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Feline Wars

A series by mavinator5

K, long story short, I have a few things to say.

1: sorry for taking so long. This should improve, since I originally envisioned this story's middle, not its start.

2: please tell me about confusion within the series, since I started it over a year ago and, as such, some of the details have blurred in my mind

3: this is my main story, the other one is originally based off of the idea of this one.

Had something else, but I can't remember what it was...

Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 2: My wounded companions

"Can you stop staring at me like that? It's creeping me out. I haven't poisoned anything!"

I was bandaging its flank as best I could with my limited range and supply of medicine. This, coupled with its rather large size, was making it rather difficult, and the tiger wasn't helping, starring at me with those eyes full of hatred, suspicion and fear all at once.

"Can't you eat that hunk of meat I brought with me? I would hate to see it go to waste, and it might help you get some of your strength back."

It made face and stuck out its tongue before turning to consider the steak.

So, as you can imagine, there were a few thoughts crossing my mind at this point:

1- I was bandaging a TIGER!

2- It could UNDERSTAND me!

3- It was giving me ATTITUDE!

When I had asked it to let me deliver first aid, it had said yes. However, it hadn't taken its eyes off me. It seemed to be waiting for me to try and hurt it. IT clearly had put no faith or trust in me.

It felt like an hour had passed, even though it was really more like 15 minutes, when I finally tied the last two extremities together. I had used all the bandages, gauze, cleanser and bandaging tape. I leaned back and observed my handiwork. It left to be desired. Once the tiger had noticed that I wasn't touching it anymore, it turned away from the remains of the steak and looked at its freshly bandaged flank. It then looked at me, then back at it's flank, then back to me, and shot me a look that clearly meant 'This is the best you can do?'

"Shut up, I did my best. Besides, you would have died within the hour if I hadn't come by."

It gave a very weird sort of grin, in which I assumed was sort of a cocky-bashfulness. It then brought its tail around and gently stroked my arm. I assumed this was a sort of thanks.

"Well, your going to be stuck here for a while since you need to give that wound time to heal." I said. "I assume you can't hunt, so I'll have to bring you food everyday." It was more of a statement then a question.

It nodded, looking displeased with having to accept more of my help.

"You better get used to it, since that's not something that's going to improve overnight. So, what's next? I think a shelter would be a good start, in case it rains."

It nodded again, still displeased, but trying somewhat to hide it.

We got to work, starting by picking a (very) nearby area. I then proceeded to collect some solid looking branches from fallen trees while it cleared away as many leaves and twigs as it could with its tail. I wanted to start making something big and practical, but I knew the call to return to camp could come at any moment, so I would have to start small and come back later to improve.

"Hm, the angle of these trees will work well, and this log will fit perfectly right here..." I have this annoying tendency to speak aloud to myself while I work. It helps me focus.

I won't bore you with the long details, but suffice to say the shelter would resist some of the rain and wind, and it seemed big enough for the tiger to fit comfortably. Just as I finished patching the roof with leaves, it got the call.

"Maverick, Maverick you there? Base to Maverick."

'Ummmm, okay?' I thought "Yes miss Arro?"

"Ah, there you are. Maverick, it's time to come back to base; we're going to start the day's activities. We also need to put up a cover for the campground, since the news say's it's going to rain. I expect to see you here within the next half hour."

'Lucky we started with the shelter.' "Okay, I'm coming back, see you soon miss Arro."

"Understood, base out."

"God teachers are lame." I said to no one in particular. "Okay, looks like I got to go soon. You are going to live if I leave for a few hours, maybe a day?"

It rolled its eyes and hobbled over towards the poorly made shelter, stumbling once or twice along the way. Once it was safely inside, it turned around and looked me in the eye. In its eyes I could still see anger and distrust, but there was a new sense of warmth in its gaze, and it nodded to me. I also saw apprehension, though at what I couldn't tell, and maybe a small bit of gratitude, all of this surrounded by a large amount of confusion and consideration.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about you, although getting more food out here may be difficult, assuming they noticed I took the steak. Anyway, good luck!" I turned on my heel and made my way back to camp without waiting for an answer, feeling a bit apprehensive myself; how was I going to explain this to Miss Arro? Hopefully she wouldn't notice the missing things.

On my way back to camp, I had a few thoughts that needed consideration.

From most to least important:

1: There is a tiger in the woods.

2: I promised to take care of it.

3: How am I going to keep this a secret?

4: Is there anywhere asides camp I can get food for it?

5: I hope it will be okay

6: I hope I will be okay

7: I'm hungry

"Well," I started, "I can fix that last one when I get back to camp, and there's not much I can do about the other ones till I know what's going on at camp." As I went through my list, I realised that my life was pretty bland. The leadership class was the first original thing I had done in a few years, and although it had felt good at first, I had quickly realized that it was just as bland as the rest of my life. But this, finding the tiger, was something exciting! I wanted it to last as long as possible.

As I returned, I saw Britney running over.

"Oh, good, you're back" she said "Miss Arro is looking for you." She pointed off to the other side of camp. "Be careful though, she's in a foul mood. Something about a med kit and a steak, and something else."

'Good thing I didn't bring the first aid box back with me.' I thought. In my rush to save the tiger, construct the shelter and my jumbled thoughts afterwards, I hadn't considered whether I should bring it back with me. 'But clearly they found out about it. I'm going to have to find a way to be more discreet about all this stealing.' Inside I felt sort of bad, but I knew it was for a good cause, so my mind didn't dwell on it.

When I arrived at Miss Arro's tent, I could see just how unhappy she was. Her face was distorted by a terrible sneer and she was gripping her shirt so hard I thought it would tear.

"Maverick!" She said as soon as saw me, running around the tent and stopping right in front of me. "Did you take one of the med kits from the cooler? And while I'm at it, where were you?"

"No, and I was out in the forest meditating. Britney told me someone took some of our stuff. What happened?"

"I got up this morning and Jessica had gotten a cut during the night. Her tent was pitched over an unnaturally solid twig. I went to grab one of our med kits from the cooler and I saw that were down to two. Did you see anything suspicious?"

"What do you mean by suspicious?"

"I don't know; anything out of the ordinary. Someone who didn't come with our group, for starters."

"No, I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. I..." I was interrupted as misses Cocora came over.

"Hey, Poppy, I know you're upset, but we still need to raise the barrier over the camp." She said. "I would do it myself, but you know..."

"Yes, I know Kat; I'll get right to it. Maverick, I want to talk to you again before tonight." With that, she went over to start organizing the girls.

I made to follow her, but Mrs. Cocora called me back. "Did you know, Maverick, that I'm scared of heights?" That was a weird question, but I answered no anyways. "Well, I am. I like to tell people that so that they avoid getting me into situations where I have to confront that fear. Telling people about yourself isn't always a bad thing, wouldn't you agree?" Once again, I didn't know where she was going, so I answered yes. "It's sort of like a conscience, don't ya think? And keeping things secret that shouldn't be can lead to a guilty conscience, and believe me; it does NOT feel good to have a guilty conscience. That being said, if ever you want to talk about anything, I'm here." She started to follow Miss Arro, but then turned back. "After you've thought it over a little, come help us put up the tarp." Then she walked off.

'She knows.' I thought. 'She knows something.' I started to fret about what she might do if she found out about the tiger, but then I realised that the odds of that happening were slim at best, non-existent at worst. I left the thought behind and begun to make my way over to the group, thinking about the best way to get some food for the tiger, and hoping that lunch would be soon.

"Ah, you're here, Maverick. You're easily the tallest here, so could you tie these ropes around those branches?" Miss Arro asked me

It took well over an hour, but we finally managed to get the tarp up. Once we were done, the whole area had a large tent-like roof that would divert rain down the sides of the camp. It would insure that we could move around without fear of getting soaked. Next, we dug a small trench around the camp to protect us from flooding. We then diverted the excess rainwater to a nearby stream. Once all that was good and done, the teachers decided it was time for lunch. I asked about the tarp, but Miss Arro said it wouldn't bother the smoke, although she couldn't tell me how it worked.

We cooked up some ham and assorted vegetables which we transformed into ham and veggies sandwiches (EWWW). I passed on the vegetables, being more of a carnivore myself, and instead substituted some cheese.

As lunch went on, I managed to sneak some ham into my pockets, and when I could, I transferred it to my bag. I knew it wouldn't taste that good, but it was the easiest way to steal. However, a few slices of ham wouldn't keep the tiger going for long. I knew tigers could go for at least a few days before hunger began to become a serious problem, but it was also wounded, and I didn't want to take chances. I manage to get a few slices of cheese, and then some of the vegetables. 'It may not be able to eat these, but who knows? It can understand me, so I can hope.' My mind was brought back to the hard reality that providing for the tiger was going to be a challenge. I thought back to the idea of hunting, but I knew that was impossible; I didn't have the right equipment, or the training to use it.

I was just finishing my meal, thinking about alternate possibilities, when the teachers summoned us, telling us that in 5 minute we would start the next group activity.

It was a game made to help us learn to work together, and required careful planning and flexibility. The goal was to get everybody through a web of ropes, going through each hole only once. We determined who had to get the larger holes and who could make it through the smaller ones. I passed through first, aided by the girls, and then we started passing the smaller girls through the higher and smaller holes. Eventually, we managed to get everyone through, the last person passing through the largest hole and needing no assistance.

"Good work team." Miss Arro congratulated. We then had a short chat about teamwork and planning, the skills we had developed during the exercise. Afterwards they brought us to an agility course and had us pass through as much of it as we were comfortable doing. Once we all made it through as far as we could go, they wrote down our results for future reference. I had gone the second furthest. Only Chelsea, who was already a skilled gymnast, managed to beat me. She was also the only one to finish the course, ever. In total, the course had 12 sections. I had stopped at the tenth. Of the rest of the girls, most had made it to somewhere between the 8th and the 6th. The worst one had had to stop at the 4th, but she had a medical condition.

By now it was starting to get late. The teachers told us that we had to make dinner, but we had to do it in total silence, to aid us with non-verbal communication. There was a little cheating here and there, but we managed to prepare some salad and tortellini's (We had an actual kitchen-like building).

While we sat around the campfire, eating our dinner, we discussed the day's events and decided on the next day's schedule. We also played a quick game revolving around our knowledge of each-other. Not many of us knew the others, so we performed poorly during this exercise. However, the teachers said this was good, and that at the end of the 2 weeks we would do the activity again, with better results. Finally, it was time for bed.

As we all separated towards our own tents, Miss Arro came up to me and signalled to me that she wanted to speak with me. We moved a fair distance away from our campsite before she begun.

"Maverick, I wanted to tell you my suspicions. So, I don't believe anyone amongst us is intentionally sabotaging our attempts at survival. As such, I can only deduce that it is either someone who needed the med kit and does not want to reveal that they took it, that someone else is nearby and they are stealing from us, or that an animal took it. Also, I'm not sure if I said this, but a steak was also stolen. I'm less annoyed by this, since we have more then enough food, but still, same arguments. Since you were the first one up, I would appreciate it if you would take a quick look around in the morning to make sure there are no obvious signs of robbery."

I accepted, knowing that no one was stealing and, as such, I could use this to my favour. If I needed to, I could probably invent some story that would shift suspicions off of me. However, I had no intention of doing so, since I don't like to lie when I can avoid it and because it might come back and bite me in the butt.

"Good, I'll see you tomorrow." With that, she left.

Seeing that there was nothing left to do until everyone was out, I went to my tent and prepared what I would need; a flashlight, the food I collected and the extra blanket and pillow I brought. Then I lay down and started reading while I waited for everyone to fall asleep.

An hour and a half or so later, I checked my watch. It said 11:43. 'That should have been long enough.' I thought as I grabbed my stuff. For the last time, I tried to think of a way to get more food without stealing it, but nothing came to mind. 'I suppose this will have to do for now.'

I got up and made my way to the entrance of the tent. As I peeked outside, I realised that the flashlight may not be necessary; I could see really well because of the light of the moon. I made my way to the closest boarder of the camp, which was pretty close since I was in one of the outermost tents. Once I reached it, I picked up the pace until I was jogging back to the spot where I met the tiger.

As I entered my clearing, I realised that I couldn't see as well anymore. Startled, I looked up to see clouds covering the moon. I flipped on the flashlight and kept moving.

I finally reached the shelter. As I approached it, I called out softly to the tiger. I was answered with a low growl. I couldn't tell if was friendly or not, but I was pleased that it hadn't tried to run.

It may not have been pleased to see me, but it accepted my hospitality without complaint. I gave it the ham first, after planting the flashlight in the ground, which it ate really quickly. "That's all I managed to take." I told it when I had given it all of the ham. "But I have some other things that I'm not sure about." I offered it the vegetables, which it accepted as well, but it didn't take the cheese. "I'm sorry it's so little." I apologised.

It surprised me by giving me a small purr, which I took as a thank you. "Alright, I've got some more stuff for this shelter, so you don't freeze to death." I said as I took out the blanket. It tried to turn it down, but I paid no attention. "Did the rain bother you?" It shrugged. I reached forward tentatively and, when it didn't react, felt its flank lightly. I noticed it was slightly damp. "Not too bad." I draped the blanket around it. "Try and keep it in place as best you can, okay? It won't serve its purpose if you let it fall off." It turned its head slightly. I placed the pillow on the ground. "Do with this what you please." It took the pillow with its mouth and placed it under its head, a grudging look of happiness in its eyes. "Well, I suppose that's all till tomorrow. Hope you'll be feeling better." I got up to leave, but before I could, it made a strange sound, sort of like it was calling me back. I turned around to see it scratching something into the ground. It started with a very rough M, then a Y, an N, and it kept going, taking well over a minute, till I could read:

MY NAME IS PETALDANCE

After that, it scratched a symbol, which took a few moments to decipher:

'Not it, SHE!' I thought. "PetalDance?" I asked. She nodded, a hard look in her eyes, as if she was very uneasy about telling me her name. She then swept her tail off to the side, indication some yellow flowers. Before my unbelieving eyes, the petals slowly fell off one of the flowers and came towards me, fighting a slight wind blowing from the side. About half way to me, they suddenly got carried away by the breeze. I turned back to Petal and saw that she was having difficulty breathing.

"Whoa, don't push yourself; you'll only take longer to recover." Without thinking, I reached forward to comfort her. She drew back instantly, growling despite her weakness. "Sorry." I apologized quickly, sad that it still didn't trust me. "My name is Maverick."

"Well, if that's all, I'll see you tomorrow?" It was more of a question then a statement.

She gave a slight nod, still displeased about requiring my aid. With an exaggerated sigh, I grabbed my flashlight and made my way back to camp.

It was 12:30 when I finally got settled back into my bed, and past 1 when I finally fell asleep...

"Alright troops, everybody up!" Misses Cocora yelled. "We let you sleep in yesterday, but not today. Now get up, we've got a lot to do."

I groaned and looked at my watch. It was 8 AM. 'Who gets up this early?' It took me well over 10 minutes to finally get out of my tent. To my surprise, I was one of the first ones out. I laughed despite myself, realizing we didn't have many morning people.

Normally I wouldn't complain, but I had fallen asleep late last night and my dreams were broken by nightmares. I had woken up multiple times and I doubt I had gotten more than a couple hours of sleep. Still, I was better off than most of the others.

"UP!" she roared, moving between the different tents and sticking her head into the ones that didn't show any signs of life. It took well over half an hour for everyone to get up, and then another hour or so for all the girls to go through their morning routine: shower, hair, face... in the end, we weren't ready to start the day's activities till 10AM.

"This won't work girls. I can't accept that we start at ten every day. If it's the same tomorrow, I'll wake you all up earlier. A half hour per day, till we're starting at 9." I heard multiple resentful grumbles. Then I realized something. "Where's Miss Arro?"

"She wasn't feeling well, so I left her in bed. Don't go thinking its special treatment; she's usually up before I am. Now then, first thing on the agenda today is one of my absolute favorite activities; anyone who's seen survivor will recognize this. Common." She led us back to the obstacle course and then walked a little further, till we eventually reached a very large maze of hedges. "Here's the deal. You'll all enter the maze from the same side. You'll each have a number which is associated to a bag. There are 23 bags in total, so some people will have two numbers. Along with the numbers, you'll each have a key that only unlocks the lock with your own number. Your goal is to get all of your bags and exit the maze as fast as possible. Once that's done, you'll unlock each other's bags based on a mathematical equation. Finally, you'll use the content of the bags to solve a puzzle. Sound good?"

We all nodded, all but me. "What's the catch? That sounds way too easy..."

She smiled and moved to the side, revealing a podium. "This is what your bags will be left on. See how huge the number is?" It must have been a foot long. "It's so you can't possibly mistake them. You see, until you make it to the other exit, you'll all be blindfolded." This was met with gasps of shock. "The moment you're out, I'll take off your blindfold, even if you don't have your bag. That's all the info you get from me. If I were you, I'd figure out a strategy before you go in. Your time starts the moment one of you enters the maze. One quick suggestion; don't run, or you'll have big bruises." She smiled as she posed 23 necklaces on a table and 20 blindfolds beside them.

"She never said." Began Kayla. "That we all have to have a necklace. I suggest one person has the responsibility of finding the way out of the maze, and then that person goes back in to help the others reach their numbers. Once a second person is out, they can do the same thing for the others, and so on and so forth." There were multiple nods following this.

"And once we reach a podium." Lin continued. "We should yell out the number at the podium, so that the person who has it can orient themselves." As one the group nodded.

"Once a few people are out." I said. "One should stay out and figure out the mathematical equation so they can speed up the unlocking." Everyone nodded again, and smiles started breaking out amongst our team.

"Who's going to take on the extra bags?" Asked Maria.

"I'll take two bags." I volunteered instantly. Chelsea and Ceria also took on an extra bag, as did Gina. Patricia offered to find her way through the maze, and suggested she go in first, with a few seconds head start, so she could move swiftly without worrying about hitting anybody.

Finally, we each went to get our keys and blindfolds. I took numbers 2 and 3, hoping they might be close to each other. Once we had all gathered around the entrance, we gathered into a line, with Patricia up front and all those with two bags immediately following her, and blindfolded each other.

"Are you ready?" Asked Misses Cocora. She was chorused with yeses. "Alright then, on my signal, 3,2,1, GO!" It was on.

I heard Patricia enter the maze, and then a few seconds later Ceria, then Gina, then Chelsea, and finally it was my turn. I walked inside quickly, unwilling to trip and fall or to smack into the walls or other participants. As we reached the first fork, I heard the girls ahead of me say "right, left, right, left." As I arrived, I said right and turned that way, hoping the others behind me would keep up the strategy. They did.

I quickly got separated from most of the girls, but before I was truly alone, I heard someone yell out 8. Whoever was behind me turned around instantly and began running towards the sound, saying "I'm coming!" After one more fork I was truly alone. I kept jogging, memorizing my route in my head as best I could, but I soon lost track. The maze was much larger then it seemed.

I had just passed another fork when I got gut checked by something, hard. It took me a moment to regain my breath before I realized I had hit a pedestal. I groped around for the number, which happened to be on the other side. Once I found it, it took but a moment to realize how lucky I was. I had found number 2. Without wasting a second, I took off my first necklace and started unlocking the bag. Happy, I tried to move forward, but I realized I had hit a dead-end. Backtracking quickly, I returned to the last fork and took the other direction.

At this point, I had heard numbers 8, 5, 16, 12 and 22 called out, and I had just found number 2. '6 down, 17 to go.' I thought. I had just passed another fork in the road when I was hit by someone.

"OW!" She shouted. I stumbled back a few paces and asked "Are you okay?"

"Maverick? Dammit, I must have run around in a circle." I recognized Patricia's voice.

"It's okay, at the next fork, go straight, don't turn, and you'll be heading along a different path." I told her.

"Thanks. I turned left at the last one, so don't turn right. I haven't hit a single podium yet."

"Lucky, they HURT!" I said, laughing at my own joke. "I already found number 2. Good luck."

"You too."

I went past her and kept running, and then I reached a four way intersection. I went left, since she had come from the right side. I was surprised to find that about 10 steps later I heard Misses Cocora say "Stop, you made it out."

Before she did anything, I yelled "Patricia, turn back, you were almost out. I'll come get you." She responded with an okay.

"Congrats, you're the first one out." She reached around and untied the blindfold. "You can leave any bags you may have here." She showed me a table. "Good luck."

I dropped my bag and the key #2 on the table and ran back inside. A few seconds later I came back out with Patricia. I turned right back around and ran back inside, only to find another girl. I brought her out too. Patricia was already back in the maze, and I ran in after her. As she turned left, I heard her mutter "Right turn." She was trying to drill the path to the exit into her brain. I yelled out at the crossroad, asking for anyone who had an unlocked bag to yell out so I could guide them out. I got a few responses and started moving towards the closest one. Once I found her, I brought her to the exit and told her to start figuring out the math equation and unlocking any bags she could.

As I re-entered the maze for the third time, I kept silent. This time, my goal was to find my pedestal, number 3. I heard Patricia and a few others who could see now calling out to the others. Suddenly, I got a burst of inspiration. "HEY! Who still hasn't found their number?!" Only number 7 answered. "People who can see, search for number 7 and 3." With that done, I keep running.

I past multiple pedestals, all empty, before I finally saw one with a bag on it. As I turned the corner, I was it was number 7. "I found seven!!!" I shouted. I heard a response which was almost right next to me. Less than 10 seconds later, Brigit came whipping around the corner.

"Wait, you didn't have number 7?!?" I said, confused.

"The teacher never said we needed to keep our keys. Since Maria was still blind, she gave me her key so I could look while she got her blindfold removed."

I cursed my stupidity. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"No one can think of everything, Maverick." She said. "Got it, good luck finding 3."

She left the way she came, leaving me to continue searching. After 5 minutes I still hadn't found it, nor had any of the other girls who were looking. Finally, after I had almost given up on it, I heard "It's over here, Maverick." The voice sounded like it was on the other side of the maze. As quick as I could, I ran in the direction of the voice, hitting five dead ends before I saw her. She led me down a path that ended in a dead end with the pedestal number 3.

"Everyone out, we found all the bags." She shouted as I unlocked it. "Common Maverick, I know the way." She said. We only had to take 3 forks before we made it out.

"How did we miss that for so long?" I asked. "It's right next to the entrance."

She shrugged. We both moved to the girls, who had all the bags opened but one. I tossed my key to Rachel and sat down to catch my breath. When she finally opened it, Missed Cocora gave us the okay to start working on the puzzle. There wasn't enough room for everyone, and eventually Ceria and Patricia came and sat next to me.

"How did the math go?" I asked.

"It was easy, but annoying. Each bag had its own equation." Ceria answered. "It was like, 6th grade math."

Once the girls finally solved the puzzle, Misses Cocora stopped the timer.

"Wow, best time I've seen so far guys, good job. 42 minutes 34 seconds. No group so far had gotten under an hour." At her prompting, we gave ourselves a round of applause. "I suppose this deserves some kind of reward. I know! Since you guys have a hard time getting up, I'll give you an extra half hour tomorrow." This was met by cries of joy. "Alright, you have the next hour to get some food, water, text if you want to, whatever. I'm going to check on Miss Arro." She said as she led us back to camp.

'Perfect.' I thought. 'I can get as much food as I want now, and it'll just seems like we all eat a bit more than normal.' Once all the girls had chosen what they wanted for lunch and left to eat, I took out a few packs of Pepperettes, more ham then I had gotten yesterday, some crackers and a few apples. Once I stuck it all in my bag, I made my way out of camp. I kept up a steady pace and managed to get to Petal in just under 15 minutes.

"Hey Petal, I'm back with more food." I said. She poked her head out of the shelter, her eyes, as always, filled with distrust. "Still haven't lightened up yet, eh?" I said as I sat down across from her. "Here, have some more ham." I said as I gave her the ham and the Pepperettes. She ate them almost as fast as yesterday. "Good god, how hungry are you? Anyway, can you eat these?" I offered her a cracker. She took one, but once she ate it, she made a really funny looking face. "I'll take that as a no. Here, try this." I offered her one of the apples. She took it warily, but it turned out she was perfectly capable of eating apples. I smiled and rolled another two over to her before I started eating the crackers. Once all the food was gone, I bid adieu to Petal and made my way back to the camp.

This process repeated itself every day for the next week. I would rise with the group, we would do a bunch of activities, I would steal food at every possible occasion, and at some point during the day I would bring it over to Petal.

I considered, once again, just how much of an impact she had had in my life, and I realized that she had changed me a lot in ways no human even could. For the first time in a long time, I felt special, I felt elated. I wondered just what would have happened had I not met her.

On the 10th day since our arrival, I had gotten up extra early. I brought some food with me, as usual, but today was a special day. I was finally going to remove Petal's bandages. She was now strong enough to move around on her own, although she seemed to prefer the shelter to sleeping on the exposed forest floor. She had also managed to kill a few animals, but they were all small prey, which is why I was still bringing her food.

As I entered the clearing, I was greeted with her usual low growl. I think she might, MIGHT, have gotten over the fact that I was helping her, although I doubt she would let another human anywhere close to her. Her eyes still had a few negative emotions slipping in every now and again, but she did her best to hide them from me.

"Hey Petal, today's the day we take those disgusting piles of blood off your side." I said as I dropped my backpack to the ground. I had retrieved the original med kit and found a pair of gloves, which I hadn't had the intelligence to wear last time. "Alright, sit still so I don't do anything stupid by accident." I told her as I pulled on the gloves. She sat down next to me, almost managing to hide her look of apprehension. "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

I slowly began to remove the layers of bandages I had used to save her life, each clinging to the one under it like a suction cup. I was indeed very careful, peeling them off slowly and making sure only one came off at a time. Each time I started on the next bandage, I saw Petal wince, not out of pain but more out of fear; fear that then next layer would bring on a wave of pain. Her fears were almost groundless. I reached the last 3 layers before she actually winced in pain. After that I waited for a few movements to remove the second to last layer. This time I got a poorly suppressed hiss as she trembled. I waited a full minute this time, and then before I did anything I said "Ready?" She nodded and braced herself. I took the last one as slow as I could to avoid re-opening the wound, but it did nothing to alleviate the pain. I heard multiple growls as I slowly peeled off the last bandage, trying to be gentle. Once it was finally off, I leaned in to look at her wound. It had healed quite a bit, but not entirely.

"Look's much better than it did last week." I told her. "But I think we should wash it out." She shook her head. "Oh, okay, I'm not too sure what I'm doing, so if you know better, that's good." She started walking in small circles, testing it out. She picked up the pace a little, then a little more, until she was easily going over 40km/h. She didn't go faster then that though, and she stopped quickly, winded. "You may not be bleeding anymore, but you still lost a lot of blood. Try to take it easy for a little longer." I told her. She smiled, actually smiled, for the first time and gave a rather loud purr. "You're welcome." I said, unable to hide my own smile. Seems she finally trusted me to some degree.

What I saw next amazed me just as much as it had the first time. She focused a group of wild flowers a little off to the side, and the petals jumped off them and drifted over towards us. Once they reached me, they slid slowly up to my face and caressed it gently. Then they moved over to her and gently began rubbing against the outside of her wound. The scabs that had assembled over the past 10 days slowly began to fade, leaving her wound looking much cleaner than it had. The petals slowly moved inwards, cleaning almost all of it, with the exception being the center that still hadn't healed.

"Wow" I said as the petals finished their job. They fell to the ground, lifeless, as Petal started panting again. Suddenly, I realized that now she could leave, return to her life as it was before. The thought made me really sad. Of course I was happy for her, but I was sadder that she would be leaving me.

"So, what's your plan now?" I asked. "You're healed; you can hunt to some degree; you don't need me anymore, so I assume you'll be going on your way?" She looked back at me, sadness coloring her expression. "Don't worry about me, I've got a family to return to, as I'm sure you do." She turned her head and looked back to the forest, clearly desiring to reassume her old life. But she surprised me by turning about and writing another sentence in the dirt.

I WILL STAY UNTILL YOU LEAVE

I looked up at her, happy that she felt some sort of gratitude to me for the deed I did. "Thank you." In her eyes, I saw happiness, but also a deep uncertainty. 'I think' I thought. 'That she wants something from me.' It seemed odd. At the start, she wanted nothing to do with me. Now that she could leave me behind, she chose to stay.

I put the thought aside and retrieved my bag. "I've got a snack for ya." I said, holding out the meet for her. She took it out of my hand, her mouth gentle, careful not to bite me. I grabbed the next piece and fed it to her, then the one after, and so on till I ran out. Once I was out, she purred to show me her thanks, and then she settled down on the ground, staring at me intently, trying to figure me out as I tried to figure her out.

After a while, I got up and returned to camp. It was just about time to get up when I got back.

"Alright guys," Miss Arro began. "We have another tough activity for you today." The last three days had been filled with difficult team activities. "First, we're going to pair you up." Which they did. I got placed with Teverah. She's a very timid girl. Hasn't said much since day one. "Now then, today you will both be bound back to back. Working together, you'll have to retrieve the keys located around the forest to undo your chains. First team to finish is exempt from having to make dinner. Last team will serve themselves last. You'll get hints to the location of the next key each time you find one. There are 10 in total. You each get a different hint to the first clue. No interacting with the other teams." They tied us together and gave us our hints, and then they sent us off.

I read our hint aloud so Teverah would know what it was as well. "You'll find me by looking down to see the sky." Looking down to see the sky...

"A reflection." She said. "Like a lake or a puddle. The stream nearby had a calm spot where you can see a reflection doesn't it?"

"Sounds good to me." I said. We shuffled of towards the stream, moving unbelievably slow because of the awkward positioning. Once we got there, we had to move down further since we hadn't come to the right spot. Finally, we found where the key was hidden. As I reached up to get it, I lost my footing and we fell over. Unluckily, we were right next to a steep hill. We hit the ground hard and started to roll down the side of the hill, getting scraped up pretty bad. We came to a stop not 5 feet from the water.

We had landed on our sides, with me facing the water and Teverah slightly on top of me. I was completely winded from the fall, and I had both my arms trapped underneath me. After a moment I realized we were still sliding, albeit slowly, towards the water. It wasn't very deep, but it was enough to drown in. Using my legs, I tried to push myself upright, but with no arms and Teverah weighing me down, I couldn't move. "Teverah, help me get up." I said, but she didn't respond. "Teverah?" Still nothing. "TEVERAH!" It was no good, she was out cold. I swore, which is something rare for me, and I tried again to get up. It was useless. I might as well be trying to be move a mountain. "HELP!" I shouted, hoping someone was close by.

To my amazement, a very familiar orange paw entered my field of view. "Petal?" I said, unwilling to move my head to check. I heard her usual growl, followed by the weirdest sound ever. It took me a few moments to realize she was laughing. "Oh yes, laugh, and when you're done, maybe you'll consider cutting these ropes so I don't drown in that deadly raging river."

It only made her laugh harder. "I was being sarcastic! Get me out of here; it's really annoying and somewhat painful!" Still laughing, she stepped forward and severed the ropes. "Finally" I said, only to realize that I still couldn't move; my legs were caught on something, and Teverah was still too close. "Can you give me a hand?" She moved around me and pushed me so my body wasn't flattening my arms anymore. At long last, I managed to get to my feet, only to slip and fall back down.

At this point, Petal was barely able to stand, she was laughing so hard. She fell to her belly, unable to control her body. Seeing an opportunity, I jumped on her back and pinned her to the ground. She jumped as if I had shocked her, no longer laughing. "Not fun, is it?" I said, refusing to budge as she struggled to get up. She whined really loud, clearly unhappy, and tried to roll over so I would fall off. It worked, somewhat. As she had rolled over, I managed to get my leg caught under her side, so I ended up underneath her with her face right over mine and her body covering me. I turned bright red, and if she hadn't been covered in fur, I had no doubt that she would have been red as well, based on the look in her eyes. She tried to get up off of me, but because of our awkward position, she couldn't move well. She tried again and her nether regions brushed against my crotch, making her freeze and increasing the look of embarrassment and discomfort in her eyes.

"Hold on, let me just move my legs..." I said, looking away from her face. It took a moment, but I managed to get us untangled, after which I rolled away from her and got back up, still beet red.

I coughed a bit, and then indicated Teverah. "I should get her back to camp." Petal nodded vigorously. "Thanks for saving me; I'll see you later today?" I asked. She nodded uncomfortably this time and returned to the forest, disappearing amongst the trees.

I turned back to Teverah and splashed her face with some water from the stream, which finally manage to wake her up.

"Wha... what happened?" She said.

"Um, we fell, hard. I think you blacked out for a little there. I want you to go see Miss Arro right now, in case something happened to your head."

She suddenly gripped her head. "Yeah, you're right, it really hurts." I moved over to grab her before she could fall and together we walked all the way back to camp. "How did you get the ropes off?"

"Oh, I managed to untie the knot." I said, trying to sound proud so she'd buy it, which she did.

Once we got back, I explained the situation to Miss Arro, who immediately steered Teverah off to the medical tent, telling me to stay put so she could check me too. Misses Cocora came over and steered me over to the tent as well, saying that she would check me instead.

I hadn't been in this tent before, so I was surprised by the overpowering scent of disinfectant. 'It smells like a hospital.' I thought. Misses Cocora sat me down and asked me if I hurt anywhere. I told her that besides the minor scrapes I had and the bruises that would appear later, I should be fine. She insisted on cleaning all the scrapes she could reach, much to my displeasure. It took more than 15 minutes before she finally let me go. As I moved to leave the tent, I saw Teverah laying on a small mattress with Miss Arro working on her, an intense look of concentration on her face and, underlying that, pure terror.

"Will she be okay?" I asked.

Miss Arro didn't hear me. "Poppy, get on the phone with the nearest hospital." She said, panic colouring her voice. Misses Cocora shooed me out of the tent on her way to grab her cell phone.

Once I was outside, I started pacing, panic stricken. 'I hope she'll be okay, she seemed fine on the way back.' I quickly became clear that that wasn't the case though, as neither of the teachers exited the tent.

After what felt like an hour, but was really more like 10 minutes, Misses Cocora came out of the tent.

"WELL!?"

"She'll be fine. It turns out she only fell unconscious. She's woken up and is running tests for after effects. As far as we can tell, there isn't any lasting damage, but she won't be doing anything strenuous from now until the camp is over."

I sighed, relieved. "So, I suppose we came in last, didn't we?" I said, trying to lighten the mood.

She smiled a bit. "No, you were disqualified, that means you don't get ranked. Now tell me, what happened exactly. We only got the gist of it from Teverah before she fainted."

"Well, we were reaching for the key by the river when we fell down the hill. Once we were at the bottom, I managed to get out of the ropes, after which I freed Teverah. I realized that she was unconscious and threw some water on her to wake her. Then we walked back."

"I see. And how did you manage to get out of the ropes?" She asked. I may have imagined it, but I thought I saw a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

"I undid the knot." I shrank away a little, uncomfortable. She would probably have pressed the issue, but before she could, 3 teams of girls appeared, disconcerted.

"Misses Cocora, why did you set off the pagers?" They asked. As they did, another team came in sight, and I could hear another shuffling across from the other direction.

"One of our teams got injured during the contest, so I decided to cancel it, to insure no one else would be at risk." She said. She moved to untie the knot on one of the teams and I did the same with another. As more teams retuned, the others began helping as well. Once we were all back, Misses Cocora explained the situation in more detail, and we moved on to a different activity, one which we all did together.

As we moved around the group trying to guess the answer to some riddle, I felt Misses Cocora's eyes boring into me. I couldn't understand how she knew something was up, but it frightened me.

The rest of the day passed slowly. I could tell Misses Cocora was keeping close tabs on me, so at our next break I didn't go to visit Petal and I stole nothing, but instead I got my book out and read under the sun. During the next activity, I did my best to come in first, which wasn't difficult at all since it was a game based almost entirely on strategy and pre-planning. After that we made dinner, during which I didn't attempt to steal anything at all. After dinner, we chatted about the day, but it was annoyingly subdued after Teverah's accident, and everyone ended up turning in early.

The moment it was clear that the day was over, I attempted to slip into my tent before Misses Cocora managed to get to me. I didn't make it.

"So, Maverick, you never came to speak to me about that conscience of yours. Are you sure nothings bothering you?" She asked, a friendly edge to her tone.

"Yes, I'm fine Misses Cocora. I'm just worried about Teverah." I said dismissively. I REALLY wanted to avoid this conversation.

"I see. Well then, have a good night." She said, sounding much colder then she had a moment ago. She turned on her heal and vanished as she moved through the maze of tents back to the she shared with Miss Arro.

'I need to get her off my back.' I thought. I entered my tent and lay down. I knew I would have to wait till late in the night before I left to see Petal, and I wouldn't have anything to bring with me. It was only 9:00, as such I took out a different book then the one I was used to be reading and started it. It had over 500 pages, so I would manage to take a big chunk out of it.

By 11:30, I had gotten bored of reading. I thought I should wait a little longer, but I had gotten arrogant since they hadn't noticed before.

I rose from my bed and made my way out of camp. I was in a hurry. I wanted to apologize to Petal for my actions, and thank her again for saving me. I was so caught up in thought; I didn't notice I was being followed till I was in my usual clearing, the one I used to meditate in. Once I reached it, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me.

"Hello Misses Cocora." I said, knowing it was her.

"Hello Maverick." She said back to me, appearing from the underbrush. "May I ask what you're doing out here so late at night?" Her tone was arrogant; she knew she'd caught me.

"I'd much rather you didn't." I responded, matching her tone. "It's not against the rules to be out at night."

"Indeed, however, we are responsible for your wellbeing while on this trip, and I can't help but fear that you may hurt yourself, like Teverah did. As such, I'm ordering you back to camp, and you can no longer leave after bedtime." She countered, her face wearing the smuggest of smiles.

I ground my teeth. I didn't have an excuse to respond with, so I started walking back to camp. She followed behind me, pleased at her easy victory.

The next day followed the same pattern. Misses Cocora almost glued herself to me, intent on either uncovering my secret or, short of that, preventing me from using it. Miss Arro seemed confused by her behavior, so I assumed she wasn't in on the plan. That is, until I saw the pair of them talking at lunch. After that they alternated, leaving me alone for no more than periods of 5 minute.

At this point, I was getting very frustrated. I vowed I would wait till 3 in the morning to leave and see Petal, so they would assume I had given up. I don't know why I was so obsessed with seeing her, but I knew I wouldn't give up. I needed to talk with her once more.

As such, at 2:45, I got up slowly and silently. I peered through my tent flaps, looking around for either of the teachers. When I didn't see them, I slowly wound my way through camp into the forest. After that, I moved in an unpredictable pattern. It took twice as long as normal, but I finally got to her.

She was sleeping, but her rest was fretful; she kept twitching and whining.

"Petal?" I said, touching her shoulder. She jumped and looked around wildly. When she saw me, she cowered for a moment before she remembered me. Her eyes were glazed with fear and hysteria.

"Petal!" I said, worried. I moved forward and began reassuring her. She didn't draw back this time, letting me pet her. She started to calm down.

"Petal, are you okay?" I asked. She gave a shaky growl, and then started writing. It was much slower and messier then last time.

WHY DIDN'T YOU COME SEE ME?

"The adults back at camp caught me. Don't worry though; I managed to slip by them this time. Petal, I need to ask you something. You're leaving in 2 days, right, since I'm leaving in 2 days?" She nodded, a sad expression conquering the little bit of fear that was still left. "But you don't want me to leave, do you?" She hesitated, and then nodded again. "If, IF I were to ask if I could come with you, how would you react?" She seemed confused. "What I'm saying is, if I wanted to go with you back to wherever you live, what would you think?" Suddenly, she understood. Her expression started changing every second, first shock, then happiness, fear, thoughtful, fear again, and finally acceptance.

She started growing and hissing, trying to communicate with me would be my best guess. The language barrier was stating to piss me off. "I can't understand." I told her. Undeterred, she started scratching out another phrase. Halfway through, she changed her mind, erased it and began again.

WHY?

"Well, I realized that my life is, to put it frankly, boring. Ever since I met you, though, I felt... better. I can't really explain it, but I feel as if this is what I'm supposed to do. I don't want to go back home, because I don't have a life back home. All I do is schoolwork and play video games. I'll miss my parents, but I think I'd miss you more. Please, let me come with you." She began another phrase.

IT WILL BE DANGEROUS

"Is that a yes?" She shook her head. "Oh, well I don't care how dangerous it'll be. In fact, at least it'll be interesting! Please, I really don't care if I die. It's better than this monotonous life I live right now."

IT WILL BE HARSH. FOOD, NATURE, OTHERS WILL ALL BE ENNEMIES

Her meaning was clear, but I realised she was having trouble translating. "You mean we'll have difficulty getting food, the elements such as rain and wind will beet down on us, and we'll meet others that may try and kill us?" She nodded. "I don't care, all I want is an adventure with yo-" I cut myself off, but she already got the gist of it. She tilted her head slightly. "Well, I've grown fond you. I don't want you to leave me. Please, let me follow you. I'll do my best, and if ever you can't bear to have me around anymore, you can just leave me. At least I'll have lived, if only for a short while." She looked hurt, and the next message cut deeply.

I WOULD NEVER LEAVE YOU TO DIE. YOU SAVED MY LIFE

"So, friends?" I asked. She purred back at me, and then wrote:

SOMEWHAT

"Suppose that's the best I'll get. So, can we leave tomorrow night? I'd rather not wait till the last day." She nodded. "I'll meet you here sometime tomorrow with all the stuff I can bring. Oh, one more thing. I'm sorry for what happened earlier today. I shouldn't have held you down." She smiled. Turning to her left, she made some petals float over to us. She arranged them so they made a necklace, and then laid them down in front of me. "Thank you..." I said, touched. I picked it up and placed it around my neck. With that, I got up and returned to camp.

Once I got close, I moved slowly, making sure neither of the teachers were present. To my dismay, one of them had their eyes on my tent. 'They must not have noticed my departure.' I snuck around to my tent and waited. As soon as she looked away, I darted inside and changed into my nightclothes. Then I looked at the clock. It was past 4. 'I'm going to be tired tomorrow.' I realized. 'Oh well.' Then the situation hit me. I almost cheered out loud. I was scared, yes, but I was also happy. It was past 4:30 when I finally fell asleep.

The next day, the teachers didn't wake us till 11. Teverah was with them. "Okay guys, for the rest of the stay, which is only two days, we won't be doing anything physical. Let's start by re-doing the activity we did at the start." The one about each other. We did much better this time, getting almost all the questions right. The day proceeded like any other. The teachers gave me a little more slack, which made me sure they hadn't noticed my escapade last night. By dinner they were pretty much leaving me alone.

As night approached, I was getting nervous. I was also excited, scared, ecstatic, nauseated... the list goes on. I thought about what was going to happen, where we would be going, if there were more of her... I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Finally, it was time to retire for the night. I started packing essentials, such as a blanket so I wouldn't freeze, extra cloths, a little bit of food that I had put aside (Such as granola bars), my water bottle and the flashlight. Then I slipped my wallet into my pocket. I doubted that I would need it once we got to her home, but I didn't know how long the journey to get there would be. I was confronted, once again with the fact that I had no idea of what I was getting myself into. I was abandoning an easy life of slaking off and gaming for a life in, as far as I knew, the wilderness. 'Why did I want this?' I wondered. My current life lacked excitement, that's for sure, but it had many luxuries, many liberties. If I went with this tiger, I would be living every day to survive, probably. I really couldn't think of any pluses asides the excitement and freedom. 'Maybe I shouldn't go...' I reasoned. 'It's a stupid idea...' But then I thought of another plus; I would be able to stay with Petal.

I'm not sure why, but I felt really attached to her. In the few days since I met her, I had saved her life, and she mine. She'd rejected me, and then grown fond of me. I had nursed her back to health. I realized just how much I cared for her, and I felt a certain need to go with her, to follow her to the end of the world. 'Love?' I thought. No, I couldn't be love, she wasn't even human...

'I'll figure it out later. For now, I need to decide: stay or go?' I deliberated, I weighed the pros vs the cons, I argued with myself. Even after half an hour, I still couldn't tell.

'DAMMIT! Why is this so difficult? What's really holding me back?' That was an easy question. If Petal was my driving force, fear was my anchor. I was scared of death, scared of pain, scared of the freedom even. Fear anchored me, but I could conquer fear. What I couldn't conquer was knowing that Petal might leave without me, and that I would never, not ever, get this opportunity again. 'Go' I thought 'I have to go, or I'll never let myself forgive this decision.' I go my stuff, placed it in my backpack, and checked my watch. It was 12:30.

'Might as well leave now.' I checked for the teachers again, and when I couldn't see them, I left. I threw caution to the wind, cutting a strait path to Petal. In hindsight, that was a poor decision.

At my clearing, I was forced to stop, seeing a very familiar silhouette.

"Cocora..." I said, for some reason completely unsurprised.

"Maverick." She responded, her voice even. "I knew you would come, especially after yesterday. You may have lost us that time, but it seems you grew cocky."

"Us?" I said. I turned about to see Miss Arro appearing from the edge of the clearing.

"So, who have you been meeting these past few weeks? Mayhaps it was the robber that plagued our camp?" She said, peering around as if the person she was imagining was just out of sight.

"I haven't been meeting anyone."

"Well then, what's with the bag? Surely you don't intend to leave, do you?" She had me caught. "You aren't going anywhere, Maverick. Tomorrow, we'll drag you onto the bus if we have to, and sit next to you for the whole ride home."

I assessed the situation; one gym teacher in perfect physical condition and one professional kick-boxer, if her stories were accurate. Under normal circumstances, I would have given up there and then. But I had the edge; they had to be gentle, I didn't. As I dropped my bag to the ground, I saw movement in the brush behind Cocora. It was Petal.

I shook my head. She couldn't be seen, or we would have no choice but to kill the two teachers, else her secret would be revealed. She nodded but didn't leave. I didn't car for Cocora, but Arro didn't deserve to die.

Cocora and Arro both prepared themselves. I was thinking hard. Arro was faster, but Cocora was the better fighter. If it was to be 2vs1, I would go down in seconds. I had to take one of them out of the equation. I scanned the surrounding area, but I saw nothing that could tip the scales. I looked back at Cocora, and then I glanced over my shoulder at Arro. They were waiting patiently.

'They think I'm thinking of giving up.' I realized. Suddenly, I found my edge. I dropped my ready stance a little. "Going to come quietly?" Asked Cocora. Her stance lowered slightly as well. I didn't waist a second.

I leaped forward and lashed out with my fist. She almost blocked it, but she went for the wrong spot. I hit her right in the stomach. I heard her breath rush out of her. I leaped past her and started running in the forest. I could hear Arro behind me. She was closing the distance, which was exactly what I needed.

Once she was less than two meters behind me, I spun around and leaped back at her. She was ready, but I still had the edge. I aimed a fist at her head and, when she blocked it, aimed another one at her stomach. She blocked that one too, so I grabbed both her hands and pulled her off balance. Then I elbowed her side and slammed my foot on her lower leg, not breaking it, but coming close. Once she fell to the ground, I smashed my palms against her temples, knocking her unconscious. By now I could hear Cocora catching up to us.

"Don't come after me, Arro needs your help or she may wake up in a bad state." I told her as I turned and ran. "Goodbye, Kat. This is the day you will always remember as the day that you almost caught me!" I couldn't help but quote Pirates of the Caribbean, since it fit perfectly.

To my surprise, however, she kept following me. "Hey, didn't you hear what I said. Arro may not make it if you don't help her."

"I DON'T GIVE A **** AT THIS POINT, I WILL BRING YOU BACK."

'Well, shoot, this is going to be a bit harder than I thought.' I kept running, a plan forming in my head.

I was soon in the clearing where I first met Petal. Once I was near the other side, I turned to face her.

She stopped across from me. "I don't want it to go down this way, but if you insist on following me, I will be forced to kill you, and by extension at least cripple Arro."

"You don't scare me. I wasn't ready for your last attack, but this time I'll make sure to break some bones before I drag you back to camp."

As she glared at me, I saw Petal approaching from behind her. Without Cocora even realizing it, she reared up on her hind paws and struck Cocora in her neck. She crumpled like a plastic bag.

"Is she dead?" I asked. Petal shook her head. "Good. Despite all he's done, I didn't was her to die because I decided to leave. Let me just go get-..." I paused as she indicated my bag with her tail. "K, never mind. A-are, are you ready?" I stuttered, suddenly nervous. She nodded, anticipation flaring in her eyes. "Alright then, let's go..." I hefted my backpack and, without a backward glance, we set off into the forest.

FINALLY. This took MUCH longer then I thought it would. As always, comments are greatly apreciated.