Teufel stared down at his best friend; Atsushi's amber eyes were clouded with grief. The purple tabby gulped, raising his right paw. His claws were unsheathed and gleaming in the light of Dardowa's forever burning fire.
The black tom at Teufel's paws flicked his tail. "Please, Teufel... You can't do this..." he pleaded quietly, voice cracking.
"I... I have to..." Teufel replied, looking up nervously. He couldn't bear to lock eyes with the black tom; it caused too much guilt to stir up within him. He felt like a backstabber, and a major one at that.
The purple tom clenched his teeth. Atsushi was the one who had befriended him first. The cat who was his best pal through and through. And now he had to take his life.
'All because of that battle with those damn Angolikans. Why...? Why did he have to injured?!' he thought, his red eyes becoming moist. Why had Hatorii chosen him to be deputy? Had the Dark Lord seen something in him?
'I'm nothing special. I shouldn't be at this rank.' Teufel scanned the area around him; the eyes of anxious Dardowans watched him impatiently for the tabby's claws to finish Atsushi off once and for all. Teufel gulped once again, shutting his eyes and raising his paw higher for the fatal blow. Atsushi's fear and sadness hit him like a strong wind.
"I made you deputy for a reason, Teufel." Hatorii's deep meow sounded from behind him. Teufel's eyes snapped open. "Do your job."
"Y-Yes, sir." the tabby tom answered shakily. His heart beat insanely from all of the pressure. He looked down once again, to where Atsushi lay. The black tom had no more strength to hold up his head, and now panted heavily as he bled out into the dirt floor.
Pity ran cold throughout the purple cat's veins and he put his paw back down firmly. He turned to his leader and held his gaze unflinchingly. "I can't do it, sir. I'm sorry."
Faster than the blink of an eye, Hatorii had knocked Teufel off of his paws with a body slam. The purple tom crashed into the surrounding stalagmites. Pieces of the rocky stalactites fell atop him from the smash.
"I don't have time for measly apologies or cowardly deputies. We Dardowans do not commiserate the weakness of others, we kill!" Hatorii screeched, the fur on his back rising. "I will deal with you later, Teufel." He settled back down and sat on the floor. Atsushi had found the energy to lift his head and stare up at his leader.
"Goodbye, decrepit soldier." Hatorii said with a smirk, unsheathing his claws and striking the black tom's neck swiftly. Blood poured from the wound and the dying Dardowan gagged on even more of it as he perished. It bubbled from his mouth in a steady flow; his paws quivered and his tail twitched wildly. Finally, the light in his amber eyes faded and his body lay still. Hatorii ran his tongue over his claws, cleaning them of his underling's life.
"Dispose of him." the large gray tabby meowed to the rest of his cats. "Tonight, we devise a plan for... revenge."

***

*WHEW* Well. That took forever to type up because of future planning and fitting things into place.
Yes, unfortunatley, Atsushi dies(even though you guys don't know him all too well, he hasn't been introduced into the story yet, or the fact I don't even have an official ref for him yet xDDD). I hate killing off characters ;_; But someone had to die and there had to be major angst xD Pic took like... 6 hours O_O I think. Who knows... >_>

Speedpaint link: [link]
All characters and story belong to
Idea for cave and river and such from
Lyrics from: [link] (Awesome song! 8D)