Nine Lives

[whispered_envy]

Title: Nine Lives

Type: Undecided

Genre: AU

BTTB Rating: T

Warning: Violence of a catty nature

Spoilers: No

Characters: Will feature everyone

Summary: Takes place in a small city/large town setting. When a group of feral cats meet a group of pampered house cats, a war begins over their territories. As their gangs fight, how will two of the cats cope when they end up falling for one another? Which gang will take out the title of the smartest, toughest, and bravest cats around?

Yes, it's a little strange, but I hope you like it!

Chapter One:

The sleek, light haired tabby sat there silently, eyes closed. He listened for sounds- sounds that disturbed him, that meant something was wrong. Tonight, though, everything seemed at peace. Cars honked and humans made their usual noises, but those were not what he was worried about. There were no yowls of help, no barking dogs, and no crashes that would send him running to help whichever of his feline friends were in trouble. He was the king around these parts, and he had to make sure his group were well looked after.

He opened his eyes at the sound of another cat jumping over the fence. The strong and bold black male pranced up to him, dark blue eyes filled with pride.

“Hello, Aden.” The tabby greeted him. “Had another successful hunt?”

Aden sprawled near him, stomach full and round. “Oh, yes.” He purred. “You know, you should really come with us to the docks sometime, Roman. There are always a great number of rats.”

Roman bristled slightly. “Somebody has to keep an eye on this place.”

“Roman, you’ve fought off all the other cats trying to get into our territory!” The younger male laughed. “Who else is left?”

“You should never leave your home unguarded, Aden.” Roman muttered darkly. “And I’ve heard rumours.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Aden rolled over onto his side and started licking his fur lazily. “You’re just way too protective of this place.”

The place Aden referred to was an abandoned house, so dilapidated that humans could no longer live there anymore. It had been declared unsafe, but the street cats found it to be good shelter from bad weather and empty of any dangers. Roman had become the leader of the gang of ferals who had decided to take up residence in the building, and they had fought many other cats to keep their territory. Roman prided himself on his group’s ability to band together when the time called for it.

As Aden continued his cleaning and Roman stayed alert for any frightening sounds, another cat stalked into the dusty yard, carrying a small dead bird in her mouth. She was a pedigree, with a long, lightly mottled coat and beautiful golden eyes to match. She carefully placed the dead bird on the ground, before sitting down, curling her tail around her. “Hello, Roman, Aden.” She greeted coyly.

“Nicole.” Roman greeted back.

Aden sat up quickly with the entrance of the female. Nicole was a lovely female- any of the ferals round here would be keen to be with her. She was once a house cat, living the life of luxury, but then her owner had left her, and never returned. Roman, being the kind animal he was, had taken her in, and adopted Nicole as his own. Aden, who was considered to be Roman’s adopted son, didn’t want to betray the older cat by chasing after Nicole. And, even though Nicole was attractive, she was very high maintenance- too pampered from her time spent living with humans.

“Where’d you catch that?” He asked her.

“None of your business.” She told them haughtily. “It’s my hunting spot.”

“Fine.” Aden turned his back on Nicole, tail swishing fiercely. She always managed to get on his nerves in the first few moments she was around.

“It’s not for me, anyway.” She added. “I thought I’d bring Alf some food.”

“That was very nice of you.” Roman purred kindly.

Aden could already see her smug face looking his way.

Alf was the oldest cat in their gang. Slow and stiff, the greying animal had many battle scars from years of fighting, and a grumpy personality to match. Slightly blind, he wasn’t the best at hunting anymore, so the other cats took care of him and brought him food. Although he wasn’t much use in fights, he had more street smarts than any of them combined.

“Where is the old codger anyway?” Nicole asked.

“He’s inside, resting.”

“Resting from doing what?” Aden scoffed.

“Aden,” Roman warned. “Be kind to the poor old thing. He’s done a lot for us.”

Aden ignored his comment.

“I better go give this to him before it goes off.” Nicole picked up the bird in her mouth and, with a leap up onto a window ledge, she had disappeared.

Roman looked up into the sky. “It’ll be getting light shortly.” He commented.

“Roman, you have to stop worrying. Everyone will be back in their own time.” Aden said lazily.

“But once the sun comes up, the humans get up. It gets dangerous for us.” He stood up and stretched, claws flexing. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Where are you going?”

“Out for a walk.” And without another word, Roman leapt away.

As he ventured out onto the street, Roman looked for any signs of danger. That was the life of a street cat- always on guard, always ready to ‘fight or flight’- a part of their instinct. The city streets could be dangerous if you weren’t cautious, and Roman had seen many of his friends lose their lives because of careless behaviour. He wasn’t about to let that happen to him- these days, he was the leader of a group of cats, and they needed him.

Breaking into a run, he flew down the streets that he knew so well, making his way to his destination in under a minute. In the dank alleyway behind a Chinese takeaway store, he meowed.

At the sound of his yowls, another cat appeared from behind a rubbish bin. This cat was fat and fluffy, a collar atop his shiny salt-and-pepper coat a sign of his domestication. His dark brown eyes looked to see Roman staring back at him. “Ah. It’s you.”

“Miles.” Roman greeted him. “Thought I might find you here.”

“You still remember this place then?” Miles sat, leaving considerable distance between them. No matter how well he thought he knew Roman, he was wary of his old friend.

“How could I forget? Hours were spent at this backdoor, begging the people for food.” Roman reminisced.

“I still find the occasional treat or two.”

“And then you found yourself a family.” Roman added darkly.

“No, Roman. They found me. They took me in.” Miles explained, knowing Roman’s resentment of Miles leaving him on the street as a feral.

Roman’s fur bristled, but he settled himself. This was not the time. He had other things to discuss with Miles. “I’ve come to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“It’s the feral cats. They’re getting restless.”

“Oh?”

“There hasn’t been a war around these parts for ages. Everything has been at peace for too long now. I have a feeling that the time is coming.”

Miles understood his words. He sat there, thinking. “And do you believe it’s going to be between the house cats and your gang?”

“Yes, I do.” Roman explained truthfully. “The tension has been building for a while now. My friends are unsettled. I’m unsettled.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Miles, although we are not as close as we used to be, you are still my friend.”

Miles bowed his head in thanks at Roman’s kind words. “I appreciate that. Now, I must be off- my owner will be wondering where I am.”

“Okay.” As the housecat started to stalk off, Roman called after him. “Miles?”

The cat turned. “Yes?”

“If there is a fight, then let me warn you: I will not show you or any of your friends any courtesy.” It was hard for Roman to say, but he had to make sure Miles understood.

“As I wouldn’t expect you to. You are a proud cat, Roman, and a fight would overshadow any friendship that we have.” With a goodbye flick of his tail, Miles was off.

Roman sat by himself in the alleyway. He let the cool chill of the night carry his thoughts away.

A war was coming. And his gang would be ready.

[valli]

Great start!

I must admit that it seemed a bit weird at first, but the chapter was very well-written and it's kind of fun seeing how the characters are acting as cats I love cats I'll have the Jack cat, please

It's really interesting reading how you've changed the characters a bit, to make them suit the roles of cats. I think you've done a great job so far

More please!

[BeckyChristina]

I love this. It's so different to anything else I've read. Brilliant idea! Update soon