Oh my god, what have I done?
Phoenix stood there, mortified. She examined at the cats who looked judgemental but that only took up a small minority. Cats who were impressed were mewling with pride. Cats not from the clowder who were just roaming stared down from the trees too. Phoenix looked down sadly at her blood-stained paws. The blood which dampened her fur was stuck in her head. It caused her great fear in her spine as she noticed she let her instincts get in the way of her senses.
Snowy focused on her. It seemed like his feral instincts have gotten in the way too. He charged, clawing her face and sending her into the air. Blood shot out of her cheek. Phoenix landed on her feet but stumbled onto her back when he flung himself into her. She yowled in pain, his teeth sinking deep into her neck. The helpless kitten yowled for help, her hind legs kicking and scratching his stomach.
"Someone stop them!" Honey cried, not hiding his fear.
Snake growled. "You go help her. She's your daughter. As you said, she can't do any harm because she's just a child."
Honey gulped nervously, watching his kitten try to break free. Snowy still had eight of his lives and was probably the strongest in the forest. No cat could ever defeat him. Honey knew that and so did everyone else. He was going to kill his prophecied daughter as Snake wanted; Snake was going to win! He looked down at his white paws, ignoring the cries of pain and anguish coming from her. Then it stopped and silence lingered in the air for what felt like a minute. Soon after Snowy was yowling in pain could be heard and grabbed Honey's complete and fautless attention.
Flint stood protectively in front of Phoenix. He let off dangerous pheromones no one had ever smelled from him; it was like his omega was just taken from him. It smelled of dead bodies and soupçon of rotten flesh. Snowy laid on the floor, shaking as he tried to gasp for breath. Flint licked the blood off his lips, pressing a paw into his scar and opening it wider. He didn't want Snowy to die just yet. He wanted Snowy to feel pain and sorrow.
Snowy stopped breathing for a moment, losing one life before he returned started again, screaming in pain. "G-God, help me!" He cried.
Flint ignored his cries and looked down at Phoenix, licking her forehead delicately. "Run. I'll find you later. Just run now."
Phoenix was reluctant but knew she could trust him and sprinted off into the forest. She ran until she couldn't stop. After she felt her muscles ache she skidded to a halt when she was at the edge of a ravine and glanced down at it. Phoenix wasn't sure where to go now. She was lost. She sighed softly as she stepped into the running river near the ravine. Silently, she allowed it to wash away the blood from her paws. She stared into her reflection and wiped the blood off her face that also stained the fur on her face. She hissed angrily as she dipped her face into the water, silently cursing to herself.
There was a rustling in the leaves behind her. She turned her head to the bushes but stopped moving and didn't stir. Phoenix couldn't pick up any new scent nearby either. She brushed her face, removing any excess blood, and hopped out the flowing river. Phoenix shook off her fur and looked around.
"You should have killed him."
Phoenix spun her body around. A cat, the one she was sure she saw before, stood in front of her. His lean body towered over hers. He walked closer to her, the plants around him suddenly dying. She hissed at him but he felt nothing. No fear, no amusement. "You should have killed him." He repeated. "Why didn't you?"
Phoenix lowered her ears. She didn't think this cat lived in her territory. In fact, she knew he didn't live in her territory. She instinctively growled lowly and lunged at him, her body passing through his. He let out a small gasp, shocked by the sudden movement that went right through him. Phoenix landed on her chest and began to whimper, wincing in pain. "I couldn't." She whispered.
"I can't possess your body all the time."
"Possess?" Phoenix echoed and he nodded.
"I'm a ghost. A fairly friendly one. My name is The Hawk Of Loose Feathers, but just call me Hawk. I'm here to guide you and help you." His voice was calming and relaxed as he brushed her head with a paw. "I want to help you."
"W-Why?" She asked, narrowing her eyes."
"You're cursed."
Phoenix looked at him puzzled. Cursed? What does that mean?
"Phoenix!" Crow's body dispersed, evaporated even, in an instant. Behind her, Flint appeared. His tail swayed from side to side as he saw her. He moved towards her slowly. "I thought I heard something." He said. "Who were you talking to?"
Phoenix shrugged. "A cat."
"That's strange. I don't smell any fresh scent of a foreign cat or any gangs. We should go, it's time to go."
Phoenix couldn't help but stare at him. His lips and yellow-tinted teeth were blood-stained. His dark grey-tinted dirt brown pelt looked shaken and messy. She felt a bit nervous seeing him like that. She felt as if he was dangerous.
He ushered her forward with the tip of his nose and they trodded back to their main territory. Cats stared at her cautiously and bowed their heads respectfully. They didn't look nervous or hostile but more careful and weary around her. It was almost as if they saw her as royalty, their fur bristling.
Phoenix padded towards Snowy and bowed to him. "Hey Snowy," she meowed, watching the tom groom his pelt. "I'm sorry for what I did-"
He cut her off with his long tail and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry." His yellow gaze met her amber eyes with pity. His tone was deep and full of sorrow. He looked down at the finch that he had half eaten. "I should have controlled myself, yet I let my carnivore instincts get the best of me. You were only trying to save your mother, it's your instinct. You don't know how to control it yet. Now, I lost three lives. I'm only on my second. Stupid instincts."
Phoenix lowered her ears. "Instinct? What do you mean by instinct?"
"We all have instincts. It doesn't matter if you're a cat, dog, tiger, mouse or bird. You have an instinct and for us, when something we love is in danger, the instinct to kill is turned on. When you starve, the instinct to fight becomes a part of you. Sometimes you let your instincts take control."
Phoenix noticed that his body tense, his fur bristling with anger as his eyes turned to slits. His claws were dug into the bird as he held back the instinct to attack the young molly. He needed to hurt something though. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply as an attempt to calm himself down. Shame was covered in his pheromones as he lowered his head and hid his face into his paws. He signalled for her to leave using his tail and she padded away.
Phoenix walked over to her injured mother. She nudged her softly and the queen looked up to her, then batted her tail at the kitten dismissively. Phoenix sighed softly. She turned her head to see the kittens playing and purred gently. As she ran towards them, they glanced at her and stopped. They shuffled awkwardly, looking down at the kitten. Heather stepped forward, stopping Phoenix in her tracks.
"Go away!" She growled. Phoenix felt taken aback. "We don't like you! You're small and you're weak! We don't play with the devil."
Silver nodded. "I agree. Who would attack Snowy? That's so disrespectful, you cursed cat!"
Phoenix's eyes widened. She looked at the kittens, her old 'friends' and not one of them looked pleased. She looked at Angel, who looked guiltily away. Phoenix held back tears and shook her head.
"Fine!" Phoenix yelled out. "I'll go! I never wanted to be your friend anyway!"
She padded off towards a tree and sat underneath it, staring into space blankly. The voice came back to her, cold and harsh.
"You're cursed. It's all a curse."