Raven

4

Eben tripped on another pothole, the worn roads being entirely smooth bar a few indentations, all of which his feet seemed to fall in.

Raven almost growled from behind him, once again steadying the boy by yanking him up by his loose jacket. The boy finds his feet again and scurries forward to catch up with Falcon who was leading the group.

The boy was not making this easy.

Not only had they been searching for the boy since rumour was spread that he'd been taken, but now he was making their usual ease beyond difficult as they travelled the easy route home.

They would have taken the roofs. But, well, he could hardly walk on the compacted roads, Raven didn't even want to imagine the struggle that the rooftops would bring.

Her nostrils flared as his pace became more meandering than brisk.

The boy had no idea what kind of trouble this plan had brought. No idea. She'd saved his ass and she was paying the price, the fact that he couldn't even walk to a satisfactory standard was infuriating.

Big was not pleased when she recounted her plan. He was furious she had done this all without prior permission from him.

Big knew the plan was the best they had, he'd been looking for someone to make the journey to their neighbours for weeks, ever since they'd gained evidence of the governments plans. The fact that he now had little choice but to send a 21 year old and some unknown kid was what was rubbing him the wrong way.

Which was rubbing Raven the wrong way too.

She'd tried bloody hard to prove herself and she'd succeeded but in his eyes she was still a badger, a kid to be controlled and restrained, not to be trusted with such responsibility as this.

Raven shoved the boy when he slows too much causing him to stumble and catch up with Falcon again.

She breaths a heavy sigh of relief when the warehouses comes into sight. They pass the badgers den, a few suspicious eyes watching them through the cracks in bordered windows.

The boy seems to shrink amongst all of the beaten up warehouses, the governments barely used storage units that took up the majority of the city's space.

Eben had never been between such large buildings, the sheer size of them intimidating, the echoed whispers travelling on the wind.

Falcon leads them into the lions den, eagerly nicknamed so by the badgers.

Never go into the lions den, that was the rule amongst badgers.

They were only ever allowed entrance if they were being scolded for their childish behaviours, it was where all of the original dominating and scary rebels resided.

To Raven, she walked through the small, hidden back door with nothing but pride.

She was a regular here and that made her powerful, feared. As much a lion as any other rebel in there.

Once inside the pitch dark building the boy veered off track and Raven furiously drags him back by the collar, not even bothering to let him go and instead leading him before her.

If he wandered off in the lions den... they'd smell his fear and eat him alive.

They're soon stood at the end of the dimly lit table, a makeshift meeting room tucked away in the far corner, away from nosing badgers listening at the doors.

Big sat at the very end, not at all pleased by their arrival.

He'd been expecting them soon but they'd been searching for the boy for days and other troubles had captured his attention.