The Girl without a Soul Name
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"Hey oh no! Come on you can do better than that." Katriena said out loud.
She was reading a book. It was raining out side, but even if was sunny she would have been inside reading or doing something. Just than the lights went out. Katriena looked up from her book. A weird light caught the corner of her eye. She looked back to the book she was reading. The light was coming from there.
"Oh great the books on fire." Katriena said dropping the book.
As she watched a hand reached out of the book and grabbed the front of her shirt. The hand started to pull her toward the book.
"Hey let go." Katriena said. She was pulled into the book. The covers snapped shut.
Katriena fall down toward the ground. She than fall down into a tree. She tried to cover her head as much as she could. She hit a strong branch. She landed on it with her stomach. She than fall the rest of the way. Katriena landed on her back. And lay there.
When she woke up weird faces, faces she didn't know but knew at the same time were in her sight of vision. Katriena moaned.
"Look she is awake." Someone said off to her left.
"Hey cub you okay?" a new face appeared in Katriena's line of sight. A woman appeared. Her gold/red hair fell over her shoulder.
"Where am I?" she managed to ask. She felt the pain in her chest.
"Sh. You are safe. Try not to move. Do not talk." She said.
Katriena closed her eyes and slept again.
She woke up later to the smell of furs. Katriena slowly looked around. She was inside of something. Animal furs covered her. They were soft. She slowly sat up. Her ribs still hurt but not as before.
"So you are awake." Someone said behind Katriena.
She turned suddenly. It made her head hurt. Katriena fell back on the furs that were under her.
"Easy young cub." The person said coming over to her.
Katriena looked up into a man's gentle face. His red hair in two braids in the front hung down away from his face. He wore a gold ring around his forehead. She than noticed his ears. They were long and pointed. Katriena screamed.
"Beloved!" a woman said rushing inside of the hole.
Katriena was backed up against a wall. She clenched the furs in front of herself.
"What happen?" the woman asked. She was the woman she had seen when she woke the first time.
"I don't know. All I did was come in here to see if she was all right. She looked at me and screamed. It's like she has never seen one of her own before." He said.
One of her own? What is he taking about? Katriena wondered. The woman held up a hand. She had four fingers. Katriena turned her head and closed her eyes. She's going to hit me, Katriena thought. But instead of a fist in the jaw she felt a hand pat her head. Katriena opened her eyes to see the woman smile at her.
"It's okay cub. You are safe." She said sitting back.
"Who are you?" Katriena asked surprised she had not hit me.
"My name is Nightfall. This is Redlance." She said with the smile still on her face. Katriena looked over at him. He was smiling too.
"Who are you?" Redlance asked her.
"Katriena." Katriena said feeling not as afraid as.
"Katriena?" Nightfall said.
"Where am I? What am I in?" Katriena asked looking around.
There were some other furs around her. A candle was sitting in a holder. She looked over to where the opening was. All she saw was trees outside.
"You are in our tree. You are in our holt." Nightfall said.
Tree? Holt? Katriena slowly crawled over to the opening and looked out. First thing she did was look down. Katriena was way up in a tree. She than looked around as far as she could. There were other trees with holes in them. Steppes led to what looked like a walkway. The walkway led to other trees. Katriena pulled her head back inside. Katriena pulled the furs up around her neck.
Katriena than noticed something. First she was in some weird cloths. They were just a pair of pants and a shirt. Than she looked at her hands. She had four fingers. Last time Katriena looked she had five. She felt her ears. Yes they had changed too. She was like them.
The sunlight was blocked by a shadow. Katriena got scared again. She fall back against the wall again.
"Welcome Cutter. Leetah." Nightfall said.
She looked over at the doorway. Two people were standing there.
"Hello." The male said. He wore a vest made out of what looked like bear fur. He also wore breeches and a cloth covering them. A sword was at his hip. His yellow/white hair was pulled into a ponytail and the rest fall down his back.
The female wore a purple dress. It was cut close up around her legs. It was cut low in the front too. Her amber hair was pulled up in a ponytail. She had a grace to herself.
"Well I see you are awake and up cub." The male said again. On his face was a smile.
"My chief this is Ka..tri..ena." Redlance said sounding out her name.
"Hum. What a different name." The male said, "is there another name we could call you?"
"Um Kat." Katriena said softly.
"Kat? That's a better name." He said.
"Where is your tribe?" Leetah asked.
Katriena shook her head. She doubled over in pain grabbing her head.
"Are you okay?" Leetah asked placing a hand on Katriena forehead. The pain faded away at her touch.
"Yes now. Thank you." Katriena said.
"Come outside. You are welcome here." Cutter said taking her hand.
She was led outside of the tree. She found that she had that she was not faired of the height. She looked down into the mist. Other people were coming up to them. Leetah hugged a red hair girl and a sun colored hair boy.
"Who's that Mother?" the girl asked.
"My tribe this is Kat. She is welcome here." Cutter said as everyone came froward.
"Hum. She looks like she could use a roll in the furs." A woman said with white hair held back with a hair band.
"Now Krim. Let her be. But you might be right." An orange hair guy said.
"Pike. Krim. Leave her alone. She is only a few seasons older than the twins." Leetah said coming to Kat's help.
Seasons? Roll in the furs? Katriena didn't know what was going on. She turned around to look at everything. Her foot slipped on the branch and she fall over heading toward the open air below her. She swung her arms wildly in the air around her. Her feet left the branch's surface. Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back up. It was Cutter who helped her back to the branch and help her sit down. Katriena curled up into a ball as far way as she could get from the edge. She shook with fear at the thought that she almost went over the edge.
"Is bigsmall high thing right?" a voice asked by her ear. Katriena looked up to see what looked like a butterfly. Well that's what the wings looked like. But some where in the back of her mind a picture came forward. It looked like a fairy. It wore a little hat made out of a flower petal.
"Oh hello." Katriena said softly. She held up a finger to the little one. It landed on her finger and hugged her hand. "Who are you?"
"I'm Berrybuz." The little one said.
A hearty laugh came from behind her. Katriena looked. A man was standing there with face fur on his chin. A woman was right behind him.
**It looks like Berrybuz has taken a liking to you cub. ** The man said in her thoughts.
"OW!" Katriena said holding her head with one hand.
"Strongbow please be careful. She has had a hard day and night." Leetah said.
"I'm…. sorry." Strongbow said slowly, like it hurt to speak.
"Please do not mind Strongbow. He sends more than he speaks." The woman said. She wore leathers that were dyed a berry purple. "I'm Strongbow's lifemate, Moonshade."
Katriena nodded. She felt better.
A few days later. Katriena was walking along the branch pathway. She had just reached the stairs that led from the tree were she was staying with Redlance and Nightfall when a brown head popped up. The head was a woman's. Her hair was pulled back with a peace of leather.
"Oh. Hello" she said as Katriena moved out of the way to let her up.
"Hello." Katriena said.
Berrybuz flew from Katriena's hair and around her head.
"Berrybuz. Please clam down." Katriena said holding up her hand. Berrybuz landed on her hand.
"I'm Venka." The woman said.
"Kat. I'm sorry I would like to stay and talk but Strongbow said that he would teach me how to shot." Kat said.
"Oh. Yes. I'm sorry. I will see you later and than we can talk." Venka said walking down the path toward Cutter and his family's tree.
Katriena climbed down the tree to the ground. There was Strongbow waiting for her. He didn't say anything. He handed her a bow. She held it. It was long and curved
"Try to shot it." Strong bow said slowly.
Katriena nodded. She took the arrow that Strongbow held out to her. She fitted it on the string. Held it up pulled back and let the arrow fly right into a tree. She slowly lowered the bow and turned around to face Strongbow. He wore a look of surprise on his face.
"I have worked with a bow before. Though not one so big and strong. It was a little hard to pull back." Kat said handing Strongbow his bow back.
"Well. Well. So Strongbow what do you think of our little guest now?" Cutter said walking up to them.
**She does not even need to work on her aim. Maybe she should learn how to use a sword instead. ** Strongbow said in Cutter's mind.
**Are you sure? ** Kat's sending rolled into his head.
Cutter and Strongbow both looked at her with surprise.
"I have been working on my sendings." Kat said smiling at them, "But it still hurts sometimes. I'm not use to sending."
Cutter looked at Strongbow than back at Kat. He leaned his head back and laughed.
"Strongbow I think I will not have to teach her how to use a sword. Or any other weapon for that matter. Come Kat. I think it's time." Cutter said leading Kat away from Strongbow.
"Time for what Chief Cutter?" Kat asked him.
He didn't say anything. Berrybuz flew from Kat's hair. It flew in front of them.
"Come bigsmall high thing." It said to Kat pulling on her hair.
"Stop that bug." Cutter said trying to hit Berrybuz away.
"I'm coming Berrybuz." Kat said smiling.
Cutter led her to a small cave.
"Here you go cub. Now it's up to you." He said stepping back. Other elves showed up. Kat looked at them than back at the cave. Sounds were coming out. Whimpering sounds one like a puppy would make. Kat got down on her hands and knees and looked into the opening. A sound of claw on rock came to her ears.
"Come on. Come here. I won't hurt you." Kat whispered.
Two gold eyes came out of the darkness. A black nose came out. A tiny white pup clawed it's way out of the cave. The elves gasped when the pup started to lick Kat's smiling face. She held in close.
"Her name is Snowstorm." Kat said laughing as the pup barked happily.
Suntop and Ember came running to see the new cub.
"The white cub. The one no one thought was going to live." Cutter said as he watched Kat, Ember, and Suntop play with the young cub.
"They are like a perfect match. Just look at them." Leetah said holding Cutter's hand.
"Yes you are right." Cutter said smiling on the young ones.
A few days later found Kat with Pike, Skot, and Krim. They were testing her to see if they could get her to try some dreamberrys. She was keeping them at hand. She knew that they did something to you. And she didn't really want to try them.
"Come on Kat. Everyone eats them." Skot said holding some out to her.
"No thanks I'll pass. Come on Snowstorm." Kat said picking up her wolf cub. She deiced to go for a walk. She put Snowstorm down. The cub followed right behind her. Sometimes walking right on the back of her feet. Kat walked and walked not really in deep thought but not paying attention to were she was going. She walked right out into the open. She looked around her. A great ocean speared out before her. As she watched a light came up from the water. It got closer and closer. Two figures appeared from the water.
"Venka! Hello! And you too Zhantee!" Kat called out to them running to meet them.
As she got closer she noticed another person with them. Kat stopped short. It was a man. He had black hair and dark skin like Venka.
"Hello Kat. This is my father, Rayek." Venka said.
"Hello." Kat said looking him over.
"Rayek what are you doing here?" a voice asked from behind Kat.
Kat turned around to see Nightfall. Kat could tell from her face that she was not happy to see him. Kat could also see that behind her other elves had come as well. None of them looked happy to see Rayek.
"Come Kat." Nightfall said leading Kat away from the visitors. She followed them back to the holt.
"Kat I want you to stay away from him. Understand?" Nightfall asked. Kat nodded. But she wondered why Rayek was so bad.
Later she found out why. One day she was out teaching Snowstorm how to find an animal trial. She was smiling watching her wolf when she felt someone behind her. She turned around fast to find Rayek standing there.
"Hello." He said slowly.
She grew nervous. Nightfall said to stay away from him.
"Um.. I have to go." Kat said picking up Snowstorm. She looked up at him for a moment and was lost.
She had looked into his eyes and fell into a being of not thinking. He was about to look deep into her thoughts when a sending sent him backwards.
**Let her go! Or you are meat to be wasted! ** It was Strongbow's sending. He had fitted an arrow into his bow and was pointing it at Rayek.
His sending was an open one. Other elves came running. Cutter ran up with New Moon drawn.
"Rayek!" he growled lunging for Rayek.
Leetah ran over to Kat's lifeless body. She placed her hand on her forehead.
**Come back cub. You are free. ** She sent to Kat.
Kat's eyes blinked. The look of far away left her eyes as she blinked. She put her hand to head.
"What happen?" she asked looking around. Snowstorm whimpered from down by Kat's feet.
"You okay cub?" Treestump asked. He looked worried at her.
"Yes I'm fine now. But what did he do to me?" She asked.
"Rayek can stop anyone or anything just by having it look into his eyes." Cutter said still giving Rayek the evil eye. She shook with fear that he had caught her. Cutter looked at her with alarm.
"You okay cub?" he asked. She didn't answer him. She shook and shook.
He could have read my thoughts and found out that I'm human and not elf, Kat thought to herself. She wailed her self to stop shaking. From that moment on no matter what Kat was going to stay away from Rayek.
Over the next few years Kat grew to liking her new home. She leaned about what to do if humans were close by. She and Snowstorm grew together. Kat treed with Nightfall and Redlance and their daughter, Tyleet. But she as everyone could tell that something was bugging Cutter. She found out a few days later. She followed the Wolfriders down into the underground home of the Trolls. There was to be a fight between Cutter and Rayek. She shouted along with the others. She ran with the others as they followed Cutter and Rayek. The fight came to a draw. Cutter and Rayek came to their differences.
"Hey Kat come and join the fun!" Scouter called from where he and Dewshine were dancing.
"No thanks. I'm just fine." Kat called back to him. She was sitting listening to Skywise tell one of his tails. He had been drinking too much dreamberry wine. She laughed when Krim hit Skot in the stomach sending the wine he was drinking all over Pike, when Pike said he wanted more. She watched as Mender lead King Picknose off into the shadows. She laughed as she followed him and saw what he did.
**Good one Mender. But you know he will be flaming mad, don't you? ** Kat sent to him.
**Yes I know. But it's fun while it last. Come let's dance. ** Mender said leading Kat away.
She laughed along with Mender and Ember when King Picknose freed himself. She followed the others out of the caves. She was listening to Mender say some thing to Ember when Venka gasped.
"No! She can't!" she shouted.
"Venka what's wrong?" Cutter asked.
"Winnowill! The palace!" Venka cried.
She and Rayek tried to block her sending with the palace. The elves rushed out of the troll's caves.
"Now Venka. One dead sure bolt!" Rayek said as he and Venka ended the battle.
Kat hung back as the tribe talked about what to do. The palace of the high ones was gone. Crashed into a mountainside. And what was worse in human land. She rode off into the night. She was thinking about what to do when she saw Tyleet ride off on her wolf, Patience.
Where is she going? Kat asked herself as she followed Tyleet deep into the forest. She saw Tyleet take to the trees.
"Snowstorm. Patience. Stay here." Kat said as she followed Tyleet into the trees.
She watched with amazement as Tyleet made friends with a human. She stayed hidden. She watched the human cut down a tree just as a sound of thunder sounded.
Come my friend. Cave. The human said lending Tyleet into a cave out of the rain.
Kat smelled someone coming. It was Scouter.
**Are you crazy?!** Scouter asked in sending as he carried Tyleet off.
**Let me go!** Tyleet said pushing away from Scouter. He followed her down into a creek and up under a moss hanging. Kat deiced to leave when she heard the sound of pure joy from Scouter and Tyleet. She went back to the cave were the human was sitting in.
Tree spirit? he asked as he saw Kat's figure in the opening of the cave.
Tree spirit? Is that what you call us? Kat asked without thinking. Her hand shot to her mouth.
You speak! the human said surprised.
Please tell no one that you saw me. Not even my other friend. Kat said leaving in a rush. She didn't look back as she left.
Days later found Kat watching Cutter and Dewshine.
"Cutter. They are both safe." Dewshine said as she sat high in a tree that she had jumped into.
"You kept it a secret and what is worst Tyleet is with cub!" Cutter was roaring mad.
Kat had never seen Cutter so mad. She would not like to get on his bad side of anything. Although she, herself, had known about this for a while now, just like Dewshine. She was about to climb down out of her tree when Ember walked up to them from behind the tree where Dewshine had jumped. She watched while Ember talked to her father. After they had left she finally got down out of her tree.
"Hello Snowstorm." Kat said when her wolf walked up to her. Kat played with the fur between her ears.
She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice that she had walked out into the open. Snowstorm gently took her elf friend's hand in her mouth pulling her back toward the trees.
"What is it?" Kat asked looking down at her wolf friend.
She looked around. This was not her fight. Nor will it ever be, but she couldn't go home yet.
Kat was going to go off a hunt to clear her mind when the sending for an all tribe council came. She raced back to the Holt.
"I think it's time for Ember to go off on her own and take half the tribe with her." Cutter said handing a sword to his daughter.
Ember's eyes grew wide when she saw it. She than went around picking different tribe members to take with her. Kat hung back, not knowing if she would be chosen to go with Ember or with Cutter.
"This is my tribe." Ember said after picking the ones she wanted. That meant that Kat was left to go with Cutter's group.
"Ember, Kat come here." Cutter said stepping into the middle of the circle. He held out his hands to Kat and Ember.
"Yes, Father?" Ember asked.
"Yes?" Kat asked as well.
"Kat it is up to you for which group you want to go with." Cutter said as he stepped away to stand next to Ember.
Kat stood there looking back between them. She didn't know which the go with.
"Um…" Kat started when something began to push her from behind. She turned to see Timmain. The she-wolf was pushing Kat toward Cutter.
"It seems that the High One wants Kat to come with us." Treestump said smiling.
"So it will be." Cutter said.
Kat watched as the others said good-bye to ember and half the tribe. Kat was having a hard time getting Berrybuz out of her hair.
"Let go Berrybuz." Kat said trying to pull the little creature from her brown hair. Berrybuz was mad because Petalwing had told it to go with Ember's half.
"Berrybuz stay with small highthing." Berrybuz cried still holding tight to Kat's hair.
"Petalwing, Tittersweet and Tickletoe will be with me. Don't worry my little friend. I'll see you again." Kat promised the little one. Berrybuz finally let go of Kat, "Besides I want you to watch over Tyleet. Okay?"
Berrybuz nodded. It hugged Kat's hand one more time than flew after Ember and the others.
**That creature sure took a liking to you cub.** Strongbow said as he came up to Kat.
**I know. I wish that Berrybuz was able to come with us.** Kat sent back.
Just than the preservers came rushing back to the little group.
"Something is wrong." Kat said as she followed the others in to the trees to see what was happing. She gasped with surprise when an arrow was shot up at them. Humans had come to the Holt. She had just made it back to the ground when Ekuar opened a hole in the ground for them to go. She and her wolf friend followed. Soon they came to an adjoining tunnel.
"Trolls." Mender said to the smell. And he was right. Kat stood with the others as the 'talked' to King Picknose.
Kat wasn't paying attain to what Cutter and the others were saying. She heard footsteps coming from the tunnel, but before she could say anything Trinket came running yelling about humans coming. Kat watched as the trolls ran for cover. She ran behind King Picknose's throne with the others when the fighting started. Eureka shaped another tunnel. And two trolls joined them after the fighting was over.
Kat sat on the ground looking over at the trolls as they dug a tunnel straight up. Eureka had given it his all. She knew now that their path was going to be harder. After the trolls had dug the tunnel they went to the surface. Everything was dark and it smelled really bad.
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"Hey oh no! Come on you can do better than that." Katriena said out loud.
She was reading a book. It was raining out side, but even if was sunny she would have been inside reading or doing something. Just than the lights went out. Katriena looked up from her book. A weird light caught the corner of her eye. She looked back to the book she was reading. The light was coming from there.
"Oh great the books on fire." Katriena said dropping the book.
As she watched a hand reached out of the book and grabbed the front of her shirt. The hand started to pull her toward the book.
"Hey let go." Katriena said. She was pulled into the book. The covers snapped shut.
Katriena fall down toward the ground. She than fall down into a tree. She tried to cover her head as much as she could. She hit a strong branch. She landed on it with her stomach. She than fall the rest of the way. Katriena landed on her back. And lay there.
When she woke up weird faces, faces she didn't know but knew at the same time were in her sight of vision. Katriena moaned.
"Look she is awake." Someone said off to her left.
"Hey cub you okay?" a new face appeared in Katriena's line of sight. A woman appeared. Her gold/red hair fell over her shoulder.
"Where am I?" she managed to ask. She felt the pain in her chest.
"Sh. You are safe. Try not to move. Do not talk." She said.
Katriena closed her eyes and slept again.
She woke up later to the smell of furs. Katriena slowly looked around. She was inside of something. Animal furs covered her. They were soft. She slowly sat up. Her ribs still hurt but not as before.
"So you are awake." Someone said behind Katriena.
She turned suddenly. It made her head hurt. Katriena fell back on the furs that were under her.
"Easy young cub." The person said coming over to her.
Katriena looked up into a man's gentle face. His red hair in two braids in the front hung down away from his face. He wore a gold ring around his forehead. She than noticed his ears. They were long and pointed. Katriena screamed.
"Beloved!" a woman said rushing inside of the hole.
Katriena was backed up against a wall. She clenched the furs in front of herself.
"What happen?" the woman asked. She was the woman she had seen when she woke the first time.
"I don't know. All I did was come in here to see if she was all right. She looked at me and screamed. It's like she has never seen one of her own before." He said.
One of her own? What is he taking about? Katriena wondered. The woman held up a hand. She had four fingers. Katriena turned her head and closed her eyes. She's going to hit me, Katriena thought. But instead of a fist in the jaw she felt a hand pat her head. Katriena opened her eyes to see the woman smile at her.
"It's okay cub. You are safe." She said sitting back.
"Who are you?" Katriena asked surprised she had not hit me.
"My name is Nightfall. This is Redlance." She said with the smile still on her face. Katriena looked over at him. He was smiling too.
"Who are you?" Redlance asked her.
"Katriena." Katriena said feeling not as afraid as.
"Katriena?" Nightfall said.
"Where am I? What am I in?" Katriena asked looking around.
There were some other furs around her. A candle was sitting in a holder. She looked over to where the opening was. All she saw was trees outside.
"You are in our tree. You are in our holt." Nightfall said.
Tree? Holt? Katriena slowly crawled over to the opening and looked out. First thing she did was look down. Katriena was way up in a tree. She than looked around as far as she could. There were other trees with holes in them. Steppes led to what looked like a walkway. The walkway led to other trees. Katriena pulled her head back inside. Katriena pulled the furs up around her neck.
Katriena than noticed something. First she was in some weird cloths. They were just a pair of pants and a shirt. Than she looked at her hands. She had four fingers. Last time Katriena looked she had five. She felt her ears. Yes they had changed too. She was like them.
The sunlight was blocked by a shadow. Katriena got scared again. She fall back against the wall again.
"Welcome Cutter. Leetah." Nightfall said.
She looked over at the doorway. Two people were standing there.
"Hello." The male said. He wore a vest made out of what looked like bear fur. He also wore breeches and a cloth covering them. A sword was at his hip. His yellow/white hair was pulled into a ponytail and the rest fall down his back.
The female wore a purple dress. It was cut close up around her legs. It was cut low in the front too. Her amber hair was pulled up in a ponytail. She had a grace to herself.
"Well I see you are awake and up cub." The male said again. On his face was a smile.
"My chief this is Ka..tri..ena." Redlance said sounding out her name.
"Hum. What a different name." The male said, "is there another name we could call you?"
"Um Kat." Katriena said softly.
"Kat? That's a better name." He said.
"Where is your tribe?" Leetah asked.
Katriena shook her head. She doubled over in pain grabbing her head.
"Are you okay?" Leetah asked placing a hand on Katriena forehead. The pain faded away at her touch.
"Yes now. Thank you." Katriena said.
"Come outside. You are welcome here." Cutter said taking her hand.
She was led outside of the tree. She found that she had that she was not faired of the height. She looked down into the mist. Other people were coming up to them. Leetah hugged a red hair girl and a sun colored hair boy.
"Who's that Mother?" the girl asked.
"My tribe this is Kat. She is welcome here." Cutter said as everyone came froward.
"Hum. She looks like she could use a roll in the furs." A woman said with white hair held back with a hair band.
"Now Krim. Let her be. But you might be right." An orange hair guy said.
"Pike. Krim. Leave her alone. She is only a few seasons older than the twins." Leetah said coming to Kat's help.
Seasons? Roll in the furs? Katriena didn't know what was going on. She turned around to look at everything. Her foot slipped on the branch and she fall over heading toward the open air below her. She swung her arms wildly in the air around her. Her feet left the branch's surface. Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back up. It was Cutter who helped her back to the branch and help her sit down. Katriena curled up into a ball as far way as she could get from the edge. She shook with fear at the thought that she almost went over the edge.
"Is bigsmall high thing right?" a voice asked by her ear. Katriena looked up to see what looked like a butterfly. Well that's what the wings looked like. But some where in the back of her mind a picture came forward. It looked like a fairy. It wore a little hat made out of a flower petal.
"Oh hello." Katriena said softly. She held up a finger to the little one. It landed on her finger and hugged her hand. "Who are you?"
"I'm Berrybuz." The little one said.
A hearty laugh came from behind her. Katriena looked. A man was standing there with face fur on his chin. A woman was right behind him.
**It looks like Berrybuz has taken a liking to you cub. ** The man said in her thoughts.
"OW!" Katriena said holding her head with one hand.
"Strongbow please be careful. She has had a hard day and night." Leetah said.
"I'm…. sorry." Strongbow said slowly, like it hurt to speak.
"Please do not mind Strongbow. He sends more than he speaks." The woman said. She wore leathers that were dyed a berry purple. "I'm Strongbow's lifemate, Moonshade."
Katriena nodded. She felt better.
A few days later. Katriena was walking along the branch pathway. She had just reached the stairs that led from the tree were she was staying with Redlance and Nightfall when a brown head popped up. The head was a woman's. Her hair was pulled back with a peace of leather.
"Oh. Hello" she said as Katriena moved out of the way to let her up.
"Hello." Katriena said.
Berrybuz flew from Katriena's hair and around her head.
"Berrybuz. Please clam down." Katriena said holding up her hand. Berrybuz landed on her hand.
"I'm Venka." The woman said.
"Kat. I'm sorry I would like to stay and talk but Strongbow said that he would teach me how to shot." Kat said.
"Oh. Yes. I'm sorry. I will see you later and than we can talk." Venka said walking down the path toward Cutter and his family's tree.
Katriena climbed down the tree to the ground. There was Strongbow waiting for her. He didn't say anything. He handed her a bow. She held it. It was long and curved
"Try to shot it." Strong bow said slowly.
Katriena nodded. She took the arrow that Strongbow held out to her. She fitted it on the string. Held it up pulled back and let the arrow fly right into a tree. She slowly lowered the bow and turned around to face Strongbow. He wore a look of surprise on his face.
"I have worked with a bow before. Though not one so big and strong. It was a little hard to pull back." Kat said handing Strongbow his bow back.
"Well. Well. So Strongbow what do you think of our little guest now?" Cutter said walking up to them.
**She does not even need to work on her aim. Maybe she should learn how to use a sword instead. ** Strongbow said in Cutter's mind.
**Are you sure? ** Kat's sending rolled into his head.
Cutter and Strongbow both looked at her with surprise.
"I have been working on my sendings." Kat said smiling at them, "But it still hurts sometimes. I'm not use to sending."
Cutter looked at Strongbow than back at Kat. He leaned his head back and laughed.
"Strongbow I think I will not have to teach her how to use a sword. Or any other weapon for that matter. Come Kat. I think it's time." Cutter said leading Kat away from Strongbow.
"Time for what Chief Cutter?" Kat asked him.
He didn't say anything. Berrybuz flew from Kat's hair. It flew in front of them.
"Come bigsmall high thing." It said to Kat pulling on her hair.
"Stop that bug." Cutter said trying to hit Berrybuz away.
"I'm coming Berrybuz." Kat said smiling.
Cutter led her to a small cave.
"Here you go cub. Now it's up to you." He said stepping back. Other elves showed up. Kat looked at them than back at the cave. Sounds were coming out. Whimpering sounds one like a puppy would make. Kat got down on her hands and knees and looked into the opening. A sound of claw on rock came to her ears.
"Come on. Come here. I won't hurt you." Kat whispered.
Two gold eyes came out of the darkness. A black nose came out. A tiny white pup clawed it's way out of the cave. The elves gasped when the pup started to lick Kat's smiling face. She held in close.
"Her name is Snowstorm." Kat said laughing as the pup barked happily.
Suntop and Ember came running to see the new cub.
"The white cub. The one no one thought was going to live." Cutter said as he watched Kat, Ember, and Suntop play with the young cub.
"They are like a perfect match. Just look at them." Leetah said holding Cutter's hand.
"Yes you are right." Cutter said smiling on the young ones.
A few days later found Kat with Pike, Skot, and Krim. They were testing her to see if they could get her to try some dreamberrys. She was keeping them at hand. She knew that they did something to you. And she didn't really want to try them.
"Come on Kat. Everyone eats them." Skot said holding some out to her.
"No thanks I'll pass. Come on Snowstorm." Kat said picking up her wolf cub. She deiced to go for a walk. She put Snowstorm down. The cub followed right behind her. Sometimes walking right on the back of her feet. Kat walked and walked not really in deep thought but not paying attention to were she was going. She walked right out into the open. She looked around her. A great ocean speared out before her. As she watched a light came up from the water. It got closer and closer. Two figures appeared from the water.
"Venka! Hello! And you too Zhantee!" Kat called out to them running to meet them.
As she got closer she noticed another person with them. Kat stopped short. It was a man. He had black hair and dark skin like Venka.
"Hello Kat. This is my father, Rayek." Venka said.
"Hello." Kat said looking him over.
"Rayek what are you doing here?" a voice asked from behind Kat.
Kat turned around to see Nightfall. Kat could tell from her face that she was not happy to see him. Kat could also see that behind her other elves had come as well. None of them looked happy to see Rayek.
"Come Kat." Nightfall said leading Kat away from the visitors. She followed them back to the holt.
"Kat I want you to stay away from him. Understand?" Nightfall asked. Kat nodded. But she wondered why Rayek was so bad.
Later she found out why. One day she was out teaching Snowstorm how to find an animal trial. She was smiling watching her wolf when she felt someone behind her. She turned around fast to find Rayek standing there.
"Hello." He said slowly.
She grew nervous. Nightfall said to stay away from him.
"Um.. I have to go." Kat said picking up Snowstorm. She looked up at him for a moment and was lost.
She had looked into his eyes and fell into a being of not thinking. He was about to look deep into her thoughts when a sending sent him backwards.
**Let her go! Or you are meat to be wasted! ** It was Strongbow's sending. He had fitted an arrow into his bow and was pointing it at Rayek.
His sending was an open one. Other elves came running. Cutter ran up with New Moon drawn.
"Rayek!" he growled lunging for Rayek.
Leetah ran over to Kat's lifeless body. She placed her hand on her forehead.
**Come back cub. You are free. ** She sent to Kat.
Kat's eyes blinked. The look of far away left her eyes as she blinked. She put her hand to head.
"What happen?" she asked looking around. Snowstorm whimpered from down by Kat's feet.
"You okay cub?" Treestump asked. He looked worried at her.
"Yes I'm fine now. But what did he do to me?" She asked.
"Rayek can stop anyone or anything just by having it look into his eyes." Cutter said still giving Rayek the evil eye. She shook with fear that he had caught her. Cutter looked at her with alarm.
"You okay cub?" he asked. She didn't answer him. She shook and shook.
He could have read my thoughts and found out that I'm human and not elf, Kat thought to herself. She wailed her self to stop shaking. From that moment on no matter what Kat was going to stay away from Rayek.
Over the next few years Kat grew to liking her new home. She leaned about what to do if humans were close by. She and Snowstorm grew together. Kat treed with Nightfall and Redlance and their daughter, Tyleet. But she as everyone could tell that something was bugging Cutter. She found out a few days later. She followed the Wolfriders down into the underground home of the Trolls. There was to be a fight between Cutter and Rayek. She shouted along with the others. She ran with the others as they followed Cutter and Rayek. The fight came to a draw. Cutter and Rayek came to their differences.
"Hey Kat come and join the fun!" Scouter called from where he and Dewshine were dancing.
"No thanks. I'm just fine." Kat called back to him. She was sitting listening to Skywise tell one of his tails. He had been drinking too much dreamberry wine. She laughed when Krim hit Skot in the stomach sending the wine he was drinking all over Pike, when Pike said he wanted more. She watched as Mender lead King Picknose off into the shadows. She laughed as she followed him and saw what he did.
**Good one Mender. But you know he will be flaming mad, don't you? ** Kat sent to him.
**Yes I know. But it's fun while it last. Come let's dance. ** Mender said leading Kat away.
She laughed along with Mender and Ember when King Picknose freed himself. She followed the others out of the caves. She was listening to Mender say some thing to Ember when Venka gasped.
"No! She can't!" she shouted.
"Venka what's wrong?" Cutter asked.
"Winnowill! The palace!" Venka cried.
She and Rayek tried to block her sending with the palace. The elves rushed out of the troll's caves.
"Now Venka. One dead sure bolt!" Rayek said as he and Venka ended the battle.
Kat hung back as the tribe talked about what to do. The palace of the high ones was gone. Crashed into a mountainside. And what was worse in human land. She rode off into the night. She was thinking about what to do when she saw Tyleet ride off on her wolf, Patience.
Where is she going? Kat asked herself as she followed Tyleet deep into the forest. She saw Tyleet take to the trees.
"Snowstorm. Patience. Stay here." Kat said as she followed Tyleet into the trees.
She watched with amazement as Tyleet made friends with a human. She stayed hidden. She watched the human cut down a tree just as a sound of thunder sounded.
Come my friend. Cave. The human said lending Tyleet into a cave out of the rain.
Kat smelled someone coming. It was Scouter.
**Are you crazy?!** Scouter asked in sending as he carried Tyleet off.
**Let me go!** Tyleet said pushing away from Scouter. He followed her down into a creek and up under a moss hanging. Kat deiced to leave when she heard the sound of pure joy from Scouter and Tyleet. She went back to the cave were the human was sitting in.
Tree spirit? he asked as he saw Kat's figure in the opening of the cave.
Tree spirit? Is that what you call us? Kat asked without thinking. Her hand shot to her mouth.
You speak! the human said surprised.
Please tell no one that you saw me. Not even my other friend. Kat said leaving in a rush. She didn't look back as she left.
Days later found Kat watching Cutter and Dewshine.
"Cutter. They are both safe." Dewshine said as she sat high in a tree that she had jumped into.
"You kept it a secret and what is worst Tyleet is with cub!" Cutter was roaring mad.
Kat had never seen Cutter so mad. She would not like to get on his bad side of anything. Although she, herself, had known about this for a while now, just like Dewshine. She was about to climb down out of her tree when Ember walked up to them from behind the tree where Dewshine had jumped. She watched while Ember talked to her father. After they had left she finally got down out of her tree.
"Hello Snowstorm." Kat said when her wolf walked up to her. Kat played with the fur between her ears.
She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice that she had walked out into the open. Snowstorm gently took her elf friend's hand in her mouth pulling her back toward the trees.
"What is it?" Kat asked looking down at her wolf friend.
She looked around. This was not her fight. Nor will it ever be, but she couldn't go home yet.
Kat was going to go off a hunt to clear her mind when the sending for an all tribe council came. She raced back to the Holt.
"I think it's time for Ember to go off on her own and take half the tribe with her." Cutter said handing a sword to his daughter.
Ember's eyes grew wide when she saw it. She than went around picking different tribe members to take with her. Kat hung back, not knowing if she would be chosen to go with Ember or with Cutter.
"This is my tribe." Ember said after picking the ones she wanted. That meant that Kat was left to go with Cutter's group.
"Ember, Kat come here." Cutter said stepping into the middle of the circle. He held out his hands to Kat and Ember.
"Yes, Father?" Ember asked.
"Yes?" Kat asked as well.
"Kat it is up to you for which group you want to go with." Cutter said as he stepped away to stand next to Ember.
Kat stood there looking back between them. She didn't know which the go with.
"Um…" Kat started when something began to push her from behind. She turned to see Timmain. The she-wolf was pushing Kat toward Cutter.
"It seems that the High One wants Kat to come with us." Treestump said smiling.
"So it will be." Cutter said.
Kat watched as the others said good-bye to ember and half the tribe. Kat was having a hard time getting Berrybuz out of her hair.
"Let go Berrybuz." Kat said trying to pull the little creature from her brown hair. Berrybuz was mad because Petalwing had told it to go with Ember's half.
"Berrybuz stay with small highthing." Berrybuz cried still holding tight to Kat's hair.
"Petalwing, Tittersweet and Tickletoe will be with me. Don't worry my little friend. I'll see you again." Kat promised the little one. Berrybuz finally let go of Kat, "Besides I want you to watch over Tyleet. Okay?"
Berrybuz nodded. It hugged Kat's hand one more time than flew after Ember and the others.
**That creature sure took a liking to you cub.** Strongbow said as he came up to Kat.
**I know. I wish that Berrybuz was able to come with us.** Kat sent back.
Just than the preservers came rushing back to the little group.
"Something is wrong." Kat said as she followed the others in to the trees to see what was happing. She gasped with surprise when an arrow was shot up at them. Humans had come to the Holt. She had just made it back to the ground when Ekuar opened a hole in the ground for them to go. She and her wolf friend followed. Soon they came to an adjoining tunnel.
"Trolls." Mender said to the smell. And he was right. Kat stood with the others as the 'talked' to King Picknose.
Kat wasn't paying attain to what Cutter and the others were saying. She heard footsteps coming from the tunnel, but before she could say anything Trinket came running yelling about humans coming. Kat watched as the trolls ran for cover. She ran behind King Picknose's throne with the others when the fighting started. Eureka shaped another tunnel. And two trolls joined them after the fighting was over.
Kat sat on the ground looking over at the trolls as they dug a tunnel straight up. Eureka had given it his all. She knew now that their path was going to be harder. After the trolls had dug the tunnel they went to the surface. Everything was dark and it smelled really bad.