Chapter Seven

Penny had stopped at a tree a little while before dawn and had fallen asleep. She didn't wake up until a few hours later, when she heard the five other beasts meant to go on the quest go by. As soon as they had passed, she slipped out of hiding and followed them, taking care not to be seen by Roy and Bracken, who were walking at the rear.

After awhile, Roy moved to the front and Stella made her way to the rear. Bracken began complaining. "Is it time for lunch yet? I'm hungry, doncha know. And I'm tired of all this bally walking and-"

"That's enough," interrupted Stella. "Bracken, lunch isn't for another two hours, judging by the sun's position. And how can you be tired of walking now? Besides, there's plenty more walking ahead. Or do you want to ask Martin if you can be let off from this quest?"

Bracken hastily answered, "No, I don't want to leave this quest. But I'm hungry! Isn't there anything I can scoff?"

Lily turned and snapped, "You have a pack of food, don't you? Look in there for something to eat!"

Bracken did so and began munching on a piece of bread. Stella turned to look behind her and blinked. Was that a shadow going behind a tree? She looked again and saw nothing. Turning around, she wondered if it was a passing forest shadow or one of the fox kits going on the quest.

When noon came, the questers stopped by a brook for lunch. Marina looked around anxiously as she ate, wondering if Penny had been able to keep up them and if she was all right. Both Roy and Stella noticed her odd behavior, but didn't comment. Roy thought that prehaps Mari was just worried that some of Redfang's crew might turn up looking for Coldtooth.

A short distance away, Penny had stopped for her own lunch. She had concealed herself behind some bushes and was now muching on some of the bread and cheese in her pack, occasionally taking a few sips from her flask of cordial. When the others had packed up and started, she waited a few minutes, then came out of hiding. The brook looked very inviting, so she waded in it for a few minutes before regretfully stepping out following the others.

As the afternoon progressed, Penny became tired. She had never walked this much before, and the others were going at a fast face and she had to move swiftly in order not to lose sight of them, while at the same time remain unseen. Fortunately, at around midafternoon, Roy declared a short rest, as he knew the others wouldn't be completely used to such a pace. He wasn't quite used to it himself, since the last time he had gone on a long journey was to visit Salamandastron and he had been moving more slowly then. However, he had great endurance, so was able to keep on going.

Penny gave a sigh of relief when she saw that the others had stopped to rest and lay down behind a tree and a bush. She soon drifted off to sleep and didn't wake up until two hours later. When she realized what happened, she muttered, "How could I have been so stupid as to fall asleep? Now I've lost them!" She mentally kicked herself and snatched up her small sack, ignoring her thirst. Eventually she couldn't ignore it any longer and had to stop and take a few sips before continuing.

She stumbled around, looking for clues as to where the others has passed, but she was no tracker, and the others could have hid their tracks. Tears of frustration and worry rolled down her face and she silently berated herself for having fallen asleep. It began growing dark and Penny grew even more frustrated and worried. How would she ever find the other questers in the dark? Finally she saw in the distance a flickering light and crept toward it. The other questers had set up camp and seemed to have just eaten. Stella was now sitting a short distance from the fire, a bow at her side and a long knife in her paw. The others were stretched out, getting ready for bed.

Penny, very relieved, crawled to a nearby tree and made a supper of bread, cheese, and cordial. Then she wrapped herself up in her cloak and soon fell asleep.

Stella sat at watch for an hour and a half, then shook Roy awake for his turn. She then crawled into her bedroll and fell asleep. As Roy took his turn, he found himself nodding off and so got up and walked about to make sure he didn't fall asleep. He suddenly heard the sound of tiny snores and almost tripped on a sack. He manages to regain his balance and looked around. there, wrapped up in a dark grey cloak, was a black fox kit. At least, he thought it was a fox kit, though the darkness made it hard to tell. He hurried over to the fire and made a torch, then returned to the spot. It was a fox kit.

Roy tossed the burning stick into the fire and frowned. What was a fox kit doing here? Especially a black one? None of the fox kits rescued were black. They were all varying shades or red-brown. He drew out Martin's sword and shook the kit awake. Penny woke up and barely managed to keep from screaming.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" demanded Roy sternly. "Have you been following us?"

"I'm Penny," responded Penny in a tiny voice. "I overheard the meeting about the quest an' decided to join it. I followed you."

"You can't be Penny," hissed Roy. "Your fur is black, and her fur is a reddish-brown."

"I 'guised myself with black ink," said Penny in an even smaller voice. "You won't send me back, will you? Mother Elina will be mad an' she'll scrub the fur off me!"

Roy considered. He had done something similar to this when he was a Dibbun, pretending that he was Dannflor and was going to rescue Martin's Tapestry from Marlfoxes. And the poem Martin's spirit had told him had said that a fox kit would sneak out and join the quest. Roy swiftly made his decision. "No, I'm not going to send you back, Penny. If the spirit of Martin says you're to be a part fo this quest, then you can. I can't argue with him. You can go back to sleep, but I suggest you find a better hiding place. The others might decide to take a walk to keep themselves awake when it's their turn on watch, and could discover you."

He found a patch of bushes, with a tree behind them. Penny grabbed her sack and lay down behind the bushes. As her flask of coridal was almost empty, Roy gave him a flask from his food sack, and also added a travel loaf stuffed with berries soaked in honey. Penny thanked the warrior and soon fell asleep again. Roy finished his watch and then woke Marina up for hers.