A/N: Yay update! Read, enjoy, and review!
It was the second hunting trip, and Panther was still stuck in the abandoned building. At first she tried to scuttle after the half-starved mice that populated her home. But it was no use. They had grown accustomed to the presence of hungry cats, and evaded her with perfected moves.
The kit jumped onto a chair, making poofs of dust pop out with each step. She sighed as she plopped down on the chair, sending up even more dust. There was absolutely nothing to do. No mice that were easy enough to catch, no foster-siblings to play with, no mother to annoy.
Panther closed her eyes wistfully, imagining hunting. She was in an unknown place to her; there were trees and grass. The only place Panther knew of that had those was the Park, but it was different here.
There were the scents of many cats, and all smelt semi the same. The trees grew denser together as Panther followed the scent of a strange creature. It smelled like wind and running, and enticed the kit forward.
She saw the creature ahead, and marveled at how different it was. It had long ears, and a fluffy white puff of a tail. Its fur was creamy brown like that of a mouse, and its large black eyes darted around almost as quickly as its nose twitched.
Panther dropped to the ground as the cautious creature gazed her way. She inched forward a little bit, the grass feeling weird under her paws. A breeze picked up briefly, bringing the scent of the wind-animal towards her, and making her anxious for the kill.
The trees parted, and Panther knew that she was in what was called a 'clearing.' The creature nibbled the blades of grass daintily, its nose still twitching greatly. She stepped forth to the edge of the trees, and knew that she had to make a dash at the creature. If Panther tried to stalk forward, it would surely see her and scurry off.
Panther took a deep breath, readying herself for the run to come. If it was like a mouse, it would try to scurry under a tree, and then she couldn't get it. Something inside of her was telling her soul that she had to get this wind-animal, and it was imperative she did.
The creature dipped its head again, and Panther sprung forward from her hiding place. It froze for a second, and then dashed off deeper into the trees. "Woah! That's fast!" Panther muttered as she sprinted after the creature.
It zig-zagged wildly, and Panther followed its antics for a while before realizing it was just trying to tire her out. She added in a burst of speed, and came close enough to snap at its fluffy tail. The wind-animal then swerved, causing Panther to lose distance.
She laughed at the sport, and tried to catch up once again. It was after a few seconds, when her muscles were starting to ache, that she leapt forward and landed on the creature. Its neck snapped immediately, and with a cry similar to a dying cat, it was still.
For the few seconds that she caught her breath, Panther observed the area. It was wonderful here. The trees provided nice shady shelter from the sun, and there was undergrowth all over. A small stream babbled near her left, and there were no birds. Strange, she thought. Every time I'm in the Park, there are birds….
Panther laughed. This was great! She actually got this… this creature. She sniffed. The smell of wind was stronger, and Panther leaned forward for a bit near its stomach area.
"It's called rabbit," A voice mewed near her ear, startling the kit. Her eyes flew open, and Panther realized that chasing the rabbit was only a dream. A short-lived dream that was only a product of her desire to go hunting.
Still, Cream and the rest haven't come back yet. Maybe… if she just close her eyes, the dream will come back to her. And she could taste the windy smelling rabbit!
"Panther! Panther look!" Take screeched. Dawn entered the building, carrying a pigeon and four mice, and looked for the kit. The rest soon followed, all screeching their pleasure.
Her hopes dipping, the only thing that made Panther laugh was when Cream cuffed Rust for crowing his prey-catching skills.
"Good," Cream mewed quietly to Panther. "You stayed in, just like I told you." Panther nodded glumly, unsure of what she wanted now. The rabbit still enticed her, but she didn't really need her dream if her family was here… right?
"We're going hunting tomorrow, all of us. But I'll teach you one-on-one while Mahogany takes Take and Keep. Does that sound good after two days of staying in the den?" Panther nodded exuberantly, making Cream smile.
"Go get ready, Panther! Clean up! Dawn says that the fighting'll start later! I wanna see it, so hurry up!" Claw bounced up and down as she mewed this quickly.
It took a minute for Panther to process the words. The fighting… they must be starting the tournament to see who gets to be leader tomorrow! As the words found their destination, Panther began a quick sweep to clean herself. It didn't make sense, but she seemed dirtier than Rust, who was out all day!
"It'll be easier if I do it," Dawn mewed quietly, grabbing Panther by her scruff. "If you need to do it quickly, you still need to do it thoroughly." She then began to rasp her tongue around Panther, making sure to do a good job.
Cream took Keep in her paws, cleaning the dirtier kit, while Mahogany took Claw. Rust and Take sat together, looking on as their mother's cleaned their 'siblings.' They were already spotless, and enjoyed not being cleaned like a kit.
After she felt she had been decently cleaned, and looked fine, Panther struggled from Dawn's grasp. The queen growled a little in her throat, but let Panther go.
The first thing she did was tackle Rust, and the two wrestled in their excitement. "Stop!" Dawn announced. "Or I'll have to clean you again!" Panther stopped, subdued. The fight was too important to miss for a cleaning!
The kit counted the seconds, each one seeming to take a lifetime. Dawn's tongue seemed to move in slow motion, and it took all of Panther's concentration not to interrupt her now.
Her breathing seemed fast, and Panther wondered why everyone else was so slow. Was it her? Black spots danced in front of her vision, and the kit swooned slightly. She felt Rust hold her shoulder and she smiled at him.
"You almost fainted…" he muttered, trying to keep the words out of Dawn's keen ears. "Are you sure you're okay to go?"
Panther nodded. Her breathing must've done this… it was her going fast. It was almost instantaneously after Rust kept her up that the queens finished.
"Come on now," Cream mewed quietly, slipping out the building with ease. Panther, Rust, and Take scrambled after her, fighting each other as they reached the exit. Mahogany followed them, laughing quietly to herself, while Dawn, Keep, and Claw kept the back.
Cream weaved expertly through the allies that Panther was beginning to know. Across the Human-Walk street, through the Dog-In-House block, and finally past the Many-Smells-Human-House. Those places always gave Panther the chills, but nothing more than the destination that they were headed for.
It was called 'Death Circle.' It was surrounded by ancient buildings, all fallen or crumbling in some way. Used to living in an abandoned building, this was nothing to Panther. However, the thing that scared her most was the center. It was a perfect circle, with maroon-colored streaks surrounding it. No human ever went there, for the place was deemed 'dangerous.' It was said that the souls of the dead BloodClan cats that have fought to the death reside there.
The only time Panther had been there was a while back, when she was still with Time. Time took her there to explain how Ghost had gotten his title as leader. The way the blood streaks ran away and faded scared Panther. There must've been so many cats that had died here, and they all were at the same place. How could their ghosts live together dead when they couldn't live together alive? Answer: They couldn't. It was rumored that if a cat went in the Death Circle alone, he would come out changed. It was said to be the only way a soul could escape the torture.
"Come on," Rust mewed quietly, for Panther had lagged behind. She put on a brave face, and walked through the buildings so like her own. Around the circle were literally hundreds of cats. To Panther's happiness, they covered the faded blood of the dead.
Inside the Circle, were two cats. One was a hefty looking light gray tabby tom, and the other was a small, petite ginger she-cat.
Cream smiled happily, and pushed her way to the front of the circle, allowing room for Dawn, Mahogany and the rest of the kits. Some gave her agitated looks, but quickly quelled them as they saw who it was.
"Good, we're just on time!" Dawn mewed, and sat with Rust and Panther in front of her. From this place, Panther could see everything that was going to happen, and felt the excitement that had left her a little bit ago.
"This is a fight to the death," a skinny black and white tom mewed solemnly to the two fighters. "The one who survives wins, and moves onto the next round. Understand? There will be no attacking of myself or the watchers, but otherwise, there are no rules."
The gray tom nodded just as solemnly as the black and white tom, but the ginger she-cat nodded with a small smile on her face. "Good. Let the Leader's Brawl begin!"
A/N: Any ideas on who's going to win?