Freezing water soaked Volebriar's belly fur as she crouched in the snow. The weasel's black-tipped tail was all that made it stand out in the snow. The slim creature slunk through the snow, unaware of her presence. Volebriar crept after it. She tread lightly so that the snow wouldn't crunch too loudly underneath her paws. She had killed a weasel once, and she knew that could do it again. This time, she was determined to get out of the fight without a scratch.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a group of DuskClan warriors patrolling along the river's edge. Volebriar shoved down the wave of anger that rose within her as thoughts of last night's Gathering came to mind.
Wildstar was dead.
The old tom had passed quietly in his sleep according to Pigeonheart. His benevolence and generosity had made him a great leader, and by extension, made DuskClan a great Clan.
Heavystar took his place with Spiderstep as his deputy.
Heavystar was known for his ruthlessness and skill in battle. Even the mere sight of him was intimidating. He was huge, and his long fur only made him appear larger. He had big paws and long claws to match the rest of his body. Spiderstep was more like Wildstar than she was like Heavystar. She was quiet and knew when enough was enough. She would likely keep Heavystar out of a lot of unnecessary trouble.
DuskClan had declared war on ShiningClan.
No matter how Ivystar pleaded, Heavystar wouldn't budge. He was determined to fight ShiningClan over the "lies" that they had told about the rogues posing as ShiningClan cats and intruding on DuskClan territory. On top of that, he accused Ivystar of threatening his Clan at a previous Gathering by saying that he would do whatever it took to make DuskClan respect ShiningClan again.
The weasel froze in its tracks, as did Volebriar's body and mind. Its little, round ears swiveled about as if listening for something. It had been alerted to her presence. If she wanted to catch it, she had to do it quickly.
Cold wind whipped at her face and drowned out any other sounds as she tore towards the weasel. The rodent still hadn't moved, and its beady black eyes were now fixed on the sky.
What could it be looking at?
The sudden threat of danger made Volebriar skid to a sudden halt. The spray of snow that was kicked up by her paws spattered over the weasel, finally alerting it to her presence. It made an odd, chattering noise before tearing off into the shelter of the woods.
Volebriar straightened, shaking snow from her pelt.
"What scared it so much that it didn't notice me until I was a whisker's length away?" she thought aloud.
She got her answer in the form of an earsplitting shriek, the sound of beating wings, and thorn-sharp talons burying themselves in her shoulders.
She writhed in pain and let out a pained yowl. The motion only made the reddish-brown eagle above her tighten its grip. Its massive wings continued to flap wildly, giving her ears a vicious beating.
She reared up on her hind legs in an attempt to shake the bird off of her back. This only lifted her higher into the air. Her paws were pulled out of the snow. Volebriar wailed for help and flailed her about in the empty air. The eagle screeched as if it were telling her to stay still.
This is it. This is how I die.
A sudden, sharp pain in one of her hind legs tore her out of her panicked daze. The eagle gave a sharp cry, its golden eyes now fixed on something below them. Following its gaze, Volebriar was relieved to see Otterpelt latched onto her back-right leg. Her mother's yellow eyes were narrowed in a fierce glare, and her pupils were angry black slits.
The extra weight brought the eagle closer to the ground. Its talons had slackened enough so that Volebriar could finally wriggle free. She landed on three paws next to Otterpelt in the snow. She gingerly held her newly injured leg above the ground. The eagle took off with a pained cry. Volebriar had caught it just below its left wing with her wildly flailing claws, and it now flew with an odd rhythm. She watched it awkwardly soar away.
"Otterpelt, what happened?"
They turned. Roselight was bounding towards them, Sunstorm following at a slightly slower pace.
"Volebriar almost got carried off by an eagle," Otterpelt answered as they drew nearer.
Roselight's pinkish eyes turned on her.
"I'm fine," Volebriar rushed before the older warrior could say anything. "It just took a clump of fur out of my shoulder, nothing more. You did more damage than it did, Otterpelt."
Otterpelt blinked and looked at her bleeding hind leg. She gasped and her eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you…"
"You should go and see Sheepnose," Sunstorm said. His advice was quickly followed by a fit of painful-sounding coughing.
Roselight scoffed. "You're one to talk."
"You're both going to the medicine den right now," Otterpelt chided.
Volebriar turned. She could still see the wounded eagle in the distance, but only faintly. It would make an easy catch since it couldn't fly straight anymore. If only it had stayed.