Chapter 5: Lovely She-cats
The next day, Dawnpride woke up and got going.
She soon came across a light grey tom and asked him, "How much for this? It's my daughter's." She took off the collar that blended in with her fur.
"Four mice." He mewed.
"Four? It's worth seven!" Dawnpride meowed. The tom scoffed.
"I smell she-cats! Smell 'em in the air! Think I'll drop my starlings in that fresh-pile over there! Lovely she-cats, I'll love you 'till I'm broke! Seven moons catching fish and now I'm hungry for a poke! Even stokers need a little stoke!" A group of tom stalked towards the she-cats that Dawnpride now noticed.
"Lovely she-cats, waiting for a bite! Waiting for the toms who only come at night! Lovely she-cats, ready for the call! Standing up or lying down, or any way at all! Bargain prices up against the wall!" The she-cats sweetly recited.
"What pretty claws!" A red and old she-cat said, looking at Dawnpride's unsheathed claws.
"What pretty claws you got there! What luck you got, it's worth at least a thrush, my dear! I'll take the lot!" Dawnpride swiftly sheathed her claws.
"Don't touch me, leave me alone!" The yellow tabby hissed, turning to leave.
"Let's make a price, I'll give you all of ten squirrels! Just think of that!" The deal made the she-cat turn and look.
"It pays the debt.." Her green eyes turned soft.
"Just think of that.." The red she-cat weaved around Dawnpride.
"What can I do? It pays the debt. Ten squirrels may save my poor Larkkit!" She yowled, and the red cat took her away.
And when the yellow tabby came back, she had only fluffy fur, no claws.
"Lovely she-cats, waiting in the dark! Ready for a thick one, or a quick one in the park! Long time, short time, any time, my dear! Cost a little extra if you want to take all year! Quick and cheap is underneath the pier!"
"Come over here, it's twenty mice for a tooth!" A brown tom motioned her over.
"Come here my dear, I'll pay you well for your youth!" A white she-cat offered.
"The pain won't last, you'll still be able to bite!"
"It's just the back ones.." The white she-cat lowered her voice.
"I do it fast, I know my business alright! It's worth a go!" The brown tom said.
"You'll pay me first what I am do!" Dawnpride meowed, shuffling her paws.
"You'll get twice if I take two!" Then he took two of her two teeth.
"Give me the dirt, who's that bit over there?" A golden tom demanded.
"A bit of skirt, she's the one sold her claws!" A blue-gray she-cat smiled.
"She's got a kit, sends her all that she can!" A tan she-cat mewed.
"I might have known there is always some tom! Lovely she-cat, come along and join us! Lovely she-cat!" The golden tom meowed. Dawnpride bared her teeth.
"Come on dearie, why all the fuss? You're no grander than the rest of us! Life has dropped you at the bottom of the heap.. Join your sisters, catch food in your sleep!" The she-cats urged.
Dawnpride forced herself to go with tabby tom. "That's right dearie, show him what you've got! That's right dearie, let him have the lot..." A gray she-cat whispered as the two cats walked away.
"Old cats, young cats, take 'em as they come! Loner cats and banished cats and any kind of scum! Poor cats, rich cats, leaders of the land! See them underneath the belly, they're never quite as grand! All it takes is food in your paws!" The she-cats yowled.
Then they lowered their voices. "Lovely she-cats, going for a song! Got a lot of callers, but they never stay for long.."
"Come on, tomcat, you can wear your claws.. Don't it make a change to have a she-cat who can't refuse? Easy food, lying on a nest! Just as well they never see the hate that's in your head! Don't they know they're making love to one already dead?!" Dawnpride muttered.