The next night Florence ran up the hill and crawled into the tunnel grinning merrily as she did so. Chervil was peering at her from their cave, suspiciously. Florence spotted her favourite tiger sitting by the creek. Florence was delighted she was there already since she had come earlier than usual. "River! River!" she yelled. "Florence!" River answered. She looked puzzled "I thought you were mad at me!" River-rose cried. "What? Of course not!" Florence bickered. "But- but I- We.." River mumbled. "RIVER. YOU FOOL. I LOVE YOU." Florence yelled. River widened her eyes. "Well, I don't know how to say this in a way that's not sappy...BUT, I LOVE YOU TOO." she sheepishly confessed. Florence was Overjoyed that River had the same feelings about her that she did for River. Suddenly they both looked at each other, grinning. They fell onto each other laughing. Florence had never been happier. And River the same. "River I wish we could stay like this forever," Florence said. "You big sap." River joked for the 100th time. Florence lied down on the grass, "No, I'm serious. Just imagine..we could finally watch the sunrise together!''River smiled sadly. "Yeah... '' Florence propped herself up. And hugged River. They let the Silence immerse them. It said more than words ever could. They both understood. They wished. They hoped. That one day, their dream could become a reality. Florence woke up with a smile on her face. She padded down to the water hole humming. She washed her fur and skipped to school. On her way, she spotted a butterfly. Florence padded over to the school cave and her good mood suddenly dropped as she heard what the teacher announced. "Students, today is the day of testing." No...It couldn't be...Florence forced herself to sit down on the cold cave floor. She'd been dreading this day for her entire life...not because she was afraid that she wouldn't pass. Florence nearly laughed at that thought. It was because she knew she would pass. And she didn't want to pass. But she had to. Because if she didn't...she'd have to go to the nursery. Florence shivered. Why couldn't she just stay with River? If she passed, she would have to find a mate after 2 years of hunting and fighting for the tribe. That mate would have to be a cat from her own tribe, not River. And genuinely, Florence didn't want to be "A Rightful One" or whatever her teachers called it. She didn't want to stay in the tribe she wanted to adventure, explore and see the world! Most of all, she wanted to be with River. Florence reluctantly listened to her teacher who was droning on about the tests. Florence studied her fellow classmates, some had worried faces, some brave. Florence sighed. The teacher called for the students to follow him. Florence picked herself up and followed the teacher. He pointed this way and that instructing his students where everything would be and how it worked....Florence stopped listening and just followed, her spirits damping. Finally, the teacher let out a loud yowl to silence his class. "First you will all hunt, and then you will bring the prey back to me," "you will have five minutes, you need to catch at least one piece of prey to pass, if you catch no prey...well, let's just hope that doesn't happen" "3, 2, 1, GO!", the class ran off into woods. Florence's heart was racing, and she tried not to cry. She found a mouse nibbling on some seeds nearby, but she couldn't bring herself to catch it. She saw one of her classmates, Talon, pounce on it and kill it with a swift blow to the neck. Talon smirked at her as he ran further into the woods to catch more prey. "Nobody likes a show-off!" Florence called after him. Florence glanced around again and spotted a small lizard she breathed in sharply and closed her eyes and swiped the lizard with her sharp claws. Florence opened her eyes and gently carried the dead lizard in her mouth.
