Warning: heavy blood warning and some dark themes going on in this chapter. Please do not read if you aren't comfortable with that kind of content.

       Cold white flakes fell from the sky, dappling the treetops and the forest below. Sparkfur's paws thrummed against the earth as she ran, trying not to think of the pain, the bitter cold helping by numbing everything. There was no way she had killed a Bray... But she wasn't moving... Why didn't she leave?! I don't know why it's bothering me, I didn't do anything wrong!

      The sounds of screeching cats seemed to intensify, filling her ears and pulling her out of her thoughts. A tabby cat hobbled past her, not bothering to look up, blood covering their tussled and clawed up pelt. She looked to where he was coming from: a small but steep rocky slope, bushes lining the top of the ridge. She could see the ears of cats peeking above brush as they leaped at each other, see blood spatter up and speckle the leaves of an oak.

She made out the shape of a russet tom clambering down the side of the slope toward her, blood dripping down his sides from a wound on his back.

      "Spark! What are you doing out here?" He blinked with yellow eyes as he realized who she was.

      "Cypressfoot? I'm here for the same reason as you." She tipped her head to the side, confused. Why would he ask? Isn't it obvious? There's a battle going on!

       He stiffened, tipping his head up.

      "Good," he nodded, relaxing, "and my name is Rust-- how many times do I have to tell you?" I don't have time to talk about names-- he'd better get used to being called Cypressfoot again, because nobody's going to call him such a ridiculous name like Rust once this whole rogue thing is over. Rust. What even is that?

      "I don't have time to chat, if you can't tell, there's a bloodbath going on and I need to go find Berryfoot right away."

      "He's preoccupied. Cecil had him pinned up just over by the bracken bushe--"

"Why didn't you help him?! He's going to get hurt!" Sparkfur snapped, eyes wide. I know Berryfoot can take Cecil... But he can't risk further injuries. He needs to stay fit!

"Because Cecil seemed to have it under control...?" the russet tom raised a brow, confused. He didn't understand me-- I'm not fighting with the rogues... But I think... I think he is!

"You're fighting on their side?! The whole point of you joining them was so that you could help DrizzleClan from being attacked by them!" She could just make out the fighting cats over the ridge,

"Spark, if you are--"

"Sparkfur. I can't believe you'd just leave your clan like that!"

"You don't understand." He growled, sheathing and unsheathing claws, pinning his ears back. "I loved Lambflower... I told her to wait for me to come back! But you know she's courting some--some... Bramble Den warrior?!" His teeth were bared. Sparkfur rolled her eyes, her own lip curled in a mixture of annoyance and anger.

"Oh, suck it up! If that's all it takes for you to be disloyal, then you shouldn't be a warrior in the first place!" Her fur was on end. Lambflower is a total thorn-in-the-paw, but there's no way she's the reason for him to leave the greatest clan in all of the forest!

"Yeah, I shouldn't be a warrior." He got down, ready to pounce at her. "That's why I'm a rebel." He leaped, but he had given her too much time to know he was going to attack her. She sidestepped.

"Listen, Cypresswhatever. I don't have time to toy around with you. I have somewhere to be," I really just need permission to let in twenty or so queens and all of their kits to our clan..., "and I've suddenly lost interest in wether or not you live-" the air was knocked out of her as he smashed into her. She looked up at him, eyes round. He had one heavy paw square on her chest to keep her from moving, his claws unsheathed and digging further into her pelt when she struggled.

"You don't understand. Lambflower--"

"This isn't about Lambflower! You should be loyal to your clan, no matter what!"

He raised his other paw, but before he could strike her, a huge dusky ginger tabby smashed into Rust. Sparkfur sat up dazed. Copper eyes glared up at her very briefly before turning back and locking on Cypressfoot.

"Traitor!" The full, loud voice of Waspclaw. Sparkfur got to her paws and quickly made her way up the path, stopping at the top of the ridge to watch Waspclaw tear into Cypressfoot, who defended himself poorly against the harsh attacks.

      Sparkfur swallowed and made her way through the shrubs that circled the small clearing. She slowly padded through the war-torn battle field, gently giving a single swipe of her tongue on a fallen DrizzleClan warrior's black furred cheek. Sparkfur tried to put a name to the black and white she-cat's round face.... Starlingnose? No- you were on a patrol with her once, remember? It's... Starling... Starlingwing.. That's right... Quickly, the warrior padded past her fallen comrade.

      I could've stopped all this bloodshed if I would've just come back here as soon as I'd heard from that dirt-clod Otis that there was a battle going down. I shouldn't have fought with him. StarClan, if you're real, please know that... That I'm sorry.

      She dodged past a pair of scrapping she-cats, wincing as she saw one's ear be ripped. She quickly maneuvered around the battle field until her eyes fell upon a deep fiery tabby pelt at the edge of the clearing. Berryfoot. He was fighting side-by-side with Frostheart, staying on the side that she was deaf in and flicking his tail against her flank when an attack was coming in. They were surrounded by rogues, but they were simply outnumbered.

      "Berryfoot!" Sparkfur called out, but her voice was drowned out by the screeches of battle. "Berryfoot!" She stumbled over a dead rogue, crashing to the ground. She looked up, seeing Berryfoot be struck on his back, knocking him to the ground as well. Green eyes met green eyes. A fire surged through her; a will to survive. A will to thrive. A will to fight.

      He had seen her, and she had seen him. She leaped in, wild golden fur raised and eyes narrow. She lashed her tail and took her place between Frostheart and Berryfoot.

      "Sparkfur-- you're wounded!" Frostheart gasped, avoiding a paw swipe from a gray tom.

      "Thank you for pointing out the obvious," Sparkfur blinked, "but.. it's not too bad."

      "Sparkfur, go back to camp. Asterfoot will give you herbs and--"

      "No, Berrryfoot!" the golden warrior struck her paw down, claws unsheathed, on top of the gray tom's head who had been swiping at Frostheart. "I need help protecting some queens; you told me if I could get the kits here we would take them in? Well, they're almost here, but I can't really get them to camp without--" she ducked, a blow scraping against her shoulder rather than gashing her. "Without your help!" She rushed out the last few words, ducking again for Berryfoot to cross over her as he whacked a pale ginger she-cat.

      "If we three leave, we'll have to pull the rest of the warriors out. We won't leave them to die. That means the rogues will take the clearing and the area surrounding it." Berryfoot murmured. Sparkfur cracked open her mouth.

      "We weren't going to win today anyway." Sparkfur murmured quietly, as she looked across the frost covered battle field. Dead and injured DrizzleClan cats were strewn about, left to bleed out and cover the field. Snow drifted slowly, landing in the dark blood and on the bodies. Berryfoot nodded slightly. He brushed his tail over Frostheart's thin tail, signaling to her. Sparkfur frowned, she didn't know that silent language Berryfoot and Frostheart seemed to share.

      "DrizzleClan!" Berryfoot's call sounded, and the warriors looked up wearily. "..Retreat!" He stood atop a fallen tree, Sparkfur standing at the side of it. The summoned cats went as soon as it had been called, some going back to retrieve bodies. Rogues nipped and swiped at their legs, mrowing with laughter as they yipped in pain, pulling along bodies of heavy cats. Their cries of victory sounded. Sparkfur looked back, her eyes wide with pain as she watched injured cats who couldn't escape try to defend themselves from rogues who just wouldn't stop.

      "We have to go back and help them!" She choked out, watching a dark grey DrizzleClan tom cry out and try to crawl away, scrabbling at the frozen ground. Sparkfur looked up desperately to Berryfoot, who was rooted to where he stood. "Berryfoot! They're being murdered!" She cried.

      "Let's go, Sparkfur, otherwise you'll be murdered too."

      "Berryfoot!" She cried his name again, ears back. She breathed in sharply, shutting her eyes tight as she heard the final cry of the dark gray tom.

      "Come on, Sparkfur!" He commanded. "We have queens to protect." He head butted her gently, but firmly to the hindquarters, pushing her onward.

      "But they're dying... They're our clanmates!"

      "Waspclaw is coming. He'll save them."

      "Waspclaw--"

      "Is a lot nicer than you think. He'll get cats out."

      "But what about that tom that just died? We could have gotten him out! We just watch him die!" She stumbled over a snow dusted rock.

      "We couldn't have done anything, you understand? But what we can do.." He nudged her agin, and she looked over at him with wide eyes. "..What we can do is go and bring those kits back to our clan." She nodded slowly, looking back over her shoulder as the padded away into the dense undergrowth. Waspclaw was limping away, two wounded warriors following close behind him. The rogues held their heads to the sky, cheering out into the foliage that blocked the cold day sky.

       The rogues had won the day.

AN

      Sorry if Sparky seems a little soft in this chapter, it's just how she's reacting to the situation.