Warriors: Shadows Of The Night

Chapter 27

Graypaw let out a yowl as the fox lunged at him. He crouched and fluffed out his fur, his yellow eyes wide with shock and fear.

"Stay away from him you useless mange-pelt!" Sandpaw snarled, unsheathing her claws and crouching. The brown she-cat was preparing to lunge at the fox, but Ravenpaw leaped in front of her.

"What are you doing?" Sandpaw screeched, lashing her tail. "The fox is attacking my brother! I have to help him!" Her green eyes blazed.

"You can help by getting Thornwhisker and Palefoot," Ravenpaw replied, staring sternly at the younger she-cat. "I'll stay and help Graypaw." She winced as she heard Graypaw let out a wail of pain. Please StarClan, don't let Sandpaw argue!

To her relief, Sandpaw nodded. "Fine. Just do whatever you can to help him, please!" She turned and hared away through the forest, back to the clearing where Palefoot and Thornwhisker were. With a sigh of relief that the younger apprentice had listened, Ravenpaw turned back to where the fox was attacking Graypaw.

Graypaw was fiercely swiping at the fox's muzzle, but Ravenpaw could see blood soaking the young tom's shoulder. Clearly the fox had already hurt him. Unsheathing her claws, Ravenpaw launched herself at the fox and swiped at its haunches. The fox let out a yelp and whirled around, turning on her now.

The fox snapped its jaws close to Ravenpaw, but she managed to leap out of the way just in time. The fox let out a snarl and leaped for her, swatting at her with its black paws. Ravenpaw ducked its blows, hissing. The fox let out another high-pitched yelp, and Ravenpaw saw that Graypaw was standing on his hind legs, digging his claws into the fox's spine.

"Leave our territory, mange-pelt!" Ravenpaw snarled, leaping forward and swiping the fox's muzzle with her claws. Droplets of blood scattered across the forest floor, and Ravenpaw leaped back again, feeling highly pleased. The fox shook Graypaw off its back with a yelp and stumbled back. It blinked its yellow eyes rapidly before suddenly going for Graypaw again.

"Graypaw!" Ravenpaw gasped, flattening her ears as the fox clamped its jaws around his neck. Graypaw let out a shriek of horror and pain.

I can't let the fox kill him! Ravenpaw thought. With a cry of rage, Ravenpaw dove underneath the fox and rolled onto her back, clawing at its underbelly with all four paws. The fox stumbled back with a yelp and Ravenpaw rolled out from underneath him. She saw that the fox had released Graypaw, and she let out a relieved sigh. He's injured, but at least the fox hasn't killed him.

Her fur bristled as she saw the fox stare at Graypaw again as if the gray tom were a juicy piece of prey. She realized the fox was going to be harder to fight off than she had thought. Oh no. Where are Palefoot and Thornwhisker?

Before the fox could attack Graypaw again, Ravenpaw launched herself and it and leaped onto its back, sinking her claws into its fur. The fox yelped and twisted its head to bite her, but she was well out of its reach. She bit down on its ear as hard as she could and pulled. Her own ears were nearly deafened by the fox's screeches of pain, but she refused to let go. I can't let it kill my Clanmate!

Then, she felt an odd sensation in her teeth. She realized that she was tearing the tip of the fox's ear off. Suddenly she yanked a bit of flesh off the tip of its ear. The fox let out a howl of agony and shook itself hard, flailing its entire body. Ravenpaw went flying off and landed on the ground hard.

Dazed, Ravenpaw lay on her side and looked at the fox. She watched as the fox pawed at its ear with a yelp of pain before turning and running into the woods beyond. A sigh of relief escaped her; the fox was gone. with a grunt, Ravenaw heaved herself to her paws and went over to Graypaw.