Tigerwind stared with wide eyes at the scene playing out in front of him. He felt his heart pound rapidly in his chest. Everything grew silent until all he could hear was the thrumming of his heart.

The size itself of the brooding creature was menacing enough.

"Mountain lion!" Snowfeather had echoed the thought that had settled into his head the moment he lay eyes on the beast. 

He had never seen one. He knew they rarely made appearances. He had actually started to believe they were just part of the elders tales. But now, as he stared, paralyzed with horror, he knew they were real. As real as the fear that made his legs tremble.

Scorpiontail, Morningfire, Smoke-ember and Clearnight were all there, fending for their lives.

The lion reared up on its legs and shook its thick fur wildly around, succeeding on throwing off his attackers. Their bodies collapsed on the floor with loud thuds and Tigerwind felt a mixture of fury and determination burn his fear to ashes.

"Come on, Snowfeather! We have to chase him off our territory!"

Her blue gaze was filled with uncertainty but even so, she nodded firmly.

He unsheathed his claws and leaped at the golden brown creature. No matter what, he would fight for the lives of his clanmates as well as his own.

Tigerwind sank his teeth down on its back and instantly felt the warm liquid fill his mouth with a bitter and tangy taste. From the corner of his eye, he could see Snowfeather battling alongside Clearnight as they delivered sharp blows to the lions face.

It suddenly reared up on its legs once again and threw Tigerwind off but he managed to soften his fall with a twist of his body.

He was able to see how the tips of the lion's claws raked Snowfeather's chest while slamming Morningfire with a heavy blow from his other paw.

The lion parted his jaws and emmited a low roar that sounded almost identical to a monsters. Its sharp yellow teeth glinted with the touch of the sun rays and Tigerwind shuddered at the thought of what those teeth could do to him or his clanmates.

"Go for its stomach!" Smoke-ember yowled out to him as he dodged a blow to the face.

Tigerwind nodded in acknowledgement and slithered through the lions paw. Without hesitating, he slid his claws along its soft belly fur, feeling blood spatter over his pelt.

It screeched into the air, causing Tigerwind and his clanmates to shrink away from it.

Quickly, the lion came crashing down on its forepaws with the ginger and black tabby nearly under. Before he could leap a safe distance from the lion, he felt something sharp strike his flank with enough strength to send him reeling backwards and cause him to yowl in pain.

"Tigerwind!"

He groaned in response, feeling dazed by the impact. His eyes slowly fluttered open and he could see a nebulous figure approaching him. Within heartbeats, the figure faded into an embellished image; a ginger and white tortoiseshell.

'Honeydawn...?

Batpaw's patrol must be here!'

He watched as she leaned over him and felt how she brushed her tongue delicately along his ear. "I'll help you up."

Tigerwind was grateful for her presence but at the same time worried about the danger she could face against the lion.

"Are you alright?" She asked with concern flooding her beautiful emerald eyes.

Tigerwind purred. He felt much better just by having her at her side. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"You know, we could really use your help!" Came the close growl of an annoyed she-cat.

Snowfeather was glaring at them from a few mouse tails away, her tail lashing behind her.

The tom felt the tips of his ears burn and with a look at Honeydawn, knew she felt just as uncomfortable as he.

"She's right," she said softly. "We have to help our clanmates."

Tigerwind nodded and jumped into battle with the tortoiseshell beside him.

It wasn't long before the lion began hesitantly retreating away from the group of cats.

"Drive it off!" Rockecho, the deputy, yowled.

All cats, ran at the beast at once, giving their fiercest battle cries in an attempt to scare him away.

With a roar, the dusty brown creature fled and vanished over the canyons, seeking safety in the mountains where it rightfully belonged.

Tigerwind followed his clanmates as they collapsed on the ground, clearly worn out.

"Jaymask and Batpaw should be on their way with Cavewhisper," Honeydawn meowed gently as she positioned herself beside him. "Hang in there."

Tigerwind leaned against her side, embracing her warmth. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

He brought his attention to his clanmates around him, seeing if any were injured severely.

Scorpiontail had several scratches along his pelt but none looked too deep except for the one along his cheek.

Tigerwind winced at the sight of Clearnight. His pale tabby pelt was stained with blood. He hoped it was from the lion and not his own. One of his hind legs was laying at an awkward angle that made him shiver at the sight. 

Smoke-ember had a torn ear that continued to drip blood on his forehead and along with many scratches, had a tuft of fur missing from his tail. He was laying beisde Morningfire, who seemed in bad condition. She had a look of pure exhaustion and a deep gash was on her belly.
Rockecho and Whitepaw were barely injured, having joined the battle late and finishing the lion off.

But where was Snowfeather?

"I hope she's okay," murmured Honeydawn as she gazed at Morningfire, interrupting his thoughts.

Tigerwind looked up at her. "Me too. I hope Cavewhisper gets here soon." He ran his gaze over the tortoiseshell, making sure she was not injured and held in a sigh of relief at seeing she had minor scratches.

"Look! There they are!" Exclaimed Honeydawn with relief glimmering in her eyes.

At seeing Tigerwind first, Cavewhisper made her way towards him with a bundle of bitter smelling herbs in her mouth.

The ginger tom shook his head. "Morningfire needs it more than I do."

"At least let me give you some cobwebs," she said through a muffled mew.

Tigerwind reluctantly took them and nodded thankfully before watching him rush to Morningfire.

"Here, let me put them on you," came Honeydawn's voice.

"Okay."

*
The sun sank below the canyons and long shadows darkened the ground. A chill crept into the air as the wind picked up. It carried a crisp tingle in its grasp and caused the trees to shiver under its touch.

Tigerwind embraced the cool feeling. It relaxed him after such an intense fight.

"Lions..." He thought to himself with a scoff. He never imagined coming face to face with such a beast. There were many who had never encountered them. Not even oldest elder. But he and a few of his clanmates had gotten the experience and now knew how to deal with them.

As good as that was, he could get rid of the storm of questions that became more imminent as he pondered it. How did the lion end up on their territory? Would it come back? Where did it come from in the first place?

Tigerwind padded into camp and halted at the entrance to watch as his clanmates scattered into the their dens or with the medicine cat.

"I'm gonna go get something to eat," Honeydawn meowed from beside him. "Wanna come?"

As much as he wanted to, Tigerwind was worn out. The long training session and the battle all at once had caused his paws to feel heavy. He felt his legs were on the verge to give in under all his exhaustion.

"Thanks, Honeydawn," he meowed with sincerity. "But I think I'm going to head off to my nest. It's been a long day."

"Oh," she said, clearly disappointed. "Then I'll see you tomorrow." She flashed him a forced smile before padding away.

Tigerwind sighed, regretting his answer instantly as he was left to watch her walk away from him. He turned tail and made his way to the den, looking back to see a few of the patrol cats being crowded by their curious clanmates, questioning them on the lion attack.

Before he entered the den, he caught Smoke-ember being lured into the Medicine Den despite his persistent arguing.

"I'm fine, Cavewhisper. Really! I just-" The gray tom was cut off by the Medicine Cat.

"I will not be at fault for your death all because I listened to your tenacious protests," Cavewhisper retorted with a roll of her eyes.

Tigerwind chuckled at her usual sense of humor.

Cavewhisper must've heard him. She turned sharply to him and said, "You're next, Tigerwind. I need to check on you too."

He laughed nervously. "Uh no thanks Cavewhisper! I'm perfectly fine!" He quickly looked away and kept a safe distance from her.

"You should listen to her, you know."

Tigerwind spun around at hearing the near voice. "Snowfeather!"

The white she cat nodded and padded closer to him.

"Where'd you go? Are you alright?" He asked. "I was beginning to worry!"

"I left when the battle was over. I didn't wanna be around Honeydawn," she replied with a roll of her eyes, clearly disturbed by her. "She doesn't want me around you, remember?"

Tigerwind let the silence fall over them like coat of snow. For a brief second, he did not respond, knowing she wouldn't believe him no matter how many to he defended Honeydawn by saying she doesn't feel that way.

"Hey! It's the two love birds!" Came the cheery squeal of Batpaw. Scorpiontail was at his side, a smirk plastered on his face. "See? I told you," the apprentice went on. "They couldn't stand being apart from each other during the training session and I was sooo close into getting past them."

'Oh great... now Scorpiontail will never leave me alone with this.'

Just when Tigerwind thought his heart couldn't sink any lower, he looked away and found himself staring into the painful gaze of Honeydawn. He froze and couldn't find anything to say or do.

Then, he felt a pelt lean against his and he turned quickly to look at Snowfeather puzzled by her movement and the proud look on her face.

When he turned back to Honeydawn, she was no longer there.

This chapter has now been edited! But as I've stated before, I am not perfect. There is bound to be mistakes so if yoi find any, let me know nicely and I'll fix it.  I hope you enjoyed!

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