Lost Hope: Book 6: Future of Hope

Chapter 6

Vixen let her long tail sweep luxuriously over the ground, and twitched her ears, enjoying the little bit of winter sun. She was no stranger to the cold, and never put up much fuss, but she'd take the warm where she could get it.

"Vixen!" The loud and booming voice of her father echoed around the tree trunks and Vixen sighed and made her way back to the clearing.

"Did you catch anything?" Jaguar asked as she came in view.

"Nope," Vixen said unashamedly. "But I could look around a bit more?"

"No, this is fine for now." Jaguar picked up the large rabbit that was by his paws. "And your mother got a nice squirrel. We'll just have to make sure we hide it better this time."

When you were part of a rogue group, you hunted for yourself. Nobody else. Vixen heard it was different in the Clans; that everyone hunted for the group, every able-bodied cat helped feed everyone, even the cats that couldn't hunt for themselves. Vixen thought that sounded nice in hindsight, but she also liked her independence. She didn't have to rely on anyone but herself and her parents. Why would she want to change that?

As for why they had to hide it. . . Well, some cats thought that catching live prey was too tedious and would just steal others' food.

"I'll try and catch something on the way back," Vixen offered. She hadn't caught anything in days.

"I said no, Vixen," Jaguar told her. "Anything else would just sit and rot. This is good for a couple days. You will catch something next time."

Vixen just twitched her tail irritably and followed her father back to the barn. Many cats eyed them hungrily, but Jaguar didn't pay them any mind as he and Vixen joined Winona who sat in the far right corner underneath the loft.

"I see hunting was a success," her mother said, pleased, although she cast wary glances around at the other cats. Jaguar alone could ward off any potential thieves, but they still had to watch their backs.

"I think this will be good for a couple days," Jaguar said, setting it down and already digging in. Winona and Vixen joined him, looking up occasionally to check that no one was trying to encroach. But their meal went uninterrupted.

When they had finished, Jaguar said in a low growl. "Vixen, this time put it next to that skunk den, okay? That way it hides the scent."

Vixen nodded slowly. "Got it," she said. Her father was trusting her with caching the food, she was going to do it right.

When nightfall came and everyone would be settling down to train in their dreams, Vixen took the remains of the rabbit—they had finished the squirrel—and set out of the barn, careful to not bring too much attention to herself. She let out a small sigh of relief once she had made it out of the barn's large archway and made her way toward the forest. The skunk was a little farther in, and no one really hunted there since the smell was rancid and no one wanted to run into the skunks.

Vixen wasn't afraid of them though. And she was fine getting close as long as that meant that she got food tomorrow. Now, there was no guarantee that the skunks wouldn't take the food. But it was a gamble either way. So she found a good spot to bury the food and left her scent on the tree to dissuade the skunks. Hopefully it would still be there tomorrow.

Vixen stepped away from the tree, and she decided to take a roundabout way back to the barn. She'd like a dip in the stream to rid herself of any lingering skunk odor. Stars, those things smelled.

She found the stream, and dipped her paws in the chilly water and shivered a little. Just roll, and then run, she told herself. You'll get warmer once you start running. Just do it.