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| - The Birds. They hold my body in their talons as I slowly watch others appear - it's one of the other Clans, and whatever they have left. My blood soaks my back as my body lays under their claws, their knives. Each one stabs me like a gunshot. Why do I know these words? Rogues, loners, anyone outside of the Clan. They know these words and they know what they feel like. They've seen other animals been killed from these words, these bullets- I should stop. I know much more about rogues and loners than most cats, and some of that information is dangerous. "Maybe they'll tell us about it." "Me neither."
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| - The Birds. They hold my body in their talons as I slowly watch others appear - it's one of the other Clans, and whatever they have left. My blood soaks my back as my body lays under their claws, their knives. Each one stabs me like a gunshot. Why do I know these words? Rogues, loners, anyone outside of the Clan. They know these words and they know what they feel like. They've seen other animals been killed from these words, these bullets- I should stop. I know much more about rogues and loners than most cats, and some of that information is dangerous. I don't know the names of the cats we've picked up. The eagle holding me hostage gets one more - a orange tom named Sunsetpaw. That's a nice name, isn't it? No, not when you're going to die. He screams as the other cats fade away into the distance, his yellow eyes fixed on a russet shecat. "Blazepelt..." is all he says as she finally leaves our vision. I want to start a conversation with him, but this pain is too strong. All I can make out is, "My name is Aspenpaw." He looks at me with those pretty yellow eyes. "Sunsetpaw, though you may have heard my name." He looks at the eagle's talons gripping into my back, and winces at his own, but continues. "I don't know a lot about these Birds." "Nor do I." I manage a few more words, ignoring my pain as I focus on the conversation. "Maybe they'll tell us about it." I suddenly realize how I can't even feel my pain anymore. I don't feel my blood or my spin tingling. I ignore it, I still think I'm numbing. "I don't know." "I hope they tell us. I don't want to die." "Me neither." I analyze his fur and eyes. His fur isn't orange, it's more like a light mix of yellow and orange, creating an interesting color, like the sunset. His paws are a darker orange and his eyes looking more like a sunset yellow. I certainly know why he's called Sunsetpaw. But I find myself watching him, a weird feeling spreading through me, warm but hurtful at the same time. Is it love? Is it pain? "Hey, uh, why are you looking at me like that?" Sunsetpaw looks confused as I watch him. "Oh, um, nothing," I say quickly, hoping I didn't reveal any feelings in my eyes. He falls silent as the eagle suddenly swoops lower. She doesn't look to be going anywhere, but I hear her sharp, gruff voice again. "Listen, you two lovebirds. We're getting very close to your chamber. My name is Talon, but I prefer that you adress me as Tal or Sir, thank you." She continues with the history of the Birds. "Six years ago, some of the top prey-hunting birds were driven out of the mountains. I was one. We vowed to get revenge on those mountain cats. But when we found the Clans, we saw that we could scare them into letting us torture them. So we did." "Over time, I grew to be one of the most trustworthy birds around." Her voice is lowered and I think she's remembering something. Maybe she had a terrible accident. She says nothing more and keeps flying. Sunsetpaw turns his head to me. "Well, that was interesting." "Yeah, definitely." I turn my stare at the ground, shooting under my paws faster than I ever thought possible. Suddenly Talon stops. Sunsetpaw and I jerk to a halt, our bodies nearly falling away from the eagle's claws. Talon's voice is quiet when I hear it again. "We're plunging, I won't hurt you." She folds in her wings and descends.
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