Warrior Eevees #2: Pearl's Shadow

3- The Pack

Another two moon cycles passed. Silver fell into the familiar summer rhythm of hunting and swimming with her Tribemates. The snowmelt ended, and the lake and streams fell to their smoothest, most comfortable depth. Rain rarely interrupted the days, so the sky was bright and clear, and struck the waters with dazzling sunbeams that landed on the rippling, sandy lakebed far below. It was still too deep for Silver to dive, but the clarity of the water almost made her believe she could.

Fish were clearly seen by members of the Tribe, and no one went to bed hungry. The day's hunting was easily completed before the sun was high in the sky, and the Lake Tribe spent the rest of their time lounging in the sun on the lake shore when they weren't patrolling, grooming each other's fur and sharing stories of battles past, the misery of combat forgotten in the beautiful weather.

Geyser, who Silver still watched out of the corner of her eye, spent none of his time resting. When he wasn't fishing or patrolling, he was helping reinforce the dens or scouting out the currents in the lake. Diver was watching him, too. The whole Tribe was.

The nights were as lazy and peaceful as the days. The sky was bejeweled with countless stars, like a crystal mist in the sky, which was as dark as a winter stream. Silver had to enlarge her nest again, although she was getting very close to full-grown. Tumble, Crouch, and Silent slept quietly, with no disturbance to the older Eevees. Silver was free to fish and pounce in her dreams, unafraid of drowning or enemy Tribes.

It was in the middle of one of these dreams when a paw tapped her sharply on the nose, and she blinked awake. Moonlight still filtered through the den, and Mist lay nearby, breathing deeply and slowly. Silver caught the familiar scent of her sisters, their eyes flashing in the darkness in front of her.

"What?" she whispered.

"We're going to the Wildlands," Leap was grinning, Silver saw as her eyes adjusted.

"The Wildlands?" Silver exclaimed as quietly as she could, no need to wake up the kittens. "Why?"

"Just to see," Leap explained. "Aren't you curious? Why don't we extend our territory out there? Weren't there lots of nice ponds?"

"No," Silver murmured anxiously. "I'm not curious. We have so much food that I'm starting to feel like we'll never have to hunt again, Leap."

"She's just scared," Agile sneered from Leap's side.

Leap shot her a resentful look. "She doesn't have to come if she doesn't want to."

"Scaredy-fish," Agile added.

Leap rolled her eyes. Silver wanted to fight back, but she was afraid Agile was right. She was afraid, afraid of the mere concept of sneaking into the Wildlands, ruffling her grey fur down her spine. She couldn't argue.

"Well, promise you won't tell," Leap begged. "We'll be back by morning- we won't go far."

"Okay," Silver said, still trying to fight the shame of not being willing to go. "See you tomorrow."

And without another word, she laid her head on her paws and closed her eyes again. She tried to remember what she had been dreaming about, but it didn't matter. There were infinite beautiful lakes to plunge into in her dreams.

By the time she awoke, the sun was beaming down through the woven den, and it was empty, save for Silent, who was huddled in the back as usual. Voices echoed through the entrance, voices that sounded too anxious to be casually swapping glory stories. Silver leaped to her paws, her pelt fluffed out.

"What's going on?" she asked Silent.

"Leap and Agile are missing," he half-mumbled.

"They said-" Silver clamped her jaws shut. She had promised not to tell. She had promised.