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

~Chapter Twenty-Seven~ Fears

"Tiquail, my dear, have you ever considered having cubs?" Assero asked curiously, giving her own cub a lick between the ears. Tiquail's whiskers twitched uncomfortably. "I have...considered it." She said slowly and carefully.

Assero narrowed her eyes. "Then why haven't you tried?"

Tiquail sat down and wrapped her tail around her huge paws. "Because I'm too busy with my other responsibilities to handle a cub." She explained. Assero pulled Ebony closer to her. "Why don't you just ask Ainnya if you could have some...time off?"

Tiquail shrugged, her muscles rippling beneath her pelt. "Because she needs me. There is a reason neither of us have cubs, my dear."

Ebony looked up at her mother. "We're all different, but that's what makes the world fun, isn't it?" She asked. Assero chuckled. "Yes, my dear, that's what makes the world fun. Go find daddy for me, please. I need to speak to him."

Ebony nodded vigorously and trotted out of the room, her little striped tail held high above her head.

Tiquail watched the little cub go, her heart growing warm. "It's sweet that she's so eager to help." She purred.

Assero smiled. "Yes, that's why I love her so much. She's always been the eager one."
"And Ember?" Tiquail asked casually, raising a paw and running her tongue over the pads.

When Assero didn't reply, Tiquail looked up. "Are you alright?" She asked, scanning the ocelot over with her bright blue eyes.

Assero looked away. "I'm never alright these days, Tiquail." She admitted. "Oh?" Tiquail asked, surprised. "And why is that?"

Assero didn't lift her eyes as she replied. "Because I'm scared." She growled. "There are Trackers out there, they can destroy us with one twitch of a finger, and we can't do anything to stop them!"

Tiquail pricked her ears and twitched her whiskers, indicating that Assero should go on.

"It's just...one of my cubs only has eight lives now. I can't let that happen to the other one. I feel horrible about it but...I'm keeping Ember in the house. But something about it feels...wrong. Almost horrible."

Tiquail slowly set her paw back on the ground. "I don't see why that's so horrible, Assero. I know you're worried. You're her mother. You have a right to do this."

Assero shook her head sharply. "No. No this isn't okay." She whispered, though she almost seemed to be talking to herself.

"Assero, it's not like you're keeping her locked up." Tiquail pointed out. Assero's head dropped. Tiquail widened her eyes.

"Right?"

***

"Block me, Sparrow!" Tony demanded, swinging another punch at her. Sparrow lifted her arm and countered the punch, sweat pouring down her face. "Can't...we take...a break?" Sparrow wheezed, clutching her bruised side.

"Haven't I been kicked enough yet?" She added venomously.

Tony stared at her, his green eyes glowing intensely. "Fights never stop, Sparrow." He said coldly, advancing on her. "Your enemy will beat you-" he swung a punch and forced her to move back "-until you're too exhausted-" he aimed a kick at her ankle "-to get up-"

Tony pushed Sparrow to the ground and shoved his foot into her chest. "-and fight back."

Sparrow stared up at him, her eyes furious. "Let me up." She growled. Tony grinned at her. "No, I don't think I'm going to just let you up." He said.

Sparrow narrowed her eyes as he continued, fire burning in her heart. "I want you to let yourself up."

Sparrow clenched her fists. She tried to lift her back off of the ground but Tony pressed down harder. She tried to punch him but she couldn't gather enough momentum to swing.

She kicked out with her legs but they felt heavy, like they were made of stone. She let out an annoyed sigh.

"What, have you given up?" Tony asked, sounding rather amused by her feeble efforts. Sparrow choked a little. The pressure on her chest was getting hard to handle.

"Do you understand that giving up in a fight is like a death wish?" Tony whispered, pulling a pocket knife from the inside of his jacket and flipping it in his fingers, letting the sunlight bounce off of its shining surface.

Sparrow stared at him. "You wouldn't dare." She whispered. Tony grinned cruelly. "Try me." He snarled.

Fury boiled in Sparrow's chest as Tony leaned down, holding his knife between her eyes.

Sparrow opened her math to speak, but her voice caught in her throat. "TONY GET OFF OF ME!" She screamed, staring at something just over his shoulder.

Tony didn't flinch. "Are you scared?" He whispered, leaning closer to her. "Even though you said you weren't scared of anything but-"

Tony's eyes widened. The tip of a sword appeared in his stomach. Sparrow screamed as Tony collapsed.

"Perhaps, he was going to say you weren't scared of anything but me?" A man asked, pulling his sword out of Tony's gut and pulling off the sunglasses on his face.

He smiled cruelly at Sparrow, brown eyes glittering. "Hello Sparrow Mae...I don't believe we've formally met. See, my name is Alex, and I've been trying to kill you for the past six months. Somehow, you've managed to escape me repeatedly...and I haven't quite been able to figure that out..."

He paused and twirled his sword thoughtfully. Tony let out a small moan. He was curled into a ball, clutching his stomach in agony.

Alex kicked Tony in the head. Tony rolled over, gasping in pain.

"Should I roll him down the hill?" Alex wondered out loud, placing his boot on Tony's chest. Sparrow winced as she heard a crack and another gasp from Tony.

"Don't you dare." She whispered dangerously, anger bubbling in her chest again. Alex looked down at her and smiled, putting his sunglasses back over his eyes.

"And what, my dear, are you going to do about it?" He asked, stroking his beard mockingly.

Alex removed his boot and used it to flip Tony over. Tony began rolling down the hill, leaving a trail of blood after him.

At this sight, all of the anger that had been burning inside of Sparrow broke free, spilling over because it had gotten too full.

And she screamed, she screamed louder than she ever had. She screamed words she had never heard.

"I HABEBIT VINDICTAE!"

Like waves, golden light seemed to explode from Sparrow and spread across the land, striking Alex down like a knife.

The world seemed to turn gold for a moment, blocking everything from sight.

After a moment, the light faded. Sparrow was on her feet, shaking with rage and exhaustion. She saw Alex running away, back toward the forest. She started to follow him, but suddenly a wave a nausea hit her.

Sparrow's knees buckled and she collapsed, darkness eating away at the edges of her vision.

She stared at the sky for a moment, but soon even the brilliant blue had turned black.