Chapter 45: Patrolling the Territory

Later, everyone was inside the training room in The Bending Tower. Ash was in between Flare and Crash, and everyone was sitting around, talking, waiting for instructions from Goldwing, who was at the front of the room, talking to Kabu. Since it was snowing, Kabu had ordered everyone to move into the training room for a meeting.
"Everyone, settle down!" yowled Goldwing, making everyone turn their attention to the winged leader, eager to listen to what he had to say. Goldwing exchanged looks with Kabu, then turned to everyone. Ash perked his ears to hear better. Wonder what they're gonna say, he thought eagerly, as he saw Goldwing had opened his jaws to speak. "Airwing has predicted that this snow is going to be none like any other, it's going to be big. With that said, we must make preperations. Slice, Miguel, Crystal, Flare, do you still know how to Firebend?"
"No," Crystal replied.
"Well, I know a little..." Slice shrugged.
"I know some," Miguel nodded.
"I know pretty decent Firebending," Flare responded.
"Good. It's going to be cold; in every room I need you to somehow put fire in there without burning the room down. Make a fire that can keep everyone warm," Goldwing nodded. "We're also going to have hunters getting prey. Kabu, you handle making those patrols. And River?"
River stepped forward. "Yes sir?"
"You're going to make patrols to find loners throughout the territory and bring them into The Bending Tower," Goldwing ordered. "We need to help the loners because they'll freeze to death. We already have some loners with us: Cinder, Tiggerpaka and Masang. Take any other loner needs to be brought in."
"Oh great, we're having a bunch of strangers in here?" muttered Stone, who was a few feet away from Ash. Ash couldn't help but agree. What if a Firebender could've thought Goldwing would bring in loners and come to spy when brought in? Maybe Goldwing would make sure the loners that came in weren't very suspicious. Ash reminded himself to keep his guard up.
"Okay," Kabu stepped forward. "Here's who we're gonna have hunting: Stone. You lead Raoul, Max, Charlotte, Mistletoe, Rusty and Maisoon." Stone nodded and walked away, followed by the rest of the patrol, and they exited the room. "Diamond, you lead Dust, Airia, Darner, Twig, Crash and Eris." With that, Diamond's hunters left. "Now, Zapada, you lead Nyx, Cora, Midnight, Dell and Twig." Then, that patrol exited the room. Kabu stepped back, and River took his place.
"Searching patrols," River nodded, "Shell, you lead Akumu, Twister, Ash, Pine, Light and Windows."
A beautiful female lion nodded. She headed for the exit, and Ash bounded after her, Light close behind, followed by Akumu and Twister. Windows and a female coyote brought up the rear. River's voice faded behind Ash as he headed down the stairs and went outside, where the snow was getting heavier.
"It's c-cold! Akumu complained.
"Well, it's not as cold as Mt. Ice was," Light snorted. "And that place was horrible."
"Alright now, let's go," Shell nodded, and they all headed into the forest. The leaves swished around Ash's paws as he walked through them.  He looked up at the snow, remembering it from Mt. Ice. He had been told it came from the sky, but didn't quite imagine it was swift and beautiful as this. Ash didn't quite remember snow before, no matter how far back in his memories he went. Maybe I was born in white-earth? Ash suggested to himself.
"Aren't you Kabu's mate?" Akumu's question to Shell snapped Ash back to reality and away from his daydreams. They were heading into the area where all the fallen trees were.
"Yes, I am," Shell nodded, smiling at Akumu. "He's a good Bender."
"Yeah, I look up to Kabu," Akumu smiled back. "Even though he made us do all that tough training..."
"Agreed, seemed like he did all that for no reason..." Twister mumbled.
Shell perked her ears, "He didn't do that for no reason. It was for good reason."
"What'd he do it for?" Ash asked, curious.
"To make all of you stronger. Have you noticed that after a moon of that training you've had more strength than before?" Shell responded. "You may have thought it was for no reason, but it has indeed helped you a lot."
Ash realized Shell was right. "Oh... That is true. I managed to pull Willow out of the fallen trees," commented Ash, jumping onto one of the fallen trees and standing on them.
"See?" Shell smiled.
"We should get back to detecting the loners," Light pointed out.
"Right," Shell nodded. "Do any of you know any loners around here?"
"Well, let's see," Ash said, looking at the snow on his nose, crossing his eyes. He then turned his attention to Shell. "Ember, for one. He's a fox. And another one, Midnight, she's a wolf. They're close friends so they should be together."
Shell nodded. "Alright. On the way, try to detect scents of any other loners."
Ash moved to jump off the tree, but instead slipped because of the snow. He fell onto the ground with a grunt, but got to his paws. He saw Light snicker at him, and Ash rolled his eyes, and walked past her, trying to catch up to Windows.
"So do you like this cold weather?" Ash asked him.
"Not one bit," Windows mumbled. "Why did I even join this place? I could be in a much warmer area..."
"Then join the Fire Nation if you're so cold, they live next to an active volcano," Light snorted.
Windows narrowed his eyes, "Are you saying I should go join the Firebenders?"
Ash braced himself for the upcoming argument. He knew for a fact Light never backed down from something like this, and Windows didn't seem like the type to surrender, either.
"Well sure, you seem good enough to feed the Firebenders. Perfect rank for you," Light smirked.
"You'd be perfect for that, too. I mean, you're not even a full Bender yet," Windows retorted.
"At least I can live during a snowstorm," Light growled.
Just as Windows opened his jaw to make a reply, Shell stopped them. "Quiet, guys. We need to focus on getting the loners."
Ash kept trotting along with the group and he smelled the air, picking up a scent. He then checked the ground. "Ember. He's been here."
Shell sniffed at the air. "Okay," she nodded, and began following the scent. Ash came behind her, and Akumu and Twister followed, both looking around at the place. Pine still said nothing, trotting silently. Ash looked at Pine, and she looked back. Ash quickly looked away and kept his eyes focused on ahead.
"Hello," said a voice. Ash perked his ears, and smiled. Success. He turned around and looked up in the tree, spotting Ember. Just as he expected.
"Hello, Ember," Ash nodded in greeting. "How are you surviving the snow?"
Ember jumped down from the tree gracefully. He walked over to the patrol, leaving pawprints in the snow. "Well, Midnight and I have been hunting prey, not much luck though. It's pretty cold out," Ember commented.
"See?" Windows turned to Light, "I'm not the only one who's cold."
"Well at least the fox doesn't complain," Light snapped. She then turned to Ember and raised an eyebrow, suspicious. She sniffed at him. "Hey... He's a Firebender." She then growled.
"Firebender?" Windows echoed, "Well it's about time we'll see some action 'round here!"
"Former Firebender," Ember corrected him. "I left them."
"Congratulations," Light rolled her eyes.
For the first time, Ash saw Ember a bit annoyed. "Why can't anyone trust me?" he snorted.
"Because, well, I don't know..." Light said sarcastically, "Because you could be a spy!" she exclaimed.
"Light, calm down, there's no proof that Ember here is a spy," Shell nodded. She then turned to the fox. "Look, the snow is going to get harsher and harsher. It's going to be a blizzard, supposedly." When she said this, Ember's eyes grew wide, full of worry. "So, we're inviting you and your friend Midnight to stay at The Bending Tower until this blizzard blows over."
"Did someone say my name?"
A black she-wolf stepped through the bushes. "Hey, Ember. What's up?" she then turned to the patrol. "Oh, Twister! Akumu! Ash! Hi."
"Hey," Twister said.
"Midnight, Shell said this is going to turn into a blizzard," Ember explained.
"A blizzard?" Midnight said in a tone that sounded like she didn't believe it. "How would you know?"
"I don't," Shell said, voice full of confidence. "But I trust in my leader that the prophecy one our elders had is true."
Midnight turned to Ember, "Well what do you think?"
"It's not like they're gonna harm us, we should take shelter there." Ember nodded.
"What, you don't trust us?" Windows challenged Ember.
"When you've grown up at the Fire Nation it's weird when someone asks to take you in for shelter," Ember shrugged. "We'll come. The blizzard would kill us if we don't."
Shell nodded. "You'll be safe with us."

Ash walked with the patrol and they came back to The Bending Tower. Shell walked with them up to Kabu. Midnight was in conversation with Twister and Akumu as they walked. Ember was examining the Tower, looking in awe at it. Kabu had came up to them. "So who do you have here?" he asked Shell.
"Ember and Midnight," replied Shell.
"So now we have two Midnights," smiled Kabu.
Ash nodded in agreement; he remembered Kabu calling an animal by the name of "Midnight" before, but Ash had never saw him before.
"This is probably just temporarily though," Midnight assured him.
"What do you want us to do now?" Shell asked.
Kabu licked her ear. "Go rest. Shell, you've been hunting last night, you deserve rest."
Shell smiled. "Of course." Shell then went into The Bending Tower, and Kabu turned to Ember and Midnight. "You two... Twister and Akumu can show you to the travelers' room. That's where our loners stay."
Twister smiled. "Follow me, guys," she then walked into The Bending Tower.
Kabu turned to Ash, "Ash, you go help Twister and Akumu."
Ash nodded, and darted after Twister and Akumu. He skidded to a halt when he came in, seeing Twister and Akumu looking at him. "Kabu asked me to come with you," he explained.
"What, Kabu doesn't trust us so he needs three Benders to guide us?" Ember chuckled. Midnight smiled in amusement, and they kept walking, Twister, Akumu and Ash escorting them.

Author's Note:
*insert author's note here*   *-*

Chapter 44: Hunting Patrol

"For Lifebreeze's sake, what's with the winds today?!" growled Rusty, fighting against the strong wind pushing his fur back.
Ash was very cold, but it was a hunting patrol, so he had to focus on the prey, much less the weather. He didn't like it either, but he had been ordered to go hunting. "I know," Ash grunted, walking over one of the fallen trees.
Charlotte narrowed her eyes against the wind, looking up at the sky. Dark clouds were forming. "My, look at how dark the clouds are! I'm surprised it's not raining."
Ash nodded agreement. While the apprentices were training, Kabu had sent him, Rusty, Charlotte, Crash and Firefly to go hunting. It had been a moon since Ash was made a full Bender, so he was getting used to his responsibilities.
Firefly sniffed the air. "I can detect a shrew. Hard to believe the prey is out in this cold weather."
"Must be looking for shelter. White-earth approaches," Crash nodded. "I don't like this time. Each time it comes back, it's always harsher than the last time, it seems."
"What happens in 'white-earth'?" Ash asked.
"The place gets covered in snow and it's very cold," Rusty grumbled.
"Well, if you live at the Water Tribe, it's not the cold that shocks you but the heat," Firefly smiled.
"Then you must really enjoy this weather," grunted Rusty, jumping over another fallen tree.
Firefly shook his head, "I don't like the cold, but I manage to live." He got into a stalking position, and walked slowly through the grass, then pounced. Ash saw him jump onto a shrew, striking it and killing it.
"One's better than nothing," Crash shrugged. "Now we need to find some more prey."
"Do you think there'll be any deer around?" Rusty wondered, "We could make a nice meal out of that."
"I dunno what deer do around this time," Charlotte shrugged.
Ash shivered, not just from the cold, as he remembered his encounter with a deer: on their way to the Water Tribe a deer had charged at them, giving Ash a side injury. It wasn't a normal deer, though; it was huge. Its antlers were mighty, very sharp, many on his head.
"We could try finding some deer," Crash suggested, "And on the way, look out for prey."
Ash sniffed the air, and could just make out the scent of rabbit. "Aha," he murmured, and began walking through the undergrowth. He followed the scent, and could tell the patrol had stopped to wait for him to come back. He looked around, and saw the bushes rustle. Ash jumped into the bushes, and pinned something to the ground, and it yowled.
"Ash!" it exclaimed, "Is it really you?"
Ash got off it. He realized it was no ordinary rabbit. "Masang?" he said, a smile coming onto his face. Masang had been the rabbit who helped them get to the Water Tribe. He recognized Masang, seeing his makeshift "earmuffs" over his ears.
"Gotcha!" yowled a voice, and Masang was pinned to the ground by Firefly. He looked at Ash, "Why haven't you killed him yet?"
"That's not prey!" Ash exclaimed, "That's Masang!"
"Who?"
Masang got to his paws. "The name is Masang. And thank you for not killing me. Look, I'm prey, but I can talk. And you know the rule."
"The rule?" Ash echoed.
Masang turned to Ash, "Yeah, one of the laws--"
"Don't kill prey that talks," interrupted a voice, and Rusty stepped through, the wind blowing on his fur. "The Peacebenders don't allow us to kill talking prey because it means they're 'special' and they have a soul."
"So prey that doesn't talk..." Ash began.
"Are stupid and are meant to be eaten," Rusty confirmed.
Charlotte came. "Masang! It's you!" she exclaimed.
"Hello, Charlotte!" Masang smiled. "Good to see you. Long time no talk."
"You can say that again," Charlotte nodded.
Crash jumped through the bushes. "May I interrupt this social conversation?"
"Oh, sorry Crash," said Rusty. "This is Masang, our old friend from when we went to the Water Tribe."
"Ah, Masang, yes... The patrol told me about you," Crash nodded. "Can we help you?"
"Yes, you can," Masang nodded. "I have information."
"Okay," Crash nodded.
"Oh, and I also have some... Er, animals with me," Masang said, and, as if on queue, out from the bushes came Tiggerpaka.
"Tiggerpaka?!" Rusty and Ash exclaimed.
"Yes, it is I, the mighty Tiggerpaka!" Tiggerpaka confirmed, holding his head up high. "I helped your little bunny friend get here."
"Who?" Firefly asked.
"Your bunny friend, Masang!" Tiggerpaka exclaimed.
"No, you," Firefly said.
"Me? Why, I'm Tiggerpaka, explorer of the land! Because of white-earth approaching I decided to stay at your 'Tower' and help you out with survival," Tiggerpaka smirked.
"More like relax in the comfort of the travelers' room," murmured Rusty.
"Oh, there's another one," Masang nodded. "Cinder! C'mon out!"
A gray she-cat poked her head out of the bushes. "Oh... Hi." She stepped out and came in front of the patrol.
"How did this turn from a hunting patrol to a friend reunion?" Crash muttered. He then looked at Cinder "Um... Hello there."
"Oh, glad I'm not the only cat," Cinder smiled. "You're hunting?"
"Um, yes, we are," Crash nodded.
"Sorry we interrupted," Cinder sighed. "I was in a tree and Masang and this squirrel came along and found me."
"I'm sorry, dear, but I am not a squirrel, I am a meerkat. The name is Tiggerpaka," said Tiggerpaka, holding his head high.
"Yes, Tiggerpaka," Cinder nodded. "I need shelter... I've been cold."
"We can get you that," Crash said.
"Thank you..." Cinder smiled. "Where do you live?"
"In a place we call The Bending Tower," Ash responded, trying to be helpful. "Are you a Bender?"
"Bender? Well... I came across a place called the 'Earth Kingdom' and they taught me a bit of what they referred to as... Earthbending," Cinder said.
She's a kind animal, Ash thought, At least she won't be causing any trouble. "We can show you to The Bending Tower."
"But we need prey!" Charlotte exclaimed.
"You need prey?" Cinder echoed. "Oh, I can get you some!" she darted off.
"Weird cat, she is," Rusty murmured. He turned to Crash. "You're seriously letting her come to The Bending Tower?"
"We can't turn down a loner in need," Crash shook his head. Right then, Cinder came back, carrying three magpies.
"Sorry it's not a lot!" Cinder apologized, "I'm just a cat, y'know, we're not very strong." She ran away, then came back with three rabbits.
"This is good," Ash examined the prey. "Did you get these all by yourself?"
"Over the seasons," Cinder smiled sweetly. "Lot of work but I did it. Besides, you're giving me shelter, you deserve this."
"Thank you," Crash nodded. "We should--"
Suddenly, white flecks began falling from the sky. Ash looked at them, confused. What is this?
"Snow," breathed Masang, "We need to get to The Bending Tower."

Author's Note:
Yay, Masang's back! :3 Thanks to Cinder for Cinder. ;) Ash's first time seeing snow, eh?

Chapter 43: Feeling Grief

Stone was standing over Fan, looking down at the peahen. "I... I don't know what to say..." she said, voice cracked from sadness. "I thought... I thought Fan would survive this."
Darner put his tail around Stone's shoulder. "She's in a better place now, definitely, she'd be welcome there."
Rainbow's head was hanging in sadness, sitting over Amur's dead body. Her tail was around one of Amur's paws, grief on her face.
Ash sighed, looking at all the sad faces. "If... If only there weren't so many... Deaths," he said to himself.
"We should be grateful it wasn't many," said Charlotte, startling Ash, who had just realized she was next to him. "They may have been good Benders, but... But it wasn't a lot."
Ash kept looking at the dead bodies, wordless. Questions lingered in his head: what caused this storm? It was more extreme than any other storm in history. Why didn't the Peacebenders warn them? Why would this happen to them? Did it strike any other places other than The Bending Tower?
Suddenly, Goldwing landed on the ground, some of the young in his mouth. Airia, Zapada and Nyx followed, landing on the ground around Goldwing, who put some of the young on the ground, and they all went running, crying, to their mothers and fathers.
"Mom! Mom!" squeaked a little kit, running to Rainbow, leaning against her fur. The rest of the kits followed, and Rainbow put her tail around them, sadness on her face.
"Mom! I was so scared!" wailed one of the kits, burying his face in her fur.
"Streak, you're fine now... It's all gonna be okay," breathed Rainbow, her body shaking from her grief. She licked her kits' heads, trying to calm them down.
"M-Mom...!" squeaked a brown kit, "Wh-Where's dad?"
Ash's muscles tensed, wondering what the kits' reactions would be to finding their father dead. His throat clogged up with grief, feeling terribly sorry for the kits, and all of the young who had been scared from the tragic storm.
"Nzuri..." sighed Rainbow, licking her kit's head, "Your father... Has gone to a better place."
"A b-better place?" Streak asked.
"But... He'll be... Coming back, right?" asked Nzuri.
Ash hung his head in sadness, not wanting to watch the kits. Everyone was silent, all of them seemed to be looking at Rainbow and her kits, and each and every one of them seemed sad for her, even Hazen, the loner.  Goldwing's eyes were shut tight, he seemed to be still taking in all of the bad stuff that had happened to them all. He shook his head quickly and swiftly jumped onto the boulder, "Yes, we have had many losses, and we will have the animals buried tonight. May the Peacebenders protect them well."
Everyone was already gathered under the boulder, looking up at Goldwing, wondering what to do. All Ash wanted to do was go back to The Bending Tower and curl up in his den and pray he had only been in a nightmare. Eclipse sat on his right, and she put her tail on Ash's back. "It'll all be fine," she whispered, "Soon we'll have forgotten about this and moved onto other things. Besides, the dead ones are watching over us this very moment..."
"Since we're all in a moment of sadness, I'd like to do something that supposedly would cheer us up a little bit. The patrol who brought Tiggerkat back contained some apprentices who had been training for quite a while. "Dust, Ash and Rusty... And, on Airia's request, Charlotte too."
Ash perked his ears. What could possibly be happening that Goldwing wants with us? he wondered, full of anxiety.
"Peacebenders," Goldwing began, "hear my words as I make Dust, Ash, Rusty and Charlotte into full Benders. They have worked hard to understand Bending, and are ready to take their turns to become full Benders. Dust, do you agree that you are ready to become a full Earthbender, and that you can take on all of these responsibilities?"
"Yes!" Dust yowled, unable to hide the excitement he had.
Ash was wide-eyed. They were finally, after so many moons, becoming full Benders? What he had joined The Bending Tower to achieve?
"Rusty?"
"Of course!" Rusty exclaimed, his legs trembling.
"Ash?"
"I do," Ash breathed, his heart racing.
"And Charlotte?"
"I will," Charlotte nodded.
"Then with the help of the Peacebenders, you may all get your wish. When I tap your head, the Peacebenders' powers will make you stronger, faster, and a better Bender." Goldwing walked forward and tapped Dust on the head, eyes wide. He then tapped Rusty's head, who had his eyes as equally wide as his brothers', then Goldwing tapped Ash's head, and finally moved onto Charlotte.
Out of nowhere, Ash felt strength building inside of him, making him instantly feel stronger, like he could take on any enemy, anytime, anywhere. At the same time this felt good, and he kept getting more and more excited.
Then, Ash felt the feeling go down to his legs, and felt them be stronger. He had the urge to run, run and run forever, and figured this would come in handy for whenever he had to outrun an enemy.
After that, it stopped.
"Dust," Goldwing said, "Rusty. Ash. Charlotte." He had taken a pause after every name. "You are now officially full Benders. Welcome."
At first everyone was silent. Ash was silent too, wordless, he couldn't think of what to say; he was now a full Bender, after thinking he'd never make it that far.
"Yeah, go Rusty, Dust, Ash and Charlotte!" exclaimed Crystal, howling. Flare joined in too, cheering alongside Crystal.
"Good job guys!" yowled Eclipse, a smile on her face.
Then, everyone was cheering. Ash felt his heart racing, pride swelling in his chest, and he had almost forgotten about the storm that had occurred. It was one minute that they were apprentices, and now, full Benders.
Ash turned his head and saw Hazen eyeing him, just him, only him, not the others. An evil smile spread on his face, but only for a second, then it went away. Did I just imagine that, or did Hazen really do an evil smile? Thought Ash, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

Author's Note:
Yay. ^U^

Chapter 42: Aftermath

Airia shook her head, "Ash, I can't carry you much longer," she said through the bundle of fur in her mouth, "I need to protect Rainbow's kits."
"Drop me on the Earth below!" Ash yowled, trying to make himself heard over the rumbling thunder and lightning. "I'll be fine."
"I'm scared!" mewled one of the kits.
"You'll be fine," Airia said, and dropped Ash onto the ground, and flew off into the distance, followed by Goldwing and the others, obviously trying to get to a place without thunder and lightning to be safe from the dangerous storm.
Another rumble came, piercing Ash's eardrum. Suddenly, everyone was howling and yowling alarm, looking up at the sky. Ash looked, and gasped as he saw a huge ball of lightning, growing bigger and bigger. Lightning came out of all of it, and a strong wind swept the land, making Ash's fur ruffle.
Suddenly, the ball of lightning disappeared, and the clouds departed quickly, leaving the area, revealing the sun and a cloudless blue sky. Birds came into the area and Ash could hear them singing. It was like a land with peace.
But the destruction around him made Ash not forget what just occurred.
Kabu, a scar running over his back, fresh and bleeding, hopped on top of a rock. "Where is Feather?"
"Here!" Feather flew up to Kabu, her tail feather ripped. However, she didn't look too badly injured, not like the rest of them. Which is good, thought Ash, if we had an injured healer it wouldn't be too good.
"Feather, I need you to attend to any and all injuries. Those without serious injuries, I need you to investigate those we lost," Kabu ordered.
"Where did Goldwing go?" asked Flare.
"He went with Airia and the others who could fly to get the young to a safe place," responded Kabu, as Eclipse came over to him to stop the bleeding on his back.
Rainbow wailed. "My kits! Are they okay?"
"Should be," nodded Darner, "don't worry, even though your mate is dead, your kits will be fine, as they still have you."
"But they don't have their father," said Rainbow.
"Rainbow, we'll guard your kits with our life," nodded Crash, a huge tom-cat.
Feather flew over to Rainbow, examining her ripped ear. She put a leaf onto it, "This should stop it. Eat this berry," she pushed a berry to Rainbow, with her talons. "It'll stop the pain."
Rainbow slowly ate the berry, while Crash and Darner began discussing something. Ash walked up to Kabu. "Can... Can I help in any way?"
"Look at the dead animals, I want you to get them together so we can hold a funeral," Kabu ordered. Ash nodded and ran to Fan, definitely dead. He sniffed her, and she had a dead scent. Sighing, Ash bit on Fan's neck and dragged Fan to the middle of the area. "You were a great Bender," Ash nodded, "I'll never forget how great you were."
Ash then headed for the collapsed trees where Willow had been buried. He climbed up the trees, digging his claws in so he wouldn't lose his grip. Ash got to the top and squeezed down a gap, going into the darkness. He could scent Willow, and the dead scent lingered with it. "I think you'd have been great while battling with the Firebenders. Too bad we lost a good Bender..." he grabbed Willow, and jumped out of the gap. He realized he was stronger, because Willow was quite heavy. He took her over to Fan, laying her next to the dead peahen. Already Benders were gathering around, staring at the dead bodies, sadness on their faces.
Alright now... Mystery, thought Ash, and he ran over to the dead monkey, who bared a terrible scar on her neck, bleeding. Wow, something hit her in the neck, that must've been bad, Ash told himself, and he took her to the group of dead animals. "Mystery, you were a great Bender," Ash said, and with that, he went to retrieve Amur, and noticed the white loner wolf. He stopped in his tracks and looked at him. Blood was on his paws.
"Um... Hello," Ash trotted up to him.
"Hello," whispered the white wolf, his voice strange. A shiver ran down Ash's spine. Something about the white wolf made him creeped out, but couldn't find what.
"Are... Are you a loner?" Ash asked.
"I... Guess you could say that..." said the white wolf, examining the beautiful sky. He looked at Ash. "Remarkable Bender you are, yes..."
"Er, thank you...?" Ash said cautiously. "Where do you come from?"
"Ash, sometimes there are questions you'd not like to know the answers to," responded the white wolf calmly. "My name is Hazen, just to let you know... Thought you'd ask something like that." He walked away.
Hmm, strange wolf... thought Ash. He jolted, wait, how did he know my name?!

Author's Note:
Creepy wolf... o3o

Chapter 41: Who Will Survive?

Ash landed on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. As he struggled to recover, he began breathing fast, only to be thrown again, and hit the tree. The wind was once again knocked out of his body, and his bones ached. Lightning then hit the tree nearby, and Ash yowled and backed away quickly, wanting to escape the madness.
"Ash!" yowled Charlotte, and she fell to the ground, being thrown by the earthquake as well. She got to her paws and ran towards him, only to be thrown again, landing next to Ash. She got up again, "What's happening?!"
"I don't know!" Ash exclaimed, "Stay calm, it'll--" he stopped as lightning hit the ground nearby, and he whimpered and jumped in fear, backing up slowly.
Ash heard a yowl. Willow was looking around desperately, trying to dodge the lightning that kept occurring  As she ran, two trees got struck by lightning and collapsed on top of her, and her howl of fear was cut off, and she was nowhere to be seen, buried under the fallen tree logs.
"Willow!" Ash howled, and ran as another tree collapsed near him. Another jolt from the earth sent him flying and he hit a tree, and it fell from some lightning, and he fell onto the tree. He felt like a helpless mouse, being tossed around by a young animal for fun. Now he knew how the mouse felt: helpless, in pain.
Some thing in the sky was flying. Airia and Goldwing were carrying some of the young, obviously trying to keep them from getting harmed. Zapada and Nyx were helping out, too. A lightning bolt came hurdling towards Airia, and Ash yowled in fear. Luckily, Airia dodged it, and Ash let out a sigh of relief: Airia was still alive.
Goldwing was talking to Airia, but Ash couldn't hear him over the sounds of thunder and the earthquake. Suddenly, something hit Ash. Raoul had fallen into him, yowling in a mixture of fear and pain. Raoul scampered off Ash. "Sor-" he began, and another earthquake bursted under him and he yowled, his paw getting hit. Ash was thrown away again, and lightning came for him, but it hit a tree, leaving a mark on it.
A giant thunder clap came, piercing Ash's eardrums. With that, a huge lightning bolt came down, the speed of light, and Ash heard a scream. The lightning had hit Fan, and she fell to the ground, dead.
"Fan!" yowled Stone, bearing a scar over her right eye. She ran for the peahen, and a lightning bolt hit the place she had just been standing. Darner followed, yelling Stone's name.
"Stone! Be careful!" he kept running after her, and the earthquake caused him to be thrown into her.
An earsplitting screech came across the clearing. Ash, hiding under a fallen tree, had barely enough energy to turn his head to look at what it was because he was so injured. He then became wide-eyed as he saw a monkey laying there, blood coming out of her neck, her eyes closed. Ash suddenly recognized who it was: Mystery, the she-monkey who had been one of the first Benders he had met.
"No, Mystery!" screamed Amur, but his cry was cut off as a tree fell down on top of him, killing him.
"Amur!" screamed Rainbow, who now had a ripped ear. She looked heartbroken, and didn't notice the tree falling next to her, but then realized it and ran out of the way, looking determined to survive. She's a mother... Ash thought, her kits need someone to be with her... I can't hide like this. I need to make sure there are survivors! He climbed out from under the log, despite his bones were screaming protest. He scanned the area, ignoring the screams of pain and terror and the thunder and lightning. The earth trembled beneath him, and he braced himself for the pain coming as he was thrown across the clearing, and landed int the river, which was strangely faster than usual. It was pushing him towards the waterfall, wanting to give him the same fate as Spots...
As a tremor came again, Ash closed his eyes. However, the coldness of water left him, and now the breeze of the air came. Am I dead?
Ash opened his eyes, and was wide-eyed as he realized he was above the ground. Confused Ash looked above him, and saw Airia carrying him. "We lost Spots already," she said, "We can't lose someone again in the same way."
"Why did you save me?" Ash asked, then he said something he had been wanting to say since they returned to The Bending Tower after the patrol left the Water Tribe, "I thought you hated me."
Airia shook her head, "No, Ash, I know now that you're loyal to The Bending Tower... I'd never want to watch you die."
Ash smiled.

Author's Note:
Yes, very touching, but HELLO, there's animals DYING? Yes, I killed some characters whose owners didn't comment... But on the bright side they can sign-up a new character. xD Very scary chapter. owo

Chapter 40: An Unexpected Storm

Ash perked his ears as he heard scampering. Rusty and Dust crashed through the bushes, looking wide-eyed. "Guys! What happened?"
Rusty breathed heavily. "Tiggerkat... Shrunk...!"
"Shrunk?" Stone echoed. "That has to be the stupidest thing--"
Darner silenced Stone with a flick of his tail, and turned to Rusty, "What do you mean?"
"Well, we found Tiggerkat in a hot pool," Dust growled, "And then Rusty went to get me to tell me he found her. So I followed, and we found what looked like a mini version of Tiggerkat."
"A mini version?" echoed Ash, unsure of what Dust would be talking about.
"Yeah... It was orange-ish and had stripes," shrugged Rusty.
"We should go investigate," Twister nodded. "Who's gonna carry Twig?"
"Carry Twig?" Dust echoed.
"Um, she was knocked out when she fell into a pit of sand," said Akumu, and when it looked like Dust was going to ask another question, she continued, "Long story, we'll tell you later... Let's just go find Tiggerkat."
Twister grabbed Twig by the scruff and began walking, careful not to make Twig hit any briars or rocks. Twister gracefully leaped over a log and continued. The rest of the group followed, Akumu taking up the rear.
"So did anyone miss us?" Dust asked Ash, walking along with the group. He ducked as he neared a hanging branch, and kept walking alongside Ash.
"No, not really, only me I guess," shrugged Ash, as he kept walking, then trotted a little faster to catch up with the others as he realized he was falling behind.
The patrol stopped and Darner turned to Rusty and Dust. "Where is she?"
"We'll take the lead," nodded Dust, puffing out his chest, pretending to be important. Stone rolled her eyes in annoyance, and stepped back to let the twins take the lead. They began walking, and the patrol followed.
It wasn't a long time before they came to a halt. Dust looked at the group. "Okay now... Tiggerkat's in this pool over this log." He hopped over it, and Ash followed his friend, and Rusty and Twister followed closely behind them. Tiggerkat was asleep in the pool, looking normal size.
"Um, Dust, this is Tiggerkat shrunk?" Stone glared at him.
"Well, she was smaller when we found her!" Rusty protested.
"Hey guys!"
Ash turned and saw Tiggerkat awake. She was smiling, looking refreshed and calm. He was half relieved to see her okay, but half disappointed that they got worked up about her being missing for nothing, to find she hadn't been harmed by anything at all.
"Didja come to join me? It's very relaxing!" Tiggerkat smiled, crawling out.
"Um, no Tiggerkat. We want you back at The Bending Tower," Twister said.
"Alrightie!" nodded Tiggerkat, still smiling. She hopped to the group, and together they proceeded back to their own territory, back to The Bending Tower.

Goldwing was talking to Kabu when the group came back. They were whispering, in conversation, as animals around them were in groups talking or running or demonstrating a type of technique. There was very few animals there, most of the patrols had gone out for the search.
"Ah, you're back!" smiled Goldwing. "So is she injured?"
"Not at all," nodded Darner.
"Yeah, we found her totally relaxed," snapped Stone.
Tiggerkat came up to Goldwing, "I found a great hot pool to relax in!"
"Sounds great," Goldwing nodded. He then howled, the signal for the patrols to come back, that Tiggerkat was found. Goldwing then turned to Kabu, "When everyone comes back, we're holding another meeting." He then whispered something into Kabu's ear, and the great lion nodded, and trotted over to Airwing and they began a conversation.
Soon enough, the patrols all began coming back. Everyone was talking, murmuring and exchanging news, and most of them seemed to be curious as to what happened to Tiggerkat.
"So what happened to her?" Eclipse asked Ash, both of them in the sea of talking animals. The she-wolf had to make her voice a bit louder than normal so she could be heard over the sound of everyone else's conversations.
"Everyone!" Goldwing shouted, and everyone stopped talking, desperate to know what happened, and turned to the leader. Ash turned his attention to Goldwing, and so did Eclipse, sitting down next to Ash in the middle of everyone. "Tiggerkat was found and brought back to The Bending Tower safely--"
"Yeah, not a scratch on her!" Stone yowled. Everyone exchanged glances, and there were very few whispers, but it didn't start a big discussion.
"So, I'd like to thank Darner's patrol for bringing them back. Darner, you did an excellent job leading this patrol to finding our lost traveler," nodded Goldwing.
Darner dipped his head. "Your welcome, Goldwing, I was glad to help."
"The patrol contained some apprentices, so I'd like to do something very important..." a smile played on Goldwing's face. "Ash, Rusty--"
Suddenly, there was a terrible tremor. Ash fell to the ground because of it, and everyone began talking. Eclipse tried to help Ash up but fell herself, and quickly got to her paws. Ash did too, and after a while the tremor stopped.
"What was that?!" demanded Flare.
"Is anyone hurt?" Goldwing asked, looking wide-eyed. No one reported anything, showing everyone was okay.
Suddenly, there was a bang, the loudest thunder Ash had ever heard. Max and Raoul yelped in fear and hid behind a rock smaller than them. What was gray clouds covering the sky one minute ago now had turned into dark clouds, very dark. Everyone began talking now, and Twig was now awake, shaking in fear. Tiggerkat didn't seem to notice, and was poking a little mouse on the ground. Eclipse looked scared, her blind eyes wide.
Everyone then turned to Goldwing, unsure of what to do. A breeze ruffled the golden wolf's pelt, as another thunder clap came, louder than the one before.
"Everyone duck! Save yourselves!" Goldwing yowled, as the most terrible tremor in the ground erupted under Ash's feet.

Author's Note:
OH NOES. This doesn't sound good! 

Chapter 39: Two Heroes

Something tumbled out of the bushes. It got to its feet, revealed to be Dust. He perked his ears and looked around. "Hmm... What is--" he was cut off as someone bowled into him, this one orange. It got to its paws.
"Dust! Don't get in my way like that!" exclaimed the orange wolf.
"Shush!" Dust snapped. "We're not gonna find that animal with you shouting."
"Sorry."
"Now, where did the thing go?"
"We don't know what it is," Rusty pointed out.
"Which will make this a perfect challenge," smiled Dust, and he began walking. "Look for any signs of the vermin."
Rusty nodded. "Right!" he sniffed the ground. "Don't smell anything."
Dust looked around. "Where could it have gone...?"
Rusty jumped on top of a large rock. "Don't see anything. It could be waiting to sneak attack us!"
"If it dares to even think of doing that, I'll break his bones," growled Dust.
"What if it's Ironfang?" gulped Rusty.
"Then... Th-Then I won't break his bones," Dust said, shivering with fear. He began walking, and looked up at the sky. "Nothin' here. Keep your eyes peeled."
"I can't peel my eyes. It's impossible," Rusty responded.
"It's an expression, genius. How're you going to expect to impress anyone like that?" Dust snorted.
"How are you gonna impress anyone with being so up-tight?" Rusty retorted.
"I'm not up-tight!" Dust exclaimed.
"Well you aren't exactly fun," Rusty replied.
Dust growled, "I'll show you 'fun', dimwit!" Dust yowled and lunged for Rusty, pinning his brother. They began rolling over each other, clawing each other and biting each other. Dust stopped rolling and bit down onto Rusty's scruff.
"Get off!" snarled Rusty, and he kicked Dust in the stomach. Dust let go and perked his ears. "I win!" Rusty yowled, and he jumped onto Dust's back.
"Shut up!" Dust growled.
"Don't be mad because I beat you," Rusty smirked.
"No, really, shut up, I hear something!" Dust exclaimed. He began listening. "The patrol's nearby."
Rusty and Dust walked over to the bushes and ducked down. Dust could see Ash's legs walking, and Twister's white legs walking near him.
"He's as annoying as Rusty and Dust," said a voice, definitely belonging to Akumu.
"Well!" Dust whispered.
"They'd better be talking about Miguel, because if so it's true!" Rusty growled. He looked at Dust, who had a confused look on his face. "What?"
Dust shook his head. "Listen, if they think we're annoying, let's go find Tiggerkat ourselves and prove we're useful!"
Rusty smiled, "Sounds great!" The twins began running off, the leaves crunching beneath them. They crashed through some bushes and jumped over the river, then slowed down. "Let's catch out breath," Rusty gasped, breathing heavy.
"Agreed," Dust nodded, breathing as heavy was his brother. He sniffed the air. "Hey... I smell something!"
Rusty sniffed the air as well. "That annoying scent... It's recognizable!"
"Tiggerkat!" Dust gasped, "She's near here! I know she is!"
"Well, we got everyone into the mess, let's find Tiggerkat to make it up!" Rusty smiled. "We'll split up."
Dust nodded, "If you see her, come find me!" he jumped away. Rusty turned around and ran, following the scent trail. He sniffed the ground and then the air, and perked his ears. Tiggerkat was near. He ran through the bushes and past the trees, and crashed through the bushes. He stopped, laying down behind a log.
Sure enough, Tiggerkat was there. She wasn't being tortured by Firebenders. In fact, she was laying in a pool with lily pads, asleep, looking quite relaxed. Heat blew up from the pool, showing it was hot water she was laying in.
"For the love of... We thought she was in danger?" Rusty muttered to himself. "I need to go get Dust." He ran  away, over the bushes and crawled along the floor under some bushes, then almost crashed into his brother.
"Did you find her?" Dust asked.
"Yep! Right over here," Rusty said, walking off. Dust followed.
"Is she being tortured?" Dust asked.
"No." Rusty growled.
"Why are you mad?"
"Take a look."
Dust peeked out from behind the log, then gasped, wide-eyed. He slowly sunk behind the log, and looked at Dust, eyes still big.
"Stupid, isn't it?" Rusty snorted.
"That's not Tiggerkat!" Dust exclaimed in a whisper.
"What? I remember--" Rusty peeked out, and grew wide-eyed as well as he saw a small squirrel-like creature who looked similar to Tiggerkat; orange with black stripes. "That's... Not Tiggerkat! What happened to her?!"

Author's Note:
Tiggerpaka, by chance?

Chapter 38: Saved

"Yes, indeed, me," said the meerkat with a smirk. He had a stick in his hand that was bigger than he was. The meerkat began pacing around the quicksand, watching the group helplessly sinking. Ash felt the sand pulling at him, but he kept trying to remain floating on top of it. "I set this trap for you, to catch you into the quicksand. Not so much of a maniac now, aren't I?"
"I dunno, you haven't changed to me," snarled Twig, unsheathing her claws. She tried getting out of the quicksand so she could attack the meerkat, but was stuck. Twister quickly whispered something to Twig, and Twig laid still.
The meerkat smiled. "Like your attitude, kitty cat, but you need some improvement on attack."
"Kitty cat?!" snarled Twig, "I'll show you who's a kitty cat, you little--"
"Enough, Twig," Darner said, laying still. He looked at the meerkat. "What do you want?"
"I've decided to help you on your little quest," smirked the meerkat.
"Well, we don't NEED--" Twig began, but was shushed again, this time by Twister instead of Darner.
Ash kept listening, curious as to why the meerkat had trapped them in quicksand trying to kill them if he was going to help them out. "So why are you trying to kill us if you want to help?"
"Kill you?" gasped the meerkat, "Who ever said I wanted to kill you? You've done nothing to me... Well, except get a little mad, but that's nothing compared to what Tiredblade does to me!"
"Who?" Ash said. What kind of a name is Tiredblade?
"He's--"
"Nevermind, just get us out of here!" snarled Stone. "You got us into this mess, meerkat, you're gonna get us out!"
"Meerkat, oh, please, address me by my name," snorted the meerkat, acting as if they all already knew his name. He used his stick to cut a rope around a tree, then put his paws on it and pulled. Down came a huge "basket" made out of poison ivy vines.
"I'm not going in that--" Twig began to cough. Ash gasped as he saw she was beginning to swallow sand, being suffocated by it; she obviously kept thrashing too much.
"It's either this or sand!" Twister growled, and she bit onto the poison ivy and heaved herself out of the sand, looking as if she was struggling, but made it in. Akumu came in after her, and then came Darner and Stone, and then Moonlight.
"I... Can't... Reach!" gasped Ash, trying to move; when he did, however, he only sunk into the quicksand more. Please don't let me die, he pleaded to the Peacebenders.
"Alright then, mate, I'll getcha," nodded the meerkat, and he moved the vines so the basket now hovered over Ash. The meerkat lowered it and Ash bit onto it, and Akumu and Twister helped him get up.
"A lit-" Twig coughed some more, and was sinking more. "HELP!" she managed to get out, her eyes already going under the sand.
"Get her!" wailed Twister. The meerkat began moving the vines. Ash grew wide-eyed as he saw Twig sinking deeper, deeper, deeper...
As the she-cat's belly was the only thing visible, Ash couldn't stand it no more. He latched his paws into the vines and leaned over, so far he made the basket tip. Everyone yowled in surprise, trying not to fall back in. Ash stuck his paws in and grabbed Twig, pulling her up.
Twig was knocked out, and Ash stuck her in the basket. "She's alive," he breathed, "but she fainted."
The meerkat lowered the basket onto the ground. "Now, that wasn't too bad now, was it?" he said, and put leaves in the basket then poured it on the quicksand. "If Tiredblade comes along 'e'll fall in that!"
"Um... Who is Tiredblade, exactly?" Moonlight asked.
"He has a connection with the fire," said the meerkat, stroking his branch. "Do you have a connection with the fire?"
"Er... Whatever that means," Twister said.
"I think he means Tiredblade's a Firebender," Ash nodded. He looked at the meerkat. "No, we have no connection with fire."
"Good, good," the meerkat said, "Because if you'd did, you'd be on Tiredblade's side, right?"
"Right," Moonlight nodded, "All those with a connection with the fire are on Tiredblade's side. I have a connection with the earth."
"Yes, yes," nodded the meerkat. "So, anyways, I volunteer to help you."
"Okay, meerkat," Twister nodded.
"Call me by my real name," said the meerkat.
"Er... Which is...?" Ash asked.
"Tiggerpaka."
"Tiggerpaka?" Akumu echoed.
"Tiggerpaka." Confirmed the meerkat.
Ash shivered, "Um... Are you in anyway related to Tiggerkat?"
"What? No, whoever she is," grinned Tiggerpaka. "Anyway--" he stopped. "Oh snap, I hear something! Sorry, you're on your own, pals!" the meerkat darted off.
"Er... Thanks for the help!" Akumu called.

Author's Note:
Promises, promises...

Chapter 37: The Trap

Ash sighed. "Let's keep going, hopefully we won't run into him again."
"Agreed," snorted Akumu, "He's as annoying as Rusty and Dust."
Ash looked at Akumu, "Look, they may be annoying, but--"
"Chill, dude, I was only being funny!" Akumu insisted, and she walked away.
Ash shook his head to clear it, then turned to Twister as they kept walking. "Do you think we'll run into that meerkat again?"
"I dunno, I hope not, because he's weird. But I don't think he has anywhere else to go, so he's possibly staying," shrugged Twister.
Ash rolled his eyes, "Like we need him, he doesn't really give us anything good, he just bothers us and acts like he's better than us."
"Agreed, he called us 'tourists'... He's the tourist!" Twister growled.
Ash nodded agreement, and then kept walking. He looked around, trying to find any signs of Tiggerkat, wondering where she could possibly be or what could possibly be happening to her. A bit anxious, Ash picked up the pace.
Stone turned to Darner. "Um... Are we making any progress?"
"Don't detect any signs of her," Darner replied, sniffing the air.
Moonlight remarked, "It's a lot more quiter without Rusty and Dust here."
Everyone exchanged glances, then began murmuring agreement.
"Yes, agreed," Akumu nodded. "More silent."
Even though they were his friends, Ash had to agree it was more peaceful without them. "So what should we do now?"
"We better keep looking--" Darner began, and all the sudden the group fell, the leaves supporting them up gave way. Ash found himself falling into quicksand.
"What?!" Stone growled, "Since when is there quicksand in our territory?!"
"Don't thrash!" Twister yowled, "Or you'll be pulled down even more!"
Ash kept absolutely still, trying to float instead of sinking. Twig looked scared, and so did Akumu.
"Who did this?" Twig demanded.
In answer, the meerkat poked his head over the edge, an evil smile across his face.
"You!" Twig gasped.

Author's Note:
Uh-Oh. D8

Chapter 36: Survival of the Fittest

"Revenge?" Twig echoed. She twitched her ears. "Who cares? We can defeat Firebenders easily!"
"No, we can't," Twister said, "Firebenders are no walk through the field."
"She's right," Ash agreed. Twig, when you face your first Firebender, you'll see how strong they are.
Twig rolled her eyes. "How bad can they be?"
Stone sighed, "Anyways... Moonlight, you gonna help or what?" she growled.
Moonlight nodded, ignoring Stone's hostility. "Yes, I can help. I've followed the tiger, but after I heard the bushes rustling... I went to check out what it was. Unfortunately, I didn't know who or what it was."
"Great, another loner?" snorted Twig. "This place is infested with them."
"Well, The Bending Tower territory is the only place we can find peace!" Moonlight protested.
"Really?" Ash perked his ears, a bit shocked. Why is  The Bending Tower the only place for peace?
"Well, what about the Earth Kingdom?" Dust demanded, "They're far away and safe, too!"
"We can't go there! It's--" Moonlight began.
"Now, alright," Darner stepped forward. "Moonlight, where did Tiggerkat go?"
"East," Moonlight replied. "Maybe we should split up?"
"Well, I dunno, that's what we did back with Kabu," Rusty answered.
The bushes rustled. Ash perked his ears and looked at it. "What's that?"
"Something's there," remarked Darner.
"We'll check out what it is!" Dust said bravely, puffing out his chest. "Right, Rusty?"
"Right!" Rusty nodded, and both twins crashed into the bushes.
Ash stared after them. Everyone else did the same, all waiting for the twins to come back. A few minutes went by. Nothing.
Twig finally talked, "Well?! Where are--"
"YA!" came a yowl. Ash turned his head, and something came flying on top of his head. "Down, mighty beast!"
"What?!--" Ash shouted, feeling the animal hitting him with a stick. He jerked his head forward, and the animal fell of, holding onto a vine.
"Um... You do realize that vine is full of poison ivy, right?" Twister said to the animal. Ash looked at it. It was the size of a squirrel, orange-tan with brown stripes on its back. He raised an eyebrow, trying to find out what it was.
The animal let go of the vine. "Of course, you uneducated wolf!"
"Hey!" Twister exclaimed.
"Um, can we help you?" Stone growled.
"No, but I can help you." the animal walked up to stone, looking her right in the eyes. "You're missing someone."
"Geez, does everyone know we're missing an animal?" Akumu snorted.
"No, I just overheard you talking, I'm a spy," said the animal proudly. He turned his back to the group of animals, thinking, then turned around. "You'll find your friend, don't worry."
"Really?" Twister perked her ears.
"Yes, yes!" nodded the animal, and leaned into Twister's face. "In the afterlife."
Twister looked confused. The animal jumped onto a rock and scratched the side of his head, then sat down, looking at the group.
"And exactly what are you?" Darner asked politely.
"Meerkat," replied the animal. "And I'm the strongest, fittest loner in the forest!"
"I can tell," Stone rolled her eyes.
"But... What do you mean by we'll find Tiggerkat in the afterlife?" Ash asked, worried.
"She's going to be tortured, of course she will! There are evil animals around this territory, they can capture her. She's as good as dead. Now, go home," smiled the meerkat. He turned around to walk away.
"We're not leaving," Twister insisted. "We need to find her. Do you know where she is?"
"Yes, I saw her leave," replied the meerkat. "And I can help you if you'd like, but it'd be for nothing."
Twig unsheathed her claws and growled, leaning into the meerkat. "Thanks, but we don't need some pesky prey's help." the she-cat batted him away, "Run along now."
The meerkat looked at the group. "Your choice... Tourists," he snorted, then ran off into the bushes.

Author's Note:
Annoying meerkat is annoying. .3.

Chapter 35: Another Loner

Ash sniffed at the ground. Tiggerkat's scent was not there. He looked up, and saw Ember trotting ahead, leading them. How does he know where she went? Her scent isn't here, Ash thought, walking to keep up with the group.
Ember sniffed at the ground, then looked around. "This way," he ordered. He trotted ahead, and Twig ran to catch up. She sped to his side, and glared at him.
"You know, for a former Firebender, you seem awfully untrustworthy," Twig remarked.
"Nonsense, I'm not here to harm," Ember claimed, "Besides, I'm sure The Bending Tower needs all the help it can get."
"What?" Twig growled, "How do you know we're from The Bending Tower?"
"Scent," Ember replied, and he hopped to the top of a rock. "All of you have that scent. You're from The Bending Tower, it's obvious."
Akumu raised an eyebrow, "What do you know about The Bending Tower?"
"It's huge. You got a winged leader, apparently named Goldwing," Ember looked at Ash, "And apparently, all of your apprentices are 'worthless'."
Ash perked his ears. What does he mean by "worthless"?
Dust growled, "Come down and say that to my face, Firebender!"
"Now, I didn't say I agreed on it. That's what all the Firebenders at the Fire Nation call you: worthless, weak, pain in the tail..." Ember said. Ash turned to Twig, who had unsheathed her claws and dug them into the earth. "That's what every Firebender says. Well, except for those forced to join, they're the silent ones."
"I take it you weren't a silent one," Rusty raised an eyebrow, apparently acknowledging how much Ember was talking.
Ember smiled, "No, I wasn't... But asking a lot of questions can get you information."
"And, it can kill you if you get on one's nerves," Stone growled.
Ember jumped down from the rock. "Almost forgot... There's someone I want you to meet. She's another loner, good friend of mine. She's searching for a home... I think she'd like The Bending Tower."
"Well, we're not exactly fond to taking in--" Stone began.
A black she-wolf stepped through the bushes. "Ember? Who do you have here?"
Ember smiled, "Hello, Moonlight. These are some friends I'm helping."
"Not friends," Twig grumbled.
"Why are you helping them?" Moonlight asked, ignoring Twig.
"Against our will, may I add," Akumu snorted.
"They needed help finding a tiger."
Ash nodded, "Tiggerkat, that's her name. She got lost. And we're grateful for Ember's help."
Twig glared at Ash, "Not all of us."
Moonlight smiled at Ash. "Thank you, Ember loves to help out. Anyway, I did happen to see a two-legged tiger walk by. Ember, you look hungry... Why not go hunting? I'll help these animals out from here."
Ember nodded, "Thanks, Moonlight. I didn't have a mid-day meal yet." With that, the fox hopped away.
Moonlight turned to the group. "C'mon, guys, I can show you where she went, I was up in a tree when I saw her."
"Do all of you loners live in trees?" Twig demanded.
"Well, just us, I don't know about others. We live in trees to keep away from any Firebenders, they might want us for information," Moonlight shrugged.
"Why would there be Firebenders in our territory?" Rusty demanded, "We patrol!"
"Yeah, and don't Firebenders live far away?" Stone snorted.
Moonlight shook her head. "Listen, you may have beat them at the Water Tribe, but from what I know, they want revenge."

Author's Note:
Thanks to Mimi for Moonlight! :3 Firebenders wanting revenge is NOT good... D:

Chapter 34: Encounter With a Loner

As Twister trotted through the forest, Twig lunged at the white wolf, bored, attempting to tackle her. Twig almost made it, but the white wolf dodged it again. Twig then climbed up a tree and lunged for Twister, but missed again and landed on Akumu.
"Hey!" Akumu growled, turning around to bite Twig's paw. Twig yowled and jumped off, then lunged at Akumu, who quickly dodged Twig's attack. Twig slid under Akumu and kicked the wolf in the stomach, although the only affect it did was that it winded the she-wolf. Akumu howled and pinned Twig with her hind leg, and kicked Twig into the tree.
"Enough," Darner said. "We're not going to get anywhere faster with your fighting."
"C'mon Darner, they're good fighters," Rusty said to the raccoon.
"Yes, they are, but we need to keep going," Darner replied.
Ash sighed, bored. He sniffed the air, trying to detect any signs of Tiggerkat. But there were none. As soon as this is over, we can get back to training, Ash told himself, and maybe Tiggerkat will be smart enough to stay.
"Y'know, what if Tiggerkat's dead?" asked Stone.
"Then who cares?" Twig snorted, "She's already an easy target for the Firebenders."
"Well then she'd easily get tortured, and then it's our fault and we'd feel guilty," Twister pointed out.
"I'll admit I'd feel sorry for her if she did," Darner sighed.
"She could be getting hurt right now," Akumu was wide-eyed.
"Then let's hurry--" Twister began, but was cut off.
"Missing, someone, I hear?"
Ash looked in the direction of the voice. A figure was in the tree, surrounded by leaves. It stood in the branches, eyeing them. Ash couldn't make out what it was, but put his guard up, in  case he'd need to fight.
Stone sniffed at it, "Who are you? Do we need to chase you out?" she growled.
Akumu stepped forward. "What do you need to know about it?" the she-wolf demanded. The whole patrol looked ready to fight, even Rusty and Dust.
The animal jumped out of the tree and came around. "I could help," it responded. Finally, Ash could see what it was: a fox.
Stone sniffed him, "You're a Firebender," she growled.
"Indeed, more likely a runaway," responded the fox. He turned his back on them, thinking, then turned his head to look at them. "So you're missing someone?"
"Yes, but we can find them on our own, thanks, we don't need any foxes' help," snarled Twig.
The fox looked unaffected by Twig's harsh words. Darner nodded at the patrol for them to keep going on. They did so there and then, leaving the fox behind. Ash didn't look back at the fox, not very concerned about it. Ash perked his ears, however, when he heard rustling. He looked around, wandering what it could be: the fox, Twig, a Firebender, or something else.
"Ahh!" Ash exclaimed as the fox jumped in front of him.
"I could help you," the fox said, flicking his tail. "I saw a tiger on two feet walking by."
"That's who we're looking for," Twister nodded, "Where'd she go?"
"East," the fox replied. Everyone looked at Dust, who rolled his eyes. "I'll help you. Name's Ember, by the way."
"I dunno, I've just been calling you Firebender," grumbled Stone.
"You can trust me," Ember reassured.
"Yeah, very reassuring," Twig snorted, unsheathing her claws, "But I'll have my eye on you."
Ember smiled, "Good, you'll make a great Bender... Anyway, she went this way."

Author's Note:
Thanks to A01315 for Ember! :3 Too bad there's a lot of grumpy Benders on this patrol... LOL.

Chapter 33: Organizing the Patrols

Ash found himself sitting in between Nightgale and Twig as Goldwing jumped onto Kabu's rock, calling a meeting. "Benders!" he said, "Tiggerkat has gotten herself lost."

"Something we'd all expect her to do," muttered Twig. Nightgale was nodding agreement.

"Because of this, we need to split up and find here," Goldwing ordered.

"But who cares?" Flare called out, "She does nothing around here, maybe she'd be happier where she is."

Everyone began nodding and murmuring agreement. Goldwing and Kabu however, seemed to look as though they disagreed, along with some senior Benders.

"And she'd be defenseless against Firebenders. We can't stand by and let an innocent civilian be harmed," Goldwing pointed out. "So we're going to do some patrols to find her. Since Dust and Rusty have clues as to where she went, they'll be leading the patrols."

"What?" Stone burst out, "Can't you remember those idiots when they tried finding the herb to heal Ash?"

Ash had been told the story many times, despite he didn't quite remember it. But with everyone talking about it, he trusted it was a true story.

"Stone, they'll be full Benders soon. They'll need to get used to patrols," Goldwing remarked. Ash noticed Dust and Rusty exchanging excited looks. "Kabu will organize the patrols. You two tell them where to go."
The twins nodded, apparently not hiding their excitement, and began talking rapidly to each other. Goldwing exchanged some words with Kabu, and left for The Bending Tower. Kabu took his place on the boulder and began talking. "Alright! Diamond, I want you to lead Nightgale, Nyx, Zapada, Flare, Eclipse, Tiggytiger and Raoul for one patrol. River, you will lead Max, Slice, Light, Mistletoe, Charlotte and Firefly. Darner, you will lead Dust, Rusty, Ash, Stone, Twister, Akumu and Twig. Creature, you will lead Fan, Windows, Crash, Maisoon, Chui and Miguel. Willow, you will lead Mystery, Ice, Relkuh, Midnight, Skye and Cora. Amur, you will lead Airia, Snow, Kira, Nakala, Clover, Skyvie and Shell. Everyone else will remain here and train, and I'll send out more if needed."
Everyone got into their groups as Rusty and Dust jumped onto the boulder, both twins whispering to each other. "Alright," Dust stepped forward, chest puffed out as if he were the leader, "Here are the directions you all are going in!..."

Author's Note:
Lots of patrols... :o Did you read them all? xD

Chapter 32: Confronting Goldwing

Ash perked his ears. Diamond was right - where was Tiggerkat? She'd probably be sticking around here, it wouldn't be like her to wander off like that.
Suddenly, Ash heard Twig  whisper, "Someone's in trouble..."
Ash looked at Rusty and Dust. Both held guilty looks, but Dust looked guiltiest. He stuttered. "Uh... Um... Well, you see..."
Diamond turned her attention to Rusty. "Rusty, why are you even here? You're in another group!"
"Yeah, well... Miguel was getting on my nerves," Rusty said.
"Go back to your own group," Diamond ordered. Rusty nodded and ran off into the distance. Diamond turned back to Dust. "Well? Do you know anything about Tiggerkat being gone?"
"She... Ran away," Dust said.
"She did?" Ash asked.
Dust nodded. "East."
"Why?" Diamond demanded.
"I... I told her there were reese cups that direction," Dust replied.
Diamond glared at her son. "Dust! You shouldn't have done that, Tiggerkat could be killed by Firebenders."
"That's because she's not smart enough..." Dust mumbled, and only Ash seemed to hear him.
"Well we're going back to Goldwing, Dust. We have to find Tiggerkat," Diamond ordered.
"But mom...! I don't want to get in trouble with the leader!" Dust whimpered.
"You need to tell Goldwing where Tiggerkat ran off to so we can find her," Diamond snapped.
"Rusty helped me."
Diamond nodded, "He's coming with us."
Ash stepped up. "I'll come with you, if that's okay."
"That's okay," Diamond said. She turned to Twig and Nyx. "Are you two staying here?"
"Obviously..." Twig snorted, "I don't want to see Goldwing yelling at some worthless apprentice."
"You're not a full Bender so stop acting like one," Dust growled.
Diamond looked at Dust and Ash. "Let's go." She began walking through the forest. Ash followed by Dust.
"I don't want to get in trouble with Goldwing. He'll punish me for sure!" Dust squeaked.
"Don't worry. At least Goldwing isn't Leafclaw, or you'd be being exiled," Ash nodded, trying to comfort his friend. But Ash did know that Dust would probably be in a lot of trouble, Rusty too, maybe. But Goldwing wouldn't be too harsh, he was a noble leader.
They then passed Rusty, Miguel, and the others. Rusty was sitting, listening to River, who was talking to them about Bending. He looked at his mate. "Yes, Diamond?"
"I need to have Rusty with me," Diamond nodded.
Rusty looked, confused, at Dust. Dust made a circular motion with his paw. Rusty was now wide-eyed, and nodded. He came over to them.
"Okay, hurry back," River said. "Now, who'd like to demonstrate Waterbending?"
"Me!" Akumu was exclaiming, and she got to her paws.
Finally, they approached The Bending Tower. They entered the yard, where Goldwing and Airwing were in conversation, whispering, despite they had been alone.
Goldwing turned to them. "Diamond? Do you need something?"
Diamond nodded, then looked at Dust. "Dust? Is there something you'd like to tell Goldwing?"

Author's Note:
Don't you just hate getting in trouble?

Chapter 31: Waiting

Dust held up his tail. "Come at me," he said.
Rusty nodded, and took a few steps back. He began running, and kicked a rock at Dust. Dust hit it with his tail, and it landed into a nearby puddle. "Yeah!" Dust exclaimed.
"What are you playing?" Crystal asked.
"Some game we came up with," Rusty responded. "You kick a rock, and then try to hit it into the goal. In this case, it's the puddle."
"So interesting," Twig rolled her eyes. She was laying down, watching the brothers, bored.
Nyx was up in a tree. "Exactly what are we supposed to be doing?"
"I dunno, Diamond and Ash are gone along with Charlotte. Maybe they reported something to Kabu," Dust shrugged.
"You mean to say they're missing?" Twig asked.
"No... They left," Rusty replied, kicking another stone at Dust, who missed it, and it hit Crystal.
"Ow!" Crystal exclaimed.
Rusty recoiled, his ears flattened. "S-S-Sorry!"
Crystal, laying down, put her paw on the place Rusty hit it. "That hurt."
"I know, I'm sorry! I aimed wrong," Rusty whimpered. Dust snickered, and Rusty shot him a glare.
Crystal sighed and got to her paws. "Anyway, shouldn't we go look for--"
"We're back," came a voice. Diamond stepped out from the bushes.
"Hi," Rusty nodded. "Where'd you go?"
Ash followed Diamond. "Um... We had to take a loner to The Bending Tower."
"A loner?" Twig perked her ears. "A Firebender, maybe?"
"No... Not that I know of," Ash said cautiously.
"Well, whoever this loner is, we shouldn't trust him," Twig growled, unsheathing her claws.
Rusty looked at her. "But we defeated the Firebenders at the Water Tribe..."
"Oh yeah! That one beating and they're surrendering right away to our power, Rusty! We're so strong!" Twig said sarcastically.
Rusty growled. "Look, shut your little--"
"No, Rusty, Twig's right," Diamond said.
"What...!" Rusty stared at her. "But she--"
"The Firebenders never give up, Rusty. Don't underestimate them." Diamond perked her ears. "Wait... Where's Tiggerkat?"
Rusty and Diamond looked at each other nervously. Crystal looked at the twins. Twig and Nyx exchanged confused glances.
Twig, however, seemed to be able to tell Rusty and Dust were guilty. "Someone's in trouble..." she whispered.

Author's Note:
Uh-Oh... o3o 

Chapter 30: Escorting the Wolf

Ash entered the yard. The white wolf was still walking, and moved his head at the slightest sound. Something about the wolf seemed familiar, but Ash couldn't put his paw on it. He kept struggling to remember, but every time he did he couldn't think of it. Confused, Ash walked with Diamond up to Goldwing. Charlotte was talking to him.
"See? Here he is," Charlotte nodded to the white wolf.
Goldwing looked at Diamond, "So Ash found a loner?"
"Yes," Diamond nodded. "According to Ash, it attacked him, saying things like 'keep him alive', and to Charlotte he had said 'his friend', and 'death'."
Goldwing looked a bit spooked, but nodded. "Let's take this wolf to Feather. She'll be able to deal with it."
Diamond nodded. She looked at Charlotte. "Charlotte, I want you to go back to training and tell Kabu where we are."
Charlotte nodded and darted off into the forest. Ash walked with Diamond into The Bending Tower, the white wolf close by. He was silent now, staring at everything. Ash kept an eye on him, wanting answers to the questions swarming his mind like termites under a log.
They entered the healers' den. Eclipse was in there, talking to Feather about an herb she had found. They stopped talking as Diamond, Ash and the wolf arrived. "Diamond! Ash! What're you doing here?" Feather asked.
"And who's the white wolf?" Eclipse wondered aloud.
"We found this loner in the forest, it attacked Ash and kept muttering weird things... like 'keep him alive', and when he saw Charlotte he said 'death, and, 'his friend'." Diamond explained, looking at the white wolf. The white wolf looked at Diamond back, the two seemed to be having a stare down.
Eclipse broke it. "Well, what do you want us to do with him?"
"Try to ask him questions, and see if he's sick. The way he's been acting, he seems ill," said Diamond.
Eclipse nodded. "We'll do all we can." She flicked her tail, signaling that Ash and Diamond could leave. They did so, heading back into the forest.

Author's Note:
This white wolf is mysterious, eh? In some of the upcoming chapters I'll be introducing more characters! Be sure to check out my newest story blog. Click here to get to my profile so you can get to the new story!

Chapter 29: A Trick

Dust paced around. He sniffed the air, apparently impatient. Where is Diamond and Ash? He wondered. He had seen Diamond go into the bushes after Charlotte took off. Dust didn't stop her, but she was running off in the direction of where they had came from, where Kabu had organized the groups.
Dust turned to Rusty, "Where's Diamond?"
"I don't know," Rusty shrugged. He kicked a rock and it hit Twig in the head.
"Hey!" Twig growled, unsheathing her claws.
Rusty recoiled, "Sorry!"
Twig looked like she was about to pounce, but Nyx stopped her. "Don't do it, Twig."
The she-cat looked at her owl friend, then back to Rusty, glaring at him, and then sighed. She padded away, and Nyx flew after her, calling her name.
Crystal lifted her head up from her paws. "So now what?"
The bushes rustled. Out came Tiggerkat. "Hi guys!"
Rusty groaned.
"What?" Dust turned to his brother.
Rusty whispered, "She's been watching us train the whole time, relaxing, and did no work!"
Dust looked at his brother, but then realized he was right. Now Dust was angry. He looked at Tiggerkat, "What do you want?"
Crystal watched as Tiggerkat jumped off a boulder to in front of Dust. "Aww, someone's up tight!" she poked him in the nose, and Dust wrinkled his nose and backed away. "Anyways, I'm just here seeing what you're doing!"
"Well, we're training, while you relax doing nothing," Rusty said coldly.
"Yep, maybe one day you'll be as great as me and you will get to relax!" Tiggerkat exclaimed, "That'd be fun! Two buddies just jumping around, searching for reese cups..."
Crystal laughed, but Rusty and Dust didn't.
Suddenly, Dust had a plan. He grew wide-eyed, as if in shock, and shot his ears up. "Did you say reese cups?!"
Tiggerkat, Crystal and Rusty were all staring at Dust, confused.
"Well, of course!" Tiggerkat shrugged, "it's the one thing I live for!"
Dust stifled an eye roll and gasped, "Is it..." he tried remembering the times Tiggerkat described them. "Is it dark brown and small like a circle?"
Tiggerkat flinched in alarm. "Yes! Yes, it is! Why do you ask?" she said, apparently excited.
"I saw some!" Dust exclaimed, "They were..." he looked east, "That way!"
Tiggerkat dashed off, crashing through the bushes.
"Um... Dust, are you sure that was okay to do?" Crystal said cautiously.
"Of course, she'll be back, she's not that stupid," Rusty snorted.

Author's Note:
What's gonna happen to Tiggerkat? o3o Anyways, check out The Four Elements Of Bending Field Guide please! Link it to your story blog, and on the field guide you can write chapters, learn spoilers and about important events, give ideas, and more! The link is on the sidebar, please visit! =D

Chapter 28: The Stranger

Ash set his paws down by the bush. A breeze ruffled his fur into his eyes. He shook his head quickly to move it so he could see where Twig was. She was standing away from him, Diamond explaining something to her. Twig nodded, then got into a hunting-like stance, which Ash had seen cats do before. Ash looked away.
He couldn't hear anything coming. Ash relaxed his shoulders. Twig was apparently taking a while to get going. Maybe she was asking Diamond for suggestions. "Come on, Twig, hurry up..." Ash mumbled.
There was a blow to his side. Ash collapsed onto the ground. Claws dug into his shoulders. Ash's first instinct was to kick it away. Ash did so and there was a yelp, and the attacker fell into the bushes. Ash got to his paws and yowled, jumping after it. He found himself pinning a stunned Twig.
"Ash! Take it easy on her, she's a beginner!" Diamond shouted.
"I'm not that young!" Twig grunted, trying to slip out of Ash's grip. Ash got off of her, and she gave him a quick scratched in the face. "Next time think before attacking me!" she dashed out of the bushes.
Ash sighed. He got to his paws. Then, he was hit to the side again.
"Twig! I surrender, okay?! I won't attack you again!" Ash shouted. He looked up, shocked to see that it wasn't Twig who attacked him, but a white male wolf. When Ash looked into his attacker's eyes, he saw himself. The wolf seemed strangely like Ash himself.
"No... Keep him alive... Don't let him be killed..." the wolf was whispering.
Ash was creeped out by this wolf. He tried to get out of his grip, but was stuck, the wolf was very strong-built, but seemed to be the same age as Ash. "P-Please, let me go."
"Don't... Let him get away. Let him live." the wolf let go.
Ash turned and dashed, but hit something. He fell down, and Charlotte was standing over him. "Um... Ash... Diamond wants-" she stopped as her eyes laid on the white wolf. "Who... Who's that?" she seemed a bit spooked by him too.
"His friend... His friend... Death..." the wolf panted.
Charlotte turned tail and ran, frightened. Ash went to follow her, when Diamond came through. "What's going on?" she demanded, and looked at the white wolf. She was mystified by him. "You... What do you want?"
The wolf didn't reply. He just stared at Diamond. Diamond stared back. For a while, their eyes locked together, and for the longest time they just stared at each other.
"Let's get this wolf to The Bending Tower," Diamond nodded. She turned around and flicked her tail, signaling for Ash and the wolf to follow. Ash took up the rear as the white wolf followed Diamond, and as he stared at the white wolf, a shiver ran down his spine.

Leaves crunched as Goldwing walked through the forest. He sniffed the air, and then followed a scent trail, apparently looking for something, or someone. Full of confidence, Goldwing ran through some bushes and skidded to a halt as he found Airwing.
"Airwing, what are you up to?" Goldwing asked.
The old elder stared up at the sky. He kept looking as clouds slowly moved across the gray sky. Goldwing just looked at his grandfather curiously, and then sat down. After what seemed like moons, Airwing spoke.
"Harsh times are coming..." Airwing whispered. He got to his paws and walked for The Bending Tower.
"What?" Goldwing perked his ears, and walked after Airwing.

Author's Note:
Very creepy, huh? Who do you think this white wolf is, and what does Airwing mean? :O

Chapter 27: Patrol Training

Ash trudged off into the forest with his group while Kabu continued sorting other groups for other events. Twig was now revealed to be a light brown female cat, an apprentice learning to Waterbend. She only seemed to know Nyx, but not the others.
Dust was busily talking to Charlotte, but Charlotte looked rather bored with his constant chatter, and here and there she'd nod, shake her head or shrug. She looked at Ash with an eye roll, showing him that Dust was talking too much.
Twig looked at Nyx, "What are we doing?" she asked.
Nyx began explaining, "We're training to be like full Benders."
"That's cool! I wish I were a full Bender," Twig remarked.
"Me too," Nyx nodded.
Ash joined in, "I want to, too."
"But you're further ahead, you wouldn't need to hope as much as we do!" Twig protested.
"Well it's taking me long to," Ash said. "It takes more than a moon, that's for sure. I don't know when I'll be a full Bender, could be tomorrow, or five moons from now."
Twig sighed, "Why does it have to take so long?"
"They just want to make sure you've learned everything," Charlotte replied.
"But I can learn things fast!" Twig exclaimed.
Ash knew she was acting like a normal apprentice; wanting to be a full Bender and anxious to learn everything. Ash looked ahead. Diamond had them stop, "Okay guys, as you have hear from Kabu, we're doing patrol training. Full Benders go on patrols to check the territory, because there could be Firebenders, loners awaiting to give a message, or anyone else. For this you need good sensing skills, and good stalking skills."
Everyone nodded, showing they were paying attention.
"So pretend you're all full Benders," Diamond said.
"I wish I were..." Twig sighed.
"Don't worry, someday you'll get there," Diamond smiled.
"Unless you're murdered by Firebenders like Susan was," Dust laughed.
Twig wildly looked at Dust, "I'm gonna get killed?!"
Diamond gave Dust a warning glare. Ash knew Dust was her son, so she could easily punish him.
Dust quickly turned to Twig, "No! Of course you won't!"
Twig growled a bit and walked away from Dust. Dust rolled his eyes, and turned to Charlotte and began murmuring something to her.
"Alright now..." Diamond nodded, "let's see your skills so far. Charlotte, you can go first."
Charlotte nodded, "What do you want me to do?"
Diamond turned to Dust, "Dust pretend you're a Firebender."
"Okay... RAWR! I'm an evil Firebender! Bow to my paws or you all shall feel the power of our mouse leader, Ironfang!" Dust exclaimed, looming over the group.
Everyone laughed. But Diamond wasn't amused, "Dust, Firebenders have to be taken seriously, this isn't a time for one of your jokes! Now stand over by that bush!" Diamond nodded to a bush that was about ten yards from Charlotte.
Dust ran over to it. Diamond turned to Charlotte, "Okay now, you see Dust the Firebender on a patrol. You need to stop him from getting into any trouble. Go after him."
Charlotte nodded, and crawled among the fallen leaves, a cold breeze ruffling her. She stalked through the bushes, heading for Dust. She finally leaped and tumbled into Dust, pinning him to the ground.
"Good job!" Diamond nodded, "Twig and Ash, I'll use you next."

Author's Note:
Patrols FTW.

Chapter 26: A New Training

It had been at least a moon. Today was finally the last session of the hard work the senior Benders had them doing. There were so many holes now, it was practically like a minefield. Everyone had to move around the holes, which was hard to do since there was so many. At the top of the hill, there were so many rocks it was like a wall. With all the running they did, there was a clear path around the territory.
Ash put his paw on the ground and a twig snapped. He looked around. His shoulders relaxed. The last day of training, he thought. All morning he had been bracing himself for the pain he'd go through today, as he went through everyday since the past moon. Everyone had gotten used to running and working hard, so Kabu didn't yell as much as he did on the first day, nor did the senior Benders. No one necessarily liked the training (excluding Max, Raoul and Miguel), but were kind of used to it. But no one was still used to the fact that Spots was dead.
Kabu jumped on top of his usual boulder. "We're going to be doing something different, more fun today, as an award for you coping with training so hard."
Everyone exchanged looks of excitement. No one had had any fun since the past moon. Ash couldn't help but wondering if it would be fun to Kabu and not fun to them, or if it would be fun for all of them and Kabu was telling the truth.
"So, some of you will be becoming full Benders soon." At that, all the apprentices started talking. "I said SOON," Kabu yelled, making everyone listen again. "Not now." Ash looked at Kabu and - was that amusement glinting in his eyes? - the deputy went on. "So for today, you'll all be pretending that you are full Benders. We're going to teach you how to patrol properly, hunt properly, and fight properly, and bend properly."
A roar of conversation spread out through the apprentices, but not necessarily the full Benders who were participating.
Mistletoe spoke up, "What about those of us who already are full Benders?"
Kabu nodded, "You'll be learning how to handle an apprentice."
Now all of the full Benders were talking.
"Lucky!" Ash heard Rusty whisper to Crystal, "I wonder who my first apprentice will be."
Ash agreed with Rusty, he was anxious looking to the time when he'd have his first apprentice. Would he be a good mentor? What would the apprentice be like? Ash left all of these questions unanswered as he turned his attention back to Kabu.
"The senior Benders will take groups out who will start with different subjects," Kabu explained, "Twister, Akumu, Dell, Windows, Miguel, Rusty and Slice will be in one group."
Ash looked at them all. Both Miguel and Rusty were looking at Slice, who was unaware of them watching. Uh-Oh, Ash thought, That'll cause some arguments...
"Ash, Charlotte, Dust, Crystal, Twig and Nyx will be in another group."
 Dust looked a bit excited. Ash knew who Nyx was, he saw Nyx the other day, but never heard of someone named Twig. Is she a new apprentice? Ash asked himself.
"Light, Max and Raoul will be in our last group. Now, River will take Rusty's group, Diamond will take Dust's group, and Creature will take Light's group. River, start your group out with Bending. Diamond, start your group out with patrolling. Creature, start your group out with hunting. Rotate around..."
Ash stopped listening to Kabu. Wonder what will happen? Ash thought to himself.

Author's Note:
I figured everyday writing about them training for a whole moon would be too much. 8P So I skipped ahead. ^^ Thanks to Maximumriderules for Twig! And forgot to add... Mia created Zapada, and Perry4464 created Nyx! And be sure to check out the new story blog I created!

Chapter 25: Return to The Bending Tower

Ash's head hung low as he walked with the group back towards The Bending Tower. His feet squished against the wet leaves; it was raining, the clouds seemed to be crying in grief for the loss of Spots.
No one spoke at all. Everyone was upset. Ash kept hoping it was some kind of nightmare, but knew it couldn't be. Ash didn't want to believe Spots was dead, but he figured it wouldn't be likely it'd be possible to fall down a waterfall and survive.
Suddenly, the doors at The Bending Tower opened. Two of the young came through, giggling and laughing.
"Leafy, Aimee! What are you doing?" Zapada asked.
"Playing!" stated a black wolf pup.
"What Leafy said," nodded a white wolf pup, "We're playing?"
"But what are you doing out of The Bending Tower?" River questioned.
"Oh! Rainbow's having kits," replied Leafy.
Everyone turned to look at a brown male cat. He was wide-eyed. "My mate's having kits?"
"Yes, Amur. She was wondering when you'd come," Aimee stated.
The brown tom seemed to forget the grief everyone is, and ran inside The Bending Tower. Ash watched him go.
After Amur ran in, out came Feather. "Ah, you're back! How was it?" Feather asked.
Kabu stepped forward, and seemed a bit ashamed. "Feather, we... Lost Spots."
"Lost Spots?" Feather echoed, "What do you mean?"
"He's dead," Rusty said, sadness in his voice.
"Dead?" Feather was now wide-eyed, "How could Spots possibly die in a training session?"
"He swept downstream, down a waterfall," Eclipse told her mentor.
"Because someone had us swim!" Rusty growled, rounding on Kabu.
Ash held his breath. He expected Kabu to scold Rusty for being disrespectful, but to everyone's surprise, Kabu just sighed. "You're right... It's my fault." And he walked into The Bending Tower.
Ash stared after Kabu, feeling sympathy for the lion. Even Rusty looked a bit sad for him. The one animal who Ash had loathed the whole day, who snapped at other animals for being slow and not going fast enough, was sad with himself.

Author's Note:
Poor Kabu... And Spots... :C

Chapter 24: Saving Spots

A female snowy owl swooped into the air and towards Spots. Ash wanted to help, but didn't know if Kabu would approve of it. She swooped in to Spots, but hooted alarm as she came too close to the water; her feathers skimmed it a bit, and she was forced to go onto land, to prevent herself from being unable to fly.

"Zapada! Are you okay?" A female barn owl flew over to the snowy owl. The few birds who were there weren't allowed to swim, had to glide in the air and fly in place.

The snowy owl got to her feet. "Yes, Nyx, go back to flying, we'll get Spots!" Zapada ordered. 

Windows and Dell suddenly jumped out of the water in unison.

Kabu was running to go get Spots. He looked at them. "Get back in the water!"
"B-B-B-But K-K-K-Kabu, it's f-fr-freezing!" Dell protested, "We're r-r-reptiles!"

"And what about reptiles is bad with doing that?" Kabu growled.

"IDIOT!" Windows snapped, "We're COLD-BLOODED! Meaning if we go in FREEZING TEMPERATURES, WE DIE!"

Kabu snarled at Windows, but turned to Skye and Willow, "Get these two to the healers' den and order Feather to start a fire, stat!"
Skye and Willow nodded. Skye grabbed Dell with her talons and flew in the direction of The Bending Tower. Willow picked up Windows, who snarled protest, and ran after Skye.

"C-Can I help Feather?" Eclipse asked.

"Keep swimming!" Kabu ordered.

"GUYS! HELP!" Spots yowled, trying to fight the current. Ash gasped as he noticed Spots was nearing a waterfall.

Without hesitating, Creature jumped into the river and swam for Spots. Spots kept trying to fight the current, which was threatening to throw him down the waterfall. Ash got very nervous, seeing the current was almost too much for Creature to handle. "Please! Get Spots!" Ash yowled.

Creature swam harder. Spots tried swimming for him, but wasn't moving. He spotted a stick on the ground. Spots jumped into the air and went to grab the stick. Ash watched nervously, barely remembering to keep swimming in the water himself.

As Spots grabbed the stick, his paw slammed down on it, and it flipped. With the stick, he fell down the waterfall.

"SPOTS!" everyone yowled in unison.

Author's Note:
Stupid current is stupid. >:U

Chapter 23: The Cold, Cold River

Ash looked uncertainly up at the sky. It was covered in clouds. A cold breeze ruffled his fur. He shivered. Then his eyes turned to the river in front of him. The same river Bone, the komodo dragon died in. He reluctantly put his paw in, then flinched at how cold it was.
"Kabu, do we really have to swim in this temperature?" Nightgale complained.
"It's not gonna kill you! Get in!" Kabu ordered.
"But... It feels like it's gonna turn to ice!" yowled Mistletoe.
"Now!" Kabu growled.
Scared, everyone plunged in at once. Ash winced at how cold it was, and his instincts told him to jump out, but he was stuck in there as long as he didn't want Kabu to yell at him. The river was threatening to push him downstream, but Ash treaded water and pushed against the current, his teeth chattering as the cold water ruffled his fur.
Dell was behind Ash, and she looked cold as well. It must be very tough for her, after all, she's a reptile, Ash told himself, still treading water.
"I-I-I'd r-rather be in M-Mt. Ice," Dust declared, who was in front of Ash.
A fish slithered past Ash's pelt. He tried to grab it, but it quickly swam away. Others tried getting it, too, but missed.
"Faster!" Kabu ordered.
Ash and the others quickly began treading water faster. It all seemed to be causing a big wave going downstream. Spots, who was last in line, got hit by it. Yowling, he got swept downstream!
"Spots!" Ash yowled.

Author's Note:
Oh noes! :o Will they save Spots?!

Chapter 22: The Rocks and the Hill

"Go, go! RUN!"
Ash found himself running faster up a hill, carrying rocks on his back. He quickly dumped them on the top, and didn't dare rest. If he did, River would certainly snap. Ash scurried back down the hill, passing... Slice?
"Hey, Slice!" Ash called out, "Why are you here?"
"They made the travelers join!" Slice called back down, running to the top of the hill and putting rocks down, "This is such a pain!" She ran back down to Ash's side.
Twister sprinted up the hill, put the rocks down, and ran back down to get more. Slice went to get more rocks. Miguel, Raoul and Max were holding a conversation, and putting rocks on top of the hill. Miguel seemed to be eyeing Slice, while his friends talked with each other.
Rusty and Dust were at the top as Ash got back. As Rusty turned around to go back, Dust tumbled into him. They rolled down the hill, shouting "ouch!" as they constantly hit each others' heads. They tumbled into Slice, who got caught in the mess; Spots, Mistletoe and Miguel got stuck in it, too, as they all yowled as they kept getting hurt, rolling for the bottom.
Ash found himself laughing, for the first time all day. Others joined in. The ones who got tangled up, however, didn't laugh.
Miguel had fell into Slice. He quickly got to his paws, looking a bit embarrassed. Miguel backed up, heading for Raoul and Max. They were laughing, but Miguel didn't seem to care, he looked a bit more spooked with the bumping into Slice.
Ash heard Kabu roaring, "Back to work! NOW!"
On that command, everyone ran back to the step they were in, getting rocks and putting them on the hill.

Author's Note:
Are you on the MiguelXSlice side now? :{D LOL, remember the Rusty and Dust hill episode from earlier? ;) BTW, Sorry for not posting much! D8> I've been busy with school and all. Also, I have a new story blog, it's about huskies - click here to see it! <:3 

Chapter 21: Protesting

Everyone lay panting on the ground as they finished their fifteen laps. Ash was among the last to finish. Raoul, Max and Miguel were tired too but they looked like they had been having a lot of fun.  Rusty lay fainted on the ground, Dust next to him, both twins knocked out. Ash felt like he may faint himself. When a swift breeze blew by, everyone sighed in relief.

Twister looked tired herself; she was talking to Akumu, who looked much more tired than anyone else. Ash knew that Akumu was pretty small, so it must have been very hard for her. Ash still couldn't quite figure out why the senior Benders had him working so hard... Rusty and Dust had said that this wasn't usual, so why something new all of the sudden?

"Alright, now!" Kabu yowled.

Please be done. Please be done, Ash prayed silently.

"Next, we'll be doing-"

Kabu was interrupted by sighs, moans, groans and whimpers.

"What's with the protesting?" Kabu growled.

"We're tired!" Windows moaned.

Everyone murmured agreement. Ash didn't dare to protest; he knew Kabu'd probably get angrier and make them work harder.

As Kabu revealed his sharp teeth, everyone looked at him in fear. Ash could tell they were now regretting their complaints. Everyone, including Ash himself, backed up slowly. Even the senior Benders looked a tiny bit frightened, but not as much as the young Benders and apprentices.

"You dare protest? Wimps! This makes you STRONGER, you'd better LOVE IT!" Kabu snarled.

"B-But... But why do we need t-to do this?" Akumu dared to ask. Ash grew wide-eyed, waiting to see Kabu's response.

"NO QUESTIONS!" Kabu snarled. Ash saw Mistletoe jump in alarm at Kabu's snapping. 

"Hello?"
Ash turned around, followed by everyone else. Eclipse was standing there.

"Ah, Eclipse. Is there anything you need?" Kabu asked, now acting noble again.

"Um... Feather sent me out here to join you?" Eclipse shrugged.

"No! Eclipse! Run... Away, it's horrible!" Rusty gasped. Eclipse was glued to the spot, however, as she examined all of the tired faces of everyone. 

"Eclipse, you may join us. I'm sure Feather decided wisely."

Author's Note:
Welcome, Eclipse, to the exercises of torture.