Disclaimer: I do not own anything from either the Warriors series or the Inheritance cycle.
The twinkling stars held no allure for the small blue hatchling. She was too preoccupied with hunger and cold. Why had the partner-of-her-heart-and-mind left her? They were meant to stick together, that's why she hatched for goodness sake! Before she could continue her internal rant, a loud growl interrupted her musings. She sorrowfully glanced down at her rumbling stomach. It felt like moons since her silly boy had given her pieces of meat. Crawling forward, she left the shelter where she waited for her partner's return and set off, searching for food, trying to ignore the cold-wet-slippery snow beneath her feet.
Bluestar wasn't entirely sure why she was out here. The night was cold, and her clan had plenty of fresh-kill to feed everyone. Still, something kept her awake and wary, compelling her to pad through the dark forest at the dead of night. Perhaps it was the fiery red kitty-pet she had sighted in the nearby two-leg village. She was convinced he would make a good addition to her clan, provided he would come.
A twig snapped, jerking her out of her musings. She started as two sapphires stared back at her from the bushes. Thinking it might be a lost kit, she mewed gently, "Come out, little one, there is nothing to fear." Then she quickly shut her mouth to hold back a gasp at what came out to meet her.
This was no kit. It wasn't even a cat. This was a dragon. Scales the color of the afternoon sky glinted faintly in the moonlight and eyes as piercing as her own stared back curiously. As a kit, she had been told stories by her elders of the great, winged lizards that breathed fire and laid low the mightiest of enemies. Considered the greatest of warriors, the clans revered the memory of dragons and meeting one was unheard of. Although, the feline mused, this one doesn't look so mighty. Poor thing looks starved. Seeing that it was only a little bigger than herself and that it had the gangly look of kit, she quickly surmised that this was a very young dragon, the potential of a legend. Letting a legend such as this die was completely out of the question, but she couldn't bring it back to the clan either. Thinking quickly, Bluestar acted.
The dragoness gazed back at the furry, navy-colored creature in front of her curiously. She guessed, from her partner's memories and her own ancestral ones, that this must be a cat. It didn't look threatening and though she hadn't understood its mews, seemed safe enough. Strangely, despite her hunger, she had no compulsion to eat it either.
Suddenly, the cat blinked its own sapphire eyes and turned away. Its tail in a way that seemed indicate for the dragoness to follow. Seeing no better alternative, she followed.
Dragon and cat slid silently through the night for what could have been minutes or hours. Abruptly, Bluestar halted. She scented squirrels and figured that the dragon could hunt those. But first, it had to learn how.
The cat suddenly crouched, intent on something in the shadows of the roots of a tree. It looked at her, somehow conveying that the dragoness was to mimic her. Hesitantly, she did so, then watched as the cat crept forward, paws hardly disturbing the grass. The stalking motion had the young dragon riveted as the feline paused, seeming frozen. Suddenly, it pounced, sharp-thorn-claws flashing as a smaller furry creature with a fluffy tail (a squirrel?) was scooped out into the open and quickly killed with a bite to the neck.
Awe coursed through her at the simplistic beauty of the hunt. Then she smelled it. The same scent that had led to the cat's hunt. Excited, she silently stalked forward towards a tree on the other side of the small clearing they were in. Her own paws served her well by carrying her over the hard-bitter-cold-ground soundlessly. Then she saw it, a small-furry-fluffy-tasty-squirrel oblivious to her presence. At least for the moment. But it was a moment too long.
Quickly, her own ivory-sharp-raking-claws flashed, scooping her prey into her waiting jaws for a death bite. Looking up at the cat (mentor-older-leader), she saw her own pride reflected in sapphire. Her hunger getting the better of her, she quickly devoured it, its warm lifeblood soothing her aching insides and warming her weary limbs.
At that moment, a voice rang through the forest, accompanying the approaching dawn. It was her partner, her Eragon! But she momentarily squashed her excitement as she looked back at the cat, who slowly blinked at her, then vanished deeper into the forest with her own squirrel. She gazed after it for a moment, then made her way back to her mind-and-heart partner.
Bluestar returned to camp quite satisfied. Not only did she manage to bring back more fresh-kill but had mentored a dragon at the same time! How many cats could claim that feat? "Bluestar?" A familiar white tom padded up to her. "We are just deciding the morning patrols. Where were you?" The gray queen debated with herself for a moment before answering Whitestorm, "hunting."
After all, who would believe her? As she accompanied the dawn patrol, she wondered what the future might hold for that tiny dragoness with eyes of sapphire.
AN: I know I have other works I am in the middle of, but this is an idea I couldn't get rid of. In this fiction, the warrior cats live in the forest of the Spine, near Carvahall. Both Saphira and Bluestar, while very different, have many similarities. I plan to explore this a little through a 3-shot. Please leave reviews (as I live for them and they inspire me to keep on writing). Hope you have a lovely weekend!