Ravensong's Challenge

Chapter Four

"Hey Ravensong! Over here!"

Ravensong spun on her paws and tiptoed to a clump of brambles where the voice was coming from. There she crouched down next to Russetdust, one of the now very large fox kits. It had been several moons since Ravensong had first discovered them, and Russetdust and his two sisters, Rednight and Sunfrost, had grown considerably. Now they were playing a tracking game that Sunfrost had invented. Ravensong and Russetdust would hide somewhere in the kits' territory, which occupied the space from SkyClan's farthest border to a large collection of Twoleg nests, and the two vixens would track them. It was a good way to hone the foxes' hunting skills. For the past moon, Ravensong had trained the kits to hunt and fight honorably like warriors. She knew what foxes were capable of, and she wanted to try to change their instincts from kill to protect.

"Did you see them?" Russetdust asked her excitedly.

Ravensong purred. She loved the sound of the kits' voices; they spoke in cat, but had a husky edge to their words that made them sound older and tougher than they were. "I did, actually. They're just around those boulders, so be quiet," she mewed urgently.

"Sorry," he apologized.

They both waited only a moment before they heard Rednight's and Sunfrost's footsteps coming towards their hiding place. They wandered around for a moment before stopping directly outside the bramble patch.

"You can come out now, mouse-brains," Sunfrost called out, amusement in her bark.

"We know you're in there," Rednight added. "Even a squirrel could find you two."

Russetdust scrambled out of the thorn bushes. "No they couldn't,' he objected. "I backtracked through that marsh to throw off the scent!"

Rednight yipped with laughter. "You forgot about pawprints," she pointed out, trying to kept her mirth under control.

Russetdust merely growled playfully at his littermate.

Ravensong padded calmly out of the shadows. "You all did very well," she praised. Turning to Russetdust, she added, "You should be careful with leaving tracks. It's a good way to practice going through watery areas like that to confuse scents, but if there's water, remember that there's usually mud as well."

All three kits nodded.

Then Sunfrost dropped into a fighting crouch. "You promised that you'd teach us new battle moves after we found you," she growled with excitement.

Ravensong drew her long, pink tongue over one of her paws. "I did, didn't I? Well," she said, looking around at the clearing they were sitting in, "I suppose this is a good place to practice."

"Yes!" All three foxes jumped to their feet and howled in delight.

"Alright then." Ravensong began pacing. "I'm going to teach you a lesson in surprising your enemies." With that, she abruptly turned and leaped directly at Rednight.

Rednight's yip of surprise became a growl as she retaliated. Twisting around, she snapped at Ravensong clinging onto her back. Finding that she was unable to reach her, she began bucking and kicking violently. Ravensong tried her best to hold on without unsheathing her claws, but she lost her balance and tumbled to the ground. Rednight immediately pinned her down, baring her sharp teeth in a victorious snarl.

You haven't beat me yet, Ravensong thought. Letting herself go limp, she waited for Rednight to grow confident and loosen her grip. As soon as she did, Ravensong sprang to her paws and swiped at the vixen's muzzle, landing several hard blows to the end of her snout. Rednight snapped back at her, but she dodged each nip neatly. Ravensong could tell that Rednight had become frustrated at her continued failures. Suddenly, Rednight dropped back, panting hard. Ravensong stared quizzically at her, wondering if the fox was ready to give up yet.

Rednight looked up at her mentor, a strange light glinting in her eyes. Uh oh. Then the fox charged, knocking Ravensong right off her paws. Placing a heavy paw on her back, Rednight threw her head back and prepared to deliver a crushing bite to Ravensong's neck.

"Rednight, no!"

"What are you doing?"

The urgent barks and yips of her littermates brought Rednight back to reality. The unnatural light faded from her amber eyes and she stepped back, letting Ravensong get to her paws."I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Ravensong..." The young vixen sounded horrified at what she had been about to do. "I don't know what came over me."

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Ravensong replied, trying not to show that she was just as frightened as the kits.