Wolf Warrior

Eight

The next day, I was awoken by several sharp nips on my legs. Sleepily opening my eyes, I realised it was still dark. An early morning start. The mocking she-wolves who'd made fun of me when I first arrived were biting me, which didn't help.
"You humans are so lazy... do you need more bites to wake you up?" One she-wolf asked. The two wolves laughed in their lupine way. I was tempted to fight them but didn't. That would make me as bad as them and besides, they were only doing it because they were jealous of me. I stood up, yawned and then pushed the she-wolves out of the way, going over to the large shady tree. The tree was still masked by early morning mist but I could still see it and was welcomed by the other patrol members. One of the black bears handed me my bow and arrows and my quiver, telling me to wait for the others to arrive. A few minutes later, Fanfare and a wolf arrived, shortly joined by the mocking she-wolves. We had a short meeting so we knew what to do but apparently the chances of us actually being attacked were not very high. Also, we were informed about the patrol's plan. Basically, Shadowberry would lead the group, Fannfare would be behind him, followed by the 3 wolves, the other bears and finally, me. I was still a bit worried about being attacked but Shadowberry told me,
"I only invited you to this because we take the bracken path through the forest - the least attacked route. You're also at the back so you can get away quickly if you want to."
Fanfare growled at what Shadowberry said.
"Running away... that isn't brave at all... humph." She ground her teeth together when she said this.
10 minutes later, wearing my quiver and holding my bow, our patrol set off into the misty bracken route of the forest. All the time, my heart was beating like a drum at the excitement of my new position.

It was when the early morning mist had dropped and the bracken was sparkling with dew when it happened. Shadowberry walked tensely and then paused, telling us,
"Shush... I think I can hear something strange."
We all looked around the bracken-carpeted forest floor, searching for something, anything, that might explain why we'd come to a halt. Then, all of a sudden, we heard a rustling. The bracken was moving and swaying like it was alive and I could hear a high-pitched squeaking coming from it.
"What the..." I breathed, as the things in the bracken moved closer.
"Nightstar warriors - retreat!" Fanfare suddenly squealed. We all ran for it.
The Nightstar warrirors, still under the bracken, chased us furiously, getting closer. They squeaked excitedly and when they'd got very close, they revealed themselves. 4 cat-sized animals with long, thin bodies sprang out of the bracken at us. They had long fluffy tails as long as their bodies and ratty faces with sharp fangs. They were Ferrets! What's more, they had weeny swords and shields in their clawed paws. The ferrets leapt onto the bears, squirreling all over them, jabbing at the bears with their tiny swords.
"Run away or fight." Fanfare hissed at me, fur bristled, "But don't loiter, Skye." Fanfare rushed at the ferrets, calling them 'manky mustelids' and attempting to bite them as even more ferrets sprang out of the bracken. I waited a moment, then reached for some arrows from my quiver. It was time to put my training to good use. I stood there, nocked my arrow, felt a surge of power from my weapon when I drew back the string. I searched the area with my eyes, then aimed at a browny-white ferret attacking the mocking she-wolves. The ferret was a hard target as it was moving in a fast, wriggly way. I aimed...then released the string. The arrow was a deadly submarine, sailing speedily through the depths of the battle's air. Except it was long, thin, fletched, and I'd released it from a longbow. The arrow hit the ferret, and he fell off the she-wolves with a squeal. I put another arrow in my bow, aimed, fired. This time the arrow missed the ferret targeted, sticking into a pine tree but it frightened the nearby ferrets and they ran off Shadowberry. Only a few of my 10 arrows actually hit a ferret, but even so, I'd actually been useful for once, not been a nuisance. The fight with the ferrets eventually ended, with our small Snowdrop Army patrol being victorious. We left the bracken wood, yowling, howling, barking our victory chant.
"I don't think one ferret survived that attack." declared a bear confidently.
But at that moment, I heard a rustling of leaves and looking behind me, saw a white furry tail disappearing off into the bracken. One had got away. Making sure he wasn't about to attack, I turned around again. I collected 4 fallen arrows then returned to camp.