Seroin looked around the forest. He had been abandoned by his mother, tortured by his father, and picked on by his two brothers. Now, all he had was his two little sisters, one-month-old cubs, and one dead mouse in his mouth. As he looked back at his sisters, he saw the smallest, the runt of the litter as his father had called her, stuck in between some roots that Seroin had easily leaped over. The larger one, Sallina, was trying to help her sister up. "Need some help, Seraia?" He mewed to the little one softly.
Seraia cautiously looked up, and when she saw her brothers face, she quickly mewled, "Thanks Seroin!" and nodded her head softly. Seroin crouched down as if he was going to pick up fresh prey, and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.
They were panthers, all of them. Of course, Seroin was the oldest, and was picked on most by his family. They had never liked him. He was the weirdest one. Instead of having an orange body, and a black-tipped tail, he had a black body, and an orange-tipped tail. Seraia was completely black, and Sallina was completely orange. They were, as their clan called them, Trash. The whole clan had put them to die in a cave alone. Luckily, there was a mother in there who had recently kitted, and had fed him, and later his sisters. Seroin was a 1 year old cat, and just getting used to life in the forest.
As Seroin helped Seraia up, Sallina, the one with the best ears, heard the nearby brush of fur on plant growth. She quickly hid beneath Seroin, and whimpered, "Big cat, close, a few yards away."
Seloin nodded his acknowledgement, and looked to Seraia, "Eyes." He murmured, and Seraia understood immediately. She looked around, as she had the best eyes of the trio, and spotted a movement in the undergrowth southeast of their location. She flicked her tail, and stared at the spot for a few seconds, then, as planned, she mewed, "Nothing there."
"Scan again," Seroin mewed. Seraia glanced around, and after noticing where their enemy was now, she looked to the other side, and stared for a while.
She then mewled, "I think I saw something there." and flicked her tail to the opposite side of where the enemy was.
Seroin nodded, and hissed, glaring at the undergrowth opposite where Seraia had pointed, "Show yourself." He heard a rustling in the woods, and saw a sleek, black panther show up, with an orange panther beside it. Seroin held back a hiss. These were not their parents, but they looked similar to their parents. The two little kits trembled behind Seroin's legs as he stepped forward.
"Who are you?" He meowed, sounding confident. Inside, he was trembling with fear.
The panthers glanced at each other, and recited as one, "We are your ancestors. You must follow us, as it is getting dark. You know how dangerous it is at night." The sleek, black panther swiftly bounded up and grabbed Seraia.
Seroin, scared, stepped in front of Sallina, and hissed, "Give her back!" He picked Sallina up by the scruff of her neck, and stepped forwards for Seraia, claws unsheathed. Dropping Sallina, he growled, "Give her back or- or you'll regret it!" The black panther chuckled. He glanced knowingly at the orange panther, and padded out of their sight.
"You get back here!" Seroin yowled, grabbing Sallina roughly and, leaping after the black panther, tried to reach him to snatch his little sister back.
Seroin heard a snicker reverberate in the woods around him. He felt... watched. Glancing around nervously, he put Sallina down and scented the air. He picked her up and followed the scent carefully. Maybe, he thought, I can track him to his lair. Seroin wasn't sure, but he decided to try anyway. Suddenly, he heard a voice call "Seroin!" That voice was familiar. He knew it, although he couldn't quite place where he recalled it from.
Suddenly, he dropped Sallina and yowled, "Sister!" It was his sister, from when he was just a cub. All of the family starts out a mixture of black and orange, and eventually moved on to orange with black-tipped tail. His sister, Sandra, had been born white as snow, and they had kicked her out to leave her fate to be decided by the unpredictable forest. It was the middle of winter, but Sandra had a very thick coat, and was a strong kit. She had managed to yowl loud enough for some panthers to come save her. Sandra was his twin sister, and he had nightmares about himself being kicked out in the middle of winter as well. "Sandra!" He mewled like a kit, "I've missed you so much!"
Sandra chuckled, "I see you've taken after me, an outcast." Seroin snickered, and then remembered about Sallina and Seraia.
"Sandra! My, I mean our little sisters! A black panther took Seraia!" Sandra chuckled, and turned around, following an unseen trail. As Seroin scented the air, he noticed Seraia and Sallina's scent mingled in with other panther scents. "Where are they?" Seroin stopped and hissed.
"Don't worry" Sandra mewed calmly, "They're in perfect hands – I mean paws." Seroin stopped.
"You- You have humans in this camp?! They've been chasing us for years! You let them come in and deal with my little sisters? I'll tear them to shreds!" He hissed and ran off, chasing after Seraia and Sallina's scents. When the two scents reached a fork, where one went left, and the other went right, Seroin stopped. Looking around, he saw them both. What.... What was that –they like those humans? Seroin hissed in anger. Chasing after Seraia, he saw her being rubbed and pet by two human cubs. "Seraia!" He mewed, "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" He turned towards the human cubs and hissed, "If you hurt her, you'll pay!" The cubs looked afraid for a moment, and then ran at Seroin, arms extended. Seroin quickly grabbed Seraia and ran towards where Sallina was being pet by the human cubs. Dropping Seraia on the ground, he hissed and jumped at the cubs, aware of not to hurt them. They were only cubs after all.
"What did you do that for?" Seraia hissed, "I was having a good time!" Seroin blinked. Seraia had never been angry with him before.
Quickly, his body filled with rage, "I save you from death and you treat me like this! You little rotten excuse for a sister! I chase you halfway through the woods, and you treat me as if saving you was wrong!"
Seroin swiftly turned around and padded over to the middle of the camp, to what he thought was the leader's den.
