Next chappie here, it's a really, REALLY long one o_o"... Sorry guys, false alarm on the ice cream! Tissues might still be needed though!

Anyway, enjoy ^^!

*** Chapter Three : The Strangers ***

They managed to get Mwindaji calm enough to go to the Council without having any panic attacks there on the way. Ever since he realized that his children has disappeared during the night, the poor guy had been running around the village and constantly called for the cubs.

Fahamu and Almasi had eventually joined him and combed the entire village for Etana and Mteremo, but they ended up with nothing. Which only added on to Mwindajis worry. With a hostile pack of Spotted Ones sneaking around in the jungles and all, it didn't look to bright for the cubs safety.

They knew nobody was allowed to leave the village under any circumstances, considering the Spotted Ones presence, but they still made their way to the Council with a faint, naïve glimpse of hope that maybe, just maybe, they would make an exception for this worried family and allow them to go searching for the two missing cubs.

The immediate 'no' they got hardly came to any surprise, but Mwindaji still flinched and took a staggering step back before his round ears flattened to his neck and he bared his fangs at the Elders, snarling angrily.

"No? NO? You do know it's MY CHILDREN who might be in danger?! They're all I've got left after Shawana, and you're telling me I should just forget about them?! What if they've been taken by the Spotted Ones?! What if they've been hurt?! What if...?!" He was interrupted by a wave of the hand from Elder Balozi.

"Your 'what if's are based on paranoid delusions" The old hyena scoffed. "Even if the Spotted Ones had found your children, which I doubt, I can hardly imagine that they would hurt them in any way, they are just cubs after all!"

Mwindaji was still growling silently at the Elders, his face scrunched up in an angry snarl. His older siblings exchanged glances. Mwindaji was the only one of the three who had at least a sense of self-control, and could hold back his anger. In fact, getting Mwindaji angry was a lost art! But now, he was so overrun by worry for his cubs that he was even baring his fangs at their leaders! Queen Afaafa was also there, sitting on her thrown with her arms crossed and tapping her finger on her arm. She didn't like where this were going either.

But Elder Balozi ignored the younger hyenas anger and kept talking; "But I bet they're just defying our rules, again! They've probably just run off into the jungle to play, they'll be back before the end of the day, I'm sure of it!"

Another one of the Elders, Elder Ghubari, nodded in agreement. "And when they do, I wish you'd grow a spine for once and scold them!" She was met by acknowledging nods from the other two Elders. "You're too soft with them, Mwindaji. They need boundaries, you're letting them do whatever they want and they won't even get as much as an angry look from you!"

Mwindaji flinched in surprise and glanced at his siblings, who both stood behind him. Almasi grimaced and scratched the back of her neck. "I hate to say this, Win, but she's got a point there..." She said, and Fahamu nodded.

"In fact, you seem to encourage their disobedient behavior, don't you?" The third Elder, Elder Jahidi, said with a disapproving grunt.

"No, I don't!" Mwindaji hurried to defend himself.

"Yes, you do. You are treating your cubs like they're your friends..."

"Hey, I just want them to live life and have a little something called 'fun', okay?" Mwindaji snapped in return and balled his fists. ""They're just kids, for cryin' out loud!"

"But not for much longer!" Elder Balozis voice thundered over Mwindajis, and the aging hyena stood up from the chair, frowning in annoyance at the hunter. "They both will grow up and soon they'll start to have to fulfill their responsibilities towards their village. Take Etana for example, she's got the makings of a great leader in her! She's brave, fast, intelligent and strong, but she's got a huge flaw; she can't take critiques, or being told off! A leader can't afford to be negligent of her own flaws, an arrogant leader could be the end of her pack! I agree with you, it's good to encourage them and point out their strong sides, but too much praise could also be dangerous. If they're told they can do anything, they might throw themselves off a cliff because they think they can fly and fall to their deaths!" Mwindaji didn't reply. He didn't know what to say! "From now on, you NEED to take control of your cubs, before they try to fly...!"

"Enough, Balozi!" Queen Afaafa snapped, interrupting the Elder. Balozi turned with a surprised look on his face to the Queen. "His cubs are missing, he's sick with worry and all of you have the guts to scold him for being a bad parent?" Afaafa sighed and leaned back, making the vines and young trees in her throne to creak and moan. "Yes, perhaps his parental abilities aren't perfect, but he's a good teacher. He has taught his children well when it comes to hunting, and they're the two most clever cubs I've ever seen. Take Mteremo and the warthog for instance, I don't think anyone has ever heard about a seven year old take down a full grown warthog boar all on his own! That's a story that will spread throughout the entire jungle, perhaps even further than that! Maybe even the Striped Ones will eventually hear the story of how a Brown One cub managed to defeat a boar." Afaafa couldn't help but to snicker at the thought, and she earned a thankful smile from Mwindaji. "But what happened isn't his fault. I too can sense that there's something happening in the jungles. Even if you might be right, Balozi, maybe they're just off goofing around in the jungle, but that doesn't mean they're entirely safe..." Afaafa paused and her hand gripped the armrest, digging the dark claws into the old wood.

The others noticed how tense the Queen had gotten, and Elder Ghubari cautiously cleared her throat. "What's wrong, Queen Afaafa?"

Afaafa hesitated before answering with a solemn voice: "I just remembered a dream I had last night. I think the Great Mother tried to tell me something; our village was burning. Dead bodies were piling on the ground, heaps with Striped, Spotted and Brown Boudas, but also colobus, chimps, Simbas, wild dogs, caracals, snakes, lizards, even a few cheetahs were scattered around the lands." She clenched her eyes shut when the images returned to her mind. "And in the middle of it all, stood two Boudas. They were both full grown hunters, fierce and strong they stood in the middle of the destruction, their spears ready. One male, and one female. The female was without the shadow of a doubt Etana. I'd recognize that little tuft on her head anywhere. But the male, despite being covered in blood and soot, his fur had the same glistening color as the snow on the mountains"

Fahamu flinched. "B-Bora?" Afaafa nodded seriously, her wild grayish mane rubbed against the back of the throne with a dry rustle.

"But, what about Mteremo?" Mwindaji couldn't help but to ask.

"I'm sorry, Mwindaji. I didn't see him anywhere. But when I woke up, I had a feeling that the Great Mother meant something with the dream. I don't know what exactly, but something will happen in our jungle. Something that might concern Bora and Etana the most. But for some reason, I felt that Mteremo might have had something to do with it too..." Afaafa blinked as she gazed blankly at the ground. "I just can't stop thinking about all that destruction though. It looked almost like a war zone. But what those two would have to do with it, is beyond my reach..."

"Well, if those two are going to start a war, then I say we leave the cubs in the jungles! A war is the last thing we want!" Elder Jahidi pointed out, earning stern looks from the other Boudas in the hut.

"I'm not favoring the idea of casting out two mere cubs, just because of a dream our Queen about one of them, but we can't just go out after them either" Balozi shook his head and sat down with a heavy sigh on the chair again. "But we'll wait until nightfall, if they aren't back when the Great Mother goes to sleep, we'll send two hunters out after them the first thing in the morning. Who is for this idea?" Everyone except Elder Jahidi raised a hand. Mwindaji nodded and bit his lip. At least that was better than nothing, but he still didn't like the idea of his two children, all alone in the dark of the woods. "Then it's decided! And Mwindaji, for now, I suggest that you go home and wait. Who knows, they might already be at home?"

Mwindaji nodded again. "A-alright..." He answered with a whisper. Although he really doubted that they were home. He had a nagging feeling that something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong! When Almasi suddenly put her hand on his shoulder, he was jerked back from his thoughts and realized that he had walked out of the hut, shortly followed by his older siblings.

"Are you alright, Win?" Almasi asked with concern in her voice, which was really rare that she had.

Mwindaji didn't answer her. "W-what if..." He said with a shaky voice and turned around to her. "What if they're in trouble? The jungle is a dangerous place, even more dangerous with the Spotted Ones around!" He bit his lip to keep it from shaking. "What if they're hurt, badly? Or what if... they're... dead?" He whispered out the last word, unable to say it out loud. Almasi was about to answer when Mwindaji suddenly buried his face in the palm of his hands and began to sob quietly.

She tilted her head in confusion. Don't tell me he's crying?! She thought to herself, but that was exactly what he was doing. Once again, she and Fahamu exchanged glances, not really sure how to handle the situation. Mwindaji never got angry, even less started to cry! The last time they had seen, or heard him, cry was when Shawana died. And that was over seven years ago! "W-Win? C'mon, stop crying will you?" Almasi chuckled nervously and carefully patted her little brothers arm. "It'll be alright, you'll see! Balozi was probably right, what if they're on their way home now? And who knows, Mteremo maybe caught another boar?! Great Mother, we'll have food for at least a month!" She grinned widely and threw her arms out.

Mwindaji stopped sobbing and looked at his sister through his fingers. "No... They aren't coming home..." He said with a thick voice and hid his face behind his hands again. "I was an awful mate, and now I'm an even worse father! First I lost Shawana, and now I've lost Etana and Mteremo too!"

"C'mon, bro! Stop beating yourself up!" Fahamu said and walked up to Mwindaji and threw a brotherly arm around his shoulders. "Look, personally I think you're an AWESOME father, I mean look at your kids! Sure, they have some problems with listening to the adults, but other than that, I think they'll be the greatest hunters in the tribe! Well, except for my Bora of course! Besides, imagine Mteremo and Bora in the same hunting pack, with Etana as their leader, wow! They would be unstoppable, am I right? And do you know why? Because they've learned from you! Sure, Mteremo really has a knack for setting up traps, but who taught him how to make a loop? Or dig a hole with spikes?" He paused and pointed with his free hand at his brother. "YOU did! And the way they're able to navigate through the jungles, I'm SURE they'll find their way back! Besides, they just have to find and follow the river if they get lost, and maybe watch out for Mokele Mbembe..."

Almasi rolled her eyes and pushed Fahamu away. "What I think our dear brother is trying to say is; it's not your fault, okay? You should know better than anyone that your cubs are the toughest kids in the village!"

"Except for Bora..." Fahamu mumbled almost inaudibly, but Almasi heard him and shot him a warning look.

"They'll be alright! Don't worry! If they won't return, it's probably because they've manage to get lost, but they know what to do if that happens so I KNOW that they'll be alright until the two hunters gets sent out!" She smiled reassuringly and put her hand on Mwindajis chin. "I promise!" Mwindaji looked at her, it was clear that he wasn't buying any of what she said. "Y'know, I think you should do as Elder Balozi said: go home and get some rest! You look like the walking dead!" She chuckled, turned him around and gave him a slight push in his homes direction. "So! Get going!"

Mwindaji sighed and obeyed, walking with heavy steps back to his hut and his mind was cluttered with thoughts and frightening scenarios concerning his cubs. Fahamu turned with a worried frown to Almasi. "Man, I've never seen him like that before..." He mumbled and watched as his brothers back disappear among the huts in the village.

"Me neither..." Almasi shook her head.

"Do you really think they'll be back?"

Almasi hesitated before answering her little brothers question. "I'm not sure Fahamu. I'd like to think that, but now I don't know. They've never been gone for this long before, what if something actually happened to them?"

"Dad! Dad!" Another familiar voice was heard, accompanied by the sound of footsteps approaching, and Fahamu and Almasi turned around just as Bora jogged up to them. The pure white cub came to a screeching halt in front of his father and his aunt and breathed heavily as he flicked his look between the two. "Any news about Mteremo or Etana?" He panted with a frown between his brows.

Almasi shook her head again. "No, they're still gone..."

Fahamu crossed his arms. "And you were supposed to help your mother with the wash, wasn't you?"

"We're done!" Bora said and rolled his eyes. "We've been done for an hour"

"Oh, in that case..."

"Anyway, where's uncle Mwindaji? Mom has told me that the dinner is almost ready, and she wants both Mwindaji and you, aunt Almasi, to join us! Bin is welcome too!"

Almasi and Fahamu exchanged glances for a third time. "I think Mwindaji needs to be alone for a while, but I'm coming!" Almasi said with a nod at her hut. "I'll just go and get Bin and we'll be right there with you!"

Mwindaji made it to his hut and went straight for his bed. Sitting on the edge with his face buried in his palms, he was thinking. He was worried sick for Etana and Mteremo, and he KNEW something had happened to them.

He glanced at his spear that was leaning towards the wall near the bed. He reached his hand out and first touched the cool wood with his fingers, before gripping the long staff and brought it closer. He remembered when Mteremo tried to lift it for the first time, it was probably four times his size! A faint smile was visible on Mwindajis lips at the memory, but then it vanished.

Mteremo and Etana were in danger. Call it a fathers intuition, or an inner voice, but something told him that his cubs were in trouble, and they needed him! He slowly got up from the bed, still holding the spear with both of his hands. He was going to get his cubs back. He couldn't wait until the night, then it might already be too late!

He had already lost his mate to the Great Mothers will, but he was NOT going to let Her take his cubs too!

Mteremo slowly opened his eyes. His body ached like he had been sleeping on something hard, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't move his arms. His eyes shot open when he realized he was tied with his hands in front of him. Suddenly he remembered everything that had happened yesterday.

The Spotted Ones? "E-Etana?" He stuttered in fear, his mouth felt dry and his little heart began to race in his chest. "Etana!"

"I'm here!" The sound of his sisters voice calmed him down slightly and he managed to get up into a sitting position. Next to him was his sister, she too was tied with her hands in front of her. She looked just as frightened as her brother, but she tried to mask it behind a defiant frown.

"Mwindajis kids?! A-are you two alright?" A gentle, familiar voice said, and the two cubs snapped around and spotted Kafeel, Gasiras lost mate, sitting right next to them. He was sitting on his knees, his arms tied around his back and he had a rope around his neck, which was linked to the others, who also had ropes around their necks. Mteremo felt a twinge of panic when he noticed that him and Etana too wore ropes like the others. "What are you two doing here anyway?!" Kafeel frowned when the two cubs nodded in reply to him. "Don't tell me you ran away alone?!"

Etana gave Mteremo an angry look. "Yes, we did!" She spat out in an accusing tone, making Mteremo bit his lip and stare down at his hands.

"What were you thinking?!" Kafeel hissed, trying to keep his voice down. "I NEVER thought I'd see you two here, and when that Biton pulled you two from underneath that log, I thought I was hallucinating! J-just, WHAT are you two doing here?!"

"I... I just wanted to see the Spotted Ones up close..." Mteremo mumbled and glanced at Etana. "I-I'm sorry, 'Tana..."

"Well, now we're stuck here because of you!" Etana muttered bitterly and held up her tied up hands. "Thanks!" Mteremo averted his eyes in shame.

"Oh well, what's been done is done..." Kafeel sighed heavily. "How's Gasira? Is she okay?"

Etana nodded. "Yeah, but she's really worried about you! I think she's got a damaged arm, but that's about it!" Kafeel drew a deep sigh of relief.

"What about dad? What if he's really worried about us?!" Mteremo asked and desperately tried to writhe out of the ropes around his wrists. "We gotta get back! We have to go back and tell them...!"

"Yeah, good luck with that, kiddo..." A grumpy voice said in staggering Bouda. The two cubs looked at the young orange and blue rock agama who spoke. The lizard ignored their looks. "Trying to escape these Spotted devils are like walking on water: impossible. We tried to untie the ropes, but that big one, Wasaki or whatever his name is, was over us before we could finish untying the rope! He sleeps too light! But if we could get rid of him, we'd be out of here before sunrise!"

"You speak Bouda?" Etana said with her head confusedly tilted to the side.

"Yeah, this is Lutalo" Kafeel said with a nod at the colorful agama. "His people are friends to the Striped Ones"

Lutalo gave them a short nod. "Very close friends. My mother was the friend of Queen Nyathera herself" He grinned a lopsided grin. "We were almost like royals ourselves!"

"But, what happened?" Etana asked curiously. "How come you're a captive like us?"

Lutalos eyes flashed angrily. "Cowardly Spotted devils sneaked up on me while I was napping. They attacked me from the back, and next thing I know, I'm stuck like this!" He did and angry nod at the ropes. "They should have faced me like warriors! Not like some cowardly back-stabbers! And I'm not a prisoner like you! I am Lutalo! Son of chief Lugondo! I'm a warrior!" He threw a dark look at the Spotted Ones. "And when I get free from this, I'll show those Spotted devils how to fight like a man!"

"Yeah, yeah, we heard you the first time, you know!" Bitons sleepy voice said, followed by a loud yawn. The four who had been talking quickly turned around and watched as the young Spotted hunter and his sister walk towards the prisoners.

Kafeel winced when he saw Chiku strolling towards him with a wide grin on her face. "Not her again!" He whispered and flattened his big, pointy ears to his neck.

"Yes, it's her again!" Chiku chuckled, apparently she had heard him.

"Oh Mother..." Biton sighed and rolled his eyes at his sister before he walked up to one of the trees thick roots that looped over the ground and untied the rope around it. Chiku walked up to another root and untied that rope too. "It's time to move! I hope none of you easily gets seasick!" Biton said with a dry chuckle. The tied up critters who didn't understand him exchanged scared or confused looks.

"Gee, I hope we'll reach the place before nightfall..." Chiku mumbled and gave the rope she held in a tug, signaling for the captives to get up on their feet. They didn't have much of a choice, so they struggled to get up with their tied hands. "I wanna get back home as soon as possible!" She shuddered and took a look around the clearing. "I really don't like all this..."

"This what?" Biton blinked at her in puzzlement.

"Everything! The jungle, the mosquitoes, these guys..." She did a nod towards the captives. "I just wanna get this over with!"

"Then why are you guys here in the first place?" Etana said with a faint growl, probably to hide her nervousness. "We haven't done anything to you! I bet none of these people have! Why are you doing this?!" The two Spotted Ones looked at the Brown One cub with uncertainty. "Do you have any idea how much Gasira misses Kafeel, and how worried she is?!" Etana continued, finding new strength in the Spotted Ones skeptical and surprised faces. "And when our father comes to get us back, you'll ALL be sorry! He's the best hunter in the village, he can track a fish in water!"Suddenly she nodded at Mteremo with a sly grin. "And did you guys know that the same day you stole Kafeel from Gasira, my little brother caught a full grown boar ALL by himself! A LOT bigger than the ones you three caught!"

Mteremo seemed to shrink next to his sister and he gulped when the two Spotted Ones turned their heads to the little cub. "E-Etana? What're you...?"

"And my father taught him how! Because our father is Mwindaji, the Hunter, and he'll bury you underneath the earth like the low-life worms you are!" Etana ignored her brother and was now practically shouting at the Spotted hunters. "He'll come! And our uncle Fahamu and aunt Almasi will come too! And they'll make you wish you NEVER set a foot here in OUR jungle, you Spotted freaks!"

"Strong words from someone who has Spotted blood in her..." A third voice rumbled from behind Etanas back and the little cub quickly spun around, only to discover that Wasaki was standing right behind her. His arms were crossed over his chest and he didn't look the least bit amused.

"Spotted blood?" Chiku asked the big huntsman with a slight tilt of her head. "These little ones are Spotted too?" She frowned and glanced down at the two cubs. "But they're from a Brown One village?"

"You two are too young, you haven't heard about Zuwena the Mad, haven't you?" He asked and switched his gaze between the two younger hunters. Both Chiku and her brother shook their heads in unison. "Well, Zuwena was a huntress from the Serengeti village. Nobody is sure what exactly happened, but when she was expecting her and her mates first cub, she went completely insane and killed her mate in cold blood. But her mate had fought valiantly, and Zuwena was left with serious damages, amnesia and a dead born. She was later banished out of the village, and was taken in by a pack of gullible Brown Ones. As a Brown One, she could chose any mate as she wanted and picked an hunter and had three children." Wasaki grinned faintly and bent down to the cubs eyelevel and locked eyecontact with Etana. "It appears as if we've run into the crazy ol' hags grandchildren. I wasn't sure of it before, but when you mentioned Almasi, Fahamu and Mwindaji, a little bell rang in my head. I've heard about those three children of Zuwena, the Spotted Ones who pretends to be Brown Ones. I guess that Zuwenas craziness was passed on to her children!"

"That's a lie! Grandma Zuwena wasn't crazy!" Etana snorted and bared her fangs at the tall hunter. "It was Aailyah! Aailyah ordered her son Akida to kill Zuwena and Fadhili! Zuwena was innocent, it was Aailyah who was behind it all! SHE was the crazy one! And she deserved getting defeated by Hazina and thrown out of the village! She was nothing but a crazy old hag who was jealous on everyone and everything around...!"

Wasaki growled and grabbed the cub by the little wisp on her head. Etana shrieked in pain and shock and tried to pry Wasakis large hands away from her hair. "Careful, that's MY mother and brother you're talking about, little squirt!" Wasaki growled silently. "They would NEVER do such a thing! Akida might be big and dumb, but he wouldn't hurt a fly! And there's no one wiser than mother!"

"Hey! Let 'Tana go!" Mteremo squeaked and jumped up on the hunters arm and tried to bite him.

"Why you little...!"

"WASAKI!" Wasaki drew his foot back and was about to kick Mteremo off him, when a sharp, raspy voice barked out his name and made him stop with his foot in mid air. Tanith, their leader, was standing by the campfire with her arms crossed and a hard look on her face. "That's enough, Wasaki. You know that the Strangers won't like it if their captives are hurt!"

Wasaki muttered something and let go of Etana and shook Mteremo off his arm, but Chiku stared at Tanith with a shocked expression. "We're taking the cubs with us?!"

Tanith nodded sharply. "Yeah"

"But, they're just cubs!" The young hunter looked down at the cubs. "What could the Strangers want with a pair of cubs?!"

"They could always have some use for them..." The leader said with a shrug. "Now, let's get everyone on the raft so we can get going! It's not much further now!" Chiku hesitated, but then she nodded and gave the rope in her hand, which connected to Lutaros neck-ring, another tug, making the entire row of captives move. Kafeel, Etana and Mteremo were the ones walking in the back, where Biton was walking with the other end of the rope in his hand.

The raft Biton had made the previous day seemed okay to the others, but the three Brown Ones almost got heart attacks by the mere sight of it. It would never stand the wilder currents, not since it was all being held together by nothing but vines! "Umm, I'd rather swim..." Etana said as she was being pushed up on the rocking raft.

Acacia was still wounded from yesterdays hunting accident, and was lying on her back on the raft, the water that managed to make its way up on the raft seeped it's way through Acacias clothes and fur. Which did nothing to improve her already shitty mood.

"Hey, how are you feeling today, Acacia?" Chiku couldn't help but to chuckle at her unfortunate friend.

"Don't! Talk to me..." Acacia replied with a bitter growl and kept staring up at the sky with clenched teeth. She had been told by Tanith that she should move around as little as possible, and being stuck on a raft all day without being able to help the others was not exactly something the wounded huntress looked forward too, but she knew better than to question Tanith.

As soon as all the prisoners were on board the raft, the Spotted Ones grabbed long poles and began to stake their way down the river. Etana and Mteremo were huddled up next to Kafeel, avoiding the edges of the raft, just in case.

"I'm sorry, 'Tana..." Mteremo said lowly after a moment of silence. "I didn't mean for us to get caught..."

"It's alright, Mteremo!" Etana said with a wink. "Dad and the others will come for us!"

"But, nobody's allowed to leave the village!"

"Hah, do you really think that will stop Dad? Or aunt Almasi? Or even uncle Fahamu?" Etana chuckled and shook her head. "Nope, I know they'll come for us! For ALL of us!"

"Be quiet, pipsqueak!" Wasaki hissed. That's when the three Boudas noticed how quiet and wary the Spotted Ones seemed, as they staked the raft forward along the stream. Even Chiku and Biton had stopped bickering and were silently and mechanically pushing the raft forward through the water with the poles. Acacia threw angsty looks at the deep, murky water from time to time and Tanith seemed to be keeping her eyes out for something in the water ahead of them. They all seemed nervous, which made Etanas mouth curl into a smug grin.

"You're all afraid of Mokele Mbembe, aren't you?" She said slyly, and the name got the two youngest Spotted Ones to flinch. Acacia snorted in amusement at Chiku and her brothers reaction.

"Where!?" Chiku squeaked and gripped the pole harder as the color seemed to drain from her face.

"No, we're not afraid of some fairy tale!" Wasaki snorted and kept staking the raft.

"Nah, I wouldn't think so. Besides, the Mokele Mbembe only comes out at nights." Etana said and nodded. "The Kongamato is A LOT scarier! He's out both day AND night, flying over the jungle and prowls for prey!"

Now it was Bitons turn to get frightened. "T-the what?"

"The Kongamato!" Etana answered as-a-matter-of-factly. "Just a big flying lizard-creature with bat wings and a razorsharp beak with fangs who happens to love Bouda-meat! I bet it haven't tasted any Spotted Ones for ages!"

"C-can't you just shut up?" Chiku gulped and yelped when the pole got stuck for a couple of seconds in the muddy bottom.

"Why? I'm just giving you all a heads-up on what you might find here in the jungle if you aren't careful enough!" Etana said innocently and pouted grumpily. Kafeel had a hard time trying to keep the laughter back.

"Hey, Etana, maybe we should tell them about Tokolosh? Since they're sleeping on the ground and all..." Mteremo chipped in and nodded seriously.

Etana snapped her fingers. "Gosh, you're right, Mteremo!" She turned back to the two young Spotted Ones, who seemed to be the ones who were most scared of the stories. "If I were you guys I wouldn't be sleeping on the ground, the Tokolosh might come and eat you! Or give you some kind of disease, which you DON'T want, I can assure you! He's a nasty little bastard! Did you know that Ajali, a pack leader, has seen him?! He was trying to eat her mate once when he fell asleep on the floor after a celebration, and she just kicked the Tokolosh and he was gone! And Ajali told us he was really ugly, almost like you, Biton!"

"Tanith!" Chiku yelped while her brother suspiciously looked around the river after any sign of monsters. "Can't you tell them to shut up?!"

Tanith sighed and turned around to the back, where the two young hunters were staking. "Can't you two stop paying them any attention?! You two are embarrassing sometimes!"

Mteremo chuckled smugly. "Want any advice on how to avoid getting attacked by the Tokolosh? Stay awake! Or sleep a couple of inches from the ground, although staying awake is what I would've done!"

"That's it! I vote for throwing the cubs to the crocodiles!" Wasaki said without turning his head away from the river. Chiku and Biton nodded in agreement and held up their hands.

Their leader shook her head. "We're not tossing, ANYONE to the crocodiles! Just keep paddling so we can get out of here soon!"

"Awwe!" Acacia said in disappointment and hung her head.

Tanith growled and narrowed her eyes at the two cubs. "And you two keep quiet, or I might change my mind!"

The two cubs waited until the four Spotted Ones were busy with staking the raft again, until Mteremo turned to Etana. "By the way, Etana, shouldn't we be pretty close to the Ghabalis nest soon?"

"Yup! Let's just hope they're not hungry!"

"SHUT UP!" Chiku and Biton said in unison and began paddling faster, almost making the rafts front raise.

While Wasaki and Tanith had a raging fit at the two younger hunters, and Acacia was lying down on her back just enjoying the drama, nobody noticed the shadow, quickly zapping between the trees on the shore of the river; Mwindaji had found his kids, and now he wasn't going to let them out of his sight for a second.

Meanwhile, not too far away from the seashore, was a gang gathered. A shaggy group of rugged men, among them a weasel, a one-eyed rat with an eye-patc, a young, chubby squirrel, a strange looking critter with large, round, amber-yellow eyes called an aye-aye, or Shadowfolk, and a long, golden brown snake with a thin, whipping tail; an inland taipan. One of the taipan snakes fangs were crooked, and jutted out from the side of his mouth. Judging from their clothes, they were either sailors or pirates, a lot was hinting at the latter. Behind them was about a dozen spotted hyenas, or the Spotted Ones as they were calling themselves, watching over at least thirty captives tied together with long ropes, about to be taken across the sea and sold as slaves.

The pirates leader was sitting by himself underneath the shadow of a tree, staring blankly ahead of him. He was a medium height, thin red fox, dressed in a blue coat and sand brown, ankle high pants. A single golden ring clanged softly in his right ear. Suddenly the taipan raised his head up from the ground and frowned at the fox before slithering up to him.

"Oy, cap'n!" The long, thin snake said, attracting the captains attention. "When are we heading out? Me n' th'men are getting restless, y'know, n' th'tide's a-comin'" The taipain nodded at the slaves. "I reckon we've got enough o'these rippers already, so why don't we set sail, eh mate?"

"We're still waitin' for Tanith an' her pack..." The fox captain answered in a low tone, patient tone.

"But cap'n...!" The taipan began to protest, but a sharp, cold look from the fox' flashing, yellow eyes was enough to get the long, deadly snake to shut up and nod mutely before slithering back to the sunny spot where he had rested before.

The fox captain glanced at the jungle behind him with a raised eyebrow. An' she better be comin' right now, or I'll make sure that she in the future remembers to be punctual...

After a couple of hours, the Spotted Ones drove the raft onto a beach on the opposite side, or what was left of the raft, as a vine had snapped, causing the rest of the makeshift floating device to starting to fall apart. Chiku and Biton had gotten blisters on their paws, but was miraculously not complaining about it. Instead they had started bickering amongst themselves about who had been paddling the most and least. Tanith, Acacia and Wasaki was trying to ignore the siblings the best they could.

The prisoners were being led of the raft and back into the jungle, being told that they were going to walk the rest of the way. It was hard for the the ones with their hands tied behind their backs to walk, and many were tripping on the roots and rocks sticking up through the ground.

"Are we there yet?" Etana whined at least once every fifth minute, mostly to annoy the crap out of the Spotted Ones, and to make as much noise as possibly to raise their chances of getting found by the other Brown Ones.

"I'm really starting to get sick of those kids... WHY did we bring them along in the first place?" Wasaki muttered grumpily to Tanith, who shrugged in return. "I'm starting to hate those two just as much as I'm hating the Strangers..." He added with an even lower mutter.

Mteremo blinked in confusion at Biton, who was walking right behind him. "Who're these 'Strangers' you keep talking about?" The cub asked.

"We're not sure ourselves..." Biton answered with a shrug of his head. "All we know is that one day many years ago, they came to our villages from the sea and...!"

"Biton!" Wasaki growled sternly. "Shut up!"

"Why, Wasaki?" Biton answered with a frown.

"Because I'm getting really tired of all the talking from those two brats, and you're just encouraging them to go on!"

"But, what's the harm in telling them about the Strangers? It's not like they can tattle about it to anyone else?" Chiku said, aiding her brother.

"But it's annoying, so just shut up!" Was Wasakis hissing response.

"Gee, Wasaki! Since when have you been such a sourpuss?" Chiku mumbled. "I know you've always been the grumpy one, but really?" Wasaki didn't respond.

Biton rolled his eyes and decided to ignore the two cubs, who were looking at him with curious faces meanwhile they tried their best to not trip over something on the ground. "Why are you guys doing this anyway?" Etana asked with a snort.

"Because the Strangers told us to" Chiku said and sounded suddenly very sad as she turned her head to look at the cubs walking in the back. "Or else they would've wiped us out! They've got these really dangerous weapons, a LOT more deadly than a dart and it makes a sound like thunder or something!" She shuddered and turned her attention back to the path in front of them. "We really don't wanna roam around the jungles, looking for prisoners, but we haven't got much of a choice..."

"Chiku!" Wasaki growled and was about to yell at the young huntress to be quiet when Tanith gave him an angry glare, silently telling him to shut up himself.

"Chiku is right. We tried to fight them, but their weapons are too powerful..." Tanith admitted with a low growl. "For every one of them that fell, ten of us fell in return. Our Queen had no other choice but to surrender, and now, we're like their little servants..." Her nose was scrunched up in a snarl. "They're telling us what to do, or else they will swipe our entire existence off the world. We and two other packs were sent out to capture slaves they could bring back to their homeland...!"

"Slaves?!" Etana and Mteremo burst out, interrupting the leader. Kafeels eyes widened in fear as he glanced at the two cubs behind him. Mteremo came to a complete halt, thus stopping the entire caravan he was linked to.

"N-no!" He said as his legs began to tremble and tried to take a step back. "I-I wanna go home! I-I wanna see my dad again!"

Etana staggered back when her brother yanked the rope that linked their necks. "Mteremo, don't freak out!" She mumbled through clenched teeth and looked worriedly at her brother from the corner of her eye.

But either he couldn't hear her, or he wasn't listening, in any case he began to sob and shook his head so the overdimensioned ears flapped to the sides. "T-this is all my fault! I-I'm sorry, 'Tana, you were right! We should NEVER have left! I wanna go back! I wanna go back to daddy! DAD! DAAAD!" He stopped shouting when he got a hard shove in the back.

"Just move it, kiddo! We're sorry, alright? But it's not like we could just leave you guys here now!" Biton sighed, shook his head and gave Mteremo another push. "First of all; you know too much. Second, you'd end up as someones snack before the end of the day!"

"N-no!" Mteremo sobbed, his big ears were drooping in fear. "I-I wanna go home!"

"You should've thought of that BEFORE you decided to sneak around and spy on us, kiddo!"

Mteremo still refused to keep walking. He was scared now, scared for real! Etana gulped, she knew what Mteremo was like whenever he got scared. His mind would go all blank and react on instinct, not able to think correctly. She got her fears confirmed when he began to trash around, yanking the ropes.

"I WANNA GO HOME!" Mteremo screamed and tried to pull the rope around his neck over his head. "I DON'T WANNA BE A SLAVE! I WANNA GO HOME! I WANNA...!"

CLATSCH!

The loud, sudden crackling sound of a whip made everyone jump in surprise and the silence that fell was even more deafening than Mteremos freaked out screams. The thin, golden brown snake glared at the group with his round, dark brown eyes. He had used his long, whipping tail as a whip and swung it in the air to put an end to the ruckus.

Next to the snake stood one of the Shadowfolk, his presence made the captives feel even more uneasy and some began to shiver. The Shadowman had short, straight hair and the big, fluffy tail swished angrily as he looked at the Spotted Ones leader with narrowed eyes.

"You're late, Tanith..." Said the Shadowman in very flat Bouda. "The captain hates when you people are late, y'know..."

"We're sorry, Haron" Tanith answered dryly and tilted her head upward. "But you should try to navigate these jungles with a wounded hunter, it takes much longer time than you'd think!"

Haron, the Shadowman, waved his hand unenthusiastically at the Spotted One, a gesture for her to be quiet. "Spare us your excuses, Tanith! The tide is almost here, and you know we have to leave when it arrives! Unless the storm picks up, then we'll be forced to stay here another night!"

Etana, Kafeel and Mteremo were staring wide-eyed at the Shadowman. The Shadowfolk, or aye-ayes, were warlocks and night-worshipers from an island far to the east. They were said to bring death and misfortune to everyone they came across. But they hardly ever left their island, even less mingled with other critters, so what was this 'Haron' doing with these Strangers in the Brown Ones jungles?

Suddenly the snake lowered down to Harons height and asked him something in some strange, unrecognizable language. Haron raised a meaning eyebrow at the two cubs and translated the question to the Spotted Ones; "Why do you have two children with you?"

"They were spying on us, apparently they sneaked away from their village because the boy wanted to see what we were like" Wasaki replied with a solemn voice. "We had no choice but to bring them along. We thought maybe you'd have some use for them"

"We've got use for them alright, children usually don't give a lot on the market, but at least it's something!" The Shadowman said with a shrug while the snake frowned disapprovingly and slowly shook his head from side to side, but he didn't say anything. Neither did any of the Spotted Ones.

They walked the last of the path, leading to the seashore. The chilly, salty breeze from the sea hit Mteremo and Etana in the face as they arrived, and dark clouds were forming on the sky. It was going to rain, probably even turn into a storm.

"'Tana..." Mteremo sobbed and walked as close as he could to his sister when he saw the giant boat further away on the open sea. "I-I'm sorry, 'Tana..."

"It's alright, Mteremo..." Etana said and tried to smile reassuringly, but it turned out as a nervous, lopsided grin. "Dad will come and save us!"

"But what if he doesn't? What if he's too late?" Mteremos lip began to tremble, making his scared voice even more unsteady.

Etana hesitated. If her wrists hadn't been bound together, she would have thrown her arms around her brother. "Well, at least we've still got each other..." She answered quietly after a while.

"Finally!" Captain Tip, the red fox, said and stood up when he saw the missing hunting pack come trotting after Buck and Haron. It was already too late, however. The storm was blowing up, sending cold winds that bit through the fabric of their clothing and chilled their bodies to the core, and before they had gotten the slaves on the ship, it would have the time to become even worse. They were forced to wait another night on the beach.

Tanith and her pack members, one which seemed injured and was limping around, leaning on a spear, felt the cold winds strength intensify and the younger male began to rub his palms against each other. A pack leader from one of the other packs got up and walked up to Tanith, greeting her friend and daughter back.

"Tanith! Why're are you so late? And what happened to Acacia?" The Spotted One with a huge hack in her left ear said with a nod at the wounded huntress.

"Just a hunting accident, mother." Acacia said and averted her eyes. "Nothing serious..."

"That's why we're late, Kisha. Acacia has been slowing us down, nothing bad meant" Tanith said, and hurried to add the last. Acacia mumbled something incoherent in response. Kisha nodded and grabbed her daughters hand.

"Let's have a closer look at that, Aci! It looks kinda bad!"

"No, mom! I said I'm fine!" Acacia protested and felt her cheeks burn red when Chiku and Biton began to snicker behind her back. She tried to pull her hand free, but the sudden, stabbing pain flared out in her ribs again and got her to gasp and stagger.

"Oh really? I don't think so, missy! Now, come here!" Her mother frowned sternly and managed to get her daughter to follow her to the others, where they would take a closer look at the damage. Biton and Chiku tried to keep the gloating laughter away, but still couldn't help but to giggle at Acacias embarrassment.

"Tanith!" Captain Tip barked as he walked towards the newly arrived pack with steady, confident strides. "You're late!"

"And you're the third one to tell me that, Tip!" Was Taniths sharp reply.

Captain Tips Bouda was a lot better than Harons, Mteremo noted and watched the red fox with mixed horror and amazement. How come both him and the Shadowman could speak Bouda?

Tip stopped in front of the slightly taller Bouda female and frowned. "It's Captain Tip for you!" Tanith didn't reply, she just angrily narrowed her eyes at the fox and growled silently. Tip ignored her and went to inspect the captives. "Five lizards, three brown hyenas, where two are cubs, one sand cat, one fennec, two meerkats and two striped weasels?" He paused and snickered at Tanith. "You've really been everywhere, haven't you?"

"We've taken everyone we came across. Most of them are travelers" The leader answered and folded her arms across her chest.

Tip didn't answer, instead he turned his attention to the two cubs and kneeled down. "How old are these two?" He asked Tanith without looking away from the cubs. Etana snarled at him while Mteremo was frozen and shuddered with fear.

"We're guessing that the boy is around seven years old, and the girl somewhere about nine-ten"

Once again, Tip didn't answer. Instead he got up and looked at Kafeel. "Are you related to them?" He asked, Kafeel hurried to shake his head.

"N-not really, more like a friend to the family; I-I'm a member of their aunts pack, that's all" He answered with a low voice and averted his eyes from the fox captain.

Another breeze swept over the beach and caused everyone to shiver in the cold. Tip was the only one who didn't budge, only his blue coat was moving in the wind. "We're going to have to wait another night, this storm should be over by the morning." He said and turned around and began walking back to his crew. "Chain them up with the others and get them sheltered from the wind! I don't want any of them to get sick now!" He ordered with his back to the Boudas.

Wasaki looked tempted to stab his knife into the red fox' back, but Tanith threw her pack member a harsh look before signing to the others to bring their captured slaves to the rest, where the ropes where replaced by heavy chains and shackles. Chiku looked at Kafeel with her head slightly tilted to the side and sighed sadly.

"Too bad!" She said and shook her head sadly. "I actually meant it when I said you were cute, for a Brown One!" And with that she left to reunite with the other Spotted Ones.

Kafeel tried to hold back a sob and looked down at the shackles around his wrists. "I-if only I got to see Gasira, one last time..." He bit his lip to stop it from trembling. "I-I wish I could just tell her, how much she really means to me!" He was whispering to himself and buried his face in his palms. "I'm sorry, Gasira!"

"Ey, don't start with that!" Lutalo said and threw a determined glance at the Spotted Ones. "It isn't over yet! I saw someone in the jungles today, someone who was stalking us..." He averted his eyes to the three Brown Ones and leaned closer. "I think our mysterious follower could be our last chance to freedom!" He whispered, making sure that nobody else than them heard.

"What did he look like?" Etana hurried to ask, a small glimpse of hope lit up in her eyes.

"I dunno, I couldn't see him, he was too fast..." Lutalo shook his head slowly. "But I think he might've been a Bouda, just like you. Although, now when I think about it, it kinda looked like he had spots all over him, and a funny little string of hair hanging down from the side of his head...!"

"Dad?!" Mteremo exclaimed excitedly, instantly met with angry hushes from the others around him.

"Yeah, that sounds like Mwindaji the Hunter alright!" Kafeel nodded, even his eyes were lit up with a hopeful spark.

Etana threw her chained arms around Mteremo. "I TOLD you he'd come for us!" She whispered to him, sounding both relieved and excited.

Mteremo couldn't hug his sister back because of the chains, so he just simply leaned his head against her shoulder and closed his eyes. Their dad was coming to save them all! He just knew it!

Okay, I have to end this here unfortunately :(, or else it will be one HELLUVA humongous chapter o_O!

But dont'cha worry! I've got half of the next chapter already, so it will probably be up even before the next SWG chapter ;)