"Shadeflame, take your kits and hide!" Snowstar ordered.
"Why should I?" She challenged.
"You want to remain anonymous until the Gathering yes?" He asked. "If they see you now the surprise is ruined."
Shadeflame nodded. "We will be with den with Cherryfrost. I need to keep her quiet."
"Very well, go!"
Shadeflame ran to the nursery to gather her kits and ran into the ivy covered den. As soon as she entered she pounced on Cherryfrost. "Be quiet!" She hissed.
The ginger she cat snarled at her. "Never! My kits are here, they will save me!"
"Goldenkit, Eaglekit, watch closely and learn," Shadeflame growled. The two kits' ears perked up, eyes wide in wonder. Shadeflame made sure they were watching before she turned and slapped Cherryfrost to the ground. Cherryfrost raked her claws over shoulder, missing her target of hitting Shadeflame's neck by far as she fell. Shadeflame placed her claws at Cherryfrost throat and pressed down hard. She heard the kits squeak in horror and turned to them.
"From now on you will be taking lessons from me and you will work hard to perfect them, am I understood?" Both kits nodded quickly. Shadeflame sneered. "Good, the first lesson is to silence your prisoners by a means other than death. You can always kill them, but if you want them to be loyal to you then you don't. Beat them first," she pressed down harder on Cherryfrost's neck, making her gag and flail desperately. "Then, once they think they are going to die let them have a small reprieve, but only a little." At that she lessened the pressure, letting Cherryfrost get more air.
Eaglekit watched with wide, frightened but curious eyes. Goldenkit was trembling lightly. She glanced at Eaglekit, who wasn't trembling at all. 'I have to be stronger,' she told herself. 'Besides, Cherryfrost was a bad cat. This is a way for Sha- for mother to get her revenge.' With the thought in mind her gaze hardened and she stopped shivering.
Shadeflame observed them, saw Goldenkit come to a conclusion with a satisfied sniff and saw Eaglekit's curiosity, noticing how he didn't tremble even once. 'Yes, with you by my side we can be an unstoppable force.'
"Just because you give them a small mercy doesn't mean you stop though," she continued. "You still have to beat them, to put them in their place. It works wonders if you have allies around." Her eyes narrowed. "Now come here." The kits walked over, Goldenkit a little hesitant while Eaglekit boldly walked up. Goldenkit saw him and followed quickly. "Good, now Eaglekit attack her."
"Attack her? But mom I'm a kit, I'm not strong enough," Eaglekit whimpered. Shadeflame glared at him.
"Son, I am telling you this now, the last cat to utter such a weak excuse like you just did got clawed across his face. You should know that while little wounds don't exactly hurt, they sting. Now attack her, and give it your all!"
Eaglekit nodded his head in determination and looked Cherryfrost over. 'Where do I attack her? Where will it sting most?' Eaglekit eyed her belly and instantly leaped on it, digging his tiny claws in with a fierce growl and shredding away. Cherryfrost let out a pained, choked yowl and tried to kick the kit off, only to claw at Shadeflame's leg. When he was done he backed away. Blood covered his paws and belly and he was panting from the exertion.
"Very good Eaglekit, very good," Shadeflame praised. She turned to Goldenkit. "Now you!"
Goldenkit barely contained her flinch as Cherryfrost yowled. 'This is revenge, this is revenge! She hurt mom, this is revenge!' She repeated it over and over in her head until Eaglekit was done. When Shadeflame called on her Goldenkit didn't waste a moment. She aimed for Cherryfrost's face. Again Cherryfrost choked on a yowl in pain and Goldenkit blocked it out. 'This is revenge!' She claws the ginger she cat's nose, across her closed eyes and her right ear. She backed away, blood on her paws and chest, a smudge of it on her face. Now Cherryfrost was a bloody mess.
Shadeflame purred; both kit attacked in place she knew would irritate the cat. 'They learn quickly,' she thought eagerly. 'By the time they are warrior they will be perfect.'
"Good job, now that they are beaten, you threaten and taunt them." Shadeflame chuckled. "It is my favorite part of torture."
She leaned down to Cherryfrost and growled. "I could kill you like I killed Owlfeather," she hissed deadly. The ginger she cat's eyes widened. "But, I still think you are a valuable slave cat."
"Never!" Cherryfrost gasped.
Shadeflame chuckled evilly and glanced at the kits. "When they are stubborn, kill them." She looked back at Cherryfrost. "Die with the knowledge that your clan knows you as a traitor!"
"Wait! Please wait!" Cherryfrost begged.
Shadeflame smirked. "And when they beg for life spare them, but only if you want to. Sadly I do want to spare her."
Eaglekit made a face. "But she was bad to you, mama, why spare her?"
"Because she is going to become my slave," Shadeflame answered coldly.
"You are teaching your kits this?!" Cherryfrost coughed.
Shadeflame chuckled. It soon turned into a snarl. "Keep your voice down!"
;:;
Shadowlight was the first to enter the den, followed by Sagewinter. Ivyfrost and Fireblaze were behind the two, and finally Gingerrose and Tickpatch came in. The cats watched them file in with heavy sneers.
Snowstar had each of his sons on either side of him, his mate was sitting beside Amberbee and in front of Cottonpaw, Tallpaw peaked out of the den with Ficklesnap, and the other apprentices were in their dens. The queens took protective stances in front of their den. Addersnap and Suckleheart stood protectively in front of the ivy den.
"Who are you and why have you trespassed in my territory?" Snowstar asked coldly.
Fireblaze squared her shoulders and raised her head. "I am Fireblaze, and this is Ivyfrost, my sister."
"We didn't mean to trespass in your territory; we didn't know cats lived here." Ivyfrost added.
"Lies! We marked those borders this morning!" Tinysquirrel hissed as he stepped forward. Ivyfrost stared down at him in amusement.
"Shouldn't apprentices be with their mentors?"
"You dare mock my warrior?" Snowstar snarled as he stepped forward. Dovetalon and Longwhisker took closer steps, baring their fangs. Fireblaze and Ivyfrost moved back, ears flat.
"We're sorry, we didn't know..."
"Don't come into a clan and insult their warriors!" Tinysquirrel shouted. "I could easily take one of you cats on!"
"Oh really?" Fireblaze spat.
Ivyfrost shook her head at her sister. "No Fireblaze..."
"What did you come here for?!" Dovetalon almost roared; his eyes narrowed.
"We came looking for a she cat. She's ginger with green eyes." Ivyfrost told him quickly.
Snowstar motioned for his sons to move back, expression calm. "The only ginger she cat I know is Gingerrose, but she has blue eyes." Said cat bowed her head, but didn't break eye contact on the two Windclan warriors. "I suggest you leave, your presence here is not only scaring our kits but is stinking up our clan."
Both cat looked highly offended, but Ivyfrost stepped forward. "We are looking for one more cat." The Shadeclan leader looked like he was out of patience, but he nodded his head curtly. "She is a grey she cat with some brown spot, a horrible troublemaker by the name of Rabbitstrike. Have you seen her passing by?"
"If you have, then kill her." Fireblaze hissed. "She is not needed in our clan or anywhere else."
Addersnap snarled and pounced on the she cat and dug his claws into her flank. Fireblaze yowled and turned around to retaliate, but froze. Poisonous green eyes glare at her and long fangs snapped in her face. "You savage! How could you wish for the death of your own clanmate?!"
"Peace, Addersnap," Snowstar said sternly, fixing him a look. "They don't share our beliefs." Addersnap slowly, torturously slow at that, took his claws out of her.
Ivyfrost was livid. "You dare attack us?!"
"Leave this clan, now!" Snowstar hissed. The cats started to close in on them. Ivyfrost and Fireblaze ran, and the cats that brought them in followed to make sure they were gone for good.
Snowstar turned to Addersnap. "That was a stupid thing to do." He growled.
Addersnap dipped his head, claws digging into the dirt. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "But it angered me, how cruel they were. They told us to kill her..."
"But she is safe with us Addersnap," Longwhisker told him. "I envy you; I wanted to sink my claws into her as well."
"We all did." Stormshadow hissed. Cats murmured in agreement.
"Regardless, never act out of character again. We don't need to start a clan war and we aren't even apart of them yet."
"But we will once we are," Amberbee growled.
Snowstar looked at his daughter. "How right you are." He turned to the ivy den. "It is safe, come out."
Shadeflame came out, sporting a wound. This kits followed, the others gasping at the blood on them. Shadeflame looked immensely pleased, the feeling intensifying when her eyes slid over Addersnap. The tom felt his fur heat up and he looked away. Ever so shy. She walked over to him. "You stood up for me, thank you." She purred and lightly licked his cheek. She then turned to her father. "Ivyfrost was the worst out of all of them."
"Then she will pay the most." Coltstripe growled.
Shadeflame looked back at the ivy den. "Cherryfrost, come out!"
Cherryfrost slid out of the den. Her body was frail, showing some ribs, and the wounds that were delivered to her in the den showed starkly. "She threatened my kits, I attacked her," Shadeflame told them when they looked shock and shrugged her shoulders, looking at Cherryfrost and daring her to say anything. When she didn't Shadeflame hummed, then walked over to the pile and picked out a mouse. It was a nice and plump one, all the way to the tail.
"For being so obedient and begging for forgiveness when you threatened my kits, you get to eat."
Cherryfrost eyed the mouse hungrily. She hadn't eaten anything in four days, she was starving. She moved to take the mouse, but the Shadeclan warrior pulled it away. "No no no, you have to do something first."
Cherryfrost's eyes widened in horror. "No!" She spat.
Shadeflame frowned in disapproval. "Oh well them, kits." She placed the mouse on the ground. Cherryfrost watched as the kits ate it with a whimper. "Go back to your den." Cherryfrost knew if she disobeyed she would get attacked, and she knew she couldn't handle it. Tiredly she returned to the den, tail dragging.