Spirit's Journey

CHAPTER 64- Spirit: Story Telling

I listened to the padding of my own paws as I walked beneath the trees next to Hannah and Fallan. My sisters were looking this way and that, their voices hushed as we traveled through the night in search of prey.

"I can't remember the last time we did this," Hannah sighed longingly as she lifted her gaze to the stars above.

"Maybe never. Spirit always said going hunting at night was dangerous," Fallan teased and then tripped over a jutting root, wincing and licking her paw. I snorted with amusement.

"Yes, because it is," I said in a whisper and lowered my muzzle to sniff among the dark moss and brambles. There was a strong trace of chipmunk there so I took a step back suddenly to look up into the tree.

Halfway up was a small, twisted hole hidden in shadow, barely visible beneath the limited light of the Great Spot. If we were quiet enough maybe the prey would not be woken until it was already caught.

"Up there," I whispered to them. The thick trees blotted out the light, causing Fallan to squint hard as she craned her neck. This had to be one of the easiest catches of any night- three cheetahs against one small prey-the hunt was bound to be a success.

"We'll go to the side and you go straight up the middle." Hannah's green gaze flashed to me just as determined as mine must have been.

"Aren't we supposed to be learning about how to be quiet in the dark?" Fallan said loudly, causing my hackles to rise. I forced them to smooth down and shoved away the small tinge of annoyance threatening to build in my throat. Just because me and Fallan were on good terms again didn't mean she couldn't get on my nerves still.

"Yes," I suppresed quietly.

"That's why you're going to watch me climb up the tree silently and then do the same yourselves."

After the two cheetahs had nodded I padded towards the trunk with a light breeze pulling my whiskers. The last week had been a good one and every cat had been gaining weight from the lush forestry and undergrowth that held comings of even stronger life.

I placed my paws on the dry bark, feeling relieved that this one would be easy to climb but less relieved that it'd also be noisier as well.

Beckoning Hannah and Fallan closer with my tail, I twisted my head to speak to them after finding a paw-hold in the cracks of the tree.

"Make sure you slide your claws into the tree softly, and push up using your hind paws more than pulling. That makes it quieter," Midnight's advice of night hunting and stealth came back to me now in a rush. Soon I was stalking up the tree quieter than a mouse.

"And keep your tail still at all times when you need to be stealthy. Midnight said that we should also stay as close to the tree as possible but take care not to brush claws or fur against it."

Voicing the words aloud sounded much more professional than when she'd said them and suddenly I realized how good of a night dweller Midnight was. Nobody could have taught her the ways of keeping so quiet and undetected so she must've learned it on her own or simply from instinct.

This was her idea anyways. The black cat had suggested it quietly last night before we'd gone to sleep as discussing tomorrow's training, just in case any bad things happen.

I hadn't protested and accepted her idea while knowing what she'd meant. Midnight had been thinking the same thing I had; getting away from wolves in any circumstances possible.

If they ever found us again.

Hannah and Fallan moved up the tree beside me once I clung to the bark stiffly, waiting for them on aching claws. Fallan moved much louder than Hannah did and sent a few leaves showering down in her wake.