Please Don't Fade Away [Closed]

Quailfeather was fading in and out of reality, stuck in a delirium of agony and fear and hopelessness. Her mate was going to die, she was going to die... was she already dead? No- if she was dead, it wouldn't hurt like this. She couldn't feel her back legs. StarClan, did she even have back legs? She couldn't see anything besides blood, and the tears that were still streaming from her eyes made the wounds on her face sting like the Dark Forest. Why was she crying like her heart was about to break? Something about Silentstrike... She couldn't focus, couldn't concentrate, couldn't move. She thought she heard Brindlestar's voice, but she couldn't be sure. Were those shapes StarClan cats, come to take her to her final resting place? Why couldn't she be free of all this pain? Why were her claws unsheathed? Why was she on hard ground, not in her nest with her brothers and sisters? She heard voices... Hazefur, Smokepelt, Kindle, Furzethroat... sounds from her childhood. And through them all, someone said her name.

"Take Quailfeather and go!"

She knew she had to respond, had to move so she wouldn't die.... But how was she supposed to move? She'd gotten them into this mess, and now they would all pay for her mistakes. Silentstrike, forgive me.

--

Snap Jaws growled as the smaller cat leapt onto his back, clawing onto his fur and not letting go. Why didn't he just give up? They needed the prey-animals on this land! Stupid he-cat, stupid she-cat. They would both die. He couldn't shake the cat off, but he watched in surprise as two more cats ran up and began to fight his mate. There were more of them?... Of course there were. The large brown dog tried to get the clawing he-cat off of his back, snarling and snapping as he whirled in circles. Cats weren't supposed to be this coordinated.

Snap Jaws is stunned for one more turn.

Silentstrike's entire body was filled with nothing but pain, all of the tears in his skin stinging and his back aching with a fierce throb that he had never known before. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins faster than his mind could comprehend, and the words that flew towards him from Brindlestar's maw made him realize the reality of the situation. Quailfeather and himself, they had no chance. He struggled atop the larger dog, his large, lean form wavering back and forth as it struggled beneath his weight. He had him pinned, and this gave him the advantage... But he'd been told to get away! Watching his mate in pain to the side sealed his decision. Taking one last chance to get another hit in on the dog, he bad touch his claws across Snap Jaws back, tearing at the thick black fur underclaw. With a hearty nod to Brindlestar and Swiftstep, he leaped off of the dog. He rushed toward Quailfeather as fast as he could, but...

Silentstrike continued to use Leap-and-Hold, dealing -14 Damage and using -10 Stamina Points. Snap Jaws is no longer Pinned.

Silentstrike:
10/95 HP
205/250 SP

Snap Jaws:
99/150 HP
290/350 SP

---

Flying Fur was exhausted. There were now four cats surrounding Snap Jaws and herself, and they were a lot stronger than the two had expected. One of the cats seemed to have given up, one was atop her mate, and two were content with shredding her fur and skin to pieces. Was thing what you got when you fought Wild Cats? If it was, there was no way she was ever doing it again. Clacking her teeth together and snapping at the two large cats attacking her, she tensed up all her muscles. The black and white he-cat had left Snap Jaws with no cat attacking him. Stupid move, Wild Cat. Before he had a chance to get to the fallen she-cat, she was practically on top of him. Taking the WindClanner's back leg in her jaw, she clamped down hard. She hardly even flinched as she felt the bones snap under the pressure she exerted, or when the blood began to flow steadily from the puncture wounds her teeth created. Releasing the Wild Cat from her forceful grasp, she let a satisfied smile creep across her lips as she looked down on his body strewn next to the she-cats. Heading back in the direction of the two cats that had attacked her before, she beckoned them to attack her after seeing their Clanmate devastated. She hoped they wouldn't notice that Snap Jaws was completely open to attack them now, and if distracting them was what it would take, she was willing to do it.

Flying Fur used Iron Bite, dealing -30 Damage and using -20 Stamina Points. Silentstrike is KOed, with a broken leg.

Flying Fur:
84/150 HP
270/350 SP

Silentstrike:
KOed

ooc; Silentstrike is completely done for now, so I won't post with him again until the dogs are gone. once they are down to 75 HP, they can be run off.

The sense of despair only heightened. No, no, no! It was clear to Brindlestar that Quailfeather had all but given up- that she was content to die here, to have her remains be picked apart by drooling mutts. The chilly flicker of disbelief rose into a roaring inferno, a storm of icy flames that was colder than the lowest levels of fiery depths of the underworld. They were doomed. Even if they managed to hold off the dogs long enough for Silentstrike to drag off the maimed she-cat, would she even survive the trek back to camp? They were going to die. The realization made her gut twist with a taste so sour her mouth watered with the urge to retch. Even with Swiftstep here alongside her, the chances were slim to none. Her family was going to die. The terrible grating of teeth against shattered bone seemed to pull Brindlestar back from the hopeless trance that had befallen her.

Something seemed to click within her as she watched Silentstrike's limb bend in an unnatural manner. Welling up from deep within her came a primal fury so violently hot that it scorched away everything; her fears, her sense of reason. Everything. Shrieking out a ghastly noise that was completely unearthly, she was charging back towards the female mutt before she even had time to properly drop what was left of Silentstrike's mangled rear limb. Lunging at the dog before it could react to her sudden reappearance, she kicked back all of her weight onto her hind legs so that she was standing nearly level with the larger animal. Lifting her forelimbs high above her head, Brindlestar violently tore at the dog's exposed and undefended eyes- effectively shredding the sensitive flesh and hopefully blinding the foul-smelling vermin.

Brindlestar used Rear-Up to Slash, Dealing -20 in Damage & Costing -15 in Stamina.

Brindlestar
120/120 [HP]
265/300 [SP]

Flying Fur
64/150 [HP]
290/350 [SP]

Snap Jaws nodded at his mate in thanks as she flung the he-cat from his back, leaving him unfettered and free to attack the other cats in their way. Almost right after she did so, however, his sweet Flying Fur had her eyes savagely clawed by the larger, furious wild she-cat. As his beloved mate was so viciously attacked, the large brown dog's vision went red. How dare that piece of Nofur-scum touch someone he loved? It was unthinkable. With a snarl, the he-dog bit the tabby cat, large teeth for which he was named tearing through the flesh on her back, paying her in kind for what she had done to as noble and beautiful a dog as his mate. Hopefully, Flying Fur would recover soon, and the damage wasn't permanent.... Two down, two to go.

Snap Jaws used Iron Bite on Brindlestar, dealing 30 damage and costing 20 stamina.

Snap Jaws:
113/150 HP
270/350 SP

Brindlestar:
90/120 HP
265/300 SP

ooc; it can be assumed that Swift ran off to get help, or something like that~

Blood trickled into Flying Fur's eyes, further infuriating the black, now half-blind dog. A searing hot pain ripped through her eyes as well as the flesh surrounding them after the she-cat had been dealt with by Snap Jaws. Her left eye was completely shredded, and she was just barely able to see through her right, partly due to the blood that was quickly pooling in her dark brown eye. Only one sentence was clear in her head through her muddied thoughts as she stared at Brindlestar, even as her mate tore through the skin on her back with an excruciating bite. How dare she. Who did this Wild Cat think she was!?

Fighting through the pain, Flying Fur made a mad dash towards the WindClan she-cat, driven by fury and a burning pain behind her eyes. She was gnashing her teeth before she even got close to the she-cat, eager to sink her teeth into the skin of the tall WindClanner's neck. A tense ringing filled her ears as she made contact with Brindlestar, just narrowly missing Snap Jaws as she bowled her to the ground. She quickly turned over on top of her, putting nearly all of her crushing weight on top of the brindled Wild Cat- but not quite enough weight to kill her. The feeling of the she-cat struggling to fill her lungs gave Flying Fur a nagging sense of satisfaction, and it was the only thing keeping her from killing her straight away.

Finally, after what likely felt like an eternity to the she-cat underpaw, she quickly dipped her head and pierced the skin and muscle protecting the cat's trachea. The sheer force of the black dog's bite was enough to keep her from breathing, and only when she felt the life leave the brindled she-cat did she release her grip, even if only slightly. She lifted the she-cat in her jaws, and without much care, flung her several tail-lengths behind her. Her actions wouldn't heal her wounds, but if anything, it gave her a sense of superiority- she'd defeated her enemy. Looking back to her mate with a vile mixture of frustration and pain filling her gaze, she gestured back to the direction from which they'd come. She'd watched the other he-cat running off, undoubtedly to gather more cats to help with their cause. They couldn't stay any longer, not if they wanted to survive. Breaking out in a run, Flying Fur fled from the moor, in hopes that her mate would have the sense to follow.

Flying Fur used Killing Bite, dealing -90 damage and using -10 Stamina Points. Brindlestar has lost a life.

Flying Fur:
64/150 HP
280/350 SP

Brindlestar:
K.O.ed

One. Two.

The satisfaction was fleeting. One could argue that inflicting such callous and savage damage upon a foe was worth it- it would teach these drooling, primitive creatures that their presence would forever be unwelcomed in her Clan's territory. Even the ensuing destruction that immediately followed suit seemed insignificant to the concept of losing more Clanmates in such a manner. Even as the male dog's garish teeth tore through the flesh atop her back, the pain did little to deter Brindlestar's ferocious rage. "They are your family now, Brindlewhisker, so defend them at all costs.” Somewhere within the darkest recesses of her whirling mind, the Leader could faintly recall the voice of the long dead Willowwhisker. Despite her awkward position, currently entrapped within the male dog's unrelenting teeth, her frenzied movements did not slow. For her family. Thrashing, kicking, and twisting with a surprising amount of strength, tearing small, fresh wounds into the male dog as she continued. The realization that she had plenty of lives supposedly to spare only lent her a strange sense of fearlessness.

Three. Four.

Even as she was dropped and practically crushed between the infuriated paws of the half-blinded female dog, Brindlestar did not relent. Crass and unruly swipes were thrown at the dog who held her down, fresh wounds deeply gouged into the thick flesh of the dog's chest. The moments ticked by agonizingly slow, as they had been doing since the moment she had taken the initiative to attempt to blind the dog, but she felt no fear. The pressure that arose within her from the weight of the dog was horrifically painful, but even then she showed no signs of fear. Instead, Brindlestar's pale gaze merely burned a ferocious heat into the female dog's face as she was slowly but certainly killed. If you stay, her slowly dimming eyes seemed to scream. I will take more than just your eyes. Fire sparked within her veins, the deeply instilled instinct for survival practically screaming as the dog's teeth tore into her throat. As the final, gusting breath escaped Brindlestar's tremulously moving ribs, she felt only a peculiar sense of detachment. Death was supposed to be frightening, a soft voice chimed within the depths of her hazed mind, so why wasn't it? In the next moment, the scarred molly was gone.

Five. Six. The stretch of time between the injuries inflicted upon the dog and her death felt both impossibly short and unbearably long.

For many long moments, there seemed to be nothing but silence. Only the occasional stray breeze seemed to gently stir the luscious sea of grass that comprised WindClan's moorland, ruffling the darkly stained fur of Brindlestar's ominously limp form. But then suddenly, there seemed to be the faintest flash of brilliant starlight reflected within the glassy, empty pools of her eyes. Heart kicking back to life with a ferocious thumping, the pale-furred molly's body gave an unsightly twitch as she sucked in a heaving breath. Eyes aching slightly as the brilliant sunlight came back into her line of sight, it took several more moments for the strange sense of confusion to dwindle within her. Quailfeather and Silentstrike appeared to be intact to a certain extent, but the unwelcomed dogs seemed to be no longer present. Every exhausted muscle within Brindlestar's body howled in protest as she eventually managed to scramble back to a position that was partially upright, throat still bleeding freely.

Now she needed to figure out how to get them home.