Morning Rays

Chapter 7

Moonpaw was running faster than she had ever gone before. Something was chasing her, she knew, and she had to outrun it or...

"Gotcha!" Sunpaw yowled triumphantly, pouncing on Moonpaw.

"No fair! You jumped of that rock!" argued Moonpaw. She swiped at her brother playfully.

"No one ever said I couldn't!" Sunpaw said teasingly from on top of Moonpaw, puffing out his chest.

Two nights ago had been the Gathering. Today, Sunpaw and Moonpaw were in charge of feeding the elders, but they had ended up chasing each other.

"Get off me, you great lump!" Moonpaw meowed loudly, pushing Sunpaw off of her.

Suddenly, Moonpaw caught a strange scent in the air.

"What's that?" she asked, turning to Sunpaw.

"I don't know. Maybe some sort of prey?" he guessed, cocking his head.

"Let's check it out," Moonpaw urged.

Together, they crept forward in the undergrowth towards their prey. As the scent got stronger, they heard a rustling sound from up ahead.

"I've got it," whispered Moonpaw, flicking her tail at Sunpaw so he would stay back. He nodded.

Then she pounced.

As she leaped, the animal turned on her, growling ferociously. She let out a yelp. This was no prey! It was a fox, just like the ones from the nursery tales she'd heard.

"Run!" yowled Sunpaw. Sh couldn't. She was frozen to the spot.

The russet-colored fox advanced on her, growling menacingly. Then it lunged a her.

The fox took her forepaw in its mouth, shook her for a few moments, and then threw her by the paw right into a tree. She heard a snap from her foot as she slid down the tree, gasping for air. The fox crept closer. All of a sudden, a golden blur flew in front of it and knocked the vixen backwards.

Sunpaw had stayed to save her.

Moonpaw felt a flash of relief followed by fear as her brother battled the fox, biting, slashing, and dodging. Lucky for him, though the ferocious dog-like creature was fierce, it was stupid. Sunpaw easily confused it by weaving around its legs and jumping onto its back at a decent speed.

"Don't . . . mess . . . with . . . my . . . sister!" Sunpaw hissed in between gasps for air.

After a bit more fighting, the dog fox knew that Sunpaw was too strong for him. It turned tail on the dark-bellied tom and fled, leaving a thin trail of blood behind it.

"Moonpaw! Moonpaw! Are you okay?" Sunpaw screeched as raced towards the limp body of his sister.

Moonpaw managed to raise her head. "Sunpaw... you saved me," she said weakly, trying to smile. Then her head dropped back onto the grass.

"Of course I did! How could I leave you? Now, we need to get you to Silversprout. Can you walk?" he asked, nudging her gently. Moonpaw tried to stand, but she couldn't. She dropped back into the same slumped position as before.

"Come on, Moonpaw. We have to go. I won't leave you here. The fox might come back!" Sunpaw hissed desperately.

"O... o.. okay," responded Moonpaw, almost to faint to be heard. Sunpaw pushed his shoulder under her for support, and she rose to her paws, slowly, while leaning heavily on Sunpaw. "Let's get back to camp," the golden tom meowed softly into the silver she-cat's ear.

. . . . .

As they limped into the camp, all eyes turned to them, full of shock.

"Moonpaw!" wailed Stormheart, rushing over to them, closely followed by Cloudchaser. They both had been sharing a thrush when the siblings had arrived back from the attack.

"What on earth happened to you?!" cried Stormheart, covering Moonpaw in frantic licks. Moonpaw twitched a bit, then relaxed under her mother's tongue.

"Silversprout! Out here, now!" called Cloudchaser, but Silversprout was already racing out of his den.

"No, no, not her," he murmured, almost not audible, but just loud enough for Sunpaw to hear.

"Riverwhisper! Cobwebs, marigold, horsetail, thyme, and comfrey!" called Silversprout. His voice did not show his emotions, but his eyes were full of panic.

"Coming!" yowled Riverwhisper. He rushed out with a huge wad of herbs in his jaws, and cobweb smeared on his paw.

"Stand back!" called Silversprout, waving his tail wildly. Lots of cats had gathered in the clearing with all the commotion. Sunpaw winced. The medicine cat shouldn't be making his fear so obvious, though in the commotion, he doubted anyone noticed.

"Who did this?" asked Silversprout as he expertly smeared herb pulp onto Moonpaw's wounds. Moonpaw groaned as the juices sank in.

"A fox," Sunpaw managed to choke out. "A fox did this." Sunpaw barely heard the silver tom's response. He was staring at his sister, her silver-and-gray fur wet.

Hawkstar had come out of his den, hearing all the commotion, and smelling the fear.

"Do you think that this is the fox that got driven out of TwilightClan and MeadowClan territory?" he asked, glancing at Moonpaw and her family, eyes full of silent sympathy.

"Possibly," Silversprout meowed absently, not taking his eyes off of Moonpaw.

A few tense minutes late, Silversprout said, "Set up a nest in the medicine den, Riverwhisper. Cloudchaser, you and Featherear can help me carry her into my den."

As Riverwhisper rushed off to fetch moss and ferns, Moonpaw's father and mentor carefully lifted Moonpaw onto their shoulders, and then carried her to the medicine den.

Hawkstar glanced at Sunpaw, dipping his head, and headed over to Velvetcloud.

A few cats passed by, murmuring reassurances to him.

"She'll feel better soon."

"Silversprout'l take care of her."

"Don't worry; she has two medicine cats to help her."

Yet in a clearing full of cats, Sunpaw had never felt so alone.