Previous: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1285464069/ First: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1282545404/ Next: None Yet Chapter Three “Vaya help me! It’s scary here! There’s no food or water and I’m all alone!” A scream pierced through Vaya’s mind and then she awoke panting. “Lino… No…” She gasped, sweating. “It was just a dream… Just a dream…” Vaya sighed. She stood up and trotted out of the den. She sniffed the air and swiveled her ears. Her tufts swayed in the wind and she paused. She heard the familiar voices of two arguing Lynx’s nearby. Vaya walked down one of the only paths that were in the forest to find Ataya and Elora arguing. Vaya sat down in front of them and spoke one word to get their attention, “So?” She said, and with that, Ataya and Elora went silent. Ataya looked at Elora and Elora sighed. “Listen, darling, I… we were going to tell you and Lino… but, when…” Elora’s ears drooped, her eyes watered, her words came in short shaky breaths. Ataya stepped forward and placed a paw on Elora’s shoulder. “When Lynx’s started to disappear because of the clawless, everyone seemed to hold their secrets closer. Everyone was -and most still are- afraid that the clawless will find out the secrets. Afraid that they’ll steal our kin, our home and our lives away from us. So we decided to keep it a secret.” Ataya explained. Vaya looked between Ataya and Elora looking to see if there was any way that it was a lie. Yet Vaya found nothing. Ataya was telling the truth. “Listen honey, there’s a secret Lynx organization. It’s called, ‘The Shadows of Iberia’.” Elora said. “When a few of the elders were out one night, they found a… sign.” Vaya’s eyes widened. “A… sign? What kind of sign?” She asked. Ataya and Elora stared at each other for a long moment. “I don’t think you're old enough to hear this. It’s a little… brutal.” Ataya explained, wincing. “But I want to hear the story!” Vaya protested, but Elora shook her head. “No,” Elora sighed, “Not now. Now you need to find Lino and bring him home. I’ll tell Tiago where you’ve gone.” Elora turned to walk away but paused, “Oh and Ataya? You might want to sleep at least five feet away from Vaya.” Elora purred with amusement and Ataya smiled. Vaya frowned and muttered, “Hey! I don’t kick that much! Do I?” Elora just chuckled and turned to walk away. “Do I?” Vaya asked again. Elora turned back towards Vaya. “You have no clue.” Elora chuckled to Vaya, a smile emerging on her face. Vaya’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. “Good luck Vaya! Stay safe, and bring Lino home!” Elora called as she disappeared into the trees. Ataya and Vaya looked at each other for a long moment before Ataya turned the opposite direction that Elora had gone. “Well,” Ataya started. “If we want to find your brother, we better get a move on.” Ataya flicked her tail with amusement before adding, “Don’t make me regret this adventure!” Vaya sighed, looked to the right and left, and finally, bounded after Ataya. “Who said you’d regret it?” Vaya asked. “I’m sure there will be plenty of adventure!” Ataya chuckled. “Of course there’s going to be an adventure with you!” She said in a teasing tone. “Now hurry up or I’m leaving you behind!” Vaya groaned in annoyance and headed after Ataya, her heart swelling with excitement and pounding with hope.
