A Thief in Your Midst

[Ten]

Shortwhisker spun around to listen to Spiderstripe. It pained him to hear her talk like that, but she hadn't asked anything wrong of him. She had only asked him to think about forgiving her. "Yes, S-Spiderstripe. I will d-do that, Spiderstripe." It was plain that she wanted him to go so far as forgive her, too, but Shortwhisker was wary of seeming anything but tough on crime. He could think about this away by himself -- his leader had given him permission to leave, and so he did.

[Gosh]

Spiderstripe tried to look cheerful. "Well," she meowed. She wanted to tell Dottedfoot, He'll come around, but she feared that might not be true. Ah well. Now for the present issue of a hunt. She meowed to Patchfur, "We'll have to find some of the other Experiment cats; they seem to be a bit scattered at the moment."

[Ten]

"That is Spiderstripe there," Woodstripe meowed, still some distance away. She was leading Darkfur and Nightbreeze to the experiment group. "You ask such questions, Nightbreeze! Bless your curiosity. The experiment will last ten days total, although this is the second. At present, there are eleven cats involved. All of them are Clanners --" She stopped and cleared her throat, catching herself. "-- except for Bronzefoot, I believe? He is far from a troublemaker, however." The observant among them might have noticed the brief flicker of her eyes to Patchfur and the departing Shortwhisker. "Ah, Spiderstripe! Would you believe it? These two are interested in joining us."

[Gosh]

"Splendid," Spiderstripe meowed, glad to see Woodstripe. But she nodded to them and meowed, "Nice to meet you. You're just in time to join myself and Patchfur in the next rat hunt. You'll be pleased to know our endeavors so far have been successful." Except for the Shortwhisker issue, she thought, her gaze darting to the disappearing tom.

[duckyaisha]

An immense sense of relief washed over Patchfur as Shortwhisker's obedient form trotted off. He also felt a little triumphant about Shorwhisker's defeat, though the black-and-white tom certainly didn't see it that way. Spiderstripe had listened to Patchfur, not him. Despite his conflicting views, she had realized that removing Shortwisker from the equation made sense. He was finally being listened to! This was a huge leap to him. Perhaps this would eventually lead to his ideas gaining accepting, and even being put into action.

The tom had a feeling that if Spiderstripe ordered him to kill himself, he wouldn't hesitate. Such cats, antlike in their actions, performing what was asked of them without question, were dangerous under a corrupt leader. They were weapons. Any leader who was entranced only by the delicious aroma of power could use these cats to their advantage, in activities such as murder or kit theft. And why not? A shiver ran down his spine as he thought of this. Usually the complaints he came up with were about the unfairness of it all, but this, this was different. This was life-threatening. Yet another strike against the traditional Clan government system.

Resolving to talk to Woodstripe, or maybe Spiderstripe, about this monumental issue later, he turned his mind away from the retreating tom and focused on Darkfur and Nightbreeze. He remembered them from somewhere, but only vaguely remembered their names, certainly not their personalities or views. There was nothing about them that he inherently disliked, which was something. "Hello there. If you're all ready, we should get started. Woodstripe, are you coming?"

[Ten]

Sidestepping Patchfur's question for a moment, Woodstripe introduced him to the newcommers. "These are Nightbreeze and Darkfur." She directed a nod at each as she spoke their names. "You know Spiderstripe, our leader, and this here is Patchfur. Pardon me, but which others are assigned to the hunt? I will come if you need me, Spiderstripe."

[Gosh]

ooc| Since I leave in a little more than a week, I won't have Spidey participate in the hunt. Is that alright?

bic|

"Patchfur and I were going to find some more cats to hunt, but now that you, Nightbreeze, and Darkfur are here, I think we have a good amount of cats. Although..." She hesitated for a second. "I was thinking of going to find some of the other Experiment cats who seem to have disappeared somewhere. Redstream, Bronzefoot, Barkpaw, and a few others come to mind."

[Ten]

ooc| Yeah, good idea.

bic|

Woodstripe nodded, understanding Spiderstripe's desire to gather the participants, and she assumed this meant Spiderstripe was passing leadership of the hunt on to her. "Four cats ought to be sufficient. Are you two ready to prove your dedication to this endeavor? We must remember that this meat will not just be for ourselves, but for the group."

[Gosh]

ooc| Wait a second. Nightbreeze is mine too.
*headdesk* Now what?

bic|

Spiderstripe nodded back to Woodstripe. She did desire to speak to Woodstripe about the Shortwhisker issue, but she was also wondering where a lot of the participants were. She meowed, "Good luck," and padded off.

[Ten]

ooc| >< Oh. /forgot

um... It'd be nice if Orangestorm could come over and implement the rebel plan, but in case Darky's busy... Nightbreeze can say he wants to meet the cats they're feeding before having to work for them? That sounds more like something Darkfur would say. mm... Darkfur could say it, and suggest Nightbreeze do the same. I don't know.