[Newleaf Tears] Blood In Common

Echo sprinted along side the WindClan leader, the wind of the mountain blowing through her fur as she finally saw the rest of the clan cats in the distance... And then some strange, weird looking creatures with long muzzles that she assumed were the dogs. Her eyes widened as she realized that a lone, smaller to-be was facing a dog alone, and her heart dropped when she realized it was the young one who had come hunting alone with her, her courage outweighing her fear of the heights of the mountain. Rushing towards her, she slid under the dog striking up at it before springing up on the other side panting. "Go, Ferret's Paw, run with your kin. I will give you time and be right behind you. Now go!"She tried desperately to keep her voice calm, but it quivered slightly at the end, her fear for the young to-be and all the others breaching the surface of her demeanor.

Echo of Shattered Ice used Half-Turn Belly Rake on Dog #5, dealing 13 damage and costing 20 stamina.

Dog #5
95/150 HP (-13)
290/350 SP

Ferretpaw
20/20 HP
60/80 SP

Echo of Shattered Ice
60/60
180/200 (-20)

---

Dapplepaw looked around in confusion at all of these new cats, and realized that these must be all the other cats who they were looking for! However, they seemed to be trying to run towards the dogs, rather than stay back and help, which was even more confusing... Until she saw a group of six that were further back followed by a massive beast the likes of which she had never seen before. Her fur bushed out even further as she fought the urge to turn tail and flee. It was then that Wasppaw's voice reached her ears. Mother? She looked to the pretty cat that had joined them, and realization flickered over her face. Oh stars.... I have to keep helping. Wasppaw can't lose a mother..... Please no.... Turning her attention back at the dog, she wriggled underneath it again, slicing her claws across the scratches that she and Wasppaw had made earlier.

Dapplepaw used Belly Rake on Dog #6, dealing 7 damage and costing 10 stamina

Dog #6
41/150 HP (-7)
270/350 SP

Wasppaw
20/20 HP
50/80 SP

Dapplepaw
20/20 HP
50/80 SP (-10)

Swanpetal
45/45 HP
130/160 SP

ooc; The battle system no longer needs to be used - any deaths or attacks can be played out! :)

Barleytuft's face twisted with pain as the dog grabbed him awkwardly over the shoulder and armpit, teeth locking down into his pelt. The warrior let out a howl of pain, his world threatening to disappear into darkness, as the dog thrashed him about. Being let go didn't feel much better as the warrior went skidding over the earth, head pounding and limbs aching as he rolled to a stop. Desperation made Barleytuft stagger to his feet, but wisdom made the warrior keenly aware that he was no longer in any shape to fight - and neither was Aspenpaw. The cream tabby warrior saw his Clanmate Aspenpaw just an instant before the clearly wound young tom slipped over the edge. He made his way towards the edge, each step lanced with pain through his ribs.

With careful steps and an aching body, Barleytuft made his way to Aspenpaw. The lean warrior meowed with a wheezing voice, "Aspenpaw, buddy, you can't go to sleep right now, we need to go." The apprentice didn't move - of course he didn't - and Barleytuft gritted his teeth, his vision of the world swimming for a moment. I can't fight; I can barely walk. How am I gonna get him out of here? Then everything steadied, and the WindClan tom steeled himself before grasping at his unconscious Clanmate and dragging him. Pain shot through all of Barleytuft's muscles, but he pulled Aspenpaw out of the nook before having to stop and gasp for breath. His dark hazel eyes looked hopelessly up the admittedly small ledge that he'd come down following his Clanmate. How am I gonna get him out of here? Barleytuft thought again, a little more desperately.

A voice sounded above. "EVERYONE! RUN NOW!" it cried, and more instructions. Jaystar...? Barleytuft wondered, feeling filled with hope. If he's here, then maybe Brindlestar...

Feeling as renewed as he could, Barleytuft grasped Aspenpaw by the scruff and began to carry him back up the edge of the cliff. The sight of a horrible, massive cat thundering its way down the mountain after a small patrol of cats made his fur stand on end, making his skin hurt. "StarClan, help us," Barleytuft muttered through his Clanmate's fur, beginning to take the two of them down the mountaiside as quickly as he could manage.

---

As the gray dog whirled back to face the small, pale creamy she-cat - foolishly standing in the way as if she stood a chance - they noticed another target [Starlord]. The white-and-orange cat was streaming in fast, face dark with determination. It would be clear to a year-old pup, though, that the cat wasn't nearly as strong of a fighter as it seemed to think it was. The gray dog immediately surged forward, teeth bared, and met the tom's neck and throat with ease. It clamped down hard, feeling a satisfying crunch, and the cat went limp. The gray dog would have been glad to shake this one around, but a petrifying scent wafted through the air, following by a gut-wrenching sound.

The gray dog looked up the mountainside to see a massive cat plodding down, charging after smaller cats. The dog's tail tucked and it froze with terror, eyes wide as it looked at its leader for guidance. However, it seemed that some of the other cats weren't done fighting. One of the fresh ones charged through, yowling with her claws raking his belly. The dog yelped with terror, calling out for their leader.

Dog #5 used Killing Bite on Starlord. Starlord can no longer fight ever again.

Finding their way out of the caves was easy enough, Echo of Shattered Ice had lead the way through the long, dark tunnels, with Finchstar on her tail. The thundering of massive paws behind the two cats was exciting in the most terrifying, horrific way. The leader had never seen a cat so big, one who's very size blotted out the sun. As they exited onto the peat grass, the gusting of wind blowing past their whiskers, the roar that sounded behind them was almost humbling. Finchstar wanted to find solace in the massive beast, expose his secrets, learn his ways. But perhaps the soul that was most interesting did not want to be harnessed. It chased after them with a fiery hunger, a drive Finchstar had only seen once before.

Warriors ran from left and right, all plummeting down the hill with fear scent following. But there was no lack of bravery. In this dark time, with very lives being preyed upon by an ungrateful beast, the warriors of the forest became nothing. There was no second-thoughts, no apprehension, but they just became cats, battle-trained and war hardened, running to save those whom they loved. Finchstar smiled as he ran, unable to think of a cause more noble. It almost romanticized the terror.

The cold gasps of air now weren't as strenuous, the ripping of claws on the mountain grass didn't seem to hurt anymore, and the pumping of muscles seemed to glide as easily as the breeze. Finchstar felt free. More free then he ever had. With his life on the line, blood on his pelt, it was amazing, exhilarating.

They pounded into the fray not but moments later, the massive forms of dogs rolling with the warriors of the forest. Drops of crimson sprayed every which way, spattering every surface. No cat was free from the horror. Dust swirled all around, obscuring Finchstar's vision, leaving him oblivious to his fate. But the thunderous steps that pounded behind the leader were steadfast, always evident. Finchstar knew that if nothing else, he had to keep running, lest he become prey for the mighty Sharptooth.

Cats of all clans fought with teeth and claws, it was their birthright, their destiny. Those of RiverClan weaved in and out of the dogs with unmatched grace, ThunderClan padded through the dust as if it wasn't even there. ShadowClan melted into the darkness, appearing moments later with claws flashing, and those of SkyClan flew through the air, an act of beauty. And WindClan, oh WindClan. Running and pounding through the battlefield. Finchstar saw cats he first thought missing, pelts washed away by the flood, now here, fighting. Even StarClan could not seal their fate. "Barleytuft!" The tom shouted, recognizing the fur of his old friend, now alive and kicking. The dust of the battlefield shifted, taking the tom with it. A dog rounded on the senior warrior, smashing him into the ground. No!

As Finchstar pounded to his friend's side, he ran past Aspenpaw, laying still in the dirt. Barleytuft was already on his feet, limping towards the apprentice in his wounded state, trying to help him. He was dragging him by the scruff, hauling the gray tabby to the small corner of safety they had. A moment of hesitation was already too much to spare, not even a thought could be had, their short time would not allow it. "Come on, 'paw." Finchstar rasped as he hoisted his unconscious apprentice onto his back. "We can't watch the sunsets together if you're dead." Blinking away the panic, Finchstar gave Barleytuft a grin, nodding. "Thank you." The leader mewed, wanting to tell the tom everything that had happened in the past moon, but this was no time for conversation. He would carry Aspenpaw so the cream tabby could run with any strength he had left. His speed was slowed significantly by Aspenpaw's weight, but there was no way in StarClan he was going to let his apprentice become dogfood.

They limped through the chaos together, claws flashing and roars echoing through the clearing. Finchstar caught sight of a familiar orange pelt, a cat "with no ties", as he had called him. Starlord, the loner. Finchstar remembered the tom first fighting Jaystar, filled with a love so powerful it was evident by even the most dull-minded. The leader's respect for the loner was obvious, and took quite a hit as the cat was thrown into the dirt, the life ripped from him.

Finchstar wanted to stop, to run to his side. But to Finchstar, Starlord was an idea, a concept. While the cat on his back and the cat beside him were very real indeed. They would survive this chaos, the emotional trauma could wait.

Maplekit pressed closer to Lightkit, subconsiously backing further under the boulder and willing herself to become one with the shadows. "L- Lightkit, it's the Sharptooth!" She whispered. "I shouldn't have gone out there..." What if she had still been there when the Sharptooth had arrived? She would never be able to run fast enough to get out alive.

There were so many cats—only ten more, maybe, but to Lightkit, it could have been a sixth Clan. The shrieks, howls, and scents, mushed together though they were, overwhelmed him. When another cat approached, Lightkit abandoned his attempts to pass Cloud in favor of retreating into the safety of the boulder and peering up at the dark-furred tom as if Night, too, was a dog ready to catch him in his jaws. At the mention of SkyClan, Lightkit’s ears stood straight. Used to be? Did he leave? Get exiled? Lightkit knew little of such things, but the word “exile” felt claw-sharp in his mouth, as did “traitor”; he didn’t want anything to do with the kind of cat who would leave his Clan regardless of reason. A snarl cut through that train of thought, and Lightkit, a practical kitten by nature, temporarily rearranged his priorities. This strange older cat’s relationship with SkyClan wasn’t nearly as important as staying alive. Besides, if Night was dangerous, someone surely would have mentioned him by now, right?

A yowl split the air. Lightkit recognized its voice as the voice that had delivered the plan—the blue cat, the leader of a Clan that wasn’t SkyClan, Jaystar—and realized what it signified only when the beast emerged. It was a cat, yet not a cat, as if it had started with a cat’s face but got stretched and twisted into something sinister. It dwarfed the six dogs effortlessly; even they seemed to cower at its roar. This was the Sharptooth. He knew it with cold, piercing certainty even before Maplekit confirmed it. For a heartbeat, his paws locked against the rocky ground and would not budge; his thoughts, likewise, froze so thoroughly he couldn’t think to move as he stared up at the Sharptooth with his ears pressed flat against his head. Perhaps by “home,” StarClan had meant—

No. No, because then the plan would have been pointless; Jaystar and all the others would have been wrong. No, because StarClan did not kill kits without reason. He was sure he hadn’t given them a reason.

”You shouldn’t have,” he repeated, voice falling just short of steady as he maneuvered himself in front of Maplekit, ”but it’s okay. We need to find Firflower.” There would probably be time later to impress upon Maplekit just how terrible an idea fighting a dog was, but that wouldn't matter if they were forgotten up in the mountains or, worse, if the Sharptooth found them. Lightkit's heart plunged into his stomach. ”Night?” Hesitant as he was to trust Night and the she-cat, they were bigger and stronger than him, more experienced than him and Maplekit put together, and, therefore, their best chance. ”What—what do we do?” He hadn't gotten many occasions to feel useless—he certainly felt useless now, unable to do anything but crouch next to Maplekit, tail swinging low, and hope these strangers could protect them.

The white warrior could feel her heart pounding on her ears as her paws carried her as fast as they could go, adrenaline rushing through her veins as she heard the heavy steps and powerful breath of the massive cat-like monster that was only a couple tail-lengths behind them.

Blizzardshine’s eyes instantly widened as soon as the battle between dogs and cats came into view ‘Oh no…no, no, no’ In her focus to save the clans and tribe from the Sharptooth, she realized she hadn’t taken into account the fact that the clans were more than likely to encounter to dogs too.

Mentally scolding herself over such a slip, she felt her body get an unexpected rush of energy and the aching of her muscles caused by running away from the Sharptooth vanished as if it was never there to begin with. With a battle yowl, she used her strong back legs to jump and her whole strength and body to slam into the closest dog’s flank while her claws hooked into its flesh, showing off both the SkyClan and ThunderClan blood that ran through her veins.

Was this some kind of suicide mission?

Yes, most likely.

Did she care?

No

All she cared about now was distracting these dogs and the Sharptooth long enough to give enough time for the clans, her kits, to escape alive. She already had accepted the risk of such endeavor, she had come to terms with the fact that she may not come out alive. But losing those she loved to this? There was no way in StarClan she would allow that to happen.

Strom was distracted from his plight as a sound caught his ears. Groaning at the pain the movement caused, he lifted his head - vision still fuzzy from the hit he’d taken - and gazed in its direction. Vaguely, he realized his heart was thumping faster in his chest, a strange feeling of foreboding rising through him as he caught sight of a cat. A cat that was pounding towards him.

A cat with ginger patches and deep blue eyes.

A cat he had never seen before, but whose appearance struck memory like a lightning bolt hitting a tree. He had deep blue eyes that sparkled with humour, and ginger patches like your pelt.... The paraphrased memory of his mother’s voice floated up from the depths of his mind, and he blinked, feeling dazed. I’ve lost it. I’m dying and I’m delusional. He’d known he couldn’t take the pressure he was putting on his mind, but he hadn’t expected it to crack quite so soon....

One blink was all it took for a very real form to fly at the obviously not-there cat. Despite his dazed state, a soundless cry lodged in Strom’s throat as he suddenly realized the dog couldn’t be heading for anything else, imaginary or not. Jaws enveloped the tom’s neck, causing very real blood to pool down as the blue eyes opened wide, wide before it slumped to the ground.

The scream tore through Strom’s throat, and the blackness darkening the edges of his vision was forgotten as he ignored every wound throbbing through his body. “STARLORD!” He scrambled recklessly across the stone separating him from the tom he knew only second-paw, sharp spikes of pain wrapping around his head at every lurch before he collapsed in front of the cat, his eyes wide and staring. There was no life in that form, the spark in those eyes having burned down to dull nothingness. Blood coated its throat, still oozing from the puncture wounds tearing holes in his skin.

Strom leaned his head forwards slightly, tears blurring his vision as he stared searchingly at those eyes. “Starlord.... Dad, Dad, please. Please tell me you’re not.... Not like everyone else.” It’s not him, it can’t be him. No, no. He would have died long ago, not now. No... No.... I can’t.... His head, so heavy, still throbbing with spiking pain, bumped into the dead tom’s as it fell forward. Silent sobs wracked his body as he lay there, oblivious to all the other cats’ yowls to leave. Oblivious to the danger stalking towards him. Don’t leave me like everyone else. The tears he hadn’t shed for his family broke through, streaming down his face as all the walls, all the lies and self-deception broke down. Princess, Littlestream, Aros.... I’m sorry, I’m sorry.... Memories of a sleeping Princess - blood coating her torn throat as his eyes completely skipped over it - and staring blankly at all who came up to him to offer condolences like he couldn’t hear them, ran through his head. Memories of a brother who never turned up, memories of a small silver cat with a terrible wound lying on the beach as he ignored it - they all ran through his mind as he curled into a ball protectively over this form he didn’t even know, his tears soaking its pelt.

Cats might have screamed at him to get out, to leave as the new threat paced closer, but he didn’t listen. He was deaf to the world as he breathed in the scent of this strange cat. A scent he swore he could vaguely remember. Named you Strom, for the current.... But Strom was done with the current. Tiredness soaked into his bones as overwhelming grief washed every other emotion away, and his eyes closed as he buried his nose in blood-soaked fur.

Let the monster come. He didn’t care anymore.

The small calico aprenttice could only run, just run alongside the many cats who were doing to same, she was too small to fight, she didn't even know how to fight! She knew she would only get herself killed if she decided to fight, so Gingerpaw could only flee.

The last feeble attempt at attacking the dog had drained a lot of Poppyheart’s energy. He had been able to shoo the dog’s grizzly muzzle away from his face, now able to breathe in fresh air rather than rancid dog breath, but he knew that wouldn’t last for long. He was about to attempt to climb to his paws again when the familiar shadow loomed over him, and he glanced up in fear at the dog snarling and glaring lividly down at him. He whimpered, then shut his eyes, and prepared himself for the final blow. He didn’t want to die -- he didn’t want to DIE! -- but there would be no way for him to escape the dog’s wrath now. Still, he hoped and prayed for a miracle, for StarClan to send someone to rescue him. Please…. Somebody save me….

...The final blow never came.

Confused, Poppyheart squinted his eyes open and looked up, finding the dog had been knocked away by another cat. He didn’t recognize this one, so this must have been a cat from another Clan. StarClan had answered her prayers! ”Th-Thank you,” he rasped, unsure if the molly would have been able to hear his gratitude or not while staring the brute down. He decided to try again to climb up to his paws, but his strength had already left him, and so he slumped back down to the ground with a huff. How was he supposed to get out of harm’s way now?

"Stay... away... from my MATE!"

His eyes widened at the all-too-familiar screech ringing through the air. Was he just imagining things? Or could that really be…? Then he saw her. The large russet-furred molly with a fiery protectiveness in her gorgeous green eyes he had always admired pounced at the dog and swiped at it mercilessly with her claws with all the ferocity of a queen protecting her kits. Redwing!

Then she approached him and began stumbling all over her own words. He couldn’t help but purr strongly in spite of his condition, nuzzling his muzzle against her when she nudged him and pressing her nose into her silky soft neck fur. Stars, she still smelled just as sweet as she always had. He had felt instantly comforted in her presence, and for a split second he had completely forgotten about the dog. ”Nothing will ever keep the Great Poppyheart away from you for long. Oh, stars, how I’ve missed you, Redwing….”

The mates’ reunion was cut short by a harsh bark from the dog now looming over all three russet-furred cats, and Poppyheart glanced up at it in terror. He saw the dog’s beady black eyes were trained hard on him and him alone, and he gulped down a hard lump in his throat that hadn’t been there before. The beast was ready to kill him. ”Redwing, other cat, you both need to--!” His urgent instructions for the mollies on either side of him transformed into a howl of pain when the dog clamped its jaws around him once again. He didn’t have enough strength to fight back or squirm as much as he wanted, so all he could do was scream in pain and feel the dog’s fangs dig deeper into him. Even after finally reuniting with Redwing, was he still going to die?...

ROAR!

Poppyheart’s eyes widened at the sudden booming roar filling the air all around them. Then he felt the dog’s jaws release their grip on him, and he fell heavily to the ground. He squeaked in pain and struggled to get back up, but he just couldn’t. Looking up wearily at what could have made such a magnificent noise, he spotted a creature he had never seen before. It looked like a giant cat, perhaps a lion from the ancient and mythical tales of LionClan. This lion-like cat had no mane, however, but it did have giant paws, blunt black claws, and wickedly sharp teeth.

Immediately, he sensed the dog snarling at the intruder with ferocity, and he figured this giant cat would be able to distract the dogs long enough to make their getaway. He looked over at Redwing and struggled to pull his way over to her, wheezing with exhaustion as he did so. ”W-We have to run!”

The stones and bushes and glumps of grass flashed at the edges of her vision as Spiderfur sprinted down the mountainside, feeling more like she were falling than running. Away from the Sharptooth, a beast worse than what even her own anxiety-filled brain could ever concoct they fled, cats of all the clans, with some from the Tribe along for the ride. Her once-broken leg hadn't healed quite right and pain shot up her leg with every step of her long strides. They were running from one pair of jaws behind them to several more below. On the home stretch, the old WindClan warrior could barely see that the dogs already had many combatants, though more and more fell after every heartbeat. How many were already dead? She barely had time to see exactly who these cats were that they were joining before they were upon the terrible beasts, with the Sharptooth practically nipping at their heels. One dog loomed over a single cat with bright gold fur, and in a flash she saw instead the body of her mother, and then of her father, slaughtered by the same creatures gnashing their teeth here. With as much force as her tiny body could muster she grabbed the stranger by his scruff, turning her forward momentum into a twist, and launching the much larger tom in the direction of the fleeing cats, and away from the dogs. And so Berrycloud was safe.

But now she was out of breath and exhausted, her legs trembling and her head light. The stink of death floated from of the creature behind her. What had she done?

Spiderfur is at the mercy of Dog #3

Jaystar ran through the chaos. The dogs... were truly here! But they were not alone. The clans... sent a group of cats to fight him, probably to find them later in the Tribe. The leader clenched his teeth, frustrated and concerned. There was no way they could defeat this pack! The Sharptooth must be successful or all of them were going to die and it would be all on him.

However, something distracted him from those thoughts. For a brief second, he saw his son, Berrycloud, being defeated by a fierce dog that was about to kill him. His heart stopped for a second and without hesitation, he ran at high speed to meet his kit's side and die for him if it was needed. But despite how fast he ran, there was no way he could reach him in time. With tears in his green eyes, he let out a desperate cry but something unexpected and... tragic happened. In just a few seconds, a small she-cat showed up and grabbed the massive Riverclan tom to toss him out of the way. However, she was not going to be fast enough. The dog's jaws were already over her and Jaystar had to turn his gaze away to not see her horrible end. His son Berrycloud was safe thanks to the mysterious she-cat... "Thank you..." He whispered, hoping her soul could hear him somewhere.

The leader proceeded to run with the rest of the fleeing cats but Minkpaw over some tom's body caught his attention. Jaystar turned his body back to him and run just to see that he was mourning Starlord. "I-I'm sorry for your loss, Minkpaw, but you need to get out here! I will carry his body but just run!" Without waiting for an answer, the large tom simply grabbed one of the cats he despised the most by the scruff and rushed toward the forest, leaving the Sharptooth and the dogs behind. Hopefully, they were going to kill each other...

---

Everything happened too quickly and the story repeated itself. In a matter of precious seconds, he had the dog over him, ready to kill him. But then, a flash of brown-fur showed up and with incredible strength, it managed to take his body and toss him away. Still stunned, the golden tom stood up yet with his blurry vision, he saw what his stupidity had caused. Berrycloud's paws trembled in frustration and he let out a pain-filled yowl of guilt and sorrow, for another cat had died trying to save a useless and pathetic warrior who couldn't save himself. "NO!" He cried, but it was way too late. Tears fell over his cheeks as he turned his body away from the massacre and he ran... ran and kept running.

There was nothing else he could do for the she-cat that saved his life... just like Silverfang... Oh Firepaw... I'm a joke as a warrior... I should have been the one that died in that battle, not you... He thought bitterly, his eyes now blurred because of the tears and guilt that was filling every inch of his body.

When StarClan answered Barleytuft's prayer, he didn't realize it at first. The WindClan tom was staggering, his wounds surging with pain, as he tried to drag Aspenpaw's limp body away from the carnage and the approaching monstrous feline. When a familiar ginger tabby-and-white tom swooped in and began to collect Aspenpaw up onto his shoulders, Barleytuft let go with a startled look and swayed. He feared he had simply become delusional; after all, he couldn't remember ever hurting as bad as he did now. Every step, the end of his tail shot claws up his spine and made his vision fuzzy.

The tom was afraid he had simply dropped Aspenpaw, and so when he heard Finchbreeze's voice rasping to the apprentice he was even more surprised. "We can't watch the sunsets together if you're dead," the tom said, and suddenly those long-lost amber eyes met Barleytuft's, and he mewed gently, "Thank you."

"Finchbreeze," Barleytuft whispered as he realized that it was true; the tom was there, and he was holding Aspenpaw's unconscious form when the warrior himself could not. Then the sounds of combat returned to the WindClan tom's ears, and he realized that his Clanmate and friend had already begun to trek down the mountain the way Barleytuft had been intending. With a deep, shaking breath racked with pain, the cream tabby spattered with blood began to limp after his friend, feeling as if he were dreaming - more likely, he was running out of adrenaline.

---

A short distance away the lean pale cat rolled to a halt and stumbled to its feet again, but the dark gray dog was unable to go after it as it attempted to retreat to safety. The cat which had come tearing down the mountain wreaking havoc wasn't doesn't yet, and her claws were tearing out chunks of pelt like the dawn depended on it. As sure as the dog had claws, they intended to make sure that her dawn did depend on it. More cats were streaming down the mountain, but the canine didn't have time to see what was following them. The dog's opponents were attacking relentlessly, left and right, swooping beneath their belly and creating wound after wound.

Before the dog could register what was happening, one of the small cats had clambered onto its back with razor weapons fangs and claws tearing. The dark gray dog let out a scream of terror, stars flashing in its eyes, but fury prevailed over all. Bucking and snarling with rage, the canine lunged towards the pale white-gray she-cat that had come sprinting down the mountain. The gray beast's massive, thorny paw hit her first, throwing her off-blance. No hesitation could be afforded now; any moment of wait and the cat would be able to recover and attack again.

Bucking one last time to try to dislodge the cat on its shoulders, the gray dog's head shot forward, clamping solidly across part of the she-cat's head and neck. No more fighting from you, the canine thought with a sneer, and then the creature began to thrash and buck and dance and pound about as though it had gone rabid, trying hard to throw the small cat on its back while also flinging and slamming the older pale she-cat through the air and onto the ground. Then something in its neck clicked, and its mouth dropped open with a startled yowl of pain as its legs buckled beneath it. The body of the cat fell to the stone like some forgotten ball of moss.

The dog stumbled forward - had the small cat somehow managed to bite its neck...? that couldn't be possible... - and fell to the ground, letting out desperate cries of pain. Its vision was going black. What's happening? But its thoughts were growing fainter. Perhaps it had taken too many blows already and worn itself out; perhaps it simply tweaked its own neck, or maybe in its thrashing the dog made a perfect opening for the small cat's teeth to pierce its spine. In any case, the dog's whines became softer and more strained as it continued pawing helplessly at the ground.

Dog #6 used Thrash on Swanpetal. Swanpetal can no longer fight ever again.

Having ensured that Ferretpaw had retreated to get the unconscious body of another cat, Echo turned to see where else she was needed, her eyes widening as she saw Sharptooth far too close for comfort. Making her way to the back, she noticed two small to-bes she didn't recognize, and sprinted over. "Hurry now, it is time for us to be going. We don't have long." She looked at them all, noticing the dogs body along with the body of a cat she vaguely remembered seeing around the cave, bleeding and unmoving. Sorrow raised in her throat and she turned back to them. "I will help. We must leave. Now." Kneeling to the other injured apprentice she nudged her gently, relief flowing over her when she felt a pulse. She helped her up, and began to aid the to-be's in their descent.

---

Dapplepaw felt utterly useless as she watched silently. The dog snatched Wasppaw's mother up and shook her violently, until she did not move anymore. Meanwhile, Wasppaw herself flung herself at the dog, and took it down in a series of vicious swipes. Unsure of what to do, it quickly became clear that the dog was dead. Tears sprang up in her eyes as the blood of the creature splashed onto her fur, soaking into the thick gray at her neck. Speechless at how quickly things had gone from bad to worse, she stood stone-pawed until a pretty she-cat with a weird accept hurried forward, ordering them to begin moving down the mountain. Numb and devoid of emotion, she began to help Mothpaw and Wasppaw as they made their descent, her paw steps heavy with the weight of the last several sunrises.

---

Echo of Shattered Ice and Dapplepaw have retreated from the fight!

Swanpetal had charged into this fight ready to lay down her life for the sake of her daughter, and it looked like that would be her ultimate fate. In a fleeting moment of understanding, she suddenly thought she could truly understand her own mother. Flowerpetal, who she'd resented for almost her entire life... She'd been bitter and angry over stupid things, trivial things, that didn't matter at all when she thought about what did. Her family, what she'd had and lost time and again. The last remnant of that family stood next to her, fighting alongside her.

She had a lot to apologize for when this was over. But it wasn't, not yet.

She had to say something. One last thing, a message to her daughter. Something she wished she'd had from her own, so long ago.


So many things she could have meant to say. Run, or You deserved better, or I'm so proud of you. But what she really wanted to say was simple, and she hoped the message got across to her daughter.