Mao Mao's Secret

Suspicion

"Hey, Adorabat?" Badgerclops approached the blue child after Mao Mao declared he was going out on a sudden walk around town. The cat never did walked in the city for leisurely activities. He usually went on walks in the forest.

"Yeah Badgerclops?" Adorabat tilted her head slightly, staring up at the badger with wide eyes, her usual smile on her face.

"Is it just me, or does Mao Mao seem off?" The little bat's face suddenly formed a small frown.

"He has been wanting a lot of alone time, and he also looks really tired all of the time now." Adorabat became very solemn as she spoke, staring down at the ground with sad eyes.

"Yeah. What do you think is up with that?" Badgerclops sat next to Adorabat, wanting to comfort her, but not knowing how.

"I don't know. You don't think we did something wrong do you?" The blue child's eyes looked like they would sprout tears any moment.

"Maybe we did something to upset him." Badgerclops quickly pulled Adorabat into a comforting hug.

"No little buddy. Mao Mao would tell us if we upset him, besides I don't think it's got anything to do with us." Badgerclops hugged Adorabat for a moment longer before Adorabat broke away.

"So how are we gonna find out what's wrong with Mao Mao?" The little deputy rubbed her eyes. Badgerclops scratched his head, carefully thinking out a plan.

"How about, the next time he skips patrol, we take the aerocycle to the bottom of the pathway up here, so he thinks we left, and walk back up." Badgerclops liked the idea, but Adorabat shook her head.

"Won't the Sky Pirates try to take the aerocycle again for the gem cell?" Badgerclops merely smile and shook his head.

"No. I put a special alarm that doubles as a lock. If anyone except me trys to open it, it'll sound off, then we can get whoever tried to steal the gem cell." Adorabat began smiling again, liking how the plan sounded.

"Okay! Let's do it!"

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Mao Mao didn't take a walk through town, he had said that so his friends wouldn't look for him in the forest, where he really was. He was sitting with his toes dipped into the cool water of a pond he had found on his last walk. It's water was crystal clear, and soothing to his aching feet. Every part of him ached.

The attacks from the monsters and Sky Pirates had a sudden increase the past few weeks, and the king had called the sheriff's department to the castle just to shine about his petty problems on more then one occasion, not to mention the Sweatypies just got more annoying and seemed particularly butter towards the cat. The sheriff was exhausted, and a little upset. He was starting to feel more uncomfortable about the side if himself he kept hidden from others. The hero was starting to think that maybe he should take next patrol off and read his book again. Some of his mother's tea might help as well.

It was a lot sooner then he would have liked, and Adorabat and Badgerclops would definitely have questions, but he really needed it. If he had to pretend any longer he might loose it. Mao Mao sighed and pulled his toes out of the water. If he didn't head back soon Adorabat and Badgerclops would get worried.

All the way home, the bitter feeling stayed in Mao Mao's heart. He managed to plaster a fake smile on his face as Adorabat greeted him at the door. Badgerclops had ordered pizza for a movie night dinner.

"Hey man, what movie do you want to watch?" The cyborg held up three movies that he had picked from their collection. A movie that Mao Mao didn't recognize was in the badger's hand.

"What's that one?" The sheriff asked his deputy, pointing at the new movie.

"Oh it's called An Adventurer's Loving Heart. It's based off of this book that was really popular when it first came out a few years ago." Mao Mao felt a striking realization hit him. He hadn't seen the title of the movie...that was based off his favorite book. He knew most movies based of books didn't work out well, but he felt a nagging tug in him that wanted to watch the movie, but he couldn't. Badgerclops would realize something's up if he showed any signs of liking the movie because Mao Mao pretended to only like action movies.

"Uh...I'm actually pretty tired. I'm gonna go to sleep." The cat briskly walked to the room he and his deputy's shared.

"Mao Mao, you haven't eaten anything!" Adorabat protested.

"I'm not hungry either." The sheriff quickly closed the door before either deputy could protest.

Mao Mao flopped into his bunk, actually feeling tired. Maybe some sleep would help him feel better. Curling up in his cape, the sheriff drifted off into a peaceful sleep.