The Rise of Venomstar

Chapter 7: Learning of the New World

The three kits, led by their grizzled caretaker, entered what he called 'the den.' It was an intriguing area of land, surrounded by soft ferns in which Venom has never come in contact with before. There was even moss lining the ground, which Venom has never encountered either.
Earlier, Rubble promised he'd tell them a story; captivating and true; so that they would rest easy until morning. 

"What's it about?" Snake asked the third cat.
"Oh, you'll see! He says it's true, but I don't really think it is."

Rubble sighed, smiling at the soft bundle lying in his paws that was this third kit, and began his story, "You see kittens, loners here live in... set boundaries. From the fields of red rock but no further than the cliffs or up the mountains, to the far fields and brambly woods, all the way to the slag cliffs and yet not the field beyond; never forgetting the cave at the edge of the meadow, these are our boundaries."
At the mention of a cave, Venom's ears pricked and he felt a stab at his heart. He was about to object, but Rubble went on:

"Why we didn't venture further was due to rumours about other pockets of loners we wanted to let be, let live. An overpopulation would mean less prey, and we knew our boundaries. Besides, travel is not in the minds for most cats here; we are content," and suddenly Rubble looked at the white kit and furrowed his brows, "As for the cats that have killed our families, they seem to have come here from someplace else. I don't know why. They started out in small numbers and they're only aggrandizing. They recruit with promises of anything that they think their target would want: strength, power, comfort. They've seen my scars, and tried to recruit me.

"What they try to do is be your friend. They tell you that they know you, know who you are, know your mind. They might find you in a state of vulnerability, whether physical or mental-- then wham! They offer you things. 'Oh you want to become stronger? Come with us.' Sometimes they're nice about it, eh? But if you refuse, if you're adamant, they threaten your life. I don't get it... I expect only their group, The Strong," he spat the name, "get what's going on.

"They hide among the red rocks and come here, where we live, in our home, and decide to drive us out; to kill us or have us join them. You know, when they first arrived nobody noticed but my family, myself, and a few others. Families in this area used to live closely. As a kit, I would play with other family's kits, and my kits played with theirs when we grew up. Like an extended family, almost. It was nice. 

"But one day, this stranger, this wretchedly bossy stranger, oh-- I think I remember the name, actually..." Rubble stopped, stared off into the distance listlessly and slowly narrowed his eyes into slits. Venom leaned forward, holding his breath in the suspense. Finally, Rubble continued, "His name was Isle. He called me 'Rubbish' instead of Rubble. Anyway, he sauntered into our home, ordering us out as if he owned the place.

"At the time, we didn't believe him when he said he had more 'on his side' to aid him in kicking us out of our home. He didn't smell any different than we did, so we called him out on bluffing. I remember him ordering us to take leave by the next three sunrises. All of us; myself as a father, my friends as mothers, my brother; their kits and mine, and loners who had no kits. Naturally, our elder parents have left to a secluded, calm area. Bless them." He glared at his paws in which the white kit was lying. She was asleep, breathing gently. Rubble didn't glare at her sentimentally. He glared at her in a melancholy way, lamentably even. 
He finally went on, now staring at the two awake kits broodingly, "My brother, Stark, challenged Isle to a fight. He strangely refused and wandered off. We thought we had dissuaded him. We stayed in our home.

"But Isle, he came back the next day accompanied by this she-cat-- Molly was her name. They both explained why we had to leave, 'quickly quickly.' They said that prey was getting scarce, and we needed to spread out or leave the land to survive. They said that others were stealing all the prey, and we had to unite with them and drive out the 'unworthy' who took and took, and never gave back. Stark argued violently with them, spat on them, and my friend Snowy hid her kits and sent her littermate Marble forward to explain to Isle and Molly that prey was plenty. To explain to the two that loners in the area were very skillful with conserving prey, even in the cold moons. The two strangers did not believe us.

"The third sunrise they returned, saying that if we did not leave immediately, we'd be killed. They acted as if they were worried for us, so finally we tuned into what they were saying. You see, they lied about the prey. They lied about worrying for us; they pretended they were one of us. They even said our kits would be taken, because they were too young to hunt. Haha," Rubble suddenly laughed bitterly, flexed his claws and stared off into the darkness surrounding their den.

"Snowy and Marble, and their mates Sky and Noble, were furious. The four of them began threatening Isle and Molly to leave. They all kept arguing that the kits would be able to hunt if they were given a chance to grow up and learn how-- which is true. Stupid, stupid 'Strong!' But the two were stubborn. They told us to leave by morning or we'd starve to death, or be killed, or whatever their excuse. They said we cannot live united like this (we were a family), unless we were with them and under the leadership of someone 'smart who could regulate things.' 

"Because there were eight of us and only two of them, we didn't heed their warnings. But when Isle and Molly came, they came with a parade of skilled fighters behind them. Even then, we outnumbered them, but having to evacuate our kits we were at a disadvantage. They even came in the night, while we were sleeping, too... they couldn't even wait until morning. Snowy and her littermate, Moonlight, led their kits away from the den but could only hold one each. The rest of their kittens were trampled and killed.

Some of the other kittens I haven't seen since. Mary and Leaf, I know they were safely evacuated..." he cleared his throat, continued, "Never saw them since, though. Anyway, I myself was fighting alongside Stark; we were fighting Isle. Our mates had died. My kits..." he glowered, "they weren't trampled by accident-- they were murdered."
At that, Snake besides Venom whimpered and snuggled closer to the older tom as if to comfort him. Venom didn't like him doing that, but surrounded by darkness and without a star in the sky, the young tom felt like doing the same. Too shy, he just lied alone in the cold, listening to the rest of the story.

"You see, seeing my kits murdered made me feel murderous myself. I wanted to kill Isle and Molly, but I thought 'why would I stoop to their level?' The rest of us that survived retreated in all different directions. I was covered in wounds; that is why, you should know, I have these scars. So I retreated, and I traveled to areas where I knew other extended families lived. Where their dens used to be, I either saw empty zones, or blood-stained ones. All were demolished, ransacked.

"I saw some lone cats that I knew, away from their extended families. Everyone was scattered. I myself became estranged from everyone too, until I settled here. I didn't even try to find Marble, Stark, and Bishop (Marble's littermate), for their safety. I just hope they're alive. And soon after I left my family, I found this little thing here," and Rubble prodded the white, sleeping she-cat (or at least Venom thought they were a little she-cat), and the tiny thing squealed and rolled onto her back, purring. 

"You see," Rubble went on softly, "I found Cliff's mother and father dying. Both of them, one on top of the other. It was so macabre, I wondered if The Strong had positioned them that way. The trees surrounding them were all clawed up, and fur hung on the brambles. It seemed so contrived. And there was Cliff, the only kit. I named Cliff, and I didn't name her Sugar or Sweet, although I don't hate those names. I chose Cliff because I wanted her to... well, I don't know. Be tough? Cliff still thinks my story is just a kitten's tale. You see, when I found Cliff, she was out cold-- literally cold, too. She still thinks her parents are out hunting," Rubble blinked his eyes, his jaws suppressed a yawn. He glanced at the two other kittens, glaring at him wide-eyed. "Tired?"

Snake and Venom nodded in unison, with their heads against his front paws and their bodies coiled for sleep.

"Good. Sleep tight. I hope you learned something from my story; something that'll keep you from being in the dark, like Cliff. Or like the others, that died. I just want you two to be safe, smart. Just know you can always trust me, okay? No running away again, you hear? Bad things come out in the night... but the way the world's going, bad things can be hiding in plain daylight, too."