Hickorystar - Thistleclan territory - foxes + Sageleaf

His eyes widened at the sight of Sageleaf, mixed feelings about her showing up. 'Go find your patrol, bring them back to camp.' The tom hissed, forcing a firm tone. The foxes shrieked and continued to circle, attempting to block off Sageleaf's escape. Two of them whipped their heads round, watching one of their targets escape with a rising frustration, bristling the backs of their coats like hedgehogs.

Hickorystar swallowed a lump in his throat and forced a yowl to keep the fox's attention, tensing when both snapped their heads back to the hunt. Mousedung.

A fox lunged forward before he could repeat himself, knocking the air out of his lungs and only allowing him to let out a short yowl of terror as he was shoved to the floor, pain coursing through his body as claws sunk into his flank like thorns. The leader gave a breathy hiss, weakly kicking his back legs against the foxes underbelly, only further angering the beast.
Beady, savage eyes glared down at him, so close he could see the white part in the foxes gaze. Suddenly having another cat here didn't seem all too bad, as the tom managed to shove his attacker off for about a second to look at Sageleaf.
The other foxes noticed his gaze, now focusing on taking down the other cat in their midst.
Whatever the she was planning, Hickorystar could only hope she'd do it quicker before the whole clan ended up as crowfood.

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Sageleaf | Thistleclan Territory | Hickorystar

Sageleaf nodded, turning to run towards the opening between the foxes but was quickly blocked. There was no way she would be able to make it back to the patrol, she would just have to pray to Starclan they heard the yowl and ran. She winced as the fox lunged at Hickorystar, but tried to keep her attention on the two that were closing in on her. Thoughts raced through the warriors head, they really only had a few options to keep the clan safe. Fight and distract. Her thoughts was cut short by a low growl. Sageleaf moved quickly to the right, feeling the hot breath of the fox as its jaw snapped next to her head. If she had been a moment slower, it would have gotten her. Sageleaf caught a flash of red/orange fur on her right; she had forgot about the second. Sageleaf felt her body fly a few hare lengths away, tumbling on the rough ground. It felt like the foxes weren’t even hunting, like they were having fun toying with the cats. There was no more time to plan, they just had to act.
“All we can do is get them as far away from camp as we can.” Sageleaf hissed, getting to her paws, attempting to quickly catch her breath. The she-cat faintly remembered a river near on of the borders of the territory. If it had a strong enough current, maybe it could sweep a few of the foxes away. She was a strong swimmer, and prayed to Starclan the foxes weren’t. If she could get just two of them to follow her away from camp, it would give the clan at least time to get somewhere safe; as well as give Hickorystar less opponents. “I’m going to use myself as bait for these ones and run to the river-“ she was caught off by a sharp, shooting pain in her tail. The fox had a hold on her long, feathery tail. Before she could react, she felt herself get flung to the left. Sageleaf let out a yowl of both surprise and pain as she found herself tumbling on the ground again. This was her opportunity to run. The fox had given her a head start. “May Starclan be with you!” Sageleaf called before sprinting off in the direction she knew was the river. She heard the quick and determined paw steps of the two foxes behind her as she ran; hoping that Hickorystar would be alright.

(( on mobile so sorry if the rest aren’t as long ))

Crowgaze | Thistleclan Camp | All Cats

The black Bengal paced impatiently. His gaze stayed lock on the exit to camp. He could hear the calls of the foxes in the distance. The tom hoped their Leader would be alright. “Quickly, everyone out of their dens. This is no drill.” Crowgaze called again, trying to keep his voice both loud enough for everyone to hear, but low enough to not draw attention to themselves.

Mantispaw | Thistleclan Camp | Moonpaw

Mantispaw shook his head, so many question he had no answers to. “I don’t know what’s going on but it must be serious. Silvethorn isn’t back yet either…” the apprentice trailed off, gaze landing to the Medicine Cat den. Something in his gut was telling him they needed to gather herbs. “Quickly Moonpaw, let’s gather up some herbs just in case. If… If Silverthorn isn’t back it’s up to us.” The Bengal added, trying not to let his voice shake. “She’s a strong cat… I’m sure she will make it back to us. But for now we have to act as Medicine Cats.”

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Hickorystar - Thistleclan territory - foxes

The tom's ears sank low to his head as he watched Sageleaf run off, followed by three snarling foxes on her tail. He muttered a prayer to starclan for the she and whipped back to face the fox, back arched with pulsing adrenaline that made his paws tremble.
The leader forced his paws to push off the ground and latches his claws into the fox's sides, suppressing a shudder as he felt warm blood coating his paws.
He cursed himself under his breath, frustrated at his own cowardice.

His mother would be disappointed.

The fox cut off his thoughts with a dreadful howl, bashing its side against a tree to unlatch the feline clinging to its flank. Hickorystar yowled in pain, feeling an empty thud dulling every nerve in his body.
Before he could even begin to recover the two remaining foxes surrounded him, mouths agape in what he could recognize as.. laughter?
It chilled him to the bone. Did these creatures delight in this?

He had thought the foxes were just desperate for food and had kept his blows minimal. But now learning that these things only desired a thrill?
If only he had realised sooner, then perhaps he wouldn't be at the mercy of these sadistic canines who eagerly approached, fangs revealed as a sort of threat.

Shiny teeth met his throat, cutting off a horrified yowl as Hickorystar tried to tear himself away. He couldn't die. Not now.
His former clan cat members had told him of leaders having nine lives, he had never believed it. He wasn't keen on testing the theory. Nine lives or not, he wasn't going to die to a fox.

The adrenaline that had been keeping him alive for the few seconds the fight had lasted was beginning to fade, soon followed by the tom's breathing. He wasn't dead yet but by now he partially wished he was.
Blood coated his pelt and he felt an overwhelming sense of dizziness, clouding any rational thought.
Was he going to die? He couldn't tell. He could hear his heart in his ears and feel blood pulsing in his veins. He had imagined death to be peaceful, yet this could only be described as a stinging feeling in every limb. Like falling in a trap of nettles. If his nerves hadn't been numbed by pain he would be in much more agony, so that was one thing he was grateful for.

Tears threatened to spill and he had to hold his breath, forcing his muscles to still.
Foxes were brainless, savage creatures.
If they thought he had died, perhaps they would leave him be.
Either that or they would eat him. Yet they hardly seemed desperate, this fact shown clear because of the extra fat and healthy coats.

The foxes laughter pulsed in his ears and he hoped neither would notice he was still moving. The tremble of his paws was ignored by the canines.

He never thought he'd be so relieved to hear pawsteps going further away, taking the stench of fox with them.

(Debating taking one of his lives..)

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Wrenwhisker watched in fear as foxes tore apart and lashed out at her clanmates she'd been raised with. She knew she couldn't fight, she could barely even hunt. Wanting to be useful, she sprinted out of the camp, finally as the battle began to start, the foxes guarding the exit had gradually began to venture away, eager to join in on the fighting. Her paws were sore, but filled with adrenaline and a lump of frustration began forming in her throat. Reaching the edge of the territory, she sniffed at the ground, if there were foxes here, they must've hunted somewhere in the territory. Wrenwhisker would have to find freshly-killed prey, if it had already had chunks taken out of it, the smell would be greater and probably more warm. Glancing around quickly, she searched every corner of the territory and every bush and tree, finally she found a bird sprawled on the ground with its wings spread apart. Snatching it up, she whipped around, racing back to camp, once she arrived there was a fox trotting away from Hickorystar's motionless figure. Lifting her head, she tried to show off the bird to the fox, it stared at her for awhile, curling a lip in anger and snarling. Not wanting to get eaten alive by the fox and not wanting to take any chances, she turned around and raced out of the camp, half hoping that the fox was chasing her and not in camp, but also hoping the fox would stay in camp and not run after her. In slight relief, she heard paws pummeling after her, scaring away birds in trees. Dropping the bird, she leaped up a tree, climbing up and watching from below on a brach. Her ears pinned back and her eyes wide in fear, she watched the fox snarl and spit at her.

Great, she was trapped in a tree with a fox waiting for her to come down so it could eat her. At least there were less foxes in camp for her clanmates to fight off.

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Moonpaw
but... Moonpaw had just started training. Who was going to teach her the rest? Mantispaw knew much more than her, but surely there was still more. "Okay," she said slowly. " I'll go gather the herbs." However, on the way, she stopped. "Mantispaw, do you really think Silverthorn is okay?" Moonpaw nervously glanced at the trees. " What if she's not coming back?"

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"Yes." Silverthorn nods, pausing briefly to kick some earth over her prey - deciding it would be more wise to come back to it later after the situation had been checked out.

As far as she knew, they needed to find Sageleaf and hurry back to camp. Or should they have split up? No, if there was a fox in the territory somewhere, it made more sense to stick together - a fox could easily tear a cat to shreds. Or two, even three; they were some nasty creatures.

She bounds after Riverwhisper, sprinting whilst trying to figure out which direction the foxes were coming from and where they were going. Their scent hung thick in the air, and she could only imagine that it meant they were getting closer.

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Riverwhisper | Thristleclan territory | Silverthorn

The she cat had a million thoughts running through her head as the scent of foxes became more and more clear. Was Sageleaf alright? What about everyone else? Were they alright? The scent of fear began to mix in was it her fear or where there other cats around fighting these ugly creatures? She growled deeply as she now saw the sight of Hickorystar lying on the ground. And then the sight of one of those nasty creatures walking away from him....happily? She hissed softly a feeling of terror washing over her as she saw not one but two foxes, one who had attacked Hickorystar and another one joined now facing her and Silverthorns direction. She halted abruptly and all she could muster out to warn Silverthorn was." Fox." in a hushed tone to the medicine cat. She felt her fur bristle as she looked towards Silverthorn to ensure the she cat had indeed heard her. She then looked back towards the foxes her fur bristling, she did not yet know what Sageleaf was doing and how much danger she was in.

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Mantispaw | Thistleclan Camp | Moonpaw

Mantispaw followed, eyes still set on the Medicine Cat den. “I’m sure she will, but we shouldn’t think about that right now. We need to focus on getting our supplies together.” The Bengal replied, making his way into the den and quickly pulling grabbing down some leaves to make leaf wraps of the most important herbs. “Right now, if we’re leaving, we can’t leave all these herbs behind. If Silverthorn is fine, she would be absolutely livid with us.” The Bengal replied. He didn’t want to think about their mentor not returning, but they had to act as Medicine Cats for the moment.

Sageleaf | Thistleclan Territory | Open

Sageleaf’s paws ached, she felt like she had been running forever. But she could hear the excited yips of the foxes behind her. She prayed to Starclan that the river she had remembered was real and not far off, she couldn’t take running much longer. At least they had followed her, leaving Hickorystar with a few to fend off himself. Sageleaf was worried, but she didn’t think a fox could drain all 9 of the Leaders lives. She thought about Silverthorn, Riverwhisper, and all her other clan mates; she couldn’t let them down. Sageleaf almost let out a sigh of relief as she heard the faint rumble of the river ahead. She had little to no plan, she knew the banks of the river were unstable; she herself almost slipping into the river on her last visit. She would have to bet on their combined weight pulling them all down into the river. The tortoiseshell she-cat finally saw it, the river!
Sageleaf spun around, hind paws just touching the edge of the river bank. She smelt the foxes before she even saw them. Three yellow, sharp sets of teeth snarling at her. She hissed, claws unsheathed. She attempted to fluff her tail in defense and winced in pain, having forgotten about the earlier attack. The she-cat backed up as far as she could, feeling there river bank beginning to grow unstable. Could she really pull this off alone and live? It seemed unlikely.

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