Warriors : Rise of the Weather [2] : The Brightest Star (OLD/DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Six

Mosspounce's lip was curled back and his teeth were bared. His eyes showed not a sliver of surprise or shock at finding Snowdrift, but instead contempt and murderous intent. Uncertainty welled up inside of the white tom, and he took an uneasy pace back.

"I'm here to end the treachery and betrayal you have brought upon ThunderClan. You're a coward!" Mosspounce's last words were filled with rage for battle, and in less than an instant he had Snowdrift writhing beneath his unsheathed claws.

"Mosspounce! Get — off!" Snowdrift snarled, kicking up his hindlegs against Mosspounce's stomach, struggling to not tear open his soft belly flesh, but unsheathing his claws enough to draw blood.

Mosspounce howled, and hooked a claw through the air and slicing open Snowdrift's cheek. Letting out a screech of pain, the white tom finally managed to kick his opponent off of him, heaving for breath. Rearing onto his hindlegs, he performed a quick double swipe, managing to nick Mosspounce's ear and tear open the tip of his nose.

Snowdrift dropped onto all fours, his eyes slitting as the battle tactics from his training swept like a wave through his mind. As Mosspounce spun back around to face Snowdrift again, the white tom latched his teeth around Mosspounce's tail and gave a tug, in return earning a furious slash of claws across his shoulder. Mosspounce's claws remained gripped tightly on Snowdrift's shoulders, and the white tom struggled to throw him off. Dropping to the ground, Snowdrift's quick absence in his struggles caught his opponent off guard and he managed to quickly slip away into undisturbed snow.

Heaving for breath, Snowdrift's muscles already seemed to ache. Mosspounce as well was taking a moment to catch his breath, swiping the blood away from his muzzle with a rasp of his tongue. A moment of silence hung over the clearing, the rumbling sound of thunder above them and the roar of the gorge just beyond the rise disturbed the still air.

The silence lasted for only a moment, for Mosspounce launched himself towards the still exhausted Snowdrift. Bracing for impact, Snowdrift arched his back and stiffened his muscles, hissing furiously and squinting his vulnerable eyes.

But the expected pain never came.

A shriek of fury erupted through the air, and in an explosion of bracken and debris Streamflower burst into the clearing, flinging herself and barricading Snowdrift behind her arched form. Mosspounce flew through the air, and was unconditionally locked into battle with his sister rather than his target in less than an instant. The littermates fell into a writhing ball of white and gray, hisses and snarls breaking through the air as they lashed out at eachother in a vicious attack.

Lightning struck the ground only tail-lengths away, resulting in an earsplitting crash. The siblings broke away from each other with matted pelts, and began to pace around, eyeing the other with studying gazes.

"He's corrupting you, Streamflower." Mosspounce growled breathlessly. "Why do you help him?"

Streamflower barked a bitter laugh, her faded tail lashing against the snow. "What in StarClan's name are you talking about? If anything, Pebblestar has been corrupting you." She meowed, her eyes slitting to a small glare. "You just tried to murder my mate. And why? Just because you had a few skirmishes in the past, back when you were apprentices. For StarClan's sake, get ahold of yourself!"

Mosspounce growled, his claws sinking furiously into the ground. "You don't understand, Streamflower!" He yowled. "I hate him! He betrayed me. He left me in the dust." Tears were welling up in the gray tom's eyes, and from his weakened position in the snow, Snowdrift's brow furrowed in confusion.

What could I have done to cause him to think that? He wondered, crouching even closer to the ground. He felt so tired, he just wanted to sleep forever. However much he felt like closing his heavy eyelids, Snowdrift kept them open.

"He left our clan, and now he has to pay for betraying not only me, but all of ThunderClan." His last words were barely even a breath, and with a screech he shoved past Streamflower and grappled his claws around Snowdrift, tackling him mercilessly to the ground.

The two toms rolled in earth and snow, their tumbling forms growing eerily close to the gorge as the lightning above increased to nearly constant flashes and roars. Snowdrift battered Mosspounce's face with unsheathed claws, now fighting for his life as the gray tom struggled to latch his teeth around Snowdrift's throat to deliver the killing blow. The white feline cried out as Mosspounce managed to tear out a large clump of bloodied fur, and his stunned mate finally gathered her bearings.

Hauling Mosspounce away from Snowdrift, Streamflower reared onto her hind legs in perfect symphony with her littermate. Her claws lashed out and she hooked one right above his eye, holding him writhing in place as he struggled to swipe at her with both paws. The two dropped to all fours, and Snowdrift scrabbled to his paws. Pressing his flank against Streamflower's the two began swiping at Mosspounce in perfect sync, driving him steadily towards the raging gorge. Snowdrift knew Streamflower didn't intend to shove the opposing tom off the edge, but rather force a surrender.

Mosspounce clearly didn't know that was the case, and was growing antsy as he backed further away from the duo's thorn sharp, never ending torrent of claws.

"Would you really — kill your own brother — for such a flea-pelt?" Mosspounce hissed between dodges. He was now in desperation to defend himself, but nowhere near dissipating his greed to end Snowdrift's life.

The three now stood on a ledge. A downpour of rain began to pound around them, slicking back their fur and drenching into the snow, making it a slick, slippery slush. Mosspounce was warily eyeing Snowdrift and Streamflower, his lip peeled back and baring his teeth.

Streamflower took a step forward, staring calmly into her brother's eyes. "Mosspounce. Stop attacking Snowdrift. He did nothing wrong, and does not deserve this." She murmured, her golden eyes glittering in the light of a lightning strike.

Mosspounce froze for a moment, meeting his green gaze to hers.

"I can't."

He lurched forward once again, claws outstretched towards Snowdrift. The white tom's fur bushed out and he arched his back, taking a quick step to the side and quickly averting the gray tom's attack. Mosspounce fell to the ground behind the mates, quickly scrabbling to his feet and staring them down with narrowed eyes. Streamflower let out a yowl of fury.

Snowdrift and Streamflower were now the ones backed against the ledge. Mosspounce had gained the upper paw. Mosspounce had realized the shift in their situation, and grinned. There was no stopping him now. He leaped forward with all his might, claws raised in the air and his teeth bared against the whistling rain, he was set on his target, and Snowdrift knew that there was no way he could escape his death. Just as he expected Mosspounce to reach him and tear out his throat, a gray form surged in front of him, buckling under Mosspounce's momentum and skidding on the slippery ground.

Mosspounce rolled with Streamflower for a few moments, before quickly scrabbling to his paws and leaping away from the edge. Streamflower, however, continued slipping as the ground began to slope downwards towards the ledge. She desperately writhed her paws against the loose snow, but it was too wet. Her golden eyes were wide with terror, and she let out a pitiful cry as the ground lurched beneath her.

"Help!" She screeched, still finding no hold on the snow.

Snowdrift lurched forward, his heart nearly stopping. He scrambled along the slope, trying to find a way down without falling.

But he was too late.

The ground gave way beneath Streamflower's paws, and with a mortified screech she plummeted down into the raging gorge. Her paws churned in the air and her cry for help dissipated as she crashed into the water, swallowed whole by the raging current.