Prompt: Write a short story on your OC's first battle.

The night was calm and quiet. The moon shone brightly in the sky, illuminating the broad-leaved plants that surrounded the camp. Huge, curved shadows dappled over the edges of the clearing as the wind gently blew through the area. Even with all the light from the near-full moon, it was still difficult to see past the camp entrance and into the pitch-black of the forest beyond.

Blazestorm, seated in front of the entrance with her tail curled around her paws, felt troubled. Of all nights to be turned into a Warrior, her leader had chosen THIS one! She understood that the ceremony had been pushed back because of LeafClan's current conflict with RockClan, and a ceremony at this time was meant to encourage and cheer up her fellow Clanmates, but was this really the time to have an inexperienced Warrior keeping guard on the camp? For all she knew, there were RockClan cats wandering outside of the camp right now just waiting for her to take the second to look the wrong way.

She shivered as a strong gust blew into the clearing. Leaves stirred eerily on the ground, and the rustling made her fur stand on end. In the distance an owl hooted, a sound that echoed through the clearing and left a disturbing silence in its wake.

Blazestorm stood nervously and began to pace. 1..5...9...12...Repeat....Blazestorm counted each step until she reached a wall, and turned moments after, walking back in the same nonchalant pace.

In this sort of situation, she would complain of the silence being absolute torture, but the sound of the wind fooled her mind into conjuring creatures in the darkness.

Finally, an eternity later, she saw the sky begin to lighten and heard her Clanmates begin to awaken. Blazestorm waited, motionless, as cats began pouring out of the Warriors den. Hollowtail stepped out and headed straight towards her.

"Did you have a good watch, Blazestorm?" He questioned. She nodded, but wasn't sure whether it was a good time to speak. When Deerleap approached a moment later to free her, he was met with abject relief.

"I'm exhausted!" She admitted to her friend as he led her to the Warriors den. Already her paws felt sluggish, and she longed nothing more than to fall asleep. As Hollowtail disappeared into the den in front of her, Blazestorm paused. Was something moving in the shadows in the back of the camp?

"Hold on, Hollowtail." Blazestorm padded towards the noise, peering into the darkness. Her eyes, tired after her late watch, were still able to pick up a dark form.

"What is it?" Hollowtail called. Blazestorm watched as the form jumped, turning into... a cat! Hollowtail, who had come up behind her, hissed. Now they could smell the RockClan scent.

"LeafClan! To arms!" She yowled, full of adrenaline. Blazestorm had figured that they would attack during the night, and couldn't help but take a moment to respect their strategy. The LeafClan cats would be even more vulnerable at daybreak then they would at night. It really was the perfect time to strike.

In an instant the Clan was filled with strange cats. They poured in from the entrance and the back of the camp, snarling and baring their teeth. Sleepy LeafClan cats emerged from their dens with confused expressions, and were forced into alertness by the onslaught of enemies.

Blazestorm, after sounding the call, ran to the nearest den, the nursery, and stood ready to protect the queens and their kits. She ignored the sounds of questioning kits and battle cries, swiping instead at any cat that moved too close.

From her right a large brown RockClan cat leaped towards her with an angry yell. She met him halfway, slipping under his body and using her new angle to push him off of his feet. As he stumbled, she dragged her claws down his side and bit his tail.

To her annoyance, the tom shrugged it off and lumbered towards her once more. Blazestorm dodged his attack, trying to remember her lessons with Deerleap. He's larger and stronger, but that means that I'm faster. So all I have to do is use his size against him.

Blazestorm ran into his legs again, surprised when he fell once more. Did he never learn? She slammed her paws into his head, slamming his jaw painfully on the ground. As he was shaking his head to clear it from the pain, she pounced on his back and sank her teeth into his ear.

"Ow! Let me go!" He yowled. Blazestorm slashed down his back one more time as a warning before jumping down. The tom hissed before disappearing into the crowd. Blazestorm turned to see that her suspicions had been correct- there was another brown tom trying to sneak into the nursery.

Blazestorm pounced on the cat with a loud battle cry, sinking her teeth into his scruff. Her claws dug into his fur, and she clung to him as he bucked and tried to throw her off. Blazestorm delivered one more bite to his ear, almost ripping it off, before carefully jumping down.

The enraged tom hissed at her, swiping carelessly but quickly. Blazestorm ducked and jumped until finally he left an opening by his side. She took the opportunity, slipping around him and grabbing his tail with her teeth As he snarled, she tugged sharply, pulling him off balance and towards the walls of the camp.

'Perfect' She crowed internally. She backed up slightly, bunching her muscles and positioning herself carefully. Then, she leaped up, using the wall to boost her height, and landed straight on his back. The tom, winded as he was from hitting the wall before, was flattened onto the floor with an oof of pain.

Blazestorm affirmed her position over him with another use of the leap-and-hold, sinking her teeth once more into his scruff and using her claws on his side. She refused to let go until he finally yowled for release. She felt a happy satisfaction as he unsteadily stood and stumbled away.

Her happiness was short lived, as moments later she found herself flat on her back, claws digging deep into her body. The fiery red she-cat on top of her showed no mercy or hesitation, sinking her teeth deep in Blazestorm's shoulder.

The brown she-cat struggled, yowling in pain but unable to throw her off. The she-cat had somehow managed to pin Blazestorm in a way that she couldn't move her head enough to bite at her forelegs without hurting her head. Desperately, Blazestorm tried to go limp, but the she-cat wasn't falling for the ruse.

"Get off of her!" Blazestorm heard before a cat pulled the she-cat off of her body. Hollowtail cruelly slashed at the she-cat, raking his claws deep into her underbelly. Blazestorm joined him, nipping and slashing at her legs until finally the she-cat begged for mercy and ran upon being released.

"Thank you!" She called as Hollowtail nodded and threw himself back into the fray. Blazestorm waited for a moment to catch her breath, picking out cats that might also need help. Closest to her was Deerleap, who was taking on three cats at once. Even with his skill and size, they were a formidable force.

Blazestorm darted forward, parrying the blow of one of the RockClan cats and stopping the gray tom from hurting Deerleap. She pushed that tom aside, slashing at his black-and-white friend and falling in line next to Deerleap.

Fighting alongside her mentor was a comfortable familiarity. Having never been in a true battle before, Blazestorm was now able to find comfort in Deerleap and his slow, strong movements. Together, they darted in between the gray tom and scored matching blows down his side, repeatedly harming him until he yowled. Blazestorm ducked the swipe from the black and white tom, wincing as her wounds brushed against dirt and inflamed. Her shoulder was aching, impeding her movements and causing her to move slower.

Blazestorm swiped again at the tom, a sure, fast strike with her right foreleg that had him jumping awkwardly to get out of the way. She swiped again, standing precariously on two legs to allow more power in her strikes. For every one that connected, however, there were two that missed; and she could feel herself tiring quickly.

Soon she had to drop to the ground, worried that her hind legs would give out. She was beginning to feel the strain on her mind and body, her lack of rest taking its toll.

The she-cat gasped when moments later something hit her, sending her reeling. Her head hit the floor hard, causing a painful ringing to bounce back and forth inside her skull. She was unable to move as the black and white tom headed towards her, claws outstretched and tail slicing through the air.

Blazestorm was helpless as he jumped on her, hitting her head on the floor once more.

"This is for Brownpelt!" He sneered. Blazestorm dimly recalled the brown tom whose head she had slammed into the ground. Her thoughts changed moments later, when his teeth sank right into her already injured left shoulder. She weakly swiped, her dizzy mind and weak limbs refusing to work. Her eyes were closing once more as her body began to give up.

Blazestorm watched through slitted eyes as Birchfang rushed through, pushing the cat off of her. She gazed distantly, appreciating the older LeafClan tom's skill as he matched the black cat blow for blow.

Everything after that moment blurred in her mind, as if she was in a dream. She felt someone dragging her by the scruff from the fighting and onto an unfamiliar, cold, sandy floor. The smell of herbs filled her nose, identifying it as the medicine cat den. She remembered a voice calling.

"Ashpaw, bring me some water drenched moss. Quickly! Then get the marigold and...." Blazestorm closed her eyes, welcoming the cool abyss of unconsciousness.

~~~~

"Are you awake yet?" Called a voice. Blazestorm blinked, eyes opening for a brief moment before closing again.

"Leave her be! She'll wake up soon!" Another voice snapped. Blazestorm blinked again, this time closing her eyes from the sunlight peeking through the den's entrance.

"But look at her! She's waking up right now. She'll want to know what happened."

"You can tell her all about it later, when she is actually awake!" The arguing voices caused her mind to clear further.

Blazestorm opened her eyes fully, staring at the leaves that covered the top of the den. Hollowtail, whose voice she now recognized, was still going at it with the medicine cat, Whitecrest.

"See, she is up! If I had left, I wouldn't have seen her until much later today!" Hollowtail insisted, pushing past Whitecrest. The medicine cat huffed, turning to her herbs with a roll of her eyes.

Hollowtail sat down next to Blazestorm, a thick patch of cobwebs covering half of his head. For a few moments they simply stared at each other, both pleased that the other was, for the most part, ok.

"What a first day as a Warrior, eh?" Hollowtail joked. Blazestorm could do nothing but giggle.