Hello! I will be posting the first chapter shortly, but to get the story up, I am putting it second chapter first. Later I will convert it to chapter one and prologue, then replace this chapter where it belongs. Bear with me. --Em

o-o-o

CHAPTER TWO: FESTIVAL

o-o-o

“A hunt, you say?” the panther purred. “For Eelan?”

“She’s growing up,” Lunaye admitted, shaking his spotted head. “Tonight is almost like a coming-of-age ceremony for her. I think it’d be nice to have something for her that she didn’t catch herself, even if she’s only dancing for the tribe.”

“An idea worth pondering,” Chief Sur approved, arching his enormous white back and stretching as far as he could, extending his claws. He dug them deeply into the bark of the treetop hollow, shredding the smooth brown covering of the platform. “Seralina has always acted older than she is, until Eelan gets into the picture. They are a good pair that way, I think. Eelan gets Seralina to relax and be a cub, while Seralina reminds Eelan that she’s older than she thinks she is, and should act like it.” The chief chuckled quietly, leaning back. “That kill today was quite a feat.”

“Indeed.”

Sur detected something in Lunaye’s tone that made him pause. “Do I hear jealousy in that growl of yours?” he inquired incredulously, rising to his full height.

“No... More like wistful envy.”

The white Kensi laughed. “Hunt went awry, I presume.”

“Yes. The dratted creature lunged at me and took a piece off my pelt,” Lunaye said carefully. Sur heard shame beneath his slight ire, and knew that the younger Kensi was reluctant to speak of his failure. Most likely he’d done something dangerous again, and, having to address it in front of his chief, was ashamed of it.

“Whatever you did today, my friend; as long as it doesn’t happen again, I will be satisfied,” Sur told him, looking the leopard straight in the eyes. “I only want to see you safe.”

“Yes, my chief,” Lunaye ducked his head in a swift bow, then straightened. “I was actually hoping you and I together might accomplish what I had attempted earlier. I,” he faltered, “was thinking... a red deer might make a fitting present for your daughter.”

“...From the north?”

“Yes, my chief.”

There was silence as Sur digested the new information. “You went to the Dasi borderline,” he stated rather than asked, his tone deceptively conversational.

“Yes, my chief.” Lunaye’s voice was completely and deliberately even.

The two of them didn’t move or speak for a long while. Finally the chieftain broke the silence. “...I must think on this. I agree that the occasion is deserving of such a feast, but the risk involved is even more so than with green buck.” Lunaye knew Sur was not about to let the possible severity of such a situation go without proper consideration. But he did know his chief when it came to his children.

“I know. Thus, the greater the honor.” Lunaye stood at attention on his haunches, his dotted tail curled smoothly around him, waiting for the Kensi chief to make his decision.

“I agree that Eelan is deserving of such an honor,” he said slowly. “She has proved herself. And Seralina did receive a similar gift after her rescue of the cub from that python.”

“Perhaps it is time for Eelan to receive her own?”

Sur frowned deeply. “Perhaps...”

“Father!”

“Father!”

Two black shapes materialized from the branches and landed in a crouch atop the Meeting Tree, giggling and purring in a soft, childlike manner. Eelan grinned up at her huge father with large yellow eyes, her black hair in disarray and her tan fur ruffled with scratches. Seralina smiled in a strangely similar manner with her blue eyes, and she stood slightly taller on her haunches.

Despite Seralina’s added height and weight due to her felid form, she still had to look up at their father. Sur stood at least four feet high at the shoulder and weighed about eight-hundred pounds, and his fur was like a thick, velvety field of pure white. His claws, when extended, were at least as long as Eelan’s thumb, and held edges like newly-sharpened, cream-coloured blades. The chieftain’s paws were enormous, even bigger than Seralina’s, and were worn slick from years of use. Both twins had seen their father hunt before, and it was truly amazing. Rarely did Sur become angry, but when he did, half the Island knew it. Eelan and Seralina never wanted to be on the receiving end of his fury.

Fortunately, they never were. Sur loved his twin daughters with a strength beyond comprehension, and both of them knew it. After the loss of his wife, Selan, they had truly been the only family left to him, and he treated them extremely well. Perhaps a little too well; they were on the verge of being spoiled. But despite this, they had turned out rather well, and they loved their father equally.

Eelan leaped on top of her father’s back and draped herself on top of him like a limp blanket, still grinning mischieviously. She lay her head over his shoulder and stuck out her chin as he stood up on all fours. “We missed you, father.”

“And I you, little ones,” Sur crooned as Seralina sidled up to him, rubbing her face in his fur and leaning against his towering side. “It had been far too quiet without you here. Everyone was starting to feel uncomfortable.” His smile could be heard in his words.

“Whadja do while we were gone?” Eelan pressed.

“Oh, nothing,” Sur sighed heavily. “Sat around in your bedding and moped, wondering when you’d be back... Wandered around the village circle where you used to play and sighed, wondering what you were doing... Counted the paw-prints you left in the sand near the cove and pouted, wondering how far away you were right then--” He winced over a wide, teasing grin as Eelan bit his left ear and pulled, her arms hugging his neck.

“Rrr, come on, father, it wasn’t that long,” Eelan admonished him, releasing him. “And we brought back something good!”

“Yes, father, a full-grown green buck,” Seralina clarified, swishing the tip of her tail against the rough bark.

“So I heard.” Sur’s tone was suitably impressed and proud. “You have inherited my hunting skills, I see.” The double set of skeptically raised eyebrows made him laugh. “And your mother’s. Selan was an amazing huntress. Her coat would blend into darkness like water into water. She always used to hunt at night because of that.”

“So I guess it’s not exactly the same,” Eelan said in a somewhat subdued tone. “I can’t really blend much with anything...”

“Neither can Ser and I,” he reminded her. “We all have to rely on silence, proper fields and downwind perches. It’s fine when you have natural defenses, but if you come crashing through the brush smelling like last week’s kill, none of that matters. Correct?”

Eelan nodded; he had a point. “I suppose.” Her golden eyes lit in a wolfish smile. “So I guess that means Seralina should take her baths?”

“EELAN.”

“Actually, Ser, she’s right. You need to take some sort of bath,” Sur told her apologetically. “If your scent is too strong you alert prey to your presence. I know you don’t like water, but just try to stand under one of the smaller waterfalls, alright?”

“Father, do I have to?” The she-cub's voice was pathetically plaintive. She retaliated with a sudden burst of inspiration. “I’ll just ruin the drinking water if I do,” Seralina said adamantly. “Everyone likes to drink from the stream. No one wants to drink used water.”

“Use the brook leading out to the bay.”

“Drat.”

“C’mon, Ser. I’ll take a bath with you,” Eelan offered, relenting. “I need a shower before the dance.”

“Yes, Ser, I’ll see you there tonight. Alright, cub?” Sur licked the top of Seralina’s head tenderly, making her close her eyes with each rough stroke. His tongue was about as broad as her forehead, and pulled her face back.

“Mrr.”

“See you later, Father!” Eelan leapt off of Sur’s back, took Seralina’s tail in her teeth and yanked until the larger Kensi yielded to her urging. She turned in the direction of the stream, passing Eelan as the humanoid paused to call over her shoulder, “Love you!”

“And I love you, both of you,” he called back. “Be careful.”

“We’ll be fine!”

Sur rolled his eyes and watched as the two siblings disappeared into the lower branches. '"Fine"... Why do they always jinx that word?' He smirked with the memory of their last hunt: a mud-monster named Eelan and a scruffy Seralina with a sprained paw limping out of the forest, saying, ‘We thought it would be fine, really...’

“My chief.” Lunaye drew his attention back to their previous topic, obviously still waiting for an answer. He had waited patiently until the twins had left them before trying to get an affirmative out of him.

“Yes, the hunt.” Sur sat back on his haunches with resignation. “I think it is indeed time. The two of us should leave as soon as possible, if we are to return by sundown. I will bring our guides.” Lunaye bowed in appreciation, and the Kensi chief and his aide began making their way down from the trees.

o-o-o

Water was a good thing. It was cool, it tasted wonderful, (especially after a long run or hunt,) and it was needed to live. It was beautiful when you watched it at sunrise or sunset as a sea of liquid fire, and it sparkled like diamonds when shed from shaking fur or reflecting noon sunlight.

'So why-- why is it so disgusting when it’s seeping into my coat?'

Seralina was tip-toeing carefully through the stream, trying to avoid getting even wetter by stepping from rock to rock. This brook was particularly secluded from the village, and it held a series of step-shaped rocks that formed chains of waterfalls from the hillside. The thick vegetation surrounding it made it a great hiding place; the rocks were just big enough to form a shelter under a curtain of water and fall alseep on a bed of thick green moss. It was simply beautiful and a wonderful place to relax, but still Seralina could not free herself from her own idiosyncrecies. The feeling of the slippery, clear liquid between her claws and in her paw fur was unsettling, and it made her twitch uncomfortably.

Eelan sighed, and ran a hand through her already soaking hair. “Ser, you have to get under it or you won’t get anything clean except the bottoms of your feet. And that’ll last only as long as you coming out of the water onto the bank.”

“Well, I would’ve been clean for a while at least.”

“Ser, if you don’t get under that fall, I will force you.”

Seralina sniffed. “Try it. I wouldn’t get in that for--” Splash!

Eelan had already gotten behind her and shoved her into the rushing water. She held her there just long enough to make her thrash, then released her gulping air and sopping wet. Eelan closed her eyes, took a deep breath, prepared an apology and an ‘I told you so’ and began to say, “Alright, now was that so--”

SPLASH!

The young Kensi’s legs were pulled out from behind her and she toppled face-first into the brook, flipped like a caught trout being thrown back. A dripping and absolutely steaming Seralina managed to look somewhat triumphant through the watery white fur covering her eyes. Eelan came up coughing and choking, looking positively surprised and more than a little angry, ready to give her sister more than a few choice words-- then she caught sight of her sibling, and the hilarity of Seralina’s state hit her like a sledgehammer.

“Y-You--” The black-haired humanoid nearly fell back into the knee-deep rill rocking backward with laughter, her gut clenching up with giggles.

Seralina’s white fur had separated and was hanging stiffly down her sides and back. Her eyes were nearly covered by what looked like oddly-cut bangs, the pummeling white water slamming her fur down over her nose, ears, and mouth. She looked like she was wearing a white mask, with fur clinging to her nostrils and between her teeth. But it had also parted the fur on her head in a very nerdy fashion, and her size had shrunk considerably.

Seralina looked down at herself in a small puddle in the rocks and almost ruined her moment by laughing herself. “Wh--What’s your problem?” she inquired, mouth twitching.

“Y-Your fur!” Eelan giggled. “A-And y-you’re laughing!”

“No, I’m-- not.”

“Yes you are!”

“I--have the-- hiccups.”

“And I’m a Dasi.”

“You look like one!”

Eelan started to say no, then caught sight of herself in the same puddle. He black mane had draped over her now naked body, (as she had pulled her fur into her skin after washing it to get rid of most of the water,) and it made her appear almost like a black, four-legged creature. The ebony locks were long enough that they covered her tail and gave it a look of added volume.

Her tone was distracted as she stared into the water. “I.. look like mother...”

“No, you’re too ugly,” Seralina gibed, but her tone was compassionate. “At least the way father talks about her. But then, everyone would be to him.” The white Kensi realized she was shivering, and pulled herself step by dragging step out of the stream. “You do that again and I tell father your next kill belongs to me,” Seralina threatened half-heartedly. She stood on the stone bank and shook violently, making slapping sounds as sheets of loose water came from her fur and hit rock. Her huge paws smacked against the ground as she walked to the edge and settled down on her stomach.

Eelan didn’t move, but stood on all fours looking at her reflection. Using one hand, she pulled off the curtain of black tresses and stared at her hairless body. It was a strange sight to behold, even having lived with it her whole life. Everyone she knew had fur, even babies the moment they were born. “Seralina...”

“Hm?”

“...Am I really that strange?”

“You? You’re just plain weird.”

Eelan glared back at her.

“Okay, okay. No, I don’t think you are,” her twin told her openly. “Your upper half is like the Fish. You just have oddly-shaped hind quarters.”

Eelan rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Ser. Now I'm a Fish with a strange rear?”

“You know what I mean. But yes, perhaps you are just a new breed, like the other kits that show up. Kensi knows what people thought of the first striped or spotted cub that was born.”

“Yeah..." She smiled gently. "Thanks. I needed that.” Eelan padded up beside Seralina, wringing water out of her long rope of hair. After judging it to be merely damp, the humanoid grew her tan fur to about half length, where her muscles and lithe shape could be seen clearly beneath the layer of brown hairs.

"Don't stress over it. You're unique, just like everybody else." Seralina said smoothly.

There was a silence. Eelan slowly turned her head to stare at her sister, raising a disbelieving eyebrow.

Seralina blinked. "What?"

Eelan shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, eyes closed in dramatic mental pain. "Never mind."

o-o-o

The noise from the village preparations was surprisingly loud. Before the twins had even reached the border the sounds of scurrying cubs, growled arguments and shouts of laughter as the Kensi villagers brought preparations for the upcoming feast assaulted their ears. Tonight's party was the anniversary of the birth of Kensi, the first feline to walk the Island and the founder of the Kensi tribe, hence the name, and it was known for being the biggest event of the Kensi year.

Once they were within the boundaries, the sights were almost as loud as the sounds. Everywhere someone was rushing to or fro with a mouthful of blue and purple flowers on vines, a back draped with soft ceremonial silks or cloth blankets of forest green andyellow, mothers with cubs carrying them tenderly by their back fur to the cubsitters or perches where they intended to watch the ceremony. The kittens looked on with wide, bewildered eyes and cocked little ears at this new world of color and sound before them, and they hung from their mothers' jaws in awe.

The wide-spread arms of the grove were adorned with sleeves of wrapped vines and multi-coloured silks. They glowed with living lamps of fluorescent butterflies and fireflies as they made small arrangements at the blossoms that had been specifically and strategically placed to attract them. That small amount of light was all that was needed for the keen nightvision of the Kensi; to them it made the village seem as if in full daylight. Carefully polished quartz and membrane-like leaves were spread in fans to catch the light, and they shone like blue-green fire.

Many small kills of baby boars, fat pidgeons, ropes of snakes, and even a few eggs lay in a small arranged pile at the top of the meeting tree. It was a feast in which everyone was to partake. The share was divided according to sizes (and occasionally even appetites.) The felids were laced around the center fire and marveled at the mountain of food that leaned back against the largest limb, (so as not to go tumbling off the edge of the platform.) The largest kill was the full-grown, forest green buck towering in the middle of the pile. He lay in all his glory with his two halves placed carefully back together, his field-coloured fur glistening in the firelight. His majestic antlers formed a sort of centerpiece as his head was placed beside him, neck curled around his right shoulder as if he were asleep. The scent of wonderful, fresh meat filled the treetops, making everyone's mouth water.

As the sun went down, the firelight grew stronger, and more villagers began crawling upward to the Meeting Tree. Seralina dug her claws into the heavy bark of the big tree and began climbing, Eelan following below and beside her so as not to get any shredded bark into her eyes. As they ascended the trunk, she caught snatches of commentary on their kill from the villagers, and she smiled as they remained hidden.

"Look at all that!"

"Wow. An amazing kill. I thought that Sur said he wasn't doing any hunting."

"Look at all that muscle, that's incredible... Beautiful pelt, too. That would make a wonderful sleep-fur for the kits."

"If you want it for your lot, I'd ask about it, Keriv. With as many cubs as you have, I'd sure try and claim it. Besides, somehow I don't think most of us are interested in the pelt!" A burst of laughter all around.

"Mau, you're drooling. Quit it."

"I'm not drooling."

"Then why are my paws wet?"

"Umm... Rain?"

"Lir, get back here sweetie, that's for later. You're not used to real meat yet--"

"Aww, but Mami, I'm really hungry!"

"Don't worry, you'll get some when it's our turn to take from it. And I'll soften it up for you, alright?"

"--thought they said small prey."

"There's always one big catch every year. Who caught this one? I thought Sur was still off with Lunaye."

"We did," Eelan interrupted smoothly as both she and Seralina reached the top and pulled themselves up. Everyone stared in surprise.

"You two cubs?"

"Yep," Seralina said with feigned nonchalance. Her whiskers twitched as she tried to keep a smirk off her face. There was a rain of scattered approval and compliments on the kill, and they basked in their moment of fame like snakes in sunlight.

"Oh, Eelan? I forgot to ask you, did you ever get that turtle off of Lunaye? He looked ready to kill you both," a mother cheetah said worriedly.

"Oh. Uh, yes, he got it off alright," Eelan answered awkwardly. "We just kinda stayed out of his way until he cooled off."

"Good. The poor dear was simply pitiful with that... thing... still attached to him after a whole day. It sounded painful."

"Hm." Eelan gave a sound that could have been a cough or a laugh.

"Seralina, where did you two go for the buck? I've never seen one that big." It was the lion from earlier. It was undeniably obvious to Eelan how the young male had an infatuation with her twin, and honestly it was getting annoying. Her sister, however, was quite taken with the young lion. Eelan guessed she could see why; he was all lithe muscle and thin tan fur, and he basically thought Seralina was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

If Seralina could have blushed through her coat, she would have. "W-well, um, we just went to the field in the northern grove, near the river."

"That's amazing," he said, admiration in his voice and eyes. "Hey, if you want... do think we could go find another catch where you found this one?"

"Wh-what?" Seralina averted her eyes and backed up a step holding one paw up near her chest. "You-you mean like, go on a hunt together?"

"Well, yes. If you like?" It came out as more of a question.

Eelan prudently decided to block out their conversation. "So, Keriv, what were they saying about father and Lunaye?" she asked pointedly. "Where did they go?"

"Well, I'm not sure," the mother bobcat settled into a perfect circle and lay with her head lifted for the conversation. "They wouldn't tell anyone, but they did say it was going to be a special surprise. And they took their guides with them."

'Guides?' That was news. It was a public secret that the guides appointed to the chief and his aid were, in reality, bodyguards. They were never taken along unless the territory was unfamiliar, which in most cases also meant it was dangerous. A frown covered Eelan's bright features in darkness. 'Why are they trying for another kill? They knew there was one from me and Sera. What are they doing?'

"Everyone, please make yourselves comfortable. The ceremony will begin shortly," Muki, the town crier called out. He was a smokey-blue panther about two-thirds the size of Seralina, very skinny, and extremely fast, so he was usually used as a messenger. Today, however, he was decked out in full, wearing a collar of flowered vines and his forelegs wrapped with rare dyed silks from the plants near the Mountain. He also looked quite happy at being relieved of his usual status.

There was a bit of a scuffle as the tribe members found their seats; some on nearby tree branches overlooking the hollow, some on scaffolds that had been made specifically for the purpose of accomodating more villagers, and some, (if they were lucky,) a space atop the Meeting Tree itself. Eelan, being a peformer this year, was granted a space near the fire markng the center of the hollow, and it was surprisingly bigger than she remembered.

The murmurs and whispering stopped when an aged liger walked slowly and carefully to stand in front of the ceremonial fire. He was a lion/tiger crossbreed with a long white mane and taupe-coloured coat striped with tan, and the white fur tuft of his tail was so long it actually made a small pile where it rested on the ground. His name was Shiral, and he was he village elder at one-hundred-and-twenty years old.

"My brethren," he began in an unhurried, somewhat spritely bass, (at least, spritely considering his aged state.) "Before we begin, I have a message from Chief Sur V and Aide Lunaye. The two of them left earlier today to hunt, and they have asked me to tell you why they left on such short notice. Because the Chief's daughter is performing for us, and because of the twins' superb addition to our feast tonight, the two of them felt her worthy of a present befitting the occasion. When they return, they will hopefully be carrying a kill of... admirable proportions." There was a roar of approval from the Kensi villagers as his implications sunk in. Some of the vocal applause was directed toward the twins.

Eelan's mind was reeling. 'They went to hunt... for me? Wow. I never thought--'

"It is my privilege to begin tonight's opening ceremony, and to tell you of the Kensi with whose birth came the birth of our culture and our people." Eelan looked at Seralina where she lay next to her, and they both smiled in knowing anticipation. It was a story retold yearly, and they knew most of it by heart. "Our first leader, Chief Kensi I, was born on this day five-hundred years ago. Because of his guidance and leadership, we learned how to speak, how to hunt, and how to make homes for ourselves. He established a lasting peace with all the creatures of the forests and fields... save one." Shiral's dulled blue eyes lit with a momentary fire before fading into their natural torpor.

"The Prophecy made on the day of his death gave us foresight into our two possible futures: to perish, divided and alone, or to live together as one people. We live in harmony with one another knowing that one day, we will all be united as a clan in the fullest way possible, as a final gift from our chief. As he said with his dying breath, the breath that became a Prophecy to enlighten us all: 'You must become one. If you do not unite as a people, the Island itself will fall, and the light will vanish from you.' Thanks to his words of wisdom, we live together peacefully, knowing that because of our bonds with our families and each other, we may see the peace and prosperity of our Island last for years to come.

"We wish to honor Chief Kensi tonight, on the night of his birth, and pray for his spirit as it watches us from the heavens. We hope and pray that he may rest peacefully in his spiritual abode, and find the true peace that can only be attained after death." Shiral paused, and waited for the villagers to bow their heads. "And now, a moment of silence before Eelan, daughter of Sur, gives her own offering in dance." The elder's eyes twinkled, and he bowed his own magnificent head.

One by one the lights of the Kensi's eyes lit again as they each finished their meditations, and soon the grove was filled once more with the glow of hundreds of fiery yellow eyes. Shiral lifted his head and turned it towards Eelan. She took this as a signal to get ready and hurriedly prepared for the dance.

"And now, my brethren, we have a special gift. For the first time in her life, Eelan, daughter of Sur, is going to dance for us," Shiral finished, and took his time in returning to his honorary seat on the nearby limb. There was another cry of applause as he left the hollow, but then it was raised ever higher as young Eelan took the stage.

The female Kensi's long, blue-black hair was braided loosely with thin, flowering vines. They wrapped around her torso, arms, legs and tail in a variety of patterns. The green of the stalks and leaves as well as the deep red of the flowers set off her hair and eyes beautifully, and a tie of green silk held her flowing locks in place.

The striking figure froze in a starting pose in front of the fire, and the applause died down. With a signal cry from the blue panther, an answering cry echoed from the direction of the bay and drums began beating wildly, startling the villagers. It was then realized that not only was Eelan going to dance, but she had also asked the Fish to play for them, and there was another round of applause in approval of the music. The drums were eventually joined by a waterflute, high and sweet from beneath the waves, then another, then the full, and a conch shell blew in echoes across the forest. The deep, heavy rhythm of the drums was set off by small, richocet drumming from a sort of shell castinet, and the primal introduction was played through.

Over the next five minutes, Eelan became something more than just herself. The rhythm of the merfolke swept through her, and she lived the waves of sound as fish in waves of water. The music was exhilarating, and she closed her eyes, lost in the tide. Her body spun and heaved, her back legs bent and rocked, stepping with the beat, and her fingers painted shapes in the night air as the fire lit her from behind.

When she finally opened her eyes, Eelan realized she unwillingly levitated two feet above the smooth wood of the hollow, and she decided to use it. Some of the other Kensi flew up as well, trying to get a better vantage point of the smooth, fiery dancing. Deciding on some unconscious level that this was part of her dance, she rose higher until she just touched the final branch before one broke through the canopy.

Her mane floated out in the wind and the vines on her hands and arms came loose to stream down from the sky as she spun in midair. The music peaked, growing even more intricate, reaching the climax of the piece, and she let herself fall to the hollow again, stopping her body just inches above the hard surface and circling the fire on her side, arms spread wide, skimming the surface of the bark and reaching the front of the fire. Eelan floated gently and smoothly into an upright stance... and bowed low with one hand on her chest, left arm outstretched, her black hair pooling in front of her and hiding her face like a dark, final curtain being dropped on the scene.

The eruption of delighted growls, roars and cheers was deafening. Every Kensi rose from their places to stand or float up and shout for the breathtaking performance. Eelan didn't move, (to add to the drama,) but behind her tresses she smiled so wide she thought the corners of her mouth would split. Nothing like it had ever been done before, and the new experience was amazingly well recieved. The applause almost took longer than the actual dance, and finally Eelan straightened, only to be bowled over by her sister, who purred happily into her chest.

"You did it! I can't believe you did it! Kensi, I was as nervous as you were!"

"Maybe moreso," Eelan observed as Seralina removed a shaking paw from her twin's shoulder. She grinned and the two sisters hugged each other tightly, rolling like cubs in a playpen and laughing in relieved joy. It was one of the happiest memories of Eelan's life.

Unfortunately, it was also very short-lived.

"Help! Someone come-- we need help here!"

Every head turned towards the voice breaking through the din, and what they saw would live with them forever.

Lunaye stood limping towards the trees on the forest floor, his right shoulder dripping blood, his beautiful fur marred with scratches and caked with dark mud. It looked as though he had been in a serious fight with multiple opponents and lost. Badly.

"What's going on?"

"It's the chief's aid--"

"Oh Kensi, look--"

"Someone get some help!"

"Muki, find the healer. Quickly!"

"Got it--"

Eelan stared in horror as her surrogate uncle fought to reach the Meeting Tree, as if the very soil beneath him was trying to keep him from his goal. As they watched, the leopard took a few more staggering steps and his legs simply buckled beneath him. He fell to the ground and lay crumpled like a pile of discarded skins.

"Lunaye!" Eelan yelled, tearing the vines from her body and rocketing down the tree trunk. Seralina leapt halfway down to a nearby limb and made the stories-tall drop in two jumps. The older Kensi wasn't moving. Eelan and two of the other adults reached him at the same time, and they crowded around him in a tumult of exclamations and panicked yells.

"Lunaye," Eelan yelled into his face, pulling him onto his side and supporting his head with her arms, the beginnings of panic stirring in her breast. "Lunaye, answer me! What happened?!"

"Uhn... mur..." The leopard's eyes opened into slits, blurry and uncomprehending. "Cubs...?"

"Lunaye, what happened to you? Where's Father?!" Seralina asked frantically.

"Lunaye?!"

After a few shallow breaths, Lunaye answered them, pain constricting the words as his sides heaved: "The guides... killed... Sur... Your father... is dead..."

o-o-o