Daybreak skidded into camp. "Crimsonslash!" she yowled. She was furious.

flashback

Out for a hunt, she had been coming back to the Caves when she had scented blood. Fearful and wary, she crept towards the source, unable to determine what she would find...

Her mother, lying in a puddle of her own insides, dead in the clearing.

"No... no, no, no..."

For that one moment, Daybreak had dropped the act, sobbing and howling to the cold gray sky. Her mother, her only friend... her solace and home...

Dead. Gone to the spirits as dim as their name was bright.


The russet she-cat padded towards the cream-and-black cat. "Was there something you wanted? If there was I am not giving it to you." Crimsonslash hissed, yellow eyes slits.

"You killed my mother." growled Daybreak, equally aggressive when you got down to it.

Crimsonslash stopped, then burst into raspy, cackling purrs. "I did. I'm proud of it too. That traitor was a menace to the Clan. She was no TigerClan cat." She spat the last few words.

Daybreak almost crumpled. She dug her claws into the earth. Forcing a glint of agreement into her gaze and respect in her posture, she tried her best to look like a cat who had realized they were wrong to be upset, Daybreak opened her jaws.

She wrenched her next words out like mouse bile and thorns, knowing she would regret them forever.

"Y-yes. That's right. What we stand for is not what she valued. She-"

Daybreak choked. "She deserved to die."

Crimsonslash continued to purr. "I taught you well, Dayblood."