Regaining a more clear state of mind, Shardfang took on a defensive stance, and baring his teeth, asked, "Where am I?"
Barkpelt, twitched his whiskers in annoyance as he replied, "None of your business, you little kit."
Shardfang processed what Barkpelt had just said, and thought if being called a kit was supposed to be offensive. Kits were actually quite clever. More clever than Barkpelt, for sure, although not even close to as powerful.
"Not a clever answer," Shardfang growled.
"Not a clever response," Barkpelt snapped back, unsheathing his claws.
The large, dark brown tom took a threatening step forward, and Shardfang had to resist the temptation to take a step back. "What do you want?"
The large brown tom let out a growl from his throat before answering, "You're simply bait, and that's all I'll say."
Shardfang twitched his tail and meowed under his breath in annoyance, "Huh, figures."
Barkpelt gritted his teeth, and called out to one of the cats from before, "Get the holly. This kit woke up a bit too early, so make the dose stronger. Enough for, maybe two or three days. That should be enough time until we carry out the... plan."
Shardfang hissed and took a step back as the tortoiseshell stepped forward with a pawful of the poisonous berries.
Escape, escape, escape, escape...
Shardfang glanced past the three rogues, and spotted the cave entrance.
Shardfang gave a slight nod of his head as a plan formed in his mind.
It's stupid, but it might work.
The tabby black tom rushed past Barkpelt and the she-cat, hardly touching their fur.
Shardfang darted to the entrance, swiftly dodging the other rogues.
All of a sudden, Shardfang let out a yelp of pain as claws pierced his hind legs.
The claws dug into his flesh harder, and Shardfang fell face first into the dust.
He let out a vicious hiss and held back a yelp of pain as he felt warm blood running down his legs. Turning around, he faced his attacker with a sharp, silver glare, not wanting to back down.
Shardfang flipped onto his back, and scratched towards his attacker viciously.
The cat backed away, but dragged Shardfang with him.
Shardfang's eyes widened with surprise as the tortoiseshell she-cat towered over him. He narrowed his eyes at her and hissed.
On the other side of him, Barkpelt placed a paw on his belly, keeping him still.
His attacker dug their hooked claws into his hind legs even deeper.
Shardfang stifled a yelp of pain, and instead, opened his mouth and snapped his jaws onto Barkpelt's front leg.
The large brown tom growled as he jerked back, licking at the blood that had been drawn from the bite.
The attacker at the other end of him placed a paw on his belly, and released his hind legs.
Now I can't run! That fox-heart clawed my legs...
"Do it, Gwen!" Barkpelt demanded.
The tortoiseshell above him pried his jaws open. Shardfang let out a grunt of protest as Gwen shoved the poison covered cobwebs into his mouth.
Now, the bitter taste flooded his mouth, and he gagged when the sticky webs were pushed deeper into his mouth.
Shardfang closed his eyes, and pain began to clench in his belly.
Before he fell into the deep void of sleep, he felt the paws release him.
**********
Panicscar let out a sharp gasp when she saw Shardfang being dragged away again.
Hope has filled her senses, when she saw the tom running towards them.
"We need a plan." Curlstar whispered.
"Do you think I don't know that?" The scarred she-cat hissed back, and she continued to watch, despair clutching her throat as Shardfang's limp body was thrown back into the cave without care.
Beside her, Panicscar heard a threatening growl, and turned her head to see Opalstorm staring through the bush with dagger-like, flaming eyes and her lips curled back in a vicious snarl. Scarletpelt seemed almost as angry, and the red she-cat's fur bristled in rage as she watched Barkpelt trot off and drag the limp body of a small, white pelted she-cat away, trailing blood.
Just like Wildstar...
The gray and black she-cat formed in her mind, her eyes glinting with hatred.
"What if two of us go retrieve Shardfang, and the other three can distract those rogues?" Hailstorm meowed, taking Panicscar back to reality.
Opalstorm and Scarletpelt turned and gave a slight nod of their muzzle.
"I will attack those frogfaces!" Opalstorm growled.
"I would like to give those savages a taste of defeat." Panicscar licked her lips, already tasting their blood.
"I shall go too." Curlstar declared.
"That means that Hailstorm and I will go to retrieve Shardfang." Scarletpelt meowed, her anger slowly fading.
"Let's do it." Panicscar pushed her way through the bush, the small flowers brushing her pelt.
The cave yawned open in front of them.
Once the patrol arrived next to her, she gave each member a slight nod of approval.
These cats are so brave.
Panicscar turned back towards the cavern opening.
But some of us may not come back...
The scarred gray she-cat shook the thought away, and bolted into the cave, and she could hear cats around her shriek with fear. Delight tingled in her paws. Surprise!
Panicscar turned her head, to see a large gray tom.
The medicine cat hooked her claws in his bristling neck fur, and climbed on top of the tom, twisting around in the air before landing on the other side of the cat, tufts of fur and flesh between her claws.
The tom screeched out in pain and crumpled to the ground, clawing at the air as if that would help him.
Opalstorm was already being aggressive, the vicious she-cat easily slipping through the enemy defenses and tackling cats into the walls, enough for some of them to even get knocked out.
Curlstar wasn't quite as vicious, but quite clever. He used feint attacks, and distracted his opponents so that he could get clear shots.
Panicscar purred with amusement at the patrol as she slipped out of the path of a cat that had leaped at her with his claws unsheathed. She crouched down, bunched up her muscles, and launched herself forward, snapping her jaw down on the cat's side, who yowled, and cowered away from the fight.
Panicscar turned to hear a screech of agony.
Scarletpelt was being dragged backwards, and the cat that pulled her thumped a paw against her head.
Her wails were silenced, although her eyes were still glazed with pain. Panicscar's eyes widened when the cat tossed her aside and jumped back into the fight. Panicscar lunged in the tom's pathway, knocking him to the side.
The tabby tom let out a wail of horror as she pushed him to the ground. She placed her two front paws on his belly, and dug her claws into his sides. The tom let out a heart wrenching scream as Panicscar dug her fangs into his ear.
He's had enough. A small voice inside of her whispered.
Instead, Panicscar jerked her head back, ripping his ear in two. The gray she-cat laid down, belly up. The tom got to his paws quickly, for Panicscar to slide under his belly, and rake her claws.
Blood dropped onto her face as the tom shrieked with agony. The cat jumped away, and Panicscar quickly got up.
The tom lunged for her, but Panicscar easily dodged his clumsy move. Panicscar slid her claws across his stomach. He let out a final groan of pain, before falling on his side.
Panicscar stood over the tom, and gave him a quick bite to the neck. The loud cracking of bones startled Panicscar and she backed away.
What have I done?
Her paws slipped on his blood as she stared at his lifeless eyes.
Fear pricked her fur, and her gaze fell to the ground.
I-I'm a medicine cat.....
Panicscar looked around, and the sharp smell of blood tainted the air.
"You took Shardfang." Panicscar turned towards the loud snarl, to see Opalstorm and Barkpelt on a rock that jutted from the cavern walls.
**************
Barkpelt cowered beneath her paws, as she towered over him.
Opalstorm ignored the sharpness of the rocks under her paws as she stepped towards the brown tom. His neck fur bristled with terror, and his gray eyes stretched wide.
The tom stepped back, and his paw landed on air. The two cats were fighting on the jutting rock. Barkpelt warily stood up, and looked her in the eyes steadily.
Opalstorm let out a low growl before lunging for the tom, rolling off of the cliff edge with him.
Opalstorm let out a yelp of surprise, as rocks tumbled beside them. Barkpelt let out a furious screech, as he landed on the hard earth.
Opalstorm rolled to the side, releasing her claws from his pelt. She thudded on the ground, and pain pierced her tail. Opalstorm wailed out in pain, her tail burning with pain.
Beside her, Barkpelt lay still. His gray eyes were rolled back in his head, and his fur had stopped bristling. His lips were curled in a vicious snarl, showing his blood-stained teeth.
Opalstorm turned away from the dead tom, and buried her nose in the dust.
Silence rang in her ears, as she felt blood drip from her body. Now the wounds she had began to hurt, the pain rippling through her body.
The vicious she-cat hissed off her pain, and shakily stood, staring at her broken tail. Opalstorm skillfully lifted the rocks off her tail by leaning against them, and gently took the limp tail-tip into her jaw.
Glancing up, she saw Scarletpelt wobble to the cliff edge, although the red she-cat kept her distance, and meowed, "Are you okay?"
Opalstorm let out a snort, and replied, "I just fell down a cliff, so what do you think?"
Across the clearing, Panicscar gazed at her steadily. Opalstorm flinched when she met her gaze, and Panicsar turned away.
"Oh, thanks a bunch for the help," Opalstorm called out sarcastically to the scarred she-cat.
Opalstorm gazed around. Dead bodies of cats littered the ground. She growled with displeasure, "How fun." Amongst the bodies, she saw familiar gray fur.
"Hailstorm?" She choked out. The tom warily sat up, before slumping to the ground.
Opalstorm limped to the tom's side, and called out, "You alright?"
Hailstorm twitched his whiskers before mumbling grumpily, "Well, I'm alive, that's for sure."
Opalstorm let out a sigh of relief.
Typical Hailstorm.
The she-cat glanced around, but a sudden thought struck her.
Wait. Where's Curlstar?
Joy washed through her paws, when she saw the tom looking at Barkpelt's dead body.
His green eyes glimmered with happiness, but at the same time, despair as he saw the limp hunk of fur, flopped over the rocks, lifeless. Barkpelt's eyes seemed to stare into her soul, sending chills under her pelt.
The she-cat felt a jolt run through her spine as she turned and glanced up, asking Curlstar, "Where's Shardfang?"
The MistClan leader glanced up the fallen cliff, and replied, "Covered in blood, but fine. He's still out cold though. Looks like he won't be waking up anytime soon."
Opalstorm nodded, relieved that Shardfang was at least alive. What we need right now is a medicine cat...
Opalstorm padded towards Shardfang's scent, and saw him curled up in a corner of the cavern.
The she-cat let out a purr, that turned into a growl to see the holly juice dribbling from the cobwebs that were shoved in his mouth.
Opalstorm crept closer to the tabby tom, and grasped the cobwebs with her claws.
She felt the liquid run out of Shardfang's open jaws as she took the poison out of his mouth.
"Let's hope that you feel better, StarClan willing." She whispered in his ear softly.
Opalstorm wrapped her broken tail around him, and curled up next to the unconscious tom.
Her mind flashed back to when Shardfang had joined the clan as Shardpaw, and how she and Scarletpelt were wary of him. Their relationship as a group of friends strengthened though, and soon, the three of them were almost inseparable.
A purr softly rumbled in her chest, and below her she felt Shardfang's whiskers twitch. A smile crept onto her face, and the bloody she-cat closed her eyes, remembering the days of her past.