A thick layer of dust hung in the air, stirred up by countless claws, yet beneath that, a pungent reek of blood, of death, allowed not to forget the recently fought battle. The recently... lost battle.

Yet the stench of blood was not the scent he followed. Longclaw watched not for the ground beneath, nor for the writhing, dying shapes of the gnawers he had fought with, most of which remained motionless as he carelessly left them behind in his pursuit of the scent, the scent...

Longclaw stopped only when he discerned the scent seemed to lead away from the battlefield. His eyes narrowed at the shape of a coiled tunnel. What could have driven him to...?

Then again – the enormous talons of his front paws audibly scraped the stone floor as he darted forward – what did it matter what had driven him down this way? His last doubt faded as the scent grew stronger, fresher, with every yard he left behind. Soon the tunnel widened, Longclaw estimated it must be at least twenty feet wide when he first heard the voice. "I'll not let you escape, you filth! You killed mother, I saw it! You killed her!"

Longclaw clenched his jaw until his teeth gnashed against each other, his claws produced an unpleasant screech as he darted around a corner into an even larger open space.

His eyes narrowed and he nearly ran into a wall as he found himself blinded by a bright light. A high-pitched cry vibrated his ears. The ground swayed beneath him and his eyes locked onto the light brown body of – "ASHPAW!"

He registered the glistening of blood on stone, on the blade of a sword, that darted out of reach. Did he see him? Ashpaw's gaze was on Longclaw, yet when he attempted to call out, all that came of it was a strained gurgling. The sound of blood dripping from his mouth rang so loud Longclaw's ears twitched. Then he watched the lifeless body of his son fall at his feet.

He had no sense for how much time had passed when he at last moved, staggered backward to no longer stand in the puddle of blood that had formed around Ashpaw. Had it been seconds? Minutes? Hours? Years?

I'll show you how strong I've become, father! He should have never allowed it, never... Don't worry! You think a stupid human's going to kill me? Hah! I'll swat the high and mighty on their fliers from the air like mites!

Longclaw had stared at his talons for seconds before registering they glistened red from blood. His gaze followed the trail of bloody footsteps he had left after moving backward – the blood of his son.

"Hey! What's the matter? Someone's got your tongue?"

Longclaw's head darted up as a voice called from above. "Or will you surrender here and now, as you should?"

All he registered was that she held up a torch in one, and a sword in the other hand. A sword that glistened with red. Like to taunt him, she waved it in the air as her flier circled above his head. "Come and catch me!", she cried, "Come and share your friend's fate!"

It was like a wire in Longclaw's head snapped. He tore his mouth open to voice a grotesque roar and leaped at the girl, to do as Ashpaw had promised, to swat her from the air like a mite, yet her flier narrowly dodged, performing an air roll and darted into a tunnel opening leading away from the cave. "Come and catch me!", she yelled again, her voice echoed from the walls, sounding ten times louder in Longclaw's head.

He allowed the searing rage to take him over, every inch of his body burned with it as he dashed after her down the tunnel. Images of Ashpaw's eyes, filled to the brim with fear as he had seen his own death, swarmed his mind and he longed for nothing more than for his killer to gaze at him with the same expression.

His eyes were on the flier as he darted out into a grand cave and gained altitude. Simultaneously, Longclaw realized he was nearing a cliff. The ground gave way to form a large canyon and the other side was some twenty feet away. Yet instead of slowing, he picked up speed.

The killer would not escape so easily.

As the flier darted over the edge Longclaw hesitated not for a moment – his talons scraped the edge as he leaped further than he had ever leaped, stretching his claws to dig them into the flier's leg.

Got you, he triumphed, yet when he came into reach the flier twisted himself upward and the girl lashed at his face with her torch. A howling screech escaped Longclaw's throat as he lost balance and plummeted downward. He caught a last glimpse at her spiteful face before spinning around in the air to break his fall.

Is it me now, who has fear of death in his eyes – Longclaw thought as the ground zoomed in on him. A violent jolt of pain permeated his body and blackness engulfed him when he then hit it.

Longclaw could not tell for how long he had lied unconscious, yet as he could exercise so much control over his eyes he managed to focus them again, he saw above himself the same flier with the same girl on his back, mockingly waving her sword.

"Oh look, he still lives!", she yelled and laughed, the sound stirred his insides like they were crawling with pestering insects. Longclaw barely registered her flier landed on the edge of the canyon, to stare down at him and flap his wings tauntingly.

"How nobody has made fun of that face of yours yet eludes me", Longclaw coughed out as he slowly picked himself up from the ground and narrowed his eyes at the flier. "Or have they?"

"Shut your trap!", the girl yelled and dismounted, then pointed her sword down, as if she could even remotely reach him, from her elevated position.

"What do they call you, hm? Is it Skullface?" Longclaw continued mocking and disregarded his aching body, scrambling to the wall that bordered the canyon. "The Skullface and the Loudmouth!", he cried and scraped the wall with all his strength. To his satisfaction, they both winced.

"The great Longclaw caught in a mousetrap", the girl shook her head and her grin widened. "Is petty insults all you have left? Gorger's greatest general, they called you! Even Gorger's elected successor, you called yourself! Ha!" She kicked a few loose pebbles down and Longclaw squinted angrily as they hit his face. "Looks like that dream's over before it's begun!"

He voiced a livid shriek and cowered down to leap at them, yet the canyon was nearly thirty feet high, he could barely jump half of it. His claws found no footing on the steep wall and he fell back down with a pained scream.

"Look at him! What pinnacle of grace!", she laughed, then turned to her flier, "shall we finish him off?"

Longclaw narrowed his eyes, attempting to suppress the uprising panic. The canyon was only as long as the cave, and there was nowhere to climb up for him, especially in his weakened state. Nowhere to... escape.

"How about we don't?"

His head darted up again as a different voice spoke. The flier spread his wings and lifted off, performing a circle above his head.

"What's he going to do? FLY out of there?" He landed beside the girl again and shook his head. "Come, Arya, let us check back on him in a couple weeks. If he is not dead by then, we can soil ourselves with his blood. It's hardly worth the effort now."

The girl tilted her head, hesitated, and finally sheathed her sword. "You know what, you're right!" She mounted up and laughed. "It will be a much more appropriate death for someone who always thought himself so high and mighty. Is it true what they say? That you keep an exact count of how many of us you've slaughtered?"

Longclaw audibly cursed and leaped up again, yet his weakened body gave way and he collapsed as he fell back to the floor. He could do nothing but sit and watch as the flier with the strange skull face and the girl named Arya on his back performed a last round above his head and then darted into the tunnel they had come from.

Searing rage engulfed Longclaw as he found himself alone in the dark canyon. He let out a bone-rattling scream and ran into the wall with all his might, driving his claws into the stone over and over.

It was not over, he grimly thought, disregarding the pain that jolted through his front paws. His list they were interested in? Longclaw let out a low growl. Two hundred and four, it counted. And before this was over, it would count two hundred and six.