𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐰'𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐞 - seasons of revenge - book three

Chapter 27

To say that Xander was angry was the least you could say. He was furious. The rogue had a bad enough week without a Clan cat stumbling onto their territory.

He knew his mother would be expecting him back soon, and with that thought, he gave a sigh of dread. Wanda was the leader of the rogue group. An old, scrawny and scrappy white she-cat with short to almost non fur. Littered with fierce scars that blazed through her pelt, as well as a muzzle that was becoming dusty with grey, and pale kitten blue eyes that once showed an uncanny kindness.

Not now.

As the rogue had tried to find any scraps of prey lurking around, a strange scent had filled his nose. The tom growled slightly, trying to be as silent as possible as he pinpointed the cat.

"What are you doing here, Clan cat?" He spat, jumping out the bushes. The intruder surprised him, as it was just a small kit, with a badly scarred face.

"Do you know where QuailClan is?" Rainkit asked, trying to put her chin up high, acting confident. Xander slowly nodded, flicking his tail in apprehension.

The tom faintly remembered Wanda telling him tales of the Clans when he was a kit. There was a mention of QuailClan, being the weakest Clan.

A white she-cat sat on a box in the rogue place, glancing at the ginger bundle of fur which was bouncing around excitedly.

"Xander, calm down." She tutted slightly as the fluffy kit fell into a puddle, half of his pelt covered with reeking water. As the tom obediently stepped away from the puddle, she gazed around fearfully.

Wanda didn't admit what was troubling her, her blue eyes darting around various places of the place she was was residing. It was cold and damp, shadows illuminating the air, stacks of cardboard boxes piled up against walls, bags of rubbish giving a rotten smell.

"Dustblaze said he would change this place. And what was the truth in that?" There was a rustle in the boxes beside her, but Wanda ignored it. Many cats struggled for shelter here, so it wasn't a surprise that there would be scuffles for it.
"Xander, come over here." The she-cat decided it was best time to get her son inside, with yowling now sounding outside. As he came inside, Wanda noticed Minnow was gone.

"Where's your sister?" She questioned Xander, who suddenly looked terrified and backed into a corner of the box.

"Dustblaze took her. I hid, and he didn't fight me." Wanda tried to hold back a surpress of horror.

"HE TOOK HER?!"

An instant worry for her daughter consumed every part of her body. Over the past few moons, cats had been slain, sometimes even when they were sleeping. It was an utter gamble at who would wake up alive and who'd be dead in their nest.

Once, there had been stability she supposed, but that was before even Wanda herself was born. After the killing of their former leader Reed, by Dustblaze, the group was in disarray.

She didn't want to come back, especially not to raise kits here, but it was the only chance to find her missing littermates.

"I'm thankful I managed to come back here. Trying to find Mouse again, but she wasn't here." To try and allow herself back into the group to find her, Wanda had changed her name from 'Seed' to Wanda, as she did 'wander' quite a bit.

"What happened to Russet then?" Xander asked, eyes filling with confusion as his mother stood up, determination in her eyes.

"Stay here." She ordered, the firmest Xander has ever heard her, putting her tail up as a barrier to stop him getting out the box.

"I'm going to find your sister." Wanda walked out the den, standing up tall as rain stormed down. A rumble of thunder scarred the sky, and Wanda flinched slightly, continuing to walk across the alleyway to Dustblaze's den.

She saw some cats peer their head out, fear in their eyes and confusion as she walked into the direction of the den.

"So do we have here?" A cold voice filled her ears as a pair of green eyes appeared from a box.

"You took my daughter." Wanda hissed back, and a burst of laughter sounded after. Dustblaze was letting out coughs of harsh laughter, Wanda wouldn't be surprised if he was attempting to wipe tears away. Even if cats didn't have tears.

Clenching her teeth in frustration, Wanda marched forward, slamming Dustblaze into the wall. He let out a puff of air, winded by the sudden move.

"You're not the tough leader you say you are." Wanda sneered, sinking her claws into his throat. Fed up of how long this was taking, she slashed her claws across his throat, watching satisfyingly as the brown tom dropped to the floor.

Finally knowing that her job was done, she turned around, but a sneer stopped her.

"You forgot that leaders have nine lives, didn't you?"

"Come with me kit." Xander lead Rainkit away from the dark forest, a few fox-lengths away from the horror, that was TwolegPlace.

She seemed to abide, blinking up at him with green eyes that freaked him out, reminding him of a certain someone.

"Do you possibly know Dustblaze?" He questioned the kit. Waiting for an answer, he gulped. If this kit didn't have anything to do with him, she wouldn't have such a scared look on her face.

"Yeah. I do." Rainkit puffed, paws gesturing up to her scars. "He gave me this."

The ginger tom gave a slight look of shock in response, leaning down to look at Rainkit's scars closer. "Why?" He questioned, gazing at her.

She looked hesitant for a second, fumbling with her paws and barely making eye contact with Xander. "Because I shouldn't've attacked a Clanmate."

Thousands of thoughts flurried through his head at those words. What is that Clan? Making kits attack one another?

"Don't you want to go back to your family-?!"

Xander was interrupted suddenly by Rainkit growling lowly, her ears pinned against her head. Green eyes darted around and she looked back up at him for a heartbeat.

"I can't trust my kin. Duststar's the reason I'm going back to QuailClan."