1Two days passed with lightning speed. Riversong soon found herself with Sunpaw, Pyre, Spark, Weaver, and Hex. Bone Marrow had sent word that they were allowed to come and watch the honor-match. Pyre padded up beside her. "Are you ready?" he asked.
"I hope," the she-cat muttered so only Pyre could hear. Louder, she said, "You bet!" Sunpaw gazed up at her with his sweet brown eyes. Riversong could see pride in his expression. She only hoped she didn't let him down.
"I see you decided to show," Bone Marrow meowed when they entered the camp, "Good. Many cats would have fled by now. I'll regret thrashing you."
"You'll do no such thing." Riversong could see Scars watching eagerly. She could sense a presence behind her. Foxpelt, she thought. The old tom was backing her up, she was sure.
"Well, I wouldn't say that. I assure you my warriors will stay put until you give in. This is between the two of us."
Riversong nodded. "Who shall start?" she asked.
"Why don't you make the first move?" Bone Marrow suggested, unsheathing her claws. Riversong nodded and crouched low to the ground.
The gray she-cat stalked closer and closer towards Bone Marrow. She recalled her training with Sunpaw nearly a moon earlier. She had told the young he-cat that she preferred size over speed. Bone Marrow was faster than Riversong herself was, so that ruled out agility. Bone Marrow had also gone into a crouch. Riversong feinted to the left. Bone Marrow leapt back, then forwards, catching Riversong off guard. The former DuskClan warrior felt the scraggly teeth prick her side. She thrust upwards. Bone Marrow was thrown off.
"All right, Riversong!" Sunpaw cheered happily as his mentor whirled around and landed on top of Bone Marrow. Riversong scratched Bone Marrow's yellowish flank before jumping to the side.
In an honor-match, the two combatants try to pounce on the other and inflict a minor wound before they leap off again. The whole purpose is to prove dominance, not cause death. Bone Marrow snarled and raced forward. Riversong barely dodged in time. She got an idea, perhaps given to her by Foxpelt. She waited. Bone Marrow charged again. Riversong didn't duck away this time, but instead splayed her legs and caught the furious she-cat. Bone Marrow gave a startled yowl when Riversong sunk her fangs into her ear. Riversong released her foe.
"Clever," Bone Marrow growled, "Very clever tactic, Riversong. But, you'll have to do better!"
She lunged. Riversong sprang forward, but Bone Marrow had tricked her. Instead of moving towards her opponent, she had really jumped backwards. Riversong tumbled to the ground. Bone Marrow was on top of her back, sinking her fangs into the gray she-cat's shoulder. Riversong howled with pain. Bone Marrow sprung back. The two circled each other slowly.
Riversong's side and shoulder throbbed with agony. She could hear Sunpaw yowling her name in the background. I can't lose. I can't let Bone Marrow have him! Riversong swiped at her enemy, catching the side of Bone Marrow's face. The yellow-white queen rolled with the force of the blow. Riversong pulled back just as Bone Marrow's claws sideswiped at her muzzle. Both cats were beginning to tire out, but nether would admit defeat. Bone Marrow gave a caterwaul and raced forwards. Riversong jumped straight into the air and Bone Marrow streaked underneath her, a stripe of white on brown, dusty fur. The she-cat spun in the air and landed on Bone Marrow's back. "Let's get serious," Bone Marrow snarled, "No more running from each other. You and me, head-on. Face-to-face. Cat-to-cat."
Riversong nodded and jumped off. Bone Marrow staggered to her paws. Riversong was quite a bit heavier than she looked. All that weight on her back had made it hard for the AoDs' leader to breathe. The two adversaries started to circle again. "Remember, Bone Marrow," Riversong meowed, "Your warriors are still out of this fight, as are mine." Bone Marrow nodded.
"Fine," she panted, "But now the main prize is your life!"
"Come on, Riversong!" Sunpaw howled, "You can do it!"
Riversong sprang first. She pinned Bone Marrow to the ground and sunk her claws into the thin pelt. Bone Marrow snarled and whipped her body like a snake's. Riversong felt herself be flung to the ground. A cloud of dust rose around the two tussling she-cats. Bone Marrow was now on top, holding Riversong in her claws like a piece of prey. She bared her moldering fangs at the warrior squirming below her. "This has gone on long enough! You were a good opponent. I'll be aching for moons after this, but now it's time for you to die."
"RIVERSONG!" Sunpaw shrieked. Riversong glanced from him to Bone Marrow's jaws. Sunpaw's need for her outweighed her tiredness. The gray queen brought her legs up against her belly and kicked Bone Marrow away. She landed hard on the winded she-cat.
"Wrong, Bone Marrow," she spat, "I'm not the one dying. Sunpaw will never follow you. He's my apprentice." She opened her mouth wide.
"NOW!" Bone Marrow yowled. Riversong's head snapped up. A burly brown tom with dark green eyes was racing towards her. "NOW, MAJU!"
The brown tom, Maju, Riversong guessed, sunk his fangs deep into Riversong's left ear. Riversong screeched in agony and slashed his face. Five lines of red appeared. Maju fell back a pace, spitting. "You cheater!" Riversong yowled at Bone Marrow, "I told you to keep the others out of this!"
Bone Marrow grinned maliciously. "Who was holding me to that vow?" she asked sweetly, slicing her claws by Riversong's nose.
Riversong felt the tip of one claw graze her nose. She could hear Sunpaw snarling and fighting with some other cat in the background. It sounded like Maju. Riversong swiped both paws at Bone Marrow's grinning head. The twin blows dazed the she-cat. Riversong opened her jaws again. Her white fangs glinted in the afternoon sunlight. She sunk them deep into Bone Marrow's neck. Warm, metallic-tasting blood rushed into her mouth. Riversong held her grip.
Bone Marrow had been brought from her stupor by the pain of Riversong's bite. She thrashed and tried to free herself. She felt tired now, more tired than she had ever felt before. Still she tried to break free. With each motion, Riversong bit deeper. Bone Marrow felt herself begin to slip away. She gave a final yowl, a piercing cry that spoke of pure rage and agony. Her chest heaved a few final times in a plea for breath. Then, she went still. The blazing yellow eyes became glassy.
Bone Marrow the Mighty, Bone Marrow the Fierce, Bone Marrow the Merciless, and every other name for the one foul-breathed cat, was dead.
Riversong stepped back, her chin dripping warm blood. She threw back her head and yowled to catch every cat's attention. Maju stopped dead in his fight with Sunpaw. The reddish tom slashed his tiny claws down Maju's brown flank, but the big tom didn't seem to notice. "Bone Marrow," he gasped, "N-no..." His green eyes widened. He turned tail and fled, giving a loud cry as he did. The cats that had been battling Pyre, Spark, and their kits faltered at his yell. They too saw their once-proud leader's battered and dead body.
Sunpaw snarled at a huge ginger tom nearly three times his size. "We'll do the same to you if you're not careful!" The tom whimpered and raced away from the tiny he-cat. Sunpaw laughed. He padded over to Riversong's side. "You did it, Riversong!" he mewed breathlessly.
Riversong gazed down into his captivating tawny eyes. She felt his warm kitten tongue lick Bone Marrow's blood from her muzzle and sighed. Scars approached.
"Ever thankful, I will be," he grunted, "Whitey and her cat-friends always were taunting me and hurting me. They called me 'useless' and 'stupid.' But you, Bluey, did not. You said you would be my cat-friend." He licked her roughly. Riversong guessed he was trying to show his affection in a cat manner. "I will follow you wherever!"
"Looks like you have a strong ally," Pyre meowed, nodding to Scars, "The Alliance of Destroyers has been disbanded, and my family and I can leave that wretched dump." He bowed his head. "I cannot thank you enough."
Riversong looked down at Sunpaw. "How long were you fighting Maju for?" she asked.
"Once you had gotten Maju to back down, Sunpaw jumped him," Spark told her, "He never saw it coming! It was great! The whole time you were fighting Bone Marrow, Sunpaw was creaming Maju!"
A deep purr rumbled in Riversong's throat. Warmth spread throughout her battered, strained body. She sighed and lay down where she was. A yawn escaped her mouth. Sunpaw curled up beside her. Pyre nodded to his family and they all vanished into the shadows. Scars snorted and kicked the body of Bone Marrow into the bushes. "No more will you harm me," he snarled, "A fate you well deserve, this is." The big badger stretched and sat beside the sleeping cats and watched the stars come out. His small, dark eyes widened.
"Reddy?" he murmured, "Why have you come back? Have you forgiven me?" He paused, gazing at the vision of his cat-friend, Reddy. Reddy nodded his head.
"Of course I have," his distant voice meowed, "I know you didn't mean to hurt me, Scars. But I need you to watch out for Bluey and Little Reddy. They'll need your help later on when the time comes to expose the one who really hurt me."
"You mean Browny?" Scars asked. Reddy nodded.
"Remember his scent, my friend," Reddy meowed, "Never back down. You know who really hurt me. Use that to bring him to justice."
Scars nodded. The vision of Reddy vanished. The big badger settled down beside his two cat-friends and soon his rumbling snores shook the ground.