There was a small barn built near the edge of a vast moor. Inside was barely large enough for a handful of cows and horses, but if one peered closely at the foundation, they would find cat-sized holes that led to a warren-like tunnel system carved into the earth. Though most of the dens were nothing extraordinary at first glance, the largest one of all was decorated in bones. Mice, rabbits, cats, and even fox bones had been dragged to this cavernous space. A hole above let the moonlight filter through and illuminate the white bones.
“Boneteller? The outsiders are here to speak with you.”
A black cat decorated with shards of bones sat on one of the piles of bones. The moon cast a ghastly light around her, like a specter of death, and she slowly turned her head to see the cat who had spoken.
“… bring them to me.” The words were simple and softly spoken, but the air thrummed with authority and solemnity.
Before long, a trio of forest cats was ushered into the bone-filled room. The black she-cat did not miss the looks of disdain they gave her ancestral home, and she made a mental note to repay the slight in the future. “I am Viper, the Boneteller. Why have you come?” She demanded, her back still turned to them. She kept her eyes on the glimmering moonlight as it shimmered against the polished bones.
“My name is-“
“That is not what I asked.” Viper interrupted. “All I want to know is why you’re here.” She sensed the growing hostility from the cats behind her but still didn’t turn.
With an annoyed grunt – another slight, Viper thought idly – the tom who had tried speaking started again. “We’re here from the forest. I’ve heard rumors about the cats at this barn, and I wanted to know if you would join us-”
“No.” Viper’s response was immediate and cold.
“You haven’t even heard us out!” Another cat, this one a she-cat, protested. “We could-”
“I said no. My decision is final. You are not worthy of my time. The ancestors have instructed me to stay here, and here I shall stay.”
There was a sharp snarl behind Viper, and a third voice said, “You talk to ghosts, do ya? I promise ghosts won’t be able to harm you like we can if you don’t comply!”
At this, Viper turned around. The moonlight illuminated her face and sent chills down the spines of the three stranger cats. Her left eye had been ripped from its socket, and the gaping hole inside was an endless abyss of darkness. The other eye burned with zealous fury like yellow fire. “You?” She asked calmly despite the rage in her eye. “Do you really think you can hurt me? I am guided by powers you can’t even begin to comprehend.” Lifting a paw to her missing eye, Viper used a claw to tug on it. “This is a mark of my fidelity. I tore out my own eye to please the ancestors.” Her words were said calmly and without any flair, but the aura around her was menacing.
“I said no. My answer will remain no. Now, you may leave.” The she-cat picked up the gleaming bone of a mouse before smashing it against a skull she was standing on. After inspecting how the bone shards were cast, she looked up and said, “They may go freely. Do not kill them.”
As the outsiders retreated, one of the barn cats approached and crouched down, putting his nose to the ground, then called out, “Boneteller? Do you have any news for us?”
Viper brushed the shattered bone fragments off her perch and turned around so that she was once more facing the piles of bones. “No. They say we shall stay, so we shall stay. Ensure there is prey for everyone. Then, if there are leftovers, I will eat after the others.” Her commands were short and concise, and the other cat backed away in silence.