skai scrutinized onya as she ambled further, toward the execution clearing: where she had been killing by onya and brought back to life by her. her chest frequently ached, and she was sure she had cracked a rib in her side. but with time it would heal, and with only niylah as a healer, skai wasn’t sure she trusted wanheda’s lackey to keep her weakness to her own muzzle. “training clearing is around here.” her mentor gestured toward the only opening in a thistle bush: and she smiled.
indent“run away from the fight and get shoved into the thistles. wanheda is ruthless.” skai meowed slowly, her eyes glinting in admiration. it was true that the molly would kill to take the commander’s position: but for now, onya and the heda needed to see that she was not a threat: merely a mutant plagued half-clan atrocity.
indent“bravery is rewarded, cowardice is met with the end.” onya commented, advancing skai with bared incisors. “never look where you intend to exploit; always distract the enemy so that they are prepared for the wrong thing.” taking her advice, the second flicked her eyes to onya’s shoulder, then to her paws. she leapt to the opposite shoulder, and her mentor feigned surprise and allowed skai to pin her to the barren earth. “well done. again.”
indentskai narrowed her eyes as onya paced backwards, nimbly moving toward the thorn bushes. she waited for a moment, before glancing obviously at onya’s ears, then to her flank. leaping toward her mentor, she faked going for her paws, then instead: went for the obvious target that onya was not expecting: where she had stared. she clawed her ears and dug her teeth into onya’s collar, pulling her aggressively. her mentor let out a grunt of surprise but used her bigger mass to atone for the shock: she shoved skai with all her might and broke the grip the second held on the blue collar. onya’s teeth snapped viciously at skai’s tail and she yowled, scratching her muzzle. black blood painted the ground, but the seal point tortoiseshell barely flinched at skai’s flailing claws: instead she bit on the second’s paw so hard a crunch echoed across the space. pulling away, skai limped backwards and dipped her head in submission. her paw throbbed like a heartbeat and she gritted her teeth to keep herself from crying out. suddenly, a flash of ginger streaked across the clearing and a large tom cat placed himself in between onya and skai. he snarled ferociously at the suddenly small looking tortie. her tail lashed wildly as she paced side to side, looking for a way to skai. the second launched onto the ginger cat from behind, and using all her weight, she kicked at his hind legs and knocked him to the ground. he landed with an thump, his eyes wide and stunned. skai lifted her claw to cleanly slice his throat and end this pathetic battle, but her paw crippled her and caused her to tumble over. moving swiftly, both the tom and skai’s owner moved to catch her before she hit the ground. the two bumped heads and skai attempted to crawl away from the strange tom-cat. onya hissed wildly and dragged the small second by her scruff, further from the ginger.
indent“leave her alone!” the stranger growled, taking a step in their direction.
indent“we were training, you mutt!” onya retaliated, unsheathing her claws and stepping in front of her second.
indent“training? you were mauling my daughter! she’s barely old enough to be out of the nursery!” he snapped, his eyes growing soft as he looked at skai. she imagined what he saw: his kit, curled up at her mother’s belly, eyes closed and fur smelling like milk. but what she remembered was much less heart-warming: she saw a traitor, a coward.
indent“this is your daughter?” onya asked, stunned, her claws slowly sheathing.
indent“i have no father, or mother.” skai interjected, glaring into the tom’s eyes. “they are dead to me. we need to chase him off our lands now; or murder him. my stained blood-lines coming into these lands will displease wanheda; and i’d rather have his blood on my paws than deal with the punishment for disloyalty.”
indent“wanheda.” he spat, approaching onya. with a larger frame, more muscles, and no injuries he could defeat them: and skai was aware that this could go nowhere good. “i’ve come to speak to your commander.”
-
indentwanheda’s nose detected him before they even reached the camp. she moved from her position next to lexa, licked her cheek, and walked out to greet the intruder. he held himself tall, and he was well muscled: but they were the same height, and she wondered briefly if she’d be able to defeat him in a fight.
“my name is maplestar of swiftclan, and i’ve come to make an alliance with you.” he stated, sitting down and wrapping his tail around his paws. he paid no mind to her warriors as they circled him, and she tentatively noticed how wounded skai looked behind him.
“so, you’re the outcast’s father. i’m surprised you have courage showing your face here, after abandoning her.” wanheda replied, a smile playing across her features. she watched as he struggled to control his temper; his tail twitched wildly and his claws dug into the ground.
“nonetheless, you have my kit, my deputy’s father’s kits, and many of my cat’s mates here. at over one hundred cats strong, it would be dull of you to decline my offer.” he snarked back, staring into her eyes coldly.
“beyond my borders, you are not my concern. however, should i find myself in a war, would this imply you would come to my aid should i need it?” wanheda reasoned.
“in return for safe passage of both myself and all of my clan members; so that they may visit their mates and kin whenever they please. and that they might not be punished for having a mate outside of the clan.”
“i will allow diamond to stay with her dear luxx, out of the kindness of my heart; but diamond will have to live with the fact that she will join skai as a wastelander and become the lowest of our ranks.” glancing around at trikruclan, she raised her voice so that they could hear her clearly, “this includes any of my cats that would want a mate with swiftclan. in addition, you may not hunt, groom, swim, fish, or battle on my land: you are only permitted to be on our land within three tail lengths of the water and all your warriors are to wait at execution clearing where the sunhigh patrol will see you if you need it. you are not to go anywhere else on our land, unless escorted by warriors of my clan. consider yourself allied, maplestar of swiftclan.” wanheda instructed, flicking her tail and beckoning for her warriors to escort maplestar out.
-
indent“emori, stop biting echo’s tail.” diamond scolded, shaking her head. she sighed softly, then smiled when she noticed octavia sitting with her tail neatly wrapped around her and chest puffed out. at least one kit is listening, diamond thought. “your brothers and sisters are coming to stay with us. they have odd names now, so don’t pester them about it.”
indent“yes, momma!” octavia purred, her blue eyes shining brightly. bellamy effectively rolled his eyes at his sister then, noticing diamond watching, he nodded along with octavia and tried to copy her sitting stance. batting kitten-soft paws at each others ears and practicing battle moves, echo and emori tussled together. she thought back sadly to how much bellamy and octavia looked like their father, and felt the urge to sweep them close to her stomach and suckle them like she had when they were first born. she was thrilled that she could be with luxx, even if it meant becoming a wastelander: her kits would never be one, and they would always know their father due to her sacrifice: and that meant more to her than a rank in a clan. thinking back to her independent days, she reflected on first meeting luxx. he had saved her from horrible kitty-pets and saved her pelt countless times after, all while teaching her the most important thing; love.
indent“they’re here!” bellamy squeaked excitedly, spinning in a circle. while octavia wildly groomed her pelt, echo and emori stopped fighting to look up at their new siblings. diamond called out to arumwillow, palenose, sneezekit, yellowkit, and oakkit, gesturing for them to sit beside her and say hello to their siblings. arumwillow greeted her mother with a gentle head bump, before cooing over the tiny octavia.
“hello, beautiful. i’m your big sister arumwillow.” she purred, stretching out next to octavia. the small spotted molly looked at her admirably, enchanted by her.
echo and emori squealed as yellowkit waggled her haunches and pretended to swipe her paws at them. “i’m the best fighter of all diamond’s kits!” she declared, before echo and emori glanced at each other and simultaneously pounced on their black coated sister. sneezekit and palenose engaged in a conversation with the only other tom-kit, bellamy, before practicing stalking leaves that had brushed in through the camp entrance. diamond purred contentedly and closed her eyes, feeling happy for the first time in a long, long time.
-
indentniylah’s dappled features oriented downward, creating an aura of displeasure in the den. skai shifted uncomfortably before lifting niylah’s chin with her tail, forcing the healer to stare into her eyes. “if you have something to say, just say it.” pleading, skai drew her tail away hestitantly, unsure if niylah would appreciate the physical contact.
indent“you train twice as hard as every trikru, and i worry for you.” niylah admitted, touching skai’s cheek with her own tail, as if to reassure her the brief contact was okay. leaves of various herbs and cobweb was strewn across the healer’s fur from dressing her wounds, and skai’s tail curled in amusement. the second nimbly leaned over and lapped the herbs off niylah’s coat, their cheeks brushing as skai pulled away again. it was silent for a moment, the two she-cats breathing synced and for a while neither of them dared to move from their close proximity. daringly, skai began to speak.
indent“i come here often niylah, and…” she paused, her eyes flicking to her paws. “i’m not sure what it means.”
indent“it means you have wounds to dress, and i’m the only warrior that can heal, skai.” niylah insisted, ignoring the anger flashing in skai’s eyes.
indent“i think you’re lying to yourself.” the younger molly murmured, before confronting niylah; she padded closer and forced the healer to back into the end of the den, sharp brambles digging at niylah’s hindlegs. “you want everyone to believe you don’t have a heart, but i see right through you.” skai said, bringing her muzzle close to niylah’s ear. “wanheda broke you, made you a pawn in her sick game. and you’re looking for relief. perhaps the only way to do that is to make her jealous or disgusted. what could be more of a betrayal than taking a mate of a frikdriena, an outcast?" niylah's muzzle quivered and her eyes flashed: but skai was relentless, and felt the need to continue. they're muzzles were only inches apart now, and skai could smell niylah's sweet scent and feel her chest brush against hers when she took a breath. "wanheda would be appalled. she hates me, and if you could get her to believe that you loved me, you would win.” when she was almost through, skai took a step back. “but i won’t be a pawn in anyone’s game, niylah. if revenge is what you want, then find it with another wastelander.”
indent“skai,” niylah began, blinking somberly at her. “i didn’t want to use you. wanheda has hurt me, and i do want revenge, but i would never hurt someone to get it. my hesitation with admitting feelings for you comes from the fact that you are a murderer. you’re death from above. they're calling you skairipa now." she paused, watching as skai's eyes flickered with hesitation as she flinched away as though niylah had raked her claws across her cheek. i choose to live a peaceful life, away from battle and war, believing that glory comes from another place, not just handed to from the paws of wanheda.” she paused, gently brushing her tail against skai’s shoulder. “you killed naikou without hesitation, and you drowned gona. i have found my peace, and i won’t be dragged into another senseless battle. i will always heal your wounds skai, but until you come to me without them, i cannot be your mate.”
(∞ dawn patrol: wanheda, lexa, artigus, oakpaw )
(∞ sunhigh patrol: gonplei, reivon, onya )
(∞ dusk patrol: wintam, fleim, niylah )
(∞ hunting patrol: trikova, fotam, skai, nyko )
(∞ hunting patrol: lila, arum, one-eye, osias )
(∞ training: skai/onya and oak/reivon. )
(∞ ceremonies: dmitri becomes a second {dmitri}. )
(∞ trying for kits: arum and dashiell. )
