Not a sound seemed to be heard as the air went quiet, and the voices and pawsteps of the cats beyond the wall faded away. It was just DarkClan, and the brush. Somewhere in the leafy canopy above, a single bird's song sounded in the air; an odd occurrence, considering how rare it was to hear such a lovely sound in their own territory where only the caws crows echoed through the trees.
Lostheart could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she and the other warriors moved into position, readying themselves to spring. Sunstar and Darkpelt were at the head of the group, prepared to crash their way through the barrier while Moonfur moved up near Raggedear and Thistleprick.
Raggedear and Moonfur's eyes met briefly from the side, revealing the she-cat's desperate expression. It was a silent sort of communication between the two, and Raggedear could see clearly what she was trying to say.
'Please save my daughter.'
"Attack!"
Lostheart was suddenly jolted out of her peaceful silence by Sunstar's ferocious screech and watched as he and Darkpelt smashed through the wall, creating big enough openings for the rest of the cats to follow through.
Almost immediately loud screeches and yowls erupted from inside TreeClan's camp; Lostheart leapt through the opening Darkpelt had created, following after Greysight and quickly took in her surroundings while her clanmates dashed off to stop the escaping cats. Greysight moved away from the group and sped off, leaving the fighting to the others for a change. It was up to her to locate Amberpaw as quickly as possible. Greysight smirked as she felt the movement of the startled cats around her; she would get her chance later.
"DarkClan is attacking!"
Lostheart watched as the TreeClan warriors clashed against their own, and the clearing became filled with horrified, screeching cats. Looking around, Lostheart realized that most of the cats in the camp were elders and young cats backing away from the warriors in fear. However, a good amount of the cats were TreeClan warriors, and a few of the elders even leapt into the fray.
Lostheart's gaze suddenly snapped to a dark shape moving toward the brush, realizing a cat was about to escape. With a quick jolt to her nerves, Lostheart ran through the mass of fighting cats; passing Darkpelt as she went while the tom pulled back two TreeClan warriors with each paw.
Despite being outnumbered, they seemed to have the upper hand here, but it wouldn't last long if cats escaped! Lostheart shot forward and leapt onto the figure, causing the small cat to let out a cry of fear as the black she-cat pinned them to the ground, claws resting on the top of their head.
The she-cat writhed beneath Lostheart, and with a snarl, her victim's head snapped back to face DarkClan's deputy. However, the moment the cat looked up into Lostheart's dark eyes, her own gaze widened in horror, as if her life was flashing before her eyes.
Lostheart's eyes narrowed as she looked down at the tabby she-cat before slamming her paws onto the back of the she-cat's head, knocking her out. No one would die here today.
Her clanmates were doing a good job of keeping the warriors occupied, but they knew it wouldn't last long. It was obvious some cats had escaped despite their efforts, it would have been impossible to keep them all inside being outnumbered as they were. They just needed to get Amberpaw; what was taking Greysight so long?
Greysight panted as she ran between the dens of TreeClan's camp, listening as her clanmates fought off the camp's inhabitants. Frustration itched at her pelt; where was Amberpaw?! She thought she would have picked up on the apprentice by now, but she had looked almost everywhere and there was still no trace of the young she-cat.
Greysight let out a hiss of frustration as she backed out into the clearing once more. The DarkClan cats had begun to slow down, Greysight noticed, both in their speed and in the strength of their paws. Greysight's eyes widened as she felt Moonfur get tackled by two TreeClan warriors.
Acting as quickly as she could, Greysight raced across the clearing, dodging the outstretched claws of several TreeClan warriors. In one quick move, she dug her claws into one Moonfur's attackers while the pale she-cat fought off the other.
The tom hissed wildly as Greysight latched onto his back, and threw himself at the ground in an attempt to dislodge her. Greysight, guessing his intentions, moved just in times so that the TreeClan warrior crashed his side onto the ground. Now that she had the upper hand, Greysight slashed out against the spotted tom's chest and glanced quickly around the clearing.
Raggedear hissed as he fought viciously against a TreeClan warrior he had caught in a tackle. The tortoiseshell tom was already bleeding from several different scratch and bite marks littered amongst his body, but he ignored their stinging pain.
Raggedear winced as the tom bit down on his shoulder before being promptly torn away by Raggedear's claws. Raggedear panted as the tom backed away, and blood from a scratch above his eye. The hot, sticky liquid blurred his vision, and he blinked it away as much as he could.
The two warriors stood at a standstill for a second, and as their eyes locked gazes, the tom's paw twitched ever so slightly. Raggedear shot forward, knowing that he was about to try and escape. As he leapt, another cat suddenly slammed into his side, knocking him out of the air and back onto the ground. Raggedear let out a hiss as he felt the paws of his attacker on his back, and promptly flipped around in an attempt to make the she-cat lose her balance.
The she-cat let out a snarl, but kept her grip nonetheless. Yellow eyes met those of an amused green as the she-cat snorted down at Raggedear's haggard form. Raggedear recognized the tabby she-cat as Leaftail, a TreeClan warrior Moonfur had once pointed out who had supposedly been a member of DarkClan in the past.
"Well, if it isn't one of DarkClan's filthy little pick-ups." Leaftail sneered, letting out a laugh. "I can only wonder why you would be stupid enough to even try attacking TreeClan from the inside."
Raggedear let out a snarl and raked his claws across Leaftail's face while she let her guard down and kicked the she-cat off of him with his hind legs, switching their positions. Leaftail struggled wildly under his claws, making Raggedear growl in frustration. He dug his claws deeper into the she-cat's fur and watched as she howled in pain beneath him, her eyes widening.
"Where is she?!" Raggedear hissed, lifting her up slightly through the use of his claws embedded in her skin and slammed her back down. Raggedear's eyes narrowed slightly, and the blood dripping from his face once again began to blur his vision as he breathed deeply, exhausted from the fighting. It was a miracle the tom was still standing on his paws, let alone continuing to fight.
Leaftail's face was contorted in pain, but the she-cat managed a self-satisfied smirk. "She's not here." she spat.
Raggedear's eyes widened slightly as Leaftail's words struck him, and he winced slightly at the pain in his head. He could feel the other side of him clawing against the back of his mind, desperate to take over. But he couldn't, Raggedear wouldn't let that happen, not again.
One of Raggedear's paws came to Leaftail's throat as he pressed his claws dangerously close, looking down at the she-cat with one of the darkest, most serious expressions she had ever seen in her life. He really would kill her she realized.
"I said." Raggedear growled, extending his claws slightly. "Where is she?!"
Leaftail's eyes widened in shock as she was suddenly jabbed roughly in the stomach and thrown backwards. The release of Raggedear's claws was a relief, but it was a relief soon forgotten as she came in contact with the ground in a hard landing.
Leaftail's legs trembled beneath her as she made an attempt to stand up and escape into the forest, but she had little more than a second as she stood and saw Raggedear charging towards her. Her eyes widened in shock as the tom leapt into the air and, quicker than anything she had ever seen before, spun rapidly forward, slamming into her. The impact of being slammed into the ground, caused Leaftail to cough up a small stream of blood; and the long scratches from his attack opened up, beginning to bleed profusely.
Leaftail's head was pounding as Raggedear stood above her, his shadow blocking out the sun above in an eerie sort of light. Leaftail's paw twitched at her side, but her foreleg had taken the brunt of the blow; she could hardly move it now.
She felt her blood run cold as Raggedear stepped closer, yellow eyes dark as he looked down at her with an emotionless, cold gaze that sent chills down her spine. She gasped slightly as he lifted a paw and shrunk back, shaking her head.
"With Pineneedle! She's with Pineneedle! They're in the back of the forest, near the wall, please, don't kill me!" Leaftail begged, her voice hoarse from the pain she had endured. She had betrayed her brothers and clan out of cowardice.
'The back of the forest?' thought Raggedear. Around him, his clanmates continued to fight; there wasn't enough time! With a final glare, Raggedear backed away from Leaftail's injured form and looked hurriedly around the expanse of fighting cats. Everyone was too busy fighting off the TreeClan cats.
'No. Its my fault Amberpaw got taken...I will get her back ...I promised.'
With great effort, Raggedear limped toward the brush wall as quickly as he could. It was lucky for him that the TreeClan warriors were too concerned with the others to notice him. Every step sent a shot of pain up his legs, and blood seemed to be dripping from almost every section of his body. Despite this, Raggedear continued on, he wouldn't let anything happen to Amberpaw.
Lostheart's mismatched eyes danced around her at the group of TreeClan cats encircling her, their eyes glinting with hatred and disgust. Yet she could see, in the depths of their eyes, the small traces of underlying fear; fear of what she might do.
Lostheart remained silent, standing as still and emotionlessly as ever, waiting for one of the cats to make a move. One of her hindlegs was injured pretty badly, but besides that and a few scrapes, she could still fight. The pain would just have to be ignored, she couldn't let it slow her down.
Lostheart's ear twitched as a ferocious yowl suddenly sounded from what looked to be the front of the camp. Seven TreeClan warriors suddenly rushed into the camp, each making their way to one of DarkClan's attacking warriors. As their call sounded through the air, one of the warriors already circling Lostheart suddenly leapt at her from the side. The black she-cat was quick to dodge, having never lost her focus on the cats surrounding her; as the cat was slipping by her, she rammed forward, causing the she-cat to collide with one of the toms that had leapt as well.
While those two were down, she quickly snapped around to block an attack from another she-cat whose white pelt was dappled under the shadow of the trees. Lostheart knew she couldn't afford to be pinned down, not in a multi-cat battle.
Using her speed, Lostheart rushed around the she-cat in a dark blur after causing the she-cat to stumble back from her previous block. Lostheart winced slightly as she felt claws rake across her back from behind, but she ignored them as she tore at the white she-cat in front of her. She could feel herself being pulled away, and turned to face her new attackers; a couple of the newer warriors that had arrived.
Narrowing her eyes in a threatening gesture, Lostheart leapt back from the large group so she could keep an eye on all of them. There were five cats. The wounds on her back were beginning to bleed, and on in particular on her shoulder throbbed painfully, but Lostheart shook it off.
They leapt at once, their images flashing in Lostheart's eyes. She was quick to avoid getting tackled, making sure to land a blow on each of the cats whose path she danced out of the way of. Her breathing became heavy as she got no time to rest fighting and avoiding the five cats, it was almost like a game of chase. They would attack, they would miss while she landed a hit, then they would turn around and attack again. But it was all she could do.
Lostheart's eyes flashed as two cats came at her from either side, and as they attacked she leapt over one and onto the white she-cat from before whose pelt was now stained red with blood. The she-cat let out a shriek as Lostheart attacked her and bit hard onto her foreleg, twisting it with a small snap before being pulled off by a larger TreeClan tom. Lostheart ignored the vile taste of blood now in her mouth and watched as the white she-cat began to limp away, presumably to a safe location after being injured so badly.
Lostheart dodged a swipe as it came, and ducked from another; but as a second warrior appeared from her side, there was no place to go to dodge their incoming blow. Shutting her eyes out of reflex at the last second, Lostheart didn't even have time to wince as a large paw slammed into the side of her skull, suddenly making her dizzy.
The world was blurry for a few moments around her as she stumbled to back away, feeling teeth dig into her foreleg in the process. She clawed at the blurry figure of her attacker and was able to make them release their grip, but as she did so, a large calico she-cat leapt onto her back.
Lostheart's long, thin legs nearly gave out under the sudden impact of the weight, but she was able to keep her balance and spun in an effort to dislodge her in one quick, fluid motion. She felt the she-cat slip and felt a sort of relief, but suddenly gasped in pain as she felt teeth dig into the already open wound on her shoulder.
Without so much as a hiss or yowl of rage, Lostheart suddenly flipped in the air, pushing the she-cat's body as she went and slammed her against the ground, dislodging her from her body. Lostheart staggered forward, panting heavily as blood seeped from her wounds. In front of her, four cats crept forward, each in their own battle positions as they approached DarkClan's deputy. Breathing heavily through her nose, Lostheart moved into her own battle position on shaky legs, red eye glinting in the sunlight of TreeClan's territory.
It really was nothing like DarkClan, where she practically blended into the environment; here, she stuck out openly amongst the bright colors of life. The she-cat she had thrown to the ground rolled onto her paws and backed away as her clanmates took over, her eyes lingering on for Lostheart for a second. Briefly she glanced at his clanmates, and she quickly stumbled away.
This was bad. More cats had arrived, healthy, uninjured cats. It was a small group, so it didn't seem like any of the TreeClan cats from the main camp had arrived yet. It looked like these were the returning and passing patrol groups.
"You murder our kits, and then you come into our camp to murder our families!" the leading gray tabby growled, instantly recognizing DarkClan's infamous deputy. "You're a monster!"
Lostheart remained unmoving, not even the slightest trace of feeling in her gaze. Her legs beneath her felt weak, and her body tired from the fighting. This was the longest fight any of them had ever experienced, why wasn't Sunstar calling it off? They were out of time.
"I know you." he continued, I've heard about the things you've done. Even as a kit, your cruelty had been evident. We've heard everything, and we know what went on inside DarkClan's camp." His green-blue eyes locked onto Lostheart's with a gaze full of both disgust and vehemence. "Murderer." he hissed.