The Prophecy Foretold: Testing Alliances

Chapter Fourteen

Snow crunched beneath the patrols paws, freezing Puddlepaw's pads. The first snow had fallen, and she was mesmerized by its beauty. And by how cold it was. Half the patrol was huddled together, fur fluffed up for warmth as Barkfeather led the way ahead, sniffing the air every so often.

"Is snow always this cold?" Puddlepaw asked, looking up at her mentor. Heavytail nodded, his breath coming out as a heavy fog.

"It can be even colder. Watch out for icy bits, you can slip and hurt yourself bad. This is fresh snow, so it shouldn't be much of a danger."

"Don't know why we have to even do patrols. I can't smell anything in this weather." Blazingstrike huffed, his fur so fluffed he looked like the sun. Puddlepaw snorted, but agreed. The snow left a cold, crisp burn in her nose, and dried her tongue when she tried to open her mouth to scent the air.

"It gets easier every leafbare, don't worry." Jaymask chattered, the thin tom huddled in the middle of them all. He lacked their thick fur, and she could practically see him trembling.

"Stop." Barkfeather called, and the patrol froze, the older warriors lifting their heads to smell the air along with their deputy. Barkfeather's fur raised, but not due to the cold.

"Fox." Barkfeather murmured, turning back to the patrol. "And it's recent."

"What should we do? It may still be in the area." Heavytail asked, and Barkfeather was quiet for a moment, before nodding.

"Jaymask, run back to camp and gather more cats. We have to drive it out, now." Jaymask blinked, surprised. Heavytail furrowed his brow, stepping forward.

"Is that a good idea? What if Jaymask isn't quick enough? It's just us two, a new warrior and an apprentice."

"We'll be fine. Jaymask, go." The tom didn't hesitate this time, nodding and carefully creeping away. He was quick, and light on his paws as he bounded away, back for camp. Heavytail sighed, and Barkfeather gave him a look before turning away, sniffing the air. "Come. Let's see if we can't track it."

Puddlepaw felt her heart pounding as they moved through the snow. Barkfeather has gone insane. Tracking a fox?

Heavytail stayed close to the apprentice, looking vigilant. They trailed down to a small clearing, where Barkfeather stopped. The clearing was full of churned snow and dirt, and there was a shallow den that had been dug out underneath the thick roots of an old tree. An awful stench hung around the clearing, making Puddlepaw nauseous. This must be what fox smells like.

"Nothing here." Barkfeather mumbled, sounding almost disappointed, and Heavytail nodded.

"We should go before something does come. We know where it's den is now, we can come later with a bigger patrol." Barkfeather ignored Heavytail, sniffing around the fox den. Heavytail lashed his tail, snorting. "Did you hear me, Barkfeather? We can go."

"Quiet!" Barkfeather turned quickly, snarling. "Who is in charge here? Who is your deputy, Heavytail?" Puddlepaw was startled by Barkfeather's aggression, the other two warriors equally shocked. Heavytail blinked with his mouth open, uncertain of how to respond. Heavy crunching echoed in the clearing, and a deep snarl cut the tension. From the dead bracken came a huge fox, it's fur ragged and body thin. Puddlepaw had never seen a fox before, and it was nearly twice as big as Barkfeather, and definitely far bigger than her. It had deep orange fur, patchy in spots, and foam clung to its teeth, mouth open in a hungry daze.

Heavytail quickly placed himself in front of Puddlepaw, his claws sliding out. Blazingstrike stood by him, chest puffed up but his limbs trembling with fear.

For a moment the clearing was still, the fox's heavy, rank breath billowing out before it's jaws, full of shiny, sharp teeth. The fox yipped suddenly, and pushed forward, sending snow flying behind it. Barkfeather yowled and launched towards it, raking his claws down the fox's side. It pushed past Barkfeather's attack, and Heavytail leapt to meet it, landing on its shoulder. The fox cried out, jerking around to try and force Heavytail off.

Puddlepaw watched in terror as the fox flung Heavytail off, and her mentor flopped against the ground, wincing. The fox lunged at the tom, who just barely pushed away from it's snapping jaws.

"No! Hey!" Puddlepaw cried, and the fox lifted it's head, jerking it's gaze to Puddlepaw. Far too quickly it had crossed the clearing, and Puddlepaw reared on her back paws, raking a paw across the fox's nose before diving underneath it. The fox twisted, trying to follow her, and the end of her tail was caught by it's jaws. Puddlepaw yelped, feeling hot blood pour down her tail as she was yanked into the air. She saw Blazingstrike flash by her, and slam into the fox's flank with his whole body, digging his claws into it's ragged fur and soft skin. The fox fell over, releasing her from it's jaws. Puddlepaw slammed against the ground, a sharp pain making her vision go white as she landed on something far harder than the glittering snow.

A ringing deafened her ears, blinking quickly to try and clear her fuzzy vision. When her vision returned she saw Barkfeather attacking the fox's rump, the fox biting Blazingstrikes back leg, and yanking him off. Blood dappled the snow, and Heavytail still laid off to the side, his chest heaving.

Then, the muffled sound of paws hit the clearing, and the familiar scent of her clanmates washed over them. Redstar led the battle patrol, flying down into the clearing with Jaymask,, Berryleap, Hayfeather, and Bumblescar. Bumblescar and Hayfeather quickly went to Heavytail's aide, Jaymask landing beside her. The silver tabby leaned down and nudged her cheek, eyes wide.

"Are you alright?" Puddlepaw nodded slowly, her head aching with each movement. She could barely hear Jaymask, and she felt confused, the scene before her moving in almost slow motion.

The fox had gotten up off of it's side, and was trying to snap at the warriors as they ran forward, attacking and then running away in trained unison. Wounded, the fox just grew more feral, twisting and turning to try and catch the cats as they raced past, angering the beast.

Redstar launched himself at the fox, claws extended, and the fox turned swiftly, catching Redstar mid air in his jaws. The leader let out a howl, which was cut short by a hard crunch as the fox bit down on his body, and the Thunderclan leader went limp.