Falconblaze shot out of his nest, fur on end, as he came face to face with the biggest badger he had seen. The white stripes down it's face glowed in the darkness, and the smll eyes glittered with hostility. Falconpaw yowled as he was thrown off the big creatures back and out of the bush. Falconblaze turned around and fled out of the bush, before halting in the clearing outside. From there he swiveled around to face the badger as it came crashing through the leaves. He hissed and bared his teeth.
Hawkpaw came running over to stand by his side, and yet the badger came towards them. With a huge rumble it laucnhed itself at the two cats, who darted to one side each.
Here goes! Falconblaze thought grimly as he leaped onto the badgers side and dug his claws into its fur. Hawkpaw did the same thing on the other side, but they were soon thrown off again. Falconblaze growled and grabbed hold of the badgers ear the next time he climbed onto its back. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Hawkpaw darting underneath it only to pop out somewhere else, confusing their enemy. Despite the young cats lack of training he could fight well, A natural! Falconblaze thought.
He screeched with surprise as the badger did a sudden shake of its head, throwing him off. He tried to get up again, but the badger had already placed a big paw on his chest and the best he could do was fight for air. Everytime he tried to breath the paw stepped harder down until the world started spinning and he saw black spots.
Just when he thought he couldn't manage any more the weight lifted and air surged into his lungs. He crawled a tail length away and saw Hawkpaw hissing and spitting while clawing at the badgers eyes from where he hung on to the top of its head. Falconblaze quickly caught his breath and went back into the battle. He slithered underneath the badger and raked his claws along its stomach until he saw blood. He crawled back out a heart-beat before the badger collapsed to the ground, growling and rumbling. Hawkpaw was panting in front of it, blood staining his shoulder and flank. After a moment of rest the black and white creature got up and stumbled away into the undergrowth.
"Are you badly hurt?" Falconblaze asked Hawkpaw as he padded over. Hawkpaw glanced quickly at his shoulder and flank before shaking his head.
"Not my blood." He replied grimly.
Falconblaze nods and takes a look at his own fur. It was clumped on where the badger had placed its paw, but besides from the lingering pain his his chest he was unhurt.
"We were lucky," he meowed. "Cats rarely come back from a badger fight so lightly." Hawkpaw nods importantly. "Come." Falconblaze sighs, looking at the sky. "Maybe now we can get some sleep." he smiles a little and pads back into the bush where he regains his former sleeping spot. Hawkpaw was hot on his heels and soon both toms were sleeping fitfully with pale moonlight sifting through the leaves.
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Falconblaze woke when a foolish young blackbird fluttered through the branches of the rhododendron and settled on the ground underneath him. Contempt seered through him as he lashed out with his long claws, killing the bird. He grabbed it and padded out into the clearing where they had battled the night before.
The grass was still trampled and traces of blood lay where the badger had fallen. Hawkpaw was already up and eating a squirrel by the honeysuckle. He bounded over and settled down next to his apprentice to eat. Hawkpaw shifted to make more space in the sunlight.
"Tell me," he mumbled through a mouthful, "Are all prey as dum as these? This squirrel literally came bouncing down to me and begged to be killed!" he says. Falconblaze twitches an ear at Hawkpaw's contempt.
"Oh, don't worry. It will be much harder to hunt in the future." he says drily. Hawkpaw glances at him with a look he couldn't quite place but he said nothing. They ate in silence for a while and when they finished they buried the remains so they wouldn't draw the attention of any other predators. Falconblaze later showed Hawkpaw how to wipe their paw prints and cover the blood from the badger so it looked like they had never been there. A faint scent still lingered but it would soon fade away.
The two cats left the clearing just after sun-high and padded through the forest. Sunlight filtered through the almost bare branches, but didn't warm much.
"Leaf-bare isn't far off now." Falconblaze commented.
"What is Leaf-bare like?" Hawkpaw asked.
"Leaf-bare is the coldest time, when snow covers the ground and most prey hides in their burrows. It's hard to survive, but if you know how to track prey through the snow and stay warm you should be fine." Falconblaze replied. Hawkpaw thinks for a while.
"But if it's so hard to live during Leaf-bare, why does it exist?" he asks. Falconblaze looks down into the green eyes of his kin.
"Because Leaf-bare gives the world time to recover. A life can not become before another is lost. The leaves wither and die so new one can replace them. But after days of rest the trees can grow back bigger and better than the season before." he says. There was only certainty in his voice, telling Hawkpaw that this is just how it is. How it is ment to be. So the pale brown apprentice stayed quiet after that.
By sunset the woods were thinning, until they arrived at a two-leg place. Falconblaze lashed his tail in annoyance, then chastised himself. You couldn't expect to go your whole life without going through at least one two-leg place! Hawkpaw was staring at the weird dens in the distance.
"Is that where the two-legs live?" he asked. Falconblaze nods.
"Yes, that is the two-leg place." he said.
"Do we have to go there?" Hawkpaw looked up.
He has a good instinct, automatically uncertain about danger. Falconblaze thought with relief. Most cats his age would be excited and run into the weird place like a mousebrain.
"I'm afraid so." he sighs. Hawkpaw nods curtly and stares ahead. Falconblaze narrows his eyes to focus better on the horizon, and almost immediately cheers up.
"See that tall pointy blurr far behind the two-leg place?" he asks, pointing with his tail. Hawkpaw pauses to look and then nods.
"Uh huh."
"That's the mountains." Falconblaze smiles. "As soon as we're out of the two-leg place we will head that way. after leaf-bare of course." he says.
Hawkpaw stares ahead to the mountains, lost in thought. silently he turns around and pads back to where they scraped together a couple of nests earlier. Falconblaze remains standing, thinking about their far-away destination.
The wind whistling between the rocks, the steep edges and breath-taking sceneries, the eagles screeching far above them...
Yes! It will be wonderful. If only Mistyflight and Raven would be able to see it too. He smiles at the thought of his family, then pads back to his nest and settles down. He listens to Hawkpaw's rythmic breathing for a moment, letting the sound relax him.
Tomorrow. He promised. Tomorrow a new adventure begins!
