The morning sun rose over the camp of cubs by the great lake of Tobbac Forest.  The birds chirped with gay abandon, oblivious to the activities of the night before.  It was not the sun or the birds that woke the sleeping travellers, but the smell of stew floating through the air.  The hedgehogs were hard at work over the fire, cooking up the morning meal.

Kyyanno rubbed his eyes as he rose from his slumber.  His nose picked up the scent and his mouth watered.  The other campers were also sniffing the air and the two dogs and the two foxes were looking at the hedgehogs with surprise and delight.  One of the hedgehogs called Kyyanno over and spoke to him.

“The body washed up on the beach during the night,” he said.  The cheetah gulped hard.  The last thing he wanted was for Lewis to see it.  “We took the blankets off and the body was in a very bad way, so we’ve skinned it, and prepared it for cooking.  We were thinking about drying it out, though the lake is freshwater so it won’t hurt us to make a stew which is meant to have waterlogged meat anyway.”

“That’s good thinking,” Kyyanno replied, impressed with the ingenuity of the hedgehog’s plan.  “What about the remains, and the blood soaked blankets?”

“They are back in the lake, weighed down with rocks,” the hedgehog said, pointing to where the bundle had been thrown.  “It took us ages to get the job done, but we think we’ve been successful.  We should be long gone before anyone else finds the remains anyway.”  Kyyanno gave an understanding nod of the head, and the hedgehog returned to his cooking.

It was not long before the meal was ready, and everyone had sat around the campfire to tuck in.  Even the younger hedgehogs had some stew, as the older ones had not had the time to forage for their preferred diet.  Chip still pined for fish but cheered up when Leona promised to try and get him some fish from the next village they visited.  All the meat eaters commented on how delicious the meal had been, and expressed surprise at the hedgehog’s cooking ability.  The ever-humble hedgehogs offered to teach all those willing to learn on their adventure, and offered to carry all the cooking equipment so they could at least do something with any food they found on the way.

The leftovers were put into two bowls and left by the fire for the two stranded weasels, if they ever had the brainpower to paddle back to shore.  They could still be seen on their raft, fast asleep and making odd noises as they dreamt some presumably weird dreams.  The rest of the camp was dismantled and the travellers decided what they needed to take, and who was to take it.  The tent and blankets were rolled up and tied with brambles.  Removing the thorns from the brambles was painful work for those with larger paws, but soon a lot of good quality rope substitute was made and all the blankets secured with it.  The hedgehogs were as good as their word and took any item related to the preparation and serving of food, save for the two bowls left for the weasels.

Once everything was packed up and everyone had taken their fair share of the load, the group was ready to leave.  With a little debating, they chose east as the best direction to go in.  They knew they would find the other slavers if they headed north, south was where they had come from, and west looked like it would lead them deeper into the forest.  East, however, seemed to lead to the edge of the forest.  There were hills, which towered over the tops of the trees, and they were filled with fields and bushes.  All the older cubs agreed that the hills were their best chance of finding help and escaping the other groups of cub catchers.

With the youngest cubs requiring regular rest stops, the progress was slow but steady.  Every few hours, the forest seemed to be thinning and the path through the undergrowth appeared to become clearer as they travelled.  When the end of the first day came, the group made camp as they had seen the weasels do and were soon enjoying a vegetable and root based meal cooked up by the hedgehogs.

“This was mama's favourite dish,” the oldest hedgehog said as he served it into the bowls.  “It’s the first thing she taught me to cook, and she even took me to see where to look for the ingredients.  I miss her so much.”  The hedgehog gave a small sniff and wiped his nose with the back of his paw.  “Must be strong, though.  For the sake of the little ones.” 

Mealtime was a sombre affair, each of the animals eating and keeping their thoughts to themselves.  When conversation was started, it was quiet and short, as if no one wanted to be too loud and break the silence.  Even the two young hedgehogs and Chip kept the noise to a minimum.  It was the first meal they had had since becoming free creatures, and Kyyanno assumed that deep down, the fear of recapture remained strong within them.  It certainly did in him.  

With a little squeeze, the travellers decided they would all fit inside the tent to sleep, though with one keeping watch they found they could comfortably stay under the canvas for the night.  The two foxes kept the first guard duty, Leona unwilling to leave Lewis alone after his episode the night before.  She had been by his side all day, being his rock without being overbearing.  He was grateful for her tact, and had not mentioned the weasels since they left the lake.  It seemed to everyone that he was just trying to put the whole affair behind him.

Bristol took the next shift, followed by Harvey.  Kyyanno took the fourth turn.  He sat with bleary eyes and surveyed the landscape.  Trees surrounded him, though they were far more spread out than the deeper parts of the forest.  This made being a lookout much easier, but he was aware that the downside was it made him easier to be seen.  His mind wandered to his new friends.  In just a few short days, he had seen them come from tear-stained babies into maturing cubs.  Adrenaline and survival instinct had banded them together against the odds, and their mutual strength had kept everybody strong.  Whether they knew it or not, all the cubs had aged greatly during their short life together.

The cheetah took out his sai blades and started to polish them on his tunic.  He looked at the metal gleam in the moonlight, though the one used to dispatch their foe had much less of a shine to it.  Somehow the blood had dulled the blade, like a strange guilt that would need atoning for somehow.

Something moved in the undergrowth and attracted the cheetah's attention.  He sat as still as he could, all senses focused on what might be out there.  At first, he heard nothing until the slightest rustle that could only have been made by an animal and not the wind.  He stayed motionless, waiting and watching for the source to become apparent.  Whatever it was, it could not be big enough to pose a threat, or it would have been seen by now, so Kyyanno turned his thoughts towards food.  His father had not yet taught him how to hunt so he was forced to rely on instinct alone.  Eventually, a mouse ran out of the bushes and headed towards the camp.  It had not yet seen the cheetah and perceived no danger.  Quick as a flash, the cat charged at it.  The mouse heard the noise and yelled in terror, tearing off as fast as it could.  It found a hiding hole in next to no time, leaving the cheetah tired and confused as to what went wrong.  He returned to his seat and watched the general area where the mouse had vanished.  There was nothing.

The morning birds, however, were far more careful and delighted at telling each other with their pretty song that a predator was amongst them, and they should all keep their distance.  Kyyanno thought that this tactic was quite unsporting, however he wanted meat from an animal more than he wanted bird.  He almost regretted leaving the leftover stew for the two raft-bound weasels, but deep down he knew that while they had been part of some terrible crimes, they were almost as much of a victim as the cubs were.  They deserved punishment, but not death.  

The sound of something else moving through the undergrowth caught Kyyanno's ears.  It was the same type of rustling that the mouse had made, and coming from the rough area the mouse had first appeared from.  This time, the cheetah decided he was not going to give chase.  The mice were faster than he was it seemed, and they had a much better understanding of the area.  Instead he decided to use his weapons.  As the mouse came into view, a sai blade was thrown through the air, aimed at the mouse's body.  It missed by a good distance, but the mouse only ran when it heard the blade land.  It had not heard the sound of the sai flying towards it.  Inwardly Kyyanno cursed his miss, but praised his ingenuity.  His weapons were not just stabbing ones, it seemed.  If he perfected his aim, he would have some pretty lethal throwing blades too.  The cheetah smiled, and set to work on creating a target range to work with.  If he could work on getting a straight shot, he might catch enough to help make a breakfast with.

The rest of the Kyyanno's shift was spent with the cheetah trying to hit his targets.  The range looked a lot easier than it turned out to be, with bits of log and plant being the targets at different distances away.  Sometimes he would miss the target by miles, and other times he would hit the target, but not with the points of the blade.  Blunt trauma might knock out a mouse, the feline thought, but up against larger foe he would have to be inch perfect.  The hedgehogs, waking up naturally to take the final shift of the night and start preparing breakfast, finally managed to convince the knife throwing cub to go to bed.  They had to at least get to the hills by the end of the day if they wanted to make sure they could escape the clutches of the remaining bands of cub-nappers and they did not need one of their best fighters tired and groggy after a hard night of not sleeping.

The morning came much like the morning before, only this time with less meat-scent in the air.  The smell of cooking roots took its place.  The group of cubs came staggering out of the tent and plopped themselves down by the fire, waiting for the hard working hedgehogs to deliver their morning wake-up nourishment.

"Right," the oldest hedgehog said.  "Today we have a special treat for you all.  This part of the forest has a small patch of hotroot growing which we have dug up and put a little of in your meal, just to give it a little morning kick.  Those of you with a more firm constitution might like to know that the rest has been ground in to a powder, which was hard work, and can be added to your own serving if you desire it."

"Pah," muttered Lewis to Leona as the hedgehogs handed out the bowls of breakfast.  "How much of a kick can there be?"  He requested an additional helping of the hotroot powder, which the hedgehogs delivered with a grin.  Within a couple of mouthfuls, the fox found out just how hot it was, and grabbed the nearest water flask, drinking a hefty draught.

"Hey, hey," Bristol yelled from her side of the fire.  "We might all need that water you know, we don't know where the next river or stream might be.  Even the next village we find might suffer from a lack of water.  We should be careful."

"Sorry," Lewis replied, replacing the cap and putting the flask down beside him.  "That hotroot is really hot."

"Yep," the two hedgehogs said together, smiling and rubbing their paws with satisfaction.  "It is really nice though, isn't it?"

"If you don't mind eating fire," the fox muttered, licking his still smarting lips.  He could not deny, though, that despite the pain, the flavour had not been lacking.  "What is in this meal, anyway?"

"It's probably best you don't know," the oldest hedgehog replied with a smile as he set to work demolishing the contents of his own bowl.

Once breakfast was complete and the camp packed up, the group continued on their mission to get to the hill.  Following the sun in the morning and fleeing from it in the afternoon gave the travellers a rough idea of the right direction, and the occasional friendly bird would stop by and let them know if, when asked, they had gone wildly off course.  As the sun was starting to set, the forest thinned out enough for the fields to be completely visible.  They had reached the edge of Tobbac Forest.

In front of the cubs stood the hills of Tobbac plains.  The fields and grasslands in front of them seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, though the large hills obstructed the views of what lay in the distance.  The camp was quickly erected and the hedgehogs wasted no time in foraging for suitable items to make the evening meal with.  Kyyanno, Lewis, and Harvey set to work in finding firewood and building the fire while Bristol and Leona set the tent up and found a small lake to get fresh water from.

Apart from the excitement of reaching the edge of the woods, the ten creatures were quite placid.  Chip and the two young hedgehogs were more tired than happy and so hid in the tent to rest as soon as it had been finished.  They were fast asleep by the time the evening meal was ready to eat and were a little upset about having been woken up.  They soon became silent when they were feasting on a vegetable something.  The hedgehogs called it their Summer Season Prelude, but it looked a lot like a hot pot made without the meat.

Nighttime was spent as any other night, with all the older cubs taking a turn at being on guard duty before the two hedgehogs took the final shift and used it to prepare a breakfast.  The camp woke at dawn, for once, and was soon on well on the way up the hills.  The comfort and reasonable safety of the forest was behind them, and on the slopes of the hills they knew they were exposed and could be seen for miles.  They would also be able to see for miles once they were high enough, in case anything or anyone was trying to follow them, but until they were higher than the tree line, the group knew they were easy prey.

While the climb was a lot steeper than the path they made through the forest, the smaller cubs seemed to take to the easy and flatter ground of the hills.  They did not have to constantly climb over low branches, or hold springy brambles back, which would then catch other members of the group.  While there was an incline, the path was much easier to traverse and the smaller cubs were able to go much further than they had in the forest.

By mid-morning, the group were half way up the first hill.  This had put them over the tops of the trees and now they could turn and see what the forest looked like from above.  A blanket of spring green stood before them, as the trees started to prepare for the summer season.  The bare branches were thickening out with leaves and the wind pushed them around so it looked like the trees were almost waving their farewells to the party.  After a short rest, the cubs pressed on, determined to get to the top of the first hill by nightfall.  It was a goal they only just achieved.

It was much harder to set the camp up on the hill, due to the lack of trees to pitch the tent against, and the lack of any decent firewood.  The evening meal was a light affair of a salad made from cold vegetables left over from the hedgehog's foraging from the forest, which had been packed up and taken with them for just such an occasion.  While the salad was nice, the five meat eaters and the fish eater were starting to feel the lust for something that was more than just vegetables.  The foxes made each other drool by thinking about plump rabbits, or even mice and rats, which made a nice snack when desperate.  Harvey told them to be quiet because the talk of meat was making him even crazier for a decent meal than he had previously been.

Morning came, and the salad returned with it.  The group ate, but were dismayed to be told that the food supply had been exhausted.  From their vantage point, however, the group could see a village, and beyond that lay another forest.  Together they made a resolution to go non-stop to that village in the hope they made it before night came.  Downhill was a much easier trek than uphill had been.  The two smallest hedgehogs made a game out of curling into a ball and rolling down small sections, until their elders suitably scolded them for playing such dangerous games.  Before the signs of nightfall had even made a trace of forming on the sky, the ten cubs reached the outskirts of the village.  Tired and elated, they made a beeline for the nearest road, and followed it to the village hall.

The mayor, a sturdy looking field mouse, was surprised to see the random collection of cubs appearing in his village, and he was more than a little intimidated by the group containing two foxes and a cheetah.  He was calmed, however, by their assurances that they were merely seeking food and shelter, and had no intention of eating the villagers or taking the place over.

"Welcome to Pentreafon," the mayor gestured his arm to show the surrounding village.  "This is the Town Hall, and beside us is the Town Square."

"Town Hall and Town Square?" Bristol asked, a little confused.  "Isn't this a village and not a town?"

"Well," the field mouse faltered slightly and looked a little embarrassed.  "We call it the Town Hall because we hope to be expanding into a town soon, thanks to the aid of the workers from Riverbridge.  We will be getting the South Path altered so it faces towards the forest and not away from it, and trade and commerce from the River Brock will soon be within easy reach if we built a small longboat docking on our border with the river.  Now how about we get you some food, a wash, and a fresh set of clothes, yes?"

The group agreed that a bathe would be more than desirable, so while the villagers all clubbed together for a feast, the cubs washed and changed.  The larger cubs had clothes tailored for them by what felt like a small army of well-dressed mice.  The material was only simple cotton and took no time at all for the experts to sew together once the base measurements were taken.  The only creatures not fully dressed were the hedgehogs, but it was customary for hedgehogs to remain topless, even in polite company.  Skirts and trousers were fitted around the waist, avoiding the cloth-wrecking spines.

Once everyone was dressed and ready for a meal, the mayor sat the cubs down and made them retell their journey, from capture to escape, and finally the trek to Pentreafon Town Hall.  Each member of the group retold their stories.  The two smallest hedgehogs and Chip were unable to recall what had happened, but they knew it had been bad because otherwise they would not have ended up with the slavers.  The others told a story much like Kyyanno's, only differing because they had been to more than one settlement.

Ones the tales had been recanted, and the village recorder had documented them in the Book of Archives, the mayor lead the group outside to the Town Square.  A lot of the residents, jumping at the chance to hold an impromptu street party, had worked hard and fast to erect tables decorated with bright coloured tablecloths.  On each table stood plates covered in sandwiches, jelly, ice cream, and other party favourites.  Each plate of food had a homemade look to it, and all of the chilled or frozen foods looked like they had been saved for a special meal but sacrificed for the celebration.

"We don't deserve all this," Kyyanno stated, amazed by the effort gone into everything.  "We're just a bunch of cubs who've escaped some slave traders.  We've done nothing special."

"That's where you're wrong," the mayor said, laughing and holding the cheetah cub firmly by the paw.  "For the last couple of seasons, we've been hearing tales of an army sweeping through without warning and taking villages.  When the rumours first started, we took a grand seriousness in making sure our defences were ready.  We had our southern border marked with guard towers, great wooden towers that watch over the meadows and the border of Riverbridge Forest.  A simple semaphore signalling method allows the towers to communicate with each other, and each will be armed with at least three creatures and a wide selection of weapons.  We even have a training hall to train folks how to use swords, pikes, longbows, arbalests, and even hand-to-hand combat."

"That's all very well," Harvey said as the mayor looked very pleased with himself.  "What does it have to do with us, though?"

"Don't you see?" the mayor replied.  "You're our early warning that the attack is imminent.  Now that you've managed to escape, and the news that Tobbac has been breached means that our lands will probably be next.  So, we'll hold a celebration to both thank you for bringing us enough time to get our final preparations sorted, and as a final 'nice thing' before the village effectively goes into lock down."

"Keep your eyes out for a fox cub, then," Lewis warned.  "I don't know what they were doing with them, but we never saw the others again."

"I know what they needed the cubs for," Kyyanno said.  "They would plant the cub somewhere and leave him to die, then they'd find the dead cub and claim it was the son of Lord Blacktooth and his attack on the village would be his revenge, or something.  That's what happened in Tobbac."

"I shall have the entire village thoroughly searched after the feast," the mayor stated.  "For now, however, enjoy the festivities."

So the group did just that.  They went around all the tables, chatting with the folk of the village, and getting to know a few of them.  The four hedgehogs found a small family of hedgehogs and instantly bonded with them.  The two youngest hedgehogs had almost forgotten what having parent-like figures were like and for the first time since Kyyanno had seen them, they looked at peace.  The two older hedgehogs looked like they felt safe now, and could once again go back to being the young ones, instead of the acting adults.

Chip also managed to find a friend.  A broad-shouldered otter introduced himself as Sutik Deepwater as he chanced upon the small otter cub.  He bent down and immediately scooped him up in his strong arms.  As soon as he learned that the cub was orphaned, the great bulk Sutik made a vow to find Chip a good family.  He knew of a small encampment of otters on the river Avonflow who were always on the lookout for cubs they could train to be big and strong.  Chip was small, but with a wealth of experience behind him, and Sutik thought that the adventure had made Chip into the brave sort of otter the tribe would be looking for.

Kyyanno joined the two foxes and the two dogs watching as their friends said their goodbyes and went off with their new families.  He felt a little sad about the travelling party being broken up.  Leona and Bristol both had damp eyes and Kyyanno could see they must have felt the same way.  Lewis put an arm around his partner.

"It's for the best, you know," he sighed.  "I'll miss 'em too, but we had to break the group up sooner or later."

"It isn't just that though," Leona sniffed, wiping her snout with the back of her paw.  "The small creatures can easily find homes here.  Not us though.  Who's going to want to take in a pair of foxes when the entire village is made up of dinner and snacks?"

"What you need is to go to Riverbridge, my dear," said an old female vole, overhearing the conversation.  "They're starting up a new village there for all those friendly to the woodlands.  I'm sure that they have room for a couple of foxes, and even a couple of dogs and a cat, I dare say,"

"Really?" Bristol and Harvey asked, their tails starting to wag with excitement.  "You really think they'd take us?"

"Only one way to find out," the vole cackled, the expressions on the eager dogs tickling her funny bone.  "There's a group leaving for Riverbridge in a few moments time, I'll help you track them down and get you joining them."

"That's great news," barked Harvey.  "Come on, let's go."  Kyyanno shook his head.

"You go," he said, waving a friendly paw as if to shoo the others away.  "I have to go north to Windrush and be with the rest of my kind.  Riverbridge sounds lovely; I know a lot of my village folk have helped with its construction.  Maybe, when all this is over, we can meet up again and catch up."

"But, but, but you have to come," Leona stammered.  She looked shocked and a little afraid.  "You're our rock.  I'm only brave because you are.  You can't leave us now.  Not when we're on the edge of a whole new adventure."

"You're brave because you're a brave vixen," Kyyanno replied, looking deep into the cub's eyes.  "You're honest and truthful, and you don't take attitude from anyone.  Besides, you have Lewis, and he's such a cowardly beast."  A cry of protest came from the fox but Kyyanno waved it off with a smile to let Lewis know he was only joking.  "You've got to be strong for him, now, and if you ever get sad, just remember all the good times we've had being damp, uncomfortable, hungry, tired, or scared.  You'll be fine, Leona.  You're older than I am, I'm meant to be the one who doesn't want to leave,"

"I don't think I'm older than you are," Leona said, as the group started to leave.  "I think you have the wisdom of years behind you."  With a tear running down her cheek, the vixen waved a final goodbye to the cheetah and the four friends went off and out of sight.  A very heavy-built mouse stood next to Kyyanno and grabbed some food from the table beside them.

"That's a very brave thing you did there, kid," he said.  "It can't be easy watching your only friends walk off like that.  Especially when you're, what, no older than two and a half seasons old."

"I'm just over two seasons old now," Kyyanno said, looking at his conversation partner.  The mouse was stocky, wearing filthy trousers, a dirty cotton vest, and a leather pouch for tools around his waist.  It was a lot like a pouch Forge had, only smaller.  "I've got to ask," the cheetah commented, "but aren't you a blacksmith?"

"Sure I am," the smith laughed.  Kyyanno liked the smith.  His laugh was irresistible and a twinkle shone in his eye.  There was raw power in the small frame, but Kyyanno could sense that there was more to this smith than met the eye.

"Have you got anything good for polishing blades?" the cat asked.  He pointed to the sai blades around his waist.  He did not want to alarm the village folk by drawing them from his belt, in case it looked like he was being aggressive.  The mouse looked at the blades for a good few seconds before whistling with astonishment.

"You are one lucky cub," he said.  "May I hold one of them?"

"Not here," Kyyanno answered.  "I don't want it to be taken the wrong way.  How about we go to your workshop, where it will look a bit more normal to have weapons out?"

"Ha, ha," the smith replied, "a fine idea.  First, let us enjoy this bounty a bit more.  I expect you're too young to enjoy the ale here, but then I'd wager your constitution would have no trouble in taking it too.  Here, why not knock-back some of this safe-for-cubs lemon fizz and enjoy the party for a while.  We have plenty of time to get back to the workshop afterwards."

Kyyanno nodded and tried to get into the party spirit.  He wanted to relax, and try to remember what it was like to be a cub again.  The carefree life of not having to worry about being strong for others, or not having to act as if you're many seasons older than you are.  All these things he wanted so badly, but he knew, deep down, that he could not have them yet.  Not until he had completed his journey and reached Windrush.  StarSeer had given him his goal.  Escape the slavers and find Windrush.  He was not sure where exactly the village of Pentreafon fit into the grand scheme, but there might be a reason for his coming here.  He had managed to lead his new friends to safety at least, and that had to be worth something.  This thought cheered him up somewhat, and he soon found that he was able to enjoy himself a bit more.  He may no longer be a cub mentally, but he was not an adult yet either, and so the occasional letting down of the fur was only too appropriate.  So long as he did not embarrass himself, he would not embarrass anyone else.

***

Once the festivities were over, a well-fed and tired Kyyanno joined the smith as they retired to the smith's workshop and home.  It was not far from the Town Hall, and soon the pair of creatures were relaxing in the smith's sitting room, nestled in sturdy wooden armchairs made comfortable with thick padded cushions.  Two long glasses of water were fetched, and both cat and mouse were more than happy to sip their drinks and try to get the sound of the party atmosphere out of their ears.  Once rested, the mouse leaned in towards the cheetah and asked for the blades.  Kyyanno handed them over and let the smith look them over properly.

"These are mighty fine sai blades you have," he said.  He hopped off his chair and went to the back room.  Kyyanno followed, wondering where the mouse was running off too.  The back room seemed to be a lot like a smaller version of Forge's yard.  Bits of random metal work lay everywhere.  On the desks, on the floor, on shelves, even suspended from the ceiling.  Both draws in the desk were flung open, and after some hunting a small pot of metal polish was found.  It looked brand new, as if the smith had never found an opportunity to use it before.  Finding the cleanest rag he could, the mouse smeared the tiniest amount of cleaner he could on to the rag and set to work polishing the dulled areas of the blades.  Within moments, the metal shone like new again.

"That stuff is amazing," gasped the cheetah.

"Not half as amazing as your blades," came the reply.  "I've heard about weapons like these, but never thought I'd ever see any."

"Why," Kyyanno asked.  "What's so special about them?"

"You mean you don't know?  Well, let me show you something.  This mark here," the smith said, showing Kyyanno a small little indent near the handle of each blade.  It looked like a very tiny paw-print.  "That's the mark of a badger.  I don't know which badger, for a few used very similar marks, but the mark of the badger is a very special mark indeed.  Badgers are well known for being expert blacksmiths." 

Kyyanno took the weapons back and continued to polish them while the blacksmith went on with his tale.

"Legend has it they forge their weapons from only the finest of raw materials.  This means that they are very strong.  Badgers are buried with their weapons when they die, for they believe that once they've passed on, there is a huge battle waiting for them, which will last for eternity.  So far, I've not heard any stories of anyone being brave or foolish enough to try to rob a badger's grave.  As a result, Badger made weapons are very rare.  The original owner must have been someone very special indeed.  Badgers don't make these things for anyone other than the special few whom they deem worthy of wielding such a special piece of craftsmanship."

"Wow," Kyyanno said, wide eyed with astonishment.  "I had no idea.  Father said they were special to him because of who had owned them previously, but I didn't know that they were that special."

"It's little wonder you're such a brave young thing," the smith said with a smile as he put the tin of polish back in the drawer.  "If I had a pair of blades like that, I'd feel pretty damn brave too."

“I didn’t really feel brave,” the cheetah admitted.  “I just felt I had to be for the sake of the others.”

“That vixen was right,” the smith said, rubbing his jaw.  “You are far wiser than your years.”

***

The night fell swiftly but the smith offered Kyyanno a spot on the floor for the night, apologising for the lack of a spare bedroom.  He had offered his own bed, but the cheetah turned it down and insisted that after the nights of sleeping under canvass on the forest floor, a blanket on a wooden floor would be a luxury.  The mouse could not agree, but found enough spare bedding to make sure his houseguest stayed warm enough for the night and did not freeze.

Kyyanno’s head had barely touched the folded blanket he was using as a pillow when he drifted off to sleep.  He wanted to know how he could pay the smith back for his kindness, but being a cub there was not much he could do.  He did not stay awake long enough to think of the answer.

Blinking, the cheetah found himself back in the forest he had seen the last time he had met StarSeer.  The jaguar limped towards him, taking his time yet setting a pace that far exceeded Kyyanno’s expectations of someone who was injured.  Soon they were face to face for the second time.

“You have done splendidly,” the jaguar beamed, grasping the young cheetah and drawing him into a hug.  The body of StarSeer felt warm and rejuvenating.  Kyyanno felt his fatigue being taken from his body, being replaced by a newfound energy, which invigorated his aching joints.  The will to run around and chase things returned, which set StarSeer into a chuckle as he released the youngster from the embrace.

“What?” Kyyanno asked, grinning, as he knew that he knew the answer.

“You’ve still got a long way to go yet, little one,” his friend replied.  “Pentreafon is still many days from Windrush for your small legs.  Granted, if you were an adult it would take less time, but not too much less before you start getting any crazy ideas about getting an adult to carry you or something.”

“I wasn’t,” the cub replied.  “I was thinking about how I can do something for the smith who’s taken me in tonight.  With all of my friends, except the hedgehogs, gone now I have no reason to hang around in the village any longer than I have to.  So I wanted to do a nice thing for the blacksmith to thank him for offering me his home for the night.”

“If only some of the cubs here could see you,” StarSeer sighed.  “They’re all take-take-take.  They’ll learn, of course, but at just over two months, you would be a shining example of how they are expected to behave.  Leave it with me; just tell him before you go that the cats of Windrush do not forget a kindness.  I’m sure one day you can go on a trip down there and help him out somehow.  In the meantime, you can remove the dead fox that has been placed in his wood cellar.  That should keep the village safe from Lord Blacktooth for a couple of seasons at least.”

“Thank you, StarSeer,” Kyyanno nodded that he understood.  The jaguar started to walk away, but turned his head over his shoulder.

“Remember,” he called to the cheetah as he walked away.  “You still have a long way to go, you can follow the pathways, or the river. Either way, it will be a hard journey, but no matter what you want, you can achieve it.  You’re a Windrush cat at heart.  Be strong, for we will be waiting for your arrival.”

“Goodbye, for now.”  Kyyanno watched as the jaguar limped away and faded into nothing.  He looked around at the clearing before curling up to sleep again.  Just as last time, the moon had risen high in the sky, casting its ghostly blue hue over everything.  The trees in the distance still looked like they could never be reached, even if he ran for hundreds of years, even though they were much closer than that.  The other details had not changed either, and the air was still as crisp as it had been during their first encounter a few nights ago and the grass still as damp with morning dew.  The cheetah felt relaxed here, relaxed enough that he could quite easily curl up and sleep.  He did not want to, however.  He wanted to stay and enjoy the majestic beauty of the clearing, but his body won the internal battle and he was curled up before he knew it.  He woke at dawn feeling refreshed and better than he had done since Tobbac’s invasion.  Today would be the day he left for Windrush, and nothing was going to stop him from getting there.