Dawnmist: Cliff of Shadows

Chapter 12

Stars peeped through the thick fog of clouds. Their tiny, flickering lights sifted to Luna's sight, and around her, the other wolves drifted to sleep in a makeshift camp. But Luna couldn't relieve herself with sleep, no matter how much her paws ached. Before night fell the group arrived at an abandoned camp and quickly took dibs on the dens. Luna had an itch on her fur, either from the rough dirt below her or the strange tingles in the air.

She sighed and got up. Outside, nothing but the lone owl made a sound. Her vine entrance swished, but it sounded like a loud thunder of paws. The small camp had stale smells all over it, smells so old that they thought it was a fox at first. Though this place feels off... My fur says so. And my instinct can't be wrong, can it? A caw drew her attention. On the branch of a long-dead pine, one crow perched on its tip. It stared its beady black eyes at her, and Luna turned away, unable to hold its stare.

Branches rustled in an eerie yet calming way. Almost... inviting, she thought. The sound drew her closer. Each pawstep thumped with caution and curiosity. In the distant clump of pine branches, a wolf outline zipped across. Luna paused in an uncertain limbo. In one final check back, she followed the mysterious shadow.

Luna relied on her excellent night vision to navigate. But with the washed out colors replacing the trees, any dark colored wolf could blend in. She raised her guard as her eyes scanned around. Leaf crunching reached her ears, pushing her legs to its direction. Through the trees she ran until reaching the plains of before. No animal, other than the occasional bird, showed itself on the dimly lit plains. In the shimmering moonlight, Luna made out the wolf's outline.

It had a mix of white and black fur, judging by how the light revealed it. Luna saw its bright amber eyes as it saw her. One moment later, it vanished around a blind corner, and Luna gave up the chase. She had an urge to tell the others. No, I can't, Luna decided on her hurry back to camp, only if it's a bigger problem. Worrying the others isn't what I should do now.

~~

"Wake up!" River's voice cracked on 'up' as she knocked everyone awake. "Let's hurry up! MistPack's pups can walk faster than you!"

The wolves groaned as they woke, stretching and blinking the crust from their eyes. Luna checked behind her as last night's memories stirred. A burning urge told her to speak, but as her eyes met River's, the info wouldn't leave her mouth. Their paws returned to agonizing travel as they walked ahead.

"Can't we hunt first?" Willow begged.

"I wish you didn't say that," Cypress replied, "Now I'm hungry."

Luna silently agreed with her, but River snapped at them. "We will eat later!"

"You can't be serious," Willow muttered. The wolves padded on, even against the aches. Water flowed past the nearby riverbed. Their currents went slower than normal, and they filled half the available space. How does a river stretch this far? Luna shook her head. I'm too hungry to think about that... or anything other than walking.

They followed the drying riverbed through trees and plains, until soon the river split, halting the wolves in their tired tracks. Their shadows dragged a little behind them in the heating sun. Each wolf eyed the many splits with uncertainty. There's at least five paths! Luna thought. Why do the spirit wolves need to make this complicated? Unlike the others who looked around aimlessly, River tensed and snapped her head around, facing the group with pure determination. She barked, "We're taking the rightmost path."

"How do you know if it's the right path?" Luna asked, cocking her head. River glared at Luna as though she'd snatched a mouse from under her.

"Since when do you have ideas on where to go?" River snarled.