CCs used:
Scott
Jimmy
Cleo
Martyn
Pearl
SmallishBeans=Smallbean
LDShadowLady=Shadowqueen
fWhip=Whiplash
Sausage
Shubble=Shrubberry
Katherine
Any other characters mentioned are OCs.
A paw slammed down on the mouse's tail, holding it in place against it's frightened scurrying. It squeaked in terror, but the cat sat above it only chuckled.
"Why hello there," she mewled, her tail flicking from left to right. "I haven't seen a mouse as well fed as you 'round here in ages. Maybe you're the little food stealer everyone's been talkin' about."
Just as the rat was about to wriggle its tail free, she held its body down with her free paw to let her other paw readjust its position, then let it go with only a stronger hold on the tail.
"Nah, on second thought, no," she shook her head. "All the cats 'round here like to eat your brothers and sisters and such, you wouldn't be stealing that for scraps. You're just a lucky little guy with plenty of... whatever it is mice eat. You think I'd know by now what you eat when I'm supposed to eat you. Oh well, guess it's close enough to dinner time."
Just as she went to bite into the still struggling rat, she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She looked over to see a ginger cat, a good acquaintance of her's, as well as two other cats behind her.
"Cleo! I've been expecting you," she said.
"No you haven't," Cleo shot back.
"No I haven't," the brown pelt admitted. The mouse in her grasp slipped away from her paws, and she quickly turned her attention to it to try and grab it again, but was unsuccessful as she disappointedly watched it scurry into a crack in the barn wall and disappear.
"Awe, that was supposed to be my dinner," she said sadly. Pulling the red cloak off from her head, she finally faced the cats behind her.
"You would've had it if, y'know, you would've used your claws." Cleo said. She laughed.
"You know I'd rather have finishing blows be from my bite. Momma didn't pass down her sharp teeth for nothin'." She said, smiling just to show off said teeth. "But anyways, who're the two scoundrels you brought with you? It's not like you to just bring friends, or have them for that matter."
Cleo rolled their eyes as the red cloaked cat laughed again.
"Scott, Jimmy," Cleo said, turning to each one respectively, "this is Pearl, otherwise known in the barn as the Scarlet Witch."
Pearl had a light brown coat with a dark brown stripe going from her nose, along her back, all the way to her tail. A thin scar pierced her left eye, making the eye red in contrary to her other light blue eye, and a small chip in her dark brown ear and scratch marks against her back left leg went to match. Her paws up to her elbows and knees were dark brown as well, with near white soles flowing through the bottom of her feet and the same color at the tip of her tail. What was most odd was her red cloak, which wrapped around her neck and held a hood that would go over her head like a veil.
"Just Pearl is enough, thank you," Pearl said, "for rogues, that is. You two don't seem like rogues. Smell more like kittypets if anything."
"It's our first day," Scott said, bringing a quick laugh out of Pearl.
"You even speak like a kittypet! That's hilarious," she commented. "So what's a couple of ya doin' here wanting to be rogues? Tired of your endless food and protection?"
"Seriously, Cleo, you sure she's the nice one?" Jimmy asked, somewhat hushed as if that would stop Pearl from hearing him.
"I said she'd be willing to help you, I didn't say anything about her being nice," Cleo said, rolling her eyes again.
"Help? Help with what exactly?" Pearl asked. "I didn't sign up for this!"
"Yes you did," Cleo said.
"Yes I did," Pearl admitted. "I'll be honest, I've heard a bit about you in particular from Cleo-"
She pointed her nose to Scott.
"-but otherwise, I know nothing about either of you. Which is great, because you know nothing about me either. You two look like you have alot to learn too, so welcome to the barn, new rogues!" she said. "Now, is there anything you already know?"
"I-" Scott went to speak, but Pearl quickly shushed him.
"Abubub, I don't want you to tell me, I want you to show me." Pearl said, walking towards the barn door. "Follow me, I'll bring you to some unclaimed spots where those pesky clans won't get mad we're hunting around."
...
The following week was full of hunting and heavy work, especially for Jimmy when his first test proved him to be the least skilled out of him and Scott. Scott still had a ways to go, don't get me wrong, but having been friends with Cleo all these years and wanting to learn all that they knew put him leagues ahead of his mate, who enjoyed his mostly inactive kittypet lifestyle and would've stayed that way if he weren't under these circumstances.
The water from the barn's well was starting to run dry, and the nearest river was all the way in the old Nightclan territory, so while Jimmy, along with two other rogues, were sent to get a bucket of water from the stream, Scott went off to practice hunting by himself. He made sure to keep clear of any clan border lines as he found a good spot and waited, eventually hearing a rustle of leaves as a rabbit popped out of a bush near him.
He settled into a hunting crouch, consciously making an effort to not lean to one side and be put off balance. He crawled forward, slowly and slightly, before pushing off and leaping towards the prey, only to be met with another cat who had the same idea, crashing into each other and giving the rabbit time to escape.
"OW! Do you mind?" The blue cat asked rudely, sitting up and rubbing his head.
"Scott?"
Wait. He knew that voice. Scott opened his eyes to see the yellow brindled cat, his black ribbon collar now tied across his head.
"Martyn? What're you doing all the way out here?!" Scott asked.
"I got bored," Martyn said bluntly. "Hearing our two-leg constantly worry about you got old really quickly, so I thought I'd follow you out."
"...you're out here because you didn't know the way to the barn, aren't you?" Scott asked, noticing how tired the brindled cat looked.
Martyn nodded. "I was just kind of hoping I'd get lucky eventually, but hey, it worked!"
"Well, I guess since you're here I might as well lead you back to the barn," Scott said.
"You don't have to!" Martyn said, gaining a confused look from Scott.
"You... just said you were looking for the barn?" He questioned, tilting his head.
"Actually I meant I was trying to find you, I just thought the barn would be a good place to start but you're right here so it's fine!" Martyn reasoned.
"I'm still taking you, we've got alot of catching up to do and you've got alot of cats to meet." Scott said, beginning to walk off in the direction before an odd smell caught his nose. He sniffed in the air again, just to be sure.
"What's wrong?" Martyn asked.
"Do you smell that?" Scott asked back, sniffing a bit again. It smelled smoky, like a fire was nearby.
"I don't smell anything," Martyn said. Soon Scott looked up to see a cloud of grey smoke floating to the sky.
"Is that... it's coming from the barn!" Scott cried, dashing forward in the direction as Martyn followed closely behind.
The smell only got stronger as they approached until the trees gave way to the fence surrounding the abandoned farmland and the now burning barn. The red and white outlined building, if were even that color anymore with all the burnt bits and pieces, was falling apart on itself as the bright flames consumed it. The fence was relatively short, only there to outline the property, so Scott and Martyn made their way over just in time to see Pearl dashing out of the front doors carrying a brown, orange, and white calico kit. Dozens of other cats pooled outside, including Cleo, who Scott ran over to.
"What happened?!" He asked, noticing the burn mark on Cleo's left shoulder.
"I don't know," she answered. "Some cats said something about a smoky smell and I saw a light coming from the very back, so I opened the door and there was a fire!"
Cats tended not to live in the very back of the barn, since it was dark and the door never stayed open. As soon as they finished their explanation, the 3 cats who left for water jumped over the other side of the fence, all of them looking panicked. A calico with pink tipped fur on her head and a cat with a brown and white split pelt ran up to the kit Pearl had carried out, cheering with relief. Jimmy ran over to his friends and mate, wrapping his head around Scott's shoulder despite his panting.
"Thank goodness you're okay," Jimmy said, not taking long to catch his breath. He was getting pretty good at running long distances.
"Mhm, I was out hunting while you were gone," Scott said, returning the gesture.
Almost as soon as Pearl walked over to to group, shaking the soot out of her fur and cloak, the brown and white cat from earlier spoke up. And by spoke up, I mean-
"WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND SET THE BARN ON FIRE?!" He yelled.
"Hey, don't start pointing claws already Smallbean!" Cleo said. "No cats go into the back. For all we know it could've been one of those Carrion place rogues!"
"Wait, didn't you get exiled from a clan for starting a forest fire?" The calico, Shadowqueen, asked.
"I keep telling you I was framed for that!" Cleo argued. "Besides, fire hungry or not, I wouldn't burn down the one place we all have for shelter!"
"Cleo's right," Jimmy said. "We should be more worried about where we're gonna find shelter now!"
"Oh, not the kittypet telling us not to worry about who burned our nests down," a ginger cat with a red scarf, Whiplash, argued.
"Yeah! We've been here for years, you can't just tell us not to worry about a fire-hungry cat who could still be among us!" A golden tabby cat with a black brindled cape, folded ears, and a scar on his left eye, Sausage, agreed.
"That's not what I said at all!" Jimmy corrected. "I said we should be more worried about a new shelter, once we get that then we can find-"
"We? Who's this we?" Whiplash asked rhetorically. "I don't know about you but whatever's about to come out of your mouth, I'm not listening to."
"COULD YOU PUT DOWN YOUR MASSIVE EGO FOR 2 SECONDS?!" Jimmy lashed out, fur standing on his back and ears pinned downward as his face scrunched up in anger. "I'M TRYING TO HELP!"
"THE ONLY THING I SEE YOU TRYING TO HELP IS LETTING OUR CULPRIT GET AWAY WITH WHAT THEY DID!" Whiplash yelled back, his own stance angry and defensive as well. "I'D EVEN THINK YOU DID IT IF YOU WEREN'T GONE!"
As much as Jimmy hissed at the bigger cat, it was Whiplash that landed the first blow, striking Jimmy in the head. If his claws would've aimed any lower, he would've hit Jimmy in his right eye, blood cascading down and making him temporarily sightless in it. Everyone seemed shocked at the attack, and so was Jimmy. Whiplash seemed rather selfishly driven at times, but never to a degree to harm another cat out of pure malice, especially not a fellow barn cat.
The pale yellow cat expected to cry, to scurry away from the situation and to the side of his friends who would make sure he was okay. But it was as if the past week gave him a change of heart. While he still teared up, it was no longer out of fear and horror. It was out of pure anger.
So his claws went unsheathed and straight into the ginger cat's pelt.
Tackling him to the ground, claws firmly grounded in Whiplash's skin, Jimmy bit into his shoulder blade, frightening the cat under him for a moment into thinking he aimed for his neck, but still causing enough damage to have blood dropping from his previously white muzzle. Whiplash swiped at his side, creating a much larger gash just above his waist and successfully throwing Jimmy off of him. Both cats limping from their injuries but neither willing to give up, they charged back at each other only for a certain cat to jump in between them, head butting Whiplash in his chest to get him to topple over and stop his attack.
"That is for starting a fight for no reason!" Pearl scolded. Jimmy almost went to thank her, but she quickly turned around and batted him in the face with her paw, still not unsheathing her claws.
"And that is for using what I taught you to continue said fight!" She said.
"Ow! It was self defense!" Jimmy argued.
"Self defense is standing your ground and defending yourself, not TACKLING ANOTHER CAT TO THE GROUND AND RIPPING OFF THE SKIN ON THEIR SHOULDER!" Pearl hissed, turning back to the rest of the crowd of cats when Jimmy had nothing left to say.
"You 3, Whiplash's friends," Pearl pointed out the group of Sausage, a small light brown and white spotted cat named Shrubberry, and a black cat with a crown of purple flowers, white ears, soles and tail named Katherine, "there are some herbs over in that direction that can help with his wounds. I trust Katherine would know which ones to take, just watch for clan borders and monsters."
Pearl pointed towards where the Thunderpath was, directing them to the land across it. She then turned to the group of 4, Cleo, Scott, Martyn, and Jimmy who had sheepishly walked back to the side of his mate after being told off.
"There are some more bushels of herbs this way," she pointed out, the exact opposite direction from where she pointed the other group, "normally I'd take all injured cats to the same place, but I'm done with breaking up rogue fights. Follow me, the rest of you can come too if you want."
"Does that include me? I feel kinda awkward being here right now, after all that," Martyn asked. Pearl nodded.
"I don't know who you are, but you smell exactly like Scott did when he first got here, and you two ran up at the same time so I'm assuming you know each other. Besides, your other options are either trying to find your way back home all by yourself or joining up with some of those goons." She said, nodding towards the rest of the now ex-barn cats.
Martyn gulped and shook his head, prompting him to follow the rest of the group as Scott and Pearl helped their limping friends, Jimmy and Cleo respectively, to the herb area.