Hope

Chapter One: Finding Friends

200 years later...

I shivered beneath my leather coat. I was walking through about a foot of snow trying to find someplace I could sleep. It wasn't safe at home anymore. Hah. It wasn't safe anywhere. I was kidding myself if I thought I could stay out of trouble for any length of time. Even at home I wasn't very well-liked.

Banished... I shuddered at the memory and pushed it out of my mind. Survival was my only concern. I would not think of that, not now. Think of the snow. Think of getting out of the cold. Don't think of your past. Don't think of what brought you here, out in the cold. Most of all, don't think of him. Don't think of him or what he did. Focus on the road. Think about snow. Think about food. No, don't think about the fights. Don't think about the names. Focus on your heartbeat. Focus on your breathing. You need to think about survival, not about what your father did.

Shadeclaw's daughter... I was trying to forget my past, but it kept pushing itself to the forefront of my mind. I needed a distraction and I needed it fast. Unfortunately, such a distraction was not forthcoming. All there was out here was snow, snow, and more snow, occasionally broken by a handful of lonely trees and maybe a log cabin or two, smoke pouring out of a lopsided brick chimney. I was alone here. There probably wasn't another shape-shifter of any kind within fifty miles, which was a good thing, I suppose. If someone did catch me out here, it wouldn't be a good thing. I was no longer welcome in the place where I had grown up anymore, ever since my father Shadeclaw had died. I had fled west into the kingdom of Lyssia out of desperation. In the east were the mountains and they were impassible in the winter. In the south was more forest, mostly uninhabited, but I would have to pass through many other tribes full of hostile cat-shifters. The north wasn't an option because it was unbelievably cold this time of the year. So I had gone west in the direction of the nearest ocean, hoping to find my brothers and a place to live with more of my kind. But the stories I had heard of the kingdom of Lyssia and the Western Tribes that lived here weren't good, so I hoped they were wrong, or at the very least exaggerated. I didn't have much other choice but to join the Western Tribes and hope that I live to see my next birthday.

Up ahead, I saw some snow-frosted trees that had no leaves, their bare branches stabbing upwards at the sky. Next to the trees was a small house with smoke coming out of the chimney. I looked hard at the house, but decided that I wouldn't risk getting chased out into the barren plain again. The few people who lived out here were rarely friendly, and most suspected where I came from. With that decided, I ran the rest of the distance right up to the gnarled trunk of the tree furthest from the house. I scaled the trunk and slid onto the first branch I came to. It was thick and sturdy. I dusted off the snow that clung stubbornly to the branch and laid down lengthwise on the branch. It wouldn't be comfortable, but at least I was off the ground.

I watched the cloudy sky above, hoping it wouldn't snow in the night. I wasn't looking forward to being soaking wet in the morning. I was then aware of cold metal digging into my ribcage. With some annoyance, I reached in my leather jacket and pulled my three-pronged warrior's knife out of its protective pocket by the hilt. I examined the blade briefly, noting the darkened metal it was made from. The knife looked dirty, but no matter how hard I scrubbed it, it was never the shiny silver it should be. For a moment, I felt proud. I had earned this knife when I became an adult not that long ago. But the feeling soon passed, leaving me feeling empty inside. I sighed and slipped my warrior's knife back into my jacket. I wasn't looking forward to anything at the moment except reaching the coast where it would hopefully not be so cold. Not for the first time, I wished I had a magical power that would allow me to make a fire.

My eyes were growing heavy and it was getting dark out. My stomach rumbled, but it was too dark and cold for me to try to find food. The outside temperature was already dropping, so I pulled out a folded blanket and draped it over my legs. Then I settled into a more comfortable position and fell asleep.