A/N: Hello people! I love these series by Erin Hunter and I am very pleased to be able to share this story with you all…
However, it will not be cats, but humans in the setting of the four clans, oh, maybe five since I made up EarthClan…
Our story begins with a young WindClan warrior who has just become a full-fledged warrior, and is hunting during the celebration of the 'Hunter's Moon Festival' (Yeah, I made that up too :D). But most of all, please enjoy this short piece and review if you would like for me to make more one-shots like this..
Thank you!
~~The Competitive Hunt~~
Scents overwhelmed Cedarfrost as he crept out of a thick brush hiding himself. ..
He had been there for about half an hour - No sign of deer here… he thought.
The full hunter's moon glowed like a silver sun suspended in the cool, pleasant, spring sky.
The hunter's moon was a largely celebrated event in WindClan as a test of wits, skill, prowess and swiftness in hunters.
The forest creatures seemed to sense the yearly interval and hid in their dens even deeper, hid in thornier, more inconvenient places to get away and hide from hunters, making the challenge an opportunity to fling oneself into a higher status in the clan.
Cedarfrost began his trek towards the EarthClan border. There were more bushes to hide in that part of the territory. It was hard to find cover in the moorlands where everything was in plain sight.
On the advantage side, it was also very easy to spot an intruder, making their clan an almost intruder-less territory.
Hunting certainly was not one of the moorland's advantages…
Finding a large brush, he quietly bended down low to the ground – then a thought entered his mind - some animals certainly would avoid large bushes and coverings if they went out to feed. So he found a smaller, scantier bush and hid himself…
With a stroke of good luck, he might be wearing a warrior's emblem instead of a novice's by the next gathering.
My light skin won't be helping me any… He grumbled to himself. The moon is so bright anything with a light surface hue reflects light…
He was getting uncomfortable– his back ached, and for a minute, he could have sworn that there was a large worm or insect crawling on his back.
But he forced himself to ignore his surroundings and focus on the game.
He positioned his bow and arrow without a single noise, readying it – as if by any chance – a deer might run into him.
As if he imagined it, something moved in the corner of his vision. It was in quite a distance, but he rested his vision there…
Sure enough, it was a young buck with short, bumpy antlers emerging from RiverClan territory, once it stepped into WindClan territory, it was legally theirs , no questions asked. Prey ran and flowed from clan to clan… Sorry if your prey ran off onto another territory.
Cedarfrost felt a slight flutter in his stomach, if he caught it, well – he had to catch it. There were too many upgrades that this one large buck held.
Lithely dipping his arrow in poison derived from tobacco, he began to take aim…
Taking a shallow breath, he made sure he really was aiming at his target – there it was – sniffing the air for a second or so, bent its' head and resumed on feeding.
A slight release of adrenaline pulsed through his neurotransmitters – how he smiled so menacingly!
Had anyone seen him, he was a creature of pure bliss- with a flawless, handsome face that took the word 'beauty' into a new level…
This is it… he thought.
Ashe let the arrow go, he prayed to StarClan that his skills would not fail him. After all, he was apprenticed by one of WindClan's finest warriors and deputy – Ashfur.
He almost winced, he hoped he put the right amount of pressure on the arrow to make it into the distance.
…..^…..^…..^…..
As if it was all on his imagination, all motion seemed to stop.
The trees stood completely still.
The wind seemed to cease…
…And his target seemed to be frozen on the same mouthful of grass it chewed on earlier.
But the arrow sped on, led by a seemingly invisible hand of success , aiming for the victim's heart…
As the buck proceeded to look up and do the security check, his sixth sense was too late, for the arrow was now upon him as it sliced through his chest to the other side, making the sharp deadly end of the arrow…
It released a low moan, staggered backwards and fell rump-first to the ground…
Dead.
…..^…..^…..^…..
At first Cedarfrost could not believe it.
He had hunted and killed many deer before, but what made this one special was that deer was an extremely hard catch in this season.
And yet, he hunted it down without even so much as a chase.
He stood up and began walking toward his prize with agility.
When he got close enough, he studied it sharply. It was obviously a healthy one… Even Harespring, his envious competitor, would no doubt give it a sideways glance of interest.
Its antlers were of great value, its thick shiny fur glimmered in the moonlight.
Its tongue rolled out if its mouth with a trickle of blood – eyes open – though void of life.
For a minute, he felt compassion for the magnificent young stag,, would he die in battle like that?
Young and promising, with so much of a future ahead of him?
He quickly shook his thoughts away. He would give his life to protect his clan and all of its members.\
He was made to swear that before he became a warrior.
So did this deer… he thought.
Life, death and survival were all vital to the forest and its inhabitants.
Life was where it started.
Death is where it ends.
Survival was for those who fate chose to fulfill the mission of reproducing their own kind.
That was the circle.
And he was powerless to change a thing about it.
Slinging his dead prize on his back. He made his way back on to the camp… smiling…
A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read this… As always, comments are appreciated as I would like to know what your opinions are….
Thanks again!
HazyDaisy