The Broken Trail #2: Silent Stars Above

Chapter 7

Darkshadow waited patiently in the training hollow, his tail wrapped around his paws. Beside him, Rainshadow fidgeted around, getting up to pace every now and then. Both wolves were watching the entrance eagerly for their mentors to arrive.

Finally, the trees rustled and Sunfire and Rivermist came padding in. They greeted their deltas with nods and settled down in front of them.

Darkshadow stared past them, wondering if any more wolves were coming. "Where's Redshadow and Cloudshadow?"

"Cloudshadow is seeing the territory on a border scouting with Falcon, Sparrowflight, and Icefang," Sunfire replied. "Redshadow has already been taught this lesson, so he'll join us later. In the meantime, he stayed back at camp."

"Oh." Darkshadow felt slightly jealous-- Redshadow was ahead of him? He shook his head and concentrated on Rivermist as she began.

"We've already given you some tips about catching different kinds of prey, but now we're working on the actual hunting part. Does anyone remember the difference between stalking a mouse and a bird?" The she-wolf's gaze swept over the two deltas.

Darkshadow hesitated, wracking his brain. As usual, Rainshadow was the first to respond, but her voice was strangely dull and unenthusiastic. "Mice can sense vibrations in the ground," she murmured, "but birds use their sight more."

"Correct!" Rivermist nodded. "At least I know one of you was paying attention yesterday."

Darkshadow felt his fur bristle as the she-wolf shot him an icy look. He held his tongue, knowing that he had gotten in trouble before from challenging Rivermist after one of her snide remarks. She despised him almost as much as Thicketclaw did.

"Now we're going to practice sneaking up to the prey," Sunfire continued. "Bend your legs, and get down low. Duck you tail, ears, head-- whatever would stick out of the undergrowth and alert your target. Your goal is to remain unseen."

The deltas gazed at the beta in earnest, trying to absorb every word he said. The golden wolf crouched down and began smoothly drawing himself forward. "Stay in your proper stance, and take it one pawstep at a time. Try to keep in the cover of the vegetation." He straightened up. "Now you try."

Darkshadow and Rainshadow pressed themselves to the ground and tried to slide across the ground like Sunfire had shown them. The black-furred delta trembled with the effort of keeping his body low. He wasn't focusing on what was beneath his paws.

Snap! A stick broke beneath his foot where he had stepped on it, causing Darkshadow to wince. If he had been actually hunting, his quarry definitely would've heard the sound and fled.

"Can you try not to scare away all the prey in the forest?" Rivermist growled, annoyed. Sunfire shot her a warning look.

"Just watch where you place your paws," the beta reminded him. "Another good strategy is to position yourself downwind of your target. That way, they won't smell you coming."

Darkshadow nodded and gave his pelt a few embarrassed licks. He tried again, this time setting each paw down carefully on an empty space. Rainshadow did the same.

"Good," said Sunfire. "Keep in mind that this is only used to catch small game. Larger animals require a different technique-- I'll demonstrate."

He beckoned his delta over with a wave of his tail. "Darkshadow, you can be the doe."

Great, Darkshadow thought, a reason for Rivermist to claw me. He took his place by his mentor and listened to the instructions. "When I run at you, head to the other side of the hollow. Rivermist will be waiting in the bushes there, and I'll be hidden nearby."