Cantrell Yates
I glance at the watch on my wrist before looking around the Clan leaders who are standing near their vehicles waiting uneasily while there is a hushed conversation near the door of the long building I believe they refer to as The Quarters. Inside the building I can hear the faint cries of one of the very young kitts and the occasional chatter of childish voices.
"I don't like this," Danny Doctrill mutters not far from me. I glance his way but he is looking at the ground beneath his shoes, avoiding everyone's eyes. Kurt glances my way and raises his eyebrows, I can see the anger simmering behind his eyes caused by his niece's rebellion against the authority of the board. He glances across at where young Malcolm Inness and Mitchell McIntosh are standing either side of the building door as if guarding the entrance.
I am relieved when Micah Williamson walks from the building followed by his friend Steven Willoughby, a few quietly spoken words pass between the four of them but they fall silent as Rosy McIntosh Williamson exits the building. Once again I am struck by her strong resemblance to her mother, her hair is the same length Jeddah always wore hers sparking my memory. The difference in their colouring is very off putting and disguised the resemblance but looking past first impressions I can see so much of her mother.
"Why are you all still here!" The tight demand from Mitchell McIntosh has me glancing his way.
"There are still things to discuss," Kurt says stepping forward, this power struggle he is engaged in is interesting. He was always able to get his sister to back down and let him take control but I doubt he will be able to do the same with his niece now she is fully mature and has come into her own.
"Cantrell," Micah says. He starts towards me with his wife by his side.
"Shall we all sit down?" I say motioning towards the chairs in the shade.
"Yes, let's get down to business," Kurt says tightly as he steps towards the chairs. He sends a hard glare my way warning me he is in charge, I find it very hard to meet his eyes and look away.
"Kurt sit down and shut up," Rosy says lightly. "All well behaved children know when to be seen and not heard."
I hear the low outraged growl that comes from Kurt and glance his way with real concern for his niece as his growl grows in strength and volume. This isn't the first time Kurt has been temporarily deposed, and I know he will come back stronger and more powerful.
"Kurt!" Micah Williamson's warning is low and guttural as he reaches out and takes hold of his wife's hand. She immediately stops and turns her head to glare at her Uncle.
"Rosy remember we said will be keeping things as civilised as possible," Micah tells her softly.
"Hold this!" Rosy snaps and shoves whatever it is she had been holding into Micah's abdomen so hard he takes a step back as the air is expelled from his lungs with a huff. I watch as she stalks up to her uncle, she pauses face to face with him for a brief moment before prowling around him. Kurt turns so he is facing her at all times, I get a glimpse of her face and take a few steps back nervously. Turning her back on him she walks to the chairs in the shade of the shelters but does not sit down.
"Say whatever it is you have to say," Micah says tightly as he moves to stand behind his wife. I notice the way he reaches out to run his hands up and down her arms and wonder if it is for her benefit or his.
"Sometimes individuals have to put the good of the society ah..." Kurt begins in a firm tone.
"Enough with the shit!" Rosy snaps. "You lot need to explain why you think you have the right to ask what you are about to ask!"
The rage pouring off her has me taking a step back and averting my face, I hear the uneasy shuffling around me and realise I am not the only one affected.
"Clan territories need female werecats to care for their young on the territories," Thelma Dorrington says softly as she shuffles closer cautiously. "Our territories need us just as much as we need our own territory,"
I glance at Rosy and Micah to see them watching Thelma silently, the old woman licks her lips nervously as her gaze darted between them. "Without a She Kitt or Queen the land grows weak and sick, the Clan suffers,"
"So what, you all think yous can just steal one of my daughters, put her on a territory and Heypresto! Problem solved?" Rosy scoffed with disbelief.
"The Dorringtons are the third Clan that have had no daughter to take over in the last fifty to fifty five years," Don Curtis says taking a hesitant step closer. "It's not just the land suffering. There are getting fewer and fewer families, "
"Shrinking numbers means the gene pool is getting smaller, the chance for inherited problems is increasing," Doc says quietly.
"And how is trying to steal one of our daughters going to help that?" Rosy demands.
"No one is trying to steal one of the she-kitts," Kurt snaps. "They need territories, you need your territory back!"
"No one is ..." Young Malcolm Inness begins on a snarl.
"Shut up! You do not have a say! You are merely a Chief Warrior!" Kurt snarls at the younger tom before looking towards Mitchell McIntosh as he opens his mouth to speak. "And you need to concern yourself with your wife's territory no one else's! That Territory belongs to the Black Family bloodline!"
"Someone tell me he did not just disrespect my sister's husband, the tom I trust to look out for my sister's best interests," Micah says. His voice is thick with scorn and the words almost drip with icy disdain.
"You don't get a say Micah Williamson! Not only does your wife have no territory she is refusing to reclaim her mothers land!" Kurt snaps in outrage.
"Stop being ridiculous! Micah has just as much say as you! You are forgetting the ones who really have the power are the Queens and She-kitts! We bring forth life in our society, we are keepers of the land! Our mates merely see to the day to day minor details so we are free to do the important work of raising our babies!" Rosy snarls taking a step towards Kurt before continuing, "I am trying to understand why yous would want to rip a baby from its mothers arms! You are saying this is very important and yet all you keep doing is trying to start an argument with us?"
"How about we all calm down?" I say soothingly and sit down hoping others will follow my lead. "Everyone sit down and we can try to have a discussion calmly,"
Slowly, one by one, Clan leaders began to sit down. I glance at Thelma Dorrington as she and her husband settled into seats beside me, I am about to advise her to sit further back but remain silent when Rosy slowly settles into a seat opposite the older woman. It takes several minutes but finally everyone is either sitting down or in the warrior's cases squatted close by
"How are the twins doing? They feeding well and putting on weight?" Thelma asked with a faint smile.
"Malachi, the boy, there were a few problems with colic at first but he's doing fine now," Rosy says guardedly.
"Your older boys doing well?" Thelma asks with a tone of interest. "I understand one was seriously injured not too long ago,"
"Stop changing the subject!" Kurt snaps angrily. "We are here to get those two little She-kitts onto their own Territories as soon as possible! It is in their best interests!"
"YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE THEM AND PLONK THEM DOWN ON A TERRITORY AND EXPECT THINGS TO WORK OUT THE WAY YOU WANT THEM TOO!" Rosy yells surging to her feet. Micah catches her around the waist and restrains her before she can leap across the table at her uncle Kurt Black.
"WE WILL PUT THEM ON LAND AND THEY WILL HAVE THEIR OWN TERRITORIES!" Kurt yells back at her as he gets to his feet. I can feel the dominance rolling off him in waves, strong in his belief he is in the right. His gaze is intense as he takes a step closer to his niece, his lips drawn back in a savage snarl.
Rosy begins to laugh, a strange look of triumph in her eyes before she falls silent after five or six seconds. She slowly turns her head to glance at her husband, he looks down as if meeting her eyes and she turns her head to face her uncle once again.
"Female kitts are born with a connection to their land," Rosy says coldly. "As they grow within the womb there is a bond forming to their land,"
"What would you know of the bond? You don't even have a territory and you wander without a real home!" Kurt snaps in disgust. "You have no ties, no anchor! Meanwhile the land of the Black Clan is being neglected and left to go to ruin!"
Again Rosy laughs but this time the mirth quickly leaves her voice leaving a chilly sound.
"It is you who knows nothing of the bond," Rosy says coldly. "Listen, hear my Mountain humming," She glances towards the mountain in the distance, a soft look to her eyes.
"This land here is warm with pleasure. Sunshine Valley is thriving, it finally has a she-kitt all of its very own it doesn't have to share with Mount Warning ..." A soft sigh of contentment comes from her as she glances around those in the seats.
"Mother Rosa told Jeddah all the secrets of the women of the Family Black. She got Jeddah to write it all down, Mother Rosa knew ..." There is a trace of sadness in her voice. Kurt had jerked his chin up at the mention of his grandmother, his nostrils flaring slightly showing his shock as Micah reaches down to scoop something off the ground where he had dropped it when he had restrained his wife. Micah hands an old leather bound book to his wife and I blink in surprise as I recognise the Diary that had once belonged to Jeddah Black.
"Rosa was Fey, she knew events before they happened," Thelma Dorrington whispered.
"She knew there would be no one here to teach me the things they handed down through the generations ... there's lots in here ... how she ensured the kitt she carried when she left my father was a she-kitt, how my mother bound me to our mountain," There is silence as she lifts her gaze from the leather bound book in her hands to glance slowly around all those watching her.
"That doesn't help my land! It needs a female after I am gone!" Thelma Dorrington exclaims unhappily. "Maybe ..."
"No!" Rosy snaps cutting her off sharply. "I will not be used as a breeding bitch!"