Chapter 16: Flashing Claws
There it was. The city seemed to stretch endlessly before us, a maze of unnatural boxes and straight edges, and yet I somehow felt right at home. The shadows cast my the many Twoleg nests were long and dark, washing out the color of the world. Looking skyward for the star Tawnypelt showed us, I got a decent measure of how we'd have to travel. You see, the city has a strange uniformity to it. This uniformity can be abused in navigation. For the angle the star we're following is, we'd go in two then right one.
I took the lead as we entered. Not like anyone else was too keen on traversing this place. To me, it came just as naturally as travelling Thunderclan territory. Unfortunately, I was also widely familiar with the dangers of a place like this. Barely two blocks deep, and I saw a tail vanish around a corner. Not a good sign. I signalled for a stop, which was also unfortunately a Thunderclan only signal. Thus, most of the group almost wandered right past me until I physically body blocked them from going further.
"Cats ahead!" I hissed quietly. "Don't know how many, but given how prime of an area this is, I imagine they're strong and hostile."
"They can't be that bad. I mean, we're actually trained." Squirrelpaw dismissed.
"That's how you die here. One bad scratch, one poorly treated wound, and you die. We're on their territory, not the other way around. I know for a fact that one let me see them, so this is almost guaranteed to be an ambush. Let's cut back and over to avoid this group." I responded harshly.
Apparently, it was already too late. Whatever group this was had looped around the building to encircle us. The leader had a smug smile as he approached us, a ginger tom who disturbingly wore a ratty old collar with a dog tooth in it. The collar clearly wasn't his since it was far too large for him, but claiming any relation to Bloodclan, especially after their total defeat, meant that this cat was willing to back up his word. "Well, well, well. I haven't seen your group around here. Running with the Pulse maybe? No. Smells too green. The forest perhaps?" He taunted.
"We're passing through. The territory is still yours. A fight isn't worth it." I tried to placate.
"Really? Because I see three prime mollies in your mix. Tell you what. Leave them behind, and you can be on your way." He cruelly bargained.
The others rose their fur in aggression, but I strangely felt calm. Calm doesn't exactly express what I was feeling. It was an intense feeling of focus coupled with a complete lack of emotions. We couldn't run, and fighting here this early would have large repercussions moving forward. No. I needed to deal with this leader. I needed to show them how wrong it was messing with us.
I padded towards the tom, my eyes fixed on him and icily cold. He actually seemed confused for a moment as I got closer. My claws itched, begging to light up this night with some red. Finally, when I was only a few paw steps away, I flashed forward, swinging my deadly paw forward right at his neck. Fortunately, I managed to catch myself. I didn't want to be the monster I once was. Instead, my claws merely pricked his neck, making a small amount of blood well up on the surface.
I leaned forward to whisper to him. "Do you feel that? I could have killed you here and now, but I didn't. Can you guess why? It's that collar you wear that I know isn't even yours. Maybe you should look a little closer at me, more specifically my claws. I'll remind you one last time. This fight isn't worth it."
His eyes flicked over to my paw that was still pricking his neck, widening upon the sight of the claw extensions. He clearly recognized what they meant. "I'm so sorry sir. We'll leave you be." He groveled before signaling his cats off. I gave him a sharp look as I lead our party away, but I could feel my companions burning a hole in my head with their curious stares.
"How did you manage to do that?" Stormfur questioned.
"That leader cat, he was impersonating Bloodclan. I could tell by the collar with the tooth. It didn't fit him, so it wasn't his. Clearly he knew enough to know that collars meant Bloodclan, so I banked on him knowing that claw extensions were a symbol of status in Bloodclan. Basically, he thought we are part of whatever remnants of Bloodclan are left. It doesn't hurt that I proved that I could have taken his life without so much as a fight." I explained, still feeling that strange sense of calm.
"I don't know how to react to that. You've never acted that way before. I don't think you ever really beat me in a spar, but that… How much were you holding back on me?" Squirrelpaw asked, a faint tinge of fear in her voice.
I felt that calm leave me in an instant. Squirrelpaw feared me? I made all the right choices. I drove them off without a fight. Why was she looking at me with caution? It felt wrong, but what was I supposed to do?
"I just got the jump on him. That's all." I tried to dismiss, knowing in my heart that it was a lie. I knew if it had actually turned into a brawl, I'd have killed that cat within moments. My claws were itching like mad because their bloodlust wasn't given into.
"I just didn't expect that. I really thought you were going to kill him for a moment there." Squirrelpaw tacked on, slightly buying my lie.
I hesitated a moment. "I… I almost did. It would have been easier. Those rogues would have just fled. But… I don't want to be that type of cat, the one who spills blood over what was at best an inconvenience. I counted them you know. There were only five rogues. We would have won the fight if it got down to it. I just needed to send a message."
"That's not the clan way." Brambleclaw chastised.
I let out a somewhat harsh chuckle. "Look around you. Does this place look like the forest at all? This place is where you can find dogs eating dogs. It's a relentless battle for survival. Mercy isn't a commodity here. I'm not sure just flashing some claws will help us next time."
It was Crowpaw who ended this debate. "Whatever is going on, it can wait. We just walked into an ambush because clearly, we all don't have the same signals. If I'd known Darkpaw signal to wait, then we wouldn't have even had this problem. Now, let's deal with the problems we can actually deal with and stop fussing like a bunch of kits over theoreticals. I say we find some place to bed down soon so we can sleep out the day and fix this communications issue."
"Seconded." Feathertail chirped up.
Ultimately, we found a garden devoid of any cat or dog scent and decided to sleep there for the day. I knew everyone was still wondering what brought out that ruthless aggression out of me, but I was unwilling to tell for now. I also regrettably knew that my secret wouldn't stay hidden for long. I just hoped to drag it out a bit longer, pretend it wasn't a thing. I never wanted to have been Scourge, but what he knew was too useful to ignore. I could almost hear him whisper in the back of my mind.