SER Patrol #6: Chase Scene

Lumenpaw and Tacklepaw's patrol through Lush Forest was a success so far. There were plenty of berries around to collect thanks to the warmer weather, and it didn't take long for them to gather a whole stash of them.

"Wow, this is easy today!" Tacklepaw celebrated, carrying a handful of berries in his paws.

"Indeed it is, Tacklepaw! Payapaclan will not go starving today!" Lumenpaw agreed. He silently counted the berries they had so far. "Lumenpaw believes this should be enough for now."

"Okay! Let's go bac-"

Leaves rustled, interrupting Tacklepaw. As the two turned towards the sound, a glitchy toy ,Servine with a button on their chest emerged from the trees, freezing when they spotted the two and staring at them. Tacklepaw took a step back, unsure of how to respond. Lumenpaw was the one to speak up. 

"Hello?"

Without warning, the service pressed the button on its chest, shooting out vines that grabbed the berries out of Tacklepaw's paws.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Tacklepaw yelled out.

As soon as the vines returned the berries to the Servine's hands, they took off, not saying a single word to the apprentices they just stole from.

"Wha- uh-" Tacklepaw tried to process everything that just happened, but Lumenpaw wasted little time and started chasing after them.

"Lumenpaw will not let that thief get away with this!" Lumenpaw exclaimed. "Watch the rest of the berries!"

"But-" Tacklepaw tried to say, but Lumenpaw soon disappeared into the trees. "Okay," she muttered.

The Servine was quicker than Lumenpaw, so if Lumenpaw wanted to catch it, he was gonna have to be smart about it. As the Servine got farther and farther away, he got an idea.

With that, he let out a loud cry.

"AUGH!" the Servine screamed, coming to a stop and glitching out moreso than before. Lumenpaw caught up and tackled them down.

"Unhand those berries at once, thief!" Lumenpaw commanded. Instead of the Servine complying though, they press the button on their chest again and use their vines to grab Lumenpaw, lifting him up.

"You're crazy if you thi-"

Lumenpaw let out another piercing cry.

"AGH! SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" the Servine wrapped their vines around Lumenpaw's neck, choking him out. Panic started to fill Lumenpaw as he desperately tried to break free from the Servine's grasp. This wasn't supposed to happen. His plan had gone horribly wrong.

"Lumenpaw!!!" Lumenpaw spotted Tacklepaw running towards him, having heard his cries from earlier. Before the Servine could react, Tacklepaw bit into one of their legs, burning them.

The Servine screamed in pain and threw Lumenpaw to the ground. After evaluating the situation for a second, they said to themself, "Fuck this," dropped the berries they were holding, and ran off.

Instead of Tacklepaw picking up the berries, it immediately checked up on Lumenpaw, who was lying on the ground. "Lumenpaw?! Lumenpaw, are you okay?!" they asked.

"Yes..." Lumenpaw answered, trying to calm himself. "Thank you. Do not worry. Lumenpaw is very much okay."

"Are you sure?"

Lumenpaw got up. "Let's return these berries to Payapaclan, yes?" he tried to change the subject.

"Oh no! The berries!" Tacklepaw ran back to the berries she was supposed to keep an eye on, while Lumenpaw picked up the berries on the ground and followed her. When they got back, the stash was still there.

"Oh thank StarClan! I would have freaked out if someone stole these too!" Tacklepaw said in relief. "But I just had to save you! I just had too!" 

Tacklepaw then frowned. "I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you..."

They gave a small smile again after that. "Okay, let's go back! For real this time!"

Tacklepaw and Lumenpaw grabbed the berries from the stash and headed back to Payapaclan. The entire trip, Lumenpaw stayed silent.