"Now! Minnowtail!" Mistystar growled, every hair on her blue-grey pelt standing on end. "While its back's turned!"
The small warrior darted forwards to slice at the badger's hind legs with her sharp claws. The beast bellowed in agony and tried to swing around, but the moment it did so Mallownose snapped his jaws around its head. The badger let out another piercing cry and tossed Mallownose clean into the air. Blood, both fresh and dried, smeared the white patches on its face.
The beast was in a bad way. It had already been critically injured when Minnowtail's patrol had come across it, and Mistystar was determined to finish the task-no matter how long it took. She held her tail up in triumph and leaped onto its back, biting into the badger's neck. It was mostly fur and muscle, making it hard for her to penetrate its skin, and it probably hurt her jaws more that it hurt the badger. But it seemed to awaken a reserve of courage in her warriors, and they surged as one, leaping, slashing, kicking, fighting. The badger was almost invisible now, drowning underneath an ocean of cats.
Nobody was quite sure what killed the beast in the end. Not blood loss, for the only serious wounds on its body were inflicted long ago. Perhaps infection from those same wounds. Or maybe it had just realised that its tormentors would never release it, and slipped into shadow to end it all.
Whatever it was, the beast was dead, and none of her warriors were badly injured. Mistystar allowed herself a moment to savour the victory, then turned to her Clan.
"You fought well, all of you," she approved. "Take a chunk of fur from the badger and use it to line your nests. Let it be a story to tell your kits, and theirs."
A chorus of approval could be heard in the throat of every cat, and they stepped forwards to pull a mouthful of fur from their enemy's flesh. Minnowtail was the first to reach it, but she stopped and pulled back.
"What is it, Minnowtail?" Mistystar asked, concerned.
"There's ThunderClan scent on its claws, Mistystar."
Mistystar bent her head. Sure enough, the reek of ThunderClan saturated the badger's talons. "Female. Probably a queen at one point," she declared to the silent Clan. "Badly injured."
"ThunderClan probably drove out the badger from their territory," mewed Mallownose seriously.
"A long way for a badger to walk!" churred Minnowtail in amusement.
Mistystar sniffed again. "I don't detect WindClan scent. None at all. Not even their scent markers."
"Could have come by the lakeshore," suggested a warrior.
"Are you serious? Badgers hate water," said another.
Mistystar stiffened. She could hear the sounds of pawprints. "Hush," she growled, and turned her head towards the soft noise.
Pebblefoot was the first to arrive, and he sat down, with guilt marked on his face.
"We?" the leader said sharply.
A small she-cat, with the precise shade of fur as Mistystar, stepped into the clearing. There was a sense of arrogance and pride drifting off her pelt like scent. From the way she walked, you might be excused from thinking that she was a StarClan warrior. She took one glance at the dead badger and wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Hello, Waterfall," Mistystar said calmly.
Waterfall shot her a look of contempt. "Why did you kill it?" she mewed coldly.
"Because it's a badger, Waterfall, and that's what we do with them."
Her daughter shook her head. "No, we drive them away. Look at it! It wasn't a threat to anyone provided they didn't provoke it."
Mistystar twitched her tail in irritation. "Try telling ThunderClan this brute was harmless. It's savaged one of their warriors."
"No, it hasn't," she snapped immediately. "We would have heard at the Gathering."
Why do you always insist on having the last word?
The RiverClan warriors were all slowly edging away, not wanting to become a part of the developing domestic dispute. Mistystar slowly counted to ten and forced her bristling hackles to lie flat.
"Clearly, it occurred after the Gathering, because the scent on its claws is reasonably fresh," she mewed in as mild a tone as she could have wished. Turning back to the wide-eyed warriors, she said coldly, "Take your fur and get back to camp so Mothwing can check you for injuries. And stop looking at me like I've grown another head!"
The warriors scattered in dismay, many not even stopping to take a piece of pelt. Pebblefoot remained, though he drew away to the cover of the trees. The leader sighed and met Waterfall's gaze. "Must you air your heretical opinions in public?"
"You didn't need to torture it. It was going to die anyway."
"And how would you know-" She stopped. Now, she didn't even try to force down her hackles.
"You were waiting in the trees, weren't you? With Pebblefoot." She shot a dark glare at the warrior, who hung his head low.
"So what?"
"So it never occurred to you that we might need some help?"
"Who am I to spoil your fun, Mother?"
"Fun?" Mistystar took a step forwards. "Listen to me, Waterfall. Do you know how many cats have died because of badgers? How many cats have been lamed or crippled? Badgers are threats. If this one wasn't , it would have had kits who will."
"And I think that half of those deaths could have been avoided if the warriors fighting them had left them be."
"Do you say the same for beavers?" mewed the leader bitterly. "Or Twolegs?"
Waterfall blinked. "It's common sense."
Now that's over the line. "You shame your warrior ancestors, Waterfall, and your brother. Get out of my sight. Go play with the foxes and the hawks if you think they're harmless."
"Yes, Mother," mewed Waterfall sweetly, and vanished into the trees.
Mistystar cast her fiery blue eyes on Pebblefoot.
"I'm sorry, Mistystar, but what could I do? I can't force her to fight if she doesn't want to." The old tom looked suddenly weary. "She's entitled to her own opinions, you know."
"She's entitled to them. I just wish she didn't say them in front of the whole Clan. She'll get into trouble that way." She sighed. "Was I too harsh?"
Pebblefoot shifted slightly. "Perhaps a little?"
"Then I'll apologize later." The RiverClan leader blinked. "If she comes back."
"Where else would she go?"
"Who knows? But…something's not right about her, Pebblefoot. Defending a badger-great StarClan! Is she out of her mind?"
"ThunderClan cats don't hunt owls."
"That's because the owls lead them to good hunting grounds. Not because they're harmless." Mistystar shook her head. "Maybe I should talk to Mothwing about her."
"You do whatever you feel is necessary, Mistystar," mewed Pebblefoot politely.
The she-cat glared at him as though seeking for sarcasm, then shrugged. "Take Mallownose and head over to ThunderClan territory. They should know, how well we cleared up their mess."
"Mistystar?"
"Do you have difficulty with those instructions?"
"No. But how did the badger cross the borders without a patrol picking up its scent?"
"I don't know, Pebblefoot. Cats make mistakes. Maybe today was one of them."