Alright, HERE comes the chapter where you'll need tissues, ice cream and movies like Bridget Jones' Diary, or something xD!

Hehehe, told y'all next chapter would be up really soon ;)!

Anyway, I guess y'all know what's going to happen so let's bring forth the tears, shall we?

*** Chapter Four : Mwindajis Mistake ***

The night fell, the wind was now roaring and rain poured down from the skies. The Spotted Ones had hurried to build two hasty shelters out of young trees and big leaves, one for the slaves and one for themselves, with an opening so they could still keep watch over the slaves. Every now and then, a lightning flash would lit up the beach, shortly followed by a deep rumble across the dark gray sky.

Mteremo huddled closer to Etana when a new flash split the darkness. Their father was out there somewhere, probably thinking out a plan to save them. They were trying to sleep, but the thunder would always wake them up, so eventually they gave up and kept their eyes open for their father instead.

Two Spotted Ones were in the slaves shelter, keeping a small fire alive, one which was Biton, the other one was someone from the other hunting packs. But Biton and the other hunter, who looked like to be about the same age, seemed to know each other well and was talking and laughing together.

There were two more Boudas in the group of captured slaves; one Striped One male, Jaramogi, and another Brown One female, Adila. Adila was from a smaller village further up the river, where she was the youngest of the medicine mans daughters. After chatting for a while, Kafeel remembered meeting Adilas oldest sisters hunting pack in the jungle, when he was out with his own pack. A chimp had gotten stuck in a trap, but the two hunting packs couldn't figure out whose trap it was, so the chimp managed to escape while they were discussing. Almasi had first gotten angry at the other pack leader, but then they had both managed to laugh about it and they were separated as friends, despite the unfortunate hunt.

The night continued on, the storm kept roaring on the outside and the cold made the hungry rumbles from Mteremo and Etanas stomachs intensify. They barely had anything to eat all day, and the cold wind didn't exactly improve the matter. But somehow, the two cubs managed to fall asleep eventually.

When the morning came, the storm had eased down, only a soft breeze were blowing. The longboats, which had been dragged up on the beach and turned upside-down to not get swept away by the storm, were covered in dew, just like everything else around.

Everyone was asleep, even Biton and the other Spotted One by the dead fire in the slaves shelter was snoring loudly. Biton was still a bit paranoid after the stories the cubs told them, especially the one about the Tokolosh, so he had built a makeshift bed out of branches and leaves, and used rocks to keep it off the ground. Nobody noticed the shadow which swiftly emerged from the jungle and without a sound, the shadowy figure made it's way to the shelters. Looking around for both possible enemies and his children.

The Bouda hunter cautiously tip-toed his way into the slaves shelter and looked around, before he saw the two cubs, huddled together in the middle and sleeping uneasily. He dropped the spear he held in his hands and scurried up to the cubs, careful not to step on anyone on the way. But on his way to his cubs, Etana woke up by the faint sounds of someone kicking up the sand and groggily sat up in an upright position and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Just when she opened her eyes, she saw her father kneeling down by her and Mteremo. His red eyes were bloodshot, and filled with tears of relief. A weary smile formed on his lips when his daughter recognized his face.

"Daddy!" She sobbed and threw herself in her fathers arms, burying her face in his chest and fighting to keep the tears back. Mteremo woke up from the noise and when he saw his father, hugging his sister, he first didn't want to believe what he saw.

"D-dad?" He whispered, Mwindaji heard his sons whisper and look up. "Dad!" Mteremo repeated louder and he too threw himself at his father. Neither he or his sister could reach around him, because of their chained wrists, but that didn't matter; Mwindaji instantly threw his strong arms around both of his cubs and rocked gently while he hugged them close. He too had to fight the tears that were burning behind his tired eyelids. For two nights, he hadn't been sleeping nor eating, constantly on the hunt for his two lost children. And now he had finally found them, just in time too. He had never felt this relieved and overjoyed before.

"I-I'm sorry, dad!" Mteremo sobbed. "I-it's all m-my fault! I-I wanted to s-see the S-Spotted Ones, a-and I made Etana sneak out with me! T-they found us, and... a-and...!"

"And took us to the Strangers, s-so they could sell us as slaves!" Etana continued where her brother trailed off and pulled away from their father, enough so that she could look him in the eyes. "D-dad?" She bit her lip when she saw that his weary face had gotten a dark, solemn look. "Y-you're mad, aren't you?"

Mwindaji shook his head. "No, Etana... I'm not mad..." He said, Etana was about to draw a deep sigh of relief when he continued with a surprisingly stern voice: "I'm furious! Furious, scared and disappointed!" Etana and Mteremo both averted their eyes and bit down hard on their lips, the guilt was obvious on their faces. "Do you two have any IDEA how worried I've been?" He said, his angry voice had gotten a slight tremble to it. "When I woke up and saw that you two weren't there, I-I've NEVER been that scared in my entire life! If anything had happened to you two, I... I!" His voice failed him as his shoulders began to tremble. A storm of emotions had come over him, all from anger, fear and nausea, to relief and happiness. With trembling hands, he placed one palm each on Etana and Mteremos chins and got them to look him in the eyes again. "I just couldn't stand it if I were to lose you guys too! Promise me, both of you, that you'll NEVER do something like this, EVER again! Do you promise?" He asked seriously and tried to keep his shaky voice as steady as possible.

The two cubs nodded and sobbed. "We promise!" They said in unison and the little family was brought together in a hug once again.

"M-Mwindaji? Win, is that you?" Kafeel woke up and rubbed his aching head so the chains rattled softly.

"Kafeel? You're alright?" Mwindaji gave up a surprised chuckle. "Boy, will Gasira be happy to see you!"

"H-how is she?" Kafeels voice was thick with worry, but when Mwindaji gave him a faint, reassuring smile and a short nod, he seemed able to relax.

"She's just fine, except completely heartbroke since the Elders decided to forbid anyone from leaving the village..." Mwindaji said and frowned sadly.

"Yeah, I've heard..." Kafeel nodded at the two cubs. "Your kids told me!"

Mwindaji grinned for a while, but then his face got the stern, serious look again as he looked down at the chains. "We have to get you all out of these things..." He said lowly and picked up the long chain that connected every slave to each other.

Suddenly Etana staggered back and pointed with a stiff finger at something behind her father. "DADDY, BEHIND YOU!" She screamed, probably waking every single slave in the shelter.

Mwindaji barely had time to turn around before a big shadow pounced at him and knocked him to the floor. The heavy Spotted One landed on top of him and snarled threateningly. It was Wasaki, he must've woken up recently, and all the ruckus he caused by attacking Mwindaji woke Biton up as well.

"What the...?" Biton mumbled all groggy and blinked at the two fighting Boudas, rolling around on the sand, biting and clawing at each other. It took a while for him to realize what it was that was going on and when he did he hurried to get on his feet, kicked his still sleeping friend and yelled at him to wake up.

Wasaki and Mwindaji was snarling and biting at each other, until Mwindaji managed to kick the Spotted One in the chest, making his enemy gasp and stagger back, shortly followed by one hard punch in the gut and a knee to the face. Wasakis body was sent backwards, and the heavy Spotted One crashed right through the leaf wall. Mwindaji snapped around just as he saw the two Spotted Ones who had been keeping watch bolt out of the shelter and into the other one, where the rest of the Spotted Ones where staying. The hunter cursed as he dashed to get his spear before returning to where his cubs were.

"D-dad? You're b-bleeding!" Mteremo stuttered and pointed at his father, who took a quick look at himself. He was bleeding from gashes and bite marks all over his body, but that could wait. He needed to free his kids and the rest of the slaves first.

He raised his spear and rammed it right in one of the links. The link broke, thus splitting the chain so the only thing the slaves had to do now was to pull the chain through the loops in their shackles to be free. "Run! Everyone, RUN!" Mwindaji shouted and did a sweeping movement with his entire arm. "Get outta here, RUN!". Even those who didn't speak Bouda didn't need any translating; they all tangled around with the chain and hightailed it into the jungle as fast as their legs could carry. Mwindaji turned around to his kids. "Etana, Mteremo, c'mon!" He said to them, and he didn't need to tell them twice until the three were making a beeline for the jungles.

Kafeel tried to run as well, but he didn't get far; just when he was free from the chains and left the shelter, the rest of the Spotted Ones poured out from their shelter, stopping every slave they could reach. Kafeel were soon knocked face-first into the sand by someone, and when he turned around he came face to face with Chiku.

"Going somewhere are we, cutie?" She snarled, only a few inches away from his face.

"P-please... Y-you have to let me go!" Kafeel stuttered and tried to crawl away from the Spotted female. "Look, I-I've got someone at home... A-and she means everything to me! P-please, you gotta let me go!"

Chikus red eyes flashed as she grabbed Kafeel by the front of his now thrashed and dirty uniform. "No, I don't!" She growled silently.

"I-I beg of you; let me go home!" He was begging her now, and she couldn't stand the look of sadness in his eyes.

"I... I can't..." She said and hardened her grip as she clenched her eyes shut. "I'm sorry, but I CAN'T let you go, cutie! They'll skin me alive and wear my fur for sure!"

"Please, Chiku..."

"SHUT UP!" Chiku shrieked and rammed her fist between Kafeels eyes as hard as she could. He lost consciousness and it wasn't until he was completely silent that she opened her eyes. "S-sorry, cutie..." She whispered, but then a loud gunshot made her yelp and jump in surprise.

Mteremo, Etana and Mwindaji were getting closer and closer to the line of pale grass that separated the beach and the jungle. Mwindaji couldn't run as fast as he could, as he had to keep up with his children, but to his relief, the three seemed to be able to make it to the jungle safely, as there were no one following them.

But suddenly a loud, sudden bang was heard and Mteremos large, pointy ears went back in pain at the sudden sound, but then he heard an ever worse sound as his father suddenly disappeared from his side; Mwindaji screaming in pain. Both Mteremo and Etana came to a screeching halt, causing sand to spray from their feet.

"DAD?!" They both shouted in unison in fear; their father was all curled up on the ground with his hands clutched around his leg, his teeth clenched shut and the sand underneath him was slowly turning red from the blood that was gushing out from his leg.

He struggled to lift his head and looked at his cubs, the massive pain was reflected his the round, crimson colored eyes. "R-run..." He hissed through his teeth.

"B-but, dad! Y-you...!" Etana took a step towards her father, but was met by a warning growl from him.

"I said RUN!" He barked and bared his fangs. "Can't you two do what I tell you for ONCE in your lives?! PISS OFF ALREADY!" Etana and Mteremo took a couple of uncertain steps back. "What's your problem, for the love of the Great Mother, JUST GET OUT OF HERE! GET LOST! FUCK OFF! VAMOOSE! SKEDADDLE!" But no matter how much their father screamed and roared at them, they just couldn't move their legs. They were traumatized, their legs felt glued to the ground. Etana was the first one to snap out of their horrified, trance-like state and she tugged at Mteremos arm.

"M-Mteremo, c'mon!" She winced and tried to pull him with her into the safety of the jungle. Mteremo staggered a few steps after her, but then turned back to their wounded father.

"D-dad...?" He sobbed when he saw the pain he was in.

"It's okay, Mteremo..." Mwindaji stopped shouting at them and tried to pull off a faint smile. "Go! I-I'll catch up to you, I promise!" Mteremo tried to hold back the tears as his sister did another try to pull him with her, and this time she succeeded. The two cubs had just gotten running again when they heard their father scream once again. "NO! NO! DON'T YOU DARE...! LEAVE THEM ALONE!"

But the cubs never got to stop and turn around to see what it was, before the long, golden brown snake slithered in front of them, fast as lightning, and blocked their path. The cubs stopped and gasped in fear at the snake who suddenly appeared and lowered his head to their level. A fang was jutting out from one of the sides of his mouth, giving him a unique, and pretty scary, look.

"Goin' somewhere, mate?" He said, but in their ears it sounded just like gibberish.

"NO! G-GET AWAY FROM THEM, SNAKE!" Mwindaji tried to get up, but his knee was in too much pain, and it forced him to remain on the ground. Suddenly three Spotted Ones ran up to him and two of them forced him up on his knees. The third one was the big male he had fought before, and he wiped some blood off his nose, before grinning evilly and kicked Mwindaji in the wounded knee. Hard.

Mwindaji gasped and screamed as more blood splatted on the ground from his knee, and the pain made him see a lot of tiny black spots dance in front of his eyes. Wasaki lifted his foot to kick again when another one of the deafening bangs were heard. Wasaki instantly put his foot down and backed away from the half-spotted as Captain Tip came walking towards them, in his hand he held a revolver, a funny looking club-like weapon with smoke coming out from the long metal pipe. Mwindaji instantly realized that it was that weapon that had injured him, and was the source of the bangs.

"Now, what the devil and his men is goin' on here?" Tip growled before cocking his head at the mysterious and odd-looking hyena. The two men were glaring into each others eyes, silently measuring the other and judging. "And you are?" Tip asked after a while in Bouda. Mwindaji didn't answer.

"Answer him, half-breed!" Wasaki snarled and gripped the dangling pendant. "Or I'm yanking this stupid thing off!"

Mwindaji frowned at Wasaki, yanked the string of hair out of his grip and turned his head back to Tip, his eyes gleaming with hate and spite. "My name is Mwindaji, son of Zuwena the Spotted" He answered, his voice flat without any hint of emotion.

"I knew it!" Wasaki snarled and pulled the dagger out from his belt. "You ARE one of her half-blood, bastard children, aren't you?!"

"Do I know you?" Mwindaji snorted nonchalantly at the Spotted male and arched an eyebrow.

"No, but I knew what your mother was, an insane old witch, whom we should have put out of her misery before she caused such dishonor to both her own and MINE family!"

Mwindajis nose scrunched up as he bared his fangs at Wasaki. At first, he looked like he was about to lunge at the other Bouda, even if he was being held back by two other hunters, but then his face cracked up in a grin. "Oh, I get it, you're another one of that Aailyahs offsprings, aren't you?" Wasakis pupils thinned into slits when his mothers name was mentioned. "Well, I DO feel sorry for you, friend. We can't all have awesome mothers like mine" He shrugged, making the Spotted Ones face turn bright red. "She must've dropped you quite a few times, eh? Or maybe she was more the 'throw at a wall' sort of mother, wasn't she?"

"I'll KILL you!" Wasaki roared and was about to pounce at Mwindaji and bury his knife in the half-Spotteds chest, but he was held back by three other hunters, who rushed forward to interject between the two Boudas.

"And you've got her impeccable sense of self-control, I see..." Mwindaji continued with a cocky smirk. "And combined with the sadistic nature you both seem to share, you certainly have gotten ALL of her best sides, haven't you?"

"That's enough!" Tip snarled and took a couple of steps closer to the wounded Bouda. "What are you doing here, Mwindaji wasn't it?"

Mwindajis grin disappeared instantly and was replaced by the same serious, hateful look as before. "I came to get my children back" He answered solemnly.

"Your children, huh?" Tips eyes wandered to the two cubs, who were being held back by Buck, the inland taipan.

"Yup, MY children. The ones your little servants stole from me!"

"Actually..." Biton said, as he was one of them who held Mwindaji back. "I found them spying on us. If you didn't want them to get into this trouble, you've should've kept a closer look on them, buddy! They were out in the middle of the night, you know!"

The look Mwindaji threw at Biton sent cold chills down the young hunters spine. "So, YOU are the one who took them?" He snarled, baring all his white, sharp fangs.

"And if you don't want anything to happen to your children, I suggest you keep your fangs to yourself there and answer these questions I've got..." Tip warned the Bouda, who instantly snapped his head to the fox captain.

"Don't you dare to hurt them!" Mwindaji growled with a scared tone hinted in his voice. "Don't you DARE to even as much as lay a finger on either of them!"

"Oh I won't, unless you screw up. Now..." Tip crossed his arms. "Are there more of you people here?"

Mwindaji was about to come with a sarcastic reply, but then he saw the strange weapon in the fox' hands and quickly changed his mind. "No. I came here alone..." He said bitterly and shook his head. "Besides, if there were more from our village here, you would definitely have noticed!" Oops, there came a more serious version of his previously intended comment anyway!

The fox didn't seem to mind as he furrowed his brows and nodded slowly, the gold ring in his ear gave off soft, metallic clangs. "Why would you go alone?"

"I... I wasn't thinking..." Mwindaji closed his eyes shut and hung his head. "I just wanted to save my cubs... Please, let them go" He gritted his teeth in shame over having to plead to the enemy. "T-they mean the world to me, please... Just let them go!"

"In a moment, are there more from your village coming after you, you think?"

Mwindaji opened his mouth to answer truthfully, but then quickly closed his mouth again and hesitated. He looked up at the red fox again, his eyes burning with hate once again. "No. They're all to scared to leave the village, now when these Spotted Ones are here..."

The Spotted Ones that weren't out in the jungle and retrieved slaves, all exchanged glances. Really? The only one who didn't seem the least bit fazed was Captain Tip. Instead, he narrowed his eyes skeptically at the wounded Bouda in front of him. "You're lying?"

Mwindaji tried his best to hide the shock he felt. "W-what? No, I'm not!"

"You were hesitating?"

"I'm not a liar!"

"No, a liar would mask his lies better. I've seen enough liars in my life to recognize them all, and you my friend, is a very poor liar who's not gotten used to the art yet..." Tips mouth was curled up in a faint, confident smile. "You were telling me the truth before, weren't you? Why be so dumb and lie now?

"Alright, alright! They said they were going to send out two hunters to search for my cubs the first thing in the morning, and now when I'm gone too they're probably going to send more!"

"Much better!"

"Can you let my kids go now?"

Wasaki let out a frustrated groan. "MAN, you're nagging about those brats!" Mwindaji ignored the Spotted hunter.

"I'm afraid no" Tip answered flatly, causing Mwindaji to snarl in anger.

"Let. Them. Go!"

"I can't do that, unfortunately" Tip shrugged and checked his gun. He had a couple of bullets left, that's good! He'd probably only need one anyway... "You see, we have to leave later today, and the entire day will probably be used to track down all those slaves you freed. And we'll be lucky if we manage to retrieve half of them!" The fox captain sadly shook his head. "Unfortunately, I'll be needing your kids more now than before. IF they survive the trip, I think they might be worth a least a couple of hundreds each on the market. 6-700, perhaps? Maybe even a thousand for the boy..."

Mwindaji felt the cold claws of fear grip his heart as he let the words sink in. "No..." He shook his head violently. "NO! You're NOT taking my children!" He shouted and tried once again to get up, but Biton and the other Spotted hunter forced him back down, sending new jolts of pain into his knee. He winced, and through he haze of pain he managed to bare his fangs at the fox. "N-NO! I won't let you!"

"It's not up to you to decide anymore, Mwindaji. It's nothing personal though, I would gladly let you tag along... but..." Tip grimaced and nodded at his bleeding leg. "I don't like the look of that leg. I didn't mean to shoot you in the kneecap, I was hoping to just maybe bruising the shin to get you to slow down, but... Oh well, even if the knee were too heal up, I bet you'd just have to skip around on crutches for the rest of your life anyway. Practically useless." He raised his revolver at the hunter, who didn't have to ponder for long to realize what the pirate was going to do to him.

The hate in his eyes turned into fear and he stared at the captain with his eyes widened and shoulders trembling. "N-no... M-my cubs... T-they need me, a-and I need them! J-just let us go!" He had never in his wildest imagination ever even considered that he was one day going to have to beg for his life in front of his enemies. Deep inside, it made him feel ashamed, and weak. But right now, he was too afraid to give it any further concern. Fear made his heart race once again. Not fear for his life, however, but for his cubs, and what would happen to them. "Please, at least let my cubs go! I don't care what you do to me, but PLEASE! Just let Etana and Mteremo go! T-they're just kids!"

"I've told you, Mwindaji. I can't do that, not without losing a whole bunch of money!"

The sight of the gun aimed directly between his eyes made the hunter press the round ears flat against his neck. He knew that pleading wouldn't get him far, but it was the only thing he could do. "Please, I'll do anything! ANYTHING! D-don't take my kids! Let them go back home!" Tears began to flood the hunters eyes as he hung his head in shame. "Please!"

"And you're calling yourself a man?" Wasaki snorted when he noticed the tears that began to run down along Mwindajis long snout. "Pathetic!"

"Keep your mouth shut, Wasaki!" Tip snarled at the Spotted hunter and clicked the hammer back.

Mteremo and Etana couldn't take their eyes off the snake, who in turn kept staring at them and occasionally talking to them, even if they couldn't understand a syllable of his language. Suddenly Mteremo noticed in the corner of his eye something shiny being pointed at his father. He turned his head and saw the shiny and odd, yet lethal weapon being pointed directly at Mwindajis head, and he froze up in fear. "D-dad?" He turned around completely and began sprinting towards his father. "DAD?!"

Etana and Buck noticed that Mteremo bolted off and they both gasped at the hunter being threatened. "DAD! NO!" Etana shrieked and ran after her brother, Buck didn't stop either of them.

Mteremo was almost there when Mwindaji noticed his son come running. "No! Mteremo, stay ba...!" He didn't get any further than that until a third, deafening shot went off. The muzzle of the revolver blazed for a millisecond, and then there were smoke slowly slithering it's way up at the sky. Mteremo stopped dead in his tracks as something warm splattered on his face and arms, and he couldn't stop staring at his dad. Just as the gun went off, Mwindajis entire body jerked and he went completely still and silent for a moment, before slowly falling to the side. Lifeless.

"DAAAD!" Etanas high pitched scream sounded distant to Mteremo as the world stopped revolving around him. In a blurr, his sister passed him and threw herself on the limp body of their father, screaming and crying her lungs out. All he could hear was the bang, still going off somewhere in the distant.

Whatever splattered on Mteremo was still warm and he slowly lifted a shaking arm to wipe some of it off his face. When he looked down at his hand, he felt his heart skip a beat. It was blood, his fathers blood, and he was covered in it. A pool of blood was forming underneath his fathers dead body, and he saw Etanas hands get red with the sticky liquid as she tried everything to wake him up from the eternal sleep. She was screaming at him and hitting him in the face, until she just gave up, threw her arms around his neck and cried into his fur. Mteremo couldn't move, all he could do was to stare in shock at the scene with the tears running down his cheeks.

Blood. There was blood everywhere! His fathers blood...

He must have fainted, because the last thing he remembered before the world around him went black, was a long, thin scaly tail was being wrapped around his tiny frame and a random Spotted female tried to pry Etana away from Mwindaji, but she ended up getting attacked by the cub instead. She cried out loud while Etana was scratching the hunter in her face, growling like some feral beast.

They had to be three to get the enraged hyena cub away from Kizzi, before she clawed the hunters eyes out! Buck sighed and held the unconscious boy in his coils. "Woah, sometimes ya get to see some real drama, eh cap'n?" The Australian snake chuckled lowly. "I mean, what does 'baba' even mean?"

"It means father..." Tip said solemnly and holstered his gun again. "These two are apparently his children." He nodded at the cub in Bucks coils. "He called that one Mteremo"

Buck stared at the dead half-breed hyena, lying sprawled on his side. The eyes were still open slightly, and he looked so much alike a Spotted One it was kind of creeping the long, thin snake out. "Crikey! Their... father?" He said and grimaced. "You could have warned me first, an' I woulda taken the kids away from'ere!"

"Whatever... Git those two chained back with the others" Tip shook his shoulders and brushed off some blood that stained on the arm of his pale blue coat. "We'll have to leave now if we hope to find any of 'em slaves b'fore it's tide again! I ain't plannin' on staying another night 'ere on this bloody, god forsaken land, y'know!"

"Aye cap'n!" Buck nodded and left with both of the cubs in his coils. The little girl had stopped attacking everyone around her, and was now instead crying with her face buried in her soiled hands. Repeating the same word over and over again, which in Bucks ears sounded like;

"Baba... baba... baba... baba..."

Biton and Chiku was given the task to carry the dead half-Spotted down to the river and throw him away. Chiku was very skeptical to the idea.

"I dunno, Biton... We SHOULD burn him! I really don't want him to haunt us, and he WAS a hunter after all! I mean, that's the least we can do for a brave fighter like him, dont'cha think?"

Biton shook his head. "No, the smoke could be spotted by the other hunters from his village, and then we'll be in BIG trouble! It's better to just get rid of him right now!"

"But..." Chiku glanced down at Mwindajis lifeless body. The blood has stopped seeping out through the holes in his head, but he was still partially covered in it, and the half-opened eyes glared accusingly at her. "All he wanted was to have his cubs back, y'know..." Chiku clenched her jaw shut and averted her eyes to keep herself from staring into the blank, dead eyes. "And sure, those two WAS a real pain in the neck, but they didn't deserve to see their father get executed right in front of them! And that little girl..." The memory of Etana trying to scratch Kizzis eyes out were replaying in Chikus mind, and causing her to involuntarily shudder. "That little girl really tried to kill Kizzi, didn't she? Oh man, I hope for her own sake that she wont make the trip to the Strangers land! Or just imagine what she might grow up into?" Biton didn't answer his sister, but she had a point there. Something like this could really mess with a kids mind, and the little girl was proved to be especially sensitive, considering how she took her fathers death!

"What do you think will happen to the boy, then?" Biton asked and stepped over a root, barely avoiding tripping backwards over it.

"This sounds really awful, I know, but I-I kinda hope he dies too..." Chiku bit her lip and glanced back at the dead half-breed. "Poor cubs..." Once again, Biton didn't reply.

They made it to the nearest riverbend, where the water were flowing faster, and Biton threw one last questioning look at his sister as they put the body down on the ground to rest up for a bit. "Are you okay, Chiku?" Biton asked and tilted his head slightly to the side. "You look a bit pale?"

"I... I just don't feel good..." Chiku answered and shook her head from side to side. "C-captain Tip just killed this guy, when he knew that his cubs were right behind him..." Her voice was low, her eyes were getting wet with tears. "Damn it... I can't believe I'm crying for the sake of a family of Brown Ones! No, he's not even that; he's a half-breed! Just like his children!"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!"

"T-thanks, bro..." Chiku smiled thankfully at her brother. Sure, Biton could be a real pain in the ass at times, Chiku and him were notorious for being able to start a fight over every petty little thing they could come up with. Yet, the bond a brother and sister shared was strong, and Chiku and Biton were no exceptions on that matter. Biton smiled back and put a hand on his sisters arm.

Chiku averted her eyes to the dead Bouda they had been assigned to just throw away into the river. The long strand of hair that hung from his right temple was now lying across his face, right under his half-opened eyes. She slowly bent down to close them and picked up the hair-pendant between her thumb and index finger.

"Chiku?" Biton frowned when his sister drew her knife and cut off the grayish brown strand of hair, and tinkered with the pearls to connect the pendant into a circle, making it resemble a bracelet.

Chiku didn't answer her brother as she hid the ring of hair in her clothes and nodded at the hunter. "C'mon, let's get rid off this poor bastard now and get it over with, okay?"

Biton nodded and the two siblings once again picked the deceased hunter up, walk over to the edge of the river, which was a few meters over the waters surface, and with combined powers they threw the body into the river. They both watched mutely as the limp body hit the water and disappeared underneath the surface for a few seconds, before it resurfaced further down. Soon, they could only hint the red garment the hunter was wearing as the river embraced him and carried him away.

Neither of the Spotted Ones said anything for a while, until Chiku softy closed her eyes and hung her head slightly. "Great Mother, you who gave birth to the world and all who inhabits it, please help this hunter. His spirit is still trapped here, and unless someone recovers him and burns him, his spirit will keep wander; unable to find peace. I don't think he deserves that fate, since he was such a brave man. I mean, he went all alone against both slavetraders and three hunting packs to save his two cubs! So that's what I ask of you now; save him. Help his spirit to find his way to your home and welcome him. The same with his children, if they were to die during their long trip." She glanced up at Her, burning bright on the clear, blue sky like a fireball. She didn't get any response from Her, but then again, she wasn't a medicine woman, and couldn't get in contact with the Great Mother like they could, but it never hurt to talk to her.

"C'mon, Chiku..." Biton said, his sudden hand on her shoulder made her jump up in the air and spin around. "We better go back now!" Chiku didn't reply, she just averted her eyes again and nodded slowly before following her brother on the path back to the beach.

Mteremo jolted awake and looked around the trashed shelter. Slaves were being dragged back from the jungle, and the ones who never made it away in time in the first place were chained up like before. Kafeel was one of them, and his left eye was covered by a big black-eye. Even Adila and Jaramogi had been found and taken back. It's said that Striped Ones are silent, shy and gets nervous for just about everything, well, Jaramogi more or less killed that rumor as he was kicking and biting, trying to get free again, as well as throwing colorful and intricate insults around.

"E-Etana?" Mteremo whispered hoarsely when he spotted his sister, lying on her side in fetal position a few steps away. She didn't react to her name, so he began to slowly crawl towards her with the chains rattling around his wrists. "Etana?" He repeated, slightly louder and poked her shoulder.

This time she twitched and slowly turned her head around. When she saw her brother, her eyes widened slightly and she got up in a sitting position, still not speaking. Her hands and parts of her face was covered in blood and dirt, and the wisp of hair on her head looked tattered.

"Etana... dad is..." He sobbed quietly, but discontinued when he saw the glint of rage, flickering in Etanas brown eyes. Mteremo staggered back. "E-Etana?"

With a roar, Etana threw herself over her little brother and her teeth were bared in a frenzied snarl. "YOU KILLED HIM!" She screamed, attracting the others, both slaves and Spotted Ones, attention as she dug her claws into Mteremos throat. Mteremo tried screaming for help, but Etana was both bigger and stronger than him, and managed to keep her grip around his neck. "First you killed mom, and now you killed dad! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO KILL EVERYONE?!" She kept screaming while hindering Mteremos respiratory system.

Mteremos eyes widened in fright and shock when he realized that she was actually trying to kill him. "E-Etana... S-stop!" He managed to wheeze and tried to pry his sisters hands away, allowing him to breath.

"I HATE YOU! YOU KILLED THEM BOTH, MTEREMO! YOU'RE A MURDERER! YOU KILLED THEM!" Etana was still screaming, with tears flowing down her spotted cheeks, even as a pair of Spotted Ones decided to intervene in the fight. They dragged the crazed Etana away to the other end of the shelter, while Kafeel helped Mteremo to sit upright and regain his breath.

Mteremo couldn't do anything else but to listen to his sister, as they were forced to chain her to a pole, to keep her from harming the others. "I HATE YOU, MTEREMO!" She screamed, and her shrill voice echoed over the beach. "I'LL KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME, BROTHER?! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Tears were making his vision foggy and he began to sob loudly as Kafeel tried to comfort the cub, who just almost got killed by his own sister. But she was right; it WAS his fault that both their mother and father now were dead. It was thanks to HIM that they both died. He buried his face in Kafeels arm as his sobs grew louder.

He was a murderer. First he killed their mother, and now their father was dead because of him. It was all his fault.

It was soon time to leave, and Tip watched with a disapproving face at the slaves they managed to retrieve. He had started out with 70 of them, now there were 'only' 57 left. And since almost half of them probably were going to die on the way to Mobile, he would only have about 30 slaves left to sell. If even that! And none of them knew any English, which definitely lowered their value immensely.

30 slaves, in a ship built for 200... The fox thought to himself and gritted his teeth. Tim won't be happy about this!

"Captain Tip!" Raniesha, one of the Spotted Ones pack leaders and daughter of their Queen, said as she approached the captain. She had a small gang behind her, including the other two pack leaders Kisha and Tanith.

"What do you want, Raniesha?" Tip muttered and turned to the princess with his arms folded across his chest.

"We'd like to discuss one thing with you..." Raniesha said and glanced at the group of chained up slaves, who had been led out from the shelter and now stood in a gathered heap outside on the beach. Mteremo and Etana were being kept apart, for his safety. "It's about the Bouda half-breed girl" Raniesha tilted her head back to Tip. "Her grandmother might have been crazy, but she was till Spotted One, and of our blood...!"

"Where do you wanna get with this?" Tip asked impatiently, although he already knew what the princess wanted.

"We want her" Raniesha said without skipping a beat. "We've studied her, and we have noticed that she has great potential within her. If only she could control her rage, she could become a great warrior and a hunter, maybe one of the best that's ever been out there! A talent which we think is wasted working on a field"

"And you think I'll just give a couple of hundred dollars away to you mutts, just like that?"

Raniesha smiled and shook her head. "Of course not, that's why we're offering you a trade; the girl for Biton"

Tip arched a surprised eyebrow, while Taniths eyes widened in shock. "W-what?" The older pack leader exclaimed. "Biton?! But, he's MY hunter!" She snarled and faced the princess. "I need him in the pack, I CAN'T let you trade Biton for a cub!"

"That cub will be at least ten times the hunter Biton ever was!" Raniesha snapped back and flattened her ears against her neck. "Besides, I've heard that Biton is pretty useless in a hunt. He's afraid of taking risks, and prefers to just sleaze off in the shade, isn't that right, Tanith?"

Tanith growled in response, Raniesha was right: Biton was a lazy and cowardly hunter, and would often screw things up. Sleeping, building rafts and argue with his sister was really the only things he were good at. "But what about his sister?" Tanith protested, determined to keep Biton, despite his sluggishness. "And his mate? What will become of them?"

"His sister is a mated adult, she can take care of herself! His mate is probably better off without him anyway, her mother has always said that she regretted picking Biton out for her daughter" The princess growled lowly, starting to get impatient.

"That might be correct, but you're STILL not trading Biton away! You just can't do that!"

"Be quiet, Tanith! When mother is away, I'M the one who makes the rules! And you know it! And I know Biton is more of a drag to the tribe, and we would gain much more by trading him away!"

"Trade me away? What?" Biton and Chiku returned from their mission, just in time to hear the pack leaders argue. Biton felt his heart skip a beat when he heard his name being mentioned. "W-what're you talking about, Tanith? Raniesha?"

"She wants to swap you for Mwindajis daughter..." Tanith responded with a low voice, causing both Biton and Chiku to flinch and exchange horrified looks.

"That is, if the captain agrees to it..." Raniesha threw a meaning look at Tip, who was pondering with a silent frown on his face and studied Biton from head to toe; tall, perhaps a little too thin and lanky, but that was a couple of months on a field be sure to change. Looked to be about 17-18 years old, long, spiky mane and the disheveled, jet black hair on his head was pointing in all directions, that combined with large, clear, bright red colored eyes gave him a stupidly childish appearance. In any case, he'd probably get a lot more for this guy than for the little girl.

He nodded slowly. "It's a deal, the little girl for Biton. You can chain him up with the others and leave with the girl whenever you wish"

Biton froze up with shock. He couldn't believe what it was he just heard. A sudden push from his sister made him snap back to reality. "Run, Biton!" Chiku shrieked and pushed him again. "Run!"

He didn't need to be told twice, as he did a quick spin in the sand and made a beeline for the jungle. Unfortunately, he didn't make it that far until he was caught up by and overpowered by three other Spotted Ones. He was shouting and struggling against them as they tried to put the heavy shackles around his wrists. His sister turned to the three pack leaders with a hysterical look on her face.

"STOP IT! Y-you can't do this! He's my brother!" She turned and pleaded to Tanith. "Tanith, DO SOMETHING! Help him!"

Tanith clamped her teeth together and stared at the ground. She couldn't let them take Biton like that, but she didn't have much of a choice either; it was the princess' decision, and if they tried to step in for Biton, captain Tip and his armed men would stop them. There wouldn't be any use.

"We can't do anything, Chiku..." The pack leader said and frowned at Raniesha. Raniesha replied by snorting and signing for her pack members to unchain the little girl, as she was going to be brought along with them when they left.

Chiku watched helplessly as her brother was shackled and chained up with the others. "Biton..." She whispered and shook her head. "N-not Biton!"

Captain Tip nodded to his men. "Buck, Ratt, Finster, Wes, Haron; get the slaves in the boats! An' hurry up, ye sorry scoundrels!"

"Aye, cap'n!" The taipan snake, the one-eyed rat, the weasel, the young squirrel and the aye-aye said in unison and scurried off to complete their tasks, preferably BEFORE captain Tip gets so impatient that he decides to keelhaul the entire crew!

A few days later, in the Brown Ones village...

The hunters that were sent out had returned. Since even Mwindaji disappeared, Ajalis entire pack of five hunters were sent out, and not until now did they return. But they returned empty handed and with solemn and sad frowns on their faces. Almasi pushed through the crowd that met the pack as their returned, saw the looks on their faces and felt her head skip a beat.

"Where are they?" She walked straight up to Ajali, the slightly shorter female looked up at Almasi with a blank, emotionless look in her dark brown eyes. "Ajali, where's my brother?! And his kids?!" Ajali didn't respond at first, she just averted her eyes and clenched her jaw. Almasi grabbed the front of Ajalis pack-leader garment. "ANSWER ME, AJALI!"

"Al, calm down!" Fahamu barked and put a hand on one of Almasis arms. "Let her go!" Almasis grip hardened for a second, but then she drew a deep sigh and let go.

Ajali took a step back and looked back up at the half-spotted huntress. "I'm sorry, Almasi and Fahamu. We're ALL sorry!" She hung her head again. "We found tracks which we followed all the down to the sea, but when we came there we saw nothing. No signs of life anywhere. We decided to stay there for a day, and search the beach and it's surrounding jungle. That time we found two abandoned shelters, and signs after campfires. Then we found tracks of blood further away, closer to the jungles. We don't know whose, but there were loads of it, and it smelled familiar, smelled like Bouda. But that's not all we found..." She paused and began rooting around after something, and found it. "When we followed the river back home, we found this nearby the beach..." She said and held up a necklace, made from red and blue pearls, along with a round, yellow bone-disk, resembling the Great Mother.

Fahamu and Almasi almost forgot how to breathe when they saw the necklace; it was Mwindajis necklace, symbolizing his and Shawanas bond. She used to wear an identical, and they had both spent hours making them the day they became mates. After Shawanas death, he NEVER took it off. Almasi bit her lip as she reached out her hand and took the necklace, staring at it with a shocked expression on her face as it laid in the palm of her hand.

"We're sorry, but that's all we could find. The Spotted Ones are gone too, there's no sign of them anywhere. We think they might've... eh, killed Mwindaji... And his cubs..." Ajali added sadly, and took a step back when a low growl was heard from deep in Almasis throat.

The half-spotted huntress' nose scrunched up in an angry snarl and she closed her hand around her brothers necklace. Her ears flattened against her neck and she felt tears burn behind her eyelids. "Spotted Ones..." She growled, her voice was husky and seeping with hate as she spoke the name of the other tribe. "First they attacked Gasira and took Kafeel, then they took Etana and Mteremo, and now... Now they've..." Her voice trailed off, as it became thicker and thicker with the rage.

Fahamu blew some hair out of his eyes and threw a concerned look at his sister. "Al?"

A loud, painful cry escaped Almasis lips as she threw her head back, the tears flowing freely from her eyes. "THEY'VE KILLED WIN! THOSE SPOTTED DEMONS HAVE KILLED WIN!" She screamed and staggered, and would've have fallen to her knees if Fahamu hadn't been there to support her. He put his arm around her shoulder and calmly stroked her over her hair with the other hand.

"Win..." Was all he could say as he felt his throat tighten up. Mwindaji was... gone?

The villagers all heard her, and a lot of mixed emotions and glances were exchanged. Even the Elders left their hut to take a look at all the ruckus. The Queen had been standing leaning at a wall the entire time. The news of Mwindajis death hurt, almost as much as if it would've been one of her own children who had died. But she didn't allow herself to cry, especially not now.

Suddenly Almasis ears perked back up and the pupils in her eyes thinned into slits as she stopped crying. "Now it's WAR!" She growled and shrugged her remaining brothers arm off her shoulder. "Those Spotted devils have had their fun, now it's OUR turn!"

"No!" Elder Balozi stepped through the crowd, shortly followed by the rest of the Elders. "War is not an answer! We'll grieve your brothers passing, but we will NOT allow a war to break out!"

"Shut your fat trap, Balozi!" Almasi spat back, making the Elder flinch in surprise. "I'm NOT going to let the Spotted Ones get away with what they've done! We should've ran them out of our jungles as soon as they showed their ugly mugs here!" Agreeing nods and murmurs were heard from the crowd of Boudas gathered around them.

Afaafa sighed and let her eyes wander over the villagers. Their previously displayed sadness and grief, had been replaced by anger, frustration and by some, even bloodthirst. So, THAT was what her dream meant. A war WAS coming, and Mwindaji and his kids were the spark that ignited it.

That leaves me with one question left... She thought as her eyes locked on Bora. The albino teen had also heard the news of his uncles passing, and his cousins abduction, and was biting down on his knuckles to stop himself from crying, and when Afaafa looked closer, she could also see some crimson red blood trickling down from the punctured skin on the Descendants hand. What role has Bora the White to play in this?

As Afaafa walked through the mass of people, they instinctively walked out of the way for the Queen and at the sight of her Balozi and the other Elders drew sighs of relief. "Finally! Queen Afaafa, help us to steer this madness! Almasi claims that the Spotted Ones has to pay for their deeds, but that might unleash a war on our lands!" Balozi threw his arms out as he talked, trying to emphasize how bad a war would've been.

"A war is never a good thing..." Afaafa said lowly and leaned against her staff. "But if it's a war the Spotted Ones want, then it's a war they'll get!"

Noooo, Win ;_;! *sniffle*

Okay, killing Mwindaji was officially the hardest thing I've ever done, yet... Dang, I really like him, probably one of my favorite characters ever :/, and now when I rethink everything, he died a really unworthy death ;_;, being shot while begging for his kids freedom and then thrown into a river... And I thought Claras death was dramatic o_o! His death was way worse than Claras, wasn't it?

And yes, while Bentley/Mteremo went on a homicidal frenzy at the age of 27, Etana snapped already when she was 10 o_o... And thinking about what she's like nowadays make me feel like such an awful person ;_;...

Anyway, I'll see when the next chapter comes ^^, now I think I'll bunk down with tons of ice cream in front of a really frickin' hilarious movie, and then go finish up the next SWG chapter, ciao!