Impregnable

Chapter 14

"I'm gonna do it," Hurricane declared, bunching up her muscles as she stalked forward, keeping her body low as she floated through the thick leaves, eyes gleaming.

     Lightning poked his head above the grass and barely caught his breath in his throat before throwing himself back down, praying that the cat didn't hear them. Growling, he slithered forward along with Wasp, who looked after just as he did and followed his lead. The two toms crept up just as Hurricane jumped.

     Quickly and accurately, he slammed a paw on her tail and through a clenched mouth, yowled and frantically jerked and thrashed, yanking it out of his grip. Lightning sputtered, his fur blistering as Wasp looked confused, eyeing the two of them and then the she-cat along the path. His gray eyes lit up and he jumped down, charging forward while they were occupied.

     This time, Hurricane lashed out and cuffed the tom on the shoulder, making him fall over.

     Scrambling back up, Wasp inaudibly hissed, "What was that for?! I could've taken her!"

     "That was my job! She's my target!" Hurricane argued. "Now, Lightning, don't stop me this time! I'm doing it now!"

     "No!" he hissed, flattening his ears and closing his eyes.

     "Knock her out!" Wasp encouraged with a bright smile.

     Ready, set, go! Hurricane gathered the energy in her legs and sprung, bursting out of the bushes like a phantom. The she-cat turned her head and let out a yelp just as she crashed on them. Dazed, she forced herself to throw the two of them across the path, the two rolling until they hit the end of the forest where Lightning and Wasp stood, one with utter disgust and disappointment radiating from them and the other with a kit's face.

     Yowling and lashing out, Hurricane jumped off just as Wasp came crashing down on the calico, making her howl as her stomach pressed against the ground. Then her eyes caught something on her sister's face and her heart froze. She crumbled to eye-level, staring into the set of amber eyes that were full of confusion, anger, and shock.

     "H-Hurricane...?" Maple rasped, giving up the fight. "What the...? What are you doing here?!"

     "This is Imperfect territory," she responded. "I'm allowed on this side."

     "... What are you trying to do to me? I'm not going to join you, and wait a second - where's Serval?!" Maple's strength came back and she pushed herself up, throwing Wasp off. Instead of attacking, her older sister stood up and let her fur rise, curling her lips back as a threat. Hurricane kept herself still as the calico towered over her with a set of menacing, amber eyes.

     Don't back down, don't you dare back down now! Hurricane hissed to herself. This is the only one of your siblings that's willing to listen! Swallowing, she said, "Serval's fine and safe. She's just at my camp."

     "Your camp? Don't tell me you're trying to make your own tribe," her sister groaned. "Is she well at least?"

     "Our sister is doing fine." Maple clenched her teeth and flinched at the words, making Hurricane curious. Then her eyes trailed to her stomach, questioning what happened. Noticing her staring, the calico took a step back and straightened herself up, placing her front paws neatly in front of her. Lifting her head proudly, she looked the opposite way, eyes shut as her lips quivered.

     Wasp slithered by her side and whispered, "Something's not right."

     "Obviously," she responded, pushing him away. Approaching her sister, Hurricane coughed, catching Maple's attention.