Spiderleaf yowled in pain as he felt Vinetail's huge teeth dig into his leg. He could feel the blood dripping in seconds, and he tilted his head back in shock and gasped for air. He couldn't even move, he was in so much shock. He watched in pure fear as Vinetail loomed over him, his gaze as cold as frost. Spiderleaf slammed his eyes shut as he felt Vinetail's claws collide with his face again, but he was in so much pain he couldn't retaliate.
Vinetail pressed each of his paws down on his. Spiderpaw struggled and yowled and hissed and bit, but Vinetail's bulky paws didn't budge. Instead he only lifted up one to strike Spiderleaf again, and he couldn't move a muscle to block his attack.
Instead he yowled again, hating the way he could taste his own blood in his mouth. He was in so much fear and so much pain. He didn't know how much longer he could fight back.
He noticed with astonishment that Vinetail lost focus and looked up at the smallest sound, like a bird. Spiderleaf tried to use his distraction to throw him off, but his kick was minuscule and powerless. He yowled again, but Vinetail threw his claws over his mouth, as if trying to get him to shut up.
All of a sudden, as Spiderleaf closed his eyes for the next strike, the weight doubled on him. He opened his eyes in shock and all was a blur. The next thing he knew was that there was no weight on him at all.
Spiderleaf threw himself down. His breaths was heaving and his mind was a blur. He could see nothing but blackness and waves of his mind struck by fear. Seconds passed until he realised that the remaining yowls weren't just from Vinetail.
Spiderleaf tried so hard to throw himself around, and before his vision adjusted he was shaken again by the simple sound of a monster gaining speed up the Thunderpath.
Eventually his vision began to adjust, but he could barely move. Blood was spilling out of him at an alarming rate, and his brain felt dizzy, giving him the same sensation as he had encountered in the Place of No Stars.
But the second feline yowled again, and Spiderleaf's instincts kicked in. His senses roared back to him.
"I won't let you hurt him!" he heard the yowl. "Not now, not ever!"
Spiderleaf couldn't feel anything except the pure and excruciating amount of damage he had endured and his heartbeat. He tried to throw himself forwards, but he was just too weak. "No!" he yowled, but he was too quiet, far too weak to be heard.
He tried so hard to thrust himself, but every pawstep he took brought him to the ground. All the energy had left he had no choice but to endure the fight.
But he had enough energy to know that the cat fighting Vinetail was no cat but his littermate.
Spiderleaf watched in panic as Briartail slammed into Vinetail, tossing her claws against him like a whirlwind. Vinetail was weakening, but he wasn't giving up.
Spiderleaf noticed that the flurry of cats were bounding all down the clearing, and the two were yowling and bleeding too close to the Thunderpath.
"Stop!" Spiderleaf tried to make himself heard. "Don't fight over me! Don't hurt yourselves!"
There was no hope. Spiderleaf felt sick and exhausted, and he was shaking like he had never before.
The sound of the monster was coming closer and closer like a dog, and Spiderleaf was so blurred that he could barely make out the cats anymore.
But he forced himself to stay conscious, despite the amount of blood that was leaving his body, all across the grass and down his pelt. All he could taste was his own blood, and he couldn't fight the fact that Briartail may not have been able to take him to camp in time.
But Spiderleaf couldn't force himself to think about anything - especially himself.
He watched in panic as the cats clawed and bit and kicked eachother. Briartail was clearly limping as she let go of a grasp to his flank, and he could see that at least half of the blood on her pelt was hers.
Spiderleaf nearly couldn't watch. He longed to get up and stop the cats, but he wouldn't be early enough even if he had energy.
Instead he could do nothing but watch as Briartail threw himself at Vinetail again, with the courage of a lion. Vinetail wasn't about to be pinned down - he threw himself over Briartail and the two rolled around leaving nothing but blood on the grass - until they made their way onto the Thunderpath.
Vinetail's gaze was set on Briartail. He heaved his breaths like they were impossible to catch, and howled out as Briartail drew nothing but blood into Vinetail's eyes.
Spiderleaf barely noticed that Briartail had managed to kick Vinetail off her. She leaped onto him, but the warrior struggled and roared. Briartail flew her claws past Vinetail again, pausing for the slightest second before bending down over Vinetail.
Spiderleaf could feel the ground shaking beneath his feet. He yowled out - and this time he could hear himself. "Stop!"
Spiderleaf howled the second he saw the dim lights of the monster make the way up the Thunderpath. Briartail was still delivering claws to Vinetail, but the warrior was in too much shock to fight back. Yet still his eyes were like thorns, and after a few seconds the rumbling ground only assisted him.
The two cats were washed in eachother's blood. Vinetail let out another yelp of fury as Briartail dug her claws into him, throwing them downwards.
If Briartail let them both get up, Vinetail would kill her - and him.
He couldn't bare to watch. The ground was thrumming and the sounds of the monster distracted him from every pain he felt in his body. There was no going back, and Spiderleaf yowled out another time.
Vinetail gasped and yowled and kicked, but Briartail stood still, her breaths heavy and blood flowing down from her face. Her eyes were dull and she barely looked conscious.
But there was nothing Spiderleaf could do except scream out the yowls of the fighting cats when the monster rumbled over the battleground.