Ferretstar's Leadership

Chapter 1

Squinting my eyes against the stinging wind I flattened myself against the boulder before allowing myself to relax, marveling at the power of the wind, capable of bringing down even the strongest trees. Unsheathing my claws for a better grip as a fierce gust of wind nearly knocked me off, I peered down at the camp, noting that even the biggest warrior looked like a kit from up here. Gustwind, Skytail, Ashshade, and Birchshine were returning from a hunting patrol, Skytail carrying a small hare and Birchshine a lizard, upon spotting the scaly animal my belly growled in hunger. Licking my lips I carefully edged backwards, placing my hind paws on a ledge and inching my way off the boulder. Moving my paws down another ledge I placed my forepaws in small crevices, carefully climbing down the tall tower with ease from moons of practice.

" You better not have been up there," Mom snapped as I placed my paws down on the firm ground, turning to face her I offered a sheepish smile, burning green eyes boring into mine. " How many times do I have to tell you? Outlook Rock isn't a safe place for kits! If I catch you up there one more time, I'll ground you to the den till your apprentice ceremony."

" Yes Mom," I meowed, swallowing the growl rising in my throat as I fought back a wave of anger. You can't tell me what to do! I'm going to be a leader one day. " Can I go eat?"

" You ate this morning, let someone else eat," Mom meowed, sniffing the air as Skytail and Birchshine padded past, pausing to drop their prey on the fresh-kill pile before splitting ways.

" But I'm hungry," I grumbled, flinching when Mom shot me a sharp glare.

" Everyone is hungry," Mom growled, my ears stinging as she cuffed them. " I know for a fact Rockblaze hasn't eaten in four days, go take him that hare Skytail just caught. Maybe you'll learn some manners." Grumbling under my breath I padded over to the crevice where the fresh-kill pile was stored, safe from the elements and predators. Craning my neck I snatched the hare's leg, mouthwatering as its warm, musky smell invaded my nose, my stomach growled in hunger but I ignored it, padding up the steep slope that lead to the medicine den, Squeezing through the narrow entrance I wrinkled my nose at the strong, eye-watering smell of plants overflowing on the ledges and in crevices. Scanning the dark den I spotted the gray medicine cat hunched over a pile of leaves, trotting closer I dropped the hare, gave him a sharp prod and jumped back as he whipped around, dull green eyes scanning the den before he relaxed upon spotting me.

" Is that for me?" Rockblaze rasped, without waiting for an answer he leaned down, dragging the air closer and tearing into it, ripping large chunks of dripping red meat from the bones and swallowing it whole. Snorting in disgust at his ill-manners I turned to leave, jaw dropping as a ginger tabby tom with pale green eyes padded into the den. " Flashstar, what can I do for you?"

" My leg's killing me and I was wondering if you had anything for it," Flashstar meowed, shifting his weight around and lifting his back leg with a wince, a long, jagged scar running from his haunches to his paw.

" How'd you get that?" I questioned, scowling over my shoulder as a piece of flesh landed on my shoulder.

" Sorry," Rockblaze muttered, quickly swiping off the flesh before turning around and disappearing into a crevice, reappearing moments later with a bundle of herbs.

" Well, I got it back when I was a young apprentice," Flashtar meowed, sticking out his leg as Rockblaze approached, green eyes misting over as he dove into his memories. " My mentor, Wrenpool, wanted to assess my tracking skills so he took me far away from camp and set up a trail that'll lead me back to camp. About halfway there I lost the scent because there was this awful smell that overpowered everything in the area, a Ravenclan cat suddenly jumped out of nowhere and attacked me. Now, let me remind you that I was a young apprentice with barely any training, so I had no hope of defeating a fully trained, experienced warrior and I ran. I didn't know where I was going until I nearly fell into Snake Gorge, I was tackled and a brief fight broke out before I was pinned down, luckily Wrenpool thought I was taking too long and came looking for me. He pulled the warrior off and ordered me to run back to camp, so I ran and and felt this pain in my leg, sometime during the fight I'd gotten this scar."