A Dance of Hawks and Wolves [C]

A loud noise broke the quiet of the setting sun; the sound of old wood planks falling as an old house collapsed. Rats exploded in all directions from the old home that had fallen apart. A flash of white glinted in the orange sunlight as Dawnhawk took advantage of the rodents' panic. With a swipe he killed one, and as another ran by he buried his teeth into it's head. Two dead. The rest realized what was happening and dispersed elsewhere, leaving Dawnhawk to eat the two rats that he managed to catch. One he put aside while the other he tore into ravenously. He wasn't any better than the rogues that lived here, though they had learned to give him a wide berth after earning a few new red stripes on their pelts and faces at some point. Most lone cats had little to no battle experience, a fact that Dawnhawk was more grateful for than he cared to admit.

A shadow of one cat caught the pale tom's attention. It was a gray tabby, a younger tom, but upon seeing Dawnhawk's form he abruptly changed direction and went the other way. Dawnhawk watched and waited for him to be well out of sight before he continued eating. He had two rats, and while he probably wasn't going to be able to eat them both, he'd rather bury the extra one than have some rogue have it. They were his competition here after all, so if they starved to death, then the better off he was. He had learned from his life in the forest to always be listening, so his ears constantly swiveled around trying to pick up any hint that danger may be nearby. Mostly the only thing he'd had to worry about so far had been dogs, but even they were fairly scarce.

Ever since coming upon the ever so faint scent of Dawnhawk near the border of Old Twolegplace, Wolfstar had been here every day. He never ventured too far in, reluctant to be out of his own territory, and so most days, he saw nothing. Other days, he'd spy the occasional rogue, a wandering Twoleg or dog, but never that familiar, silky golden pelt.

Never until today.

Be it by his own persistence, or StarClan's grace, today, both cats were in the same place at the same time, Wolfstar perched upon a pile of refuse that stunk to high heaven, but disguised his scent, and Dawnhawk hunting as a nearby Twoleg nest collapsed upon itself. He watched as the tom dispatched two rats in quick succession, being impressed at the skill despite himself. His eyes wandered over to the gray tabby rogue, but he remained still and quiet as Dawnhawk scared it off with a glance. It was only once they were alone again that Wolfstar spoke. "I've been looking for you for a while now, Dawnhawk," he rumbled. "Do your kits mean so little to you that you don't even try to return to SkyClan and plead your case?" The prod was perhaps a little underhanded... but Wolfstar didn't want him to run, and knew goading him was the best way to achieve that.

Dawnhawk tore greedily into the rat when he heard Wolfstar's voice. Dawnhawk whirled to face him, fur bristling and eyes flashing dangerously. Upon spotting the dark tom, his eyes darted around him, looking for other members of Skyclan. He wouldn't put it passed Wolfstar to bring others with the intent on trapping Dawnhawk and killing him, even if he wasn't on Skyclan territory. Because that is exactly what Dawnhawk would have done.

Realizing it was only him and Wolfstar, his eyes narrowed and his tail lashed. The jab at him about his kits certainly brought a growl to the surface of Dawnhawk's jaws and his claws extended. After a moment of intense rage, he sucked in a breath to calm himself down. Poking and prodding someone for an emotional reaction was his trick as far as he was concerned, and he wasn't about to let Wolfstar get one up on him.

"I wouldn't have time to plead my case before at least four sets of jaws were around my throat. I'm not a fool." Speaking of which, Dawnhawk dropped his chin over it, just in case. "I'm not Bloodstrike." He spat. "I'm not stupid enough to go charging into a clan of cats that want to kill me." Dawnhawk paused for a moment, once more glancing around for other cats. It was still just Wolfstar..? Why?

"Why exactly were you looking for me?" Although he could guess, he wanted to hear it from Wolfstar and not assume anything.

"Because I wanted to be the one to kill you," Wolfstar said simply, slipping down from the pile of refuse. He didn't approach, just stood there, surveying his grandson with watchful eyes, and then he sat down, curling his tail around his paws. "You've been banned from SkyClan's territory, a kill-on-sight order. But letting someone else be the one to end your life is..." he hesitated, flicking his ears. "Not what I want."

Wolfstar tilted his head. "Your father was very resistant to that order, funnily enough. After everything you've done, you've managed somehow to fool him. Tell me, Dawnhawk, have you any remorse for the things you've done? The pain you've caused? The lives you've taken?"

The words that came out of Wolfstar's mouth surprised Dawnhawk enough that he blinked and no sound came out of his mouth or a moment. Kill me? I saw how you acted when you killed the one nightstriker... Now you specifically want to be the one to kill me? Dawnhawk's eyes narrowed after a moment and he watched Wolfstar carefully. He mentally made a note as to where all of the trees were, knowing that if he needed to use them they were at his disposal.

"I only have remorse for one I killed. I have absolutely none for anyone else." And he meant it. It still surprised him that Bloodstrike was so resistant to the order, given the conversation they'd had at the river.

"You keep acting as if killing me would be so easy for you. Maybe it would be. But I promise you Wolstar that if you make the attempt to kill me and I gain the advantage even one time and kill you... well... I'll be sure and end all eight of your remining lives in one fell swoop." He smirked a bit after he spoke. The Asylum had been there that day when he fell from the tree. Dawnhawk knew everything, though he said nothing to anyone until now. Dawnhawk made a sudden bolt to the left and scaled a tree to the second to lowest branch. He turned on it to face Wolstar with a cold malice in his eyes.

"You want to kill me so badly Wolfstar? Let's do this in the trees. Any Skyclan cat would be comfortable with this challenge... certainly the leader of all cats should be fine with that." Dawnhawk thankfully didn't share the reluctance that his grandfather did. As a result, Dawnhawk was nearly as nimble as a squirrel in the trees. He was ready to bolt up to higher and higher branches as well. He'd get as high as he could if Wolfstar was going to follow... then leap to the next tree over. He wasn't foolish enough to fight Wolfstar or fight fair at all. He'd either try to get the leader to fall on his own or he'd leap unexpectedly onto the same branch to make it shake and push him off that way.

"Or do you have other things to say instead?"

The leader's expression darkened as his grandson replied. Remorse for only one? He wondered who. Wolfstar curled a lip, his fur bristling in anger. You insolent kit. The threat was regarded with a snarl, and the dark tom rose to his paws a second before Dawnhawk retreated to the branches of the nearest tree. Wolfstar's eyes narrowed, and though his tail lashed in anger, he made no move to follow.

"I've no interest in playing a coward's game," he spat. "I understand your reluctance to engage me in a fair fight - I hear you've more a penchant for murdering helpless kits at their mothers' belly."

Wolfstar threw his shoulders back, head angled upward to flash his fangs in Dawnhawk's direction. "When you're ready to face the punishment for your crimes, you know where to find me. And should I catch you alone again I won't give you the opportunity to hide."

Wolfstar was angry, that was for sure. Dawnhawk forced himself to not think about Featherkit even as Wolfstar brought her up. Still, his claws dug into the branch on reflex, as if gouging the bark would alleviate the guilt.

"Apparently it's unfair to challenge the leader of Skyclan to a fight in the trees... how sad." His tone was anything but sorrowful. "I'd say this evens things out, actually. Your experience... on the ground," He snided before continuing. "...against my experience in the trees. You've fought more times than I have, Wolfstar. I'd say being in the trees just evens it out." He walked forward and balanced himself precariously at the edge of the branch while the new budding leaves shook at the very ends.

"I assure you that if I return, it will be with another army at my back and I won't be bringing games with me next time." Dawnhawk growled and flashed his own teeth at his former leader. His tail lashed and his fur bristled, but he didn't drop to the ground. He turned on the branch as smoothly as a squirrel might before hopping up onto higher and higher branches.

Wolfstar didn't try to come after him... how disappointing. He would have loved to watch him fall for the last time.