Criminal Claws [UnitedWarriors]

Christmas Special Chapter

Snowsong sighed and finally gave in, following him with closed eyes and an amused smile. Pinestep led her over to the base of the spruce, where he used a paw to pull something out of a hiding spot beneath a root. "Okay, you can open your eyes now," he told Snowsong.

The fluffy white she-cat opened her eyes and gasped. "Oh, Pinestep..." she mewed, gazing down at the feather--a sleek jay's feather, bright azure blue banded with black and with a tuft of white at the tip. "It's beautiful. Thank you," Snowsong purred, turning to lick her mate's cheek.

"I was going to get you a flower," Pinestep confessed, "so that you could put it in your nest and you'd smell nice when you woke up... but I like your scent the way it is."

Snowsong purred loudly at the compliment and Pinestep nuzzled her fur. "I'll put it in my nest and think of you every time I see it," Snowsong promised him.

A little ways away, Morningrose had gathered up quite a crowd. Rainsong, Whisperdrizzle, Echoleaf, Tigersplash, Kestrelberry, Featherwing, and Snowstrike were standing around her, evidently preparing for something. A game of Capture.

"Okay! Rainsong, Echoleaf, Whisperdrizzle, and Featherwing are on one team. Tigersplash, Kestrelberry, and Snowstrike, you're with me."

The cats eagerly divided. Tigersplash smirked at being put on the deputy's team and positioned himself right beside Morningrose, while Snowstrike proudly lifted her chin and went to Morningrose's other side. Kestrelberry hung back, crouching defensively in front of their team's object -- a pinecone.

Rainsong, Echoleaf, Whisperdrizzle, and Featherwing made a brief huddle, discussing their game plan before breaking off to surround their own object on the other side of the clearing, a stark black crow feather.

Noticing that the game was about to start, Lightdream and Graystar sat down along the sidelines, happily watching.

Morningrose began the countdown. When she yelled "GO!" both teams sprang into action.

Tigersplash immediately made a run for the feather but was quickly cut off by Rainsong, who jumped in front of him, forcing him to attack or go a different direction. Tigersplash chose attack; he launched himself at his clanmate and bowled her over. The two grappled, but they kept their claws carefully sheathed and their bites harmless.

Echoleaf sprinted past the brawling pair only to be tackled by Morningrose, who pushed the blue-gray she-cat to the ground but didn't stick around to keep her there. Morningrose leapt to her feet and darted in the opposite direction.

Whisperdrizzle and Featherwing worked together to ward off the deputy. Morningrose zigzagged between them, trying to reach the feather without getting caught. At Whisperdrizzle's signal, Featherwing rushed towards Morningrose, who veered away from her -- only to run right into Whisperdrizzle. Featherwing used the distraction to go for the other team's object.

Featherwing neared the pinecone at the same time as Echoleaf, who had by now recovered, and they advanced together on Kestrelberry. Kestrelberry positioned himself over the pinecone and hissed fiercely at the two she-cats. Echoleaf and Featherwing exchanged a smile, thinking it would be easy to get the object away from Kestrelberry -- but they had forgotten one thing. Snowstrike exploded out of a nearby bush, causing Echoleaf and Featherwing to jump back with similar mrrrr-owr!s of surprise. Snowstrike attacked Echoleaf with powerful blows of her paws, but Echoleaf managed to dodge most of them by simply stepping backwards. Featherwing was left alone facing Kestrelberry. The golden tom hissed again, as if daring her to come any closer.

On the side, Morningrose was cursing at Whisperdrizzle, who cunningly evaded almost all of her moves to attack and kept blocking her when she tried to progress. Finally Morningrose gave in and ran back to help Tigersplash. The dappled black tom was still wrestling with Rainsong.