꧁ ✧ Chapter 13 ✧ ꧂

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They had buried Cherry's body, left a few pebbles and flowers on her mound, and left. Willow said she didn't want to stay there anymore, because there were too many memories, most of them were unsettling, and try going a different direction. Sunny agreed, and they set off two days later. As winter was coming along faster than they could blink, they had to get off the mountains if they were to survive. they headed the opposite way to the lake, where she first found Sunny. As the days began to get colder, they knew they had to get off the high mountains, as they weren't accustomed to being out in the snow. Willow was born in mid-autumn, and spent the whole winter in the cave. then, in early spring, she left the tribe.

Travelling down the perilous cliffs, and treacherous paths was dangerous and unnerving. There were close calls, pummeling rainstorms, and more. After travelling for half a moon, they were nearly halfway down when they came across a small, freezing lake, with thin sheets of ice encrusting the lakebed. Willow had caught a hare yesterday, a fantastic catch. This morning Sunny had caught a starling, and she caught a vole. they were making good progress, now her ankle had finally fully healed, and the injuries from Cherry were small and insignificant. They approached the riverbed, paper-thin ice cracking under their paws. She sniffed the water's surface, her hot breath billowing around, smoothing over the ripples her exhalations made. She lapped from the icy water, feeling it sink into her empty stomach like a rock, burning her gums and inner chest. She moved away for Sunny to have a drink too, licking her upper chops. She stood guard while he drank, complaining about the cold. She took in her surroundings. It was a big clearing, made of rocks, moss and a small amount of grass, which was covered in a thick layer of frost. the clearing was surrounded by huge, sharp, jutting boulders, and a few pine trees beyond them to the sides and downward, whereas behind her, where they had just come down from, a steep, rocky slope emerging from a pine forest, where she had seen another one of those strange, long-legged, thin creatures. It was alive, and eating frosty grass, though there was little of it. She had stayed clear of it, despite her curiousness. Sunny said it was called a ''deer'' and they travel in big groups, or alone. She turned to where she had come from, and her gaze followed a trail of two sets of prints, sometimes crossing or becoming deeper, where they had trotted or ran to keep warm. She turned to see Sunny sitting by the water, watching her. She smiled at him, and he perked up, standing. we both stretched out our aching, stiff muscles before continuing down the path, away from the lake.

As they walked down the rocky path, slowly, stones trickled downward in their wake, as they padded on in cold silence.

''Before I found you...'' Willow started, and Sunny lifted his head to look at her, but keep one eye on the path.

''I was chased to you, actually, by this... creature.''

Sunny perked up as if she were telling him an old forgotten story from seasons and seasons ago.

''What did it look like?'' he asked, eyes wide.

''Well, it looked like an angry, dog-sized cat. with fur the colour of the sun, and paws as dark as the night, with a snow-coloured underbelly.''

''Oh...'' Sunny looked mildly disappointed. he had been hoping she was kidding, and was about to describe a legendary creature, like a lion, or a tiger.

''That's just a fox.''

''A fox...'' Willow repeated it to herself a couple of times, growing used to the new word. ''Well, he was angry for whatever reason, and chased me to the lake, where I found you.'' She smiled warmly at him, and when he smiled back, she said, ''And I am so glad I nearly died to find you.'' She pressed into his shoulder, and he pressed into hers. She took a step back to look at him. at eight moons old now, he would have made a fine to/be, probably a prey hunter. That decision would have been made by Stoneteller. She thought back to when she had been given her place in the tribe, as a hunter. for him slim shape of course, and naturally good ability to blend in with her surroundings. well, I think I've become quite a good cave guard too. I fought against a fox, another cat, Sharptooth and came out alive. I would've suited either. She smiled to herself as they continued.

They walked for another few hours, and their paws were aching terribly. Sunny had slipped on a loose rock, scratching the back of his ankle, which had oozed a few drops of blood before scabbing over, and all of their paw pads were bruised and scratched.

''Do you need to stop?'' Willow asked him again. he had been wincing with each step, quietly braving through the pain. she expected him to say no and was faintly surprised by his answer.

''Yes please.'' he nodded over to a pine forest treeline, where there was a small tree stump. ''That'll do. We can hide from the wind behind it.'' he changed direction, heading over to the stump, and she followed close behind. just as they neared it, she heard a yowl that made her blood run cold. her head beating faster and faster, she shoved Dandelion into the trees, shutting him up when he asked what in the stars was she thinking, and pushed him up into a tree. she followed him up, after glancing around.

''What is it?'' he whispered quietly, and she didn't reply, raising her tail, telling him not to move. Suddenly Sharptooth bounded underneath the tree out of nowhere, and Willow froze, trembling. Sunny froze too, not because he was scared of Sharptooth. Se had never encountered a mountain lion before, but saw Willow was terrified, and knew he should be too. Sharptooth was sniffing the base of the tree, and Willow couldn't contain a quiet hiss. This creature had caused her to lose Dandelion. She narrowed her eyes. If it weren't for you, I would still be with Dandelion. She held back a growl, and Sunny laid his tail along her back, unsure why her hackles were raising. They were safe, right? Willow watched Sharptooth through narrowed eyes as it circled the tree, clearly on their scent. Sharptooth let out a puff, its breath floating around it for a moment, like smoke, before drifting away. Lifting its thick, muzzle, Willow noticed the tufts of dark brown fur caught in its talons. Willow gulped. She thought to herself and bowed her head as Sharptooth continued sniffing, looking up at them. Willow sighed in relief, that they had chosen a tall, thin-branched tree. These tiny branches couldn't hold Sharptooth's weight, and Sharptooth knew it. While Sharptooth tried scouting for a way to get to them, she nodded to the other side of the tree. Sunny understood, and crawled around it, so the trunk was between them and Sharptooth. They climbed another set of branches, Sunny biting back an ''ouch''. When Sharptooth returned, she peered at it through the needles. It looked up at the tree, first in confusion, then frustration. It bounded off, sniffing the ground urgently. As it wandered off, Willow jumped down a couple of branches as fast as she could, before leaping down to the floor, her fall cushioned by needles. Sunny came after her, but slipped on the last branch, landing with a loud, painful thump. Sunny moaned, and Willow rushed forward. Sunny scrambled to his paws, and Willow was confused by the look of terror in his eyes as he stumbled to his paws, and Willow turned, slowly, around. Sharptooth's tail was disappearing into a mass of leaves. It knew they were there. Sunny let out a tiny cry. Willow backed away, her ears flattened, claws unsheathed.

''Sunny. when Sharptooth jumps out, I want you to run. I want you to run as fast as you can. I'll be right behind you, I promise.'' She turned her head to him slightly and saw him nodding.

''Okay, Willow.''

''Slowly back away...'' She murmured quietly, but before they could, Sharptooth flew out of a bush, in the opposite place she thought it would be.

''RUN SUNNY! RUN!'' She gave him a hard shove, almost knocking him over. She couldn't have him freeze in terror. Happy to hear him turn tail and flee, she took on Sharptooth alone. Standing still, she stared into its eyes as it raced towards her. As it came close enough to swipe at her, she screeched at it, and leapt for it, fear lending her courage. Confused and scared, Sharptooth leapt away, running past her. Wow, I can't believe that worked. She realised what had happened. Sharptooth is used to being top of the food chain. it isn't used to anything fighting back. She heard Sunny scrambling away in the distance, and she knew Sharptooth could too. She needed to keep its attention on her. She gave a low yowl, and Sharptooth looked back at her with fiery eyes. It half-crouched and stalked forward fastly. She snarled at it, and although it was more than five times her size, she had a new way that she might just be able to defeat it. It growled at her, flicking its tail. You will not catch me or Sunny. she heard Dandelion's voice in her head. I am with you.

She gave a caterwaul and leapt for the huge cat, and it widened its eyes, taking a step back, unsure of how to react to being attacked. Willow leapt onto its back and started shredding its spine, like she had done with the fox, and cherry. It screeched, as she tore at the flesh, her claws scraping bone. Sharptooth soon jumped out of shock and began running and spinning around like a bull, snarling and trying to reach her, but couldn't. She was whipped by its long tail, before she felt the same tipping feeling as she had on the fox. Sharptooth was about to roll, in an attempt to squash her. She grinned, and ran across its side, landing on its belly as it landed. She immediately bit into its white chest, pulling hard, feeling its skin ripping and blood pouring out of the hole she just made in its chest. it reached over, grabbing her tail, and ripping her off its belly, where there were smaller holes where she had dug in her claws. it threw her across the clearing, where she landed with a thump. she scrambled to her paws while Sharptooth did the same. It inspected its injuries as a flab of skin hung off its chest. As she got her battle stance ready, she heard a whoop. Both she and Sharptooth looked around, she saw Sunny on the edge of a cliff, looking at her with happiness, then horror. He had been watching the fight and was happy she was doing so well, but now he had caught Sharptooth's attention. Sharptooth looked back at her with narrowed eyes, and she stared back in horror as it turned away from her, racing towards Sunny.

''NO!'' she cried out, and chased after it. her paws were thrumming on the ground as she caught up. Is it going slower on purpose? She ignored her question as she leapt for its back leg, catching onto its ankle. She wrapped her body around it, holding on tightly as she brought Sharptooth to a halt, and it turned around, grabbing her in its jaws, biting down hard on her shoulder blades, and threw her away, running for Sunny again.

''WILLOW!'' She heard him cry out, and scrambled to her paws, limping heavily, and ran after Sharptooth.

''NO! PLEASE!'' she wailed as she realised she couldn't catch up. Sharptooth looked at her while it ran, and had an expression she couldn't quite read, but it visibly slowed down. It felt wrong but knew it was going to kill Sunny, and sped up, taking her chance. She leapt on its hindquarters, her weight bringing it tumbling down. She managed to climb onto its back as it fell, leap off it, and race towards Sunny, Sharptooth close behind. Last second, she slewed to a fast halt, spinning around and facing Sharptooth. Sharptooth skidded to a halt three tail lengths in front of her. She glared at it. Suddenly, she felt a jolt in her chest, and crouched, but the pain disappeared in a heartbeat. She stood up again, to see snow stuck midair. She turned around to look at Sunny, and found him dead still, looking at her. Her skin crawled, and she turned back to look at Sharptooth. They stood, panting, staring into each other's eyes. She looked into it's flaming eyes, only noticing that they were now.. green. She ignored the idea that it's eyes had changed colour. of course, they didn't. But when she looked at it's chest, there were no injuries. Her heart beating like a river, she watched nervously as it walked towards her, slowly. its eyes were locked onto hers, and it stood just a whisker-length from her face. she lifted her lips, ready to fight to the death, if it meant saving Sunny, but the Sharptooth had no anger in its eyes. She stood tense as it slowly leant its head forward, and stilled, its nose a claw's length from her shoulder. She didn't move, but her eyes were still locked on it's eyes. Suddenly, she felt a jarring pain over all her injuries, and she flinched back, hissing at the cat. She looked over her body and found no injuries, like the Sharptooth. She felt light, and new. She looked back at Sharptooth in wonder and confusion but saw just bobbing hindquarters as it walked away. It stopped and turned to look at her. It seemed to nod, but she couldn't be sure, and it walked away.

''Wow.''

she turned around to see Sunny, watching Sharptooth walk away. Had he seen all of that? She was unsure, and waited for him to say more.

''That was so cool! You fought off a mountain lion! It just walked away, because it knew it couldn't beat you!'' He seemed ecstatic, and she decided he hadn't seen anything. In fact, she wasn't sure if, in his memory, she got any injuries.

''Thanks. Are you okay?'' she sniffed his pelt. She felt weird.

''Am I okay? I'm amazing! you saved my life!'' He rammed into her a little roughly, pressing his forehead into her clean chest. She smiled.

''I guess I did.''