Shining of the Four

Chapter 25

"Salmon, it's time to rise!" came Oak's raspy voice.

Salmon awoke, glancing around the new den she slept in. It had been a moon since her father had agreed to let her train. During that time, she had been catching prey, practicing battle moves, and learning how to become a good leader like her father.

Mouse and Honey slept near her, Storm sulking in the corner of the den. It was obvious he was still jealous that Salmon had brought back a large hawk that day. Several times since then, Storm had come up to her, demanding she tell him where she found a dead hawk lying around. He had spread rumors that Salmon had found the bird, that she had gotten another cat to kill it for her. Salmon ignored these rumors though, even if they tended to bug her to a large extent.

Since Oak had taken her under his wing, Salmon had visited her mother's cherry blossom tree. Leaf-bare was coming to a end, the snow half-melted. The trees had already begun to sprout a little, even if all that was visible were small flowers enclosed in leaves, not yet visible. Soon, when the cherry blossoms grew and floated through the air, Salmon would be filled with her mother's spirit.

Salmon rose to her feet, quietly sneaking out of the den to greet her father who stood, waiting for her.

"What are we learning today, Father?" she asked curiously, following him into the woods.

"More hunting," he explained.

"But, Father!" Salmon whined, "You already know I'm a great hunter! Did the hawk I brought back not tell you that?"

"The full moon has only shone once since you became my apprentice. You may be a better hunter than most, but you still need practice," Oak explained, a stern look on his face.

"But if I'm ahead of everyone else, do I have to train six moons?" she asked.

"Of course!" Oak snapped, causing Salmon to jump.

"Being the ruler, the queen, if you may, of this tribe takes hard work, Salmon. I trained for six moons as well, and even then, I did not know everything about leading. It will take moons of experience."

"Oh," Salmon replied quietly, trudging through the woods with her father.

"Let's have a test today," Oak suggested.

"A test?" Salmon asked.

"Catch as many pieces of prey as you can. Each time you catch a piece of prey, please bring it back to me," Oak explained. "If you think that hunting is so easy, we shall see how great your skills are."

Salmon knew pride was her flaw, but she couldn't admit to her father that she couldn't catch many pieces of prey. She'd been catching one or two every day, but it sounded as if he wanted ten pieces of prey from her.

"Fine!" she said, stalking off.

"I will be by the tall oak tree!" her father called as she padded off.

Sunrise nodded, padding into the thick woods. Perhaps her mother would send her another miracle, like the hawk. Or perhaps she'd learn her lesson not to jaw off about herself to her father.

Snow clumped onto Salmon's paws as she walked. With each step she took, more snow would flee off the ground, and moist dirt would be revealed below. Soon enough, her paws were wet and brown with dirt.

Salmon ignored this though, continuing to pad through the woods. She sniffed the air, and then suddenly, she noticed a white bushy tail.

"Rabbit," she murmured, watching as it came out of the burrow that had sheltered it throughout the winter.

Salmon crouched down, then pounced, her paw landing right on the rabbit's behind. She quickly shoved her claw into its side, and within moments, she had her first piece of prey.

"This isn't so bad," she told herself, running off to show her father the first piece of prey she'd caught.

Oak sat near the oak tree, smiling as Salmon ran towards him with a rabbit in her jaws.

"And what have you caught?" he asked.

Salmon dropped the furry rabbit beside him, smiling.

"This rabbit just came out of its hole. I caught it quickly," she explained.

Oak inspected the rabbit, then frowned. "It's plumped than what we've had, but you've ruined the rabbit with your claw marks. There are three claw marks on this rabbit. What cat deserves this rabbit?"

"I did what I had to do to kill it. The meat is still good," Salmon argued.

"Then if it is good meat, the rabbit is yours to eat tonight."

"Fine!" Salmon shouted, running off to find a better piece of prey to present to her father. She padded through the woods quietly, keeping her ears pricked in case she heard any movement.

But she heard no movement, and for a long time, she padded through the woods, lonely and bored. It was already mid-day, and so far, she'd only found only small piece of prey.

Salmon, now in defeat, sat down next to a large pine tree, letting out a deep sigh.

Suddenly, a flash of gray caught her eye. Across from her was a little mouse, scampering about the forest floor.

Salmon crouched, cautiously approaching the mouse. It was plump and full, most likely from moons of sleep. She pounced, killing the mouse in one swipe.

With the dead mouse in her jaws, she padded off quickly, finding her father sitting impatiently near the oak tree.

"I would've thought you'd bring back better prey for being gone so long," her father told her as soon as she reached him.

Salmon ignored his harsh comment, dropping the mouse at his feet.

Oak crouched down, inspecting the piece of prey.

"Better," he observed. "It's not the best mouse, but it'll do."

Salmon nodded and laid down, exhausted.

"What are you doing?" Oak questioned.

"I'm tired, Father," Salmon explained.

"But you told me you could catch all this prey!" Oak exclaimed.

Salmon sighed, resigning from her job. "No. I-I let my pride get in the way. Finding prey in leaf-bare is hard and takes work. I'm lucky to have found two pieces of prey."

Oak smiled at her warmly.

"Do you see why it takes many moons of practice, Salmon? We cannot learn to hunt or fight all within a moon. A leader must practice even harder than the others," Oak explained calmly.

Salmon nodded slowly.

"Now come. You must be tired from all that hunting," Oak told her.

When they arrived back home, cats were already waiting for them, immediately running up to Oak, asking him questions, giving reports. When they ate, Salmon grabbed the rabbit she had caught earlier, while Oak took her mouse. Confused, Salmon looked up at Oak. The leaders and their kin were given the best prey of the day. So why had they picked the worst?

"This was the best you could catch, so therefore, it is the best," Oak explained, biting into her mouse.

Salmon nodded, though she supposed it was just to save another cat from eating the terrible prey. As she bit into her rabbit, she decided it wasn't bad. There was lots of meat, even if some was damaged by her claws. It wasn't as good as what she was usually accustomed to eating, but she gulped down the entire thing, licking her lips in satisfaction afterwards.

Later, that night, she fell asleep soundly, imagining herself as leader. She knew the day would be upon her soon.