Starpool's Secret- Book 1

Twenty-One

[Chapter Twenty-One]

King seemed to be basking in the cheers of his small, but vocal group. Raising his tail, all the cheering stopped immediately. 

"Now," He meowed while adding a melodramatic pause,"We have a softpaw," He chuckled, resting his gaze on Flare for a few moments. She felt her pelt heat up under his intense gaze. He seemed to sense her intimidation under his watchful eyes and a smug look appeared on his face. Returning his intense attention to the rest of his group, he meowed, "We'll have the softpaw watch for now," he announced and suddenly beckoned her up with a flick of his tail. 

Flare blinked in surprise. Me? She looked around at everyone else. All their faces wore the same expression of shock as they watched her hurry over to King, climbing up the heap with quick, but slightly clumsy paws and sitting a respectful distance away. She looked down at the group. She already was recognizing their faces. As she scanned over the faces, she felt her gaze meet Creams'. Creams' gaze held a look of...jealousy? Not again, she thought and mentally rolled her eyes. The reason she left Thunderclan was due to Lemonflowers' jealousy over the minuscule attention Flare had received from Treeripple. 

Flare suddenly averted her gaze and looked over next to her. Bark was sitting beside her. She looked over at King, who wasn't paying any attention to her. She was flanked by both of them and suddenly became very anxious. 

King broke the silence, "Bring out the players!" He yowled. His voice rung out over the silent group. The long haired cream tom she'd seen earlier was back and this time, he was hurrying into a dark corner that seemed to be covered with shiny brambles. She frowned, looking over at Bark, she whispered, "What kind of bramble is that?" She asked, angling her ears in the direction of the shiny item. 

Bark gave her an amused look, "It's not a bramble. That's called metal. It's where we keep our players and--" He continued but was cut off by King. 

"That is their den. The metal keeps them from getting hurt," He purred, "They are our source of entertainment and they need to be kept away from others so they can build up their strength," He explained with a flick of his tail. Flare blinked. It seemed like these players were being kept inside. She didn't further discuss it and left it off with a nod. An unsettled feeling had made its way from her chest to her stomach as she anticipated what happened next. She watched as the group of cats began to shuffle around and soon formed into a large circle. They all remained standing. 

"Red, Wood," King sighed, "Go help Pete get our players. It seems he's forgetting his job," He snickered, causing other cats in the circle to either chuckle or grin too. 

The two toms dipped their heads and hurried off, leaving a narrow gap near the center of the circle. 

"Well, well, King. We meet again," A new voice purred. Flare looked up and she felt as if her heart stopped in her chest. A muscular, long-haired, ginger and white tabby tom had entered. His cold blue eyes gleamed as they flitted over the scene. She soon found his eyes resting on her. His eyes flashed--almost with knowing, but it was so brief, she couldn't be sure. The tom turned his gaze to King, "Are your players ready?" He meowed smoothly. 

King snorted, "They've been ready. Who do you have this time?" He demanded with a slight note of interest, "Your last one lost to mine, so we currently hold all the territory," He chuckled, lifting his head proudly. 

"Oh, I brought more. Three this time instead of one. How are yours?" He asked, casually changing the subject off of himself and onto King. 

King's eyes narrowed as he meowed slowly, "We lost one. We only have two," He grumbled.