Fernmist glanced to the side at her component. The sleek and lean shape of Heatherstrike was outlined by the sun, giving the other she-cat a golden glow. She shivered and looked away, shuffling her paws in anticipation.
Today was the day. Today was the day where she would prove that she was the fastest cat in all the clans. Or that she wasn't.
Hurried paw steps sounded and Fernmist glanced up to see a dark gray tabby she-cat standing beside a pale gray tom. Even without their fishy scent she knew they were from RiverClan; their pelts looked damp as if they had swam over to the competition.
She strained her ears, trying to catch on to what the two cats were saying to the ThunderClan and WindClan leaders.
"-extra competitor- -Icereeze- -fast-"
Fernmist shared a look of confusion with Heatherstrike and padded closer. "Uh, excuse me?" she mewed.
Immediately her leader, Oakstar, glanced at her. "What is it?" The ginger-and-white she-cat could tell that the anticipation from the contest was making him tense.
"Who's he?" she flicked her tail at the tom.
"Dewstar's brought another competitor for us. Icebreeze of RiverClan." Oakstar responded,
The pale gray tom nodded earnestly, eyes shining with excitement. He looked stocky and slow, his long fur tangled into matted clumps. A faint distrust and hate boiled inside of Fernmist; this was Heatherstrike and hers contest.
Giving Icebreeze a disdainful snort, she pranced back over to Heatherstrike. "Icebreeze. RiverClan cat. New competitor."
Heatherstrike let out a soft growl, her claws sinking into the ground as Icebreeze bounded over to join him, paws pounding the ground hard and clumsily. He was really going to enter the contest?
Turning away in contempt, Fernmist lashed her tail in his face and trotted over to where the start of the race was. They had to take a trail from just outside WindClan's camp to just outside ThunderClan's camp. Whoever made it there first was the fastest cat in the clans.
"Alliance?" Heatherstrike whispered, following her closely.
Fernmist nodded. "As soon as one of us starts feeling tired, we take out Icebreeze," she responded.
Heatherstrike nodded, eyes dark. "Got it."
...
"3! 2! 1! Go!" Oakstar yowled.
Speeding off, Fernmist found herself trailing behind Heatherstrike by a few paw steps. Yet Icebreeze was nowhere in sight. Heatherstrike seemed to realize this and glanced backwards, slowing down for a moment, and Fernmist dashed past the other she-cat.
Stretching her legs and arching her spine with each bound, Fernmist found herself going faster and faster. She swerved beside a clump of gorse, catching sight of the stream. The warrior could hear Heatherstrike's panting behind her, and Icebreeze's as well.
Great. So he was here.
Fernmist took a giant leap across the stream, landing nearly a full fox-length away from the water on the other side. Taking a deep breath, she continued running, her ginger-and-white pelt merely a bullet, a flash, a shadow, in the forest.
She knew this territory. Fernmist could win this.
Suddenly, there was a grunt and a startled yowl swiftly cut off from behind her. Fernmist kept on going, knowing that it must be Heatherstrike taking Icebreeze down. Now she just had to make it to the finish line.
Icebreeze couldn't beat her now... Fernmist slowed down, trotting for a few moments to catch her breath. She sniffed the air, wondering if there was any prey nearby. As she dropped into a crouch, a pale gray blue flashed by, followed by Heatherstrike's ginger tabby one. The WindClan she-cat's eyes were wide with fear and anger as she spread across the ground.
Fernmist jumped to her feet and pounded after them. She knew they were nearing the final stretch of the race; Icebreeze couldn't win! She was the fastest cat! Icebreeze was just a bulky RiverClan tom.
There were cheers as some cat crossed the finish line.
Ahead of Fernmist.
Ahead of Heatherstrike.
Icebreeze had won.
Heatherstrike had got second.
And Fernmist? She was just third.
"I demand a rematch!" she shrieked, freezing. "Rematch! And kill the tom!"
Dewstar bristled, resting her tail on Icebreeze's flank. "Don't be stupid!" the RiverClan leader snarled. "He won even though you two cheated! He's the fastest cat ever!'
"Fernmist didn't cheat!" Oakstar hissed.
Sunstar of WindClan looked miffed. "But Heatherstrike, why?"
"Rematch!" Heatherstrike echoed, sounding furious. "We want a rematch!"
Two dark shapes approached the slope. "I hope we aren't too late," a gruff voice called out. Two black cats stepped out of the shadows, one a she-cat and one a tom. The tom dipped his head to the other leaders. "Hollyfrost's fast. I want her to race, too."
"Greetings, Darkstar," Sunstar mewed after a moment, then hesitated. "I suppose we'll have a rematch. And no cheating!" she fixed Heatherstrike under her glare.