Flame

Chapter Three

Flame bounced  along happily, enjoying life in his tribe. His To-Be training was going well and he often went to hunt in the wood, as he was now. He stopped dead in his tracks. He smelled cat. He parted his jaws to make sure. Yep, it was as he thought, a strange cat was in his wood. There was a slight possibility this cat was a threat to his tribe, but not really. Mouth open, alert for signs of danger, he crept forward. His paws made no noise at all, his half a moon of training was beginning to show. His tail brushed gently against an overhanging leaf. Nervously, he padded forward. “My tribe is in danger, my tribe is in danger,” he repeated under his breath. “Your what?” yowled a voice from the forest. Flame felt sure that his heart was still in the trees as he replied as steadily as he could, “My tribe,” he tried to sound sure and threating, “Where are you and what are you doing here?” a two colored she-cat emerged from the shadows. “None of your business, kittypet,” she sniffed. “For your information, mouse-brain, I am from a The Tribe of Burning Eclipse, as I stated earlier, and you are trespassing.” Flame was sure he sounded no more threatening than a mouse. “So touchy,” she scoffed, “ And you don’t even know who I am. Well, I’m Dovewing, and I haven’t seen or scented any other cats sense I’ve been here, so tell me, is this really your territory?” Dovewing? What kind of name is that? not wanting to be out done Flame replied, “ Dovewing? Is that all?” Dovewing looked surprised and began, “Yes, what is yours? Is it different?” finally, a chance to show her up, “Yes, my name is Flame That Burns at Night, I am a To-Be from the Tribe of Burning Eclipse,” bowing pleasantly he added “I think we got off on the wrong paw, Dovewing.” “I agree whole heartedly,” Dovewing’s eyes clouded questioningly, “To-be?”  “Yes, we train under a mentor - mine is Hawk Who’s Eye is Sharp - until we are trained enough to be either a prey-hunter or a cave-guard.” Swapping information about their lives, until they knew about each other as if they were litter mates, the time went quickly, till about sunset, when they heard a voice calling, “Flame! Flaaaaaaame! Where are you?!!!” “Dovewing, that is my mother, Sun That Sets on Water, I have to go,” Flame smiled encouragingly when his friend’s face saddened, “Tomorrow?” Happily she purred, and turned away, again fading into shadow, “Tomorrow!” Flame bounced out of the forest, his feet barely touching the earth, wondering why he already missed this strange cat, but she isn’t just the strange cat anymore, she is Dovewing. “Flame! There you are, I’ve been worried sick!” She pulled up short, seeing him emerge from the wood, “Flame,” her mew was barely a whisper, “That place is forbidden to all cats in the Tribe, Its full of loners and kittypets,” the last few words came as if they had left a bad taste in her mouth, “Don’t ever go there again.” 

The frequent meetings with Dovewing were beginning to make Flame uncomfortable at home. He couldn’t look Hawk in the eye and not think, does he know? he was trying to be careful about to his meetings with Dovewing, they started meeting at night, therefore he found it hard to keep his mind on practicing to be a prey-hunter. Dovewing had been teaching him a few battle moves, and he was trying not to be conspicuous when he ate, sharing tongues with no cat. He sometimes shared a word or two with Sun, but it was nothing like the flowing conversations with Dovewing. At times Dovewing and him would also share a mouse, delicious, he would think, nothing like the dry, skinny things we catch on the rocks and plains. Truly, he did enjoy the many things the forest had to offer, luscious smells of new growth, the ever-constant pita-patter of tiny mice skittering on the dirt. Dovewing moved as a lingering shadow, lovely and graceful, but still as hard as rock coming to intruders. he thought back with a smile to the night a huge loner had stumbled across them, they had pitched a fight against that cat, he would remember them for a few moons. “Yes, we make a pretty good team” “What was that?” said a small voice behind him, “What?” he tried to sound casual. “You said something, and I know it.” the dark tabby was very average in height, and Flame knew him well. “Night, I didn’t say a thing, and I have no idea what you are talking about,” now on his defense Flame was getting quite fierce, and wanted this conversion to end, Night was a tale-bearer and Flame had no wish to display his secrets. “Touchy, Touchy!” he snorted, “if you don’t want to say it, you don’t want to say it!” and with that, he stomped off, but turned about suddenly, and pounced, yowling, he was a cave-guard.