CHASE

Chapter 14

A stray red leaf gently floated down from the sky onto Chase's dark paw. She stared at it in curiosity, glancing up at the gray sky up above. It looked like it might rain later. There had not been an ounce of sunshine all day.

"I heard that old fox across the stream died," Chase heard her father tell her mother.

"Oh, yes. I was hunting the other day and heard," Apple stated. 

"I'm not sure what they expected living in such cold and dense woods near those darn cats. It's no wonder the poor soul got sick," Copper grumbled.

Chase crunched the leaf beneath her paw, trying to release the tension gathering in her shoulders. She was still saddened over Claw's death. Yew had been doing his best at teaching her, though he was a bit rusty, and it was as if they were tutoring each other. Chase missed the friendly disposition of the elderly fox. 

"Their den isn't near the cats," Chase stated, her back turned from her parents.

"Ah, well you would know due to your constant visits. You're going to get yourself killed one day," Copper grumbled.

Chase spun around, anger flashing in her eyes. "I never wander in their territory. I respect their land. If you think that's where I've been going each day, then you're mistaken."

"How about you go play with your siblings?" Apple suggested, trying to break the tension between Chase and her father. "I know Whorl has missed playing with you."

A part of Chase felt guilty for never indulging in innocent games with her siblings anymore, but she still could not look at them the same, not after they killed that kitten so violently. Even Whorl, the sister Chase had felt closest with, seemed distant these days.

"I don't want to," Chase stated, standing up and beginning to walk through the grass.

"You act as if you've seen the world," Copper barked. "You've only lived through two seasons, yet you act so wise, too mature for your age. You worry your mother sick sometimes, you know? Taking off like that, never acting like how a fox should."

"Leave me alone," Chase murmured before she became tempted to tell her mother how much her father was a monster. The murder of the kitten had been kept secret, as she'd promised, but she longed more and more each day to tell her mother of the atrocious act her father and siblings had committed. But what would change?

Nothing would, Chase told herself.

She stood up, feeling the wind brush against her pelt as she slowly left the den behind. Chase was due to visit Yew anyway for some more training. She was proficient now, practically fluent. She hoped one day to use those skills to speak to the cats nearby.

Chase went through the forest and across the stream until she came to Yew's den. He was sitting outside, glancing up at the pine needles swaying in the wind.

"Oh, there you are!" he said, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her. "I was worried you wouldn't come today."

"Sorry. Got in a little fight at home," was all Chase said.

"Is everything okay?" Yew asked.

"Yes. Can we start practicing?" she wondered.

"Sure. My parents are resting in the den, so we can practice out here," he suggested.

"Okay."

They went through basic speech exercises before practicing translating fox into cat. It was not hard at all for Chase, who often practiced in her mind while she watched her siblings play in the meadow.

"Claw would be proud. You've really improved," Yew told her. 

"Do you think so?" Chase asked. "I'm glad to hear that. He was a great teacher."

"He always loved teaching. I'm glad he got to do it until he died," Yew told her. "And he had such a good last pupil too."

"Thanks," Chase said, smiling slightly. "Are you getting in the hang of it again?"

"A bit. I have an accent of sorts, but I'm going to keep up practicing for Claw's sake."

"What about your parents and siblings?" Chase wondered. "Are they proficient?"

"They were at one point. I don't think they are anymore. We haven't been in the presence of cats in a long time. But now we are again," Yew said.

Chase tilted her head. "Do you think we'll ever speak to them? I want to visit one day."

"Slow down. You can't just barge into their territory unannounced," Yew warned.

"I know," Chase said, twisting her paws into the soil. "I'm anxious to meet some cats. They've always fascinated me, you know. I want to..."

"You want to what?" Yew wondered.

"I wanted to apologize for what my father did to that kitten," Chase said quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"Chase, I doubt you'd be able to locate the mother of that kitten or the clan she belongs to. If you bring up that circumstance, it might just make things escalate. That was your father's sin, not yours."

"I still feel responsible," Chase said quietly.

A silence settled between them. Chase wasn't sure how to fill it, so she began practicing cat in her head again until a tiny droplet of water landed on her black nose.

"Oh, it's raining," she murmured, staring up at the sky. Tiny droplets of water were falling from the sky, dampening the earth.

"It's nice to have the rain back after a long summer," Yew said. 

Chase nodded, ignoring her dampened pelt. It felt nice to lift her head and stare up at the sky as rain gently dripped onto her. She knew if she were back home, her parents would have issued everyone inside, worrying they'd get sick. But Yew was quiet and let her stand in the rain, as if there was nothing wrong with doing so.

"Chase? Do you want to come inside?" Yew asked.

She was wrong. He also wanted her to come inside as well.

"I should probably head back," Chase suggested.

"I wouldn't until the storm lets up," Yew warned. "The stream might be too flooded to cross. You can stay here for a bit. I doubt you want to go back to your family so soon. Plus, this gives us more reason to study."

"True," Chase said, following him into the den. His parents were resting in a corner. Chase's eyes turned to the corner that Claw used to curl up in. The den seemed foreign without his nest bundled in the corner.

"All right, back to work!" Yew stated.

"Oh, you were serious?" Chase asked, beginning to giggle.

"I promised Claw I'd finished your lessons, and that's what I'll do. Now, translate this sentence into fox."

Chase laughed and began to speak, their quiet chatter filling the den as the sound of falling rain echoed throughout the forest.