The Tallows- Book 1

Chapter 1

Hix-Wisp was sweeping the porch steps of his parents' sand house with his tail. The heat was intense today and was getting to him, despite being a Smoke Tallow who had lived in the desert his whole life. He wiped the sandy sweat off his brow. A few hunters walked by and he waved to them. They snickered at him and continued walking. Hix-Wisp sighed and went back to work.

His parents, Sphinx and Flame had been kind to him while he had been a baby but now as an apprentice, his work was never done. His mentor, Mire-Wick was tough and mean and somehow always had something in mind for him to do.

Hix-Wisp had just finished sweeping when the old bell tower began to ring. He listened to the dongs, once, twice, thrice. It was a call to the town hall for a meeting. All the Tallows nearby started chattering like crazy. The whole tribe had been waiting for this moment. It was the week before the Arrowhead Market month and everyone was buzzing about the gossip they would share. Even the newest babies this year were hopping all over the place, following their mothers, tripping over their tails, and drooling over their claws.

Hix-Wisp hopped off the steps and joined the crowd. He, along with all the other apprentices, was hoping that his essay had won that year. Like every year, all the apprentices wrote essays about a topic they chose and turned it in. Whoever won would get to travel with King Wildfire to the market and have the chance to impress him. It was the chance of a lifetime and everyone hoped to get that chance.

Hix-Wisp forced himself to keep pace with everyone else around him rather than leap ahead of them all. He needed to follow his mentor's lessons. He was already doing poorly in his hunting and fighting training. The only thing he had going for him was his listening skills and his cooperation. If he ever wanted to make it to warrior or hunter, he needed to score high enough in favor of the King's law.

When they all got to the town hall, everyone took a seat and waited for the annual leader's speech to begin. When everyone had gathered, the King, King Wildfire, stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat.

"Thank you all for coming, like you do every year. Tomorrow we start the week-long journey to the market! We will need the strongest warriors this year especially, as we are trading a great quantity of rare cactus! The Jungle and Wind tribes are hoping to trade some of their newest scrolls and weapons!" The crowd cheered and then Soot-wi, the Smoke tribe's greatest deputy in history(or at least that's what he calls himself) stepped up next to King Wildfire.

King Wildfire nodded to him.

"And now without further ado, to keep the apprentices from bursting apart from excitement, Here is the greatest Smoke Tallow Deputy, Soot-wi, with the name of the winner of the essay contest!"

Soot-wi stepped onto the podium as King Wildfire moved off to the side. Hix-Wisp took careful note on the way the King held himself. His claws, his head, his tail in the just-so position. It must have taken hours to get it perfect. Hix-Wisp wished he could be like that one day. Like all other apprentices, he wished he could just skip his training and go straight to being a warrior or a hunter.

"Today is the day we celebrate and get ready for the trip that seems like a vacation at first but slowly gets mind numbing later" Laughter sounds from the older warriors and hunters, those who have made the journey at least thirty times.

"But first we must decide who will be given the chance of a lifetime! Who was the lucky apprentice that gets to ride with King Wildfire!" Loud cheering came from all the apprentices. Only Hix-Wisp didn't dare to even breathe. This was it. This was the moment he had been waiting on for three months now. His eyes were glued to Soot-wi, his ears hanging on every gosh dang word that wasn't a name.