Chapter 15: Returning to The Bending Tower

"Just knock her out!" Liberty snarled as she struggled to keep Starlight down. They had been guiding her back to The Bending Tower but she had began resisting and screeching even louder, filling Liberty's ears to the point when she wanted to hit her own head against a rock and knock herself out.

After trying practically everything to get Starlight to stop resisting, Liberty decided knocking her out would be the best thing.

"I...I can't," Malroy insisted. "I don't wanna hurt her."

"You idiot, she looks to be in pain enough!" Ekaj grunted, attempting to help Liberty keep Starlight down.

"But--"

"Would you stop making lovey-dovey eyes?! You're gonna get her killed if you don't stop acting so lovesick!" Liberty snarled.

Malroy flinched, and everything was silent except for Starlight's screeching. He hesitated, then shifted his jaw in annoyance before heading over to the nearest rock and slamming it into Starlight's skull, immediately knocking her out.

"Finally," growled Liberty, picking Starlight up with the help of Ekaj.

They then started guiding Starlight back towards The Bending Tower, Malroy padding along but at a distance, as if not wanting to get close to Starlight. What a coward, growled Liberty to herself. Anger was bubbling up in her already after seeing her best friend get attacked. Malroy's hesitation to be useful was making Liberty madder.

They finally approached the shortcut to the yard. "You go first," ordered Liberty to Ekaj. "Take her with you."

Ekaj gave a curt nod before taking Starlight with him through the tunnel.

Liberty then rounded on Malroy. "Why are you so useless?" she growled.

"What?" Malroy murmured.

"You're reluctance to help out is what's going to be the death of her," Liberty snarled, allowing her teeth to show. "And although Starlight seems oblivious, it's the most obvious thing in the world; you like her. Why let her die?"

Malroy hesitated before sighing. "I care for her, let's just leave it at that. And I can't stand to see her like that. It scares me. And I want her to stay alive as much as you do."

"Then help," Liberty growled before walking through the entrance to the yard.

As soon as she came in, there was a crowd gathered around, and it didn't take Liberty too long to guess what for. She could hear yells and some sobs, mainly shouts of confusion.

Liberty walked up to the closest animal, who just so happened to be Streak. "Where's Shell?" she demanded.

"What time is there for that? Starlight a got black gunk on her shoulder!" Streak exclaimed.

"I am well aware," hissed Liberty in annoyance. "And I want to know where Shell is."

"Around this time of day, by her stream," explained Streak. "You know she has a schedule."
"Thank you," Liberty said. She then turned around to head back out, only to find Fake-Ash standing there.
"Hello Liberty," he acknowledged in his usual cold tone.
Annoyance pricked at Liberty's chest. "Hello," she returned reluctantly, forcing kindness into her voice. If her plan was going to work, she'd have to be respectful.
"I see your friend has gotten an injury. It's quite strange," he commented.
Don't you think I noticed? Liberty thought frustratedly. "Yes. I helped to bring her back."
Fake-Ash smiled, but once again, his smile wasn't full of happiness. "Ah. It's good I gave you the full Bender rank then. I knew it'd benefit you - and the Tower as well."
"Thank you," Liberty replied.
"Starlight's injury is rather...strange, however. I wonder what it is," Fake-Ash pondered.
He's lying, Liberty told herself. Fake-Ash came from Yin, same place as the creature who had bitten Starlight; Liberty had concluded the creature was a Shadow Tracker, just as Shell had talked about. So Fake-Ash would know what the injury was from, and maybe how to cure it. I can't let him know that I know about this, Liberty decided. So I can't ask him about a cure...
"May I go find Shell?" Liberty asked.
"Why?" Fake-Ash asked curiously.
"I want to speak to her," Liberty insisted.
Fake-Ash seemed to consider this, and then he spoke. "Very well. Go ahead."
Relief washed over Liberty and she headed back out. Shell better know the cure, she thought, or Starlight is dead already...

Author's Note:
My family is getting on my nerves
someone please come take me away to go live in Camp Half-Blood or Hogwarts instead
and sorry for the short chapter but it seemed like an appropriate place to stop

Chapter 14: The Tunnels

There was silence in the room until Lilypaka's brother spoke up. "What do you mean?" he asked, leaning against the wall of his cage and munching on the grub he had.
"Your grubs," Lilypaka said. "Where do you get them from?"
Tiggerpaka snorted. "Uh, a rotting tree. Duh."
"No, like, where?" Lilypaka pressed.
"The rotting tree!" Tiggerpaka yelled, throwing his arms up as he gulped down the rest of his grub. "You find one, stick your arm in and pull out a grub!"
"Where is the tree you idiot?!" Campbell snarled.
"You imbeciles!" Tiggerpaka exclaimed. "You pups don't know nothin'! A rotting tree is outside! Duh!"
"Where outside?" Lilypaka demanded.
"The woods!" Tiggerpaka shouted.
"No, Tiggerpaka!" Bracken exclaimed. "She means like, where? Like, which woods!"
"Okay," Lilypaka said. "Let's try this again." She breathed in, then let it out. "Tiggerpaka. To go to this rotting tree to get the grubs, in the woods, how do you get there?"
"Through the tunnel," Tiggerpaka snorted, grabbing another grub from the pile he had created and beginning to eat it.

"...What tunnel?" Lilypaka demanded.

"Under there," Tiggerpaka said, pointing to his stick hut.

Everyone was silent again until Campbell spoke up. "A tunnel?!" she said in disbelief. "You mean we could've escaped this WHOLE TIME?!"

"If you don't pipe down we never will!" Sidew snapped.

Lilypaka quickly ran over to Tiggerpaka's hut and kicked it over. Misty sat up a bit, and could see the tunnel Tiggerpaka had apparently dug.

"Hey!" Tiggerpaka yelled. "That's my hut!" He went to charge his sister but Lephos put his paw on the meerkat's tail, preventing him from getting to her. "How else am I supposed to seek safety?!"

"You realize...we can get out of here!" Bracken exclaimed, beaming.

"Tiggerpaka, by you digging this hold, you've given us an escape!" Lilypaka gasped.

"Of course," snorted Tiggerpaka. "You pups are just too dumb to know earlier."

"Sure," muttered Rhett.

"Then we gotta escape," Koro insisted.

"You think, Koro?" Rhett snorted. "What would we do without ya?"

"Surely we'd be lost," chuckled Ophir.

Koro looked slightly annoyed. "Any ideas as to how we can get over there?"

"Seems quite simple. We just need tunnels dug between the cells," Lilypaka explained. "I did tunneling back a the Meer--"

"And were terrible at it!" Tiggerpaka exclaimed. "Allow me. I am the best tunneler in the land!"

"Ha, right," chuckled Rhett. "And Campbell will say something positive for once, Sidew will become skinny, and Adele will start speaking."

"Hey!" Sidew protested, while Campbell growled; and Adele, as usual, said nothing, obviously not having had heard Rhett's comment.

"Okay, we'll both go then," Lilypaka nodded, "if you're so eager."

"I shall break us all out," Tiggerpaka declared, chest puffed out. He then started digging and in no time he was tunneling underground.

Lilypaka sighed and went underground as well.

There was silence in the room until Lilypaka popped up in Bracken's cage. "Get through the tunnel," she ordered. Bracken nodded and Lilypaka popped back underground, and Bracken squeezed himself into the tunnel.

Lilypaka then popped up in Lephos's and he began to come through. Lilypaka had continued to dig others out but Tiggerpaka had failed to come up. "Where's Tiggerpaka?" Misty asked.

"Who cares?" snorted Rhett.

"But what's going on with him?" Misty said. "Tiggerpaka!"

She then heard a bump and a muffled "ow". Then Tiggerpaka pushed up from under the ground, back in his cage. He rubbed his head, and Misty assumed it had been knocked on one of the walls of the cages. "Yes, my dear Mistake?" he said.

"Just wanted to make sure you were okay," Misty replied.

Tiggerpaka chuckled. "Although I thank you for your concern, I am a warrior. I can handle myself well enough."

"'Handle yourself well enough', my tail," snorted Campbell from behind Tiggerpaka, having had dug up from the tunnels.

"What about your tail, Crabbell?" Tiggerpaka demanded.

Lilypaka then popped up in Misty's cage. "Let's go," she insisted, digging back under.

Misty then crawled into the tunnel, keeping her eyes closed to prevent dirt from getting in. She followed the scent of Lilypaka that lead in what she hoped to be the direction of the meerkats' den, and then popped up where she had wanted to end up.

"You got dirt on your head," remarked Campbell, brushing it off with her paw.

Soon after everyone - even Adele - was in the meerkats' den.
"You're all very welcome," insisted Tiggerpaka. "If it hadn't been for me, you'd all still be stuck in your cages."
"Right," growled Campbell.
"He has a point, actually," Misty insisted. "If he hadn't dug that tunnel we'd still be in jail."
"See? Mistake is smart!" Tiggerpaka said. "Unlike the rest of you--"
"We should get going," interrupted Lilypaka, with a wary glance at her brother.

"Yeah, let's go," agreed Koro. "I'll go first."

"And here we see the grand, selfless leader, going forward for the sake of the group," Rhett chuckled. 

Koro shot his brother a look before heading out the tunnel.

"Ladies first," smirked Sidew, beckoning with his tail to the tunnel as he looked at Lephos.

"Yes, so go first, Sidew," Lephos retorted.

"I'll go," spoke up Campbell. "If you two will shut up that way..." she then headed into the tunnel.

"Poor girl will probably get stuck," chuckled Ophir, heading in after. 

"I'll go next!" Bracken exclaimed, diving in.

"I'm going now," announced Lephos, glancing at his brother. "And don't you say a word." He then headed through the tunnel.

"Lady," sang Sidew, heading through the tunnel as well.

"Hmph. Dumb pups are probably dead by now. I shall go see if they're safe," declared Tiggerpaka, dashing into the tunnel.

Now all that remained was Adele, Rhett, Lilypaka and Misty. 

"You go," Rhett insisted to Misty.

"I'll be going with Adele," Misty said stubbornly.

"You need to quit guiding her paws," Rhett replied. "How else is she going to learn on her own?"

"Me not guiding her paws would result in her death," Misty retorted. 

Rhett shook his head. "Suit yourself." He then went through the tunnel.

"I'm going last," announced Lilypaka.

"Alright," nodded Misty. She then turned to her sister, and looked at the tunnel.

Adele did as well, then headed through. Misty quickly followed her.

The tunnel was dark, like the one she has crawled through before. Again she kept her eyes closed and followed the scents of those before her. 

When she emerged  from the dirt the darkness of the night greeted her. The rest of the group was waiting for her. "Misty's here," announced Koro, helping her up out of the tunnel and making Misty smile shyly.
Not too much later Lilypaka came out. "Let's hurry!" she exclaimed. "Who knows when someone'll check on the jail?"
"Agreed, we need to get moving," Koro nodded.
They started walking along in the forest, everyone silent like the rest of the area. Nerves were beginning to build up in Misty and with every step she became increasingly paranoid, concerned they were going to get caught somehow. What if a Tribe member was checking the jail right now? Maybe some of them were outside right now and they'd come across them. You're being paranoid, she told herself. You'll be fine.
The group continued to walk, and that was when Misty spotted something.
A brown wolf was standing there, his eyes locked on the group.
It was Tsovo.
If possible, everyone was even more silent than before. This lasted for a while before Koro spoke up. "We're leaving."
There was silence again as Chief's son scrutinized them. Misty found herself holding her breath. How was he going to respond?
"You're going the wrong way," said Tsovo finally.
This took Misty by such surprise that her jaw dropped. "What?" she found herself saying in disbelief.
Campbell growled. "If that's some sarcastic remark about you bringing us back--"
"I don't do sarcasm," insisted Tsovo in his bored tone. "You're actually going the wrong way. Follow me."


Misty couldn't believe that Koro actually trusted the Tribe member. He got us put in jail in the first place, she told herself, fighting back a growl of annoyance. And Misty knew Tsovo well enough to know that he wouldn't help the group out unless it was somehow to his own advantage. This won't end well, she told herself.
After a while of walking Tsovo stopped. "This is as far as I'm gonna go. Just keep walking."
Koro nodded at him. "Thank you."
Tsovo gave a stiff nod back that seemed rather reluctant.
"Let's get going then," Koro said to the group, and he kept walking along, the rest of the group following.
"Ha! We didn't need So-so to show us the way. I can navigate my way through any place! Like that one time--"
"Shush," hissed Lilypaka to her brother.
Misty followed the others but then heard Tsovo's voice. "Misty?"
She turned around to look at him. What does he want? she wondered nervously. "Yeah?"
Tsovo gave a small nod. "Seek safety."

Author's Note:
There was an error and the whole chapter hadn't been posted. Sorry! D:
And yes...Tsovo knows >:D

Chapter 13: The Dark Intruder

"Kinda chilly," Starlight remarked. She glanced up at the sky. Liberty noticed it was darkening, and it was covered in clouds, like it was going to rain.

"Yeah," said Malroy in agreement. Wind blew through the area, giving Liberty chills. "We can't be out here too long. Or else we'll get really cold."

"You don't say," Ekaj chuckled.

"What will be out here though?" Starlight commented. "It seems way too cold..."

"There's bound to be something," Malroy assured her.

"We'd better hurry up. I'm getting cold," Liberty muttered.

"And then we have our little sunshine over here," Malroy chuckled. Ekaj joined in, and Liberty shot Malroy a glare.

"Sense anything?" Starlight asked.

Malroy smelled the air. "Rabbit nearby," he said. "And a few other things."

"Then let's head for it," Starlight said. "Malroy, you lead."

Malroy nodded and started walking a bit more to the left, Starlight following quickly and Ekaj and Liberty walking close behind.

"Hopefully you can hunt as good as you fight," Ekaj chuckled to Liberty.

Liberty gave Ekaj a small nod but nothing else.

"How do you think Lucky's doing?" Ekaj ventured.

"As good as any member of the young," Liberty muttered.

"But Alista didn't seem to like him all that much. I'm worried he may not fit in," Ekaj pointed out.

"He'll be fine. And even if he doesn't, he can live. You don't need friends to survive," Liberty insisted.

"Liberty," Ekaj said, suddenly sounding full-out serious. "Lucky has only had his mother his entire life, and his mom abused him. He needs at least someone."

Liberty glanced at him but didn't respond.

"It's up ahead," murmured Malroy. "I'll let you get it, Starlight."

Starlight flashed him a smile. Oh, Lifebreeze, Liberty thought with a scowl.

Sure enough though, a rabbit was not too far ahead. It was among the fallen trees, where Liberty had found Lucky before.

Starlight began to sneak forward towards the rabbit, who wasn't at all aware that its life was in danger. She kept making her way forward stealthily.

Suddenly, something leaped out from the trees. It screeched out and darted past the rabbit and tackled Starlight pinning her, screeching and making all sorts of strange sounds.

The creature was pure black, black as a shadow. It had a canine-like body and a long tongue that flicked around as it hung out of its mouth, and had bits of fire-like stuff coming off of its back.
Starlight screamed out in fear and Malroy crashed into the clearing. "Starlight!"
"What is that?!" Ekaj yelped as he ran after his brother, Liberty following to inspect what was going on.
Liberty watched as Malroy stood in front of the creature. "Get off her!" he snarled. He lunged at the creature and slashed his claws across its flank, but strangely it did no damage at all. In fact, the creature only turned and looked at Malroy, and made a deeper hissing-spitting sound as its bright eyes locked on him.
"Get it off me!" Starlight yelped, kicking at the creature but to no effect.
"It doesn't seem to get hurt by anything!" exclaimed Ekaj. "What do we do?"

The creature then released Starlight and she quickly got to her paws, shaking in fear as she looked at it. The creature's long tongue licked under its eye and hissed-spat once more. "G-Get away!" Starlight yelped.

The creature then shrieked and darted at Starlight with incredible speed, almost moving at a blur. It seemed that as soon as it had moved, it had bitten down on Starlight's shoulder.

Liberty looked, and for what felt like the first time she was full of fear. Where the creature had bitten, there was black liquid oozing from her body. Starlight screamed out, her scream almost sounding like that of the creature's.

"STARLIGHT!" yelled Malroy, running forward to her as the creature darted off at a great speed.

"What's happening to her?!" Liberty demanded, running forward to look at the injury. 

"We gotta get her back!" Malroy cried. "Starlight? Are you okay?!"

All that came out of Starlight's mouth was a maddening screech of pain that filled Liberty's ears. Make stop! She yelled in her head to anyone who could hear.

Malroy quickly supported Starlight from one side with his shoulder. "Ekaj! Get the other side!" he said.

Ekaj supported Starlight's other side and they began to guide her back, as fast as they could. As Liberty followed, she started putting things together. Campbell told us about shadow creatures before she died, she realized. Campbell was right all along...

Author's Note:

Whatcha think is gonna happen to Starlight?

Also, please check out my blogs, "The Benders Speak" and "Megan's Musings",  and give them a follow! I need more viewers on both of them. I can't link it right now bc I'm on mobile, but it's on my Blogger profile which you can access on the sidebar of this blog.

Chapter 12: Wooden Cages

Tsovo escorted Misty back to the prison den, Misty ignoring him the whole way. She didn't speak a word and neither did he, which was fine with her; she didn't want to hear what he had to say.

The words from Majaka still rang in her ears: "the way out is right in front of you." What did he mean by that? Is he implying that it's obvious? she thought. Because it certainly isn't...

"Well, here you are," Tsovo spoke up as they stopped in front of the jail.
Misty didn't say anything else in response as she headed towards the den, chin held up and completely ignoring the Chief's son, not even giving him a "goodbye" or a "thanks".
As soon as she walked in though, she noticed how different things looked.
Everyone was separated. There were box-like objects - like cages - all linked together in the den. They were big enough to hold one animal each. One had Campbell, another held Rhett...each cage had one member of the group, except for Tiggerpaka, who shared a cage with Lilypaka at the back. Tiggerpaka didn't appear happy with this, as he kept muttering and pacing.
There was an empty one in between Adele and Koro, which Misty figured had to be hers. "You're in cages now," spoke up Tsovo, coming in behind Misty. "Head in yours."
"Why are we?" Misty demanded, turning on him.
Tsovo once again gave an emotionless look. "Harder for you to plan something while separated."
Misty scowled and reluctantly got into her cage and Tsovo swung the door shut behind her. "You can't open it from inside," he explained.
"Wonderful," Misty muttered.
After that Tsovo left, and as soon as he did Campbell spoke up, not too far from Misty. "Where were you?"
"Chief's den apparently," Misty replied.
"Why were you in there?" Rhett's voice asked.
"Got beat-up. Tsovo took me to Nahuel," Misty responded.
"Okay, why would he take you to get your injuries patched up?" Lephos wondered aloud. "I mean, we're technically enemies of--"
"Because he likes Misty," replied Sidew. "And you wonder why I think you're slow."
Misty felt embarrassed and slunk back in her cage, retreating into the shadows in hopes that it may somehow erase her from the conversation.
"The whole thing is gross," said Campbell in disgust.
"You're really sensitive," came Ophir's sarcastic voice.
"You don't get an opinion," Campbell growled back.
"And why's that, dear?" Ophir asked.
"Because your opinions are wrong."
"Hate to break it to you, but--"
"Shut up, both of you," snapped Rhett.
"Right, because you're the boss of me, how?" Campbell said dryly.
Misty was relieved that the attention had been lifted off of her. "Rhett's right. You two do need to quit arguing," Koro spoke up from next to Misty.
"You don't have the right to talk either," Campbell snapped.
"I'm the leader," Koro said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Guys, just stop fighting!" Bracken protested.
"What do you know about stopping fights? Your fath--" Campbell began, but came to a halt, seeming to realize what she said, and silence fell over them. Even Misty was taken by surprise; no one seemed to talk about Bracken's father to him, as everyone was worried about how he'd react to it. His father, Ironfang, had been a murderer. And Misty knew Ironfang was the total opposite of his son.
"I barely knew my father," Bracken murmured. "In fact, none of you knew him!" he cried out. It was the first time Misty had heard Bracken raise his voice; let alone start to cry over something. He was always too happy to be negative about anything. "So you can't talk about him either!"
But Misty knew Campbell was one of those animals who could never admit she was wrong, even when she herself knew she was. "But we heard stories, didn't we?" Campbell insisted.
"Dad is dead now. Put it behind us," Bracken insisted, voice shaking with emotion. "They killed him. He's dead..." He seemed to be trying to assure himself more than  the others.
"Who's Ironfang?" Lilypaka's voice asked.
"A weakling," Tiggerpaka snorted. "He was easy to defeat. It just took one swift kick to the--"
"We need to talk about something else," Misty spoke up. "Bracken's right. Ironfang is in the past; and Bracken doesn't deserve to be remembered for the things his father did."
"Misty's right," Koro agreed immediately, making satisfaction fill Misty. "This is irrelevant to what's happening now."
"So how do we get out of here?" Lephos wondered.
"It's simple," Tiggerpaka snorted. "But of course, you minions aren't smart enough to hear my plan to get us out of here."
"Of course," Campbell muttered.
"Hold on," Lilypaka spoke up.
"Oh Lilypaka. Do not speak, you may make a fool of yourself again," said Tiggerpaka.
Lilypaka ignored her brother. "Tiggerpaka, where do you keep getting your grubs?"

Author's Note:
Cliffhanger...
Also, check out my new pages I have. Especially the "survey" one. Barely anyone's been on that.
I linked some new story blogs also~
And be sure to check my other blogs. Go to my Blogger profile.
Sorry this chapter is kinda short. And pointless.

Chapter 11: New Member of the Young

There was silence in the room for a few heartbeats before Starlight spoke up. "Why does your mother do that to you?" she asked, face twisted with sympathy.

"I don't know," Lucky whimpered. "I never did anything bad to her! I...I..." Tears slid down his cheeks and a sob escaped him.
Liberty always felt uncomfortable around animals who were crying or injured or sick, so this wasn't her idea of a good time. She gritted her teeth. The poor guy has an abusive mother, she told herself. You gotta stick around for him.
"We won't take you back to your mother," Sun promised.
"You won't?" Lucky murmured.
"Of course not," Diamond spoke up with a growl. "I would never hand a child over to an abusive parent."
"We'll keep you here," Creature agreed with a nod. "You'll get to stay with the young."
"What's the young?" Lucky asked.
"Animals around your age," Ekaj replied.
"Will they hurt me?" Lucky murmured as Starlight picked him up by his scruff.
"No, they're nice," Starlight insisted.
"Lucky, you'll stay there at the young den," Sun said. "But Liberty." She looked at her. "You'll be Lucky's main caretaker."
Liberty wanted to recoil at the idea but kept herself from doing so. "No, no," she insisted. "I'm not good with young." And I don't like being around them, no matter what their backstory, she thought.
"There's a rule," Sun insisted. "If you find a life, you're responsible for that life."
"What if I don't want to be?" Liberty growled, but it came out more harsh than she had intended.
"You are, and that's final," growled Diamond.
Liberty locked eyes with her grandmother and bit back a growl but said nothing more. She knew where that strictness came from; raising two pups like Rusty and Dust could really change your personality, for better or for worse.
"Fine," Liberty muttered.
"What?" Lucky said confusedly.
"Liberty here is going to take care of you," said Creature, giving Liberty a look.
"Really?" said Lucky eagerly.
"Yeah," Liberty muttered.
"Like a new mom?" Lucky asked.
Liberty stiffened at the word "mom". The thought of any animal ever calling her "mom" caused her a lot of discomfort and made her feel awkward. In fact, being a mother was one of the last things she wanted to do. She'd heard - and on one occasion seen - animals give birth. It did not look like a walk through the field. Plus, afterwards Liberty would have to put up with all the squealing and questions being shot at her every day. The thought annoyed her.
"...Not exactly," Liberty said hesitantly.
"We'll all be your new family," spoke up Starlight, obviously sensing Liberty's discomfort. "We'll be nice to you and treat you well. You'll never have to go back to your mother again."
"Thank you thank you thank you!" Lucky squealed, running up to Liberty and hugging her paw. Liberty stood there awkwardly before gently pushing the kitten off.
"Uh, right. Let's take you to Airia. She'll also be looking after you," Liberty said, picking Lucky up by the scruff.
"The young den isn't far from here," Ekaj promised, and the three of them left the den.
Once a while away from the elders, Starlight spoke up. "You seemed happy to take up on that offer," Starlight chuckled.
"Didn't have much of a choice, did I?" Liberty said through Lucky's fur.
"Will I make any friends?" spoke up Lucky, obviously not understanding the current conversation.
"I bet you will," Starlight smiled. "You're so adorable, the others will love you."
They made it to the young den, where Rhonda was chasing Okerro around, and Alista and Cloudie were keeping their distance. By the looks of things, they were playing another game of tag.
Airia was laying down with her head on her paws watching them, but lifted her head up upon Liberty, Starlight and Ekaj's entrance. "What do you need?" she asked in a tired voice.
As Liberty set Lucky down Starlight explained to Airia what was going on, occasionally having to speak up because of the loud noises the young were making, clearly not interested in the newcomer. Starlight told Airia about how Lucky had an abusive mother and where he was found, and how he ended up in the elders' den, and that Liberty would be his caretaker, which made Liberty start to mutter words that she became relieved Airia couldn't hear.
"Poor thing!" cried Airia at the end of the story, approaching Lucky.
"You have...wings?" Lucky said in disbelief, looking up at Airia in awe.
"Hey, I do too," insisted Okerro, spreading his small black wings. "She's my mom."
Lucky lost a bit of his content look on his face at the word "mom", but Airia spoke again. "What's your name, dear?"
"Lucky," he murmured.
"Who're you?" asked Alista as she approached.
Cloudie came up to Lucky also. "He smells of outsider."
"What's up with your eyes?" Lucky frowned, looking at Cloudie.
"How rude," scoffed Alista. "She's blind, you dumb-tail, meaning she can't see."
Lucky recoiled slightly. "Be nice,"Airia scolded.
"Hi Lucky!" Rhonda exclaimed. "I'm Rhonda!"
"Hi," Lucky returned.
"Why are you here though?" Alista demanded.
"I...I..." Lucky hesitated.
"He doesn't have to say if he doesn't want to," Airia insisted, glaring at Alista. "And you need to be nicer. Lucky will need time to settle in and you're not helping."
"'Settle in'?" Alista, Rhonda and Cloudie echoed simultaneously.
"Yep. Lucky's gonna live here now," Starlight said.
"Is he going to stay tiny like that?" Alista asked, sizing Lucky up. "Because he's really short."
"Are you gonna stay your height?" Ekaj retorted.
"Alista, you're not being very nice right now," Airia pointed out. "Another rude remark out of your mouth and I'll give you vole for dinner."
"Blech! I hate vole!" Alista yelped.
"Then don't be so mean," Rhonda insisted.
"You can play with us if you want Lucky," Cloudie insisted. "Do you know how to play 'tag'?"
"No," Lucky shook his head.
"You mean you didn't play tag with your littermates?" Cloudie said with a tilted head.
Lucky stiffened but didn't seem to know how to reply. "They...I..."
"Look, Lucky's not comfortable talking about his family. So don't keep asking," Airia insisted.
"Why?" asked Rhonda immediately.
"Yeah! What happened?" Alista demanded.
"I wanna know!" Rhonda exclaimed.
"Yeah, tell us, Lucky!" Alista added.
"Quiet!" Airia snapped. "What part of 'don't keep asking' do you two not understand? Honestly, you two are such troublemakers..."
"I am not!" Rhonda protested. "Alista gets into more trouble than me!"
"No I don't!" Alista yelled.
"This is why I'm not gonna be a mother," Liberty hissed to Starlight.
Starlight merely chuckled. "I think it's amusing."
"I think it's annoying," Liberty shot back.
"Alright, quiet, quiet!" Airia exclaimed, making everyone fall silent. "Cloudie, explain tag to Lucky and then you all play. And Alista, Rhonda, do not cause any trouble for Lucky."
"We weren't!" Alista and Rhonda protested.
"And Lucky, dear, if you have any trouble, please tell me," Airia insisted, turning to look at the kitten.
Lucky just nodded, and then Airia turned to Starlight, Liberty and Ekaj. "You three are free to go."


"See? The young are annoying and ungrateful," Liberty muttered as the three walked down the hallway.
"You need to quit being like that," Ekaj insisted. "I'm sure you were like that when you were little."
"I wasn't," Liberty snapped. She and Ekaj had been in the same den as young for a very short amount of time, but Ekaj had then become an apprentice. In her pup-hood days, Liberty never recalled acting like the young that were in there now. "The only young in there I think is okay is Okerro."
"You two are a lot alike. Both rather silent," Ekaj chuckled.
"You know what's weird?" Starlight spoke up. "Here we are, two apprentices and a full Bender - and one, the apprentices are older, and two the apprentices are taller."
"Why'd you bring that up?" Liberty asked.
"It was just...strange to me," Starlight shrugged.
"Yeah. We have been training longer," pointed out Ekaj.
Liberty felt a bit embarrassed that it seemed the attention was now focused on her. "I'm sorry for apparently being so good that I graduated early," she growled.
"Aren't you humble," Ekaj snickered.
Liberty shot the wolf-dog a glare before turning to look forward as she walked again.
Just then, Malroy came around the corner, halting before he could run into the three. "Oh. Hi," he greeted them. "'Ey Starlight," he nodded at her.
"Hi," Starlight replied shyly, and Liberty recalled that Starlight had a crush on Malroy. Oh, Lifebreeze... she thought.
"What have you been doing?" Malroy asked.
"Taking a newcomer to the young den. A kitten named Lucky," Starlight explained with a slight smile.
"You'll have to take me to show him sometime," Malroy suggested.
"Yeah, sure," Starlight said, beaming.
Liberty cleared her throat rather loudly. "Malroy, did you need something, or are you just here to waste time by talking?"
"Oh. I'm sorry, your full Bender-ness," Malroy snickered, making annoyance prick at Liberty's pelt. "But Ekaj, mom suggested we go hunting. She says the prey pile is low, and she wants us to pitch in and help."
"Okay," Ekaj nodded. He turned to Starlight and Liberty. "Wanna come with us?"
"Yeah," answered Starlight immediately.
Liberty just sighed. "Sure, why not."
"And hey, we do have a full Bender to lead us," Malroy chuckled.
"Doesn't this need to be checked in with...uh...Ash, first?" Starlight asked hesitantly.
"Mom told me Ash already said it was okay," Malroy said with a smile. "Let's go, then."

Author's Note:
I pulled off an all-nighter last night with my friend. It seemed like a good idea around 2:00 AM, but I now regret it. :/
Ship, ship, ships everywhere in this chapter~ ;)
Also, I brought back an old story blog, go check it out.