The heavy snowfall blinded her, and the wind threatened to trip her again. But she pressed through, her medicine vest full and wrapped tight against her chest and belly. She barely left space to breathe, but the vest stayed in place against the torrent she endured. She pushed on until she saw the support beams of the bridge, ensuring she was the leftmost she could be when she did. The ones above her were barely visible amidst the gray and snow, as was the sun and the sky. She spotted the blobbed shapes that made up her comrades, all running past her and disappearing downward. A tom bumped into her bags and stopped.

"I heard there were injuries," Blackleaf yelled. "What happened?"

"It's worse now," the tom said. "They rushed the underside in scores. Badger-hearted under cats are dragging us over the sides with them!"

He sprinted away and carefully followed others down stairs leading under the bridge. Blackleaf watched several others walk down them, their pace slowing immediately on descending. Her ears swiveled towards them; the echoing cries of her comrades floated past her. She allowed several more to pass her before treading towards the stairs. Looking down them, she spotted one of the massive gray-stone supports that held the bridge above the river. it spanned the whole width, blocking her view of the other bank. One paw on the frigid stairs nearly made her slip. Her claws shot out to let her descend. The ice pulsed throughout her body, but she kept going. When she reached the bottom, the snow no longer fell on her.

The underside was entirely made of silverwood with tiny, evenly-perforated holes that let in the wind and kept her cold, the flaking gray paint blending it all with the gray-stone supports. The paths spanning the length and width of the bridge were wide enough for a pair of twolegs. Thin silvertubes acted as ledges much too tall to protect anything shorter. The single path spanning in the center had a couple of wide areas, but stayed consistently narrow throughout the length of the bridge. There was no room to jump, maneuver, or make mistakes. But it did not stop the flurry of hisses and fur from nipping and clawing each other ahead of her. Right being the only direction, Blackleaf turned towards the center path, almost slipping from its corner. She struggled to slow her pace amidst the cries from the fighting, but made her way to one of the wider sections in the middle. Several of her comrades were laid down behind an ever-growing wall of them on the narrow path. Large wind gusts forced her to look away occasionally, only catching glimpses of the fighting. One of them let her see the river below; she closed her eyes and tried slowing her pounding heart. But she watched one of her falling comrades scream with its last breath before breaking against the icy bank and sliding into the river. struggling to look ahead, she reared up on another. UnderClan's line was facing off against her comrades, standing six wide against their five wide. They took swipes and shoved against the enemy's line, occasionally pushing one over the edge. The mass behind them continued hissing and beating against the path; she could feel the shakes from her spot. Some grappled others, rolling dangerously close to the unguarded edges.

One of her comrades approached, freshly clawed across her face. Blackleaf opened one of her pouches, but was stopped.

"I'm fine." She was fighting her crossed eyes. "Help Leaftail."

The warrior pushed past Blackleaf and ran towards the stairs. Along the way she stumbled, her tail dragging. She fell against the corner bar that held the platforms in place. She slipped over the side, no movements or sound as she slid down one of the gray-stone pillars and atop the river's ice. Blackleaf looked on through the platform's holes as the ice block carried her away.

"Over here!"

A voice snapped her from the scene. A tom waved her over, his paws covered in blood. He was huddled next to another. The long, tan fur almost unrecognizable against the fresh blood; the split tail made her heart skip. Stepping over the other wounded, she flung her bags open at the sight of her unconscious littermate.

"Don't let them closer!" Several of her comrades jumped over her to shore up their line, pushing and hissing against their approaching enemy. "Get the under cats off our side!"

She rolled him over; his other side was clear of blood, but his paws were soaked with it. Much of his bloodied fur had been sliced away, leaving his skin exposed to the wind. She was barely able to cover his shoulders, but she settled herself on top of him. She pushed the fur around to look for his injury.

"Help me move him!" She shouted.

One of the warriors left the line and pushed against his side. She nestled herself under her littermate best she could and lifted. His paws left red stains as they dragged behind him to the edge of the platform closest to the stairs. Stopping short of the right turn, she set him down and let a roll of fake-fur out of her bag. Her paws were shaking at the cries of her comrades. She unraveled it on the bite marks she found near his thigh. Blackleaf sheathed her claws and began licking away all the blood she could. But her eyes drifted up and to the fighting. The wind kept picking up, masking their hisses and insults every so often. Her comrades had merged into a giant mess, the ranks broken and UnderClan pushing forward. She watched several of them from both sides slip to the edges. One of theirs went over, her allies not quick enough to grab her. The Shadows took advantage and shoved forward, nearly knocking another off. Blackleaf released her muzzle, stained red, and slapped the fake-fur over the cleaner wound. She laid on them to add pressure while hastily wrapping them between his legs, occasionally ducking to let more of her comrades jump overhead to the fight.

Her heart pounded as she wrapped more layers.

"It's okay, It's okay." The fake-fur was quickly damp in blood. "It's okay, It's okay. I'm getting you out of—"

"Back defense!" a tom cried. "Down her quick!"

A lone she-cat leapt over the mass of her comrades and tumbled behind them. The formation was tackled by UnderClan's second wind, and none intercepted her. She ran to the end of the narrow platform and onto the larger one, quickly spotting her target to her right. Her tabby coat was hardly recognizable with a thin layer of mud covering it. Her whole face was stained red, nearly hiding the scars.

"She's near Leaftail!"

Her comrades still struggled to spare anyone to catch her. The she-cat charged; Blackleaf dropped the wraps and hid behind Leaftail. She jumped over his body and landed behind them, a sharp pain wrenching her tail. Blackleaf wrapped it under her legs. She did not hiss, but bore her teeth and approached slowly.

"Windstripe," Blackleaf whispered.

A lone warrior leapt from the stairs to her position. She reared up and let him slam into her, rolling onto her back and pushing him over her head and off the platform. Blackleaf's fur shot up, her paws collapsing under her weight.

"Please," she mewed. "Please don't—"

Windstripe charged and snapped, barely missing Blackleaf's paw as she was dragged away.

"Wait, take her alive." Her trembling voice was lost in the wind.

One of her comrades dragged Windstripe towards the edge of the platform. He forced her down under his weight and missed her neck, clamping down on her shoulder. She rolled over and shoved him off. She raked his chin with her hind claws.

A wind gust tossed the fake-fur wraps from Leaftail and over the side. Blackleaf pressed her body against the wound, paws still shaking at the fight.

"Not like this!" she cried in vain. "You can escape. We can try again."

The tom crashed down on her. He forced her to her belly and bit her neck. Windstripe slammed her head against his jaw. She twisted her chest around and clamped down on his nose. He hissed and lost his pin; she kicked him from the platform and watched him fail to pull himself up.

Another warrior leapt from the stairs onto her, sliding them towards Blackleaf. The two warriors traded blows pressed against her. Windstripe turned to and snapped at the medicine cat several times before giving up. A tom jumped over the pair and slammed into the fight, pushing them away. The tom clamped down on her neck. She hissed and flailed, flinging the tom from the platform screaming.

The other warrior cried out and bit Windstripe's neck. The she-cat hissed and kicked her away. The warrior recoiled, and Windstripe jabbed her belly several times. The Shadow cat's eyes faded in and out until they rested low. She stumbled to the edge of the platform. Another cat leapt down and grabbed her; Windstripe pushed both over the side.

The UnderClan warrior turned and jumped onto Blackleaf, wrapping her jaws around her neck. Her heart stopped when she felt the pressure; Windstripe's fangs were dull. The sharp ones left scratches as they were torn from her neck. Three Shadow warriors had pried her away from Blackleaf and pinned her.

"Stand down. Capture her!"

Blackleaf's voice was lost in the chaos. One of her comrades put all his weight on Windstripe's back. Another slammed her head into the platform while a third bit down on her neck. Her eyes shot open. She thrashed about and shook the one from her back. Arching her legs, she kicked him to the edge; the other warrior left her head to keep him from falling off. The third picked Windstripe up by the neck and started thrashing against her struggle.

"She's fallen! Retreat!"

The UnderClan line was pulling back. Blackleaf glanced in time to see one of theirs fall over the side. Her comrades were in pursuit, keeping their formation.

"Close…"

She focused back on Windstripe. Her mouth was limp and her head was bleeding. The two behind her were nowhere to be found; the third had an ugly scowl that made him bite even harder on the UnderClan warrior's neck. Blackleaf watched the life vanish from Windstripe's eyes, her long fur left drifting about in the wind. The Shadow warrior stood over her triumphant, grabbing her body in his jaws and dragging her towards the stairs. Her heart was pounding, not once taking her eyes from the it until it was out of sight. She felt warmth on her belly; Leaftail was still bleeding. Blackleaf quickly pressed more fake-fur against his wound. Then she felt the pain in her tail. She closed her eyes, drowning out the insults and hisses from the battle ahead of her. She focused on wrapping the fake-fur around her littermate's legs, weaving it in and between and tightening it. Lifting him on her shoulders, she refused the help of another and sighed when she felt a heartbeat. She only made her way to the stairs when she was sure UnderClan was retreating. She walked around the imprint Windstripe's body left; she started shaking the longer she fixed on it.