thought, I guess it depends on if Stormstar has been leader for three months or what)