Five

Chapter Two

Duties

Each den comprised of a sloping entry tunnel which gave way to a large, rounded entrance chamber where, typically the food would be stored and guests recieved. Then, depending on the status of the family, a number of other chambers would branch out from the entrance chamber and, if the family was quite well off, down deeper underground where there was more space. Some homes had ever-burning fires in the corners of certain rooms, but Riila eyes were not bothered by darkness and so most homes had no lighting at all.

Zuri's home did have lighting and the blue and purple fires in the four corners of the cavernous entrance chamber set her various shadows bouncing off the walls. Zuri sighed, she could relax now and the flickering lights soothed her. She padded through the tunnel left of the main entrance to her personal chamber. In a corner sat a luxuriously large sleeping cushion colorfully dyed by one of the village's most respected artists. The other three corners held ever-burning fires and covering the walls were murals painted on skins depicting epic battles between her own ancient tribe and their enemies of old, showcasing genius battle strategies and, above the tunnel from the entrance chamber, a portrait of herself.

Zuri curled up on her sleeping cushion and closed her eyes, for she truly was tired but it would be some time yet before she could really rest. Any moment now Zuri's mother would come in looking for her and drag her off to the village meeting. It was, after all, her place, her duty to be there at her parent's side for she was the princess and her parents king and queen. She would one day rise to be ruler of all the villages of the Tribe but for now she wished only to sleep...and the fires were so lulling. Perhaps her mother would forget to fetch for her and just let her lie here undisturbed--

But at that moment, her mother burst into the room with a fury.

"There you are," said Kiisa. "Where have you been?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean mother," replied Zuri, not lifting her head. "I declare I've been here for quite some time. Have you been looking for me? I would have thought the obvious place to check would be my chamber."

"Of course I checked your chamber," snapped Kiisa. "But you weren't here I tell you. Oh, it doesn't matter. Come now, hurry. We've got to get to the meeting."

Four

Zuri's mental picture of her way back to her den was a task at risk because of how short the row of dens were but Zuri had to get back so her parents wouldn't suspect anything of Zuri's mission. So as she planned, she crawled beneath the small dens with a terrible backache because of crouching down so much. At the end of the aisle of other's dens, Zuri made it past the center of her tribe undetected and trotted back to her den. No commotion made. Just as she planned.

Three

She scurried up to the edge of the village, a sturdy wall about the height of two bushes. Crouching low in the grass, she could hear People speaking, laughing, finishing up their evening meal. Red, purple and blue lights from the family-fires danced up from beyond the Wall. No one must see her entrance, it would raise unwanted attention.
She slipped through her old passageway she had dug under the Wall and emerged behind a row of dens. Not that they provided much cover. Each was an underground dwelling with an entrance opening up onto a path and none of them rose above the height of a few shrubs. Zuri's den opened up onto this nearest path but, because of her status, was nearly at the center of the village, far from the Wall. She needed only to get further into the village without detection, then she could nonchalantly walk to her den and no one would suspect a thing.

Two

Tree Constellation (Sketch by Zeelik)

As Zuri kept creeping through the restless, blowing field of grass, she noticed a difference in how the stars lined up because every night Zuri walked though the grass, she always knows she's not lost because of the tree constelation. Many times Zuri spotted the tree, she knows she's near her home in the Forest of Lityru. Usually the stars are in that same tree formation but this time they were backwards. Even though they were backwards, with Zuri's keen sense of hearing she was able to find her way through the prairie in the bitter darkness.

One

Chapter One

Midnighting

A blanket of stars stretched above Zuri as she picked her way silently through the tall grasses to the edge of the forest. No betraying twig did she snap under her paws, never did she carelessly rustle the high blades. She was quite undetectable. Only one of her kind could possibly have the skill to track her and she could think of no one who could have any motive.