**Petal - Delphic - Beetle**
The scent of squirrel washed over the young calico. Petal stopped her journey and fell into a hunter’s crouch, letting her nose guide her until the twitchy grey creature came into view. It was nonchalantly skipping about, stopping to dig up a hole and sniff in it before moving on to another spot. Petal waited until the rodent moved its way closer to her then she burst from her hiding place and pounced. She landed neatly on the squirrel and killed it quickly. She’d been forced to learn how to hunt on her own quickly, falling too frequently to starvation when she was a young kit but she had been sloppy and inconsistent with the lack of formal direction until Beetle had taken the time to show her when she’d run into her now-companions nearly a moon ago. Petal took her squirrel and bounded up a nearby tree. The lesson Delphic had taught her early on was to take position of advantage, but that was through no goodwill from the she-cat. During Petal’s first informal lesson with Beetle, Petal had killed a small, young thrush. Turning to look at Beetle proudly, she saw instead the aggressive form of Delphic pouncing straight at her. Petal hadn’t even the opportunity to squeal before the much larger she-cat tumbled into, tackling her through the dirt. Petal couldn’t have been sure when she had gotten hit specifically in the chaos but she came out of it with a bleeding gash over the bridge of her nose. And when she turned on Delphic, preparing for another attack, she saw the she-cat walking away with Petal’s thrush hanging limply from her mouth. Dejected and frightened, Petal had gone to her nest hungry that night. So nowadays, after catching her prey, she put herself in a position of advantage. Petal settled herself on a low branch where she could see the ground before tearing into the squirrel, downing it quickly and breathlessly.
Her stomach filled, Petal let herself fall from the tree, landing neatly on the ground below where she buried what was left over of her meal so it wouldn’t attract predators then walked onward. Soon enough a scent washed over her that struck her as unplaceably familiar. Something Delphic had said a moon ago, during their first meeting struck through her mind. Shortly after being driven from the Thunderclan territory she’d nearly run into a doe-eyed tom. He’d whispered something under his breath, glancing over his shoulder but Petal had been on guard, her pelt bristling refusing to turn her back on the newcomer lest he try to attack. Her eye caught on movement beside the tom, not necessarily allowing but accidentally diverting her gaze to the new she-cat. Petal’s gaze had darted from one to the other defensively. The tom looked mousey and worried but the she-cat’s eyes were instantly predatory. Petal felt herself shrinking under the she-cat’s glare until she smiled, though the change in expression did nothing to ease Petal’s worries. The predatory gleam in her eyes hadn’t changed and the smile was snake-like but she’d then meowed silkily,
”You smell of the clans. You’ve strayed from your safety zone, young one.” Thered been an unsettling note in her voice but Petal spoke up, her voice crackly from disuse.
”Clans?” The tom had spoken up then, moving slightly between her and the other she-cat,
”It’s faint. She’s probably lost, or left, like I did.” The she-cat’s expression had shifted slightly at that, almost a sort of disinterest suddenly, but regardless, Petal felt the heat simmer down. Without another word, the cat had turned to walk away. The tom’s sympathetic gaze had lingered, a mixture of inviting and warning warring in his eyes. When he turned away, Petal had hesitated but ultimately, deciding her options were to stick with them or starve, followed after them. She later learned their names to be Delphic and Beetle. She didn’t know anything about where they came from or what they were doing. Delphic was never inviting but also didn’t run her off, though she never fully acknowledged her presence in any significant way either.
Petal turned away from the eerily familiar scents that had triggered the confusing memories, but she froze, ice running through her veins. Two icy blue eyes lit out of the shadows. As quickly as Petal started, Delphic slunk out of the brush, that same predatory gaze flickering in her eyes.
”Missing your home yet, clan-bred?”
Petal’s dark emerald eyes narrowed slightly but she didn’t answer, she never answered. Instead she walked directly away from the familiar-unfamiliar smell, attempting to walk past the unsettling she-cat without meeting her gaze but Delphic stepped out in front of Petal, cutting her stride short. Petal lifted her green eyes to meet the older she-cat’s. Neither she-cat said a word but eventually Delphic stepped out of the way, letting Petal continue on back to the trios shared den.
Petal’s Interim
