What a Dump

[Crewe]

Lying in the shade of a dumpster, a fluffy ginger tom is half-asleep, the black-and-tawny she-cat beside him keeping watch. Their relaxation is cut into by a sudden high, cheerful voice.

"Oh, Copper! I have a surprise for you!"

A silver tabby she-cat appears on top of the dumpster, evidently having jumped from the fire escape above it.

The ginger tom rolls over to look up at her.

"I'm not in the mood for your antics, Jay," he says curtly.

"Aww, you don't want it? I'll just keep it all to myself, then. Or maybe I'll share it with Raven!" the silver she-cat purrs, putting on a mock offended face. "After all, I wouldn't want this sweet little squirrel to have died in vain!"

That got his attention. Copper gets to his feet, shaking dirt out of his long fur.

"A squirrel? Where did you get a squirrel?" he demands.

The she-cat purrs, picking up the squirrel at her feet and leaping down from the dumpster.

"So you do want it, then," she says lightly.

"Where, Jay?" the tom demands, growling.

"FernClan territory," she replies, brushing against him and stepping lightly over to sniff noses with the black she-cat. "I made a fool of two of those... warriors..." she says the name with disgust, shaking her head. "And ran off when they tried to grab me. I caught this little guy on my way out."

"You met warriors? What were their names?" Copper asks, looking up from sniffing the squirrel.

Jay shrugs. "I dunno. What do I care what they call themselves? They all have silly names, anyway."

Snarling, Copper leaps on top of the small silver she-cat, placing a paw on her throat and putting slight pressure on it. Alarmed, she squirms, until he pins her with his other paw.

"Let me make this clear," he says, slowly and in a low, dangerous voice. "Your life means nothing to me, but your ability to get into Clan territory does. So if you don't want me to tear the life from your body, you'll treat me with respect, and get the information I ask for. Next time, I want names. Understood?"

Jay nods weakly, and Copper steps off. Mewling pitifully, the silver she-cat retreats to the black cat's side and licks a paw.

"You don't have to be a meanie," she mumbles. "I could go to Hunter instead. And you never asked me to get names. You didn't even know I was going into FernClan again." Ears pinned, she gives him a pouting look.

Copper growls, then sighs a bit. "Hunter isn't the type you want to play with, Jay. Now come on, there's a squirrel that needs eating."

Squealing with delight, Jay nudges the black she-cat to her feet and the two join Copper at the squirrel, setting to the meal with great energy.

When it had disappeared--all too fast--the black she-cat sits at the ginger tom's side, licking her chops.

"You should be nicer to Jay," she murmurs, swiping a paw over her ear.

Copper leans down and nuzzles her. "Don't worry about Jay, Raven," he says soothingly. "If she does her job well, she'll be just fine. If she doesn't, well..." he trails off, staring into space, then shakes himself and turns back to the she-cat. "Let's just say, she--and not just her, all of us--will have bigger problems than me to worry about."

"Bigger problems?" the black-and-tawny cat whispers, pinning her ears back.

"Do you know Patches, Raven?" he asks. When she shakes her head, he continues, "Be glad you don't. But don't worry. We'll be fine. Everything will go just fine, and I'll make sure you'll have more squirrels to eat."

Raven purrs at this thought, and Copper nuzzles her.

"I'd say it's time for a nap," he says, leading Raven back into the shadow of the dumpster.

"I got stuff to do!" Jay says, leaping back on top. "Bye!"

As she leaps back onto the fire escape and disappears from view, Copper calls after her, "Remember to get names!"

And with that, he settles his head on his paws and drifts off to sleep. A few minutes later, Raven follows suit.

[Crewe]

Copper paces back and forth in front of the dumpster, his tail lashing.

I shouldn't have sent Raven, he chides himself mentally. I should've made Jay do both borders, or tried to recruit someone else. He shakes his head, but before he can continue yelling at himself, a familiar voice sounds from around the corner.

"Copper?" Raven calls, the tiny black-and-tawny she-cat rounding the corner.

"Raven," Copper breathes, bounding over and nuzzling her. "You're okay."

"I had to jump out of a tree, but I got a name," she says. "There's a ginger tom in FernClan named Foxpelt."

Copper smiles. "Good job, Raven."

She frowns. "Copper, why do you need their names?" she asks, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Don't worry about it, Raven," Copper replies, nuzzling her again.

"I hate to break up the brother sister love, but I did good too!" a second voice calls, this one from above. "But no rabbit... Sorry, Copper."

Copper rolls his eyes and turns to see Jay lounging on top of the dumpster. "What did you find, Jay?" he asks, padding over towards her.

"Whelp, there's a tom named Splashfur in either MistClan or BreezeClan. He was super rude and wouldn't tell me which one," she said, pouting. "I told him my name was Silver, 'cause I didn't wanna get clawed."

"Yes, yes, that's fine," the ginger tom says, sitting down. "Yesterday, when you were in FernClan, did you meet a ginger tom?" he asks.

Jay rolls over onto her back and paws at the air. "Yep! He wouldn't climb the tree. The she-cat had to do that."

Copper nods to himself. "All right. Good work, you two. Jay, go bother someone else."

"Awww, but Wren is avoiding me," she says, pouting. "I think Hunter told her to stay away. He doesn't like me. But that's why I play with you, Copper!"

Copper growls. "I don't care if Wren is avoiding you. Go find Patches or something. You like Patches, don't you? Just stop bugging me."

Jay rolls back onto her feet. "Fine, meanie. But maybe I won't come back!"

"Yes you will!" Copper calls after her, as the silver she-cat leaps down from the dumpster and disappears down the alley.