Northstar was out of camp, hunting with Ozzy. She was only half paying attention, so she wasn't catching much. Things had been to tense-yet quiet-at camp. No one trusted Ravencall and Icecloud to be alone together, being the moon and sun cats. The death of the mysterious tomcat, Jabber, hung over WolfClan like a shadow. She didn't know if any other cats felt the same way, but Northstar was always paranoid that Talonclaw would come out of the shadows and maul her.
The silver she-cat shook her head to clear it, and realized the vole she was stalking had disappeared. She hissed in frustration. "Not having much luck?"
Northstar jumped, but saw Ozzy with a large bird at his paws. She shook her head. "No, but it seems you caught something. Nice job, not many cats can catch a seagull on their own." she commented.
"Don't give me that much credit," Ozzy replied. "It's wing was torn to shreds, so once it noticed me, I just had to chase it down the shore."
She stepped forward, examining the bird more closely. When Ozzy said it's wing was torn to shreds, he wasn't kidding. The wing-or what was left of it-just looked like a torn lump of feathers and was bent at an unnatural angle. "What...what do you think did that?"
"Don't worry. I don't think Talonclaw would do this to a bird then leave it," The former kittypet told her.
She glared at him. "Obviously!" Northstar hissed, though she still has the suspicion he was responsible.
Ozzy rolled his eyes, but that just irritated her more. "Come on, I saw three or four rabbits at the drop-off when I was on a patrol. We can see if their still there."
Northstar decided not to argue, and padded towards the drop-off while Ozzy picked up his seagull and pelted after her. Ozzy eventually caught up to her. Eventually, she couldn't stand the silence. "So, what do you think Talonclaw is up too?" She asked, looking at him as they pushed through the ferns ontop of the drop-off.
Ozzy jaw dropped open, and he let go of the seagull. "Um, standing right infront of us..." he said.
The leader whirled around, and sure enough, the large brown tabby tom stood infront of them. He had bleeding wounds across his belly and haunches. His ear was torn and he had a long wound down his shoulder, half of his tail had been bitten off, and his left eye was closed with claw marks slashing across his face. The fur on his throat had been ripped off, reavealing an array of claw marks, and there was a bleeding X on his chest. Talonclaw stood staring at them, fear flashing in the one eye that was open.
"Run..." He commanded hoarsely, panting. When Northstar and Ozzy stayed standing stiffly in their places, he roared again. "Now...! Ru-run!"
There was a flash of black, and Talonclaw was barreled over. A young, lithe black she-cat had him pinned down, and she bit down on his neck. He gave a shudder, and then fell still. The she-cat turned her stunning, ice blue gaze on them. "Take this cat's advice," she meowed in a surprisingly gentle voice.
Northstar stayed silent, shocked. Her eyes were stretched wide and her heart started racing. Ozzy stepped forward. "Who are you demanded, and what are you doing here!" he demaneded.
"I'm Bless," she meowed simply.
Ozzy opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't say anything, he turned his gaze to Northstar. She was slowly backing away, and when she was a foxlength away from Bless, she turned tail and ran. Everything was a blurr as she ran back to camp, and she vaguely remembered shoving past Rabbitcatch as she skidded into the clearing.
"Northstar!"
"What's wrong?"
"Are you ok?"
Voices came from all around her, but she didn't bother responding. She had been exhausted from her run back to camp, and she stood unsteadily, panting and looking at her paws. She jumped when she felt another pelt brush hers, and when she saw the ginger-and-white tabby, it took her a moment to place her name.
"Northstar, come with me," Heatherfur meowed. The silver tabby felt like she was going to collapse, and she was wavering on her paws. Heatherfur pressed against her side, and a young grey tom came to support her other side.
"C-cinderpaw?" Northstar stammered. He didn't respond, they just started leading her towards the medicine cat den. She looked around, and started recognizing her clanmates. She then saw Ozzy standing near the entrance in a ring of cats, panting.
Heatherfur had Cinderpaw try and settle Northstar down in a nest while she went into the medicine cat den. She could vaguely hear Cinderpaw trying to consol her, but she couldn't make out what he was saying over the blood pulsing in her ears. Heatherfur returned and placed some leaves and seeds infront of her.
Northstar didn't hesitate to eat them, and eventually, she drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep.
