Maria sobbed softly holding the cub in one arm as she wrapped her other arm around his waist."I know but...I was gonna be a mother Kiran...And when I lost her all I had was him and my sister...Then I lost Jason and it was as if a part of me was ripped away...Then the king picked us up and I thought he was amazing...But yesterday all of that was taken away...And I can't believe he would try that on either of us...but he did."She sobbed out on his chest.

Damion sighed gently as the woman took his money. Him , Kiran , and Jason would always mess around in the woods when they were little and they did it from time to time when they were on guard too. He missed that. He looked up as he heard a distinctive roar in front of him as he walked. "Ah...crap."He said as the cubs father rushed him. He dropped the things in time to grab the thing by its ribs and spin backwards landing on top of it's stomach. He reached for his sword but it was on the ground a ways away.

Phoebe looked up sharply as a roar rang out from the woods surrounding the cabin. "I really have got to stop thinking of worse case scenarios, because they always seem to happen when I do!" she muttered and ran back towards the bedrooms. "Kiran! I think Jason's in trouble!" she told him worriedly.

Kiran having heard the roar nodded and hugged Maria tightly for a second "I'm going to go help Jason you and Phoebe stay here and keep your weapons with you, there is bound to be more than one carnivore out there hunting tonight so be careful okay?" he asked as he grabbed his sword and bow and ran out of the cabin towards the main road, not bothering to stop to grab his horse.

(muahahaha I shall not be defeated by a computer virus...at least not yet....)

<Ya....whens ur flight tomorrow?>
Maria nodded and kissed his cheek before he left.She sighed and shook her head as she tried to stop the flow of tears. She sunk down on the bed worrying for both of them. She looked in the corner and saw her's and Pheobe's bow's lying on the floor next to the window. Her red eyes traveled back to her sister in worry. "Do you think they'll be alright?"She asked her softly her voice barely above a choked whisper.

Before he could react the panther had flipped him and scratched all the way along his stomach. Damion struggled against it's claws in hope that it would back off. He looked over and noticed that each time he struggled he got closer to the sword. The next thing he knew the panther was knocked off of his bleeding chest and flung into a nearby tree. He looked up and froze only for a second as he saw the other huge cat scratch it's way along the other. The mountain lion was older and bigger than it's cousin and he didn't take a chance in risking anything, he ran. Taking his sword with him.

Phoebe glanced over at the bows and then looked at Maria, "Those two? They look like they could take a dragon on and still come out with barely a scratch...yeah they'll be fine." she said, trying to reassure herself just as much as Maria, if it weren't for Maria and the animals they had here she would be out the door in a second to help them.

Kiran slowed a bit once he left the light around the cabin, it wouldn't do any good for him to trip and break a bone now. He heard something running up the path and stepped further into the shadows only to blink in suprise as Jason came running up the path bleeding heavily from wounds on his chest. "Jason! What happened?" he asked stepping back out onto the road, "And...where's your horse?" he asked hoping the frightened animal hadn't just taken off.

Maria sighed and shook her head. "I don't know what's wrong with me..."She whispered."One minute I'm up one minute I'm down. I'm the perfect woman stereotype."She told her sister with her back to Pheobe. As the tears slowed she felt as if something had been lifted off of her chest...A sense of relief flooded over her. "He's in a better place...with our baby."She thought gently. As the last of grief was lifted off of her she finally let go.She turned back to her sister with new light in her eyes.

Damion glared at him."I'm not Jason."He said his voice rough with pain.He slid to his knees in pain and held his wound tightly trying to stop some of the blood flow. He looked behind him to the trail of blood and felt weak. He was loosing more and more by the second with no way to stop the blood. He looked at Kiran before closing his eyes from exhaustion and leaning against a tree.

(whoops....wrong character name huh?)

Phoebe was about to reply when Maria turned back around to look at her, she looked different somehow, happier even. Phoebe grinned "Well if it helps your not alone in fitting the stereotype most of us do at some point...should we get some food or something ready for the guys when they get back, bandages just in case?" she asked anxiously, glancing out the dark window.

Kiran rushed over to help Damion "Sorry," he said as he tore off fabric from his shirt to help use as a bandage until the could get back to the house, "Just...When you came up you looked a lot like him, and for a moment I guess...I forgot he was gone, maybe I wanted to forget?" he asked as he finished with the makeshift bandage and leaned Damion against him to start the walk back to the cabin.

<Lol ya i just rolled with it.>

Maria gently laid the cub beside her and stood."Yes...we should. It's getting darker and darker every second and they haven't gotten back yet. They should be back by now."She said to Pheobe quickly going out to the closet in the hallway."I'll grab the bandages and alcohol to cleanse any wounds....you want to grab some food and water?"She asked her had resting on the closet door knob.

Damion grunted as he applied pressure to where he had removed his hands from."I guess...it's hard sometimes. Sorry I snapped."He said breathlessly. He locked his jaw as Kiran leaned him against his self to get back to the house."I'm glad you came."He added more out of breath than he had been on the forest floor."I left the things on the ground!!"He coughed out along with blood. He tried to keep him mind off of the wound and the blood and focused on thoughts of Kiran and the girls as he did his best to walk along side his cousin.

Phoebe nodded and rushed down the hallway and into the kitchen. She didn't really think there would be any food in it, but they might just get lucky, she wanted to save most of what they had for the road. As she searched through the room she found a few dead rodents, some spiders, your usual kitchen necessities like pots and pans...and one lonely jar of beans. She quickly grabbed a pot and went outside to fill it with water from the well, she came back inside and hung it over the fire to start to boil. She went back into the bedroom to look in her pack to see what else she could put into this makeshift stew...thing.

Kiran shook his head "No problem and don't worry about the supplies, I'll ride back and get them once your back at the cabin being tended to by the girls." he focused his eyes on the road ahead and noticed the slight glow that came from the cabin windows just peeking out through the trees. "Which shouldn't be too much longer, we're almost there."

Maria opened the closet and grabbed four or five cloths and a four bottles not knowing which was which. She went to the bathroom and opened each. The first one smelled sweet , the next was vinegar , the next had no scent , finally the last was alcohol. She went back to the closet and let the bottles slide onto the shelf. With everything she needed she went to find Pheobe.

Damion nodded now incapable of words. All his focus was on walking as he saw the light gently streaming out of the window of the cabin.Thank god....He thought as his wound throbbed again and again with each breath taking step. He didn't hook his thoughts on it knowing if he did he wouldn't be able to make it to the cabin. He moved his foot out of the way of a trunk and slipped up a little.

Phoebe was just finishing putting some of the better tasting edible herbs into the stew that she had found growing just outside the window, when she heard Ardin nicker from outside. She looked up from the stew wondering if the guys were back, she hurried outside and saw two people emerging from the shadows a little way down the road. "Kiran? Damion? Is that you guys?" she called, rushing towards the two.

Kiran gripped Damion tighter as he slipped a bit when they moved around a log, he heard Phoebe and saw her coming towards them "Yes it's us, Damion's hurt bad, a panther got him and the supplies are still back aways on the road." he awnsered.

<Ardin?Oh i'm making the creatures in the night 2 i'll send you the url on ur profile kk? Pm me if you like the names and pics.>
Maria grabbed a blanket and pillow to lay Damion on as she heard what Kiran said to Pheobe."Oh god..."She said to her self her voice laced with worry. She hurried into the front room just as they came in. She laid out the blanket and set the pillow at the top on the floor so he would be on a stiff surface. She set the cloths and alcohol on the floor next to them. Waiting for them to come so she could cleanse and wrap his wounds.

Damion grunted slightly as he heard her and opened his eyes. Seeing the cabin up close was the best relief he had felt since he saw Kiran coming towards him in the woods. His breath was getting shorter and his footsteps felt longer with each step."I'm not gonna...make it."He tried to get out as his vision blurred. He clenched his jaw as the worst throb yet went threw him.

(Ardin is her horse...I think the name was only mentioned once in earlier posts but I remembered it when I re-read over stuff, and kk)

Phoebe reached out to help Kiran catch Damion as he fell, she helped him carry him over to the cabin door and kicked it open with her foot. "Maria?" she called hoping she had everything ready. She noticed her sitting and looked at Kiran "We've got to maneuver him onto that blanket." she told him indicating where to go with a tilt of her head.

Kiran nodded and together the two of them walked over to the blanket as quickly as possible without aggravating Damion's wound more. The bandage had fallen off at somepoint between the door and the blanket and the wound had started to bleed heavily again.

<Oh okay I was like huh? I don't remember my horse's name...>

Maria rushed over to them as they gently laid Damion on the blanket and grabbed a rag and alcohol. She checked his vitals with one hand as she poured alcohol on the rag with the other. "His heart rate hasn't dropped yet."She said seriously, quietly. She pulled her hand back and grabbed the alcohol soaked rag. As she cleaned the wound out as gently as she could she saw his eyes flutter open. "Damion, if you can keep your eyes open for me okay? And talk as much as you can. Can somebody talk to him? Keep him as alert as possible."She told Kiran and Pheobe as she talked to Damion.

Damion clenched and unclenched his hands to stay as alert as he could. But everything was blurry and unfocused. His thoughts running wild he held his eyes open staring at Pheobe and Kiran with helpless eyes. He knew he was going to be okay, now but it was hard to keep awake...Drowsiness was pulling on him harder and harder every second."Okay..."He crocked out softly his voice rough with pain. He cringed every time Maria ran the rag over one of the four claw marks.

(...I don't think you gave it one...idk if u wanna go back and look we had picks of r horses so that should make it easier to find...third page maybe?)

Phoebe looked over at Kiran, "Can you talk? I left our dinner over the fire and after this we're all going to be pretty hungry..." she trailed off looking at him hopefully. At his nod she got up and went into the kitchen letting out a breath of relief as she saw that the stew was almost done. She rummaged about and found four bowls and set them on the counter with the three spoons she could find.

Kiran looked down at Damion, "So...You remember that time when your father grounded you for pranking the head guard? How we snuck you out of the house in the middle of the night and went to the local tavern to gamble?" he asked, remembering the incident himself. "We'd died all his uniforms bright pink? I suppose now that I think about it it must have cost him a fortune to replace all of it...but it was funny at the time, and he was always mean to Jason and you in lessons."

<Okay yea I'll check soon and i'm still working on the other creatures in the night.>

Maria inspected the wound on last time before she gently laid a non-soiled cloth over his wound."Okay Damion I think the worst is done. After I get done with wrapping this you can sleep in about a hour half an hour okay?" She asked him soothingly. "And Kiran I'm gonna need your help. Can you hold him up in a sitting position so I can wrap around his torso?"She asked him.

Damion smile tensely not daring to laugh and nodded at Maria's question."True...but I wanted...to tye-dye...them."He said to Kiran ignoring the new throbs as his cousin and Maria lifted him up. His breath shuddered out but he helped them as much as he could but he couldn't do much except lean against them.

(looked at the profiles...and sweet! U got really good pics.)

Phoebe came around the doorway with two bowls of stew "So you really turned the head guards wardrobe entirely pink? Why did I have to miss seeing that?" she kiddingly complained. "Anyway I have food if you want it but be careful it's hot, I'll be right back with the other two bowls." she said setting the first two down on the floor and turning back around to get the others.

Kiran laughed "Yes but it took our entire life savings up until that point to buy enough pink dye and to bribe the guards that were outside his rooms, Tye-dye wasn't exactly an option for three 13 year olds." he said still chuckling remembering the mans face when he had to come out of his room in the pink clothes. "The courtyard was entirely silent with shock when he showed up that morning in pink..."

Maria wrapped it as tightly as she could with out cutting off circulation and then helped lay him down. "There you go kid."She said jokingly with a kind relieved smile."All fixed up for now , and actually I'm gonna go grab that stuff okay? The light's practically gone but I'll be okay."She said to her friends."Do you think I'll need my jacket?"She asked.

Damion smiled and looked up at her with eyes that told her she was crazy."Your not going out there alone." He demanded. Looking expectantly at Kiran.

Phoebe looked at Maria worriedly as she came back into the room with the last two bowls. "Damions is right, your not going out there alone, No offense, but just look at what happened to him! And he's been trained by the castle guards since he could walk!" she told her, before setting the bowls down. "And before anybody goes anywhere, we are going to take the time to sit here and eat this because it's probably one of the better meals we're going to get on the road..."

Kiran grabbed a bowl and started eating, "I wasn't going to pass up food,and they're right Maria, I'll go out with you after we finish eating, we can take the horses and hopefully the cats won't have damaged to much of the supplies."

Maria huffed and grabbed her bowl after sitting down on one of the wooden chairs. She ate quietly thinking about the father of the cubs. She was about halfway threw her bowl when she heard her horse Stormy freak a little.She only took a few seconds before setting down her bowl and racing out to her horse. That was the only two horses she had and she was not gonna let her baby girl get hurt. She froze as she saw the huge father panther stroll around the horse to growl at her. She didn't freak as his slow pace kept steady as he got closer and closer and closer as if stalking her.

Damion didn't try to eat yet knowing it would be to painful. As he blew on it to cool it he heard the horses outside neigh and spaz. He looked up as he heard Maria's gasp. He gave her a warning look just before she stood and ran out the side door. "Kiran , Pheobe ?!" He about squeaked scarcely fear replacing the pain in his voice.

Phoebe grabbed her bow and raced after Maria "Already on it Damion." she called back and ran out the front door, only to freeze as she saw the panther coming towards Maria, "Uh...Kiran? the panther must have followed you and Damion's scent up the road...we could use a little help out here!" she called back through the door making the panther's attention shift to her.

Kiran walked towards the door and stood next to the other two and slowly raised his bow with an arrow nocked and ready to fire, Phoebe copying him. "Maria? You might want to move back slightly your still within leaping distance of the panther." he cautioned her, taking a step to the side and back slightly so as to allow her room to step back.

Maria shoed them off with her hand and when she heard a soft noise."Shh..."She told them as the big cat let out another...whimper? She walked up to it and heard it's cry again. "What's wrong big guy?"She asked it gently as she ran her fingers threw the fur on top of it's head. It rubbed it's head against her gently and pointed it's nose to the cabin as if it knew what she said. The stench of blood rose up to her she looked back behind the panther and saw the dead bigger cat behind the panther. It all registered the father had brought food back for his cubs. She gently ran her fingers lower threw it's fur and gently held onto his fur."I'll take you to them."She told the panther and then walked back to the cabin with the pather by her side. "He wants to see his cubs...he brought food back for them."She told Kiran and Pheobe with caution as the panther skidded away from them and hid on her other side away from Kiran and Pheobe.

Damion listened for any yells of distress and waited worriedly. "Maria, Kiran, Pheobe?"He yelled just as Maria walked in with the panther that attacked him."Wa..wa...what are you doing?"He asked in complete shock his voice filled with utter shock. The fear faded as it walked up to him and ran his head along Damion's arm. He flinched when the panther did so but didn't move otherwise. He looked at Maria with confusion in his eyes.

Phoebe stared at Maria like she was crazy "Um...Maria? How do you know that the panther isn't just an evil mastermind that is tricking you to believe that by being cute and fuzzy and isn't going to eat us all when we let our guard down?" she asked cautiously, It wasn't like Maria could understand the language of Panthers...if they had a language. But she followed them into the house anyway.

Kiran shook his head, "This day just keeps getting wierder and wierder!" he muttered keeping his bow trained on the panther as he walked into the house behind Maria. He tensed as the panther went up to Damion but relaxed slightly when the animal didn't attack.

Maria looked watched the panther with caution but she didn't have a bad feeling about him. "I don't know how I know but I do...he's not gonna...do anything. He just wanted to protect them." She said with her eyebrows knit together. "He's okay...Kiran. Damion I think all he wanted was to bring home food for his babies...that's why he attacked you."She said gently as the panther tried to make it up to him.The panther gently licked him on the cheek.

Damion looked from Maria to the panther and back again."Well...?"He said shakily. He gently reached out his hand and ran his fingers threw the hair between his ears with a shaky hand. He was still scared of it but it didn't have that raging murderer look in his eyes. All he saw was fear and pain. Damion knit his eyebrows together stared into it's eyes with the least fear he could mange as he ran his hand repeatedly threw it's hair his hand slowly stopping its shaking.

Phoebe glared at the panther suspicously and kept an arrow nocked on her bow just in case. She didn't trust that cat farther than she could throw him, and that wasn't very far. She brought Rivers Shadow into the room and set him in front of the father panther. "Okay, Rivers Shadow is way to long officially my little cute fuzzball you are named River." she muttered into the cute little ball of fur that made up the male panther cub.

Kiran stepped nervously over beside Damion as the panther sniffed both him and the baby panther. "Look Mr. Scary Panther you hurt anybody here and I will end you got it?" he asked. Not really knowing if the panther could understand him.

(stop messing with my keyboard!!!!)

Maria brought the baby girl over to the father and shielded the panther with her body as it saw the arrow pointed at it an whimpered. "Chill...it's okay..."She told Kiran gently. The father nuzzled the cub and and purred. Maria looked down at the panther with surprised eyes and looked back at Damion and Kiran to see their reactions. The father laid next to the baby girl and watched as the baby boy wobbled over to him. He looked almost proud if you could say that about a panther father..

Damion finally saw the panther in a different light even though the images of the savage side of the father still lingered close by he had no choice. Maria would be pissed if he sent it away..so what was he to do? He laid back down the pain subsiding slightly as he did so. He looked up at all of them and sighed. "You know I'd never had guessed the thing to defeat me would be a damn panther.."He said looking at Kiran and allowing himself to laugh a little.