Chapter 2: Accusations

"Tiggerpaka, what are you doing?"

The meerkat looked up from his stick project, one of them in his paws. "That old tortoise said to seek safety. So I'm gonna hide in this stick den." He continued to stack the sticks, attempting to make a rather pathetic-looking hideout.

"We are in a den," Misty pointed out. 

"Yeah, the prisoners' den," said Sidew dryly. "You just had to be there when Achak died, didn't you?"

"Hey," Lephos glared at his brother. "She can't help what the Tribe believes."

Misty sighed. It was as if they left the Meerkat Clan for nothing. There, they had been treated as prisoners, but Misty didn't think these animals would believe she was an Earth Goddess, like the meerkats had. 

"But still," Sidew muttered. "What good are we as prisoners? We have to get out."

"We will," promised Koro. Misty looked at their leader, and her heart fluttered. She had developed a crush on him over a few days, but kept it completely to herself. "We got to."

"And? Any plans?" Rhett, Koro's brother, asked.

"No." Koro shook his hanging head. "You just have to keep hope."

Rhett rolled his eyes. "Lame," he chuckled.

"I wanna go home," whimpered Bracken.

"It's okay," Misty assured him. "We'll be fine."

"Why would Chief think you killed Achak?" Bracken protested. "You're not a murderer! None of us are!"

Misty sighed. The memory of her imprisonment was still fresh in her mind...

"Hey, Achak," Ferrum, a lynx, had come into the elders' den shortly after the tortoise's death. "Chief wants--"

She then saw the scene and gasped. "Achak's dead!" she shouted.

It wasn't too long after that the whole Tribe had come over, all murmuring questions and talking rapidly to each other at the new incident placed before them. Misty hated the fact that she seemed to be in the center of it all.

"What's going on?" one voice rose above the test, and an incredibly old wolf made his way through the crowd rather slowly. He looked at the scene with a coldness in his eye. "You three..."

"What?" said Misty nervously.

"You killed Achak," Chief murmured.

"Ha! I can kill anyone in this Tribe," declared Tiggerpaka with his usual smirk.

"I am a great warrior, after all."

"So you killed Achak?" Chief snarled. Despite being old and looking crippled, he was terrifying when he was angry.

"No!" Misty protested. She was pretty much the only one of the three - her, Adele and Tiggerpaka - who could retell the story correctly. Adele, her sister, was deaf, and Tiggerpaka always tended to turn the spotlight on him when telling stories. "We didn't lay a paw on him."

"I don't believe you," Chief said through narrowed eyes.

"Now, Chief." Adonael came forward.

"These three are such sweethearts! Surely they couldn't have--"

"Quiet!" Chief barked. He turned back to Misty, Adele and Tiggerpaka. "You three - and your friends - are our prisoners now until the day you die. You will pay for killing Achak!" 

"No!" Misty cried.

"Arazel! Ferrum!" Chief yelled. The lynx came forward, looking fearful, and was joined by a huge brown horse. "Escort these two to our prison. And take their friends there, too."

The prison was just a den that looked like the others throughout the Amorache Tribe, but there were thorn bushes close to the entrance to catch escapees, and usually a guard or two posted. Who, Misty didn't know at the moment, because she never left the den. Her food was brought to her by Tribe members. 

"But hey," said Lilypaka - she was Tiggerpaka's sister, and the brains of the group - with a frown. "If Chief acted so mad about Achak's death without allowing you protest...do you think it could've been his opposite?"

Misty considered this. She had told the group everything Achak had told her before his death. Mainly it was the side effects of Yin and Yang, like opposites coming out, but he had also insisted that Misty and the group had to save the world. Although the group did seem interested in what Achak had said, Lilypaka had become utterly fascinated. "Possibly," suggested Misty. Some things made more sense after Achak's message. For one thing, Adonael's personality had completely changed at one point, and Misty knew it had to have been her opposite. But did that endanger the Tribe?

"Hey." All the heads of the group turned, and Ferrum came through the den. Since she was small, she could get past the thorns without getting hurt. She hesitated, then sighed. "Look...I'm sorry, I guess...I kind of landed you in here..."

"What?" Campbell growled, taking a step forward.

Ferrum flinched at first, but confidently raised her chin to look the wolf in the eye.  "It was accident though."

"She alerted the Tribe to Achak's death," explained Misty. She then turned to Ferrum. "But that doesn't mean it was your fault..."

"Agreed," nodded Koro. "But has Chief calmed down about it at all?"

"Yeah, it sounded like he was only mad for the time being," agreed Lephos.

Ferrum gasped. "He can't just get over Achak's death so quickly! Achak was one of Chief's close friends. Of course he'd look for someone to blame."

"Doesn't mean he can blame us," Campbell growled. "When we get out of here, he won't live to see another day."

"What are you going to do?" Ophir asked with a smirk. "You couldn't hurt a fly."

"Shut up!" Campbell rounded on him.

"Make me," Ophir scoffed.

Campbell growled but Koro interrupted. "Cut it out." He then turned to Ferrum. "So we're really in here for life?"

"Yeah...sorry." Ferrum looked ashamed.

"It's okay," Bracken insisted. Ferrum turned to look at him. "You didn't know the Chief would react that way."

"Well...I hope you guys are comfortable in  here then, and uh...try not to go insane. That's what happened to the last animals who stayed in here." Ferrum shrugged. She then left the den.

"I'll try to keep my sanity," Rhett said dryly.

Tiggerpaka snorted. "Please. I lost that moons ago, and I turned out fine!"

"That's not exactly reassuring," Lephos muttered worriedly.

The group then began conversation, except for Misty, who drowned everyone out with her thoughts. How do we get out? she asked herself, full of worry. 

Just then, a huge male lion came in through the entrance. "Prisoners." His voice was deep. "Chief wants to see you."

Author's Note:

Gah, short/kinda pointless chapter. x3 But at least you learned a bit about what's going on. :3