Paw Prints (Book One in the Trails Series) *BEING EDITED-NEW VERSION WILL BE LONGER*

~Chapter Twenty-One~ The Extraordinary Girl

"Do you have any idea what Sparrow would have liked for..." Tiquail's voice trailed away as she looked at Dot, Miki, and Marley. They all had tears streaming down their cheeks and Tiquail was finding it harder and harder to say what she had to say.

"...for her funeral?"

Miki wiped her eyes. "She liked roses." She said thickly. Tiquail nodded.

"Could we bury her dagger with her?" Marley asked. Tiquail nodded again.

"Dot, do you have any ideas?"

Dot looked up. "Sparrow loved her family, even though she barely knew them. I think it's only fair that we don't invite the whole of Trails. She wouldn't have wanted something huge, she liked to keep things small."

Tiquail purred. "That, I think, will mean a lot to her. Nothing extraordinary for the extraordinary girl."

***

Ainnya, newly healed from losing five of her nine remaining lives, sat in front of Sparrow's casket. Her fur was freshly groomed and her eyes were narrowed as she looked around to see if the small amount of people who had attended the funeral were seated.

The cheetah bowed her head. "A terrible loss...beyond a terrible loss. This girl, who was always so loyal, so forgiving, so strong, has given up her life to avoid killing her own family.

"May God rest her soul."

Ainnya paused. Everyone bowed their heads, saying their own prayers.

Ainnya raised her head. "Would anyone like to say a few words?"

Every hand (or tail) in the place went up. Ainnya widened her eyes. "Tiquail, you'll go first." She said.

Tiquail got out of her seat and walked up to the front, the smell of roses filling her nostrils.

She sat down and faced the small group.

"There's a lot of things I could say about Sparrow." She began. "Remember, I kept an eye on her for thirteen years. And, as I told her when she accused me of stalking her, I was merely observing."

She swallowed.

"Sparrow was outgoing. She was loyal, and in the end, it was her loyalty that killed her. But that's okay. I think that she'd rather die loyal than a traitor, or a killer."

Tiquail dipped her head and walked back to her seat.

"Thank you, Tiquail. Dot, Miki, Marley, I think you three can go together." Ainnya said.

Miki, Dot, and Marley all stood up. They were wearing plain black dresses, and Marley had done her best to smooth down her insane hair and make it look neater.

"You want to know what I thought of Sparrow?" Miki began, fresh tears dripping down her face.

"I think, if I had to chose one word to describe her, it would be confident. When you think about it, she had a lot of confidence in herself...and in the people she cared about. That's saying a lot, because confidence is a hard thing to find...at least sometimes it is. She never doubted for a second that something was going on, she never doubted her own eyes, and she stuck by herself. That, I think, is something wonderfully valuable about her personality."

Marley stepped up now, her two different colored eyes hard and emotionless. Tiquail knew she was trying to hide what she was really feeling.