feel no fear [closed]

The moon had been just a sliver short of full the night before, marking the end of Lightfang’s camp confinement. Leaving had been harder than he’d expected. Too much of him wanted to stay with his brothers and Burningsun, to take what time they had before Tinystar brought his wrath down. It wasn’t impossible that the leader really had changed—he’d accepted Burningsun’s demand, after all—but Lightfang wasn’t ready to trust him. Not with the lives of the cats Lightfang cared about, nor with Lightfang’s own. However, his worries had never stopped him from doing his duty before; they would not do so now. He missed the work too much to give it up.

Today’s patrol, the first in an eternity, brought him to the Fallen Oak sometime past sunhigh. Lightfang’s paws slowed to a halt near the rotting pile of bark, just on SkyClan’s side of the border, and he raised his muzzle. Fresh ThunderClan scent drowned out those of squirrel and bird. ”Is someone there?” He wasn’t looking for a fight (part of him didn’t want to meet anyone on this patrol; a smaller, less rational part wanted to see Mosspaw), but the idea of one wasn't unwelcome. So much had happened… A battle, at least, would be straightforward. No trials. No traitors. No cats he couldn't bring himself to harm. And if he and the ThunderClanner went on their respective ways without incident, it would be just as simple. As he waited for the other party to show themselves, he stood taller than he had in a moon.

Lynxtail stumbled towards the border, his eyes clouded, his fur even wilder than it usually was. After days spent stagnant, he finally forced himself out of camp- unbearably suffocating, yet painfully empty -and into Thunderclan territory. He needed a break from the static and silence. He needed a break.

Lynx used to be able to bury himself in his warrior duties, and as he patrolled he searched for the comforting blankness that his work always brought him. Instead of silence, though, the young tom was greeted with wave after wave of painful memories. Sparkfrost, calling him over at a gathering. Sparkfrost at Sunningrocks, the water reflecting in his hazel eyes. Sparkfrost in the medicine den. Sparkfrost, dying. The memories repeated over and over, taking over Lynxtail's mind until he could barely see the trail in front of him. His ears rang.
It wasn't fair. Starclan was punishing him, he was sure of it- but why did they have to kill Sparkfrost? What had he done to deserve such a fate?
The only cat he'd ever loved, gone in a day because some dead fools wanted him to suffer.

A voice cut through the white noise, and Lynxtail looked up with a start. "Is someone there?"
He lifted his lip in a snarl. White-hot anger made his fur grow warm. "Who wants to know?" He straightened up, his tufted ears flattening as he locked eyes with the Skyclanner.

The cat that appeared looked half-crazed, furious, and quite a bit as if he’d stumbled out of a bramble bush and into a windstorm. He also looked familiar, which was more troubling by far than the state of his brown striped pelt. Lightfang was instantly on guard. He took a quick step back, then set his paws against the dirt, unwilling to compromise any more ground, in time to hear the tom’s snarled question. At once, he realized where he’d seen this tom before: the border skirmish two moons prior. All the more reason to be careful. Had it been any other battle, Lightfang might not have made an impression, given his serviceable-but-plain fighting style and lack of witty comments, but that fight— He’d always assumed Mosspaw hadn’t mentioned his apology to her Clanmates. Now he sort of hoped she had, or else that they’d forgotten that particular scuffle amidst all the others.

”A SkyClan warrior,” he said, his even voice a direct contrast to the line of spiked fur down his back. Even he couldn’t overlook the threat in the ThunderClanner’s tone. Still, he met the other tom’s sharp eyes without flinching. Though there were cats he feared—Tinystar, the seven-clawed tabby, the long-dead Sharptooth in the mountains—this wasn’t one of them. To be unafraid was freeing. ”I’m on patrol. It’s my business to know.” Coming from someone else, it might have been intended as a challenge; the pale tabby presented it as a statement of fact.

Lynxtail rolled his shoulders. He was tired of talking- he could feel the adrenaline in his tingling paws and sharp breath. He wanted to fight, to hurt someone, and if Starclan wasn't here to be fought then this Skyclanner would have to do.
"This is your one chance to back off." He warned.
A pause. Neither tom moved.
"Fine."

Lynxtail leaped forward with a roar, lowering his head and ramming into the sandy warrior at full speed. His attack sent both of them crashing to the ground. He felt nothing- no pain, no emotion, except for the numbing rage that was steadily coursing through his veins. I warned you! The thought echoed in his mind, directed at the tom, at Starclan, Sparkfrost, himself. He hissed venomously, his tufted ears pinned flat against his head as he scrambled to his feet, his flanks heaving.

Lynxtail used run-and-tackle, dealing 10 damage and using 10 SP

Lightfang
35/45
160/160

Lynxtail
60/60
190/200

”This is your one chance to back off.” As if Lightfang could. By now, he was beginning to wonder in earnest if this strange tom was a threat to SkyClan’s borders. However complex his feelings about the disastrous trial and its aftermath were, his duty was as clear as it had ever been: Protect SkyClan, even at the cost of his life. His level stare did not falter. Neither did the tom’s. ”Fine,” said the tom, and charged.

There was no time for Lightfang to brace himself. The impact jarred him to the bone; he could already imagine the bruises. He tumbled, only freeing himself after the other tom did, twisting until his legs were under him again. Speed was not his specialty, but the charge had brought his opponent so much closer— Suddenly, an idea dawned on him. He whirled around until the tom’s short tail was barely a kittenstep away, then sank his teeth into it and pulled. It wasn’t a new trick, but if he’d done it right, it would buy him a few more seconds. Lightfang spat as he let the tail go, nose wrinkling at the taste of fur, and stumbled back.

Lightfang used Tail Yank, dealing 5 damage and using 10 stamina. Lynxtail is stunned for 1 turn.

Lightfang
35/45 HP
150/160 SP (-10)

Lynxtail
55/60 HP (-5)
190/200 SP

Lynxtail bit back a yelp as the warrior pulled on his tail. He staggered, blindsided.
This was a move he hadn't seen before. IT made sense that a Skyclanner would use such an underhanded attack- who knew what happened in such a shady clan.
He blinked, shaking out his fur before turning back towards his opponent, his lip lifted in a snarl.

Lynxtail is no longer stunned

OOC: sorry it's so short ;;

As he’d hoped, the trick worked as well as it had the day he’d mastered it; a shock to the tail was never a pleasant thing. The ThunderClanner stumbled, briefly stunned. Lightfang took the opportunity to put some distance between himself and his foe. The further he was from anything sharp, the better. It had been a long moon, and his movements weren’t as polished as he would have liked. If he lost… His standing in SkyClan could hardly get worse, but the thought of padding into camp with his head hanging low sat poorly with him.

This was no time for imagining the return home. By now, the other tom had recovered and was not at all happy about it. Inwardly hissing at himself for missing his chance, Lightfang rose onto his hind legs and struck out with a yowl and unsheathed claws, aiming for the tom's face as he turned.

Lightfang used Rear-up to Slash, dealing 11 damage and using 15 stamina.

Lightfang
35/45 HP
135/160 SP (-15)

Lynxtail
44/60 HP (-11)
190/200 SP

Lynxtail snarled, his fur spiking as he ducked and wove around the Skyclanner. His throat tightened. Just let me win already!
His flanks heaving, the golden-brown tom faked a rush at the tom, trying to throw him off. His vision was blurry, his eyes were clouded with... tears?
Roaring with rage, Lynxtail threw himself at the sandy warrior. There was no logic, no rhyme or reason to his attacks. He reared onto his hind legs, slashing at the Skyclanner's face, neck, back, whatever he could reach until the tomcat escaped his grasp. "Done yet?" He taunted.

Lynxtail used Upright Front Paws, dealing 13 damage and using 20 stamina.

Lightfang
22/45 HP (-13)
135/160 SP

Lynxtail
44/60 HP
170/200 SP (-20)

Lightfang winced as his opponent rushed him, then stumbled when the impact he’d been bracing for didn’t come. Only when pain cut across his cheek did he realize the ThunderClanner had tricks of his own. Lightfang ducked back, red streaking his white muzzle, the taunt echoing through his head. The other tom was desperate, tearing blindly at anything within reach. Lightfang felt more as if he was fighting a raccoon than a cat. In those battles, the priority was to subdue rather than to defend, and so he launched himself at the tom with a snarl, buried his claws in his fluffy brown fur, and held on for dear life. Only then did he manage a winded reply. ”What do you want?” He didn’t regret this, but—what purpose did it serve? SkyClan wouldn't care which of them won; Tinystar most likely would never hear about this fight (at least, Lightfang wouldn't be the one to tell him). "This isn't a border skirmish."

Lightfang used Leap-and-Hold, dealing 9 damage and using 10 stamina. Lynxtail is pinned for 1 turn.

Lightfang
22/45 HP
125/160 SP (-10)

Lynxtail
35/60 HP (-9)
170/200 SP

The member 'rhindon' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 3