Previous: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1282545404/ First: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1282545404/ Next: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1285464069/ Chapter One Lino and Vaya were playing in the chilly Autumn weather when a single orange leaf drifted down and landed on Vaya’s nose. Just then she got an idea. “Lino! Do you wanna go out hunting?” She asked. Elora, who was sitting on top of the den, jumped down from her perch. “Lino, Vaya, if you go out hunting,” Elora purred at her children. “Make sure to be back soon and be careful of your surroundings.” “We know mother,” Vaya said before her brother added, “Yeah! We remember our first two hunts!” He chuffed before bounding over to Vaya. “The first two were just practice, Lino!” Vaya exclaimed cheerfully. “This is for real now. Do you smell anything?” Lino didn’t wait. He dropped down into a clumsy hunters crouch and swiveled his ears. “Make sure to stay away from the Black-Path!” Elora called as the two of them padded off. “Come on Vaya!” Lino called out. “I smell a Rabbit!” Vaya followed closely behind Lino but quickly realized where he was going. “Lino! Stop!” She called in panic. “Don’t go that way.” But it was too late. Lino yelped and cried, “Vaya! Help me please! I found the rabbit but it was in one of those silver braided dens.” Vaya ran towards her trapped brother, “Lino, calm down!” She muttered, “There’s probably Clawless nearby!” Vaya’s ears pivoted as she listened to the word around her. The slight sound of a twig snapping made Vaya flinch. She backed away into the trees and pressed her flank against the forest floor while watching her brother closely. Footprints and arguing came. The noise got louder and louder until a metal beast and two Clawless came out from the thicket. Lino backed up against the back of the silver den and hissed. One of the Clawless jumped down from the metal beast and kneeled down pointing at Lino. The Clawless spoke more gibberish before one of them grabbed the silver den and set it down gently on the back of the metal beast. The taller Clawless grabbed a small silver bone and twisted it inside of a small slot in the metal beast. It growled and started to move. Vaya cried leaping up, “Lino! No fight the metal beast!” Vaya gave chase after the metal beast, her legs carrying her faster and faster. Yet even then Vaya could not run fast enough to keep up with the metal beast. She stopped in her tracks panting her legs throbbing from the fast run. Her ears perked up when she heard the voice of another lynx nearby. “Child, what are you doing? Don’t you know that no lynx can ever outrun a metal beast?” The voice said, “My name is Ataya and I believe that I know where the Clawless are taking your brother.” Vaya whipped her head around to see the figure of a lynx with large ear tufts and a single scared blind eye. “You… you really think you can take me to him?” Vaya asked, her voice quivering. Ataya nodded, “Yes I can but you have to keep up!” Ataya started to back away towards the direction that the metal beast went. Vaya composed herself and ran after Ataya, and with that, the journey had begun.
