Chapter 8: Ritual
Fenn arrived at the border first, followed by Æri, then Keo and Azlune. Æri sat down, waiting for a patrol to notice them. The others did the same.
The day had climbed into early low-arc and the wolves were getting restless. They had been waiting for hours, yet no one greeted them. This was not entirely surprising to Æri, since Nightclan seemed to patrol its borders more sparsely with each passing day.
Fenn stood, wings flapping in annoyance. "Do they even patrol their borders?"
"Yes they do, but less than I remember," Æri told Fien.
"When was their last patrol?"
"Sunhigh."
Presently, a small band of Nightclan warriors came near. The patrol, as Nightclan called patrolling bands, was composed of four warriors. A breeze carried the warrior's scents to Æri, revealing that Shattered Oak, Moondusk, Rainfur, and Flamesong were on the patrolling band. Æri lifted his chin. Moondusk would be the cat to talk to, as he had been Æri's closest friend prior to Æri's banishment.
Æri took two steps toward the scent-line. "Moondusk, we come in peace. Will you take us to your camp?"
"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" Moondusk asked Æri, backing away.
"I am Æri, son of Ro-niath. My name was once Pineheart."
In the pack, who one was related to didn't matter much. Æri had mentioned his father's name as part of his title because, to Nightclan, one's parentage did matter. Icefang had, for a time, been a father figure to Æri, but Ro-niath was Æri's true father.
Moondusk stepped toward the border. "Come along, then."
Nightclan's territory had not changed much since Æri's banishment. New saplings had sprouted, and an old oak had fallen. The oak had fallen during a particularly violent storm. When it was still standing, the oak was often used for teaching apprentices how to climb trees.
The going was slower than Æri was used to. He and the other wolves had to take tiny steps so that they didn't pass or trample Moondusk or the cats in the Nightclan patrolling band. Æri walked behind and to the right of Moondusk. The wolves walked behind their escorts with raised tails, lifted chins, and ears that were pointed forward like Æri's eagle feather.
Æri looked around, searching for the entrance tunnel. He soon found it. The entrance tunnel was a large crater-like hole that sat beneath a stately oak. The tunnel was just large enough for him to fit through with folded ears. Azlune was not as fortunate, and had to bow her head to fit through. Keo, Moondusk, Rainfur, Flamesong, Shattered Oak and Fenn fitted through just fine, of course. Being large had its advantages, but fitting in confined spaces and catching smaller, more perceptive prey weren't the best examples of them.
The few cats who were in the clearing stopped mid-lick, staring at their visitors with shocked gazes. Æri shrugged and headed toward the Nightsong's den. He had more concerning affairs to worry about than casual gossip.
Æri paused at the medicine den's entrance. Nightsong was sound asleep. Æri didn't want to wake Nightsong, as he knew how important Nightsong's sleep was to him. Nightsong must have worked late into the night to still be asleep. Æri sat beside the den's entrance. He didn't have a massive amount of time, but he didn't want to disturb Nightsong's slumber.
Æri looked around the camp. Whitestripe, and a young looking, thick-set black-stripped tom, were grooming each other next to the warriors den and talking. Æri grinned. He was glad that even his most vehement former enemies were living well. Across the camp, Rainfur was basking in the sunlight.
A heated stare pierced Æri's thick fur. Æri looked up. Cedartail was giving Æri his usual scowl. Æri's hackles rose and he fought to suppress a growl. He returned Cedartail's glare with an inquisitive glance. Æri and Cedartail had been enemies since Æri had become an apprentice. Æri had never seeked Cedartail's anger, and he had tried, on countless occasions, to befriend the spiteful tyrant.
Nightsong stirred in his nest. Æri turned around and stepped toward Nightsong.
Nightsong leaped out of his nest and stumbled backward. "P-Pineheart?"
Æri nodded. "My name is Æri now."
"Why are you here?" Nightsong asked Æri.
"Three members of my family are ill."
"I'll have to ask Cedartail to go with you."
"You and I both know how massively likely it is that he will agree," Æri muttered, his words dripping with sarcasm.
"True, but here's to hoping."
"Where is Jaggedshadow?"
"He and Stoneclaw are performing a ceremony."
"And what of Shadefern?"
"I haven't seen her all day."
Fenn nudged Æri's flank. It was time to leave. Æri turned his head, nodding at Fien. He turned his head toward Nightsong. "Greet them both for me when you get chance."
"I will." Nightsong nuzzled Æri's foreleg. "Goodbye for now."
Æri nodded. Turning away, he followed Keo and Fenn out of the camp. Azlune walked beside him.
"Cedartail didn't give me a definite answer," Moondusk meowed once they had left the camp.
"I will wait at border for answer," Æri said.
"Are you sure?" Azlune asked Æri. "It might not be the best option."
"I am," Æri said, "Waiting at border could have risks, but benefits outweigh risks in this case."
"When will you return with an answer?" Azlune asked Moondusk.
"Sunhigh tomorrow, or in two days at dawn."
Æri nodded. Those times would allow great flexibility in his mostly non-existent schedule. Those times also meant that Æri would have an idea of when Moondusk would be back with an answer. Ergo, he wouldn't have to wait for days on end for an answer that might never come.
It also meant that he could spend more time with Azlune. Æri genuinely enjoyed her company. Azlune was like a cool northern breeze, a comfort in uncertain times, and a caring partner. Azlune had helped Æri through a confusing and painful period of his life. Often, just being in Azlune's presence could turn a bad day into a passable, or even an amazing one.
Æri began clearing sticks and rocks from a patch of ground. By the time he finished, the sun was beginning to drop below the horizon. No one had told him not to sleep, and it would be foolish to try to stay awake the whole time. He had been making a sleeping place for himself. Azlune, Keo, and Fenn had continued walking to the sleeping place.
Æri laid on his earthen nest. The coal-black sky was pierced by shafts of starlight. He closed his eyes.
Æri awoke to Keo nudging his shoulder. The sky was still dark. Æri turned over, stretching as he fell back asleep. Keo walked over to the other side of Æri and prodded his ribs.
Æri sat up. "What want?"
"I brought you a hare," Keo told Æri.
"I thank you."
Keo nodded. She sat beside a bush.
"Why awake?"
"I couldn't sleep."
"Go back to cave," Æri said, "Sleep. You will need your energy for hunting tomorrow. We will need extra prey for Nightsong."
The pack often fed guests, especially if they'd be staying for a while. It was just good manners. The pack's territory had one clearly defined border. It was an Eastern border with Nightclan. In fact, Nightclan, or rather Cedartail, was the only reason that the pack even patrolled any borders. Æri didn't trust Cedartail, and neither did Azlune.
"Okay." Keo stood. "Enjoy the hare, and your sleep."
Æri nodded. Keo turned around and began walking to the cave. Æri sank his teeth into the hare. It was delicious. The hare was plump, and it's flesh carried subtle earthy notes. Before Æri knew it, all that was left of the hare was scraps of fur. It had taken him six bites. It would have taken fewer bites, but he had been trying to enjoy the food, and he had.
Æri began grooming his fur. Pausing, he reflected on the last few days. Things had been quiet, too quiet even for a peace-loving creature like Æri. Besides the argument about the border line several days ago, and the sickness, not much had happened. Since starting the pack with Azlune, Æri had lived in relative peace. These last few days however, had been unnaturally peaceful, and that made Æri feel uneasy.
Æri laid down once again. He closed his eyes for the third time that night. As he drifted further and further out of consciousness, Æri stretched his legs out.
Æri stood, shaking the dust out of his fur. Blinking against the sun, he opened his eyes. He began walking to the sleeping cave. Once he arrived there, he, Azlune, Keo and Fenn would turn a shallow cave in a nearby rock face into a makeshift den. They would likely use large forked branches for the frame, dead brambles for the walls, and mud from a river that flowed nearby to windproof it.
Depending on the strength and longevity needed, oak saplings might even be weaved into the frame and grafted together. The saplings, if they didn't die first, would grow into giants, strengthening the den's frame, and making it a permanent structure. Bramble bushes might even be planted where the support sticks would be placed. The bramble bushes would form a sustainable wall for the den.
Æri glanced around himself as he walked. He spotted a large forked dead branch that leaned against a large rock. He sank his teeth into the broad end of the branch and lifted. With a mighty pull, he tore the branch off of the tree. He let go, clamped his jaws around the middle of the branch, and walked toward the rock face. The branch wasn't much of a burden to Æri, except that he had to twist and turn his head to avoid the branch snagging bushes, or getting wedged against trees.
Once he arrived at the cave in the rock face, he dropped the branch. He began to break the massive branch into smaller, more useful pieces. Glancing around the clearing, he spotted numerous other useful sticks, and branches.
"Will those be enough?" Azlune asked Æri.
Æri looked up. Azlune stood before him. He stepped closer to her. "No."
"What else will we need for the den?"
"I will gather more sticks and branches. We also need brambles, and mud."
"Good. Keo, Fien, and I will handle the brambles."
Æri nodded. Walking to an oak tree, he grabbed a few sticks in his jaws and walked back over to the wood pile that he had started. He dropped the sticks. He walked over to a pine tree and began the process again.
After a while, Æri walked over to the stream. He bent down and lapped at the slow-moving water. The cool, crisp water refreshed his thrust and dulled his hunger. That stream flowed from a pool deep in Nightclan territory. Æri stepped back. He was becoming quite hungry, so he would try to catch a few fish. He took another step back. He didn't want his shadow to frighten the fish.
Æri had adapted Shadefern's teachings to his limitations as a wolf. The way that Shadefern had taught him to fish was to wait motionless beside the shore of the body of water that he was fishing in, and hook unsuspecting fish out of the water with his claws, killing them. This had, for the longest time worked for him, but his claws were not as sharp as they once were. Instead, he either smashed the fish against the river bottom, used a carefully pre-made trap, or thrusted his head into the water depending on the depth of the water. In that case, the stream was too shallow for him to use his jaws directly.
Æri threw a foreleg into the stream. His paw struck a fish and pinned it to the stream bottom. He scooped with his paw and tossed it into his jaws. He chewed and swallowed. Spotting another fish, he shot a paw into the stream. He tossed it into his jaws and devoured it. After repeating this process a few more times, Æri walked away from the stream.
As Fenn and Azlune returned to the cave laden with brambles both dead and alive, Æri arrived at the cave with another load of sticks, twigs, and branches. He dropped them on the pile.
Æri stopped walking in front of Azlune. "There are enough branches and sticks, but more brambles are needed."
"Keo is bringing a load of brambles, and I will fetch one as well."
"Good," Æri said, "and I will bring a load as well. Once we return, we will build this den."
Azlune nodded, and together she and Æri walked over to the bramble patch. Once there, Azlune walked to a larger patch several paces east of the main patch. Æri stopped walking. He bent down, seized a bush by the stem, and tore it out of the ground. Turning around, he marched toward the cave. Æri dropped the bush. A great pile had formed beside an oak.
Æri seized one of the longer straight pieces of wood and shoved it into a crack in the rock face. He wedged stones into the crack. The den, once completed, would be a large mud-clad wedge, jutting from the rock face. After the frame was built, brambles would be twisted and packed together to form the den's walls. After all this was done, mud would be spread over the brambles.
Fenn pushed the forked end of a branch against the horizontal post. Azlune dug a hole. Fenn placed the end of the stick in the hole. He buried the stick's end and packed the earth down. One pace to the right, Keo and Æri were doing the same thing on the other side of the frame.
Æri walked to the wood pile and bent his neck. He grabbed several sticks. He walked back to the construction site for the new den.
Æri dropped half of the sticks before Azlune, walked to the other side of the den frame, and dropped the other half before Keo. He picked one up and set the forked end in place next to the first support sturt. Keo dug a hole. Æri placed the un-forked end into the hole.
Keo returned the earth into the hole, packing it down. "So, what's Nightsong to you?"
"A brother," Æri told Keo as he dug a hole for the next strut.
"But he's..." she trailed.
"Although Nightsong and I were raised together, we are brothers by choice, not by birth." Æri grabbed a stick. He was about to put it in place, but a pronged stick already leaned against the frame. He pushed earth into the hole and stomped with his forelegs to pack it. He pushed the prong of the stick against the horizontal branch.
"Do you miss him?" Keo dug a hole and buried the end of the stick.
Æri dug a hole, put a pronged stick in place, and buried the end of the stick. "Yes. It will be great having him here."
"What other Nightclan cats do you miss?" Keo dug a hole. She placed the stick against the horizontal post.
"My brother, Jaggedshadow," Æri said, burying the end of the last stick. "My mother, Shadefern, and my friend, Moondusk."
Once the frame was built, and in place, Azlune placed a large bramble bush on top of the frame. Æri placed a bramble bush on the other side, and Fenn climbed on top of the den. He weaved the bramble branches together at the den's ridge.
Æri placed another bush on the frame below the first so that it overlapped the previous one. He weaved and twisted the branches together. After this, he placed two more bushes to the left of the first two in the same manner. Fenn weaved the bramble branches together at the den's ridge.
Æri sat. With the dens frame and walls in place, they only needed to coat the outside of the den with mud. He stood and began to walk to the river bank. It would take a long time, and many trips back-and-forth to finish the job.
"How are we going to finish spreading the mud in a timely manner?"
"Sticks," Æri said. "it will still be tedious, but it's the only good option." He weaved strips of birch bark around and between the prongs of a spare stick. He repeated this three more times.
Fien, Azlune, Æri and Keo grabbed their sticks. They walked to the riverbank. Scooping mounds of thick mud with their sticks, they walked, holding the sticks level to the ground. Once they reached the den, they split back into two groups, one group of two on each side. Æri poured the mud on the top of the sloped walls, near the top ridge. Once this was done, Æri reached up and smeared the mud downward. He went over the mud with long diagonal strokes. Once he finished, he glanced at Fien's work. He stepped back.
Æri stepped to his left. "Spread mud more even. Use lighter strokes with your paw."
"Like this?" Fenn spreaded the mud downward, covering each branch with mud.
"Not quite." Æri stepped toward the wall. "Watch carefully." He placed his paw on the mud and brought it to the ground with one smooth stroke. He stepped back. "Take your time. Do not be afraid to use small strokes."
"Thank you for your advice." Fenn reached up and began to stroke the frame as if painting it with mud. Æri nodded. He walked back to his side of the den wall, and spreaded the uppermost bit of mud upward onto the crest of the den.
Æri grabbed his stick and walked to the river. Scooping another load, he walked to the den. He poured the mud onto the den wall. He spreaded the mud over the previous layer with his paw, careful to keep an even coat. Once he finished, he stepped back, taking a look at Fien's work. It was nigh-perfect. All but the uppermost branches were covered in a smooth, even coat of mud. Fien's stick was missing. He must have gone to get another load of mud. Æri reached up and smeared the pile of mud onto the dens crest.
Fenn returned, and sure enough, his jaws were closed around his mud stick, which was laden with a huge pile of mud. He poured the mud onto the wall. He and Æri spreaded the mud over the den. Once they finished, Æri entered the den. They had all done an excellent job. The den would have been pitch-black, if it wasn't for the entrance.
Æri left the den. He walked to a pine tree and turned around to look at the den. It was finished, except that mud needed to dry.