The Writer's Games 2014: Mission #3 Entries

Starfire

By: parisluv

Starfire

The wind brushed over my back and through the grass. My ears lay flat against my head and I watched through the grass. He moved unhesitatingly, his nose to the ground. I crawled forward a little, as quiet as possible in the tall grass. He turned his head away for a moment and I pounced on him. We tumbled and rolled through the grass, biting and kicking each other.
"Starfire!" a feminine, commanding voice barked at us. "Blade!"
We immediately stopped and sat with our heads dropped.
"What do you two have to say for yourselves?" she asked us.
"Sorry, Mom," I whispered.
"You bet you are young lady!" Mom barked at me. "You two know better than to wander away from the den!"
"I didn't realize how far we had gone," Blade said defensively. "It won't happen again."
"You bet it won't, mister," Mom snapped. "Come on, your Father is watching your brothers and sister."
I shot Blade a look that said "Oh great, Dad." Mom walked in front of us and we trotted behind her. We shortly arrived at the den where Dad was watching our siblings playing.
"Why did you two run off?" Dad demanded.
"We weren't running off!" I said defensively. "We were playing and we didn't realize how far we were going!"
"It doesn't matter!" Dad barked. "You need to be more careful, you could have been hurt."
"Yes, Dad," Blade and I breathed under our breathes.
"Go play and be good," Mom told us.
We walked over to Rubia, Ashwood, and Riverstone.
"Why can't you just behave?" Rubia taunted.
"Why can't you be normal?" I said, playfully nipping at her.
"I am normal," she said, pushing me away with her paws. "Let the boys rough-house, we can just relax."
"You're so boring," I said running over to play with Blade.
I should probably tell you about us. Rubia is the oldest and thinks she knows everything; and she's totally boring. She looks just like our Mom, her coat is shiny and perfect, and she has a petite features. Ashwood and Riverstone are both meaty and mindless; they tend to just follow what Rubia, Mom, and Dad said. Blade looks a lot like Dad, a gruff coat and pretty muscular; with average features. I'm the runt of the litter, youngest, smallest, and always teased about it. I have the standard fox looks and coloring, with a sleek body. Blade's probably my best friend out of all of us, having 3 brothers and 1 sister has definitely made me tougher.
As night drew nearer we still weren't tired, the day had been average, normal. When Blade and I were playing in the shallow part of the lake, Dad suddenly said:
"Get into the den."
We all immediately obeyed and raced into the den. We piled onto each other, watching and listening to Mom and Dad. A strange fox suddenly walked into the clearing, approaching the den.
"Get out of here, Shadow," Dad said.
"I was just passing through," Shadow's voice had a creepy, crazy feeling to it. "Also, I though you might like to know that some hunters are coming this way. Later."
He dashed into the woods and Mom and Dad began talking in whispers.
"I bet they're tracing his sent," Mom said.
"We need to get the Kits out of here," Dad said as howls erupted just into the woods.
"Emergency tunnel, come on."
They ran into the den and Dad began digging away a part of the den.
"Follow me," Mom told us. "Stay close and quiet."
Mom crawled into the tunnel Dad had opened and we all followed; Rubia in front, Ashwood in the back. Dad stopped only to close the tunnel with a boulder before following us.
"Stay close, Kits," Mom whispered.
After a lot of twisting and weaving through the dark tunnel, Mom stopped.
"What's wrong?" Dad asked.
"The tunnel," Mom said, turning around quickly. "It's closed off by some sort of stone."
"We need to look at it from the outside," Dad said.
"There's a hole," Rubia said. "I can't fit and the boys can't."
"I can," I said.
"Starfire, no," Mom said.
"I'm the only one who can get through," I said. I dashed around her before she could say anything. I slipped through the hole and looked at where I was. The stone wall stretched in both directions, upturned dirt lay all around. At the exit to the tunnel, there was a shiny door with levers next to it. One had a picture of a lock, one an open door, and the last an explosion. I jumped up and pulled on the open door one. My tiny body moved it slowly, but it moved. When I touched the ground the shiny door slid open.
"Starfire!" Mom gasped and snuggled me immediately. "Thank goodness."
"We need to get going," Dad said as he bent down to pick me up.
"No," I said. "Carry Rubia, Ashwood, and Riverstone; they're slower than Blade and I."
"Alright, stay close."
Dad picked up Rubia and Ashwood while Mom grabbed Riverstone. We all headed away from the tunnel. We ran for miles and miles under the full moon, before arriving at a waterfall.
"We'll be safe here," Dad said as he and Mom set the others down.
He led us to a new den hidden just behind the waterfall.
"We are going to live here from now on," Mom told us. "Let's get some sleep."
Mom and Dad laid down and we all piled in between them.
"That was awesome, Starfire," Blade commented.
"Thanks," I whispered. "Now, it's your turn to do something heroic."
We both laughed as we fell asleep in our warm, safe den; listening to the gentle hush of the waterfall