This chapter's about Scorn's son and daughter, Asphalt and Jay. They are about five moons old at the momento. It's more of like a short story about them until the end. This will probably be a long chapter.
WARNING: This chapter contains bloody content that may not be suitable for some readers.

FIVE

The Start of an Invisible Battle

"Bet you can't catch me, Jay!"

A muscular black kit propelled himself around a sticky-looking nest, his long, thin tail swinging in rhythm with his paws. His amber eyes were bright with excitement, the pupils augmented to the size of small pebbles. His claws were surprisingly sharp, catching on pieces of rat fur as he darted to and fro.

A little further away, a she-kit was sitting rigidly, staring down at the nest below her. She, her brother, and her mother (who was absent at the time) had the privelege of being located on the top platform. Slabs of broken concrete made up the nests, and cats with kits curled up in damp boxes made of cardboard that smelled faintly of Twoleg food. Her fur was as black as her brother's, only shinier, splashed with white on the chest and belly. Her blue eyes twinkled with exasperation.

"Shut up, Asphalt," she snarled in reply, focusing still on the nest below her. "A real BloodClan kit wouldn't play mindless games. Why don't you concentrate on getting revenge instead?"

Asphalt stopped, disappointed, and trotted over to his sister. "Revenge?" he mewled, confused. "Why would I want to get revenge? And on who?"

Jay flicked her ears, as if Asphalt was nothing but a mosquito and was a bother to everybody. She dug her tiny, jagged claws into the sides of the cardboard box, almost splitting through its thick surface. "You're an idiot. BloodClan gets revenge on everybody who wrongs them! Especially her." She tapped her tail impatiently on the pile of dried leaves, dirt, and old feathers that lined the box. "That little brat."

Asphalt blinked stupidly. His sister was always meowing like this. She sounded like a miniature version of Scorn, their father! "Who? Who's 'she'?"

Jay was fed up with Asphalt. He was the son of Scorn, but he knew nothing! "Her!" Jay screeched. She flagged her tail, pointing to the box below her. "Ice."

Asphalt leaned over to see. There was Scrap, a nursing queen, a skinny white she-cat with black patches. Her two kits, Cement and Ice, frolicked constantly. Or at least Ice did. Ice was very pretty; with her tufty white, gray, and black tabby fur. Her unusual colors seemed to attract other male kits. BloodClan was a Clan of hatred, but Asphalt had to admit, Ice sure was cute. Always chasing butterflies and walking so daintily.

Asphalt snorted. "What's wrong with her? She's plenty nice."

Jay snarled loudly, so loudly that queens at the bottom platform turned to see what the racket was. "That's the entire problem, you moronic fool!" she spat. "BloodClan cats aren't supposed to be nice. They're supposed to be mean and fierce. We're supposed to kill!"

Asphalt had heard that a million times. But being a little good-looking and a little bit friendly surely couldn't be a crime. There had to be something else. "Is that all?"

Jay twitched. "Of course not. I really hate the way she's always flouncing around, making all the toms stare at her lustfully when she's but a tiny, useless kit! Just yesterday, Viper was in charge of the prey pile, and there was this big juicy mouse on top. We never get mice. I asked him if I could have it, and he said yes. But then Ice comes along and says, 'May I please have it?' and strikes some charming pose. Of course Viper gives the mouse to her instead, and when I hissed at him, he told me to shut up and go away. Hmph! Wait 'til Father hears!"

The situation sounded unfair, but Asphalt didn't think much of it. Jay was Scorn's daughter, and that gave her many priveleges. One mouse made no difference. "So what're you going to do about it?"

Jay snickered. Which was creepy, Asphalt noted. Jay narrowed her icy blue eyes and mewed, "I'm going to make her pay."

Asphalt felt his limbs start to tingle. What did his sister mean by that? She couldn't hurt Ice. She was only five moons old. She couldn't be a killer yet! "Are you going to kill her?"

The small black she-kit swept at the leaves beneath her. "Maybe. But for now, we just have to think of a plan to get her with us alone. So we can punish her."

That made Asphalt freeze. He tripped, landing facefirst in a flat plain of dirt. He scrambled up ungracefully, spitting dirt. "We?" he hissed, rubbing his tongue to rid himself of the taste. "What are you meowing about? I don't want to be included in your...your scheme." This was a mistake. Jay hit him with her claws, hard, in the center of his belly. Blood began to flow out, and Asphalt hunched over, howling. Jay smirked, licking the sweet-tasting blood off her claws. "It's not a scheme. It's a wonderful idea. You're going to help me..." -she squished his tail with her weight- "...and you're going to like it."

The black kit writhed in agony. Jay was scary! He would do anything to make her stop smashing his tail. "Okay, okay!" he squeaked, flapping his front legs. "I'll help you!"

The she-kit grinned and released him. Asphalt leapt away, still hunched over, and shivered. "Ow, Jay...wh-what do you want me to do?" Jay shook her head, clucking. Asphalt was hopeless. "I've brewed a brilliant plan while you were babbling," she mewed. "Since you're the innocent-looking stupid one...you're the bait. Listen carefully, because I'm not going to repeat myself- right now, once I'm done speaking, go ask Ice if she wants to chase beetles behind the dumpster. She'll agree with you, because she's a fool like you are. I'll be waiting there, and once she's there, we'll corner her so she can't escape. Then we'll tell her all the things she's done wrong. And then we'll-" -Jay unsheathed her claws- "...beat the daylights out of her."

Asphalt stopped in his tracks. His blood went cold. He blurted, "But I don't want to hurt her!"

He braced himself for another blow of Jay's claws, but she only scoffed. "Fine. I'll do it myself. But your job is to help me and not let her get away. Once she's learned her lesson, we'll let her go, and perhaps she won't be so greedy anymore." The little kit looked down onto Ice, who was giggling at something Cement had said. "That disgusting butterfly-chaser. She should be a house cat, not a BloodClanner." She faced Asphalt. "Well? Aren't you going?"

Asphalt struggled to sit up. He looked at his sister pleadingly. "But..." he mewed timidly. He pressed his paw over the wound Jay had made. "...b-but I'm bleeding."

Jay rolled her eyes. "Oh, for Scourge's sake." She swiftly pushed together a chunk of moist dirt and patted it over his mildly bleeding belly. Asphalt squeaked; it stung. "Now go. I don't have time for weaklings."

Asphalt knew better by now then to talk back to Jay. It was like they were in a wolf pack- she was the dominant cub, and he was the cowering, puny omega. He slunk off, the mud on his belly making his scratch feel miserable, padding carefully down the sloped hill of trash that led to the second platform.

Scrap, who was watching her kits with two mixed emotions- irritation and affection- was a rather large queen, and she didn't like other kits around hers. He kept close to the wall, scooching around into the corner, until Ice spotted him. Even though he thought Ice looked nice from afar, it was scary confronting her.

Ice seemed happy to see him. Then again, she was happy to see everything, from chewed-up rat bones to floating flower petals. She climbed out of her box and pounced over to him. This caught the vigilant attention of Scrap, who growled at him. But Asphalt was much more afraid of what Jay might do to him than what Scrap could. After all, he was the son of Scorn- no queen dared to hurt him.

"Hel-lo, Asphalt!" she chirruped, her plumy tail curling in delight. "What brings you here? I'm so glad to see you." She rubbed against his flank, making his face go hot. Flirtsome, he could tell. And seemingly sweet-natured. But Jay was always right...so she had to have negative qualities, too.

"U-um," he stuttered. "I just wanted to ask you...if you wanted to go chase beetles by..." He strained to remember Jay's words. "...behind the dumpster."

Ice beamed. "Of course," she mewed. "I would love to do that! Especially with you." She licked his nose. But Asphalt held his ground. He suddenly saw what Jay meant...she was a faker.

"Well, let's go!" she mewed, springing ahead of him. She wrenched her head around. "Bye, Mother! I'm going to go catch some beetles with Asphalt!" Without letting her mother respond, she bounded away and circled the corner of the exit. Scrap scowled at Asphalt, showing that she didn't like the sound of this. Asphalt cringed, and treaded softly after Ice. Scrap wasn't happy, but what could she do? If she laid a claw on one of Scorn's kit, she was rat meat for sure.

Asphalt felt sick as he felt Ice's dramatic enthusiasm. She had agreed to go too quickly to be real. Evidently, instead of using her claws and teeth, every time she wanted to get what she wanted she used her charm. Suddenly, he felt cheated. And sulky. Whatever flirting she did with him was just some tacky act. He didn't care what Jay did to her anymore.

He felt a furry tail tap him on the shoulder. "C'mon, silly, we're almost there!" Ice mewed in a syrupy voice. Asphalt wrinkled his nose. He swore he could smell flower nectar. It was cloyingly saccharine and made his stomach churn. Gross. Don't tell me...Ice rolls in flowers?

A rancid smell wafted into his nostrils, relieving him of the flowery one. It greeted his scent glands- the smell of hot, aged garbage, mixed in with the smell of half-eaten chicken wings, crusty ends of Twoleg food, and dead rats...which sounded wonderful to any true BloodClanner. In between the sky-high trash piles, roaches and black beetles scuttled. The dumpster.

"We're here," he mewed feebly, scraping his paw across the ground. Where was Jay? She said she'd be here by the time he'd arrived.

Ice took a couple big sniffs. "Mmm, I can smell chicken!" she chirped. "Maybe we can have a snack before we go beetle-catching!"

Asphalt found it a little bit annoying that Ice had to make everything she said exclamatory. He eyed the spot in the dumpster where there was a big, shady space, surrounded on three sides by garbage. It was perfect. "Hey...I bet we could find some rats over there."

Ice nodded. "Uh-huh," she mewled. "And chicken bones, too. Mm, I love chicken. It's so tender..."

Asphalt tried to look for Jay as Ice jabbered on. There was no sight of the black-furred kit anywhere. But then he remembered...she would be hiding. He swallowed, and crept into the garbage-surrounded space. He wondered if Jay really was going to kill Ice.

He stopped at the edge of the shady garbage towers. Ice padded on, her eyes on a large dead rat. "Ooh!" she squealed. "A rat! And it's a big one, too! I wonder if it died a long time ago, because then it would be tough, or if it died recently, so it would be nice and..."

"...Oh, please shut up," a voice meowed from above, echoing across the dumpster. "Your high-pitched voice is wearing out my ears."

Ice, putting on the blameless act, turned every which way, her eyes wide with fear. "Who's there?" she mewed, quivering.

It was Jay. Asphalt saw her standing regally on top of a mountain of trash, her black fur ruffled by the midday breeze. Slitting her eyes at the she-cat, she leapt nimbly down, landing on her paws. She took care to lick her shoulder, which had a spot of chicken on it.

"You like chicken, don't you, Ice?" Jay mewed between licks. "Pity. I just found a whole chicken wing and ate every bite. But you can hike back up there and gnaw on the bones if you want."

Any other kit would be infuriated by such a statement (well, actually they wouldn't, because all the other kits were afraid of Jay). But Ice just stood there, paralyzed. She appeared to be afraid of Jay, too.

"H-how nice to see you, J-Jay," Ice squeaked. "Wh-where did you come from?"

The chicken on Jay's shoulder popped off, and she caught it in her mouth, chewing noiselessly. Jay blinked, snorting. "I came from a normal BloodClan family that knows how BloodClan cats are supposed to act," she mewed. "Unlike you. You're always acting like a house cat."

Asphalt swore he saw a glint of rage in Ice's eyes. "I-I'm not a house cat, Jay. I'm a BloodClan cat, like you!"

Jay finished her chicken, and gulped the mouthful hastily. She got up, staring Ice down, and backed her into a corner. Asphalt followed in hot pursuit. Jay was going to do it...her first killing.

"You know what's wrong with you?" Jay snarled. "You're nice. You're disgusting. Always acting so innocent so you get what you want." She put a pawful of unsheathed claws up to Ice's throat. "Are you going to plead guilty, or am I going to have to kill you?"

Ice, who was at the verge of tears, didn't get it. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

Jay dug her claws into Ice's throat, and ripped them across her neck. Ice fell to the ground, gasping, blood pouring from her injury. Asphalt watched, mesmerized. He'd never seen so much blood before. It washed on the ground in a small stream and stained the top of her chest. Ice's eyes were frozen wide, but they weren't cloudy.

Jay saw his perplexion. "I didn't slit her artery, stupid," she growled. "If I had, she'd be spurting blood like a water pipe." She pressed her paw against Ice's cheek. "Do you surrender? Or are you going to continue to be a stubborn brat?"

Ice didn't answer. Asphalt looked closer. The slash actually wasn't that deep, but it was long. Ice just looked like she was afraid she'd gargle blood if she answered.

Jay scowled. Her claws sunk into Ice's cheek, making her scream, and raked them slowly down to her chin. Jay chopped off the peeling skin layers, leaving four bloody claw marks. These were very deep. White flashes glittered in the middle of the blood, and Asphalt realized it was bone. "Do you want to talk or not?"

Ice coughed, and immediately howled. The movement had made her face injury throb. She writhed in pain, blood dripping down her fur.

Jay looked at Asphalt. "She doesn't want to admit that she's a liar," Jay mewed. "I've given her too many chances." She smiled. "Let's torture her."

Ice groaned in protest, her limbs flailing, and Jay seized her legs with her teeth. "Watch carefully, Asphalt," she hissed through a mouthful of fur. "This is a technique I learned from Father." And with that, she crunched down. Ice yowled, tears flooding down her cheeks and stinging her wounds with salt. Jay laughed maniacally, and wrenched upwards. There was another crunch, and another howl. Jay flinched, looking annoyed. "Oh, stop whining. Asphalt, get some dirt and stuff her mouth. I'm tired of hearing her squeal."

Asphalt scooped up some dirt. He was surprised at how unaffected by all this he was. He secretly swelled with pride. Maybe he was fit to be in BloodClan after all. He tossed the dirt in Ice's mouth, making her choke, and packed it down firmly. He peeked at Ice's paw. It was bending the wrong way, and underneath it the skin gaped open, like a mouth spewing blood. Jay was working on another paw. "Now hold still," she mumbled. Crunch.

Instead of being horrified, Asphalt watched intently. Jay would be furious at him if he didn't watch and learn how to do it. It looked easy- just bite down hard on the paw, then wrench up. Pretty simple-looking, except Jay was a lot stronger than he was.

Ice's front limbs were still flailing, one of which whacked Jay on the nose. With a vociferous snarl, Jay shot a glance at Asphalt. "You do the front ones," she snapped. "I don't want to waste time."

Asphalt was glad he had watched. He crouched down, using his front paws to pin Ice's legs down. She was too weak to do anything about it. Before doing it, he looked at Ice's face. Swelling now, it looked ugly and distorted. Her eyes, leaking tears, looked at him. He read them easily... I thought you were my friend. Asphalt felt a twinge inside him, but not of regret. More like... cold-blooded delight.

He clamped down on her paw, and bit down as hard as he could. Crunch. Ice was screaming through the dirt, mixed in with sobs. Asphalt liked the sound of the cracking bones in his ears. Blood on his tongue, he yanked upwards, hearing another satisfying crunch. He did the same with the other paw.

Once he was done, Jay looked at his work with a pleased expression on her face. "Well done," she hissed. "Now she can't move." She loomed over Ice's bloodied face. "You hear that, Ice? We're going to claw you unrecognizable."

Ice screamed. Jay licked her jaws, which were soaked in scarlet, and placed her paw on Ice's ribs. Asphalt thought she would claw her again, but he was wrong. After a few more tantalizing heartbeats, she removed her paw from Ice's rib cage. And sat contently, licking her paw. Asphalt recognized the image: that's what Scorn does. That's what Father does. And he knew- Jay was going to be the next leader. For sure.

Jay struck at the most unlikely moment. It was amazing- she was licking her paw, her head bobbing, and then suddenly she wasn't. It was a one-step thing. She was on top of Ice's rib cage, and somewhere, Asphalt heard something being crushed. Judging by Ice's repeated howls, it was probably her ribs.

Jay stepped away from Ice. The side of her chest looked twisted and lumpy. Jay backed away, her eyes locking with Asphalt's. "Your turn."

Asphalt didn't know what to do. Her body was pretty messy anyway, but Jay wasn't going to let him pass. He wanted her to stay pleased with him. Scrutinizing Ice's body, he found one perfectly fluffy untouched object: her tail.

The black-furred kit made a beeline for her tail. Ice's eyes followed him with dismay, trying to connect his movements with his actions. Asphalt tried not to make it apparent that he was going to target her tail, since he wanted to launch a surprise attack like Jay. He turned around, making it appear as if he was pacing, trying to decide. He stopped at her belly. His eyes focused on the ridges of her spine.

He waited a few moments, and then pounced. He pictured the soft, mossy tree branches he had once helped slice when his mother was lining the den. He only used one claw, for a cleaner slice, as his mother had instructed him to do with the tree branches. He hit right on the base, cutting through the delicate flesh. Of course, her bone wasn't as soft as a tree branch. Once he was through the skin, he used the rest of his claws to slice. Once it was off, he was shocked that he had done it. Blood poured from the tail stump, and Ice wailed.

Jay trotted over and nipped the tip of his nose. "Good job, Asphalt. You're pretty good for a beginner." His nose-tip had a pearl of blood growing on it, but he knew she had done it out of affection, not to hurt him. He almost smiled.

Jay trotted over to Ice's dying body. "One last thing before I kill you," she snarled in Ice's face. "I've always hated you."

And with that, she slashed Ice's throat, on the artery this time. And Asphalt saw that Jay hadn't been exaggerating. Once the claws had made contact with the all-important blood-pumping source, a gush of red sprayed. And Ice was dead. Just like that.

Asphalt sat next to Jay, who was licking blood off her claw-tips. "So," he mewed, his voice hoarse. "How are we going to explain this to Scrap?"

Jay stopped. "Easy. We tell her some stray alley cats did it because she was eating something they wanted. She'll believe it."

Asphalt looked at the puddles of red around him. "Then how are we gonna get all this blood off?"

Jay held out her paw. "Lick it. Once we've got most of it off we'll wash in the pond at the edge of the woods and roll in some garbage to get rid of her smell. Then you'll run home to BloodClan acting all scared and shout, 'Ice has been killed by alley cats!' I trust you can pull it off."

Asphalt looked at his red-stained paw. He had tasted blood during the torture session, but not really. He tasted it. It was warm, salty, metallic...and he found himself wanting more.

He wanted to kill.

"But...I thought we warded off all the alley cats!" Scrap cried.

The news of Ice's death had been announced to BloodClan. Asphalt had done a good job pretending he hadn't been the killer...he had acted so scared, Scrap didn't even suspect him. Right now, he was sitting back in his box, sniffing his paws to see if there was any trace of blood left. Nope. Jay had been right, as always- a few minutes of licking, a wash in the pond, and some rolling in garbage did the trick. Raven was sitting in the box now, too...and she didn't look happy.

"Mother, where's Father?" Jay asked, putting her paws on her mother's tail. "I thought he was going to bring back some chicken for us."

Raven removed her tail from Jay's paws, tapping her lightly on the head. "Don't be rude," she mewed. "Your father's just come back from a battle. You shouldn't always expect gifts from him."

Jay growled in disappointment, then joined Asphalt at the side of the box. "How's Scrap?" she whispered.

Asphalt watched the scene below: Scrap sobbing at her loss, and Snook, her mate, trying to calm her down. Cement, their remaining kit, stood solidly in the corner, looking annoyed. "She's pretty upset. But she'll get over it."

Viper, a warrior, padded over to Scrap's box. "Scrap!" he hissed. "Please, quiet down. Scorn has heard of your loss and has promised you a gift."

Jay hissed silently. "Stupid Viper," she muttered. "I hate him."

Asphalt scooted closer to her. "Why? Because he gave the mouse to Ice instead of you?"

Jay shook her head vigorously. "No. Because he's a coward. He obviously tags along with Father just to get respect." She licked her paw in frustration. "Really? Father gives a crying queen a gift and doesn't get anything for his own kits?"

At the doorway, a long, thin shadow appeared, flashing reinforced claws. "Viper, Viper. You've spoiled my message. It's 'gifts,' not 'gift'."

Heads turned. Claws sheathed. Every cat in the room dipped their heads, with the exception of the kits, who scampered under their mothers. Scorn, concealed by the wall, revealed himself- holding a tiny ball of fur in his teeth. He turned to the side, beckoning someone with his tail. Sulfur, the Clan deputy, appeared with two more tiny balls of fur.

Scrap lifted her head. "You're back from the battle, Scorn," she mewed politely, not a hint of sadness in her voice. "I congratulate you for winning."

Scorn chuckled, putting down the tiny furball. "Yes, dear Scrap," he meowed. "It seems your kit got a bit scratched up, didn't she? Pity. I was wondering if her horrific attitude would ever improve."

Asphalt saw Scrap's eyes crinkle. Only Scorn could comment on Ice's death like that and get away with it. He looked back on killing her with Jay. Scorn hadn't liked Ice. He had probably been planning to get rid of her himself. He and Jay had just done their father a favor.

We really killed someone, he thought darkly. I used to like Ice. Why did I go along with killing her so easily?

He paused. Because it's for the good of BloodClan, that's why. We have no room for weaklings.

Scorn picked up the white furball again and padded down the slope to the second platform. He set the furball into the nest, and waited while Sulfur set down the second two. The furballs unfurled, showing tiny paws.

"Kits!" Scrap gasped. She looked at her leader gratefully. "Where did you get them?"

Scorn watched the kits fidgeting around in the nest. "They're forest kits," he mewed, arousing gasps from the whole room. "I know it may seem strange that I have recruited ThunderClan kits, but it's the least we can do to show them that we're stronger than they are. They were birthed in the fire last night, and they survived the smoke somehow. The white kit also has..."

Scrap yelped. She had caught sight of Ember's discolored eyes. "They're on fire!" she spat. "What's wrong with her?"

Scorn growled at Scrap. "Don't interrupt me. That's Ember. Her eyes, as well as their survival in the smoke, have caused me to think that it's a sign. That I should keep them, and that they shall be trained by me...the Master of Flames."

Asphalt's ears perked. "Training?" he whispered. "But...Father's already training us!"

Jay pushed him with her shoulder. "Keep quiet," she mewed. "They'll hear us."

Scorn rested his tail on the tortoiseshell kit's head. "This is Mist. And the black-and-white one is Night. Since you have lost your kit I am presenting you with three new ones. It will be hard work, but I don't expect any complaints. You still have plenty of milk. Nurture these kits well, because I want them to grow up to be powerful warriors."

Asphalt put his paws over the edge of the box. His heart lurched. "Did Father ever say that about us, Mother?" he mewed, turning around to face Raven. Raven had gone rigid, her face a mask of raw anger. Asphalt had no idea why this was. But, nonetheless, it terrified him. His mother had always been fierce, but not like this.

"He certainly didn't," Raven snarled between gritted teeth. With a blink, she leapt out of her box and left the room.

He turned to Jay. She looked angry, too. He brushed her with his tail. "What's wrong, Jay?"

The black she-kit spat, her blue eyes merely lines. "Those kits," she mewed, her voice tinged with desolation. "They've stolen our father! Father's never paid attention to any kits before. And he certainly wouldn't care who their milk mother was! Usually he just tosses newly-recruited kits into the queen's den and lets whoever wants them take them!"

Asphalt shrunk away from his sister. "But...these kits are a sign. He said so."

Jay replied by smacking his ear. "Look! He's coming this way!" She ducked, pretending to be cleaning her paws. "We can't let him know we were watching!"

Asphalt scrambled over to his sister, pressing to her side. He felt their father loom over them. "Where's your mother?" he snarled.

Jay straightened up, meeting her father's gaze steadily. "Oh, she left. She seemed angry."

Scorn thought this over, his eyes hard as flint. "Hmm," he murmured.

Jay struggled to say something. "Oh," she mewed, smiling weakly. "I caught a mouse today, father. Half as big as I am!"

Scorn sighed. "Good. Now, stay here, both of you...I have to go look for Raven." He stalked off, taking one last look at the threesome of furballs he had dropped off in Scrap's nest.

Asphalt looked at Jay, frightened by what he would see. He was shocked to see tears at the corners of Jay's eyes. He had never seen Jay sad before, much less teary.

"Did you see that?" she growled. "He didn't even pay attention to me. He always at least purrs when I tell him I've accomplished something. He barely even looked at us." She furiously wiped at her eyes, refusing to let tears spill. She glared at the threesome of kits suckling in Scrap's nest. "Those kits are asking for it. I used to be Father's favorite, and they're trying to take over."

Disobeying her father's orders, she clambered out of the nest and skulked out the door. Asphalt watched her go, nervous at what might occur. He didn't know it, but it was the start of an invisible war.

R&R. Wow, that was a long chapter, wasn't it?

Question and Answer Time:

1. Eew, that chapter was so long! Why was it so long? *falls asleep*

Because I like to write.

2. How come the BloodClan cats know what cardboard is, and stuff?

Because they've been living in the Twolegplace for three generations. They know their surroundings.

3. Why do they know what wolves are?
...I honestly don't know. I just thought it was a good comparison.

4. Eew, that bloody scene was so bloody! *dies*

Well, I warned you in the beginning! This fic is rated T, too, you know.

5. Was it really necessary for Jay to kill Ice?
Well, yeah, it's BloodClan. They can kill for no reason if they want to. (Plus, her Mary-Sueness was starting to annoy me, so I HAD to kill her off!)

6. Why's Raven mad again?

Because. She loves her kits, and her mate is interested in three forest hairballs he discovered.

7. When Asphalt said, "there's no room for weaklings in BloodClan", isn't he sort of a weakling himself?

...Yes. But Ice is weaker. Plus, they didn't invent the word "hypocrite" for nothing.

8. When you were writing the bloody scene, did you know what you were doing? Because some of that stuff seems unrealistic.

Well, no. I don't know much about the art of killing or torturing, since I've never done it myself. But it was bloody, so that's what counts, right?

9. Why the HECK did you write this chapter? It's basically a side story about Scorn's kits!
Well, not really. Here was the original plan: I was going to make Scorn's kits kill Scrap's kit so our threesome of stolen kits could have a milk mother. But I guess I got carried away. But there ain't no way I'm going back and revising it. :D

See you next time! And let's pray the next chapter won't be so long!