Starry Sky

Chapter 1

"Snowtail!" A bark echoed through the bracken. The canopy of trees above blocked the sun as the sky slowly grew light.

Only one body lay next to her. The warmth filled her paws and the slow rise and fall lifted from its chest

She looked down, her bed was lined with soft moss. She was in her den, the cave was just a dream. She listened closely to the sound of the leaves rustling above her. She thought she still heard faint cries of battle lift into the air.

Musty odors of leaf mold mingled with the aroma of a small furry creature reminded her she hadn't eaten since the morning before.

Usually when the leaves turn green and the grass is full there is plentiful prey, but this leaf-green there was a shortage of prey. Who knows what might happen when the days get shorter and the air gets crisp and cold.

"Snowtail!" The voice called again. Snowtail was snapped back into reality. She stood up and walked toward the lichen. She parted it to see what was calling. Sunlight streamed through as she winced.

Snowtail could see the sun climbing the sky as a pang of realization hit her. At dawn she was supposed to send the hunters out!

The shape that was calling her advanced forward. It was Firenose, the first friend she had ever made. They met in the apprentices' den and she would never forget the day.

She still remembers the bouncy little Firenose as she prepared to get assigned a teacher. She still had that fire and Snowtail didn't think she would ever lose it.

Firenose looked at Snowtail and motioned her out into the clearing. A gust of wind ruffled their fur as they stepped out of the den. She scanned the clearing and saw her clan mates gathering around a black figure.

"Nightclaw!" Snowtail barked. She paced forward. "What are you doing?" Her clan mates who surrounded Nightclaw parted to get to their morning duties. She didn't want to be loud because they were right outside the stone path leading up to the leader's den.

"I didn't want to wake you, you were sleeping so peacefully," Nightclaw said with a sly grin, clearly looking for trouble.

A growl rumbled from her throat, she didn't want to give away her dream but she knew Nightclaw knew perfectly well why she was acting up.

"The patrols are sorted, your welcome," growled Nightclaw as he stalked away. She could have sworn she saw the lichen from the leader's den twitch. Panic rose inside her. What if Nightclaw was a better deputy than she was? She shuffled her paws uneasily on the ground.

"You look tense," Firenose bent down to look into Snowtail's eyes. "Let's get you some poppy seeds from the Healers den. We can also see the new apprentice!"

Snowtail totally forgot about the Coming of Age test. It occurs when pups turn 6 full moons and they have to see where they place in the pack. There's fighters, hunters and healers. All the apprentices go into one den, except for the healers, until they're ready to become a full-wolf.

Snowtail and Firenose are full-wolf fighters, they came out of the apprentices den 3 full moons ago, so they're pretty new.

They crossed the clearing towards the healers den. The entrance was two slabs of rock that leaned against each other and surrounded by bracken to keep patients safe. They approached the entrance as they heard the tinkering of tools. A strong smell issued into the clearing, it was herbs. Snowtail never liked that smell because it reminded her of sickness.

"What can I do for you?" A small honey colored wolf stepped out of the den. A cobweb clung to her white paw, she was probably organizing her selections.

"Snowtail needs some poppy seeds for her nerves," Firenose answered.

"Come in, come in," the honey wolf motioned them inside. They followed her into the den. It was brighter than Snowtail had remembered. Long wood trunks stretched high to make the space feel larger. A trickle of water flowed into a calming pool by the beds.

"Tell me Snowtail, what's got you so tense?" The healer said with curiosity as she prepared the poppy seeds.

"Nightclaw," replied Snowtail, "He wants to be deputy and he's working harder. I can tell the leader is noticing."

"Ah yes, Nightclaw, he does have a strong ambition, I can see the fire in his eyes. But Graymoon, our leader, is no fool," the healer padded over and laid the poppy seeds in front of Snowtail.

"Thank you Honeycomb," she said as she licked up the poppy seeds from the dry ground.