Hello again! I am back! And here is the next chapter: Willowpelt.
I don't really know how she died, but supposedly it was from a badger attack between The Darkest Hour and Midnight. If you have proof that it wasn't, please tell me. Otherwise… I am writing about a badger attack.
"Firestar, Firestar!"
Mousefur burst through the gorse barrier, her brown tail fluffed up. Willowpelt glanced up from the mouse she was eating and stared at the older warrior. The pale furred she-cat blinked.
"You're yowling loud enough to scare away all the prey between here and Highstones, Mousefur. What is it?"
Almost before Willowpelt had finished speaking, Mousefur rounded on her, gasping for breath. "Badgers! They've come! They attacked me!"
Willowpelt drew back, shocked. "Badgers? You're lucky that you escaped! Foul creatures." She wrinkled her nose. "Good thing Spiderpaw wasn't with you. Your apprentice might not have been able to outrun an angry badger."
"One almost got me! It swiped with a huge hairy forepaw."
A noise made Mousefur stop and turn around. Firestar was padding from his den. The ThunderClan leader saw Mousefur and ran over with Sandstorm and Graystripe on his heels.
"Mousefur? What's the matter?" The rusty colored tom cocked his head to one side.
Mousefur hissed. "Badgers! I was out hunting and they crashed into me!"
Sandstorm hissed, and Graystripe unsheathed his claws. Firestar signaled with his tail for them to remain still. "How close to camp are they?" he questioned the panting she-cat.
"Close enough! Well… less than half the distance from here to Sunningrocks."
Firestar growled deep in his throat. "That's bad. How many? From what you're saying, it sounds like there are more than one."
Mousefur shuddered. "At least three, I think. Maybe four. Enough that you'll need to send many cats."
The leader nodded. "Graystripe, Sandstorm. Round up some cats – no apprentices, though. Strong warriors. Get Rainwhisker, Sorrelpaw and Squirrelpaw to help the queens, elders and kits in case the badgers come here."
"We won't let them come here!" Willowpelt put in, stepping up to Mousefur's side.
Firestar swiveled his head around to look at her. "Yes. Willowpelt, you go with Sandstorm's group."
Willowpelt dipped her head in acknowledgement, and followed Sandstorm as the pale ginger she-cat assembled Dustpelt, Brackenfur, Brambleclaw and Sootfur. Graystripe padded over to her with his patrol, made up of Cloudtail, Brightheart and Goldenflower. Firestar came up with Mousefur after a minute.
"Mousefur is going to show us where the badgers are," he meowed firmly. He sounded very calm. Willowpelt was surprised; after all, badgers were attacking and could be at the camp entrance at any moment. The tom flicked his tail. "Come on, Mousefur."
The wiry brown she-cat nodded, her fur laying flat on her shoulders again, and ran towards the gorse tunnel. The rest of the patrol followed her. Willowpelt shot a glance back at the camp to see the apprentices speaking to the elders and queens about the badgers. Good. At least the rest of ThunderClan is warned now.
The scents of the forest flooded over her as she bounded between the trees after the rest of her Clan. Despite knowing that she was going off to fight, the day seemed bright and cheerful. The woods were full of prey, the sun was strong, and-
Willowpelt gasped and tripped over a tree root. She tumbled forward, crashing into Cloudtail. "Watch it!" the white warrior snapped.
"Sorry," muttered Willowpelt, licking her ruffled chest fur.
"Hurry," Cloudtail sighed, but a friendly gleam was in his ice blue eyes. "Or they'll have finished the fight without us."
Willowpelt blinked gratefully and leaped ahead, pelting through the forest. She dimly noticed a foul scent becoming clearer, a harsh musky odor. It smelled like-
"Badger!"
Willowpelt's ears pricked up as she heard Goldenflower cry out. She sped ahead with Cloudtail right behind her, panting. The she-cat staggered into a clearing where the ThunderClan cats stood in a circle, surrounding five huge shapes in the middle.
There they were. Badgers.
The creatures grunted and shifted their giant black and white paws, searching for the first cat to attack. Sandstorm and Dustpelt snarled at them, extending their claws. One of the badgers stepped towards them.
Suddenly there was an unspoken signal and cats and badgers ran forward. The clearing erupted into a battle, and the patrol leaped into the midst of it. Willowpelt and Cloudtail stopped and looked at each other.
"Come on," Willowpelt hissed. "We don't need badgers on ThunderClan territory."
Cloudtail spat at the lumbering creatures in agreement. The two cats jumped into the fight.
Willowpelt crouched down and sprang at a badger across the grassy area. It was trying to dislodge Brambleclaw from its shoulder; the dark brown tabby had sunk his teeth into the coarse fur. Willowpelt yowled and ran in front of the animal, distracting it. As the badger clumsily tried to swipe at her, Brambleclaw slashed its large muzzle. Blood stung the badger's beady eyes and it howled. Willowpelt hissed and clawed at the creature's side, the pale queen's talons ripping through the rough pelt.
Finally the badger growled and shook Brambleclaw violently off. The tom lay winded for a heartbeat, then leaped up and side by side with Willowpelt drove the badger to the edge of the clearing. It hesitated for a moment, then turned and fled at a slash from Willowpelt.
"Nice job," panted Brambleclaw. He had a cut on his flank, but he ignored the pain.
Willowpelt tapped his side with her tail. "You too."
Brambleclaw nodded his thanks and glanced up just as a badger loomed over him. He thrust his claws up into the creature's face. Brightheart came running to help, and Willowpelt left them to fight the leering animal.
Suddenly the she-cat's attention was drawn across the clearing to a lone badger standing over a clump of ragged fur. The creature's fur was stained with red, but it still moved with powerful motions. Willowpelt tried to glimpse what it was doing, but a badger and cat tussling blocked her view for a second. Then the skirmish moved away and Willowpelt could clearly see the unmoving cat. A soundless yowl left her.
Sootfur!
The pale furred queen snarled and jumped to the gray tom's side. He lay still, but Willowpelt could she him breathing faintly. A gash in his side oozed blood, and his limbs twitched.
"Sootfur! Sootfur!" The she-cat frantically licked his flank.
The warrior looked up at the sound of his name. "Willowpelt?" He closed his eyes again despairingly.
A growl made Willowpelt spin around. The badger was staring at her menacingly. The she-cat narrowed her eyes. "Go away, you mouse-brained piece of fox dung!" she spat.
The badger replied with a swipe. Willowpelt felt dull claws flinging her aside. She hit the ground and struggled to stand again, just as the badger loomed above Sootfur, ready to finish him off. Its claws gleamed in the bright sunlight.
"No!"
Willowpelt sprang at the badger's back with outstretched claws. The creature half-turned, surprised, then staggered back as the queen hit it with full force. Willowpelt clawed at the sneering face in fury. "Don't you dare hurt my son!"
Sootfur moaned. His cut had started bleeding even more, and his tail lashed the air.
"Some cat help Sootfur!" Willowpelt screeched. "He's hurt!" Not sure if any cat had heard her, she clung to the badger's back with all her strength. So far she was fine, but one of its wildly flailing paws was sure to hit her sometime. Tense, she dug her claws into the animal's flesh even further.
The badger howled and fell onto its back, crushing Willowpelt beneath it. She wheezed for air as the badger stood again, twisting around to glare at her. Vainly the queen kicked out with her hind legs. "Leave – go away!" she hissed through gritted teeth.
The badger grunted and stepped forward. It snapped its teeth angrily and lunged for her. Willowpelt yowled and reached up with claws to meet its muzzle.
The black and white head ducked, swerved under the talons. They came down, and the she-cat jerked away. She gasped in pain as the fangs connected in her tail, where her throat had been a heartbeat before.
Suddenly the badger lashed out with its claws, and Willowpelt screamed as those ripped through her fur. The creature loomed over her, and stamped down on her belly hard with a huge paw, tearing a gash in her soft underbelly.
A golden-brown shape flew through the air – Brackenfur.
The badger howled in shock as the furious tom landed and slashed at its side. It crouched down, blindly stabbing out a taloned paw. The claw hit Willowpelt in the flank, and she cried out as scarlet ran from her many wounds.
Dimly the queen saw Sandstorm and Firestar, dragging Sootfur away to safety, and she felt a dull relief. But now black flame was licking at the edge of her vision, and she couldn't move as the badger threw Brackenfur off and stood over her once more.
Black and white crashed down to her head, filling her sight. Coarse fur was all around, and slashing claws. Willowpelt jerked once, and lay still. The two contrasting colors were all around, each trying to cover her mind.
Then the white was gone, and black flooded everything.
Another cat died… this time because of the badgers… grr…
You get to vote for the next cats I do! The choices are Larchkit/Hollykit, Molepaw, Yellowfang, Stonefur, Lionheart, Feathertail, Sootfur and Shrewpaw. Also, if you have any other suggestions, tell me. Please review!!!
