Warriors: The Chosen Warrior: Final Darkness (Book 6)

Chapter 17

Within the next moment, the island was a mass of weaving bodies, shrieks and cries. Leafsong's eyes flitted to and fro in horror, not being able to recognize any pelts, or even keep track of one for too long. It looked like a brood of snakes writhing together.

"Stop!" she screeched form the Great Oak. "Everyone, stop fighting! Stop!"

Despite her efforts, she could barely hear her own calls over the noise of battle - no, war. Owlheart had turned the Clans against one another, and now they were all doing the fighting for her. Leafsong's bleary gaze scanned over the ring of Dark Forest warriors that still edged the clearing; they all stood still, simply watching the clashing Clans and ensuring the throng of the fight remained in the clearing.

She turned to look at Owlheart. The brown-and-white she-cat still sat haughtily in her branch, her amber eyes glistening eagerly as they looked down and watched the battle. Her ears were perked to catch every trace of yowl and wail that was sounded, and her whiskers trembled with pleasure.

Leafsong stared at her, her heart pounding. This one cat was destroying everything she had ever loved, everything she had ever lived for. Not only that, but she also now tainted the title of Chosen Warrior, a title that was once precious and brought hope to the Clans.

And where was StarClan in all of this? Why had they not come to help the Clans yet, to put an end to Owlheart's doings? The answer came to her in a flash.

They're waiting for me to act first.

Her claws already feeling the feel of Owlheart's flesh being ripped open beneath their tips, and her faith in StarClan rising to its peak in the moment, Leafsong thrust herself off her branch and toward the Dark Forest warrior. The force of her body bowled Owlheart off the branch. Leafsong began to fall after with she-cat, but one of her paws grazed the branch, causing instinct to kick in and her claws to sick into the wood, stopping her flight. With a gasp, Leafsong hooked her other paw into the branch and began to pull herself up. She risked a glance down to see where Owlheart had landed, but she didn't spot the brown-and-white pelt, neither in the lower branches nor on the ground beneath the tree.

Where did she go? she thought, stalling herself on the branch a bit longer to search the edge of the brawling cats.

As a close presence became known to her, Leafsong looked up. She gasped as she saw Owlheart standing firmly in the branch that she hung from.

"Surprise," the Dark Forest cat purred with a vain grin. She kicked Leafsong in the face with her hindpaw.

The impact forced the pale-ginger she-cat to release her grip on the branch. She fell from the tree, hitting many branches but not being able to get a grip on any. Every trace of air in her was driven out as she landed heavily on the ground between two of the large roots. Even as her head spun from the combination of the kick and the fall, she forced herself to stand up and gasp for air, shaking her head to clear the dizziness.

The coppery scent of blood was another kick to the head when it reached her nose. Now that she was on level-ground with the fighting, Leafsong could make out all the wounds that had already been dealt. Cats had freshly torn ears, large tufts of fur missing, blood-stained paws, and it looked like each one of them was dragged through a pile of thorns. The dark red tint from the moon didn't help the scene look any better, either. She briefly searched the throng for Darkflight, but from all the chaotic action she couldn't tell which black cat was which.

"That was a good first move."

Leafsong turned to see Owlheart standing a few tail-lengths away. She didn't look winded at all, unlike the ThunderClan warrior.