The Sun Trail/Bonus Scene

"I'll work hard and improve my hunting skills. And I'm pretty sure that in the future no cat will be able to push me around...."

— Petal's thoughts in The Sun Trail, bonus scene

The Sun Trail
Chapter number:	Bonus Scene (of 21)
Page numbers:	2-21
Point of View:	Petal
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for the bonus scene of The Sun Trail. If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: Bonus Scene (of 26)

Page Numbers: 2-21

Chapter description

Chapter one:

The badger snarls at Petal and her brother Fox, jaws stained with blood, since it had just finished killing their mother. Petal cries out in anguish for her dead mother, seeing her torn fur and mangled, bloodied corpse, whilst Fox tries telling the huge badger off, brown fur bristling. A chilly breeze blows through the woods as she asks her brother what they are to do now, and he reassures her, stating they can look after themselves, touching her ear comfortingly. Petal doubts it, because their mother didn't teach them how to hunt, although she follows Fox as he covers their mother's body with dead leaves.

The yellow tabby kit wonders who'll take care of her and Fox, feeling as though she's drowning, having trouble breathing, and her heart feels empty. She wishes her dead mother to be safe, and suggests go hunting with her brother. The siblings walk together through the woods; Petal is frightened by every noise, and despite Fox's attempts to mask his, she can sense he feels the same as she does.

Her stomach growls with hunger, so she tries to taste the air and pick up prey scents, but cannot, and doubts her ability to do so. Fox sniffs around tree roots, causing Petal to remember how their mother caught some mice at the trees, but the dark brown tom turns up with nothing. Her brother says the prey is all in their dens and burrows, asking how they can find food with the weather being cold.

As the sun begins moving down the sky, Petal spots a bird, perched above in the branches, and notices a squirrel that hides in its tree hollow, and thinks they must not be frightened by them. Just then, the golden-yellow tabby scents cats, excitedly telling Fox, so they set out to find the source of the smell. They find a gray-and-white she-cat, but she glares at them with hostility. Petal explains her and her brother need to eat and have shelter, yet the strange rogue coldly regards them threateningly, telling them off.

Petal and Fox leave the strays, ignoring their snarling, and the two siblings make their way through the woods. She notices a squirrel chewing on a nut, but as they approach, the gray-and-white cat stops them, while a tabby catches the prey swiftly. Fox protests, and ends up being cuffed around the ears for speaking up; the gray-and-white rogue threatens them, telling the kits if they don't learn all prey is theirs, they'll be hurt badly. With that, the two rogues leave the kits, and Petal believes they're glad to leave her and her brother hungry. Fox asks why every cat is so mean, his bravery gone, which causes the yellow she-cat to snap that it's only them from them on.

Chapter two:

Petal and Fox walk through the woods, searching for prey; despite their moons spent together after their mother's death, the siblings were usually left alone. The young she-cat picks up the scent of a squirrel, but realizes it's stale, before she catches the smell of some mice. She creeps up on them, recalling how occasionally she hunted with her brother and other cats, but even then she stayed alone with Fox.

She drives the mice toward her brother, and he manages to catch them both swiftly. Petal prefers working as a team with Fox, because ever since the gray rogue rejected them, she learned her and her brother needed to work together to survive, which she is content with. Petal and Fox eat the prey with swift bites, then the yellow tabby catches sight of a robin. The bird scares off another, puffing out its stomach, causing her to decide to catch it.

She makes an attempt, but her tail swishes over leaves, scaring the robin away. Petal curses, following after the bird still, her paw steps quiet. She finds the bird again, perched in a tree, singing its song, yet as she stalks closer, shrieks ring out, frightening the robin again, so it flies off. The tabby she-cat snarls, annoyed, so she and Fox go to check it out, and see cats gathered together at a holly bush, gazing around. Fox reminds his sister they know them, bringing memories back to Petal, who recalls being chased away by those strays when she tried to see what they were doing.

As she observes the group, she recognizes more cats, such as the black tom who was attacked by Leaf and Nightheart, before his friends came to save him. Fox says they need to keep away from the forest cats, before the gray tom turns his head in direction of the siblings, and he tells Petal to run.

Chapter three:

She runs away, speeding along fast, and doesn't hear any cats following, but it doesn't stop her from quickening her pace. The undergrowth thins out, and the river appears, which Fox nearly falls into. He tells Petal they'll need to cross and avoid being chased, this gives her confidence to escape the pursuing cats, and she hops across stepping stones. Petal nearly slips, but she holds onto the rock with her claws, before spotting the two strangers on the river bank. The gray one greets her, assuring her they won't harm her or Fox.

Realizing they have no choice, Petal and her brother start back for the bank, hesitant at first. When the yellow she-cat prepares for the last jump, she slips, and falls into the river. Despite Fox's attempts to catch her, the kit is swept away by a current, water filling her nose and mouth.

The gray tom races along the river bank, outpacing Petal as she's swept away, then shifts a rock into the water. When the yellow she-cat goes underwater again, certain she will drown, her body slams into something hard. She gets a grip on the hard object, realizing it's the tom's rock, and forces her head out of the water. Petal manages to escape the river and slink onto the bank, coughing, where the gray tom introduces himself and his friend as Clear Sky and Falling Feather.

The gray tom directs Fox and the white she-cat to lick Petal's fur to warm her up, and it surprises her when her brother follows Clear Sky's orders so easily. As she shakes the chill of the river away, Clear Sky asks when they last had food, and Fox chips in that they had a mouse earlier.

Clear Sky heads off to go hunting, and Petal listens while Falling Feather and Fox talk about the woods and how him and his sister ended up in such a position. Falling Feather mentions Clear Sky's sister, Fluttering Bird, who had died due to starvation, which gave him the drive to find a better home. She notes that some of their other friends dwell on the moor, but their leader likes the forest.

Clear Sky reappears, voles and a mouse hanging from his jaws, and he hands them out to Fox and Petal, then eating the rest with Falling Feather. When Petal questions it, the white she-cat explains it's a way that reminds them of the mountains, and how they always need to share. Falling Feather tells Clear Sky she offered a spot in the group for the two kits, but Fox seems reluctant.

Petal agrees to the offer, pleasing Falling Feather, but Clear Sky asks if she and her brother are fit enough to walk through the woods. She jumps up, exclaiming that she's ready for anything, reminding herself of the bully robin she met all that time ago. The yellow tabby swears to improve her skills, so no cat can push her around anymore.

Characters

Major

• Petal
• Fox

Minor

• Gray-and-white she-cat
• A big tabby
• Clear Sky
• Falling Feather
• Unnamed cats

Mentioned

• Petal and Fox's mother
• Moon Shadow
• Fluttering Bird
• Leaf
• Nightheart