[ ♕ ]

The wave of cats took Sablefire by surprise. All she had to use at the spur of the moment were her instincts and reflexes. Quick as an adder, she leaped aside as one of the SmokeClan cats sprang at her. The tortoiseshell fur of the other cat bristled as her outstretched claws hit no more than air. Sablefire nipped the she-cat's paws, then ducked as another SmokeClan cat joined the battle.

He swung a paw at her head. She ducked swiftly, but the blow still glanced off her shoulder. Grunting in pain, the bengal she-cat's amber eyes grew fiery and she began to summon all the strength she had inside of her.

In just a heartbeat, she leaped up and grabbed the first she-cat's paw. She twisted it hard and heard the crunch of bone. The tortoiseshell wailed in agony and hopped away on three paws, whimpering. Sablefire turned to the second SmokeClan cat with a grunt of satisfaction.

She snapped down on his flank, but he threw her to the ground and launched himself on her. His jaws loomed for a moment over her throat, and she pinched her eyes shut, waiting.

But the killing bite didn't come. "I may have just been a rogue," the tomcat spat, relaxing his grip slightly, "but the warrior code says not to kill, and I'm a warrior now." He grabbed her by the scruff and tossed her aside.

The breath escaped Sablefire in a harsh whoosh. She scrambled to her paws and began to batter the tomcat with rapid-fire hits. As she landed blow after blow, she felt a spring of respect for the rogue warrior. He glared at her and swept under her, throwing her off balance. Gritting her teeth and rolling onto her stomach so she could jump to her paws, she felt the respect die slightly, but it was still there.

He had spared her. He didn't have to. But he said he was a warrior - and he went through with it.

Sablefire reared onto her hind legs and began to swipe furiously at him, unsheathing her claws to their fullest extent but trying to avoid the tomcat's eyes. He ran into her all of a sudden and she was bowled over again.

He stood over her for a moment, a triumphant look etched across his face. But then Sablefire reached out and swept his paws from under him. She dragged him down and started clawing his ears while still on the ground. His eyes grew wide with anger and fear. His claws scrabbled on the ground as he tried to get back up again.

His eyes lit up suddenly and he stopped trying to rise and began to tussle with her on the ground. The rolled over, a tornado of fur and blood. She struck a hectic blow on his shoulder and he lay there, stunned. He tried desperately to move his shoulder, but it looked limp.

Sablefire's mind whirled into focus. She remembered Ashenpoppy saying something to Acornrustle about a thing called 'pressure points' when she was a kit. She said you could be numbed temporarily if your attacker hit you in the right place. She marveled at him, amazed by her own brilliance, and wasn't looking around for any other possible attackers.

If she had looked up from her reverie, she would've seen the she-cat from before charging at her. But she stared at the fallen SmokeClan cat for a moment longer. The tortoiseshell's paw was limp and she winced with every step, but her gaze was hard and determined as she ran at the distracted Sablefire. She knocked Sablefire aside and began to kick viciously at her, sending tufts of golden fur flying everywhere.

The tomcat Sablefire had been battling fled as soon as the feeling returned to his paws, but Sablefire felt a spark of satisfaction as his tail disappeared through the trees to the supposed SmokeClan camp. She grabbed her current opponent's already-injured paw and shook it violently.

Blood pooled beneath Sablefire as the tortie sent a dashing blow across her lower chest, but she was intent on the battle moves of the she-cat in front of her. The she-cat let out a screech of fury and yanked her paw painfully away from her. The SmokeClan cat bounded haphazardly off, her tail between her legs.

Sablefire glanced around eagerly and licked blood from her paws. The battlefield was splattered with blood and fur. Both sides were bleeding badly and had long gashes on their bodies where claws had met their targets.

Rootwhisker was swaying on his paws, eyes glassy and unfocused. Bearpaw was battling two cats at once, his face twisted with intense concentration, and his back was to Wildfern, who was battling another cat on her side.

"Retreat!" Acornrustle's voice joined the SmokeClan patrol leader's voice, and both of the Clan cats broke apart. All the SmokeClan cats raced away, limping and looking more than a little bedraggled.

Rootwhisker has fallen to the ground. Wildfern rushed over to him, crying out in shock as she turned him over to expose a long gash along his belly. He was gushing blood, but Acornrustle was at his side in a flash, leaning over the pointed brown tomcat. "Get cobwebs!" the deputy yowled urgently to Wildfern, and she rushed off, looking rather dazed.

Bearpaw was still on his paws, though he looked like he had been ripped up thoroughly. Tufts of fur were missing from his pelt, which had gone stiff with dried blood. He looked distant, and his expression matched Grasshopperpaw's. Valleystar's son was blinking around at his surroundings like he was just waking up. Doetrail gingerly held her hind paw above the ground, but looked alright.

All of them were bleeding.

Sablefire rushed over to Bearpaw and pressed her muzzle to his cheek, a raspy purr welling in her throat at seeing him alive. Her paws were wet with blood, and she felt nauseated at all the mess around them. She closed her eyes and sank to her paws, retching dryly.

"Are you okay?" Bearpaw murmured in her ear, crouching down beside her. His body was warm, and she breathed in his scent deeply.

Sablefire shook her head faintly, not really hearing her brother. "I thought I was going to lose you again," she breathed, opening her eyes and gazing earnestly at her brother.

Bearpaw's eyes misted, and Sablefire's vision went slightly blurry. He reached out a paw to put on her shoulders. "I'm alive. I'm right here," he soothed. With a small sigh, he rose to his paws and urged Sablefire to come up with him.

Even just feeling his breath on her muzzle renewed her with energy. She got to her paws and felt her mind clear slightly. Wildfern was leaning anxiously over her friend, sticky remnants of cobweb still lacing her paw, while Acornrustle was burying himself with pressing the webs over Rootwhisker's wound.

Acornrustle straightened suddenly and looked around. "Sablefire," he meowed, his voice trembling. "Go back to camp and get any medicine cat. Hurry -" he lowered his voice and glanced at Wildfern, "- I'm not sure I can help Rootwhisker more than this. He's clinging onto life by the slightest strand of cobweb."

Sablefire's heart pounded and she nodded wordlessly. Her muscles felt strained and her stomach turned over uneasily, but she started at a trot down the trail. Her long strides eventually spasmed into a run, and she crashed through the undergrowth, not caring as prey scattered all around her. Rootwhisker's life was in her paws - if she didn't get to camp and fetch a medicine cat quick enough, he could die.

She was so concentrated on being quick, Sablefire didn't notice the large and fluffy form of a certain dark brown tabby tomcat in front of her. She crashed into him, and while he didn't seem to even feel it that much, she was sent sprawling.

"Sablefire," Battlewish meowed promptly, craning his neck to look down at her.

Sablefire's head was reeling, but she rose to her paws and lashed her tail angrily. "Rootwhisker is really badly hurt!" she yelped, repressing her urge to snap at him. It was her own fault for not watching for cats on the path, and Rootwhisker was more important at the moment.

Battlewish's eyes darkened and he nodded swiftly. "Lead the way," he growled, his flat-snouted face hard and determined. Sablefire set off at a brisk face, hoping against hope Rootwhisker was still alive. Her head was coming over with a headache, but she pushed aside her pain.

She glanced down at the path and saw she was leaving a trail of blood. Shivering slightly at the rather gruesome sight, she bunched her muscles closer and ran harder. Battlewish was on her heels, and if he was getting tired from the run like she, he wasn't showing any signs of it.

"This way!" Sablefire gasped as the scent of cat grew stronger. The Starfalls was crashing down onto the fallen willow and oak near them. They crashed into the clearing. The tang of blood was thick, and Rootwhisker was still on the ground.

Wildfern let out a wail of anguish. "He isn't breathing!" she cried, blinking rapidly. Sablefire felt dread fill her belly like a rock as Battlewish rushed forward to examine the tomcat. They couldn't lose warriors, not now! Surely that wouldn't be the last attack from SmokeClan. It was only the first. . . .