attack of the apprentice

~~~

Silence. Following the yowl came utter silence, so quiet that Venom could hear herself breathing. Every cat seemed to be frozen in shock and surprise, jaws gaped as their minds processed the yowl. The black she-cat counted a total of four seconds. Then, panic set in.

Flooding, raging panic. Murmurs of worry arose from the gathered cats, spreading as quick as wildfire. Whereas once it was deafening silence, chatter now took its place. Chatters so loud, building up upon each other, more and more, until Venom felt as if she couldn't hear herself think. The yowl. A cat had yowled. For what? Help? But who? Storm? Lion? Or, perhaps a cat they'd encountered in the forest.

Just as Venom's mind began to whirl on that thought, a loud shriek popped her thought bubble. Still unable to identify who it'd come from, it left the black she-cat's tail-tip lashing with frustration. Along with this, the voices of the PeaceClan cats grew louder still. Lion's mother, Flicker, was shrilling louder than the rest.

"Was that Lion? Was it Lion's voice? Did something happen to him? Oh, great Spirits, please let him be alright!" The tortoiseshell seemed to be in a frenzy. "Some cat needs to go investigate!"

"Silence!" Venom yowled. Almost as soon as she'd spoken, a hush fell upon the cats. Breathing in relief, the black she-cat allowed her mind to work, thinking everything through and what her next steps ought to be. "Flicker's right. We need to investigate this. I shall go."

"I'll come, too," Flicker offered instantly, but was shot down by a firm glare from the black she-cat.

"I shall go alone."

"Alone?" A look of worry flashed across Frost's face as the white she-cat piped up. "Are you sure? There might be something really dangerous in there."

Venom lifted her muzzle. "And you think I can't handle it?" The white hunter fell quiet. "I shall only be gone for a little while, to make sure everything's running smoothly. Rose, you shall be in charge whilst I'm gone."

As the pale ginger she-cat gave her a nod, the black leader raced into the forest. She was certain that she could handle it, whether it be a fox or cat. Besides, if it was something other than that, Venom wanted to deal with it alone without any cats spectating.

The shadows of the trees flickered upon her pelt as she entered the woods. It'd been a long time since the black she-cat traveled with no companions. Speaking of which, she'd truly never gone really far without any cats. She'd always had at least one...

Painful memories flashed in Venom's mind as she shook her head firmly. No, no. I am not getting sucked into a memory. I simply meant that it's been a long time since I approached could-be danger without a patrol of fighters behind me. That's all.

Taking a deep breath and firmly pushing all the thoughts away, Venom trudged on. Her jaws parted ever so slightly as she tasted the air, trying to find the scent of Storm, Lion, or any other being that could've caused the yowl.

Before long, a scent flickered onto her tongue. Storm and Lion. Not only that, but blood. Venom's pace quickened until she was at a sprint, following the scent and rushing through the woods as quickly as her paws could carry her. Blood...

A scene flashed before Venom's eyes, but she shook it away quickly. No. No blood is supposed to be shed during this. This will not be like The Battle of the Apprentices. Determined, she hurried on, her paws skimming the grass.

Soon, voices traveled towards her. Storm's and Lion's. Slowing down, Venom trotted forward, ducking around a bush. There they were, standing in a clearing, Storm on one side, Lion the other. The ginger tom's pelt was bristled, hissing, whilst Storm had herself pressed against a tree. On Storm's pelt, she bore a deep scratch on her flank, but other than that looked alright.

"This is your fault!" Lion growled. "If it wasn't for you..." He shook his head, lips pulled into a snarl.

Storm's eyes widened. "I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

Lion scoffed. "Regardless of whether you knew, if it wasn't for you, I'd be a warrior by now! I should be a warrior now, rather than an apprentice still having to complete the challenge! I should have been out hunting or fighting or leading patrols for the past four moons, but instead I've been cleaning dens and fetching prey! If you hadn't been here, Venom wouldn't have forced me to wait for you!" Growling with anger, the ginger tom launched himself forward.

Storm gasped as she rolled aside, just barely ducking beneath Lion's outstretched claws. "It's not my fault! Venom's just thoughtful."

"Thoughtful to you, not to me," Lion spat. "You get all these privileges because you're just lucky! You're supposed to be dead, yet Venom just picks you and now you've got such a great, fabulous life? It's not fair!"

"There's nothing I can do about it!"

Lion hissed. "You couldn't talk to her about it? Hmm? You're such a spoiled cat!"

Storm lashed her tail. "Well if you want to be a warrior so bad, why don't you go hunt and complete your challenge, then?"

"Because," Lion growled, his fur bristled, "I like revenge better." As soon as he spoke, he jumped at Storm once again.

Venom watched the scene silently from the bushes. She didn't move a single inch, just staring ahead, taking in the information that had just been presented, watching Storm yelp and duck under the ginger tom's outstretched claws. Storm didn't know how to fight. Venom had never taught her how. Yet the black she-cat didn't feel a single ounce of worry for the gray cat's safety. Instead, her mind was buzzing, forming a plan.

As her brain ran through the words Lion had uttered, analyzing them, she noticed how interesting it all was. Lion was clearly mad at her, mad that she held him back, yet he formed his sentences to direct the blame to Storm. Venom didn't believe the ginger tom knew she was hiding in the bushes, and so then came to the conclusion that he hadn't thought carefully of his words before saying them. That was just the way of his mind. He truly believed it was Storm's fault.

How interesting. And useful.

And that was when the last piece of Venom's plan clicked into place.

"Stop." The black she-cat rose from the bushes, uttering the word just as Lion's claws were about to collide with Storm's side. Both apprentices turned, wide-eyed, towards Venom. Lion looked panicked, whereas Storm, relieved. "Come with me, the two of you. We're going to take a walk."

~~~

so sorry in not posting for a long time!! this chapter was a bit hard for me to write, haha. i hope you enjoyed it, though! what do you think of all this? any guesses for venom's plan? hmm? let me know what you think!

thanks for reading!

~ lily