Chapter 14

The next moon passed by in a heartbeat, it seemed, every day filled with either hunting for the band or battle training. Socks's wounds healed fairly quickly, and she was fighting-fit once more after a quarter-moon. Fleet's strength and stamina grew exponentially, and even Socks was impressed with his speed and wit. Tiger was not spoken of, and Diamond life seemed to fall once more into a steady rhythm. A few rain and snow storms came and went, and the dens were in constant need of repair. Everyone was constantly busy, the harshness of winter closing in as the days continued to grow shorter. Soon, cats were expected to be up before dawn, and sleep was only allowed well after dark. One dark, cloudy day, Fleet was approached by a cat he hadn't spoken to in a long time.

"Hello, Fleet!" Jag purred, his usual cheerful self. "Has anyone told you yet?"

Fleet was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh! So you don't know?" Jag asked, looking excited. "Well then, you're in for quite the surprise, today." With that, he bounced off to help some other cats repair the main den.

A surprise? That's odd, Fleet mused, frowning. The prey pile was as low as ever, so he brought a skinny rat over to the kit-mothers to share.

"This is pretty much all we have," he told the she-cats, noticing their disappointed expressions. "Everyone's hungry." The bunch of kits was as lively as they had ever been, however, as they climbed all over their mothers.

"Thank you," Pigeon said with a grateful smile. "We understand."

Fleet padded back outside-and bumped right into Socks. The former leader had multiple scars now crossing her flank, and her ear would never be the triangle it had been. When her tender-paw had asked what she thought about, she had shrugged.

"Only make me look tougher," she had said.

"Watch where you put your paws, rat-brain!" present-Socks hissed, recoiling.

"S-sorry," Fleet stammered, and heard quiet laughter from the kit-mothers behind him. "I didn't see you."

Socks snorted. "Obviously. Now get your tail over here, I was looking for you." She padded to the edge of the clearing, Fleet in tow.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Maybe it's the surprise Jag was telling me about.

"You're being promoted today."

Fleet blinked. "What?"

Socks's tail twitched. "I don't like to repeat myself. You know what you heard. Your promotion will begin shortly. Tiger will just be so excited to call another meeting." She rolled her eyes.

"Thank you so much," he purred, and Socks smiled.

"It wasn't me, rat-brain. Tiger doesn't want me out of camp. I'm the dangerous one," she purred. "Now go fix something, cats are cold."

At this point in the season, even Lion was required to work, though he still wasn't allowed to leave the camp. The yellow tom-cat was weaving a strip of hard paper onto the roof of his den, shivering in the cold. Fleet's own thick pelt protected him for the most part, but even he was susceptible to the frigid weather. "Need some help?" he asked.

"That would be wonderful," Lion purred, stepping aside. Fleet grabbed the other end of the paper strip in his jaws, yanking it tight.

"I don't see how this helps at all," Fleet grumbled, taking another strip of hard paper from a pile that Dawn and her brother were putting together. The little she-cat was too busy ripping up strips to acknowledge his presence, but Jet spared the fluffy tom-cat a glance and a smile before getting back to work.

"It keeps us busy, I think. Otherwise cats would grow restless, and Tiger wouldn't want that," Lion replied when Fleet returned. "I rather like getting some air, actually. Do you enjoy it as well?"

"Can't say I do," the white tom-cat growled, threading the strip through the den's roof. "Why don't we put them on the inside where they won't get wet or snowed on?"

"Take a break from that for a moment," Fleet heard Tiger's cordial command from behind him. "There's something we need to take care of." The white tom-cat turned towards the relatively cheerful-looking leader.

"Coming," he answered, padding after the orange tabby as he climbed up onto the scrap heap.

"Diamond cats!" came his customary cry. "The time has come to add a new member to our ranks!" What little cats were not out hunting gathered around him, and his eyes glowed with almost addicted pleasure. "Fleet has worked very hard as a tender-paw, and today he has earned the right to be a full member," he announced.

"Fleet? Him?" one cat asked, incredulous. Fleet recognized her as a sour she-cat who had been an older tender-paw when his training had just began. "He just started!"

Tiger's eyes flashed. "I am leader here, and I will decide who and when to promote," he hissed. "Those decisions are up to me alone!"

The she-cat didn't speak up again, which Fleet knew was uncharacteristic for her. In fact, the entirety of the cats present were staring at Tiger, wide-eyed. All except for Socks, who was glaring at him from the back.

"Fleet, step forward," Tiger growled. When the white tom-cat hesitated, he continued in a roar. "Step forward now!"

Fleet felt a rage build up inside of him, all the bitterness he'd been holding from Tiger welling up. "No," he replied, eyes narrowed. "I won't." He glanced back at Socks, and the she-cat sprang into action, leaping up the sides of the cold metal pile and tackling Tiger before he could react. Legs flailing for a grip, he tumbled down the slope, and Fleet pounced. Pinning him down as tightly as he could, he looked back up at Socks.

"Any cat who believes Tiger is the rightful leader of the Diamonds, speak up now!" she yowled from her post at the top of the heap.

Silence.

"Then, Tiger, you are exiled from the city! If any of my cats see you on the streets after dark, prepare to fight for your life. Now, leave!"

Fleet released him, and he scrambled to his paws, hissing and spitting at all of the cats. "I am the leader!" he screeched, but was met with snarls from every cat he turned to. "The position is rightfully mine!" His resolve seemed to weaken as he realized that no cat thought he was good enough for the job. The she-cat he had hissed at gave him a furious swipe across the nose, which sent him scrambling towards the door. He was surrounded by the small number of cats present before he could reach it, but Socks let out a yowl that stopped them in their tracks.

"Enough!" she cried. "There is no reason to kill him now, wouldn't you agree?" The cats looked up at her like she was crazy.

"So, what, have you gone soft then?" Jag, of all cats, asked, his expression confused.

Socks's tail-tip flicked in irritation. "I have not 'gone soft'," she replied calmly. "He took over and left me alive. Why shouldn't I do the same?"

Another tom-cat scoffed. "That isn't the Socks I know."

"Maybe it's time we settled a problem in a way other than killing," she hissed. "We're civilized cats, we can act like them." Turning back to Tiger, she added, "And as for you, what I have said still stands." Dawn and Jet rushed to pull the doors open.

"I'll be back," Tiger snarled, stalking away. "Don't you forget it."

The doors shut with a heavy clang and he was gone.

"Fleet, you are officially a full member, and you will be my second. Diamonds, you are dismissed," Socks finished quickly, leaping down from her perch and retreating into the leader's den, once again hers.