Redstars Broken Trust

Chapter 4

Red woke up the next morning, her jaws gaping in a massive yawn. It was three moons later and Red watched her sister Talon pipe up, flexing her claws in the dirt. With a jolt, Red realized her sister was now eight moons old, almost fully grown. Red was now five moons, and began getting stocky and bigger by the days. She checked out her own claws- which were black- flexing them and feeling satisfied when the sunlight reflected off the thick shiny coat. She stretched, arching her back which resulted in a jutting spine poking from beneath her thin fur.

She heard faint movement and looked over her shoulder, because her back was turned toward the noise. She saw as Frost blinked her clear blue eyes open in the first slants of light that cascaded lively shadows beneath the oak. Red realized momentarily that Mischief was nowhere to be seen, and her intimidating emotion reflected off of both her sisters faces as they casted glances at one another, communicating in silence. The next inhale Red took, a vaporizing scent wafted through the air, and quickly grew more tangy and salty. The reek was as well hot and mucky and seemed to choke Red as she passed her tongue over her jaws in disgust.

"Good riddance! What is that smell?" Frost exclaimed in rather a high pitched screech. Talon shoved Frost with a fragile paw, yet strength caused Frost to stumble. Along with the shove, she added, "Didn't you ever smell the same scent the night Mischief was injured?" but before Frost could even say 'mouse' she continued, " It's blood, you dummy! Don't you smell Mischiefs scent mingled with it as well?"

Red gaped, her eyes seeming to budge as she retaliated with a screech full of fear, "OUR MOTHER IS WOUNDED!"

"Stop yowling!" Talon snapped in a tempered tone, "Unless you want a whole pack of bears to kill us, then keep it up."

Frost began tracing in circles, sniffing the ground and lifting her muzzle to taste the air at every breeze, hoping Mischiefs scent would drift, even the faintest. Talon pricked her ears, and jumped onto the oak, vanishing swiftly among the densely packed leaves and countless thick branches which were secure. wнen dιd ѕнe learn тo do тнaт? Red thought as she watched her sister until her tail disappeared. She heaved a heavy sigh. wнere ιѕ мιѕcнιeғ?

It was night, an entire day without their mother, and Talon had killed a thrush expertly, which all three cats feasted, the delicious prey distracting their worries temporarily. Red had managed to pick up faint traces of her mothers scent, being carried by the wind, which it immediately faded away. The cats continued searching a bit after dark, and finally Talon and Frost gave up. They flopped by the roots of the oak. Red kept searching, with fazed gazes of her sisters locked on her. Finally Frost spoke with an edge, "Red what makes you think that you can detect the scents when we can't? Just go to sleep already!"

Red felt her back burning in anger and ferocity. Her fur bristled and her eyes blazed.

"You know what, Frost? I may be younger by a few moons, but every creature has a pair of eyes and a nose. Mischief has taught me how to detect different senses, so it doesn't make me any different! You're the ones who gave up, you could've had a better chance of finding her if you weren't so lazy- both of you!"

Feeling satisfied when her sisters were dumbfounded, she turned away and tasted the air, but only a cold wind raked across her tongue. As Red was considering giving up, the faintest, yet tainted scent washed beneath her nose. She inhaled, and the mucky scent told her it was blood. Red lashed her tail in excitement, and galloped down the tiny slope, her paws grazing the grass as she chased the reek, gradually growing stronger. Halting, she peeked around a growing shrub to see blood splayed over the ground, and the horrible stench of death overwhelmed her. She tried holding her breath to avoid the gagging reek, continuing to gaze around with the wide eyes a kit would have seeing what it looked like outside of camp. Trampled bushes, broken twigs, shredded grass, and fur lay everywhere. Examining the fur, the colors were small clumps of thick brown fur, and massive piles of shiny black fur. Red hovered her nose about the fur, inhaling deeply.

"Mischiefs scent. Stale." she reported to herself out loud. Her paws guided her through the trampled grass and twigs to the flattened bushes, where a clear path gaped. Walking through it, the scent immediately changed. Now Mischiefs scent lingered over each grain of soil, and the smell of death and another scent mixed with hers. On the far side, she saw a baby bear wandering around the small clearing, dark brown. Next to it was a scrawny heap of fur that seemed to be the same color of fur. Red began to approach the body, and had enough time to see the sunlight filter through the trees, and hit the jet black fur of her mother, her pelt glistening with Crimson stains and fresh wounds. Mischiefs back was gashed open with long, deep marks running down her sides. Mischiefs eyes were glazed and round, with her teeth showing behind her curled lips.

"MISCHIEF!" Red cried, screeching while collapsing beside her mother. She noticed the flexed claws with tufts of brown fur between them through her own blurry gaze. The baby bear wandered on cluelessly.

All Reds reaction was was to bury her entire face into her mothers side, her mind whirling desperately.

Red bolted back to the spot under the great oak where her sisters had settled for the night. She settled down uncomfortably, yet she wasn't settled. Red felt that she had to remember something, but she couldn't. She thought hard about Mischief, how her body just laid dead at the far end of that little clearing. Thoughts hit her hard, but they seemed to vanish before she could reveal their identity. She looked over to find Talon and Frost already fast asleep, undisturbed the slightest bit while Red came crashing back. She inspected her sisters closely, picking out all of the flaws in their fur, and watching their forms rise and fall in sync, their breathing matching as well. Red couldn't fall asleep with the image of her mothers body layered with blood and fur that had been torn from her body. She stared over the field and felt at peace with the complete silence that seemed to last forever in the starry night.