The next part of their plan served two purposes: bring in some powerhouses and give the Torres family an opportunity to level. The constantly-surveying drones showed that virtually all white dots were in population centers, with only a few outliers. Their assumption of the outliers was that they were powerful enough to survive this long on their own and potentially not interested in joining any groups. This would make them the strongest candidates to help, but also the hardest ones to convince.
They would split up, Tess on the motorcycle, Luna in the golf cart, and Cass on foot. Cass would head to Milwaukee and try to recruit as many strong people as he could, while Tess and Luna would try to convince the loners to join them. When discussing their roles even Cass had admitted that he wasn't very good at convincing people, so he'd be better off casting a wide net in the city, while Luna and Tess were both more amicable. Luna was downright adorable, her ability to make friends being the best tool they had right now.
They checked in with the Bouchards one last time, ensuring that everyone was well and truly committed to the cause, then headed off in their own directions.
Tess had one stop to make before she did, though. She crossed into the woods behind her house, immediately feeling an unwelcoming aura. It only grew stronger the further she went into the woods but she ignored it, pressing toward the center.
She was almost to the clearing when her danger sense erupted. Her and Fara had been practicing all the ways they could synergize their abilities and rapid communication, so it was no surprise to Tess when an overhead map appeared in her vision, a red dot directly to the side. Without even looking Tess got an image of a quadruped creature, roughly the size of a tiger, moving at her with incredible speed. Before she could think it herself her arm shot out, excessive power lending speed to her limb far beyond even her capabilities. Fingers gripped fur and Tess was already turning, hurling the creature over her shoulder and sending it crashing into the woods. When they acted in perfect concert like this she didn't know if it was her or Fara doing the thinking. That had made her extremely nervous before - thoughts of Fara having control over her body repulsive to her - but she'd been coming to terms with it lately. It was something she barely even thought about anymore, any emotional reactions to it were distant memories.
"Maisy, stop! It's me!"
A beige body speckled with snakelike patches of shimmering black fur pushed through the brush, ears back and head low.
"I am aware. You are not welcome at this time."
"I know, I'm not staying. I just came to talk to you about what is coming and what we're doing."
"I am aware of that as well. Did you think humans were the only ones who were given information?"
"Your English is getting very good!"
Maisy growled. "I do not speak 'English.' My communication skills have increased as my domain has grown."
"Okay, okay, I get it. Listen, I just wanted to tell you what is going on with the neighborhood. We are taking in all the survivors we can find in hopes that we can become strong enough to survive what's coming."
"I have seen. I am doing the same."
Tess nodded. It shouldn't have been a surprise that the non-human sentients would be preparing in the same way. "Do you think you'll be ready?"
Maisy growled again at the implication, then relented, sitting down with a thump. Cats don't apologize and Maisy didn't now, but her tone was more… conversational. "You are trusted, we can speak. To control a domain is to be constantly challenged. Weaknesses are not discussed and cannot exist, lest a stronger leader take advantage. But you are… sister." The word came across as 'sister' but felt more like 'litter mate' in Tess's mind.
Maisy continued. "We are prepared for the beginning. I do not know if we're prepared for what comes after. My domain is full but very few are powerful. I am… not sure what to do about that." Tess could tell the words stung her to even think.
"May I?" Tess said out loud, flipping a hand toward the prone cat. Maisy flipped an affirming tail and Tess settled onto the ground next to her, leaning against the large body. Maisy began to purr as Tess absently scratched her head and neck.
"We're running into the same problem. We have a lot of kittens but not a lot of cats. I feel like I'm going to spend more time protecting them than they'll spend helping us survive."
Maisy's tail flipped in agreement.
"What we're doing now is going out looking for stronger people. Anyone capable of truly pulling their own weight against the higher level monsters that I know are coming. If we can just protect the weak ones long enough they'll, hopefully, become powerful enough to support us as well."
There was a pause and Tess realized that Maisy was considering her words. She let the moment pass silently. Cats replied when they were ready.
"You… seek out others as strong as you?"
"I do."
"If they challenge you?"
"I guess I'll have to deal with that when it comes up. I already threatened to execute two, but just ended up exiling them instead."
"An execution would have been a stronger lesson."
Tess laughed. It felt so good to finally do that. "You are right about that, but I still have to retain what little humanity I have left."
She felt a scoff across their bond. "What good is humanity if there are no humans left?"
Those words rung like a gong in her soul, seeping into the empty places that had made her feel so alone. Fara had been saying basically the same thing, but she was a little psycho. Maisy, on the other hand, was someone Tess respected far beyond almost any human. She sighed, leaning deeper into the cat's fur, enjoying the deep reverberations.
"It feels so good to have someone who understands. They just don't get it, Maisy. They don't get what it is that we have to be."
"Not 'what we have to be', 'what we are.' We are the strong. The weak understand. They can nip and yip at what we do, but it is us that they stand behind when the hungry ones arrive. They understand."
"Thank you."
Maisy's tail flipped across her back. They sat like that a little while longer, both enjoying a moment of respite and a feeling of being truly understood. Then they were up, ready to move on.
"If things go wrong, come see us. I will make sure everyone you have here is welcome in our neighborhood."
Tess knew it would never come to that but she would make sure everyone in the neighborhood knew, just in case.
"I will not allow any others into my domain, but I will help. Have some come to your home tomorrow. Tell them not to step foot into the woods, but that they are free to take whatever they find."
Tess didn't know what that meant but thanked her with a head bump.
"Be safe, Maisy."
"You as well, Huntress."
As Tess left the domain Maisy padded her way to a large stag that was resting in her clearing. He had not challenged her and, thus, was allowed to live. Instead, he'd pledged his loyalty to her as long as his herd could reside in her domain until the end of the Challenge. She had agreed, and found him to be true to his oath. She had no fear of leaving with him in charge.
"I must leave."
He dipped his head, not asking why. It wasn't his place and both of them would have considered it a challenge to question her. "What do you need of me?"
She never explained, only ordered, but realized that in this circumstance it might be beneficial for him to know.
"We need more of the strong. I go to seek some. I feel others that are close to my domain. They have not challenged me and, thus, may be willing to join us."
He snorted and pawed the ground. She knew it wasn't disagreement, only concern. "This is very dangerous. You may invite challengers."
"I may. If so, I will eliminate them. But we…" her tail flipped angrily at having to say the words, but she trusted Solstice. "... are not strong enough. I will bring in those strong enough to help us survive or I will die."
He dipped his horns again. This was the way. "So I ask again, what do you need of me?"
"Leave some of your herd to keep the peace and continue the preparations. Send your strongest to gather any that would join."
"If they would not join?"
"They join or they die."
He dipped his head again. This, too, was the way. The strongest would lead, the others would follow or die.
With no more words needing to be said, Solstice's horns began to glow. Maisy squinted against their radiance until it reached a painful glow, then, without a sound, it was gone and so was he.
Maisy found a nearby herd of Arcane Scamperers and, after beating it into their idiotic skulls, left them with a set of orders before turning and heading south.
The Scamperers began carrying the pile of magical remnants of Maisy's victims to a yard just beyond the forest's edge.