Young Writers Society

Dutchess

It was dark with the last orange, red streaks quickly fading as the sun went down. Still, she kept her head high and walked through the park. Tom wasn't here. Hardly anyone was. No one took their pets out his late anyway.

"Stupid to come out this late," Dutchess muttered. Though, she was still spotless from her bath. Her fur was a brilliant white contrasting spectacularly to the darkening sky.

"I can't believe I talked myself to come out here," she mumbled again.

"Well hey there princess," a stray smiled at her, strutting towards her.

Dutchess frowned. "It's Dutchess actually and I'd prefer it if you kept your distance...you don't smell very good at all," she responded snootily.

This made the cat laugh. Dutchess didn't see why all these strays thought she, as well as her name, was funny.

"Don't surprise me none," he grinned. "You don't remember me do you sweetheart?" He asked.

"No offense," Dutchess sneered, where offense was obviously taked. "But I hardly ever talk to strays, much less get on a name to name basis with them."

"You might want to watch who you talk to princess. There ain't no Paws or Tom to come save you this time," he growled.

"It's Dutchess actually," she said, angrily. "I'm believe it or not, I'm not sfraid of you, stray!"

**Anyone want to come talk to them? ^_^**

Okay...for some reason, I have decided to write Border's stuff in third person lol. So...yeah

Border-

Border pranced happily around her backyard in an excited trance. The sound of up-beat techno music floated about on the air, flowing through her ears and getting her in a hyper, electric mood. Her giant paws kicked up dirt and grass as she trotted about. A high-pitched bark escaped her throat every now and again. Then, a new sound came to her ears.

It was a loud crash. Border stopped immediately, perked her ears, and cocked her head. Her unusually fluffy tail swished every few seconds. She turned and ran towards the high wall that surrounded her home. She leaped on top of flower pots and bins with effortless ease, until she was up on the wall, at which time she sat down. When she saw who was on the other side, her tail wagged with excitement and her tongue lolled from her mouth.

Two dogs, quite obviously strays, were digging about an overturned trash can in front of her home. This behavior was so foreign to her, as she had never met a stray, nor been familiar with their customs.

Border barked. "Whatcha doin?" She asked cheerfully.

They looked up at her slowly.

Destroyer and Hanktopolis~

Destroyer turned slowly, her furry black tail pricking up at the sight of the dog that obviously lived in the mansion. Her ears rose on the top of her head as she licked the remnants of her meal off her jaws. Hank's tail was wagging friendlily, obviously trying not to scare the dog away. Destroyer rolled her eyes, and turned her head so she could see the dog better, with her good eye. "Eating, what does it look like?" Destroyer asked rather moodily.

"Oh... wouldn't you much rather eat kibble?" The odd-looking dog asked, her furry tail wagging quickly.

Destroyer sighed and padded over to Hank's side, rocking back on her haunches. "It's awfully hard to do that when you don't have an owner." She stated rather blandly, rolling her eyes lazily. Hank looked over at her, growling something inaudible. "I'm not being rude!" Destroyer hissed, huffing when Hank snorted and shook his large white head.

"I'm sorry for my friend. She's not the best dog to be around when she's hungry." His lips rose in the best attempt at a smile.

"And he's just sucking up so he can get an actual meal." Destroyer snorted, her eyes rolling in her head once more while the dog laughed softly.

Oh! I forgot to add this in her profile, but Border is INCREDIBLY smart. She knows lots of tricks and stuff, like how to open doors and such

Border-

Border giggled with amusement. "No need," she told them. "Come on!" She nodded towards the front doors of the mansion.

The two dogs looked at each other hungrily and trotted to the doors. Border hurried around and raced through the house, towards the doors. She flipped the lock and pulled the door open, where the two new dogs stood patiently. Border smiled and stepped back.

"My food dish is over there," she said, gesturing to the kitchen. "Help yourself!"

**I'm gonna leave Paws for a while so phant or Rayne can post.

Tom

He trotted quickly away, each step come faster and fasted until he was running full out. He reached the park and forced himself to stop, gasping for breath, sides heaving. The familiar, soft blades of green grass tickled his face as he settled down. He needed to sleep. He was so tired. So cold.

Water trickled into his ear and he shook his head, annoyed. He wanted to rest. All he needed to do was just close his eyes and then...

He sat up as voices penetrated his soothing weariness. They continued. Tom frowned. He'd have to move if he wanted some place empty of other cats. Maybe Paws would let him stay with her for the night, if she was still in that abandoned house. She moved around a lot - for security reasons. A lot of cats out there wanted her dead.

He heaved himself to his paws and groaned. But Paws' place was on the other side of the park! He was too tired for that. He should just slink away from the voices and hide in a bush.

Then he froze, ears pricked to hear every word. That cat with the arrogant tone sounded so much like...

"It's Dutchess actually."

Tom's heart leapt. No. It couldn't be. She was curled up safe in her home, sleeping peacefully as Tom turned mad. He shook his head angrily. How could he have become so infatuated!

"Believe it or not, I'm not afraid of you, stray!"

She was here. She was getting into trouble, what other proof was there to prove it was her? Great, she was once again in trouble. Tom would have to bail her out.

He stepped forwards and stumbled. He paused, confused, and carefully started again. Tired, that was all. That was why every step still felt like he was in the river, struggling against the current which threatened to drag him away. Shivers ran down his spine and his sodden fur still clung to him, but he was convinced his presence would help Dutchess.

Help her.

Another stumbling step brought him to her side.

Leo

Leo glanced up. His eyes were becoming more used to the surrounding darkness by now. He threw a glare up toward Paws.

"I was a kitten. It was a long time ago. That is all you need to know."

"Great introduction, Leo," snapped Paws. "Bu, really. Where's the threat?"

"The threat is- " snarled Leo, standing up furiously. He turned away and saw Patches's eyes glowing toward him in the darkness. Leo sighed.

"I only have a few memories of my mother," he said in a low voice. "And of my brothers and sisters. There were - five of us, I think. But we were caught only moments after our eyes first open. I - " Leo faltered, but then stubbornly pressed on, now turning to glare at Paws. "I only remember awful smells of death, the cries of a thousand cats and dogs in metal boxes far to small for any animal to live in. I remember that one day, humans began to take away my family, one by one. My mother went first, then my siblings. My sister and I huddled together fearfully, but they soon came to take her too. It was a younger human, this time, and it never shut the cage properly. I was able to slip out and escape before they came for me."

The other cats were silent for a moment. Suddenly, Leo felt something warm touch his shoulder. He recoiled from the touch, only to see Patches's tail sticking through the bars of his cage.

"Look - " snarled Leo gruffly. "You wanted to know? Fine, you know now. But I'm no different for it. I'm not something to pity."

The vehicle rumbled to a stop. Humans opened up he back of their vehicle, and tugged Paws, Patches, and Leo's cages out of the back. Leo hugged the bottom of the cage as they were moved into a building. The humans met with another at the door of the building and went through some quick conversation before Leo and the others were moved inside. Leo's stomach churned uneasily.

They were moved into a room with cages lining each wall. On one side the cages held dogs, on the other the cages held cats. Leo hissed fearfully. He saw Paws give him a sidelong glance, but ignored it. The humans looked down at him for a moment, before shoving Paws, Patches, and himself into one of the metal cages and locking the door firmly shut.

Dutchess

"Tom!" She said, excited. She stopped herself there and growled at him. "What are you doing here."

He seemed...almost numb. "I could ask you the same thing," he replied, in what might have been an annoyied tone.

"What are you doing here?" The male cat snarled, angrily. Dutchess laughed.

"See, they're not very smart," she smiled, despite the situtation. These were, after all, very big cats. Much larger than she.

"Like I said, you'd better watch your mouth, princess," he growled.

"Dutchess," she pronouced again, enunciating every syllable. "Like I said, not very smart."

"Would that be because they are a stray?" Tome asked, never leaving his defensive position.

"Oh Tom," Dutchess whined. "Please don't bring that up. I'm already embaressed enough about that."

Paws

She stepped forwards and lightly pushed at the door with her forepaw. Nothing. She tried once more, this time with more force. Again, nothing.

"Well, we're stuck."

"Well done, genius," Leo snorted, fear dancing in his darting eyes as he glanced around.

"Like it would work twice. Can you see a small black cat? She has one white ear and yellow eyes. Quite spindly. Possibly lying down."

"Yeah, I see her." His ear twitched. Paws ignored it, knowing any questions about it would wound his pride even more. "You said she could get us out?" Paws also ignored the desperate hope in his voice. Don't insult the cat who's already on the edge.

Paws followed his gaze and saw her. "Yo! Sas! Care to help your old pal Paws?"

The cat looked up and grinned.

**Sorry, ran out of time. Will post for Tom later.

Tom

He shook his head irritably. Never mind about that, just get rid of the stray first.

He looked up, refusing to let his weakness show. His whiskers trembled with the effort to maintain a steady, challenging gaze. Any minute now he was going to collapse...

"Do I have to call my sister? Or will you leave us?"

The stray stiffened and sniffed the air nervously. Then his arrogance returned as he scoffed, "I can't smell her."

"You think my sister will ambush another cat when her scent can be easily detected? Please, give her some credit."

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Dutchess meowed in a sing-song voice.

The stray frowned, clinging onto his pride. "She's not there."

No, she's not, Tom thought. But you're not too sure are you? "Very well, if you don't believe me now, maybe you will when her teeth sink into your throat." He opened his mouth, pretending to take a deep breath to call Paws.

"No - no! Wait!" The stray mewed quickly.

Gotcha.

Dutchess turned to hide her smile. Tom guessed she was feeling superior again.

The stray was retreating, edging back into the darkness with nervous, small pawsteps. "I suppose I'll let you two pass through - but just this once."

"How gracious of you." Tom smiled sarcastically at the ragged cat.

"Yes, do run along now," Dutchess meowed, waving a pristine, white paw at him. "I'm bored of your stupidity."

The cat paused, eyes glittering angrily. Silently cursing Dutchess, Tom shouted, "Paws!"

The stray turned and ran, disappearing into the dark, leaving Tom and Dutchess alone together.

Dutchess

"Your welcome," Tom said, rolling his eyes.

"For what?" Dutchess asked, calmly. "I had everything under control. Everything."

"Right," Tom replied, sarcastically.

Dutchess swished her fluffy tail angrily. "I can take care of myself Tom," she hissed. "I don't always need some big bad stray to come to my rescue, alright?"

"Well, you weren't about to get out of that one in one piece. Why can't you just admit that you need a stray's help sometimes?" Tom questioned.

"It's not just a stray's help it's...just help from anyone," Dutches replied, snootily. "You must have forgotten that a am a pure breed."

"How could I forget?" Tom snorted. "Prancing around like you own the world."

"Oh, please," Dutchess rolled her eyes now. "I don't prance."

"Well excuse me," replied Tom. "So what are you doing out here anyway? Shouldn't you be at your master's feet doing whatever you're told?"

"Breanne isn't like that. Don't talk about her like she's just some average human," Dutchess growled, angrily.

"So you can talk about stray's, in general, like we're just dirt on your snow white paw, but I can't talk about humans, in general, that is?" Tom asked, smiling.

Dutchess sighed. "Touche."