Raven felt the wind tug at her fur as she faced Shadow. The now ragged, wild, tom was standing with his paws planted firmly on the ground, his head and shoulders low, and his tail lashing slowly. His eyes glinted like black stones, showing no inner light, no feelings. His claws were incredibly narrow and long, like black needles. Raven quickly realized that Shadow consisted of no other colours than black, as if all pigment had seeped into the black hole that was his heart. If he even had one.
Raven stood more proudly, nobly. Her legs were straight, so was her back. She held her head high and glared at Shadow, who stood several fox-lengths away. Her tail tip twitched restlessly but Raven fought to remain clam and motionless. However, Shadow didn't seem to have any plans of revealing his moves either.
Seconds, minutes dragged by as the two enemies faced each other. There was no sound other than the howling wind and whirling snow. Clouds covered the edges of the mountain so they could see nothing but the platform they stood on. In a single smooth movement the they moved to either side, circling each other. Closer and closer they circled, until they the distance between them was halved. Then they stopped again. Raven was the first to move after that.
She leaped towards Shadow with a snarl of determination and her claws stretched out in front of her. He rose onto his hind legs and caught her, gripping her shoulders and hurling her into the snow. Raven twisted in the air and landed on her legs, skidding backwards towards the edge. Snow tumbled down the mountains side as Raven charged again.
Shadow tried to move to the side, but Raven managed to get a blow to his cheek. A wound opened up, but no blood came. Raven had not time to worry about this though, because now Shadow was the one attacking. He sprayed snow at her, blinding her for a moment, then knocked her onto her back. The breath was knocked out of her and for a moment she couldn't move or breath. Shadow placed a paw on her head and drove her muzzle into the snow.
Raven's paws flailed as she struggled to get up, but she soon stopped. It wouldn't help at all. So instead she gradually grew limp. When she stopped moving Shadow released his grip a little before realizing his mistake. Raven shot up and through the tom of, and he landed heavily in the snow. Raven was onto him in a heartbeat, pinning him down by the shoulders. He snarled at her and used his hind legs to rake her soft belly. Raven shrieked and backed of a little.
The two cats stood apart for a few moments, both planning their next moves. Raven was breathing hard, but Shadow didn't at all.
Something is definitely wrong with this cat.
Raven thought, full of disgust.
But how can I beat him? He must have SOME weakness... Right? He's not invincible.
Raven realized that she couldn't just beat this cat in battle and expect to win the war. She needed to end him, here and now. This darkness couldn't last any longer.
But Shadow must have noticed how Raven was focused on something else, because suddenly he charged towards her. His claws slicked across her back and side, leaving a long, thick, deep gash. She yowled with pain and stumbled forwards blindly. Shadow used this opportunity to claw the base of her tail. Raven stumbled more and fell into the snow. Raven walked up to her side and rolled her onto her back, placing unsheathed claws on her throat.
"You really thought you could beat me this easily, and escape your fate?" He snarled.
"It was worth a try." she retorted, fear making her brave. If she was going to make it, she had to play her cards right.
"No it wasn't. All you did was drag out the time. But I'm feeling generous today. I'll still let you choose option one or option two." He brought his muzzle closer to her ear, but his breath still carried down to her nostrils. It was the stink of death.
