StarWatcher: Book 1 - The Rose and The River

Part 1 - Brook

A scent rode on the wind, picked up by a fox's keen nose. Her sharp maya eyes scanned each and every movement of the swaying bushes. Then she saw it- a white tail bobbing up and down in the grass. It was a rabbit. The light brown fox, lean from a harsh winter, glided over the grass confidently toward it, dark ears back and white-tipped tail streaming behind her. The coney would not hear her until she was close enough to strike for a killing bite. She licked her chops, hungry for a meal. Hunger only sharpened her senses. It paused to nibble at some small flowers, then sat up on its hind legs, ears perked as it looked back and forth with small, nervous movements, paws tucked near its body. Its nose twitched. The vixen froze and ducked, hoping that the bush would offer enough cover for her. She was just as curious as the rabbit to know what made the noise, but knew that a moment of distraction could cost a meal. The bushes to her left rustled ever so slightly.

Suddenly, the rabbit dashed right in her direction, making an arc. She bunched her muscles, leaning forward and ready to pounce out directly onto the rabbit as it crossed afront of her hiding place. A mottled fox of brown, black, and orange, crashed out of a bush near where the rabbit had made a quick dash from, black paw caugh awkwardly in the tendrils. He pulled himself out and shook off. By time he looked up, the vixen had dispatched it with a bite to the neck and sat back, satisfied. With this task complete, she turned, growling with irritation.

"You almost cost me a kill, Flash." She growled.

"Sorry, Brook." He scratched behind his deep brown ear with a hind paw, sounding anything but regretful.

Brook rolled her eyes and picked up the lifeless body, turning her back on the fellow Patroller. You'd have an easier time with a boulder than you would with Flash. He had about as much brawn as he did brains, it seemed. Flash was a bit smaller than the other foxes, and thinner, too. Part of the reason was his being a Patroller. As a Patroller, no fox feeds you. You hunt for and take care of yourself. If you couldn't hunt, then you had to live off of carcasses. Unless the magpies and crows got to them first. Because of their elusiveness, they were often seen as outcasts in the eyes of the Watch, only supplying them with intel every so often, as it wasn't often come by. Some liked to say that the only purpose of Patrollers was to spread out the Fahn'xyl so that the dens weren't so crowded. Whether that rumor was true or not, the vixen didn't know or care. I'm not part of the Watch, so their issues aren't mine.

There was another reason Brook disliked Flash so much: he was Lucky's brother.

Yeah, yeah, you're not supposed to judge others based upon their family. But Brook had a hard time not doing that.

Pawsteps came after her, crushing the blades of summer grass as they approached. "Hey, wait!" Oh, great. Almost against her own will, she stopped and turned, the rabbit in her jaws an excuse to not really reply. Flash's hazel eyes were bright. "Can I stick with you?"

You're dumber than you look.  She thought, but refrained from speaking. Instead, she replied with a muffled "No." And continued forward, though she found herself listening for Flash. There was a moment's hesitation before he trotted to catch up.

"I'll not be a bother. I can catch my own prey and help out if you want."

"You are being a bother." The hazel fox dropped the rabbit and pivoted her head and swiveled her large ears to look toward the tod, who was looking down at his paws, green eyes averted. She sighed. "If you want to help out, you'll be quiet and leave me alone." With that, she plucked up the rabbit and plodded on. Flash trailed her, but kept his distance. She didn't tell him "no", after all. He has determination, I'll give him that.

The pair trudged on, not speaking a word, as they followed the river that cut through the middle of the wilderness. In the opposite direction of where they were headed, there was a small maple forest where a Hunmylt den was erected, quite a distance away from the city that was even further in that direction, with towering buildings that glowed with life both day and night, outshining the starlight and leaving the moon to walk the sky alone.

The Watch was far from the city, as were the meadows and forests of their wild homestead. Generally, they'd keep to the Watch side of the river, which was dotted with small hills, grasses, flowers, and groups of trees. If you followed the river away from the city, you'd end up in another maple forest that stretched out across the edge of the free territory. This was where Flash and Brook were headed. If you crossed the channel, it was much more open, with small clumps of trees here and there and lots of taller grasses and bushes. In one of the groves, the golden eagles, also called Elifahn, resided, in sight of the river. They were, for the most part, friends with the Fahn'xyl. The Elifahn often served as messengers to them. If a message needed to reach the Watch faster than a fox could get it there, they'd carry it. Such was also the case if a word was to be sent to the Peaks, the mountains by the lake on the other side of the grassland where the Peak Healer stayed.

The Healer didn't really have a name, as no one had seen them in a long time. Though several claimed that the fox was once a Patroller who left.

The familiar, sweet scent of maple was growing closer as they neared the forest. The river vanished into it, swallowed by the trees. Brook quickened her pace, limp rabbit thumping against her front legs as she sprinted into the greenwood. Flash kept up with her until they actually came within the woods. He stumbled over roots and rocks, seeming to get caught on every small and invisible thing.

The twosome entered a small glade, a tiny trickle of water running down it and into the mouth of a den. The smaller of the foxes glanced at Brook, and she padded down into it alongside the water, pupils expanding to take in more light. The form of the den became clear. The trickle ended at the bottom of a ledge, forming a small pool. She nimbly leapt over it and onto the more elevated platform. The cieling was a tangle of roots, wrapping around in an intricate design and helping to hold up the roof. There were a few maple leaves on the floor, shed in from the opposite side of the run. A little beam of light shone down from the secondary entrance, though it was mostly sheltered by the roots of a tree and not to visible to others unless you knew where to look. In the air, the faint smell of older prey was detectable. 

Brook dropped the rabbit, opening and closing her jaw experimentally. She'd gone unusually far this time around to go hunting. Lately, she was having a harder time catching prey in the maple forest. Not because her skill was getting rusty, but because the animals were dwindling in number. Spring had been short and cold, not allowing much warmth. Most of the blossoms had bloomed just before last season had ended.

Flash paused by the puddle to lap up a few drops, then jumped over it, just as she'd done.

Brook waited until he approached before pushing the prey toward him. He accepted it gratefully, taking a portion out and backing away to eat. She did the same, stepping back. The rabbit sat in the middle of them, and the only sounds in the den were the quiet  sounds of chewing and the chirping of a bird. 

The sound was abruptly cut off.

Both foxes lifted their heads and turned their ears toward the entrance to the den. Brook got to her paws and walked toward the light, waiting to sniff the air with her long muzzle before cautiously exiting. A dark shadow was cast on the ground, and wings beat the air. She looked up, purring, as an Elifahn made a landing on the leaf strewn floor. Its brown wings flecked with gold and white, outstretched, were almost twice Brook's size, Its eyes were sharp yellow, head brown with golden-brown down the back. Flash poked his head out behind her, looking unsure at the eagle. She nodded reassuringly at him, and the tod came by her side. 

"Greetings, Silkial. What brings you here?"

"I come with a message for you from the Watch." The eagle spoke from a black beak in the odd accent that they had, folding his great wings in by his side. Brook's ears perked with interest. A message for her from the Watch? She nodded her head, beckoning the great bird to go on. "Ahn'Tundra has passed. You have been invited to come to the StarWatch to bid him farewell."

Brook felt disbelief and sadness wash over her, paws frozen, frigid, to the earth. Tundra was dead? She could sense Flash's surprise as well. Tundra was once a Patroller, then became an Ahn'Sirith, which did not often happen. He was a wise and knowing leader, serving the Watch well. He was kind to all, sharing the old stories, always ready to dispense wisdom to those who needed it. Not only that, but Tundra was a good friend to Brook. She couldn't imagine not seeing his wise peacock eyes among those in what she considered to be her family. The brown fox turned away. "Thank you for telling me."