Death of a Hawk: Littlepaw speaks

Littlepaw: I was one of the strongest cats in my clan, despite my size. My mother, Stripedstar, was the leader of MudClan, and because of that, the warriors of GreenClan respected me despite my size. I wasn't used to being respected; my parents had always loved my two siblings more than they had loved me.

But I worked hard for my success, and soon I did something so brave that Stormstar even appointed me as his deputy.

I was out on patrol with Fallenflight, the deputy, Redpool, Nightwing, and Foxclaw. We had stopped at an opening beside the river, where we usually stopped to take a break and have a bite to eat. Fallenflight was preying on a mouse nearby.

She crouched low to the ground, pounced, and killed the mouse with a single swipe of her paw. But to my horror, a loud cry filled the air, and a moment later, the talons of a hawk were wrapped around the deputy.

Without thinking, I leaped at the hawk, digging my claws into it's feathers. Talons raked my ear as my feet slipped off the ground, and soon, I was dangling in the air, holding onto the hawk.

Nothing but Fallenflight's shrill wails and the sound of wing beats could be heard. I clawed at the feathers of the bird and bit down hard, until it let go of Fallenflight with a shriek. I killed it, sending it and myself crashing to the ground.

The bird's body broke my fall. My ear was torn horribly, but I tried not to think about the pain. I turned to Fallenflight; she was dead.

Stormstar was so shocked by my bravery that he gave me my warrior name; Not something that started with little, but rather, Hawkstrike; in honor of the day I nearly died killing the hawk that took his deputy. He made me his deputy, and I knew that soon, my mother and I would rule the clans side-by-side.