Heroes: Jay vs. scourge
chapter 1
The sun rose over the horizon, sending yellow rays across the forest floor. Jay's silver body stood in the shadows of the trees. As he rose to his paws, he looked up at the bright, dawn sky. There was a slight breeze, ruffling Jay's fur. His ears pricked. He crouched low, following the scurrying of a mouse. He flexed his claws, impatiently. He lifted his head to drink the warm scent of the mouse. He prepared to spring, and the mouse lifted its tiny ears. It dashed away, and Jay leaped at it, but his claws missed its flesh. Jay fell to the ground. Showers of snow spread over him.
"Keep your weight off your paws, Jay." Avi stepped out of the bushes. Avi was the SunPack leader. Jay dipped his head respectfully. Ever since he was chased into the forest by rogues, Jay was worried he would be chased away again. Avi spoke, "Let's try again." Avi pointed her tail to a fallen tree. Jay could smell the scent of a rabbit. He crept up slowly to the fallen tree, keeping his weight off his paws. He could see the pale brown fur of the rabbit and he sprang. This time his teeth sank into its flesh.
As Jay and Avi padded back toward the camp, their jaws full of prey, the sun was at its highest. Jay thought they would walk forever. Finally, he could see the entrance of the camp. He ducked as he walked through, with thorns tugging at his fur.
"you did well today," Avi murmured, with a mouthful of bird. Jay nodded, and strode over to the fresh-kill. He started to eat his rabbit. He ripped away the fur, eating every last piece of meat. When he finished, Talon walked over to him, his brown-and-white fur glowing in the bright, warm sun light. Jay stared at him nervously. What did he want? Talon stared down at him. "We need to talk."
***
Talon looked into Jay's ice-blue eyes. Compared to Jay, Talon was like a boulder, standing above him, ready to crush him until he was nothing. Jay's heart beat rapidly. Talon smiled slightly and said, "Do not be afraid. You are not in trouble." Jay let the fur on his back relax. Talon continued, "You're almost ready for your test, but you still need much more practice. Your hunting and fighting skills are weak. We will train tomorrow before Darkheart is gone." Talon turned his head and padded out of the den. Jay followed him, the sun was high in the sky, the bright rays burning Jay's thick, silver fur.
Jay was exiled from Scourge's gang. Scourge had a heart of black, hot coal. He is planning to kill every fox in the forest and then his own pack, so that he and Blood, his deputy, can rule. Jay tried to tell the wolves Scourge's evil plan, but none believed him. The wolves attacked him and exiled him, leaving Jay an eye almost torn out, an ear shredded to peaces, and his confidence burned to ashes.
But that was only a memory for he had a new life now, with SunPack. But MoonPack was still a threat to SunPack. Fang tried to bring Avi with him to MoonPack, but all ended with failure.
Jay ran out the camp with Russet and Shay trailing behind him. He was on a hunting patrol. "Go ahead guys, I'll catch up with you," Jay said, stopping. The two foxes replied buy nodding, and ran on. Jay thought about how his life would be here, in this new world, where foxes actually cared for each other. The thought of Scourge and his bloody heart made him shiver. The silver tom pushed the thought away and began to follow the scent trail of Russet and Shay.
***
When the hunting patrol arrived, Jay dropped his kill at the fresh-kill pile, and looked up at the Darkheart sky. Why did SunPack always call it Darkheart? Scourge's pack always called it what it night. But if his new pack mates thought that, then he must too. Bright yellow-white dots filled the dark sky. A claw-shaped moon brightened the forest world, adding glitter to the yellow stars. Jay wished he could be as important as them. But he was just a beaten-up lump of fur with no purpose. A tear ran along his cheek from his squinted eye.
Jay ignored the feeling and ran over to the fresh-kill pile, took a bird, and when he was finished, he lay down and slept.
Jay dreamed.
Darkness crept around a silver fox, as the moon light spilled over the grass he slept on. With the moon so bright, it seemed as if it was the middle of the day.
The silver fox blinked open his eyes and slowly rose to his feat, sleepily. He shook his head to clear his mind of sleep. When he looked up, he gasped at a surprising sight. In front of him stood a pale silver female fox. Her tail seemed to be as long as her body and her blue wings were made of the sky with the stars clinging to their feathers. Her eyes were like cold fire. They shone through the silver tom like a hunter's spear. He looked behind the female fox.
Another fox stood gracefully. He was a pale orange with yellow patches and large, silver wings. He wore a bandanna around his neck. On it was the words "Star of Brightness."
Another fox stood on the other side of the silver female. But he was a dark gray with a sparkle in his eyes that was fierce yet had a touch of compassion. He wore a spiked collar with the words "Shadow of Night" painted in red.
"Jay?" a voice said. Jay nearly jumped out of his fur. He whipped his head back to the silver female. The necklace she wore had the yin-yang symbol on it, and as it spun, the words "Life, Love, and Peace" formed. "Why are you afraid?" She said. Jay could only manage to say the words, "Who are you?" The silver she-fox smiled. "You know who I am. I am the greatest ruler of the fox packs." Confusion flooded over Jay. Then after a moment he realized that this was Yin. He dipped his head respectfully. "Why are you here?" he asked.
Suddenly, the scent of fear and blood came. A dark shadow raced out of the trees, with its claws outstretched, aiming for Yin and Jay. "I cannot talk now. Go to Forest Star, the place of Peace, where we will be safe. Go there at SunFull," Yin commanded, and as the last words faded from her mouth, she disappeared. "No! Don't go!" Jay cried, and the shadow shot through him, sending Jay into a pool of darkness. Nothing was left on the forest. No blood. No shadow. No Yin. Jay instantly knew that the shadow was Scourge and he must meet Yin at Forest Star where Yin will be and also the Ruler of Forest Star. And then, he faded into darkness.
***
The eyes of Jay shot open, to see Talon standing in front of him with the rays of the sun making his fur sparkle. "Time for practice," he said, with a harsh tone in his voice. Jay stood up, shakily and shook the leaves off his fur.
Talon strode through the entrance of the camp without stopping, but Jay's fur kept getting caught on the thorns, and he had to stop to untangle his pelt. "Hurry up!" Talon spat fiercely. Jay had never heard him so angry. He finally untangled himself in the web of thorns, and was careful not to let the thorns touch him, or Talon would growl at him again.
After a long time of thorn-fighting and untangling, Jay and Talon made it out of the entrance. Thay walked past the trees and to the river. When they arrives Talon commanded, "Show me your hunting skills."
Jay lifted his muzzle to drink in the cool air. He could smell a mouse, nosing its way through the bushes by the entrance of the camp. He dropped into a crouch, sneeking up on his prey. The mouse nibbled on a berry and pricked its ears. In a rush, Jay pounced, landing head first into more thorns. The mouse quickly scampered away. Blood dripped out of Jay's paws and muzzle, staining the grass red.
Talon walked over to Jay and clawed at his face, sending more streaks of blood down his muzzle. "You're pathetic!" he growled.
"Talon!" A voice thundered through the trees and a white figure leaped out. "What are you doing?" she hissed, furiously. Suddenly, Talon shrank, but as the anger shot back through him, he rose to his paws. He bared his teeth and snarled, "Jay is pathetic. I don't know why you let him join the pack." The female let the hairs on her back rest and she sat down. "Now you spend more time with him than any other fox. You don't seem to do your duties," Talon continued.
Now, instead of fire in the female's eyes, there was ice and compassion, seeming out into tears. "I'm sorry if I did something to offend you. He needed help, that's all. I guess I was too busy with training him than paying attention to others." She stared up at Talon and padded over to him. As she touched her muzzle to his, Talon smiled and happiness rushed through him again. "I'm sorry that I was so angry," he whispered in her ear.
Now that he could see her face, Jay suddenly realized that the female fox was Avi.
Avi and Talon lay down in the grass together for a long time, memories rushing through them of their time they were mates. Talon and Avi loved each other and had a kid, Russet.
Russet was a fierce, strong warrior, though cared for every fox. He almost died when he fell off a cliff, but somehow returned to SunPack.
Later that Darkheart, Jay finished his training. He became a more skillful hunter and fierce fighter. Then they caught prey, returned to camp, and fell asleep before the sun rose into the dark, starry sky.
***
When the sun finally poked over the land, Avi was the first to get up, with Talon still sleeping in the cool grass. Avi walked out of the den. Suddenly there was a rustle by the entrance and Avi swivled her head toward the noise, her ears up and alert. She bared her teeth and crouched, ready to spring at any intruder.
A white paw stepped out of the bushes, followed by a sleek, black-and-white body. He looked at Avi with compassion in his eyes and a smile on his face. (Stephanie: guess who it is before you read on! write if you were wrong or right on the story!!)
Avi let the fur on her back settle and smiled. The black-and-white figure was a fox, no doubt. He held a hideous creature in his jaws. It had a scrunched face and curled tail. It was the ugliest creature Avi ever saw, and it was a dog.
The male fox dropped the dead dog. Avi nudged the fox with her nose. "You're back from your journey," she said with a tear running down her face. "This is what intruded on our territory. It was so stupid, it couldn't stay away from our scent marks. It was easy to kill," the male said.
Avi turned her ears to her den. Talon stepped out, with the yawn of a gray wolf. When he saw the black-and-white fox, his fur bristled, but when he looked at him carefully, he could see who he was. He managed to form the words "Ace?" The words barely escaped his mouth. Ace nodded. Talon replied, "You've been gone for moon-spins. SunPack almost died without your leader ship." He laughed slightly. "We managed to go through the harsh Crytal-grass. The white flakes came down hard on us," Avi smiled. (Stephanie: guess wut Crystal-grass is. Erase everything with () around it plz!)
"I need to sleep," Ace yawned, as a green figure and yellow figure ran out of thier den. Thunder and Jade tackled thier father, and he was pushed to the ground.
"Hello." Ace pawed at his kids. Then he frowned. His second daughter ran away from SunPack, and she never came back. For an Earth-spin, he had been trying to find her. But he never did. Tears ran down his cheek. Would he ever see her again?
***
Leaves fell on the ground as the sound of crunching pawsteps rose. Ace's ears pricked. nothing. He walked farther until he came to a fallen tree.
The sun above him was not yet at its fullest.
His ears pricked again. This time he could hear the sound of rustling. A squirrel scurried out of the bushes, carrying acorns and berries. Ace prepared to spring. The squirrel was unaware of the hunter. Ace sprang. The squirrel only had time to squeek before Ace took a swift bite into its flesh.
Blood stained the leaves on the ground, as Ace returned to camp. He tugged his way through the tangle of thorns, just as Jay bumped into him.
"What are you doing?" Ace asked, shaking bush leaves off his fur. Jay lied, "Hunting." Ace looked at him suspiciously, then padded away.
As Jay arived at Forest Star, Yin, the other foxes, and a fox he has never seen before, sat on a tall rock. "Greetings," welcomed the strange fox. He was a pure white fox, with pale brown speckles on his fur. This was the Forest Star leader. Jay dipped hi head. Yin stepped forward. "A great danger is coming to the forest, Jay. You must protect everyone, for you are the only one that knows." Her silver pelt shone brightly in the sun light. "But what can I do? I'm no use to any one. I'm worthless," Jay murmured, turning his head away. There was a moment of silence before thw Leader of Forest Star stepped forward. "You are not worthless," he growled. "You are greater than what you think. Protect the forest. Your scars are only a memory for you. They mean nothing." Yin flew of the rock, her blue wings shining like stars, and landed in front of Jay. "Star-Heart is right, Jay. You will lead the forest. Do you accept your fate and were it takes you, or do you let your world die?" She said.
There was a sudden fire in Jay's eyes. Rage shot through him like fire at the thought of the forest being destroyed. He let out a furious yowl. "I rule the forest!!" he cried. "You are strong. You are power. You are... LIFE!" The four mysterious foxes whispered. Jay yowled a second time so that the whole forest could hear him. It ran through its branches like lightning. This was his destiny.