South Park - Warriors

Chapter 5

Ghostpaw batted his enemy with his hind legs on his back. "Take that you flea-bitten dung!" He kept striking at the cats belly with claws unsheathed until his opponent howled in despair and he felt flesh rip under his claws. "Hah, and you'd call yourself a warrior?"Ghostpaw snarled, boasting his win.
"You go get 'em, Ghostpaw!" Cheered Butterpaw beside him, who had just finished tackling an apprentice, leaving him with a torn ear.
      Ghostpaw bounded over to stand beside Butterpaw, staying alert for any other cats willing to fight.
      "Why would they do this?" Butterpaw's voice only seemed like a murmur compared to the roaring crowd of battling cats.
      "I don't know, but by the looks of it they seem to have brought their whole clan into battle." Ghostpaw answered vigilantly.
      "It's not like Birchclan to ambush us like this in our own camp—especially the day before the gathering." Butterpaw's whiskers twitched watchfully and narrowed his eyes, scanning the clearing for a clan mate who was out-numbered.
Abruptly, a lean, black tom raced towards Ghostpaw's and Butterpaw's direction. The golden tabby stiffened his muscles, ready to leap at the apprentice, but before he could they skidded to a hault.
"Ghostpaw, Butterpaw!" Greeted the rival joyously.
"What do you want, Moonpaw." Hissed Ghostpaw with no remorse in his tone. "Why are your clan attacking ours?"
"Right before the gathering, too." Butterpaw broke in.
"I have come in peace, and so have the others." Moonpaw's voice remained even.
Ghostpaw flicked his tail towards the rummaging cats. "It doesn't seem like it to me."
"I'm not talking about those cats, I'm talking about these ones." With a flick of his tail, two other apprentices came speeding towards him.
The two apprentices were both toms; a golden long-haired tabby, and amuscular dark brown-black cat.
      Ghostpaw unsheathed his claws, his eyes rippling with alarm.
      "Don't worry, we're not going to attack you." Moonpaw promised.
      "Then why are you here? And why have your whole clan attacked ours?" The golden Peakclan apprentice repeated.
      A brown-black tom stepped forward. "Sandstar had remarked Peakclan of stealing our prey, way over the border, so it wasn't a mistake. She declared that an ambush attack would put Peakclan back in their place, and now we're ordered to gather border patrols day and night now."
      "What!" Butterpaw spouted out loud. "But our clan has stayed on our own land."
      Ghostpaw narrowed his eyes distrustingly. "Then why are you three here?"
      The three Birchclan apprentices glared at each other uncertainly. "W-we think we might know who has been stealing our prey." Spoke the  golden tabby, twitching his ear. 
      After a moment of silence had passed, Ghostpaw mewed. "Who?"
      Moonpaw turned towards the battering crowd of cats, squinting to make out a brown tuft of fur, he flicked his tail. "That one, the big, brown fat and fluffy one."
      Butterpaw raised his head. "Bigpaw?"
      "Let's go get him." Ghostpaw lowered his head and darted out into the yowling battle, the other apprentices right on his heels.
      A broke off shriek made Ghostpaw turn his head. It was a Peakclan warrior pinning down the black tom apprentice.
      Moonpaw spun back to go after his clan mate. "Go on without me, don't wait for us!" He called over his shoulder as he pounced on top of the warriors shoulders.
      Ghostpaw broke into a run again with the last Birchclan apprentice between him and Butterpaw—to prevent any other cats coming out to attack them.
      All three remaining apprentices haulted in front of Bigpaw, who was brawling with a tortoiseshell warrior.
      "Bigpaw!" Ghostpaw spat, hoping to get the apprentices attention over the roaring yells of fighting cats.
      Bigpaw let go of the rival warrior—caught off guard—and stood straight to face his clan mate. "You made me loose them!" His opponent skidded away and leaped back into battle. "I easily could have took them down if you hadn't distracted me!" Hissed the big brown tabby.
      The yellow Birchclan apprentice stepped forward to sniff the other apprentice cautiously. He then began to speak, his voice shaky. "It is you! Why have you been stealing Birchclan prey? You don't need the extra weight, anyway."
      Ghostpaw stifled a mrrow of laughter, but Bigpaw seemed to have not noticed the cats cruel comment. "And who in Starclan are you?" The brown tabby demanded.
      "S-sunpaw." The amber tabby groomed his chest for a few licks, trying to muffle his stutter.
      "Okay, and why are you here?" Bigpaw twitched his whiskers.
       "Gah! I shouldn't have to repeat myself—you've been stealing Birchclan prey, and you know it!" Sunpaw sneered.
"If anyone's been stealing any prey, it's Gingerpaw!" Bigpaw shuffled his paws impatiently, itching to get back to wrestling with another opponent.
"Gingerpaw?" Butterpaw echoed, cocking his head.
"You can probably find him in the medicine den where he's dealing with all his nerdy herb duties." Bigpaw had no more concern with the stolen prey of another clans, and bounded back into battle.
     Ghostpaw gave Sunpaw and Butterpaw an uneasy look. He then signaled with his tail, and all three apprentices hared onward. Before they even arrived at the medicine den entrance, Ghostpaw spotted Reedpaw with Gingerpaw beside him.
"Gingerpaw!" Ghostpaw raced ahead towards the two round-eyed toms.
"What's going on?" The medicine apprentice blurted at once. "Why in Starclan are another clan attacking ours?"
"Apparently, Peakclan have been stealing Birchclan prey." Sunpaw repeated once again. "Sandstar declared battle against Peakclan for crossing fox-lengths across the border. We stalked the prey stealer and aligned the scent with Bigpaw's, but he pleaded not guilty." The tabby paused before going on. "He told that you were the one who has been stealing the prey."
Reedpaw rested his tail cautiously against Gingerpaw's flank as two spiting and snarling grappling cats past them.
"This isn't right. And Bigpaw isn't right." The red-pelted cat meowed sternly. "All that cat is, is a liar! I have never stole prey from another clan, and what use would it be spending all my time hunting on another clans border when I'm here dealing with my own medicine tasks?" Gingerpaw flexed his muscles in pure rage. "Where is that border crossing, fox-breath! I'll rip him to shreds!" Before anyone could stop him, Gingerpaw fled into the brawling huddle of cats, hissing and snarling.
Ghostpaw, Butterpaw, Sunpaw, and Reedpaw all pelted after the dawn-furred apprentice, dodging and ducking over battering warriors. Ghostpaw and the other toms skidded to a stop where Gingerpaw and the brown tabby stood. It was too late to stop the fight, now.
Gingerpaw—suprising for a medicine apprentice—leaped high and extended his forepaws forward, claws unsheathed. He clutched onto the big tabby's shoulders, shredding his thick brown fur through flesh-ripping talons.
Bigpaw let out a holler of pain and agony, but that didn't stop the furious red apprentice. Gingerpaw tumbled his clan mate onto his side, then pinned him down with rippling muscles.
"I swear to Starclan, if you blame it on me for being a prey stealer, I'll tear your filthy fur off!" Gingerpaw bent his head down with jaws agape, aiming for Bigpaw's throat. Before he could finish the huge tabby off, he lifted in the air.
Gingerpaw flew to the dirt ground. "What were you thinking!" It was Blazinglion. "You've got to have bees in your brain to even consider tackling your own clan mate!" The ember tabby towered over him.
      "Yeah, bees in your brain." Bigpaw muttered under his breath as he got up hazily.
      "We need cats fighting rival cats, not our own." Blazinglion exhaled with disappointment. "You're spending the rest of tomorrow cleaning out the elders den and going through their ticks, no going to the gathering with you."
      Ghostpaw felt Reedpaw hold his breath beside him. "Wait!" Reedpaw shouted, stepping in front of his friend. "You can't do this—he has to come to the gathering tomorrow night!"
      "There's always next moon." The ginger tabby turned his back, leaving the apprentices to mope by themselves, and springed in to the battlefield.
      Reedpaw turned to face Gingerpaw. "This isn't fair, he can't do this to you!" To me! he thought.
      The medicine apprentice ruffled his fur against Reedpaw's as he paced by. "It's ok. Blazinglion's right, there's always next moon." He ambled away gloomily, leaving his clan mates and Sunpaw behind.
      "This isn't fair." Reedpaw whispered to himself. Butterpaw lied his tail tip on his back comfortingly.
      "It's okay, fella." Butterpaw trotted onward, with the rest of apprentices beside him into battle—except for Reedpaw.