The Forest Games

Chapter 8

The sun rose to reveal an outcrop a few fox lengths higher on the mountain. Dovewing blinked the fog from her eyes and sat up. She yawned and nudged Ivypool awake. She groaned and got up, reluctantly. "Good morning." Dovewing meowed. "Good morning." Ivypool replied and quickly licked her flank. "I'm going to go scout out that ledge. It might make a good spot for us to stay, somewhat out of the way." Dovewing meowed before padding up the mountainside. Ivypool stood up and followed her.

They pulled themselves onto the ledge after climbing a steep part of the mountain. There was a pine forest with ferns, bracken, and brambles scattered among the trunks. They perked their ears for any sound. It's so hard to hear as a normal cat. Dovewing thought, remembering how the force feild surrounding the games had taken away her power. They heard nothing suspicious and ventured further onto the outcrop. A squirrel ate a nut in a clearing. The two sisters froze and Ivypool stalked forward. She pounced on the unsuspecting squirrel, killing it with a swift blow to the neck. Fighting the pain in her belly from hunger, Ivypool brought the squirrel back. She took a few nibbles and let her sister finish it. The bushes rustled at the edge of the clearing and two eyes peered out of a clump of bracken. Ivypool unsheathed her claws, ready to fend off any attacker.

"Ivypool, Dovewing? Is that you?" a familiar voice said from the bushes. A golden-brown tabby tom padded out from the undergrowth. "Thornclaw!" Dovewing mewed happily. "A-are you ok?" she asked after realizing he had a cut on his shoulder. He glanced at it, "I'm ok, for now." Thornclaw replied sadly. "We have some marigold that we got from the Cornucopia. Here let me help." Dovewing meowed. She grabbed a few leaves and chewed them to a pulp. "No you can-" Thornclaw began, but found it useless to protest since Dovewing had already put the pulp on his cut. "Thank you." he said gratefully. "No problem, we have plenty. Anyway, why did you come looking for us?" Dovewing asked. "Well I ran off on my own with nothing. I found this ledge and there's great hunting here. I've stayed here peacefully, until I heard cats coming. I looked and saw you. I had to be cautious though, the games can make cats go bloodthirsty sometimes." Thornclaw sighed and shook his head. "Well would you want to team?" Dovewing offered. "Ok! Thank you." he replied graciously, "I'll lead you to my den." He padded away into the thick undergrowth.

They approached a towering pine tree with branches wide enough to fit five cats on one. Thornclaw jumped up to the lower branch, then climbed higher until he was about fifteen fox lengths up. "Up here!" he called down to them. Ivypool was the first to try. She jumped up and clumsily latched onto the lowest branch. She scrambled up until she reached the branch Thornclaw was standing on. Dovewing went next, missing the lowest branch the first time. "I'm fine!" she yowled to her clanmates once she stood up. On her second try, she easily reached the first branch and made her way through the branches. Panting, she lay down next to Ivypool. "This is where I've been staying. Nobody will find us up here for a while." Thornclaw meowed. Ivypool nodded and glanced at the sky. It was sun-high, and the tributes would all be out now, whether looking for someone to kill or hiding from others. Dovewing's breathing slowed and she fell asleep. Ivypool curled up next to her and was soon followed by Thornclaw. They fell asleep, dreaming of nothing.

Brokenstar padded up to Tigerstar. "Tigerstar, what are we going to do. The tributes are teaming with their clanmates and all heading in separate directions. They are surviving well, too." Brokenstar meowed. Tigerstar chuckled a bit and turned around. His amber eyes blazed. "For now."