Star+and+Moon


 * This is about a large group of foxes (known as the Foxdom) and several wolf packs (the foxes know them as the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Packs, and the Roamers). I advise people under the age of 11 not to read this, as it contains violence. Thank you.**

Luke Ciena Dakran Airith Kashan Ganeka Iiman Jarnae Bayra (AKA: Beast) Laira Himino Enya
 * Characters (will add more when you meet them):**

=Star and Moon=

Chapter One
I screamed. It felt like fire was running through my veins. What was happening to me? My eyes began to burn, I fell to my hands and knees. I just wanted it to stop. My wish was soon granted, but when I opened my eyes I almost screamed again. In the reflection of the puddle in front of me was a fox. I looked down, and sure enough, I was staring at red furred paws. My gaze flicked back to the puddle, two distressed amber eyes stared up at me. “Are you ok?” The voice startled me and I spun around. “Who's there?” I called, then blinked, surprised I could still speak. “My name is Ciena.” The feminine voice answered. “Come out!” I commanded, feeling uneasy. “As you wish.” The voice replied. A vixen padded from the bushes, halting a few paw-steps in front of me and bowing low. “You have finally come.” “What are you talking about? And how come I can understand you?” I asked suspiciously. “I'm talking about you. And you can understand me because you're a fox.” Ciena told me. “I don't understand.” I said. “You have come to save us, have you not?” Ciena asked. “What do you mean? I was just going for a walk when all of a sudden it felt like I was set on fire.” I told her, “And when I looked in the puddle I was a fox.” Ciena tilted her head to the side, “Yes, and your name is Luke, correct?” “Yeah, but that doesn't explain anything.” I protested. “That is where you are wrong, it explains everything.” Ciena said as she padded around me in a circle, “Are you feeling alright?” “Are you kidding me?” I exclaimed, “I was just turned into a fox!” “Yes, I know, I saw.” Ciena nodded, “But you're not sore and you don't have a headache do you?” “No. What's with all the questions?” I asked, turning my head to follow her as she continued to circle around me. “I'm just trying to make sure you're ok.” Ciena said, “And I can ask whatever I want to because while I'm here you stay alive.” “What?” I gasped. “You heard me, as long as I am here you won't be killed.” Ciena answered. I stared at her, fear setting itself into my heart. First I went through the pain of turning into a fox, and then I got told someone – or some//thing// – was out to get me. “Don't worry, as I said, as long as I am here nothing will harm you.” Ciena stopped padding around me and flicked her bushy tail, “So I would advise you not to irritate me.” “Why is this happening?” I whispered. “Because it is time.” Ciena stated simply, “Now, follow me.” She turned and took a few paces forward, then stopped and looked back at me over her shoulder, “I'd like to run, but since you're new to this I'll take it slow.” It occurred to me that I wouldn't be able to walk on two feet any more. I took a few experimental steps and did a small jump. I noticed Ciena had begun to move and now stood a few trees into the forest, so I hurried to catch up with her. “Hmph,” She said, “It seems that you have no need to learn how to walk again. Very well, run.” She bounded forward and I leaped after her as she dashed deeper into the forest. I felt my pelt grow damp as dew from the leaves on the bushes brushed onto my fur. Twigs cracked beneath our paws as I followed Ciena onward, thoughts flowing through my head. Where was she taking me? What did she mean when she said it was 'time'? Who – or what – was after me? I was interrupted from my thoughts as Ciena suddenly jumped, I wondered why but then water splashed up around me, soaking my legs. Ciena's eyes sparkled in the sunlight as she watched me stumble through the river and to the bank. “I thought you would jump.” She said. “How was I supposed to know there was a river there?” I spluttered. “Everyone knows there is a river there, it is the eastern border of what is known as the Foxdom.” Ciena told me as I pulled myself out of the river, my bushy tail dripping with water. She turned and began to lead me again, but kept her pace slow. “This is as far as I am going to run, for we are nearing the Sun Stone and there is much you need to learn.” I padded beside her, letting her take a two step lead to continue leading me to what she called the Sun Stone. “The Foxdom is lead by a fox known as the King of the Sun. His name is Dakran, but never call him that, you must use his full tile, King of the Sun or Sun King. When in his presence you do what he says, when he says. All foxes share the territory that is known as the Foxdom. When in the clearing of the Sun Stone, you must not speak. As you do not yet know all the rules and regulations of the Foxdom, I do not want you talking to anyone in case you irritate the wrong people. You must stay with me the entire time we are in the presence of the Sun King. After that we will leave and I will explain anything that has come up.” Ciena finished. “How long will I not be able to speak?” I asked. “It depends on how long the gathering takes.” Ciena answered, “Now hush, we're here.” She led me out into a huge clearing, I gasped when I saw all the foxes moving around the clearing, speaking to each other. She pushed her way past several foxes, heading for the massive red stone sitting in the middle of the clearing. “Look, it's Ciena.”, “Who's that fox Ciena's got with her?” , “I've never seen him around.” Were just various whisperings as other foxes moved out of Ciena's way, forming a path to the front. “Do not let them scent your fear.” Ciena hissed quietly to me, obviously sensing my apprehensiveness. I felt the gazes of most of the foxes trained on me, curious. “Ciena, glad to see you have finally arrived.” A large scarred fox greeted her from where he stood atop the huge red stone, “And who is this?” “No one important enough for the Sun King to need to worry about.” Ciena reassured him. “Well, since you are here now, I will start the gathering.” The fox swished his white-tipped tail and barked loudly. Silence fell on the large clearing and the foxes looked to the Sun Stone. “My loyal followers!” The Sun King called, “I have gathered you today to announce one thing: The Tournament of the Flame shall take place at sunrise!” Murmuring broke out amongst the foxes as the Sun King leaped from the Sun Stone and disappeared around the back. “What's the Tournament of the Flame?” I whispered to Ciena. Ciena looked at me, and yet again an uneasy feeling settled itself into my heart. “The Tournament of the Flame is certain death.”

Chapter Two
I saw the despair in her eyes as she spoke. The Tournament of the Flame. “Luke, come, we must leave immediately.” She said, turning and pushing her way through the mess of foxes. “Ciena!” I hissed, trying to stay quiet, “Wait up!” She ignored me, and the horrible thought that she might panic came to mind. I hurried to her side and followed as she headed out of the clearing. Once out of the sight of the other foxes, Ciena bolted. I struggled to keep up, stumbling slightly over some twigs. The sun was going down and the thought of being alone in the forest scared me. I panted, her white tail-tip disappearing through a bush, I crashed through after it. Bursting into a clearing I saw Ciena had stopped. “Cien-” I was cut off mid sentence as a great force slammed into my side, knocking what breath I had from my lungs. I found myself staring up at the snarling face of an angry badger. “Airith! Get off of him!” Ciena growled, “What have I told you about attacking the foxes I bring here?” The badger slowly lifted his paws from my chest and sat down, his gaze still fixed on me. “You can't blame me, I don't trust people I don't know.” The badger's deep voice said. “Well you should know by now that I wouldn't being others here unless I trust them.” Ciena told him, “Now, please apologise.” “To whom am I apologising?” Airith asked. “My name is Luke.” I answered, standing up and shaking the dust from my fur as I took a few deep breaths to calm my breathing. Airith's eyes widened, “Luke? You mean you're it?” His voice was filled with disbelief I didn't understand. “Yes, now apologise.” Ciena said. Airith dipped his head to me, “I am sorry for attacking you, Luke. If I had known you were you it would not have happened. I will refrain from doing so again.” “Actually you may have to do it again.” When Ciena spoke I saw that she was pacing outside a cave, “We need to begin his training immediately, for he is at great risk. The Tournament of the Flame will begin at dawn.” “The Sun King could have done anything he liked, and he chose the Tournament of the Flame?” Airith shook his head, “This isn't good.” “Where is Kashan?” Ciena asked, “I need to discuss things with him.” “He went to the gathering, but he may have stopped to hunt on the way back.” Airith suggested. “Then I will have to speak with him later.” Ciena sighed, stopping pacing and padding to join us in the middle of the clearing. She sat down and flicked her tail from side to side. “Luke, you must listen closely, Airith is about to explain to you the Tournament of the Flame while I think about the things you will need to learn if you are to survive.” I nodded and looked expectantly at Airith. He blinked before beginning, “The Tournament of the Flame... Each family of foxes living in the Foxdom must send one fox to something known as the Line-Up. The Sun King will select three foxes, and three vixens to compete in the Tournament. The foxes fortunate enough to avoid selection will make a ring around the six contestants who will form their own circle. When the Sun King barks the six will fight to the death. The fight only stops when there is a victor standing alone, or if the Sun King himself commands they stop. The victor then has a short time to hunt and hydrate themselves before they face the last Tournament's winner. In short, if you don't know how to fight, you're dead meat.” “But we're going to change that.” Ciena said, “Airith is going to train you until you know the basics, and if there is time he will teach you a few tricks too. You need to start immediately because you don't have long to train, you will need to rest if you are chosen to fight tomorrow.” A big fox slunk into the clearing, carrying a squirrel in his mouth. He dropped the squirrel outside the cave and sat facing us. “Kashan,” Ciena growled, “You were meant to get here as soon as you could.” “I got hungry.” The fox stated simply, “Who is this?” “Who else would I bring here at a time like this? He's Luke.” Ciena replied. “Oh, I'm sorry to keep you waiting.” Kashan bowed to me, and I wondered why everyone did that. “You should have known better than to hunt before coming here, we need to discuss the Tournament.” Ciena said, she stood and padded to the cave. Kashan stood and followed her with the squirrel. “Please excuse them,” Airith said, “But they have many things that need to be talked about. I would like you to stand.” I stood and stretched, then waited for more instructions. Airith moved to stand beside me. “We do not have much light left, so I want you to watch closely to what I do, for we will be doing this in the darkness.” The badger said, “First, you need to know where to attack.” He touched his paw to the back of my neck, “If you can bite here, then hold on for as long as you can, your opponent can only make the would worse and it is unlikely they can throw you off.” He moved his paw to touch mine. “If you bite the leg or paw, either bite repeatedly or hold on for maximum pain.” He sat down and pointed to his belly, “If you get underneath your opponent, go all out with your claws.” Airith stepped back, “Watch closely.” The big badger crouched down and leaped forward, lashing out with a paw. “Now repeat.” I crouched down and jumped, swiping my paw as I attempted to copy Airith. I tried a few times before stopping and looking at him for advice. “Continue, you need to get the feel of the movement before you will be able to apply this move in a fight.” Airith encouraged me. I kept jumping and swiping my paw, getting used to moving like that. I soon ended up adding a duck and a bite to it. “Good, you're adapting to your own style.” Airith nodded, “Keep going, create a sequence. There's not much more I can do until the moon rises.” I continued to leap forward and slash, then add things onto the end. A roll to the side, or a bite, or a duck and another slash. The moon slowly rises and dimly illuminates the clearing. “Alright, now that we can see slightly better, I'm going to show you another move.” Airith said. He slowly drew his paw through the air above my head, then lunged his head forward, stopping short of my neck. “Do that, except fast.” I obeyed and tried the new move, “What's the swipe for?” I asked. “Your opponent will most likely flinch and give you the chance to quickly go for a bite to their neck. If you aim above their eyes then if they don't flinch, you can blind them with their own blood.” Airith explained. I continued to do this for a while, becoming experimental with it and moving around the clearing. “Ok, that's enough offence. We need to move on to defence.” Airith crouched down, “Leap at me.” I tilted my head, wondering why he wanted me to do so. “Come on, we don't have much time.” I jumped at him and he slid to the side, making me fly past. “Again.” He commanded. I leaped at him once more and yet again he slipped to the side. I jumped at him one more time and he jumped right over me. “Think you can do that?” Airith asked. I nodded and crouched down. The big badger jumped at me and I pushed myself to the side and out of the way, as soon as Airith landed he leaped at me again so I moved fast to get out of the way. We continued our leap and dodge dance-like routine, and soon I began to tire out. I attempted to jump over Airith but ended up landing on his back and jumping onto the ground behind him. Airith turned to face me, “That's enough, you have practised the basics and should be able to apply them in battle. I do not want to train you any longer, you need to rest for tomorrow.” He glanced up at the sky and I followed his gaze, seeing the moon had risen quite a bit since we started. “Come, I'll show you where to sleep.” Airith turned and led me to the cave entrance, and for the first time I realised that we were at the bottom of a cliff. The cave was dark, but my eyes had adjusted to the dim light outside and it didn't take much to be able to see. I followed Airith's white and black form through the short tunnel and into a relatively big cavern. Ciena and Kashan halted their hushed conversation, glancing at us as we entered. “He needs to rest. We all do.” Airith stated. Kashan nodded, “Show him to his nest, Ciena and I were just about to finish.” Airith turned and I followed him to the other side of the cave. Three of what Kashan had called 'nests' were set up near the wall. They were made of moss with a few feathers scattered through it too. “This one's yours.” Airith told me, pointing with his muzzle to the nest on the end. I stepped onto the moss and lay down, Airith doing so in the nest next to mine and burying his nose into the moss. Ciena and Kashan padded toward us and settled down together in the last nest. “They're siblings, just so you know.” Airith whispered to me. “Oh, are they sharing because I'm here? What were they talking about?” I asked in a hushed voice. “It's fine. They were talking about things to do with the Tournament.” Airith replied simply, “Now get to sleep.” “Goodnight, Airith.” I said. “Goodnight, Luke.” The badger replied. I curled my bushy tail around myself and lay my head on it, using it like a soft, furry pillow. The day had been full of strange happenings and I was still struggling to keep up. I put the day to the back of my mind and took a deep breath to relax. Slowly blinking a few times, I felt my eye lids grow heavy and soon I drifted into the peaceful void that was sleep.

Chapter Three
Something prodded me in the side and I shifted on my bed mumbling, “Go away...” “We don't have time for you to sleep in, Luke.” I jolted upright, that wasn't my mother's voice. My heartbeat slowed when I saw Ciena sitting next to me. I realised that all of it really had happened. “Come on, Luke, it's almost dawn and we have yet to eat.” Ciena said. I sleepily stood and stumbled over to where Kashan sat on the other side of the cave, sitting down beside him. “What do you want to eat, the sparrow, the mouse, or the squirrel?” Kashan asked. I stared at the dead animals, “I'm not going to eat that.” I said, horrified. “Oh, come on, it's not poisonous. Here,” Kashan bent down and took a bite of the squirrel, “See?” “Luke, you __must__ eat.” Ciena commanded. Kashan pushed the squirrel closer to me and bent down over the sparrow to eat. I hesitantly bent down and took a bite under Ciena's watchful gaze. I sat up, surprised I could actually eat raw meat, and it tasted good too. “Eat.” Ciena growled, “All of it.” I hunched over once more and continued eating, I didn't want to make Ciena mad. It seemed she was already grumpy or stressed out about something. I finished and licked my lips, sitting back up again. “You need to eat too.” Kashan said, giving Ciena a knowing look I couldn't make any sense of. They were siblings, so it could have been anything. Ciena crouched down by the bird and ate it in quick, clean bites, putting the feathers into a pile beside her. When she finished I stretched and watched her as she took the feathers over to her nest and put them in as extra cushioning. “Let's go, at this rate we will be the last ones to the Sun Stone, and considering we live so close and I was late yesterday, the Sun King won't be happy if that is the case.” Ciena padded to the entrance of the small tunnel that led outside. Kashan and I stood to follow and I wondered where Airith was. I gazed at the patterns in the rock as I padded through the tunnel, it's natural beauty making me wonder what could have created this cave. I returned my attention to the front as we came out into the clearing. The forest was bathed in grey dawn light, and a cool breeze brushed by. I looked to my right at the sound of pebbles tumbling down the cliff and saw Airith loping down a sloped path that led up the cliff side. “I'll see you later.” Airith rumbled in his deep voice. “You're not coming with us?” I asked. “Someone has to stay here and guard the cave.” He replied, disappearing inside the tunnel. “Luke! Hurry up!” Ciena called and I bounded after her to catch up. “Now, this time you absolutely __must not__ speak at all unless it is Kashan you are speaking to. You __must__ hold your silence or the unthinkable may happen.” The vixen's voice was filled with a seriousness that made me feel like something bad was going to happen. And maybe it was. After all, we were going to the Line Up, where I could be picked for a battle I knew I would most likely die in if selected. We continued on in silence, our paws barely making any noise as we padded through the forest. By the time we reached the clearing, the sun was beginning to break the horizon to the east. The foxes were once again gathered around the Sun Stone. Kashan took the lead as Ciena disappeared into the crowd. I saw that there was a large group of foxes standing beneath the Sun Stone, right where we were headed. “Just try to stay unnoticed, and if worst comes to worst, fight your way out of it. Try not to be fooled by any sly tricks.” Kashan told me as he motioned for me to join the group. As I joined the group silence fell upon the clearing and the Sun King appeared at the top of the Sun Stone with a large scarred fox. “Foxes of the Foxdom, it is time for the Line Up.” The scarred fox called, “Let all those not already in the line, come before the Sun King now.” More foxes joined the group I had been put with. I felt very out of place, as I didn't know anyone around me. I looked to Kashan and he gave me an encouraging nod. “Thank you, Ganeka.” The Sun King said as the scarred fox took a step back. “Fellow Foxes of the Foxdom. It is time for the Tournament of the Flame, the tournament that will decide the Foxdom's Champion.” He set his gaze upon the group of foxes that were gathered beneath him. “Enya, you are contestant one.” A slender female fox stepped out of the group and mounted the Sun Stone to stand behind the Sun King. “Himino, contestant two.” A male fox flicked his tail as he padded out of the crowd, literally dragging himself up onto the Sun Stone. I noticed that his muzzle was tinged with grey. “Contestant three, Iiman.” A male fox leaped up onto the Sun Stone, muscles flexing as he did so. “Laira is contestant four.” A female fox left the crowd and flicked her ears as she joined the others on top of the Sun Stone. “Contestant five will be Bayra.” A massive masculine fox pushed through the crowd, covered in battle scars. He leaped on top of the Sun Stone in one bound. “And you.” My heart sunk. He was staring at me. I couldn't believe my bad luck. I took a pace forward, struggling to keep my head held high. “No, not you.” The Sun King growled, halting me in my tracks and sending a wave of relief through me, “Jarnae, is it?” “Yes, Sire.” A sleek female fox slunk around me, glancing at me as she past, I thought I saw envy in her gaze. When Jarnae had mounted the Sun Stone the Sun King continued, “These six are the contestants for the Tournament of the Flame. Good luck to them all, but there can only be one winner.” Ganeka, the scarred fox who had called for the rest of the foxes to gather for the Line Up, herded the six contestants off the Sun Stone. The crowd around me dispersed and I hurried to join Kashan.