A Tale of Three

Chapter 3: Danger

The hare sniffed upward, its nose twitching as it picked up the scent of something nearby. Something nearby means danger, the hare thought to itself. Danger means run or die. Danger means run away from the clover patch, and clover is food. Food is good. As the hare came to this extraordinary conclusion, and nibbled away at the wilted clover, it sensed movement. The hare looked up to see a white shape prowling at the edge of the patch. White shape means danger. Danger means run. With that the hare jumped in the air and took off towards its burrow, but it wasn't fast enough, for as soon as it kicked up its hind legs the danger was on its back.

Cyrene picked up the dead hare in her jaws, her scrawny stomach rumbled in anticipation. The hare swung from her fangs limply, dragging the ground. The panthress purred to herself. Otium, Ares, and she would be having a good meal tonight. Her happiness dipped slightly. That is if Ares manages to catch something too. Cyrene didn't even have to sniff the air as she walked back to their den. Her instinct guided her as she walked the trail she had walked thousands of times before. In the distance she could see its burgundy trunk crawling above the other trees. She smiled to herself as she saw Otium in the branches, attempting to talk to a bird.

Picking up her pace into a run, Cyrene hurriedly went to the tree. She let out a muffled laugh as she approached the trunk, scaring the bird away. It quickly fluttered up, not even giving a second glance to Otium's small self. Otium huffed in annoyance, turning her blind gaze to Cyrene.

"Yellow was my favorite you know!" Otium hissed at her, starting to sit up on the branches. Cyrene chuckled.

"The bird was black you know. He was a raven. All ravens are black," Cyrene smiled, quickly picking up the rabbit and jumping onto the tree with Otium. Her claws easily found themselves in the wood, and Cyrene briskly deposited it at Otium's feet. Otium's expression didn't soften as she felt the hare land next to her.

"Cyrene, I'm blind. Give me a break," she warned. "Besides miracles can happen. Maybe one day a raven will be yellow. And on that day, I will laugh."

"You laugh every day," Cyrene told her sister, playfully nudging her. Otium's stern expression broke into a smile with that. "Have you seen Ares today?"

"He said that he was going to train more for Anglo," Otium said. She quickly added, "Don't worry. He isn't mad at you again."

"He's always training," Cyrene answered absentmindedly. She quickly hissed, "Besides, I can't control my fur color!"

"He knows that, Cyrene. Besides, Ares has to fight his instinct to even stay with you. Panthers are supposed to want to be with others like them," Otium told her softly, timidly laying her head against Cyrene's side.

"You're blind and that just makes him love you more," Cyrene growled, pushing Otium's head off her body. Her smaller sister just shook her head as an answer. "Listen! I can't help my fur color. If Ares wants to stay away from me, then he can, but I should at least be able to stay with him!"

"You know you could just go to the clearing and ask to train with him," Otium answered emotionlessly.

Cyrene just stared at her for a moment, still fuming, before breaking out into a laugh. "Sometimes I wish I could be as level-headed as you, you know?"

Otium smiled at Cyrene after that comment, her dust brown chest swelling with pride. She quietly added, "Maybe then all the glarings would get along."

"Do you think we'll be able to get out of Abandoned Atra tomorrow?" Cyrene asked, as she stood up and stretched her legs. The route to Ares' training field was already in her mind.

"Well, we aren't criminals, and we never insulted the king to his face, so we're allowed to leave," Otium answered.

"That's not what I meant," Cyrene growled. Otium nodded her head in understanding.

"Cyrene, your fur color won't affect your result. Jinx assured that to everyone. Besides, if the Testers decided to take that into account, they wouldn't go unpunished." Otium smiled, trying to comfort Cyrene. Cyrene ignored her sister as she said the usual answer. With a growl, she jumped off the branch, heading for Ares.

Cyrene started to run, her body leaving the area around the Ash Tree as quickly as it had appeared. The grass was soft under her paws; she pushed across it with ease. The air was thick with dew and it clung to her fur as she ran. Cyrene growled in frustration at the humidity.

Cyrene froze as a small breeze blew past her. The smell of rotting meat had drifted across the dew, soaking the air with its scent. The panthress wrinkled her nose as she followed the smell. It led to a thick fern, its darkness hiding the carcass of a rabbit underneath. Cyrene almost choked on her breath. Its sides had been ripped and torn, but no meat was missing. The visitor was killing for pleasure. She quickly backed away, and ran towards Ares' training spot. He was in this part of the woods the most.

Cyrene gave a sigh of relief as familiar clearing became visible. Ares was big enough to scare almost any threat that came up.

From the clearing a monstrous roar sounded, its echoes so loud the leaves around it started to shake. Cyrene immediately ran for a nearby bush, trying to hide her almost glowing pelt under the leaves. She pressed her head to the ground, looking up into the scene before her. Cyrene almost didn't breathe as she laid there.

Through a small break in the leaves she managed to see the paws of a panther in front of her. Her heart started beating even louder in her chest as she realized they weren't Ares'.

"I will personally kill you myself if you don't get off my territory!" Ares growled, from across the field. Cyrene used her nose to push a few leaves out of the way, desperate to get a glimpse of her brother. His black pelt was hardly visible from behind the other panther. The colossal frame in front of her blotched out almost all her vision, including that of her brother. Cyrene poked the tip of her muzzle through; the leaves rustled, and Cyrene prayed that the panther in front of her wouldn't move.

"My poor cub," the panther laughed, his gruff voice grating against Cyrene's ears. His laugh rose, before quickly cutting off. "I feel we have come to a misunderstanding. I am just here on a little hunting trip. But after I saw you, and how you were obviously training to be an Anglo, I decided to stop by."

"What do you want?" Ares growled, his hackles rising. Cyrene smiled smugly at the huge shape in front of her, even though he was oblivious to her hidden presence. Ares wasn't going to fall for his tricks that easily.

"What do I want? I want warriors."

"Explain."

"I mean you could join me. I come from a group of brave and honorable felines. My queen would appreciate more fighters," the panther said, confidently stepping forward and starting to circle Ares. As his leg moved, unblocking Cyrene's view, his shape became visible. The panthress felt every muscle in her body tense as she saw the newcomer.

He was a monster. His shadow fell over Ares, and what had looked like normal sized paws from before were now about the size of her head. His head was high as he looked down at Ares, with what looked to be red rimmed eyes. Cyrene quickly averted her gaze to Ares, desperate to see his response.

"I won't join you," Ares replied, keeping his voice low and aloof.

"Why not?" the panther growled. Cyrene watched silently as Ares' muscles tensed and the fur around his neck rose.

"I want to be a fighter, but I will be a good one. I will go to Anglo, rise through the ranks, and become leader. Joining a rag-tag group of exiles won't help with that, so I won't do it. Go away!" Ares roared back, his temperament snapping like a stick. Cyrene winced as his voice echoed throughout the trees.

"I need you to join us!" the other panther raged with desperation weaved into his voice.

"Get it through your thick skull. I'm not going to join some washed up monster with a mysterious cause. You couldn't convince someone from Muses to join you."

"I'll start again then. My name is Swiven," he began, his harsh voice lightening a bit, "And I can make us both great."