Dreamweaver, Wolfheart [best fiction books of all time .txt] 📗

me to exit first. When he joined me, the sleek cat scented the air.
Standing right next to him in the sunlight, I noticed how young he really was.
"Are you a hunter yet? You seem a little young..."
"Focus on the mission." He growled.
"Sorry..."
Why am I always making these stupid mistakes?!
He stood up and began to make his way in the forest. I was forced to trail him blindly.

After a short walk under the trees, we came into a clearing. The only cover was the leaves and branches of a huge oak tree. Beneath the oak tree, tossing leaves into the air and catching them, was a small, lean black tabby she-cat with chilling ice blue eyes. I was amazed at how focused she was at catching the leaves. She seemed not to be playing, but practicing.
"Excellent." Shadow Hunter called; making her whirl, claws spread and teeth bore as if she were ready to attack.
She didn't ease up when she saw me. Instead, she instantly was on my shoulders.
Hissing in furry and pain, I flipped onto my back, crushing her long enough to get her claws out of my fur and skin. Then I whirled around, pinning her and pummeling her with my back claws.
She screeched in surprised pain. By pure chance, her back leg kicked my weak leg in a struggle to get free. I yelped.
"Enough!"
We fell apart.
"That is NOT how new cats are greeted, Raven Feather, and you know it!"
The sleek black cat licked a scratch on her stomach, her cold blue eyes defiant - and pleased.
"Hey, she proved she can handle herself in a fight, didn't she?" The kitten asked. Though she was bigger than I was, it was clear she was younger - about the same size and perhaps age as Shadow Hunter.
The lanky black tom's tail twitched, making leaves shuffle. "Hawk Talon would have done that just fine under the watchful eye of White Fox. Thank you for hurting her already weak leg during a day of hunting and running."
"She's fine."
"No, she isn't. She should go back to camp. We'll do this tomorrow." He turned to head back.
"I-I'm fine. It doesn't even hurt anymore."
He eyed me.
"I promise; if it hurts, I'll tell you and we can go right back." I shrugged. "Besides, her spirit inspires me."
I don’t want to go back to camp!

"I bet those wounds do too, huh?"
"Don't yours?"
For a moment, our gaze held. Then she rolled her eyes, though I saw interest and surprise.
"Anyway, we were going to hunt here until two kits frightened off the prey."
"You're the same age as me!" Raven Feather protested indignantly. "If I'm a kit, so are you!"
His whiskers twitched with irritated amusement. "Sure, we're around the same age. But I don't start fights with an injured, half-trained cat younger than me, either."
My fur raised alone my spine. "Excuse me, but I highly doubt either of you are older than eight moons. Neither of you can be more than six!"
They stared at me with disbelief. "You can't be eight moons!" Raven Feather growled. "You're smaller than me!"
"And you're still fluffy." Shadow Feather agreed quickly. "White Fox and Priestess both estimated you around four moons."
"Oh really?" I growled. "So, let me add things up. My mother started training me at three moons. Two moons later, she passed on. That was approximately three moons ago. If I'm doing this right, that's around eight moons. Even humans know how to count moons!"
"Then why are you still so fluffy?" She sounded confused.
"Humans use fire in the winter to keep the den warm, and they make breezes with things to keep it cool during the summer."
"Oh. So your fur doesn't have to smooth out or shed..."
"Nope."
They seemed both a little caught off guard.
"What?"
"Well...usually you'd have your first trial with Priestess and your instructor."
"Instructor?"
"The cat who teaches you. Like, Shadow Hunter blazed through his trials after only a few moons of healing and teaching as a journey cat. So he was made a hunter. Soon after that, he was given me as a journey cat." Raven Feather explained.
"Oh."
"Anyway, shouldn't we be on our way? She needs to know her way around, and show us she can hunt." Shadow Hunter looked anxiously at the sky.
"Why don't we go to the cove?" Raven Feather asked; her icy gaze full of excitement. She practically bounced to her paws.
I wondered how she had so much energy after the fight.
"No. The snakes there are dangerous and too fast for an inexperienced hunter. Besides, the rocks there are slick and she's never hunted in water."
"So? She can learn."
"Another day, Raven Feather. Right now...we'll go to the birch grove. There are plenty of jays, squirrels and mice that like the nuts and berries around there. We can see how she climbs too."
I shivered.
"What?"
"N-nothing. I just don't think climbing is a good idea when it comes to a weaker leg."
Shadow Hunter licked his chest fur. "Right. Well, the rest is easy enough. Common."
The two rose together and led the way into the confusing maze of a forest.


It was getting dark as we paused, panting, and lay our prey together. Raven Feather had caught four voles and a mouse. Though all were small and skinny, it was expected this soon after winter. I lay down a plump squirrel - an easy catch - and a crow that had been after it and forgotten to look around.
"Did you climb?" Shadow Hunter looked confused as he lay down a few jays. "I don't recall seeing you in the trees..."
I looked nervously up at the five towering birch trees, two of them very old and weak-looking. I shook my head, already dizzy.
"No. I used the squirrel to lure the crow down. He didn't even bother looking around. Crows are fast, but they sure aren't smart."
"He's a big one!" Raven Feather sounded jealous. Her catch was the most, but I had noticed her let go a frog once, and had frightened off a rabbit from scattering leaves for fun.
"Not really..."
"You did alright. I noticed that you didn't work a lot around the tree roots, though. And you did seem to ignore a mouse that Raven Feather was aiming for."
"It was hers."
"She would have caught it if you would have frightened it away from the den."
I blinked, confused. "It's not my fault she wiggled her tail on the pounce."
He sighed. "You'll learn teamwork in the clan."
"Look, you're her instructor, right? Why don't you teach her not to let a hare get away because she likes playing with leaves? And those frogs are edible."
He looked surprised. Raven Feather growled angrily.
"That rabbit came out of nowhere! I was trying to get a mole!"
"By digging in leaves and scarring mice?"
"Shut up." Shadow Hunter growled. "Neither of you are excellent hunters, but it's not my job to teach you, Serenity. You're right; I will need to work on Raven Feather's focus. I will tell Priestess to make sure if you are accepted into the clan and begin training, then you will need to work hard on teamwork and not bickering."
It shut both of us up.
How did he get so smart, if he is younger than me and the same age as Raven Feather?

"Pick up your prey and let's go."
We had no choice but to listen, and were quiet on the way back to camp.

*****

Dawn's cool rays of light trickled through the den as White Fox growled something through the den I'd been assigned under a large cluster of ferns. His paw prodded my side. Groaning, I rose to my paws with a yawn. Shaking moss from my fur, I stared at him sleepy-eyed.
"I said get up! You have until the sun has fully risen to eat and straighten that messy fur up! Then you are showing Hawk Talon and me what you're really made of!"
I nodded. "Shadow Hunter said something about this..."
"Good. Then you won't keep us waiting. We'll meet you at the training clearing."
"I don't know my way there!"
His eyes narrowed. "You seemed to hunt well last night. Track us!"
He whirled away, approaching the cat who'd replaced me last night. She looked surprised - almost shocked - and stared at me with almost pitying eyes. Then she followed her mentor or trainer or whatever he was to her out of the camp.
Grooming quickly, I wondered over to the prey pile. Not wanting to be sluggish or keep White Fox waiting - he hated me enough - I chose a sparrow.
"What are you doing?" Falling Sun's voice made me jump. I whirled around.
"I was told I could eat before training."
He purred. "That's eating? Man, I think a sick cat could do better! Is your belly upset?"
"No. I don't want to be slow."
"You hunted better than that yesterday. I saw that crow! The Priestess herself ate it with White Fox. Why don't you grab a mouse while you're at it? I enjoyed the squirrel last night after dusk patrol."
"I'm glad." I purred through bites of the sparrow. Then I ate the mouse he recommended.
"There. Now that you're full, I'll show you to the training hollow. They appear to have left without you."
"He said to track them." I licked my lips from the vibrant taste of my meal, feeling more awake.
Falling Sun hissed. "In the morning dew? You're a new cat who hasn't had clan training. You don't know your way around."
I shrugged. "Why give him more reason to think I don't need to be here? I tracked down that prey."
"Prey on a warm afternoon is far different than a cat like White Fox on a morning after a rain."
"What do you mean 'a cat like White Fox'?"
"He'll hit every dew patch and mud puddle there is, and gives Hawk Talon the order to so as well."
I thought about it. "Let them. I'll look for cat prints in the mud and crushed ferns with their scent."
The sleek orange youngster thought a moment, and then shrugged. "Alright. I'll let you track. But it's my job to not let you go out there alone. It's against the Spirit Laws, which guides this clan. You're not a soldier, so you go with a scout."
I blinked. Then, shrugging, I turned for the tunnel and darted out, leaping through the barrier easily. He followed me out.
With only a little guidance, I made my way through the forest and quickly found the training clearing. It was a small break in the trees where moss and lichen lay like a thick blanket. Surrounding it were oaks and a few fallen logs. There were rocks covered in more lichen and moss scattered on the edges.
In the very center, Hawk Talon and White Fox were talking.
"Now, be easy on her, Hawk Talon. Priestess won't be happy if you re-injure that soft human pet's leg. Then she can't run away to a new human den."
"She hasn't talked at all about her humans the entire four moons she's been here, White Fox. Why would she go back? She's a great hunter, too."
"Never mind that! Even if she does stay, those who hunt don't fight. She'll be ready to go home in a few blows. Avoid the leg, and don't use claws."
"Why would I use claws?" She tilted her head to the side. "Isn't this training?"
"It's a skill test."
"Same thing."
"Is it?" I nodded