Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 70: The Duel

It had been a full day since Little Leaf's disappearance. Since then, three different search parties had been sent out by Black Blood, and Eagle Talon had been in all of them. He pressed his fellow tribe-mates to search every boulder, every scrub, every ditch of the vast, rocky mountainsides and grassy valleys of the Moon Tribe's territory, and further still when they figured the young girl had crossed the borders. Each and every time the patrols admitted defeat, he begged and pleaded for another hour more, but it was no use. The cats wouldn't say it, but everyone was thinking the same thing: Little Leaf was gone.

Birch Tail took it hard. He wasn't typically a sentimental tom, but Eagle Talon had sensed for a long time that he looked upon his student Little Leaf as his ward. After Bracken Stripe and Silver Mist passed away, he had taken it upon himself not only to teach the young cat how to be a fierce warrior and clever hunter for the tribe, but he'd also acted as a father figure to her.

Now, Talon could see the brown tom walking with his companions with his head bowed, and when it was eating time, he merely pawed listlessly at his food. Talon couldn't think of anything to say to add comfort. Birch Tail wasn't the only cat who had lost his appetite.

It was eating time the next day, in the morning, when the sunrise patrol came in through one of the tunnel entrances. These patrols were not search parties, but rather normal procedures the clan initiated in order to constantly make sure their territory was safe from invaders and predators. Now whenever these routined parties returned, Eagle Talon always asked if they had found any sign of Little Leaf—and always the answer was "no".

The tribe seemed disturbed by Little Leaf's disappearance. Whispers of the Sons and Daughters taking her to get revenge for escaping flitted about the gossips of the clan. Some began to tell stories that warned kittens to never stray far from their mothers, lest they too be snatched by a hungry human and eaten in their stew.

Many were worried for Leaf's sake. Despite her place in the clan being quirky because of her relation to Eagle Talon and Black Blood, she was a well-liked young cat—more liked than she could have ever guessed. Perhaps, if she had heard some of the cats worrying and reflecting on how good Leaf was and how horrible it would be to lose her, she just might have realized how appreciated she was in her home.

Now Eagle Talon was gnawing on a falcon's wing, not feeling very hungry. The day was just beginning and the tribe was stirring sleepily. Many were in the large cavern where the hunting patrols would dump their catches and cats would share food and words together. When he saw the sunrise patrol come in from the dark tunnel entrance, he jumped to his paws and bounded over to them.

"Any sign of her?" His question was routine by now. The expressions on the faces of the patrol answered Talons' question before one of the cats, Dotted Shrub, took the task of responding. The milky-gray she-cat shook her head ruefully.

"Sorry, Talon."

Talon sighed and muttered an apology. He didn't know why he got his hopes up every time a cat walked in through that tunnel. It was clear that Little Leaf was gone and had left the territory. No cat had found her body, but that didn't mean she was alive. Eagles always took their prey away to eat. Talon suppressed a shudder at the thought of his little half-sister clasped in the cruel claws of an eagle, crying out as she was carried away. He had watched her father, Bracken Stripe, carried away like that, too...

Two toms split from the already-dispersing patrol, casting Eagle Talon smug looks. One was lean, black-and-white pelted cat with abnormally large, round ears. The other was short, stocky, and thick-furred, his pelt very thick and white. The black-and-white tom's whiskers twitched, and he hissed to his companion, "I don't see what all this fuss is about. It's good riddance Leaf's gone. If you ask me, she was much too interested in humans for her own good."