The air was warm and still when Falconblaze woke. Fewer birds were singing and the wind had stopped completely. The sense of dread loomed in air, making his fur prickle and shiver. Today would be the final confrontation with the wolves, and all he had to make sure was that they came out of it better than the pack.
It will be us. He promised silently, looking ahead across the meadows. Hawkpaw padded up to his side. In the distance the rumble of thunder could be heard, and a slight wind finally picked up, Falconblaze glanced over at his apprentice. The young tom was looking ahead too with leaf green eyes filled with determination. His pale brown tabby fur and whiskers were rippling in the breeze.
"You feel it too, eh?" Falconblaze comments. Hawkpaw nods.
"It's in the air." he replies. Falconblaze sighs and looks ahead again.
"When I first met you, you probably didn't even know I existed yet. You had just been born and couldn't open your eyes. But that was right before I left, so I don't remember very well myself. Then I returned, 6 moons later, to take you with me. You were just a young kit, excited to see the world and go on adventure. And now? How long has it been, 3, maybe 4, moons? Yet, you know more than a full grown apprentice about life. It's just so strange to see those you know so well grow up and change." He pauses for a moment and looks at Hawkpaw for a long time. He smiles as he looks into the younger cat's eyes, letting his words sink in.
"But I have also grown to know you better. If it hadn't been for everything we have been through together... I trust you. And there is something that has always pained me, every time I think back to it. I was hoping that maybe if I told somebody it would make it better. I never told anybody you see, but Mistyflight was there so she knows too. It was long ago, I was only a kit, and yet it has done more damage than I would have thought."
Hawkpaw looked at Falconblaze, worry showing in his eyes. Falconblaze couldn't bring himself to look at his kin though, and focused his eyes on a cloud in the darkening sky. He was about to continue when he heard a wolf howl in the distance.
"They are here." he said instead, standing up. Hawkpaw stands up too, bristling. "Are you ready?" he asks. Hawkpaw nods. "Then let's go."
They start walking towards a small forest, surrounded on one side by a steep fall to the ground. It wasn't far from the top, but enough to keep the wolves down. They took the back route though, through clusters of bushes and trees. When they were ready, Falconblaze came to the edge of the cliff and let out a challenging yowl.
Not long after they could hear the wolves approaching. After a few more heartbeats they appeared, running towards them at full speed. Hawkpaw bared his teeth and hissed at them, Falconblaze simply stood up tall and snarled.
"You will never take us!"
The wolves, about fourteen of them, all crowded beneath the rocks. The leader, a huge gray male, stepped out to the front. He glared up at them for a long time, planning, then barked a command to his pack. Three at a time they attempted to climb the sandy hill, but every time they slipped back down. While they tried, the two cats lashed at those who came to close. Suddenly a young black male leaped up to the middle of the hill, and dug his claws in. With a snarl he managed to leap again; spraying sand and dust over his growling pack-mates. In one more bound he leaped over the edge and turned to face Falconblaze and Hawkpaw.
"What do we do?" Hawkpaw asks, but his words are drowned in the rumble of thunder. Lightning suddenly split the sky and immediately rain started falling.
"Lure him over the edge!" Falconblaze yowls back. "Sneak around him, attack from behind! I'll distract him!" Hawkpaw nods. Falconblaze faces the wolf and lashes at it's muzzle. Hawkpaw quickly darts behind whilst Falconblaze keeps clawing at the paws and face.
"Come take me!" he yowls at the wolf, walking backwards. He kept rearing until he stood at the edge of the cliff. "Now Hawkpaw! Push him!"
Hawkpaw leaps onto the wolf's back, shoving it roughly closer to the edge. The wolf yips and skids in the mud, but manages to stop. Falconblaze hisses.
"Come on wolf! Fleabag! Vermin! Mouse brain!" he taunts, willing the wolf to leap for him. "Pup! Twoleg toy! Scabby dog-"
With a furious howl the wolf leaps towards him. Immediately Falconblaze leaps into the air, landing on its head. He then leaps again and lands safely up on the ledge. He turns around and watches the wolf roll down the hill and land at the bottom. Several of the other wolves comes rushing forwards and helps him up, then he limps off to the side and glares up at Falconblaze and Hawkpaw with narrowed eyes.
"We did it! We-!" Falconblaze flicks his tail at Hawkpaw to be silent.
"Not yet." he growls. Hawkpaw looks at him with a puzzled look, but Falconblaze wasn't watching. Instead he was scanning the crowd of wolves below, in search of the leader.
He's not there. he thinks with a sinking feeling. He turns around and looks the way he and Hawkpaw had come. The apprentice follows his gaze.
"Is there something there?" he asks nervously. As he spoke a pair of glowing eyes appeared in the shadows, and the big, gray wolf stepped out to confront them. "Is that the leader?" Hawkpaw whispers, backing off to stand next to Falconblaze.
"That's him." Falconblaze nods. "So let's take him down!" he screeches and leaps onto the leaders back, digging his claws in. Hawkpaw was right behind him and held onto its scruff. With a mad snarl the wolf tried to shake them off, but when that didn't work he twisted and rolled onto his back. Falconblaze however, saw it coming and managed to leap off just in time. Hawkpaw stumbled off too.
The wolf stood up and turned to face them, but by then the two cats had already started attacking his scarred muzzle and ears. With a howl of pain he stumbled blindly backwards.
"That's it Hawkpaw! Keep going!" Falconblaze yowled. Hawkpaw bared his teeth and lashed out with greater force, clawing the wolf until it started bleeding from every cut. Desperately trying to get them away, the wolf shook his head and snapped at their paws, but also kept stepping back, edging closer and closer to the edge.
Finally they managed to push the leader wolf so far the edge crumbled beneath its paws. But as if plumaged to the ground the snapping jaws found Falconblaze's tail and grabbed it. With a screech it pulled Falconblaze down too. Falconblaze kicked it sharply on the nose, making it let go and then desperately clung on to the slippery sand.
"Hawkpaw!" he yowled. But the tom was already reaching down to his mentor. "Just a little farther..." Falconblaze muttered. Digging his hind legs into the side of the cliff he forced a sloppy jump up and Hawkpaw grabbed his scruff. With huge effort the apprentice managed to pull him up again. Together they peered down at the wolves again.
They were all crowded around their leader, who wasn't moving at first. Then he stirred, and slowly got up. With a last look up at the two cats he admitted defeat and led his pack back to their camp.
"We did it." Falconblaze whispers. Hawkpaw smiles.
"We sure did!" he agrees.
"Come on, let's go home." Falconblaze turns and nods in the direction of their nests. Hawkpaw trots up to his side and they walk back home together.
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When the two toms finally got back to their nests Hawkpaw seemed to remember something. As they settled down for some well earned rest, he asked.
"Before we went to fight, you were going to tell me something." he says. Falconblaze closes his eyes and swallows.
"Yes. I had to tell you some time." he sighs. Hawkpaw frowns at him.
"I won't judge you. Please, tell me!" he says. Falconblaze looks softly at him.
"You might want to rethink that afterwards." When Hawkpaw doesn't reply he decides to give up, that postponing it will only make it worse.
"Remember when DarkClan attacked us in camp?" he asks. Hawkpaw nods and bows his head.
"Yes." he whispers. "We lost a lot of good Clan members that day." he looks up at the stars, as if seeking out those who belong to his lost friends. "But what about it?"
"I think it was my fault."
