Nightstar's Crown

Epilogue

Cold eyes stared over the territories as newleaf settled on them once more. The lake was blue and sparkling, rippling serenely. Rain had just started to clear up, and spring breezes kept the earth cool from the sun. Birds flew through the sky, soaring high and twisting and turning playfully. Frogs leapt across stones in the creek. Deer calmly grazed through the trees. Mice sniffed around and squeaked the quietest of squeaks. A squirrel carefully inched down a tree and hesitantly approached an acorn, glancing around as it did before snatching it and nibbling at it. Abruptly, it was crushed into the ground with a hard swipe of a paw. Claws stabbed through its skin and into the earth. The forest went silent as the deer spooked and sprang away, woodpeckers of all sorts flying away and crying out warning calls to others.

The gnarly-looking cat lowered her head and sniffed the squirrel in disgust. A scrawny tomcat anxiously and energetically glanced around her to take a look at it. "Is it okay to eat? Can I have it? I-I mean unless you want it, of course," he rambled and broke into a psychotic-sounding giggle of nerves. "Or if you want me to have it, I'd be honored. I'd eat anything for you, your good grace, just say the word and I—"

"Hush!" She snarled, silencing him; almost. He was mumbling his submission as he crouched down and kept giggling nervously. Curling her lip in disgust at him, she smacked the prey over to him. "Take it, you gluttonous, rambling vermin."

The skinny tomcat immediately sprang and ravenously tore into it. "Oh, thank you...thank you, so much...you're so...generous," he spoke through bites and lip smacking, finishing with a sulfurous burp. The dark cat with nasty, tangled, matted fur rolled icy blue eyes and stared out pointedly across the territories. "Whatcha thinkin' 'bout, there?" He asked as he was practically about to choke himself from gorging on the squirrel.

The she-cat remained perfectly still in an imperfect way, not even blinking. To the point that it was eerie. Finally, she lifted her nose, only half-blinking. "...justice," she said evenly. "Getting even..."

The tomcat snuffed and laughed suddenly. "Oh yeah, those stupid clan cats you mentioned," he snickered and ripped into the squirrel again. "The ones in the murky river or sum'n?"

She narrowed her eyes, not even turning to look his way. "Yes," her voice spoke cooly and her jagged, hooked claws unsheathed, digging deep into the soil. "The murky...river..."

"I did everything you asked, too," the scrawny, rough-looking tomcat added, licking his lips and muzzle. "Rogues are on their way into their territory – for one reason or another."

"Wonderful," she murmured. "You're far less of a disappointment than they ever were...but still a disappointment all the same."

He cackled, nodding along. "Very true, very true. I'm the...what did you call it that one time?" He muttered, pulling a confused expression as he tried to rack his brain for the word. "'The thistle to your fluff?' No...the beesting to your honey...the...bird to your...bee?" The scraggy cat wrinkled his nose, puzzled.

"Nettle, you idiot," she snarled briefly, the sudden sound making him flinch back and cower over his squirrel, as if anticipating she'd steal it from him. He was more concerned for his food than his own life. Her voice quieted again, but it held no softness about it. It was calculative and she was sure of herself. "You're the nettle in my paws...and soon, I'll be the nettle in their's." A malignant gleam flashed across her eyes.

The tom suddenly guffawed and began cackling hysterically. The dirty, gnarly-looking she-cat's nose began to bunch up as she closed her eyes in annoyance. "You're hilarious, boss!" He shrieked. "Your jokes make no sense but they're still so funny!" Licking his paws, he smacked his lips and giggled again. "Nettles...who gets nettles in their paws?"

"Jabber?" The tom suddenly sputtered and went very still as he realized her voice had come from behind him. He froze, unable to turn. All he could do was watch as fear took over his entirety as a raggedy tail curled from behind him, waving just in front of him. "How many times have I told you..." The skinny cat began to bristle and just as he got his bearing to open his mouth to speak, he felt teeth bite into his neck. Then, with a swift movement of two, powerful paws that easily overcame the tom, there was a loud crack. The cat then collapsed to the ground and blood began to slowly pool out of his mouth. The dark figure loomed over his fallen form for a moment before carelessly walking over his body toward the direction of the lake. "It all comes down to the cats who don't look where they're stepping..."