A Rouge's Journey

[genie]

Being young Leela ears were perhaps a bit more sensitive than the others but she thought she heard horrible noises and her ears flattened down, her hairs standing on end felt all prickly and shivered slightly, she did't want to know what was making that sound. It was scared her, it sounded like monsters or perhaps it was ghosts - both were a scary thought as she sat there on Seletor's back, eyes wide open.

[Tamber]

Zulu trotted out of the thicket in which he and Shana had been hiding, and he was greeted by the red, setting sun. He made his way straight for Seleter. The king cheetah was surprised and pleased to see the smile rise upon her face when she saw him. Her lavender eyes shone and smiled at him, too. He remembered the first time he saw her and how awkward he had been. He was grateful that he was fortunate enough to get to know her so that this awkwardness was able to fade away.

Zulu reached her side and slowed to a walk as he went along beside her. "Elloooo, Seleta. And ello, to you, Miss Leela. You look like you're enjoying your little ride. I wish someone here was big enough to carry me. Maybe when we find Memkra, huh?" The cheetah grinned broadly at the cub, turning to wink at Shana next. He then proceeded to speak with Seleter.

"I saw Karensha run off," he told her. "I assume she went to find the slope into the canyon. I feel awful for letting them stay down there this long. We should really follow suit and join her. This is probably eating her up inside."

As Zulu began to devise a plan to get the group together and pick up the pace after Karensha, he was interrupted by a haunting noise. Whining? Screaming? Crying? It seemed to be an awful combination of many horrid sounds, and he cringed at the thought or the tortured soul that would made such a noise. "Zulu... did you hear that ? Or was it me...?" he heard Shana ask. "I heard it, Shana. Let's hope it's the wind playing tricks on us." Zulu looked at Seleter, silently asking if she had heard the sound.

Duna heard it, as well, and the cub lifted her head to the noise. She overheard Shana's reaction, and looked over to see how Zulu replied to her. At least it wasn't just her that heard that nightmarrish noise. She fancied for a moment that she had gone crazy.

"What do you think that was, Night Flame?" she asked her large, dark companion, who still carried her on his head.

[Dakota]

Maisha was trying to concentrate, carefully placing one foot in front of the other, so as not to step on anything that would give their position away, but at the same time feeling the warmth from Memkra pressing into her, was makng her thoughts veer off all together.
She wasn't sure why now of all times it was happening, as they had been friends for so long and she hadn't had this reponse to him before. Moving away a little and feeling the cool air come between them, made her feel less restless and she was able to relax slightly,

Again the noise carried to them on the breeze, she wasn't sure but it seemed to be directly in front of them now, but being in a gully the echoes could bounce off many a thing, throwing off their senses.

"Memkra.. what you think, you want to keep going slow or should we just run ahead as fast as we can ?.. I'm not sure any more where it's coming from, seems to change positions all the time."

[genie]

Memkra's ears twitched back and forth, he was trying to gauge the noise as they walked along, he barely noticed Maisha move away slightly but then she then spoke to him and he thought about it a moment before saying "I don't think it be wise to run right now, we might just run into something we don't want".

[Kirsui]

Seleter chuckled amusedly at Zulu's words as she walked side by side with the king cheetah. Indeed, it would be fun to see him carried around by Memkra, but the golden cheetah had her doubts about said lion agreeing to actually perform this little.. matter.. though maybe if they tried to persuade Memkra with the fact the cubs would want to see...?

"I saw Karensha run off. -- I feel awful for letting them stay down there this long. We should really follow suit and join her."

Seleter had time only to nod in agreement when her ears picked up the screeching sound everyone else was hearing too. It sent chills down her spine, but she dare not show how the sound made her feel for the cubs' sake.

Knowing the sound would most likely have a strong effect on the younger ones, the cheetah looked over her shoulder at Leela with a calm expression.
"You're safe with me", she said with a re-assuring smile. "Nothing can catch a cheetah who protects a lil' cutie like you, not even the wind."
She gave Leela a gentle nuzzle of comfort before she turned her head forwards, her ears twisting as she tried to listen if there would be more of these strange noises.

---

"What do you think that was, Night Flame?"

The dark furred lion gazed ahead over to the direction where the sound had come from. He wasn't sure if he had heard such a sound before, though he knew he had heard something similar to that before. It was, as Zulu had told Nadayshana, just like the wind blowing and yet...

He frowned.
"I do not know..." he replied slowly.
"Keep your ears and eyes open, Duna... Two pairs of eyes see and two pairs of ears hear far better than one pair of both."

[Dakota]

The snow leopard paced back and forth for a few moments, scuffing the dirt with her paws ' where are they, whats taking them so long.?. Memkra and Maisha are down there somewhere, ..and they're just out for a slow walk'

Realising she was getting worked up over her thoughts, she lowered her long limbs down pressing one rear side against a rock. After lying there while her breathing was returning to normal, she felt the coolness from the stone against her fur was soothing and she found her self rubbing slightly back and forth.
With her ears twitching listening for any unfamiliar sounds, Karensha didn't see the large bug until it was too late and already crawling up her paw entangling itself in her soft fur. She froze and her mouth opened in despair, but no sound was forthcoming, all she could do was watch as her memories took her back to another time.

'She lay in a darkened cave her paws cut and bleeding, a metallic smell kept drifting up to her nostrils making her flinch, and then came the feel of bugs crawling up from the dank floor, crawling on her paws burrowing in, nibbling and as hard as she tried to shake them away, she could still feel them feeding and sucking. and all the while that monster stood back watching and laughing at her pain and helplessness.'

Karensha heard herself moan out loud, blinking rapidly and gasping, she came back to the present. Jumping back up, she tried to wipe the bug off her paw frantically, but at the same time she was pushing herself back and forth against the rock that had been supporting her.
Unbeknown to the snow leopard, everytime her body pushed against the rock, it was just like a lever, till at last it was free from being held into the ground, and started to tumble back into space, exactly the same time karensha moved as well. With her paws trying to dig into the ground to stop herself slipping she felt herself being dragged backwards. with a small sharp scream she slid while one paw snagged some vines jutting out of the bank.

[Sarafina]

Nadayshana nodded and snuggled into his fur as they walked. She shut her eyes and tried to relax. Everything was happening to her at once. It sucked. Her breathing slowed and a small smile came across her muzzle. She was finally content on who she was with. She was fully relaxed... until she heard a shrilling scream. She jumped up and clung to Zulus back.
"THAT was NOT the wind!!! Zulu!!"
Her voice shook as she gripped his back. She layed down and keot her head high. What was that?! She swallowed and all of the nerves rushed back to her body. She was NOT relaxed anymore. She kept her little sobs to herself, but she just wanted to cry out. She looked around the group to see who was missing. She gasped and looked forward
" Karensha?!"
Her voice shreiked a little. NO! No no no! This wasnt nice... A silent tear fell and she looked at Zulu scared.

[Tamber]

"THAT was NOT the wind!!!"

Zulu suddenly realized that Nadayshana couldn't have been more correct. The scream was short and shrill, and it reflected pure fright, and when his little friend cried out Karensha's name, the king cheetah began to panic. He looked at Seleter with wide eyes, fearing what was happening to Karensha. Without a word he jutted off in her general direction. He hoped that by now Shana was used to clinging to him on bumpy rides.

As the cheetah ran towards the sound he felt a wave of guilt rush through him. He suddenly felt the sting of the mistake he had made: he had waited too long and lingered with the group too much. Karensha has been right in moving forward for her friends, and in letting her go off alone, Zulu felt again that he had put someone in danger.

The cheetah whipped his head around and around, trying to catch a glimpse of the leopard. He saw nothing for a while and started to become frantic, not hearing anymore screams, either. He looked back to Seleter, hoping she was following close behind, and begged with his heart that she could see something that he couldn't.

[Sarafina]

Nadayshana hung on tight, but then she just wanted to run with him. She jumped down and ran along side him. Her paws thudding on the ground as fast as they could. She didnt care where she was going. She put her nose to the ground and sniffed. She oughed a little and her head snapped up. She stopped and looked both ways. She then sprinted forward again and ran towards her scent. she skidded to a stop and looked around. She turned and looked at Zulu. She was out of breath but she was trying to talk.
"I..lost... her ..scent."
Her chest rose and fell fast. She was still trying to breathe. Tears continued to slowly exit her eyes. she couldnt loose Karensha too. She sniffled and trotted softly around the area trying to find her scent again. She couldnt. Now she was mad at herself. She backed up and then slowly ran ad jumped on Zulus back. She grasped his fur not wanting to fall off and looked around more.
"Karensha...Where are you..."
She whispered softly. This wasnt fun anymore.

[Kirsui]

"Zulu! Wait!"

Seleter's words came too late as she watched the king cheetah dash off. She had caught the panic on his face, the same feeling that was now beginning to rise inside her.

Over her shoulder she looked at Leela, and chose to pick her up to her mouth in case the tiny cub would not be able to hold on. And so, with Leela firmly in her mouth by the scruff of her neck, the golden cheetah gave a glance at Night Flame, silently asking him to follow with Duna as fast as he could before she too dashed off.

The wind brushed her fur in an instant as she took mightly leaps across the fields. Her lavender eyes were focused ahead on the distant figre she knew to be Zulu. Her feet carried her lightly, as if they didn't touch the ground at all, and her tail balanced her run so that she would not trip over. And she purred soothingly at the same time as she raced, to calm down the most likely frightened Leela.

Then she realized Zulu had actually stopped, and she slowed down her wild race, glad that the distance to run hadn't been longer than this for if she had kept going much longer she would have had to stop anyway. And so, once she came to a halt near Zulu, she put Leela down in front of her and sat, panting heavily after such a fast sprint after the king cheetah.

"Karensha...Where are you..."

Seleter had barely had time to catch her breath and already she was looking for any sign of the snow leopard, trying to find an answer to Nadayshana's question. All thoughts of a long talk with Karensha about her earlier idea to make Sereana talk to Nadayshana were gone now. She knew something was amiss in this place, she knew something had happened, but she couldn't think! If she only got her rising panic under control...!

"She has fallen over the cliff."

The golden cheetah was startled to see Night Flame crouching there, his nose almost touching the ground as he examined the tracks the snow leopard had left to the ground. Seleter didn't know wether the dark lion had ran fast, or if she had been resting so long that he had caught up with the two cheetahs.

However, there he was now, his teal eyes fixed upon the ground as he slowly crawled towards the edge, careful not to mess any of the tracks that Karensha had left. He saw the freshly moved soil, and could only imagine something heavy had laid there, something that had fallen down with the snow leopard.

Realizing then how bad his earlier words about falling over the cliff had sounded like, Night Flame froze. Surely the snow leopard could not have fallen all the way down... could she? He hoped she hadn't... for the two cheetahs' sake, for the three cubs' sake... and for his own.

"Duna", he said slowly, ignoring the area where his thoughts threatened to wander.
"Hop down to the ground, would you? I do not dare carry you upon my head so close to the edge. I must check if..."
He hesitated.
"If I can reach Karensha."
And he sure wished the snow leopard had managed to catch a hold of something instead of falling all the way down.

[Tamber]

Zulu watched closely as Shana sniffed about and followed a scent she appeared to have a close track of, but was slightly disappointed when she lost it. His hope fell again, and he looked to Seleter, who was catching her breath after trying to catch up to him. As Night Flame's words rang thorugh his spotted ears, Zulu's heart skipped a beat.

"She has fallen over the cliff."

God damnit! Zulu screamed in his mind again. Why the hell do I keep doing this? What the freak is my problem?! The cheetah shook his head in disbelief and rage. This couldn't be happening again. Every...single...time someone was in danger, he couldn't escape the thought that he had caused it. And he knew he did in a round-about way. This flaw always distracted him so greatly that it made everything all that more difficult for everyone.

With a slight sneer on his face, not caring who saw anymore, the thin cat trotting over to the edge of the cliff to look down. He saw nothing living, simply the fogh he had seen earlier. Night Flame claimed nothing, and Zulu wished anxiously that Duna, who was now leaning over herself, would catch sight of something with her sharp young eyes.

Duna had hopped down from Night Flame's poofy head and taken part in the search. She kept her composure as she scanned the area below for any sign of movement or white fur. Nothing was catching her eye at the moment, but she was persistent and began to move away from Night Flame and the others. She skirted the gorge and watched closely, keeping he ears open for any call or alarm from Karensha or one of her pridemates.

[Dakota]

All Karensha heard was silence as she opened her eyes, she must have blacked out for a moment as coloured swirls were still all that she could see as her eyelids slowly rose.
Her front left paw was tangled in some sort of vine, which was also draped around one of her hind legs, it was what had saved her from free falling, to whatever was at the bottom under all the mist.

Moving her head slowly she looked at her surroundings, all that she could focus on was that she was hanging, and pressing against her were sharp rocks. Feeling frustrated and impatient with herself for letting a bug and memories overcome her once again, and nearly costing her, her life Karensha started to use her free paw, to try and push herself away from the rock, all that she succeeded in doing was loosening more debris, and she glanced beneath her watching as it fell like lead into the whiteness.

Her body froze as she heard something above her, should she call out, what if it was another animal looking for easy prey, she would certainly fit into that category now..but then again, what if it were the others, who had realised she was missing... would they have noticed she wondered. Realising that she had to let anyone know that she was dangling down here, she took her chances and opened her mouth to shout for help.

Opening her jaw sent a jolt of pain through her, and as hard as she could try, only a little squeak came forth. Swallowing even hurt she realised, and she gave a small cough that bought a horrible liquid taste into her mouth. Spitting it to clear her throat she watched as a red dye coated the top of her paw. Startingto shake as she recognised it as blood, she tried pulling hard on the vines again, and all she succeeded in doing was bringing earth down on top of her, landing amongst her purple tuft, slowly changing the colour. karensha shuddered and gave a small whimper, the only sound that seemed to be able to escape her muzzle.

[genie]

Leela was scared as they moved along, wind bashing into her but suddenly Seletor turns her head and picks her up in her mouth and purrs, in some weird way, in did feel comfitting, yet all that was going on was frightening her too. Then it reached her ears that Karensha had fallen too and her eyes welled up, this was her fault, she was a curse and caused bad things to happen when around others like her parents had died because of her.. now 3 of their party had fallen over a cliff, tears splashed down onto the ground as she silently cried.

[Sarafina]

Nadayshana stayed a top Zulu and looked around. She then jumped off and looked over at Duna. I sighed and looked as Seleter came over too. I saw Leela and smiled. When i saw little water droplets fall form her face to the ground, my heart broke. It was her fault that she was upset and unhaappy. She took a eep breath and walked over to them. She whimpered and licked leelas paw. Shana looked at Seleter and sat down. She wante dher sister to hold right now. If someone needed her, shed help. But right now Leela needed someone.

[genie]

(ok hope this ok, as was waiting for kirsui to post.. i'm just placing leela down as she being carried, and i'm temporary doing a chimp, so hopefully things can carry on)

Leela crying as she was held saw Shana coming over to her, she was't sure what Shana was going to do at first, but then she licked her paws and seemed to be wanting to comfit Leela. Leela was placed down gentley on the ground and she looked at Shana with big watery eyes, her bottom lip trembling, she wanted to held, comfitted and told things were ok. She started crying and wailed "sister, sister, sister..." she she flung herself into Shana's body, it was warm and it had been so long since Shana had wanted to be near her, or at least it seemed that way. As far as Leela was concerned, real sister or not Shana was her sister and she loved her and had not understood why Shana had not wanted to be near her for so long.

**************

A scratching of wood could be heard on the tree Karensha was and then a snapping of a twig, before the perpentrator of the sounds could be seen, a old chimpanzee who had postioned himself on the branch above, and using the twig poked out at Karensha, stopping once he'd got a reaction. "Woohoohoohoohooo... the tings i see from ere.. tis not what a old ape like me should see... wooooo give me a turn..." he chuckled to himself sounding slightly crazy.

[Kirsui]

Seleter blinked her eyes when Leela suddenly flung herself at Nadayshana. For a moment she just stared at them with a slightly confused expression... Until she realized they both seemed rather upset. She glanced quickly at Zulu's direction, without really knowing what kind of expression she was expecting to see, and then she glanced at Night Flame, who was still watching closely over the edge of the cliff.

Her gaze returned to the two hugging cubs, and as a faint, gentle smile broke to her face she laid down and reached for both the cubs, pulling them to a comforting embrace. She had no idea how Nadayshana would react to what the golden cheetah was doing, but she wanted both the cubs to know they had someone who would support them..
"Shh..."
She forgot what she had been about to tell the two. She glanced at Zulu again, wondering if he knew what she could tell the two cubs to comfort them...

But then again she didn't know if anything had to be said, and so she simply held the two closer while her gaze still lingered at the king cheetah.

---

Night Flame's ears twitched. He was aware Duna was moving, and that something was going on with the rest of their little group. However, what had caused the twitching of his ears wasn't any sound from the group, but a sound from below. He could still see nothing, but he knew he had heard a whimper from below. And he was most certain that the one whimpering had been..

His blood froze. True, Karensha was still alive, he was sure of that... but if she was... injured... badly... how long would she still be alive?

"We must find a way down."
He had to force the words out of his mouth, and he knew there was a slight tremble of fear in them though he tried to hide it from his face. And so, he lifted himself up from the crouched position - too fast, because he felt a bit dizzy for a moment. But he couldn't help himself, and already he was looking for a way down with his eyes.

[Tamber]

With darkness looming over them more every minute, Zulu and Duna struggled greatly to see any sign of Karensha below. Duna continued to look about carefully, but Zulu stood up at Night Flame's word. The king cheetah had heard a slight whimper, certainly coming from wherever Karensha was clinging to life. It was his time to find a way down.

Night Flame began to look across the edge of the cliff for an easy route down, and Duna looked at her large dark friend and took after him. Zulu, however, had another plan. This decline has got to be here somewhere he thought, remembering the whole reason they had headed off in this direction in the first place.

Taking off in the darkening dusk, Zulu skimmed the edge of the gorge, looking ahead of him as far as he could. His night vision was beginning to kick in, and he squinted tightly as he picked up speed, running with strong determination to the western edge of the trench below him.

At last he saw something familiar. A large boulder jutting up from the ground, very sharp and ominous, at that, marked the edge of the gorge, and from it a gradual slope led down from the western edge of the trench to the east and toward the dark, foggy bottom. "I knew it was here," he whispered triumphantly to himself.

"Seleter! Night Flame! This way!" the cheetah cried almost happily. "I've found the decline!"

[Dakota]

Karensha hung there, swaying slightly with two of her legs still wrapped percariously with the vines. Opening her eyes slightly tring to blink away the last lot of dust and small debris that had landed on her, she breathed a small sigh of relief when her vision was once again clear.

Swallowing gently a few times the saliva that had finally gathered in her throat letting it lubricate her vocal cords, she could feel the tightness start to recede. The awful taste was fading, but as she opened her mouth she felt the need to spit and dislodge something hard that was under her tongue, her eys opened in surprise when she realised it was a tooth that must have got dislodged in her fall, and she watched as it hit the rock in front of her and fell.

Looking around her she knew she had to somehow let the others know where she was, nightfall was sliding in on them all, and the snow leopard didn't know how she would fare left in the position she was now in.
Opening her mouth slightly, she was about to shout for anyone, when the snapping of wood made her hold her silence. Slowly tilting her head upwards, her nose caught a distinctly unpleasant smell that was flowing down covering her muzzle making her gag.
" what... what on earth has died and I've accidently uncovered, it smells like..like."

Her words were cut off all of a sudden as she saw a twig coming out of nowhere, and it started prodding her in the shoulder. A growl left her muzzle as her body started struggling, and her eyes followed the piece of wood to old leather beaten swollen fingers that were grasping it tightly.
On her eyes travelled as the words from this animal met her head on, pausing, she still wasn't quite sure exactly what it was, all she knew that if so inclined, she was the perfect late afternoon snack. Baring her teeth she kept growling while trying to appear unintimidated. and acting far braver than she felt..

Suddenly the words he spoke registered in her mind, and she started struggling, embarrassed at the postion of her body to this apes eyes. The more she twisted, the more angry she got till at last she stopped her movements as they weren't achieving anything and gave him another hostile look.
"You.. fool.. is that all you going to do, sit there babbling on like an old baboon, and for your information you're a worse sight for eyes, cause from what I can see from here, it isnt very pretty at all, in fact its enough to put a girl off her food for a week."
Pausing a moment to get her breath back after her little tirade, she was actually feeling a little better and launched another attack on the one sitting above her.
" And another thing, are you going to help me get free of these vines, or you just going to sit there all night prodding me and looking me over.. hmph...well??"

[genie]

The chimp chuckled away to himself saying "My my.. in my day 'eauty and r'spect went paw in paw... tis no r'spect no more... youngsters, all... and no..." and he pointed to mouth first and then head as he spoke. "Hohehehahaha... and me, ta give ya a help... a warn ya... and no r'spect me gets" he crouched low on branch pearing down at her, looking for her reactions with interest.

[Dakota]

Karensha was about to launch another verbal attack at the old monkey, but stopped herself when she saw him move closer to her. Snapping her muzzle shut and trying to breath in short pants, hoping the smell wouldn't flow up her nostrils and make her feel more sick than she already felt,

She had two choices, one keep ranting at him and make him more antagonised to her, and he would go and leave her there for the night and beyond, because it didn't seem like any of the others from her group were about to find her..or two.. she could calm herself and try and sweet talk him into helping her out of her predicament and maybe get her to the ground below, seeing as she was halfway down anyway from what she could see.

ok sweet talk it is I guess, but what do I say.. do I tell him he's handsome, big and strong.. oh lordy.. wish I'd listened to Maisha when she was fooling around teasing Memkra, this would be so much easier.. ok karensha ,open your mouth and just do it, get it over and done with, its nearly dark and things come out to feed..

Taking a breath, the snow leopard tilted her head back up, her eyes meeting his yellow ones glinting down at her, and placed an akward looking smile on her muzzle.
"I'm truly sorry for calling you a smelly baboon, you took me by surprise thats all, I've never come across one of your kind before and I just wasn't sure how to address you, thats all.. but now you are here, would you be so kind as to help untangle me, I'm afraid I'm starting to loose the feeling in my paws, and...and.. I have cubs to looks after, and other members of my group, they rely on me to look after them all and feed them, they are a feeble bunch, so I'm their sole provider. yes..yes.. its a bhurden, but someone has to do it."

karensha opened her lilac eyes wider and batted her long eyelashes a little and made her smile more pronounced as she waited to see how he reacted to her 'apology'.

[genie]

"Hohohohohhohoo tha kitty uses her feminine charms on me after calling me names, and zay call me mad..." he peered at her with a wide grin. He gave her a small poke before stretching his arms and yawning "Well well.. I knew ye kitty's get frisky, but on a first date... and me so old... wwooo..." he chuckled away, apparently amusing himself. He swung himself down so him was same way as her suddenly looking serious "But ya be safer here... wot be down there... not so good looking as me..."

[Dakota]

Surprised when he moved closer, her lilac eys widened in shock as she wasn't sure what he was about to do. pull yourself together girl, he's probably harmless and looking for a bit of fun.. but if he touches me..I swear .

After getting another prod from him, she stopped trying to pull back away as the vines kept pulling tighter on her, and she could feel a tingling sensation start to travel from her paw pads up her legs. but her head snapped back to attention when he called her 'frisky'.
"I'm what... frisky.. and hey this aint a date buster, nor anything else thats going through that old mind of yours, as soon as I'm down from here you wont see me again."

Karensha moved her head away from his as she smelt his breath brush over her, shivering in distaste, and twisted gradually till she could look down beneath her. She couldn't see anything now dusk had fallen, and from above her the same, she was stuck here, but could she last through the night in her position.

"But ya be safer here... wot be down there... not so good looking as me..." she heard the monkey whisper to her.
Taking a deep breath, she bellowed as loud as she could.

" NightFlame... Seleter..Zulu... can anyone hear me....Please ".

[genie]

The Chimp chuckled away to himself "Kitty wonts meat fer friends per'aps".
Grasping branch with his legs he swung down so he was upside down, or same way as she was and put and hand around her muzzle "If ye wonts every eater in jungle 'ere... keep shouting but it ye funeral..." he said quite seriously, he glanced around like expecting to see something. Then continued "In here, there be monsters! 'ittle miss kitty in tree, upside down" the look in his face showing he meant it.

[Sarafina]

Nadayshana hugged close to Leela. She missed her a lot. When Seleter came over, she sniffled. She rested her head into Sereana. She wished this was her mother and not Seleter, that would never happen again now.

She rubbed Leelas back and sniffled. When Zulu said he found the incline, her ears shot up. "Im gonna go help him..." She licked Leelas head and then Nuzzled Seleters cheek. Seleter was like her other mother. She loved it.

Her little paws trotted over to Zulu and looked at the decline. She ran to Zulus side and stayed close. "What can I do..." She whispered to Zulu. She had already caused so much drama in the group, she had to repay them some how. She sniffled and stood tall. She had to be a big girl now. She glanced over to see Sereana staring at the scene with ehr mouth open. She growled lightly and snuggled under Zulu waiting for his answer. She had to be strong.

[Kirsui]

"I've found the decline!"

Night Flame rose to his feet almost instantly. A rush of hope went through him as he turned to follow Zulu. He motioned with his head at Duna, signalling that she should follow as well. He just hoped they'd find Karensha soon... For some reason he couldn't shake off the feeling that something might have happened to her when she had fallen.

---

"Im gonna go help him..."

Seleter nodded at Nadayshana with a smile. She was glad at least other one of the two cubs was feeling somewhat less depressed. She gave Leela a re-assuring nuzzle.
"Lets go too", she said. "I'm sure we'll find Karensha soon."
She lifted the small cub to her back before she rose up and begun following Zulu and Night Flame.

[genie]

Leela sniffed as she was comfited, she loved her sister even if she did't understand her actions, in her heart she just wanted to be happy, feel safe and loved, but she had serious doubts - about herself, her worth... and whether or not she was a jinx, bad things seemed to follow her around, others got hurt.. even died... it had to be someones fault. In her mind she was the prime candicate, as she saw it, bad things only happened around her which meant it was her... but she had to be strong, she had to be a big girl and she tried to put on a brave face as Seletor picked her up again.

[Tamber]

Zulu waited anxiously for the others to catch up to him, his toes tapping the earth with impatience. His claws dug into the soil and his tail flickered nervously. The lighting was difficult at this point of day. His small yellow eyes were shifting slowly from day vision to night, and with each passing moment blackness expanded and filled his blue irises more and more.

At last the others all appeared. First came Shana, as faithful as ever, planting her rump by his side. Seleter with Leela, Sereana still alone, Night Flame, and finally Duna, who seemed intrigued in something else. It took Zulu a moment to fully realize that no one else was coming; this was the group now, and seeing as some of their strongest members were down below them, and him being their soul source of direction, it had almost become his group. He had partially been jealous of such an honor in the past, but now his heart rejected it and rushed him to find their true leader more than ever. Any more problems and this could all go downhill, literally.
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The little grey cub's ears flicked up excitedly as she heard Zulu call after her and the others. Of course, he hadn't called her in particular, but hearing the name Night Flame now always made her feel that she was involved.

Her big, dark friend was far ahead of her, as was everyone else. Duna trotted quickly and tried to keep up, but was still compulsively peering over the edge of the cliff. The dusk and the fog made seeing even worse, but she just couldn't tear herself away. Finally she looked ahead of her again, seeing that the others had gained much more ground than she, and she leaped forward after them, still glancing around warily at the savanna and the trees. When darkness falls, new dangers are always close. Duna couldn't fathom the darkness and danger in this gorge, but she knew she wouldn't be as far from a friend down there as she was now.
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As the others gathered around him, Zulu felt comforted at their arrival, but anxious at his present responsibility. He knew this gorge no more than they, and it would be the first time that he would lead them somewhere unknown.

"What can I do..." whispered a little voice. The cheetah looked down at his friend and sighed and, putting her on his back, whispered back to her. "All I want from you is to be brave. Hold yourself together, and I promise that I will, too." He held a gaze with her for a moment, taking in the beauty of her young eyes before descending.

"Alright, all," he said slightly louder, but not projecting much out of his wariness. "Our main goal is to stick together. I don't know what's down here, not in the least...so we have no direction," he said uncomfortably. Zulu picked his voice up to sound more serious, feeling his concern and love for the others. "Cubs should have a guardian with them at all times. Stick close to the person in front of or beside you and try your best to stay quiet. We have to constantly make sure that everyone is still together. If you see something unsettling, notify someone near you so they can watch with you. And of course..." he gulped, "Keep your eyes peeled for our friends."

With that, he stood up and breathed deeply as he stared at the slope and the blackness before him. He took a moment to feel Shana's touch on his back, deciding to make this his soul comfort in this dark new world. At last he took his first step forward and lead his family down the decline. The hill was smooth and even, but with each step it grew steeper. They descended into darkness, but their eyes confusingly did not grow more useful in their night vision, for the fog that continually encompassed them prevented their catlike sight from doing its work. What lie before them revealed no secrets, showed no light or clearness. The darkness they stepped into almost seemed to give them a foreboding welcome, laughing at their audacity and mocking it with ominous humidity and curious black..

[Dakota]

Karensha shivered when she felt the monkeys rough callused fingers close around her muzzle, she recoiled instinctively when she made the mistake of breathing in, with his putrid odour filling her nostrils. Yet upon hearing his words about monsters waiting for them, she forced her self to stop struggling and lay there once again, swinging precariously half way down the cliff face, and by now darkness had enveloped them, she was at his mercy.

"please ! can't you help untangle these vines from around my feet, I can't stay in this position all night, I will loose all feeling in my limbs, and also I can't protect myself from anything, I'm like a sitting dinner, all trussed ready and waiting.?"

Karensha's long eyelashes raised fully, leaving her lilac eyes staring at the creature whose face was so close to her own, his yellow eyes returning her gaze.


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Maisha took Memkras advice on board and slowed her pace down to match his own, she could feel the heat from his skin pass onto hers and even though darkness had now taken away their vision, she took comfort in the fact he was beside her and she wasn't alone.

About to lower her voice to a whisper and spoeak, her head automatically leaned against his feeling the softeness from his brown mane tickle her nose. Smiling to herself Maisha quickly held her breath so her sneeze wouldn't echo all around them, alerting anything to their presence, which in turn made her head bob up and down.

"Memkra, what should we do, keep going and maybe injure ourselves or stop soon and find a pla..c..e,"
Breaking off in mid sentance, as she heard a scream, her ears twitched and flattened.
"Mem, I know this sounds really stupid, but did that noise somehow seem familiar to you ?"

[genie]

The chimp pulled a 'oooo' face and scrambled back up to sitting position and seemed to think on this a moment before saying "E ah go.." and in less than a minute time Karensha was no longer held by the tree, of she was facing down at the time and she was released rather suddenly. The chimp bounced rather excitedly on the tree branch and suddenly climbed down and away, scrambling across the rocks before she came to her senses, the wacky kitty probably wanted to eat him so he was't hanging around.

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Memkra nodded to Maishas question "Yes.. very much so, but probably not what we want to hear..." as they stood there listening there was unerring silence, it was most unsettling, like the jungle was waiting for them to be eaten before speaking again, he shook his head, this was't good thinking. Suddenly there was a crashing noise and what sounded like a yelp and his muscles tensed, and he spoke quietly "did that sound like Karensha?? but she should't be around here?"

[Dakota]

One minute she was staring into the yellow eyes of the ape, the next she felt him pull at vines tightening around her paws. Karensha felt herself start to shake , all she could think of was that he was going to leave her there.. leave her to anything and anyones mercy.
About to start pleading to him again, she felt her body start to fly through the air, but instead of up, she was sailing down. It was so sudden all she could do was keep her eyes open as darkness passed her by, till at last she hit the ground with a thud and a yelp escaped through her lips, biting her tongue in the process.

Karensha lay there for a moment, feeling her rump and back take the brunt of the hardness of the ground, her breathing slowed down and she struggled to get to her four paws, wanting to test if she had broken anything. Slowly but surely she was standing upright. Giving a shake here and there of her white skinned body, the snow leoaprd ended with shaking her lilac fur tuft vigorously. ok.. everything seems to be in working order, now which way should I go... don't want to take any chances of that ape coming back for seconds, do I .

With darkness surrounding her, Karenshas night vision kicked in ,making out items in close proximity, enough she could see where she was going if she kept advancing in a straight line. Scuffing her paws in case something in her way would make her stumble, she moved forward. Large leaves slapped at her body as she pushed past them, only stopping when her ears twitched as she caught some sort of whispering straight ahead of her.

Not sure what to do, Karensha gave a slight smirk, her mind snapped back to a memory of her father standing over her, screaming at her to not be a coward and go meet your enemy attack with surprise. Taking the initiative the snow leopard broke into a run with her growl as loud as she could make it and barged through the last bush, finding herself hit something furry and hard, yet warm, and then she was lying atop of this animal, winded and not being able to move.