Maria slinked forward as the man she was watching strolled towards the opposite wall. Surrounding them were cages full cramped cats and dogs all with cheesy "Adopt Me!" signs hanging off the sides. And as the dogs slept, unaware of what was happening, the cats were all pacing restlessly, knowing that escape was close.

Be still! She ordered. It wouldn't do any good if the employee would become suspicious and foil her plans of an easy take-down. The fidgety felines immediately stopped in their tracks and stood there, alert, tails twitching and ears flicking.

Don't just stand there! Act normal. Anybody makes this harder than it should be and I'll be skinning you alive and feeding you to the dogs. She almost snarled out loud as the cats crouched down as one, trembling of fear. These stupid pea-brained domestics and their inability to follow simple orders. They had to be fed every action individually and ruined everything you-

A soft hand lightly touched her hand as a soothing voice interrupted her thoughts. Maria, the angrier you get, the more afraid they will be. If you asked them politely to just calm down until we can take down the man, they would be happy to oblige.

Maria coldly glared down at the round, calm face surrounded with long platinum blonde hair. Have you forgotten your place Sylvia? She asked coldly as she flicked away the dainty, frail-looking hand. We are their superiors. They will not choose whether to listen to us. They will listen to us. You're too soft-hearted for your own good.

I take it you're not going to spare the man either? Her eyes bore into the taller, heavier woman with her short cropped dark brown hair and hard, cold face.

You know he could jeopardize this entire mission if he talks to the authorities. It'd be best to dispose of him and be done with it. She stared right back at the small yet persistent woman, daring her to argue. She raised her eyebrow as they continued their short staring contest, until a quiet sigh and averted eyes told her she had won. Good. She didn't want to have to put her old friend in her place, but she would if she had to.

Sylvia didn't like to harm innocent people, but she knew that Maria had a point. She despised the thought of ending his life, but she knew it had to be done. She followed Maria as they stalked silently towards their victim. She jumped forward and clamped her hand over his mouth as Maria stepped in front and quickly snapped his neck before his muffled cries could alarm anyone to their presence. She looked up from his cold crumpled body and nodded to Sylvia. You know what to do.

Sylvia looked up as she heard the words. Yes, she knew what to do. She would have to unleash her inner beast and make it look like an accident while Maria released all the animals so the authorities wouldn't notice that only the cats were gone. She closed her eyes and prepared for it as she heard the first cage door open with a click.

"Breaking News: Adoption Center Employee Found Mauled." The 7 o'clock News was flitting in between a woman with a very worried look on her face asking if it was a bear, to a man with an equally worried looking face replying that they don't know, but to stay calm.

"That wouldn't happen to have been you, would it?" Vanessa asked with a smirk, hovering over her cereal bowl.

"And what if it was?" Maria shot back. "You better get your nose out of my business before I take it out for you."

"Ooooooo, I'm soooo scared. C'mon we all know you won't hurt me. Right, Sylvia?"

"Now you know that Maria does her best to protect you guys and help you grow to your full potential." Sylvia hesitantly started. "But you know what happens when you break the rules… You have to be punished. And as leader of this Clowder, Maria is the one to distribute punishments. So theoretically, yes, she could hurt you."

"This whole Clowder thing is really pissing me off." Vanessa glared at the two older women, not noticing her highlighted brown hair had ended up in her cereal bowl. "I could just walk out of here and out of this whole thing."

Maria stalked towards her, furious. "No. You can't, and you won't. When's the last time you looked at your back? You wanted to be in the Clowder. You wanted to help the greater good. You will not back out of the promises you made when you received that mark. Do you understand?"

Vanessa flinched at the ferocious woman in front of her. "Yes, I understand." She tried to make her features look as submissive as possible, and held that position until Maria walked back to the couch and sat down next to Sylvia.

"Good. Don't make that mistake again." She warned. She began flipping through the channels and paid no further attention to Vanessa.

You're really going to just ignore her like that? Sylvia asked, feeling bad for the poor girl.

What do you propose? I go make her a cake? If you feel bad cause she's just sitting there, feel free to get her to bring the other girls down. I'm done with her. Besides, we need to talk about our mission and get them prepared.

Sylvia sighed. Of course it was up to her. "Vanessa, why don't you go wake the others up. You could help us get them ready for this mission."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. She just hated when they ordered her around like that. She tossed her bowl in the sink and trudged up the stairs, taking her time just to irritate them. At least she'd get to find out why she was here.

A/N- Hey there! So there goes my first ever chapter to my first ever (published) story! I know it's really short but I want to hear what you guys think. Is this story worth it or not? Meaning, would you read another chapter if I decided to publish another? If so then get ready to click that review button and give me feedback! I do need to get better somehow. Thanks for reading!