Shadows of Stars

Chapter 3: Fight!

ThunderClan camp swam into focus. Ah. Of course this would come up. Their first success. 

He was in a large clearing, surrounded by trees and brambles. In front of him crouched a sandy yellow and black tabby. His eyes shone with a mocking light.

"Scared, kittypet?"

"Never!"

He could hear the tremor in his voice. This cat was trained and powerful, he was young and weak. But no, he could do this. Determination flowed through him. And then the other cat struck.

Taken by surprise, Rusty desperately tried to dodge, but the blow struck him hard. Another swipe, and he felt blood welling on his cheek. Out the corner of his eye, he saw a cream blur. He ducked, the paw missing him - just. A tiny bit of confidence came back into him.

The next round came, a flurry of swipes, accompanied by savage snarls as he somehow managed to dodge them. It was like his senses had suddenly sharpened to levels he never knew they could.

The other cat was getting frustrated, being shown up by a 'kittypet' in front of the whole clan was not what he had wanted. As Rusty watched, a savage gleam came into his pale eyes. This was not good. Rusty backed away, alert. The other cat backed away, he relaxed a bit. And then the warrior sprung, crossing the space between them like lightning and he leaped. Straight at Rusty, whostood there, paralysed, as the cat bore down on him, claws out. Every part of his body screamed at him to move, but he couldn't. Time slowed down, and finally regained use of his limbs, but it was as if he was moving through mud.

A blinding pain knocked him to the ground, and his breath was driven from him as the ground rushed up. It hurt so much...

He gazed round the clearing, too stunned to move, sides heaving. To think he had a chance of beating him. To think he could become a Clan-cat, how stupid had he been... A small part of him rebelled. No. I could have, I still can... But he couldn't move...

He could feel the ground vibrating as the tom came closer, each step a miniature earthquake. Then the tremors ceased. He gave up hope.  'He's coming in for the final blow. He's going to jump. This is it. My dream, gone. ' One big thump. 'He's leapt. Any second now..' Rusty closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable...

                ~~~Soulblaze~~~
Nope. Nope, nope, nope. It had to win this fight. It had to! But its host was pretty much done, and the other cat hadn't even broken a sweat. Rusty was massively outmatched. If only it could find a way to help! Frustration was building inside it as it helplessly stared  down at its host sprawled in the dirt. Why? It had only just started its new purpose as 'Guardian of the Clans' and already it was failing miserably; it couldn't even help a single winded cat, let alone four whole Clans. It growled. There had to be a way. Scrunching its face up with concentration, it desperately wracked its brain for a solution, anything that would help it now. Nothing. No. It wouldn't, it couldn't take no as an answer. So it tried again, harder this time, reaching into every little nook and cranny of its mind, every memory, every thought, every idea. And found something. It silently crowed with victory. Time to even this fight up.