Warrior Cats Fanfic: The banished clans

Chapter 3

Pebblepaw watched as Buzzlingleap faded into the distance with a heavy heart.
No, I can't be sorry for her! She's a Moonclan cat. Pebblepaw thought as she trailed back to camp. The patrol would most likely be cancelled now, it was already sun-high!

She walked back into the camp, the overwhelming scent of fresh kill filled her mouth. Rabbit, mouse, and.. fox?
That's unusual, we haven't had a fox attack in-

"PEBBLEPAW, RUN!" Rosastorm screeched.

Pebblepaw froze in fear, there was a fox, in the cave, and it was coming, this way!

"MOVE!" Rosastorm shouted.
As Pebblepaw obviously wasn't going anywhere, Rosastorm grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and sprinted away from the fox. Pebblepaw was swaying through the air, and looked behind her, but all traces of the fox were gone.

"You don't need to carry me, I'm not a kit! I can run by myself." Pebblepaw moaned.

"Would you have rathered I left you to be eaten by the fox then?" Rosastorm scoffed through a mouthful of fur.

"No. Well, uh thanks." Pebblepaw mewed. "You can put me down now, the fox is gone."

Clearly relieved by this, Rosastorm dropped Pebblepaw and opened her mouth, probably scenting the air.
She looked around the clearing they were in, and noticed that the fox had steered clear of the area, Probably gone back to its den.

Pebblepaw stood up and groomed her fur, she turned to Rosastorm and asked, "Should we go back to camp now?"

Rosastorm flicked her tail, signalling to be quiet, so Pebblepaw stopped speaking. What was going on? First a Moonclan cat over the border, and now a fox! That's the most that's happened in a day since she was kitted.

Pebblepaw was getting restless sitting there waiting, so she strained her ears in case she might be able to hear something. An ear-splitting yowl was coming from only 10 tail-lengths away. They sound familiar. Oh starclan, it's Pinekit!

Without thinking, she dashed to where she could hear the sound. Of course, she thought, a fox den.

She heard pawsteps, and dived behind a bramble bush. Her heart was thudding in her chest, why do kits have to get into so much trouble? Then again, she wasn't one to talk. She could remember how her and Merrypaw used to get up to all sorts of trouble when they were kits. Once, they had followed Silverheart to the Sacred Waterfall, and she had almost drowned in the waterfall. She could picture it now, flailing her legs around and trying for air, as the water crushed onto her tiny little body. She could remember Merrypaw, then Merrykit yowling for help. Luckily, Silverheart woke up in time to save her, but after that, it all went black. She was in the medicine den for a quarter moon, and even when she was out, she was confined to the nursery alongside Merrypaw for their dangerous escapade.

She shook herself out of her day-dream, No, we're in the present now, and we have to save the kits.

She stretched her jaws to scent how far away she was from the kits now. Not far. She crept out from the bramble bush, and stalked towards the den, her heart pounding.

She was closer now, and she realised that not only was Pinekit there, but Sunkit and Ironkit were too! Oh starclan help me.

Her heart was beating rapidly, I have to do this. She thought.

She continued to stalk towards the den, and now she could see it all. The fox was blocking the entrance to the den, and she could only see its rear paws and tail, which was lashing back and forth. The wails were louder, and she heard Pinekit telling his sisters "Don't worry, I'll protect us!" He had a shiver in his voice, he's doubting what he's saying.

Her mind was racing, what could she do? She could go and get Rosastorm, but she was too far away for that. Going back to the camp would be foolish, after all, the camp was ages away, and the kits probably would be dead by the time she got back.
She dreaded what she was saying, but she had to do it. "I have to attack the fox." She murmured, whether she came out of that fox den dead or alive, she had to protect the kits. She unsheathed her claws and felt them sit uncomfortably on the stone ground.

She crawled up to the fox den, and pounced on the fox's tail. She bit into it and scratched its flank.mIt turned around instantly, and shook her off of its tail.
"Run kits run!" She yowled as the fox landed onto her.
Remember your training. She thought, her mind scanning over everything she'd learnt. Kicking up her hind legs, she managed to escape from the fox's menacing grip. Taking a quick glance to her right, she saw that the kits were creeping around the fight, their eyes wider than ever. I hope they're okay.
She pounced on its back once more and scratched it well, but the fox did something she didn't see coming, and rolled over so that she was squished between it and the floor. She tried to think of what to do, but the longer she thought, the slower her brain was going.

She finally thought of something, and with the little room between her and the fox, she stretched out her paws and scratched its stomach. It winced in pain and let her out, but the battle was far from over. She scrambled up and distanced herself from the vile creature. Just as she was preparing to leap at the fox's neck, it leaped at hers and sent blood gushing down her pale grey fur as it clawed her throat.

Stay strong.. y-you can do.. this.

The world was swirling around her and she was loosing balance. She collapsed to the floor, and fought to stay awake, but her eyes were closing, and she couldn't do anything to help that. She let herself be sucked into the void of nothing, and her body went limp.