Snowstar glanced around the clearing, and saw the black fox. She zigzagged through Clanmates and foxes alike, leaping over Blackslash as he came rolling past grappling with a fox, and landing square on the shoulders of the unsuspecting black fox.
"So it's true," the fox hissed. "You can come back from the dead." The fox's eyes opened wide. "You must have two lives!"
Snowstar hissed in return, and gave the fox one last rake of her claws. She leaped down, and bit the fox's throat. The fox let out a harsh cry, and then lay still. Snowstar leaped down, about to cry out in victory, but then the fox came up, and she found herself pinned down.
"How?" she gasped, expecting the claws to come crashing down any moment.
A flash of fire came to her, and the black fox crashed down at her side. A fiery orange and golden cat stood triumphantly on top of it, while another gray cat slashed the death blow. When the other foxes saw their slain leader, they ran from the FrostClan camp.
"Who are you?" Snowstar asked the two cats.
"I am Lionflame," the orange and golden one replied.
"And I am Ashfire," announced the gray one.
Snowstar opened her mouth to ask them where they had come from, but was interrupted by Eaglepaw. "We found them. Etharpaw and I. On our quest!!"
"Quest?" she gaped at them.
"Yeah! We had dreams that we must find them, and we went off and did," Etharpaw had padded over. "Eaglepaw and I are sorry that we worried you, but this was something we had to do. We didn't think you would understand."
"I guess you're right about that," Snowstar mewed slowly. "I would have tried to stop you."
The prophecy, it has been fulfilled, she thought. Eaglepaw and Etharpaw saved the Clan, and these other cats, I have dreamed about them, but my assumption of them was wrong. They helped the Clan, and I had thought they would hurt it.
"You are welcome to stay for a while, and then go." Snowstar dipped her head to Lionflame and Ashfire. "FrostClan is grateful for your help against the foxes." She scanned the clearing. Tawnyflash and Wavepaw were helping the wounded cats, putting on cobweb and goldenrod poultices. Bouncestep was huddled over Lilypaw. Snowstar raced over.
"How is she?" she asked breathlessly.
"I don't know," Bouncestep looked bewildered and shocked. "Will StarClan really allow my apprentice to die? This doesn't seem right!" he wailed.
"Tawnyflash!" Snowstar cried out.
Tawnyflash raced over. "Oh my!" she sounded shocked. "This should have been treated imediatly!"
Lilypaw's shoulder was ripped open, almost to the bone.
"Wavepaw! Get some cobwebs and goldenrod over here!" Tawnyflash commanded her apprentice. Wavepaw rushed to the medicine cat den and came back with cobwebs around one paw and goldenrod in her mouth.
She spat the goldenrod on the ground and gave Tawnyflash the goldenrod. "Snowstar, chew this goldenrod into a pulp. I have to check on Dawnfeather, Iceflower and Echosong. They're the only cats we haven't checked yet." With that, Wavepaw raced away.
Snowstar picked some goldenrod and chewed it. Then she spat it out and placed it gently on the wound, with Tawnyflash's instructions. Tawnyflash covered the goldenrod with cobwebs, and then smeared some sticky tree sap on the poultice. "This will help it stay in place," she said. "You and Bouncestep should take Lilypaw to my den. She'll need watching as she heals."
Snowstar and Bouncestep gently lifted Lilypaw and took her to the medicine den.
From the other side of the clearing, Eaglepaw, Etharpaw and Winterpaw watched. They glanced at each other, each knowing what the other was thinking... Will Lilypaw survive?
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