Tigerstripe froze for a moment, not entirely sure what to do. Here was the she-cat who had thrown Jetfur off the cliff, whom he had left to Korosu. How had she escaped from Korosu? Where were her kits? Had Dusty taken them?
Krait eyed him but said nothing.
Why won't she acknowledge me? he thought.
He jumped at the sound of Hazelstar's voice, forgetting he was still in training.
"My brother is still strong, perfect for our clan. But as for Jetfur," Hazelstar said, her eyes falling on the small black she-cat. "Her words are stronger. Hyacinth, go fight Jetfur."
Hyacinth? Tigerstripe thought. But that couldn't be right. This was most definitely Krait standing in front of him.
Hyacinth let out a small groan as Jetfur rose to her feet once more. She appeared to just be regaining her balance when Hyacinth lunged at the unsuspecting Jetfur. Jetfur was easily knocked down, and Tigerstripe watched as the Siamese easily pinned her. Jetfur struggled in the she-cat's grasp but appeared to be trapped again.
Tigerstripe watched Hyacinth bend down, and for a second feared that she was planning to bite Jetfur, when he realized she was whispering something to her. He could not hear what it was and didn't have time to find out as Hyacinth gouged her claws into Jetfur's shoulders to keep her still. Tigerstripe could see the fear gleaming in Jetfur's eyes. She knew that this was Krait too. He could only imagine what it would be like to once again come into contact with the very cat who had thrown her off that cliff moons ago.
"NO, KRAIT! GET OFF HER!" Tigerstripe shouted at last, knocking off Hyacinth, or Krait, or whoever she was.
Hazelstar let out a yowl of disappointment.
"STOP!" she yowled.
Both Tigerstripe and Hyacinth froze. Even Jetfur had remained lying on the floor.
"Krait? Who is this Krait?" Hazelstar asked, confused.
Tigerstripe pointed to Hazelstar. "Krait! That's Krait!" he shouted desperately.
Hazelstar laughed and shook her head. "No, that's Hyacinth."
Tigerstripe stood, glancing at his sister in confusion.
"You must've been lied to, Hazelstar," he told her. "That is Krait."
Hazelstar eyed her brother with suspicion then turned to Hyacinth.
"Well? Are you Krait? Or Hyacinth?" she asked.
Hyacinth sprung up from where Tigerstripe had knocked her over. Jetfur, meanwhile, scrambled to get up and skittered close to Tigerstripe. Her fur was fluffed up in bewilderment, and Tigerstripe could feel her rapid breaths against him.
Hyacinth, instead of answering, sat down and licked the back of her paw. Tigerstripe watched as she licked the blood from the crevices of her claws where she had pierced Jetfur's shoulders. Finally, she spoke.
"Honestly? Krait? That's simply such an odd name. I'm Hyacinth, and I have no idea who you're talking about. Silly kitty..." She paused and flipped her paw over, wetting it with her tongue. She then swiped it behind and around her ear. "You must be...confused." She flickered open her amber eyes and stared at Tigerstripe, laughing.
Tigerstripe felt his muscles tensed, knowing Krait was messing with him.
"No, I'm not!" he shouted angrily, unsheathing his claws. "You're Krait! I know you are! You pushed Jetfur off that cliff!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Hyacinth retorted.
"How did you escape Krait? What did you do with the kits? Why won't you leave us alone? Well, I'll finish you here and now." He lurched forward, ready to strike, when Hazelstar let out a deafening screech.
"STOP!"
Tigerstripe, though he didn't want to, froze, for fear what his sister might do to him or Jetfur.
"Tigerstripe, Jetfur, your training session is over. Bone, please escort them back to their den. I have some more...lessons to do with my new members. Hyacinth, please follow me to my den," Hazelstar said calmly. Tigerstripe was surprised. He had been expecting some physical punishment as a result of his outlash.
"Come along then, Tigerpaw," Bone sneered.
"Quit calling me that," Tigerstripe muttered.
Jetfur was quiet, though her eyes were still widened in fear. Tigerstripe unhappily padded alongside Bone.
"I was telling the truth to her, Bone," he said quietly. "That isn't Hyacinth. That is a dangerous she-cat named Krait."
Bone snickered. "Well, even if it is, we need tough cats in this clan. Not soft kitties like yourself."
Tigerstripe ignored his comment and continued to speak. "But wouldn't Hazelstar be concerned? Hyacinth could threaten her power!"
Bone stopped at the front of the den and rolled his eyes. "I would smack my claws into the side of your face, but I'm tired from our training. Look, even if you were right, Hazelstar won't listen to you. You're a traitor. Your words mean nothing to her."
"But maybe you could tell her," Tigerstripe urged.
"Do you really want me to do that? If Hazelstar found out Hyacinth bugged you that much, she'd be making that cat mentor you. I'm doing you a favor," Bone said.
"That's enough, Tigerstripe," Jetfur whispered.
"Fine," Tigerstripe said angrily, stepping back into the den. He and Jetfur found their familiar spots in their nests and sat down, beginning to lick their wounds from training.
The other cats were arriving back too, tending to their wounds. He watched Treestep lick scratches on his body while his mate and kits slept, scratches covering their pelts as well.
Jetfur was still laying in her nest staring at the ground, completely silent.
Tigerstripe turned to her and gently pressed his tail to her side. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I know she got your shoulders good."
Jetfur nodded, but didn't look at Tigerstripe.
"Hey, c'mon. It's okay," he said.
"I...I'm fine," she said quietly. "But...I...that wasn't Hyacinth. It couldn't be. That was truly Krait. I saw the way she looked at me. She knew that she had pained me in the past. How could a strange cat have that look?"
"I don't know," Tigerstripe replied. "And I think she's Krait too despite what she says. Perhaps Korosu confused her. I don't know. But how could she find us?"
Tigerstripe noticed Jetfur was slowly drifting off to sleep. Guessing he should get some sleep as well, he laid his head down next to Jetfur's and slowly drifted off, frightened of what future days in MoonClan would be like.
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