Scourge's POV

"Wake up, quick!"

Scourge shrank high from his sleep pad bristling and unsheathed his claws. He took a moment to orient himself. Finally he sheathed his claws again, as he realized that it was his sister Iron, which had burst without warning just in his den in a small trash can.

In the bright sunlight, that always shone through the entrance of den, her ginger fur looks almost as if it was on fire.

"What do you want?" Scourge asked in an icy voice, indignant because she had woken him.

Her tail lashed wildly with excitement as she replied: "Thorn fights with Screamer for the leadership of the clan!"

Now Scourge noticed the battle sounds that invaded from the outside in his den. He turn himself for his inattention.

"And that's why you wake me? This is the second time this moon, only the cats are different! "Scourge snappped. It would have been not necessary to be so mean to Iron, but to apologize or feel remorse was not on the agenda at him. Both were a sign of weakness in his eyes.

But his sister doesn't seemed to be bothered by his occurrence, because she chattered merrily. "Come on, that will be exciting!"

Go without me," Scourge snorted, withdrew to the farthest corner of the tub, which still lay in the shade and curled up together with his back to Iron in his sleep pad. His black fur blended with the darkness.

His sister loved fighting and he knew it. But Scourge did not want to lose his sleep just because a mouse brain without leadership qualities held it necessary to wrest the leadership of the clan with a different mouse brain without leadership qualities so early in the morning.

"Then just go back to sleep." Iron finally meowed indifferent and soon Scourge heard as she squeezed back out of the barrel panting.

For all the other cats this ton was not suitable as shelter, too tight, but for a small cat like Scourge it had just the right size.

He lay on his sleeping pad for a while, that he had thought up of feathers and a few soft twoleg-things, but he could not fall asleep again. The fighting cats outside were just too loud.

Therefore, he decided if he just lying around here anyway, he could also go and see, who of the two mouse brains outside, would be the future leader of the BloodClan.

As Scourge stepped out of his den, the bright sunlight punched against him and he narrowed his eyes blinded until he could see fairly clearly again.

The old garbage dump, the camp of BloodClan, stretched before his paws. His den was slightly elevated on a mountain other rubbish as they were to find in stock anywhere. Like swollen inflamed wounds they shot up from the ground. Around them led only narrow paths just wide enough for two cats could walk side by side. This system ran through the entire camp and formed in this way a kind of labyrinth of waste. Only two large open spaces contradicted this system. The first was located right at the entrance of the alley and took the first twenty fox lengths of the camp. The second was circular and it was five waste pile behind the first. This was the meeting place of the BloodClan, in its center a shiny dustbin piled on, far greater than that of Scourge. From there, the ever-changing leaders of the BloodClan speaks of to his subordinates, so all the other cats in the clan.

Scourge's den was right on the edge of the square, which is why he had a good overview of what went down there just before him. A large cluster of cats gathered around two fighting toms. The current leader of the BloodClan and the one who claimed this line. Such leadership changes were very frequently occurred lately. It frustrated Scourge that the leader of BloodClan was always determined only by battle. In this way was never someone compatible to power.

Behind all the commotion rose the faded wall that restricted the camp, it went hundreds of fox lengths in the length to Scorge's right, before it ended in a stalemate. To Scourge's left there were only fifty fox lengths, where the output of the camp was and behind the place was where the twoleg-monsters slept.

The twoleg-waste itself was as varied as the cats who had set up their dens between it.

Some pieces of the waste were nothing more than crowfood of the twolegs, which, covered with white mold, decay diverse odors emanated. On their way through the camp, the BloodClan cats avoid mostly of this type of waste, although after a while you got used to the smell. The cats preferred to occur on the twoleg-waste, which consisted of this crackling shiny tissue from which most of the debris was made here. Previously, soft materials had been lying around in the camp, but were now already collected by some cats for their sleeping pads.

But now he turned his gaze back to the fighting cats.

Their furs were adhesively bonded by blood and dirt, yet Scourge could clearly distinguished them from each other. The cat, who pushed the other straight into the dust and bit back in his shoulder, was Screamer, Scourge recognized him by his white muzzle. The other cat was his brother Thorn, who had indeed the same stature, but a gray and black tabby coat color. It seemed as if half the BloodClan had gathered around the fighting cats. In a respectful distance, the cats of various origins sat there and were waiting for the outcome of the struggle. Some cheered the fighters. Scourge noticed that more cats cheered for Thorn as they cheered for Screamer.

To the left beside Scourge was Iron on the garbage mountain, she pursued the fight so banned that she had probably not even realized his appearance. And beside her Scourge discovered the brown fur of his hot-headed brother Timber, who shouted incessantly at Screamer: "Bring it to end!"

That this fight would come was entirely predictable for Scourge. Towards the beginning of this moon the ambitious brothers Screamer and Thorn had toppled the previous leader Wedge and his deputy Crow, whereupon cry had explained himself to leader and Thorn to deputy. Thorn had been dissatisfied with his brother's decision even then. So sooner or later it had to come to this, because if an ambitious cat wanted to win the respect of his fellow clan, then there was only the way to the leader.

It was now getting serious, Screamer, who was still standing on the back of his brother, just wanted to blow a strike to the ear of Thorn when he suddenly reared under him and threw him over.

Howling surprised Screamer fell to the ground, although he immediately tried to return omto his feet,Thorn was faster.

He ran into Screamer and then held him on the ground with his forepaws, whereupon he tore his flank, ear and belly with his hind legs.

Finally Thorn let Screamer go, Screamer, too much bleeding and without saying a word, pushed past the surrounding cats and retreated to the back of the camp.

As Screamer disappeared between the waste mountains, Thorn of his part let out a victory cry, jumped on the bin, where all could see him, and called the BloodClan cats with an imperious gesture of his tail, to gather them around him.

"Cats of the BloodClan!", he raised with too much drama in his voice.

Scourge felt nothing but disgust for this tom.

This bloodstained cat had mortally wounded his own brother only for the lust for power. These kind of cats did not deserve his respect.

"I know our clan has suffered greatly lately,"Thorn continued. "This was of course primarily to the hesitation of my predecessors, to make decisions." He threw a meaningful glance in the direction, din which Screamer was disappeared. "But I promise, as your leader it will be with me to provide the threat of the dogs out of the way once and for all."

"Screamer has also been claimed it before you.", a spotted she-cat interjected from the other end of the square, it was Tin, foster mother to Scourge and his siblings. Murmur of agreement rose on the court and some cats threw suspicious glances at Thorn.

"Silence!"; he snapped and beat angry with his paw on the garbage can below. "Screamer could not keep his promise, because he has taken the wrong cats into the BloodClan and thus allowed that disabled cats weaken our clan! Me for my part will raise some other sides! And as for you, "he glared at Tin, "Better think about who you're oweing loyalty now, otherwise I'll start with the sorting out of with you!"

Tin did not answer, she just snorted and moved back demonstratetvely into her den.

So Thorn seemed to be satisfied at first and put on to continue his address afflict, but was interrupted by a wiry gray cat with black stripes between the ears, hearing the name Night. "Excuse me," he meowed with his arrogant voice "Did I understand correctly? You want to banish all cats that weaken the clan?"He asked with a malicious glance at Scourge.

Night did not like him and Scourge knew that, but he did not care. He was accustomed to flat insults about his size.

However, Night was gone too far in the fact that he now more or less called banishment for Scourge in front of the entire clan. But Scourge left his coat smooth and his claws sheathed, for he had a guess.

"Yes," Thorn replied perplexed. "As I already said."

Scourge found himself confirmed. Thorn was not the brightest star in silverpelt and did not understand the allusion of Night.

However Scourge looked at black for the future of the Blood, when he should be cited by a cat like Thorn in the future...