[Sheffey]

Magnus was a lonely 12' Battleheart with no family but his intelligent sister. Today Magnus had been out hunting for smaller grizzly bears."Hey how do these bears look?" he asked his sister. "I think I have improved on my hunting skills."

[Jessari]

Skaara smiled at her brother and his catch. While Magnus had been out hunting, she had gathered together some old logs and piled them high with dead twigs. Sliding the sharp edges of her claws together in one swift motion, she sent sparks leaping into the pile. As the dried brush began to flame, she turned again to her brother. "Good catch, Magnus. It looks like we'll be eating well tonight!"

[Sheffey]

"We need a change little sis It's nothing but catch meat, eat, sleep and rarely other things" he said while eating. "Hey! Complements to the chef. No fair! You got the biggest piece." Magnus playfully tried to tackle her.

[Jessari]

Skaara bit into the bear steak, cooked rare, and sighed in pleasure as the hot meat slid down her throat. She'd barely finished her portion when Magnus began to get rowdy. "Hey!" she yelped, their hard scales clacking noisily as he collided with her. Craning her neck around, she closed her teeth on his shoulder in a gentle bite. "You'we heve," she said, talking around her grip on his shoulder. "Ger off!"

[Sheffey]

Magnus twisted leaving Skaara to stay on the ground. Magnus took the meat, acting like he would be selfish and bite it. Instead he threw it to the ground in front of Skaara and walked off. "Hey, soon you will be too heavy to tackle like that, which will be bad news on my behalf."

[Jessari]

The comment about her weight was completely missed as she looked at the meat tossed carelessly on the ground. She wasn't so picky that she wouldn't eat something that had lain on the ground, but having her meal thrown on the ground in such a manner hurt her feelings a little. "Mother would've whipped you if she'd seen you treat her food that way." Skaara said, a slight pout in her tone.

[Sheffey]

"Hey! the rules we made were to never mention family. You would ow me an extra piece of meat for that but I'll let you off for once." Turning away to hide the tears he said, " Goo.....AAARRRGGGHH night." Giant battleheart yawns are enormous.

[Jessari]

As soon as the words had left her mouth, Skaara regretted them. It had been nearly a year since their parents had been taken by hunters, yet the pain was still fresh in both their minds. She had nightmares sometimes, about the hunters returning for them with weapons blazing. Magnus had bad nights too, she knew, but she also knew he'd never talk about them for fear of being embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Magnus. I didn't mean to make you sad."

She curled up in her usual spot, a soft patch of grass at the edge of the clearing. Maybe a good night's sleep would calm both their nerves and give them a fresh start.

[Sheffey]

As he curled up in the tough pile of grass and weeds, he thought more about mother and father.

* * *

Thump thump thump. He heard the rattling of bullets in the tree near Skaara and himself. "RROOAARR!" He yelled out in pain as bullets hit his tough scales almost making harmfull wounds.



Magnus - Level 2

[Jessari]

Skaara was asleep within moments, a deep sleep that was uninterrupted by the dreams that plagued her brother. She slept so deeply that she failed to hear the dark creature that crept along the branches towards their brightly-lit clearing.



The moonling traveled from branch to branch, moving towards the flickering light it saw through the trees. One would think it impossible for an armless creature such as this to make progress through the trees, but there was more to moonlings than met the eye. It would disappear in a wisp of smoke, then reappear on another branch a short distance away.

When it reached the clearing, it paused to survey the scene. Two battlehearts, large enough to eat it in one bite, lay sleeping at the edges. What drew its interest even more, however, was the chunk of bear meat sitting forgotten on the ground.

In a bit of smoke, the moonling appeared on the ground near the meat. It silently bent over to grasp it in sharp jaws.

Skaara - Level 2

[Sheffey]

Wow that was a bad dream I had! he thought to himself. Where did that piece of meat go. Thats quite a strange smell. "Skarra wake up and smell this!"

[Jessari]

Skaara merely growled and rolled over. No matter how responsible she tried to act when she was awake, it was always hard to wake her up once she had fallen asleep.

* * * * *

The Moonling watched from the edge of the clearing. Its sharp beak tore hunks from the stolen meat, which it scarfed down as quickly as possible. These Battlehearts looked as if they could provide more than food; they could provide it with entertainment as well. It decided to hang around for a while to watch, and perhaps prank, the young creatures.

[Sheffey]

While Skaarra was trying to wake up, Magnus was thinking of all the smells he knew and tried to think if the Moonling's smell was familiar. How would something get by me without me realizing it? Magnus thought. "Hey Skaarra, I think that the smell is coming from over there," Magnus said while pointing in the moonling's direction.