break of tradition

~~~

Venom barely remembered what happened next. It was all a blur. She vaguely remembered the stench of fox from the clearing, WarClan cats hoisting Leaf up on their shoulders, with Rattlesnake padding alongside them and shooting out orders. But, she didn't pay much attention to any of that, her mind wrapped up in the agony, despair, guilt, and regret her brother's voice held each time he spoke. She didn't think that she'd ever be able to rid that from her mind.

Venom trotted by Scorpion, her father leading the way. She brushed against her brother every now and then, for comfort, but he didn't seem to notice, eyes staring straight ahead blankly. "Leaf." A small whisper came from Scorpion. "I'm so sorry." And for the rest of the trip, he remained quiet.

Sorry? Venom blinked at him. Her brother blamed himself for Leaf's death. In this moment, the black she-kit knew that Scorpion had the same suspicions of Leaf's murderer. Her thoughts were confirmed when her brother sent a swift glare at Rattlesnake, too quick for the WarClan leader to catch it.

No. Venom shook her head. No, no, no, no, no. Rattlesnake didn't kill Leaf. Have some more faith in your father. Scorpion's just mad because Leaf's gone. Rattlesnake didn't do anything.

Deep down, the black she-kit doubted that. Deep down, she was still suspicious of how Rattlesnake had found Leaf's death spot without asking any cat, and how he knew she was off on her own. Deep down, she knew that Rattlesnake cared deeply for his reputation, and would end a cat's life to protect it. Deep down, she still had the raging suspicion that it was her father who'd killed the brown-and-white apprentice.

But she pushed it all away. Venom was too afraid to face it, too afraid to admit that her father actually killed a cat. Besides, even if she did come to agreement with it, what could she do? In no world would she confront her father. She'd just live in silence, fearing Rattlesnake. It was better this way.

A crowd had formed around the entrance of the camp by the time Leaf's body was brought back. The brown-and-white apprentice's parents, Snow and Eagle, let out a wail of anguish at the sight, rushing to their daughter's body as soon as it was set down.

Venom's gaze scanned the crowd, searching for her mother and brother. She spotted them pushing through the cats; they reached the front, joining Rattlesnake. However, Hemlock took one glance at Leaf's body, let out a soft whimper, and pressed himself to Crow's side, refusing to look up.

After taking a look at the apprentice's corpse, Venom's body snapped to do the same. She'd never studied Leaf's appearance properly before this. She'd just been thinking about her brother. But now, actually taking a good look at the brown-and-white cat... Well, it was gruesome.

One of Leaf's ears had been torn, almost ripped off. There was a claw mark running from her right eye down to her left cheek, no doubt blinding that one eye. Her claws were wrenched, paws bent unnaturally, tufts of fur missing and claw marks covering her pelt. But worse of all, her chest had been ripped out, still bleeding.

"Cats of WarClan!" Rattlesnake called for silence. "As you all now know, today we have lost one of our members, Leaf. It appears that the cause of her death was a fox, as the scent was all around the clearing. But, not to worry, I'll send out patrols to make sure that the fox is taken care of."

Venom glanced up slightly, just in time to see Scorpion's eyes flash with anger. However, the brown tom didn't say anything.

"Now would be the time that we clean the dead's body and arrange a vigil. But, I'm afraid that I'll have to announce that Leaf will not be receiving a vigil."

Although no cat spoke, Venom could feel shock ripple through them. She, too, was stunned, staring at her father in amazed silence.

"The reasoning of this," Rattlesnake meowed, "is because of the Battle of the Apprentices."

The Battle of the Apprentices. Hearing that name made Venom's stomach lurch, pulling her mind off of Leaf's death momentarily.

When apprentices finished their training, they'd battle each other in the Hollow of Blood. They'd fight until the other yields, or even sometimes, killed. The leader, observing their skills, would then arrange them in ranks accordingly, such as whether they're in Top Assassin, Assassin, so on, and if they were going to be a Killer, Spy, or Defender.

Venom absolutely hated that. It was all just so violent. Surely there were better ways to sort apprentices than make them fight each other, sometimes to their death? If she brought this up, she knew what would be told to her:

"This is a tradition set down by our ancestors. It's worked for thousands of moons. And for those thousands of moons, you've been the first one to find an issue with this."

The black she-kit had been told this when she first learned of the Battle of the Apprentices, worrying for Scorpion. But now, knowing that it was coming up soon, her stress and worry had only increased. She'd tried her best to push it aside, telling herself that Scorpion was a brilliant fighter, but now, with her father bringing it up, that anxiety had resurfaced.

"The Battle of the Apprentices is tomorrow," Rattlesnake continued.

Venom's eyes widened. Tomorrow? The leader normally decided the exact date, but they would normally share it at least a week before the actual ceremony. Judging by the surprised looks from every other cat, the black she-kit realized that Rattlesnake had probably just come up with the date.

The tom flicked his tail. "Why do you all look so surprised? Surely I've already announced this. No? Well, a mistake on my end." He made it all sound so careless before barreling on. "As I was saying, since the battle is tomorrow, our apprentices, Scorpion and Ivy, need rest if they want to perform well. There is no time for a vigil."

"But Rattlesnake," Snow spoke, her voice quivering, "surely the battle can be moved? Perhaps the day after tomorrow?"

Eagle lashed his tail in agreement, and as more cats joined, raising their voices to the demand, 

Rattlesnake hissed, silencing every cat with a glare. "No." His voice was cold, unsympathetic. "It can't be moved. It's tradition that the leader decides the exact date, and I've decided that it's tomorrow. No vigil." He paused. "But I'm not unfair. Leaf's body may be cleaned and buried, with a swift goodbye from every cat. Now, I need someone to volunteer to clean Leaf's body. Preferably, a cat with good knowledge of herbs."

Venom frowned. That's something else she disliked about WarClan. They didn't have a specific role for herbs. If cats got hurt, they either healed or died.

"I'll do it," Scorpion mewed, after no cat stepped up. "I don't know much about herbs, but I can try."

Rattlesnake twitched his pelt. "Very well. So it's been decided. Good day, everyone." And with that, he turned around swiftly and stalked back to his den, Crow and Hemlock trotting after him.

~~~

hiii! what did you guys think? personally, i'm not the biggest fan of this chapter, haha. it explained some pretty important stuff, but i just felt like the writing wasn't that great! also, i have absolutely no idea how i'm going to pull this back into present time.

anyway, let me know your thoughts! specifically, i'm wondering if you have any predictions about the future. i'd love to hear what you guys think!

bye!

~ lily