YAY CHAPTER TWO! And this time it's a bit longer than the rest. Hope you like it, sorry if it is a bit rushed and all- but yeah...
Chapter Two
A loud rumble rang in the distance. Birchthorn turned to see many ShadowClan cats burst into the clearing. Soon the clearing was full of cat fighting and hissing.
A lump jumped on Birchthorn's back. He turned to see Wavepaw attacking him. He looked into her sea-blue eyes.
"I don't want to fight you." He whispered. At gatherings he, Smokepaw, Wavepaw, and Whitestone had always been good friends.
She looked into his eyes, full of sorrow, sheathed her claws and backed away into the crowd of cats.
Birchthorn scanned the clearing and saw Firestar was defending the Elder Den. There were two large cats fighting against him. Birchthorn led out a screech of fury and leapt at one of the cats. He griped the cat's shoulder tightly and raked his face. The cat turned and recognized this cat it was Oakfur.
Oakfur flipped backwards and Birchthorn led out a yowl of pain. He quickly jumped up but it was to late. Oakfur raked a claw across his muzzle. Birchthorn yowled as sticky red blood ran down his face.
Oakfur leapt on top of him and clawed him. Soon Oakfur took Birchthorn's throat in his jaws and bit down, hard. Birchthorn started to go limp with exhaustion. He could no longer hear the cries of battle. He could feel his senses fading, fading, and blackness.
He fell to the ground hard with a thud, not like he could hear it. He knew that he was on the border of the StarClan. Yet he knew that he must try, one last time.
With all the strength in his body he heaved upward. Oakfur, who was standing over him with pride, flipped backwards and hit the ground.
Birchthorn wasn't facing the entrance to the hollow, but his attacker was.
Oakfur was about to jump at him, but stopped short. His eyes were fixed on the entrance. He was frozen in spot. Birchthorn turned to see what Oakfur was so intently looking at. Birchthorn gasped in surprise. Many WindClaners streamed down to hollow hissing and spiting.
Birchthorn let out a sigh of relief as one of them pined Oakfur to the ground. He let himself fall to the ground and let Jaypaw tend to him.
Birchthorn soon fell unconscious with the blood loss and was coved with blackness in the middle of the battle.
A loud yowl woke him up.
"Retreat, retreat!" yowled Blackstar. The entire ShadowClan raced up to hollow running back toward their camp.
Birchthorn sat up stiffly. His body was caked with cobwebs and dried blood. All around him cats were hoisting themselves up. The hollow was destroyed and blood and bits of fur were scattered everywhere.
Firestar nodded his thanks to Onestar and the WindClan cats walked back to their territory.
Firestar scanned the clearing to see which cats were able to walk. His eyes landed on Birchthorn.
"Birchthorn, choose another cat that wasn't hurt to badly and see if were all accounted for." Mewed Firestar as he licked a torn claw. Birchthorn nodded and chose Dustpelt. The two cats walked among the cats and took notice. They stopped at each one to see their condition.
The first cat they came to was Brambleclaw. He was badly hurt and his eyes were closed. Birchthorn leaned in further and saw the steady rise and fall of his chest.
"Brambleclaw, can you move, get up." Asked Birchthorn. Brambleclaw didn't answer. Birchthorn's heart raced with fear.
"Leafpool!" he called. Leafpool hurried over.
Leafpool quickly looked over him. Her eyes clouded with fear.
"Is…is he going to be okay?" asked Dustpelt. Leafpool turned to him, her expression grim.
"I don't know. He's in the paws of the StarClan now. Only time will tell." She whispered.
Leafpool went back to work on the fallen deputy. Dustpelt and Birchthorn moved on. Most everyone was okay, although they all needed to see Leafpool. Then they came to Longtail.
Longtail's pelt was ripped and the tear on his ear was bleeding and bigger, but other than that he was okay.
"Longtail, are you hurt." Asked Birchthorn. Longtail turned to him.
"Yes, I'm okay. But can you find Mousefur. We were separated in the fight and I want to know if she's okay." Mewed Longtail. Dustpelt nodded.
"Come on Birchthorn, let's look for Mousefur." Mewed Dustpelt. Birchthorn nodded and followed Dustpelt. They searched the camp until they found a mound of dusty brown fur. Mousefur.
She was half hidden in a mound of rocks.
"M…M…Mousefur?" called Birchthorn. She didn't answer. The two toms ran over to Mousefur. There was a long gash on Mousefur's throat. Blood was still pouring out of it. Birchthorn pushed his muzzle into her fur. He leapt back instantly. Mousefur's pelt was ice cold.
"She's dead." Choked Birchthorn. He looked at Dustpelt to see his eyes glazed over with sadness and loss.
Birchthorn waved his tail in front of Dustpelt's face. He didn't move. Birchthorn could tell that he was in a deep daze.
"Dustpelt, are you okay?" asked Birchthorn.
"Wh… ah ye…yes. Come on what are you standing around for. Bring Mousefur's body out into the clearing." Snapped Dustpelt. Birchthorn stumbled back in surprise. Dustpelt wasn't usually short-tempered, especially when some cat died. Unless it was something else. He looked up to see Dustpelt giving him a narrowed glare. Birchthorn nodded and picked up Mousefur. He did what he was told and brought her body into the clearing.
Cats started to gather around her body. Firestar came over to Birchthorn.
"What happened?" asked Firestar.
"Longtail asked us to look for Mousefur. We found her in a small cave, dead." Mewed Birchthorn. Firstar's green eyes clouded with sadness.
"StarClan will accept her with pride." Mewed Firestar.
"Is everyone else okay?" asked Firestar.
"Yes, expect for Brambleclaw. Leafpool is with him now." Mewed Birchthorn. Firestar's eyes turned form sadness to pain. He bounded over to his deputy and daughter.
Birchthorn padded over to Mousefur. Longtail padded over. He didn't say anything to Birchthorn only pressed his fur against Mousefur's tattered pelt.
Birchthorn looked down at the blind elder. His unseeing eyes filled with salty tears. He was saying something to Mousefur that Birchthorn didn't catch. He only caught a few words, 'sweet', 'dear', and 'StarClan'.
Birchthorn blinked in surprise. Was the blind elder in love with Mousefur?
Birchthorn quickly pushed it away and sat down next to Spiderleg and sat vigil for the dead elder.
REVIEW PWEEZE? Birchthorn wants you to review.... and why would you make him sad?
