Stoneslide - Prologue Part 1

Underneath a field, in the expansive burrows of Hoof Spots, many grim glances were thrown at one another, and a gray-and-black mouse herself was giving sad glances at the small hopper blinking at her. The young mouse cocked his head as she turned to Ketani, her husband to be. He was sitting next to her, and it looked as if he was seeing her for the last time. Or maybe the first.

“If you don’t make it through this battle…” Ketani whispered, putting a paw to her silver face, but Juniper swatted it away with a swish of her tail.

“Don’t talk like that! Hoof Spots has been nice enough to let us stay here. And look at what you and Brightwhisker have done just by getting us out of Wolf Plains,” she said kindly, motioning to the group of mice, eating the rations before them. “Even Edvard’s not complaining,” she giggled.

Ketani rolled his eyes. “Of course he isn’t. He’s got something in his mouth.” He looked down at the small pile of seeds at the centre of the table in a sad disinterest.

Edvard gave an annoyed glance, but the blond mouse didn’t respond. Juniper smiled jokingly at him.

Ketani looked over at Brightwhisker, and then back to Juniper and the hopper, who was busily sucking on his paw. “I’m not hungry.” He stood up, pushing the pebble chair behind him.

Juniper looked up in dismay. “Where’re you going?”

“Looking for Brightwhisker and Bansen,” Ketani replied quickly.

Juniper grabbed him by the shoulder. “I’ll go with you.”

Ketani stood up taller. “Wha-No,” he said, taking a step back.

Juniper nodded. “I’ll leave him with Morlyle.” She motioned to the hopper. “You can’t keep secrets.” She thought of her father, Agenta, as she said it. Maybe he was tactless, but that was because he refused to keep secrets.

“Agenta isn’t the Great-”

Juniper silenced him with a glare. She knew Ketani and Agenta were on rocky ground already, but with her father just across the table, she had to warn him somehow. And she really wanted to go.

“Fine. Leave the hopper to Morlyle.” Ketani pointed over to the brown mouse. “I’ll be waiting at the doorway.”

Juniper nodded thankfully at Ketani, and looked across the table at Morlyle, who if she didn’t know better, could be the hopper’s father. “Hey, Morlyle?” She took quick steps, trying not to bump into the other council members.

The muddy brown mouse lifted his head. “Yes, Juniper?” he asked, looking at the hopper climbing out Juniper’s makeshift carrier.

She finally got around the table, lifting the little hopper from his perch in the modified satchel. “Can you take care of him?” She smiled sweetly, holding the little brown mouse by her shoulder.

Morlyle shrugged. “Can’t see why not.” The sandy brown mouse paused. “Why haven’t you named him yet?” Again, Morlyle found a way to change the subject. “Barely bigger than a fleck, isn't he? Probably will grow bigger than that.” Underneath his breath, the blacksmith mouse heard him whisper, “He shouldn’t even be here, the little rogue.”

Juniper sighed. She’d heard that a lot, even though Ketani had found him only a day ago. But she just decided to ignore the last part. It wouldn't be worth the squabble, and Morlyle was known for his ability to start a fight. “Father didn’t name me until I opened my eyes,” she said defensively. Though what Morlyle said might be a good name.

“You opened your eyes seasons ago,” he shot back.

Juniper sighed. As much as he had a point, he had his ideas and she had hers.

Morlyle sighed in exasperation. “Alright. I'll take care of him. You go do whatever.” Before he could take the hopper, a couple ground squirrels snickered at one another, whispering into each others’ ears.

Morlyle leaned down, grabbing the young mouse yet keeping him distant. “Damn ground squirrels,” he grumbled.

Juniper nodded a thanks and walked around the table again, trying to avoid glances from the other Wolf Plains mice. “Er, sorry, Rozalin. You too, Pyrill,” she muttered clumsily, until she made her way to Ketani leaning on the doorway.. She smiled, “Er, sorry about that. I think I found a name for the hopper though.” She said, putting a black tuft of fur in her face to the side.

“And?” Ketani twitched his whiskers impatiently as he grabbed Juniper’s paw.

“Well, how about Flekkanos?” she asked, walking along with Ketani now.

“You’re his mother. His name is your mark,” Ketani said, closing his ice-blue eyes.

Juniper knew she wasn’t his mother. She couldn’t ever replace his real mother, although no real mother would abandon her son in a ditch, especially in June. June ditches were the most dangerous, when right after the snow was done melting, the currents from the meltwater were so strong that even a full grown mouse could get swept away. “Not exactly,” she said under her breath, but the blacksmith mouse, and self-named sootmonster, wouldn’t let Ketani hear that.

There were a few moments of silence, with Ketani peeking behind corners everywhere. Occasionally, he muttered, “What team of Burrowers built this mess? Honestly!” Finally, the two saw Brightwhisker and Bansen talking in hushed voices.

“Captain Bansen,” Ketani said, looking at the ground squirrel in front of the couple. Juniper met eyes with Brightwhisker, a golden mouse with pale yellow eyes.

The ground squirrel whirled, his barbed wire whip trailing behind like a tail. “Oh. Thank Cigol it’s just you.”

“We aren’t interrupting?” Ketani took a step towards the two.

Bansen nodded. “Course not. Why?”

Ketani scratched his one torn ear. “Well…”

Juniper knew exactly what Ketani wanted to ask. It was almost like some sixth sense. “Where is everyone? They on the surface?” The mice weren’t allowed above-ground since they came to Hoof Spots, and instead of being in trees or bushes like a traditional Wolf Plains complex, they were rushed underground.

“No-one’s on the surface, save the patrols. Everyone’s at the forges,” Bansen said grimly.

“Why?” Frozenmoon’s army was at least a week’s walk away. From seasons of smithing experience, she knew that weapons typically only took a day to make. Especially if it was glass.

Brightwhisker and Bansen exchanged glances. “Follow me,” the ground squirrel said. He turned to the starboard and followed behind a tunnel. It took a few minutes, with the captain finding his way through the labyrinth like he built it himself.

They stopped, and feeling his way across a wall, pushed the dirt in. It revealed a small room, and as soon as the mice walked in, Bansen had kicked the dirt back into a loose wall. “Mostly soundproof in here.”

Juniper looked at her paws and at the loose dirt covering her paws.

Bansen nodded. “They’re waiting at the bridge. Someone gave them a route.” He tapped the whip around his waist carefully. “And he must’ve been from your city.” He narrowed, flicking his head in the general direction of the bunks.

Juniper understood exactly what Bansen was saying. Somebody was close enough in with the army to give them directions. And that they hadn’t even noticed his disappearance. “Let’s hope he isn’t Wolf Plains.” She knew what she was stupid. Of course the spy was.

There was a small silence that met her words, as though everyone could agree that they should just pretend.

“Then that’s all I wanted to say,” The giant ground squirrel said, nodding grimly. “May the deities light your path, be they your great hawk or our Cigol.” Bansen pushed down the walls, and let the mice out. Ketani and Brightwhisker nodded respectfully, and Juniper curtsied. Which looked more like she crunched up and bent her knees but it probably got the message across.

She looked as instead of heading back to the dining room, Bansen headed further down the tunnel, headed to the dim orange light that was a telltale sign of a forge.

Juniper didn’t follow, but felt her heart lurch towards the fire. She was almost the trainer of that Guild, and knew the forges were a part of her. They always were.

She smiled at Ketani, the leader of the Burrowing Guild. She called him Muddy because of it. She felt a blast of sweaty heat from the dining room as soon as she turned the corner. “Holy Hawk,” she muttered.

A fight was starting to break out between the ground squirrels and the mice. Morlyle was at the head of it, black eyes shining. “Aye, so you think we’re all a bunch of…” The Guard mouse growled, splaying his claws out. He was on the top of the wood block table.

“Seed-eating hoppers!” a young ground squirrel shouted, sandy fur bristled. There was a shout of approval from the few other ground squirrels at the table. “You think you can walk in and get the full approval.”

Another ground squirrel piped up. “Aye, you ain’t fighting with us, what use are you?”

Edvard stepped up onto the table with Morlyle. “We’re more use to you than you could be to us! And you think we can’t fight?” the sewing mouse said, looking at Morlyle. He then turned around and winked at another mouse,Lena Silverclaw. The silver mouse rolled her eyes.

Ketani looked over to Juniper, who nodded. “Alright. Break it up,” Brightwhisker said. The governor glared at them all with pale yellow eyes. “You think us Wolf Plains mice aren’t helping you? Well right now you guys are all headed out to train. Be back in an hour. But hey, if you’re too busy duking it out to notice the damned army that’s going to strike in a few days, that’ll be fine with me,” Brightwhisker growled. “Just have fun explaining that to the Great Hawk.”

There was dead silence in the room, and Juniper walked down to the table, and motioned to the table. “Where’s Flekkanos?” she asked angrily.

Morlyle chuckled. “So that’s what you named the little bugger? He’s in a nook over there." He flicked his head to a crook in the dirt wall, and the hopper was nestled in there snugly.

He was absolutely silent, watching the battle before him with fascination. “He doesn’t need to be exposed to this, you guys," Juniper muttered, picking him up in her forepaws.

The young ground squirrel piped up again. “Better get used to it.”

Ketani glared at all of the mice, Juniper too. “Alright, animals. Get off of the table and go get your weapons. Get your tails to the training room.”

Juniper nodded, brushing her fur off. She lifted the hopper into the air, who smiled happily. He didn’t seem to cry at all.

Juniper looked back at the forges, and then at another tunnel, which had sunset light streaming in. “Sorry, Ketani. I need to get some air.” She muttered, looking back at the tunnel with the skylight. “I can miss training for a moment, can’t I?”

Ketani bit his lip, and after a second, nodded. “Alright, Juniper. You can go to the surface with Flekkanos. And I promise I won’t tell Captain Bansen.”

Juniper put Flekkanos into the little makeshift carrier. Waiting until everybody had left the dining room, she started walking down the tunnel. She took a look at the tunnel and then Ketani, who was walking down the tunnel facing away from her. She sighed.

She looked around, looking at the sky. She hopped up the ramp, holding Flekkanos steady. He whimpered a bit when she jumped up from the ground and onto the surface. Great Hawk, yes. She hadn’t been in truly fresh air for days. Thank the great hawk for the sun. She climbed up a rock. She sighed. She hadn’t really been in any type of air really. Why would she go back down to the tunnels? It was free up here, and the wind ruffling her fur felt near heavenly.

Because Ketani was down there. What would she do without him? Or quite frankly, the rest of the city? She still stayed at the top of the great pink-ish grey boulder, and laid down. “Come closer, Flekkanos.” She said, smiling.

He smiled, the season old mouse crawling in closer to Juniper. She smiled as he hugged into her back fur. She began to close her eyes on the stone that was warmed by the sunset light. She sighed, and soon felt herself falling asleep. Juniper completely forgot what she was supposed to be doing. Freedom just felt too good.

***

Juniper woke up to the sound of a hawk flapping above her. It was nearly silent, but when she looked up she saw the hawk circling above her. She eyed the brown bird warily, starting to inch to the side. She started to stand up, taking a sleeping Flekkanos in her arms. Thank the great Hawk he was light, far unlike this hawk above her. She waited for the hawk, remembering an emergency protocol she was once taught. As soon as the hawk came swooping…

Juniper checked to see if any patrols were nearby. There was one, all the way across the field. If she failed this, she might very well be dead meat. She saw on another rock in front of her, the shapes of three creatures. One a ground squirrel, and the other two mice. She saw the tall shape of Ketani, and then the stocky one of Rozalin, the trainer of the Burrowing Guild. Ketani looked around frantically, at least from his silhouette. It was too dark to see his colouring or anything, but the shape of him was recognizable. She then saw Ketani freeze as he turned in the direction of Juniper.

Juniper looked up to see the hawk swooping for her. She breathed quietly, waiting for the right moment. She felt fear seize her limbs up right before she wanted to leap.

This was the face of death staring her down. She saw the talons stretch out to grip her, and then adrenaline pumped through her. She leaped to the side just as the hawk was near the ground. She rolled over, narrowly missing the Talons. But she missed them too narrowly. She felt talons scratch her side and she gasped in pain.

The shrill click of talons on stone hurt Juniper’s ears. She twisted to the side as a shock of pain shot through her. The hawk cried out, and then just gave a silent glare to Juniper. She stood stock-still, hoping hawks had bad night-vision. It didn’t, but instead of reaching out at her with its talons it flapped into the air once more. It gave a shrill cry, and then one more sound happened. It was the sound of an entire army. Their battle cry was fierce enough to chill even the hottest blood. This was Frozenmoon’s army, and they were ready to fight.