A/N: Thank you to all my readers. You all do me a great honor just by taking the time to read my words, but if you really enjoy it don't be afraid to drop me a review!

Chapter 2

Eep felt the heat of a blush creep onto her face every time her body was touched by Guys'. She intentionally took the paths that required large amounts of leaps and jumps to clear downed branches and crevasses. Guy would tense from time to time and clench her waist with nervous hands. This made Eep feel triumphant in a way; Satisfied.

However, Grug was, as per usual, not far behind. Though he was having a hard time keeping up with the pair as Eep pushed the Owl cat further and further ahead. The creature released small growls of protest, but proceeded as instructed.

"Don't get too far ahead!" Grug shouted against the wind generated by their swift movement across the ground. Eep rolled her eyes to herself and brought her owl cat to a slower pace. Grug smiled, thinking he could finally revel in the feeling of having his daughter truly listen to his commands for the first time in ages. He was wrong.

"Tracks," Guy said as he slid down the owl cats side and landed squarely on the moist jungle earth. Grug face palmed but quickly regained his composure in order to get his head in the hunt. When he approached the two youths he was aware that they looked very confused. Before them all lay small indents, pressed gently into the earth. The tracks arched and curved and moved in sets of two.

"Like… us?" Eep asked. She wasn't sure what to feel about what she saw before her.

"I think you're right." Guy looked at the tracks observantly, slowly following their direction with his head.

Ugga and Gran worked thoughtfully at their task listening as Douglas and Thunk romped tirelessly within earshot. Neither of them imagined the two would come back with much for the night meal but they had plenty to prepare already.

Sandy dashed in quickly and scampered up Ugga's side to rest on her shoulders. Ugga smiled and patted the wild child on the head. Gran had a bit of a twisted look on her face just then and Ugga matched it with confusion. Before she could ask, Gran spoke.

"Um, Ugga." Gran pointed at her own mouth then at Sandy's. Ugga pulled her youngest daughter off of her shoulders and heard a light trumpet that emanated from a tiny elephant mouse trunk. Ugga sighed and plucked the helpless creature out of Sandy's mouth before setting it free on the floor. It scurried away in disgust, but not before turning to let out and angry trumpet at its tormentor.

Sandy growled and struggled in Ugga's grasp. Ugga looked sternly at the child and held her in extended arms. "Sandy, how many times are we going to have to go through this. You can't put every tiny creature you run across in your mouth." Sandy just quick struggling and dangled calmly in Ugga's grasp.

"Gran picked the child from Ugga's hands and held her for second. After a look only a grandmother can give a grandchild she smiled and sat Sandy down. She ran quickly out of the shelter of trees and on to find her next victim.

"No. I think that's a terrible idea." Grug folded his arms defiantly and for once his daughter agreed with his opinion though she would never voice her concern.

"It's the fastest way to find out what's going on here. We split up, follow the directions of tracks, and if we don't find anything at late sun, we meet back here to ride home." Guy seemed a little too eager about the idea of finding out what made the tracks.

"What about the hunt? What will we bring home?" Eep asked, hopeful that her logic would convince Guy that this wasn't something that they should be worrying about.

"We haven't checked the traps yet. We'll check them on our way back through. I'm sure there is something in at least one of them." Eep gave up. Guy was determined. She knew her father wasn't going to budge though.

"We aren't splitting up. Remember the last time we split up?"

Guys mind flashed back to that almost magical journey through the maze. The beautiful look on Eeps face, the way her hand felt in his and the way his heart flitted in his chest when her eyes met his. His face reddened at the memory and he turned toward the tracks again. He wanted to be strong for her, and to him, that meant finding out what or who made these tracks.

"I'll go." Guy made up his mind. Eep tried to hide the disgruntled look that threatened to make its presence known. "Stay with Eep and continue hunting. If I run into trouble, I'll call for you." He pulled his conch from his satchel and looked at Eep sincerely. She managed a smile and her heart fluttered lightly, as it almost always did when he looked at her this way. She still felt uneasy.

Grug nodded and Guy began walking. He was stopped, though, as Eep placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Take him," she said as the owl cat nuzzled Guy's arm with its large head. Guy smiled and put both hands on her shoulders. He pressed his forehead to hers lightly.

"I'll come back, promise."

"Okay, okay break it up," Grug said quickly intervening in their moment. Guy obliged and Eep stepped back watching Guy climb onto the owl cats back. With another reassuring smile, he took off on the owl cat. Eeps stomach sank, and she turned away toward her father. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She made no gesture and climbed up onto her father's cat. He sighed and mounted the cat too.

He could almost feel Eeps pain and worry. In a desperate attempt to console her he said, "Guy is a smart, well, guy," Grug said, laughing at his own joke lightly. He turned to discover it didn't elicit much of an effect from his distraught daughter. "He is going to be alright. Besides, he has the owl cat." It was then that silence ensued for the rest of the journey as the pair checked trap after trap. Two of them had decent sized animals in them and Grug silently thanked Guy for his ideas.

Eep on the other hand wandered through her own thoughts. Physically she went through all the movements of riding and resetting traps, but her mind was far, far away. She was standing in front of fire for the first time, its brilliance dazzling her with dancing light. She was quickly met with Guy, this frightening bore creature that miraculously transformed into a boy; A beautiful boy, with an awkward smile and beautiful eyes. And it was in that moment that he outshined the fire a million times over. She remembered her first gift from Guy. A pink conch peaked and dipped in a myriad of texture. She remembered blowing on it for the first time.

The sound was so crisp in her memory it was like she was hearing it for real. Her eyes opened wide and she realized she was hearing it out loud. Without a moment of hesitation she rose to her feet and listened for the sound again to determine which direction to go.

"Eep, don't you dare!" Grug shouted as his daughter ran for the cat.

"I'm sorry, he needs me!" she shouted without looking back. The rest of her father's words were lost in the wind as the cat sprinted forward. Eep listened for the deep bellow of the conch again and turned into the thick of the jungle. The cat roared in protest as thick vines and low branches snapped at their faces. A sick sense of panic filled her and every moment in between his conch blows was agony. Every second was an hour of not knowing; not knowing whether he was dead or alive; not knowing whether he was hurt or running for his life.

The conch was close now and she leapt off the cat to navigate the thick more easily. She ran until her legs hurt and wondered if she were going in the right direction. The conch blew one more time before she burst into an opening in the trees and looked around frantically. It didn't take long for her eyes to rest on Guy and a great sense of relief flooded her, that is, until her eyes fell on a second person only a few feet from Guy.