A little friendship is all you need (Hyper and Clary)

[Ruby_Fehu]

Ruby heard her mate and Sola go quiet and took it has her cue to return with Iris so picking her daughter up by the scruff she jumped down from the top of the cave, and landed just in front of the mouth, landing easily and wearing a sad smile. She saw the tears on both their faces and stepped closer, nuzzling them both tightly.

[Hypercube]

Xoren and Sola both looked when they head the two come out to their perch and each smiled wearily, glad that they were alone any more. "Thanks..." Sola said as she used her paw to wipe the residual tears from under her eyes. The father and daughter stood and Sola moved to Iris and smiled to her, hoping that she didn't get too concerned over the scene. Xoren, still recovering from the retelling of his past, nuzzled into his mate for the much needed comfort it provided. "I love you Ruby" he said with a quiet whisper that would have been hidden if not for the saturating silence of the morning.

[Ruby_Fehu]

"I love you too." Ruby replied, slightly taken aback by his sudden words but she didn't say anything and instead just nuzzled into him. Letting him calm down whilst Iris watched Sola curiously.

[Hypercube]

Sola watched her parents, not noticing to Iris's looks, until Xoren separated himself from their union. "We shouldn't be too far from our final destination" she said with a quit voice "right?" "I don't think so," Xoren replied as he too wiped his eyes with his paw "In fact we should be there in a few more days I would think."

[Ruby_Fehu]

We can rest here for a few days." Ruby said, looking up at her mate. Get our full energy back, there's enough food and water nearby." She continued.

[Hypercube]

"I like that idea" Sola said, eager to spend some time relaxing rather than traveling, "I think we could all use some rest." Xoren agreed with the idea, but his stomach decided for him with an audacious grumbling that it wasn't time to relax just yet. "It would probably be best to get some food first. How about we go hunt" he began looking into Ruby's eyes as he spoke, "and you two relax here?"

[Ruby_Fehu]

Ruby nodded her agreement before turning to Sola. "Make sure Iris doesn't wander off. She has a tendancy to do that." She then glanced up at her mate, "Shall we?"

[Hypercube]

"Don't worry" Sola said with a smile as she looked to her little sister and then back to Ruby, "we'll be fine." Xoren began walking to the edge of the elevated perch they stood on before turning back to Ruby. "We shall!" he said with excitement and eagerness to be alone with his mate before swiftly rushing down the mountainside.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Ruby nodded once and hurried after him, skidding to a halt at the bottom and bouncing to face him, stepping closer to him she draped a paw over his muzzle and licked him softly. "Where should we look first?"

[Hypercube]

Xoren smiled and returned the gesture before stepping atop one of the stray rocks near them and sniffing the air. "I can smell a group of animals to the east" he said as the wind carried their scent, "so let's head that way." After deciding, he hopped down from his elevated position and moved next to his mate, waiting for her to move before he did.

---

"Well," Sola said with a joyful chirp as her tail flicked around, "we're all by ourselves for now; what d' ya wanna do?"

[Ruby_Fehu]

"Hide and seek!" Iris grinned jumping up and down eagerly, looking up at Sola hopefully.

---

Ruby nodded and started to lead the way, when she managed to reach the animals, and was only a short distance away, she looked to her mate and lowered herself to the ground carefully, her claws unsheathed and her ears pinned back as she watched them, "What should we go for?" She asked her mate curiously.

[Hypercube]

Sola let out a childish laugh at Iris's behavior, both entertained and enlightened by her care-free attitude. "Okay," she said after the laughter had subsided, "who hides first: you or me?"

---

Xoren followed Ruby as they approached the animals, the same astonishment and awe from the first time he saw her hunt managing to find its way into his heart again. "I have no preference" he replied at first before continuing in a playful manner, "but I do know how annoying it is to have two apathetic people trying to make a decision so I will force myself to do so." He scanned the valley and found many species of prey calmly grazing: antelope, gazelle, zebra - the variety was enough to make him salivate. "How about some zebra today," he finally said with a hint of excitement, "I have had one in ages."

[Ruby_Fehu]

"Me."[/i][/b] Iris grinned after a few moments of mulling it over. "Now close your eyes and start to count." She demanded, her smile widened and her eyes twinkled excitedly. This would be the first time she got to play a proper game with her sister.

---

"Sounds good to me." Ruby agreed with a smile, scanning the area until she saw a particularly delicious looking zebra buck. "What about him?" She asked gesturing with her paw to the potential victim of their hunts.

[Hypercube]

Sola turned around to face the outside of the cave, lying down so that she could put her paws over her eyes. She too was overly excited to finally have a chance to play a game with her sister and smiled brightly when she was turned away. "Wait," she said as she held her paws just below her eyes, "what do you want me to count to?"

---

"Ummm," he said pausing with an obvious reserve that he did not give Ruby the chance to inquire about, "not that one. Let's go for that one instead" he said quickly pointing with his paw to another zebra across the herd.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Ruby looked at him for a few moments before shrugging dismissively and nodding, "Alright then." She said slowly, shuffling back into her hunting position. Her tail flicking side to side carefully.

---

"Twenty." Iris said with a grin before running off and hiding behind a rock and covering her own eyes with her paws as she hid.

[Hypercube]

Xoren began to skulk down the hill that separated the pair of hunters from their prey, being sure to stay hidden in the swaying tall grass. Once he had reached the edge of the cover he hunched back onto his hind legs, prepared to rush the zebra before it was even aware of their presence. "Ready?" he whispered to his mate under the cover of the ruffling grass.

---

"Okay" Sola replied before covering her eyes and beginning to count. She said each number softly but powerfully while her ears remained perked up as to listen for each step her sister took to be reflected off of the cave walls.

[Ruby_Fehu]

"Ready." Ruby whispered back before pushing herself forward and lunging towards the zebra, sending it and the other animals fleeing in different directions. The hybrid continued to pursuit the zebra until in his fleeing, it kicked back and caught the side of Ruby's face sharply causing her to stagger back with a cry of pain, her head bowed and her eye closed when she felt a throb and something warm start to trickle down over her closed eye.

---

Iris uncovered her eyes and shook her head before padding around again until she decided to sit behind Sola and covering her eyes once more.

[Hypercube]

Xoren moved with Ruby as he focused only on the one animal they hoped to catch while the others ran like ants from rainfall. He followed the chase, racing around the valley until they came up close to the back of the zebra they had their sights set upon. Xoren saw their prey shifting its weight while beginning to kick backwards and he called his mate's name as the legs became airborne. "Ruby!" he cried as the hooves met her head and threw blood in the direction of the kick. Xoren rushed to the side of his mate, immidiatly using his paw to check the wound as he licked the dripping blood from her cheek. "Are you okay?" he asked as he cared for her, not caring that their prey had escaped.

---

"Nineteen... Twenty!" As Sola finished counting, she couldn't help but feel as if Iris did nothing but make a huge circle, returning back to the spot she started. With a quick 180 degree turn she confirmed this hypothesis as her eyes met with Iris sitting directly in front of her. "Iris," she laughed, "you're supposed to hide somewhere that I have to look for you!"

[Ruby_Fehu]

"I am hiding, I can't see you. So you can't see me." Iris replied in a singsong voice, keeping her eyes firmly covered as she remained seated and 'hiding' from her sister. Proving that she was still a cub. Even if she was wise for her years.

---

Ruby let some air hiss through her lips at the sting as Xoren tended to her wound, "I'm fine, nothing big. Don't worry." She said, her voice quivering in pain each time his tongue rested on the cut. "Just a small cut." She continued, feeling slightly ill, "Let's just continue to hunt." Carefully she staggered to her feet and rested herself against Xoren's flank to hold herself up.

[Hypercube]

Sola laughed before rubbing her head against Iris's paws, pushing them away from her eyes. "I can see you just fine," she said in a joking tone, "see?"

---

Xoren watched her react in pain at each lick of the wound which still bled a small yet steady stream of blood. As she stood and rested most of her body weight on his flank, Xoren was aware she was not as fine as she said. "No" he responded with caring authority, "you're hurt. We need to turn back." He began to walk in the direction of the cave, being sure that he did not remove the support he provided his mate.

[Ruby_Fehu]

"NOW you've found me." She pouted, looking up at her with a grin, before jumping up. "My turn, my turn." She giggled.

---

"I'll be fine." Ruby retorted, a slight annoyance in her tone, she hated having to rely on other people. She always had.

[Hypercube]

"Okay," Sola said shifting into the cave before turning back to her sister. "I'm ready!" she said proudly, her mind racing with possible hiding spots in the rather open cave.

---

Xoren could feel the pain she felt, both physically and mentally, and he stopped to look her in the eyes as best he could while she remained on his flank. "Ruby," he said calmly, "I know you don't want to have to depend on me or anyone for that matter, but I will not let you hurt yourself because of that; I love you too much for that. We need to get you back to the cave so you can rest."

[Ruby_Fehu]

Ruby looked up at Xoren, clearly annoyed with the idea but conceded and allowed herself to slump against him so they could start walking. "I hate this." She grumbled under her breath, waiting for Xoren to start walking.

---

Iris grinned and closed her eyes, starting to count slowly and stumbling over her numbers every now and then, "One... Two... Four..." She began, slumping down into a lying position as she kept her eyes firmly shut. 

[Hypercube]

"I know you do" he said with the same loving tone as he slowly moved back towards their temporary home, "but you know that sometimes the things we hate need to be done."

---

Sola searched her surroundings for a place to hide, her tail standing straight up with anxious excitement. She knew it was just a fun little game, but that wasn't enough to stop her from trying her hardest to win it. Eventually, she trotted to the back of the cave and began to climb a small ledge she had found, eventually wedging herself in a crack in the wall that was just big enough to easily fit into.

[Ruby_Fehu]

"Let's just get back to the cave." Ruby sighed, allowing Xoren to guide her, "I guess it's a good job that we're staying here for a while, but we have no good. We'll have to go back out hunting." She continued, frowning a little as she looked up at him.

---

"18... 19... 20." Iris finished and started looking around. She cocked her head to one side before starting to pad around the cave, sniffing a little as she tried to imitate the older family members. She walked straight past Sola and turned back around starting to pace back to the cave mouth, still looking for her sister.

[Hypercube]

"I suppose so" Xoren said to Ruby as he continued to walk, "but not until you're fully healed." As they moved, he not only watched his surroundings out of habit, he also looked to Ruby to watch for any signs of a concussion. Her speech seemed to indicate that she may have become concussed, but Xoren thought it could have just been a slip of her tongue; he had to be sure she was okay. "Ruby," he said to her failing to mask his concern, "do you remember how we first met?"

---

Sola silently giggled to herself as Iris passed right by her without noticing a thing. I should scare her! she thought to herself as she prepared to jump down as Iris turned around. Once she was almost directly above her sister she jumped from the ledge landing just in front of her sister as she yelled: "Boo!" Once she landed in front of Iris though, her front ankle screamed in pain and she fell to the ground with a whimper, her eyes clenched tight from the injury.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Iris looked up at Sola when she whimpered before hurrying over to her sister, "What happened? Are you okay? Should I go and get mum and dad?" Iris asked with a surprising calmness. "THey won't be far." Iris continued thoughtfully. Slowly she padded to Sola's side and lay down on the cave floor beside her.

---

Ruby blinked a couple of times and cocked her head looking up at Xoren, her head spinning. "I was looking for... Iris, and you crossed... crossed my path." She said carefully, tripping over her words as she spoke, "I think, I don't know." Ruby finished, her eyes slightly glassy.

[Hypercube]

Sola only barely heard her sister's voice through the pain and it took her a moment to respond in a shaky voice. "No - ouch!" she said as she attempted to put weight on the paw, an effort that only caused her to fall back down. "I'm okay," she lied believing that Iris would panic if she was truly hurt, "I just need to rest it." Sola lowered herself to the ground completely as she looked to Iris and smiled through the pain.

---

"It's okay," Xoren said softly as he slightly increased the speed of his walk. His heart began to race, as did his mind, with the thoughts of what could happen to Ruby. The scenarios that played out in his head made him forget about his place in the world and caused him to become nauseous to the point that he had to stop moving for a moment. In his daze he looked back to his mate and noticed her eyes which seemed to contain a layer of glass separating him from her. He instantly realized that if he were to allow himself to succumb to his feelings now, his worst fears would come to fruition. With this thought in mind, he pushed through the fear and continued to walk, being sure to leave Ruby comfortably propped on his side.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Iris stared up at her sister, she didn't believe her but she wasn't going to say anything. Instead she just snugggled against her sister's side being careful not to nudge Sola's injured paw. "Mum will be home soon." She said confidently. "And dad, they'll look after you."

---

Ruby allowed Xoren to prop her, she was too tired to argue and her head was pounding. If she was left alone she was worried her paws would give way due to how weak she felt. "How far?" She asked carefully after a few moments, stumbling over herself a little.

[Hypercube]

Sola was surprised at Iris's calm attitude towards the situation; it was these scenarios that her maturity stood out against her childish tendencies. "Thanks Iris" she said curling her head around to touch Iris's as she purred softly.

---

"Not far" he said as the cave became more defined against the heat waves that distorted the distance. Xoren could feel her increasing weakness as they moved, the extra weight only furthering his worry. "Ruby," he said knowing that he needed to mitigate the situation immediately, "you're probably going to be getting very tired soon, but I need you - no matter what - to stay awake, okay?"