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“We must get back to the Dewdrop Tribe. Garden?” Garden reversed the makeshift trail and turned it back toward the Tribe. Chara looked back and saw Pinwheel gently grabbing Lichen’s scruff again and starting to drag her after them. “Let us help!” Pinwheel hesitated, but eventually nodded and let Owl carry Lichen onto Loyal’s back.
Then, the white cat’s eyes suddenly burst open and she looked around, pain lighting her gaze. Pinwheel started, and Chara rested her tail gently on his shoulder. “Let her get up on her own,” she murmured.
Loyal let Lichen slip off his back and stumble to her paws. “What happened? Who are you all? Why does my body feel so sore-?” Her eyes rounded as large as moons when her gaze landed on Chara. Lichen inched back, the scent of fear coming off her pelt, and Chara realized she was afraid of her.
She crouched submissively, her pelt smooth. “Your body is aching from your fall, and your ear is wounded,” she said. There was a moment of loud silence, the patrol watching, until finally, Lichen stammered, “O-oh.” She grunted and flexed her paws slowly.
“Lichen!” Pinwheel leaped in front of her, and Lichen jumped in surprise. “Pinwheel! Are you ok?” she asked, bewildered. Pinwheel smiled and nodded. “I’m fine. I’m glad you’re up, but we need to get going. You can come with us, back to my Tribe.”
Lichen hesitated at that. “Your Tribe? Are you sure they’ll welcome me?” she asked.
“Of course. We have a lot to do. I promise they’ll welcome you,” Pinwheel retorted and started walking forward again, Lichen padding after him. Chara followed, and they walked for what seemed like ages. Holo kept stopping so they could catch up, and Garden moved the path in sync with Midnight. They took a few breaks, stopping at puddles, and Scar even caught a boar that they shared.
As Chara tore at the meat, a different scent struck her nose. She glanced up, sniffing at the air. It was a tangy scent, faint, but it kept getting closer. Pinwheel and Lichen must have recognized it, too, and they jumped to their paws, starting to bristle. The rest of the patrol stopped eating as well.
Pinwheel didn’t hesitate. He yelped loudly. “That’s the scent . . . the scent of the creatures who captured us!”
He and Lichen glanced at each other, Lichen looking scared and Pinwheel furious. It didn’t take long before Chara heard the sound of flapping wings coming from above.
Huge shapes blotted out the sky, circling the group. They were ginormous creatures with huge wings and tails, their talons gleaming and sharp. They had horns on their heads and smoke coming from their nostrils. They swooped down gracefully, landing a few tiger-lengths in front of the patrol. One of them roared, and Chara wanted to cover her ears with her paws. Lichen screeched, and Pinwheel drew back his lips in a furious snarl.
“There they are.” Its voice was deep and unnerving. They were looking at Pinwheel and Lichen, and then they leaped. One of them grabbed Lichen and started to fly up into the clouds. Pinwheel howled and leaped at it, slashing at its hind feet. Another reached for him, but before it could, Chara leaped and grasped onto its tail. What am I doing? She snarled and bit down on its scales, raking at them with her claws at the same time.
“Garden! Now!” she yowled, glaring at the orange-and-white cat. Garden jumped into action, raising her paw, and thick vines and branches jutted out of the ground. They looped around the creatures tightly and they shrieked in rage, clawing at the plants. But it held them firmly, and Scar nimbly pummeled Lichen out of the loosened talons, Pinwheel leaping in to soften her fall. Garden added even more thick twigs to the creatures. They squirmed and clawed, but failed to get out.
“What are we supposed to do with them? There could be more coming!” Midnight screamed.
“Then we must run, and quickly!”
They pounded through the forest, getting as far as they could from the creatures. They stopped and rolled in mud to cover their scent and kept going. Even at this distance, Chara could still hear the faint screams of the creatures, the cries sharp with fury. We must get further away.
Pinwheel then suddenly stopped, his lips curling to show his teeth. He whipped around, his muscles crackling through his fur. His yellow and blue eyes turned into narrow slits. It was almost as if he was something completely different.
The patrol all stopped and stared at Pinwheel, speechless. A spiked gear suddenly appeared on his fur, and more spikes popped out of his own skin. His snout changed into a broader, scaly shape. He grew as huge as a mountain peak, horns appearing out of his head and wings sprouting out of his sides. A whip-thin tail also formed and lashed angrily. His armor regrouped to fit him perfectly on his smooth black-and-white scales. Pinwheel’s eyes turned a bright green color, and it was clear that he was not himself. Chara gaped, realization dawning on her.
He’s one of the creatures himself!
“PINWHEEL!”
It was too late. He charged back the next few tail lengths and then shot into the air, his huge wings smacking the trees and sending leaves fluttering to the forest floor. He’s heading toward the trapped creatures!
Chara snapped back to attention, bounding after Pinwheel as fast as she could. Her lungs stung from the past running, but she carried on, trying to control her breathing. The patrol raced after her, but even Holo was too late. The ginger cat was a blur, but as Chara caught up to him, he was stopped, his fur bristling.
Chara looked in his direction and gasped in horror. The creatures were still curled in the vines, but their heads loped at a strange angle and long slashes were covering their bodies. The vines looked beaten as if the creatures had clawed at them desperately to escape.
Chara screeched, running to the bodies to inspect them. Garden raised a shaking white paw, and the vines retreated into the ground, the bodies now flopped on the forest floor. One of them had its mouth open, blood staining its teeth, and Chara could also smell Pinwheel’s blood, but faintly. Did it try to fight back? The wind carried Pinwheel’s scent into the sky, heading the way where the patrol had found him and Lichen.
“I know what he’s doing. He’s going to slaughter all the creatures. Pinwheel is heading back toward their base,” Lichen said, her eyes lit up with fear.
“Then we have to go help him . . . or save him!” Chara yelped. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvvgoLYfV5A
“Then follow me! I know where the base is! But . . . there’s one problem,” Lichen hesitated. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwMRuz29DE
“What?” Loyal asked.
“Their base is . . . well . . . in the sky.”
Everyone paused, and then Garden cried, “Then how are we going to help Pinwheel if he can fly and we can’t?” 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzsHVHyvHx
Chara closed her eyes, blocking out the patrol’s protests so she could think. How would we get up into the sky to their base? Think of the patrol’s powers. Her eyes snapped open as she came up with a plan.
“Garden, couldn’t you make the vines form a path to the sky-base?” she asked urgently. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBPtWqvrWi
Garden paused, then nodded. “Yes, I think I could,” she replied. 289Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7KSkAERgs
“Then let’s try that. Lichen, lead us to the base.”
They hurried back the way they came, for what seemed like ages, and Chara wished she could have wings like Pinwheel. How did he transform? What in the Great Tiger..? I didn’t know Pinwheel had shapeshifting powers! She still couldn’t believe what she’d seen earlier. Judging from the others’ expressions as they moved, they couldn’t either.
They cantered and cantered until finally Lichen paused and looked up. The rest of the patrol, including Chara, looked up as well, and high above the ground, Chara could see a faint outline of something . . . she couldn’t tell what it was, but it looked big. A cloud seeped below it, so Chara couldn’t see what it actually looked like.
“Is that the base?” Midnight asked, and Lichen nodded. “It is. Garden?” The orange-and-white cat nodded and stepped forward.
“This will take a lot of concentration,” she meowed. “Don’t worry, we won’t speak,” Chara said.
Garden then closed her eyes, and thick vine stalks jutted out of the earth and rose higher, higher, and higher until the clouds covered it up as well. Huge leaves made spiral steps that followed the vine all the way up until it stopped moving and Garden opened her eyes again. “I made it as high as I could. Let’s go.”
They bounded up the steps, climbing, and climbing, the patrol’s tired limbs screaming to rest. After a while, they finally made it to the top, exhausted and panting.
Can’t . . . breathe . . . my lungs . . . are on fire! Her legs were wobbling, and Chara had to send all her strength to the very tips of her paws each second, or she was afraid she would fall unconscious. There’s no time for breaks. Come on, move!
Chara looked up, and there was a huge platform with an opening in front of them. Chara breathed in through her nose, tasting the air. Then, a sharp tang reached her line of scent and she coughed, the stench almost unbearable. That’s the strongest scent of blood I’ve ever smelled! She pushed her tired legs to another run, sprinting toward the entrance.
She skidded to a halt in horror.
All of the creatures were dead, and she was too late.
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