Savin Me

The day was average, relatively peaceful, and wet for The Way of Life. The rain had been pouring for days now, and the river was overflowing its banks. Maizara had been sharing tongues with her brother, Sinzar, and her fighting partner, Lyrazur, when the warning came.
All three heads shot up in alarm as Braevin skidded along the wet rocks at the foot of the cliff that served as The Way’s home, crying out, “They’re coming! Somebody get Racquel! The attack is coming!”
Maizara stood up quickly, upsetting the perches of Lyrazur and Sinzar, who slid some. She ran along the thin paths that lined the walls to the largest cave, the Rex’s cave, her father’s cave. “Father!”
The ginger tom looked up, amber eyes full of worry. “I heard Braevin, daughter. No need to relay the information. Ready the first wave,” Racquel ordered. The small silver shecat nodded, turning to tell the fighters, as her father continued, “Please, Maizara, stay safe. And watch your brother too, okay?”
She smiled, nodding.
“You promise?”
“Yes, father.” She raced down to the Fighter’s den, passing on the orders. Next she told the Advanced Trainees, then looked up to see the heavily built form of her father climb onto the outcrop of rock and call out, “The Trail to Power is coming! Take the Mothers, Futures, and Ancients to the safe cave and guard the entry!”
Maizara took her cue, shouting, “First wave, positions! Second wave, positions!” She saw a small group of the light weight cats head out, and knew they were going to climb trees and land on the enemy startling them, then the Second wave of heavily built Fighters would attack the startled cats.
Running to go help the Ancients to the safe cave, Maizara heard yowls of surprise and knew the first wave had hit. She nudged the last Ancient through the entrance and dragged the bush to cover the hole. After she had made sure there was no sign of the cave from the front, she bounded down the paths to where the Fighters were gathering. She edged her way between Sinzar and Lyrazur just as the first rustling sounded. She prayed to the Moon it was the first two waves, but when the reek of The Trail hit her nose, she tensed her muscles.
The strong, well-fed cats poured into the clearing at the base of the cliff, waves upon waves of them, attacking her friends and family two-to-one. She saw her father facing off with the biggest and cruelest of all, Claw, the General of The Trail. The bronze and black body were intertwined in a dance of death, blood seeping from wounds all over.
Her attention was dragged back to the battle when a large tom picked her up by the scruff, intending to shake her until her neck broke. She had other ideas. She raked her claws across his exposed chest and neck, and he dropped her in surprise. Backing up and taking a deep breath, she tried to remember her training. What move, what move? Suddenly, her eyes opened just as the tom was charging again. She raced around his flank, diving under his belly, then turning on her hind paws to leap for his back.
Another Trail cat jumped into the way, grabbing Maizara’s paw and flinging her across the clearing. She stood up and shook her head, clearing it, then looked around her. She was concerned to see she was surrounded by her fellows, being driven slowly out of the clearing, toward the nearby raging river.
Lyrazur ran up to her side, breathless and bleeding. “There’s too many of them!” he gasped, trying to catch his breath.
“Let’s see how many we can take down together, then,” she smiled.
The two ran at the nearest Trail soldier, a heavily-built gray shecat. Maizara repeated her performance of dizzying turns and leaps around the cat, distracting her. Lyrazur took the chance and leaped onto her shoulders, which Maizara repeated. They clawed at her ears and flanks, then leaped off. They saw other pairs of fighting partners imitate them, but still, they were outnumbered by the soldiers of The Trail to Power. Slowly, they were being herded towards the gorged river.
“Maizara, look!”
The silver shecat glanced over her shoulder and was horrified to see that the river was up to the cliffs surrounding it, and they were only a few tail-lengths from the drop. She saw the light-colored form of her brother go down under three soldiers, and her eyes got wide.
“Lyrazur, come on! Sinzar’s down!” she called, then dashed to the group of fighting bodies, leaping on the back of one and tearing at his ears. She scooted up onto his head, then clawed at his eyes. The soldier yelped in pain and ran back to the main body of his brethren, but it was not enough. Just as Sinzar was scrambling back to his feet, a soldier kicked him, sending him flying over the edge.
Maizara cried out, watching the wide eyes of her brother, same color as her own, speak fear and his jaws, open in a silent cry. She ran to the edge of the cliff, only in time to see Sinzar’s form crash to the water. She knew his heavy fur would weigh him down, but prayed he would come up. He didn’t.
Taking a deep breath, knowing it might be her last, she backed up, then bounded to the edge of the cliff, tumbling through the air to the raging waters below. She hit the surface with a painful splash, almost gasping and breathing in ice-cold water. With a great amount of effort, she came to the surface, paws struggling. Over her shoulder she could hear Lyrazur calling her name, knowing her mission was suicidal.
Determined to save her brother, Maizara kept her head above the water as the current whipped her downstream. Faster and faster, she had long left the territories of The Trail and The Way. After an eternity, she saw Sinzar’s limp form caught on a tree. Angling in that direction, she barely caught a branch, but her grip was good. Clawing her way up, she grabbed her brother’s scruff and dragged him like a deadweight up the tree to the shore.
His fur was waterlogged and cold, and when she felt for a pulse, there was none.
She had failed.
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This is how Maizara wishes it could have gone. She wishes she could have saved him.

The product of three weeks. 0.o I hate Maizara's back left paw, and the rocky protrusion, and the rocks in general, but otherwise I am satisfied.

In case you wanted to know, heres what the names mean:
Maizara-Death by Lightning
Sinzar-Death to the Hawk
Lyrazur-Feather of the Owl
Racquel-Bane of the Badger
Braevin-Might of Eagles

Maizara, Sinzar, Lyrazur, The Way of Life, The Trail to Power and all characters used (C)~DarkPhoenix24
Idea and Plot (C)~DarkPhoenix24
Art (C)~DarkPhoenix24