The Second Generation
Chapter 1
Willowpaw sat on a tree branch overlooking the wolf den . Ever since her parents had found her a moon ago , she had become used to them and their ways . She refused to dress like they did or sleep in their hide dens , but she did like the food , for most of her life , all she had ate had been raw , bloody meat , berries , root and , when she was a cub , her wolf mother's milk.
She heard her tailless mother calling her , she sounded scared , almost frantic . Willowpaw jumped from branch to branch and finally to the ground , right in front of her mother.
" Are you alright " she asked . Her daughter nodded . Even though she could now speak tailless as well as wolf , she only knew a few words , barely enough to make a complete sentence.
As Willowpaw walked back to the den were they lived with the pack with her mother , she sensed something was different . A deep sorrow was resting deep in her mother's black eyes .
As soon as they entered the den clearing , she was knocked off her feet by her pack sister , Blackpaw . She laughed , then gasped in pain as a cold nose prodded one of the many scares from her capture by the tailless camp when they had mistaken her for an enemy . Blackpaw jumped back , playfully tearing the fur wrapped around her upper chest off . Willowpaw laughed , lunged and grabbed the other end as they fought . She eventually won , snatching the fur out of her sister's jaws and retied it around her chest .
Her father emerged from his hide den , apparently woken by her laughter . He smiled to see her growling and playing with her pack sister when his mate came up and spoke to him quietly . They walked off towards the waterfall . Willowpaw Quietly followed .
As she peeked through the trees , she heard her mother say
" Torak , I had a dream , that Willowpaw was a . . . . "
" Was a what , Renn ? "
" A spirit walker just like you , and because of the imbalance it would create , the World Spirit was going to kill her by making her fall over this waterfall , and it was in colour , it's going to happen "
" When "
" No later than her seventeenth birth-night "
" But that's tonight , we have to keep her away from here as long as possible ".
Suddenly a strong wind sprung up , pushing Willowpaw out of the trees and , Fa over the waterfall !
" FA ! " she screamed . She raced forward and jumped , plummeting towards her father as her mother screamed
" Willowpaw , NO!"
She grabbed her Fa around the chest as they plunged into the water . Moments later they shot up and out of the river bank , coughing and spluttering . Fa was unconscious and had a small gash on his arm . Willowpaw ran to find something to clean and bind it . When she came back , her Fa was awake and she heard her mother crying
" Gone , and we only just found her , and she didn't even have the death marks , she will become a demon , I just know it . "
" Renn , we will find her , I promise " said Fa , putting his wet arm around his mate , then he threw back his head and howled
" There , now Wolf and the pack will be searching for her " . He stood , pulling her mother to her feet and they started walking back to the den as Renn wept for their daughter