WarriorCats: Raised by foxes

Chapter Sixteen

A/N Yes I know, I'm the worst.

As soon as the battle started, he had fled. It pained him to leave his family, but he wanted to get as far away from the Inspector as possible. If they never saw him again, all the better.

His head was still reeling from the events. How had he been so blind? Although he didn't believe River Heart intended it, somehow the cats knew where to come. Was the Inspector right? Was it her fault?

He had gone several huntlengths before he realized he was being followed. He turned around, hackles raised and teeth bared.

A young vixen stepped out of the bushes. He recognized her from the ceremony that night.

"It's not dawn yet. You're not allowed to kill me," he growled.

"I was not planning to. I want to come with you. What happened back there is wrong, and I wish no longer to be part of that society."

He remembered her now. Flare Light. The model of a seemingly perfect fox.

"What do you want with me?" he challenged. "You have your whole life ahead of you. You still have your name. It is not too late."

"Do you not understand? The Council is wrong and I will not live under its rule."

"Why should I believe you, Flare Flame?" He paced around her, speaking in a mocking tone and using her rejected name.

She looked a little hurt, but changed her expression to ice. "Fine. If you do not want help, I will go alone. I am not as I appear, let me tell you that." She bounded over a small dip in one leap, her brush the last thing to disappear.

He chased after her. "Wait!" She was surprisingly fast, and he struggled to keep up. It didn't help that she was constantly swerving to go a different direction or purposefully jumping over high obstacles.

Finally, he realized he had lost her. He was in entirely unfamiliar territory, which was expected as he hadn't strayed from the den very far before. However, being lost could have problems as he didn't know if he was outside the territory of the Council's jurisdiction, and at dawn it was legal to kill him if he stayed.

He began to imagine that he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, in the shadows at the edge of the clearing. It flickered and taunted, but he never caught a full glimpse. He felt trapped, with the bright moon illuminating him like a silver flame.

No matter how fast he turned, he couldn't catch them. He felt panic, but pushed it down. He took a deep breath and sat down, wrapping his tail around himself neatly. Then he closed his eyes. He could hear whispers. He ignored them. He sat there for a long time, then opened his eyes.

All around him were foxes. Their faces were scarred and their pelts ragged, but they looked strong and fierce. They were pacing around him in circles. When they noticed he was watching them, they melted into the shadows. All except one.

This one was the largest by far. "And who might you be?" he sneered, showing off yellowed teeth with a broken fang.

"No one, at the moment," he replied.

"That wasn't what I asked you," the large fox snapped.

Suddenly, Flare Light reappeared from the bushes and wound around the large fox. "A recruit. A nameless. One with more than one reason to hate the Council. One that could help us rise."

"He did show promise," the large fox mused. "Very brave of him, to close his eyes when I'm around." He gave a chuckling bark. "Next time you do that, kid, your eyes will stay closed."

He stared back unflinchingly.

"Anyway, we may be rogues but we don't have to be rude. "I'm One, and this is our pretty little spy. You may know her as Flare something, I don't know how that ceremony went, but around here she's called Three."

Spy. That word hit him like a badger had barreled into his side. She had known all along where she'd been going. She hadn't decided to leave after the Council's treatment of him, she had had her mind made up long ago. She had lied. Who even was she? Why did this feel like a betrayal? He barely even knew her, he had met her that day.

Maybe it was just because it was another stone thrown on the life already crashing down around him. Or maybe it was because, even in the whirlwind, she seemed like the eye of the storm. Safe. Trustworthy. At least for a moment.

Perhaps that's what made her a good spy.

"And you will be known as Twenty Four."

Oh. He was being spoken to. He dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"If you stay, of course. Otherwise you have a long walk before dawn."

One stalked away. Flare Light, no, Three, he corrected himself, padded up to him. "You will be initiated tomorrow, Twenty Four. For now, follow me to your den." She ignored his sudden icy demeanor.

The clearing was not far from the strange group's camp. The cluster of dens had a strong smell of unfamiliar foxes, though not as overwhelming as that of the Gathering. However, he couldn't help but notice the prevalence of fear-scent.

The quality of the dens were in a gradient, and he noticed that the den he was led to was definitely the worst. Inside were several nests, cramped in the small space.

He wasn't that thrilled to speak with her at the moment, but his curiosity got the better of him. "How do you move up in this place?" he asked. He wanted to spend as little time in that den as possible.

Three gestured with her tail to two foxes. They were both nursing wounds, although one was certainly less beat up and more smug.

"How do you think?"