Oaky here's chapter 4, hope you guys like and we named who each section was about so it would be less confusing.. lol.. should have of thought of that sooner even we were confused...

Josiah:

The clang of swords sounded in his ears. The sparks flew as steel met steel. The adrenaline of the fight and the racing of his heart. This was what he had trained for, the moment he had waited for, the moment he had dreamed of. He ducked a swiping overhead blow and brought his swords around to block the next strike. His opponent was a tall grey rabbit, but he was pretty sure he could beat this buck. Though he wasn’t going to lie the grey rabbit was good.

Their blades clashed again, and Josiah fought with all his might. For how long the fight went on he didn’t know, how much longer it would last he had no idea, but he loved every moment. It felt like this was what he had been born to do. The swords felt right in his hands and he knew he was fighting for a good Cause. King Jupiter’s Cause! United under King Jupiter’s banner they were going to bring peace and make the Thirty Warrens great! It was a glorious vision and Josiah could see it all.

He brought his swords up to block a thrust at his middle from the grey rabbit. He knocked the grey rabbit’s sword aside, that had been close he needed to focus. He blocked a few more strikes and brought one of his swords around low towards the rabbit’s feet. The buck jumped and swung out with his sword at Josiah’s chest, Josiah leaned back to keep the blade from hitting him. He paused for a minute to think and was about to launch a counter-attack when he heard the commanding officer yell out, “Break!”

He backed away from the grey rabbit and looked the field over. Many other pairs of bucks had broken apart, some looked tired, and others, like him, looked like they were ready for more. Josiah was kind of disappointed, he wanted to keep practicing to finish this fight, but really, he wanted to finish his training so he could join the real fight. This here meant nothing, but the fight out there…

The fight out there definitely meant something; this was just practice not meant to do any real damage but out there it was rabbit against wolf. Life or death struggles and the fate of Natalia in the balance.

The grey rabbit spun his sword and sheaved it as he said, “No need to worry you will have many more duels before your last month of training is over and I’m sure you will win many of them, you are very good.”

Josiah smiled at the grey rabbit but thought to himself that this rabbit didn’t understand. He wanted to be part of the real fight. He wanted to be out there wherever King Jupiter was with the rest of the army. King Jupiter had left with most of the old army two weeks before. Tales of what King Jupiter was doing were already drifting back to First Warren, some said he was unstoppable. Others said he was invincible, but many said he was a great leader who would never ask you do something he himself would not do. King Jupiter was gaining popularity and trust, and many believed he would be an even better King than his father.

Josiah looked over as he heard the grey rabbit speaking, “My name is Wilfred, Wilfred Longtreader. What about you?”

“Josiah Shanks and as for the fight you’re not bad yourself,” Josiah said, trying to rein in his thoughts. You are talking to someone no daydreaming, he told himself as he smiled at Wilfred.

He then heard the commanding officer yell out, “Longtreader, you’ve been assigned to a new unit, you’re off to join the war.”

Wilfred winked at him then said as he jogged off, “It was nice meeting you Jo, I can call you Jo, right?”

“No, because my brother is Joseph and it gets confusing,” Josiah yelled after Wilfred, though he doubted Wilfred heard. He shook his head and watched Wilfred leave and then filed back to the mess hall with the other bucks. He wanted to be in on the action, but he guessed he would just have to wait for his turn. For his call to arms!

Jonathan:

He wiped the sweat from his brow and straightened his back. He felt stiff and sore from bending over. He had been helping his father for a month now, but he found that more and more often his thoughts were on the war more than anything else. He didn’t know why that was? He should be happy here, helping his father and looking after mother, but he was not. He thought he should at least be happy with Lea and he was, but there was something more. A feeling that he wasn’t doing all he should. A feeling that he was somehow holding himself back from something he should be doing.

He still practiced with his bow most every night when he wasn’t too tired, but when his bow was in his hand something felt right. As he gazed down the shaft of an arrow to aim something seemed right. It was as if the whole world held its breath to see where his arrow strike. It was if nothing else mattered besides hitting the target to strike a hole into the darkness around them. He wanted to be an archer. He wanted to be out there with his brothers, but he felt as though someone should stay home.

He looked up as he heard his father speaking, “Do you think you’ve put enough mortar on that stone Jonathan?” His father looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

Jonathan looked down at the stone, it was covered in mortar. He smiled sheepishly and began scraping some of it off as he said, “Sorry father, I was thinking.”

“What are you thinking on lad? You know you can tell me, not saying I’ll be much help but I with definitely try,” his father chuckled and sat down on a pile of bricks.

“I feel torn father, I…” Jonathan struggled to find the words. How could he explain how he felt to his father, to anyone for that matter? It was so confusing even to him. There wasn’t really a way to word it, but he could give it a try. “I feel like I am supposed to do something, but I don’t know what? I feel like everything I’m doing isn’t what I should be doing, like…” He paused and sighed then said, “Like I’m running from my true purpose, yes! I feel like I’m hiding and maybe I am, I don’t? Everything seems so mumbled and jumbled and confusing right now, but when I have a bow in my hand and an arrow nocked on the string, I feel…” He didn’t know what the word was or how to describe the feeling, so he hoped his father would understand.

His father looked at him for a minute than said, “Whole. Like you’re doing what you should be doing. Like suddenly all the pieces of your life fall into place and you can see it all, aye lad, I know the feeling. I have felt the same many times, when I was first apprenticed to be a mason, when I met your mother, and when I first held you boys in my arms. It is a good feeling.” His father sighed and Jonathan smiled.

He was glad his father understood, but what did it mean? Did it mean he should join the army? But what about his parents? What about Lea, he had a similar feeling when he was around her. And he didn’t want to gain one thing and lose another.

“You should join up son, like your brothers you should go fight. But before you leave and answer this beckon, this call to arms you should talk to Lea,” his father smiled and turned back to his work as he said, “You ain’t much good to me anyways, recently, with all your daydreaming you make twice as much work.”

Joseph:

Joseph filed through the line in the mess hall behind Josiah. Neither one of them spoke and he figured that Josiah was probably thinking, he had that face on. The one he made when he trying to work through some kind of problem. Joseph shrugged he was thinking too, so it was okay. He knew Josiah was probably thinking through some sort of new technic or silently wondering when he would get to go and fight, but those weren’t Joseph’s thoughts. He was thinking about accuracy, wind shift, and peace. Yes, he was an archer but more than anything he wanted to find a way to end the fighting to help bring peace. He knew that was what they all wanted, but he wanted to find peace somewhere besides at the end of a sword or arrow. True peace if that was possible.

He turned to find a table to sit at and saw Sno, the white rabbit who helped him the month before when he was being pounded by Daggler. Daggler had since been discharged for torturing another new recruit, which was fine with Joseph, Daggler was one messed up rabbit. Sno was walking behind a captain soaking wet and looking dejected. Walking behind Sno was his friend Helm, who was also soaking wet and had a look of defiance in his eyes as he walked coolly behind the two. Joseph had come to find that Sno and Helm both had a good sense of humor, but you did not under any circumstances want to be on Helm’s bad side.

As they walked past, he whispered in Sno’s ear, “What happened?”

Sno looked at the captain’s back and mouthed, “We swam to Forbidden Island.”

He almost dropped his tray of food and watched them leave wondering if he had read that right. They had swum to Forbidden Island, that was well, forbidden. Not to mention crazy, reckless, and…. He didn’t know what else, but it was definitely not smart. They could be discharged for less, what had the two of them been thinking?

He shook his head and sat down by Josiah. “What happened to them?” Josiah said vaguely motioning towards where Helm and Sno had went as he continued eating.

“They swam to Forbidden Island,” Joseph said, flatly as he began to eat. He had no sympathy for them if they were discharged it was their own faults.

Josiah nodded and held up a finger as he finished chewing, but then a voice said, “Sounds like something Helmer would do, and of course he would drag Snoden with him.” The speak chuckled.

Joseph looked back to see Hewson, son of Lord Hew. He bowed his head respectfully and said, “Forgive me, I didn’t know you were there.”

“Nothing to forgive, now excuse me as try to get Helmer out of the mess he has put himself and Snoden in,” Hewson rolled his eyes and began walking off still chuckling and shaking his head.

Joseph shook his own head again, today was feeling like a dream. He had just started eating again, when lieutenant Frye came into the mess hall and said, “Listen up bucks, if you hear your name it means you’re to go pack your things and report to the unit I say after your name. If you don’t hear your name it means you’re staying here for a few more weeks of training.” Lieutenant Frye then unrolled a list of names and began reading them off. Joseph didn’t recognize any of the names and soon the name calling faded into the background as he continued eating.

“Shanks, unit two,” Joseph and Josiah both looked up and lieutenant Frye looked at them a minute than said, “Josiah Shanks, unit two, your call to arms has been issued report there for more orders.”

“Yes sir,” Josiah said saluting before scrambling off.

Lieutenant Frye then turned to Joseph and said, “Joseph Shanks, archers’ unit seven.”

Yes sir,” Joseph said saluting as he too hurried off. His call to arms had been given and he would answer it. He would fight for the Cause of King Jupiter Goodson.

Okay let us know what you thought, please be honest...we really want to know if we can make it any better...

Till next time Bear the Flame!

P.S. Sorry if it was long, its hard to try and fit it all in...lol...