Injured;
Through the murk and mire of the dark forest, Tigerstar prowled. His paws made no sound against the mossy and perpetually damp forest floor. Occasionally the wind would sigh through the gnarled branches of the looming trees, a sad and mournful sound, but apart from that, it was silent.
Tigerstar paused, his ears swiveling to locate the sound of scurrying feet that had eluded him for much of today. His whiskers twitched with impatience as the scent of mouse flooded his nose.
Though the cats of The Place of No Stars felt no hunger, Tigerstar missed the elation of bringing down elusive prey; the feel of teeth sinking through soft flesh and bone was intoxicating. His tongue swept across his mouth hungrily. He could almost taste the coppery tang of freshly spilled blood.
His head shot up as the soft crack of a twig sounded. He hunkered down, his tail lashing once before he held it still. He crept forward, pawstep by pawstep until the the tiny creature was in sight.
The mouse was poised upright, running it's paws over it's face and whiskers. An ethereal glow lit it's coat. The dark forest housed no prey, but now and then, a creature from Starclan would wander into the forest by chance. It was a rare occurrence, and Tigerstar was not going to give up the chance to hunt so easily.
The hardened muscles in his back legs bunched then rippled as he sprang. The mouse gave a startled squeak of terror but luck was on its side. Tigerstar had miscalculated the distance. He was out of practice from the time he had spent in this accursed forest. His pounce landed short, instead taking him into patch of snarled brambles. He landed heavily, the thorns of the bush digging into his belly.
His vision went white as pain tore at his stomach, searing and debilitating. He squeezed his eyes tightly, fighting off visions of his final moments in the physical world. The tiny cat, Scourge, his smug grin as he raked his claws down Tigerstar's belly. The white hot pain, the smell of blood; blood he had not spilled. And the sickening feeling of his insides slithering from his body, hitting the forest floor, still steaming in the cool air.
Tigerstar's jaws parted in a wild screech of pain as he rolled from the briars that trapped him. He lay stunned on the dark forest's wet ground, the cool of the moss seeping into his belly, quashing the pain and the nausea.
After a moment, he rolled over on to his side, willing himself to check the damage. He snarled, looking down to find that his stomach was intact. A few small puncture wounds dotted the area to the right of his scar, leaking a tiny amount of blood.
He released his breath- unaware that he had been holding it- and stood shakily. He scanned the area for the mouse, ready to wreck vengeance on the wretched creature. He caught sight of the end of it's tail disappearing into the white fog that marked the boundaries between Starclan and The Place of no Stars.
The underbrush behind his rustled and he wheeled around, lip curled. It was only Darkstripe, emerging from the gloom before him. He forced himself to relax the fur along his neck and back, unwilling to show Darkstripe the fear that had momentarily overtaken him.
"What is it, Darkstripe?" he demanded, eyeing the only tom that had truly followed him from Thunderclan.
Darkstripe ducked his head respectfully, mumbling to the forest floor, "Training is about to begin. Mapleshade said to look for you. If you're not busy..."
Tigerclaw shook his broad head and stalked forward, "No. I'm going. Just got caught up in something..."
He worked his claws into the soil below. He would went his frustrations on the trainees. It would feel good to inflict some pain. He glanced over his shoulder once more. Darkstripe was padding after him quickly to keep up, but he was more interested in the glowing mist on the horizon. Next time, he decided, next time nothing would escape his claws.