Impish Empress doesn't bother with the disclaimer because everyone knows she's not Erin Hunter.
A/N: I think Snipe was a dude in the books, but I've already established my position on the need for female villains. The Erins gender-swap all the time.
Chapter 4. Fight with BloodClan
I wake to a paw jabbing me in the ribs. "Cici, Snag, get up," my brother hisses.
I jump to my paws, ears pricked, Snag a heartbeat behind me. I can make out cats' voices just around the corner of the fence that shelters our den.
"There have been too many desertions in the past few moons," meows a voice that makes my blood freeze like the ice that forms on puddles in coldtime. "Too many cats don't understand that when you join BloodClan, you be makin' a choice for life. Bone says we gotta make an example of anyone we find, teach 'em what comes of defyin' Scourge."
"Snipe," Mowgli whispers, his eyes wide with terror.
The large black she-cat is one of Scourge's fiercest and most devoted followers. After Bone murdered our brother Coal, Mama turned to Snipe for help. I guess she figured any she-cat who raised kittens would be sympathetic, but she couldn't have been more wrong about Snipe.
"Your mewlin' brats are too weak to be useful to BloodClan. Just be glad you've still got two, for what little they're worth," Snipe sneered, clawing Mama's face so viciously her left eye was swollen shut for days.
Mowgli gestures with his tail for us to creep away from the BloodClan patrol. I know what he's thinkin'. If we can put our twisted tree between us and them, we can probably lose them among the buildings, dumpsters, and narrow alleys. But my heart sinks right through the ground as Snag steps on a piece of trash that crunches loudly beneath his paws.
"We gotta circle up so they can't attack our blind spots," I say as the BloodClan cats yowl in triumph and streak along the fence toward us. "Remember what them forest cats taught us."
"So now you're keen on warrior skills," Mowgli says snidely.
"This really ain't the time," I say, though part of me can't help but admire his devotion to our sibling rivalry under pressure.
There are four BloodClan fighters, so we ain't outnumbered as bad as I feared. They're near as skinny as us, but Snipe's claws are reenforced with dogs' teeth, gleaming viciously in the faint moonlight. I recognize her three companions: a pale gray tom named Ice, a ginger she-cat named Brick, and a huge black-and-white tom called Gordon. Snipe's green eyes are practically glowing as her cats fan out around us.
"Looks like we caught us some deserters," she purrs. "Mowgli, ain't it? And… I don't care what your name is, she-cat. Where's that useless sack of fur you call a mother? Left you to fend for yourselves, has she?"
Her comments about Mama give me enough rage to mostly drown out the fear. "Our mama was worth ten of you," I snarl, launching myself at her.
I relish the look of surprise that flickers across Snipe's face, but it don't last long. She meets my charge with a swipe of her extra-sharp claws. I avoid them by a whisker and shoulder-check her, bringing us both to the ground. I hear the screeches of other cats fighting around me, but I'm locked in battle with Snipe and ain't got no time to check on Snag and Mowgli. I yowl in pain as her teeth meet in my ear, spraying blood. I scratch at her scarred belly, but I'm in a bad position. The black she-cat is bigger than me, and before long, she's got me pinned to the hardblack.
"Cici!" Snag is yowling my name, but Ice and Brick are slowly but surely driving him back. Mowgli is wrestling with Gordon, both toms clawing and spitting like mad.
"Scourge and Bone will be glad to hear that three more traitors are dead," Snipe says, flexing her claws. She raises her paw, ready for the kill.
This ain't the end, I think. It can't be. My life has got to be more than this. Mama didn't run away from twolegs and Bone for Mowgli and me to die like prey.
Remembering what the ShadowClan exiles taught us, I go totally limp. Snipe's grip loosens just the tiniest bit. I summon every scrap of strength I have and manage to fling her off. Snipe screeches as she crashes into the fence. I spring after her, swiping at her muzzle. To my delight and surprise, my claws connect, and I actually draw blood.
"Blind your enemy if you can," I remember Blackfoot telling me. So I score my claws across Snipe's face again until blood pours into her eyes.
But the fight ain't over yet. I yelp as teeth sink into my tail. Ice has left Snag to Brick and come to help Snipe. The black she-cat darts forward and rakes her claws across my flanks, ripping out chunks of fur. I balance on my forepaws and lash out at Ice with my back legs, thrusting the gray tom away. Mowgli is there, waiting to bite into one of Ice's paws. Blood coats my brother's muzzle as he shakes his head fiercely.
Ice has had enough. He yanks himself free of Mowgli and limps off into the darkness, mewling. Snag has used his greater size and weight to pin Brick and is clawing away the fur around her neck. Snipe's gaze flicks from Mowgli to me.
"Don't like it so much when you the one who's outnumbered, do you?" I sneer.
"This ain't over. Enjoy the little of your lives you've got left," she hisses, darting to the shadows.
After a moment of hesitation, Snag lets Brick up. She and Gordon, both bleeding heavily, hurry after their leader. Not that any of us escaped the fight unscathed. We spend awhile examining and licking each other's wounds. We got to keep them clean to stop infection. I wish we had one of them forest medicine cats with us.
Snag's the first one to speak. "Snipe's right, you know. When she tells Scourge about us, he'll send more cats than we can fight off."
"I'm tired of always runnin'," Mowgli says.
"You two want to join Tigerclaw and the ShadowClan exiles, don't you?" But it ain't really a question. I can read their answer in their glinting eyes.
"Tigerclaw could fight a whole patrol of BloodClan all by himself," Mowgli predicts.
"If we join Blackfoot and his lot, they'll fight with us when BloodClan comes," Snag adds.
I lash my tail. I still don't trust Tigerclaw's promises. They seem too good to be true, and Mama did warn us about forest cats time after time. But my littermate and best friend are right. This town ain't safe for us no more, and I'm tired of running. Maybe it's time to try something new, something crazy that none of our BloodClan enemies would expect. Come to think of it, I vaguely remember another BloodClan she-cat, Emerald, talkin' 'bout some cats who left Scourge's lot to live in the forest. Maybe we'll even meet 'em.
"I reckon Tigerclaw ain't too happy with me, on account of I told him to shove his offer up his tail last time. But if he still wants to train us as warriors, I reckon we can go along with him for now. Ain't gonna let you two mouse-brains run off to the woods without me, am I? But I ain't gettin' killed for some clan squabble. If things get too dangerous, we cut and run, right?"
Mowgli runs his tail along my spine. "That's the Cici I know and love, always ready for anything," he purrs. I nod, ignoring the pinprick of doubt niggling at the back of my mind. This is the best choice out of a heap of bad ones.