"That is absurd," Billowstar spluttered. Several warriors had moved to protect the two named cats. "They have done nothing, and neither have the rest of my Clan! Leave now or be executed yourself!" Figstar raised her chin and hissed at him.

"They trespassed on our territory! They went almost to our camp and caught two birds. They violated the warrior code." Everyone looked towards the prey pile, where two fat ducks caught by the apparent criminals had rested. One had been eaten, but the other was still there, it's feathers gleaming in the sunlight. Westernpaw and Briarclaw had avoided most questions, saying they had caught the ducks by the lake, but... "See?" Snapped Figstar. "One of their catches is still there! I'm leaving now, but they'd better be dead by the next gathering, or..." She trailed off. Everyone knew what would happen. Figstar flicked her tail and Hollypounce snatched the duck from the pile as they turned to leave.

With a furious yowl, Billowstar leaped from the Tallrock and landed on Hollypounce's back. The pale gray warrior thumped to the ground, as Troutpaw had moments before. But this... Was real. Warblingpaw lunged for the WindClan leader, raking his claws down the brown tom's side. Billowstar leaped off of the half-blind apprentice's mentor and cuffed the young cat over the head, a move that slammed him into a large rock and made him slump to the ground. More cats streamed through the entrance to camp, filling the air with RiverClan stank. The entire Clan was here!

A brown and ginger tom rammed Troutpaw head-on. Westernpaw grabbed onto the RiverClan cat's scruff and heaved him off of her brother. Troutpaw jumped to his feet and the two apprentices circled their attacker, cuffing and swiping at him before darting away again. Out of the corner of his eye, Troutpaw saw Cootpaw and Laurelpaw looking confused and terrified, but guarding the entrance to the nursery to protect Emberfly.

Then, taking advantage of his momentary distraction, the RiverClan tom lunged at him. Startled, adrenaline activating his survival instincts, Troutpaw raked his claws across the other cat's throat, digging in deep. The larger tom wheezed, blood burbling from the wound, and went limp, the light fading from his eyes. Unfortunately, he landed on top of Troutpaw, pinning the apprentice to the ground.

"Dartwave!" A gray-and-white she-cat shrieked. Obviously not spotting the true culprit pinned under her fallen Clanmate, she lunged for Westernpaw, who flattened herself to the ground and let the she-cat fly over her. Undeterred, she hit the ground with her forepaws and had spun around before her hind paws touched down. Troutpaw tried to wriggle out from under Dartwave and help his sister, but the large RiverClan tom was too heavy. He was forced to watch as the RiverClan she-cat slammed his littermate to the ground, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "You trespassed on out territory. You hunted our prey. And now you've killed my mate. You will pay, and forever you will FEAR the name Stonelion." 

Troutpaw tore his gaze away as Stonelion's jaws came down on Westernpaw's ear. He heard the tearing of flesh, over and over, and his sister's weak screams for help. He finally managed to heave Dartwave's body off of him and wasted no time in tackling his mate. She let out a screech of fury and threw him off, his paws skidding on the packed dirt of the clearing.

"Leave my sister alone!" He yowled boldly. "She didn't kill your mate— I did."

In hindsight, this was a poor decision on his part.

Stonelion roared just as loudly as those of her name Clan and threw herself into the fight. He barely parried her attacks and more than several times felt her claws or teeth tearing into him. All the while Westernpaw groaned weakly. Troutpaw stole a glance at her, earning him a painful swipe to the chest. She looked terrible — Stonelion had bitten one of her ears nearly off and clawed her face ruthlessly, barely missing her eyes in some places. One of her front legs was mauled beyond repair. Westernpaw was staring up at the sky as she groaned, eyes blank, obviously unaware of her surroundings. 

He painted heavily, facing his opponent. She was around the same size as him, but a fully trained warrior. He didn't see how he could beat her. 

"You see that there's no way for you to win, apprentice."

And in her words he found an opening. She underestimated him.

A fatal mistake.

Summoning every last bit of his strength, he pounced. She wasn't expecting it. They both hit the ground, him perched on Stonelion's exposed belly. He raised his paw, ready to take a killing blow... But then noticed something.

The belly he was about to slash was oddly swollen.

... She was expecting kits. He thought to Westernpaw's mauled face.

She never would have wanted him to kill kits, even unborn ones, especially for her sake. He lowered his paw.

Troutpaw leaped off the queen, and Stonelion struggled to her claws, her chest heaving for breath. "Why?" She gasped out.

He cocked his head. "Run. Be sure to tell your kits how their father died. And never come back. Next time I won't be so generous." Stonelion nodded, limping for the entrance. Then she hesitated, turning back. 

"Thank you," she said softly. He shook his head. Don't thank me, his eyes said. The queen nodded again and left.

Troutpaw stared after her. Don't thank me, Stonelion, he thought. Don't thank me yet...