Take It Like a She-Cat

Chapter 2: King's Feast

a/n: Detected a small problem from the last chapter, here it is: 'Brokenclaw wondered why he skipped the third Loki, remembering after a moment that she had been relocated at the last gathering'

This is wrong; the third Loki was relocated TWO gatherings ago, with Fairlight being relocated ONE gathering ago. Sorry for the confusion!

Also, I apologize if you're getting mixed up with the Loki's.

"It's such a nice day out," Ginger said, sounding as if she was trying to make her voice more optimistic than it really was. "The sun feels nice on my fur."

"It's not bad," Hanna shrugged, using her teeth to gently pull off some berries from a bush. The pile she was collecting was getting quite high, bigger than Gingers.

Once a week, two she cats were selected to pick berries off the bushes just outside the camp. They were used with the meals they prepared for the toms, mixed in with the boneless prey. The she cats were also expected to pick the bones out of each piece.

"You know what would be funny?" Hanna snorted when a thought crossed her mind. "We should just leave all the bones in and see how many of them choke."

"Hanna!" Ginger gasped, her green eyes wide. "Don't say that."

"Oh come on," Hanna smirked. "It was funny and you know it."

"I just like to keep optimistic," Ginger said, sounding as if she was still bothered. "No good comes out of negative thinking."

They picked in silence after that, the only sounds coming from their paws as they shuffled through the snow. I guess berry duty is better than picking out bones, Hanna thought to herself, thinking about Lila and Loki2 who got stuck with that unfortunate chore. At least this way we don't have a tom cat breathing down our necks the whole time.

"Cindy will be having her kits soon," Ginger said suddenly, breaking the silence. "Do you think she'll have toms or she cats?"

"How am I supposed to know that?" Hanna asked, trying her best not to sound rude. I like Ginger and all, but sometimes she asks the silliest questions.

"I hope she has tom cats," Ginger continued, ignoring Hanna's attitude. "I don't want any more she cats living like we do."

"With her luck, she'll probably have one of each," Hanna sighed, thinking of Loki1 and Foxfur. They were brother and sister, but it didn't seem to matter given how Foxfur treated her. Doesn't matter anyway, Hanna thought mutinously. After all, she's a SHE CAT.

"Well, I think this will do," Ginger said, breaking off from the berry bush. Hanna did the same, not caring if it was enough regardless. Dumb tom cats don't need berries anyway.

"Yeah, let's get these back to the pen," Hanna said, picking up the giant leaf that was resting under the berries so she could carry them. It was impossible to talk anymore with her mouth full, so she walked silently next to Ginger as they made their way across the clearing.

Almost at once, two tom cats rushed forward as they made themselves visible. It was Bluelight and an older tom named Seedheart. Hanna thought the name suited him perfectly. Weird, seedy cat, she thought as she looked at him. Seedheart was a big red cat with clunky paws, clumsy as a kit learning to walk. However, he was one of the nicer tom cats so she forced herself to be nice.

"Finally, you're finished picking!" Bluelight called out, voice four times louder than it needed to be. "Hurry up and prepare our meals, we are starving."

THEN PREPARE IT YOUSELF! Hanna screamed inside her head. But she knew better than to open her mouth and spill the berries everywhere, so she gave a tight nod. Bluelight rolled his eyes, swearing for no good reason and stormed away, Seedheart behind him. Hanna continued walking to the pen, hoping no more tom cats would intervene.

"Hey girls!" Loki2 called out as she was let into the pen. "How was the picking?"

"Hey, cut it out," Foxfur growled, standing guard at the entrance. "Stop sounding so cheerful."

Hey, cut it out, Hanna thought as she set down the berries, mimicking his voice in her mind. Stop looking so ugly.

"SORRY, sir," she cried loudly, sarcasm lacing her tone as she made a dramatic bow. "PLEASE forgive us."

Foxfur just glared at her, and Hanna turned away so he wouldn't see her smile. Behind her, Lila was coughing to hide her laughter.

"How was the bone picking?" Ginger asked, nearly whispering so they wouldn't get yelled at again. "Almost done?"

"It's taking a lot longer than usual," Loki2 mumbled, looking tired as she fumbled around with the prey. "It feels like the bones never end."

"You know what would be funny?" Hanna said suddenly, unable to help herself. She was giggling as she was talking, making Ginger narrow her eyes knowingly.

"We should pick some death berries and serve them up," Hanna snorted. "Instead of these blue berries."

"Ha!" Lila snickered.

"Hanna," Ginger shook her head, looking upset.

"I'm kidding," Hanna told her, wishing she could take a joke. "I wouldn't do that."

"Fairlight would have," Lila said suddenly, her tone wistful. "She talked about it all the time."

"I miss her," Hanna sighed, thinking of her old best friend. I wish she didn't get chosen, she thought sadly. I wonder how she's doing, with the Jokers. Maybe she hasn't changed; maybe she's sitting in the leaders den right now plotting out how to poison everyone like she did here.

She has one moon left before her exile.

What will she do when she's free?

Where will she go?

"Do you think the third Loki is still out there?" Loki2 asked suddenly, interrupting Hanna's thoughts.

"Speaking of Loki's, where's Loki1?" Lila whispered to Ginger. Hanna pricked her ears, she was wondering that too.

"She got the worst chore out of all of us," Ginger whispered back to her. "She had to groom Icestars fur."

"Oh, ick," Lila stuck out her tongue, disgusted. "Wait, isn't that Cindy's job?"

"She's too tired and weak from her pregnancy," Ginger explained. Hanna nodded to herself, turning back to Loki2.

"Sorry, what?" Hanna mumbled, realizing she hadn't heard a word her friend said. Loki2 blinked slowly, looking as though she was trying not to get offended.

"I asked you," Loki2 repeated slowly. "If you think the third Loki is going to come back to help us."

Hanna thought of the third Loki, picked to join the Kings Clan so many moons ago. She was the most beautiful she cat Hanna had ever seen, but she was quite a bit older than everyone else. Hanna didn't know her too well, but Fairlight had always looked up to her.

Loki3 really knows what she's doing, Fairlights words echoed in Hannas mind. She told me that once she's free, she's going to come back with an army. An army to take out the toms and save us!

Hanna hoped this was true for moons, but it was becoming more apparent by the day that Loki3 was just dreaming out loud. Who was I kidding, falling for that false hope… Loki3 probably ditched the whole army idea and ran as far as she could away from here.

"The third Loki is still out there," Hanna answered at last. "But I don't think she's coming back."

"Man, I'm starving," Brokenclaw whispered into Bluelights ear. Bluelight gave him an annoyed look, his mouth twitching slightly.

"Well, last night you said you weren't hungry," Bluelight said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You probably wouldn't be starving if you didn't skip your dinner twice a week."

"I wasn't hungry," Brokenclaw defended himself, feeling his face grow warm. I just can't eat when it's Hanna serving me. It makes me feel sick to my stomach!

I'm perfectly capable of serving myself, I hate this

"I've noticed," Bluelight said, a weird tone lacing his voice. "Whenever Hanna comes around, you just forget you need to eat or something."

"That-" Brokenclaw stammered, completely thrown off guard. Is it that obvious? "That's not true!"

"Uh huh, sure," Bluelight said, not paying attention anymore. He was craning his neck, looking angry all of the sudden. "Where are those stupid she cats? The food should have been out a while ago."

"They're not stupid," Brokenclaw whispered under his breath.

"What?" Bluelight snapped.

"This is stupid," Brokenclaw sighed, pretending that was what he had said. This is stupid all right, but I'm not talking about the food being late.

By now all the toms were getting antsy, craning their necks like Bluelight had just done. Brokenclaw felt embarrassed for his own gender.

For meal times, all the toms would sit facing one other, all lined up along a shallow log that was stuck in the earth. There was just enough room for all of them to have a spot, with one empty area left at the front by Icestar. It didn't take a genius to figure out Icestar was saving that spot for his kit.

Well, if it's a tom that's born.

As if he'd ever his daughter sit with him. Oh, that would be SO FREAKING horrible.

I hate this fucking place

"Sorry for the wait, sirs!"

Brokenclaw slumped even farther to the ground when he realized it was Hanna's voice that had just rang out. He glanced up, seeing her leading the way to the log with a leaf wrap in her mouth. All the other she cats trailed along after her, each holding a leaf wrap as well. Brokenclaws heart beat faster as Hannas eyes locked with his, and he braced himself for her to glare at him.

However, this time she didn't give him the death stare.

The look in her eyes was almost… amused.

Brokenclaw sat up a little straighter, feeling a little easier about himself. Maybe her hate for me went down a notch overnight.

"If the food is late tomorrow, don't expect any of our scraps," Icestar called out angrily. "When I sit down here, I expect my dinner AT ONCE. Not the next goddamn day."

"I'm sorry, sir," Hanna said, bowing her head. Brokenclaw caught her rolling her eyes before she bowed, and he struggled not to snicker. While she was apologizing to Icestar, the rest of the she cats placed a leaf wrap containing their dinner in front of them, backing away at once. They did not expect a thank you and was offered none.

Brokenclaw waited for his own dinner, anxiety nearly choking him as he realized it was Hanna who would give it to him. He sat like a stone statue as she leaned forward and dropped the wrap in front of him, pausing by his ear.

"I poisoned it," she breathed. Brokenclaw took a quick glance around, noticing everyone was too busy eating to pay attention to him. Brokenclaw looked up at her, locking eyes.

"Good," he whispered back.

It was clear that Hanna did not expect that response. She blinked a few times, leaning back in surprise.

"Did you actually?" Brokenclaw couldn't resist asking. His heart beat faster as Hanna started to smile.

"Nah," she whispered. "You'd be the last tom cat I'd poison anyway."