Tratr shrgs

Pyrietti

*A few moons before Into the Wild, and a few after The Rise Of Scourge, an event took place which few cats would believe - that is, the ones who had witnessed it. Ah, you've guessed right: our nightmare villain did indeed have a mate. She arrived at the ending of the latter story and disappeared before the former. Follow this story of a young cat's destiny interweaving with a cold-blooded killer's.*

*Part I*

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Another fight. Another brawl. Cats wove around, circling their enemies, smirks painted on their narrow faces. In the center of it all, was unmistakably the leader. He stood rigidly, a collar made of painful teeth stabbed into his neck, his black and white pelt sleek and shiny, his blue eyes icy and cold. Respect was to be given to him. No one was to dare defy him.

Or so, Pyrietti thought. The silver-gray she-cat stood, hidden in the bushes as Scourge and his warriors put on their once-a-moon battle show to attract new members. The show would be held by BloodClan warriors, each facing one of their own and majestically and powerfully beating their opponents down. Cats would look on in awe, and over half of them would have joined the other side by sunrise. Pyri often came to these - not to be *bribed* in anyway, but to *watch*. Every fight made her curious, as if their routine was like a spiritual dance, conducted by nature itself. Of course there was blood and there was nothing graceful about that. But Scourge must've been a genius to come up with a graceful battle show like that and rumor had it, at least a neighborhood of housecats was wiped out each week, and BloodClan had a new neighborhood of cats in its ranks.

Pyri's family would have none of it, though. They believed BloodClan to be a mindless army of Twolegplace thugs conducted by a cunning young tom who could fall over like a dead tree if the wind attacked in the right direction. In fact, Pyri's family was one of the few families which rebelled Scourge's orders and all lived together. Arvell, Rowenna, her clever and proper parents, and her littermate sister Janirelli. In a nice and cozy bramble, they slept and ate together, for Rowena and Arvell weren't quite ready to let their kits out into the unknown yet - and they were definitely not staying apart from each other, ever. Scourge had yet to find them, and if he did, Pyri's parents could take him down with the right pressure.

As Pyri watched from her place in the bushes, the fight got wilder. The crowd whooped and yowled in amusement as one opponent threw the other to the ground, each couple doing the same, in unison. Pyri gaped, astounded by the same move she saw every moon. How did each cat move at the same time as the other? How did they know which moves would create a beautiful pattern corresponding with their neighbors? How did they plan their design so cleverly, the warriors lined up in circles, Scourge at the center.

Then, something happened (which happened at every show, but it didn't make it any less shocking), something very sudden. All the warriors stopped, turned, and leaped at Scourge. Pyri leaned forward, agog. Scourge surged up, whirled around, and batted away every single opponent. They fell to the ground, their bodies trembling. After the last cat was gutted deeply, Scourge turned, blood coating every inch of his pelt, and smiled menacingly at the audience. Without a word, his warriors stood up, and followed their leader off into their camp, leaving a won audience behind.

Pyri exhaled through her nose and replayed the scene in her mind. This way, she'd never forget. She watched the departing group, bloods caking their pelts. And for a moment - just a moment, she wondered what it would be like to fight alongside BloodClan, the whole Twolegplace looking upon her with respect in their eyes. She cleared the thought - what BloodClan did was a curse on the name of the Twolegplace. It was a sin to even think of joining their ranks.

The white she-cat turned to head back home, picking up the food she'd scavenged and walking away from the excited crowd. As she passed through the bush barrier, she became aware of the BloodClan guard standing beside the entrance. She hadn't even noticed that some of them had stayed behind the whole time! The warrior's eyes traveled over her, frosty blue eyes narrowing. "Are you eating all that on your own?" the she-cat inquired.

"I am," Pyri meowed as delicately polite as she could as her heart hammered inside.

The guard leaned forward and inspected the twoleg container holding the chicken. "I see....," she murmured. "eleven pieces of chicken...for yourself? A pretty thing like you shouldn't stuff yourself terribly! You'll lose your fine shape."

"Well, I lost my meal to a couple of nearby cats yesterday," Pyri gripped her meal harder. "so I'm feeling particularly hungry today."

The guard smirked and let her gaze linger on Pyri for a few moments. "Then you're not very good at defending yourself are you?"

Pyri froze. Her breath came in ragged gasps. There was no way she could outwit the she-cat now. She prayed for her parents to be nearby although there was no possibility.

"Well?" The guard's voice turned into an ear-splitting shriek, alerting cats around her. "Are you capable of defending yourself or not?"

"I-I," Pyri stuttered. "Yes."

The guard calmed down but not quite. "Could a pretty little thing like you take on a whole gang of cats?"

"Yes," Pyri whimpered. It was going wrong, so wrong. If only she hadn't stopped by to watch...Stupid, stupid, *stupid*.

The guard guffawed. "Then try, little scum." She paused, her ears pricking up. Then her fur lay flat and she pulled on an easy smile, and raised her voice. "Well, Twolegplace, looks like you are getting another show tonight!"

Two toms appeared out of nowhere, pinning her down. The chicken landed on the floor, another tom instantly dragging it away. The guards holding her down dragged her to the bloody grounds where the first show had taken place. Her head leaning back, Pyri saw Scourge standing not too far away and it struck her. This was part of his plan all along! His guards would choose a passerby to torture for the audience.

The guard who had captured her tilted Pyri's chin forward. "To start off, why doesn't the victim tell the audience her name." Leaning forward, she whispered with bad breath. "Act along, or feel the lovely snap of your neck once this is all done."

Pyri knew what this meant which meant they must know she knew too. They'd have spotted her coming every time, they knew she was well aware that this whole thing was an act. Or was it...? Pyri turned to the audience and exaggeratingly stuttered. "P-P-Pyri..etti..."

"Pyrietti," the guard scoffed. "pretty name for pretty weakness. Must be a lost kittypet." That wasn't even true. Pyri had never run into a twoleg in her life. "Well, shall we show this soft pet the way of the Twolegplace?"

Cats cheered, to Pyri's horror. "And the best part is, you, the audience, choose what happens to her tonight!"

Pyri's heart sunk deep inside her chest, probably fleeing to a place it wouldn't stop beating. There was no way she would survive this night. All she could think about were her parents and Jani. They would look for her, tear apart the Twolegplace for her, and find nothing left behind, besides her blood. If only she could turn back time...

Over what seemed like an hour of agony, Pyri experienced claws stabbing and twisting into her belly, chunks of her fur being torn out, and a deep puncturing stab on her left foreleg. Soon, the voices faded away and Pyri left her body behind.

Or so, she thought. Because the next moment, her body was being dragged against the sharp ground and her squeaks of pain were ignored. After feeling the dragging come to a halt, she let herself slip away in peace.