Post by Taxx on Jul 16, 2018 22:47:13 GMT -5
L Y N X P A W
I've got the eye of a fighter
Dancing through the fire
Dancing through the fire
Lynxpaw’s thick pelt ruffled as she ran; the wind swept it back, but flashes of anger stiffened the fur so that patches tried to stand on end again. She wasn’t a kit, and if she didn’t listen, it was because the orders she was given were stupid, so why follow them? Skidding to a halt beside a gorse bush, Lynxpaw dug her claws into the ground and trembled, struggling to quell the irritation that raced through her. Her apprentice days, which she’d so looked forward to, weren’t turning out to be the rewarding experience she had hoped for.
Plucking at the earth and the grass that grew thick under her paws, the young she-cat crouched and heaved a heavy sigh. What did Redscar even want? For her to blindly, mindlessly do as she was told? But why should she? Yes, she wanted to learn, but if she had ideas about how to do something, shouldn’t she do it? Why did he have to act like her suggestions were nothing- just because he was older?
“Stupid Redscar,” she growled, raking her claws over the ground, taking out her aggravation on the roots of grass and gorse. “Stupid rules. Stupid warriors thinking they know everything!” Springing forward again, she crashed through the grass, stumbling once or twice as stray roots stubbed her toes, the pain only adding to her irritation but too incensed to go slower.
Which was how she ended up running right into the fox, crouched over a rabbit in the grass. The wind, blowing toward Lynxpaw, had prevented her from scenting it, and the fox, muzzle bathed in rabbit blood, had had no idea a cat was approaching. He reacted defensively, a snarl ripping through the air as he struck, and Lynxpaw wasn’t quick enough to avoid the slashing fangs that gashed her shoulder.
Pain seared her brain instantly and she yowled, recoiling from the fox, blood streaming down her leg. For just a moment, the two stood motionless, both staring at the other. Then Lynxpaw broke the standoff, pinning her ears back, bushing out her fur again, and baring her teeth as she hissed. “Get off our territory, you stinking fox!” That was their prey the fox was eating, and while she couldn’t make it not-dead again, or take it back to camp for one of the elders or queens (honestly who would want it, stinking so badly?) she could make sure he didn’t take any more prey that didn’t belong to him.
When the fox didn’t move, Lynxpaw edged closer, growling a warning, every muscle on edge as she tried to intimidate the intruder. This was what a warrior did- protected the Clan’s territory from whatever threatened it. Fox or cat, it didn’t matter. It wasn’t supposed to be here, and so it had to go.
When the fox sprang, it wasn’t in the direction Lynxpaw had expected: not for a border, but for her. A split-second too slow, she hurled herself away, only to be brought to a sudden, wrenching stop as teeth snapped shut on the leg already coated in blood from the wound. Sky and grass blended as she was shaken, an audible pop accompanied by another surge of pain from the shoulder, and then she gave a screech.
Pain and fear, a sensation and an emotion she’d never felt to this extent. Little aches were part of life, and fear had had no place in her life, the six moons she’d lived so far, kept in the confines of the camp and protected, no matter how unwillingly. Now fear gripped her tight, making her heart thrash in her chest, and pain wracked her leg and shoulder. Caught in the grasp of an enemy, a creature she suddenly realized could- and would- kill her without hesitation. Stupid, her mind spat at her. So stupid.
She hit the ground unexpectedly, a gasp rasping from her throat. The brief attempt she made to rise was only met with a twitch of three legs, and the weight of a paw on her back made any further attempt impossible. The gaping mouth and hot breath of the fox flooded her senses, and terror scorched through her again, and she drew breath for one more scream.
“Motherrrrr!”
And you're gonna hear me roar