Journey to Hope: The Journey Begins

Chapter 6

It was already mid-moon, but Crystal was restless. She had been up all night worrying about Jasmine. She knew that Jasmine could barely walk. How is Jasmine going to make the rest of the journey? She thought.

She picked her head up off of the ground when she heard the faint sound of two mongooses talking.

Sounds like our leader is talking to someone, She thought. She tried to lay down and ignore it, but she couldn't resist the urge to go and eavesdrop. She stood up slowly so no one could hear her, and snuck over to where the talking was coming from. She took cover in a nearby bush, and listened carefully.

"So," Night said, "How long do you think we need to wait, Bandit?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but about a moon. The pups have to learn how to walk, and then we can go," Bandit replied.

"Are you sure it will take that long?" Night asked.

"I-I don't know," Bandit stuttered nervously. He paused for a moment and said, "Why can't this be our home?"

"It's just... it's hard to explain. This isn't... what we are looking for," Night said after hesitating. "Plus, we don't know if there's much to hunt here. We need a place with plenty of food to go around all year long."

Crystal's belly growled. She had just realized that they hadn't eaten since they had fled from the forest. They hadn't had much water to drink either, so she was also thirsty.

"I suppose you have a point," Bandit sighed.

"Alright," Night said, "We'll stay here until Jasmine's pups are a week old, and then we'll keep going."

"Thank you!" Bandit exclaimed, "You have no idea how much this means to me!"

"You're welcome," Night sighed before laying down on the ground.

Crystal's eyes were starting to droop with weariness. She knew she couldn't leave the bush, for Night would find out she had been listening. He was very strict about private conversations. She laid down and closed her eyes, and soon, sleep came to her.

Crystal opened her eyes to find herself in the middle of a forest clearing. She sat up, having a strong feeling it was a dream.

"Hello?" She called out, hoping someone would hear her.

Suddenly, a scent hit her nose, and she immediately recognized it. Smoke, she thought. She looked to her left, and there was a calm, slow-flowing river.

Suddenly, large flames burst out of seemingly nowhere, burning down the leaves on the trees. The river was somehow spewing flames everywhere, and a single bloodstain appeared on the ground next to her.

"The smoke after the fire will burn the leaves, spread all the way to the water and the sun." Echoed a voice. "Crystal... Crystal..."

"Crystal!" Lake shouted.

Crystal opened her eyes. She was still in the bush where she had fallen asleep the night before. Her heart was still pounding hard in her chest from her frightening dream. She slowly crawled out of the bush, being careful not to get tangled in a branch.

"What are you doing in the bush? I couldn't find you anywhere!" Lake exclaimed, almost as if he was scolding.

"I wanted to... sleep in here so I could have shelter," she lied.

"Mm-hmm," Lake mumbled, not believing her.

"By the way," he continued, "You missed a pack meeting. Night wanted me to tell you that our pack is going to settle here for a bit. We'll leave again after Jasmine's pups are a week old."

"Ha- I didn't know that," Crystal said with a nervous laugh.

"Crystal," Night called. Crystal turned around and walked away without a word. Lake just shook his head slowly.

Crystal sat down in front of Night.

"I want you and Honeycomb to go see what you can hunt." He instructed, "We all need food, especially Jasmine. If you catch anything, she needs the first piece of prey."

"Got it," Crystal promised. She pulled herself to her hind legs with her front paws by her chest. She looked around.

"What are you looking for?" Night asked.

"Honeycomb," Crystal replied vaguely before dropping back down to all fours.

"Well, she's probably helping the trainees dig burrows. She's a fast digger. I suggest looking over there." Night looked to his left, signaling where Crystal should go.

"Thank you," Crystal said before heading off to find Honeycomb.

When Crystal found Honeycomb, she was indeed helping the trainees dig burrows, just like Night had predicted.

"Ugh," Dawn complained, "This is so hard!"

"Are you kidding?" Thorn argued, "This is easy!"

"Don't fight, my pups," Honeycomb said, "We're almost done with the first one, so-"

"Hi, Honeycomb," Crystal interrupted, wanting Honeycomb's attention.

"What is it?" Honeycomb asked, lifting her head up to look at Crystal.

"Night said that we need to go hunting together," Crystal informed, "and the first piece needs to be given to Jasmine."

"But we don't know about any prey out here, so how are we supposed to find anything?" Honeycomb asked.

"Night says we need to try to find something." Crystal said.

"Alright," Honeycomb agreed, "Let's go."