Starlightlynxes: Stars in the Sky #1: Twilight

~Chapter 2~

"River!" A small brown lynx called. Her name was Dawn, and she was best friends with another lynx- named River.

"Yes?" River answered, her brown pelt flashing in the light of the sun.

"I'm going hunting. Want to join me?"

"I'm not trying to get good at hunting and you know that." She replied. "I prefer guarding. I feel so much excitement when I'm in battle practice. I love it."

"Yeah, I know that. But still. I want to hang out with my best friend. Plus, the elders would probably like it if you'd get good at some hunting techniques."

"Fine." River meowed. "I'll just go ask Cloud. She was going to do some hunter training with me later."

She ran off to go find her, and spotted her chatting with a male, Foxglove.

There will be some new kits in the summer. She noted.

"Cloud?" She called. "Can I go hunting with Dawn?"

"Umm... I guess..." Cloud replied, clearly wondering why River was going hunting. "But I thought you didn't like hunting."

"I don't. But I think I should at least try to get good at it."

"Okay, I guess you can. Just be back by noon."

"I will." River promised as she raced back. "Thanks!"

"So?" Dawn asked. "Can you come?"

River nodded. "Yep. But I have to be back by noon."

"No problem. We'll be back sooner than that."

"Okay. Let's go."

"There's a rabbit over there." Dawn nodded to the small clearing in front of them. "Do you think you could catch it?"

"I-" Owl didn't even let her answer.

"Oh common. You should at least know the basics."

I'll probably miss, and that would be a waste. I mean, look at the size of that thing! "I do. But I don't want to waste that perfectly good rabbit." River mewed. "What if I miss?"

"True..." Dawn lifted her head proudly, ready to show off her hunting skills. "I'll show you, then."

She dropped into a crouch, flattened her ears, and started creeping slowly towards the rabbit, one stealthy pawstep at a time.

A twig snapped.

River blinked in confusion. Dawn hadn't stepped on anything, she'd been watching her very closely, and she herself hadn't moved from her position.

She shrugged. Oh well. Probably the wind.

There was no wind. Not even a tiny breeze ruffled River's fur.

"Frog guts and wolf dung!" Dawn growled as the rabbit fled into some thick bushes on the other side of the clearing, where they didn't take notice of another snap- a louder one- from there, assuming that it was just the rabbit.

River laughed. "I guess it got wasted anyway."

"I would've caught it if you hadn't made that stupid twig snap." Dawn growled.

"Wha- wait. You're gonna blame this on me now? I didn't move." River protested. "The sound came from there." She lifted her paw to point at the bushes where the rabbit had disappeared.

"You're so right, River." Dawn rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It did come from over there." She hissed. "That was a perfectly good, big, juicy rabbit, and you had to-"