Journey to Hope: The Journey Begins

Chapter 11

The three mongooses had been exploring the land for a while, and the moon was starting to come up.

The stars will be out soon, Crystal thought to herself. Her legs were sore, and all she wanted was to lay down and sleep. All of the walking and the running and the crying really made her tired, but she knew she had something to do. The mongooses kept walking, and soon enough, it was mid-moon.

"Aren't you tired?" Honeycomb asked Pinecone.

"Ugh, yeah, exhausted," Pinecone replied with his head hanging low, "and hungry."

"You're always hungry, Pinecone," Honeycomb laughed. Pinecone laughed, too. But Crystal wasn't in the mood.

"Hey, stop," Honeycomb said. Crystal stopped walking and looked up. What she saw was breathtaking. There was a shimmering lake surrounded by pine trees that seemed to be glowing in the moonlight. The water reflected light from the stars, making it look like it was sparkling.

"Hey, I'm thirsty," Pinecone said before licking his jaws.

Honeycomb tried to put a paw in front of him, but it was too late. Pinecone licked up some water, and then flopped down and started snoring.

"What the?" Crystal whispered while tilting her head in confusion.

"C'mon, Pinecone," Honeycomb sighed while shaking his side, "get up."

Pinecone opened his eyes and shot up. "This is it!" he screamed, making Honeycomb clench her teeth from the loud noise.

"What's 'it?'" Crystal asked, wanting to know what he meant.

"The Brightfields! They know this place! Here, lick up the water."

Crystal and Honeycomb exchanged glances. Honeycomb shrugged, and then walked over to the lake. She hesitated before licking up some water. She laid down and fell asleep. Crystal was a bit nervous, but she slowly walked up to the shimmering water. She sniffed it, and then started to lick the water. Crystal started to feel sleepy almost instantly. She laid down, and a bright light shined in her closed eyes.

She could tell that she wasn't by the lake anymore. The soft grass tickled her face, and she could smell the scent of pine trees and sweet berries. She opened her eyes, and sat up. She looked around. There was no one there, but the view was beautiful. The grass was a bright green, and the streams seemed to be glittering. The trees were tall and full of green leaves, and there seemed to be millions of twinkling stars up in the sky. It wasn't dark here, it was actually very bright with the countless stars.

"Over here," called a voice. It sounded like a high-pitched, sweet voice with a bright feeling to it that warmed Crystal's heart. She looked to where the sound was coming from, which was right in front of her. The shape of another mongoose began to fade in. Once Crystal could see clearly, it certainly was another mongoose. She had the appearance of a mist cloud, but was still in a visible, clear form. She had white eyes with a soft glow, and her fur seemed to be sparkling with stardust.

"Who are you?" Crystal asked with a bit of stutter.

"Don't be shocked, there's no need to fear me," the mongoose said in a peppy voice, "my name is Bright, and you're visiting the Brightfields. I made this place! Isn't that cool?"

Crystal nodded with a smile.

"Well, anyways, onto business," Bright continued, "This is the Brightlake. This is where leaders and healers will travel for their ceremonies, and where healers will gather around every moon. You need to pass the message on. Got it?"

"Got it," Crystal nodded.

"Now, there's something more important you must bring up. It's called the Bright's Law. You must listen carefully, and make it known. This is very important, and will be used for generations to come. You promise to do so?"

"I promise," Crystal promised.

"Great!" Bright squeaked, "Now remember this... fight together, not each other. Packs may have quarrels and disagreements, but fighting is never the answer. 'Violence isn't victory,' as we always say up here in the Brightfields. A leader or pack member can fight to protect their pack, but that's the only exception. To a leader, the Bright's Law is special, and is never to be forgotten."

"Fight together, not each other," Crystal whispered twice to herself.

"Good! You got it! Now don't forget." Bright said.

"I will not," Crystal promised. Crystal stayed quiet for a moment, and then saw something out of the corner of her eye. She looked to her left, and there were two starry mongoose silhouettes in the distance under a tree. One of the silhouettes came into view. It was Jasmine, and she looked at Crystal and smiled. Crystal smiled back with a tear in her eye. But this was a happy tear, because she knew her friends were happy.

Crystal looked back to Bright, and Bright was fading away. Crystal gave Bright one last nod, and Bright smiled before she was completely gone. Crystal started to feel sleepy again, so she laid down and closed her eyes. She heard a whoosh noise, and blinked open her eyes.

Crystal found herself in front of the Brightlake. The moon was no longer reflecting on the lake, and the lake was no longer shimmering. The sun was starting to come up, and the sky was spilled with an orange glow.

"It's about time, sleepy head," Honeycomb teased, "We gotta go!"

"Honeycomb," Crystal sighed, "I received a message."

"What is it?" Honeycomb asked.

"Well, Bright explained something to me, and it's called the Bright's Law. It's-"

"Fight together, not each other?" Honeycomb interrupted, "I got the same message. A mongoose named Ruby was talking to me."

"Well, it really seems like the Brightfields trusts me," Crystal said, "Bright was talking to me, and she also said something about leaders and healers always coming here for their ceremonies."

"Bright? Wow, they really must trust you. Even Bright herself!" Honeycomb laughed. This time, Crystal laughed too.

Crystal happened to take a quick glance at Honeycomb's shoulder, and saw some kind of marking. She looked back at her friend's shoulder, and she saw a symbol of the sun.

"What's that marking on your shoulder for?" Crystal asked.

"It's Sun-pack's symbol! You have one, too. It's a leaf."

Crystal leaned over to look at her reflection in the lake. Sure enough, there was a symbol of a leaf on her right shoulder. Crystal wondered what Pinecone's symbol looked like, which is when she realized she hadn't seen Pinecone.

"Hey, where's Pinecone?" Crystal asked.

"Oh, him? He's pacing over there. He's being impatient again," Honeycomb answered. Crystal just laughed again.

"Hey, Crystal!" Pinecone called, hearing his name. He rushed over before saying, "Did you know we all have Pack-symbols? Mine's a river!"

Crystal snorted, trying to keep in a laugh. He had just missed the whole conversation.

"Well, c'mon!" Pinecone shouted while running away, "Let's head pack to the pack!"

"Pinecone, wait!" Crystal called out before running after him with Honeycomb.