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The howls of battle could be heard from afar and the air was so stuffy from the intense smell of blood that Larkpaw thought for a moment she wouldn't be able to breathe.
Her heart pounded wildly the closer they got to the MoonClan camp. This would be very different from the short skirmish at the SnowClan border. This here was her first real battle.
Tail swaying, she dashed through the Hilltunnel - and stopped abruptly.
The camp, which was usually so peaceful in her memories, was full of cats, and it seemed as if everyone was fighting each other. Snarls could be heard from everywhere, branches and scraps of fur were scattered across the grass.
I have to be careful, like Stormpool told me. Crouched, Larkpaw crept along the edge of the camp wall. The apprentice couldn't see her patrolmates anywhere; they were probably already in the middle of the turmoil. But she didn't want to rush in recklessly and risk serious injury or even death.
Under the overhanging branches of a thorny bush she was protected from prying eyes, but at the same time had an excellent view of the camp. As she watched the battle, she soon noticed how she could tell MoonClan cats from LaurelClan cats by their techniques, even without recognising them by scent. MoonClan seemed to favour defensive techniques, as they rarely launched an attack and only defended themselves against the LaurelClan warriors, whose attacks were hard and merciless and without pause.
Larkpaw tensed in discomfort. Where are these allies Dashpaw was talking about?
At that moment, she noticed about a dozen cats swarming around the camp. Larkpaw's eyes narrowed in confusion. For some reason, they didn't seem to be attacking anyone. It looked more like they were looking for something or waiting for something.
However, Larkpaw wasn't the only one who had noticed the strange cats and their odd behaviour. Sparkletail leapt out of the crowd, the tortoiseshell RoseClan warrior clearly recognisable by the striking white speckles on her tail. She ran straight towards a black cat.
But just as she was about to pounce, a desperate screech rang out, "No! Don't attack them! They will kill you if you do!"
Sparkletail stopped abruptly. At the same time, the black cat leapt forward, their claws glowing ghostly in the night.
Then, faster than a flash of lightning, a third cat shot across the meadow and threw themselves between the two.
With a terrible groan, they fell to the ground just a heartbeat later, their throat torn open.
No! Larkpaw stifled a scream with difficulty. She closed her eyes in shock at the sight and pressed her mouth tightly shut to suppress the rising nausea.
As if she didn't care, the strange cat turned away and continued to wander aimlessly around the camp.
Trembling violently with fear, Larkpaw dared not move, let alone make a sound. Her head seemed to be pounding. I just witnessed a cat being killed! This one thought settled deep in her mind so that she couldn't think of anything else.
