I swung my head around. Who said that? Me. Me? Fox growled back at me, "Come on!"
I scurried up to him and pressed my wet body against his fluffy body. Steel greeted us with a nod and inquired, "Where's Vixen?"
I looked down and Fox's eyes dropped. He mumbled quietly, unlike himself, "She was- she's dead."
Steel's eyes were emotionless, but he said, "She was a great cat. We will mourn for her."
Fox nodded and sadly passed on the news to my brother and sister and Raccoon. I followed him. Raccoon bowed her head as sorrow filled her eyes. Steel growled to Fox, "This was because we didn't have a slave to go in instead."
Realization sparked in his eyes and he nodded. He spat, "If only Bug lived longer."
Steel meowed, "We'll have to get a new one. Lets go."
Fox turned to Raccoon and said, "I'm going to find another slave with Steel. You stay back and take care of the kits."
Raccoon nodded and brushed her ringed tail around us. Storm's head drooped and Fox Jr.'s eyes we're downcast. We were all herded into the fox den.
Steel POV
Vixen was a good cat, she didn't deserve to die. I had no special relationship with her, but she was a friend. I mused this over as we padded into the forest to find some unguarded kits.
It was about nighttime, and most of the queens would be asleep. Vixen's dark pelt blended in the best, but mine will do. I wasn't the quietest at padding though.
I smelled a strong scent (Riverclan) and I slipped into a smooth crouch. 2 cats guarded the entrance, so we snuck in through the back. The two guards were snickering and giggling amongst themselves. How stupid.
I slipped into the milk smelling reed den and padded by the snoozing she-cats. I most often looked for she-cats because they weren't likely to grow into strong fighters. A small grey-blue one caught my eyes. I picked her up by the scruff and carried her outside. Fox nodded at me and we both slipped out of their camp.
Deeper into the forest, I heard a she-cat yowl, "Fogkit!"
I ran faster into the woods, until the cries grew fainter, fainter, and it was gone. The kit I held was crying now, and I shoved its little head into the ground. It immediately stopped. Good. This one will learn quickly.
Fox snarled at the whimpering kit, "You had better do what we tell you, or else we will hurt you bad."
"Mmmph!"
"Lets give a demonstration on how we are willing to harm you."
I sunk my claws into the ears and she tensed up, her cries muffled by the mud. Fox bit her stomache, and she scrabbled against the mud around her. I put a claw against her chin and hissed, "Obey us or die."
Fogkit nodded meekly. Fox said, "Lets name her after Bug."
"Sure."
Bug was carried by the scuff unceremoniously back to Raccoon and the kits. It was a long way, and she kept yipping at the bumps and leaps.
We scurried past the silent twolegplace and into the other forest. Raccoon and the kits were sleeping inside the den. Dandelion was awake and her blue eyes shone with the moonlight as she watched us with the kits.
Or so I thought…
Dandy's POV
Two murderous blue pupils glowed behind Steel. I cried out a warning and a black tom with scars leapt at Steel. He dropped the kit and fought back. Fox attacked the black tom with Steel and they managed to pin him down.
"What are you doing… Navy?" I heard Steel growl in surprise.
Navy spat, "I want that kit."
"She's ours!"
Navy tried to claw Steel, but Fox lashed out first. Navy screeched and shook them both off. Then he spat and fled into the forest, with Steel after him, to make sure he didn't bother us again.
Fox lashed his tail and sunk his claws into Bug. She shrieked. Fox threw her against the ground and put a paw around her throat, squeezing. Bug writhed against the weight and soon she fell limp.
I watched in horror as my father made that tiny kit scream in pain. The tiny voice in my head hissed, "Yes… Pain… Kill…"
I was dominated by this feeling, this feeling to make somebody hurt. What? How?
I shook my head to clear it, and I laid my head on my paws, closing my eyes.
Suddenly, images flooded my mind. A golden she-cat-me?- was writhing on the ground as my mother bit her. The she-cat on the ground, in spasms of pain. A shriek. A yowl. Cackles of my family. Fox snarled in my head, "You could never escape us, because we always catch you, and you will hurt."
Vixen's claws flew at me, Steel's fangs lunged at my throat. I saw Fox glaring at me as I shrieked. Suddenly, I flew out of this "vision" and I shook my head. I knew now. I was Lilykit. I was Bug. I was tortured by my family and friends.
My eyes flew open, and the kit's screaming has stopped. I knew I was nothing special to Mother. Only as a kit I earned her respect. Now she died. I have gotten my revenge.
I closed my eyes confidently with a smirk on my face. I was different now, I had life. I will use this life to kill my torturers. A flew into another dream, then another that I don't remember now. Only the last one counted.
A silver shape emerged from the darkness. I hissed, "Who are you?"
"Lilykit, why?"
I remembered my mother. Her tabby face smiling at me. Her gentle tongue rasping my forehead. I shook my head and growled, "What?"
"I am Rosestripe from Starclan. Why have you chosen your new life to end this way?"
I saw dots of light in her tabby coat. I have heard of Starclan a little. When cats die, they go to starclan and watch the living cats. Do you think I would actually believe that?
Now I do. I still snapped, "This is my life. I do what I want with it."
Rosestripe's beautiful eyes clouded with sorrow, "Just remember, revenge will leave you nothing but emptiness in the end. Don't. I gave you this life so you could live the life you were supposed to live."
I growled, "What is that?"
Rosestripe murmured in my ear, "Go back home. Your sisters and brothers are waiting for you."
"Will they recognize me?"
"You are the reincarnation of Lilykit. They will know who you are."
I thought about Fox(jr) and Storm. As if reading my thoughts, my deceased mother murmured again, "Do not worry. You will see them soon enough…"
I woke up. Why should I listen to her? She was probably just a figment of my imagination. But, when I breathed her scent, I felt so calm. (FIY she doesn't believe in Starclan a lot.)
Should I believe this strange dream? Or not?
0000
Moons passed quickly. Every single night, Rosestripe murmured in the blackness, "You must return home. Your beloved are waiting. They will know you. Go home, if you truly know who you are…"
My doubt in her ebbed. Was she really there? One morning, I yawned and stretched. I padded outside to see bug(2) snoozing by the den. I sunk my thorn-sharp claws into her flank and she woke up immediately and bowed below me.
I sunk my teeth into her ears and raked her spine. She yowled and squirmed. I raked my claws across her face. Blood welled up, and she stood up and bumped into a tree. I took her bloody face and rubbed it against the bark. Bug gasped in pain. I let her fall onto the ground with a thump.
Then, I rubbed her face into the grime and dust on the floor and watched her try to clean herself up. I snickered and kicked her face with my hind paws growling, "Get us food."
She blinked and padded away into the forest. No voices disturbed my snoozing now. I woke up to see Bug padding over to me to give me my food. When she started to leave, I clamped my jaws onto mangled tail. Bug immediately dropped as I dragged her towards me.
I sunk my teeth into her belly, and raked my claws on her haunches. I let go of her and she fled from me. Then, I feasted on my mouse and chaffinch. I thought about Rosestripe again. Should I believe her? Or not?
That night, I dreamed again. Rosestripe carried a different message with her though, this time, that involved my demise.