Duskpaw's Promise 7

Instructions

Duskpaw's Promise Chapter 7 Warning: descriptions of bl00d, vi0lence and d3ath The patrol of cats clashed with the dogs, their battle cries cut off by the snarling and ripping of fur. Nightinggalepaw lunged at Moon, scoring his claws along her muzzle. Bl00d poured over her muzzle, leaking into her mouth and eyes. Blinded by her own bl00d, Moon threw him off and Nightinggalepaw scrambed away. Moon heard a loud shriek of pain and whipped around, searching through the battle. Finally, she spotted Cypress pinned to the ground by a hissing ginger tom-cat with a scar over one eye. The smaller brown dog struggled as the ginger tom clawed at his throat again and again. Without thinking, Moon charged through the surrounding chaos and headbutted the ginger tom off Cypress. The cat flew through the air and landed hard on the bl00d-stained grass, winded. Cypress scrambled to his feet and stumbled away, gasping as blood poured from the wounds in his neck. Alpine's loud booming bark sliced through the madness of the fight as he scrambled away from Egretstar as she shook the scarlet drops from her claws with a triumphant expression, "RETREAT, DOGS! RETREAT! BACK ACROSS THE ROAD!" Duskpaw ran after him and was quickly joined by Blizzard who was supporting Cypress. "Where's Shade?" Duskpaw asked Blizzard. Blizzard glared at her, "I don't know. I lost track of him during the fight." Moon's heart froze in her chest. "I'm going back for him!" She raced back across the road and searched through the thick bl00d-spattered grass and bushes, heart drumming in her chest. "Shade?" she called, "Shade?" She pushed through another clump of grasses to find Shade sprawled on the ground beneath a beech tree in a pool of bl00d. "Shade?!" Moon rushed to Shade's side and was relieved to see the faint rise and fall of his chest. The blood was coming from a deep wound that ran from his right shoulder to his hind leg. Moon gently grabbed him by the scruff and dragged him carefully out of the woods back to the side of the road. The other dogs were nowhere in sight. Moon looked around desperately. There was no sound except for the quiet hum of monsters on the road. "It's...just us now, Shade." Moon whispered. She spotted a conveniantly-placed abandoned badger set and pulled Shade inside. As night fell outside, Moon gently licked the bl00d from Shade's fur until the wound finally stopped bleeding. Shade's breathing steadied and Moon curled around him as her exhausted body gave in to sleep.