Sorry this chapter is a bit delayed XP Anyways, u kn the copywrite crap and all that stuff about me not owning DGM or Warriors bla bla bla, stuff anyways! ENJOY!

Chapter 9

Saiken's POV

I perked my ears as I glanced across a large thunderpath, monsters zoomed by there were at least 6 paths combined, 3 on each side. In between the two sets of 3 was a long metallic barrier.

I knew we'd have to cross this, I looked over at Jasdevi who seemed on edge, his hackles were slightly raised, and his tail was lashing back and forth, his ears pulled back with distaste, and his eyes watched each monster as it sped past us in a blur.

"How are we gonna get across?" He asked.

"The only way we can get across." I replied, looking at the different gaps in between the monsters, some where small some were quite large. He shook his head and took a step back.

"No. I can't." He said.

"Jasdevi, we have to, there is a way to get across without dying," I said softly, a desperate feeling hit me, what if he ditched me?

"Can't we wait until nightfall?" He asked in a small voice.

"Monsters don't sleep like we do, they run all night, all day, but when there are long breaks in between we can run to the barrier thing and wait for another long break on that side," I explained my plan. He took a deep breath and nodded. We crouched into the position that would allow us to sprint when the time was right. When the moment came, we sprinted into action. I urged him to go faster as I began to feel the ground rumble beneath my paws. Jasdevi sped up to a speed I hadn't thought was even possible. I lunged forward and reached the barrier right before the monsters began speeding past us. I panted, fear striking my heart making it throb. I looked behind me with wild eyes.

"You...you okay?" Jasdevi panted. I nodded, curling my tail right by my side, I felt my raised hackles slowly lower my ears pressed flat to my head. He nuzzled against me briefly, licking my head soothingly. I leaned into him. I appreciated the comfort. His fur as warm and soft. It calmed me now greatly. He pressed himself against me, I could see the terror in his eyes.

"You alright?" I asked, hoping he hadn't gotten hurt. Jasdevi nodded.

"Yeah, just a bit shaken." He replied.

"Good... Let's wait until there is an opening again..." I murmured. He nodded, breathing deeply. I pressed myself closer, not wanting to go across the thunderpath, I could feel that something bad would happen. We waited for our moment. Then it was our chance, a large gap, though I did see some monsters from a distance, I knew it was now or never. We both ran as fast as we could, Jasdevi much further ahead of me seeing how fast he was. There was a honking sound. I felt the earth shudder beneath my paws, I felt myself freeze in terror as I saw a monster coming straight at me, I couldn't move, every sound was gone, I was blinded by fear, suddenly, I felt pain shoot through my skull, everything around me became at a standstill. I felt myself collapse a warm liquid trickling from my cranium, then everything became dark and decorate, I felt my consciousness collapse around me, then everything went black.

...

I awoke lying on something soft, my head throbbing. What happened? Where was I? Where was Jasdevi? I felt something weird strapped to my head. Something moved on either side of me, nuzzling against me. Was I just waking up from a bad dream? Yes... That was probably it... The twins were right next to me keeping me warm... It was night... That was all a dream... I opened my eyes slowly, expecting to see the forest.

What I saw... Was definitely not the forest... There was a sort of fine white grass that covered the dirt, though it was very short like mouse fur but connects it was strange... Around me I saw weird structures made of moss like materials, and polished wood... I seemed to be in a box like den, concealed from the outside of it, metallic bars keeping me away, I was on a soft padding inside the small den.

The pain in my skull began to intensify greatly, causing me to wince in pain. One of the twins stirred beside me. I moaned a bit, bringing my head to my paws. A pale blue light told me Jasdero was the one who had woken. He looked at me with his big eyes and licked my cheek.

"Is Saiken-chan okay?" He asked softly.

"I guess..." I murmured, nuzzling my cheek into him. He nuzzled me back, trying to comfort me. "What happened?" I asked weakly.

"A monster attacked you..." Jasdero murmured softly.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"The twoleg that was in the monster grabbed you and Jasdevi tried to help out but the twoleg got him too and brought us here," the tom explained. I groaned softly. Captured by twolegs... great... Jasdero licked the top of my head reassuringly. Devit stirred with a sleepy groan. "Devi, Saiken-chan's alive," Jasdero murmured. The ravenette opened his eyes and smiled.

"Hey there." He purred. "Welcome back."

"Thanks..." I murmured sleepily. Devit nodded with a small yawn, curling up again. "Wh-what's gonna happen to us?" I asked softly, curling up to the best of my abilities.

"I don't know." Devit said. "The two leg said something about his daughter."

"I-I'm scared…" I admitted softly, scared was an understatement, mortified would be a better word. Jasdero nodded in agreement, whimpering softly. A large form walked up to where we were. The three of us froze, falling silent as we watched the form. I curled up tighter, my pelt bristling. A male two leg walked up to them. He bent down to peer into the cage, a large toothy grin appeared on his face.

"Looks like you're alright." He said, looking at us.

I bared my teeth, feeling my hackles raise and my eyes narrow, I let out a low growl to warn the twoleg to go away, in the hope that it would leave. To my dismay he only chuckled.

"Don't worry, you're alright now, there's nothing to be scared of." he said softly. I felt no reassurance, how could I ever trust this twoleg? Two legs hurt Jasdero and Devitto and crushed their chance of becoming warriors. I growled and brought my ears closer to my head, pressing myself closer to the twins I didn't like this twoleg. I let out a threatening hiss, my tail lashing. Devit did the same. Jasdero, however, whimpered in fear, trembling. The twoleg seemed to sigh and stand up, vacating the area. Devit immediately moved to his twin and began comforting him. I helped comfort the blonde cat feebly, my strength dwindling along with my hope. Tears ran down his blonde cheeks as he trembled violently. I nuzzled closer to him, licking away his salty tears. He nuzzled me back, obviously desperate for reassurance.

"We'll be fine... At least this twoleg doesn't seem vicious..." I tried to reassure him.

"Yeah, we'll get all get out. We just need to figure out how," Devit murmured, licking his twin's head. Jasdero nodded, sniffling gently, managing to hinder his flowing tears. He looked at me.

"A-are you alright?" He sniffed. I nodded, licking his head in reassurance. He licked me back, laying his head on his paws. Another two-leg walked into the room, just as old as the last, male as well, his pelt was long and white, round shiny things holding it together, tan pelt on his legs and brown shiny paws on his two legs. He walked up to us and looked us over.

"Where did you find them? Are they feral cats?" He asked.

"I hit one of them with my car, the other two were with it." The other two leg said. Jasdero began trembling again, catching the two leg's attention.

"How fast were you going?"

"I don't know."

"I assume they're feral? Have you checked for a collar or microchip?" The one in white asked.

"Besides the strange things on the blonde and raven one, I didn't find anything." The other replied.

"I'll have to check the one you hit for trauma," the one with white replied. I felt more fear strike me, I pressed myself to the back of the crate. Jasdero and Devit stood, standing in front of me and hissing at the two leg. "Do you know their genders?"

"Yeah. The one I hit is female the other two are males."

"Do you know their ages or if they had been spayed or neutered?"

"They look about 1 or 2 and no, I don't think so." What did spay and neuter mean? What were these terms? These were two leg terms... what strange words. Though I had a suspicion of what it meant.

"They will also need their vaccinations for their health. They will also need to be checked for mites and fleas, and will need to be spayed and neutered." The male in white said. Jasdero and Devit seemed to know what the words spayed as neutered meant because they tensed a bit, their tails swaying awkwardly. Jasdero whimpered, hiding behind his twin. Devit looked back and forth at the two-legs and Jasdero. He didn't know what to do. "We should discuss this in my office." The other two leg nodded and they both walked out.

"What does spay and neuter mean?" I asked the twins curiously.

"The cutter..." They said in identical dull voices.

"But what is spaying and neutering?" I asked feeling that they were hiding what it really meant. They shuddered.

"We...we don't like talking about it." Devit murmured.

"Please?" I asked, curiosity now much stronger. They shook their heads, Dero whimpering softly. "Well I need to know why they're doing to us," I replied stubbornly. Devit sighed, turning to me. "It's when a twoleg makes it so cats can't have kits," he said with a sigh. Jasdero shuddered.

"Oh... Well that's nice to know..." I said awkwardly. "Now avoiding all the cutters crap is the problem..." I said thinking of ways to avoid this, I turned my head hearing a weird sliding sound, some two legs with a dog walked through an entryway, two see through things pulled apart letting them through. The dog saw us and growled, barking loudly. It was attached to some sort of lead that the twoleg held in hand.

"Back off fleabag!" I snapped irritably, my tail lashing in irritation. The dog growled angrily. The twoleg yanked it away, forcing the canine to move on. I smirked then looked at the door. An idea popped into my head. "I have an idea," I said. They looked at me.

"We're listening." Devit smirked.

"If we can move that little bar to the right with our paws, it'll open this thing up, then from there, we can use that access which seems to be motion activated because twolegs are too lazy to open it themselves, according to what I saw, when we step on the black stuff on the ground in front of it, the see through things will slide open," I explained, feeling stupid for not knowing the terms for some of these objects. They nodded.

"But how do we get out of this crate?" Jasdero asked.

"Look around at the other crates, look how the twolegs are opening them, then look at our crate at the latch," I instructed gesturing around at twolegs as they opened crates when more twolegs dressed in white come near them, then I gestured to the metal latch on our crate, something close enough to stick our paws through the bars and move the latch to the right to unlock the exit. They nodded again, examining the latch. I looked around for the twoleg and stuck my paw through the latch so it went inside the U shaped handle, I attempted to push it, but it was harder then it looked. "Damn." I hissed. I pushed harder, the metal only sliding a little bit, my head began to throb again, I felt myself wince and push on it harder. Jasdero and Devit moved to help me.

"I've got it..." I muttered, gritting my teeth and pushing it harder, then with a click, it gave way at last. It pushed to the right and the door opened a bit. "Yes!" I grinned, pushing the door open with a paw. "Told you I got it!" I said with a triumphant smirk. Then with my dismayal, I remembered I could have just appeared outside of the cage using my Noah powers. "I'm an idiot..." I groaned. Jasdero giggled in amusement, licking her cheek. Devit grinned, peaking out of the crate to make sure the coast was clear. "I forgot about my power..." I grumbled and peered out of the car and cautiously stepped through. No twolegs in sight...

"It's all clear. Let's go," Devit said, hopping out of the crate, followed closely by Jasdero. We ran straight for the door, as soon as our paws touched the weird black grass pelt thing, the two transparent things slid apart. We ran through, going as fast as our paws could carry us. I heard voices shouting from behind, but I didn't dare look what it was. We ran and ran and ran, rain pounded on our pelts, this disguised our scent at least, I felt the cold wet substance pelt my fur, soaking it making it a bit harder to focus. Cold hard wet stone touched my pads, I saw lights blaring at us, more monsters, at once I remembered my power, an image of us safely on the other side appeared in my mind, I closed my eyes and focused.

I felt myself ripple through time, my body being sucked away from here as if a vacuum sucked it away. Then I opened my eyes. The three of us stood, the twins shocked, awestruck, we were safely on the other side of thunder path. They looked very surprised.

"That... was... Awesome!" Devit grinned widely, Jasdero giggling in agreement.

"Awesome! Awesome! hee hee!" Dero giggled. I felt my cheeks grow hot, a grin appearing on my face.

"Thanks," I said happily. "That's the first time I've actually been able to make others go with me when I teleport." I admitted. I tried to ignore the agony in my skull from the first impact. Jasdero seemed to see my pain.

"Saiken-chan's hurt." He said softly, nuzzling against me gently. "Saiken-chan should rest."

"No, gotta keep going, they'll find us again." I said stubbornly, refusing to allow my wound to slow us down. Devit sighed and walked up to me.

"Come on, I'll carry you." He offered.

"No! You're not carrying me! I'm fine," I objected, retaining my stubborn attitude.

"Too bad." He smirked, kneeling down. I cried out in surprise when Jasdero pushed me onto his twin's back. I tried to use my elbows to escape, I squirmed frantically trying to get off, finding it hard to get a grip on his scruff so he'd let me go. Devit laughed and began walking, the blonde following happily. We moved quickly through the forest. The ravenette had an easy time carrying me, not faltering once. I grumbled and continued to squirm, humiliation boiling over me, I used my hind paws to try to scramble away. But every time I did, Jasdero would nudge me back onto Devit's back, giggling.

"Saiken-chan has to rest." He said every time.

"No. Dun wanna! Let me off!" I growled squirming fiercer until I finally managed to get off, my fur bristled irritably.

"Well," Devit said, shaking himself. "We're far enough anyway. We should find some place to rest." He said. I only grumbled irritably, and sat my back turned to them, my tail wrapped around my paws, my head aching and my head lowered ever so slightly so that I was glaring down at my paws. "I'm sorry." Devit sighed, walking up to me. "But we got away quicker didn't we?" I turned away stubbornly. Shoving my muzzle in the air. Devit nuzzled against me, licking my cheek apologetically. I groaned and gave in, returning the kiss.

"Alright..." I sighed. "I can't stay mad at you," I muttered. Devit purred, nuzzling against me happily. Jasdero whined, also nuzzling against me as if wanting attention. I smiled and nuzzled against both of them purring, I wrapped my tail around Jasdero so he didn't feel as lonely. He giggled happily, licking my neck, acting a lot like a kit. I purred. "Let's go find somewhere to rest, in the morning we'll need to head back towards the mountains, we're almost there," I said peering in the direction of the mountains.

They stood there, not too far away now, I could see more detail like clefts and trees. The twins grinned.

"Yes! Finally!" They whooped in unison. I laughed and nodded.

"Then we can search for a permanent den," I said happily.

"And then we'll be free?" Jasdero asked hopefully. I nodded.

"Yes, we'll be free." I confirmed. Trotting towards an outcrop of rocks "do you think there are any adders in there?" I asked, hoping that den would be fine and that venomous snake wouldn't just be awaiting us. Devit peered inside.

"Don't look like it. And I can't smell any." he said. "I think we'll be fine." I nodded as I looked inside, we crept in, the space was small enough for us to fit, and there weren't any snakes to my relief. I curled up in between the twins, who nuzzled against my sides.

Their warmth fueled mine I purred softly, closing my exhausted eyes and letting myself drift to sleep.

...

I awoke the next morning only feeling one of the twins beside me. Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked around. Devit lay sleeping beside me... but Jasdero was missing. I raised my head wearily. Where was Jasdero? He never left without his twin. A bit of fear mixed with worry swept through me, I nudged Devitto gently to wake him up, I hoped he'd know where Jasdero was. He opened his eyes with a yawn, looking at me with tired eyes.

"Hey Saiken, what's up?" He yawned.

"Jasdero's missing," I said worriedly. The blonde was too timid to be alone. I doubted he went hunting by himself, he was never that independent. Devit was wide awake at once, hoping to his feet.

"What? What do you mean he's missing?" He asked in alarm.

"He's not here!" I clarified, standing up to reveal nobody on my other side. "But he was here a bit ago! He woke me up cause he had a bad dream not too long ago!" Devit said in a panicked voice.

"Do you think he's taking a walk or hunting or something?" I asked trying to come up with plausible solutions.

"He's too scared to be alone for more than a minute. There's no way he'd leave without telling me first." Devit said, pacing.

"Let's track him!" I suggested his stale scent already reaching my nose, if we followed it, maybe we'd come across him. Devit nodded, taking a deep breath. I could tell he was frantic to find his twin. We put our noses to use and began to follow his scent trail, his scent growing stronger and stronger as we followed.

"Dero!" Devit called. "Dero! Where are you?!"

"Jasdero!" I called as I continued to follow his scent it became stronger and stronger the closer we got.

"DERO! Answer me!" Devit cried. I looked at him, a worried feeling overcoming me. I sped up my pace, winding quicker through the wooded area.

"Jasdero! Please! Reply!" I called frantically, looking around in the forest. Suddenly, Devit and I heard a noice. It sounded like giggling. Dero's giggling. "Jasdero?" I called as I got closer to him. The giggling got louder as we came nearer. Soon enough, we saw the blonde cat in a clearing.

"Dero!" Devit called in relief, running up to him.

"Thank StarClan you're safe," I said with relief running up to them. I brushed my cheek against his neck. Jasdero nuzzled back against me.

"Look! Look! Dero caught a bird! hee hee!" The blonde giggled proudly.

"I'm very proud of you, but, next time you leave, can you please tell one of us? You scared us half to death..." I said softly. Jasdero's ears drooped guiltily.

"Sorry... Dero wanted to surprise Saiken and Devi. Cause... cause Dero can catch prey too. Dero's not helpless." He said softly. I nuzzled him.

"We know you aren't helpless and can catch prey on your own. What made you think we didn't?" I said tending a kiss on his cheek.

"Cause Devi's always protecting Dero and everyone treats me like I can't do anything myself." Jasdero replied. "Dero wanted to show that he can do stuff by himself too."

"Dero, I only treat you like that because I can't bare to see you get hurt, I'm trying to be the best brother that I can be..." Devit said softly.

"But I'm not a kit anymore. We aren't living all alone anymore Dev. Let me grow up." Jasdero said in an uncharacteristically serious tone.

"Fine..." Devit murmured, he obviously didn't like this idea very much. When I really thought about it, Devit was acting more like a mother. Not willing to let her kit grow up and leave her. He wanted Dero to stay dependent on him... like he had always been. It probably gave him a sense of power, to know he could prevent the blonde from getting hurt, it also probably made him feel more important to have someone dependent on him. The blonde nuzzled against his twin as if he could read his thoughts.

"Dero will always stay with Devi. hee!" Jasdero giggled, returning to his childish demeanor.

"You better!" Devitto warned, returning his brothers gesture.

"Dero will! Dero promises!" The blonde pouted childishly.

"Good." Devit said. "Now then, you said something about a bird?" The ravenette grinned.

"Oh yeah Dero caught a bird!" Jasdero giggled. The blonde gestured to a large sparrow that I was surprised he could get by himself. Maybe I did underestimate him a bit.

"Wow... It's huge," I said with a grin. He giggled proudly, puffing out his chest. I kissed his cheek gently.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's eat it!" Devit said. We all grinned and dove in, eating the bird eagerly. It was indeed good tasting, and it satisfied my hunger, making it easier to focus. Jasdero yawned, satisfied, grooming himself.

"We should head back towards the mountains," I suggested.

"Alright." Jasdero and Devit said in unison. I yawned and turned my gaze towards the mountains and trotted in it's direction. The twins followed close behind, the blonde returning to his old self. I guided them towards the mountain outcrop, seeing how close it was, we'd be there soon. A week tops. That was good. We'd be able to settle in soon and live free. I quickened my pace, the faster we went, the sooner we'd get there. Though I must admit, my head still hurt like hell, but I was not telling the twins, and I believed I was hiding it well. The woods were peaceful as we walked. Birds were singing, sunlight filtered through the leaves.

I felt myself smile as I trotted as I looked around the area, I breathed in the fresh air, drinking it in as if it was water, no longer hearing the twins, I looked behind me by instinct to see if they were still there. They were walking behind me quietly, Dero looking around curiously and Devit watching the ground.

"Something wrong?" I asked Devit.

"Nah. Just a bit tired." He said.

"You sure?" I asked, hoping he was telling the truth, I didn't want either of them feeling sad or scared. He nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just fine." The ravenette grinned at me.

"Okay, just making sure," I said, returning his smile. "I don't like it when you two are upset." Devit nodded, looking back at the ground as we walked. A butterfly landed on Jasdero's nose, making him giggle softly. I smiled at them, wishing we could have more times like this, when we were safe and happy. Just like this. I parted my jaws in a yawn and continued to trot closer and closer to the mountains.

As we trotted along, the soil became more pebbly and less like the ground, rocks became larger and less scattered, and the trees became fewer. Well, we were getting closer to the mountains after all.

I turned around seeing the twins lagging and panting, the sun beating down on our pelts, they seems to be panting, and their legs were shaky, now that I noticed, my own legs were sore, and my head seemed to have gotten worse, throbbing painfully. Jasdero collapsed, panting.

"Too tired... can't..." He whimpered. I trotted in their direction, and kissed Jasdero on the top of his head.

"We can rest, but right now we need to find a place to go so we don't get found." I said softly. Devit helped Jasdero to his feet as I looked around for a place where we could rest. I looked towards a small outcrop of rocks not too far away "over there would be safe," I said gesturing to the pile. They nodded and the three of us walked towards it.

I nudged them into the shade lying on my stomach, and stretched out across the cold stone. Jasdero curled up, allowing his brother to lick his fur.

"It's so hot today..." I groaned. The twins nodded in agreement, panting as well. "Let's travel at night until we reach higher in the mountains, that way we won't become overheated..."

"Good idea." Devit said. I nodded and rested my chin on my front paws and closed my eyes. Jasdero and Devit yawned identically and I heard them fall silent. I curled myself up and allowed myself to fall asleep.

...

I was shaken awake by Devit, opening my eyes slowly. I yawned and looked up at him. "It's night time. Come on." He whispered. I nodded with another yawn and stood up, shaking my pelt from dust and other things. Then I stretched looking at the twins.

"I'm ready when you are." I said. They nodded in unison and we set out.

We walked for hours in silence, then I remembered what mother used to tell me about the mountains, she had talked about big birds that could carry cats away called eagles.

I wondered if her stories about the birds had been true. Maybe I should tell the twins, just in case. I thought turning to look at them.

"There's only one thing we need to worry about as we go higher, it's a large type of bird called an Eagle. They're very large and can carry cats away," I told them.

"R-really?" Jasdero asked nervously.

"Ya, but, I'm sure we could fight one off, besides, they're too big to fit into area's that we can," I reassured.

"I'll protect you Dero." Devit promised.

"No. We'll protect each other." Dero said firmly. Devit sighed and nodded.

"Thankfully, they aren't nocturnal," I said.

"Good." Devit said.

"And we'll also need to be careful of cliffs," I added. They nodded in unison. Then we continued on. I trotted further, looking ahead.

The pebbles made it hard not to fall as we walked ahead, though the twins seemed to be faring better, I was finding it much harder to walk. They were probably much more used to it then me. After all, they said they lived all on their own when they were kits.

They were probably much more adapted to this kind of terrain unlike me who is used to fertile soil that's easy to get a grip on.

I looked towards the ground, trying to figure out where to put my paws, though it was very hard. "Need some help?" The twins asked in unison.

"No, I'm fine," I assured as I walked steadily, keeping to the less pebbly area's.

"Just tell us if you need any." Devit said.

"Dero and Devi are used to it." Jasdero added.

"Okay, I will," I said. Though I knew I was too proud to admit if I did need help. It was one of my weaknesses. I kept my focus on the ground, blocking out everything except to where I was placing my feet. We soon reached some level ground, where it was much easier to walk.

I let out a sigh of relief, thankful for the easier terrain. We continued to walk in silence under the moonlight.

When I began to see sunlight trickle in the sky, I found myself yawn and lead them towards a crevice in the stones where we could sleep. They curled up almost at once, obviously exhausted from all the walking. I curled up next to them with a yawn. But I then realized how hungry I was, none of us had eaten all night.

"I'm gonna hunt," I said. They nodded, yawning. I kissed their foreheads gently and crept from the den, breathing in fresh scents. The forest was quiet at dawn, the birds just waking up. I walked quietly and closed my eyes, tasting the scent of small rodents and birds. I wondered if I could catch a vole. Jasdero and Devit would like that. I caught the scent of vole and tracked it, hoping to catch at least one.

Later, I was finding my way back, three voles in my jaws, it was daytime by now, and I was trotting back, exhaustion pulled at my eyes, tempting me to yawn. The twins were fast asleep inside the makeshift den. I gently rested the voles in front of them and nudged them awake gently. They awoke with big yawns. I smiled at them.

"Hi! I caught your favorite." I said with a smile. They were wide awake once they smelled the vole.

"Vole!" Dero cried.

"I caught three so there is plenty" I said proudly, glad that I made them happy. The twins pulled their voles to them and began eating. "You're welcome." I scoffed.

"Thank you!" They cried in unison.

"No problem!" I said with a grin grabbing the third vole for myself. We all ate happily, enjoying the meat."It took me a while to find these." I said as I gulped down the rest of my vole.

"Did it?" Devit asked with a mouth full of vole.

"Mhm, an hour or two, both of you were out cold," I said with a shrug, lapping up reminisce with my tongue. They both grinned in reply, finishing up their voles. I stretched and curled up in between them, relishing their warmth. They nuzzled against me almost like kits, the blonde yawning cutely. Devit wrapped his tail around me and Jasdero as he slowly fell asleep. I felt myself yawn and fall asleep, warm and with a full stomach. We were almost to our destination. Hopefully, nothing would go wrong…

….

The next day, we were walking along the cliff's edge, those stones were back again, making it ridiculously hard for me to walk, but I was able to manage without either of the twins noticing my struggle. The moon was shining high in the sky, stars glittering like jewels above us. I felt a jolt of panic flood through me when my paws were swept out from under me.

"Saiken!" Devit cried, catching me by the scruff. I felt a shooting pain in my front leg causing me to yelp in pain.

"Th-thanks," I finally managed, sucking in a breath. He nodded, placing me back on my feet.

"You okay?" Jasdero asked.

"I-I think…" I said, as I looked down where I saw the treacherous drop with jagged crags and stones awaited below.

"We can go around this I think." Devit said, looking down also.

"Y...Ya…. Probably better…" Jasdero said, his already large eyes becoming saucers as he looked down.

"Don't worry Dero. We've got this." The ravenette said confidently, gently placing me down, as soon as I put pressure on my left leg, I yelped in pain, lifting the leg, agony pulsed through my veins. "What's wrong?" He asked at once.

"I think I sprained my leg…" I hissed under my breath, my jaw clenched.

"You should stay off of it for a while." Devit said. "One of us will carry you."

"No, I don't want either of your balances to be thrown off because of me," I said sternly.

"We'll be fine. We had to carry each other a lot back when we were alone." Jasdero giggled.

"It's fine… I can just suck it up and walk on it…" I said, placing the paw down with a wince, pain shrouding through it once more.

"It'll get worse if you keep walking on it." Devit said stubbornly.

"I'll be fine." I replied, taking another few steps, bundling up the pain so I could walk on it. The twins looked as if they wanted to continue arguing. They probably would too. I continued to walk with a limp before they could continue. They sighed and followed me. I could feel their eyes on me.

When I saw the sun beginning to rise, I lead them into what seemed like a small cave and collapsed inside, looking at my now swollen ankle. Jasdero and Devit lay on either side of me.

"We should at least treat it." Devit commented.

"This is something you can't treat with herbs," I explained.

"I know, but we can stop the swelling can't we?" he asked. I shook my head with a sigh. "Can't we do something?" Devit persisted.

"There's not anything anyone can do." I said. He pouted slightly, placing his head on his paws. "I can't do anything for it either, even if I tried." I replied to his pouty face.

"Then at least stay off of it for a bit, please?" He asked hopefully.

"We can stay here until Saiken-chan is healed." Jasdero suggested.

"Alright, fine…" I sighed, not liking that I was slowing us down on our journey. The twins grinned triumphantly, laying back down. I grumbled in defeat, tucking all but my injured paws underneath me. I felt them nuzzle against me, Dero licking my head. I felt myself purr with their presence, glad to have them care enough about me. I closed my eyes, yawning. It took a lot of effort to walk with a sprained leg. Not to mention my leg was in so much pain… I almost couldn't bare it. It took most of my strength not to whimper from the pain. Would I be able to fall asleep? I wasn't so sure. I was in far too much pain to even think about sleep, all I wanted to do was just curl up between the twins and whimper my heart out. But I knew I had to stay strong. I wasn't so weak. I could live through this pain and try my best to fall asleep. But I couldn't, maybe I could just stay up and watch for a bit until I find myself asleep... I thought. That seemed like a good idea. So I simply stared outside at the rocky surroundings. Watching the clouds roll by the sky. It was strange sleeping during the day, sunlight pouring on the earth. I heart all sorts of things, in fact it was much warmer in the day, the sunlight glistened on my pelt, warming it up considerably. Various birds sang outside, bugs flew around, but it was still somehow really quiet. I saw a butterfly float into the cave, and the kit like urge to hunt it went through me. I watched it flutter around, sunlight glinting off its bright blue wings. It looked like a monarch butterfly, yet instead of it's usual orange tint, it had a nice green leaf blue sky color. It was really pretty, and I had to fight down the urge to catch it. I knew I could injure my ankle further if I hunted it, and not to mention it would make me look juvenile. I felt Jasdero stir next to me, whimpering softly. I looked next to him and rasped my tongue over his head gently. I saw crystal tears sliding down his cheeks. I licked up his salty tears and gently nudged him awake. His large eyes opened quickly, still leaking tears.

"You alright?" I said softly, kissing his cheek gently.

"N-Nightmare..." He whimpered.

"You wanna talk about it?" I asked gently, nuzzling him tenderly. He shook his head quickly, sniffing. "Alright…" I said and kissed his cheek gently. Then I turned to the butterfly that was still fluttering around "look at that Dero," I said, gesturing towards the butterfly. He looked over and blinked curiously. "Isn't it cool," I commented, happy that this seemed to take his mind from his dream.

"Pretty... hee hee." he giggled softly.

"Very, I hope we see more…" I sighed with a smile.

"Dero wants to chase it." the blonde said softly.

"I do too, but I can't I'll hurt my ankle more…" I puffed.

"Dero wants to..." He whispered.

"You can if you want to as long as you stay in the cave." I chuckled. Jasdero nodded enthusiastically, getting to his feet and pouncing at the butterfly. The butterfly fluttered deeper into the cave, trying it's best not to get pounced on by the mighty blonde. Jasdero chased the butterfly, pouncing at it and trying to catch it between his paws. I giggled a bit, his behavior quite adorable. He was so much like a kit, it was funny. But it was also very adorable, she felt as if she was watching a kit of her own. He giggled in triumph when he caught the butterfly.

"Dero caught it! Dero caught it!" Dero giggled. I laughed.

"Good job!" I praised, purring softly. He giggled, letting the butterfly free, trying to catch it again. It fluttered around and landed on Devitto's tail. The blonde hopped on his brother's tail. Devit squeaked feeling Jasdero's paws crush his tail and was instantly awoken.

"Dero!" He cried.

"Ooops! Sorry Devi. hee!" Jasdero giggled timidly. Devit whimpered slightly then sighed.

"It's fine…" Devit said.

"Aww... the butterfly's gone..." Jasdero pouted.

"Is that why you killed my tail?" Devit asked with a yawn. The blonde nodded timidly.

"It was pretty," I said with a smile. The ravenette sighed softly, pulling his tail closer to him. I kissed his cheek gently. He nuzzled against me while Jasdero curled up on my other side again. When I was sure Jasdero was asleep I explained to Devit why me and Jasdero had been awake. "He had a nightmare so I comforted him."

"He sometimes gets those..." Devit muttered. "What was it about?" He asked.

"He didn't wanna talk about it, so I didn't pry," I said.

"It was probably about the past." The ravenette replied. "He usually gets nightmares like that."

"Poor thing…" I sighed. Devit nodded, curling up. I kissed his cheek gently. "Do you even get nightmares?" I asked softly.

"Sometimes." Devitto murmured. "Not as often as Jasdero though."

"I get them too, it's alright…" I muttered.

"Doesn't everyone?" He asked.

"Probably…" I sighed with a shrug. Devit smiled slightly, yawning softly. I curled up around Jasdero, my back in the curve of Devitto's stomach. Devit fell asleep at once, falling silent. I purred, finding myself fall asleep.

...

It was a few days later and my leg had all but healed. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse. I was becoming hopeless, the twins bored. "Guys…" I started. I didn't want to have to say this… But it was their only hope of freedom. I was only slowing them down.

"Hmm?" Devit asked, looking up from grooming Jasdero.

"I'm just slowing you down, why don't you guys go on without me, I can catch up later," I said, offering a smile. They shook their heads.

"No. We're not leaving you alone." Jasdero pouted.

"I'm only slowing you down," I pleaded.

"But-" they said.

"Go, I'll be fine." I said softly giving them a smile.

"A-Are you sure?" Devit asked, unsure. I nodded and kissed them gently. The twins looked at each other, then back at me, still really unsure.

"Go on," I said softly. I knew I'd miss them dearly. I wanted them with me, but if it meant they'd be free and happy, not needing to worry, it was worth it.

"You'll catch up to us though... right?" Dero asked softly.

"Yes." I assured, nuzzling them gently. They stood, kissing me on the head. I could see in their eyes that they didn't want to leave me. But I kissed and nuzzled them gently. They kissed me once more and hesitantly walked out. I smiled at them as they left. "Goodbye…" I murmured softly, watching them until they were out of sight. I then felt tears form in my eyes. I was alone. It was my choice… But I was alone. All I could do was pray that they'd be alright, and that I could catch up to them soon.