Outcasts

Chapter four

Fox’s dreams were filled with disturbing images of the day before. He felt like he was reliving every moment of it over and over again. Gale’s words haunted him. He jerked awake to see that the camp was getting ready to move out. It had felt like he had slept forever.

                “What time is it?” He asked Storm drowsily. Storm looked up at the sky.

                “About midday.” He said. Fox jumped up but was brought back down by hunger.

                “Is there anything to eat?” He asked. Storm nodded and pointed towards a vole.

                “Jazz caught it for you. She said it was her first and that she was sorry.” Storm said and looked sympathetically at the small tortoiseshell. Fox sighed. He knew the journey wasn’t going to be easy, but he didn’t think that managing the group would be so difficult.

                “I’ll talk to her.” Fox said, but first he would eat. He got up and walked over to the vole. It must have only just been caught, because it was still warm. He finished it in a few gulps and licked his white chest. After he had finished he went over to where Angel was. She looked up from what she was doing and gave him a furious glare.

                “I heard you got into a fight with Gale. Why didn’t you come and see me?” She demanded. Fox tilted his head, not knowing quite what to say.

                “I didn’t know I had to see you.” He said ignorantly.

                “Your bite could have gotten infected.” She continued. Fox was quite enjoying her sudden authority over him.

                “Ok I will see you next time I snag a claw.” He said and bit his lip to stop from smiling. She let out an irritable hiss and inspected his tail.

                “You should be fine.” She said quietly and backed away.

                “I know. It isn’t my first bite I’ve had.” Fox said and licked her head. “But thank you for your concern.” He was about to leave when he remembered a certain hero. “How’s Bandit?” He asked.

                “He’s already scouting the area with Scar and Bianco. He is going to make a full recovery. “ She stopped and looked over at Jazz. “You should talk to her.” She said quietly.

                “I will.” All this nagging reminded him of having fleas. He walked over to the centre of the bushes and checked that everyone was ready to go. “Let’s head towards the river and follow it until it opens up into the lake. We are going to have to be extremely careful because humans like to fish there, especially in this weather.” He said. Everyone was silent as they moved away from the safety of the bushes and towards the river. Fox relaxed once he had gotten to the safety of the reeds and they waded through them out of sight. He heard loud splashing and he turned around to see a disgusted Scar.

                “A fish just brushed up against me.” He said and cautiously searched the water for anymore. He couldn’t help but smirk at Scar’s sudden horror. Jazz decided to take this chance and made her way towards him. Fox saw this and slowed down so she could catch up. She waded silently next to him for a while until she was ready to talk.

                “I’m sorry Fox.” She said miserably. Fox looked down at her. She had grown in many ways since when they had left the city. She didn’t seem as innocent as she was before. He felt terrible knowing that because of his idea to set up a new home, he had taken away her precious time as a kitten.