Chapter Text
The sun was just beginning to set, gentle twilight surrounding the three ThunderClan cats on a border patrol that evening. Duskpelt, a black tabby tom with long fur and amber eyes, led the patrol. His mate, Suntail, a white and ginger she-cat with yellow eyes and short fur that was softer than the softest moss, and her apprentice Peachpaw, a calico tom with amber eyes and a temper as short as his stature, followed Duskpelt along the ShadowClan border.
“I’m starving!” Peachpaw complained, bounding in front of Suntail. “Can’t we stop for a bite to eat? Pleeeeaaasseeeee Suntail??”
Suntail chuckled, and shook her head. “No, Peachpaw, we need to hunt for the Clan first. You know this,” she chided with smile. Duskpelt nodded.
“We’re almost done with this border patrol anyway. On our way home, we can hunt for the Clan,” he responded. A loud screech broke through the conversation, causing all three cats to freeze.
“What was that??” Peachpaw demanded, not really expecting an answer from either of the older cats.
“I’m not sure, but we’re going to find out,” Duskpelt frowned, starting forward. “Stay close by me, Peachpaw that includes you.”
The three cats proceeded, glancing at each other as another scream broke through the trees, followed by a loud wailing. It didn’t sound like a cat’s wail, but it was impossible to tell what creature it was from sound alone. Duskpelt broke into a run, with Suntail and Peachpaw on his heels. It was not long before they found the source of all the noise.
A pair of two-legs were standing in a small clearing just inside ThunderClan territory. The smaller of the two was bleeding from two large gash wounds in her stomach, while the larger two-leg stood over her with a sharp pointed claw in his paws. The cats hid in a bramble bush a few fox-lengths away to watch what was happening.
“A two-leg fight!!” Peachpaw gasped as the patrol settled down and really got a look at what was happening.
“Hush!” Suntail hissed, brushing her tail over Peachpaw’s muzzle. “We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves and get that two-leg’s wrath turned on us.” Peachpaw nodded a little, shutting his mouth.
The smaller two-leg had fallen to the ground, clutching her wounds with one paw while the larger two-leg held her other paw tightly. They were screaming at each other, mostly the larger screaming at the smaller. Duskpelt winced as the smaller two-leg wailed and screeched at being clawed again.
“They’re going to scare away all the prey from here to the lake,” he frowned. His companions nodded in agreement.
The more the fight went on, the more sad it was. It was clear the larger two-leg had an advantage and had already defeated his opponent more times than Duskpelt could count. The smaller two-leg was losing her fight, becoming quieter and quieter with each attack. It wasn’t until the smaller two-leg didn’t make even the smallest squeak upon being clawed that the larger two-leg dropped her and walked away, leaving her to die..
“ugh… Two-legs, no honorable fight in them,” Suntail hissed, lashing her tail. “I wish we could do something to help her, at least.” Dusktail and Peachpaw made noises of agreement, all three cats watching the two-leg closely.
“We might be able to drag her off our territory at least, in case more two-legs come looking for her,” Duskpelt suggested. “I think between the three of us we should be able to, the border isn’t far from here. Only a few fox-lengths on the other side of her. It shouldn’t take long..” He glanced up at the sky. The sun had fully set by now, leaving the cats to see just by the nearly full moon and the stars.
“We can try,” Suntail nodded, carefully moving to get out of the bramble bush. A bright flash of light stopped her, as the light surrounded the two-leg. She flinched away, squinting her eyes. All three of them were left squinting in the bright starlight that quickly overtook the whole clearing. The wind began to kick up, whipping at the cats’ fur despite the bramble bush they were hiding in.
“What’s happening??” Peachpaw nearly yowled to be heard over the wind.
“I don’t know!” Duskpelt yowled back. There was nothing the three could do but wait for the wind and the light to die down… Leaving a severe lack of a two-leg.
“Where did she go-??” Suntail gasped, looking around in surprise once her eyes readjusted to the dimmer lighting. Ignoring Dustpelt’s hiss, she bolted out into the clearing, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw what sat in the puddle of blood the two-leg left behind.
“What? What is it?” Duskpelt demanded, running to her side. He too stopped, and stared. Peachpaw was right behind them.
“A kit!” Suntail murmured in surprise, carefully leaning down to give the kit a sniff. Sure enough, a white kit lay in the puddle, her fur slowly being stained red by the blood. “She smells like a two-leg, but she looks like a kit!”
“Did the two-leg get turned into a kit??” Peachpaw gawked, prodding the tiny kit with his paw. Dustpelt shook his head.
“Don’t be ridiculous, two-legs can’t become cats. Much less a kit. This kit must have been with the two-leg, and that light and wind might have been more two-legs.” Duskpelt reasoned. “She’s so white, she must have been missed when she blended in with the light.”
“I would bet a moon of removing ticks from the elders that this kit is the two-leg.” Suntail mewed, gently picking the kit up and moving her out of the puddle of blood. Setting her down on dry land, Suntail was able to check her for injuries. “No injuries to speak of, but she’s so small... She can’t be much older than a moon or two.”
“We should take her back to camp,” Duskpelt padded forward to give the kit a sniff and a nudge for himself. “We can ask Roseheart to take a look at her.”
Suntail nodded, picking up the kit by the scruff. The whole time, the kit had remained unconscious. It was hard to tell she was even alive, save for the very faint rise and fall of her little chest. Duskpelt nodded, then turned to lead the way back to camp. The Clan was in for a surprise, that’s for sure..