Chapter 45: The Fight

The day had finally arrived.

The day she had dreaded from the moment she became an apprentice.

Bloodring day.

She stood with her fellow clanmates as their blood marks were applied. She tried not to lose her breakfast as squirrel's blood was gently applied onto her black fur. Star made a face, obviously resisting cleaning the mouse out of his fur.

"Hold still, it's just a bit of blood." Chill growled as he finished the pattern of red swirls and dots. Star shook his head, darting away as soon as he was done. The only one not grossed-out was Stoneclaw. Go figure.

Others made awkward small talk before Darkshard called them all to the ring. Shatterbreeze and Star sat off to the side, listening. Well, Star was. Shatterbreeze was captivated by her own thoughts.

8 females. That means maybe four of us will become Unchoosens. If we're lucky enough to fight other females.

6 toms. 3 might have to do other tasks.

7 winners. 7 losers.

Where will I be?

Darkshard's yowl broke her trail of thought. "Apprentices. You all did very well with your assessments, but as you know, there is a battle coming up. In order to win the battle, and the war, I need the fittest, strongest, and best warriors I can have. Your fighting skills will determine your rank in the clan. Best of luck to all of you, and May the Dark Forest shelter you." She gave a small nod, and the Elites and apprentices started off toward the circle of destruction.

Wolfclaw fell in paw-step with Shatterbreeze. "Hey. Um…just wanted to wish you luck." He whispered lightly.

"You too, brother." She flinched. Why did I say that?!

He gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

She flattened her ears. "Did you ever remember being in Thunderclan? Did you ever remember having a sibling?"

"Mom told me she died long ago, but…" He frowned, thinking hard. His face burst with emotion as he put two-and-two together. He opened his jaws to say something, but Chill snapped at him to get up with the others. Shatterbreeze hadn't even realized they had dropped so far behind, and the two slinked up toward the rest of the felines.

Wolfclaw flicked his ear, signaling they would talk later. She nodded, and the two parted ways until the apprentices had circled around the stone-lined ring. The Elites gathered under a large flat rock where Chill and Darkshard will oversee the event. The ring had been covered with fresh soil, looking as if it had never been touched. The only thing that has been changed was a few medium sized rocks were scattered throughout the arena.

"You will have to learn how to fight with obstacles as well. Use them to your advantage." Darkshard spoke as she watched the apprentices give the rocks an odd look.

"Your name will be called, as well as your opponent's. The both of you will fight until one cannot fight anymore. You cannot step out of the ring, unless you are thrown out, in that case, you may return to the ring. If you do not return to the ring within five seconds, you lose automatically. Those who win will sit on my left." She swished her tail to the left. "Those who lose will sit to my right." Another flick of that long black snake. If it strikes one way, you're as good as dead. Shatterbreeze thought bitterly.

The first two to be called were Sunclaw and Kestrelbreeze. Sunclaw won easily. Robinbreeze surprised everyone when she fought tooth-and-claw and won against Lynxbreeze, but it was a close win. Dewclaw and Ridgebreeze joined the left, Blazeclaw and Swiftbreeze, the right. As numbers slowly dwindled, Shatterbreeze grew more and more nervous.

Stoneclaw's name was called out, and he confidently strode into the center of the ring.

"Wolfclaw." Wolfclaw looked shocked for a brief moment, but regained his composure, turning slightly angry as he dashed into the ring, claws unsheathed. My former and my brother. No! Shatterbreeze squelched the thought of running out onto the Bloodring and throwing herself between the two. She shifted from paw-to-paw as the fight began.

Wolfclaw leapt at Stoneclaw. Stoneclaw ducked just in time, and Wolfclaw's claws grazed the tips of Stoneclaw's ears. Wolfclaw growled, landing on a rock and whipping around. Stoneclaw crashed into him, pinning him down to the rock. His paws swiped at him left and right, slicing Wolfclaw's face to shreds.

Wolfclaw, blinded by his own blood, kicked out hard with his hind legs, sinking his claws into Stoneclaw's soft belly. Stoneclaw gasped, gritting his teeth as he landed. He waited as Wolfclaw charged, using his tail to trip the orange tom. Wolfclaw faceplanted into a rock, groaning in pain. Stoneclaw bared his teeth, grabbing Wolfclaw's scuff and flipping him into the air, slamming him hard on the ground. Wolfclaw's breath left his body in an audible whoosh.

Wolfclaw wheezed, rolling over onto his side. His eyes budged out of his sockets, and his front shoulder was slightly dislocated. With a small gasp, Wolfclaw flicked his tail in defeat, and everyone cheered. Everyone except Shatterbreeze.

No. Instead of her voice, a fury rose up from deep inside of her. Stoneclaw had no right to be so harsh on Wolfclaw, especially because he was her brother. She wanted to stomp over there and claw that smug little grin on his face as he watched the now unconscious Wolfclaw be carefully dragged away toward camp. He will pay for that.

Star won easily when facing Ravenbreeze and Darkshard seemed to turn a blind eye when he gave her mysterious minor burns. Finally, her name was called.

"Shatterbreeze, you will face Mistbreeze."

Jealousy burned within her as she padded to the center, eyeing the white cat. This princess is getting nowhere near Stoneclaw. Not over my dead body. Shatterbreeze blinked at her sudden mood change. Dark Forest, toms made her confused.

Her thoughts caused her to immediately be on the defensive. Mistbreeze launched an attack, trying to leap on Shatterbreeze's back, and Shatterbreeze had to execute a series of twists and turns. Mistbreeze slammed all of her weight onto one of Shatterbreeze's back legs, and she definitely felt something give with a loud crack. Her breath hitched as pain flooded into her leg, but she keeps dodging, ignoring the burn that screams at her to stop. Finally, Shatterbreeze found her opportunity and lunged. She landed a hard blow to Mistbreeze's jaw, then another to her neck, no claws. Mistbreeze staggered back, gasping. Shatterbreeze turned and ran toward one of the rocks. She put the rock between the gasping cat and herself. Shatterbreeze caught her own breath, listen to the quiet pants of Mistbreeze. When they stopped, the blood in her veins turned to ice as she stood, frozen with fear.

She peeked around the rock carefully, and a shadow stretched behind her. She turned to attack and instead she heard a large crack. Her head snapped upwards and her body followed. She hit the ground out of the ring hard. Her jaw throbbed vigorously. She cracked an eye open to see Mistbreeze smirking, her rear pointed toward Shatterbreeze. She kicked me!

"One." Darkshard's voice brought her back to reality. I have to get back in!

"Two." Shatterbreeze struggled to her paws, stumbling as blackness threatened to overtake her sight. No!

"Three." Shatterbreeze lurched to the left, then shook her head, clearing her mind. Why wouldn't her paws work?!

"Four." Shatterbreeze growls. She's a few fox-lengths away from the edge. She forces herself into a sprint. She takes a leap, praying she makes it in time.

"Five." Darkshard's voice boomed.

Everyone held their breath.

Shatterbreeze's paws were inside the circle, placed over the stones that lined the boundaries.

"She's in. Let the fight resume." Darkshard meows. Mistbreeze is about to protest, but she shuts her muzzle as her face hardens. She glares at Shatterbreeze as the black she gets up, meeting her icy stare.

Shatterbreeze thinks fast, slowly circling toward the center. Mistbreeze slowly turns in a circle as well, always facing the advancing she. An idea pops into Shatterbreeze's head based on their location. Shatterbreeze charges, yowling her battle cry.

Her head collides with Mistbreeze's. She slams downward, and Mistbreeze dives head-first into the ground. The force from the forward motion causes Mistbreeze to slide out of the ring. Darkshard begins her count down again. Mistbreeze struggles to get to her feet, but by five, she collapses again.

Cheers ring out even louder than ever. The sheer noise level makes Shatterbreeze's already throbbing head pound even more, but she manages a weak smile and limps over toward the winner's group. Mistbreeze's dirty body was dragged over toward Darkshard's right. Darkshard said after a meal, a good night's rest, and healing, she would perform their ceremony. Star gave her a 'well done' nod, and Shatterbreeze nodded back.

She didn't even remember heading back to camp. Her head felt like it was full of angry bees, stinging and buzzing around in her head. All she remembers of that night was settling down in a nest in Lunaclaw's den, eating some seeds, and drifting off to sleep as Luna made her headache and leg pain float away.

Go Shatterbreeze! :D

Today, along with the rest of this week, has not been a good one. I needed some cheeriness, and writing does just that, so I'm in a better mood. :3

Almost 100 reviews! XD Thank you guys!

Really? 2 votes for Stoneclaw and 1 for Switzerland? None for Star? Huh...Interesting. ;)

Because I like quotes, I'm going to do a new one every chapter.

"Try to be like the turtle- at ease in your own shell."

QotC: If I did a one-shot about any cat in Shatter and/or Shard, which cat would you prefer?