Assassin in Pantala (Completed)

Chapter 44

Jasmin studied the squirming, bloody, little ocelot. She'd decided that a panther or maybe a dragon from the war had attacked the ocelots before the mother had taken them away. 

She picked a flower with large, cupped leaves and scooped some water from the nearby stream and washed away the red blood. The baby ocelot had black fur and silver markings. She- Jasmin had guessed that the ocelot was female- was the exact opposite of her mother's colors.

I think this ocelot's only around two months old, Jasmin mused inside her head. How lucky. Just barely able to eat meat. 

"Come on, baby ocelot," She picked up a small desert rat she'd caught in the desert. "Eat up if you want to survive."

The ocelot let out a growl before gnawing at the dead rat. After it finished its meal, the baby turned to Jasmin. She noticed that her eyes were a sharp, ice-blue that now reminded her of Winter's cold scales. The ocelot purred, and pounced on Jasmin's tail playfully. The dragonet was delighted to see that the small cat liked her so much. 

"You need a name," Jasmin said at last. They'd curled up together between some big roots, the baby ocelot cuddled snugly to her side. Jasmin tucked her tail around the fragile cat. "You're as dark as the night, and those silver markings look brighter than the moon. Hm...kind of reminds me of an eclipse. I wish I could see one someday. Well, I guess I'll name you Eclipse. Quite a stealthy name, huh?"

So from then on, they'd always been together, even going on some assassin missions, helping Jasmin finish off her targets. Jasmin had taught Eclipse how to hunt, defend, and attack. Eclipse was a ferocious fighter, and hardly anyone escaped from her claws alive despite her small size, but alone with Jasmin, she was as soft as a dragonet, sleeping unnoticed in her hammock. 

"I wish I had a pet scavenger." Cricket's wistful voice broke Jasmin out of her memories. She missed Eclipse so much. She wondered whether she was alright. What if a NightWing ate the lithe ocelot? Eclipse was only the size of a small dragonet, though still growing at age two, and hunted well enough to grow enough meat for a dragon's meal. 

She'll be fine, Jasmin thought. Eclipse would probably hurt the NightWing more than they hurt her.

"A monkey used to follow my sister Io everywhere," Swordtail's eyes were far off. "She wanted to keep it as a pet, but mother forced it away. The HiveWings would have probably eaten it; it was for the best."

He was so lost in his thoughts that the SilkWing didn't notice the plant in front of him, its leaves and petals open wide.

"Swordtail, watch ou-" Blue was cut off when Swordtail let out a scream and the flower swallowed him up whole.