It stilled underneath her. The leering yellow eyes were difficult to read.

Crescentsky had a forepaw planted firmly against its torso. Her chest-fur nearly brushed the wolf's own as she leaned over it. She could hardly see her own forepaws for the thick, long fur covering its belly and breast.

Then, when she leaned forward to send it reeling away with one last bite, the animal kicked out valiantly. Before she knew what was happening it opened its jaws and started biting desperately. Crescentsky flinched when teeth met her bloodied chin and sent searing white-hot agony through her once again.

I can't give up yet! She told herself, but she couldn't stop the trembling from overexertion.

Yet as she let it up, the animal gave a timorous whine and turned to flee.

Oh. Its triangular ears were flat against its skull, tail tucked under its rump as it trudged away.

Thank Starclan!

It kept making those pitiful noises as its paws took it farther and farther away from Riverclan's camp, till its pelt blended in with the murky marshland shadows.

Still slightly surprised, Crescentsky sank to her knees.

It's over. The relief she felt was something beyond comprehension.

Her chest heaved as she fought to breathe normally. It felt like she could take in more air in this body, but that she had to force herself to breathe deeper in order to receive it.

Nearly half of Crescentsky's thick-furred pelt was covered in blood. Most of it was her own. The night air was quiet after the second wolf's retreating paw-steps faded.

"Wow." A breathless voice startled her. She turned to search for the source, limping on the leg that was injured.

It was her sister. Tinyflame had hid herself so well that Crescentsky couldn't see her at first.

"Can you believe it? Once again we're somehow alive!"

Her littermate crawled partway out from beneath a bramble bush with giant thorns. She said the words with utter disbelief, neck craned to look up at Crescentsky.

But even as she'd said it, Tinyflame's voice was strained, as if trying to suppress the pain of her injuries.

Only for now. If we don't die from blood loss or infection first. Her littermate's chest-fur was matted with blood, torn fur, and ripped flesh. Her back and head had long, thin scratches from the thorns.

This time, Crescentsky couldn't muster up the energy to act positive. That fight had felt like a wake-up call. She feared she couldn't even open her mouth to speak properly, for parts of it were split open and bloody.

Since Crescentsky didn't reply, the silence stretched on. An owl hooted from somewhere in the woods.

She stayed sitting down, trying to calm her breathing. She had the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, and her wounds stung like they were lit up with fire. The one above her brow was still leaking blood into her eye, so she kept it half-closed. The one on her haunch had soaked through all of the fur around it, and still continued to do so.

But overlaying all of that, a sort of shock settled onto her shoulders. It nearly felt like a blanket of snow.

I'll have to do that again. And again and again. She definitely didn't want to.

"I'm sorry I didn't help, Crescentsky. I'm sorry I couldn't. I was useless." Tinyflame sounded ashamed. She seemed to want to say more, but became too upset, her eyes shimmering and her tail lashing in lament.

MrrrOW! These wounds are really starting to hurt! I can't console her right now!

"I'm changing back." Crescentsky warned her, and Tinyflame stayed where she was.

"Wait! Not here." Her sister intervened as Crescentsky braced to shake herself.

Tinyflame glanced toward the camp entrance, her tone urgent as she gestured toward the open wetland forest.

"Alpinefog and Lagoonstripe saw you. I think the whole clan did. You can't change back right here. Go out by the stream or something. Hurry!"

Crescentsky's jaw nearly fell open, as apprehension sent a chill of cold water down her spine.

What if they saw the change?

The Riverclan warrior gazed at Tinyflame with her small wolf eyes. Then Crescentsky gave a quick nod and fled, rushing into the willow tree forest on tepid pawsteps. She crashed through the side of a berry bush, unaccustomed to running from such a tall stature, and from being so large compared to the undergrowth.

She didn't go far, but it was long enough to experience just how much faster she could go. Re-exhilarated, and worried by Tinyflame's news, Crescentsky rapidly changed back.

Retracing her pawsteps took a lot longer in the body of a cat, as her hauch all but dragged in the mud. It left a trail in the parted grass, throbbing with renewed pain.

"Alpinefog and Lagoonstripe rushed out of camp after the fighting got really loud- after you turned," Tinyflame whispered quickly, beckoning for Crescentsky to join her beside some gently waving reed fronds. Their stems were bent at an angle, so that the she-cats were well hidden in shadow and could look out toward the camp wall.

A bullfrog croaked from deep inside the river-brush somewhere beyond. Crescentsky's eyes widened, as she wondered what this meant.

"Why didn't they attack, then?"

"I was already hidden by that point. They didn't see either of us," Tinyflame explained in a murmur.

Her littermate locked gazes with her. "All they saw was three wolves fighting. Or- two wolves fighting another one. Then they retreated back into camp," she finished with a wheeze.

The smaller black she-cat was huddled with her forelegs curled underneath herself. Her purple eyes kept glancing out towards the camp entrance, in case one of their clanmates emerged. Crescentsky noticed that her littermate's blood-soaked chest wounds were leaking onto her paws.

"Are you okay? You should have ran when I told you to." Concern laced her voice.

Tinyflame didn't answer that.

"We can tell them the wolves went for us and we tried to fight back. That we were cornered. And we got injured." Her words were clipped and sounded painful. Crescentsky tried to feign off worry.

"But then they started fighting each other, which gave us the chance to get away."

She's strategizing how to explain this to the clan.

Though Crescentsky didn't like lying as much as the next cat, she had to agree. She couldn't tell them Starclan's truth, not yet.

It's too soon. I barely know anything about it yet. Half the cats in the clan don't even trust me...

"Alright. And what about the reason as to why we didn't yowl and warn the clan? Or why we didn't climb a tree like we were told?"

Tinyflame thought hard about that one. Crescentsky searched for a reason as well, and could only land on measly excuses.

"I guess we'll say that we wanted to protect the camp. And that we quickly realized what a bad idea it was. I mean, we do have the wounds to prove it."

Tinyflame leaned back.

"They might not believe it. They saw three wolves."

"We'll just make it up as we go," Crescentsky licked a paw and wiped some blood off her eye.

My wounds are still there, of course. But somehow they've shrank down with my body, or else that leg would've been sliced clean off whenever I changed back. She sighed and let it fall limp beneath her. It was too painful to use any of the muscles in that haunch.

Perhaps there were even severed tendons.

What will I do then, if I can never use my back leg again? The thought was more horrifying than the idea of having to face down the wolves again.

"Okay, great. Yep. We'll make up a lousy jumble of kit-excuses. And we'll look irresponsible for not warning the clan. What if our vigil gets rejected?" Tinyflame whispered in the shadows beside Crescentsky. Then she took a deep, shuddering breath, as if her wounds were still troubling her.

"You got a better idea?" The tabby she-cat glanced at her sister.

Tinyflame thought for a moment longer and then shrugged. "I guess not."

"I'm glad we're both still here," Crescentsky mitigated. The Riverclan warrior bent to lick one of her sister's fuzzy black ears.

They couldn't stay there any longer. There was no doubt in their minds that the entire clan was awake, after that snarling, chaotic struggle just outside the Riverclan camp.

And so it was no surprise when she padded past the broken barrier and the entirety of her clanmates, as well as Skyclan was standing there.

"You didn't climb the trees?" Crescentsky asked, as first Lagoonstripe and then Alpinefog strode forward with tails flicking irritably.

"Of course we did. We were just climbing down. We planned to send a few cats to fetch you from the trees, and scope out the area. It's been quiet for long enough now."

"Why didn't you sound the alarm, Crescentsky?" Her previous mentor's gaze was so condemning that Crescentsky chuckled nervously.

I'm always on her nerves nowadays... I hope she still likes me.

"And you know very well that-Wait, how'd you get those wounds?" Lagoonstripe noticed the drying blood staining her fur in the faint moonlight.

"Um, we were going to climb the trees like you told us to...But then we thought we could defend the camp from the wolves ourselves."

It doesn't even sound brave. It just sounds stupid.

The silver-striped tabby's gaze grew incredulous, and she looked the two of them up and down.

"How are you still alive?" She tipped her head slightly, which was odd for Lagoonstripe.

"Alpinefog and I came to check on you when we heard snarling and growling beyond the camp entrance, but no cat was anywhere to be found. We only saw the wolves fighting each other, so we came back and told the clan to evacuate the dens and climb the trees."

"It was the oddest thing I've ever seen. They were  trying to kill each other, right at our camp entrance." Quietdew said. Crescentsky tried to look dumbfounded and dazed.

"We watched them run off one by one, into the woods while we were waiting in the trees. But we never saw the wolves attacking either of you," she added.

"That's because we dragged ourselves under some bramble vines. It happened so quickly... And by the time the camp woke up, we were already up a tree," Crescentsky began.

"We almost lost our lives. Crescentsky helping me is the only reason I managed to climb up a willow." Tinyflame lifted her chin, sounding confident as she told the lie.

Her heart warmed as she turned sidelong to look at her littermate. Despite it being a half-truth, Tinyflame was showing commendation to Crescentsky, especially in the eyes of their clanmates.

"We got these wounds when we were attacked at the camp entrance," she added.

They have to believe me! "The wolves nearly dragged me off, but I scratched one of their eyes so I could get away."

Crescentsky stretched out the hind-limb so her clanmates could better see the worst injury. She stifled a genuine, agonizing cry at the wound's movement.

Ow. Ow. Ow! The puncture wounds on her face, neck, belly and flanks were bee-stings compared to her tormenting haunch. It felt like fire-ants were biting into it over and over.

"They fought against three wolves and lived? That's awesome," Rainpaw whispered, and Jadestar glared at her daughter.

"It is not awesome to risk your life. Besides, they might not even live!"

"How many wolves were there again?" Sootface spoke up loudly, his tone of voice taunting.

"And how did you climb a tree with injuries like those?"

He thinks we're lying. And, well, in a lot of ways we are.

"Want me to prove it?" Crescentsky challenged, standing up with her one supporting hind-paw nearly buckling beneath her.

They won't make me do it. Great Starclan, would they? Apprehension shot through her.

"That won't be necessary," Lagoonstripe assured.

"There was three wolves." Tinyflame admitted truthfully, her voice ringing out over the assembled cats.

Pepperpelt lifted her tail, green eyes sparking with false pretense.

"After Oatkit and I were safely perched up a tree, I watched the wolves from above. We all did. I saw one nearly step over the barrier, and another one pull it back." Her blue eyes were accusatory.

"So I know for a fact that there was two, but I simply don't believe that there was three." The speckled grey she-cat turned up her nose.

"The two of you couldn't have escaped if there was. Some cat is lying, and the other is covering her tracks."

A/N:

Q1: Do you like longer or shorter chapters?   under 10 minutes to read, or more towards 30?

Q2: On that note, would it have been better to split this chapter into 2? Was it too long?