Warriors: War of the Clans - Darkness

Chapter 3

It had been four days since the training session with Fang. Fox had attending hunting, where they learned how to hunt various prey with the hunting master Eagle, tree fighting and climbing, with Ripple, and river swimming and fighting, with Gale. He had shown his skills in herbs easily enough, and was able to skip healing class because his guardian was Julie. He suspected that Dark didn't want the kits to get too close to their former guardians, because it seemed as if he was doing everything to keep them apart.

Fox stretched out on a rock beside the stream that ran near camp. They had just finished the river fighting class, and Fox was ready to dry off, as they had the rest of the day to rest. Scarlet was stretched out beside him. The warmth from the sun that shone on the rock seeped into their soaked fur, and they sighed with contentment. This is how life should be, Fox thought. Relaxing with a friend.

Scarlet suddenly pricked her ears, alert for a crackle of bracken. Fox opened his mouth to say something, but Scarlet slapped her tail over his muzzle, gesturing him to be silent. Fox shut his mouth and slowly got to his paws, Scarlet doing the same. Fox noticed a scrap of russet fur. His eyes widened. Fox! But what would it be doing here?

Scarlet was creeping forward, white tail tip flickering. He noticed the other four apprentices stalking over to join them, as they obviously noticed the scent of fox now. Fox narrowed his eyes, a little fear flickering in them. We're basically kits! What can we do? He thought frantically. But it didn't seem to bother any of the other cats except for Magpie, who was obviously scared out of his wits.

The fox scented the air, curling its muzzle as it recognized the scent of cat. Scarlet crouched down, poised to spring, when a rustle in the bracken stopped her. Not another fox... Fox thought, eyes widening. But it was Fang and a few other cats he didn't recognize. They must have scented the fox, and had come to get rid of it, as it was so close to the camp. Scarlet and Fox leaped to help, while the other four apprentices stalked off, knowing they would only get in the way. Fox slashed the fox's eye, and it shrieked and snapped at him, but Fang slammed his giant paw at it, and it slightly staggered under the fearsome cat's blow.

A dark tabby tom leaped up onto the fox's back, and it shook as it tried to dislodge the tom, but he sunk his claws determinedly into the fur. Fox leaped up and buried his fangs into the fox's leg. The fox shook blood from his eyes, and the cats were splattered with fox blood. It lumbered away from the camp, running as fast as it could with the wounds from the cats.Scarlet gave a yowl of triumph, and chased after it. Fox followed, with Fang's patrol hard on his heels. They arrived just in time to block the fox from its den. Wide­-eyed with fear, the fox yowled and dashed deeper into the forest, running far away from the Dreaded Night camp and its old den.

Fang nodded to Scarlet and Fox, then ran away with the rest of the patrol to finish their loop around the camp. Fox breathed a sigh of relief. "Glad thats over." Scarlet nodded agreement, padding over to sniff the den.

"No other foxes in here." She crept in, ignoring Fox's warning meow.

Fox sighed. He stalked in after her, surprised to see the den wide and comfortable, with a soft sandy floor. Scarlet turned her excited green gaze onto him. "Isn't it nice?"

"Yeah." He glanced around. The reek of fox still lingered, but was getting more stale. "So?"

Scarlet started cleaning the den, picking up scraps of fox fur. Fox repeated his question, and Scarlet turned to look at him.

"This could be our den! We already found a perfect den for us to live in! So near camp too, so we can easily get to class. Don't you see? Its perfect."

Fox gazed around with new eyes. There was a cleft for storing herbs, and the back would be a great place for a den. Plus, it was pretty well hidden, and all they needed to do was scent mark this place until the fox scent faded away. He started planning how this place would look like, with just Scarlet and himself. They would need to clean it first, of course, and scent mark it immediately to claim it. "Its great... but don't we have to wait for a few moons to move out of the old den?"