death & manipulation

~~~

"LEAF," Nettle heaved, gasping for air. "It's Leaf. She- I found her body-"

Nettle's sentence broke off as Scorpion jumped to his paws, racing to where the brown tabby was standing at the entrance of the camp. "What?" Panic flared in his eyes, worry brimming in his gaze.

The brown tom gulped. "I... I just found her dead body in the woods-"

"Take me to her."

Although Scorpion was only an apprentice, and Nettle a warrior, the brown tabby didn't hesitate to follow his orders. Despite the rank, the simple knowledge that Scorpion was part of Rattlesnake's family was enough to make any cat obey him, for they didn't want to cross with the tom.

That's only one of the many things Venom didn't like. She didn't like how her father ran things, like using fear to make cats listen to him. Sure, she agreed that using fear was an effective way to run the Clan, but he should at least try to make an effort to make WarClan cats happy.

"Venom!" Scorpion called, as groups of their Clanmates, buzzing with anxiety and worry, crowded around them. "Go tell Rattlesnake and Crow what happened! Frostbite, Shade, Pebble, come with me." With a wordless command towards Nettle, the brown tabby zoomed off, Scorpion and the warriors he'd called for running after him.

Murmurs and whispers flooded through the onlookers. Venom scrambled to her paws, her mind processing through the shock. No. Leaf couldn't be dead. Nettle must be mistaken. Everything was going well. As far as Venom knew, there hadn't been any signs of foxes or badgers. Had the predators moved into the forest without the black she-kit knowing? If they did, they would've needed to have traveled in and found an area to settle undetected by cats fairly quickly, which Venom found unlikely.

So how could Leaf have died? 

Unfortunately, Venom had a good idea.

The black she-kit bounded to her father's den. She burst inside, finding him, Crow, and Hemlock all bunched together. Crow seemed to be grooming Hemlock, and Rattlesnake was saying something to him - most likely about him being the successor.

All three cats' heads whipped towards Venom when she entered. Crow's gaze gleamed with surprise and annoyance; Hemlock looked smug at the fact that Venom had seen him being favored by their parents; Rattlesnake looked utterly furious at being interrupted.

"What?" Rattlesnake's yellow eyes flashed. "What do you want? Can't you see we're busy? Go find something else to do."

Venom took a deep breath, steadying herself. "It's Leaf," she meowed, ignoring her father's words. "Something's happened."

"Leaf?" A frown tugged on Crow's face. "Who's that?"

"The she-cat our son has been padding after," Rattlesnake responded; Venom knew the only reason the leader knew of the brown-and-white apprentice was because of the incident with Scorpion. Crow wouldn't know of this, as she didn't know about the secret.

Crow's ears flicked up in surprise. "Really? That's new!"

"No it's not," Venom meowed, retraining herself from snapping. "He's been padding after her since they were kits!" The black she-kit twitched her pelt. "But that's not the point. Leaf has just been reported to be dead."

Crow's eyes widened with shock, a little gasp of horror rising from her. Hemlock's ears flicked up in surprise, the smugness wiping off his face. As for Rattlesnake... Well, Venom wasn't sure what she'd expected. But she'd expected some reaction. Instead, her father's face was still.

"Hmm. That's unfortunate." Rattlesnake licked a paw and brought it over his ear.

Crow blinked up at her mate worriedly. "Do you think whatever killed her will come after us?"

"Don't worry, darling, we'll be okay. Leaf was off by herself, no? We're inside a Clan of fierce warriors." Rattlesnake stood up with a hefty sigh. "I'd better go take a look at this, then. Hemlock, Venom, the two of you may come if you'd like."

"Perhaps not Hemlock," Crow piped up. "It's just a little... gruesome. We don't even know how she died. I don't want him to worry or get nightmares."

"Alright. Venom, then?" Rattlesnake didn't wait for a response; he stalked promptly out of the den.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Crow demanded. "Go on."

Venom glowered at her. Unlike Hemlock, she wanted to go. She wanted to see what had happened. She wanted to know what had happened. But her mother's tone made her pelt bristle.

The black she-kit didn't bother responding. She simply padded out of the den.

~~~

VENOM PADDED OUT OF HER DEN. Morning was arriving. The sky was turning into a pink, orange color, the tips of the sun visible above the treetops. Many cats were already out and about. However, none of them seemed to be interacting with each other. Not a single one sat by another cat and shared prey or tongues. And Venom knew why. It took a lot of hard work to get to this stage, but she was proud of her results.

In fact, the black she-cat was beginning her daily visit.

"Frost." Venom called to the first cat she saw. 

The white hunter looked up from her prey, ears tilted. "Venom! Good morning."

"Good morning." The black she-cat trotted towards the Highclaw. "May I join you?"

"Of course, of course!" Frost scooted over, offering Venom some of her mouse, which the black she-cat declined.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm doing okay!" Frost chirped cheerily. "I'm glad that we finally got rid of Hawk and Dove. They were becoming a real pain. And we had a nice hunting session yesterday, so there's plenty of prey for every cat."

Venom beamed. Well, fake-beamed. She couldn't remember the last time her smile had been out of genuine joy. "That's lovely! You know" - The black she-cat lowered her tone - "I heard Cobra talking about you yesterday."

"Oh, really?" Frost's ears flicked with interest. "What'd he say?"

Venom winced. "Nothing good, I'm afraid. He was talking about how your catches weren't anything to be proud of, as hunting's as easy as playing moss-ball. His words, not mine," the black she-cat mewed. "He was also saying that it's fighting that takes skill, and that if you wanted to prove that you're a "skillful warrior" you should take him on in a fight."

Frost's gaze whipped towards the brown-and-white Highclaw, a snarl forming on her face. "Maybe I will. That arrogant tom. He thinks that he can survive without prey? Fighting takes skill, and hunting doesn't? Let's see him try and stalk prey all day! No doubt he'd lose his patience and miss all his catches."

Venom nodded. "I'm sure. I stopped him, though, don't you worry. Hopefully nothing like that will happen again." She climbed to her paws. "Enjoy your mouse!" With that, she padded away.

And that was Venom's daily visits. She'd visit every single one of her cats and whisper similar lies into their ears. They'd trust none of their Clanmates. They wouldn't rely on each other. The only cat they could rely on was her.

With a satisfied smirk, Venom continued her daily visit.

~~~

hi!! sorry about the terrible transition at the beginning. i racked my brains and that was all i could come up with, haha. thoughts on this chapter? thoughts on venom? 

i'm hoping that you'll be able to see some connections between her old life and present life, like how she thinks rattlesnake should try to make every cat happy; her "trying" would be asking "does anyone have any questions?" at the end of the meetings. let me know if i need to do a better job on that, i'd love some feedback!

thank you for reading!

~ lily