CHASE

Chapter 28

Chase's stomach grumbled as she wandered through the unfamiliar woods. She knew already that winter would be arriving soon. The lack of prey, cold wind, and rarely sunny skies were sign enough. The last few leaves were beginning to fall off the trees, leaving part of the forest exposed and bare.

She had been gone a few days already, and though it was tough not having a den to call her home, she much preferred it to staying. Though Yew's parents had offered to house her, she had denied them, mostly due to the guilt over Yew's death. At night she still dreamt of ways she could have prevented it.

When Chase was not thinking of Yew's unfortunate death, she thought of the words she shared with her family. Sometimes she would be upset with herself for being so harsh toward them, especially her mother. But she was also proud to be able to stand up to them, especially her father. He had once warned her as a kit not to speak up, but she had done so anyway a few days ago, and she hoped he was paying the consequences for what he did to scar her so long ago.

Chase was not entirely sure where she was going, only that it needed to be far from her home. She didn't want to risk the chance that she would run into any family members or any kin of Yew's for that matter.

What Chase desired most of all was to find another forest bounding with cats. She knew the conflicts between cats and foxes existed everywhere, and while she was unable to do anything in her birth forest, perhaps she could make peace somewhere else. That was what she and Yew had planned anyway, and she intended to follow through with that plan.

As the nights grew colder, Chase awoke one morning to see little wisps of white floating through the air as the sun rose in the distance. She paused a few moments, remembering at last what it was this strange occurrence was called.

Snow, she realized.

Not too long ago, she and Yew had dreamed about seeing the first snow together. He had already experienced this winter event before, but Chase had not. It was going to special. They were going to stand under the sky as bits of white frost coated their auburn pelts.

Chase felt numb as she stood underneath the snow. It was a beautiful sight to behold, but she felt she could not take as much joy in it as before. She watched her pelt become speckled with the substance and noticed it had begun sticking to the ground. It would not be long before travel would become more difficult.

Chase longed to go curl back up inside the log she had taken shelter in for the evening. For the first time in a while, she wanted to cry as she watched the snow fall. It painfully reminded her of Yew. However, Chase had a mission to fulfill, and she knew she didn't have time to waste crying alone in the woods. So she persisted.

She was forced to take shelter earlier into the day, as the snow was beginning to fall harder, and when Chase awoke the next morning, the forest was coated in a sparkling white blanket. Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the environment around her. The snowy woods was a sight to behold.

As Chase stepped out into the snow, she felt her paw sink into the thick powder and quickly pulled out her paw, cursing to herself. Travel would be much harder now, prey would be scarce, and to top it all off, her pelt stuck out greatly against the white sheet. She would have to travel in more dense areas, she realized.

The winter months began, and that was the only time that Chase considered if it had been wrong leaving home. Her stomach was often grumbling these days. She still managed to get by, but she definitely never felt satisfied after a meal. Some of the streams she could cross, but the ice was slippery, she learned quickly, and eventually she stopped trying to cross water after her foot broke through the ice and was painfully cold the rest of the day.

Though the big prey that her parents often told stories about was asleep during this time of year, there were still other foxes that often growled when Chase ventured too far into their territory, and every once in a while, Chase to flee on foot from a few humans that had ventured too far into the woods for her liking. But for the most part, she was safe.

That was not to say Chase didn't feel lonely. She had been out traveling for a full moon cycle already and was not sure when she would bring her quest to an end. A part of her liked the adventure. She had always dreamed about running off and exploring as a kit. But with Yew no longer beside her, Chase felt pretty bored with only her own thoughts to entertain her.

One day, Chase miraculously got the whiff of a familiar scent. It was one that had often lingered through the woods, and one she was very familiar with when she became closer friends with Moonstar.

There are cats nearby, Chase realized.

The scent was stale, but it was a sign of hope. And judging by its familiarity, Chase wondered if these were the same cats that had fled her forest in the fall. Then again, her nose might not have been skilled enough at distinguishing cats by clan, but it was definitely a familiar scent that was now invading her nose.

For the next few days, Chase followed in the direction of that scent, hoping it would lead her somewhere. She had been wandering around in unfamiliar territories for what felt like an eternity.

That was until she stepped in a particularly dense forest that seemed filled with life despite the fact winter was ongoing. It had a homely feel, and if Yew had been traveling with Chase, she was sure he would admire it just as much as she was admiring it currently.

The vast forest and environment that seemed perfect for inhabiting had another perk though. The scent of cat was strong, and when Chase lifted her nose, she could make out a few scents that distinguished different smells of cat from each other. There were clearly territories marked here, just as there had been back home.

And on top of that, there was a strong scent of FoxClan lingering through these woods. It seemed that Chase had just managed to track down the clan that had fled the same woods as her.