Paw Prints (Book One in the Trails Series) *BEING EDITED-NEW VERSION WILL BE LONGER*

~Chapter Six~ Magic Will Be

A/N: Pronunciations:
Shikira
(Shi-ky-ra)
Shi, not shy.

***

Tiquail sat near the trees in the forest, her tail flicking in worry. Tony and Sparrow should have been back by now.

A lion approached Tiquail, his long mane glittering in the light of the setting sun. "Tiquail," he purred, his deep voice rumbling in his chest. Tiquail flicked her ears to acknowledge that she had heard him. The lion, taking this as a sign to keep going, continued.

"I hear we have a new Ancient. Is she promising?"

Tiquail lashed her tail once. "Funny, you take an interest a few days later, Shikira." she hissed, keeping her eyes on the trees.

Shikira dipped his head. "I only just heard of her. Is she here?" He added hungrily.

Tiquail sighed. "No, and I fear something has happened to her. If she and her mentor are not back by sundown, I will go looking for them." She said heavily, flexing her claws.

Shikira twitched his whiskers, not bothering to hide his surprise. "Where could they have possibly gone where they are not safe?" He asked.

Tiquail narrowed her eyes. "Tony took her into the forest today. I warned him against it...but it doesn't seem like he listened, it's possible that he just decided to ignore me."

Shikira shrugged. "The young will be young. You and I, well, we've got twelve lives to spend, yes?" He growled good-naturedly. Tiquail didn't reply.

The two cats sat in silence. Tiquail didn't remove her eyes from the trees.

She felt a tail rest gingerly on her shoulder. "I'm sure they'll come back." Shikira said. Tiquail sighed, not really sure how to respond. She heard Shikira get up and pad away. Without him, she felt slightly empty.

The sun sunk behind the trees. Tiquail got to her feet and stretched. She flexed her claws nervously.

Just when she was about to walk into the forest, she heard a sound. Something was crashing through the undergrowth.

Tiquail crouched and braced herself, sliding her claws out and baring her teeth aggressively.

A figure stumbled out of the bushes, another figure slung over its shoulder. Blood dripped to the ground from the two of them.

"Tony!" Tiquail gasped as the figure dragged himself into the half-light.

Tony was breathing heavily. His dark eyes were filled with pain. "Tony, what happened!?" Tiquail snapped, rushing over to him.

Once she was closer, Tiquail realized that Tony's breath was rasping in his throat. Looking more carefully, she discovered a deep wound in his neck, bleeding freely.

The figure slung over his shoulder was Sparrow. Blood dripped from her leg and the base of her neck.

Tony dropped Sparrow, unable to be gentle, and grabbed a tree for support. "We...got...attacked..." He rasped between gasps of breath.

"Attacked?" Tiquail asked sharply. Tony nodded painfully. "By what?"

Tony opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, his eyes rolled into his head and he slumped down against the side of the tree.

Tiquail hissed in frustration. She grabbed Tony by his shirt collar and hooked Sparrow's shirt collar with her claws.

Somehow, Tiquail managed to drag the two dead weights back to the main building. She ducked through the opening and dropped her burdens, her teeth and claws sore.

"Tiquail?" Ainnya's voice floated down the spiral staircase. Tiquail sighed and sat down, licking her claws. Ainnya bounded down the stairs, her shoulder blades visible through her sleek fur. She jumped the last five steps, landed easily, and trotted over to Tiquail.

"What happened?" Ainnya asked, her eyes glowing with curiosity and surprise as she glanced at Sparrow and Tony. "I'll explain that as soon as we find someone to treat them." Tiquail sighed, heaving herself to her paws and stretching.

"Who are you going to find?" Ainnya asked sharply. "If you must know, I'm going to find Assero."

Ainnya narrowed her eyes, but didn't object.

Tiquail stalked through the opening, her tail fluffed up in indignation. She worked her way briskly through the streets until she found Assero's shelter.

"Assero?" She called quietly through the opening. "Come in," a voice replied.

Tiquail ducked through the opening.

The shelter's ceiling was covered in leaves. The floor was soft and mossy, and the walls were covered in ivy. A few plants grew in one corner, and in another corner, cobwebs and leaves filled with things like honey and water were stacked against the wall.

"Hello, Tiquail." An ocelot sat in the middle of the room, a small cub tumbling over her back. "What brings you here today?" She asked, grabbing her cub by the scruff and swinging it around to sit in front of her.

Tiquail purred. "I see Ebony is getting along well?" She asked, flicking her ears at the cub. It had the same big amber eyes of its mother.

"Yes, she is, and so is Ember." Assero purred, referring to her other cub.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," she began awkwardly, "but I have two injured Ancients who need immediate attention. It's quite severe, and I'm afraid that if thy are not treated in time..." Her voice trailed away.

Assero flicked her tail in sympathy. "I'll ask Forza to watch the cubs." She said, trotting up the stairs with Ebony swinging from her jaws.

Tiquail sat and wrapped her tail around her paws, waiting for Assero to reappear.

A few moments later, Assero padded down the stairs, Ebony still swinging from her jaws. A tiger followed her, holding a larger cub in his jaws.

"Thanks, Forza." Assero purred, drawing herself to her full height and licking the tiger's lowered head. Forza licked her shoulder and Assero turned to speak to Tiquail. "What will I need?" She asked. "Anything to stop the bleeding." Tiquail replied firmly. "Maybe something to numb the pain."

Assero nodded and gathered up a few delicate leaves and cobwebs, then she turned and trotted after Tiquail all the way to the main building.

Sparrow and Tony were still just where she had left them. Assero hurried over to them and sniffed their wounds. "Easy enough to fix," she muttered, squeezing some juice from the leaves into the wounds and patching them up with cobwebs.

As Tiquail watched, she wondered where Ainnya was. Why hasn't she stayed?

Suddenly, the fur along Tiquail's spine stood up. Her tail fluffed up to twice its size and she spun around, just in time to see Ainnya springing at her, her eyes blank and emotionless.