Chapter Text
Dirt meticulously scored a single claw through the fallen tree in their camp. He went over it a few times to chip the bark away in a lasting impression, then blew on the mark to clean it up. He admired the craftsmanship and unity of his tallies for a moment before backing away. His chart was beginning to stack up in a noticeable formation, visibly indicating the full payments they had made to Broken Remains. Dark quietly came up behind him to place his large paw on the new addition.
"Way- way to go back there, that was a good call," he purred, leaning over to brush his mane against Dirt's shoulder. Dirt nodded his thanks and turned for conversation.
"I just thought a revision would make things easier. It's going to be a hard winter with how much we've already burned through and it's only going to get worse.. Spunky's out right now, though she should be back soon." He shook his head and messily leapt up to sit on the log. His chest hit the tree and he heaved to scratch his way higher. Once seated, Dirt wagged his short tail invitingly and Dark bounced up as well.
"I agree, but you still need to eat-"
"We."
" We still need to eat, but I'm not blind. I know that you're lack- lacking nutrition by the way you struggled to get up here. I know you care about us, I only wish you cared more about yourself." Dark explained, brushing his bushy tail against Dirt's lower back.
"I do care about myself, but I care about you and Spunky more. It's my responsibility to make sure you guys are taken care of." Dirt reasoned, his dulling gaze finding refuge in the snowflakes that pierced his companions black fur.
"We willingly followed you into this, Dirt. This was our choice. We know you have great intentions and we fall in line with your same belief. We're here to support you because you do the same for us." Dark mewed to Dirt's blank stare. No reply came from the ragged, sicky man. Dark tipped his head and tightened the corner of his mouth. "W- when did you la- when did you last sleep?" He asked, leaning in to inspect the leader's sunken eyes among a field of freckles.
"Not since I was a kit." Dirt replied, offering a faulty smile.
"I'm being serious! You need to rest." Dark whined.
"Can't- I have too much on my mind. I think I'm broke for good." Dirt shrugged his bony shoulders. Dark made eye contact with him and fell captivated in the way snow hit his drooping fur. The light flakes weighed down his cheeks and urged him to fall, so he raised his paw to clean the frost. Tears of desperation shimmered in his blue eyes as he did so.
"We're going to save you." Dark absentmindedly hushed, allowing his touch to stall. Dirt responded by angling his head into the warmth.
"There's no saving this mess," He replied as his eyes closed, "but I'd appreciate the effort to try." He raised a nimble paw to touch it to Dark's. The black tom stiffened as he felt his body flare up. Regardless of the winter that engulfed them, he was warm in the grasp of the freckled feline.
"Then I'll give it all I've got." Dark sniffed, giving a polite rub to his face before pulling his arm back.
"That's all I can ask for." Dirt placed his own paw down and realized Spunky stood witness in the center of camp. She held a chipmunk in her mouth, so meager and frost bitten, then placed it down. The state of the prey instantly caught the attention of both the cats on the log.
"I found this already killed and hidden among the roots of a tree. Food is too scarce to be abandoned like this, so I can't help but assume the hunter had other matters to attend to, or forgot it." Spunky nudged the frozen corpse with her nose.
"Do you assume The Rebels did this?" Dirt accused, sniffing the rodent that bore no scent.
"No, it was too far on our land for them to trespass unnoticed. It's someone else." Spunky argued, severity edging her tone.
"Broken Remains, perhaps?" Dark added, realizing the lack of scent as well.
"Better not be." Dirt huffed, stepping back.
"Well, whoever did it, they're in these woods. I say we keep our guard and stick close." Spunky flicked her tail and wearily scanned the surroundings.
"I agree, but this things so frozen, you'd- you'd break a tooth trying to get into it. Come on, let's go see if we can find anything else." Dark stepped between them and smiled. The trio agreed and all took their leave into the deep woods.
Fresh snow crept up their legs, but the compact ice kept them above the thick of it. The sky above was quiet, with the only sound being their breaths and the crunch of the ground. Dirt led the group with Dark behind him and Spunky trailing the back. The leader at the front kept their formation, but spoke as he surveyed the land in front of him.
"We should try fishing. I know we all lack the skill, but nothing else is showing. If we break the ice, then maybe we can draw the fish up to us." He suggested.
"Sounds good to me, I don't feel safe being confined like this." Spunky checked the barren tree tops as she spoke. Dark hummed his agreement, and Dirt navigated them to the stream that divided them from The Rebels. They exited the woods and approached the frozen water. The ice was clear and thin enough to see beneath, so they instantly spotted the slim shadows lurking below.
Dark and Spunky used their paws and tails to move the snow for a comfortable sitting area. While they worked, Dirt trained his eyes on the opposing end of the forest. He inspected the thick treeline and prepared himself for another confrontation with his brother, but no one appeared. Confident The Rebels would mind their own business for once, he then turned his attention to the city. From this position, he could see the looming, narrow, yellow machines that towered over the crumbled buildings. Even in the snow and drizzles of rain that dared to fall, the structures were hard at work in the center of Grinstead. They kept a distance Dirt felt comfortable with so he turned back to his friends.
Spunky and Dark waited in their respective spaces and Dirt took his place next to his fellow tom. "I..I'll break it for us. Catch me if I slip, ok?" Dark grinned to the sniffling cat and placed his paw on the ice.
Dirt adjusted his posture and readied himself. Spunky mimicked the movement and kept a trained eye on her son. "We're here for you." She spoke, beating Dirt to responding first.
Dark chuffed then placed both his paws on the ice, jumped up, and whacked them on the frozen surface. The ice exploded and split in all directions, causing Dark's front legs to dive below. Quick as ever, Dirt shot forward to grab his nape while Spunky tugged the middle of his tail. They steadied him back on the snow faster than he could have fallen in, confirming him safe. "Thank you guys!" Dark shook off his paws and tried to lick himself dry.
Spunky prowled closer to the gap and peered down in it. Dirt was ready to join her in starting, but he found himself stiffer than the ice with a pounding chest. His chest heaved and clouds escaped his mouth as he caught his fragile breath. He realized his legs were quivering from fear and then registered that Dark was watching him.
"Are you okay? Do you want to go back home?" He offered.
"No, you just gave me quite a scare." Dirt confessed, leaning in with a tight expression.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I promise that I'm safe. The streams not that deep, nothing would have happened to me, but I'm glad you were there to help." Dark leant in as well then kindly pressed his nose to the others forehead. Dirt closed his eyes and let himself go lax. Dark pulled away slowly, gave a smile, then leaned down to the mess he'd made. "You wanna try first, Dirt?" He offered, to which Dirt nodded.
Dirt edged himself closer to the ice and readied his angled paw. His reflection glared back at him with an accentuated focus on his hooded, baggy eyes. The image warped with the beginning of rainfall, causing a distortion, but a shadow over his reflected eyes drew him back to hunting. He sniffed his leaking nose and plummeted his arm into the face as a fish swam past. Slimy scales met his pads so he cupped his paw, dug his claws in, then messily hoisted himself backwards. Unskilled with fishing, the slippery creature flopped and flew out of his paws then wobbled in the snow. The trio scurried up to surround it as it jumped about, but Dirt was the one to pin it and sink his fangs into its middle. Its tail smacked his cheek repeatedly, but he thrashed his head to fasten his teeth in for the kill. The skinny, gray fish dropped limp in his grasp and he spit it out behind them.
"Hey! You caught one!" Dark exclaimed and wagged his tail above his back. Spunky hollowed out the snow bank it laid on and nervously looked at the stained blanket of frost under them.
"We’ll get better at this with practice, but I'll give it a shot next. Let's see if I can top that!" Spunky excitedly trotted up to the shattered ice and mimicked Dirt's prior position. The two Tom's sat behind her, with Dark watching his mother proudly and Dirt nervously surveying the area.
He agreed with Spunky about not wanting to be in the woods, but he didn't feel much safer out in the open. Then he realized, did he feel safe anywhere? He twitched uncomfortably as he zoned out but practically leapt in the sky when Spunky tore a fish out of the stream. She swatted it with so much force that it did the same motion Dirt's did, except this time, it was heading straight for his unaware face. Miraculously, he perched up on his hind legs with his arms at his chest, then snapped forward to catch it square in his mouth. Dirt carried through with the motion and landed twisted with his front paws in the snow and his back sticking out. His jaws locked on it so tightly that its chunky body snapped in his mouth. He accidentally swallowed in shock, but hacked the fish out of his mouth followed by a splatter of scarlet. Spunky thought the first catch was brutal and bloody, but this one made her eyes go wide.
From what they could tell, the fish was once a tinted green shade, but Dirt had managed to burst it in half to the point that it barely held together. The prey laid slain in front of them with stripped parts of scale. Dirt glared at it with so much disgust, he wanted to run back home and forget what he had done. Spunky cleared her throat and went to clean her drenched paw. Dark looked towards her for words but she motioned him to the leader with a flick of her ear.
"I think we have enough now.." Dark oddly mewed as he stepped closer to grab the mangled fish's tail. As he lifted up, its head came separated from the rest and slumped in the snow. Dirt flinched at its division and wheezed so deeply, his entire body shook with his frustration.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I think I'm under too much stress." He admitted as he reached down to grasp the fish head in his mouth. Spunky generously piled snow on top of the blood spilt.
"We're all on edge, it's alright. Let's just take this home." Spunky suggested as she picked up the remaining fish they had caught. All three Outcasts held a sizable fish, or fish half, and turned from the creek. They retraced their steps through the snow with Spunky at the front and Dark at the back to cover their tracks. His billowing, bushy tail swept over the marks with ease and disguised their presence. The Outcasts left the stream as neat as they found it, except for the smashed ice hole. But their wreckage could be blamed on any other factor, so they ignored the fracture and continued on.
Returning home by following their prints was like a walk in the park. Spunky held her head high above the frost to keep her fish from dragging, and resisted the urge to recoil at its scent. The boys behind her did the same, though their collective halves weren't as big as hers. They continued through the woods in muffled silence til Spunky stopped in her tracks. Dirt bumped against her tail and stumbled in surprise. He recollected himself to see her with one leg lifted and her large ears swiveling. She appeared to hear something the toms couldn't and stalled to a pause. The crew stiffened, each cat spinning in all directions to wordlessly assist their alert friend. Dark fumbled to twist in the deep snow, but managed to turn around. Dirt instinctively cowered between his guards, his yellow eyes flicking across the blanketed forest. Their labored breaths fogged the air and escaped their aching bellies. The Outcasts equally had the same idea and their claws defensively slipped out. United, they scanned the bare trees for a flash of anything out of place. Spunky suddenly fluffed up and spun to face the direction they came from.
"There!" She yelped, dropping her fish as she caught sight of a brown pelted figure in the distance. They were frozen like the lake and frightened after cracking a twig. The stranger blended into their surroundings with a bark like pelt and white underbelly, deeming it a miracle that they had been spotted. But their clumsiness gave them away, and no amount of hiding could protect them from Spunky's attentiveness. They fled in the direction The Outcasts knew to be trapped land.
The trio immediately left their prey and gave chase with the tall and lean molly bounding in front of her peers. Spunky leapt through the snowbanks, showering the slower men behind her in flakes. The powder washed over their faces and backs but encouraged them to keep pace. She sped after the suspect like a hare, her tail billowing behind her. She outran Dirt and Dark and neared the suspect. As she approached, she noticed soft pink lining the other mollies belly. The stark and apparent redness caught her attention faster than their initial sighting did, and fueled her to accelerate.
"Wait! Please, let us help you! You're approaching dangerous territory!" Spunky called out, diving in the snow to veer at a side angle to the other cat. She ignored the cries of her leader and son from behind and continued to give chase. The stranger only sped up as well, her brown pelt streaking through the shimmering ground. Spunky dove over branches and skidded on ice to catch up, but didn't slow down as spiral razors jutted from the snow. They had reached the vast field of traps that surrounded the old cabin Flare was slain in, and she felt her heart rate rocketing.
She rounded the edge of the battlefield, taking careful note of which trees had ropes tied to their nimble branches, and kept her eyes trained on the other. The tabby chose to cross straight through the hub, tuning out all of Spunkys protests. She skipped and sloppily lunged over the visible traps, but avoided the house protected by them. Frustrated and emotional at the fellow mother, Spunky neared the center as well. She angled her sprint inwards, effectively setting off a tree trap that snapped at her heels. She tumbled in the thick snow and scrambled to see the netting that dangled from above her head. The iced mechanism had just missed the lilac Somali. However, the hefty string whipped her ankle as it drew up. The laceration stung as blood began to bubble from the gash. Spunky laid injured in the frost and cursed herself at the brash decision. Dirt and Dark rushed to her in the distance, their short legs galloping in the snow. Spunky grit her teeth and lifted her head to refocus on the escaping molly.
Just out of the treeline and past the rows of barbed wire that captured a black cat so long ago, the tabby had navigated safely through the blades. She began her skittering journey up the hill, and passed the spot where Lash and Rasha had ambushed another young mother like her. Her paws flailed as she scrambled uphill, creating an avalanche of snow in her wake. Spunky admired the dot of oak fur scaling the pearly ground with a sigh of disappointment. By now, her two companions collapsed at her side. Dark went straight to licking her wound but she lightly kicked him away.
"What were you thinking to go after a stranger and follow them here!?" Dirt exclaimed, inspecting the activated trap that hung above them.
"She has kits and if she's venturing all the way out here for food then she must be desperate," Spunky wheezed, her voice straining.
"Even if she did stop, we couldn't do anything to help her. We can barely support ourselves." The freckled leader reasoned.
"I want to find her, so either you're coming with me or you're not." Spunky grumbled and shoved herself to her paws.
"Don't be silly, of course we're- of course we're coming with you! It'll be like a trip down memory lane!" Dark cheered as he helped his mother up. Dirt assisted as well, and caught the other tom's gaze as he did so. He offered a weary smile to the black cat and was gifted a toothy grin in return.
Spunky excitedly waved her tail and nodded her gratitude. She stretched her scabbed leg and shook her pelt free of snow. "Right then, let's get a move on before she gets too far."
She took a few staggered steps to find an angle that wouldn't strain her wound, and guided the group on wards. Together, The Outcasts carefully approached the barbed wire that stretched on as far as they could see. Spunky noted the brown tufts matted in the razors and the fresh stains of scarlet that dotted the ground under them. There was no way around this wire, for jumping off a branch could potentially impale them in it, so they all crouched down to their bellies and prepared themselves. Spunky swallowed her hesitation- and ignored her better judgement- then began to creep forward.