Warriors: Finding Home

Chapter Twelve

     Sootpaw leaped on top of a large white tom. He felt his muscles ripple beneath his pelt and knew what was going to happen next. He unsheathed his claws and held fast to the tom's skin. The tom shrieked in pain, but shook back and forth to free himself of Sootpaw's grip. The tom reared on his hindpaws and fell hard backwards. With the air knocked out of him, Sootpaw let go. The white cat scurried off to fight another SunClan cat.

     Sootpaw saw Eagleclaw defending the elder's den, against two toms. He rushed in to help. Sootpaw pummeled the black tom with blows until he ran away and joined Eagleclaw fighting the dark ginger tom. She matched him blow for blow. Ebonyfoot and Echowing poked their heads outside, then hurried back to safety. The ginger tom soon ran off.

     Sootpaw glanced at Eagleclaw to look for sounds, but she had already scampered off to help Sunpaw with a white she-cat. He spotted Rock Teller tossing with Ratstar and pondered going over to help. There's no time!

     Sootpaw was toppled over by an enemy cat when she rammed into his side. All the breath left his body for a second. When he regained control, he jumped up. And just in time. The she-cat hit thin air with an outstretched paw. The black she-cat's tail whipped back and forth. She lunged at Sootpaw's throat and missed by a whisker when he pulled back.

     They are trying to kill us!

     Sootpaw reared back on his hindquarters and landed a blow on the long-limbed she-cats shoulder. She winced in pain bit fought back. She heaved herself to her hindpaws and landed blow after blow against Sootpaw's head. Feeling a bit dizzy, he shook his head to clear the cobwebs. The black she-cat slipped on a loose pebble and it made her fall backwards. Seeing the opportunity, Sootpaw slashed at her delicate belly. He felt the fur part to reveal soft akin and felt that, too rip. He stumbled back, realizing what he had done and drowned out the sound of her yowls. What if she dies because of me? I can't let that happen. No cat deserves to die!

     He raced back to where they had fought and stopped. The she-cat was gone. He spotted her a ways off, limping towards the exit tunnel. She was leaning against a brown and white tom. He couldn't do anything now, but at least she had survived. His own wounds sting like fire, but he ignored it. There were still plenty of tribe cats fighting in SunClan's camp. Ratstar was landing blows on Rock Teller, and all the tribe cats were being pushed back towards the exit tunnel. We were winning. He joined Marshpaw and helped her push back a tortoiseshell. Finally, all the tribe cats fell backwards. Rock Teller was the last to leave.

     Ratstar collapsed where he stood and Buzzardwhisker rushed over to him. Nectarpaw was studying her clanmates wounds. She came over to Sootpaw and gasped.

     "Your ears!"

     Sootpaw just now realized that his ears were burning.

     "What? What happened to my ears?"

     Sootpaw flung himslef outside the camp and peered into the puddle near the mountain. He looked at his reflection in sheer horror. His ears were nothing more than scraps of fur and skin. The black she-cat had torn away at them. Angered, he tore off in the direction of the tribe cats who were on their way home, but was pulled back by Ivyfang. She was bleeding steadily from a wound on her shoulder, but still managed to carry Sootpaw's weight back to camp.