The Sigil Makers

Chapter 7

After a day or two of traveling, the smilodons decided to make a temporary camp underneath a small pine tree. They would only be staying there for a few days, until every member had gotten some rest and the cubs were well fed. 

"Hmph. I could have travelled at least another week!" Bliss murmured when she and Woe were told to sleep underneath a large fern bush for the first night. 

"Well, I'm at least very tired", Woe said.

"Of course you're tired! You're Woe! I bet you couldn't even uhm, you couldn't even stand a chance against me!" Bliss cleaned her chest fur with a very obvious embarassed look on her face. Woe tilted her head; she could see from how her sister's eyelids drooped and how sloppy her posture was that she was just as tired.

"Alright, calm down you two", Cypress pushed Bliss further underneath the fern bush. You two? I didn't even do anything!  "It's important the both of you get sleep"

Woe nodded vigorously. Bliss just bared her teeth slightly and laid down beside Woe. 

"Can you believe it? Our first ever night out of camp!" Woe chirped, attemping to cheer up her sister.

Bliss glared at her before answering: "I suppose it is. I mean, we could have traveled way more!"

"Just because you aren't tired doesn't mean the older cats aren't either..", Woe looked away from her sister. Why do you still insist on acting like a newborn cub? I would have thought you had matured over the months. 

Bliss continued to glare at Woe, causing the pale cub to get uncomfortable.

...

Woe kept turning around in her sleep. She was so used to the warmth of the nursing den and the softness of the nests that sleeping on cold ground with only her mother and sister as sources of warmth didn't bring much comfort. 

She growled something incoherent and rose to her paws. She looked up at the sky. The moon was still shining brightly, although it was climbing down the horizon. It must have been slightly past the witching hour.

Woe slipped out from under the fern leaves. She tried her best to be as quiet as possible in order to not wake up her family or the other smilodons.

"Oh, hello, Woe", she felt her back hairs bristle up.

"Hey, Mammoth", she could barely make out the dark-furred male from the shadows.

"It's pretty late. I reckon Cypress wouldn't be too pleased to find you out of the, well, it isn't a den", his pale yellow eyes glew in the dark.

"She's not going to find out", Woe sat down, pushing her fore-paws underneath herself. "Unless you tell her, that is",

Mammoth chuckled, "That'd just be another reason for her to rip my ears off", he looked out into the forest. For the first time in days the rain had stopped, even if it was only for a few hours. "She'd blame me for letting you, god forbid, step a few feet away from the ferns",

Woe smiled. "Tell me about it", she followed the dark-furred male's gaze that led into the woods. 

Suddenly Mammoth shifted slightly. Woe looked up; he had dug his claws into the moist ground below them and the fur on his back had bristled up.

"What?" Woe inquired. She followed his gaze again. The lither male was staring at the undergrowth. She squinted her eyes. What is he looking at? Oh no! Is it the dire wolves?

"Return to your mother. I'll go get Mastodon", Mammoth ordered and disappeared into the shadows. 

Woe looked after him. The dire wolves. She kept repeating the word in her mind as she retreaded back into the bushes.

"Where did you go?" the pale cub was surprised by her sister shoving her nose into her face.

"The dire wolves Mastodon pointed out are here!" Woe blurted out. She wasn't even sure it was true. 

A grin grew on Bliss' face.

"W-what are you doing?" Woe mustered when her sister pushed her way past Woe and out into the open. The paler cub followed right behind her, wanting to stop her sister if she was out to do something stupid.

"I'm going to stop the dire wolves myself! Then they'll realise.." Bliss' voice grew shrill perhaps with excitement—or fear. Woe wasn't sure.

"You can't drive away a whole pack of dire wolves by yourself! And realise what?" Woe wailed. 

The sisters stopped in the middle of the make-shift camp, staring at Mammoth and Mastodon who seemed to be interrogating someone. 

That's not a pack of dire wolves.. It's not even one dire wolf. In the middle of the camp stood a ginger-furred smilodon, who had a gnarly scar running down her back and spiraling across her tail. Her rosettes were densely brindled across the pelt in the same way Woe's were. Her eyes resembled a pale umber orange and her paws were covered in mud. 

"I swear I meant no harm! I thought you were just a bunch of nomads! I had no idea you were an established pack!" she wailed, her yellow saber-teeth reflecting the cool glow of the moon.

"Excuses!" Mammoth snarled. Oh wow. He sounds exactly like Cypress!

"Now, brother, regain your composure, please. She had done nothing to harm us in any way", Mastodon's voice was softer.

"Yet", Mammoth huffed and whipped his head around to look directly at Woe and her sister. Hold on, why is he looking up- oh. Woe looked up aswell, only to meet her mother's gaze.

"This outsider poses a threat to my cubs. Kill her", Cypress ordered.

Woe looked back at the outsider; she appeared to be shrinking underneath her pelt. I suppose Cypress can be very threatening if you don't know her.

"Now, Cypress-", is it me or did his voice grow cold when he said her name? "You mustn't jump to conclusions. Now, stranger, state your name and purpose of visit" Mastodon ordered calmly.

The ginger smilodon fixed her posture and lifted her chin before speaking: "My name is Aureate and I came here to seek shelter from the upcoming wet season. I figured you felids were just a group of traveling nomads. I didn't have the slightest clue you were a pack with an established territory. My bad"

"Very well, Aureate. Would you like to stay with us for the journey to our new—yet temporary—hunting grounds?" Mastodon asked. He sounds so professional. I wonder if I'll ever sound that professional.

"I would be more than happy to-", Aureate was interrupted by Cypress' abrupt screech:

"No goddamn way! She's got to go"

"Cypress please-", Mastodon was about to say before he, aswell, got interrupted:

"There is no way in hell this rogue will be staying anywhere near my cubs!" Cypress spat. Woe whipped her head around to look at Bliss and mouthed: she used the r-word! 

Wrong r-word, Woe. Bliss mouthed back.

"Cypress. She's staying, whether you like it or not. But if you must, in no but the most dire situation will she ever be allowed to go near our cubs", Mastodon declared.

"B-but, but!..Fine, but she has to prove her worth to me or else she's going to lose an eye before the first week", Cypress snarled, her shadow looming over Woe and her sister. "Or maybe two and a heart", she whispered only loud enough for the cubs to be able to hear her.

Aureate's ears folded back behind her head. "She's kidding!" Mastodon nudged the ginger smilodon's shoulder.

"No, I'm not", Cypress growled and began beckoning to Woe and her sister to return underneath the ferns.

"T-thank you", Aureate whimpered.

Oh wow. Protective much, mother?