Seasons: StarLight

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She saw the twig laying in the cave. She narrowed her eyes and crouched down. She looked up to see the senior, Sap, was watching her. This was her chance to show Sap how great of a hunter she could be, like in her stories!

She slowly approached the stick, silently, like a feather. Then when she was close enough, she wagged her tail and pounced!

She jumped on the twig, tugging at it. She was going to give it something to think about! She clawed at the stick, then picking it up in her jaws, running around with it. Sap must be seeing how she would make a great fighter too! Boom!

   She looked up to see that she had run into Sap. She looked down, saddened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.."

   She looked up expecting to see disappointed, angry eyes. But instead, she saw a soft kind gaze from Sap. "Don't worry Scarlett, I understand, I lost all my siblings too."

Scarlett had lost all her siblings, due to the fact that her mother was very old, and Scarlett was probably her last litter.

Scarlett changed positions, to get comfortable. She knew it was time for a story.

Sap sighed and looked above. She was half hoping to see a beautiful clear sky, but instead, it was just a rocky cover over the den. She took a deep breath, "long ago when I was a young hunter, there was all peace. No fights, no war, no nothing, just peace. But the TallLegs started making their town bigger. It was fine, it wasn't much, and they never bothered us, except for the traps they set up."

Saps tone then changed. "But one day, AutumnSkulk thought this was there chance to get more territory. They pleaded that we give them some, but we obliged. Soon, they got angrier and angrier. Until they attacked us.

Sap looked down saddened like something was troubling her. She looked up and fire seemed to reflect from her eyes, "they attacked me. I was about to die, when my brother and sister pounced behind me, shoving the three warriors off me. I tried to help them! But then I was fighting another warrior. He fought with teeth bared, I saw they were yelping and about to die. I tried to, I promise you, but the warrior wouldn't let me. They died..."

Scarlett licked her pelt comforting her, her eyes full of tears. She saw her mother walk over, angry but sad.

   "Sap, don't fill Scarlett's mind with foolish stories." Her mother said sharply, but with caring eyes. She nudged Scarlett to go back to the bedding, where they slept.

As she walked away, she could see her mother leaning on Sap, and could hear her say, "I know you want her to be out in the woods, but I can't have my baby living in danger!" Her mother sadly said. What did she mean?

Sap turned away from Scarlett's mother. "It's better than a fake den, fake rubbish, fake everything! Even fake food! All those yelling TallLeg pups outside could rip a foxes ear off! Those lights that flash everywhere are blinding! Then, in the end, they take you away, just for something shiny on your skin." Sap said sharply, then walked away full of sadness.

   Scarlett shivered in her bones. The TallLegs are going to kill me!

   Her mother walked over with kind eyes and cleaned her pelt with her tongue. "Don't 
listen to her, there's plenty of food, space, care—"

   Scarlett suddenly shouted, "No!" She held her breathe not believe what she had just said.

   Her mother then looked furious, "You'll never leave this den, I'll swear that on my       life!"

Her mother sat by her, stiff, full of anger. She felt the tension die away, as her mother started feeling bad for how she yelled at her. Scarlett lay down in the bed, staring at the only light she could see outside the den.

As the moon fell, most foxes were sound asleep. Her mother lay soundlessly. She heard as the screams outside slowly died away, so did the flickering lights.

She pushed against her mother, who still stayed asleep. This was her chance to explore! She got up silently and crept out of the den. She saw many trees lay the surroundings, with frost over the grass.

It was beautiful! She thought to herself. She couldn't believe her mother wouldn't let her outside. Her nostrils filled with a tasty scent, that must be prey. She could hear small mice, scavenging in the leaves. The breeze ruffled her coat, and in the sky was clear of clouds, she could see millions of stars, then one giant moon reflecting from her eyes.

She dashed around happily, tasting the air. Boom! She crashed into a strange wall. She looked behind herself, to make sure she didn't wake anyone. She saw the giant clear wall, almost invisible. She put her paw up, but no matter how hard she pushed, the clear wall refused to budge. She then realized, there was no freedom, they were all trapped in an endless cycle of birth to unremembered death.

She crept around the shrubs, by the border. She would occasionally bump into the clear wall. As she continued to walk she knew there must be an exit, right? But instead, she found herself sniffing the same shrubs as before. It was a circle.

She sat down, gazing at the sky feeling restless. How could she escape this horrid place? Where was the mystical forest that Sap spoke of? Did her life even mean a single thing? The moon stayed silent, Scarlett was half hoping that it was true there were ancestors, and they had favored her. But instead, nothing had changed.

She switched her gaze towards a nearby tree, where sap was oozing out of the wood. She then heard a whisper in her ear, "wood will bleed sap, while the moon shines over the woods." She looked back frightened, no one stood where the sound came from.