Kyyanno woke up to the sound of crying.  His head hurt with a pain he had never experienced before, but he did not join in with the chorus of tears.  He did not know where he was, but it was dark, enclosed with stone, and there was a faint smell of stagnant water in the air.  It smelled a bit like the pools of water by the lake near his village, but he knew he was nowhere near home.  All the smells he was accustomed to experiencing were missing.  The scent of Forge’s workshop, one of his favourites, no longer floated on the air.  Kyyanno wondered if anyone had survived during the invasion.  Unlike the adults, he had not heard the rumours of Lord Blacktooth and his forces.  He wondered if he would ever smell the familiar blacksmith scent ever again.

Looking around in the darkness, the cheetah could see that surrounding him were at least ten other cubs, none more than four seasons old.  Foxes, hedgehogs, a couple of dogs, and an old English sheepdog and one of a breed he did not recognise.  No other felines, however.  Kyyanno was the only cat in the group.  Either Haraka had escaped their clutches, or the cheetah did not want to think of the other options.  None of them held any hope.  

Most of the cubs were crying, or wailing that they wanted their parents.  A couple of the foxes, which Kyyanno assumed were brother and sister, were holding each other in a tearful embrace, crying over each other’s shoulders as they promised the other that everything would be okay.  One dog was rocking backwards and forwards, making piteous whining noises, as if it was in severe pain.  

Taking care not to jolt his throbbing head, Kyyanno stood up and checked himself over.  Everything other than his head felt okay, and there was only a small lump where the club had knocked him out.  Checking his belt, he realised that his sai blades had been stolen.  He groaned with regret but common sense told him that he was the victim of a kidnapping, and there was no way his captors would allow him to keep his weapons.  He wondered if now was the time to cry, but something told him to hold it together, for the benefit of all the other cubs.  If he could be strong, maybe they would be too.

“Sit down, feline,” came a loud whisper from the direction of the hedgehogs.  “They don’t like it if you’re standing up.”

“Who don’t?” the cheetah hissed back.  From behind the hedgehogs a tiny otter cub poked his head out.  His eyes were wide with fear but he at least looked like he had not cried for a while.  His fur was a dark brown, and he barely looked old enough to be apart from his mother.  The oldest female of the hedgehogs was looking after him like he was her younger brother.

“The monsters, the ones with the large sticks,” the otter replied.  “They hits you if they sees you stand up.”

“Pah,” an older female snorted.  “They beat you even if you don’t.  They’re nothing but bullies who pick on those younger and smaller than they are.”

Kyyanno looked over to the voice to see the female of the two fox cubs sitting up and looking indignant.  Her brother had flopped down beside her and she was stroking his head with long, comforting strokes.  The sound of crying had diminished as the conversation started as the youngsters realised that some of them resented their entrapment.

“So,” the cheetah ventured.  “Who is here, and where are we?”

“What does it matter?” the male fox asked with a snap.  “You’re all safe, you’re not foxes.  Every time we stop, they take a fox and we never see them again.  I’m the last male fox left.  Next time we stop, I’m a goner.  I’d be happy to stay here forever if we could.”  The female fox slapped him over the nose.

“Stop with that talk, Lewis,” she commanded with a stern voice.  “I’ve told you, we’ll escape from here and then we can be together forever and raise a family of our own.”

Kyyanno stopped assuming they were brother and sister at that point.  Instead, he looked at all the captives and invited them to sit in a circle with a couple of waves with his paws.  After a few nervous coughs, the creatures started to shuffle together and soon they were all sat in a circle.

“Okay,” the cheetah said as the last of the group settled into place.  “Where are we at the moment?”

“In cave,” one of the hedgehogs replied as he wiped tears from his eyes.

“That’s a start,” Kyyanno muttered.  “So there must be a way out, right?”

“No,” the female hedgehog said, her voice almost breaking into a sob.  “We…  We be trapped.”  The small otter nuzzled into her lap, and she hugged him tightly.

“It’s like this,” the female fox said, turning to Kyyanno.  “There is a group of traders who trade in slaves, of which the ones who have us are a faction.  They deal with young creatures, which are sold to the highest bidder.  Any that don’t get sold are moved to the next area.  We move alongside the army that the weasels work for.  As Lord Blacktooth attacks a village, any cubs are rounded up by one of three groups of weasels.  After the fight, the three groups meet up and then move on as a single group to the auction stage.  Except for the foxes, that is.  They are kept to one side, and each time Lord Blacktooth wants to attack a village, a fox is used for something and we never see them again.”

“And I’m-“ Lewis started to bawl, but the vixen slapped him down again.

“There’s a door to this cave,” she continued as Lewis howled in pain.  “However, it is kept locked and only opened when they bring us food.  When it is time to move on, they will drug our food the day before, and then tie us together while we sleep.  The only downside is I can’t tell when the food is drugged or not.  Then a long and slow walk to the next destination, being kept tied up all day and all night, even if we need to answer nature’s call.”

“So, there’s more of them, and more of us,” said Kyyanno.  He thought for a few moments.  There was a chance Haraka had been picked up by one of the other groups.  A small well of hope blossomed within the cheetah, though he was careful not to let it get too large.  The most immediate problem was keeping the others from falling back into despair and going back into their crying phase again.  The vixen seemed to have her wits about her, and if they could stay stoic together, he hoped the others could take hope from that.

“What’cha thinking, cat?”

“My name is Kyyanno,” he muttered to the vixen as he fought to snap at her.  He needed her on his side if they were to keep the smaller ones happy.  “What’s yours?”

“Leona,” she replied.  “My mate-to-be is called Lewis.”

“Well, Leona,” the cheetah sat up straight and addressed the group while speaking to the vixen.  “I was thinking that all these little ones should look to the older ones for strength in these troubling times.  We can’t do anything while we’re stuck in here, so instead of crying we should be strong and make the best of a bad situation, as my dad would say.”

“You’ve only just got here,” Leona growled.  “And you’re trying to make yourself our leader, or something?”

“Not at all,” Kyyanno replied in the most polite and charming tone he could muster.  “I just mean that we should all work together to get each other through the days.”

“Pity,” muttered the vixen, scratching an itch on the back of an ear.  “I was getting pretty sick of being the only one they’d look up to.  I’m almost five seasons old, and you seem to be about my age, I was looking forward to palming responsibility off to you.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Kyyanno said, almost with a chuckle.  “I’m nearly two seasons old though.  I’ve just been through a lot over the last few hours, and I guess it hasn’t caught up with me yet.”

“You’re the oldest two season old I’ve ever met,” Lewis piped up, wincing pre-emptively in case Leona attacked him again.  Instead of whacking her love interest, she yawned and went to curl up for a sleep.

“Well, Kyyanno,” she said as she put her head on her paws.  “You keep us strong and we’ll return the favour when you need it.  Eh?  Now everybody, let’s get some shut eye until our next meal.”

“Sounds good to me,” the cheetah replied.  “We will see what happens next when the time comes.  Okay?”

“Okay,” the small creatures murmured as they all settled down for a nap.

***

The next couple of days were passed as a matter of routine.  The foxes worked with Kyyanno to keep the younger creatures’ spirits up, and the older two of the four hedgehogs worked hard at finding extra food in the cave.  They mostly found worms and spiders, but the younger hedgehogs seemed to relish the worms and stopped crying with hunger.  The only otter was given small fish to eat, which he greatly appreciated, while the older hedgehogs took the greater share of the food provided by the weasels to keep their temptation at bay when it came to foraging for the little ones.  Hunks of meat were given to the foxes, dogs, and the cheetah.  They tasted a bit like deer, though Kyyanno had his suspicions that the origin of this mystery meat would be best if it remained a mystery.

During the daytime, the older creatures thought up games to keep everyone entertained and amused, and to keep minds from thinking about how lonely or afraid they were.  Even the guards noticed the change.

“So longs as yous yung’un’s don’t trys escapings,” one of the weasels said one afternoon.  “I’ll leave door open sos yous can gets some airs.”

“Thank you,” chirruped Leona with a voice as sweet as honey syrup.  “That would be most kind.”

The guard smiled, in a dopey sort of way, and went back to his post by the door.  While not much fresh air got in to the cave, the weasel’s conversation did.

“I likes me thems cubs nows,” their weasel said in his slow drawl to whomever else was on guard duty.  “Theys not bratty un’ don’t screams likes the ovfers.”

“Should get good price,” another one agreed.  “Boss be pleased.”

“Mayhap we gets to keeps them?” the first one asked with a note of hope to his voice.  “Coulds use someones others than leader to cooks foods un’ stuffs.”

“Aww will you two shut up,” yelled a different voice.  Kyyanno recognised it as the voice of the squirrel.  He growled quietly, not wanting the others to hear him.  “So you got the young ones to shut up, big deal.  If the chief finds out you’ve got that door open and the merchandise untied he’s gonna be mad.  I wouldn’t want to be you if he finds out.”  The voice got louder as its owner got closer to the door.  “Personally, I can’t stand the sound of those vile creatures at all, and I’d have them all beaten to silence.   Spare the rod and spoil the cub, I think is what they say down Souford.”

“I ‘ave ‘ad jus’ abou’ enough of you.  Come ‘ere,” came yet another voice, quickly followed by the sound of someone grabbing someone else’s clothes.  “I kinda like ter sound of an ‘appy cub.”

The squirrel made a choking sound and the cubs could hear the sound of a scuffle.  After what sounded like a short fight, there was a short sickening crunching sound followed by a moment of peace.

“Yous…  Yous,” stammered the first weasel with a mixture of shock and fear in his voice.

“Skin ‘im, cook im’, feed ‘im ter the cheetah,” the newest voice commanded.  “I reckon that cat’s got a score ter settle with ‘im anyway.”

“Wadda we tell boss?” asked the second voice, sounding just as scared and surprised as the first.

“He fell out a tree an’ broke ‘is neck,” came the disinterested reply. “Not’ing t’ do wit’ us.”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Leona whispered as she went to the back of the cave to drink some of the pool of water located at the cave’s rear.  Her tail drooped between her legs as she walked, as if all the life had been drawn from it.  The younger hedgehogs and the otter looked like they were about to start crying again.  Lewis thought fast and leapt to his feet.

“Look out, guys,” he called with a voice so full of forced cheer Kyyanno wondered how the smaller, and not necessarily younger, cubs were fooled by it.  “I just saw the floor monster again.  Quick, jump or he’ll get you.”  Delighted squeals filled the air as the young ones recognised the game.

“You sly old fox,” the cheetah muttered under his breath as the other dog followed Lewis’ lead in entertaining the smallest ones.  The phrase made more sense now, instead of when his parents had said it.  A lump appeared in his throat at the thought of his parents, but he choked it back.  It’s not what they would have wanted, he thought.  They’d want me to be grown up and support those around me in need.  I’ll have plenty of time for tears later, when I can be sure I’m alone, and not anywhere near those weasels.

“Are you okay?” one of the dogs asked.  It was the old English sheep pup.  She was one of the oldest of the captives, and looked like a smaller, feminine version of Stafford.

“Huh?  Yea, I am, Bristol,” Kyyanno lied, snapping back to reality.  “Just a hairball stuck down there or something.  How are you and Harvey getting on?”

“Fine, thanks.  Can I speak to you for a minute please?  At the back of the cave where the others won’t hear.”  Bristol’s voice was soft, as if she did not want to be overheard.  Together they took the short walk to the back of the cave.  A small torch was kept burning at the rear of the cave, out of reach of the youngsters.  It was far from a bright light, but it provided them with enough to see by.  A small pool of water ran along the far wall, and it was here they found Leona taking small sips of the clear liquid as she battled to control her stomach. 

“I know we eat meat,” she said without looking up to acknowledge the presence of Kyyanno or Bristol.  “I just think of where that meat is sourced and it just turns my guts.  Ugh.”

“I’ve heard the saying revenge is a dish best served cold,” Bristol commented, giving Leona a vacant stare as she sat down on a rock protruding from the cave-face.  The fox coughed and threw a paw over her mouth.  A look of panic and concentration washed over her face, and Kyyanno could see her swallowing with frantic repetition.  

“I don’t think you’re helping,” Kyyanno half whispered and half sighed.  

“Whatever,” the sheepdog replied, rolling her eyes at the fox’s discomfort.  “Stop being ill, Leona, this involves you too.”  Lowering her voice, she continued, looking at each of her listeners as though she was telling them a very important secret.  “Seeing as how Lewis and Harvey are keeping the younger ones entertained, I thought we should use this opportunity to talk about making an escape plan, seeing we’re either the oldest or oldest acting.” 

“Well,” Kyyanno thought for a few moments before letting the other two know what was on his mind.  “I’ve been thinking about this since I found out that this is one of three groups.  I think we should wait until all three groups have come together and rescue as many cubs as we can in one go.”

“I think you’re an idiot,” Bristol retorted in a hushed voice, which obviously wanted to be a shout.  “We should escape now, while there are only three of them to face.”

“So, you’d leave all the other cubs to suffer?”

“I would hope they’d stand up for themselves, like we are.”

“That’s disgusting,” the cheetah spat.  Displeasure was written across his face for all to see.

“Guys,” Leona broke in, wrapping a paw around Bristol’s mouth and her brush around Kyyanno’s.  “This isn’t getting us anywhere.”

“You’re right,” the voice was muffled under the fur of the fox’s tail.  “Sorry.”  Bristol did not respond.

“The obvious time, to me, is to escape during the night when we’re being moved to the meeting place,” Leona carried on silencing the other two as she outlined her idea.  “Now they have, ugh, dealt with their eyes in the treetops, they will have no way of keeping us all in check if we choose to misbehave.”

“Other than their clubs,” Bristol pointed out, scraping Leona’s paw away from her face.

“And are they really that scary?” Kyyanno added with a hushed earnestness.  “Just an oversized stick wielded by a weasel.” 

“Wielded by an experienced weasel,” the dog pointed out.  This did not deter the other two.  The conversation continued in a circle for a while, until their chatter was interrupted by the sound of a weasel coming into their prison.  He was much larger than the other weasels Kyyanno had seen and he was the only one to be dressed in basic leather armour.  His underlings were only dressed in tunics and simple trousers.  Nestled in the weasel’s belt was a pair of shiny sai blades.  The cheetah recognised them at once and a cold feeling of rage built up inside him.

“We move a’ first light,” the weasel said with a deep and commanding voice.  “Make sure you eat your fill and get good sleep.  Journey in mornin’ be a long one.”  He turned and left the cave.  The cubs could hear him bellow to the other weasels about the forthcoming meal, though the three at the back could not hear what exactly was shouted.  Having made no real progress with the escape plan, the trio returned to the main party.

“We’re going north, according to the big guy,” Lewis said as his lover-to-be snuggled up against him.  He snuggled back and got cosy against her.  “Well, we’re going east to meet the others, and then the whole group is going north.  Apparently there’s a small group of bandits who would pay well for the services of a few young cubs.”  He shivered as he said the last sentence.  Kyyanno could imagine what he meant, and it was not a pretty image.

“We’ve been thinking about making an escape bid,” Leona whispered into Lewis’ ear, mindful of the guards outside the open door.

“Good,” the fox replied with a firm nod.  “I was thinking the same thing.  I’m the last male fox left in this party and I don’t fancy my chances of meeting others when the three groups meet up.  I really don’t want to find out what happened to the other foxes we used to travel with.”

“Wait,” said Bristol as she had a sudden realisation.  “Something’s wrong.  Did you notice what just happened?”

“Guard told us we was leaving,” the small otter said immediately.

“Exactly, Chip,” said Bristol.  “You’ll make a good Keeper if you keep up being that sharp when you’re older.”  Young Chip beamed with pride.  Kyyanno had no idea what a Keeper was, but he guessed it was an important role judging by the otter’s reaction.

“Does this mean we’re getting drugged tonight then?”  Lewis asked with grim determination on his face.  “I’m not eating tonight if we are.  I want to fight back against those damn ropes this time.”

“And get beaten by the clubs, idiot,” sarcasm dripped like water in Bristol’s voice.  “Great plan, hero.”

“So what would you suggest then?” Lewis snarled, going on the defensive.  

“Get drugged,” she replied, maintaining her whisper.  “If the guards are starting to like or trust us enough to leave our door open and to tell us when we’re on the move, we should play up to this.  There’s not much we can do while we’re here, so if we wait until we’re on the road, we should stand a much better chance of escape.”

“So, even if the food isn’t drugged this time, we should not resist and try to be as placid as we can?”  Kyyanno asked, trying to make sure it was all clear in his head.  His own plan had run along the same path as this one, though he still wanted to make it to the meeting point in case Haraka was there.

“Exactly,” came the excited reply.

“I think this idea is the best one,” Leona agreed.  “I’d much rather take my chances in the open wilderness than stuck here in this cave where nearby is a village invasion and we’re possibly surrounded by more slave captors or other bandits.”  Lewis said nothing, but his expression showed that while he was not prepared to agree with Bristol, he would do what his vixen thought was best.

The rest of the day flew past as the older cubs devised their plan.  The younger ones, sensing the excitement from their peers, played loud games, which involved a lot of running around inside the cave.  Before any of them realised the time, a weasel had entered the cave bringing their pre-move meal.

“Grubs up,” he shouted, making sure Kyyanno was given a bag of meat separately from the other’s food.  “This be specials treat for yous,” he said as he handed the bag to the cheetah.  “Seeings as yous mades cubs behave.”

“It wasn’t just-“ Kyyanno started to reply but the weasel silenced him with a wave.

“They was noisy befores you shows up.  Nows theys quiet.  Yous made thems quiet.  Now eats up yous foods.”

Kyyanno knew what was in the bag, but he ate well.  It was still meat and while the cheetah had never eaten squirrel before, he was sure that he could get a taste for it.  Soon the mealtime was over, and all the cubs were sat around the cave waiting for the effects of the drug to kick in.  Soon the youngest were drifting off to sleep, and the older ones could feel the drowsiness start to kick in.

“Drugged after all,” Harvey muttered, a large yawn splitting his canine muzzle in half for a moment.  The yawn seemed to be contagious and soon everyone who was still awake were exploding in fits of tiredness before settling down for a nice sleep.  They knew that when they awoke, they’d be roped together and forced to make a move, but that did not matter.  This time, it was all part of the plan.

***

Kyyanno woke up in a mysterious clearing in a part of a forest he had never been to before.  The circle of trees, which surrounded the clearing, looked inviting and welcoming.  He felt he could run through them forever and still not find everything the forest had to offer.  The grass under his paws felt fresh and had a slight moistness to it, as if there had been an autumn’s cool morning dew, and the air was crisp and sharp.   A bright and bold moon shone above the enclosure, illuminating everything in a bright white hue, which could have felt eerie if it was not quite so majestic.  From the other side of the clearing, a large cat appeared.  He looked like he had walked from the trees, but his appearance was so sudden Kyyanno felt like the cat had appeared from nowhere.  The cat walked towards the cheetah at a slow pace, and as he got closer Kyyanno could see the mystery cat was a jaguar.  He was old and walked with a limp in his right leg, but he still had an air of dignity and grace around him.

“I shouldn’t have had that squirrel,” Kyyanno muttered to himself.  “This is an odd dream.”

“Good evening Kyyanno,” the jaguar said as he sat down opposite the cheetah cub and invited him to sit also.  “It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Wait, what?” Kyyanno’s heart jumped.  It took a moment for his brain to catch up with what the cat had said.  How did this stranger know who he was, where he was, or anything about him?  

“Allow me to introduce myself,” the jaguar continued.  “My name is StarSeer, and I come from the tribe cats of Windrush.”

“Windrush?” Kyyanno gulped hard.  “I’m aiming to get to Windrush.”

“I know, little one, that’s why I’m here.  You can call me your spiritual guide on your journey to our tribe.  With your being a descendent of NightClaw, I am able to contact you at times when you most need to be guided on the right path.”

Kyyanno felt confused.  He was dreaming, but cats from his destination could contact him while he slept, no matter where he was.  Somehow they knew about him, and about his journey, and this jaguar was going to be his guide?  StarSeer did little to ease his confusion.  Instead, he just licked his paw and wiped the back of his ears while he waited for the cub to take everything in.

“So you watch me all the time?” Kyyanno finally ventured.  His reply was a small chuckle and shaken head.

“Not all of the time.  Our ancestors keep tabs on all our brethren, and periodically I speak with them.  They guide me so I can guide you.  For instance, take this plan you’ve concocted about breaking loose from your bonds when you are on the move.  It is a good plan, and one that will succeed if you do it before you reach the slave encampment.”

“I have to get to the camp though,” Kyyanno protested, going from confused to stubborn determination.  “Haraka might be there, and I have to know what happened to him.”

“That time will come, little one,” StarSeer said, attempting to sooth the cheetah cub.  “Haraka is also from NightClaw’s bloodline and I can see him too.  If you go to the slave encampment, you will risk everything, and still not find your brother.  You have to trust me when I say, and it pains me to say it, the dog’s right.  You must escape while on the road.”

“Then what?  How will I know what to do next?”  

“You might be young, but you are mature beyond your years,” StarSeer replied.  A warm smile crept over his face and he lent over and grabbed the cub by the shoulders.  The two cats locked eyes for a moment, and Kyyanno could see years of wisdom behind those of the older feline.  “I have faith that you’ll do whatever you need to in order to survive,” the jaguar continued.  “Even if that means making some unpleasant and difficult choices.  You’re fast, and while you lack training, your natural instincts will guide you through.  Do what feels natural.  Your teeth and claws may not be an effective weapon against another animal but they have other ways in which they can help you.  Reclaim what is yours, and use it well.  When you are ready to find us, we will show you the way.”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” the cub wailed.  “Why can’t you just tell me, plain and simple, what I need to do?”

“Worry not, my young friend,” StarSeer replied with a voice as warm and gentle as a soft blanket, which seemed to wrap the young cheetah up in the words it spoke.  “You’ll put the pieces together.  You have very intelligent and brave friends so don’t be afraid to call on them for advice.  Now, though, I must leave you.  Sleep well, young Far.  Until we meet again.”

Kyyanno felt as if a thick, warm covering was covering him as StarSeer spoke.  Each word was an extra comfort, which wanted him to feel safe, which wanted him to sleep.  He thought he heard StarSeer call him by the name Far instead of Kyyanno, but he put it out of his mind.  The jaguar had stood up and was walking away.  As much as he wanted to shout something out, even a goodbye, the cheetah found that the grass was the perfect place to lay his head and get some shuteye.  So he did just that, and was soon on his way back to the realm of dreamless sleep.  The trees of the forest faded away, and the moonlit sky melted back into the dull torchlight of the cave.  He briefly woke as the weasels were at work tying ropes around his neck and wrists, but the effects of the drug stopped him from fully waking, and he was soon fully unconscious again, where he would stay until woken by the weasels in the morning.  Time to move on was nearly upon them all.