Chapter 16

   “I hadn’t, until now,” Missy meows, trying to recontextualize what she’d heard. Pinecone is the one frozen now, tail still as her eyes bore into Missy’s with a surprised exhale. There’s a commotion happening behind them with the other cats of the group. “I hadn’t been certain. But you all but admitted to it now, so I guess it doesn’t matter, sister.”

    “Fang!” Pinecone screams, and then lunges for Missy. Who hisses, startled, and rolls herself to the side. Magpie had jumped before the command even left Pinecone, barreling into Hemp with teeth and claws bared. Pinecone jumps after Missy like a bloodhound, pinning her to the ground and her teeth at Missy’s neck, and Missy has barely a second to pray to the Night Cat for mercy before a second weight almost crushes her. Then both are gone, and she can breathe again, and Dusty has settled himself in front of Missy and against Pinecone, who stares at him, dumbfounded, before hissing “Traitor,” and lunging for them again. Missy has regained some of her senses and sees Hemp struggling against Magpie from the corner of her eye. The black cat is frighteningly quick, and while Hemp is a better fighter than she is, he’s still not good at it.

    “Dusty, help Hemp!” Her friend glances at her, worried, but does as told, jumping on top of Magpie while Missy focussed back onto Pinecone, her own claws unsheathed. Pinecone is much older and much more experienced, going by all of the wounds her fur cannot hide, and Missy has no chance of winning this as a fair fight. But she’s got no desire to fight fair. She taunts Pinecone, who flashes her teeth before lunging at Missy again. Missy lets her, lets herself land on her back, vulnerable, and Pinecone presses claws into her chest as if she’s ready to gouge out Missy’s heart. The orange cat leans down, eyes narrowed.

    “So much for you,” she starts, and then Missy lunges. She scratches at Pinecone’s nose, a deep gash, and the sister is distracted by the pain for a second too long as Missy reaches for her eyes. But Pinecone is still more experienced in fighting, so she steps away from Missy’s reach quickly enough that only her right eye is harmed. “You-” she starts, Missy still scrambling to turn around and get away from her, when yowling interrupts them. Pinecone startles, and then something cat-shaped barrels into her, another following. Missy stares as Zurih and Twine-Sky are standing over Pinecone with teeth bared, and then Shanna was next to her, pressing against her side. Missy stares, and then whirls around to spot Hemp flanked by Moon and Moor, Dove holding down Magpie with a tear-stricken expression. The black cat is feral, hissing and scratching but unable to reach the stray brother. He tries for another lunge, weakly, before he spits at Dove.

    “You left,” he hissses, and Dove lowers his head as if ashamed. Well. That was a story for another time. Missy turns back towards Pinecone, noticing for the first time that the two orange cats that had been flanking her were still frozen in their perch, wide-eyed. Pinecone’s right eye is swollen shut, and she is taking deep breaths through her mouth, angry. Missy walks over to her, with Shanna, and stares at the downed sister.

    “You lost, Pinecone,” she meows softly. “But I still don’t understand why.”