Houndleg was in trouble. Big trouble.
And there was only two things he knew for certain.
One. He was in complete agony.
Two. StarClan was not watching over him.
If they were? They wouldn't let this happen.
No.
It was night time, and there was an intruder in his Clan's territory.
A she-cat. Silver tabby fur shining like the moon. Her eyes the perfect shade of emerald blue.
A rogue. And something about her was very vaguely wrong.
Perhaps in the odd way that her limbs seemed too slender. Her belly too thin. Her pupils too narrow.
"Hello there" She murmured softly, voice dripping like rich honey.
Despite her abnormal appearance, the moment she spoke Houndleg had a sudden urge to do as she willed. He'd follow her to the end. Forever.
Another fraction of his being told him to run.
He didn't flee. He couldn't. She was on ShadowClan territory and she needed to leave.
"Why are you here?" Houndleg bared his teeth and let out a raspy snarl. His gravelly voice didn't match his soft, dark fur and warm amber eyes nor his matching personality. The kits loved to play with his plumed tail, and he just couldn't say no to their pleading eyes.
"I am here to speak to you, darling." She replied with a purr. The stranger slunk forwards to run her tail around his snout.
Houndleg let out a warning growl, stumbling backwards. "Stay back, rogue." The word was toxic on his tongue. Burning and bubbling like acid.
She blinked.
"Are you alone?"
The rogue's question caught him off guard.
"Yes. But that doesn't mean I won't chase you out of here like the fox you are!" His reply was short, angry. Cold.
"Good."
The rogue struck.
He couldn't fight back.
He was in pain.
The she-cat licked at the neat bite marks she had left on the base of his neck.
He was paralyzed, unable to move. Unable to fight back.
As his vision blurred and darkened, the rogue disappeared into the forest.
Blood loss.
The last thought he had before plunging into unconsciousness was the certainty of death.
When he woke up, he could- He didn't know what he could do.
Houndleg was lying in the medicine den. The pain was gone. All that was left was neat, clean scars. A perfect pair of marks in the shape of fangs.
And he could hear.
Well, he always could hear as well as any cat. But now? Now he could hear the heartbeats. Each tapping pulse of the medicine cat, his aunt Batwater.
Every breath of the slumbering cats came to them.
The slightly faster thump of two cats standing guard outside camp.
Hightened scent could tell him that the guards were the deputy Frozenbranch and his sister, Blackflower.
It was nighttime. But from the claw-mark of a moon that slit across the sky, he knew it was a day later.
I slept through the day? He thought lazily. His stretch was silent and slow.
A strong feeling of wanderlust overtook him and he slipped outside. He could hear his Clanmates. Every shift and turn in their nests.
He lingered at the entrance. They started talking. About him.
"No injuries. Just.. Out. There's that weird scar too. Poison? " Frozenbranch was bent close to his sister. His tail draped over hers.
"No.. No." Blackflower whispered back. " Batwater said it was blood loss."
He slithered past them. It wasnt difficult to sneak, just putting one paw down followed by another.
He was expecting a nice, quiet walk.
He wasn't expecting the rogue.
She wasn't expecting him either.
The tabby grimaced when she saw him. Before he hadn't been able to pick up her scent. Now it was there. Metalic and harsh.
Her words were cold, lowered to a mutter.
"You aren't supposed to be alive."