Chapter 10: Hunting

She slipped stealthily through the night, her heart pounding in her ears, the knowledge of what she was about to do, of what she must do, bouncing back and forth in her brain. She knew where he was, had the opportunity, and had the courage; this was her last chance.

Over the last nights she had debated with herself, wondering whether this was truly the right thing to do, whether she should tell her brothers, and when it should happen. Now was the perfect night; he was all-alone, after all. The timing couldn't have been any better, either. Just a day before the gathering? She had lucked out.

The only hard part had been creeping past a tired Mousewhisker, which actually hadn't been difficult at all. He barely noticed as she brushed past him, not even mentioning the stench of determination mixed with anxiety. She took this as sign that, while she would be breaking the code, StarClan approved of what she was doing. StarClan's approval was what drove her forward.

It wasn't long until his scent, a sour smell to her, surrounded her. She followed her nose, trying to detect the most recent scent, which led her in a straight line. He must have been hunting.

Finally, she saw him, muttering to himself about something, "such a loss," she heard him say. She crept closer, eyes locked on only him; she cringed as she carelessly let her foot snap a twig. His head up, ears pricked, mouth open to catch any scents of prey. After a moment, he chuckled.

"You can come out from hiding, little mouse," he meowed playfully, though there was a dark edge to his voice. "You haven't been sentenced, yet." A heartbeat passed before the she-cat stepped out from the bushes, her green eyes glowing in the moonlight. Her tail twitched, itching to spring at the tom that had caused her so much grief. The gray tom in front of her held his chin high, eyes scanning over every hair on her pelt. He chuckled again.

"So, you came here for a reason," he observed. "Come to make a nice little speech about how what I'm doing is wrong?"

"I already told you, I don't intend to beg," she spat. There seemed to be a flash of fear in the other cat's eyes, just now sensing her anger, but he seemed to push it back. He fluffed out his fur somewhat, trying to make himself look bigger.

"Then leave. Your annoying meows and angry stench is scaring away everything from here to camp." He waved her away with his tail, turning his back to her and sniffing the ground. Fury burst through her heart at his superior tone.

"Mistake," she growled. Before he could turn to see what she was doing, she had already sprung, sinking her teeth deep into his neck. He yowled in pain, and attempted to turn, wanting to fight back. She felt his claws rake her pelt, but that only made her tighten her grasp. It wasn't long until he slowly started to give up, and soon he went limp in her grip. Making sure he would no longer move, she gently let go, her heart racing, blood pounding in her ears.

What have I done! She thought desperately, the realization of what she had just done finally hitting her. She could taste his blood in her mouth; even after she had spit it out, the taste was still lingering on her tongue. Breathing heavy, she sat down, glancing around nervously, hoping for a sign as to what she could do. She finally was able to see where they were; a small cliff over seeing a river that flowed down into WindClan's territory. Without a moment's hesitation she stood, nudging his still warm body to the edge and finally rolling him off of the cliff. She watched as the stream slowly drifted his body towards WindClan, sweeping him away. All evidence of his existence would be gone forever by sunhigh the next day.

Her eyes flickered up to the sky, specifically the moon hanging above her head. There was not a single cloud in sight, no storm or lightening to hint at a bad omen. She took a deep breath, satisfied.

"I did the right thing," she meowed to herself, closing her eyes. "This would have done more than hurt Squirrelflight if I allowed him to live. I was only abiding the warrior code."

Protecting the warrior code by breaking it. Sounds reasonable, the echo in her head, strangely in the sound of Sol's voice, hadn't shown up in some time. She ignored it, shaking her head. Backing up, she padded away towards camp, easily pushing the image of the fallen warrior out of her mind.

It's official: I suck :D!

I have no comment for this. Except, what's up with me and my cats hearing voices? Also, the she-cat is Hollyleaf, if you couldn't tell -barely specifies who its about- Tell me if you liked or didn't like, please! -prods review button-

Pawzeh: Yeah... it was confusing, huh? Sowwy ^^;;

Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors.