Phoenix placed a paw on Mama White's body. The wind blew softly, making her shiver. I feel your presence, she raised her head at the night sky. Phoenix did not want to sit vigil, but she dipped her head at Mama White. She looked beside her where Snowy sat. Phoenix let out a deep sigh. He seemed heartbroken and lifeless. She saw him mumble something to Sol, which made Sol glance at Phoenix, frowning.
Snowy narrowed his eyes down at her, his cold glare sending shivers down her spine. It softened after a few heartbeats and he shook his head. "I'm sorry," he grumbled. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just. . . I miss her. I swear to god, I will kill whoever did this. Do you know who it was?"
Phoenix shook her head. "No, not at all. I found her body lying there."
"But you were the first to find her." Nutmeg growled, "how do we know you didn't do it!"
Snowy silenced her with the flick of his tail, "Sol did leave before Phoenix if I remember correctly."
Sol looked at him, taken aback. He stood up, his fur bristling as he drew his lips back into a snarl. "Are you speculating that I killed her?" He unsheathed his claws and leaned towards Snowy, "do you really think that low of me?"
Snowy chuckled, "you know, I wasn't saying it was you. I was simply trying to imply that you might have seen the killer or something but now that you put it that way-"
Sol leapt at Snowy but the white tom batted him away with a swipe of his paw. Sol rolled onto his back, the stinging pain making him hiss. He blinked the blood out of his eye and saw Snowy's dismissive gaze. His ears lowered in shock, did Snowy hate him now?
Snowy turned away from Sol, his head low. "I expected better from you, Sol." He walked away from the area, which made Sol follow him.
Phoenix shook her head, Mama White wouldn't want this. Hawk, what do I do? She waited for a response but got none. She groaned in annoyance. The molly had no idea if she should stay or not. After a few heartbeats, she jogged away from the pond and went to go look for the two toms who had just fought.
Phoenix wondered around the forest, tasting the air for their scents. They were close. She sniffed the air some more and caught the thick, familiar scent of honey. That was close too. Too close for Phoenix's liking. It seemed as though Sol's scent, Snowy's scent and the other cat's scent were mixed meaning that they were way too close to each other. Phoenix hissed in surprised and she bolted towards them as quick as she could, despite the snow still being thick and hard to run on.
Phoenix stopped and tumbled. She stood up, her fur bristling at the sight. She watched Sol leap at Red, pinning him down with massive paws and biting into his neck. Red screeched in pain, and it rang throughout her ears. Phoenix looked horrified. She narrowed her eyes at Snowy, who watched carefully. At least he was enjoying this.
She saw the blood slowly start to ooze out of his neck. He wriggled under Sol's grip, and it made Phoenix's stomach turn. She yowled, her ears lowering. "Sol, stop!" Her voice echoed throughout the forest, and Sol turned to glare at her.
"What do you mean? He's tresspassing!" Sol defended, "doesn't that mean anything to you?"
She nodded, "I get that and I don't think he'll come here again! You've taught him a lesson, now let him go!"
Sol was hesitant, but finally released Red. He allowed the tom to scramble to his feet, and watched him lap at his pelt. Red turned to Phoenix with a smile. Sol's eyes darkened when Phoenix returned the smile and watched him bound away.
Snowy ran to Sol's side, pressing his nose against his ear. "That was amazing," he praised quietly, making Phoenix roll her eyes.
"Amazing? He tried to kill a cat! Give me a good reason why I shouldn't punish you both!"
Snowy shrugged. "I don't know. It's strange how you're defending a male intruder while looking a lot bigger than usual."
"Are you calling me fat?" Before Snowy could answer, she hissed, "I want both of you to go catch a squirrel and don't go back to the pond until there's one in both of your jaws!"
Phoenix stepped aside. Sol and Snowy both rolled their eyes and walked off. She turned to glance at him with uncertainty in her eyes. Why was Sol being so mean to her again? Phoenix sighed and lowered her head, walking back to the pond.
--
Phoenix finished the sparrow she had been eating. Her stomach was very visible and despite all the prey she'd been attempting to catch and eat, her body remained lithe. Frustration coursed in her veins. At this point, she was certain cats would notice. She stood up slowly and heard a voice right next to her.
"You look like your expecting a child," they said. Phoenix turned around, could it get any worse?
She shrugged, "I've been eating a lot recently, I think it's the amount I've eaten." She said quickly, looking at her paws. "I-I mean, I've been catching a lot of prey and eating it, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm overweight. You understand, right Honey?"
He blinked, "you have been overeating prey. . . In the middle of winter?" When she nodded, he looked at her with even more suspicion in his eyes than before. "Whilst prey is scarce?"
"C-Correct, I keep finding their homes and-"
"Phoenix, d'you think I'm an idiot?"
Phoenix hesitated, "a little." She looked at him, "but it's a good thing! It means you take risks and-"
Honey sighed and shook his head, making Phoenix's heart lurch. She leaned to the side a little, just far enough to look over her father's daughter. There she saw Sol and Snowy empty pawed. She looked back at Honey and let out a nervous chuckle, standing up. "I gotta. . . Go do some business now. . . " She ran towards Sol as fast as she could.
--
"This will make the children come out quicker."
Smokey batted his bowl of wet food towards Phoenix, making her cringe. He gave her a light chuckle, "it's okay, my love. It ain't as bad as ya think."
"You could say that again," she grumbled. Phoenix took a step forward to lean down at her bowl, lapping up the food. It didn't have much flavour except for the sweetness of sugar. It was rather soft between her teeth too and slightly chewy. She turned to Smokey, savouring the taste for a few moments more before swallowing and smiling. "I could get used to this."
A purr of pleasure rumbled in Smokey's throat. He watched as she wolfed up the food until there was nothing left and lapped around the bowl. A tiny burp escaped her lips, so she put a paw in front of her mouth. "Excuse me."
"You sure was hungry, weren't ya? Me a' think you should come here and eat more often, your kitties will be a lot healthier and stronger."
Phoenix thought for a moment. It's free food. She doesn't have to hunt in the cold winter where there's almost no prey around. She could sit on the warm fireplace with plenty of food, stress-free. There'll be no rules here. She could just eat whatever she wanted, as much as she wanted and no cat on earth could tell her off for it.
However, if she got caught then Honey wouldn't be too please. He'd punish her, and could have her exiled. She could wait until spring to go catch something but her swollen belly would make it difficult. If she needed to, she could ask a cat to go catch something. But the molly didn't like being a burden so that idea was automatically out the window.
After a few heartbeats, she gave him a small nod, followed by a heavy sigh. Her ears flickered for a few split seconds. "I'll do it," she told him. "I'll eat here whenever I need to."
"Good." Smokey responded. "Now, ya need to leave 'fore Mary gets here. If she a' see you, you a' dead. Don't take the risk, love. Okay?"
She nodded, "okay."
She decided it would be best to not stay here right now. She didn't know who Mary was but she didn't want Mary to come back and see that there was a ginger cat eating all of her food. She slipped through the slightly open door and ran outside, hopping over the fence and heading straight home.