Shadow leaped into camp, claws crunching on the ground. Cats began to emerge from dens, confused and disoriented. Thorntail fled to the warriors den, and when he emerged, other warriors were with them.
Vengeance streamed into the camp like a wave crashing on shore.
Shadow smiled coldly at the now alert Clan.
"Vengeance," he hissed, although it seemed to carry through the clearing like an echo, "Attack."
With that, the group sprung into battle, claws unsheathed.
Shadow was first met with Reedstorm, a skilled and experienced senior warrior, but the tom felt no fear. He remembered his counter Clan moves and leaped to the side, avoiding the tom's first instinct to look ahead, and slashed his side. Reedstorm let out a hiss of pain before turning to face Shadow, but he had already moved, diving for the tom's underbelly and raking it with his claws.
Reedstorm sprung to the side, before being hit by Talon, who knocked him to the ground. Shadow scanned the battle. Jay was violently barreling the nursery's defenses, his mouth curved in an eerily smooth smile. Slash had cornered Sparrowswoop, who looked desperately frightened by the huge tom, while Ice was exchanging blows with Birchfrost, the deputy.
Suddenly, a cat leaped at Shadow from the side, who realized at the last second, and just avoided being pinned. It was Splashclaw, his old mentor, swiftly followed by Russet, who seemed to have been fighting the tom previously.
Shadow snarled at his previous mentor. He'd learned more in the time he'd been away than he'd ever done by the charcoal warrior.
He dived at his black rosetted pelt, while Russet attacked his flank.
Splashclaw managed to dodge the she-cat's strike, but he couldn't fight both cats at once, and instead worked into Shadowpaw's claws, who swiped at the tom's muzzle.
He stumbled, giving Shadow leeway to slash at the tom's underbelly. Splashclaw fumbled and crashed into the ground.
Russet shot Shadow a merciless smile, while the tom dipped his head slightly, before Russet was carried away into another fight.
Shadow flashed a glance over the camp, before he found what he was looking for, Elixir.
The she-cat stood over another cat, and as Shadow grew nearer, he saw who. Pondpaw, the russet apprentice. By what Shadow remembered, Pondpaw had always seemed to do everything without question. That had made him weak.
Shadow blinked. But Pondpaw wasn't moving. In face, no spark of loyalty remained in the apprentices dull eyes. Elixir moved away from the apprentice, her silky smile etched on her face, and revealed a thick trail of dark blood pooling from the tom's throat.
Shadow smiled coldly at Elixir. "Well done."
Then he glanced up. Two apprentices were barreling through the crowd. "I see him! Pondpaw, we've been looking for ages." the she-cat said to the tom. Heronpaw and Pinepaw, Pondpaw's siblings. They stopped in their tracks. "Pondpaw?" Heronpaw raced for her brother's side.
"Pondpaw please wake up, please." Pinepaw released a choked sob as tears began to flow down Heronpaw's face. Shadow showed no remorse. He flicked his tail for Elixir to follow as they headed back into the battle.