Obstacles

Cindy England

July 15, 2001

The tribe's free-spirited howl keeper has always been a handful, especially as a cub but her indignity is unruled when she is forced to accept the older Slingstone along on her first hunt - and she's convinced he's jinxed.

"Father! Father, wake up!" The violet eyed cub pounced onto the den's sleeping furs, a bundle of pent-up excitement. "Where's Mother? She's suppose to take me on my first hunt!"

"Ugh, oh, Dreamberry," Gildedvale moaned from under his furs, removing his bouncing cub's knee from his stomach. "Have you checked outside yet?"

Dreamberry stopped bouncing. "No." Then sudden realization spread across her face and she sprang up off Gildedvale and scrambled out of the den and outside.

Gildedvale couldn't help but sigh and shake his head as he watched his cub's brown pony tail bob from side to side as she tore across the holt to the Elder Tree in search of Thicket. Just last day Dreamberry had stayed up extra late, practicing with her spear and throwing daggers until exhausted, she had fallen asleep. Only then were Gildedvale and Thicket able to bring her inside to rest. A wide smirk crossed Gildedvale's lips as he burrowed back into his furs to sleep again - Thicket would be the first hunt supervisor tonight and the cub would be her handful to deal with.

Thicket was indeed outside. Dreamberry found her by the Elder Tree talking to Soulseeker and Woodshine while she tightened the bindings on her spear. She looked up with a smile as Dreamberry ran towards the group, obviously eager to be on their way.

"Come on, Mother!" Dreamberry begged impatiently. "We should get out soon before we miss all the good game and we still have to go up to the pack caves and get Fleetfoot and Denmother!" Dreamberry was now tugging on Thicket's tunic.

"Not yet, dear," Thicket said. "We have to wait for Slingstone. And Purehaven will be joining us, too."

"Slingstone!" Dreamberry cried, "But he'll ruin everything!"

"Dreamberry! Mind your tongue!" Thicket reprimanded her cub. "Slingstone may have had some bad luck on his past first hunts but you will share yours with him or you can stay here alone."

"But Mother -" Dreamberry whined.

"No buts." Thicket returned to her spear.

Pouting, Dreamberry walked off to the pack caves to find her wolf-friend, Fleetfoot. Bringing Slingstone along was sure to be a disaster waiting to happen - the youth was jinxed, she was sure. He had already been on three first hunts of his own and each one had ended with some sort of disaster. Dreamberry didn't want that to happen to her first hunt, too, not after she'd worked so hard to prepare.

Maybe that's why Purehaven had decided to come along, she thought. He was older than both she or Slingstone and Thicket said he would be a healer some day, if his magic ever showed up. Dreamberry was doubtful though, she hadn't seen any sign of his healing magic. But then again, Thicket had also said Slingstone was Hunt, like Thicket, and would join the hunting party in due time. Dreamberry snorted at the thought - Slingstone couldn't even successfully complete his first hunt so how did her mother figure he was Hunt?

Dreamberry hunkered down outside the pack caves to wait for the rest of the party, Fleetfoot licking her face. She didn't have to wait long and soon she could see her mother's spear and the rest of the elves climbing the rocks to the pack caves. Dreamberry hastily stood up and shook herself off, attempting to look happy and excited again. She knew that if she tried to protest Slingstone's coming along again that her mother would growl at her and make her go back to the holt. She knew better than to test her mother's patience.

Slingstone was indeed coming. Being a handful of years older than Dreamberry, he tried to look superior but still managed to show a sheepish, almost apologetic grin. Purehaven and Thicket payed neither cub any heed and proceeded to call forth their wolf-friends for the special hunt.

Soon the small group were on their way, Thicket and Dreamberry in the lead so that mother could keep an eye on cub. Slingstone and Purehaven brought up the rear. All was well and as it should be - so far.

**Mother, tracks! And we're in luck, it's pheasant!** Dreamberry sent excitedly. Pheasant was one of her favourite meals and she had wanted to catch one for its decorative plumage, hoping to add its tail feathers to her otherwise plain pony tail.

**Pheasants? You're not serious, are you?** Slingstone sent, clearly annoyed at the idea.

Dreamberry turned to face him. **Why wouldn't I be serious?** Already he was ruining her first hunt.

**Because,** Slingstone retorted, **pheasant are small and easy to catch - they're not worthy of a first hunt catch.**

Stung, Dreamberry opened her mouth to tell her accusor just how snotty she thought he was, how he was ruining her first hunt just like all his other failed attempts, how she never wanted him to come along in the first place and how she thought he'd never make the hunting party. However, she stopped short of her tantrum at the sight of Thicket's spear shaft appearing before her face; her mother's stern glare of disapproval just beyond.

**Beyond you two not being able to work together, there's no reason we can't hunt pheasant as well as other game tonight,** Thicket sent evenly. **Dreamberry, you want to hunt pheasant - fine. Slingstone, what do you want to hunt?**

Slingstone's face finally lit up at the though of really being a part of the group rather than the tag-along that no one wanted. **Fisher cat,** he replied proudly.

Thicket nodded. The elves' hunting territory around the holt was comprised of a great many types of game. Fisher cats were small felines no taller than one's knee that snatched up fish from the river with its paws. The animals would sit patiently on its rock for hours waiting for just the right strike.

Perhaps some of the other elves wouldn't have allowed fisher cats to be hunted on a first hunt but Thicket felt that Slingstone was up to the challenge. Indeed, he should have completed his first hunt at Dreamberry's age. Besides, Thicket was not like most elves when it came to hunting.

**Can we go now?** Dreamberry sent, her feathers ruffled. **We have fresh tracks so pheasant first.**

Thicket exchanged an exasperated glance with Purehaven before nodding. Dreamberry's rambuctious attitude reminded Thicket of what she must have been like at that age. More than once she had told Gildedvale that having such a handful of a cub must have been her long dead parents' getting even with her after all the commotion she herself caused in her youth.

Thicket and Purehaven fell back on their wolf-friends, allowing the youngsters to track and lead the way. Slingstone was actually the better tracker of the two, Dreamberry tended to be too hyper and not give her full attention to the task. However, this time Dreamberry was sharp and alert dispite her renewed excitement. Perhaps the competativeness of the two cubs together was having a positive effect, Thicket mused.

The underbrush was now giving way to a small clearing lush with soft moss across the ground and tiny shrubs loaded with berries and bugs, a pheasant's delight. Sure enough, there was a small flock of the skittish birds off on the far side of the clearing.

Silently laying down her spear, Dreamberry creeped up to the clearing, it was easy to do on the thick moss. She pulled out her two throwing daggers, both made from the strange brightmetal, they had been brought back from a troll raid and she had quickly learned to use them.

Her violet eyes wide and intent on her chosen prey, she sank the first dagger into the moss beside her for easy reach. Lightly fingering the second dagger, she propt herself up and aimed. If she missed the first shot, she likely wouldn't get a second but she'd try.

The dagger flew across the clearing, glinting briefly in the moonlight before burying itself to the hilt just beyond the pheasants. It had been a close miss, having clipped the feathers of the largest bird. Panicking, the birds shot up from their feeding, half flying, half running - straight toward Dreamberry.

Quietly cursing herself for her poor throw but pleased she had spooked them towards her, Dreamberry grabbed at her second dagger. Her second throw was more reflex than aim and she and the elves behind her dove for cover as the flock scrambled over and around them.

When the flurry of wings and feathers was over, Dreamberry poked her head over the bushes in search of her weapons. To her utter amazement she discovered a fair sized pheasant squewared to her second dagger - a shot she was sure had been in vain. Picking up the weapon and prey, she turned to face the rest of the party now coming into the clearing, her wide eyes and slack jaw bringing laughter to all.

More than content with her success, Dreamberry plucked two of the longest feathers from the bird and stuck them in her hair. Grinning, she showed Thicket her prize and then went to retrieve her other weapons.

Now it was Slingstone's turn. The party had moved down river now and Slingstone was scouting the river edge from the cover of the trees. It was almost impossible to track in this area due to the rocks and spray from the river had a nasty tendency of washing away any prints in the gravel and sand.

Dreamberry was starting to wonder if they would even find any fisher cats when Slingstone suddenly stopped in front of her. He pointed to a dark spot on the rocks overhanging the water and now Dreamberry saw it, sitting ever so still, waiting.

This would be a tricky catch and Slingstone knew it. Normally he would have stunned it with one of his stones and then have his wolf-friend rush in to finish off the animal but during first hunt he had to make the kill himself.

No, this time he would need to sneak up to the cat as close as he dared, stun it with one of his stones and then try to cut its throat with his sword before it could get away or turn on him.

Thicket and Purehaven nodded to Slingstone encouragingly as he proceeded to pick his way closer to the cat. He was glad the animal was so focused on its own hunting and must have thought itself well hidden to never twitch an ear in his direction.

Carefully picking out a rounded stone from his pack, Slingstone placed it in his sling. His throwing arm moved instinctively in a smooth circular motion, the sling picked up speed. All too suddenly it seemed, the stone let fly and whizzed toward the still form of the fisher cat. A screeching rowl cut through the otherwise docile chirping of night bugs as the cat rolled back from its waterside perch.

Slingstone dropped his sling and sprang forward, drawing his sword from the sheath. Bounding up to the cat who was now recovering and preparing to strike out against its attack, Slingstone had to dodge the hissing and spitting frenzy. His sword flung out to block the small but racking claws and in another stroke he cut the throat. The cat fell back a second time, staggering and it was too long before it bled to death.

Grinning from ear to ear, Slingstone picked up his prize by the scruff of the neck and sent to the others, **I did it! Look! All by myself!** Even Dreamberry couldn't help but smile at his long overdue success.

The attack came without any prior warning as quite possibly the largest crocodilian Dreamberry had ever seen lunged from under the water at Slingstone's up raised hand clutching the dead fisher cat. Proud smiles were quickly replaced by shocked screams as Slingstone fell forward, his forearm torn by the jagged teeth.

"Get the cubs to safety!" Thicket yelled to Purehaven as she slid across the loose stones and towards the crocodilian.

"Mother!" Dreamberry screamed frantically, Purehaven dragging her and Slingstone backwards.

Tripping and sliding, Purehaven found an outcropping of tumbled rocks along the riverbank. Along one side was a passage just big enough for the elves to squeeze through. Tears streaming down her face and still screaming wildly for her mother, Dreamberry tried to fight Purehaven off as he pushed her into the rocky shelter. Slingstone popped in next, clutching his bloodied arm.

With the cubs safe in the rocky outcropping, Purehaven turned back to where Thicket and the crocodilian continued to fight. The huntress losing ground quickly, vastly out matched by the sheer bulk of the monster. One more powerful lung and Thicket's sturdy spear snapped in her hands.

Purehaven grabbed his sword, "I'm coming!"

**NO! Get in those rocks NOW!** Thicket's sending ripped through the air with the force of a hurricane as she bashed down the crocodilian's head with her splintered spear shaft.

Purehaven tumbled back, falling haphazardly into the shelter's narrow entrance, momentarily shocked. Outside Thicket lashed out with her broken weapon on final time before turning and racing toward the outcropping. Surprisingly swift for its bulk, the crocodilian snapped at her throat as she slid into the shelter, tearing the flesh from upper thigh.

The pain that seared through Thicket's body gave way to tears in her eyes. She could feel the rocks below her become slick with her blood and knew it would only fuel the blood-lusting crocodilian further. She was the elder here and the hunt supervisor; she had to get the cubs back to the holt, even if she didn't make it herself.

**Dreamberry! Daggers - now!** Thicket sent between gritted teeth. She could smell her daughter's fear and panic. Slingstone seemed barely conscious from the blood loss in him arm.

The growl of the elves' wolves harassing the beast outside could barely be heard. Their sharp teeth and racking claws were no match against the thick hide and only served to further annoy the monster that clawed at the rocks, slowly ripping apart the shelter. A thick taloned claw lashed into the cramped cave - again and again.

An ominous, low pitched scrapping arose as one of the large entrance boulders was finally thrown lose, exposing much of the trapped elves. The huge jaws turned again to Thicket, half her body now clear of the rock, her arms caught at a poor angle to defend herself.

Purehaven's bare hands flew out to grip the salivating, gnashing teeth and jaw. A flood of pure energy crackled through the air and the beast reared back at the sudden burst of pain from the elf's touch. Writing in pain and no longer paying heed to the elves, Thicket grabbed the opportunity to twist herself around and plunge the bright metal daggers into the thick, tough neck - again and again. The head was barely recognizable by the time she collapsed in exhaustion.

"Mother!" Dreamberry peeked out from the remains of the cave, terrified at the whole passing of events.

Tripping over Slingstone, she ran to her mother's side, sobbing, unable to tell how much of the blood soaking into the rock was Thicket's or the crocodilian's. She cradled her mother's head in her lap and wish her father had been here, too.

"I'll live, cubling," Thicket coughed weakly, "Thanks to our healer, here." Thicket smiled through closed eyes.

Dreamberry turned her head towards Purehaven, awe spreading across her tear stained face. "Healer?"

The title washed over a still stunned Purehaven. Healer. They meant him. He had done this. He had triggered the sacred magic hidden within him to protect Thicket, igniting pain within the crocodilian with only his bare hands.

"Healer, can you heal them?" Dreamberry looked at Purehaven with pleading eyes, her lip quivering, nearly unnoticeably.

"I-I don't know, " Purehaven's voice whispered.

Moving next to the still bleeding huntress, Purehaven hovered his hands above her body and closed his eyes. He wandered through the quiet darkness of his mind, searching for the feeling that had unlocked his magic. Thoughts tumbled about, worry and anxiousness gnawed at him but nothing more stirred. The faint flicker of magic that had suddenly flared so briefly was gone now and he knew not where it hid within him. Frustrated, he dropped his hands with a heavy sigh and hung his head, he couldn't meet Dreamberry's scared eyes again.

Thicket's hand moved to clasp his and she squeezed it tightly. Recent, horrific images of the monster crocodilian, its tearing jaws and blood lusting anger flashed suddenly into Purehaven's mind as Thicket opened her thoughts to the younger elf. Again he watched as the crocodilian lunged toward Thicket, ready to tear her in two. His grip on the huntress' hand tightened fiercely as a bolt of energy ripped down through is arm, Thicket's body stiffened and arched in response to the sudden force.

"No, don't stop - you've got it!" Thicket said between gritted teeth as she felt Purehaven reeling back in shock, almost cutting the connection.

Again he closed his eyes, letting the flow of the healing energy wash over him, following it to its source within him, slowly tapping into the feeling. He soften his grip on Thicket's hand, struggling to calm the force of the magic without losing it completely. He marvelled at the tingle of energy in him and the feeling of Thicket's body below him; he could feel the pulse of her heartbeat, the rise and fall of her breathing, ragged at first but becoming more steady as he proceeded and the melding of flesh with flesh. He imagined this must be very much like what Recognition felt like.

"Purehaven, you must stop now," Thicket whispered.

Purehaven startled out of his reverie. He had been so engrossed in the healing that he had drifted too deep and only Thicket's gentle warning had stopped him from continuing. He blushed in embarrassment, having not intended to encroach on her soul like that. Thicket merely smiled softly, understanding the novelty of the situation and Purehaven's obvious inexperience with his new found healing. She too had found it a profound experience.

In time Purehaven had fixed up Slingstone who had slowly come out of his shock and the small group made their way back to the holt. Dreamberry clutched her father, Gildedvale, refusing to let him go as the events of the first hunt were retold to their fellow tribesmates. Murmurs of awe flittered through the assembly of elves in response to Purehaven's brave deeds, the young lad sitting shyly in a corner, a humble smile on his lips. As the elves began to wander back to their own dens, he caught a subtle, knowing look from Thicket's eyes and blushed again as he realized she had not disliked his exploration. It seemed some obstacles were well worth the wait, he mused.