Hi. Well, I'm still miserable. I apologize for updating at… almost two a.m., but I slept from about four o'clock to nearly midnight, so I figured I might as well get something done until I can fall asleep again. Wish this stupid cough would go… and I just realized I had the last of the chicken soup earlier… sigh. Maybe I can get my sister to go buy me some more, we live like, a block from the store.

Enough of my whining! Please enjoy!

Gupta still didn't know what to think. This new girl, Jezzabelle, was… something else. Not in a bad way, just different to what he was used to. She was shy and kind of jumpy, but nice once she warmed up to you. She was quiet as he gave her a quick tour; didn't want her getting lost. She and her family were travelling, and had asked permission to stay in the valley to rest for a few days. They'd been welcomed warmly, which pleased her parents… but Gupta was quick to leave with their daughter, and was glad he did. Not three minutes later, a shrill scream echoed through the air, and he knew her mother had met one of the sabers.

"So, um… Jezzabelle, right?"

She nodded cautiously, looking nervous. "Y-Yeah. That's right."

"You know" he moved in front of her to look into her emerald eyes, to be sincere. "You don't have to be afraid. I von't hurt you."

"Oh, I- I know." She assured him. "I just…" she took a breath, considering fessing up. The young badger cub decided she might as well, considering they'd only be here for a few days and he wouldn't be around to tease her for very long if he thought her weird because of it. "The last time I was around other kids…" she sighed. "We… we were almost ki…" the word caught in her throat. "Vell, someone could have been very hurt. There was a… a rockslide. I was caught under one… my leg vas broken. It's a miracle I'm still here."

She bowed her head and folded her paws against her stomach, waiting for him to tease her, call her silly for living in the past, letting still-present fear of past experiences rule her life. To say she was surprised to feel him hug her was probably the biggest understatement of the ice age.

But she didn't protest. She gladly hugged back, suddenly upset, the fear again fresh in her mind, bringing tears to her eyes. It felt like forever since she'd gotten a hug; after the accident, she grew reclusive and… distant from her parents. It wasn't of her choice; she did it out of fear of hurting them. Those other kids taunted her, teased her, called her a curse. Anyone near her was bound get hurt. That was why she distanced herself from them, she didn't want to hurt the two single most important people she'd ever know in her relatively short five year life.

She didn't want to hurt them, that's why she was so jumpy. Looking for danger. "P-People call me bad luck." She whimpered to him, a small sob escaping. "I… I just don't wanna hurt anyone! If something happened to you, or your friends…" she didn't finish as a few tears finally spilled over, and her new potential friend patted her back, murmuring gently to her. Soon she was shaking violently, sobbing silently, tears dripped onto his shoulder, where her head rested, eyes clenched shut as she wept.

Gupta wasn't entirely sure what to do; he'd never really had to deal with a crying girl before. Every so often, his sisters all got moody and emotional- if they weren't shrieking in anger they were bawling. But when they got like that, he went to hide in his room, holding a pillow fearfully over his head. Teenagers were scary!

And Raz and Shira rarely cried, less they were really upset or had hurt themselves, and often preferred to isolate themselves or go seek out their mothers when they cried, so he never really had to deal with it. So he just did his best to mimic his mother, holding her gently against his chest and just letting her release her tears, whispering what he was pretty sure were comforting things in her ears, rubbing her back gently.

She calmed down after half an hour, and he gently pushed her back, and carefully wiped what he could of her tears, not wanting to get too close to her eyes and accidentally scratch her with his long, long claws. As she mopped up the rest on her wrists, he bent down and picked up what he thought to be a pretty flower, bright pink with red spots.

Flowers always seemed to cheer his mother up when she was down. He held it out to her, and she took it, kind of hesitantly. She smelled it for a minute, smiling dreamily, sighing in pleasure at the sweet scent. Then she tucked it beside her left ear, smiling happily at her new friend. "Th-Thanks Gupta." She sniffed once more and rubbed one slightly agitated eye, sure she wasn't going to cry again. "I… I preciate it."

"Oh…" he looked flustered. "You're welcome. But really, no problem. I'm happy to help."

She smiled at this shifted her weight for a moment, wringing her paws, trying to overcome her indecisiveness. After a moment, she managed to accomplish her goal, surging forward and wrapping her arms around him in a grateful hug. "Really, thanks." She sighed, snuggling into his warm fur. Now that she'd had a hug again, having forgotten what it felt like, she couldn't get enough. After a moment, he hugged back. "I…" she sounded embarrassed, but felt strangely confident in this embrace, a feeling she was far from used to. "I kinda… forgot how good this feels. Hugs I mean."

Gupta was so surprised he could have fainted. She hadn't been hugged in so long she'd forgotten how awesome it felt?! Wow… that was kind of sad. Actually, very sad. "You're welcome Jezzabelle." He said to her. "Nobody she not be hugged. 'Specially not you."

She smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Vell…" he didn't want to break up the friendly moment, but knew they should continue to the bog. If poor Jezzabelle didn't have friends, by the sound of it, she needed to meet his. They could show her she wasn't bad luck, she could be loved by peers her age. And, in turn, maybe that would give her the courage to fix things with her parents,

"Come on then. Our friends are waiting."

"Our friends?" she asked, looking disbelieving but incredibly happy.

He nodded. "Our friends." The look he got was so… purely joyful, he couldn't help the sudden wave of warmth that washed over him. Seeing her happy made him happy. "Come on then."

She nodded and sprung a big surprise on him. She grabbed his hand, their claws slipping past each other into a warm embrace. While he looked surprised, he didn't pull back. Instead, he gave her hand a squeeze, and they started walking again, swinging their arms merrily between each other.

Later on, while they were following the path that wound deep into the forbidden bog, Jezzabelle glanced nervously to the side and nearly jumped right out of her perfectly groomed fur as a fish leapt out of the water not a foot away, sprinkling them with swamp water. "G-Gupta?"

"Hm? Yes?"

"Um… I-I'm not gonna fall in, am I?"

"Of course not." He stopped to give her a reassuring look, patting her shoulder. "I von't let you."

"P- Promise?"

"I promise."

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise." He wrapped his smallest finger/claw around hers, laying the other paw over it, patting the intertwine firmly. "I von't let you get hurt."

She grinned gratefully. "Good." And they continued walking, holding hands. Soon, they arrived at a looming slab of rock, with a wooden slanting… thing leading from their solid ground to the hulking mass… in the middle of what looked to be some seriously deep water.

"U- Um…" she stuttered nervously. "Please tell me that isn't it."

He didn't seem to register her fear. "Yep. Come on!"

"Oh…" she whimpered as he began to lead her up, making sure to keep a firm grip on the vines at all times. She was very relieved when she saw him hoist himself up on top, before bending down and offering her his hand, pulling her up, not noticing the mischievously smiling white form creeping closer.

"BOO!" they both squeaked and jumped, spinning around. Jezzabelle screeched in fear and nearly had a heart attack at the white saber standing there, laughing heavily, while Gupta glared.

"Shira! That's not funny!"

"I thought it was!"

"You scared Jezzabelle!"

She stopped laughing. "Who?"

"Jezzabelle. My new friend." He pulled her, with some difficulty, out from behind him. She was stiff and wide eyed, trembling. "Um… Jezzabelle?"

She teetered on her feet, and he was thankful when she feel backwards and he caught her. She wasn't unconscious (at least, as far as they could tell), just in shock; stiff with her eyes wide and dilated. Shira had really scared her; she probably assumed they were going to be eaten. The two friends remembered it wasn't normal for herbivores and carnivores (or omnivores, in Gupta and Jezzabelle's case) to be friends. And the appearance of a highly dangerous predator near the very top of the food chain probably didn't help convince her she wasn't bad luck…

"Jezzabelle? Jezzabelle!" he gently laid her down on the deck and asked Silas, who was perched in a nearby tree that was used as a mast, talking with another petrel chick, to go fetch some water. He did as he said, and soon there was a small gourd of water beside them, which he used to gently splash her face. It seemed kind of mean, but necessary.

She sat bolt upright at the third splash, rubbing her eyes, drying her fur. "Wha…" she looked around, a little dazed. "What happ-" her eyes landed on Shira and she squeaked.

"Jezzabelle, please, don't-" she screamed shrilly, making the saber desperately clutch one ear, doing her best to press the other to her shoulder, sensitive ears pulsing in pain.

"Ow!"

"Freak out."

"Oi, wha w's tha?" an Australian called from below. At first, he thought it to be Raz, but then noticed it wasn't… her. Just the tiniest bit deeper, not quite as high. But that was the least of his troubles, Jezzabelle was back on her feet, shaking, staring at the scowling saber with big eyes.

"Jezzabelle, please! Let me explain!" he begged. "She's my friend!"

"Friend?!" she asked in shock, voice higher than usual. "You're friends with a deadly predator that'll probably eat for a snack someday?!"

"Hey!" Shira looked offended. "I wouldn't do that to my friends!"

"Girls, please." Gupta said desperately, trying to placate both females, who looked angry. "Just calm-"

"Stay out of it!"

"Yes mam." He replied obediently. If there was one thing that scared him, it was when two girls got angry and yelled the same thing at him, at the same time. It was freaky weird.

While they resumed their glaring match, he hesitantly slid on arm around Jezzabelle's shoulders and started to lead her away. "Please." He murmured. "She's… dangerous when she's angry. Just let her cool down. You two can start over." She 'hmph'ed and crossed her arms, but went with him all the same, sending the predatory kitten (just the word made her seem harmless) a spiteful glance over her shoulder.

Her anger, however, was quelled by curiosity as she noticed a gray paw reaching up over the edge of the gangplank, and soon pulled up two little, about four inch tall, rabbits, a boy and a girl. "Um, Gupta?"

"Yeah?"

"Who're they?" she pointed at his questioning look.

He grinned upon seeing the two, despite one being a complete stranger. Seizing the opportunity to make himself, and maybe Jezzabelle, laugh, he smirked slyly and called out to his highly temperamental friend "Hey Squint. Whose you girlfriend?"

And… done. I'm gonna go take some Nyquil and see if I can get some more sleep, though I've already had a whole night's worth of sleep from my 'nap'. Anyway, please review!