(Adventures In Myth) Gryphons war, book 1 Gone missing, chapter 9

                                CHAPTER 9 STAR-FIGHTER

                The wind whipped around Star-Fighter’s pelt as she hunted in the dry meadow, Her and the other gryphon cubs who was in her hunting party, along with two Gryphon fighters, where hunting a herd of wild horses. Only cubs who where eighteen or older was aloud to hunt in the hurricane meadow, they had to be able to hold their ground and not get pushed around in the wind. The head of the party, Smoke-Fur, motioned for them to move closer, Star did so. With her friend Cloud-Tail on her left side, and a cub named Pine on her right. They stalked closer until Smoke-Fur lept onto a wild Horse, shoving it to the ground, then lifting it into the air, and letting it plummet to the ground. That signaled the cubs to chase the herd, jumping onto horses and mimicking Smoke-Fur’s move. “Alright! That’s enough for now!” the other adult gryphon said, right as Pine let his catch hit the grassy floor. “We’ll go to the Fire Pit once we drop off the catches” Smoke-Fur added, latching onto the horse with his talons, the cubs did the same and the hunting party lanched into the air.

                Star-Fighter hid her horse in the same mossy corner of the prey den like she always did, she had to hide her prey or else it would just be free for any gryphon to take it. Cloud-Tail set her’s in the large circle of rocks, which meant it was free for any cub above eighteen to take. “I’ll see you at the Fire Pit” Cloud-Tail told her, then flew away. “Star! You have to come, NOW!” someone said from above, she looked up at her brother and said “alright but it has to be quick. I’m leaving soon” Rock-Slinger shook his head “its Flow, she got attacked” Then began to fly to the healing den. “WAIT WHAT?!” Star screamed flying after him, “attacked by what?” “a dragon” “what?!- here?- how!” he shook his head again, “It’s not as bad as you think, she’s not unconscious or anything-“ “AND HOW DOES THAT NOT MAKE IT BAD?!” Star screamed at him, then realized Rock had stopped flying and was hovering. His ears where drooped, “oh… Rock I’m sorry-“ “no. It’s fine.” Then he dived down to the entrance of the healing den, Star fallowed him in. She saw lots of injured gryhon’s as she walked by, then Rock stopped by a bed of moss, where a grey and pink cub laid. Feather, Flint, and her mother was there too, and Star sat down when a sob slipped. “I thought you said she wasn’t unconscious…” Star said, looking at the scarred and bleeding cub. “It’s just a sleeping herb sweetie” her mother, Lily-Wing, replied. Star’s mother has a grey pelt like Flow, but electric blue diamond shapes instead of pink, she has the same green eyes as the rest of Star’s siblings. “does anyone know what actually happened?” Star asked, no answer fallowed, Flint stood up from the corner she was in “all we know is that she was attacked by a Misty-Fin!” then she flicked a little pebble, watching it skip across the floor.

                Flash-Wing let Star-Fighter skip her trip to the Fire Pit “only this once” he said, but Flint still had her dusk hunting party, and Feather had been resigned to medic training so he was able to stay. “How long until the herb will wear off?” Feather stopped by with herbs I’m his mouth “Clover-Paw, how long until the sleeping herbs will wear off?” Feather mumbled as he set the herbs on the smooth rocky ground. Flash-Wings sister turned around to look at her apprentice, “I’m afraid it wont wear off until at least tomorrow morning, that’ll give me enough time to get her wounds all cleaned up. But for now I have some other gryphons to tend to” then she padded off.

                “Do you want another mouse?” Star asked her sister, watching as Flow pealed of some of the mice’s skin. “no, I’m fine, thanks” Flow answered, then she laid her head on her talons, “is there anything else I can do for you?” Star asked, Flow let out a giggle “no, unless you can do my battle training for me.” Star chuckled, then laid down next to Flow. “What happened anyway?” Star asked, Flow groaned, “you don’t have t-“ “no, it’s fine” Flow interrupted “Me and Honey went out into the forest- I didn’t know we weren’t supposed to- and then we found claw marks and a trail the size of a cub… and then Honey heard something when we where going to leave… and…” her ears drooped “I figured she’d be in the healing den with me…” Flow winced “how did you two get separated?” Star said, concerned about Flow’s sorrowful expression. “I wanted to hide in the water, that way we could swim back, but Honey made it clear she didn’t want to and she went in a tree” Star didn’t know what to say, then Flow winced again “oowww…” she moaned. “Do you need more herbs?” Feather asked from a while away, had he been listening? “Feather, she’s had enough herbs, it’s time to let her body heal on its own.” Clover-Paw confirmed, while pouring some kind of liquid on a gryphon’s wounded wing. “oh, sorry. Never mind Flow” Feather told her,   then went back to sorting herb’s. “Which one is the white speckled fern?” Feather asked, looking back at his mentor, “lily brush” she replied. Feather mumbled something to himself and set it in a carved hole in the stone wall.

                The next day, now they River-Flow was conscious, Star-Fighter got sent back to training and hunting. After her hunting party returned, she decided it was best to talk to Flint. She found her in the cubs den, talking with Rock-Slinger. Star walked up to them, “guys can I talk to you?-“ she looked around the room before saying “somewhere with less cubs in hearing length?” Flint and Rock shared looks, then Flint answered “yes, sure…” then stood up. “How’s Flow doing?” Rock asked and Star answered “she’s doing… better? I need to tell you guys what happened to her”. After a lengthy talk about how Flow got separated from Honey, and that Honey never returned, they sat down next to the lake. “So… what your saying is Honey went missing? After she heard something that freaked her out?” Flint asked, Star nodded. “Oh my, this makes my theory right!” Flint said pounding the floor, “er, what theory?” Rock asked, “oh you bug-brain! I told you a couple night’s ago!” Flint said, “may I hear it?” Star asked. Flint explained how she thinks dragons are taking cubs as hostage, and that as far as she knew Bark-Fur and Rain had been taken during the battle five day’s ago. Rose and two fighters Red-Wing and Feather-Pelt went missing during a hunting party. Two from the jungle tribe and one from the snow tribe, and that Honey had been another victim. “Wow, I mean that’s sad how no one realized…” Star said remembering when Honey asked her about Bark-Fur, “I’m sure Storm-Breaker realized before anyone” Rock said with a hopeful expression. Maybe but… “where’s Feather?” Star asked her brother, “at the healing den, where he’s supposed to st-“ “ok, c’mon” Star interrupted and lanched into the air, they where going to make a plan, and they needed a medic.