A New Beginning: Book 1 Flamestar's Promise

Chapter 8

    Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice that Oakfoot had gotten up and was bringing me herbs.
    "Good morning." She meowed through the herbs.
    "Good morning." I rasped.
She frowned when she heard my meow, but laid the herbs in front of me and cheered up.
    "Did you wake up due to pain at all last night?" She asked, lightly prodding my sides.
I shook my head, wincing at the pain she was causing.
    "Good, your healing." She meowed, partly to me, and partly to herself.
I was thrilled to hear that. Being in a good mood, I ate the herbs without hesitation, but regretted it immediately.
    "Yuck! Do I have to eat these everyday?" I groaned.
She shook her head.
    "No, you have to eat them twice a day." She mused.
I glared at her, but smiled. Oakfoot was the kind of soul who you couldn't stay mad at.
    Then I remembered my question.
    "How long will I be in here?" I asked.
She looked at me, then her paws, then back at me.
    "I say, maybe a couple of days before you can go back to the apprentice den, a week before you can begin hunting, and a moon before you can begin battle training." She mewed.
At least I wouldn't be stuck in the medicine den forever.
    The couple of days passed slowly, but the week went faster. And before I knew it, I was on another hunting patrol with Timberstar.
    "So, Flamepaw, where do you think we should try?" He asked me, eyeing me as I thought.
I thought about it. The cliff? No, too early for prey to be out in the open. Then I thought about the waterfall. Prey could be there in the shade getting a drink.
    "The waterfall?" I suggested.
He thought about it, then nodded.
    "Good idea." He meowed approvingly.
I was glad that he was proud of me. Then I remembered Rainmist. I needed him to be proud of me if I was to become leader.
    When we got close to the waterfall, I could hear the rushing water. It reminded me of the noise of the flood.
I pushed the thought away when we walked to the river bank. A couple of cat lengths away, was a towering, rushing waterfall. The sun glimmered through the spray, creating a series of breathtaking colors. This was the first time that I had actually been to the waterfall. I had only heard about it in stories. One stating how a great battle against ValleyClan took place there. During the battle, our previous leader fell over the water fall and lost his last life. The battle ended and ValleyClan gave their apologies for killing our leader. Then Timberpelt became Timberstar, our new leader. That was many seasons ago, and now we are allies with ValleyClan.
    "Hunting here will be a challenge, due to the noise of the waterfall, and the spray washing all the scents away." He yelled over the loud noise. "Giving me the perfect opportunity to really test your hunting skills." He added.
    I lifted my nose, and breathed deeply. I did my best to distinguish the different scents. I mostly smelled the water, but under that was the faint, faint smell of squirrel. I followed it to a bush. I poked my muzzle under the bush, the smell growing stronger. Just then, the squirrel burst out of the bushes. I caught it in my paws, and bit it's neck, killing it instantly. I turned around with it in my mouth to show Timberstar.
    "Well done!" He praised. "Burry it, and lets keep going."
I followed his instruction, and we headed further up the river.
    The smells started getting stronger. I smelled rabbit, and heard the sound of digging. I looked behind a tree to see a rabbit digging a burrow. I crept up, and jumped on it. I buried it, and walked back to Timberstar.
    "You are a really good hunter." He meowed, looking at me with a smile.
I smiled back. Pride surged through my legs. It caused the aching from walking to fade away. Hunting was easy, at least to me.
    We hunted for a while longer, then collected the fresh kill and padded back to camp.
When we got into camp, my mother did not seem happy.