The Pale Dead [C]

Despite his caution, it was impossible for Wolfstar to keep track of both opponents. Dawnhawk was right in his face, and he had no place he could put behind him to shelter his rear from the other marauder. For the first time since this battle had started, the SkyClan leader felt fear tingling at the edges of his indignant rage. As Dawnhawk reeled back from the hit, Wolfstar pressed forward, taking opportunity as it presented itself, but before he could make contact again, the second tom surged from the underbrush and straight for his face. Wolfstar hissed, shifting to the side and raising a paw to retaliate, but it was a feint, and the mottled tom instead latched on to his leg. Instant, blinding pain stole the breath from his lungs, and an involuntary, choked yowl split the air.

His right rear leg collapsed with a tug, and then the stranger was gone, and Dawnhawk replaced him in the onslaught, claws and teeth tearing into Wolfstar's flesh as if it was made of dry, brittle leaf. THe leader went down on to his back, the golden tom atop him once more, and panic flared in his eyes. He snarled, lashing out with his hind claws into Dawnhawk's soft belly.

Wolfstar used Belly Rake on Dawnhawk, it was successful, dealing 12 damage and costing 15 SP.

Dawnhawk
40HP / 111SP (-12HP)

Wolfstar
26HP / 123SP (-15SP)

Tarot
45HP / 86SP

dice

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

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'Effect Dice' : 6

NOT MY TURN WHOOPS IGNORE

Their target was vulnerable, and now Tarot needed to try and lay another gamble. Disappearing into the brush once more, like a vengeful phantom he virtually disappeared from easy sight. He didn't move positions though, after all, he didn't want his actions to become predictable.

His attack had been successful and he had escaped again, unscathed. Truly this fight was one of the best scenarios where he could utilize his usual ambush tactics in a confrontation. The undergrowth and dim light of nearing dawn made darker by the shadows of the trees, Klaus making the clan cat's attention stay securely on him, it was perfect. Still, his companion was starting to look ragged, blood was darkening his pale fur, and he looked more out of breath than he had ever been in any of their one-on-one spars.

As Tarot had suspected, this was not a setting in which they would be able to take all of the apparently multiple lives clan leaders had. They'd get one, maybe two if luck was on their side, but luck was not something loners and rogues could rely on in their fight for survival.

The loner watched the clan leader topple over, and growled under his breath as they struck a harsh blow on Klaus's stomach. That was a bad wound, now they needed to end this quickly before they were the ones being pressured.

It would be hard to keep the Clan cat's limbs from flailing with the position the two frontline fighters were in, he needed to do something else to halt the old bat's attacks. Lilac hues narrowed the tactical tom searched for the best point to strike. His eyes landed then on their victim's head.

This was going to be risky.

Bursting from the same spot he had disappeared into, he bolted toward his target, rearing up above the Skyclanner's head and slamming both paws down onto it with his full weight one after the other. His claws dug into the thin skin of the cranium as he bounced the clanner's skull. Remorselessly he tore his ruthless talons away and made the distance between himself and the old leader once more.

Hopefully, that would do the trick...

Where Wolfstar had the tiniest hint of fear glittering in his eyes, Klaus's eyes were glowing with triumph. He could see from how much blood that the old tom was losing that this fight was nearing it's end. Wolfstar's claws kicked up and ripped nastily into Klaus's belly, which drew a snarl from the back of his throat. Alas, it was worth the risk. The pale and gold tom shot his teeth downward and his jaws snapped closed over Wolfstar's throat.

The bit of resistance of what muscle was left gave way beneath the pressure. It was like a water pipe broke. Blood flooded Klaus's mouth so fast and with such volume it spilled out from the sides of his lips and soaked his neck and chest. He didn't have time to even get out of the way of it.

It was over. Klaus had killed enough other cats and prey to know what that meant. He dropped Wolfstar from his grip and back-pedaled swiftly to avoid more injury. He was panting and spattered in glistening crimson, but a cruel smile crept across his face.

"Well done, Tarot!" He said through a heavy breath and a sadistic grin. "Now we just wait for him to come back and we do it again. We'll do it again and again until there is nothing left of him."

Klaus used Killing Bite on Wolfstar, dealing 16 damage and -10SP

Klaus
40HP / 101SP (-10SP)

Tarot
45HP / 76SP

Wolfstar
DEAD
0HP / 123SP (-16HP)

He was pinned. Dawnhawk had never been a large cat - at least, not on the same scale as his father, or his sister, but even so, in Wolfstar's current state, it was enough to completely exhaust him just trying to keep the tom's teeth out of his neck. He got no respite, however, as the moment he scored Dawnhawk's belly enough to distract him for even a second, the second cat darted in, and bashed his head against the ground. His eyes swam, his skull pounded, but that didn't matter once his forelegs lost the tension that had been keeping his grandson at bay.

Instantly, he felt teeth in his throat, a sharp, fierce pain, wetness against his neck, and then nothing.

Again he was floating in darkness... except this time, it was voluntary. A warm breeze ruffled his fur. Wolfstar knew, that if he opened his eyes, he would be met with green fields and stars, so many stars... and the pawsteps of someone he undoubtedly loved, graced his ears, waiting to impose on him some knowledge or another. The leader felt himself tremble, his legs weak even though here, he felt no pain or weakness. He remained where he was, on the ground, eyes squeezed shut.

He didn't want to talk to StarClan, today.

The pain resurfaced like a white-hot brand pressed against his skin, and Wolfstar surged back to his paws, panting, separating himself from the other two cats. The wound at his throat had healed, but the blood still soaked his chest and dripped down to his paws. He didn't see the second rogue, but Dawnhawk was still there, and Wolfstar lowered his head, plastering his ears. "You are a stain on the name of SkyClan," he snarled.

Wolfstar used Resurrection, at the cost of 30SP.

Klaus
40HP / 101SP

Tarot
45HP / 76SP

Wolfstar
30HP / 93SP

Tarot silently watched as the leader fell limp for a few moments, glancing up When Klause spoke. He nodded, but there was skepticism in his gaze. He doubted they'd last long enough if this cat really had more than one life. Sure, Tarot himself had no injuries, but all the running around was wearing him out. He could feel the hints of physical exhaustion tickling his bones and muscles.

Klause, on the other paw, was bleeding everywhere. Honestly, the loner was fully expecting that he'd have to drag his companion's half-dead body out of here at the rate things were going.

The supposed-to-be-dead clan cat shuddered, as if something was being pulled out of his chest, and then shot awake. Tarot's fur stood on end, and his ears slammed against his head. He let out a hiss.

So the rumors are true. Clan leaders have more than one life." Disgust crawled through his voice, "What disgusting abominations of nature. Your ancestors meddle too far." He spat, loathing joining the visceral disgust.

They all needed to be put down, their connection with their ancestors needed to be destroyed. This was against everything he had learned, all he knew to be the laws of nature. It was a weed among a field of flowers, and as such it needed to be rooted out, eradicated, burned.

He himself may not be able to dismantle a whole cat society by himself, but he could at least keep taking lives until they ran out of cats to give them to.

Darting forward once more, he latched his jaws around one of the clan cat's forelegs tearing at it with renewed energy born from his urge to eliminate such an obvious blight on this balanced world. He ripped free another chunk of tendon and muscle. Spitting it out afterwards, this meat was tainted, he would never consume the flesh of such abominations again.

After his blow, he backed into the surrounding underbrush once more, redying another strike and keeping his pricing gaze steadily on the bleeding cats in the clearing for another opening to assist Klaus.  He'd rip apart each of his companion's grandfather's legs if he had to.


He doubted they could end the old cat this day, but if Klaus ever gave him another chance to strike blows against these unnatural monsters he'd gladly take up each and every chance until the rivers ran red with blood.

Klaus didn't have to wait long. Within moments Wolfstar's body shuddered back to life. He narrowed his blue eyes at him and his tail lashed. Before he could say anything, Tarot spoke, then charged in and took a nasty chunk out of Wolfstar with him. Klaus sprang forward to take advantage of the pain and distraction that Tarot had provided. With a strong leap, he put his opponent back to the ground and pinned him. The leader's strength had weakened considerably. Klaus wondered how many more times would he have to do this?

"I am the product of Skyclan's abuse and neglect. I'm not the stain. Skyclan is." He growled with malice burning bright in his eyes. Klaus struck his teeth downward, jostled fangs against fangs like a sword fight for another spot on Wolfstar's neck. A moment of sliced lips and bloody gums later, Klaus finally managed to angle his head in a way Wolfstar hadn't expected and once again plunged his fangs deep into the pulsing life-force beneath his old leader's throat. Another forceful bite down... and again he felt Wolfstar go limp.

Klaus backed away again, licking away at his mouth as it bled freely from the struggle. He spat every few moments to try to rid the blood from teeth, but it still flowed freely and entirely coated his chin and his neck.

"Good luck trying to kill them all Tarot. Leaders are usually heavily guarded. Once you completely kill one, they have a deputy in line to replace them. You want to dismantle the clans? You'll have to kill the leader, the deputy and medicine cat simultaneously." He turned his head to look at Tarot for a moment while he waited for Wolfstar to resurrect again. "You'd need an army for that, friend."

Klaus used Killing Bite on Wolfstar, dealing 22 damage and -10SP

Klaus
20HP / 91SP (-10SP)

Wolfstar
Dead Again
0HP / 93SP (-22HP)

Tarot
45HP / 69SP

Wolfstar's ears were still ringing with the trauma of the resurrection, and the strange cat's words came only as an uncomfortable buzz. Dawnhawk's, though, came through clear as day, and what energy he had left went into forcing a scathing look at his grandson. I never treated you badly, not until you betrayed us. His eyes burned with accusation, but his throat was too raw and painful to speak.

And then Dawnhawk's teeth pierced his throat again, and the life that had just filled his body spilled upon the forest floor.

From the treeline towards SkyClan's territory, another shape moved into the moonlight. Spottedfrog had disobeyed Wolfstar, and her father, when they'd instructed the entire clan to return home, but that feeling that something was going to go wrong hadn't gone away, even when the Gathering had concluded, and everything had seemed to go fine. A quarter of the way home, she'd managed to slip away, and retraced the clan's steps back to Fourtrees... or, almost to it, at least, until the sound of battling cats reached her ears.

When she saw what, exactly, was going on, she froze in the brush, watching on in horror as the golden cat took not one, but two of Wolfstar's lives in quick succession. Her limbs froze her in place. The two rogues were going to kill him. Really kill him. Without thinking, Spottedfrog lurched forward, a hopefully-ferocious snarl bubbling out of her her chest. "Bloodstrike!" she yelled over her shoulder. "He's over here!"

Bloodstrike wasn't there, she knew that, but they didn't. And hopefully they wouldn't call her bluff. Spottedfrog slammed into Dawnhawk, raking claws across whatever flesh and fur she could reach, shoving him away from Wolfstar's still-warm body and crouching over the downed leader with fur bristling and teeth bared. "My father will be here any second now," she snapped. "I suggest you turn and flee while you still have a tail to tuck!"

Spottedfrog used Front Paw Strike on Dawnhawk, costing 7 stamina and dealing 8 damage.

Klaus
12HP / 91SP (-8HP)

Wolfstar
Dead

Tarot
45HP / 69SP

Spottedfrog
40HP /93 SP (-7 SP)

The burst of rage and loathing he felt was pushed down to a simmering heat below the surface. He was never one to let emotions dictate his actions (But he never neglected his emotions either). The satisfaction of watching another life quickly be struck away by his companion was almost as euphoric as eating his 'exotic' meals. If they kept the leader pinned, perhaps they really could take out his lives in one sitting, wouldn't that be surprising?

Upon hearing Klaus's insight on leaders and their power structure the loner hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose I'll put it on my 'to-do' list then." While the reply sounded flippant, Tarot did fully intend to get to it one day. In the present time though, he was still learning how to fight on even ground with clan cats. Armies to dismantle a whole society could come later.

Then another cat burst onto the scene. it was unexpected, an unknown, a hiccup in the plan. In a blur of fur, the unknown feline struck his partner with vengeful claws, calling out some other strangely violent-sounding clan cat name.

The molly's next words were met with a raised brow. In the dim light, it'd be hard to make out his exact features, with his mottled pelt helping break up his outline against the foliage. Only his glinting violet hues would be prominent, easily drawing one's gaze.

She reminded him of a kit telling an adult that her papa was going to hear about some 'bad thing' the accused did. It was strangely amusing, but this was no time for laughs.

Eyes narrowing sharply, he coiled his muscles and lept at the molly. Crashing into her side and pinning her to the ground. He couldn't let her strike against Klaus again, he was already weakened and at this rate they'd never be able to escape. Knowing this he dug his Claws in deep to both the churned dirt below and her skin, slicing the mud with more blood. 

The clan leader was down, for now, so he just needed to keep this interloper off his partner, even if he could only keep the robust clan cat from striking Klaus just long enough for his rogue friend to gain his bearings.

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

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'Effect Dice' : 3

Klaus had been prepared for a lot... but the instant another snarl reached his ears, he turned to look. Some unknown she-cat that smelled of Skyclan attacked him. He had tried to move, but he hadn't quite been fast enough. He spun on her just as Tarot tackled the she-cat to the ground. He hoped no one had seen it, but Klaus staggered sideways at that moment. It was enough to snap him back to reality. He'd been fighting hard. He was bleeding and his energy was being sapped. The tom's body was reaching the limits of what he was able to do.

Foxdung... And worse, Bloodstrike might be coming. His ears rotated to either side of his head as nervousness crept in. Maybe the she-cat was bluffing.... but if she wasn't... he and Tarot would be in a fight they were not prepared for and certainly not in the best condition to be doing so. Wolfstar would likely revive again, they'd have to fight the she-cat, Bloodstrike and Wolfstar. Even as tired and injured as the leader was... Klaus was suddenly not confident he wanted to take those odds.

"You're a fool, she-cat. You're way too young and inexperienced to be fighting me, or the wild cat I have with me." He gave her a grim smile as Tarot buried his claws into her. That being said...

"Well... you can tell our father he might have the upper paw now, still strong and high up on his Tallbranch..." Klaus approached the pinned she-cat and stuck his face mere inches from her's, confident that Tarot could keep her restrained for a moment. "...But what goes up has got to fall and I will be there when that happens." He struck out his claws, hoping to leave a nasty reminder on his sister's face to mind her place the next time they met. He had a feeling that they would.

"We can't fight three of them, Tarot. Give her a smack and let's go. We'll finish this another day." He was loathe to leave, but he wasn't an idiot. He glowered threateningly at the Skyclan she-cat before he turned tail and fled. He would need to cover himself in mud so as not to leave a blood trail and to hide his scent, but then they would need to find a spot to lie low for awhile.

Klaus used Fight and Flee, dealing 10 damage and -all remaining SP.

Klaus
32HP* / 0SP (-91SP)

Spottedfrog
22HP / 93SP (-10HP)

Tarot
45HP / 55SP

* - Yeah I totally goofed his HP on my previous post with him. He was at 40HP, not 20. Oops. x.x I must have been tired. Anyway, he should be at 32HP now.

OOC: Negating the failed roll because Spotted will not pursue.

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 10

Tail lashing, Spottedfrog crouched over Wolfstar's body, her teeth bared, ears flat, gaze locked on the golden tom before her. The other had disappeared into the foliage, but she was too focused on the monster before her to look for him.

That proved to be a mistake. The other tom slammed into her from a direction she'd never expected, and as she hit the ground beneath him, the air was knocked from her lungs and her vision darkened at the edges as her head knocked off the hard ground. Claws pricked her skin, and she sucked in a pain-filled breath, her eyes focusing on the golden tom as he stalked closer, but the one pinning her was wiry and strong, and though she did struggle, it wasn't enough to save her from the sudden, bright flash of pain as Dawnhawk raked his claws across her face.

Spottedfrog snarled, squinting as blood filled one eye and trickled down her cheek, staining the white fur on her neck a brilliant shade of crimson. But her eyes never left the golden tom as he fled. He'd said our father.

Spottedfrog is pinned this turn.

Klaus
32HP* / 0SP

Spottedfrog
22HP / 93SP

Tarot
45HP / 55SP