Author's Note: So here's our third chapter from Blazewing's POV, and of course the first chapter taking place in the Falling of the Leaves! They'll be a few surprises in store for this chapter… hopefully anyway. Don't forget to vote for your favourite tribute in the poll on my profile page: in the end, it'll be your choice which determines the victor of the Falling of the Leaves.
Thanks for reviews from Keeralie Starflight, Luna's Song and Lunasong and thatcrazycat12!
Oh yes… I forgot, just a quick warning, this chapter is the first one that contains some explicit language. I'll probably edit the chapter later on, but it just kinda seemed like the thing some of the cats would say if they where in they were faced with certain death if they didn't win. And I know that the warrior cats don't really know about swearing, but it's a warriors and hunger games crossover, so I think I'm allowed to alter the content a bit.
Remember to keep voting for who you want to win.
Blazewing's POV:
As Holly's nonchalant and silky voice echoes out, signalling the beginning of The Falling of the Leaves, Blazewing had already made his choice. And that was that he wasn't going to fight. Not yet anyway. It was too risky. His decision was made, and so when the furious and snarling cats leapt off the podiums, their fangs poised and ready to fight, Blazewing dashed off in the other direction. Away from the blood-bath, back towards the way he had come. Turning left and right, he noticed that many of the other tributes had fled as well. Many of them he did not recognise: one of them he did. He wasn't mistaken. It was Twilightfur, the attractive RiverClan she-cat. Instantly, thoughts of what had happened a few minutes ago came to mind, but he pushed them away. You need to concentrate Blazewing. Concentrate… oh shit.
He stopped, eyes wide with horror; he turned round so his tail was facing the way he had decided to run. I forgot- me and Runningsong are allies! And she hadn't fled like him. She must have decided to fight. Damn it! He seethed internally. I'll have to go back! Still gritting his teeth in frustration, the tom turned tail and dashed as fast as he could back to the screeches and unsheathed claws glinting in the sun. Hoping no one would notice his approach and attack, he ducked straight behind one of the huge boulders the tributes had had to stand on. It was complete and utter chaos. He watched as clan-mate turned on clan-mate. Many cats already lay dead: their blood flowing freely onto the grass. He had to close his eyes when he saw some of the corpses. Many of the cats' throats had been completely ripped apart; the most horrific of deaths was a small apprentice from WindClan he hadn't seen in the training and interviews. Her head had been completely separated form the neck. He looked away… and then that was when he saw her. Runningsong was locked in a flurry of fur with a ShadowClan tom- the one who had announced his love for one of the she-cats in his interview. At that moment, he had no idea who was winning. He didn't really care. All he knew was that he had to help his ally.
"Runningsong!" he yelled, dashing through the crowd of battling cats. The she-cat looked away for just a second; that was enough for the tom. He shot forward and pinned her, obviously not noticing Blazewing's voice. Blazewing let out a yowl and kicked out with his back legs. It sent the tom flying across the grass.
But he clearly hadn't finished. "You don't get away that easily!" he yowled. Blazewing realised the threat and jumped in front of Runningsong, who was still tired from the previous tussle. He met him in the middle, but this time the ShadowClan male's leap overwhelmed Blazewing's strength. He fell onto his back with his apponent snapping at his belly, trying to get a good grip.
But he used Thorntooth's momentum against him. He pushed back in a roll so that the ShadowClan tom once again went flying off in the other direction. He got to his paws and leapt into a fighting stance, ready to fend of the next attack. But it was then that a second ShadowClan she-cat, the one who had received a 10, appeared from seemingly nowhere. She whispered something angrily into his ear, and his eyes widened with fear. Confused, Blazewing watched as the pair disappeared into the other direction, away from the blood-bath. It gave him time to turn around. "You alright?" he hissed at Runingsong.
Blood was dripping form her jay, but she leapt up, her fur ruffled. "I'm fine." She snapped, turning her head. The fighting was almost over. "For StarClan's sake, Blazewing, let's get out of here."
He nodded, and beside her they dashed back of in the direction he had intended to go in the first place. The boulders were unfamiliar surface: he was used to moving across soft grass and tree-branches. He ignored the soreness starting to rub in his pads as they moved along. It had long ago reached noon, and in the distance he swore he could still hear the battle screeches echoing through the air from the blood-bath. He shivered. He had never been in a fight so... intense. Really, though he knew he would be battling to the death with his opponents, he had never imagined such a merciless onslaught of claws and bared teeth.
After a few minutes of running, Blazewing realised both of them were panting hard. He stopped himself and sat down, allowing his tail to curl neatly over his paws. "Runningsong," he rasped. "Stop."
She didn't need to be asked twice. The rain was still soaking through the two cat's fur, and as she began to speak it was hard to hear her over the roaring wind. "I'm sorry." She muttered, her voice filled with contempt.
His ears pricked up, and he turned to face her. "What? Why?"
"For not looking to see what you were doing first." She replied finally. "I endangered both of our lives by not holding up our agreement. We're in an alliance, and I should have-"
"It doesn't matter." He said shortly, not letting his eyes meet her's. "I should have checked about you as well." There were a few momentary seconds of silence, before he got back up again. "We need to set up camp. You go hunting and come back here in a hour. I'll have set up shelter around here by then."
She agreed wordlessly, and the last thing he heard from her before she disappeared into the landscape was two words. "Stay alive."
Almost as soon as the she-cat had left, he started to scout the area around the place he and Runningsong had stopped to catch their breath's. It was an area just under a rocky outcrop. It was the highest place he had seen in the arena so far, and he had to crane his head to see the top of the hillside. Not only that, but he could scent an overwhelming aroma of prey, and for the first time he discovered evidence of rabbit holes. Great, he whispered. Looks like this the arena favours WindClan. Though he had hunted rabbit's back home, he wasn't used to catching them out in the open plain. And I'll have to leap over these boulders.
As he began to scale the outcrop, he realised that the place would provide a barrier from rain coming in from the other side, and they could move to the other side if rain came in from the other. Now, he noticed that he was considerably dryer than he had been when running away from the blood-bath. It seems like a decent place to make camp. He decided. Almost self-consciously, he settled down and began to relax, but his eyes stayed open. He was sure that some of the cats would be out hunting their adversaries, and probably in a pack. The smaller groups would have to find a place to hide soon or they could be murdered by the stronger cats. Blazewing searched his thoughts, thinking of who could be in the group. Definitely Nightstalk, he shivered when remembering the lean muscles and the cocky smile plastered on her face. Probably Thorntooth... maybe he meant Nightstalk when he talked about the cat he liked in the interviews. Perhaps Ashstrike? When he thought about the grey tom, he discovered it was very probable. Though he was most certainly a solitary cat, he go the impression he would do anything he could to survive the Falling of the Leaves. And if that meant teaming up, he would do it. That means Moorslash, the cat he sticks around, is probably with them two. So, at the moment, the main competition is three toms and one she-cat. He glanced backwards, hoping Runningsong would be back soon. Somehow, he got the impression he wouldn't be able to fend off all four of them on his own.
He wasn't kept waiting. The mottled brown, olive she-cat appeared out of the mist a few seconds afterwards. Only one, plump rabbit lay in her jaws. She dropped it at Blazewing's paws. "You take first bite." She ordered.
His eyes narrowed. "Why-"
"I owe you," she interrupted, looking away. "You saved my life: therefore, you get to eat first."
Reluctantly, the tom took the prey in his jaws and bit off all of the head and half of the body. He nudged the rest over to Runningsong and she enjoyed the other part. After eating the food, Blazewing suddenly became acutely away of the dryness in his mouth. "Did you see any sign of water?" he asked.
The ThunderClan tom was disappointed when all he got was a shake of his head. He rested his head on his paws miserably. There were a few moments of silence before the female spoke again. "Is this our camp now, then?"
"Yes," he retorted, impatiently. "I'll keep watch."
"For what?"
"For other cats," he snorted. Then he turned to face her, his face dark. "And other creatures. You never know what could be lurking in this place. Foxes, badgers, anything."
Runningsong nodded wordlessly, and she curled into a ball, clearly tired from the day's events. All Blazewing could hear was the screech of owls in the moonlight and the soft purr of the she-cat as she fell asleep. Though his own tiredness lulled him he forced himself to stay awake: anything could happen.
And that was when he heard the shriek.
Immediately, he dropped into a defensive pose. His eyes darted around in the darkness, trying to identify the origin of the sound. It came again, but this time with the cold echo of sick laughter. Then Blazewing realised what it was. It was the sound of a distressed cat. There was a final dull shout, before it was drowned out by the calls of other cats. Blazewing eyes widened with a jolt. The pack! They must have just made their first kill!
Then he heard a voice. "Did you hear her?" It was Nightstalk. He could practically see the cold smirk on her face. She began to imitate the sound of the cat she had evidently just killed.
A masculine voice. "Now wasn't that just a bit ruthless? Even for you?" Thorntooth. So I was right. Both ShadowClan cats have teamed up.
There was a hiss. "This the Falling of the Leaves." That wasn't Nightstalk! I was right again! It was the gravelly tone of Ashstrike. "No one won it by being kind."
"He's right; for once." The ShadowClan she-cat replied. "Besides," there was a horrible sound, ike claws being dragged down stone, "don't you find killing fun?"
There was no answer. Blazewing felt like being sick. Fun? He choked. That's… hardly how I would describe. She enjoy's killing? What, does she drink blood or something? Somehow, it wasn't much strain on his mind to imagine it. "We'll see if there's anyone on the other side of this hill." Someone said. That was Moorslash: Ashstrike's friend. The other side of the outcrop? Blazewing wondered, where's that… oh crap. Oh crap crap crap. We're in trouble.
His eyes widened with horror; he turned around and nudged Runningsong awake urgently. He spoke as quietly as he could, hoping not to alert Nightstalk's group of their presence. "Wake up, oh StarClan wake up!"
"Wha- what is it?" she mumbled, turning over. Come on! He urged. Every part of his body, from the top of his head to the tip of his tail was tensing up in panic. They would see them soon! Please!
"Runningsong," he hissed. "The pack are here! You need to get up!" As soon as he uttered these words, she leapt up, claws unsheathed and teeth bared.
Just as he said this, the group turned the corner, and Nightstalk's eyes met his.
Silence-
"Get them!"
CLIFFHANGER.
