~Joy~

"Ready?" I ask Jay and Whisper as they finish their herbs. The herbs were meant for long journeys and helped quench hunger and thirst. Moon told us where to find them on our mission. Jay and Whisper nod, nervousness and excitement glittering in their eyes. I smile at the pair, nodding at them myself.

We all said our goodbyes, receiving some for ourselves. We were in the forest by now near the gorge where Twig and Oak were found. Whisper led Jay and me around it, doing his best to not trigger any memories for Jay. It was sundown and the sky was a mix of yellow and orange.

"Okay," Whisper started, "in the prophecies it stated that Sunpack is hiding in the mountains and Leafpack is hiding in the east near a river."

"The mountains are closer than the east river, so we should eat, get sleep and start the actual mission at sunup."

I smile at Whisper's smarts as Jay and I nodded, agreeing with the plan. We sauntered through the forest a bit more, the moon replacing the sun's post as the night breeze wove through the trees. We found a nice tree, the three of us each carrying leaves to the trunk to create a nest.

"This reminds me of when I was younger." Jay pointed out, amused. Me and Whisper's head turned to look at Jay, both of us intrigued.

"During the storm that struck moons ago, I was about three moons old. I found myself lying in a ditch, wounded. Another storm was rolling by so I decided to evacuate." Jay continued, his eyes lighting up.

"After I got out of the ditch I found a sleep and slept in a leaf nest like this one." He prodded the leaves he was sitting on, some of them crumbling away. Jay's eyes darkening with concern before returning to the story.

"In the morning I hunted a bit, I wasn't satisfied yet so I was stalking a rabbit, than Moon jumped out, taking my kill! I was outraged, so I chased after her pinning her down while she begged for mercy, explaining that she had to care for her pups."

Me and Whisper's mouths dropped agape at the imagery of Jay pinning down Moon, who was four times his size. I'll have to ask Moon about that. I thought with amusement.

"I was struck with realization when I realized that her belly wasn't tender with any milk nor kits, so I spied on her, found Firepack's camp and well, you know the rest." Jay chuckled. Laying his head on the leaves that lay below him.

"Nice story." Whisper murmured as we drifted off to sleep.

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Leaves rustled near me, I groan at the loud noise, digging my head deeper into my leaf nest. I suddenly feel the crumpled leaves drop on me, their flakes intervening with my fur as I shook them off while I groomed my ruffled pelt. I glare at Jay, who was giggling with entertainment and amusement. I growl playfully at him, springing at the Firepack deputy.

I watch with a smug grin as his amused face blossomed to a shocked one as I pinned him down in the crunchy leaves. Laughing as Jay joined in as he pushed me off him.

"How mature." Whisper comments even though his voice is coated with entertainment. My tail flicks as he continues.

"Well, now that you're up, eat up." Whisper tells me, rolling a mouse to me, the smell invading my nose making me drool. I smile at him in thanks. Gobbling up the mouse, sighing and licking my lips in satisfaction. Whisper gives a nod, leading us off again into the forest.

The trees gave off a musky scent. Their trunks getting more dull the farther we trotted through the forest. More and more leaves were littered and scattered among the ground, our paws crunching them under our paw steps

The small trickle of a stream invaded the silence in the non-vibrant forest. The three of us gazed around, taking in the features of the woods. A low grumble erupted from behind me. I look back to see Whisper, his eyes flaring with embarrassment.

"S-sorry." He groaned with an awkward smile. Jay gave an amused smirk while I was failing to hold in a  laugh. Jay silently jumped over the bushes, a squeak sounded, Jay hopped out, a limp crow in his jaws. He set the kill on the ground, rolling it with his nose closer to Whisper.

"Here." Jay offered. Whisper look at him thankfully.

"Thanks!" Whisper chirped, gulping down the bird. 

    Whisper took his last bite, the crow didn't take long for Whisper to chomp down. Whisper bounced onto his paws.

"Ready." He stated, I look to the trees, seeing a pile of soft, plush leaves.

"Wait!" I call out, the two He's stopping in their tracks. I gently plucked the leaves from their stems, turning around to meet the gazes of Jay and Whisper.

"Traveling herbs." I explained to the two. Laying the herbs on the ground. "We should each eat one." I say, crunching on of the herbs up, my nose wrinkled in disgust at the foul taste that hung in the leaves. It reminded me on the day I had to eat the revolting herbs after I got in a fight with Frostpack's leader, Fang. I push the memory away,

"Nice thinking." Jay complimented, a grin on his face as he gnawed on his share.

    It was suntop, it gave us the rest of the day to work towards the mountains. We darted through trees, the breeze blowing through our fur, thin, tufty and wavy. Out of nowhere, a yowl rang through the forest, terrified animals darted into their dens. I whip my head around in sync with Jay and Whisper, the gray Firepack deputy already springing into action, weaving his nimble body around the trees through the woods swiftly. Whisper and I panting to keep up. Jay stops, his eyes blazing it's rage, anger and surprise. I follow his gaze.

    A fox with orangeish, yellow fur lay pain-stricken on the ground, leg clamped shut in a bear trap. Her flanks heaved at her sides in exhaustion and pain. Jay wasn't surprised by that though,  another fox accompanied the wounded one. My eyes widen in realization.

Dawn.

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