Dovewing’s Silence

Suddenly there was a terrible shriek. All the cats jumped, their fur bushing up.

“What was that?” gasped Blossomfall.

“It sounded like a fox,” Thornclaw growled. “Let’s go!” He took off down the hill, pushing through bracken that whipped back into Dovewing’s face as she followed him. The horrific screeching continued, echoing around the woods. Whatever that fox was doing, it wasn’t happy.

They burst out into a clear, sandy space on the side of the ridge. At the far side, a she-fox crouched, her lips curled back and her back hunched in pain. Dovewing froze. Had they run straight into an ambush by this dreadful creature?

But the fox didn’t move. It pinned back its ears and snarled at them, but stayed exactly where it was.

“Great StarClan!” Thornclaw breathed in Dovewing’s ear. “It’s caught in a trap!”

Dovewing peered closer. Gleaming silver jaws gripped the fox’s foreleg, so tight that white bone could be seen through the torn flesh. Dovewing gulped. She could only imagine the pain this creature was in. The thought flashed into her mind that it could just as easily have been one of her Clanmates caught like this.

“What are we going to do?” hissed Blossomfall. “It can’t stay here!”

Ivypool was creeping across the clearing. “Come back!” yowled Dovewing, but her sister didn’t stop.

With a howl, the fox exploded to its feet and lunged at Ivypool, dragging the trap attached to its leg. Dovewing leaped at it, claws out, and landed on its neck as the fox’s jaws snapped down toward her sister. Below, Thornclaw and Birchfall launched themselves at the creature’s haunches while Blossomfall and Mousewhisker clawed its ears. The fox fought for its life. Half-crazed with pain, it thrashed and bit and lashed with its legs so that the heavy trap crashed into Thornclaw, knocking him to the ground. Ivypool darted right underneath the fox’s belly, grabbed hold of Thornclaw’s scruff and dragged him clear. Thornclaw shook his head, then leaped side by side with Ivypool at the fox once more, all teeth and claws and yowling.

Dovewing dug into the thick russet fur until she felt skin pop beneath her claw-tips. The fox flicked its head from side to side until Dovewing was dizzy, but she didn’t let go. Dimly, she was aware of movement at the edge of the clearing. She glanced up, and her momentary lapse of concentration loosened her grip. The fox flung her off like a bug and Dovewing flew through the air to land with a thud on the earth. She gasped for breath.

A golden tabby face loomed over her. “Keep still. You’ve been winded.” It was Lionblaze. “Watch her, Cinderheart,” he ordered. Then he vanished, and Dovewing heard a fresh scream from the fox.

Fuzzily, she made out Cinderheart’s features peering down at her. “We heard a commotion and came as fast as we could,” the she-cat explained. She glanced up and winced. “I’ve never seen a fox fight like that before. Oh, Lionblaze, no!”

Dovewing fought to sit up. Cinderheart propped her against her shoulder. Lionblaze was crouched on the fox’s back, sinking his teeth into its neck. Blood poured from a rip in his ear but he didn’t seem to notice the scarlet liquid pooling into his eyes. Below, Thornclaw and Mousewhisker clawed at the fox’s free front leg, while Blossomfall and Ivypool attacked its hindquarters. There was something in the way each pair of warriors moved, matching blow for blow, bite for bite, that reminded Dovewing they had trained together for a long time in skills the ThunderClan cats couldn’t dream of.

The fox twisted its head around to snap at Lionblaze. Cinderheart lunged forward. “He’s going to be killed!” she hissed.

Dovewing struggled to her feet and put out one paw to stop the she-cat. “He’s okay,” she mewed. “Let him fight.”

Cinderheart turned to face her, her blue eyes ringed with white in fear. “But he doesn’t have his powers anymore! He can be hurt now!”

“I know,” Dovewing meowed. “My powers have gone too. But he’s still the best and bravest warrior that ThunderClan has. Don’t take that away from him, Cinderheart.”

The gray she-cat held Dovewing’s gaze, then slowly breathed out. “You’re right,” she whispered.

The fox let out another unearthly screech, which was abruptly cut off. With a hideous gurgle, it spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed onto the ground. Thornclaw and Mousewhisker only just managed to jump clear. Lionblaze leaped down from the fox’s back and stood over it, watching its flank heave one last time.

The bracken rustled and Bramblestar burst into the clearing followed by Squirrelflight, Cherrypaw, and Molepaw. The ThunderClan leader stopped dead when he saw the fox and the battered, bleeding warriors around it. “What in the name of StarClan has happened here?” he growled.

Squirrelflight bounded over to Dovewing. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” Dovewing wheezed. She stood up and gingerly tested each paw. Her ribs were bruised on one side from hitting the ground, but there was nothing seriously wrong.