Hollystar leapt down from the highledge as her siblings came from either side. Lionpelt looked worried.
“Windclan plans to take some of our territory. They’re crossing the border as we speak.”
Hollystar called the clan together and announced the battle plans. They were very good, sure to defeat Windclan without losing any territory, and probably gaining some.
She charged out of camp, many warriors behind her. The two forces clashed in a quick and decisive battle, with Windclan breaking ranks and fleeing, her warriors in pursuit. She had just finished chasing a few stragglers back into their camp when something prodded her side.
She looked around, desperately trying to find the source to no avail. After several more prods she woke up to Crowfeather standing over her.
“It’s almost sunhigh, done hibernating yet?” he asked.
Hollypaw stood up. “Yes. If you’d taken one of the night watches then I wouldn't have slept so late.”
"We both know I’m the better night hunter, so it made more sense for me to go hunting while you guarded the camp."
That reminded her she was very hungry, not having eaten since coming through the Moonpool. “Did you catch anything?”
“No.”
Hollypaw turned away. “That makes sense,” she muttered under her breath.
“And why is that?” Demanded Crowfeather, giving her a sharp look she didn’t need to see to know was there.
So, she had underestimated his hearing. “Think about it Crowfeather. You’re Windclan. In a forest this dense…”
“Ok, then you go hunting. A Thunderclan cat like you must be able to catch some prey,” he snarked.
“I think I will,” Hollypaw retorted. She set off to find prey and show him that she was a capable hunter.
As sundown approached Hollypaw returned to Crowfeather with her catch.
“What’s that?” asked Crowfeather, pointing his paw at the skinny white fox-like thing in her jaws.
She dropped her prey and replied, “Not sure. It stole a plump vole I was about to pounce, so I took it as prey instead.”
“Like the Tribe,” Crowfeather observed, memories of the Tribe cats putting fresh-kill out as bait for eagles running though his mind.
Hollypaw paused for a heartbeat, “Yeah, I guess it’s sort of like that.”
Crowfeather ate the mouse and they shared fox-snake in the awkward silence of two students from rival schools who had, for some reason, been forced to sit next to each other. Just as they were finishing their meal they began to smell something halfway between a wolf and rotting plants. They both got up and looked towards the source of the scent.
Crowfeather had smelled wolves once before, but the scent had been stale. He’d heard them described as intelligent dogs, and he believed those who told him, but it was hard to imagine such an animal could exist. He had also heard that they lived without twolegs. Usually a wolf wouldn’t mess with animals as large as he was now, but if it was resorting to eating crowfood it would have to be desperate. On the upside a starved or sick wolf would be easier to fight, on the downside it would probably attack them.
As it got closer he realized that wolves must be a lot bigger than he had thought. He looked at Hollypaw, but she was staring at the bushes from which the wolf would emerge. He hoped they were ready.
The bush surged forward, growling. “Great Starclan, it’s a plant!” Crowfeather shouted as he and Hollypaw leapt away from the snarling wolftree.
“Hr hrrrrrraaarrrrrrrr!”
Crowfeather and Hollypaw took two steps backwards and circled around in opposite directions until they were as far from each other as from it. It leapt at Hollypaw but she deftly dove aside. The wolftree kept going for a few tail-lengths before coming to a stop and turning around. “Badger defense?” suggested Hollypaw.
Crowfeather nodded. Good plan. They both ran towards the wolftree, Hollypaw started to swipe at its foreleg but it swung its head at her. She spun around, but her paws had no claws in her current form, causing one of them to come off the ground as she spun. She tried to run, but the delay caused by her stumble let the wolftree hit her flank which made her tumble to the ground.
While this was happening Crowfeather leapt at the wolftree in an attempt to pass over it and attack it from the rear. Unfortunately he only reached its upper back before slamming into it, frantically scrambling to catch hold before it could reach him. He made his way to atop it and began digging at its neck with his teeth. It snapped at him but couldn’t reach. Then it slammed into a tree, causing Crowfeather to lose his grip and fall to the ground.
The beast staggered back a step, and Hollypaw took the chance to ram its right foreleg as hard as she could with her shoulder. Unfortunately this appeared to have little effect. She jumped back right before it smashed its paw through where she had been standing.
Hollypaw looked over the back of the wolftree. She smirked and her eyes glinted with a spark of determination. She leaped up, and just before she reached the height of her jump her wings snapped open and began flapping like she was a giant hummingbird.
Crowfeather blinked. Of course, we have wings. I should have used those, he berated himself. Hollypaw touched down behind the wolftree and bit down on the left rear leg. The beast howled and slowly turned around. By Starclan, she bit its leg off! Pushing past his shock he attacked the remaining hind leg at the lower knee. It snapped off with less resistance than he expected. Then it fell to the ground and tried to claw its way towards them to no avail.
They both backed up a few fox-lengths. Sooo, maybe I overestimated its durability. He grunted. Hollypaw beamed, but stopped when she noticed he was watching her. There was a long pause. “I saw it knocked you off, are you alright?”
“Yes,” Crowfeather responded curtly. He looked away, awkward at the attention from a random Thunderclan cat.
“At least it’s down.”
Slowly the pieces of the wolftree's hind legs began floating together and reforming. Both cats stepped back. Hollypaw stole a glance at Crowfeather. “I can't take it alone, get over here!”
By Starclan! She wants to fight it again? “Are you harebrained! We can't, now jump up a tree!” Crowfeather leapt up, and with the help of his newfound flight landed on a low hanging branch. When he looked back he saw Hollypaw had done the same.
Crowfeather and Hollypaw began climbing further up into the canopy. The wolftree continued to prowl below as they slowly but surely made their way to each other. “Do you have a plan?” Crowfeather asked.
“Why are you asking me? You're a warrior and I'm just an apprentice.”
“You're more familiar with forests,” he countered.
“Oh. Right.” Hollypaw thought for a moment. “Maybe we could do something like when Bluestar and Firestar killed the dogs.”
“Bluestar was involved? All I knew was that she died and Firestar killed them.”
“Yes, Bluestar and Firestar got the dogs to chase them off a cliff.”
“Alright,” Crowfeather agreed. "We should look for a cliff.”
That night Crowfeather and Hollypaw slept in a sturdy pair of branches, which overlooked a steep cliff. All night the wolftree paced below, with occasional growling. As Crowfeather stood the second watch Hollypaw was uneasy about falling asleep, unsure which was more disturbing, the wolftree below or the rival cat across from her.
When sunrise came Hollypaw stretched and looked around. She looked at Crowfeather. “Crowfeather, do you think you can still turn sharply?”
Crowfeather thought for a heartbeat and nodded, then looked at the wolftree. He checked to see if it was far enough away for him to get enough of a head start. Deciding that it was he nodded to himself and dropped to the ground.
Behind, he heard the wolftree scramble after him. As he neared the cliff he smelled its rancid breath getting stronger and stronger. He didn’t dare to slow down as he approached the cliff. Starclan help me, I'm going to fall!
A mere fox-length from the edge he turned as sharply as he could to the side, barely avoiding both the cliff and a furious swipe from the wolftree as it passed over the cliff. After two heartbeats he slowed down and looked over the cliff to where the wolftree had shattered into pieces. Thank Starclan, I didn’t fall. As he continued to watch in dawning horror the wolftree began to reform.
Crowfeather leapt up the closest tree with a burst from his wings and began to shakily make his way back towards Hollypaw. About halfway back he met her making her way along the branches toward the cliff. “It's reforming!” he warned. “We should probably stick to the trees.”
Hollypaw nodded. “I guess we'll hunt from the trees like owls then.”