The Search for Jetfur

Chapter 12

            "What?!" Tigerstripe exclaimed in surprise. He immediately stood up and glanced around in bewilderment, wondering where the fox could've gone. Oh, what if she'd died? What if she'd run off? The possibilities were endless.

            Snakepelt was shaking Tigerstripe roughly, her eyes wide with shock.

            "Where is she?!" Tigerstripe demanded.

            "It's not here!" Snakepelt cried out, tears gathering in her eyes. He wondered why she was so upset about losing the fox, but he let her continue. "I looked around and it was nowhere to be seen!"

            "We just have to keep looking then," Tigerstripe argued, beginning to frantically look around. He sniffed the air, trying to catch any scent of the fox.

            Snakepelt immediately followed in his footsteps, and together, they began to sniff around the clearing they had spent the night in, hoping to find some trace of the young fox. Nervousness spread through Tigerstripe like a wildfire, and horrifying thoughts began to circle through his mind as he wondered where the fox was.

            "Uh...uh..." Tigerstripe spoke in a panic, continuing to look around. Snakepelt did the same, each of them moving quickly with speed as they frantically searched for some scent.

            "Why cat much worry?" came a voice from behind him.

            He and Snakepelt whirled around to find the young fox sitting behind them with a dead bird at her feet. Apparently she had decided to find herself some breakfast without telling them.

            "Thank StarClan," Tigerstripe breathed in relief, glad to see she was unhurt. It seemed she had completely recovered from her incident the other day as well, which boosted his spirits even more.

            The fox tilted her head in confusion, probably wondering why Snakepelt and Tigerstripe had gone into such a state of panic.

            "Me hunting was," the little fox exclaimed proudly. She then proceeded to nudge the little dead bird toward Tigerstripe. It seemed she had finally learned to hunt for herself after all.

            "No, I can't take this," Tigerstripe said, shoving the bird back to her. "You caught it," he explained. After all, she had finally proved her ability to catch food for herself. He couldn't just very well take what she had worked so hard for. He was sure it must've been quite a challenge to kill the bird.

            "But hungry cat," the fox complained.

            "You caught it fair and square," Tigerstripe told her once again. "You eat it, and I'll catch something for myself."

            Meanwhile, Snakepelt's stomach growled beside him, and Snakepelt glanced at the fox eagerly.

            "I'll eat it!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

            The fox kit glanced at the bird, then back at Snakepelt. "Me think right cat. Me get bird, eat bird me."

            Tigerstripe watched as Snakepelt frowned. The young fox happily bit into her bird and chewed in satisfaction.

            Tigerstripe's whispers twitched in amusement at Snakepelt's disappointment, catching her attention. The striped tabby cuffed Tigerstripe over the ear with her paw, causing Tigerstripe to laugh a bit more.

            "Hey, you get your own prey!" he jokingly told her.

            Snakepelt laughed a little, and for a moment, there was a brief silence between them where Tigerstripe realized he was actually grateful for the she-cat's presence. He had enjoyed the fox's company, but she was young and could not speak well. It felt nice to have another cat with him.