High Speed Winds

Chapter 12

Clementine slid her claws across the gray she-cat's body as she laid on the ground. Fury took over her mind, blotting out all of her thoughts.

When the she-cat didn't move, Clementine let out a hiss of annoyance.

"Up, mange-pelt!" She cursed.

The small cat didn't move, so Clementine stopped dealing blows to her body. At first, the cheetah thought she had given her so many scratches that she had bled to death. Clementine let out a sigh when she saw that Hopeglow was still breathing.

The cheetah grasped the barely alive she-cat by the scruff and hauled her onto her shoulder. She growled, her voice soft, "You are going to pay for bringing destruction to the jungle!"

The voice of a she-cat from the trees interrupted, "Really? It doesn't look very destroyed, if you ask me."

Clementine whipped her head around and glanced up into the thick forestry above, where she spotted a shadow-like she-cat easily balancing on a branch, her light gray eyes glowering down on the cheetah. The pitch black she-cat asked, "Anyway, what's a cheetah like yourself doing around these parts? Got lost?"

Clementine felt her fur ruffle with annoyance as she replied in a growl, "No, flea-cat."

The black she-cat sat down on her branch, which was clearly out of Clementine's reach, and with a sharp glance, purred in a melodic, yet threatening tone, "Then get lost, or tell me why you're here. Go on."

Clementine glared at the she-cat through slitted eyes.

"Clementine will tell nothing! " She snapped.

"Well. Here in the jungle, we actually answer others question's." The she-cat meowed, a smug smile on her face.

"You know Hopeglow?" Clementine sat down, before realizing that the cat was on her back.

The cheetah flexed back with lightning-fast reflexes, and grabbed her by the scruff. Clementine gently set Hopeglow on the ground, lying in front of the cat. Clementine looked back, and saw the stranger nodding slightly.

"I do know Panicscar." She meowed.

"She not who you think." The cheetah roared, fury inflaming inside of her.

Vivid flashbacks of strange cats with stars in their fur telling her Hopeglow's story.

"Dead cat tell me she kill! Hopeglow has killed more than one!" Clementine yowled, her voice softening as she spoke.

"She even kill here! Hopeglow brought death to jungle!" She growled menacingly, taking a threatening step forward.

"We've all killed once! You were about to kill Panicscar!" The she-cat's neck fur bristled, her fur fluffed up to twice its size. "Heh, look at you. Talking about something like it's sacrilegious and then proceeding to try and do it. Pathetic."

The black she-cat almost impossibly balanced on the branch as she leaped to her paws, causing the thin piece of wood to sway under her weight slightly, although it did nothing else other than break the stems of a few leaves, the thin papers of green fluttering to the forest floor. Clementine let out a sigh, and left the clearing.

The cheetah glanced over her shoulder to see the stranger watching her go.

**************

"First, you must stand on your hind legs."

Eightball watched Gwen's movements carefully as she stood on her hindlegs, balancing for a heartbeat.

The tom let out a snicker, and Gwen gave him a sharp glance. She fell to her paws, and moved to stand in front of him.