Pet Quartet (ch17)

2-DAY EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!

Must balance out the good...with some bad, right?

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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											Chapter 17. An Approaching Storm

The day after his little visit to Blake and her humans, Adam found himself retreating to his home base. His claws scraped against the cold wet sidewalk, his eyes blazing in the heavy fog of the evening as he stalked his way through the shadows of the town and toward the deepest, darkest alleyway.

As he approached, various creature-shaped shadows shuffled and stretched, dipping their heads in greeting. The narrow passageway was littered with little bones and leftover scrap food they'd stolen here or there.

He smirked as he made his way to the very back of the alley, to the place he called his own den. There was a small offering waiting for him in the form of a dead vole. But Adam lifted his front paw and smacked it aside to the nearest drooling cat for him to eat instead.

"I don't want rodents," Adam growled as he slunk beneath the massive dumpster he called home. "I'm only in the mood for songbirds."

There was a murmur as more of the shadows convened, eyes glinting in the oncoming twilight. He didn't just have cats here, but dogs as well, a few weasels, and even a hawk.

He'd made sure to only show himself to Blake - alone, vulnerable. She had no idea about the army he had been building all this time in the darkness while she enjoyed a life of luxury in the sunbeams.

There was a rustling among his underlings tonight, a thin, anxious chatter. Adam growled again.

"Don't you lot worry. We'll make our move soon enough…"

He just wanted a few more warriors first. He wanted to completely overpower Blake and her little friends, and he wanted to do it quickly before any humans could interfere. He knew his cats and dogs would be more than enough for Blake and her dog, but he still needed a few more soldiers of smaller stature, ones that were quick and nimble enough to take care of the mouse. He had already made a deal with his hawk, that the bird of prey would be the one to catch the white songbird, but Adam would be the one to make the kill and take the first bite. He just needed a little more time…

Adam closed his eyes and rested his chin on his paws as he imagined the attack, imagined how he and his army would annihilate Blake and her group of friends very soon.

He wasn't sure how long he got to rest for, but some disturbance woke him. With a snarl he glared out from beneath his dumpster.

"What's going on?"

There were several hisses in response from within the fog.

"Intruders!"

"Trespassers!"


"Dinner!"

Adam flicked a tattered ear and crept out of his hiding spot. He approached the spot where the noise was coming from with a slow and confident pace, puffing out his chest to show his power, never retracting his claws.

"Step aside," he ordered the cats who had caused the ruckus. "What have we here?" Adam shouldered his way past his ragged soldiers to where they were surrounding a small pink newt and a lizard who had just crawled up from the sewer. One cat sat on the sewer so the lizards couldn't flee back down. Adam wrinkled his nose distastefully.

"Scales for supper? Suite yourselves."


"Now hold on just a minute!" the bigger lizard snapped. "I can reassure you folks you don't wanna be doing that. We've got friends who wouldn't be too happy to see us gone."

"Really?" Adam flashed out a paw and hooked the pink newt by the tail, lifting her clean off the ground. She dangled helplessly, squirming and trying to free herself, changing all different colors as she did so to try and confuse him. Adam flinched and looked back to the bigger lizard. "And where exactly are these friends?"

A sudden yowl alerted him back to the sewer. The cat who had been sitting there tore off down the alley with a limp in his paw now.

"We're right here!" a voice calls up from the sewer. Adam watched with intrigue as two large rats crawled their way up, their long yellow teeth bared in snarls.

"You'd better let her go, you mangey flea-bag!" one rat demanded.

Adam and to admit he liked her guts, in spite of her size. A plan began to form in his mind. Slowly, he lowered the little lizard.

"Of course. How rude of me." He let the newt off the hook, and the second her feet were on the ground she turned the exact color of the sidewalk and disappeared completely. Adam's ear flicked. Now he was very interested in this little band of intruders.

"No need to be hostile," he said calmly. "I was just making sure you weren't here to cause trouble."

"Us?" said the other rat. "Cause trouble? Never."

There was a smirk on his mouth that made Adam smirk back.

"I think I like you bunch already." He flicked his tail, a signal for his group to disperse behind him. He didn't want to scare this band of small creatures away. The hissing cats and growling dogs all stepped back. Adam never took his eyes off his new guests.


"So tell me," he rumbled, lifting a claw to his mouth to pick off an old shedding. "What brings you all here to my alley?"

The rats and lizards didn't say anything right away. They all looked around at one another, as if they weren't sure of what to say. Adam lashed his tail impatiently.

"One of you speak up! Who is your leader?"

"That-" came one last voice from the sewer. "Would be me."

Adam's ears flicked at the sounds of more scales, only these didn't brush against the stone like the lizards' did. These scales dragged across it constantly, making for a long, slithering kind of sound. He watched as a long black snake made her way out of the sewer, slithering out into the open and curling herself around the other four.

Adam had to make a good effort not to step back. Snakes were one of the only animals he didn't like and would try to avoid fighting with. As this one settled around her tiny army, she revealed two long white fangs.

"Cinder," she hissed. "It's a pleasure."

Adam let his fur stand up on his shoulders so it made him look bigger.

"What do you want? Why are you here?"

"Why-" Cinder drawled. "We want exactly what you want, it would appear. A good meal, nothing more."

"We almost had it, too," the male rat grumbled. "But that stupid black cat-"

"Hey!" the female nipped at his ear. "Watch what you're saying in front of a black cat!"

"Oh, sorry."


"No," Adam grunted. "Go on. Tell me more about this black cat you encountered."

"She ain't just a cat," the bigger lizard recounted. "She's got a dog with her, too. Course we weren't tryna mess with them, no. We just wanted the mouse."

"And the bird, if possible," the male rat said. "But yeah, gosh, I just wanted to sink my teeth into- I mean, watch Cinder here sink her fangs into that little pest's throat."

Cinder hissed out a chuckle.

"Don't worry. Once we catch that little mouse, I'll share. At least a bit."

All of their words were music to Adam's ears. He sat down on his haunches and curled his tail around his front paws to demonstrate he was no longer a threat to them.

"Very interesting," he grinned. "I've actually been hunting a cat, a dog, a mouse, and a songbird myself."

"Oh?" Cinder swayed back and forth, in a way that almost made Adam dizzy. He shook himself off, and she chuckled. "Very interesting indeed. Perhaps our paths have aligned for some reason, then."

"My thoughts exactly." Adam looked back to his shadowy army, then again to his new arrivals. "We you care to join us then? It seems we all have a bone or two to pick with those house pets."

"That sounds like a splendid plan," Cinder nodded. "Perhaps we can strike some sort of deal about the spoils?"

Adam pondered for a moment, then made a suggestion.

"We attack together. My soldiers can easily handle Blake and the dog. I won't have them kill right away. I want Blake to watch her little friends get eaten alive before I slash out her throat." Adam flexed his sharpened claws and curled them as if he were sinking them into flesh. "I'll leave you your mouse. The songbird is mine. Then we can all have a share killing that dog. Do we have a deal?"

Cinder glanced down to her group. They all knew Ruby was her prize, though perhaps she would split the tail or feet with Emerald and Mercury. They all seemed fine with those terms.

"We do," she replied. "It's a deal."

"Excellent." Adam stood up and stretched himself a bit. "Come with me. We can discuss a plan of ambush." He began walking back toward his dumpster, swishing his tail in a silent order for all of his soldiers to come forth and listen.

Adam jumped up onto the top of the dumpster so he was now sitting above them all, save for the hawk at the top of the alley wall. Once everyone has settled down, he addressed them all in a loud, confident voice.

"Rogues. Fellow strays. Friends. I appreciate your patience in regards to our next move. I know you all share my thoughts in that all humans are demons in disguise. They've abused us, maimed us, tossed us aside, ripped out our claws, and beat us half to death. Why should animals like Blake and her friends get to live such safe and happy lives while we are out here on the streets, fighting for our next meal every single day?"

There was a rumble of agreement, and growls began to rise up. Adam flicked his tail for silence.

"That is why we must make such foolish creatures pay. And what better way to cause despair to the humans than to let them find their beloved house pets soaked in blood?"

A chorus of yowls and barks filled the air, and this time Adam let them have it. Cinder, her rats, and her lizards all sat quietly at the head of the pack beneath him. Once the noise had died away, Adam spoke again.

"We will be welcoming five new members into our ranks tonight," he announced. "They will be crucial in our next plan of attack. While we cats and dogs and birds will subdue our own kind, Cinder and her group will target the mouse. Remember, we will kill the smaller ones first. We will make Blake watch us swallow her little mouse whole, and then I will shred that little bird to pieces. After that, we can kill her dog. But make no mistake. Blake is mine. Am I understood?"

There was an affirmative rumble from the crowds below.

"Good." Adam swept his gaze around to all of them. "Now we only need a plan of attack. We'll ambush in the dead of night when the humans are asleep. We just need a way to draw them all outside."

"Ahem, if I may?" the female rat - Emerald - raised her tail. Adam nodded his head to her to let her speak. "We have reason to believe the targets have befriended a skunk that lives beneath the porch. Neo here has seen them playing together."

The pink newt nodded and changed colors to grass-green, indicating she'd been spying on them with her impressive skills. Emerald continues.

"We could attack the skunk, hold it hostage, and draw the others outside."

Adam actually rumbled up a small purr.

"A brilliant idea," he said. "Once Blake and the others are outside, I'll have two of my dogs guard the door so they can't run back inside. We'll make them stand and fight, and we'll show them just how savage we strays truly are."

At this, he drew back his lips to reveal his fangs. All of the other animals did the same, laughing and hissing and snarling in agreement. Adam met Cinder's gaze, and she gave an approving nod, her tongue flicking out briefly. Adam called for silence one more time.

"Tonight, we rest. Find whatever scraps of food you can and fill yourselves. And be sure to take care of our newest members." He looked up at the dark sky, where only a tiny sliver of moonlight remained. Tomorrow night there would be no moon. He purred again. "We attack tomorrow, in the dead of night. They won't even know what hit them." Adam jumped down from the dumpster and landed with ease. "Dismissed."

And with this, the other animals slunk off to hunt for food.

Finally, Adam would get his wish.

He slipped back underneath the dumpster and curled up to rest, all the while sinking his sharpened claws into the cement, imagining the feeling of blood pouring between them.

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A/N: I'm sorry.. this was supposed to be the cute fic... oops.