The Old Fan Fiction Page

Warriors Series 5.5: Echoes of the War
Novella 1: Sushi’s Society
Chapter Ten

     “Sushi, are you awake yet?”

     The elderly she-cat lifted her head, blinking blearily. “Almost,” she muttered. She rose shakily to her paws, feeling her aged joints creak in protest.

     Tooth watched her with amusement sparkling in his yellow eyes. “Getting slow in your old age, Sushi?” he joked.

     Sushi gave a mock growl, swiping out at the gray tom with a sheathed paw. “Don’t talk back to your elders, young cat,” she growled, though amusement trickled into her tone. “Old or not, I can still rip your ears off.”

     Tooth just purred his amusement. He waited as the elderly leader stepped away from her nest, shaking out her pelt. “Come on, you promised you’d speak to the trainees today,” he reminded her. “They’re waiting for you.”

     She just grunted in reply, waving her tail dismissively as she followed Tooth out of the den.

     Three and a half greenleafs had passed since Sushi had become the leader of BloodClan. Since then, Sushi had made her nest exactly where she had when she was nursing her kits, in the abandoned twoleg building. The den was large enough to house multiple cats; she could see all of their nests laid out along the floor of the building. But it wasn’t just any cats who lived in the building that had come to be known as the Council Home.

     As Sushi and Tooth stepped out of the building and into the alley beyond, she was greeted with a familiar sight. The ten cats of the Council were seated on the cobblestones, with the trainees sitting in front of them, listening to every word. All of them looked up as Sushi and Tooth approached. “Ah, Sushi, good of you to join us,” one of the Council members, Tooth’s brother, joked. The gray tom had once been one of Scourge’s guards, called Fang, but after Sushi had begun reforming the group, he had requested to take back his old name, Cobweb. Some of the guards had followed his example, but some, like Tooth, preferred to keep their guard names.

     Sushi settled in with the Council, sitting before the trainees. Six eager young faces stared back at her. At twelve moons old, Penny and Puddle were the oldest of the trainees. They were at the very end of their training. Bounce, Beetle, and Swipe were two moons younger than Tire and Flash’s litter, and generally more rambunctious. The youngest was Chatter at seven moons old, who had started his training a little over a moon ago.

     “Well, let’s see how you shape up,” Sushi mewed, whiskers twitching. She sat directly in front of the trainees, tail wrapped around her paws. The trainees drew themselves up taller, staring at their leader in awe. “Show me how much you can remember of our traditions. Recite the twelve laws of the Code of the Street.”

     Six pairs of ears shot up in interest. It was Chatter who spoke first. “Ooo, I remember! The first code is that no cat may harm another, except in defense of themselves or someone else.”

     Sushi dipped her head. “Very good. Next one?”

     “No cat may take what belongs to another cat,” Penny mewed immediately. The reddish-brown she-cat was smaller than her brother, with a soft pelt, but she possessed a sharp intelligence that made Sushi think she might be a good contender for the Council some day.

     Her brother Puddle spoke next. “The next law says that any dispute that cannot be solved peacefully among the concerned cats, must be brought to the Council and the leader to settle.”

     “And then, no cat may ignore a kit in danger or pain,” Bounce added.

     Swipe mewed, “No cat should waste food by killing prey they won’t eat.”

     “Avoid the attention of twolegs – don’t take their food unless desperate, and never draw their attention to the existence of the Society of the Street.”

     Sushi listened, her heart warm with pride. The young cats of her Society had learned well. “Well remembered,” she rasped. “What’s next?”

     Penny started to speak, but Chatter cut her off. “Cats who can’t hunt or care for themselves will live in the Home of Elders, and will be cared for by the trainees of the Society, as part of their training. Ooo, and the next one is that a cat becomes a trainee when they turn six moons old, and each trainee must live in the Council Home for their six moons of training, before they can become full self-reliants.”

     The red-brown tabby glared at Chatter a moment, before picking up the list. “A cat who comes to live in Twolegplace after they are over trainee age do not have to train as trainees if they don’t want. But they won’t be given the title of self-reliant unless they do, and they must allow any kits they may have to be trained as trainees.”

     “There must be a Council of ten cats at any given time,” Beetle mewed. “New Council members must be voted on by the Counil, and must be at least two leafbares old. They will advise the Leader and make important decisions for the Society.”

     Swipe mewed, “The Council and Leader will vote on all important decisions for the Society – each cat has one vote, but the leader’s vote counts for three. They will vote on when trainees are ready to become self-reliants, whether a cat is qualified to be a border guard or a healer, who the next leader will be, and how to settle disputes between cats.”

     Sushi nodded. “Excellent. And the last law of our code?”

     It was Bounce who spoke now. “The Council cannot decide to have a cat killed for any crime, unless it is deemed absolutely necessary to prevent the cat from being a danger to others.”

     Sushi purred, rising to her paws. “Very well done, all of you.” She couldn’t help but be proud, even if none of these young cats were her kin. They were the legacy of all that she had worked so hard to build, these last three greenleafs.

     There were approving murmurs from the other Council members. One lanky ginger she-cat stood, amusement sparking in her eyes. “They certainly listen better than we did at that age, huh Sushi?” she teased.

     Even though she knew the she-cat only meant it in good fun, Sushi couldn’t help but flinch. It had been seasons since her vicious attack on Tally and her brother Drip, but she still felt guilty about it. As Tally reached down to nudge Penny playfully with her muzzle, Sushi could see the large tear in her ear, and the long-healed scars along her side.

     The other Council members also rose to their paws. A few of them were former members of Scourge’s guard, who had decided to help Sushi make Twolegplace a better place to live. Snipe, Cobweb, and Tooth were among those. Tally hadn’t been a guard, but she had suffered from the cruelty of the guards first-hand, and had proved to be intelligent and fiercely protective of the cats of Twolegplace, which made her invaluable as a member of the Council.

     Sushi turned her gaze from the older Council cats, looking instead at the younger cats. A proud purr escaped her as she gazed at three particular cats, mewing encouragement to the trainees. Sunny, Snuggle, and Shy were all Council members – they had helped Sushi come up with the idea of the Council in the first place. Shy was still quiet as ever, but he had gained a lot of confidence, and he had helped come up with a lot of the Code. Snuggle’s compassion made him perfect for the Council, and Sunny had matured into an intelligent, kind, and courageous cat. Sushi couldn’t be more proud of her.

     A dark tabby tom approached Sunny, touching noses with her before both cats rubbed muzzles, purring. Sniff was a member of the Council, as well as Sunny’s mate. His mother Minty had returned to Twolegplace with her kits shortly after Sushi became leader. She didn’t say much about what had happened to her mate Willie, only that she no longer wanted anything to do with him. Minty was an elder now, and all four of her kits had taken important positions in the Society. Icicle was one of the three healers, while Cloud and Snowflake were border guards.

     The last two Council members were the youngest, a pair of sisters named Sunbeam and Tawny. They had been young when Sushi started forming the Society, but their enthusiasm and their dedication to helping form the new laws had impressed Sushi enough to make them members of the Council.

     Penny’s voice broke Sushi from her thoughts. “Are you going to watch our training today?” the young she-cat asked, watching her leader hopefully.

     Sushi shook off her thoughts. “I am,” she told the young she-cat. “I’ll be watching you and your littermates particularly. Impress me today, and I’ll get the Council to take a vote on whether you’re ready to be self-reliants.”

     Both Penny and Puddle gaped at their leader, eyes blazed with joy. They bounded, joyful as kits, after their fellow trainees as the Council began leading them further down the alley. It was the duty of the Council to train the trainees of the Society; they were to be taught how to hunt, how to fight, how to avoid twolegs and navigate twolegplace safely. The trainees lived in the Council Home during their moons of training, though they could visit family and friends whenever they wanted. And for two young cats, Sushi got the feeling that they wouldn’t be confined to the Council Home much longer.

     As she stared after the Council and the trainees, something bittersweet clenched her heart. She had a feeling that wasn’t the only change coming to the Council Home soon.

SCENEBREAK

     After training finished for the day, Sushi decided to take a walk on her own. Her joints were stiff with age, and she couldn’t move as fast as she used to, but she managed to keep up a steady pace as she swept across the edge of Twolegplace. As she neared one of the bigger entrances into Twolegplace from the outside, she slowed, gazing curiously at the rooftops. Sure enough, a pair of eyes glowed in the growing darkness, staring down at her. “Who’s there?” a voice called down, friendly in tone.

     Sushi stepped out of the shadow of the alley, calling up, “It’s me.”

     “Sushi!” The glow of the eyes disappeared for a moment. Then a dark gray tom began descending from the roof, leaping the last few tail-lengths to the ground. The scruffy tabby darted across the street, quickly reaching Sushi. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” For a moment, his ice-blue gaze filled with alarm. “Is something wrong?”

     “No, no, nothing’s wrong Scruff,” Sushi assured the tom quickly. “I was just out for a walk and wanted to see how the borders were.” Scruff was one of the various border guards of the Street Society. There were four ranks that a fully trained adult cat could achieve in the society – self-reliant, border guard, healer, and Council member. The most general of these was self-reliant. Self-reliants were cats recognized as being fully able to hunt and fight, and to be able to take care of themselves. They hunted for their own prey, found their own dens, and lived alone, or with whatever friends and family they chose. No particular duties were asked of them, other than to follow the Code of the Streets, and defend their fellow Society members if need be.

     Border guards like Scruff required additional training from the existing border guards, after their training with the Council – it was the same for healers. Border guards were expected to patrol and keep an eye on the borders of Twolegplace. They would welcome any new cats into Twolegplace when they arrived, inform them about the Society, and direct them towards the Council Home so they could introduce themselves to the Council. They had to be able to fight, in case any cats coming into Twolegplace posed a threat, but mostly they served to welcome and inform newcomers, not to fend them off.

     Healers were similar to Clan medicine cats, with some exceptions. There wasn’t just one at a time – there were generally a pawful of them at a time, spread out among different areas in Twolegplace so there was always a healer nearby if a cat needed one. Currently, there were three. Scraps was the first healer the Society’d had, and he was the oldest. He was the one who had trained Icicle and Bright, the other healers in the Society. They didn’t speak as much to their ancestors, the Cats of the Stars, as much as medicine cats did, and there was no restriction on healers having mates and kits. Mostly, they used the herbs they could find beyond Twolegplace in order to heal the sick and injured.

     Being a member of the Council was the highest rank a cat could achieve, beyond becoming leader. Council members were highly respected, and highly influential in how the Society was run. They trained the young cats of the Society, they voted on all the important issues, and they decided on the new leader. The Society’s leader had a lot of influence as well, but Sushi had wanted to make sure that the Council had enough power to temper the leader, while still giving the leader enough to be in charge. She had seen what happened when one cat held too much power, and she never wanted to see it again.

     Pushing her thoughts away, Sushi settled in beside Scruff, gazing out at Twolegplace. “It’s funny,” she murmured. “I was so miserable here when Scourge was in power. But I still missed it after I left, even though my family was far safer in the forest. I’m a Twolegplace cat at heart – always have been, I guess.” She lowered her head. “It was always my destiny to come back to this place.”

     Scruff glanced at her, surprised. “Feeling sentimental tonight?” he teased lightly, though worry flashed in his ice-blue gaze.

     Sushi shook out her pelt. “I suppose,” she admitted. “Just thinking about how much has changed since I became leader.” She grew somber. “And how much blood had to be shed before it could happen.”

     Scruff was quiet for a moment as he gazed at Sushi. “You saved us. You know that, right?” he murmured. “When you turned us into the Society, you saved us from just being BloodClan for the rest of our lives. At least now, we protect each other, and the weak and elderly are cared for. Life is valued in our Society, the way it wasn’t in BloodClan. And it’s all thanks to you.”

     The leader stared at Scruff, surprised at how sincere the gruff tom sounded. She couldn’t help but be touched by his words. She knew he was right – the Society was a group of peace, so different from BloodClan of old. It hadn’t been easy to turn BloodClan into the Street Society either. Sushi had been careful about it, introducing change slowly, an act of mercy here, a suggestion of compassion there. But it still hadn’t been enough for some cats. Frenzy and Viper had led a rebellion against Sushi with some of their supporters. After she had soundly defeated them and exiled them from Twolegplace, she had really started to change things. And now, three greenleafs later, the Society was flourishing, though the effort of casting out the traitors and protecting her Soceity for three greenleafs had cost her all but one of her lives.

     It wasn’t all good news, though. Catflap had died not long after they returned to Twolegplace. Wrapper was gone too now, having died a few moons ago from an illness even Scraps couldn’t save her from. She had lived a long life, though, and Sushi knew that she and their parents were watching the Society from the stars, safe and strong and happy.

     Sushi bumped her nose against Scruff’s cheek, mewing, “Thank you for what you’ve said.” She pulled back, gazing at the scruffy tom proudly. “My daughter raised you well.”

     Scruff gazed back at her, his ice-blue gaze identical to his mother’s. “Thank you, Sushi.”

     She glanced away from her daughter’s son, looking back out into Twolegplace. She knew what had to happen next. And as much as it pained her to let go of all she’d accomplished, she knew it was time.

     And she knew that, for once, she had done enough.

SCENEBREAK

     “Everyone, gather!”

     It was a few days after the assessment of the trainees. The Council, the trainees, and a few self-reliants who’d wanted to attend were present. They were sitting around a garbage can inside the Council Home, which Sushi sat atop of for ceremonies.

     Penny and Puddle were sitting just in front of the garbage can, looking up at Sushi with wide eyes as she mewed, “The Council has concluded their vote. They have decided that these two young cats are ready to become self-reliant members of this Society.” She lifted her chin, beginning the ceremony. “With the power bestowed upon me, the leader of the Society of the Street, I ask that the cats here today stand as witness. The cats before me have completed the training, and have shown themselves to be brave, honest, and kind. We welcome them today as full self-reliants of this Society.”

     She gazed down at Penny first. “Penny, will you uphold the Code of the Street, and keep the peace of the street?”

     “I will,” the red-brown cat said clearly.

     “Your vow has been heard. Your cleverness and dedication will serve you well in the days to come. This Council now recognizes you as a self-reliant.” Penny bowed her head to Sushi, and Sushi bowed her head in return. Once she completed the ceremony for Penny, Sushi turned her attention next to her brother. “Puddle, will you uphold the Code of the Street, and keep the peace of the street?”

     The black-and-white tom gazed up at Sushi, blue eyes blazing with pride. “I will,” he promised.

     Sushi continued, “Your vow has been heard. Your patience and curiosity will serve you well in the days to come. This Council now recognizes you as a self-reliant.” The young tom dipped his head to Sushi, and she bowed her head back to him. When both cats lifted their heads again, Sushi could see that the new self-reliants were barely containing their pride. They departed back into the crowd, greeting their friends and family with cheerful mews.

     Sushi allowed them to celebrate for a little while, then gave a yowl for silence. Every cat fell silent, looking back at Sushi in surprise. “I have one more announcement to make,” she rasped, tucking her tail around her paws. “My last announcement, in fact.”

     Murmurs of surprise rose from the self-reliants, healers, and guards in the den, but her words came as no surprise to the Counil. They had spent days discussing Sushi’s proposal, and had given her their approval. She again felt the bittersweet mix of relief and regret as she continued, “I am stepping down as the leader of the Society of the Street. I will be retiring to the Home of Elders, to live out the last of my days in peace.”

     The other cats continued to express surprise, but Sushi ignored them. Her gaze finally seeked out on cat from the crowd. Scraps was just as old as she was, but she knew he wouldn’t retire while he could still help other cats as a healer. The elderly tom sat beside Snuggle and Shy; when he caught her gaze, he gaze Sushi an encouraging nod.

     Sushi waved her tail for silence, continuing, “The Council and I have voted upon the next leader. Your new leader will be Sunny!”

     Sunny was seated in the crowd near the rest of the Council. As Sushi’s gaze fell upon her daughter, she could see that Sunny’s family was seated with her. Her mate Sniff sat beside her, pressing his muzzle against her cheek and murmuring his congratulations to her. Sunny’s three kits were also seated nearby. Scruff was there, gazing back at his mother with pride. His sister Soot sat beside him. The tiny black she-cat looked eerily like Scourge, with her tiny frame, night-black pelt, and her one white paw. But her eyes were Sushi’s golden eyes, and they held a warmth that Scourge’s never had.

     Sunny’s third kit sat a little apart from the others. Sushi felt a prickle of concern as she finally saw the large pale gray she-cat, seated a little away from her parents, her golden gaze fixed straight ahead. Sushi never did understand why Sunny had named her daughter Scorch, after the name Scourge had given her as a kit. And while she loved Scorch as much as any of Sunny’s kits, there was something about Scorch’s ambition that made her uneasy. Still, she didn’t think it was anything she had to worry about.

     Returning her gaze to Sunny, Sushi called out, “Sunny, step forward.”

     The tiny ginger tabby rose to her paws, padding through the crowd until she stood just before the garbage can. Sunny kept herself composed, but Sushi could see the excitement and pride in her gaze. But she also knew that Sunny had earned every moment of this, and all these seasons later, Sushi believed her daughter was finally ready to be a leader.

     “Sunny,” she mewed clearly, “Do you promise to lead the Society of the Street with compassion, intelligence, and caution, keeping the peace on the street and protecting the cats of Twolegplace, for nine lifetimes?”

     Sunny dipped her head, fierce conviction in her tone as she mewed, “I promise.”

     “Very well,” Sushi said. “Then tonight, I and a guard will escort you to the Moonstone. I will tell the Cats of the Stars of my retirement, and you will be granted the nine lives of a leader. May you lead this Society well, my daughter.”

     A cheer rose up from the crowd. “Sunny! Sunny! Sunny!” The cats in the Council Home surrounded Sunny, cheering for her in proud, joyful voices. Sushi remained on the garbage can, watching with pride.

     It had been a hard road. She had killed and hurt so many cats for the sake of her family, and her first five leafbares had been lived in fear and hatred. But through it all, she had protected her family to any end. Now, all of Twolegplace was her family. She had taken the cruel system of BloodClan and torn it down piece by piece, and now the Society of the Street made sure every cat lived in peace, not fear. All of her sacrifices and suffering had led to this. Finally, she felt like it was all worth it. She had been forgiven. She had done enough, and now, she could rest.

     And then, when her time was done, she would be with the cats she loved for the rest of eternity.

END OF NOVELLA ONE

-~-

COVER: http://jayie-the-hufflepuff.deviantart.com/art/Cover-Sushi-s-Society-Novella-One-608430971
ALLEGIANCES: http://jayie-the-hufflepuff.deviantart.com/art/Sushi-s-Society-Allegiances-608432627
CHAPTER ONE: http://jayie-the-hufflepuff.deviantart.com/art/EOTW-Sushi-s-Society-Chapter-One-608430691
PREVIOUS: http://jayie-the-hufflepuff.deviantart.com/art/EOTW-Sushi-s-Society-Chapter-Nine-613970143

Yep, so we’ve finally reached the end of Sushi’s Society. ^^ I’m sorry for the extreme infodumps in this chapter, but I wanted to get out the needed information about the Street Society. Anyway, I’ll post the allegiances for this chapter, as well as a document with the Code of the Street, in case anyone was still confused.

So yeah, Sushi has turned BloodClan into the Street Society. Infodumps aside, I hope you enjoyed learning about the Society and how they work. It was fun coming up with the structure of this group, and the various ranks. I hope you liked it as well.

It’s a bit sad, being done with this story and these characters. I loved writing about Sushi and her family, building their characters, and it’s weird being done with them so quickly. But I really should get back to Trail of Ashes.

Speaking of Trail of Ashes, I did promise that this story would have some connection to what’s going on in Trail of Ashes, and that it would be revealed in this chapter. For those of you who caught on – yes, the Scorch in this chapter, SUnny’s daughter, is the same Scorch who is a member of Breeze’s group of rogues in Trail of Ashes. I know, it’s a really small connection, but I did say the connection would be small. And it might not seem so small later *hint hint*, as we might see more of Scorch’s character and importance to the story later, as we learn more about Breeze’s rogues. As for how she went from a self-reliant of the Society to one of Breeze’s rogues – let’s just say she tried to take power she thought she deserved and was exiled for it. I’ll hold off on saying more, in case I go into it more in the story later.

This particular chapter takes place around the time of the Dark Battle for the forest Clans, by the way. As of this chapter, Scorch, Soot, and Scruff (I had to make them all S- names, since Sunny’s litter was, and her mate was an S- too, I just had to. XD) are 2 1/2 years old. By the time we see Scorch in Waning Moon, she’s about 4 years old. Sushi is dead by then, as is Scraps, safe and happy among the Cats of the Stars.

Anyway, I hope y’all enjoyed this story as much as I did, I will have the allegiances and Code posted soon, and then it’s back to Trail of Ashes. 😀