CHAPTER SIX
A yowl sounded from the distance just as Storm woke up. Irritation pricked at his fur as he glared at the empty street. Being leader of the gang made him the toughest fighter in Twolegplace. No cat dared challenge him even on his worst days. Any that did was forced into submission or killed.
Storm let out a yawn before standing up. He shook dust from his fur and padded out of the nest he had claimed as his own. Normally he wouldn't have gotten up so early unless it was an emergency. But the sounds of a fight always seemed to drawl his attention.
He made his way down the empty streets and saw a pair of young cats squabbling over crowfood. Storm rolled his eyes when he recognized Tingle, a young creamy brown she-cat and her companion, Shark. Shark was bigger than Tingle, and he always enjoyed proving that. Storm remembered watching them grow up together as kits, and he had no doubts that Shark and Tingle would be mates when they grew up.
"Enough you two," he snapped after prying Tingle off of Shark. "Find a quieter game."
"We're just practicing our fighting moves!" Tingle hissed. Her fur was fluffed up to make her look twice her size. Shark had a torn ear and the stench of blood filled the air. It was a familiar scent to Storm, but Shark's mother would be appalled if she saw the wound.
"You are waking everyone up," Storm snarled. His ears were flattened as he glared down at them. Tingle stared at him in dismay before backing away. Even Shark looked a little nervous when he realized just how angry Storm was. Just as Storm had said those words, cats began streaking towards him. At once his fur stood on end until he recognized their scents.
"Storm, we have trouble in the forest," meowed a bulky looking brown tom.
"What kind of trouble?" Storm demanded. The kits had wandered away and were play-fighting again, but Storm kept his mind on the reports.
"A group of cats just moved into the forest," Silky explained. Her long cream colored fur was bristling with unease as she looked over her shoulder. Despite her appearance and name, Silky was a skilled fighter and one of Storm's best assassins. He knew she would take care of these cats if she needed to. "These cats are different too... it seems like they're trying to claim the forest as theirs."
"What sort of mousebrained fools would do that?" Storm scoffed. Every cat knew better than to form groups in the forest. The forest was haunted by evil spirits. And Storm himself made sure the forest remained empty of any life.
"I don't know, but the leader of the group is a pale ginger cat. White underbelly and tail tip sir," the brown tom meowed. His eyes narrowed into tiny slits, and Storm recognized her appearance at once.
Breeze... it's been a long time since I've seen her, he thought angrily. Perhaps it was time to pay his dear old friend a visit. Breeze would not be happy one way or another.
"Keep an eye on the forest," he told Silky. "And make sure that no cat goes into Twolegplace." The long-haired she-cat nodded and bounded off towards the distant forest. Storm watched her leave before glaring at the brown tom. "And you keep an eye on those kits of yours," he snapped. "They woke me up."
The tom flinched when he realized just how much trouble his kits had caused. Storm smirked as he disappeared towards the sounds of his fighting kits. These cats were cowards. They didn't bother trying to fight Storm for leadership. And now that there was a group of cats moving into the forest, he would get to show them just how strong he really was.
. . .
Myth kept up a brisk pace as her son continued complaining about their journey. More than ever she wanted to get away from the forest, and from Twolegplace. Maybe she could find a nice Twoleg nest that would adopt her. Her son was all she had left of her old life. And the last thing she wanted was for him to dedicate his life to some Clan.
"Mom, why are we getting further away?" Brazen wailed as she picked him up by the scruff.
"Because this is the best choice for us," she mumbled between his fur. "I'm not letting you join the rogues or this Clan."
She could feel Brazen squirming to free himself. Myth narrowed her eyes and bounded ahead, ignoring his squeals of protest. This was their only option to get away from the forest. She had promised his father that he would be kept safe. And she was determined to keep her promise.
The golden she-cat didn't stop running until she had reached the far side of Twolegplace. By now she couldn't even see the forest as she dropped Brazen. She let out a sigh of relief as she managed to catch her breath. As soon as he was dropped Brazen whirled around to glare at her.
"Why can't I be a warrior?" he demanded. His fur was puffed up to make him look twice his size.
"That isn't who you are," she scolded him. "You are my son, not a fighter."
Brazen looked more offended than ever, but Myth chose to ignore him. She kept an eye on the streets ahead of them. Their journey had only just begun. Myth knew that Brazen would soon forget about the Clan and move on. He still had a lot to learn about the world, and this was one of his lessons.
. . .
Anger coursed through Thrush as he watched cats gather around Breeze. The only reason he had voted for her to be leader was to see how the cats would react. And now that he saw their reactions, he regretted doing so. He would've made a better leader than Breeze ever could. Rabbit had said the same thing about himself.
And I didn't even want to be part of this stupid Clan! he added bitterly. But he felt like he had no choice after his brother, Red, had agreed with joining. And now that he had decided to join, he wanted more than ever to lead the Clan. Maybe somehow Breeze would change her mind and give someone else a chance to lead. But Thrush doubted that would ever happen.
"So what now?" asked Archie. Thrush remembered running across the big black and white tom once. He shivered as he recalled the look of anger in Archie's eyes. Now the tom seemed changed as he stood protectively beside the two young cats he had rescued. "I agreed to give this Clan idea a chance, so why don't we actually get started?"
"I'm afraid it isn't as easy as that," Breeze sighed. "First we need to find a place to communicate with StarClan. Than we need to establish a territory, one that won't interfere with the rogues in Twolegplace."
A shudder coursed down Thrush's spine at those words. The rogues were vicious. He had been part of the gang led by Thanos, a large dark ginger tom who was the second strongest cat on the streets. The only cat that Thanos feared more than anything was Storm, leader of the biggest gang in the city.
"I say we chase those rogues out of the city," Rabbit hissed. "They don't deserve the power they have over it."
"All that will do is lead to war," Breeze replied. "Do you want the wrath of every rogue upon your shoulders?" She looked at Rabbit calmly, and the long-legged cat seemed to accept her words. Thrush looked down at the ground as he wondered where this was getting at.
The Clan was awfully close to Twolegplace. If the rogues caught sight of them, they might attack. No, they would attack. Thrush knew from experience that the rogues weren't going to accept a new Clan in the forest. A Clan was a threat to them.
"For now we must practice our fighting skills," Breeze meowed. "If we continue practicing than we will be prepared for an attack. And a guard most be posted in case the rogues pay us a visit." She glanced at Thrush as if this whole ordeal was his fault.
He glared back and looked away, ignoring the prickling at his fur. Breeze could blame him all she wanted for the rogues living in the city. Though he had been part of a gang with Red, those days were behind them. He wouldn't go back even if he was asked to join them. Besides, living in a Clan meant that he would be protected from the very rogues he had run away from. And maybe that wasn't a bad thing. Maybe Red was right to agree with Breeze's idea. Maybe someday Thrush really would become the leader of this newly founded Clan.
AN: Thanks everyone for submitting your characters! Storm is going to play a very important roll later on throughout the story. I'm planning on making a side-list for all of the rogues that live in the abandoned city (it's going to be a long one) in the next chapter, so if you want your character added you're more than welcomed to mention them in a review :) Thanks everyone for your reviews, they mean a lot!
