AN/ Faded Stripe won the contest last chapter, and her prize was to name/create the new character in this chap!
"Up! You can't stop in a battle to rest!"
Rumble struggled to get up, before Susan could get in another strike at his belly. With Jack gone off to who knows where, training was much less fun.
He leapt to the side as Susan came at him again, but he landed in a way that made him stumble right back the way he came. Susan lunged, and he was back down.
A few well placed blows later, he was down with no hope of getting back up.
"Come on, aren't you going to keep fighting? I thought you'd never give up!" Susan sneered.
"Jack never pushes me this hard!" He protested, a bit more feebly than he'd planned. All those blows to the belly had left him winded.
"Well, Jacques obviously isn't here right now, is he?"
For once, Rumble knew Susan's annoyance wasn't aimed at him. In the days since Drift had left and his training begun, all three of them had fallen into a steady routine.
Susan and Jack would be fed by their house folk, and when the house folk went away in their monster, Susan and Jack would come out. They'd train him, Jack normally in battle and Susan in hunting. However, today Jack had broken he routine for the first time by slipping away before Susan had noticed, leaving her in charge of both facets of his training.
Training lasted much longer than Rumble would have liked, and he was exhausted by the time Susan said it was time for a nap. Still, he was able to push the exhaustion awa the same way he always did:
I'm stronger now, He'd think. I'm stronger than I was yesterday. Soon, I'll be able to put that strength to use.
"Put yourself to good use." was a phrase he often heard, normally from Susan. She always made sure he knew that he remained at their home on their sufferance, and that if he wished to remain there he would make himself useful.
He'd give up his best catches. He'd stay out of the way. He'd make sure the house folk didn't know he existed. He'd get stronger every day, so that soon trust him with their purpose for him.
His purpose. Rumble's tired mind latched onto the thought, like it did almost every time he tried to sleep. When the moon sat high in the sky and the cold was more pronounced, and he missed Drift most, he'd remember.
The day Susan and Jack had sent Drift away, he'd complained. He'd begged her not to go, begged them not to make her. When that'd failed, he'd simply refused to train. Jack had tried to reason, but after a few arguments Susan had cuffed him around the ears and told him to listen.
"You must train," She'd said, low and quiet, "Because if you do not you will be useless. We will send you away, and you will most likely die. If, by chance you find someone to take you in, you will be a burden. And if you find the clan cats…"
She'd shuddered, then stood up. "If you find the clans, you won't stand a chance."
She'd started to walk away, but he scrambled to stop her.
"Wait! Why do you think the clans would beat me?" He'd demanded.
"The clan cats are merciless. They'd kill you slowly, then crush your bones. They've attacked us before, and we barely escaped. Why would you, an untrained kitten, fair any better?"
He'd always remember the light that seemed to jump in her eyes before her next words.
"Oh, if only you knew the things the clans have done to you already!"
"What? What did they do? Tell me!"
"Oh, I couldn't, not today. But maybe one day, when you're strong, I'll tell you. Then, you'll be able to get your revenge.
"But first, you must train."
So he trained, and after training, he took a well deserved nap, with his favorite mantra still echoing in his ears.
I'm stronger than I was. When I'm strong enough, I'll make things right.
Rumble woke up to a loud commotion. The sounds of yowls and pants were interlaced with various mews, familiar and unfamiliar.
"Let me go!" He didn't recognize this mew, but it sounded like a she cat.
"Jacques, what is this?" Definitely Susan.
"Susan, help me get her over the fence. I knew I'd picked a fighter, but.."
A series of thuds convinced him to leave his little nest. He raced around the corner, following the torrent of curses and yowls, until he found them.
Jack was wrestling a young cream she cat, while Susan stood above them, berating him with insults.
"Jacques, you idiot, what were you thinking? Did you kidnap a cat? God, don't tell me it's another clan cat!"
Clan cat? Rumble looked more closely at the cat, trying to see if it had fangs or red eyes.
Of course not. It"s teeth were sharp but normal size, and it's eyes were a rage-filled blue.
"No, it was off on it's own. Can't you help me? It;'s putting up quite a fight." Jack panted.
Rumble's heart dropped a bit, but at the same time he was relieved he wouldn't have to face his enemy yet.
"Rumble, you help the idiot. I need to lie down before I kill them both," Susan said, before stalking off.
Rumble stepped forward, looking for a way to use his training. Jack had it pinned down, but it was still thrashing. He raised a paw to bat it on the nose, hoping to stun it.
"Don't touch me!" it growled.
He let his paw drop. Jack seemed to have it under control, really.
A few tense moments later, it had stopped thrashing.
"Now, I am going to let you up. You will sit between me and Rumble, and if you move I will not be so kind."
It looked terrified, but did what it was told.
"Now, I brought you here to help train Rumble. Rumble, I know that you're no match for me or Susan, and this way you'll have someone closer to your age and skill. I'll have to talk to Susan about this, but I also think you should be in charge of her. It would be great leadership practice."
"Hey! I don't want anyone in charge of me, much less him!" It cried, looking hurt.
"Shut up!" He mewed, offended. However, it continued to complain. "Jack, make it shut up!"
"I'm not an it! My name is Sprite!" Sprite mewed.
Jack looked at the two of them, then snorted. "Sprite. Susan will change that."
"Ivory," Susan mewed, "To match your pelt."
"I don't want to be called Ivory! My name is Sprite!" Ivory mewed.
"Rumble, control her," Susan drawled. She apparently wholeheartedly agreed that he should be in charge of the she cat.
Irked, he turned towards the she cat. "Ivory, shut up. Susan picks everyone's names."
"Stop telling me to shut up, and why does she get to?" Ivory snarled.
"Because I know how to choose strong names." Susan replied. "Jacques is a dignified name, much more so than Jack. Rumble, like a burst of thunder, is powerful. And Ivory is unyielding and beautiful. You should be thanking me!"
"Yeah, well…" Ivory seemed to be struggling to find a comeback. "Well, what's so great about the name Susan? It sounds pretty normal to me!"
Susan's eyes locked onto Ivory, and Rumble cringed internally. You never insulted Susan. He watched, scared and fascinated, as Susan's chest puffed up.
"Susan is a strong name. It is the name of a hard worker, or a diligent warrior, of the most powerful she cat you'll ever meet, Ivory! And you would do well to remember it!"
Susan stormed away, and Jack followed. As soon as both of their backs were turned, Ivory stuck out her tongue.
Maybe he would get along with this cat more than he thought he would.
AN/ First, a quick footnote: I know cats don't believe in God, but Susan wouldn't have hear of starclan where as she may have heard her twoleg say God.
Wow, you'd think that since this chapter took almost twice as long as normal, it'd be better, but no. It's normal, because I procrastinate. Sorry about that.
Now, some announcements:
Go read Wilted! It's good for your health, and about 15,000 word to keep you occupied in between this chap and the next.
Go vote on the poll on my profile! It's about what project I should work on after this, so you should really go give your opinion.
Last, I'd like to know if anyone would be interested if I did a contest. Like, I'd give some prompts and requirements, and over a couple weeks you'd write some one-shots. Winner would get some kind of price, not sure what it would be at the moment.
This week's clever attempt at getting you to review: If I can write you guys a ~1,400 word chapter, you can write me a 15 word review. Thank to those who have done it in the past! You deserve cookies:3