Chapter 12: Deal With The Smudge

The light of late evening was beginning to fade from camp, and I'd just finished tucking into a mouse Firepaw set aside for me. That cat really was my light. Without him, I'd probably have just become some kind of kingpin of the streets. Instead, I had a sense of compassion. I had a sense of morality, albeit a weak one I'd tread over on a whim, but I had a sense of right and wrong and when to step over that boundary.

My eyes drifted over to Ravenpaw, quietly eating a mouse of his own. He made himself as small as possible, folding his paws beneath him and tucking his tail beneath his legs. His ears weren't flat, but they were tilted backwards displaying his visible fear. If I was ever going to get something out of this cat, I'd need to either be his greatest fear or a source of comfort. Seeing as I wasn't going to be able to best Tigerclaw in a fight or inflict the same trauma as witnessing a murder, I had to go with option two.

I rose and padded slowly towards Ravenpaw trying to look as friendly as possible. Then I began to speak. My words felt like puddy as I had to deliberately pick and choose which ones were less likely to set the traumatized cat off. It was difficult and felt distinctly not me to even attempt, but I was committed. Firepaw would have had no problems with this given how extraverted he is, but playing nice is difficult for me. I'm not the reassuring type. I'm logical and somewhat cold which largely makes me an unapproachable cat. This was one of my first forays into making friends on my own.

"You're Ravenpaw right? I've heard a lot about you from Graypaw. I've heard you're quick on your paws and a great climber."

Ravenpaw perked up slightly at the praise and spoke back. His words were punctuated by nervous stutters, but he seemed willing to maintain the conversation.

"You-ou're Smudgepaw. I heard… I heard you scared Sandpaw yesterday pretty good. I-I hope I didn't offend you at all."

"You didn't offend me in any way Ravenpaw. I'm… not usually the type to make friends but given Firepaw has a new friend to give his attention, I was feeling a bit lonely." I half lied. In truth, I was jealous of the attention Graypaw was receiving, but I cared too much for Firepaw to ruin his new friendship. It is partially why I set out to gain control over Thunderclan's fiercest warrior. "I was hoping we could get to know each other. I also wanted to help you with…" I looked left and right as if to make sure no cat was paying attention, the dramatic act to settle Ravenpaw's nerves and appear more concerned about what I was to say next. "Tigerclaw," I whispered.

Ravenpaw's ears perked up and the fear in his eyes flared. He slightly pulled back at the name like it was a curse, but he soon settled himself, at least, as much as he could settle himself.

"Don't speak his name!" He quietly hissed at me. "You never know when he's listening in. Listen. Don't go getting yourself caught up in this for me. Tigerclaw is the worst kind of cat to have as an enemy."

I had to keep myself from chuckling by masking my amusement with a stoney look. Tigerclaw was the best manipulator of Thundercclan, but he didn't hold a candle to the kind of spy network I could set up. His only two major spies were Longtail and Darkstripe, two fairly obvious cats. Both of which were sharing a meal with their master on the other side of camp. No cat was listening in that mattered.

"You don't have to worry about me. As I said, I want to help you. I've already done some work to change how Tigerclaw treats you. Just watch. Come tomorrow, he'll be attempting to complement you or at least be a bit less harsh. Unfortunately, that's the best I can do with what I know now. I've convinced him the best way to become deputy is to make you a confident warrior. Other methods are too dirty and suspicious for him to try." I mewed in my confident and mechanical voice.

"Do… Do you know what he did to Redtail?" Ravenpaw mewed cautiously.

"Know? I do not know. Suspect. I do have suspicions, but with what I believe happened, I'd need proof. If Tigerclaw did what I suspect, I'd need witnesses, plural. I'd also want more than one account of what happened that fateful day. An account of what injuries occurred from a medicine cat or two would back up the stories. Then, with all that evidence, I'd sit on it. I'd spread the information around a few trustworthy cats who would ensure Tigerclaw didn't do anything drastic to me. Then I'd smudge him." I mewed with my malicious grin attempting to worm its way onto my face.

"You'd kill him!?" Ravenpaw mewed, alarmed, with widening eyes.

"I apologize. I forgot this isn't the city where my name became the term for what I do. I'd hold his dirty secret over his head, forever acting as a limiter or buffer to prevent him from doing something more reprehensible. You'd be surprised how much a cat will do to keep a secret from getting out, the more taboo, the more they'll do. With Tigerclaw's dirty paws held above his head, he could be changed and manipulated. Maybe he'd become a better cat when he's on a leash. His biggest flaw is that only Bluestar is holding him back. He's like a dog, snapping at whatever brings his ire, but sometimes a dog needs to be muzzled to be trained."

Ravenpaw looked at me with a mixture of horror and hope. I was something just as dangerous as Tigerclaw, but I was also the answer to his prayers. It took a while for him to speak again.

"I can't trust you… not yet. Just… Give me some time." He mewed in a frightened stutter.

I nodded respectfully before responding, "take as much time as you need. Just watch Tigerclaw tomorrow and see if my work yields results. I'll do what I can in the meantime. I hope you'll come to trust me eventually."

With that, I left Ravenpaw on his own to mull over my words. I was surprised a skittish cat like him didn't latch onto the first potential hope flung his way. Maybe there was more to Ravenpaw than meets the eye. He'd drawn my attention by being a potential source of a smudge, but he'd drawn my interest by not succumbing to my manipulations to draw the secret out of him immediately. It was only now that I saw him as something more than a tool or an obstacle, a little beneath real but approaching that threshold. Maybe I'd continue to interact with him after I gotten what I wanted from him. He was a cat who didn't match the personality I'd assumed, and that made him an enigma I wanted to unwrap. Maybe I'd bring him into my circle. Who knows? Only time will tell.