Ginger's Story

Chapter 1

"Ginger!"

Ginger's head shot up out from behind the ferns.

"What? I was so close to getting that mouse," She muttered crossly.

Her sister, Snow came bounding from the bushes. Ginger's dark red pelt bristled. Her bluish-green eyes flashed with annoyance.

"Have you seen Moss?" Snow asked nervously about their mother.

"What?" Ginger gasped.

"Yeah! I tried to track her, but she can't be found. Even Dad is gone."

"Do you think they left us?" Ginger whispered. Snow shook her head.

"They could have gone out to hunt or something," She guessed.

Sighing, Ginger went back to her hunt, hoping to find that mouse. It was the best piece of prey she had seen in days, saying that it's been snowing. Shifting through the crunchy, frozen stuff, Ginger listened for prey as Snow went off, her white pelt blending in the snowy background.

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Ginger went back to the little camp that her group had. She was carrying a scrawny sparrow, which was welcomed by Drax, her best friend who always had her back. He was a huge black tom with dark amber eyes. He had a deep voice which made him scary.

She dropped her sparrow at his paws, "Here."

He nuzzled her, "Thanks," and with that word he settled down and began to eat the sparrow in quick, ravenous gulps. While he ate, Ginger went inside the only den made out of twigs and leaves. Inside were beds with spongy moss and surrounded with bracken.

She curled up in the one closer to the outside of the den. She quickly fell asleep.

In the morning Ginger awoke to see dawn light flickering in the den. She yawned and got up, stretching her muscles. She padded outside into the clearing. The snow had melted about a mouse-length and the sun was shining brightly.

"Wow.." Ginger breathed.

Snow bounded up to her, "Any luck with Mom and Dad?"

Ginger shook her head "No idea."

Snow sighed, "They must've left.."

Ginger nudged her solemn sister, "We can look after ourselves."

Snow nodded and turned away. I walked out into the forest and gazed around. Drax was pouncing on something behind a tree, and her other friend, Telracs, was silently watching the distance in a tree. She mostly kept to herself. Shrugging, she walked over to the river near the edge of the forest. I took a small drink and looked around. No greenery yet. She shook her fur out, warming her chilly pelt.

She sat up, the warm sunshine hitting her pelt. Purring, she hopped on a rock by the edge of the water. Ginger stretched on the warm rock.

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Ginger woke up to see the snow melting more and more. So much that the river started to overflow. Ginger's fur stood on end as the water lapped at her paws.

"I hate water.." she muttered to herself.

She leaped back up into the forest and back to the camp.

She went over to Drax and lay down beside him.

"The river is overflowing," Ginger stated.

Drax sniffed, "Really?" He gave her a disbelieving look.

Ginger growled, "Yeah. Go check if you don't believe me."

Drax smiled and shook his head.

"Mouse-brain.." Ginger muttered. He purred and nudged her shoulder. She gave him a glare but couldn't stay mad at him. They were, after all, like litter-mates.

I yawned once again and looked around the clearing. She walked around, bored. She flipped over on her back, the damp snow soaking into her pelt, but Ginger didn't mind. She just gazed up at the sky and sighed. She wondered what it would be like to fly. Just the thought of flying made her fur tingle and twitch. Even Drax wanted to fly. She had several dreams about soaring through the sky, feathered wings extended.

For about an hour, Ginger fantasized about flying. The sun was going down and Telracs was coming back into camp, Snow right behind her. Getting up, Ginger realized her pelt was soaked to the bone and the chilly air didn't help at all. Shivering, she made her way to the den and crawled into her nest. She watched as the sun set over the horizon, and as the stars shone brightly above. Calm, she drifted off to sleep.