Behind Enemy Lines [Closed]

After his encounter as an apprentice, Wrenspring had padded carefully near the borders. His experience with the Shadowclan border and the resulting crooked tail had left him with a lack of desire to stir up trouble near the lines that separated them from nearby clans. But that didn't mean he avoided them entirely, he was not a tom driven by fear in any manner. If prey lead him close enough to scent the undesirable stench of other clans, that was what he would do to make sure every kit and warrior alike was fed. It was the very thing that had him pressing the edges of their own territory today. After discovering that the creek had dried up, becoming little more than a dusty snake trail, he had pushed himself harder to scout both prey and water. He'd been tracking a bird through the tree tops when he realized how close he had strayed to Thunderclan territory. The cats who stalked the dense forest were a mystery to him. He'd hardly even looked at one besides catching glimpses of Oakstar and Nettlefire on the great rock.

He turned his green gaze away, seeking out the robin once again, but catching a flicker of bright russet fur. Wrenspring quickly picked out a cat and curiosity caused his eyes to linger. There was no reason to pay mind to a Thunderclan cat, though, especially with the task at paw. But as he went to turn away something else captured his attention. A striped coat darted through the undergrowth. It was near the Thunderclanner and she seemed not to notice, her own gaze fixated something, perhaps her own hunt. The Skyclan warrior dug his claws into the bark. It wasn't his place to worry about the lives of cats from other clans. But, she couldn't see the danger. Starclan had shown him for a reason. There was a low growl of frustration that rumbled in the back of his throat at the thought of abandoning the duty of hunting for his own clan. He couldn't just watch as she was torn into from the trees.

Darting forward, his paws carried him swiftly from branch to branch. Trained paws landed with grace. Even with the kink in his fluffy tail, the warrior showed no hesitation. He'd learned to work around his injury and adapted. It didn't slow him down. This would be taken care of quick and he would be back to the hunt before no time. His eyes had trained on the raccoon and caught sight of the creature launching forward to grasp the hind paw of the she-cat. Wrenspring cursed himself for hesitating. If she boxed him for the injury later, he would understand. With that thought, the warrior threw himself from the trees, landing squarely on the raccoon's back and tearing into it with his claws. There wasn't much time to say something to the other warrior and the wind was knocked from his lungs even with such a solid landing. Racing through the trees was no easy feat. Instead, he simply let out a warning snarl to their striped foe.

Wrenspring used Sky Drop on Raccoon, dealing 10 damage and using 15 stamina.
Raccoon used Iron Bite on Cherryblossom, dealing 30 damage and using 20 SP.

Wrenspring
HP: 45/45
SP: 145/160 [-15]

Raccoon
HP: 30/30
SP: 280/300 [-20]

Cherryblossom
HP: 30/60 [-30]
SP: 200/200

Straying too close to the borders wasn't something that Cherryblossom did very often, especially in the wake of Dacedream's death, but today was an exception as her hunting trail led her close to the boundary between ThunderClan and SkyClan. She carefully weaved her way through the undergrowth, intent on following the trail of a mouse scurrying through the sparse leaf litter, unaware of the cat watching her from the treetops, nor of the raccoon that would grab her hind leg.

Pain lanced up her leg and up her spine as teeth pierced her skin and gripped her with a bite of steel, and she yowled her pain, her prey forgotten. She whipped around to see the familiar black mask of a raccoon, though was surprised to see a cat crash down from the treetops to land square on the predator, freeing her leg from the bite. The scent of SkyClan met her nose, rising from the newcomer, but she paid no mind to Clan affiliations, as in the moment, fighting for their life and safety was more important.

With a quick nod to Wrenspring, she reared up on her hind legs, the adrenaline dulling the pain from her bitten hind leg, and raked her claws down the raccoon's face, beads of blood welling up through it's fur.

Cherryblossom used Rending Front Paws on the raccoon, dealing 13 damage and costing 25 stamina.

Cherryblossom
HP: 30/60
SP: 175/200 (-25)

Wrenspring
HP: 45/45
SP: 145/160

Raccoon
HP: 7/30 (-13)
SP: 280/300

The striped creature shook furiously in an attempt to throw off the warrior. He caught the Thunderclan cat's nod right before he found himself being displaced and thrown to the side. Wrenspring rolled to his side and quickly drew his paws underneath him once more. Already she had twisted and mounted her own counter attached. It retracted slightly and launched back with furious hisses. A barrage of claws scraped the pale fur of the unknown molly. Not wanting to watch her be torn into further, the gray and white tom rushed forward with unsheathed claws. A low growl left his maw as his right forepaw smashed into the maw of his target. The raccoon was thrown to the side and thrashed for only a brief moment before falling still. Everything had happened in a mere matter of moments. Between two cats, their foe had been outmatched. Still, the tom's sides heaved.

Wrenspring dug his claws into the earth and looked at the fallen foe as if expecting it to move once again. With a flicker of his crooked tail and the passing of a few moments, the warrior decided that this battle was over. It was then he turned his gaze to Cherryblossom. What serious and battled hardened features once were writ across his maw were replaced with the casual grin that he usually wore, "Well, not exactly the prey I was looking for but I suppose it works. Are you alright?" His head tilted in a genuine curiosity. His chest tightened slightly at the notion that he was standing a hair over the border. Paws shifted ever to slightly closer to the familiar terrain but he kept his eyes trained on the Thunderclan warrior. He hoped that she wouldn't find him intruding and was more than willing to pad away if she requested it. But he didn't want to leave without at least making sure she was okay first.

As the vicious creature fell to the ground after another well-placed blow from the SkyClanner that had come to her rescue, Cherryblossom relaxed visibly and tested her foot on the ground, finding that it could support at least a little bit of weight. She turned back to Wrenspring as he spoke, and she nodded in response to his question.
"Yeah, I think I'm good. Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it."

She began to turn away to return to camp for treatment, but hesitated and turned back to him.
"I've seen you at Gatherings, but I've never gotten your name. I'm Cherryblossom, by the way."