Heart Of A Fighter (Book 4): Magic In The Valley

Chapter 9: Love And Claws

A moon had passed since the great incident. Flurry had since been promoted to a warrior and was given the name Flurry Stride, much to Foxglove Heart's pride.

Wren was progressing well in her training, and her friends were all doing equally well as her. Hyacinth had come out of her shell and was much braver than she had been when she was named Softpaw.

Today, Lagoon Snarl was taking her to climb the craggy rock formations to look for two types of herbs that grew in small, damp cracks of stone, Feversong shoots and Glowhail plants.

Wren breathed heavily as she hauled herself atop a tall slab of rock, following her snowy-furred mentor who was already crouched on the top of the rock where a massive tree sheltered it from the sun.

The piddly stone crumbs sprayed down as she finally hoisted herself onto the ledge with her mentor. Lagoon Snarl was crouched on the stone, sniffing the area.

"Don't stand tall on the rock," he meowed as she carefully made her way to him. "Crouch down so the branches won't hit you and you'll feel more stable. Birds of prey can't get you as easy too."

Wren obeyed the instructions and dropped down to a crouch, carefully making her way to Lagoon Snarl who had clawed out a handful of small green and white shoots.

Suddenly, Lagoon Snarl's ears pricked up and he raised his nose to the air, sniffing for a moment. "Come," he whispered to her shortly after, and they both approached the edge of the rock.

The craggy stone of one of the tallest rock structures in the valley looked over the meadows below, the flowers below dotting the evergreen meadows with various different colours.

"Look," he whispered, pointing a wing at the grasses below. Wren blinked, and turned to where he was pointing only to see a massive herd of deer grazing the meadows.

Wren gaped in awe at the herd of deer, admiring the huge creatures in all their glory. Their soft brown fur gleamed under the radiant sunbeams, their motions gentle and fluid as they grazed.

Only two were male, with tall skeletal antlers resembling tree branches. In the centre of the herd were a dozen or so fawns with lanky legs.

Suddenly, Lagoon Snarl used a wing to gesture to the shadows of the forest, and Wren saw a squadron of cats slink out from the shadows, prowling around the edge of the clearing.

The deer looked up, clearly startled by the unexpected visitors. Their eyes stared nervously at the prowling cats, pausing in their grazing almost at once.

Suddenly, the Guild cats burst out of the shadows and began racing in unison, creating a circle formation around the deer and working with incredible coordination.

The Guild cryptids began strategically positioning themselves to guide the deer in the direction they wanted them to go, snapping threateningly at their legs.

The deer, confused and frightened, burst into action, galloping in the same direction the snarling cats were guiding them in, unsure of what else to do.

The thundering of hooves filled the air, with small grass blades, leaves and dust being kicked up by the stampeding herd as they ran.

Wren watched in awe as the squadron skilfully split off into five groups, taking each side of the stampeding herd and chasing them away from their borders.

The deer, startled by the unexpected movement of the cats, complied and started moving away from the territory, their graceful strides matching the quick and agile movements of the cats.

It was a sight to behold as the agile cats moved skillfully around the larger, slower deer, snapping their jaws and pushing them firmly in the right direction.