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Chapter Three: What A Battle Can Bring

"So it has been established that RiverClan has captured Foxkit?" Firestar demanded. Brackenfur nodded numbly. What could they have done to her? Was she even still alive? Panic rose in the golden brown tabby's throat like sickening bile.

He felt a soft tail tip stroke his shoulder. The tom met Sorreltail's compassionate and worried eyes.

Firestar was perched at the foot of Highrock, listening intently to his warrior. They had been stopped by a patrol of RiverClan cats who called from across the winding, quiet torrent of water that divided the two clans. They claimed that their precious fox was safe for now and that it would be held until a proper ransom was forfeited.

How long Foxkit would be safe was unknown.

Some of the clan had grown quite attached to the positive, bouncing ball of energy they called Foxkit and were infuriated when they learned of her whereabouts. Their opinions of what their actions should be were divided. Most thought attacking sooner or later was the answer, while others believed an elite group of silent stalkers should invade and sneak Foxkit out.

The rest of the clan thought it would be a waste of their precious time and energy. It was a fox, they believed, just a fox. A few of them were willing to fight because it was a matter of dignity and showing they were not weak but not really for Foxkit's welfare.

The fiery leader's opinion was that, fox or not, the vixen was a member of his clan and would be rescued as quickly as possible.

The kits, after nearly being smothered with love by their mothers, were terrified for Foxkit. She was a litter mate, a friend and the fact that she was being trapped by a potentially dangerous clan made them shake.

The night was lit with a nearly full moon. The gathering would be the next night and Firestar was resenting the idea that a war would break out between ThunderClan and RiverClan. He was sure that they would demand Sunningrocks and prey in order to receive Foxkit unharmed.

At RiverClan camp, Foxkit was horrified when she found herself in a damp cave away from warmth, love, attention, and, most importantly, food. Whenever a warrior passed by, they would sneer and give some scornful remark.

Once each evening, Foxkit was presented with a measly scrap of vole by one of the apprentices who would usually stop and stare, fascinated for a while then saunter away, glancing back in curiosity.

Foxkit blinked miserably as night fell. There was no protection at the entrance of her little lair and no warm bodies of other kits to keep her company. The wind blew relentlessly in and Foxkit shivered, huddled in back, failing to notice that the warrior guarding the den, preventing her escape had, fallen asleep.

The gathering had arrived, and, as ThunderClan cats poured in without pausing, RiverClan streamed in from another corner of the clearing. WindClan and ShadowClan were not oblivious to the tension between the two clans. Firestar and Leopardstar climbed to the top of Great Rock from opposite sides, Blackstar and Tallstar already perched up there. They gave each other a unwavering glare then turned to face the crowd.

"Cats of all clans!" the two quarreling leaders yowled at the same time. The warriors, apprentices, and elders below looked up in confusion, their voices together sounding odd.

Leopardstar glared at Firestar. "Please, you first." she mewed sweetly to Tallstar. Taken aback by the absence of her normally hard tone, the WindClan leader took a moment to blink then stepped to the peak of the Great Rock. The eldest leader cleared his throat and gave a brief report of his clan then glanced back at the other three. Firestar and Leopardstar looked over at Blackstar, who stalked forward and told the news of his clan, a few named apprentices and that such.

Then Leopardstar and Firestar glowered hard at each other. The fiery leader flicked his tail tip back, indicating that he would speak first.

"Cats of all clans," he began slowly. "Within this quarter-moon, a kit of ours was attacked by a hawk but it was able to get out of its grip. Foxkit was dropped into the river that divides Leopardstar's territory and my own. RiverClan has taken this kit and is holding her hostage in exchange for a large ransom. I have come here to demand that RiverClan returns this kit, be it cat or fox." Enraged yowls erupted from the RiverClan cats and loud meows of agreement came from the ThunderClan cats.

That last line from Firestar left the stage open for Leopardstar and left the cats below confused. The golden yellow tabby sauntered forward and glared down at all of the cats. "What Firestar tells you is not the truth. One of their pets stranded itself in the water which Mistyfoot generously rescued and we healed. And did Firestar forget to mention that this kit is a fox cub? If ThunderClan wants this enemy of cats back then we demand Sunningrocks. What is your answer, Firestar?"

The fiery leader looked ready to attack her. "You will not get Sunningrocks. I say you watch your borders very carefully from now on." Firestar flicked his tail to his clan and leapt from Great Rock. ThunderClan stalked out of Fourtrees as Leopardstar and her clan left as well.

Little did they notice the thin wisp of a cloud passing over the moon causing scraps of shadows to speckle the treetops.

A ThunderClan combat force was established the moment they returned to camp. They swiftly devoured a bit of fresh kill then got to they tired paws. Firestar had expected that RiverClan would have killed Foxkit the moment they returned or force her to work for them.

Brackenfur and Sorreltail were quickly darting through the undergrowth, bellies low to the ground. The golden brown tom felt his heart racing from the rush of the oncoming battle and from the fact that the kit he had fought so hard for was dangerously near death.

The pungent scent of RiverClan came all too soon as the ThunderClan cats encroached their territory. Brackenfur allowed the scent of the rival cats to fill him, make his fur bristle and let his claws unsheathe. Now came the real danger.

Few cats in ThunderClan knew exactly where RiverClan camp was and those few were leading the attack force. Graystripe was in the lead when the island first came into view. He knew the best way in for he had once lived there to be with his forbidden love's kits.

ThunderClan flooded the camp as the native cats there were shocked into fighting. Almost immediately the clearing was filled with the sound of a ferocious battle.

Sorreltail and Brackenfur fell into step with one another, nimbly dodging and dealing blows until they came face to face with the deputy.

Mistyfoot had her claws sheathed and her sharp teeth were not bared. She merely twitched her tail to the two ThunderClan cats and dashed to the far corner of camp where a cove that hadn't been used in ages sat. Mistyfoot looked at them with a sideways glance and dove into the yawning darkness of the entrance. She reappeared moments later with a limp red bundle as the battle began to approach this quiet corner of camp.

Leopardstar flung herself at Mistyfoot, ripping Foxkit from her grasp and spat the vixen down between her forepaws. The young vixen looked into the leader's cruel glare with deep, brown eyes that were glittering with tears. The golden tabby was taken aback for a split-second, questioning herself for just a heartbeat too long.

Foxkit lashed out with thin, sharp claws that sliced Leopardstar's muzzle in her moment of shock. As the leader flung her head back to howl in agony, the young fox leapt to her dainty paws and latched her long, pointed teeth onto the queen's throat while battering her chest with quick claw-reinforced kicks.

All the felines watched in a fascinated horror as Leopardstar fought for her life. They padded closer as if in slow motion, ThunderClan and RiverClan alike. Foxkit was much too small to attack with the hind legs but to large too just push away with forepaws. Then Firestar shook his head, leaping forward and pulling the fox sharply by the nape of the neck.

Finally after a tense moment where Foxkit refused to let go, the lack of food and rest got to her. Foxkit went limp, her eyes narrowing to mere slits and taking on the sightless gleam of the dead. Leopardstar gasped futilely until it weakened to nothing at all. With a torn throat and battered ribcage, there was nothing to be done.

Leopardstar was dead, but she might have managed to take her killer with her.

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