Mean~63

Instructions

She stepped off of the other she-cat who quickly scrambled to her paws before diving back into battle. Vineripple glanced at Thornstar, who met her gaze with a quick glare. She smirked and winked at him before turning around and observing the battle. A gasp left her throat when through the mass of cats she saw Nightshade standing over the dead body of Strikestar, blood covering her paws.         She was frozen, the world around her slowing. All she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears.         Thump thump.         Thump thump.         Thump thump.         "Code breaker..." She didn't realize she had breathed it out loud.         But then, everything came rushing back with full force. The screams in her ears, the scent of blood in her nose and mouth, the stinging cuts that littered her pelt.         "CODE BREAKER!" The screech ripped itself from her throat like wildfire as Vineripple charged forward, rage burning through her veins.         Nightshade turned just in time, her eyes widening at the sight of Vineripple flying through the air towards her. The black she-cat ducked just in time and Vineripple hit the ground with a thud. She scrambled to her paws to attack once more when she realized that the camp entrance was to her back, and the ThunderClan and RiverClan cats were slowly beginning to push them out.         They were going to lose.         It was two Clans against one, there was no /way/ they could win this..         Vineripple’s mind raced as the ThunderClan and RiverClan cats began to make a messy line, pushing them out. Their line ran across camp and was slowly turning to a half circle. She heard a whimper from the Nursery and her heart seized. Vineripple was still for another moment, planning out what she was going to do before turning and diving into the Nursery.         Crushkit stared up at her with big eyes while Foxkit and Poisonkit crouched together for comfort, their eyes still squeezed firmly shut. Vineripple roughly picked them all up by the scruffs of their necks, her mouth full of kit fur as she turned.         Vineripple bristled as she came face to face with Nightshade.        “Put them /down/, Vineripple. When you betrayed ThunderClan you betrayed them.”         “These aren’t your kits, Nightshade, now matter how much you try to fool yourself /and/ them. They never will be, and you get no say in their future.”         “They’re ThunderClan cats, Vineripple! They were born in ThunderClan and that’s where they’ll stay!”         “Where’s the logic in that? If everyone believed that, you and Petalpaw would still be in the Twolegplace right now! But no, your father brought you here, Nightshade. To ThunderClan. He proved that blood is stronger than Clan, and now I’m upholding  what he believed so strongly. I think he’d want you to do the same.” She paused. “Now, get out of my way.”         The black she-cat narrowed her eyes.         “No.”         That was all it took.         Vineripple leapt at her greatest enemy. She leapt at the cat who had everything handed to her on a silver platter. At the cat who had a mother who loved her. At the cat who still had her sister. At the cat who repeatedly called her heartless and cruel. At the cat who Thornstar trusted over her. At the cat who was always destined to succeed, while it seemed like Vineripple was set on the path of failure from the very beginning. At the cat who tried time and time again to take every last shred of happiness from Vineripple's life, and make it her own. Vineripple wouldn't let her take her children, too.         Vineripple barrelled into Nightshade, pinning her down as her kits let out squeals of surprise, fear, and excitement. Eyes blinded with rage, Vineripple shot out her paw, claws unsheathed. She felt skin rip beneath her claws before Nightshade let out a wail, tossing her away and back into the clearing. The tabby she-cat looked around the clearing frantically, the kits swinging from her jaws.         Hearing Nightshade scrambling to her paws behind her, Vineripple turned and bolted for the camp exit. However, she stopped right before leaving, turning around as her eyes swept the crowd. Already, the ShadowClan cats were running, trying to get out of camp any way possible. They rushed by her like she was a rock amidst a stream. Nightshade was struggling to get to her through the crowd of cats, throwing others out of her path in attempts to get to Vineripple. No one chased the ShadowClan cats. Instead they stood still, watching Vineripple with intent eyes. Behind them, Vineripple saw some fallen bodies, more than one that would never rise again.