What seemed like hundreds of rats flooded to surround the startled cats, jumping on them, clawing, biting. Tessa yowled in surprise swiping at them and trying to fight through the mass to get to the others only to collapse and be almost instantly covered in squealing bodies. "Tessa!" BerryJay yowled, throwing a rat off his legs he tried to make a dash to where she had fallen. He started throwing them off of her back and pulled her back up. She only gave him a sidelong glance before launching back at them, kicking and yowling, "Flea-pelts! Cowards!" she screeched.
She said it was safe. She reassured me. Did she lie to me? Why do I always cause horrible things to happen to cats?
Thunderstrike had become lost in her own thoughts. She was becoming infuriated with herself as she felt the rats swarming all over her body and she only half noticed when Budderhats and Kittypet had joined the fray, fighting towards them. "Guys, we're coming! Hold on!" Budderhats yowled. Rats were being thrown, falling to the ground in a writhing heap and their squealing and squeaking made an attempt to drown out every other noise. No. Thunderstrike couldn't stop, she could help them with her training and she knew it. She started to throw rats off of her back, crushing a few with hard blows from her paws but not without the cost of a few bites to her paws.
They were nothing compared to the others though, especially Tessa who had fallen a second time and had almost stayed there if not for BerryJay being there to fish her out again. Something occurred to her as she fought, "Where's Sheep?!" she suddenly yowled. Budderhats looked up surprised from the group of rats she had been busy with, "What?!" She looked around, "She had been with us when we left the barn! She must have run off!" This couldn't be happening. No. She couldn't have, she might as well be dead. Horrible mistake, she let herself weaken if only for a moment and she fell to the rats, and the others weren't close enough to get to her.
An earsplitting screech. That's all that was heard before a flash of lightning seared the sky behind the struggling warrior, making the rats flail away in terror. The booming sound of thunder soon followed, the rats dispersed. Every cat looked up to the sky, pelts bristling; there wasn't a single drop of rain to be seen. It was a dry storm, they weren't common in those lands and nerves were high. Then Budderhats seemed to remember the fallen Thunderstrike and the missing Sheep, she made a mad dash on wounded legs and shook Thunderstrike. She coughed and the orange and yellow eyes opened, dull, "What in the name of Starclan happened," she muttered. As if to respond another boom of thunder met her and lightning lit the sky without hitting the ground.
Thunderstrike got up, "Careful! You could hurt yourself more!" Kittypet jumped in. She laughed and shoved her off, "It's all right, I think I just fainted. The bites don't even hurt badly." But she knew she was lying, if only a little, there was a quite deep bite right above her shoulder and she was limping a little. She looked over to Tessa, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine; I think the worst of it is on my front legs." At her response Thunderstrike had turned away and started to head near the barn, lightning and thunder still raging. "I'm not making anyone come with me, but I'm going to go find Sheep. She must be scared out of her wits and I don't want to leave her in this bad an electrical storm."
"You shouldn't go alone, the rats might still be out there and you can't fight them off with just one set of paws. I'll go," Kittypet stepped forward. She was the best off, just a few minor bites. Thunderstrike nodded and flicked her tail at the others, "Get back to the barn and stay up on top level, we'll be back; I'll look for some herbs while we're out as well." Another boom of thunder met her words, and she laughed as she started to pad off with Kittypet, I must sound insane, she thought, treating this like a nice outing.
Somebody needs to seem like they have confidence. Might as well be me, even if it's faked.