|☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ ☁| Dark Forest V.2 |☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ ☁|

Peachdapple hissed as claws scored her muzzle. She flicked the blood from her nose, growling as she rose to her full height to send a flurry of pawstrikes back at the she-cat. “You should know better than to doubt me when it comes to the cats I protect!” She snarled.

Wrenflight quickly stepped back, glancing at the now distracted cats before he narrowed his eyes. The obvious route would be getting the finishing blow on Yarrowcloud. He only hoped Darkeyes wouldn’t kill him too quickly.

Darkeyes huffed as Yarrowcloud's foot made contact, knocking the air out of him. He fell back with a growl, this crippled elder wasn't supposed to be able to fight! Darkeyes rolled, quickly getting back to his paws and rushing at Yarrowcloud again. His paws slammed into the other tom's shoulder, attempt to knock him over. "It's a shame Shadowblossom didn't tag along. I would have loved to see her face when I kill you."

Rosethorn took several steps back, avoiding a few of Peachdapple’s strikes while the rest found their marks. She growled and feinted right before dodging around her left, she slashed out at the medicine cat’s flank, aiming to dig her claws in deep.

Yarrowcloud gave a harsh grunt as he was slammed into. Darkeyes was strong, and with Yarrowcloud's bad leg, balance was hindered greatly. Yarrowcloud fell to the side under the force of it, but not before kicking out with his hind leg again, and slashing with his forepaw. "I would have never let here come here! Not after all you've done to her!" He snarled. "She'll never see it! I made sure of it." He held no fear of death, knowing his body was far too weakened to defeat both Darkeyes and his father. He looked quickly at Peachdapple, pleading for her to protect Silentflare. Wrenflight would want to kill him, and so he hoped he could fight back enough to give himself at least a fighting chance before he was sent to Starclan... unknowing of what happened when a cat died in the Dark Forest.

Wrenflight turned his attention to where Lilyleaf and Silentflare were fighting. He shook his head sharply, a cold laugh escaping him. "I've no reason to kill you, Silentflare. I meant what I said, in that I only had room for you, and your mother. I'm- we're- doing you a favor. An eye for an eye. Your brother killed me, and now I will kill him. And a medicine cat, that's my trade for these wonderful volunteers." He nodded once to where Peachdapple and Rosethorn were fighting viciously. He continued. "You won't have to see his face anymore. He won't be a thorn in your side. I can even offer you the opportunity to land the killing blow, Silentflare." He offered, knowing it would be much sweeter to see them kill eachother.

Peachdapple snarled as she felt her flank well with blood. With a sudden burst of energy, she swung herself around and slammed her body into Rosethorn's side. Her eyes flicked over to Yarrowcloud, who looked her way only for a moment. She didn't need words to understand that Yarrowcloud wanted her to protect Silentflare. She bared her teeth, shoving hard past Rosethorn to make a dash for her younger brother.

Trapped here? Yarrowcloud snarled, trying to buck the tom off of him as he growled. “Unlike you, my faith is strong. Kill me as you please, but I don’t fear where I will go! You are as much a fool dead as you were alive, if you think Shadowblossom is the same cat she was moons ago when you destroyed her life! She’s stronger than you’ll ever be, Darkeyes!” He boomed, knowing in his heart that it was true.

Silentflare was knocked off balance, stumbling a step and trying to regain his footing. He slashed out awkwardly at Lilyleaf, just wanting to keep her away. “No! I won’t kill him.” He snarled to his father. “You lied to me! You turned me against him!”

Hollowpaw slashed at Wrenflight and hissed at him again, feeling anger well up inside her. “I won’t let you touch him!” She spat at him, tail lashing furiously. The apprentice crouched down and lunged at Wrenflight again, claws aiming for the dark tom’s muzzle. “I can’t believe I let you use me like this! You’ll pay!”

Rosethorn growled lowly and dug her claws in, her jaws snapping out at Peachdapple’s legs. Her main objective was to keep Peachdapple occupied long enough for Wrenflight to finish what he started, and that’s what she was going to do.

“Oh, that’s what they all say. After all I’ve taught you? To Thunderclan, you’re a blind waste of space.” Wrenflight mewed coldly, blocking Hollowpaw’s slashes with his foreleg before he lunged towards the apprentice, aiming to weaken her to do exactly as Darkeyes suggested. “But here, you can watch what I’ll do.”

“Hollowpaw!” Yarrowcloud gasped as he saw the apprentice, as well as the way his heart ached when he saw Silentflare being attacked. He hadn’t expected so many cats as his father’s back-up, and he tried his best to heave Darkeyes up, to no avail. If he was to die, he did not want the others to die with him.

Peachdapple kept trying to kick harshly at Rosethorn, practically dragging her as she continued her brutal trek to get to Silentflare. She cursed sharply. “Rotted crowfood of a cat! Get your claws off of me!”

Hollowpaw stumbled back when Wrenflight lunged at her, yelping in pain when she felt his claws make contact. She gave a sharp shake of her head at his words, refusing to believe them, “No I’m not! I won’t let you hurt anyone else!” She hissed, legs starting to shake as she continued to lash out at Wrenflight. How could she be so stupid?! This was all her fault! Hollowpaw had to put a stop to Wrenflight and quickly. But she could already feel her strength leaving her, her body still exhausted from the lack of sleep and from her sudden swim during the day.

Rosethorn adjusted her grip on the medicine cat, working on bowling the large she-cat over. “Not a chance. Don’t you want to watch the show? Wrenflight prepared it especially for the three of you. Granted the little apprentice was a surprise, but it would be rude to interrupt even more when it’s just getting good.” She said with a dark laugh, using her back paws to kick out at Peachdapple’s legs.

“You letting me do anything is laughable.” Wrenflight smirked, able to use the apprentice’s lack of full training against her. She got a good slash or two in, before he swept his paws quickly into hers, teeth sinking into her scruff to hold the apprentice down. A part of him wanted to sink his teeth in and kill the pest, but he knew that there was no point in all the extra fanfare. Darkeyes had Yarrowcloud pinned, and he wanted to feel the blood beneath his claws when he killed him.

“Then finish it, coward!” Yarrowcloud growled up at Darkeyes. “Don’t you want to be the one to kill the tom who your daughter will always love more than you? Taking orders from Wrenflight of all cats? He’s a walking pelt of bones, he’s weak!” He tried to goad, wanting to at least take away Wrenflight’s satisfaction of killing him. Yarrowcloud slashed his fear away. He would never be afraid again. Starclan would guide him home, when he died here, that he had no doubt.

Peachdapple hissed with annoyed pain, Rosethorn digging her claws into her back. She snarled. “The only show I plan on seeing is what you’ll look like when I’m done with you!” She reared her head back to take a fierce bite out of the she-cat’s leg. She was growing more panicked, more angry, as she saw both her brothers being attacked. She knew then, at least one of them would not make it back tonight.

Hollowpaw yelped as her paws went out from under her, and struggled to get out of Wrenflight’s grip. “Let me go!” She snarled at him, paws flailing at him.

Rosethorn snarled and sank her teeth into Peachdapple’s shoulder again, ignoring the pain from the medicine cat’s blows. She flicked her ear in frustration, glancing over to where Wrenflight had Hollowpaw pinned. He’d better hurry things up soon, because Rosethorn doubted she could keep Peachdapple occupied for much longer.

Darkeyes stepped off of Yarrowcloud, "Gladly." he mewed to Wrenflight with a dip of his head. He bared his teeth one more time at Yarrowcloud before he swiftly moved to hold down Hollowpaw. "Don't move you little scarp, and maybe we'll let you live."

Lilyleaf flew through the air with a shriek as Silentflare flung her off. She landed heavily on her side panting. She looked at Wrenflight, eyes narrowed. "Finish this, now." she demanded, dragging herself back up to her paws and after Silentflare.

Wrenflight approached Yarrowcloud, who looked up at Wrenflight with a mix of calmness and muted hate. He gave a cold grin, blood staining his teeth as he rasped. “Lightningstar was right. I can’t believe I was ever afraid of a cat like you once. The fact that the only way you could kill me, is to have me old and crippled and ambushed? You know you would lose if I had been at my prime, when you died.”

Wrenflight slashed a clawed paw fiercely against Yarrowcloud’s face, the short hiss of pain interrupted by the black tom’s deep and hateful growl. “You should have died moons ago, you are the reason for everything that happened to me! Thunderclan would be mine by now if it hadn’t been for you, and your wretched mentor!”

“Lightningstar’s a better leader, a better cat, than you could ever be.” Yarrowcloud wheezed, turning his head to Wrenflight. “You’ve failed everytime, this time will be no different. You may hate me more than you loved anyone else…” His good eye shot back over to Peachdapple, Hollowpaw, and mostly at Silentflare. In the blue gaze was all the assurance in the world, that Silentflare wasn’t to blame. That it wasn’t his fault.

“But I love them, and I love Lightningstar and Shadowblossom, and Thunderclan, more than I hate you. Killing me now? You still won’t win. You will always be nothing more than a coward.”

“I will show you a coward!” Wrenflight screeched, red encasing his vision as he lifted his forepaw up, claws glinting in the muted darkness of the Dark Forest. With a fierce snarl, his claws came down and scored through the elder’s throat.

“NO!” Peachdapple wailed, watching as blood spilled thickly from her littermate’s throat. Everything moved as if in slow-motion, and she felt the adrenaline flee from her body, limbs shaking in her agony. She tried to get away from Rosethorn, to desperately try and stop the bleeding, but it was a delusion. That kind of wound was enough that no amount of healing could treat. She gave an anguished screech.

Hollowpaw froze as Wrenflight slashed Yarrowcloud’s throat, her eyes widening in shock. After a brief moment, she renewed her struggle against Darkeyes, finding a small bit of strength left in her. “No! Let me go! Now!” She shrieked, turning her head and snapping her jaws at the dark warrior’s legs.

Rosethorn’s eyes glinted in glee as Peachdapple struggled in her grip, digging her claws in deeper. “I wonder who he’ll kill next?” She said with a teasing purr, “Perhaps it will be your younger brother, or his little apprentice?”