The Whispered Promise

Chapter 1

"Siena, watch this!"

I put my paws down lightly on the freshly fallen snow, keeping my long, fluffy tail from dragging in it as I crept up on my sister, who was studying her reflection in the river. When I was about a tail- length away I pounced, letting out a yowl as I bowled her away from the rivers edge so we wouldn't fall in. Siena had told us many times that our fur wasn't made for swimming, and that the freezing water would make us very sick if we couldn't dry off. As I pummeled my sister with sheathed paws, she squirmed away and cried out dramatically, staggering comically over to our mother as she fell in a heap in front of her. Siena chuckled, shaking her head as my sister twitched a couple times, her tongue lolling out of her mouth.

"Careful, you don't want any more ice stuck on your tongue," I teased, bounding over to them. About a moon ago Haviet had been licking an icicle when her tongue had stuck to it. She had to stand there for ages until Siena and I finally found her. We sat and breathed warm air onto the icicle until well past sunhigh, when Haviet could finally remove her tongue from the then dripping icicle.

"Alright Kodelin, stop teasing your sister," Siena murmured as she nudged Haviet onto her paws. "Haviet, now look what you've done. You have snow clumps all in your fur." I chuckled as I watched Siena groom my sister as she squirmed and squeaked out protests. I wandered back to the riverside, gazing into the water. It had been a shock back when I was a kit to look at my eyes for the first time. Instead of deep blue like Haviet and Siena's, my eyes were a greenish-gray, like looking at the pine forest on a foggy morning. Siena always told me that green was a rare eye color in our Tribe, and that they proved I was destined for greatness. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking, since I was the only one left to take care of our family. Tovak, my father, was killed by a patrol from the Astonian Tribe, back before Haviet and I were born. Our tribe, the Korinetin Tribe, had taken good care of my pregnant mother, and the Tribe's Obeah had done all she could do to help mother when she kitted. Despite their best efforts to keep all four of her kits alive, the day I was born was one of the coldest in leaf-bare, and my two brothers died that night. My sister Haviet was the strongest of the two of us, but early one morning we were playing in the valley and a hawk grabbed her. The Tribe cats took down the hawk and killed it before it could take my sister away, but one of her paws was badly broken. It never healed properly, and even now remained at an awkward angle, causing her to walk unsteadily and run with great difficulty. Siena was now too old to have any more kits, and still grieved for Tovak. Sometimes I lay awake at night, looking up at the stars and wondering at how this great responsibility could be replaced on such a young snow leopard like me. I wasn't strong, or fast, or the best hunter in the Tribe. I wasn't an Obeah, I wasn't anybody. How could I take care of us when I was just a cub?

"Kodelin!" Siena called, breaking me from my thoughts. "It's time to be getting ready for your ceremony."

I bounded to my feet, Haviet's eyes shining with the same excitement I felt. In our Tribe, when a cub reached the age of 6 moons, they went through the traditional Tribe ritual that was required to see if they were ready to be trained in the Tribe ways. If they were deemed ready and worthy, then they would be assigned to the position they would serve in the Tribe. I looked up at my mother, admiring her lean build and muscles. Siena had been one of the Tribe's best Hunters when she had been younger. Now, she mostly looked after the other cubs in the Tribe while their mothers did their duties. I stood as tall as I could, trying to hold myself with the same natural grace as she did. One day, I hoped I could help the Tribe as much as she had. Then I glanced at Haviet. Would the Tribe's Luminar, Jamaria, allow her to have a duty, or condemn her to living the lowest life a Tribe had to offer, living off the scraps from the hunts, not allowed to join in meetings and ceremonies? Or worse, would she deem her too much of a burden to the Tribe, and made to leave? She would be picked off by the Astonians before sundown. From the moment it had become clear that Haviet and I would not die like our brothers had, Siena and her brother, Quinte, had taken every spare moment of their time to make sure we would become strong, healthy members of the Tribe. They kept an especially close eye on Haviet, coming up with exercises that she could do to help her run more effectively without using her dead paw, and land large leaps without ruining it further. I knew they were giving Haviet special treatment, but I didn't resent that. As a matter of fact, I frequently joined in their training sessions, giving words of encouragement. Now she was a strong, capable member of the Tribe. I just hoped Jamaria could see that.