Squeezing through the hole in the fence, Sly emerges into a clearing following both a housefolk fence and a dark forest. Glancing around, Sly sees no other cat than herself. Where had Windwhisker and Skyblaze gone? Parting her jaws, Sly takes a deep breath, searching for the now familiar scent of Windwhisker. Catching a faint trail, she follows it straight into the forest. Picking up the pace, it is harder to follow the trail, but Sly doesn't want to be in the forest alone. Suddenly, the scent is cut off, and Sly grinds to a halt. Searching around where the scent disappears, Sly scents blood. Lots of it. Windwhisker?
Sly continues examining the blood when she hears a sound from nearby. Without making any sudden movements, Sly parts her jaws a bit wider, trying to ignore the blood, and smell whatever is making the new noise. A cat! She realizes that she has stopped in the middle of a clearing, standing there like a piece of prey. But she doesn't dare move. Hearing one faint rustle, Sly drops onto her stomach and feels large claws pinning her down by her shoulders, ad she wails in pain. "Let me go!"
"Why would I do that? I didn't let Windwhisker go." The familiar voice growls and one of the clawed paws lifts and pushes Sly's face into the bloody dirt. "Doesn't it smell familiar?!" It growled and laughed.
"Skyblaze, what are you doing this for?!" Sly wails with a mouthful of dirt. "Windwhisker was your friend!"
"He was my competition for being deputy. So I KILLED HIM!" Skyblaze growls and laughs. "And I can blame it all on an injury some stray cat gave him." Sly feels the weight of Skyblaze lift off her but she knows he is still above her. As soon as she tries to move, he swings one massively clawed paw at her, and it sends her flying. A bramble bush catches her harshly and cuts up her side. "And imagine the admiration I would receive for killing my best warriors' killer?" He growls, then lunges at Sly with claws aimed at her throat.
Sly moves just in time for the claws to gauge her shoulder rather than her throat. She wails in pain and Skyblaze scoops her up and flings her back across the clearing. He is playing with me! If he keeps this up, I really will die!
As soon as she regains her breath, and Sly gets back to her feet, Skyblaze starts back toward her. "Any last words?"
"Your LYING!" Sky wails at him and collapses back onto the ground.
Skyblaze stops. "What makes you think I am lying? I am deputy and he wanted it. It's only reasonable that I killed him."
Sly glares up at him. "Your lying! You are a clan cat so you have to be!"
"And what do you know about being a clan cat?"
Sly staggers back to her paws and leans against a tree root for support. "Windwhisker told me... last night... and Bluestar too... that Fireclan cats are loyal to each other... Something like being called 'deputy'... wouldn't cause Fireclan cats to kill each other." She rasps.
Suddenly, there are voices behind Sly that she never noticed until that instant. "Did you really tell her that much already?" one velvet-like voice asks.
"Yes, but did she say Bluestar?" Windwhisker!
Sly turns abruptly and pounces awkwardly into the trees. She lands on only three paws and falls onto her muzzle again. Trying to get to her paws, Sly fails miserably, and lays in the clearing, eyes closed, catching her breath. "Windwhisker!" She wails. "Windwhisker, are you safe?"
"Yes, I'm safe." Windwhisker whispers to her and Sly feels his warm pelt pressing up against her, helping her to her paws. "And I'm proud of you."
"Windwhisker!" Sly mumbles. "Skyblaze is evil! He is trying to kill you!" She tries to push the big grey tom with her head, but he doesn't budge a mouse-length. "You need to get away from here! While I distract him, you can get away!"
