Born Wild

Chapter 6

 "What are you doing on our territory?" Drizzle snarled, fur bristling. The cats rolled their eyes.

"Oh, I don't know, we just... wanted to check out the cats that are invading our territory?" the assumed leader said, feigning confusion.

"We aren't invading any cat's territory! In fact, this is our's," Dash cut in. The brown leader laughed, and the others snickered alongside her.

"They really are clueless, aren't they?" one, the lilac-furred she-cat, smirked.

"Maybe it's because they're such bad hunters that they have to rely on those nofurs to feed them! They probably rarely ever come out of their nests to see the world," the jet-black she-cat added.

"Definitely. Oh, don't look so disgusted!" Seeing the fury on Drizzle's face, the leader continued smugly, "It's true! Don't worry, we can help you learn to hunt better. We have way more experience than those cats teaching you. What were they called; Leaf and Birch, right?" Hansel nodded in confirmation, and Leaf cast him a death glare. 

"I'm right here, you know," he growled tightly.

"Anyways, as I was saying, Leaf and Birch have only been around for two years. But me and Holly here," the leader used her tail to point at the pure black she-cat beside her while ignoring Leaf, "have five years of experience. Skye," she paused again to point at the lilac she-cat, who gave Drizzle and Drizzle's friends an unfriendly look through narrowed eyes, "has four. So, we can teach you better techniques than those two. I'm Briar, by the way."

Briar shared a glance with Holly and Skye, while Drizzle looked back to see if any others had caught their exchange. Turning her sight back to the three rude she-cats, she questioned, "Then... how do we know if we can trust you or not?"

"We'll join your group and prove it to you, obviously. You won't have to join ours," Skye meowed smoothly.

"It's like you've planned everything in advance!" Dash said, bristling. 

Holly mewed, "Yeah, well, we knew you guys were here and we were curious! Besides, who goes to meet someone without preparing?" Drizzle frowned.

"Then can I talk with the others first? I need their opinion. We're a grou-" Briar flicked her ear and sat down, so Drizzle took that as a yes.

"Well... do you think we should accept them?" Drizzle mewed in a hushed tone, directing the question mainly to Leaf. 

The tom, however, was still smarting from Briar's comment. "No," he snapped immediately. 

Dash, however, had different views. "Well... I think we should. For one, they may be rude, but they might actually have useful skills. We can learn from them, at the very least?" she meowed. Drizzle nodded thoughtfully. 

Hansel and Angel glanced at each other, then back. "We think we should let them come. Try it out first. Like Dash said, they don't seem like a big threat at all!" Angel spoke for both of them, and Hansel nodded along his words. 

Drizzle looked directly into Leaf's green eyes, then concluded, "Well, the vote of the many outweighs that of the few. Leaf, we're accepting them, whether you like it or not." Only then had Drizzle realised they hadn't consulted Snowflake.

Whatever. She probably doesn't even have an opinion, she thought irritably. Turning back to the three cats, she said firmly, "Very well. Follow us."

Like when Snowflake had first arrived at camp, the three newcomers' presence made everycat gather round. Misty and Clovis stared at them worriedly, while Swiff just looked... blank. 

"Everycat! These are Briar, Holly and Skye. They will be joining us, so I expect you to treat them well and with respect." She emphasised on the word 'respect', since nocat seemed to have given Snowflake her personal space. Sunrise nodded instantly and lit up.

"C'mon, guys! You get to make your own dens and everything; come, I'll show you around..." Sunrise dragged the three she-cats away in her irritating yet cheerful manner, and Drizzle didn't exactly envy them. Sunrise was a good cat to go to when you were stressed, but wasn't the brightest in the camp. She could, at least, cheer you up, but not the one to go to when planning something important. Shade or Misty would do that job better. Padding into her den, she sighed.

Ugh... I'm so tired. I need to rest. I'll think about Snowflake and Leaf later. Drizzle flopped into her nest and drifted off to sleep.

Began by Smokepaw/dusk, completed and edited by Silverkit/wish