Spirit's Journey

CHAPTER 2- Spirit: Ascending Darkness

We'd been walking a long amount of time now. After being cooled off and having a drink, I figured we should go at a faster pace than usual since we were refreshed.

Fallan still had her rabbit in her mouth, proud as ever. Hannah looked as if her paws weighed more than the ground itself.

It was past dark by now, and even I had to admit I was getting a little tired. The Great Spot stood high in the sky, its light shining down on us. I stared at the ground as we moved on, wondering if we should just climb a tree and eat the rabbit now.

Lost in my thinking, I bumped into an Oak tree. Fallan and Hannah began to laugh. "Be quiet before I-"

My eyes flickered to the side again so I could be sure of what I was seeing. I'd caught sight of something behind Hannah's tall, lithe figure that was much darker.

The rock form was perfect, ascending into blackness the father back it went. It looked sheltered but also a bit big for my liking because I knew larger animals could dwell in there.

But still, it was a cave. They offered warmth, usually water, and shelter.

With Hannah and Fallan still laughing it up, I snatched Fallan's prey out of her jaws and raced to the entrance of the cave. She hadn't been holding it tightly enough, so her fault.

"Hey!" I heard Fallan yell, and soon saw both of them pouncing up beside me.

I shoved Hannah playfully, my earlier annoyance forgotten.

"You two are kind of slow!" I tried to joke but Fallan was already complaining as she often did every other minute of the day.

Again already. Really?

"Can we go in now? Im hungry!" My smile vanished as she whined and kneaded her paws impatiently in the dirt.

"Yes, we can."

This would probably be the only thing we would be able to find for shelter, and it was halfway through the night by now but I knew I still had to make sure it was safe. Hannah read my thoughts before I could voice them, her ears flicking back nervously.

"There could be bears, or badgers, or something else in there..."

"Exactly," I said. At least she wasn't completely stupid. "But we've already taken a risk by holding this prey so long," I advised.

"Fallan, sit out here and hide your kill." Upon gazing at my sister I realized she looked dejectedly worried and left out.

She got to sit out here! What could be better than that?

Well, maybe with me and Hannah going in she fretted we might not come out.

"But what if you don't come back out," she whispered, speaking my thoughts. How was I going to calm her nerves when I couldn't ensure it was safe inside this cave?

Hannah snorted and laughed. "Then you get the rabbit all to yourself!"

I shook my head at her comment, knowing it would've been something that made Fallan happy if we weren't about to explore a dangerous place. Sometimes those two were crazy as squirrels.

"Right, lets go," I meowed urgently. Our shadows stretched across the ground, mixing with the darkness of the forest floor. The longer Fallan waited out here the more danger she could be in, for there was even more possibilities of another animal lurking outside. Foxes, badgers, owls and other creatures liked to prowl at night.

I felt worried for my sister as Hannah and I slithered into the cave on silent paws and shot a glance at Fallan one last time before I crept into the darkness. Guilt and a tiny twinge of fear swelled up in my throat.