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

~Chapter Eight~ The Other Mentors

A/N: Hey guys! First I want to say how much I love all of you for reading this story. I know it's not the best, but I wanted to post something original on here and this is what I decided to do. You guys help me keep writing this, all the positive comments and votes are greatly appreciated!

***

Tiquail opened her eyes and stared around her. She was shocked by the bright red lake that glistened around her, covering up the once-pretty white tiles with their delicate golden flowers.

She sighed and heaved herself to her paws, shaking out her fur and spattering the fountain with more blood. The water now had a reddish tint to it.

Tiquail could not believe that this much blood had come from three innocent cats.

"Tiquail?" A weak voice made the huge snow leopard turn around.

Ainnya stood before her, her once beautiful and sleek golden fur now red and spiked with drying blood.

Tiquail blinked at her. "Are you alright?" She asked, still wary. She did not want to be attacked again, after all.

Ainnya shook out her fur, suddenly as brisk as she always had been. "Alright as I'll ever be." She paused for a moment, her eyes growing sad. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "They shot me with the dart...and then...everything kind of went fuzzy. I don't remember what else happened...but I know I stole one of your lives, just as you stole one of mine."

Tiquail dipped her head. "You took one of Assero's too..."

Tiquail's stomach lurched. Where was Assero? Had that been her final life?

Ainnya's whiskers quivered, betraying her panic and the fact that she too had realize what might have become of the small wild cat.

Just when Tiquail was about to suggest going upstairs to check on Tony and Sparrow, she noticed something.

Bloody paw prints led up the stairs. She flattened her ears to her head, not sure if she should hope that this was Assero. Despite her doubts, she knew it was worth a try. Flicking Ainnya gently with her tail, she angled her ears at the stairs.

Ainnya nodded and started padding away, leaving her own trail of paw prints. Tiquail followed, her huge paws making much bigger stains.

Sparrow's voice floated over to her. Cold moonlight floated through the small opening in the ceiling, where Tiquail could just make out the dome above them.

"No." This was Assero's voice now, and her reply was grave.

Tiquail purred in satisfaction. Her friend wasn't dead. "We should greet Sparrow." She said quietly. Ainnya twitched her whiskers in agreement and the two wild cats padded into the room, shoulder to shoulder. Closer than they had been for some months now.

***

Sparrow looked up as Tiquail and Ainnya walked into the room. They each paused beside her to dip their heads before they sat next to Assero and began furiously licking their sticky fur clean.

Assero watched them, her tail flicking impatiently. Once the two wild cats finished, she spoke: "What do you propose we do about this?"

Ainnya sighed and ran her paw over her ear a few times before replying. "There's not much we can do. Everyone is at risk. They've found a way into our world."

"Don't tell me you're giving up!" Assero roared. Tiquail flicked her ears. "Of course we're not giving up." She turned her icy blue gaze to Ainnya. "There is something we can do. Don't forget, we can use magic to protect ourselves." She reminded the cheetah.

"What about our newest Ancient?"

Sparrow tilted her head. "I can protect myself. Plus, what would I do to hurt anyone? I'm not strong, I'm not a good fighter..."

"But this is exactly why you are at risk, child." Tiquail hissed, her fur bristling.

Sparrow opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off by a scream downstairs. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED DOWN HERE!?"

The three wild cats looked at Sparrow. "Marley, right?" Tiquail murmured, her eyes glittering with amusement. Sparrow bit her lip. "Yeah..."

"SPARROW!" This was Miki's voice. "SPARROW, DID THEY KILL YOU!?"

"Idiot," now Dot's voice, sounding utterly annoyed. "If she was dead she wouldn't be able to hear us."

"Why don't we go say hello." Ainnya suggested, getting to her paws and stretching. Sparrow shrugged and hopped off the cot.

The small group went downstairs together. "SPARROW!" Miki screeched. Sparrow jumped the last three stairs and was attacked by three screaming girls.

"I KNEW YOU WEREN'T DEAD!" Marley yelled. "SO DID WE!" Dot and Miki added.

Once the girls broke apart, Sparrow realized that there were more people in the room. Three boys, all about sixteen.

"Who are they?" Sparrow asked curiously. Marley grinned and trotted up to one of the boys. He was wearing a black shirt that was tight enough to show off his well build body. He had dark skin, as if he spent all of his time in the sun. His hair was short and sticking up straight on his head. His eyes were a large, dark, kind brown. "This is Vinny, though his real name is Vincenzo. He's cute, isn't he?" She said, winking.

Miki walked over to another boy. He had shaggy light brown hair that fell over his blue eyes. He had the same wiry build as Tony. "This is Theo," she whispered. "He's my...uh...mentor."

Dot walked over to the last boy. He was well built too, and his hair was blonde, dyed red at the ends. It was styled as a sloppy Mohawk, which fell into his face and even spilled over the sides. His eyes were light green. "And this is Chase." Dot finished.

"Nice to meet you all." Sparrow said, wondering why all of the mentors had to be boys.

Before she could voice this, Vinny spoke up. "What happened here?" He asked.

Tiquail sighed. She quickly launched into the explanation of how Ainnya had been poisoned and they had all attacked one another, each losing a life.

Chase narrowed his eyes. "So The Trackers are back?" He asked. Assero let out a soft hiss. "I'll be getting back to my cubs now. I'd rather not...well..." She didn't bother finished. Flicking her tail in farewell, she slipped away and out the opening.

"What's she so worried about?" Sparrow whispered to Tiquail. Tiquail purred softly. "Her cubs. They haven't yet earned all twelve of their lives. They won't until they turn three. Right now they only have eight."

"I still don't get it."

"Well, if they're killed now, they'll never get all twelve lives, and they'll be left with only seven."

Sparrow nodded, though she didn't completely understand the big deal. She only had one life.

As if Tiquail could read her mind, she spoke again. "It might not make sense, Sparrow, but with twelve lives there's always the fact that we can be killed easier."

Sparrow nodded again. "One more question," she began. "Why are all of our mentors boys?"

Tiquail's eyes sparkled. "We think you're...good for each other." When Sparrow continued to stare at her, stunned, she spoke again.

"Even we have to have a little fun every once in a while, after all."