Weird Werecat Warriors

Chapter 5

  Redflower sipped at her warm tea. She was lucky her little hotel room had the means to make such a beverage. It also held a tiny, empty fridge. A bathroom, a single stinky bed. The hotel was cheap but it was near the pub and also where she was now working.
The clans always handled money and dealings with humans as a unit. Now that she was a loner, or rogue perhaps, she had to make money all on her own. So she worked at a local club. It was a place filled with smoke and drunks. Since she wasn't human, and instead a werecat, she got to sit with folks, mostly men, and let them pet her and play with her tail. She absolutely hated it.
But she needed to help herself now. And she had a cell phone in her own name as opposed to her clan-issued device, which she had left behind so as not to be tracked.
At this moment, she wore a black sweater and similarly colored sweatpants. They were comfortable and warm enough in the not-quite-newleaf weather.
She wondered how her kits were doing. She knew her sister and Brambleclaw were raising them now, which she felt was good. They were the parents the litter deserved. They'd make a happy family.
She inhaled, noticed her milk scent was nearly nonexistent anymore, and exhaled.
She wanted to be a mother but she wasn't sure how and wanted it to happen under better circumstances.
Her phone gave a ding.
Hawkfrost:
'Morning, lovely!'
She gave a small laugh. He was so sweet, checking up on her multiple times a day. She truly felt he was the mate she should take. But times were tough for them both as far as romance was concerned. He still supported his former flame and their litter.
Speaking of, she thought, Splashwing was a concern. Redflower has not met him before though Hawkfrost would periodically boast about his offspring. She wondered if the young warrior could be trusted.
A sigh escaped her, their only hesitation in the murder of Firestar was Brambleclaw, the deputy. Tigerstar wanted Leopardnose in his place, but she refused to even try to attain the position. There was no guarantee Brambleclaw would help them, as he had distanced himself from his father sometime after taking Squirrelflight as a mate.
"The goody-two-shoes," Redflower mumbled, unsure if she was referencing her sister of brother-in-law.
Finishing her tea, Redflower decided to leave the room. She walked into the hall, down the stairs, and into the lobby. There, she cast a shifty glance at those around her. The human who stood behind the desk, the creepy looking human and his kittypet, a werecat who wore a collar and was round with fat.
And then, she saw a family. All had short fur and looked like regular werecats. The mother was a mostly white calico. With her were two toms, one black and white and one grey tabby and white. Running around them were three kits about Duskpaw's age, perhaps a tad younger.
"I don't know about this, Marcelito," the mother meowed. She looked uneasy, nervous.
The tabby replied to her with oddly-spoken words, "Grace, dear, it'll be exciting! An adventure!"
The black and white tom spoke with a deeper voice but the same accent, "Marcello has wanted to see the forest werecats for a long time. Since we heard about them as young toms in Italy."
Grace shook her head, folded her arms, and swayed unhappily, "I know, Sebastian, he's told me.... I just... I've never left America before and all of the sudden we're going to take our children to see wild werecats?"
Redflower blinked at them. Wild werecats? Did they mean the clans?
She approached cautiously.
"Morning!" She chirped, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but uh, I heard you mention wild werecats?"
The tabby, Marcello, nodded with enthusiasm. "Yes we'd like a tour of their land!"
Grace was eyeing Redflower very carefully. The ginger queen could feel her intense hazel gaze.
The three littermates looked at Redflower with great enthusiasm.
A dilute calico meowed, "Are they real?"
Redflower nodded, "Oh yes, very real!"
The red and white tabby tom added, "Have you seen them before?"
Redflower smiled, "Young tom, I was one up until recently."
The black and white one gasped, "Wow, what did you do?"
Her mother hissed, "Luna, don't be rude!"
Redflower shrugged it off, "No worries." She looked between the adults, "my father is leader of one of the clans. He's very popular and famous you could say. And my mother's father made a name for himself too, a deputy who was prematurely found dead at another's claws."
"Who was that?" The calico daughter asked.
Redflower stated, "His name was Redtail. I was named after him; I'm Redflower."
She held out her hand, shook it with the adults, Marcello first and Grace last.
The kits were bouncing now. So much excitement, it made Redflower want to chuckle.
"Is it safe to go?" Grace questioned.
Redflower grinned mischievously, "No but that doesn't mean I can't take you."