Darkstar's Wrath - A Faith's Journey Super Edition

Chapter 32

Darkblood glanced up from his grooming, when Rabbitfoot, a pale colored tom with darker brown paws and green eyes, came bursting through the camp entrance. The scared looking tom had scratches down his pelt and one of his ears had blood dripping from the slit near the top.

He had risen to his paws almost as soon as Adderstar had crossed the clearing toward the injured warrior, with Stormhawk at his side.

"Rabbitfoot, what has happened?" Adderstar demanded, as the clan began to whisper to one another.

Rabbitfoot scared eyes met Adderstar's. "We caught DuskClan on our territory..." 

Gasps of shock rang through the clan and Darkblood, who was on his paws, froze. His fur prickled and his heart beat faster in his chest. Pinepaw... He didn't.... He wouldn't...

"When we started to challenge them, Cherrystar-"

"Cherrystar's there?"

"The leader of DuskClan is in the patrol?"

Shouts and yowls came from the surrounding cats.

Rabbitfoot nodded, numbly. "She said that DuskClan was done with being pushed around and seen as weak in the eyes of the other clans." Rabbitfoot paused, taking a deep breath. "And after that... that's when DuskClan launched the attack..." Rabbitfoot stared Adderstar directly in the eyes. "Adderstar, we're greatly outnumbered... The rest of the patrol sent me here to get back up."

Adderstar nodded his head to the injured warrior. "Stormhawk, Darkblood, Sorrelstripe, Hazelspring, Goldenshade, all of you will follow me to the battle site. Lead the way, Rabbitfoot."

Rabbitfoot blinked gratefully at the red tom, then he turned and bounded out of camp, with the patrol quick on his tail.

Yowls and screeches engulfed Darkblood as the FoxClan warriors reached the border. Darkblood's amber eyes widened at the scene in front of him. Crimsonclaw was grappling with multiple cats at once, Wolfblaze has disappeared beneath a tussle of fur and claws, Duskheart was pinned to the ground and struggling feebly to escape. What surprised Darkblood even more, was that half of the DuskClan patrol was lined up on their side of the border, just standing there and watching as the fight wore on.

Are they not enough of a challenge for you? Darkblood slid out his claws, until they caught the sunlight. I'll show you a challenge...

"FoxClan, attack!" Adderstar threw back his head, and with a mighty yowl, the patrol of bristling cats was off. Their claws out and their teeth bared, ready to sink them into their enemy's flesh.

Adderstar threw himself at Cherrystar, while Stormhawk went for Eaglebranch. Rabbitfoot ran off to help Wolfblaze with Goldenshade and Hazelspring hot on his paws. Sorrelstripe had launched herself at one of the warriors Crimsonclaw was locked in combat with. Darkblood sprinted over to help Duskheart.

The dark warrior, hauled the brown tom with darker brown eyes off of his clanmate, and flung him into the bushes that clustered around a tree on DuskClan's side of the border.

All of a sudden, Darkblood had claws waving in front of his eyes and a weight on his back. Darkblood ducked a blow and rolled onto his back. An angry hiss sounded from beneath him that filled Darkblood with confidence. With a swift turn, Darkblood had turned over and was now pummeling the cat's with his hind paws. The cat Darkblood was attacking was a dark gray tom, roughly the size of an apprentice, with dark green eyes, that reminded Darkblood of pine needles. 

With a final slash to the ear from Darkblood, the apprentice wriggled out of dark warrior's grasp and was now pelting toward the border. Darkblood hared after him, unaware of the cat, who wasn't expecting to meet him, running toward him.