High Speed Winds

Chapter 2

Hopeglow leapt at the she-cat and pinned her down, knowingly causing a ruckus, but she mentally fixed that, thinking, I'll just kill the others after this one.

"Hey!" Mistletoepaw gasped, tumbling through the lush undergrowth. A low growl rose in the apprentice's throat, and, in a flash, she spun around at high speed and broke free. Where in StarClan did that fox-heart learn that move? Hopeglow swore in her head, frustrated.

The medicine cat could see the white she-cat panting from the effort, and for the first time, she noticed two small intersecting lines on her chest, a fleshy pink. How did this kitty get a scar?

Hopeglow heard the shuffling of brambles, and her ears pricked up, a jolt of panic running through her as she spotted the young warrior who had been named Opalstorm, scanning through the bushes, but keeping silent.

She felt her muscles hesitating to choose who to attack first. Mistletoepaw, or Opalstorm.

Opalstorm turned towards the fight, and her fiery blue eyes widened with alarm. The she-cat crouched down into the brambles, her eyes narrowing as she slipped out of sight, much to Hopeglow's surprise.

A rustle in the branches startled Hopeglow. Leaves cluttered on her pelt as a blur of white crashed into her. Hopeglow immediately recognized Mistletoepaw crouched in front of her, her green eyes cold with fury.

"I thought you were my friend." She frowned, her whiskers twitching.

"I have no friends, only enemies! Until you can get that in your head, then your death is sooner than you think!" The medicine cat snarled viciously. She raked her claws in front of the apprentice's face, who swerved back to avoid it.

Mistletoepaw jerked forward, claws unsheathed. Sharp pain flashed in Hopeglow's ear, and blood began to trickle from the wound.

"Fox-heart!" Hopeglow yowled with fury.

The medicine cat began to lash her claws out in the direction of the apprentice.

Hopeglow stopped when she realized she had clawed nothing. Mistletoepaw was crouched in another corner of the bush, and Opalstorm was closing in on her.

Ughh! What— Who am I supposed to kill?

The gray she-cat let out a growl of frustration, and leapt out of the bush. She circled back to where the apprentice and warrior were fighting. Mistletoepaw had her tongue out mockingly and her claws poised, glancing around and trying to find Hopeglow.

Suddenly, Hopeglow leapt down on her back and bit on her neck. The medicine cat tasted blood on her tongue as Mistletoepaw howled in pain. She kicked her hind legs against the white she-cat's back, leaping up and slashing Opalstorm across the eyes.

The two she-cats off-guard and recovering, Hopeglow reared away before whipping around and starting to dash through the jungle. Tangled vines attempted to hold her back, but they burst as she put in more force to her wild dash.

Suddenly, a black shadow leaped out from the brambles, and tackled Hopeglow with a ferocious hiss, sinking claws that were sharper than thorns into her neck painfully. Hopeglow hissed back, baring her teeth at the shadow, which had hopped off and was crouching down in a stalking position.

The she-cat spotted metallic, silver eyes glinting with rage in the darkness, and Hopeglow's fur prickled as she realized that the shadow was the thin tabby tom named Shardfang.

A growl rose in her throat as she dropped down into a crouch, staring the tabby tom down with fury. She bunched her muscles up before lunging at him, seeing him rear away from her feint attack before she pummeled him from the side.

Tearing her claws across his flank and biting down, the tabby tom tore away, leaving a clump of his fur in her mouth, which she spat out.

Hissing, the black cat whirled out of her grasp, and crouched down, lunging forward and returning what Hopeglow gave him with a scratch on the side and a small bite on the leg, not enough to bleed, but surely enough to hurt.

With a sharp glare, Hopeglow stopped, turning her head and licking the bite tauntingly. She then stretched out, looking up at the tom, who had dismay glittering in his eyes.

Hopeglow rose to her full height again, muttering, "You and your little girlfriends are all fox-hearts," before turning swiftly and disappearing into shadows of the lush trees.