Disclaimer: All I own of this is the story itself. I don't own the actual franchise. That's probably a good thing.

Trigger: …. The dots represent the triggers. I don't think there are any.

Warning: I'm not clever enough to do the ASC shrugging man, so just imagine it here. I've no clue what's happening.

Catch & Release II – The Journey Continues

By Juliette Lyst

By Firelight

Mid-Afternoon

Ugga was quiet as she walked, for two reasons. Firstly, she wanted to ensure that her daughter was obeying her and not trying to follow them. Secondly… she needed to gather her thoughts.

The older woman believed that she knew the reason behind Guy's sudden breakdown. The problem needed to be resolved, but she couldn't solve it on her own.

"How much further out are we going?" Guy asked, wary.

Inhaling deeply, Ugga cleared her throat. "Calm down, papa," she replied. "We're almost there." If Guy had any reaction to her words, she wasn't certain. One thing she did know – was her family. She was making sure to move away – twice past their hearing range.

No need to add even more tension to this 'little' situation.

Guy felt his heart skip a beat at her words and quietly followed along for the next few minutes.

Once they reached a spot – near another clearing, Ugga gently set Dawn down on her feet. "We all need to sit for this, you two." Both the young people looked at each other, then her. "This won't be a short conversation."

Guy nodded and plopped down on the ground.

When Dawn went to sit elsewhere, Ugga cleared her throat.

Pausing, Dawn looked up.

Ugga had both arms folded and was shaking her head. "No, sit where you know you really want to." Knowing the entire situation and seeing how they behaved around each other aggravated her. The constant back-and-forth was giving her a headache.

Dawn hesitated.

"I shouldn't need to repeat this."

Blinking rapidly, her eyes wide, Dawn glanced to Guy.

His expression mirrored hers, and he pat to a space beside him on the ground. He was still willing to move over more if it made her feel better.

Instead, Dawn walked up to stand in front of him, her hands outstretched.

Understanding right away, Guy reached up to help her, feeling the familiar squeeze around his fingers before she settled down right in his lap, partly turned... her head tucked under his chin.

"Just this once…" Dawn drawled, feeling immediately at ease. No matter what her mouth was saying, her body was speaking an entirely different language. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she relaxed even more against him. What am I doing?! she mentally wailed. Part of her wanted to go back to the spot she'd chosen before – but another more primal part of her wanted to be right where she was… in a place that she belonged in.

For this, Dawn chose to go with something that was second nature to her.

"Sure, sure," he replied. Guy's arms automatically wrapped around her, his body remembering what to do easily.

Their movements were so deeply ingrained that many things they did – even when trying to avoid one another – were habits that would be difficult to break.

If not impossible.

Both of Ugga's brows shot up. That wasn't what she expected at all… And the positions they chose said more than words ever would. She noticed how Guy had adjusted his legs to both offer more comfort and more security to Dawn.

The atmosphere became a bit awkward as the older woman tried to get her thoughts together.

Dawn wasn't complaining. Pressed so close to Guy, she could feel the rhythmic pounding of his heart. For so long, the sound itself had been much like a lullaby to her. As it was, the longer it took for Ugga to speak, the closer Dawn came to falling asleep.

Finally, Ugga cleared her throat – holding in amusement when Dawn jumped. "There's a reason I brought both of you back here."

Guy listened attentively as Ugga finally sat on the ground a few feet away from them.

"You," here, she pointed at Guy. "Need to get yourself under control. You can't let 'what ifs' stop you from handling your responsibilities."

Guy nodded.

"I know you're scared," Ugga frowned. "Terrified even, but you can't let your fear prevent you from helping your family."

Dawn gave Ugga her attention then, readjusting herself so she was leaning back against Guy.

He automatically moved to accommodate her.

"As for you Dawn," that earned the older woman a quirked eyebrow. "You need to stop dragging around the camp like your best friend died."

At that, Dawn's eyes narrowed all over again. She went to say something, but stopped when Ugga shook her head.

"I know you're upset Dawn, and I can't imagine how terrible it must feel for–" her words trailed off at the deeply pained expression on Dawn's face.

The young woman's eyes grew moist, and she sniffled.

Ugga frowned. Maybe that hadn't been the best approach to start with. "Dawn," she began again. "I didn't mean to,"

"No, I get it," the young woman replied, unable to hold back a sob – finally allowing the sounds of her distress to be heard. "I feel like I was thrown away," she felt the miniscule movement as Guy tightened his hold on her, but gave no attention to it. "As if I was just there to hold a place until something better was found."

"I already told you," Guy interrupted, before she could say more. This time, when he saw Ugga shake her head, he ignored it. "I never did not care about you, Dawn." His shoulders sagged.

Ugga bit her bottom lip. They were communicating, which was good. How it went though… was anyone's guess. One thing was certain – Guy needed to have himself under control before things got worse for all of them. The older woman wasn't even certain they were heading in the correct direction anymore.

Guy was their navigator.

Right now, their navigator was impaired.

"It doesn't change how I feel," she replied. "Caring about and being bored of someone can all fit in the same tiny space, Guy…"

One of Guy's hands slid down to her belly. He was till trying to come to grips with this… he was going to be a father.

Both of Dawn's hands rested on his, not pushing him away.

"I've already told you that a baby shouldn't have been what was needed to keep you."

"I—"

"You could easily have a baby with Eep," she continued. "You really don't need me for anything."

Guy's arms moved again, to hug her, his chin resting on her shoulder. "I know," he finally admitted in a low voice, speaking directly into her ear. "But… I do."

Dawn shivered, feeling goosebumps rise at the sensation of Guy's warm breath on her ear. "You do?" she asked, eyes widening.

Ugga felt uncomfortable now, only able to hear Dawn's side of the conversation and able to see a red flush racing across her skin. What are they even talking about? She wondered, in growing alarm. She remembered what she saw at that waterfall and felt her face warm.

Maybe this 'outing' was a bad idea.

No! she reminded herself. If I didn't do this, we all might have died today." Their pace hadn't been healthy or safe for anyone involved. Even the cat had been struggling. She knew that normally Chunky had no problem carrying multiple people, but had limited the number to three for his sake. Her mother had ridden for a while before climbing off the furry beast.

"I do need you," Guy replied into her ear. "I'm so sorry you ever felt otherwise."

"So why," Dawn asked, her voice growing husky. "Why would you have ever–"

"I'm an idiot," he replied, sighing faintly. "I was curious," he added. "Eep is very different than you are," he explained further.

To her credit, Dawn listened without interrupting. This was a conversation that they should have had weeks ago. She inhaled deeply, trying to keep herself grounded.

"I – I liked the idea of someone else. It was exciting,"

Dawn nodded faintly, feeling a stab of agony. Her eyes were still glistening from tears.

"I thought that maybe I could forge ahead with her. Maybe in the future, have her as my mate," he felt Dawn's entire body tense at that. "Children… Well, you're right that I could have them with her."

Seeing renewed misery on Dawn's face made Ugga want to intervene, but she held back.

"But… I can't see that," Guy's thick brows furrowed together – as if he was beginning to understand something for himself. "Perhaps the window by which I view the world is flawed," he finally admitted after a long stretch of silence.

"W-What?!" Dawn asked, stunned. She wasn't sure what she was even hearing. I must be asleep! In her dreams, she and Guy were never separated. But… that was different than the cold, hard reality.

"I think," he responded, feeling warmth pool in his belly. "That I was drawn to the distinction – rather than the person."

The young woman's dark brows drew down sharply in reaction to his words. "You," she breathed. "You don't have to say things you don't mean… to make me feel better."

"I'm not," he replied, sighing.

Dawn drew a blank for a moment… then mentioned a concern she had. "I hope you're not saying that… all so you can climb back in my furs."

Now Ugga was on alert. She stood up, intent on separating the couple, until she heard Guy's voice.

"I am not," Guy said, lifting his head and peering around Dawn's shoulder to look at her face. "Why would you think something like that about me?!" his tone was incredulous.

"Really, Guy?! Can you blame me for that?" she asked, her voice trailing off into a growl. "You were rolling with me in them three days before announcing I was your sister!" she hissed again at the word, not liking it at all.

Ugga smacked herself in the forehead. No wonder Dawn's been so angry with him… That was coldhearted for anyone to do, let alone someone you're supposed to be devoted to.

Without warning, Dawn scrambled to get out his lap and away from him. "I don't believe it," she declared, sounding on the edge of tears again. "You just want me to warm your bed… for a short period until you can be with who you really want!"

"No!" Guy exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "I'm not! I promise I'm not!"

"Guy," Ugga interrupted then. "I think you need to remember what you've done. Think hard." She saw the crestfallen look on his face. "This isn't the same as cutting a finger when you're sharpening a knife."

"I don't trust you!" Dawn finally admitted, furious. "I know I can't now," Once she was done speaking, she turned around and started walking back in the direction of the camp.

Alone.

Ugga frowned at Guy, shaking her head. Then, she followed after Dawn.

Guy was left standing there, with only his thoughts for company.

It was fairly easy for Ugga to catch up to Dawn.

"I know what you were trying to do," Dawn stated, stopping and looking at Ugga. "You were trying to help," Now, Dawn showed her teeth. "Maybe you wanted to make yourself feel better."

Ugga went to reply, but Dawn cut her off.

"But for the future, Ugga, I want you to butt out of my personal business!"

Ugga swallowed hard, nervous. So, it seemed that Dawn's anger wasn't limited to Guy alone now.

Saying nothing else, Dawn resumed her walk back to the camp, with Ugga quietly joining her.

Guy

He sat back down on the ground, plucking a blade of grass and studying it. I don't know what to do… He was certain now that the tense atmosphere between Dawn and himself would be far worse. As he remained there, his thoughts rotated back around to that animal. Something Ugga told him rang true.

Even though he was apprehensive about it, he knew she was right. He couldn't let his feelings blind his reasoning. He had a problem with the creature. He had to deal with that. Then… maybe he could work to restore his relationship with his former mate.

Elsewhere

As Dawn and Ugga neared the camp, the older woman spoke. "You're right Dawn," She cleared her throat. "I wanted to help… and it was bothering me – watching how both of you were interacting."

"You could have spoken to me in confidence," Dawn replied, her temper slowly cooling off.

"That's true, but it wouldn't have done anything about the issue Guy has now."

Dark brow rising, Dawn looked at Ugga questioningly. "What issue? He has who he wants, so what's the problem?"

"Are you serious?" Ugga asked, stopping, and turning to face Dawn. She lowered her voice. "His whole focus was on you and the baby," she saw understanding blooming on Dawn's face. "It was to the extent that he made all those mistakes today. He wanted to keep you two safe."

Dawn's mouth dropped open. Did… Was I wrong? "But—"

"Oh! You're back!" Grug called, spotting them. He'd been pacing back and forth around the perimeter of their temporary camp when he spotted them.

Dawn's entire face reddened. How much did he hear?! Even if she was upset at Guy, she knew he wanted to be there for the baby. He couldn't do that though if Grug killed him.

"Where's Guy?" Eep asked a split second later.

Ugga lifted her brows and looked behind her. There were no signs of the younger man. Returning her attention to Eep, she shrugged.

"Why did you three leave?" Eep asked, looking at Dawn.

Refusing to answer, Dawn walked the rest of the way to their camp and began looking for her bedding. "I need rest." The emotional upheaval she'd just endured had worn her out.

Clamming up too, Ugga went over to help her.

Guy

"I know what I need to do," he murmured to no one in particular. There was only one way he could deal with this fear… and that was to face it head on. Number one of catching prey… learn its pattern. I need to figure out what we're dealing with.

What he was about to do was dangerous… very much so—because it was the unknown.

But… he had to. There was no other way.

Licking his teeth, he turned towards the camp and began walking. He needed supplies.

And to apologize to Dawn. Again.

Late Afternoon

Dawn was in a heavy doze, having been coaxed to eat some of her dried fish before going to sleep.

The Croods were in the middle of gathering for dinner and a nighttime fire. Hunting was scarce, so they'd have to rely on whatever plants they found for food. Ugga had already put her foot down about something with the family.

No one was to ask Dawn to share – seeing as the young woman was the only one clever enough to preserve food for herself. She shouldn't have had to say that, but some of the family members might not have understood.

Guy sauntered into camp with a hefty leaf that was nearly overflowing with something. For once, he didn't announce himself at all, just showed up. The first person he went to see was Dawn. He was concerned to see her sleeping so early in the day and sighed. She was probably stressed out.

Instead of moving somewhere else, he sat down next to her – put down the leaf and loosened the vines he'd used to hold it together. The entire thing was bulging with nuts.

Now that he was away from the forest, he had time to sort through the nuts. When he was out there, he grabbed all that he could on his slow walk back to the campground. He hadn't had the time to check the quality of the nuts.

He saw a massive shadow in front of him and looked up.

Chunky moaned faintly and licked his face.

"Hi there," he managed once he cleared the slobber off his face.

Both sloths approached him when they saw him. The poor things had been involved in the gathering effort too.

"Belt!" he exclaimed.

The sloth chittered at him. Belt was not happy.

"Ooh lala!" Sash commented. The pink sloth was eyeballing him.

"Yeah, I know," Guy grumbled. "I need your help though," he gestured to the pile of nuts. "Need you two to help me sort through them."

Both sloths let out small cheers and eagerly joined in.

Once a good amount had been sorted, Guy looked up into the dwindling light and decided to build a fire. He completed the task with practiced ease and sat back down. Not long after, he heard a soft groan. He glanced to Dawn briefly, but stayed quiet, still working on the nuts.

"Mneh… Guy?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"Yep," he replied, speaking just as softly. "Brought back something to eat."

"How?" she asked, opening one eye. The earlier fury on her face was replaced with a groggy expression. "The Croods couldn't find any game."

There was water nearby… but none of them were comfortable enough to try fishing with Guy gone and Dawn asleep.

He felt relieved that she wasn't up to argue with him right then. "Checked the trees and found a lot of different nuts," he replied. "Belt and Sash are helping me sort them. Then, just need to roast them."

Brows squeezing together a bit, Dawn let out a huge yawn right before sitting up. "What do you mean you didn't sort them?" she asked. "You always check before you bring something back."

"That's true…" Guy responded, his voice trailing off. How was he supposed to say this? Swallowing, he decided to go for honesty. "I wouldn't be doing well in my job as a protector if I was gone too long," he sighed softly. "And I need to apologize again for being so stupid."

Protector? She stared at him for a moment. "Guy… it's fine." Now that she was better rested, she was turning Ugga's words over in her head.

"It's not," he spoke. "I've been doing a terrible job at it, and I plan to prove how sincere I am."

"Protector?" she asked, voicing a question over what he'd just said. Stretching, she slid from under her bedding and chipped in with the sorting.

"Yeah."

"Guy, I'm sure that even if you're missing somewhere, we know we're all safe."

Guy nodded, but lowered his voice again. "I wasn't talking about anyone but you."

Dawn arched a brow. "The baby is fine Guy," she responded in the same low tone, thinking that was what he really meant.

Guy mirrored her expression. "Great, but I wasn't talking about the baby. Keeping it safe is a nice addition though."

Not expecting that, Dawn gave him a wide-eyed stare before turning back to their work.

Guy smiled faintly; glad she was speaking to him without the earlier tension.

By the time the Croods returned, there were several choice nuts roasting.

Guy kept an eye on Dawn, knowing how much she was trying to get to the walnuts. "Wait until they're done," he spoke firmly.

"Ugh," she grumbled. "We're hungry now though!"

"Patience…"

"Guy's back!" Eep's voice chimed in.

He glanced over.

"Hi Guy!" she called, hurrying over to him.

The moment he expected came… and he worried earlier how he would react when he saw Eep again. Yet now… it seemed so simple. "Hello," he replied, keeping his tone neutral. He knew that Ugga was watching him now.

But so was Grug.

Hmm, he thought. Need to find a way to not have him kill me. He glanced at Dawn, offering a faint smile.

Proof… she thought. Something about his reactions to Eep were a bit – different.

"Hey you!" Eep spoke again, as soon as she reached Guy and Dawn.

"Hello Eep," Guy replied in a bland tone, nearly parroting himself. In the past, he would have gotten up out of his seat… but he really didn't feel like it then. Yeah… he thought, taking in Eep's features. Drawn to the dissimilarities… He wanted to smack himself upside the head. A split second later, he looked at Dawn again, noticing she was getting up. "Hey!" he yelled. "Didn't I say be patient?"

The young brunette guiltily sat back down. She really really wanted one of those walnuts. "But I'm hungry," she whined, her stomach growling in agreement.

Poking at the rock the nuts were sitting on, Guy examined them. "Just a little bit longer," he replied.

Dawn whimpered.

True to his word, shortly thereafter they were all eating.

Even Chunky was eating some of the nuts, though they weren't much of a snack at all for him.

"So," Guy spoke when nearly everyone had their fill. "I have an idea for that umm –thing– back there," he paused until he had everyone's attention. "I'm going back to scout it out… figure out what it is."

"That doesn't seem like a good idea at all," Thunk chimed in.

"It's going to get here eventually," Guy reasoned. "It's best to know what we're dealing with."

Looking around, Grug voiced a question. "Which one of us is going with you?"

Belt cooed then, climbing onto Guy's shoulder.

"No one," he replied.

The sloth gurgled out in complaint.

"Except Belt," Guy added.

A low moan was audible as Chunky sniffed him, nudging with his nose.

"And the death cat," was added on.

"You need one of us too, Guy," Eep spoke up then. She frowned when she saw him shaking his head.

"No," he spoke, lowering his eyes. He was quiet in thought for a moment, then lifted his head. "I do have something I need the rest of you to do though."

"What?" Gran asked.

"Protect Dawn," he uttered, not even looking at Eep. "Please keep her safe while I'm gone." Now, he faced the family. "If things seem to be going south, I need all of you to get away from here."

"But where would we even go?" Ugga asked, not liking this arrangement at all.

"Towards Tomorrow. Dawn can navigate at night and make sure you're heading the right way."

"Do you honestly think," Dawn started, with anger in her voice and not caring who was in hearing distance. "That I could just pick up and leave without knowing what happened to you?"

"Dawn," he began.

"Don't ask me to do that," she snapped, her eyes welling up. "Because you already know that's not going to happen!"

"Umm…" Grug mumbled, uncertain what was happening now. They wouldn't be able to go anywhere if Dawn refused to navigate at all.

"I can point them the right way now and they can leave," the young brunette added hastily. "And I can go with you."

"That is a no!" Guy argued. There was no way he was going to agree to that. What is wrong with her?! He wondered, frustrated

"Hey, he'll be okay Dawn," Eep chimed in. "Your brother will be perfectly fin—" the redhead paused at the glower look thrown her way. Dawn looked like she wanted to throttle her!

"I really don't want to hear it right now…" Dawn hissed, her eyes bright with rage. "Not from you."

Both the behavior and words had frightened Eep, and she leaned away from Dawn.

"Okay, that's enough!" Guy shouted, standing, and picking up Dawn. "We'll be right back!" He called over his shoulder as he hurried to put distance between them and the camp. "What was that, Dawn? What is wrong with you?!" he asked her as they headed away.

"You have the nerve to ask me that?!" she shrieked, her shrill voice reached the camp until they were far away enough.

"What's going on?" Grug asked aloud, genuinely confused.

Eep sat with her knees pulled to her chest, her face between them. She was quivering. Why was she so angry with me? She'd never seen anyone look at her like that. She thought they were friends.

Weren't they?

Gran licked her lips, remaining quiet. She was beginning to suspect something wasn't quite right, but she was keeping that to herself.

Thunk stuffed a handful of nuts in his mouth, looking around at everyone else in the camp.

The pets all looked disturbed by the display.

Even Dougals, though he might have dispelled that thought when he licked one of his eyeballs.

Maybe nothing was going on in the crocopup's head.

Ugga stared at her feet, refusing to say anything.

Elsewhere

"Put me down!" Dawn growled once they were far enough away.

"Are you going to run back there?" he asked.

Confused for a moment, Dawn blinked. "What would I do that for?"

Satisfied at that answer, Guy set her on her feet.

"Guy," Dawn spoke. "We've been together for most of our lives… Did you really think I would go along with your plan?"

"It's safest for you and you know that."

"I don't care!" she retorted.

"Dawn…" He walked over and took both of her hands. "You know that it wouldn't make sense for me to drag you into danger, right?" That said, he pulled her into a hug.

Biting into her bottom lip, she nodded quietly. She hugged him back, squeezing tight. "I know that but… I don't want to lose you." As she stood there, she thought back over how irrational she'd behaved for a chunk of the day and flushed faintly.

"Don't focus on that," Guy replied. He pulled back from their hug. "Focus on taking care of the baby and keeping yourself safe. Alright?"

"But…"

"No buts."

Swallowing hard, Dawn nodded. "Can…umm…"

"Yes?" he asked.

"Can I get something before you leave?"

"Sure. What is it?" he asked, starting to categorize the foods in the area that he thought she might like. He was not expecting her to press a kiss to his neck. "Uhh, Dawn?" He made eye contact with her. "I thought… Y—You said that I…" Hadn't she just accused him of having ulterior motives? "You said you didn't trust me…"

"I know," she replied. "Please Guy," now her tone was pleading. "I might never see you again."

"If you're sure," he replied. He sat down in the grass and pulled her down with him.

Evening

The family continued to sit in silence. Aside from the earlier outburst, it wasn't a bad evening.

Except for Thunk – who now had a stomachache from eating too many nuts.

Guy and Dawn quietly returned from the forest into the clearing. They tried to make minimum noise, but some of the family members spotted them.

Ugga looked up when Dawn returned to her bedding. She was about to say something and paused. Aside from the fact that the young woman's grin looked like Chunky after a successful hunt, she was also drenched… but her clothes were bone dry. A quick check confirmed it was the same for Guy—he was soaked too. Err…

Once seated, Dawn lifted her head. When she made eye contact with Ugga, she blushed and bit into her bottom lip.

Not speaking, Ugga gave her an incredulous stare, both hands open as if she was going to ask, You're kidding me right? "Y… G… Uhh…" There were no words – none – that would help her understand this. They leave arguing and come back like this?! Sighing, she hoped no one else noticed.

"Whoa! What attacked you, Guy?" Thunk asked.

Unfortunately, his question drew everyone's eyes to the young man. Or more importantly, his back – which was sporting several red marks from scratches.

"Huh?" Guy asked, looking around.

"It looks like something clawed up your back," Thunk explained. "What did that? How did you survive?" He was amazed that Guy and Dawn escaped with their lives.

Guy's eyes widened, and he looked over his shoulder to see what was going on back there. "Ah. W-Well… We made it back." That was as far from an answer as the sun was from being the moon.

Ugga gave Dawn an accusatory glare.

The young woman responded by climbing back under her covers. "I'm going to bed." She punctuated her words with a yawn.

"Aren't you going to take your walk?" Eep asked, cautiously. She wasn't sure what she'd done to aggravate her friend, but maybe she could make it up while they walked.

"No need," Dawn replied, her tone very sedate. "Got enough movement and activity for the night. Lots of it in fact."

"Really?" Eep asked. "Where'd you go?"

Ugga bit on her tongue and got up, not wanting to deal with that can of worms. She walked over to Guy and helped him load a few supplies on Chunky.

"Thanks," Guy mumbled, more than a little embarrassed. "I hope this doesn't take long."

"No problem," she replied. "If it does though, Guy," she waited until she had his attention. "Will she be able to leave without you?"

Lowering his eyes, he frowned a bit. "I hope so."

Turning away from the cat, he cleared his throat. "I'll be back soon!" he said. "If something happens though, remember, Dawn can navigate!"

"What?" Grug asked. "But she just said–"

"It's fine," Dawn interrupted. "That's a last choice option."

Now the big guy was even more confused. Didn't she say she wouldn't do that earlier today? he asked himself, trying to remember.

After biding everyone well, Guy and Belt climbed up on Chunky and the macawnivore took off, heading back to search for more information on the creature they were running from.

Elsewhere

Night

Guy continued to ride in silence until they were near an area two miles from their previous location the day before. Chunky went and hid amongst the colorful foliage. Guy and Belt scrambled up one of the trees.

As their wait dragged on, Guy was close to calling off this ridiculous mission when he heard a strange scraping sound. He heard leaves crinkling and noticed that Chunky had gone ramrod straight. It was evident the cat could hear or see something he couldn't.

Looking down from the branch he was perched on, Guy tucked his legs all the way out of view. Shortly after that, he heard the same sound they'd heard that night. He couldn't place the animal at all. Worried, he checked on the death cat, but Chunky seemed content to not move at all. He was well hidden where he was seated.

The scaping sounds grew louder until a very strange form 'scooted' across the ground. This creature had a cylindrical shape, but it was covered in spikes… and looked to be nearly Chunky's height. A forklike tongue flicked out its mouth and as it continued to travel, it revealed itself to be extremely long.

Guy's eyes widened like saucers. He made eye contact with Belt, the sloth looking as afraid as he felt. Neither of them had seen a snake like it before… if it even was a snake.

Guy looked in the direction it came from and saw that it left deep gouges in the ground from its numerous spikes. No wonder Chunky was afraid of that thing… it looked like it could eat the macawnivore easily.

Once they were sure it was gone, Guy looked at Chunky and stealthily climbed down the tree. "We need to get back," he informed the death cat. He could read nervousness and climbed on top of the cat. "We'll use a different route. I can get us back there faster."

After a bit of deliberation, the cat left his hiding spot at a fast clip. He obeyed Guy's guidance.

"I need a little more speed, Chunky. I'm sorry." Time was of the essence. He needed to get back to his family and get them back out on the run.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note: I had a lot of fun writing this. Well… Maybe 'fun' is a more watered down way to say it. I lost sleep. I also lost out on eating unfortunately more than would be normal for me. I decided to take this story on as a secondary challenge under NanoWrimo 2023.

So, yes, I did the main 50K and then a secondary challenge.

I won both challenges, and ended up more sleep deprived than ever. So, yes, for right now there is a limit of the number of chapters for this story.

How many? You'll have to keep reading to find out!

Comments? I love them. Questions? I'll try to answer them.

I love constructive criticism.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

~J. Lyst

XXO