Ch 10: Vulture's New Disciple
Sun woke and stepped out of her den. It was still dark out, but it was light enough to see Blizzard's hunched shape in front of the sandy rock. Sun padded silently over to her friend and sat at her side. The white she-cat raised her head slightly and glanced at her leader.
"I loved him. I loved him, Sun, and now he's dead. I didn't even get a chance to tell him how I felt," Blizzard meowed sadly, her voice shaking with remorse.
Sun's heart reached out to Blizzard, and she felt a pang of sympathy for her friend. "Neither did he. Blizzard, Hawk loved you too. I'm sure he doesn't want you to be so sad all the time," the golden tabby meowed. She brushed her tail lightly against Blizzard's shoulder and tried to smile. Blizzard turned to Sun and cracked a small smile.
"Thanks. I'll try not to be so glum," the white she-cat meowed. She stood up and let a shaky sigh escape her. "I'm going to go back to the Protector's den. I'll see you at sunrise," she meowed, turning and beginning to pad towards the den. When she was gone, Sun turned her eyes to the last stars hanging in the sky. She smiled slightly and turned, disappearing into her den.
Sun dug her claws into the soft moss padding in the middle of her den and sighed. She lowered herself onto her stomach and closed her eyes, being sucked into sleep almost at once.
When Sun woke, bright shafts of light were illuminating the den. She must have slept until Sun-Peak. She stood and stretched, flexing her claws and plucking scraps of moss out of her fur. She padded out of her den and blinked in the bright light, and she had to squint because of the sudden change of brightness. She sat down and began to groom her fur, swiping her tongue over a small scratch she had received during the battle in which Thunder had died.
Blizzard was still asleep, being worn out by her night of grieving, but Cactus was awake. The ginger she-cat padded over to her leader and sat down with a small smile.
"Blizzard walked into the den and collapsed after you talked to her. She seemed a bit happier," Cactus meowed, her green eyes reflecting the gratitude she felt towards Sun.
Sun smiled and stood. The golden tabby glanced around camp, looking for something leader-like she could do for her Tribe. She motioned for Cactus to join her, and the two cats padded out of the camp to find food for the Tribe.
Sand had just emerged from the Protector's den when he spotted Sun padding out of camp. He considered bounding after her for a moment, but hesitated and stopped himself. It would probably seem like he was intruding if he joined Sun on a hunting patrol with her friend. He hesitated and bounded over the food pile, pulling a lizard out by the tail and beginning to eat it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a smoky grey form slipping out of camp. He turned his head to look more closely, but they shape was gone.
Hurricane pressed close to the meager shadows a small rock provided. His smoky grey fur contrasted greatly with the stone, but blended into the shadows. He glanced around him in a secretive manner, and then slipped away from his cover. He bounded as fast as his paws could carry him over to the dried lakebed where Hawk had died the other day. He was careful not to tread on any of the cracks; his entire body would surely fall in if he did. Finally, her reached the other side of the lakebed and sat on a small, flat rock. He gazed around him for a moment before spotting who he was looking for. Vulture was stalking silently across the desert over to his new disciple.
Hurricane pulled himself up and tried to look like he doubted Vulture as the black tom approached. Vulture sat down in front him and looked the smoky kit up and down.
"They didn't suspect a thing when you entered the camp? You wiped my Tribe's scent out of your fur before you went back to the nursery?" he asked, clearly making sure the kitten took all precautions not to be caught. Hurricane nodded silently.
The smoky black kitten's tail shot up at another thought. "I will become a to-be in another few days, too," he meowed. Vulture looked extremely pleased.
"Good. Very good! With you trained, it will become even easier for you to overtake that vile Sun who replaced your father!" Vulture hissed with malice. He did one circle around the rock and seemed to plot out his next move. With a nod, he sat down in front of Hurricane and starred him in the eyes.
"When you receive your Teacher, do not let them suspect a thing! From now on, only meet me here once every cycle, not every day. Learn your skills as quickly and accurately as you can. When your training is finished, we strike!" the blacked tom cackled, closing his eyes and reveling in the thought of so much bloodshed and power. Of course, Hurricane was only a liability, and would be dispatched as soon as the war was over. When Vulture wasn't looking, Hurricane wrinkled his nose in distaste. It was clear he was starting to regret ever meeting Vulture.
Suddenly, Vulture whirled around and lashed his tail from side to side. Hurricane almost stumbled off the rock in surprise at the sudden move.
"Go! Go now and prepare for what is to come!" Vulture almost snarled. Hurricane leapt off the rock and scampered away from the satisfied tom.
Sun re-entered the camp, a desert mouse clutched in her jaws and Cactus following close after her. She noticed Hurricane slip out of the nursery, his smoky black fur covered in grit. He shook his pelt and began to groom himself outside the nursery, his sea green eyes troubled and glittering with something he obviously didn't want anyone to know about. Sun dropped her mouse into the kill pile and starred at the kitten, eventually deciding it would be better not to talk to Hurricane. Instead, she padded over to Silver's den to discuss Hurricane's to-be ceremony. She found the grey tabby tom sorting through herbs as usual, but with a concerned look on his face.
"Is something wrong, Silver?" Sun asked, walking over to the herb Master and sitting down next to him. The old grey tabby nodded slowly.
"Yes. I'm running out of herbs, and I can't go out to get any more without someone to help. The problem is, there's nobody to help me. I need a to-be, Sun," Silver finished, not bothering to look up at his leader. Instead, he kept sorting through the small pile of leaves in front of him.
"What about Snow?" Sun asked, referring to a creamy white she-cat who had been showing a lot of interest in Silver's job as Herb Master. "She seems like she would love helping you."
Silver nodded. "Yes, that is just the cat I was going to recommend."
Sun seemed satisfied. "I actually came about Hurricane. He'll be ready to be a to-be soon, and I want to know the proper words for the ceremony."
"Ah, yes. The words for the to-be ceremony. Listen very closely, you can't mess this speech up. It's a very important thing for the Tribe," Silver meowed. Sun perked her ears and wrapped her tail around her paws, listening intently to every word that came out of Silver's mouth.
Okay! I'll be typing more chapters every day, so make sure to check!