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Sept 20, 2021 16:25:50 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 20, 2021 16:25:50 GMT
“Zane!” Cole cried.
“Get back!” Liana nocked an arrow and shot it. A tortoiseshell got an arrow to one flank. It hissed and staggered, then stepped hastily over Zane and limped away. The other two turned and faced Cole and Liana with angry snarls.
“Take this!” Liana shouted as she shot another arrow. It shot through the air—
—and over both cat’s heads. They ducked, and the arrow missed by two feet.
“Did I get them?” she asked.
“Uh, no,” Cole replied.
“Darn.” She scowled. “That was my last arrow.”
One of the cats started toward them.
“Hope you’ve still got your nunchucks,” Cole said as he adjusted his grip on his sword. “Because these guys ain’t done yet!”
The nekomata shot forward and lunged himself at him. Cole used the flat of his katana to shield himself from the cat’s outstretched paws, but claws still scratched at his gloved hands. He found the weight of the feline too much and was slammed to the floor on his back. The back of his head throbbed.
Just as suddenly as the weight of the cat smothered him, it disappeared. Cole lifted his head to see the dark sticks that were Liana’s nunchucks flying around her head and at the cat. They struck; there was an ugly noise followed by the feline’s scream of shock and pain.
It hopped on the surviving forepaw and tried to lunge itself at Liana, but all that it succeeded was in taking another few hits from her. Though they didn’t do quite as much damage, it proved to be too much, and the Moon Tribe warrior staggered pitifully away. Liana didn’t envy it for its wounds.
Meanwhile Cole had gotten to his feet in time to see the final werecat had shifted into its human body; a muscular woman now was standing over Zane. Before he knew what was happening, the woman had snatched Zane by the collar of his gi and was using one of her feet to trip him backwards as he tried to regain his balance.
He staggered, and she took advantage of that. The Moon Tribe female shoved Zane—
—and sent him over the railing.
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Sept 20, 2021 18:18:50 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 20, 2021 18:18:50 GMT
“Zane!” Cole’s cry was so shrill it scraped against his throat. He ran to where Zane had fallen. The next few seconds seemed to happen in both slow motion and in a single flash of movement all at once.
The Moon Tribe woman saw him coming and fled in the other direction. Cole ignored her. He only ran to the railing. Without thinking—without remembering that Liana didn’t know all the same moves that he and the other ninja did—he leapt off of the catwalk headfirst.
Zane was falling below him. Right into the boiling pot of liquid metal. He would be boiled alive. Cole flew through the air. His arms stretched out to his friend.
His gaze met Zane’s. Zane stared back up at him. His mouth was open in a soundless cry, eyes wide with terror as he plummeted into the lava-like oil.
Cole’s heart stopped.
Small hands grabbed his ankles. Cole stopped falling with a jolt. His head spun.
His hands clasped onto Zane’s.
“Gotcha!” Liana grunted above them both from the catwalk.
Zane and Cole dangled together from the catwalk, right above the giant smelting pot. They gripped onto each other’s hands while Liana hung onto Cole’s ankles. Cole could feel the heat hitting him in the face, and he sweated.
They were much too close for Airjitzu to save them. It always took several seconds for them to perform it, and judging by how Cole could see each and every individual bubble from the smelting pot, they wouldn’t have that much time free falling before they became soup.
Above them, Liana strained desperately to drag them back onto the catwalk, but the guys’ combined weight was too much for her. It was enough for her to be holding up their weight—and even then, she could feel her palms getting slippery with sweat around Cole’s feet. She tried to wrap her fingers around the straps of his boots, but she couldn’t readjust her grip without completely letting go of them.
Her heart pounded in her ears. She could feel Cole slipping from her hands already. She tried not to panic. “Guys… I can’t— hold much— longer!”
“Just hold on!” Cole shouted pointlessly.
“I’m trying!”
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Sept 20, 2021 19:18:50 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 20, 2021 19:18:50 GMT
Zane analyzed their danger immediately. His face became grim as he made eye contact with Cole. “Cole—let go of me!”
Cole gritted his teeth. “Are you crazy?! Never!”
Zane’s electric blue eyes glared at him through the heat. “Liana cannot hold both of us! You must let go, or else we will both perish!”
“I’d rather us both go than save myself!”
“Don’t be foolish!”
“You’re being foolish!”
“Shut up, you two!” Liana snapped. “Just try to—! I don’t know—!”
Liana nearly cried out loud from the pain that was throbbing through her hands. Cole and Zane’s weight were dragging her over the edge. She had her belly pressed against the railing while she strained to drag the boys up. It was no use. Her arms were shaking and growing numb over the rail. Her fingers and hands were burning. She couldn’t do it.
Liana breathed shallowly. Her eyes were stinging from the heat and her whole body ached. She gritted her teeth against the pain—and the rising horror. They were going to fall, and it would be her fault because she wasn’t strong enough.
“Let go of me! Just do it, Cole!” Zane repeated.
“No!”
“I could drag both you and Liana down! Do you want Liana to perish?”
There was no response. Liana shut her eyes against the tears of frustration welling up.
If there’s anyone out there listening, please, she thought. Please, save us.
Zane struggled to release himself from Cole’s grasp. Cole clung to him, and the movement from them tugged at Liana. A terrified cry broke from her when she found herself being dragged over the railing. Zane was right. They were both being pulled down.
The throb of her heartbeat blotted out all other noises from the battle and from the roaring smelting pot. Sweat trickled down her face.
She felt her toes leave the floor as she was dragged over the railing.
“Aw mouse dung,” a familiar voice grunted beside her. “I didn’t run all this way just to watch you melt.”
Someone grabbed Cole’s legs and yanked him back up. Liana felt the weight leave her hands, and she stumbled backwards dizzily.
No. It can’t be… she thought, dazed.
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Sept 20, 2021 22:15:07 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 20, 2021 22:15:07 GMT
Cole felt someone lifting both him and Zane up. The rising horror in his heart was swept away by a huge surge of unbelievable relief. We’re saved! Whoever their rescuer was, they were about to get an enormous hug from him. Jubilance made him laugh out loud.
Their rescuer dragged them both over the railing and safely upon the floor of the catwalk. Now of out of the stinging heat waves and blinding smoke, Zane and Cole collapsed on the ground together. They coughed and gasped for breath for several moments. Cole’s limbs felt shaky now, yet he made an effort to stand up and face their rescuer.
“Wow, thanks, man. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t—” Cole’s sentence stopped short when he faced the rescuer.
Eagle Talon stood there, looking at him uncomfortably. “Uhh… hey.”
Zane’s head swiveled around his neck to gape at him. “Talon—!”
“I’m gonna end you!” Liana lunged herself at Talon’s back. The werecat tried to turn, but she leapt onto him and yanked her nunchucks out of her belt. Eagle Talon received a hard blow to the side of his head, and he staggered.
“Wait, stop! I’m here to help—!” he yelped.
“You’re a liar! I’ll end you!” Liana shrieked furiously. Her face was red with rage.
Zane leapt to his feet and helped Liana kick Talon to the floor. The werecat offered no resistance, and they pinned him down easily. Zane yanked his shurikens out and pressed the small blades against his neck. Talon stiffened, but made no move.
“Let’s push him into the pot, see how he likes it,” Liana growled.
“Hold on a moment,” Zane ordered. He looked up at Cole. “What should we do with him?”
Cole made eye contact with his half-brother. Talon glanced up at him for only a moment before he dropped his gaze. His human face looked pale and haggard against the fiery light.
Cole’s mind raced with shock and conflicting emotions. He hesitated. Talon had betrayed them—but now he’d just saved their lives. What did that mean? Did he really think he could infiltrate the ninja team again? Not after what he’d done. Surely he knew that. Talon wasn’t stupid.
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Sept 20, 2021 23:12:00 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 20, 2021 23:12:00 GMT
Movement caught Cole’s eye. He looked past Liana, Zane, and Eagle Talon to see large, dark shapes moving toward them quickly; more Moon Tribe warriors had joined them on the catwalk and were charging in to attack.
“We’ve got company!” Cole announced as he found his sword and picked it up.
Zane and Liana leapt to their feet and grabbed their own weapons. They braced themselves against the felines that pounced upon them. Because the catwalk was so narrow, Cole was forced to stand back helplessly. He watched his friends battle furiously against their enormous opponents; hisses and caterwauls rang noisily in their ears.
Without warning, one of the tabbies leapt over the heads of Zane and Liana and threw itself at Cole. Cole didn’t see it coming until it was on top of him; he felt a heavy weight smash into him and shove him on the floor. He grunted and strained for his sword, but the big cat was standing on the blade with one paw.
The tabby lowered its head for the finishing bite.
A humanoid figure shoved himself at the tabby. His clearstone dagger flashed in the dim light. The nekomata yowled in pain, and it ripped himself away from the ninja.
Cole looked up to see Eagle Talon standing over him, dagger in hand. His lean, muscular figure was outlined against the darkness by the firelight of the smelting pots below them.
Cole stared up at his brother. “Whose side are you on?”
Talon’s green eyes glinted in the shadows as he met Cole’s stare. “Yours.”
A dark silhouette leapt from the shadows and threw Eagle Talon to the floor. The wounded tabby had caught its breath and was now raking his claws down Talon’s human back. A shout broke from Talon. He started struggling to twist around in his attacker’s clawed grip.
Cole lunged and slashed his sword at the tabby. The big cat turned on Cole with a loud snarl. Talon used that moment to twist around and dig his dagger into the cat.
A shrill caterwaul rose above the noise of the rest of the battle. The tabby tore itself from Talon and Cole and stumbled off. Cole leaned over and helped Talon to his feet.
“You all right?” he gasped.
Talon met his gaze. “Never better.”
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Sept 21, 2021 0:43:27 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 21, 2021 0:43:27 GMT
Cole felt a small smile crawl up his face. Somehow, he felt a little spark of a light feeling in his chest—maybe it was joy.
He reached out and gripped Eagle Talon’s hand tightly. “Welcome back.”
Talon’s eyes widened with astonishment—and hope.
More shapes were bounding up the stairs to the catwalk. Cole turned and faced them, sword in hand. Eagle Talon stood by his side and morphed his hands into a feline state. They threw themselves at the Moon Tribe warriors charging at them.
The fight flashed by Cole’s vision like some sort of half-dream. He slashed, parried, and shared hand-to-hand blows with heavy cat claws and men’s clearstone swords. The sense of joy gave him a boost of energy, and he threw himself into the fray with savage delight. Eagle Talon growled and hissed as he whipped his claws across his opponents’ faces. He brought them down in kicks to the legs and bites to the back of their necks. Every once in a while he would press his back against Cole’s in order to stop an ambush from behind. In turn Cole used Spinjitzu to bash into a couple of nekomata that had gotten on top of Talon and sent them flying.
The two of them fought together as one; Cole began predicting Talon’s movements, and Talon predicted his. There was no way to explain it. The two brothers stuck by one another in the battle, and their enemies grew to fear them.
Thick waves of heat rose from the giant smelting pots below the catwalk; fiery light cast itself across Cole and Eagle Talon and outlined their similar forms in an amber haze. They looked like twins of the same shadow, and they threw themselves at their feline opponents with the strength of true warriors. When Zane risked a glance at them, he could not tell who was who.
Cole and Eagle Talon fought together as true brothers.
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Sept 23, 2021 14:42:11 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 23, 2021 14:42:11 GMT
Chapter 93: A Happy Ending
Most of the Moon Tribe warriors had already turned to flee the building. All the ninja and the now-freed miners alike were cheering in victory when a loud banging sounded from the great doors of the warehouse. Suddenly they burst open, and a flood of humans in crisp blue uniforms flooded in. Red and blue lights from the cars outside lit up the interior of the building.
“This is the police!” a familiar voice shouted from a loudspeaker. “Surrender, and come out with your hands in the air!”
“Like you just don’t care!” a different voice added.
“Shut up, Tommy.”
Lloyd’s jaw fell slack as he stared at the newcomers. “C— Commissioner? How—?!”
The surviving nekomata bristled and growled warningly when the police officers rushed in—but the fight had gone out of them. Several hissed and pounced on the humans, but they were soon brought down by tasers, which had their fur bristling all over from the shock and their large bodies crumpling heavily upon the ground.
The policemen and women ran around quickly to clamp muzzles onto the incapacitated cats. Thick leashes were attached, and the nekomata were led or hauled into the large police vans. Some of the Moon Tribe cats attempted to shift into the bakeneko bodies and escape, but they too were caught—albeit not without some stumbling and bumbling on the cops’ part. The small cats were grabbed by the scruff of their necks and shoved unkindly into metal cages. Most of the officers taking care of this business wore thick leather gloves and masks for protection.
Meanwhile the rest of the police force—led by the bushy-mustached Commissioner—took care of securing the perimeter and searching for wounded miners. As his men spread out and filed into the warehouse, he approached the ninja.
Lloyd finally found his voice. “How’b did you know we needed help? How’b—?”
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Sept 23, 2021 23:57:40 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 23, 2021 23:57:40 GMT
“Misako gave us a call,” the Commissioner responded matter-of-factly. He gestured back to the open doors. There, walking in briskly from the dark night, came in Wu, Misako, and Mr. Brookstone. Cole’s father gaped in astonishment at the sight within the warehouse, whereas his companions reacted to the scene a little more calmly. Misako met Lloyd’s look with a smile as he approached her.
“Mom! How—? Ah-CHIEE!” He sniffed, “How’b you know we—?”
“We moved closer to the village to keep an eye on things. Some of the miners came running from the hills, and they gathered up people to come with them,” she explained simply. “It didn’t take much for us to put two and two together, and we decided, that with these werecats being isolated from the rest of their tribe and not knowing we were there—”
“That the police department would not be able to bungle this up too badly,” Wu finished.
“Hey!” the Commissioner protested. “I heard that!”
Another squeaky sneeze burst from Lloyd. “Ah-CHIEE!” He rubbed his watering eyes.
“Are you all right?” Ironically, Misako looked past his battle wounds across his arms and armor and gave his red face an expression of concern.
“Yup, ju’b aller’dies.”
“Where’s Cole?” Mr. Brookstone broke in anxiously. He swept his gaze up and down the dark interior and metal contraptions rising above their heads. “And—?”
“B’ittle ‘Eaf!” Lloyd finished happily when a feminine figure stumbled out of the gloom. Her ginger ponytail was in disarray, and she suffered several scratches and bruises up and down her torso and limbs.
Little Leaf blinked warily in the face of the glaring red and blue lights from the police cars. “Wha— what’s going on?”
“We won!” Jay approached the group. Nya was with him and had one arm around his shoulders as he supported her; she appeared to be limping, but the wound didn’t stop the broad smile on her face.
“We fought back long enough! We won!” she echoed, tossing one fist into the air.
Little Leaf smiled, but it was wane. Her gaze drifted from her human friends to the sight of her many tribe-mates being hauled away in muzzles, leashes and cages.
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Sept 24, 2021 2:45:22 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 24, 2021 2:45:22 GMT
“But where’s Cole?” Mr. Brookstone repeated.
Jay’s jubilant grin melted. “I don’t know. We got separated—Zane and Liana, too.”
Wu, Misako, Mr. Brookstone, the Commissioner, Lloyd, Little Leaf, Jay and Nya immediately started scanning their surroundings, trying to see past the glare of the cop car lights and the crowd of police officers herding the cats away. Then, Nya gasped. “I see them!”
From the now ink-black shadows of the building, four figures emerged into the flashing lights. They looked bewildered at the sight before them. “What is going on?”
“Zan’b!” Lloyd cried.
Zane, Liana, and Cole, all sweaty and disheveled, approached the crowd slowly… along with—
“Talon!” Little Leaf’s exclamation was so shrill, it was almost a squeak.
The glad expression of victory vanished completely from Nya; her eyes flashed dangerously at the werecat. “What are you doing here?” she demanded from Jay’s side.
Zane opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Lloyd, who was starting forward them and drawing out his katana. “Did you capture him? We’ll make sure he won’t get away this time!”
“I’ll get another muzzle,” the Commissioner rumbled.
“Ooh!” Liana perked up. “A muzzle sounds fantastic.”
“Stop!” Cole snapped.
Everyone froze. Misako had been in mid-stride next to her son with a dark scowl—perhaps she hadn’t forgiven Eagle Talon for nearly breaking Lloyd’s head in their last encounter. All the humans stared icily at the werecat standing alongside Cole. The only members of the group whose gazes weren’t so accusing were that of Little Leaf’s and Master Wu’s.
Eagle Talon looked at the cold expressions facing him. He swallowed and lowered his head, not meeting anyone’s eyes. Cole, on the other hand, faced his friends guiltlessly. He took a step that brought him close to Talon’s side and slapped a hand upon his shoulder. “Talon isn’t our prisoner. He’s on our side now.”
“That’s what we thought last time,” Liana muttered.
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Sept 24, 2021 14:46:05 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 24, 2021 14:46:05 GMT
Cole’s eyes flashed. “He just saved you, me, and Zane from being melted! He left his tribe came all this way to join us again. Are you seriously going to treat him like that, after he saved your life?”
Liana’s lip curled, but she remained silent.
Jay sputtered, “What the—?! He ‘saved your life’ a few times when he was pretending to be on our side before, didn’t he? Why should we trust him now?!”
“I wouldn’t put anything past him,” Nya added.
“He’s dangerous,” Misako said stiffly.
Cole gritted his teeth. “He let me into his mind just a minute ago!” His voice rose. “I saw how he faced Black Blood herself and told her she was not his queen! He risked a lot to come here.”
“Memories can be faked. I should know,” Jay retorted angrily. “Remember that this is the guy who got me in the Dark Sleep!”
“He’s not a sorcerer, Jay!” Cole snapped back. “He can’t even do stuff like that!”
“I don’t care! If he betrayed us once, he can do it again—!”
“Enough!” Wu boomed.
Everyone was stunned into silence. They stared warily at Wu, even the Commissioner.
Wu’s gaze swept over the faces of everyone in the group before settling on one member. “Zane,” he said, more gentle now. “Did Eagle Talon save your lives?”
Slowly Zane nodded. “Yes, Master. I would have fallen, and dragged Cole and Liana down with me, if Eagle Talon hadn’t been there to drag us back up and to help us fight off the final wave of Moon Tribe warriors.”
“Do you believe he is telling the truth when he claims to be on our side now?” Wu pressed.
Zane hesitated as he glanced over at Talon and Cole. Then, he murmured, “Yes. I do. And I am willing to forgive him for his mistakes.”
Wu’s gaze softened. He swept his eyes back to Talon and gave him a long look. The young man rose his eyes tentatively and stared back at Wu. There were several seconds of this, in relative silence, before something Wu saw seemed to give him a gentle smile.
“I believe him, too,” he murmured. He looked upon his students. “I have no problem accepting Eagle Talon into the team. And I have no problem forgiving him.”
Talon’s feline eyes widened in astonishment.
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Sept 24, 2021 17:17:59 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 24, 2021 17:17:59 GMT
“Neither do I,” Cole declared.
“I believe him,” Little Leaf murmured.
The others looked around uncertainly at one another. Liana in particular looked upset; her knuckles had grown white over her nunchucks while her face had fallen into a dark scowl. Lloyd turned to his uncle and began to say something when the Commissioner cleared his throat.
“Well, um,” he said, “while the rest of you are figuring this all out, I’ll have to ask one of you to identify these, uh…” he cast a quick look at the Moon Tribe warriors being dragged away, “cat people…?”
“Don’t worry’b, Commi’ioner. I’ll com’b.” Lloyd joined the Commissioner and they headed toward the group of police vans. Misako hesitated, then followed.
Nya cast Eagle Talon another hostile look. “Fine,” she spat. Before anyone could say anything in response, Jay was helping her over to a bench to inspect her wounded leg.
Wu used his staff to gesture to Zane. “We found your uncle, Zane. He is safe and sound, now being watched over by a couple of officers. Come.”
Zane perked up and followed his master. As the two of them left, Cole and Eagle Talon found themselves left with Liana, Little Leaf and Mr. Brookstone. Cole felt a twinge of uneasiness when he saw the icy look on Liana’s face.
“Liana…” he started.
“Do what you think is best.” Her words came out cold and sharp. “But don’t expect me to trust him. Not after what he did.” She stalked off, joining Nya and Jay. Helplessly Cole gazed after her.
Meanwhile Leaf neared her half-brother tentatively. In a small voice she asked, “Are you— are you all right?”
Talon had been looking at Liana with a defeated expression on his sweat-stained face. He blinked at the sound of Leaf’s voice. “Uh— yeah, yeah. I’m… fine.” His voice trailed off.
Cole yanked his gaze from Liana’s retreating back in time to see his father venturing to them slowly. He wore a look of wariness as his eyes flickered between Cole, Talon, and Leaf—but especially on Talon. He stopped just a few feet before them all.
A long, awkward silence fell. Cole swallowed and wished Master Wu hadn’t left them all alone like this.
“Eh— everyone OK?” Lou asked.
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Sept 24, 2021 22:27:03 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 24, 2021 22:27:03 GMT
Cole forced a wane smile. “Nothing but a couple of scratches.”
“Well, uhh— good.” Lou stuck his hands in his pockets.
The faint noises of the chattering police, idling engines, murmur of exhausted miners and ninja, and the occasional hiss or yowl of Moon Tribe warrior made the silence between the relatives feel louder. Cole held back a cringe. Couldn’t anyone think of anything to say?
Finally, he had enough. “So, uh, Dad…” he gave Talon and gentle push toward Mr. Brookstone, “I don’t believe you’ve officially met Talon. I mean, the last time you saw him, he was— uh—” He flushed and sputtered, “But, that was— not that I’m saying— um…”
During Cole’s hapless stammering, Eagle Talon finally raised his head and fixed his gaze with his father’s. Lou returned it, looking intently upon the half-cat teenager who was his son.
It was Talon who finally broke the wall of silence. “So you’re my dad.”
“That— that’s right.” Lou’s mustache twitched nervously.
Neither one said anything for a moment.
Then, quietly, Lou murmured, “You look so much like me when I was your age.”
Talon looked unsure as to how to respond to that. Before he could, however, Lou said, “But your face… it’s not shaped like mine or Cole’s. That’s Silver Mist’s face you’ve got.”
Talon swallowed. “She— she was a good mother to us. She wished you could have been there to help raise us.” Beneath the soft tone, there was the barest hint of accusation.
“I wish I could have been there, too,” his father replied, almost at a whisper. “Believe me. I— I would have been proud to watch you grow up. Especially seeing you now, having done the right thing… That must have been so difficult, to turn your back on everything you knew like that.”
For once, a glimmer of emotion appeared in Talons’ expression. “You— you’re proud of me?” he rasped.
“Of course…” Cole could have sworn he caught sight of tears dancing in his father’s eyes. “You’re— well, you’re a brave boy becoming a man. You faced your mistakes. And… you’re my son.”
Eagle Talon seemed to be unable to anything but gape in complete astonishment. He finally choked, “I— I’m sorry.”
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Sept 25, 2021 3:12:20 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 25, 2021 3:12:20 GMT
Lou’s face twisted. “I’m sorry, too. I’m so sorry.”
Talon gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut.
Little Leaf murmured, “Oh, Talon…!” and shoved herself into him in a tight hug.
That seemed to be the signal. Lou stepped forward, snatched Eagle Talon by the shoulders and yanked him into his embrace. The moment his first son was trapped in his arms, he reached out and snagged the second. Cole made no protest. He gladly added to the group hug by pressing in on Talon and letting his father embrace him with one arm.
Then, from his mind, Talon’s voice wavered to Cole, Is this real?
Cole’s vision swam. Welcome home, big brother.
* * *
Faded mist cloaked the shoulders of the tallest mountains, which were dark silhouettes against the palette of pale gold and pink that was the morning sky. The only stain against this image were the tiny shapes of eagles soaring in the distance—thankfully, far away from the patrol of cats making their way along the hillside. They felt safe where they were, despite the fact that if they stepped a little too close to the right they’d plummet down a steep cliff; they knew these paths well and knew how to tread them with proper care.
Mist Rise was leading the patrol. He breathed in the cool morning air gratefully. There was so much tension within the caves these days that he sought nearly every opportunity there was to be outside. Black Blood had been especially on edge since yesterday, when Eagle Talon had defied her and escaped in the chaos…
Mist Rise felt his brown pelt prickling guiltily. You’re safe, he reminded himself. No one had seen him release Eagle Talon—if they had, Black Blood would have gotten him already. Still, the young tom couldn’t help but feel anxious that his crime had yet to be discovered by someone. Worse still, he couldn’t even pinpoint why he’d done it. In the heat of the moment, he’d felt some prickling of his conscience when he looked into the gaze of his tribe-mate… because he couldn’t help but wonder if there had been something true to what Eagle Talon had said.
“What’s that sound?”
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Sept 26, 2021 14:30:58 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 26, 2021 14:30:58 GMT
The voice of Yellow Wing jolted him from his thoughts. He looked up to see that the young, yellow-pelted female had gone a few paces ahead of him to stand at a precipice. She looked out over the valley. “Do you hear that?”
Mist Rise, Fox Bark, Orange Throat and Jackdaw Eye all paused. Mist Rise strained his ears to listen above the low murmur of the breeze toying with his long fur. Then he heard it: a faint, consistent buzzing.
“What is it?” Fox Bark said, “If it’s bees, I’m out of here.”
“There aren’t bees this far north,” Orange Throat, an older tom, scoffed at her.
Mist Rise didn’t say anything as he joined Yellow Bark at the precipice. He peered down the rocky valley. Several long moments of searching passed before movement finally caught his eye: there, northwest of where the patrol was, a long line of dark, metallic shapes were making their way into Moon Tribe territory. The buzzing grew louder as they drew nearer. The young sunlight glinted off of metal, and he could see the figures of humans riding the moving objects.
“Humans! With their loud machines!” Yellow Wing gasped.
Jackdaw Eye joined them. “Those aren’t humans,” he muttered. “Those are our warriors from the north—some of them, anyway. I recognize the vehicles they’re driving.” He added quietly, “I wonder what the matter is.”
A feeling of foreboding wormed its way into Mist Rise. Abruptly he turned and began trotting down the path back the way they came. “Back to the caves,” he ordered.
Without a word, the other cats followed.
* * *
Nearly the entire tribe ventured outside of the caves to see the vehicles—“motorcycles”, as some of the more experienced warriors referred to them—roll up into the shadow of the mountainside. Since he was one of the highest-ranking warriors, Mist Rise was at the front line when they came; several dozen motorcycles, all enormous and equipped with weapons of human technology that for the life of him he couldn’t begin to understand.
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Sept 26, 2021 16:30:11 GMT
Post by LordTigress on Sept 26, 2021 16:30:11 GMT
When the Moon Tribe warriors driving them finally stopped and staggered off, Mist Rise felt a surge of alarm; nearly every all of them bore wounds, and all looked exhausted. A couple of the people simply collapsed onto the ground with a low groan, and some cats raced over to tend to them. The rest stumbled their way to the crowd of anxious cats waiting for them—they stood out from the crowd in their human forms. They seemed too weary to shift into their feline bodies.
The young man in the lead neared Mist Rise. The tom was startled to recognize a face he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Spark Pelt!” He raced up to his friend. “What happened?”
The young man heaved a low sigh. His lithe human body shrunk and shifted; the neat black hair on his head spread into fur across his body, while a few patches of white stood out from his chest and face. The tuxedo cat greeted his friend, touching noses with him. Mist Rise caught sight of blood staining his white-furred chest and one ear torn.
“Are you all right?”
“We could be better,” Spark Pelt murmured. “We lost nearly everyone.”
“Dead?” Mist Rise felt his heart skip a beat.
“No. Captured.” Spark Pelt shook his head. “The ninja—they attacked. The miners revolted, then the police came—the blue-pelted warriors from the city,” he added, before his friend could ask. “So many of our cats were taken hostage. We even had to leave some of the bikes behind because there weren’t enough survivors to drive them.”
“You couldn’t fight them off?” a cat demanded.
“There were too many—” Spark Pelt began to protest.
Without warning, Black Blood burst from the crowd. Her eyes were blazing and her fur was bristling all over. The crowd parted nervously for the rest of the sorcerers—Lion Claw, Raven Frost, Broken Fang, Sky Pelt, and Rip Claw. She scanned the scene before her.
“What—happened?” Her words came out like ice.
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