It's been a whole week now since they had left their clans, five days since they last heard Mudfur say something other than a giggle. Longclaw had proven to be an excellent hunter, owning up to her clan's specialty. Autumnspot still failed to realize why Sandclan was marked the wisest of the clans when Mudfur was nothing but a sack of say nothings and laughs. The cat was crazy, he was sure of it. Whitethunder turned out to still be the bossy puss he was born to be. Still doing the 'lion roar do as I command' thing. It irked him to no end.
They had just passed through the thick of some bushes when Mudfur burst into giggles again. Whitethunder turned and snarled at her. "STOP! GIGGLING!" His outburst only served to make Mudfur laugh, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
Longclaw rolled her eyes and Autumnspot groaned in frustration. Mudfur gave both Autumnspot and Whitethunder a mischievous look. "You both will get along today, even if it's for a few seconds. I bet the juiciest prey in our camp killpile at moonhigh."
Both toms snarled and took her up on her bet. Autumnspot groaned as Mudfur started laughing again and Whitethunder dug his claws into the ground before spitting in pure annoyance before stalking off. Autumnspot and Longclaw waited until Mudfur settled before they set off after the angry white tom.
~ooo~
They hid in tall grasses, crouching so that none of them was seen as they heard human kits running around and playing in the grassy field. Whitethunder sneered and spat in disgust. "Humans..." Mudfur cocked her head.
"Why do we call them humans? They call themselves that yes, but do we have to call them that too? Why can't we just call them what they are based on their looks, like twolegs, or pinkfurs, or longpaws?"
Autumnspot snickered. "Longclaw use to be Longpaw. Ooh and Longkit. I wonder, were you named because..."
"Finish that thought and I'll gut you like a rabbit."
Autumnspot snorted and ignore the killer glare Longclaw sent his way. Whitethunder growled at them lowly before he crept around the human kits, the other three right behind him. They froze as they heard one of the kits squeal and head their way, then he groaned. Of course they spotted them, him and Autumnspot had unusually bright furs.
He braced his self to run when he saw Autumnspot rear and hiss at the kit, baring his fangs and raked his claws over the kit's outstretched paw. The kit shrieked and wailed as it ran away. Whitethunder turned and glared at him. "Why did you do that?!" Autumnspot gave him a incredulous look. "What, did you expect me to let the kit grab me!"
Whitethunder hissed. "You didn't have to harm it though! It was a kit!"
Autumnspot sneered and flattened his ears. "So you care about someone else's kits being hurt, but you don't mind marking you mate while she is heavy with YOUR kits? You badger faced coward! You have the heart of a fox!"
Whitethunder stared shocked at Autumnspot before he trembled with rage. "YOU DARE ACCUSE ME OF HARMING MY MATE?!"
Autumnspot growled lowly and crouched. "With every bone in my body I do. You hunger for nothing but power," he spat coldly, his fur bristling to make him look twice his size.
Longclaw went to intervene but Mudfur stopped her with a tail wrapped loosely around her neck. "Let them fight. Its what they have been doing for the past quarter moon anyway." Longclaw sat down and sighed, glaring at both of the male harshly. Whitethunder's growl was thunderous as he glared down at Autumnspot.
"I'm going to shred you first, and then I'll focus on making it look like a dog accident."
Autumnspot tensed his muscled to pounce on Whitethunder, but then they heard a distant noise. They all froze and listened as the noise became louder and turned into barking. A dog barking. A LARGE dog barking. A black and brown dog came running their way, its ears flopping on its massive head as its maw opened wide, exposing its sharp teeth. The dog had on a studded spiked collar with a small silver circle dangling on the end of it.
It gave a loud, ear bursting growl as it saw them. All of the cats yowled and ran, the dog hard on their paws. Autumnspot, being the fastest, ran ahead of them quickly. Longclaw panted as she ran, looking back to see the dog right behind her. She gave a loud yelp as it snapped at her tail and she ran faster. Whitethunder glares at Autumnspot's tail and shouts at him. "I told you not to hurt the kit! Now look what you've done!"
Autumnspot snarled back at him, "Well that too bad! Focus on running, not wasting you crow breath on me!" Mudfur whimpered.
"We can't run forever! Up that tree!" All of the cats followed Mudfur's lead as she jumped up the tree and ran up to the first branch. The followed and Whitethunder gave a surprised yowl as the dog snapped the tip of his tail, just a hair breath away from the skin. They all sat on the branch, claws tearing the wood as they watched the dog barking up at them. They were panting from the run, from the surprise and shock.
A human walked over to the dog and petted its head. He looked up at the cats and shouted, waving its big paw around before giving a order to the dog and walking away. The dog looked up at them and growled before sitting in front of the tree, beady eyes on them. Whitethunder turned and hissed at Autumnspot, who pointedly ignored him. Longclaw growled in annoyance. "The mutt is going to watch us until we come down. We're stuck!"
Mudfur laid the tip of her tail on Longclaw's shoulder. She then turned and looked at Whitethunder. "How did you know that dog was the human's?" Whitethunder snorted.
"We took this way when we went looking for Cherryblossom. The dog was very protective of those kits and glared at us as we passed."
Autumnspot glared at him. "You knew it was here and yet you lead us this way anyway?!"
"We wouldn't have to face the mutt if you wouldn't have hurt the kit!"
"Well I wouldn't have hurt the kit had I known they had a badger sized fleabag protecting it, important information that YOU didn't tell us! We barely made it here alive!"
Whitethunder went quiet. Longclaw dug her claws harshly into the branch. "Now how do we get down?! The thing will chew us alive if we even sweep our tail over the tip of the grass!"
Mudfur huffed as she looked down at the dog. "We will have to fight it you mouse brained kits."
They all gawked at her. Mudfur just stared back. Whitethunder was the first to come to his self, fur bristled. "You want us to fight THAT?!"
Mudfur tilted her head. "It should be easy for you Whitethunder. You took on a dog by yourself before." Whitethunder shook his head.
"Yes, but not a dog that big! This dog is stronger than the one I fought and triple its size! It's practically living on nothing but muscle!"
Mudfur purred. "This is why you have three other cats by your side." The three cats looked at each other before looking back at Mudfur.
"You're crazy."
Mudfur groaned and shook her head. "You kits are so scary. Back in my apprenticeship we had brave, strong cats that never gave up and took on badgers by themselves. What has happened to our generation? They have definitely gotten weaker, more scared."
Longclaw snarled at her. "We are not weak nor are we afraid Mudfur, just cautious!"
"There is a difference between cautious and afraid Longclaw," Mudfur countered. "You all are being afraid. You are trembling, all of you. Look at yourselves." They each looked at each other and they were indeed trembling. Autumnspot snorted and turned his head.
"The all-powerful Whitethunder is trembling in fear. I'd never thought I'd get to see the day."
Whitethunder snapped at him before turning to Mudfur. "Ok, how do you think we should do this oh wise one?"
Mudfur gave a grin that made the other cat's fur prickle. She looked down at the dog. "Wait until it is asleep. Then we will fight it."
Whitethunder shook his head. "No, we have to think of another plan."
~ooo~
The sun was halfway out of the sky when the cats agreed to the plans set and made their move. The plan was simple, well to Mudfur anyway. Autumnspot would jump down, knowing the dog would awaken, and taunt it. Autumnspot strongly objected to him being the bait but Longclaw hissed him into agreeing. While he was doing that the other cats would make their escape, and since he was faster than all of them he could easily out run it.
That was plan A. Plan B, they fight it, and they didn't want to fight it.
Autumnspot jumped down from the tree, tensing when the dog stirred. He slowly and cautiously walked circles around the dog before sitting down in front of it and stomping his paws on the ground. The dog stirred, but didn't wake up. Autumnspot gave a sigh of relief and shook his head. 'The dog is too dumb. It sleeps too hard,' he thought. He looked up at the others in the tree and grinned. He froze when he heard a growl. Autumnspot looked down at the dog's head and nearly squeaked because the beast's eyes were open and glaring at him. He stood stock still and stared back at the dog in shocked, then he turned tail and ran.
The dog leaped up barking and chased after him. Autumnspot ran it around circles in the grassy field, taking sharp turns and stopping to run back towards the dog only to run under it. The dog was howling in frustration and Autumnspot purred. This was too easy.
His head snapped up when he heard panicked yowls and inwardly swore. The dog saw the others coming down from the tree and chased them instead. Autumnspot gave a sigh before running after the dog. Plan B was in motion.
~ooo~
Whitethunder gave a surprised yowl when the dog left Autumnspot for them. The mutt was supposed to be after the Mr. Orange with Spots, not the others with none! The dog came barking and snarling, snapping its teeth at the fur on the tip of their tails.
"We need to split up," Whitethunder mewed. "Both of you go in the opposite direction, I will keep straight!" Mudfur rolled her eyes before she nodded, Longclaw nodding instantly.
Before any of them could carry out the order, however, the dog gave a loud and pained whine. Whitethunder looked back and watched as Autumnspot clung to the dog's head and was shredding its ears. The dog tossed it head around wildly, trying to shake the feline off and threw him some feet away. The beast then shook its head and charged at Autumnspot, fangs bared.
~ooo~
Autumnspot lay on the ground dazed and out of breath. The throw had left him dizzy and winded. He blurrily saw the dog coming his way and struggled to stand. He sighed and closed his eyes as he flopped back down on the ground. 'I'm too tired. I can't get away in time. I guess I won't see you after all sister.'
He waited to feel the dog's horrid teeth tear into his fur, but it didn't. He waited for the moment when he would be shaken and ripped apart, but it didn't come. What did happen though surprised him. He opened his still kinda blurry green eyes and saw a white shape on the back of the dog and two other shapes, rusty red and brown under the dog. As his vision cleared he saw Longclaw and Mudfur attack the dog's legs while Whitethunder was clawing at its back. The dog was snapping at them as they leaped out of the way, only to lash back out at its legs again. Whitethunder was being tossed, but he still held on tightly to the dog's back. Mudfur's words went through his head as he watched. "Back in my apprenticeship we had brave, strong cats who never gave up. What has happened to our generation?"
Autumnspot weakly stood and shook his self. He would not give up and wait to be rescued. His father always told him that he should not stop fighting, not even for breath. He could feel the strength returning to his legs and he stretched them. He then crouched and gave a fierce yowl as he launched his self at the dog, raking his claws across its muzzle.
~ooo~
Whitethunder didn't think as he ran after the dog and launched his self on its back. He only saw red as he furiously clawed his hind claws into the dog's back. The blood of a Moonclan warrior pumped under his skin, his instincts telling him to harm and protect. He didn't even notice when Longclaw and Mudfur joined him by attacking the dog's legs. All he knew is that he needed to stop the dog, prevent it from killing Autumnspot, his mate's brother. He had to protect him or his mate would be furious at him for not doing so. He couldn't disappoint her. Ever.
He sunk his claws into the dog's skin as it tried to toss him, then continued to claw at its back as it snapped at Longclaw and Mudfur. He looked up as he saw Autumnspot launch his self at the dog and rake his claw over its muzzle. The blood he saw from the scratch wound spurred him on and he returned to his clawing, only more vicious. Longclaw and Mudfur too seemed effected by Autumnspot rejoining the battle and attacked the dog with more power and ferocity.
~ooo~
They don't know how long they were attacking the dog, but its howling must have alerted its humans. Autumnspot was hanging onto the dog's neck, securing his claws in the dog's scruff as he buried his fangs in the dog's throat when they heard a loud cracking noise. They froze at the noise and heard the humans howling in rage as they waved a shiny long stick around.
They pointed the stick in the air and the stick made a loud cracking noise again. The cats instantly let go of the dog and ran, yowling in terror. They didn't even turn around to see the humans carry the tired and beaten dog to their building, they kept running. When they were sure they were safe, secure under a bush, they laughed. They laughed like Mudfur did earlier.
As they calmed down (except for Mudfur who was still laughing), Longclaw started cleaning the blood off of her paws. The others started to mimic her and Autumnspot purred as he looked around at them. "That was awesome!"
Longclaw nodded eagerly. "It was! I mean, we took on a really huge dog, and it couldn't touch us!"
Mudfur jumped out of the bush and crouched, mimicking the attack she did on the dog's legs. The others joined her then tumbled over in laughter again. Whitethunder sat tall and gazed at them all proudly as he purred. "The way you all acted today was amazing. In a battle like that you all would've been great Moonclan warriors."
Mudfur puffed her chest out and purred as Longclaw flicked her ears, looked away shyly. "We'll we wouldn't have done it had you not launched yourself at the mutt when it was about to attack Autumnspot."
Mudfur gave an agreeing mew. "Yes indeed. That was very heroic of you Whitethunder, putting your differences aside to save your rival."
Whitethunder purred louder and dipped his head. "Thank you, Mudfur."
Autumnspot stayed quiet as he fidgeted nervously, shifting from paw to paw. They all looked at him curiously, Longclaw walking over to him. "Are you alright Autumnspot? Did the fleabag hurt you?"
Autumnspot shook his head and looked at them all. He dipped his head to them. "Thank you for saving me. I would be dead if it wasn't for you all. It hurt me to realize that I would be able to see my sister again and I am grateful. Again, thank you."
They all stared at him with wide eyes. Whitethunder padded over to him and rested his tail on the orange tom's shoulder. "You are welcome, though there is no need for the big thank you. We are a team now and we need to protect each other. It's that's and the fact that Cherryblossom would shred me if I didn't at least try save you. You are her brother, and I am supposed to look after those she holds dear if they are in my care. It's part of me being her mate. Besides," he gave Autumnspot an amused glare, "no one in my patrol dies, not even the annoying kit." Autumnspot purred happily, though he bristled at being called a kit, again.
Longclaw grinned. "Yea, and look at it as payback! When the dog chased after us you distracted it so we could get away! If you ask me, we should be thanking you!"
Autumnspot licked his paw to distract himself from blushing. "It was nothing. Like Whitethunder said, we are a team now." Whitethunder looked at Autumnspot and Autumnspot looked at Whitethunder. They grinned at each other, no hatred or malice in it.
Mudfur chuckled as she looked at both toms. "See? I knew you would be getting along today, just like family!"
Autumnspot and Whitethunder froze as realization danced on their faces. They quickly turned and spat at each other before Whitethunder walked off. "Let's go! We have to move before it gets too dark and set up camp!" Longclaw and Mudfur followed while laughing, Autumnspot glumly bringing up the rear. Both toms were sulking. They had lost the bet with Mudfur.