Dive into the Wild

By Atlantica Stitch

The SnowFire Cave

Sora woke up, yawned and stretched, shaking the moss from his fur. This roused Riku, who shoved him playfully. "Hey!" Sora cried, tumbling over. He pushed Riku, and soon the two were locked in a playful tussle, batting with sheathed claws and gentle biting.

"Knock it off you two!" growled a golden tabby she-cat, named Islandeye. Sora and Riku untangled themselves, shaking the moss from their fur. Dirtfur sat up next to them and stretched.

"Aw don't mind Islandeye, she's just got a fur ball lodged somewhere." He said, padding out into the warm greenleaf morning. Sora chuckled, following him out. The smacked almost head on into Hawkwing, a golden tom with two white stripes down his back and deputy of MistClan. He turned. "Ah, Dirtfur, Sora, Riku. Just the cats I wanted to see." He said.

"Us? Why us?" Sora asked, cocking his head.

"Breezestar wants to see you-all three of you. In his den." Hawkwing said, pointing with his tail. "Don't keep him waiting!" he called over his shoulder as he padded away.

The three entered the den, to see Breezestar pacing impatiently. "Are you ok, Breezestar?" Dirtfur asked, amber eyes following his leader.

"I must speak with StarClan, and you three shall accompany me." Breezestar croaked.

"But it's a half-day's journey to the SnowFire Cave! Is it safe to leave the camp for so long?" Dirtfur said. Breezestar considered this, and then looked up.

"Very well, Riku, you stay." He said. "Sora and Dirtfur shall accompany me to the SnowFire Cave." He pushed his way out of the den.

"Wait, we're going now!" Dirtfur cried following his leader.

"Of course. Foxfur has your herbs ready." Breezestar responded.

Foxfur was mixing herbs as Sora and Dirtfur padded in. "Traveling herbs?" she asked, looking up. When they nodded, she pointed to two small piles of leaves with her tail.

'What do they do?" Sora asked, turning one over and sniffing it.

"One will give you strength and the other will keep your hunger at bay." Foxfur said.

Dirtfur swallowed his, shuddered and spat. "Ugh! They taste like badger dirt!" he spat.

"You've tasted badger dirt?" Foxfur teased. Dirtfur glared, and padded out. Sora followed in time to see Dirtfur bowled over by a silvery-white cat.

"Erg, Glacierpaw, get off!" Dirtfur meowed, flinging the small apprentice across the clearing with a huge heave. The young tom bounded back.

"Where are you going Dirtfur? Can I go? Can I? Can I?" he asked, hopping eagerly. Dirtfur shook his head.

"You stay and help Hawkwing guard camp. I'll take you hunting later." He promised, padding after Breezestar. Sora, feeling uncomfortable as Glacierpaw's gaze fell on him, followed quickly.

Breezestar and Dirtfur moved quickly, leaving no allowances for Sora, who fell into several ditches and got caught in brambles. The moon was just climbing into the sky as they reached a hole in the rock ahead of them. Breezestar got comfortable on a flat rock. "You may hunt if you wish." He said. Dirtfur ran off, responding to the many scuffling noises in the undergrowth. Sora actually caught a shrew-he chased it out and pounced on it, killing it just by landing on it. Sora cautiously took a bite then dug in hungrily. It was nice and fat, feeding off the seeds growing around the rock face.

"Good?" Dirtfur said as Sora finished his shrew.

"Never tasted anything like it." He said, licking the remainder from his lips as Dirtfur began to wash.

"Come, it is time." Breezestar said. He stood up and squeezed through the hole in the ground. Dirtfur and Sora followed.

Their eyes went wide immediately, but there was no light to see. They made their way down completely by feel and smell. Soon, the passage opened up into a small cavern. They could see from the faint starlight coming in through a hole in the roof. The cave reminded Sora of Namine's room, completely white. The only things that were not solid white were the rubies ringing the cave roof, and the small pool in the center of the cave, right below the hole. Suddenly, the moon was directly overhead, flooding the cave with moonlight. It reflected off the rubies, bathing the marble in blood red light. The pool glowed red as well. Breezestar laid down next to the pool, took a lap of the water and closed his eyes.

"Is he sleeping?" Sora whispered. A place like this made you feel like you needed to whisper.

"Leader's drink from the SnowFire Pool and sleep. As they sleep, StarClan sends them special dreams. New leaders must do this to receive their nine lives." Dirtfur explained, also whispering.

Slowly the light faded, and Sora had almost dozed off when Breezestar stirred. "Sora," he rasped, "come here."

Sora padded forward. "Look in the pool." The old tom ordered.

Sora noticed something glittering at the bottom, and scooped it out. It was a keychain, perfect for the Keyblade. (A/N: Did you really think I'd go without giving him a new Keyblade? Ha!) It had a cat head shape, with a star in the center. (The StarClan symbol, check by the maps at the beginning of the books.) Sora, curious, put it on the Keyblade and watched the change. It transformed into a long curved blade, like a fang. It was fiery orange, scattered with silvery stars that shifted along the blade before Sora's eyes. The handle was the perfect shape to fit in his cat jaws. The name popped into his mind.

"Firestar's Fang." He murmured, looking at the Keyblade.

"How do you know?" Dirtfur meowed, looking sideways at the Keyblade wielder.

"I don't know. I always just kind of…know." Sora said.

"StarClan provided this blade to save us. They said that you will save the four Clans from the return of a great darkness." Sora nodded, and the three exited the cave and made their way back to camp. They failed to notice the pair of round yellow eyes watching them from a bush, trained on them until they disappeared into the forest.


dances I came up with the Keyblade! All by myself! Here are the exact details:

Ability: MP Boost

Stength: 36

Defense: 27

Magic: 39

Desc: Calls on the power of StarClan to boost power and magic.

Next Chapter: The Truce Broken