Legends of the Saloli: Approaching Storm (5 page)

“
Um. . .” Said Blaze. It did look like he was in trouble here. “Hey, Gnaw?”

“
What is it now, Blaze?” Gnaw asked, making his way over.

“
I was just wondering if you were going to show me what the daily exercises were,” said Blaze.

“
Very good! You’re learning,” said Gnaw, “Now, do as I do.”

Gnaw began a complex series of stretches and movements. He began by putting his back left paw to his cheek, then the right one. He spun his tail in slow circles. He got on his back and touched his back paws to his nose. Blaze tried to mimic him, but many of them were beyond him.

“
Don’t worry,” Gnaw encouraged, “You’ll get them eventually. All right, trainees, line up! Blaze, this time you stand next to Jasper. Do you know who he is?”

“
Yes sir,” said Blaze, happy that he finally got to be near somebody he liked. Jasper was third from the end on the right side. Blaze went and stood on his right.

“
How’d your exercises go?” Jasper asked.

“
All right, once I asked Gnaw for help,” Blaze replied.

“
That was good thinking. I don’t think Thunder was expecting you to be that smart.”

“
Quiet!” Gnaw ordered, “Now, everyone find their mentors and get busy!”

“
Mentors?” Blaze asked as everyone began to go in separate directions.

“
Our teachers.” Jasper answered. “Gnaw might be the main trainer, but he still splits us up with different saloli around the camp to train us.”

“
Who’s your mentor?” inquired Blaze.

“
A saloli named Seedpicker. He’s one of the chief food gatherers, but he’s also a very skilled fighter!” said Jasper.

“
Is he a good mentor?”

“
Yes, but he does get a bit disappointed with me sometimes because. . . because of my size.”

“
That’s not fair!” Blaze said loudly.

“
Nothing’s fair in the forest,” Jasper said, “I would have thought that you’d know that, being an outsider and all.” Blaze didn’t say anything. He still didn’t know how to respond when the others referred to him as an outsider.

“
Blaze,” someone said behind the young saloli’s back. He spun around. It was Faith.

“
Hi, Faith,” he said.

“
And how’s your first day of training going?” she asked.

“
Good, I guess. But I’m not really sure what to do now. He wants everyone to join their mentors, but I don’t have one.”

“
Actually, that’s why I’m here.” Faith said, “So I can find you one.”

“
Oh. Have you yet?”

“
No, I need to speak with Gnaw about it first.”

With that, Faith walked over to Gnaw, who was with his own trainee, and began speaking to him. A few minutes later, Gnaw nodded, and Faith turned around and headed back to Blaze. “Gnaw has decided that you should train with a saloli named Slicer. You’re very lucky. He’s the same saloli who trained Rust.”

“
Where is he?” Blaze asked.

“
Come with me, I’ll take you to him,” Faith answered. Turning around she began walking in the opposite direction. As they walked, Faith continued talking, “You should be honored. Slicer is the most skilled fighter in Icefire. No one has ever beaten him in battle before, not even Rust.”

“
Is he strict?” Blaze asked, remembering Jasper’s description of Seedpicker.

“
Oh yes, he is very strict, but he is also fair. He will push you to your very limits, but he will also give you the praise you deserve for your efforts.”

“
Oh, well that doesn’t sound too bad.”

Faith chuckled, “That’s because you haven’t met him yet.”

“
What’s that supposed to mean?” Blaze asked.

“
You’ll see.” Faith stopped beneath a single tree. Blaze stopped with her, and waited. And waited. Ten minutes later, they were still standing beneath the tree, and nothing had happened. Blaze had learned by now that patience was essential to being with Faith, but he was still getting restless. Finally he asked, “So, where’s Slicer?”

“
He’ll be here when he thinks the time is right,” Faith answered”

Great
, thought Blaze,
I’m being trained by the saloli who can’t even keep a schedule.

No sooner had that thought crossed his mind then Blaze was suddenly bowled over from behind! He hit the ground hard, with a heavy weight on his back. He felt sharp claws digging into his sides, though not hard enough to draw blood. Using his new instincts, Blaze rolled over, trapping his attacker beneath him, but the assailant just used his back paws to launch Blaze off of him. On the ground once again, Blaze scrambled to his paws and turned to face his attacker. He saw an old saloli, light gray, even more battle scarred than Gnaw, with unusually long front claws. Blaze decided he didn’t want to get scratched by those. Before he could observe any more though, the old saloli leapt at him again. Blaze’s saloli instincts took over again, and he leapt up to meet him. They collided in midair, but somehow Blaze managed to land on top of his opponent. He was just about to reach down and sink his teeth into the old saloli’s neck when he suddenly found himself flying through the air and landing, once again, on his back. It was over. Blaze could only watch as the old saloli slowly made his way over, to strike the finishing blow. He came closer and closer. When he was within striking distance, though, he stopped.

“
I think that’s enough,” he said.

“
What?” asked Blaze, barely comprehending his words through his battle adrenaline.

Faith walked up, chuckling. “Blaze, this is Slicer, your new mentor. That’s just his way of saying hello.”

“
By ambushing me?” Blaze asked, growing angry.

This time it was Slicer who spoke, “I merely wished to get an idea of how much fighting skill you already had.”

“
By fighting me?”

Slicer chuckled, “Well, can you think of a better way?”

“
Yeah, just ask me.” Blaze challenged.

“
But then you could lie. In battle, there is no lying. You either win, or you lose.”

“
You’re not going to win this argument, Blaze,” said Faith, “He’s had it with every trainee he’s ever had.”

“
Then let’s stop arguing and get to work!” said Slicer.

Unable to resist his curiosity, Blaze asked, “So, um, how did I do with your test?”

Slicer looked at him for a second before answering, “Only one other saloli was able to hold their own against me for that long on their first try. That saloli was Rust. I believe you have much potential.”

<><><><><>

It was midnight, and the Darkcover camp was calm. The saloli of Darkcover were sleeping peacefully in their branches, dreaming of the day when they alone would rule the forest. The wind moaned loudly, as if it knew what evils Darkcover was planning. But not everyone was asleep. A single saloli could be seen bounding across the camp, towards the tree that Goliath alone slept in. Climbing to the highest branch, he tentatively prodded Goliath in the side to wake him up.

“
Uuuhg,” said Goliath, coming out of his deep slumber, “This had better be important, Ratty.”

Ratty was aptly named, because his tail was completely hairless, giving it the appearance of a rat’s tail. “Y-yes sir!” the timid saloli said, not wanting to get on Goliath’s bad side. Bad things happened to the saloli who did that. “I just- I mean, I have- I mean…”

“
Spit it out!” the giant saloli spat derisively. He didn’t like Ratty, but tolerated him because he was Darkcover’s prophet.

“
I just had a dream from Valde Abbas! He has a warning for you!”

“
Well, let’s hear it!” said Goliath impatiently.

“
Yes sir! He says that not all will go as you expect. Beware the one with the body of a saloli, the past of a human, and the heart of a hero, for he could put your plans into jeopardy.”

Goliath was silent for a moment. Then he smiled and said, “Which means nothing can go wrong! What saloli has ‘the past of a human?’ None! Your dream is a blessing, Ratty! It means we have nothing to fear!”

Chapter Four

“
Come on, trainees, wake up, wake up!” Gnaw yelled.

This time, Blaze was ready. When he heard the head trainer, he jumped up with all the other trainees and scrambled down the tree to stand in line. His efforts did not go unnoticed.

“
Very good, Blaze! You’re getting the hang of this!” Gnaw congratulated him, “Now everybody break up and do your daily exercises!”

As Blaze once again followed Thunder to their spot, another saloli in their group hung back and waited for him. Blaze was used to being around saloli enough to tell that this was a female. He walked up to her.

“
Hi!” she said, “How are you?”

“
Fine.” Blaze answered, not given to the idea of another trainee besides Jasper really being nice to him. “What do you want?”

“
I just wanted to meet you.” The girl saloli said, “I thought you looked kind of lonely.”

“
Well, you met me. And I’m fine,” Blaze answered. Was it just him, or was this saloli beginning to look pretty?

No!
That’s disgusting!

“
Okay, then I’ll just go then,” she said, looking a bit hurt. “Oh, my name’s Chestnut, by the way.”

Blaze could see why she was named Chestnut. Her pelt was a shiny brown, nut-like in hue. He immediately felt bad about rejecting her like he did.

“
Hey,” he called after her, “We could hang out after training, if you want.”

“
Yeah,” Chestnut said, smiling, “I’d like that.”

“
Come on, Chestnut, get over here!” Thunder yelled.

As Blaze followed Chestnut over to the rest of the group, Thunder suddenly put himself in front of him. “Chestnut’s my sister,” he growled, “If you even think about touching her, outsider, I will kill you.”

“
Duly noted,” Blaze said, trying not to sound intimidated.

“
I swear it, I’ll kill you,” Thunder repeated, “Now do your exercises.”

Blaze tried to obey, but he couldn’t get his mind off of Chestnut, and what he may have felt for her. Was it wrong for him to admire another saloli like that? He was a human! Or, at least he used to be. He was a saloli now, but did that make it right? Should he give into his instincts that easily? Jeremy Lander was gone, and Blaze had taken his place. Did that mean he should live as a saloli, or should he try to keep the human that was still within him alive? He had no idea. So wrapped up in his thoughts, Blaze hardly noticed when he finished his exercises.

“
Come on, Blaze! Everyone else is done!” Gnaw yelled. Realizing that he was doing the exercises over a second time, Blaze abandoned the pose he was trying to do and hurried over to get back in line.

“
You look distracted,” whispered Jasper, “What’s wrong?”

“
Nothing,” said Blaze, “I’m fine.”

“
All right, trainees, go to your mentors!” Gnaw ordered. Everyone split up. Blaze went to look for Slicer. As he approached the tree where he first “met” his mentor, Blaze felt himself tense up, half expecting another fight. Instead, the old saloli showed himself peacefully this time.