KuliKuli raised her silver-furred head, stretching her mouth wide open in a yawn as her stomach growled begging for food. Turning her head, she found the rest of her family still trapped in their individual cages just as they had been for the past several days. Trying to figure out where they were had been futile ever since they crossed into the fogged ndscape, regardless of her keen eyes. The cold didn't bother her too much thanks to her fur, but she longed to properly stretch her limbs and walk around freely. Tempting as it was to revert to her humanoid state, she didn't want to gamble her life under the confines of this steel cage.

  They hadn't been fed often enough either or even moved from their carriage. Once she stepped into her cage, they were on the move and occasionally they would stop for a bite to eat or a corner to piss, but the cat girls were given no more than one meal a day. Not to mention the exposure of them in an opened carriage with no bnket to cover them left her feeling exposed and unsafe. She hardly got much sleep in these conditions, and judging by the stressed movements from her sisters and mother, it seemed that they felt the same way. Being fed in their cat form wasn't as filling as it was to eat in their humanoid state. KuliKuli closed her eyes, silently praying that they would stop for just a moment and finally given a bite to eat. She didn't know much of religion, but hopefully someone out there could hear her prayers.

  The carriage came to a stop, causing her little yellow eyes to burst wide open in shock. She lifted her tail and turned her head to the sky, thanking whatever heard her out there.

  Raz signaled for the others to stop, waving his hand rapidly. The second carriage slowed down behind him, with Perdilius stepping down and gncing around. He frowned and hummed in thought as Raz approached him.

  "Something's wrong," Raz muttered in a low whisper, "No one's present at the watch, and the gate is locked."

  Leone climbed out from the third carriage along with a few of their soldiers. The hunter looked serious, keeping his hand to his waist, near the hilt of his sword. The others seemed more interested in chatter, wondering around and loudly questioning their surroundings and absence of their allies.

  They had arrived at their intended destination, a small fortress that stood out from its sleet stone walls contrasting the damp wet ndscape with trees and moss curling around them. There was no sound of insect or wildlife to be heard, nothing but the eerie whisper of a breeze. One soldier reached for his spear, pressing it against his breast as the winter chill left him feeling nervous. The fog was so dense that the fourth carriage nearly hid from sight when standing at the front. It rendered them vulnerable for an ambush.

  Perdlius strolled toward the front and pressed his hand against the gate. It refused to budge, groaning as he pressed both hands forward but to no avail. He stumbled back, analyzing the situation as he contempted forcing the gate open at first, but that would leave the fort helpless to fend off uninvited creatures. He gestured with two fingers pointing up toward the top of their walls, turning his gaze on the hunter. "Care to climb over and open it from the inside for us?" He asked.

  Leone didn't say anything back but let his actions answer for him, digging into his belt and plucking out a tiny web-like string. He pulled out an iron rod before pressing into it in a certain direction from its hilt, triggering a mechanism that allowed the end to split open into three hooks with barbed tips. The others watched with fascination as the hunter effortlessly tied the web around the three-pronged grappling hook, then swung it over the wall. With a quick tug, he reassured that the hook was secured before climbing up the wall in quick succession.

  Reaching out to grab the ledge, Leone hopped over as his eyes caught on to the shape of a body hunched over the gate winch, seemingly intent on either opening the gate or keeping it sealed. He pulled out his sword and carefully approached the carcass, tilting his head as a few revealing details raised his interest. This was no carcass for there was no body inside, just an empty husk of a chest pte with a long-sleeved tunic inside, and the arm raised toward a metal glove wrapped around the winch handle. A nudge from the tip of his bde sent the pte of metal crashing near his feet, and a quick scan around him revealing that he was utterly alone.

  With haste, he sheathed his weapon and gripped the gate winch, turning the mechanism around as it slowly lifted the wooden gate open. Perdilius looked satisfied, stepping back into his carriage with Raz leading the way. Once the final carriage entered, Raz cried out for Leone to close the gate behind them while stepping outside. He stumbled back with a look of fright, swallowing the lump in his throat as he surveyed the area. The fort was expected to house two dozen of their armored mercenaries inside waiting to greet them, but the pce seemed entirely vacant.

  "Everyone stays inside!" Raz warned them, quickly approaching Perdilius' door. "No sign of anyone in here, pce seems... empty."

  Perdilius seemed irritated upon hearing this news. "Have a pair of our men keep an eye on the beasts. Go out and search the premise. Remember, we came for food and water so search every corner."

  "As you say." He nodded, marching down the caravan and instructing their men on what to do.

  KuliKuli looked around from her little cell, catching glimpses of the fort they were in. Despite being surrounding by stone walls, her fur stood at its end as instincts warned her of danger nearby. She was breathing fast, feeling her heart race as she turned to face her family. Dimyri stared with a serious look, while Syri curled up and hid behind her tail. Emyri gnced from one daughter to the other, mewling softly to comfort them. KuliKuli meowed back when two armored men turned around to face them, blocking their sight of the outside. They didn't seem concerned with them, rather they too shared an unnerved feeling between them.

  Unbeknownst to everyone else, Na'Vi clung to her hiding spot beneath their carriage. Being a bck cat worked in her advantage to stay to the shadows, but it had been days and she contempted for the right time to take action. Poking her head below, she could only see nothing but boots roaming around and eavesdrop on several muttering words here and there. She licked her lips and rubbed her whiskers to dry them from the misty cold air, choosing to remain in hiding for now.

  Meanwhile, Leone was slowly walking along the second floor, keeping himself in their presence while searching around. There was nothing left to be found upstairs, but the view advantage helped him spot a small fme at the far end of the bottom floor.

  "There's a small fire several paces east of you." He hollered out to them, finding a ramp to make his descent and join them. "Nothing but an empty pile of gear up there."

  Raz ran a hand across his hair, seemingly agitated but keeping in control. "Leone, you're with me. The rest of you stand guard over Perdilius and the girls. Protect them with your life if you have to, if you hear any screams from us you take off."

  "Right." A man with a dome-shaped helmet nodded in agreement.

  Turning back with a raised brow gestured at the hunter, Raz reached for his own sword in one hand and a lit torch in the other as the duo stepped off to inspect the fort. The corner where the fire sizzled was the charred remains of a horse stable, with the straw acting as fuel to spread the fire around. The horses were gone, and several barrels y on their side with some burst open, spilling water over the ground. A quick sniff from Leone filled his nostrils with the stench of burning, causing him to huff and wipe his nose. He motioned for Raz to follow him, taking the lead and stepping toward the left corner side where the men would take rest.

  The hammocks dangled loosely, the dining table toppled over with a few arrows embedded into them. The shot came from the direction of the open window, likely being a precision shot from outside. Raz stepped around and cautious poked his head out the window, spotting nothing but thick jungle trees to greet him. Upon leaving the headquarters, they stumbled back outside to find a bck-metal cage with the door stomped over on the ground, and a pair of chains shackled into the floor of the cage before snapping apart from whatever was inside. Piles of armor with tunics and boots scattered around the cage, some sporting three jagged cw marks across them.

  Raz counted seven possibly bodies, absent of any wearer inside them. Several arrows decorated the ground, and some sprouted from the fyed sets of armor. The most disturbing was remnants of barrels, possibly storing rum inside, with a bck charred outline of a silhouette painting the wall. Raz closed his eyes and turned away fast, with Leone taking initiative to approach it. He found a torch on the ground, devoid of any fme to it. But it led his eyes to spotting a trail on the ground, following a peculiar set of paw prints on the dirt contrasting the boot marks scattered around. The paw prints led a trail toward the other side of the fort where the exit was.

  Raz left the hunter behind to inspect the right side of the fort, finding the dog kettle. He pulled at the cage doors, finding the locks still remained but with no dogs inside. Nothing broke free and yet the kettle was vacant, with bits of gooey residue coating the kettle doors. He rubbed the gooey mixture between his fingers before wiping them against the stone wall, then turned around to find a hunched figure pinned against the wall with an arrow sprouting from its chest.

  "Leone." He cried out, keeping sure that his voice sounded calm yet alert so as to not have the other men panic and fear the worst. The hunter arrived shortly after, pausing once he noticed the figure. Catching Raz by surprise, he strolled by with calm and kneeled down, picking the helmet and dangling it for Raz to see. There was no body, the helmet was pinned by an arrow that matched the same ones from the other room.

  "Archers?" Raz questioned, stepping over and reaching for the arrow.

  "Careful." Leona pulled his hand back, staring at the stained arrowhead. He pressed it under his nose and winced after a quick sniff. "Dipped in poison."

  "An ambush from rangers?" Raz suggested, scratching his head.

  Leone shook his head, setting the arrow down when he spotted a drop of blood at the dirt. He knelt down and gestured for Raz to keep quiet, following this trail as another drop was found several paces from the kettle. Someone was injured, making their way around the fort toward the dining area when the trail ended on top of a wooden table. Leone scrunched his eyebrows together, tracing his hands over the wooden surface to feel the marks of something dragging against the wood before. Raising his head, he spotted a dangling bit of string.

  Raz followed his gaze and expined. "That's where they store the rations."

  "Indeed." Leone muttered back, pulling the string down and revealing a hidden dder that fell over the table, scraping the wooden surface. An arm dangled from within the celr, causing Raz to stumble back. But Leone wasn't bothered, he hummed with intrigue as this was the first actual corpse they had found so far. Snatching the torch from his companion, he wasted no time climbing up the steps and searching around quickly. There wasn't much to find, several crates of fruit and lettuce, and a dead body clutching a bottle of alcohol with its st strength. Removing the helmet revealed a paled man inside, his eyes bloodshot with green veins sprouting from his neck. The shaft of an arrow sprouted from his leg.

  "Anything there?" Raz called out, kicking his foot against the dirt and nervously gncing around the room. "Aside from the uh... body."

  Leone jumped down and passed the torch back to him. "The man was injured back at the kettle. he was struck with a poisoned arrow, found his way into the celr and hid there for a few days feeding off the food. Man guzzled through alcohol to numb the pain before succumbing to it."

  Raz shook his head, panting slightly. "What of the kettles, where are the dogs? The horses? Why are there clothes and armor scattered about?"

  "That is what concerns me most." He answered back. "There's still some food up there, grab it and inspect them to see if any are spoiled. Any sign of rot, toss 'em away. Take no chances unless you want to gamble your life with them. We don't know if the man bled over the food or not."

  He brushed past Raz, marching off before turning around. "And be quick! We're not the only ones wanting to eat around these nds."

  Raz nodded, understanding the dangers at hand. It took a moment to expin the situation to the others, and several minutes for the men to scavenge all the food they could grab from the celr. Perdilius seemed more annoyed than alert, but Raz kept his eyes on Leone. The hunter seemed fixated gazing out the fort and into the trees, watching something that he himself couldn't catch.

  When the men grabbed a crate of salted meat, they raised their fists in celebration. Raz reached out for a few handfuls, making his way to the rear of the second carriage to greet the cats. They stared at him, uncertain of his intentions. He tore the meat into little pieces, squeezing them into their cages for them to eat. He waited patiently until the small white one licked her lips and gave the meat a nibble. That was enough to satisfy him, he was ready to leave when a reminder came to mind. He dug into the bags behind their cages until he found a wooden bowl, then pnted it between them. Snagging his fsk from his belt, he popped the cork open and poured water into the bowl before pushing their cages closer to it.

  "There you go." He sighed, watching as the white cat drank from the bowl. "Hoping the rest of you indulge. It ain't much, but it'll do for now." He spotted the oldest one, Dimyri, locking eyes with him and cocking her head with intrigue. He did the same, raising his brow as well. Looking around, he noticed the men were beginning to stock up the st box. He reached up and loosened a knot, dropping the curtain of the caravan which hid him from their view.

  "Right." He uttered more to himself, stepping away from the carriage and raising his voice to alert the others. "Best get a move on then, shall we?"

  They nodded in agreement, satisfied to have some food on the way over. Raz hurried to the front carriage, whistling loudly as the horses whined and pulled the carriage forward. One by one, they swept through the back gate, leaving the remains of the fort and venturing deeper into the jungle. Leone reached out and climbed into the third carriage, keeping an eye outside.

  The fourth carriage trailed close behind them, as a shadowy figure poked its head from one of the high trees. It turned its head, revealing a pair of rge, pointed ears as it kept watch of the trail of carriages moving through. Once they were out of view, the figure leapt from one tree onto the other, disappearing out of sight.