Morningecho:

Without a word, a furious yowl announced the arrival of another cat on the scene of a hunt, the shadow launching past Nettlesnap with powerful hind legs as the newest warrior on the scene slammed into the side of an overgrown rodent, the momentum throwing one of the other beavers onto it's side, it's short legs flailing helplessly into the air. With a venomous hiss aimed towards the upturned beaver, Morningecho lunged onto the back of the one that her clanmates had been fighting for some time, the horrific yowls, hisses, and spits had alerted the she-cat, pulling her away from her own hunt in concern that something had gone wrong. Unlike her clanmates, who ventured too closely to the dam, Morningecho had traveled further down the stream and was in the process of hunting a younger juvenile, but it was the lucky day for her previous prey. Ignoring the sting of a nasty bite to her flank, Morningecho's teeth bit down into the back of the neck of the injured beaver, growling as she glared down into the eyes of Palewind, who had the beaver by the throat, the unspoken words clear in those burning lavender eyes. Hurry up and kill the damn thing! The competition was gone from the mind of the molly, her desire to win overshadowed by the need to protect her clanmates. Unsheathed claws were buried deep into the brown, wiry coat of the beaver, preventing it from dislodging her as she bit deeper, the copper taste of blood gushing into her maw.

With a growl, Morningecho tugged her head back, ripping away flesh, sinew, and muscle before she jumped down from the back of the heavily bleeding prey, lunging at another beaver who had gotten too close, her teeth gnashing at it's fur as she pushed it back, lunging for it's flank to bite down, her claws digging deep under to it's softened belly. Shoving and pushing, the feline growled out with strained determination, tucking her body away from the desperate attempts to bite her. Thankfully, their ability to reach around their own body wasn't that good due to their chunky size, but that size also made it very difficult to push them over without momentum, or assistance. Once her claws found their mark deep in the belly of the beaver, Morningecho broke away, turning her gaze back to the beaver that her clan had chosen to hunt, her paws coated in blood as her breaths came out heavy, and short. Frowning, the she-cat didn't hesitate as she lunged, wrapping her jaws around the beaver's front right paw, biting down on the smaller bones to try and cripple the creature, giving Palewind the chance to finally finish the job, because they had to get out of here. Now.

Morningecho:

With a dying screech, the beaver dropped to the ground as the red of it's blood pooled beneath, draining from the deepest of the bites scattered across it's rounded body. Lips curled, splattered with red as the she-cat released the paw that had been crushed between her jaws, Morningecho's infuriated, glaring gaze trailed over each cat, her pelt rippling before the accusation in her eyes finally landed upon their mark. Upon a quick survey of the surroundings when Morningecho had reached the situation, she couldn't help but to take note of the younger warrior who had abandoned the hunt to sit in the trees, nursing his wounds and his pride. As cats had begun to leave the camp, Nettlesnap had left alongside Palewind to compete, and then when it got too difficult for him, he had turned his back on the smaller she-cat and potentially had left her to die, if it wasn't for the arrival of a patrol's worth of his clan. If there was one thing Morningecho could do, it was pay attention to her surroundings, and she knew that these two had teamed up, their scents intermingling in the air. Just like she knew someone had initially been following her, before breaking off to join this effort. 

An innate part of Morningecho raged within her, her morals burning the very blood coursing through her veins with the desire to give the tom a piece of her mind about his cowardice, however, she held her tongue, her eyes glancing to Owlstar before she offered the poor excuse of a warrior her back. Clearly, there was no honor amongst rogues, and Nettlesnap wasn't worth the breath in her lungs. Turning her attention to the younger she-cat, Morningecho's eyes dragged over her bloodied, creamy pelt, trying to deduce what was her's, and what belonged to the beaver. "Are you alright, little breeze?" The larger molly meowed, drawing closer to the victor of this cursed challenge. Licking her ear, reassured that Palewind would survive, she cast her glare towards the retreating beavers, who slunk back into the waters they called their homes. Her breaths were shaky, her legs unsteady and blood was oozing from various wounds that dug deep into her pelt, both inflicted from her previous solo hunt and then her arrival at this one. The adrenaline that had kept Morningecho on her paws swiftly escaped her, and exhaustion dragged the she-cat down, lowering her body against the earth as it all caught up with her. 

With a full night of rest, Morningecho would've had the reserves to outlast both situations easily, and perhaps would've come out with less bites from smaller mistakes, however it was a luxury that wasn't afforded to the she-cat, and the world wouldn't wait for her to get more shut-eye before it came to clamp it's jaws around the essence of her life, and rip it out. 

Morningecho:

Her flanks heaved with the effort of breathing, the air eluding her in her quest to ensnare it down into her lungs. Ignorant to the awestruck gaze of her clanmate, Morningecho's ears instead twitched as the she-cat spoke. 'Oh yes, I’m fine Morningecho. It only scratched me a few times noting too serious I don’t think.' Palewind informed her, a warmth in her voice that finally made the she-cat look up at the creamy-furred cat, peering into her green eyes. A smile brightened Palewind's face beautifully, making the feline almost glow with a stunning shine, which couldn't be extinguished even with the stuttering voice that accompanied it. 'I-If I’m honest Morningecho I thought for sure y-you’d be the one to win. And I’m glad you came to help. Without you, I’d surely be seriously hurt or worse. Same goes for you Hemlockshade and Rustbelly and of course Nettlesnap.' Finally, a soft smile pulled at the lips of Morningecho, endearment blossoming in her chest as she listened to the explanation from Palewind.

It was perhaps true, that if Morningecho had managed to fulfill her original plan, then she could've been the feline to be showered with the praise of victor, however, the truest prize to the molly, was that each of PineClan's warriors would be returning home today. Shakily rising to her paws, she flicked her tail-tip against the hip of the creamy she-cat, a small sign of gratitude offered to the smaller, younger she-cat who had given her all for every moment of this endeavor, before she turned her attention to the approaching paws of Owlstar.

'Congratulations Palewind. You did an excellent job with that final killing bite! After the Sunhigh sharing of tounges, I'll award the prize!' Owlstar announced with a purring lilt to his voice, and Morningecho nudged her head against Palewind's cheek in praise, before flicking her tail as she broke away from the crowd, their leader noting his intention to take the carcass back to camp, instructing them to return. Padding through the pine trees, Morningecho ignored the dribbling blood that continued to ooze from the worst wound, the first bite she had received on her flank from the juvenile she had been hunting. She had been reckless at first, uncertain about taking on the beaver by herself, and it caused her to make mistakes that only StarClan would have bore witness to. It cost her a chunk of flesh here and there, most of the wounds had stopped bleeding, but one was stubborn in it's pursuit to drain her dry.

Pinning her ears, Morningecho felt relief to see the familiar comfort of home, as she trotted with a slower gait through the entrance. She knew that Palewind had been worried about her, her gaze following her when she had left the bloodied bank of the river, but that raw vulnerability that surrounded a near-death experience was something that Morningecho struggled to show. It had shaken the she-cat, just how close nearly each and every cat there had almost lost their lives to the enraged attacks of the beavers, how they had almost been overrun by the time Morningecho had arrived. 

They had only just finally found a place, and they almost lost it just as swiftly from the easiest of errors to be made. It was an unsettling thought, and one that Morningecho pushed away as she made her way into the Healer's den to nurse the wounds to her body, and to her mind.

Morningecho:

Settling down into the Healer's den, opting for the nest that was nearest to the exit, Morningecho's rasping tongue swiped over the wounds she could reach, her saliva cleaning away the drying blood that had coagulated on her smaller injuries. In the moment of peace and silence, her mind trailed to the events that had just taken place, the uncertainty and the desperation of her clanmates twisting a part of her stomach in a way she had become familiar with.

She didn't know what would've happened if she had stuck to her quarry, had bitten down on it's lifeblood, and claimed victory of the event, and if her arrival truly had changed the tides at all, or if they would've been fine without her throwing herself into the head of the battle. Despite her injuries, one thing struck with certainty within her; that if she had taken the advice of her leader, and remained in the den to fight the nightmares that would greet her in sleep, she would have been completely useless if it had turned for the worst. She wouldn't have known, wouldn't have heard the screeches as she had done, felt the fear gripped her heart as her mind darted to the worst possibilities. 

In the game of fate and risks, Morningecho wasn't the cat to shy in the face of adversity, rather she would go down with claws buried and teeth clenched around her attacker, maiming them as they bit into her life essence and snuffed her light. A cat could've died today, and Morningecho would never gamble with the lives of her clan, especially not to preserve her own. Sleep wasn't afforded to Morningecho, and if she laid around trying to capture even a heartbeat longer each time she hadn't managed to truly rest, the clan would be down a warrior in a time of great need, almost like today if she had chosen herself over her clan. In this cruel life, you worked with what you could, took every moment by the claws, and took nothing for granted. It was a game of survival, and Morningecho knew that game better than most.

Morningecho:

A resounding gasp drew Morningecho from her brooding thoughts, her hardened eyes softening as they landed upon the lithe, graceful figure of Gentlebreeze, whose blue eyes were glistening with shock. 'What in StarClan's name happened?' The question was answered promptly with a sigh, her tail curling around tightly as she shifted, getting into a more comfortable position to lay in. "Beavers, it would seem, are harder prey than initially anticipated by some." Morningecho meowed, the frustration bleeding into those light, iris-hued eyes. Owlstar had presented a difficult challenge for his clan, one that required caution, patience, and calculation, yet it seemed that the hunt was taken with a rash, perhaps because they had strayed closer than originally believed, and had been ambushed by a situation they weren't prepared for, or maybe it was blatant ignorance that had driven the situation, Morningecho hadn't been there to know for certain. "Though, my prey had gotten a lucky bite on me when I was distracted." Humble enough to admit her fault, Morningecho recalled the moment she had frozen, the yowls reaching her ears and causing her to pause the pursuit of her prey, which earned her a bite. Her mind had ceased it's processing, the tiredness feeding into baser instincts rather than logic and reasoning.

Shifting once more, Morningecho revealed the bite on her flank, stretching her body out as she laid down flat to present the injury properly to the Healer. "It's been bleeding steadily, it was a lesser trickle but it had gotten worse during the attack." Morningecho explained, noting that the bite likely had gotten ripped deeper during her physical exertion once she had arrived at the fight, though she wasn't sure during which of the three beavers she had attacked there it got worse, or if it tore while she was sprinting through the forest, leaping through foliage and ducking around fallen branches. "Should I be expecting StarClan's embrace anytime soon?" In the privacy of the den, a spark of humor pulled at the she-cat's lips as she made the joke, the dark nature of the words unphased by Morningecho. She didn't believe that she was dying, she still felt each of her paws, and while the scarlet stained the white of her fur, she had seen cats survive worst. Or take longer to die from worst, for that matter.

Morningecho was exhausted, but her mind refused to risk even a moment of rest. The haunting terror that awaited her behind her eyes was scarier than the reality she found herself in. The present was friendlier than the past, and the memories that threatened to overwhelm her kept her frazzled mind alert.