Cole wandered among the still trees and attempted to walk as quietly as possible. His years of trained skills kicked in, and he became naught but a silent, drifting shadow in the forest. The canopy of leaves cast him in near-stifling darkness, and he could barely see where he was walking. Leaves, twigs, and weeds brushed against his legs and snatched at his clothing, and he gritted his teeth when he felt his skin pierced by invisible thorns.
He didn't know how long he walked, but he soon realized he hadn't the foggiest idea where Eagle Talon had gone. The creature had disappeared into the night as stealthily and soundlessly as a phantom. For all he knew, Eagle Talon could be watching him this very moment, just as a cat would watch a hapless mouse before pouncing.
Cole suppressed a shiver and silently berated himself. Big baby! He was imagining monsters and boogie men like a little kid. He was a ninja! There was absolutely nothing to be afraid of—
At that moment some night animal let loose a frightful howl. Something big crashed in the bushes, and panicked cries echoed throughout the woods. The creature yelped and screeched for a few seconds before its terrified screams were cut off.
Something else rustled in the bushes, then silence enveloped the night.
Dryly Cole gulped. "OK... not creepy at all. Yeesh." He fell silent. His own voice sounded as if it was disturbing the dark atmosphere of the forest, and that it may even lead hidden enemies to him. He scanned his surroundings, but could make out naught but the silhouettes of trees and underbrush surrounding him.
A single ray of moonlight peeked down from the canopy and cast a flickering, soft light down on a clump of thick bushes. The dew on the leaves reflected the light like molten silver and sparkled in the shadows. Some of the reflections even looked like glowing eyes.
Cole felt his mouth go dry when he realized that there were, in fact, two glowing orbs staring eerily at him. They stood out from the bottom of the bush, where the shadows were the thickest. Some creature was under there, and it was watching him.
Hardly daring to breathe, Cole held its gaze and waited for it to make the first move.
Then a dark, black-striped tabby stepped into the moonlight. Its eyes gleamed in the dark. "What do you think you're doing out here, Son of Earth?"
Cole stepped back warily. "Talon?"
The cat's shape shifted as it stood on its hind legs, its tails shrunk and disappeared, and it grew to the same height as Cole. The creature in his human form responded dispassionately. "Who else?"
Cole stared at Eagle Talon, noting that something red was smeared across his face and hands. "What are you doing?"
"What are you doing?" Eagle Talon countered.
"Are you going to answer all my questions with questions?" Cole growled.
"Are you?"
"For crying out—!"
"I'm eating, for ancestors' sake!" Eagle Talon exclaimed irritably. "Anything wrong with that?"
"Eating? Eating what? The food's at the campsite."
"Your food, maybe." Eagle Talon retorted. "My food is out here." With that he crouched down and snatched a furry bundle from under the bush. He stood up and waved it Cole's face. "See? Real food."
"Augh!" Cole recoiled in disgust. "Was that the thing I heard screeching a few minutes ago?!"
"Yeah." The young man shrugged. "It smelled me before I pounced, so it tried to make a run for it. It nearly got away, but it's mine now. Don't think you can steal it," he added warningly.
Cole cringed. "Dude, there is no way I'm gonna want to eat that. You're more than welcome to have it."
"Hm." Eagle Talon regarded him for a moment. Suddenly he started forward and waved the limp, furry bundle at Cole's face.
"Augh, ew!" Cole jumped back and gagged. He could have sworn he felt something furry brush against his nose. "Don't do that! That's nasty!"
"What's the matter? Squeamish?" Eagle Talon chuckled. "Ancestors above, you're worse than a pampered house cat, Son of Earth!"
"First of all, I am not squeamish. Humans just don't eat raw meat because it's disgusting and it makes you sick," Cole snapped. "Second of all, my name's not 'Son of Earth', OK? My name is Cole. C-O-L-E. In fact, we all have names, and they're not 'Son of This' and 'Daughter of That'. If you're going to be hanging out with us, you could at least call us by our given names."
A low, ominous growling noise sounded from Eagle Talon's throat, and Cole edged back, preparing for a fight.
To his surprise, though, the werecat was grinning, and with a start Cole realized that Eagle Talon was purring. He was literally purring in mocking amusement.
"Wow, touchy." Talon drawled, "All right, Cole, let's get something straight here. I don't give a mouse tail about what you, the Daughter of—oh, excuse me." He added sardonically, "Nya and Zane and all the others say about me or think about me. I'll do my part, and I'll do it well. You'll get Jay back, I'll get my moonstone, and then I'm outta here. But while I'm here, I'm not going to be treated like fox dung."
He stepped up to Cole with a fierce stare. "You are not going to push me around like a frightened mouse, and I am not going to be your slave. I may be stuck in this lousy deal, but you are not going to boss me around like I'm some thick-headed house pet. Furthermore," he added darkly. "If it so happens that the snake-tongued Nya has lied to me in order to rescue her precious mate, I assure you, Cole, that someone is going to get hurt."
Cole leaned forward until his and Eagle Talon's noses were nearly touching. "And if we find that Jay is not alive," he growled softly. "I swear, Eagle Talon, Son of Silver Moist, warrior of the Tribe of the Moon, Nya won't be the only one at your throat."
Eagle Talon gave a contemptuous huff and stepped back. "So we understand each other." He turned away. "For the record, though, my mother's name was 'Silver Mist'. Not 'Silver Moist'."
"Whatever," Cole muttered. He watched the werecat's tall, muscular figure melt into the shadows.
* * *
Naught but embers were left of the once blazed campfire. Liana knew this because she could feel and hear the heat from where she lay, but the flames no longer growled.
After dinner, everyone bunked down in their own piles of blankets and sleeping bags. Feeling warm and full of good food—thanks to Zane, the cook—Liana crawled down into her sleeping bag and closed her eyes as the others talked quietly among themselves. Wu and Nya had already fallen asleep, and a while later Matilda was the next to go.
The night was cool and serene. The smallest of breezes toyed with the trees' leaves surrounding them, and night birds and insects cried and chirped in the distance. The air smelled moist and clear to Liana—a much better smell than Ninjago City, in her opinion. The covers felt warm and safe around her, and she felt herself growing sleepier.
Cole and Zane's voices grew drowsier from the other side of the clearing, and Liana was able to peacefully tune them out—until she heard her name.
"Why won't you make peace with Liana?" Zane's voice murmured quietly, "I know the two of you got into a fight the other day."
He must have thought that she was asleep, or that if she wasn't then she wouldn't be able to hear him. Ha. Little did they know her loss of sight had granted Liana an acute sense of hearing.
She heard Cole sigh. "She's just being stubborn. She'll get over it soon."
"Cole, you accused her of being of being a bakeneko-nekomata creature and attacked her."
"She struck first!"
Liana swore angrily in her head, but stayed silent.
"Do you not owe her an apology?" Zane inquired gently.
It took a few seconds for Cole to respond. "Look, maybe I'll say I'm sorry later, but right now all I'm really concerned about is Jay. We have to rescue him before the cats— You know..."
"That doesn't mean you can't make peace with your friend now," said Zane. "The longer you put it off, the harder it will be to mend your friendship."
A much longer space of silence followed. Liana was tempted to sit up and unleash her vicious tongue on Cole, but she kept her quiet, wondering what he would say next.
Then the blankets rustled. "I'm going to bed now. Good night."
Zane didn't say anything as he sat there a moment longer, then followed suit. Silence enveloped the night, save for the chirp of crickets from the surrounding pine trees and an owl's screech in the distance.
Liana buried her head in her pillow and let her bitter, angry heart smolder before settling to a low, depressed feeling. She didn't want to think about Cole, who slept but a few feet away from her. She wished that sleep would claim her quickly, and by and by her eyelids slowly grew heavier. She sank in the blankets and closed her eyes—it made no difference to the dark she lived in. It was just nature to shut one's eyes to sleep.
She was just dozing off when she became aware of vibrations in the ground. She shifted and listened to the night, and she heard the soft padding of footsteps coming from the forest and toward the campsite.
She held her breath and strained her ears to hear more clues to the stranger. The person—by the weight of the footsteps, it sounded like an adult—drifted by the slumbering travelers silently, each step so smooth and soft that even Liana had to concentrate to hear them.
The footsteps stopped around where Nya slept. Liana wondered if she should wake up the others.
Then a voice broke the stillness of night.
"Sleep well, Sons and Daughters," Eagle Talon's purr sent a cold chill down Liana's spine. "Keep looking behind you, keep listening—because one day Black Blood will find you, and you will be crow's food."