Morning Training, Bravestar ("Leaf") [that summer book .txt] 📗

Characters Used in this Chapter

Healer:

Stone of Flaming Fire (Stone)-Brown Tom with shocking blue eyes (To-be: Glade)

Cave-Guards:

Dawn of Morning Sun (Dawn)-Black tom with amber eyes (To-be: Feather)

Dusk that Fills the Skies (Dusk)-White tom with gray specks, icy-blue eyes (To-be: Water)

Prey-Hunters:

Sky of Falling Snow (Sky)-White she-cat with shocking blue eyes (To-be: Leaf)

Otter that Swims in Streams (Otter)-Silver she-cat with icy-blue eyes (To-be: Rain)

To-bes:

Leaves that Fall in Autumn (Leaf)-Tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes (Mentor: Sky)


As the early-morning sun shrouded the cave that was home to the Tribe of Raven's Wings in golden sunlight, Leaves that Fall in Autumn opened her amber eyes and yawned. She stood up and stretched, shaking pieces of moss and leaves from her tortoiseshell pelt. She looked around b bit groggily at her sleeping denmates, her fellow to-bes, and rolled her eyes. "Sleepyheads," she muttered. "Can't get up with the sun. What a bunch of owls." She stepped out of the to-be den into the morning sun and looked around the cave.

Leaf recognized her mentor, Sky, entering the cave with a few ravens and a hawk hanging from her jaws, and ran to meet her. "Nice catch, Sky!" she mewed. "Let me help you." Leaf took the hawk, which was almost as big as her, and dragged it to the fresh-kill pile.

Sky nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Leaf," she mumbled around the jet-black feathers stuffed in her mouth.

Leaf dropped the hawk. "You’re welcome." She padded off to see what else she could do.

She turned to see Sky’s brother, Stone, watching his Tribe from his nest with his startling blue eyes. Leaf dipped her head respectfully to the wise Healer. "Good morning, Stone," she meowed. Stone flicked his ear in greeting.

Leaf walked away and sighed, wondering what she should do until Sky took her out for training. She looked towards the cave entrance and saw a handsome black cave-guard watching the sunrise outside. Dawn!

She walked outside spiritedly. "Morning, Dawn!"

Dawn dipped his head in greeting and watched her shyly.

Leaf sat next to him. "Anything interesting out there this morning, Dawn?" she asked curiously, looking up at him.

Before Dawn could reply, Sky walked over to them. "You okay?" she asked Dawn. Leaf thought she could see humor glowing in her eyes, and her voice had a teasing nature to it.

"N-no, I'm fine," Dawn replied a bit nervously. Leaf noticed that his amber eyes never looked away from her. After gazing at her for a couple of heartbeats, he finally spoke. "Anyways, Leaf, not this morning, no. Same as every morning." He pulled his gaze away from Leaf and yawned. He stretched, letting the stiffness of sitting there most of the night and all morning out of his sore limbs.

"Yes, the prey is running well," said Sky. She sat and watched the territory, as still as a stone. Not even her breathing betrayed that there was life in her motionless white form.

"Cool, that's good,” Leaf replied. She looked back at Dawn, admiration shining in her lively amber eyes. "I bet you’re tired from staying out here all night."

Sky stood up and walked over to Otter, leaving Leaf and Dawn to continue talking.

"Mmm." Dawn shook his head. "Ya get used to it."

"Well, I'm glad I'm gonna be a prey-hunter instead," Leaf mewed. "I'm so excited! And in only a moon!" She smiled and purred happily.

Dawn nodded. "Enjoy the rest of your training while you can," he said softly. "It doesn't last long, and you’ll never be able to go back."

Leaf nodded seriously. It seems to last plenty long enough,

she thought, but he's right. I should enjoy being a to-be as long as I can.

They both sat in silence for several heartbeats, watching the rising sun, and Leaf turned her ears backwards to hear what her mentor and Otter were saying.

"Good morning," Sky greeted. "How's Dusk?"

"He's fine, just sleepy," Otter replied. Leaf heard exasperation in the silver she-cat's mew at her littermate's laziness.

"Well, he has to be out here before the sun hits the top of the sky. Dawn has been guarding the camp all night, and Dusk needs to take his place."

"Okay, I'll go get him up," Otter mewed sleepily. Leaf twisted her head around to see Otter jabbing Dusk sharply in the ribs. "Go do your duty."

Leaf purred with laughter. She turned back to see Dawn watching her timidly, and she looked down awkwardly at her paws. Dawn seemed like he was about to say something, but he closed his muzzle and tensely looked back out at the horizon.

"Well, I should train my to-be, I will see you later." Leaf spun around instantly at Sky's words. Yes, training!

Sky nodded to Otter and strode over to Leaf. "Ready?"

"Yes!" she mewed eagerly, impatient to start that day's training. "See ya later, Dawn!" she called as she stood up and scampered next to Sky. "What are we gonna do today?" She let her gaze wander back to Dawn, who was watching her again. He shook his head and let Dusk relieve him. He looks so...lonely, like he thinks he doesn’t belong here,

she realized with a pang of sympathy. She brought her attention back to Sky. "Um...what was that again?" she asked, embarrassed.

Sky purred softly and repeated, "I said, we are going to learn how to catch a hawk in flight."

"Oh, sounds cool," Leaf said distractedly.

Sky purred again. "Training first, then you can gaze at him," she teased.

Leaf looked down and laughed nervously. "Whatever. Let’s go." She followed Sky outside the cave and glanced back one last time so she could see Dawn at the entrance, but he had already gone back inside the cave. Dusk was already sitting where Dawn had been, watching her and Sky walking towards the forest. She shook her head, suppressing a tiny feeling of disappointment that almost scared her a little, and ran to catch up with Sky. "Where are we going?"

"By the dogs' place." Sky started down the rocks in front of the cave.

Leaf stopped abruptly on the rock behind Sky. "D-dogs?!" Her amber eyes were wide with apprehension. "Is...is it safe?" she whispered.

Sky nodded. "Yes, there is a long line of metal wire that separates them from us." She headed down the grassy slope that led to the trees and the dogplace.

Leaf sighed, relieved. "Good, let's get going then!" She started sprinting towards the dogplace. Sky let out a mweor of amusement and followed Leaf.

After a few minutes of running swiftly through the trees, Leaf stopped at a shiny fence to catch her breath. "Is this it?" she gasped.

Sky nodded. "Now, stick close to me. The Tribe of Endless Hunting only knows if one of the dogs has gotten out."

Leaf flattened her ears in fear. "G-gotten out?!" One of the dogs, catching the scent of Tribe cat near him, barked sharply and threw himself against the fence. He bared his teeth and growled harshly at Leaf, who started with a terrified squeak and dashed to the other side of Sky. Her heart was pounding in terror and the fur on the back of her spine was sticking up. She turned her head to see her tail was as fluffy as a fox’s. "Sky...let's move on..." she moaned. "Let’s go find the hawks and get away from here!"

Sky nodded and led Leaf deeper into the shadowy forest. Leaf pressed herself close to Sky's soft, snow-white pelt, and she was trembling in dread. A sudden, fierce bark rang through the trees, and Leaf bolted into a nearby holly bush and hid, crouching low to the ground.

Sky looked around. "Leaf?" she called worriedly. She evidently hadn't seen Leaf dive into the bushes. Leaf was about to step forward and assure her mentor that she was alright, when the dog appeared at the gate and barked again, violently shaking the lock that held the door closed. Leaf shrieked and took off deeper into the forest. She didn’t know where she was going; all she knew was that she had to get back to the cave. In the distance she could still hear Sky frantically calling her.

Leaf arrived in a clearing and stopped, panting. Her legs, exhausted from the panicked run, collapsed beneath her, while her lungs felt as if they were on fire. She laid in the cool, soothing leaves and tried to slow her racing heart. When she could finally think through her terror, Leaf's first thought was, Where is Sky? Did the dog get her?

Leaf laughed at herself and how silly she had been. "Of course the dog won’t get us," she muttered. "It was behind that fence. What a mousehearted little kit I’ve been." She started to head back into the trees when a startling thought occurred to her. I don’t know which way to go, or where Sky is!

"Sky!" she wailed, looking around for her mentor. "Sky?! Sky!"

Leaf heard something in the forest and spun around. Oh, no! Tribe of Endless Hunting, save me!

she prayed. A dog has found me, and now it’s gonna...

She felt sick when she thought about what a dog would do to her lithe tortoiseshell body. She caught a glimpse of a dark shape moving in the shadows and screamed, closing her eyes. This is it,

she realized. I will be with the Tribe of Endless Hunting soon. Perhaps I'll find out who my real parents are. But I'm gonna miss Glade, and Sky, and Dawn...

She braced herself for the sharp teeth that would surely crush her neck any second now. I'll never become a sharp-claw...

Text: Roleplay and Tribe created by dangerheart*, Tribe idea created by Erin Hunter (the Tribe is not mine, I just made it into a story. I give all this credit to Danger and Erin Hunter!) Characters: dangerheart*: Stone, Sky Hawkshadow56: Dawn OtterPool: Dusk, Otter Only Leaf belongs to me! I did not create dialog, action, ect. of other characters, I only put them together in a story.
Publication Date: 05-08-2010

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
Dedicated to all of my RPing friends: Kristen/Glade (~gladeshadow~), Johnnie/Fawn (~fawnwing~), Hawk (Hawkshadow56), Danger (dangerheart*), Sarah/Darkpaw (~darkclaw~), Silver (silver ecipse), and MANY, many more!