Shadow's P.O.V.

Thorn organized the patrols for Twolegplace and none of them wanted to go. I mean, who wanted to go to a stinky place where dirty, hostile cats lived, where Twolegs lived and in the rain? It was terrible.
All I wanted to do was eat and then sleep. Thorn led Bella, Whip, Fawn and me to the Twolegplace quietly. The only sound was the rain and the occasional thunder crackling above.
It made Fawn jump and I couldn't help but purr every time she did.
Thorn led us into the Twolegplace and we hopped over the fence. I helped Bella get over willingly. She was such a pretty cat and very sweet and strong, too.
I didn't want to creep her out so I never said anything, just avoided everyone. I didn't exactly want anything to do with love anyway. I knew it'd just be lost eventually.
The putrid smell of old crow-food made me gag and I fought to hold it down. It felt weird to be padding on the black packed dirt that the Thunderpath had, it was gritty and it was almost as if it was going to rip my pads.
"Tell me, why are we here?" Whip hissed to Thorn. We stopped and Thorn looked around, replying without looking at Whip, "Venom said we needed to start killing more of the cats who homed here." Bella looked at me with confusion and I shrugged.
"Now, why on earth do ya gotta do that?" A strange voice called from above and we looked to some boxes piled high. A strange ginger-and-white cat laid on it. "Earth?" Whip mewed half to himself.
"Because we need to show those Twolegs that this is our territory," Thorn answered the stranger. "What do Twolegs have to do with me? I live on my own. If y'all wanna see kittypets, look for the fabric around their necks. That'll teach 'em who's boss."
Thorn exchanged glances with Whip. Thorn dipped his head and led the way toward a silver mesh fence.
A small hole at the bottom let us squeeze through. Thorn got into a crouch and flicked his tail to gesture to two cats, both with collars. One was a fluffy grey tabby and the other was a white short hair with half a tail.
Thorn pointed to the grey one and then me and Bella and pointed to Whip then the white one. "Fawn stay here." Mouthed Thorn and Fawn nodded, sitting down.
I had to keep my claws sheathed so I didn't make scratching noises on the black dirt. Stalking with Bella beside me, I got close enough and pounced, Bella doing the same.
The grey cat squealed in surprise as I landed on her back. I laid on my back and held her throat with my claws. "Bella, claw at her stomach!" I growled, teeth clenched in concentration as the she-cat tried to squirm away.
"Storm! Snow!" A voice called from the shadows. Bella kept tearing at the grey cat and Thorn looked up from grabbing the white she-cats neck, her collar torn off of her neck.
Bella finally stopped and we all looked toward the voice. 'What a way to begin a fight.' I thought, rolling my eyes.
A dark, muscled up cat stepped forward. Fawn looked dazzled when she first saw him.
"Why are you attacking them? Did they cause trouble?" The dark cat asked, padding forward.
His pelt was coal black with one yellow eye and one green eye, a patch of brown around the green eye. His pelt was as fluffy as mine, which I quite a pelt of fur.
"Maybe they were, maybe they weren't," Thorn sneered, stepping toward the dark rogue. "What does it have to do with you? Are you a kittypet along with them?"
The tom explained, nodding, "They are my littermates and I was only going to see what my Twoleg wanted."
Before anyone could say anything more, Thorn pounced at the tom and they tumbled together. I grabbed the grey cat again, tighter this time, and Bella started clawing at her belly-fur. She let out a screech and so did the white she-cat.
"Stop!" Fawn yowled and we all did so. Only because we were shocked, really. I never knew that such a small cat could let out such a scream.
"These three fight well don't they? Why can't we accept them in the Tribe? We need warriors!" Fawn prompted, her eyes worried. 'Did she know this cat?' I wondered, narrowing my eyes at the small brown warrior.
"Why should we? Six kits are going to be apprentices sooner or later and we still have five apprentices, two almost ready to be warriors, why should we let these three kittypet's into our Tribe?" Thorn growled, still holding down the bleeding dark cat.
"We know how to hunt and... And we've always wanted to go check out the wild cats and how they live. I know how to fight pretty well, too!" The coal-black tom insisted, nodding as he spoke. Thorn took in what he was saying.
The rain was all I could hear now. It pelted down on us as Thorn took his time thinking. "We'll have to ask Venom when we go back." Thorn replied, standing up and sheathing his claws. "We will come back tomorrow when the sun is fully up to tell you what will be going on. And get rid of those collars!"
I let go of the grey cat and she gasped for air and held her stomach, whimpering. Whip had a few scratches from the white cat but was okay, while the white she-cat had many all over her.
I made my way to join Thorn. "What's your names?" Whip asked, his head tipped to the side.
The dark tom meowed in response first. "I'm Dagger, and this is Storm-" He gestured with his tail to the grey she-cat. "And Snow." Snow dipped her white head to us with a glare in her eye, padding behind Dagger.
Thorn dipped his head and he led the way further into the Twolegplace, saying nothing more.
"What a waste of energy," Bella murmured in my ear. I nodded, purring, "Tell me about it." She smiled up at me and turned back to the front.
"Remind me to stop for prey on the way back," Thorn muttered to Whip as we pushed on.

**********

Thorn P.O.V.

Trotting into camp with a pigeon, I happily deposited it. "Are you going-" Fawn began eagerly and I interrupted her, knowing what she'd say. "Yes, I'm going to go right now. Why are you so eager?" She shrugged and left quickly, into the warriors den.
Lily walked in front of me before I could go into Venom's den, confidence and excitement seeping from her. Her emotions always made me feel what she felt and I - for some reason - began to be excited.
"What are you so excited about?" I meowed, narrowing my eyes but smiling. She purred, "I'm expecting more kits!"
I was completely shocked at her words. Lily, expecting a second litter of kits? That's great!
"Wow... Thats... Thats, just wow! How far along??" I asked, looking at her stomach. "At least a moon now. Mini told me my stomach was starting to become bigger and that I should see Leaf. Leaf said I was expecting!" Lily chirped, words just spilling from her mouth.
"I knew that I must've been expecting because I was feeling more... Heavy and mother-like." I nodded and looked into her eyes. "This is amazing, does Venom know? You should move to the nursery soon," I informed her and she shook her head. "No he doesn't and I will wait until I'm told to. This Tribe needs as much prey as it can get!"
I sighed and nodded, "But as soon as Leaf tells you to go to the nursery, you do." Lily dipped her head and wobbled away, swinging her wet tail from side to side to balance her.
She was a buff cat anyway, long legs and a big stomach to begin with. Lily had muscle used to swim, mostly, when we were farm cats. She didn't like fighting and I wouldn't be shocked if she stayed in the nursery to help queens.
The memory of asking Venom popped into my head as soon as Lily was in the warriors den. No other cats were out of their dens, I realized.
My quickly padded to Venom's den and poked my head into the cave. He wasn't there. I went up to the trail that led to the nursery and saw Venom playing with three sleepy kits.
"Venom, don't you think they should sleep?" I whispered from the entrance to the nursery. He looked over at me and sighed quietly. Venom told the three kits to go with Mini and turned away.
"But Venom! We're not tired!" Crow complained, yawning soon after. The three tiny kits' eyes were half closed. "Be quiet mouse-brain, you'll wake up Froya. If she is woken up she'll claw our ears off!" Sunshine hissed, shoving Crow with her shoulder. Crow growled at her and Raven curled up next to Mini's chest.
"Sshh," Venom whispered calmly, "It's time for sleep, I'll be back in the morning."
Crow groaned but reluctantly he followed Sunshine as she curled up beside Raven.
Venom quickly trotted out of the nursery and into the rain beside me.
"What is it?" Venom meowed, padding first into his den. I followed.
"We met three cats on patrol. We attacked two, another came out and stopped us. The dark one - Dagger - asked for them to join the Tribe. The three could fight and Dagger said they could hunt as well," I explained. I decided to leave out the part where Fawn stopped the fighting, it'd be better for her.
Venom considered this.
"Are they kittypets?" He asked after a while.
"No,"
"Don't lie Thorn. Are they nice?"
"Yes..."
"What do you think I will say, then?"
"No...?"
"There you go."
"Venom, we need more warriors. We lost five in three or four days and they're willing to come into the Tribe." I insisted. Dagger seemed like quite the warrior, but if he said no now I wouldn't ask any longer.
Venom considered this as well, narrowing his eyes in thought. He took quite a long time to reply.
"Show me these cats and have them fight to show they're good for the Tribe." I dipped my head and backed out of his den, my pelt instantly was drenched again by water.
If this rain kept up, I was going to go insane.