Checking In [Lyric]

[Deleted]

The sun was just starting to rise over DeathClan's forest. The bushes on the edge of the main clearing rustled as Drought brushed through them. Things were getting very busy in the American Shorthair's life. In fact, ever since he'd first seized power over the pseudo-Clan, he'd had more and more to do.

While DeathClan prepared itself for the third invasion, the leader had other things to attend to. Today, he hoped to talk with Lyric, who was looking after the Clan kitten hostages. With any luck, she would pass through the clearing at some point, like most DeathClanners tended to do.

The tom settled down on a low branch of a pine tree and simply began to wait. Who ever said that he couldn't be a patient cat?

[Lyricwhisper]

Lyric gave a tired sigh, walking away from the holes that held the kittens. She had made sure that everything was fine and safe for the two kittens. They wouldn't want the kits to be carried away by a roaming fox or badger. Or even a hawk. Drought probably wouldn't care as long as she could get some information from them.

She walked to the clearing, looking around for the leader. Lyric paused in the middle of it, scanning the ground before looking to the tree line. She noticed a figure in the branches, the low ones, and nodded.

"Greetings. I made sure the kittens were safe before leaving them."

[Deleted]

Conveniently, it didn't take very long at all for the young grey she-cat to arrive. Twitching his tail-tip once, the leader leaped down from his branch and strode across the clearing toward Lyric.

"Good, you're here. I was hoping to talk with you," Drought meowed. He sat down on the grassy earth and flexed his claws absently into the ground. "So how is it going with the two of them? Have they attempted to escape at all? The TreeClan kitten seemed to be more resistant than the RockClan one when I originally captured him. Little beast even scratched my nose." He frowned slightly. It wasn't as if Skykit had actually hurt him, but the TreeClanner had proven himself to be more of a nuisance than Dogkit. Perhaps it was because Skykit seemed to be older than the RockClanner, although it was still unusual how Dogkit had hardly protested as Drought had taken him from the nursery.

The black-and-white tom didn't know Lyric very well, but she had seemed to be the best cat for the task of looking after the hostages. Perhaps she had even picked up some valuable information from them...

[Lyricwhisper]

Convient, then." she replied with a snort of amusement. She waited as he spoke before shrugging. "The RockClan kit, Dogkit, didn't reveal anything about RockClan, I must say first. He almost tried to escape when I washed him in the river, but he knew to stay put. I haven't had time to talk to the TreeClan kit yet, but I will when I return to see if they are still fine." Lyric meowed.

[Deleted]

Drought gave a curt nod when Lyric had finished her little report. "Good. You seem to be in control of the situation," he responded with a small purr. It was great when things went smoothly, considering that he'd faced massive opposition in many of his other endeavors. Granted, taking over two Clans wasn't meant to be an easy feat, but he'd been successful regardless.

"If all goes well, you'll have a third kitten before long. Will you need anyone to bring prey for them, or can you handle it alone?" The kits might be hostages, but he didn't plan on letting them starve. Dead kits were useless for controlling Clans. In fact, if the hostages were to die, RockClan and TreeClan might even strike back.

[Lyricwhisper]

"They don't trust me, but they are not bad kits. I think they know the danger they can get into if they do not behave themselves." Lyric replied, her tail twitching. She only thought back to her own kits when she looked at the hostages. The four children she had in RockClan were, hopefully, surviving. But, she mustn't think of them. She was a different cat than she was moons back.

"I can handle it, but if you desire someone to help bring them prey, I would be most happy. They are growing kits, and they eat almost everything." she meowed.

[Deleted]

He'd expected that the kittens would not exactly trust Lyric. After all, she was not their mother. She was merely acting as a caretaker.

The tricky part will be taking complete control of the Clans. I can't keep these kits hostage forever.

Drought flicked an ear at the she-cat's comment. "I can get someone to do that; it's not a problem. Do you need anything else?"

| Whee, short posts. Anyway, I'll have someone drop in with prey during the next kitten thread. |

[Lyricwhisper]

"Not to my knowledge. Well, perhaps someone can take care of them? I wish to join a battle patrol, just one. It's been a while since I had been in a fight, and I think the kits will be fine with a good cat." she replied, blinking at Drought.

[Deleted]

The DeathClan leader hesitated slightly. He'd chosen Lyric solely because she could be trusted to watch over the kittens, and he didn't want some random peasant to take over the job.

"I suppose I can find someone to do that until the battle is over," Drought responded at last. Perhaps one of his three Elites could guard the hostages, although he wasn't sure if they would all join the next fight. I need to get a replacement for Galaxy soon.

"Of course, you are to resume caring for them as soon as we return."

[Lyricwhisper]

"Much thanks to you, Drought. I will gladly continue to take care of the kits." she replied, her head bowing in an act of respect and gratitude to her leader. Lyric glanced around the area, giving a sniff. "Would you like to see the kits personally soon? Maybe you can get something out of them." she meowed.

[Deleted]

Drought shook his head when Lyric asked if he would like to meet the kittens. "No. I doubt that they're hiding anything useful." In all honesty, he hated being around kits. This was especially true with Clan kittens. They were worthless scraps of fur who would only grow up to fight against him. However, they could be made valuable when used as hostages.

The black-and-white tom stood to leave. "When the time for the next battle is upon us, I shall send a replacement guard for the kits. I'll see you at the fight." With that, Drought turned and padded away.

[Lyricwhisper]

Lyric bowed her head at Drought. "Very well. Goodbye." Turning around, Lyric turned back to the direction of the kits.