Chapter 27: Crazy Bobcat

The sun was setting, and Twister had told Liberty they were done training for the day. She learned a bit of Bending and about hunting, and had just gotten dinner. So now Liberty was free to do whatever she pleased.
The young she-wolf trotted into The Bending Tower, navigating around Streak, Patch and Nzuri, the siblings all seeming deep in conversation. About what, Liberty didn't hear, as she made her way up the stairs to find her only close friend, Starlight. Two friends now, she commented to herself, Starlight and Ekaj. Well, it's something.
She sniffed at the air, and managed to pick up Starlight's scent nearby. Liberty followed it, and turned around the corner, only to be smacked right into by Starlight herself, who was panting. "Oh. S-Sorry, Liberty," she gasped. "But something...something happened..."
Liberty waited patiently for Starlight to say more.
"It's Audrey. She went into the Healer room, because she had gotten a scratch on her ear that was bothering her...and Bracken attacked her, and she got a panic attack, so I'm looking for her mother..." Starlight panted.
"I'll help you find Nyla," Liberty said. "But I don't want to go into the Healer room while Audrey's having her panic attack. I don't like watching things like that."
"Of course, of course," Starlight nodded. "Let's, uh...go now."
They trotted down the steps and towards the Earthbender room. Nyla was laying down in there, eyes closed but obviously not fully asleep. Liberty prodded the Border Collie with her paw and Nyla's eyes opened. She sat up. "What?" she asked.
"Bracken attacked Audrey," Starlight announce, "and she had a panic--"
Before Starlight could finish, Nyla had obviously already gotten the message. She shot out of the room, and Starlight followed. Liberty hesitated, then decided to follow, hoping Audrey was calming down by now so she wouldn't have to watch the pup breaking down.
They walked into the Healer room. Surprisingly, Eclipse was in there, despite Firefly's earlier protests of her needing to rest and stay away from healing duties. She was right by Audrey, comforting the young Collie, who was hyperventilating. Liberty saw that Nightgale and Comet had Bracken pinned to the ground, the bobcat snarling and yelling things Liberty couldn't quite make out.
"Audrey!" Nyla ran over to her daughter. "Are you alright?"
"H-H-He attacked me!" Audrey sobbed.
"Why would Bracken attack Audrey?" Comet wondered, no hint of panic to his voice - the total opposite of Audrey - as his head turned sideways in confusion. "Before Bracken was...well, kidnapped, he always seemed to be kind towards her...and now he wants to kill her?"
"It's a mystery," Nightgale sighed, pushing harder on Bracken as he struggled under her grasp.
"I don't think Audrey remaining in this anxious state is good for her," Eclipse commented.
"She'll get over it," Liberty said.
"No, I mean, she needs to stop having panic attacks," Eclipse replied, her blind eyes fixed on Liberty. "Of course she'll get over this current attack, but when it happens again, she'll just return to how she's acting now." She turned back to Audrey, who seemed to be calming down, but shook with nerves every now and then. "I can think of something, I'm sure, to make Audrey be calm more often. But, there's no way to completely get rid of the anxiety, as she was born with it. I can only make her be able to control it better."
"I suppose that will work," Nyla shrugged, licking Audrey's forehead.
"I'll think of something," Eclipse promised, getting up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go before Firefly runs in and starts rambling about me being in here."
With that, the blind medicine Bender took her leave.
"Come on, Audrey..." Nyla nudged her daughter, who shakily got to her paws. The two Border Collies walked out of the room.
"Liberty, Starlight. Can you watch Bracken for a while? Comet and I have to get some herbs. We're low on some of them," Nightgale explained.
"Uh...sure," Starlight shrugged.
Nightgale smiled and let go of Bracken, who quickly got to his paws and crawled into the corner with a snarl. She then left the room, followed closely by her fellow Healer.
"Heh, heh..." Bracken was now chuckling.
"I'm scared to ask," Starlight said.
"Plan shall work. Strong, much," Bracken hissed.
"What the heck does that mean?" Liberty demanded, shooting a look at the insane bobcat.
"Talk different," Bracken commented, "shall adjust."
Bracken then froze into place and then turned back to them. "Ah, this is much better. Now I sound like you..."
Starlight and Liberty exchanged crept out looks.
"The plan is going to work," Bracken said. "I can feel it!"
Then Bracken froze again, but this time he fell over, fainting.
"I think that's my cue to leave..." Starlight said, looking horrified.
"We got to stay," Liberty insisted. "No matter how strange it is, we're doing this for Nightgale and Comet..."

Author's Note:
Short-ish chapter, sorry. D: I hadn't updated in a while. Hope y'all had a good Easter. :)
Oh, and check my Blogger profile. The TFEOB Blog made a post, and I made a new story. Still mapping out the plot and all, though.
I haven't updated The Powered Ones in FOREVER though...I gotta do that soon.
Got school tomorrow, dang it D:<

Chapter 26: Goddess of the Earth

Tiggerpaka got to his feet and brushed the dust off his fur. "You called?" he said coolly.
"Oh brother," Campbell grumbled.
Misty, however, was curious. She leaned closer to see what was going on.
"You're an exile, Tiggerpaka!" Moja shouted. "You can't come into our territory!"
"Oh, please. I am a true warrior! I can go wherever I please," Tiggerpaka snorted.
"Take him to the dungeon!" Tatu cried. "Now!"
The two meerkats who took him in lifted Tiggerpaka back up again. "Come on," one of them grunted.
"How dare you!" Tiggerpaka yelled. "I am a warrior! A fighter! I shall not be placed in your pathetic dungeon! Unhand me!"
"Poor Tiggerpaka," Bracken commented, looking concerned.
"Yeah," Misty agreed. "But to be honest, his protesting is only making things worse."
"True...but he shouldn't have to go into the dungeon. We're the ones who took him to a place he wasn't allowed to go," Bracken pointed out, looking guilty.
"Actually, it was Glory who took us here," Rhett said, glaring at Glory.
"What? You asked me to!" Glory protested.
Misty could hear all the meerkats down below bursting into conversation. The Council turned to the group. "You all, to the dungeon as well!"
"What!" Sidew yelled. "We're not even prisoners! We're friendly!"
"Sure you are!" Tatu said, loudly over the sounds of the meerkats below. "To the dungeon, intruders!"
Sidew grumbled to himself, and Misty managed to catch things like "stupid meerkats" and "we shouldn't even be here".
"Lilypaka! Uja!" Mbili yelled to the crowd.
Soon, two meerkats came to the room - one seemed pretty similar to Tiggerpaka, but she had a purple flower in her ear and a stick that served as a weapon. The other was the one with the fish scale shoulder pads; immediately Misty grimaced at the rotting stench. "Yes sir!" the fish scale one saluted.
"Take these prisoners to the dungeon!" Tatu ordered.
"I was gonna say that!" Mbili snapped.
"Well, whatever! It's done now!" Tatu growled.
Mbili punched Tatu in the face. "DON'T TAKE MY LINES!" he then tackled Tatu, and Moja joined in on the fight.
"C'mon," the similar-to-Tiggerpaka meerkat said. She smiled. "I'm Lilypaka."
"You look similar to Tiggerpaka," Bracken noticed.
Lilypaka froze. "Uh...yeah. I've been told that."
"And your name?" Lephos asked.
Lilypaka sighed. "Fine. I'm his twin sister. Not too proud of it, but y'know, he's my kin."
"Shut up, Lilypaka! We must get these prisoners to the dungeon!" Uja declared, pushing Lilypaka along. The group reluctantly followed.
They trotted down the stairs and to the main room, where the meerkats were now breaking up but still in conversation. Lilypaka and Uja lead them to a big door under the stairs that Misty hadn't noticed before. It lead to a damp, dirty hallway that looked like no one ever really came here often. They walked past several empty cells, and Misty saw Tiggerpaka in one of them. "Get me out of here!" Tiggerpaka yelled. "I am the slayer of Tiredblade! The hunter of Tiredblade! Your savior from Tiredblade's wickedness! Let me go!"

"Into the cells!" Uja cried. He pushed Sidew for the cell next to Tiggerpaka, but Sidew couldn't fit in.

"I told you that you're fat," Lephos sniffed.

"I'm not!" Sidew protested. "These cells are just too tiny!"

Uja frowned. "Hm. Obviously the cells shrunk!"

"More like you only made them for meerkat sizes," Rhett retorted. 

"Nonsense! We can hold prisoners of all sizes!" Uja insisted.

"I told the Council we had to redesign the dungeon and resize everything to hold more prisoners, but they wouldn't listen!" Lilypaka sighed.

Misty looked at Lilypaka. "You're not like the other meerkats," she commented. "You're--"

"Stupid? Yeah, I know!" Uja snorted. "She's the dumbest one in the Clan."

Misty expected Lilypaka to look offended, but she had a blank expression. "I get that everyday," she said, turning to Misty. "I'm used to it."

"Huh," Misty frowned. 

"Uja, face it. You're not going to fit the prisoners in," Lilypaka insisted.
"I knew that!" Uja replied. "So we must bring them before the Council!"
"Again?" Campbell hissed.


When they headed back inside the Council's room, the Council was still wrestling on the ground, punching and kicking wildly and yelling at each other. "HEY!" Lilypaka shouted.
The Council stopped rolling and looked up. "Oh, it's just Lilypaka," grumbled Tatu. "What nonsense must you tell us this time?"
"They don't fit in the cells," Lilypaka reported.
"Just shove 'em in," Moja shrugged, turning back to Mbili with his fist raised.
"We tried, Moja! They don't seem to fit," Uja sniffed. "The cells must have shrunk!"
"Then what shall we do?" Tatu wondered.
Misty desperately didn't want to be locked up in a cell - especially if they seemed that uncomfortable and small. What can I do to prove we're not prisoners? she asked herself. She then realized: I have to be friendly. That's the only way.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, rushing forward. "We're friends to you! Not enemies."
"Like heck you are!" Mbili exclaimed. "You came into our territory! You must be imprisoned!"
"One, we can't fit in the cells!" Misty said. Now she was getting annoyed at how blind the meerkats were - they weren't the Clan's enemies! "And two, we're friendly animals. We're not going to hurt you or anything bad like that!"
"Yeah!" Bracken said in agreement. "Please let us go!"
"You utter morons! You're obviously here to usurp our positions as Council of the Highest!" Tatu barked. "To the dungeon, now! I don't care how small the cells are. You'll fit!"
Misty growled, her temper rising. She slammed her paws into the tree bark in frustration, and suddenly a bunch of dust flew in through the skylight, fluttering around. It quickly flew out once more. Misty realized she had only Earthbended on accident. "Sorry," she muttered halfheartedly.
But as Misty looked at the Council, she saw they were gaping at her. Then, much to her shock, the Council bowed to Misty. "Goddess of the Earth!" Tatu exclaimed. "We are so sorry for attempting to imprison you and your friends." The Council got to their feet. "Anything you wish, we shall give you!"
"I'm not--" Misty began, but Campbell nudged her.
"Anything we want!" she hissed to Misty. "Do you want to let them know you're not a...'goddess' or whatever they call it? We don't have to be prisoners anymore!"
Misty perked her head, realizing Campbell was right. "Alright then," she said, eyeing the Council. "I shall spare you of my wrath." She tried talking as importantly as she could. "But, you must give my friends and I places to stay while we regain our strength before embarking once more. And answer to our every question we give you."
"Of course, of course!" Mbili nodded quickly.
"I'll let you know if I have any more orders," Misty told them.
"Uja! Lilypaka! Take them to a room to stay!" Moja said urgently.
"Yes sir!" Uja saluted. "Come on, Goddess of Earth. We'll give you and your friends the best places we can provide!"
As the group followed the two meerkats, Lilypaka leaned for Misty's ear. "Well played."

Author's Note:
Ah yes, the Meerkat Clan...
Oh, and check out the new TFEOB Blog! You can access it from my profile.
Also, Tiggerkat (now Skeeter Lea) is now posting a new mini story called "The Soldier's Dog" and it's great so far. Please read it! Click here to see it. 

Chapter 25: Traumatized

Liberty and Ekaj stopped by Ice River. "No humans," Ekaj commented. "That's good."
"I s'pose," Liberty muttered, sitting down. She looked at the river before her, flowing quickly through the territory. She looked off in the distance, wondering where it lead to. Her father Dust had told her stories; about a Dalmatian named Spots. Spots had washed downstream and fallen off via a waterfall at the ending of Ice River. Everyone had thought he was dead. But he returned, with Sylvia as his mate. But then, Spots had died fighting the Firebenders. Dust said he wasn't quite sure how Spots died, but merely saw Spots among the bodies of the other killed animals when the battle was through. It all made Liberty wonder: what was battling the Firebenders like? She wished she could go back in time, see the Firebender fight. That'd be cool.
"Liberty?" Ekaj's voice snapped Liberty back to reality. "Shouldn't we be getting back?"
"I guess," Liberty grumbled, getting to her paws.
"Wait," Ekaj froze in place.
"What?" Liberty whispered, looking around.
"Thought I heard something," Ekaj hissed back.
They stood in silence, looking around, ears perked. Liberty sniffed the air. She couldn't smell anything. "Nothing. Must've been imagining things," Liberty told Ekaj.
Suddenly, Liberty heard pawsteps. She looked in the direction of it. She smelled the air again. Strangely, she couldn't detect a thing. "What--"
Next thing Liberty knew, she was on the ground - as soon as she gathered her thoughts that she was facing a fast opponent, she gasped in alarm to see it was a young bobcat. She recognized the face.
"Bracken?" Liberty said.
The bobcat hissed in a strange way. "Enemy!" she snarled, and aimed for a killing bite.
"Off of her!" howled Ekaj, ramming into Bracken. But this didn't affect him much. However, he did back off of Liberty and flatten his ears, glaring at Ekaj.
"Protective of enemy," he said. "Very."
Liberty quickly got up. "What is wrong with you?!" she snarled, storming up so she was face-to-face with Bracken.
"Enemy hot-headed!" he exclaimed.
"'Enemy'? But she's not...your enemy..." Ekaj said, confused.
"Silence!" Bracken hissed in a snake-like way. "Am here for job."
"Crazy from fear," Liberty suggested. "He's been kidnapped. Must be traumatized."
"That makes sense," Ekaj agreed. "Bracken, please listen. We're your friends. We--"
"Do not know of this word," Bracken growled. "'Friends'."
"I didn't know being traumatized could affect someone this much," Liberty commented.
"Bracken, follow us. Back to The Bending Tower," Ekaj urged.
"Bending Tower. Let's go," Bracken said.
"Alright...just follow," Ekaj said. "C'mon."
Ekaj began walking, and Bracken followed. To make sure Bracken didn't try to pull anything, Liberty guided him from behind. She studied the bobcat. He seemed rather paranoid; he was constantly darting left to right, growling and occasionally wincing. A few times Bracken flattened his ears and shut his eyes tight, as if trying to block out a sharp noise. Every now and then Liberty heard Bracken muttering, but couldn't catch what he was saying. She decided he was definitely traumatized, and needed help from Nightgale, desperately.
Liberty and Ekaj approached the gates, where Twig and her apprentice, Ryker were standing guard. Kirin and Malroy were also standing there. "Whadda you--" Twig began, but was cut off by Kirin's gasp.
"Bracken!" Kirin exclaimed. "How did you find him?"
"He came to us," Ekaj said.
"And tried to kill me," Liberty growled.
Twig gave Liberty an unconvinced look. "Yeah, sure. Sweet, kind Bracken tried to murder you."
"GOOD ONE!" Bracken howled, baring his teeth at Twig.
Twig jumped in alarm. "What did he just call me?"
Ryker trotted up to Bracken. "Bracken?"
"Do not talk!" Bracken snarled. "Must see Bending Tower!"
"Uh...can I talk to the real Bracken, please?" Ryker asked with a slight chuckle.
"Am real!" Bracken snapped.
"What's wrong with him?" Kirin whispered, studying Bracken.
"Traumatized," Liberty offered.
"Huh. We should bring him in," Twig suggested.
"I wanna see this," Malroy chuckled, and the guards followed Liberty and Ekaj in.
They walked into The Bending Tower and headed through the rather large main room, which was empty at the moment. It was around lunchtime, so Liberty figured everyone was eating outside or training in the yard. Liberty's mother had explained that when it got cold, animals would eat inside. And white-earth was well on its way.
The group walked out into the yard, and heads turned their way.
"Bracken!" exclaimed a voice. Firefly shot out of the crowd, running up to his apprentice. "You're alive!"
"Am very much alive!" Bracken snapped.
Firefly frowned. "What's wrong with him?"
"Traumatized," Kirin responded.
Eventually animals began crowding around.
"Bracken!"
"He's alive!"
"Look at the way he's twitching though! Must be scared."
Liberty, who had never been much of a fan of crowds, shrunk back from the gathering animals, trying to regain her space. Bracken, however, was dealing with the animals terribly. "GO AWAY!" he howled. "Too much animals!"
At this, animals began to back up, mostly in surprise.
"What's going on?" Ash shouldered his way through the crowd, followed by Raoul. "Bracken...?"
"Aha! Bending Tower leader!" Bracken exclaimed. "One who orders! Master of Stones!"
"Something's wrong with Bracken," Raoul commented.
"Thanks for the info!" snorted Nzuri. Leafy giggled.
"What's up with Bracken?" Ash asked. "Usually he's very nice..."
"Am not good!" Bracken said with a slight laugh. "I'm the--" he then froze and fell forward, collapsing onto the ground.
Nightgale ran forward, accompanied by Comet, the other Healer. "Well, he's fine, but he blacked out," she reported. "But he's obviously traumatized...he must have gone through bad things, for it to change his personality and speech as well."
"Huh. I've never seen anything like this," Comet said.
"Well, looks like I'll be dragging him up the stairs," Nightgale grumbled. "Any strong volunteers?"
Miguel made his way over. "I'll help."
"Oh, please, Miguel. You're not strong," Rusty rolled his eyes.
Miguel growled at him. "Stronger than you are, Rusty."
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Sirius called, laughing.
"Be quiet, Sirius," Akumu scolded her daughter.
With one last glare at Rusty, Miguel helped Nightgale move Bracken into The Bending Tower, Comet following.
"Bracken must have woken up on the wrong side of the nest!" Tiggerkat said from nearby. "He needs a reese cup! That'll make it all better." She then popped one of her treats into her mouth. "See? I feel better already!"
"Tiggerkat, you weren't feeling bad when you ate that," Snakeseye pointed out.
"I was feeling good!" Tiggerkat exclaimed. "And now I feel even better!"
"Well, alright then..." Snakeseye responded with a shrug.
The crowd began to break up, everyone going their separate ways and now discussing the Bracken incident. Liberty was about to move away when the door came open, and Eclipse came out. "What happened?" she asked, looking around. "I passed Nightgale in the hall, and..."
"It's okay, Eclipse," Firefly came over. "You should be in the mothers' den, anyway."
"No, no, I'm not being confined to a den," Eclipse insisted. "I'm not that far into carrying pups around, anyway!"
Liberty had heard Eclipse was blind. But by the way the she-wolf acted, she didn't seem very blind.
"Whoa. You're expecting pups?" Ekaj said.
"Uh, yeah," Eclipse replied. "Firefly's."
"Oh boy," Liberty hissed under her breath. Not only was this more of the "mate" stuff that got on Liberty's nerves, this also meant annoying pups running around The Bending Tower. And Liberty didn't want to deal with little pups stealing her prey as a prank or pestering her with questions.
"Hey, Twig," said Streak's voice. Liberty turned around to see Streak grinning. "Would you ever want to have kits?"
Twig growled and pushed Streak. "Never! Don't even bring that up."
Streak laughed, apparently satisfied for getting on his mate's nerves.
"Hm. Do you think you'd ever get a mate?" Ekaj asked, looking at Liberty.
Liberty turned away from his gaze. "No. It's just weird."
"Ah...okay," Ekaj said blankly, trotting away.

Author's Note:
Lots of that "mate" stuff in this chapter
I sincerely apologize. :/
And...what do you think about Bracken? How did he make it back to The Bending Tower...? 
I know so many things that you guys don't. >:D

Chapter 24: Council of the Highest

Later, Misty was being pushed through the forest by a meerkat holding a stick. "Chop, chop!" it exclaimed.
"For the last time!" Campbell cried, hearing the meerkat, "we are not your prisoners! We came along willingly!"
"You have the right to remain silent!" snapped the stick-holding meerkat.
"Kubwa, I think I should be the one to poke them with the stick," the other meerkat replied.
"It's my stick, Mgumu! Besides, I'm way tougher than you are," the stick-holding meerkat snorted.
"Oh like heck you are! I should be the one to poke our prisoners!"
"We are not prisoners!" Sidew growled. "Like Campbell said. We came willingly."
Kubwa and Mgumu ignored them. "Take this, wimp!" Mgumu cried, tackling Kubwa.
"Ow! Not cool!" Kubwa screeched, kicking Mgumu.
"Hey!" Mgumu protested, and soon they were rolling on the ground, punching and kicking wildly.
"Please just let us go!" Glory cried.
Koro came over and separated the two. "Alright. Can we go to your camp or not?"
"You don't give the orders, prisoner!" Mgumu snapped. He took Kubwa's stick and poked Koro. "Now follow us!"
"Gimme my stick back!" Kubwa protested, snatching the stick from Mgumu.
Misty sighed as everyone kept walking along. Misty had been tackled by a meerkat earlier. It was easy getting the meerkat off her, but he had called backup, aka Kubwa, who came out with a stick. They had asked the group what they were doing, and Lephos had explained they were looking for The Bending Tower. The meerkats accused them of being spies and told them to follow back to their camp. Everyone agreed to it, hoping to find a way back to The Bending Tower from the Meerkat Clan's camp, but so far things weren't looking too hopeful.
"Do you find it strange that Tiggerpaka is nowhere to be found?" Rhett hissed to Misty.
Misty frowned, realizing Rhett was right - Tiggerpaka was missing. "He's got to know these meerkats somehow. I'm positive."
"Yeah. But he's bound to show up sometime, with some lame excuse," Rhett snorted.
Suddenly, they were at the edge of the forest. A long field was before them, and in the middle of it was a huge tree. It was the biggest tree Misty had ever seen, with a lot of branches and plenty of leaves on the top. "Wow," Misty murmured.
"No talking! Move along!" Kubwa exclaimed, poking Misty again.
"Okay, okay!" Misty protested, moving along.
They walked through the field, and Misty tripped over something. "Gah!" she cried, trying to steady herself.
"Don't step in the burrows!" Kubwa growled, poking her.
"The burrows?" Bracken echoed.
"Are you stupid?" Mgumu snorted. "The burrows. It's our way of moving around the territory, with a few closely guarded entrances and exits. Quite amazing if you ask me." Mgumu smirked.
"Yeah! The Meerkat Clan is the best in the land," Kubwa exclaimed. "No one dares attack us!"
As they got close to the tree, Misty could see meerkats hanging on some of the branches above, and others at the base.
"Aha! Prisoners!" one sneered.
"Rot in the dungeon!" another cried.
"Meerkat Clan for the win!"
"I already hate this place," Campbell growled.
There was a door in the tree, and Kubwa and Mgumu lead the group inside the tree.
Misty looked around. There was a staircase spinning around around, further up the inside. There were lots of doors alongside the stairs, which Misty assumed lead to rooms; but the doors were meerkat size, so it'd be impossible for her to fit through. The stairs ended at the very top of the inside of the tree, where two huge doors were. Nearby that was a balcony, which Misty wondered what it was for. The roof was decorated with hanging vines and moss, and there was an opening at the top where Misty could see the stars.
A rotting stench reached Misty's nose and she grimaced. A brown meerkat with fish scales on his shoulders approached. "Hail, brothers!" he greeted Kubwa and Mgumu. "Found some intruders?"
"Yes, and they shall be put in the dungeon!" Kubwa cried, poking Bracken with his stick.
"Please don't hurt me," Bracken whimpered.
"Aw, it's okay Bracken," Misty assured her friend.
"Come! We shall take you to the Council of the Highest!" Mgumu exclaimed.
"Council of the Highest. Sounds important," Sidew said sarcastically.
"Indeed it is, prisoner! I'm not surprised you're shaking in your pelt!" Kubwa smirked.
"I'm not shaking in my pelt," Sidew grumbled.
Kubwa and Mgumu lead the group up the stairs. As they got higher and higher, Misty looked down below as meerkats walked aroud on the floor, passing each other and looking busy as some left the tree, while others dived into tunnels, which Misty assumed led to the burrows.
They walked through the big doors, leading to a rather big room. It had a balcony overlooking the outside, and there were three leaves on the ground which Misty assumed served as places to sleep. There were two mini torches on the walls. In the middle of the room three meerkats were yelling at each other.
"No, it will be raining tomorrow!" one of them screeched.
"You idiot! It's obviously going to be SUNNY OUT!" hollered another.
"Both of you, shut up! It's going to snow tomorrow!" the third exclaimed.
"Oh, you stupid--!" one of the meerkats tackled the other, punching him. The tackled one kicked at his attacker, and the third yelled and jumped on top of them both, hitting them with his elbow. They became a ball of fur rolling around the room.
"Council of the Highest! We bring prisoners!" Kubwa said.
The ball of meerkats froze into place and all three of them looked up. "Come again?" one of them asked.
"Prisoners," Mgumu insisted.
They all broke up and dusted themselves off. "Good job, Kubwa and Mgumu," said one of the meerkats. "Help yourself to some grubs.
"Oh, shut up Tatu! Don't let them get some grubs, I say we let them get us grubs!" snorted the other.
"Fair point!" Tatu exclaimed. He turned to Kubwa and Mgumu. "Fetch us grubs!"
Kubwa and Mgumu exited the room, muttering to themselves.
"What shall we do with them?" one of the meerkats asked Tatu and the other.
"Duh, Moja! The dungeon!" exclaimed a meerkat.
"Let's ask the Clan of their punishment, Mbili! Get some good ideas!" Moja said.
"Fine," Mbili grumbled.
"Prisoners, stay here!" Tatu ordered. "We must address our warriors!"
The three meerkats went to the balcony.
"Meerkat Clan!" Tatu exclaimed.
Misty could hear the sound of pawsteps scurrying on the floor.
"We have prisoners!" Mbili said.
"Hey, I wanted to say that!" Moja protested.
"Oh quit whining," Mbili snorted.
"No, you took my line!" Moja growled.
"Shut up, both of you!" Tatu yelled.
"Make us!" snapped Mbili and Moja.
Misty got closer, looking at the crowd below. Tons of meerkats were gathered. Some wore flowers, other wore the repulsive fish armor, while others had sticks over their shoulders.
"This is not a time to fight," Tatu insisted, "we are addressing our Clan!"
"Coward!" sneered Moja.
"Alright, moron!" snarled Tatu, jumping and tackling Moja.
"OFF OF HIM!" yelled Mbili, punching Tatu.
The crowd all blinked at the leaders, then began cheering. "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!""
"Oh boy..." Campbell grumbled.
Suddenly, the door slammed open. "Council of the Highest!" came a voice.
Misty watched as two meerkats threw another meerkat to the ground. With a scowl, the fallen meerkat got up.
"TIGGERPAKA!?" the leaders exclaimed in alarm.

Author's Note:
Ah, so the leaders know Tiggerpaka. OuO
Anyway, I am willing to link story blogs, so if you want yours linked don't hesitate to ask!
You can see the Meerkat Clan on the Meet the Benders page, and you can sign up a meerkat character on the sign-ups page. c:
And I can't think of any other announcements, so yeah... :/

Chapter 23: Searching for Humans

The next morning Liberty made her way downstairs and into the yard to get her breakfast. Twister had told her they'd be joining other Benders to look to see if any humans had been through the territory, so she'd have to eat quickly.

Nearby the prey pile, Liberty saw Ekaj and Malroy talking. She ignored them, and headed for the prey pile. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Malroy whisper something to Ekaj, who then grew wide-eyed and quickly shook his head. Malroy was now laughing, and he pushed Ekaj in Liberty's direction. Liberty jumped back in alarm and Ekaj stopped himself so he wouldn't collide into her. "Oh! H-Hey Liberty."
"...Hi," Liberty replied hesitantly.

"So...uh, sorry about almost...y'know smashing you," Ekaj said nervously.

"It's...okay," Liberty said slowly.

"Alright, n-nice," Ekaj seemed to not be able to meet Liberty's eyes. "Malroy pushed me."
"I saw," Liberty confirmed.

"Oh. You did?" Ekaj then turned to look at Malroy, who seemed to be laughing. "You didn't hear...our conversation, did you...?"
"No," Liberty said.

"Oh thank goodness," Ekaj sighed with relief, mostly to himself. "Anyway..." he snapped his attention back to Liberty. "Uh...I think we're on the same patrol..."
"That's nice," Liberty grabbed a rabbit from the pile. 

"Along with Dell, Hazen, Mistletoe and Audrey...a-and of course, your mentor. Twister..." Ekaj said.

"Alright," Liberty mumbled, picking up the rabbit.

"I suppose you're leaving now? O-Okay...nice talking to you...right?" Ekaj said.

Is he hoping I'll say that it was nice talking to him? Liberty wondered, aware of his tone. "Uh, yeah. Sure."

Ekaj immediately had happiness written on his face, but quickly hid it. "Nice," he replied quickly. Liberty watched him go back over to his brother and push him. Malroy bursted into laughter and said something. Curious as to what was going on, Liberty crept closer.

"...a wimp!" Malroy was saying, still laughing. "Your tone was so nervous, dude! What was up with that?"

"Because I was nervous! Did you have to push me into her?!" Ekaj demanded.

"No, but it made everything a lot more entertaining," Malroy smirked.

"If I wouldn't get in trouble...boy would I pound you!" Ekaj growled.

"Ha! Sure," Malroy snorted. "C'mon, let's go find Ryker."

With that, the brothers walked off.

Frowning, Liberty wondered what that was all about. She decided that maybe Ekaj thought she was going to beat him up or something. Whenever she was around Wyki now, he seemed to avoid her for beating him in a fight. Perhaps Ekaj was doing the same. Despite we never fought, Liberty added.

Twister then came over to Liberty, with Max and Spot. "We gotta go now, Liberty."
"I didn't get to eat breakfast," Liberty insisted.

"Eat it later. Since the humans are a big threat, Ash told us to add Max and Spots to the patrol," Twister explained. It was the longest sentence Liberty had ever heard come out of her mentor's mouth. She had been told by Akumu, one of Twister's closer friends, that ever since the fight between the Firebenders and Bending Tower she had become a lot more quiet.
Liberty followed her mentor. Max and Spot walked alongside. Liberty looked at Max. As usual, he had a serious, sad-looking expression on his face. Liberty wondered where he got that sadness from. And if Spot would get the sadness from his mentor. She hoped not.
Once they exited the yard, Liberty spotted Hazen and Mistletoe, standing a few feet away from each other but not talking, strangely.  Audrey was with Mistletoe, looking anxious as usual, darting her head around as if expecting a human to kidnap her any second. "Oh! There you are," Mistletoe said. Liberty couldn't help but notice her aunt looked relieved. "I think Ekaj and Dell are coming."
"Okay," Max said.
They sat in an awkward silence. Twister wasn't a talker, and Max wasn't much either. Spot was making an effort to talk to Audrey, but she seemed to be growing more and more anxious to the point where she seemed to be blocking Spot out. He gave up and laid down, as the group waited for Ekaj and Dell.
Finally, Ekaj and Dell arrived.
"You're very late," Twister commented coldly.
"Sorry. I wanted Ekaj to get some fuel into him," Dell replied in her usual calm and soothing voice. "He was hungry."
"Doesn't matter. Let's go," Hazen said.
They then walked off into the territory. Liberty was walking at the back of the patrol, until Ekaj fell back and started trotting alongside her. "Hey," he greeted her.
"'Ey," Liberty replied.
Silence came to them as they kept walking. Finally Ekaj blurted out, "Why do you barely talk?"
"Excuse me?" Liberty said.
"You heard me," Ekaj replied. "You never really talk. And when you do, it's five words at the most."
"Um...I'm not sure how to respond to that," Liberty muttered.
"And not only that, it's always in a muttery voice. Why?" Ekaj demanded.
Liberty glared, wondering why he was so up-tight about this. "Well, if you don't want to hear me talk, or not talk, then don't start a conversation with me!"
Ekaj pulled back a bit, looking hurt. "...Alright," he murmured, trotting ahead to walk alongside Spot.
"That was nice," Twister commented.
"Oh I don't see why you're talking. If Ekaj is right, then we both talk about the same amount," Liberty snorted.
Twister fell silent, but Liberty swore she saw a smile trying to force its way onto Twister's face.
"I think we should specifically try to go to the place where Nzuri saw the humans kidnap Misty, Adele and the others. If I recall correctly..." Hazen frowned, as if trying to remember. "Ah yes. The patrol Misty was on went somewhere that way." Hazen pointed to the west and trotted that direction. The rest of the patrol followed.
Hazen stopped at a spot, and the rest of the patrol halted with him. "Around here," Hazen commented. "We should split up. Max...and Dell, Liberty and Ekaj, Audrey and Twister, and..." he then stopped, looking at Mistletoe, and hesitantly added, "...Mistletoe and me."
Liberty searched Mistletoe's face. At first there seemed to be a mixture of fear and reluctance. But then she sighed and said, "Alright then," with her chin lifted.
"Spot, I want you to stay here," Hazen quickly turned to the Dalmatian, "in case the human returns. Find one of us if you see them."
"Alright," Spot nodded.
They all split up. Ekaj followed Liberty, who was ignoring him; she still didn't know what to do with him after his remarks of her silence. She lead the wolf-dog through the forest, who padded behind her but didn't make any comments. Liberty perked her ears, trying to see if she could hear anything. But nothing.
"Do you know what that whole Hazen-and-Mistletoe thing is about?" Ekaj said.
"Nope. I was barely paying attention," Liberty lied.
"Oh. Well, things have been awkward between them. From what I heard, Hazen wanted to be Mistletoe's mate, but Mistletoe said no. According to my father, when Hazen joined The Bending Tower he and Mistletoe always hung out. Apparently they really liked each other," Ekaj explained. "But then Hazen turned out to be a Firebender spy and betrayed The Bending Tower. He came back though, and things have been weird between the two ever since."
"Mm." Liberty mumbled.
"And, uh...sorry. If, y'know, my comments offended you. I didn't mean to."
"Comments about what?" Liberty asked.
"You know what I mean. About...you not talking, and all," Ekaj said.
"It's...alright," Liberty replied.
"...Friends?" Ekaj asked.
Liberty hesitated. She didn't even consider Ekaj her acquaintance.
But Liberty decided to just go ahead and like Ekaj.
"Friends," she confirmed.

Author's Note:
Ahh, Liberty/Ekaj is beautiful, isn't it. :'D
I'm going to open a fan art page soon, but I don't have a lot of art for this series. Any art is appreciated! ^-^
Oh, and I added some music to the blog. I put in Book #2's theme and Book #3's theme. :)
Sorry for not updating! My internet and computer is incredibly crappy. And not only that, I've been busy studying and trying to get good grades. Because if I don't, things get taken away from me. Like my iPod, Xbox, etc. ene

Chapter 22: A Talking Fox

As Misty jumped for the fox, it screeched in alarm. "Hey! Get away!" the fox cried. "I never did anything to you! I'm actually really cool and awesome! Please let me go!"
Misty slammed her paws into the ground, halting. "Who are you?"
"Last time I checked, my name is Glory," the fox replied, "and since I'm pretty cool, I don't think you have a right to catch me."
"Uh...sorry?" Misty said.
"That's all these animals 'round here wanna do! Catch me, eat me. They never even get to know me!" Glory yelled. "I'm a really good fox! They act like I'm some sort of stupid...stupid...uh..."
Koro came out of the bushes. "Uh, we're not gonna eat you, Glory."
"Good. Help me think of something stupid," Glory said, not looking at Koro. "A stupid, uh...meerkat! Yeah!"
"Meerkat?" Misty echoed.
"Yeah! Oh my gosh, you should see the Meerkat Clan!" Glory exclaimed. "I walked into their territory, and four of them charged me, throwing sticks! One of them hit me in the eye! It really hurt!"
"Maybe the Meerkat Clan can show us back to The Bending Tower!" Misty said, turning to Koro. "They may know the way!"
"Good idea," Koro nodded. He then turned to Glory. "Can you come with us?"
"You're not going to eat me, right?" Glory said.
"No," Koro assured her. "Just follow us."
Misty followed Koro back to the group. Glory trailed behind, humming a tune. They walked in silence until they found the campus, where everyone was either sitting down or laying. Tiggerpaka was leaned against a log, popping a grub into his mouth.
"Where's the prey?" Rhett demanded. "And who is...that?"
"I'm Glory!" Glory exclaimed, just as Koro opened her mouth to explain. The fox trotted forward. "The wolves tried to eat me. But they say they're nice."
"Yes, and--" Koro began.
"I'll handle this intruder," Tiggerpaka puffed out his chest and walked forward. "You! Fox! Leave our territory or face my fury!" he exclaimed.
"This isn't your territory!" Glory insisted. "Actually, it isn't mine either...but please don't tell the meerkats that!"
"Meerkats?" echoed Campbell.
"Yeah! There's tons of them living here. The Meerkat Clan! Haven't you heard?" Glory said.
"You mentioned that," Koro nodded. He turned to the group. "Misty thinks the Meerkat Clan may be able to direct us back to The Bending Tower."
"If they're like Tiggerpaka, they won't," Sidew snorted.
Misty glanced at Tiggerpaka, expecting him to snap, but he looked worried. "Meerkat Clan...?" he murmured. Tiggerpaka then cleared his throat. "Uh, I mean, we should take this Clan's territory! They do not deserve it. We live here now!"
"One, Tiggerpaka, there's only nine of us," Lephos trotted up to Tiggerpaka. "And two, there's no point in taking their territory. It belongs to them!"
"Who's the leader here, Lephos?" Tiggerpaka demanded.
"Anyone but you," Campbell growled.
"You need to be more kind to your leader, minion!" Tiggerpaka said to Campbell.
"Minion? You are not my leader!" Campbell snarled.
"I'm trying to sleep!" protested Bracken, lifting his head off his paws. "It's been a long day, and I'm tired!"
"You'll have to wake up, Bracken. I think we may be going to this...Meerkat Clan, or whatever," Lephos called.
"Aw," Bracken muttered. Nevertheless, he got to his paws, but somewhat reluctantly.
"It's alright, Bracken," Misty told her friend. "I think we'll get to rest soon..."
"No resting!" Tiggerpaka yelled. "I must find this Meerkat Clan! They must know something of Tiredblade's strange absence. His minions haven't made an appearance for days!"
"Fine, let's go," Koro agreed. He turned to Glory. "Can you lead us there?"
"Totally," Glory grinned. "But don't let them kill me when I get there. They keep chasing me out!"
"Rest assured, Glory, I think you're safe," Rhett said sarcastically. "Let's get going."


"How much farther?" Sidew asked, panting. It was now nighttime, and the group was trekking deeper and deeper into the forest. Misty was getting tired, but Glory was still trying to locate the camp.
"I think their camp is this way," Glory said. "Or...was it that way?" she looked off in a different direction. "Or maybe--"
"Why are we relying on an animal whose memory seems a bit bad?" Sidew demanded.
"Lifebreeze knows," Lephos snorted.
Misty looked at her sister Adele, next to her. As usual, Adele hadn't said anything due to her deafness. I wonder how Adele feels about this, Misty asked. Does she even know what's going on...? I got to make sure that Adele at least stays alive during this trip. She's incredibly defenseless.
"Okay...I'm pretty sure it's this way," Glory said. "And--"
The bushes rustled, and twigs snapped. Misty perked her ears, starting to get anxious. "Wh-What was that?"
"Probably nothing," Koro said from nearby. "At least, can't be anything too harmful."
Misty perked her ears, and could swear she heard whispering...but couldn't tell what the whispers were saying. "...I don't think we're alone here," she blurted out.
"Misty, you're probably just getting anxiety. Calm down," Campbell replied.
"I'm serious," Misty insisted, feeling scared now. "It's not anxiety..."
Suddenly, there was a yell, and something attacked Misty, who yelped in alarm.

Author's Note:
Thanks to Elizabeth Orr for Glory! :D Oh, and check out my new blog please. It's TFEOB related. :P
Oh, and BTW I updated the sign-ups page. If your character isn't in the story yet, or you haven't used your second character slot, you can now sign up for a new place! :)

Chapter 21: Acceptance

Liberty could smell the tensions rising as yet another patrol returned the next day. All day and night, Ash had been tirelessly searching for the missing animals: Campbell, Adele, Misty, Bracken, Rhett, Koro, Lephos, Sidew and Tiggerpaka. But no one had found anything. Liberty had noticed the parents of the missing ones were devastated. Some (like Charlotte and Nyla) seemed to be in shock. Others (like Ash and Raoul) seemed to be desperately trying to get to them, pushing everyone to help get their kids back. While the rest (like Kodi and Dust) were acting calm but were obviously scared. Light was the only one who didn't appear sad or shocked, but totally angered.
"It's my kids that are gone!" Liberty had heard Light roar yesterday. "If we don't find them, I am not going to be happy!"
"Well? Anything?" Ash called, as the patrol came through the entrance.
Hazen, the leader of the patrol, sighed and shook his head.
"This is seeming hopeless," Sun blurted out. "We've been searching nonstop all day, and all night, and we haven't found them."
"I'm not giving up," Ash insisted to his mother-in-law, "two of them are my only daughters, we have to find them."
"I think it's time to give up, Ash," Hazen said regretfully. "They're gone."
"If we're lucky, they may find their way back," Charlotte said, approaching Ash. Liberty noticed her mother seemed weak from grief. "But...your brother is right, Ash. If we haven't found them, they're beyond our reach."
"Are you're suggesting they're..." Ash began, but he seemed reluctant to say it.
"Dead? Yes," Twig said.
"It's merely a possibility," Mistletoe glared at Twig, "that they're dead. But we have no proof."
"Which means they could still be out there!" Ash pointed out.
"Ash." Mistletoe insisted. "Listen. They're gone."
Liberty noticed Ash was trying very hard to keep himself strong. "I...I suppose you're...right. Good work, everyone," he said emotionlessly. Ash trotted into The Bending Tower.
"Ash! Wait!" Airia cried, running after him.
"Hey," said a voice. As the crowd broke up, Liberty turned to see Ekaj walking up to her. "You okay?"
"Of course," Liberty sniffed. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, it's your sister who's missing and all..." Ekaj shuffled his paws nervously.
"She didn't care for me. I have no reason to grieve," Liberty said simply.
"...Okay then," Ekaj shrugged. "But aren't you the least bit worried? You just always seem so...emotionless."
"A bit. But truthfully, there's no help grieving. What's that going to do? Only make us weak," Liberty grumbled.
"Uh...alright," Ekaj murmured. He hesitated, but then padded away.
Pretty much as soon as Ekaj left, Starlight came up to Liberty and sat down next to her. "You don't need to be so cold."
"Cold?" Liberty echoed.
"Ekaj has a point. You are pretty emotionless," Starlight pointed out. "I've never seen you smile, laugh, or be anything but dead serious. You really need to loosen up."
Not sure how to respond, Liberty remained silent.
Suddenly, Audrey ran up to Starlight, looking devastated. "My brothers are dead!" she cried.
"Calm down, Audrey," Starlight said soothingly. "There's no proof they're dead."
"They may as well be!" Audrey yelled. "My brothers...are...dead..."
"Audrey, you're hyperventilating," Starlight murmured. Liberty stifled an eye roll. She's being dramatic, she thought dryly.
But she has anxiety, said a voice in Liberty's head.
"Breathe at a normal pace," Starlight urged. Audrey's breathing began to slow as she got back in control of it.
"My brothers..." she murmured.
"Aren't dead," Starlight insisted. "Audrey, you got to keep strong. Sure, they're your brothers. If Sparky were dead, I'd act like this too." Liberty didn't exactly believe that - Starlight would probably at least act a bit more in control of her actions. "But if they are dead, think about how much happier they'd be. They'll be on Peacebender territory."
"Starlight, Peacebenders don't exist," Liberty scoffed.
Starlight shot Liberty a look before turning to Audrey. "Unlimited dead animals to prank," Starlight said. "That's true happiness for them."
Audrey seemed to give a weak smile, but it quickly retreated and a frown took over. "But that means I don't get to see them until...!"
"Hey, that doesn't mean you should hope to die earlier," Starlight whispered. "If Sidew and Lephos are missing you - I know they love you, but they'll probably be having too much fun on Peacebender territory - they may visit you when you're dreaming. But they're happy."
Audrey took a shaky breath. "Okay...okay," she murmured. She then trotted away.
"Don't Sidew and Lephos find Audrey annoying?" Liberty pointed out.
"Yes, but don't let Audrey know that," Starlight hissed. "Besides, I'm sure Sidew and Lephos do care for their only sister, even if they don't act like it..."
"Speaking of their siblings," Liberty said, "do you think Ryker misses them?"
"Of course," Starlight nodded. "I mean, even though Sidew and Lephos are best friends, occasionally I'd see Ryker hanging out with them, as like a third. He does pranks too, but Ryker's just a bit more mature."
Liberty nodded in agreement. Ryker had done some pranks, but he was really friendly while Lephos and Sidew were a bit more careless. She had always seen Ryker with a friend, so he was somewhat popular in The Bending Tower.
"This is a sad party," commented a voice. Liberty looked to see Tiggerkat nearby. "No reese cups for everyone, either! I thought it'd be more fun." Tiggerkat popped a reese cup in her mouth.
"Tiggerkat, are you upset that there are missing animals?" Liberty asked.
"Wait, there's missing animals?" Tiggerkat frowned.
"Duh," Liberty grumbled. "Why else would there be searching parties?"
"Oh! I absolutely love parties. But what are we searching for?" Tiggerkat asked.
"The missing animals," Starlight said.
"Missing animals? What missing animals?" Tiggerkat said.
"...I think she's finally lost it," Starlight muttered.
"I see no difference," Liberty snorted.

Author's Note:
This is the *cough* REAL chapter 21. *glances at Tiggerpaka* >w>