Flameheart chronicles - WildClaw (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 3 : The First Night.

Chapter 3: The First Night

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Artemis paused in front of Haley’s bedroom door. Her sharp ears picked up the light whoosh of the girl’s even breathing. She was asleep.

Artemis liked this family. They were good people and easy to bend. Doting dad, good mom and not-so-bratty kid. Yup, she could enjoy her stay. But now, she had to hand in her first report.

She silently made her way to the living room and hopped onto the couch. She wriggled out of her new collar and pressed the tiny blue button on it. There were two buttons. One red, for emergencies. One blue for normal daily reports. As Oscar had explained to her like telling a kitten that her tail was not a chew toy.

A translucent, membrane-like screen grew out of the collar. The light blue veins spread in front of her till they connected to make a slightly-bigger-than-postcard sized screen. It had the emblem of the white claw cats- a dagger with the outline of a cat on the hilt with a ribbon that said Faith-Justice-Wisdom on it. Below that was the Please wait…

Artemis hoped she wouldn't have to wait long. She was dying for some rest after the meal of chicken pieces she had been fed by Sarah.

She sighed and settled herself in a comfortable position. She noticed the open door and raised an eyebrow. She willed it to close and it swung shut soundlessly. She purred.

Lustre Claws could bend elements, objects and even minds to do their bidding. This was the gift given to them by Duca, the sister-goddess of their patron, Fauna. Duca had given them their power but Fauna had given them life. She had created the Lustre Claws to maintain balance in her absence. But what was different about the cats was that only they were divided into Silver Claws(white claws) and Iron Claws(Black Claws). All other creatures just had the bronze claws.

Most of them took it for granted but Artemis had always been intrigued by it. It was either an unfair division or a gift they did not understand. Black claws had always been considered evil, and Artemis wouldn't argue. She shuddered. The memories still haunted her sleep.

Just then, a voice startled her.

"Torch Tail!" Oscar's face appeared on the screen.

"You alright?"

‘Fine," She replied. Of course Oscar answered. He was the only one willing to stay up till everyone’s reports came in ‘had some trouble when I reached, though’

 "What?" he didn't wait for her answer ‘did you come up next to a fire-extinguisher?"

"No-‘

"Was it raining?"

"Would you-"

"It was snowing?"

"No, you kibble head. Don't you have cats waiting?"

"Nope,"  His whiskers twitched "You’re the last."

"Oh joy’ Artemis muttered ‘look, I"M tired. Will you listen?"

"Yup, what happened?" he asked, becoming a bit serious.

"I came up on the wrong street!"

"Seriously?"

"No way’ came a worried voice from the side and Ruby’s orange head popped into view "What happened?"

"A girl on a bike nearly ran over me’ Artemis replied.

"You’re not hurt, are you?" Ruby tried to get a better look past Oscar. Artemis rolled her eyes.

"You are fifteen, Ruby. You should be worrying about boyfriends and bad hair days. Not your perfectly capable Fire-User friend."