Prologue
The air was particulary fresh that morning. Not a single cloud appeared in the clear blue sky which used to overhang the rock clearing. The winter was almost finished, letting uncovered the dry grass and allowing the sun to feed the ground for new life.
The first lizards already roamed around, while some rodents were starting to put their muzzles out of their dens, ready to be caught by the first birds got out of their nests.
But the upcoming season even meant the awakening of the strong and massive predators who ruled that part clearing near the forest: the fast and crafty linx.
A small spotted light brown one, with two piercing yellow eyes, was crouched a few paws from the little mouse, which was eating peacefully, ignorant of the danger.
The little linx stretched his hindmuscles, turning up the rear, ready to slash the throat of little rodent. Concentratig all his strenghts in hindpaws, he jumped, feeling the short breeze that brushed his furry pelt; but a suddenly scream rose through the bushes, distracting him and making him fail the caught. The now afraid mouse sensed the danger and flee away, while the linx was spitting crumbs of soil from his mouth.
" Mouse-brain! I could have caught! What the hell was that….
But he couldn't end the phrase that something leapt on his back, pushing his muzzle on the ground
" I've finally found you!" said the little female puppy linx, putting her small and not-even-well-formed claws into his fur.
"Get down from me!" he shouted, shaking her from his back and spitting some ground crumbs for the second time. Then he turn his look toward his sister, with two piercing and blazing yellow eyes.
"Are you mouse-brained, Stream? I was choking into the ground!"
"But you were vanished, Spark! When I looked behind me during our tour of the forest with our mother, you were not there anymore! So, we thought we would have followed your scent and got you back." she said, lowering her head with a saddened look.
"We?"
"Sure. Me and Root"
Spark rolled his eyes.
" Oh no; not that I-know-all and not-dare-argue-back!" he said.
"Oh yes, my dear I-am-already-a-nocturnal-guide" said a nearing and stern voice behind him. He turn and saw a flully dark brown with red flecks linx got near him.
"You scared me!"
"Ooh shut up, Spark! When are you gonna learn not to run away from mother? She said with a scolding tone, stopping beside Stream.
"And when are you gonna learn to stick a cobweb on your mouth? When you understand it, tell me and I'll fetch you a spider." He said in a sarcastic tone.
"Now you're dead" and she threw herself on her younger brother, trying to scratch off his fur. But Spark, being smaller than her, dodged her and leapt on her back, biting it.
"What are you two doing?"
The two fighters stopped with their eyes wide-open: a big dark gray-brown linx run toward the two brethren, their mother Acute ferneye.
"Still arguing? When are both of you going to finish telling off each other?" she said, looking them pitifully.
"That's her….." Spark began, but she stopped him from continuing.
"I don't wanna listen to any excuses. Now: Root, get back to Wild harepaw: he'll begin to ask himself where you are sooner or later. You Spark, gather with me and the other puppies again; yes, even you Stream: don't think I forgive you for seeking Spark."
The youngest of the three made herself even smaller, almost trying to get herself swallowed by the soil.
"Got it, mother" said Root, but before running away she exchanged a last glance with her brother.
"Dont' think our little battle is over, Spark." She whispered him, before vanishing through the trees.
"And you don't think I've finished to rip off each hair of your fur" he thought, half-closing his eyes. He carried on wandering about new battle moves to surprise Root while he was walking out of the forest with his mother and Stream.
Once caught up with the other puppies, Ferneye guided them into the camp of tribe, approaching a Guardian, a diurnal linx. Both touched their muzzles to greet each other.
"He's a Guardian, a diurnal linx: his duties are to provide food for the Tribe when there's lack of prey during the night and….."
But Spark wasn't listening a single word; he was completely sunk in his thoughts: he was still in the forest, waiting to catch the little mouse ahead of him. The tension of his muscles, his small not-still-developped-claws piercing the soft ground, the unawareness of the prey of being stalked. Those were all a mix of pleasure that reigned his whole body; a body born to hunt.
"I don't need these explainations: I don't have any interest of becoming this kind of linx" he thought, fixing his gaze on Sharp heronfang who was approaching them, a member of the Nightarrows, the nocturnal linx who used to hunt during the night thanks their more developped hearing and sight.
"One day, I'll become a Nightarrow just like him" staring at the nocturnal linx with admiration.
The sound of fast paws got him back to reality: he saw Little spottednose, a diurnal linx, run into the camp and fall over. Flesh blood was spilling from his right hip.
"The furless creature is angry: tell our leaders that they're coming here!"
…Some hours later, during the night…..
Spark was licking one of his paws: he had run faster as he could after his mother had told him and Stream to fetch the other side of the rock clearing. When he had reached it, he'd seen the furless creature throwing something sharp toward the Guides of the tribe, which were trying to protect the queens with their puppies.
Unfortunately, two brave nightarrows had lost their battles against the furless creature, but defending with honor the camp, now destroyed.
Then, one of the two leaders of the tribe, Redsunset, spoke griefly.
"Dear fellows: the bond between us and the furless creature broke another time; something made it angry and now our home is not here anymore. Two brave nightarrows have died today for the safety of the Rribe of the Wandering Shadows, and now we mourn them."
Each one lowered the head. Spark sensed his mother's affliction: her mate, and his father, Big Rockfang, died protecting her and the tribe.
Then Redsunset spoke again.
" Tomorrow we'll start to search a new territory, so may everybody have a good and refreshing sleep" he said, and retired himself.
Each linx followe his leader's example, lying down in order to sleep and regain some strenght after the hard get-away. With this all movement, Spark sneaked away and found a quite place a few paws away from the temporary camp the Tribe had built to repair from the fury of the creature.
Spark remained to stare at the sky, that night particularly starry. Then he heard the touch of a tail on his shoulder: it was Sunrisepaw, the other leader. She looked at him with a sweet and comfortable gaze.
" You still suffer from the havoc, don't you? The less you think about, the better it will be: that's the only way to overcome. We need to look ahead and start again, even for your father: now he's with our ancenstors and will watch over you and your sisters; don't forget it. Now go to sleep, little one: it will be an hard trip tomorrow"
She turn and went away, letting him alone again. He didn't almost listened to a word.
"I don't mind about my father: he was hardly never with me" he thought, without a single regret of conscious.
Suddenly his gaze was attracted by some strange blue moving sparks in the distant sky.
"What were those?" he asked. But he couldn't find an answer.
"I'd better go and sleep; mother will be surely worried."
When he reached her, he saw she was already sunk in a deep sleep, with Stream crouched near her left hip.
He got next her mother's opposite side and, listening to her breath, closed his tired eyes and prayed.
"Spirits of our ancenstors, our Nightfollowers: may you watch over us during the trip; may your knowledge feed us, the Tribe of the Wandering Shadows.
Author note. Swiftpaw, the name I'm going to use for one of the characters, is NOT the Swiftpaw of the first Warriors, because you perfectly know he's dead. This one is my warrior name, which was popped out by the official site of Warriors, more precisely by "consult Starclan for you Warrior name".