Safe Haven

Chapter 7

Safe Haven - Chapter 7

Kyrr set out at a brisk pace. His coat tingled with wetness, as he had taken a brief time to wash away the dirt and blood from the previous night. It was early noon, but the sun was obscured by a layer of thick mist. Visibility was low, and Kyrr often found strange objects looming out of the shadows. He often shrank away from the menacing figures, before realizing it was simply a tree, or large pile of boulders.

At last, he reached the border of Noble Hearted territory. He had crawled much farther than he had originally thought, and now, gazing over the shrouded plain, he felt small. He placed one paw over the borderline, and dipped his head down to sniff the grass. Drops of dew tickled his nose, and under the layer of dew he smelled the fierce territorial warning.

Stay away.

He took another deep breath, then deliberately stepped into the land. The edges of Noble Hearted's land were rarely guarded, and it would be a long time before anyone would find his trail, and by the time they did, he would be long gone. But still, it would be best to remain somewhat hidden, and Kyrr skirted the territory carefully, drifting from the shadow to shadow like a wraith.

Continuing like this took Kyrr a long time to reach the watering hole he had been at. The sun was sinking towards the horizon, spreading its last weak rays over the land. The plains were eerily silent. The pride must be mourning Leo's death, Kyrr thought. He felt a tingle of anger. Leo hadn't deserved such a bloody death, and even though Kyrr had never liked him and was supposedly his killer, he felt slightly sympathetic, but banished the thought.

He sniffed around carefully, searching for signs, or anything. He passed the thorn bush he had gotten tangled in, and smiled ruefully at the tufts of sandy fur in the brambles. Then, something caught his attention.

It was just a faint tendril of tan fur, caught in the thorns as well. It was just a shade lighter than his own, but he knew his own fur.

The tuft wasn't enough for him to figure out the scent, but he suddenly remembered the nagging feeling that he had felt that day, that he had been followed. Kyrr ran to the place where he had waited while the group hunted, and circled it with caution. The first threads of an idea were forming in his mind. After nosing around, he found a scuffed paw print, too large to be one left by him or one of the cubs. He let the training he had taken in tracking kick in. The paw print was light and the weight was evenly spaced through the toes. It was moderately large, probably one of a grown female or large young male.

So, a grown lioness or large young male had been tracking him. He or she was probably the same one who framed him for Leo's death. There were currently no large young adult males in the Noble Hearted, so it had to be a lioness.

Who?

Kyrr thought back to that day. Had anyone looked guilty? All he remembered were masks of fury.

Then a thought occurred to him. Kyrr remembered faintly that Kharia had made a stealthy entrance, after he had returned to the camp. Her coat had been freshly washed and groomed carefully. A sickening realization forced bile into his throat. No, his own mother wouldn't kill Leo and blame it on him, would she? And why would she kill Leo?

There was only one way to find out. He would have to find her.