Scout Brightshadow, continued

Soon after Brightshadow had turned fourteen, he decided on his tribal career; a scout. Following in your parent's footsteps is very common among the tribe; but for him, there laid another darker purpose - to track the pack of basilisks that had ended the lives of his parents. Brightshadow had decided to skip the rite of passage and find his hawk companion, which was unusual within the tribe, as he felt emotionally unprepared to care for another.


Although this was frowned upon, no single tribesman was forced to complete, or even participate in the Soaring Wings rite of passage. Scouts, prodded by their parents, were usually obligated to fulfill the rite of passage as it is part of their scout training. Even though he did not have a hawk companion, his wolf proved to be an excellent substitute.

Brightshadow continued his path toward becoming a full-fledged scout. During a practice scout foray, he heard the distress call of a bird. Acting on instinct, he sent his wolf on ahead to find the scent of the bird. Receiving the all-clear call from his companion, Winterfire, he proceeded to follow the calls of the frantic bird. He placed a message within a pouch the wolf wore, to alert nearby scouts of the distress signal. He was not sure if he needed help, but followed the formal precautions as instructed through his training.

As he approached the location of the bird, he heard other sounds coming from nearby. Sounds of snapping, snarling, and hissing - a basilisk. From the sound of it, more than one.

Anger filled him, but he remembered what his father had once told him, "Controlling your anger and using its energy can help you solve a situation." He thought about the situation, and concluded that a diversion was the best course to follow. He managed to distract the prowling lizard monstrosities away from the frightened bird, and stepped through the bushes to take the bird out of harm's way.

As he approached the exact location of the bird - a nest atop a rotting tree - he noticed that the bird was a falcon, and had appeared to be injured. He quickly, but silently approached the falcon, and began soothing the frightened creature. After relaxing the bird, he immediately began patching up its injured wing. The bird seemed to understand that Brightshadow was there to help, and so remained calm.

Nearby bushes rustled, and then the sound of Winterfire's howl from a distance alerted Brightshadow that the basilisks had returned to catch their prey. Brightshadow quickly covered the hawk with a cloth, jumped down from the tree, and began to run the opposite direction. He heard his wolf howl again, and in the distance the sounds of the surrounding scouts and their hawks were on their way.

He wasn't that lucky, however. Having caught scent of the bird, the basilisks ambushed Brightshadow. Instinct took over, and he quickly unsheathed his hook staff - a device used mainly to climb trees. A basilisk fell to the floor, and Brightshadow had to react again as two more basilisk revealed themselves from the bushes. Winterfire leaped over and tackled one of the creatures down, while Brightshadow, using his staff, was keeping the jaws of another from biting his head off.

He kicked it off, and quickly scrambled for his pocket dagger. Suddenly, and unintentionally, he looked into its mesmerizing eyes, and lost his focus on the attacks. The world seemed to melt away, so long as he continued staring. The sound of a shrieking falcon snapped him out of it, and he quickly took in his surroundings to see what had just happened.

The falcon he had been protecting got out of the cloth bag and pierced the basilisk's eye, causing it to hiss and retreat to the bushes. The basilisk attacking Brightshadow's wolf did the same and quickly scurried into the bushes.

At the village, he took the injured falcon to the healer's hut. There, the healers mended to the falcon's wounds, and properly bandaged and healed it. It was there when Morningshade's father, Shaman Strongheart, along with the leader of the tribe, Chief Stormfalcon entered the room where Brightshadow had been with the bird. The shaman peered into the eyes of the falcon, and then declared that the creature, guided by the spirits, had found his human companion to journey through the wilds. Brightshadow named the falcon, Ahnshee.

At the age of fifteen, Brightshadow had earned his title as scout. With both his falcon and wolf companion, he proved to be one of the most versatile scouts in the field. Things were beginning to look up.