Rising Moon
Jedi Goat
Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors.
19/12/09 - Going back and doing minor edits to the chapters.
Prologue
Night lay like a blanket over the forest, enveloping it in a drowsy darkness. The sleepy stars of Silverpelt sparkled in the sky. Down below, trees shivered against the gentle brush of the wind. A mouse scuffled somewhere and curled up tighter in its nest. An owl hooted, setting out for its nightly hunt. The night dozed on.
Then the bushes rustled.
A she-cat burst out from the bracken, gasping for breath. Her dark gray pelt blended nearly perfectly into the darkness; only her green eyes could be seen, glistening like stars. They flashed with fear as they flicked around, searching out hidden enemies.
Deeming it safe, the she-cat padded further out into the clearing, head swinging from side to side nervously. Had it been day, any cat could have seen the long scar stretching down her back, the plumpness of her belly, and the sweat streaking her fur.
The she-cat felt a jolt of pain and grunted as she slowly lay down in the grass, resting her exhausted joints. She stretched out gingerly; raising her head weakly, she gave her shoulder a few quick comforting licks. Then she gasped and lay back down, trembling in pain. Her claws extended and scrabbled uselessly at the ground as her jaws opened in a silent scream. Struggling for breath, her sides heaved and she stared out into the darkness.
Her kits were coming.
Meanwhile, on the other edge of the deciduous forest, the sacred silence of night was broken by the outraged screams of warring cats. In the sliver of light from the moon suspended behind a clouded sky, two clans clashed in an ugly border dispute.
With a fierce yowl, a heavy-shouldered tom splashed across a thin stream, the water splattering into his dark brown fur. Behind him came his army.
From across the stream, shadows darted out from the pine forest, racing to meet the opposition. Battle cries pierced the air.
And then the brown tom slammed into the head of the second clan, bowling her over. The she-cat's ginger pelt shone in the moonlight as they rolled, both cats struggling to gain the upper hand.
All around them, pelts collided and claws flashed. Yowls of pain and triumph split the night, blending together into a noisy caterwaul. Blood pooled to the ground in rivers from the cats' wounds, but still they fought on, paws tainted by the ruthless battle.
The brown tom sank his claws into the she-cat's shoulders. With a hiss of pain she wriggled loose and darted away into the mass of spitting cats, blood seeping into her ginger coat.
The tom snarled at the other cat's cowardice, amber eyes glinting in the darkness. He whirled and charged back into the battle. He spotted a gray tom splayed on top of a dark ginger she-cat, trying to bite into her throat. In one swift movement he lunged forward, dragging the smaller tom off of her. He shook him vigorously as the gray tom growled obscenely at him, and then tossed him aside like a doll.
For a moment the brown tom met the green eyes of the she-cat; she nodded to him and then they split off, back into the battle.
A black she-cat flung herself onto the brown tom's back, digging her claws into his sides and screaming angrily. The tom twisted around, but the she-cat was just out of his reach. Rearing up, he then toppled over backwards, crushing her beneath his weight. He rolled off, leaving a few tufts of fur behind. The she-cat writhed in the dust. It would be all too easy to dig a claw into her throat and end it, but the tom knew that this was not a battle to kill over, and no matter how bloodthirsty the other clan was, he would not sink to their level. He battered her head with a paw, and the she-cat reeled back, spitting angry words. Her amber eyes flashed at him again, and he growled threateningly low in his throat. Flinching, the cat turned tail and ran back into the shelter of her territory.
The tom spat at her retreating back and turned, searching out his next opponent.
An eerie wail ripped through the tom's heart and his sharp eyes quickly found the source; a white she-cat bent over the unmoving black form of her clanmate.
"Spiderleg! Spiderleg!"
The brown tom's eyes flashed as he saw a big white tom lunging at the unaware she-cat. Bunching his muscles, he leaped and tackled the huge tom to the ground, claws seeking out the tom's belly. "Lay a claw on her and pay," he hissed in the white tom's ear as he stabbed at him again and again.
The white tom barred his teeth and slashed at his unprotected shoulder. He howled in pain as his skin was ripped open and blood spilled down his foreleg. The white tom took the opportunity to kick out at his stomach. Gasping, the brown tom reeled back. Triumph flashed in the tom's amber eyes and he dived forward again. His claws glistened red in the moonlight and the brown cat braced himself.
"HROWR!" With a snarl, a golden brown tom crashed into the offending cat. With a yowl the white tom hurtled away.
The brown tom nodded to his clanmate, panting. He gave his injured shoulder a rapid lick: it was already starting to seal up. Raising his broad head, he yowled, "ThunderClan, retreat!" Setting his eyes on the still figure the white she-cat knelt beside, he added bitterly, "This border dispute can be resolved another day, another way."
"Yet ShadowClan won't listen to you," the golden tom pointed out, limping quickly after the brown tom. Somewhere behind them, the white she-cat and a gray tom carried the body of their clanmate between them. ShadowClan and their jeering victory cries soon faded into the distance and ThunderClan headed home with a heavy heart.
The dawn's first light touched the sky, painting it pale golden and pink hues as the silhouettes streamed into camp.
Meanwhile, out in the forest, the dusky she-cat drew a rasping breath, and with the last of her strength nudged her three kits closer toward her. She exhaled a fine, wispy cloud in the leaf-bare air, and then lay still, her young kits' mews the last sound in her ears.
To be continued...
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