Another morning, waking up to a beautiful sunrise. Beatrix stretched his back and his arms, letting out a long yawn. The training yesterday was hard, and swimming took a lot of energy out of him. Needless to say, he slept like a baby. He rubbed the eye boogers off of his face and blinked himself to alertness. 

He heard a commotion outside, “Give that to me!” Bartholomew’s voice boomed from outside the den. 

“Why should I? It’s just a little bag!” It was the disheartening voice of Duvessa. Why are we fighting so early in the morning?

Beatrix walked outside the cave and looked to his right. He stood still in shock at what he saw.

 Why do they have my satchel!

Beatrix stood frozen in fear as he watched Bartholomew and Duvessa fighting. She had his white leather satchel in her mouth, he could see her long canines piercing through the hide. Bartholomew was at her throat with his claws gripping her hair. He threw her down on her side, her neck let out a loud crack as she hit the ground. 

Bartholomew went to pick up the satchel from her mouth, when she suddenly used her arms to pull herself up over Bartholomew and pin him to the ground. She threw the satchel to one of her friends and continued her foul play. She lifted her arm and struck down hard on his face, her claws sheared through his flesh, blood flung from his face, off of her claws, and into the air

Oh my! Please for the love of Tengoku! Is he okay? Beatrix was still far away from the fight, but he could see the blood shimmer through the air as she beat him down. 

The strange thing was, no one was making a sound, not even Bartholomew or Yolanda. She looked sad, almost agery, but she didn’t alert anyone, or tell anyone to stop. Bartholomew was on his back, on the ground, being scratched up and stomped on by Duvessa, and everyone else just watched. 

Beatrix let out a loud, bellowing “kon kon” as he watched his friend get beaten up. Immediately, the attention turned to Beatrix, who was shaking and crying near a bush by the den. Duvessa let out a big huff, purple smoke shot out of her nostrils as she walked towards him.

Before she could get far, Bartholomew jumped onto her back and crunched her neck, his jaws more bloody than his face. The blood was everywhere all at once. She started bucking around like a diseased animal. She could not contain her panic or pain. She made low, grumbling, loud noises, like a cow or bison. Her nostrils flared and friends ran to her to help. Bartholomew refused to let go, even though Yolanda was tugging on his tail. 

“What in Jigoku has possessed you all!” Blaine and Kian ran towards them, a herd of other adult catoblepas followed behind. Others were poking their heads out of their dens, some of the mogul’s were trying to keep their curious cubs inside the den. 

Bartholomew let go and moved off of her once he was their leader running at them. The blood on his muzzle was thick and red, he used his tongue to lick it all off. 

“Bartholomew, Duvessa! Come with me into my den!” Blaine demanded. Duvessa started to follow. 

“What about Beatrix’s satchel!” Bartholomew yelled. He stared at both Duvessa and Blaine with green eyes of poisonous fury. 

“What,” Blaine huffed, then he saw the beautifully decorated white bag in Duvessa’s friend’s mouth. “Put the satchel back in Beatrix’s bed, Narcissa,” 

She obeyed as they walked away. She walked past Beatrix, who stared at her with wide, wet eyes, his ears were low and he could barely feel his own existence. She went into the den and placed the satchel on his bed and left. Everyone else that was watching the fight dispersed and there was no longer any noisy buzz outside the den. Beatrix snapped back into reality when he heard the sound of a caladrius bird singing a beautifully high note, then flew away. 

He walked into the den and crawled into his bed. He rested his head on his satchel and thought of his mother. Somehow, this bag smells like her. I hope the Tengoku don’t mind the new holes in it. Why did she take this from me? How did she, I slept with it all night? Will the Tengoku be angry if it gets lost, or broken? There is no reason for Duvessa to want my bag anyway. I miss my mother, I miss cleaning each other, and eating together, and I never had to leave her side because I never got to be a tenderfoot. Why does it have to be so hard now? Why couldn’t I be like my siblings? Do the Tengoku hate me too? Is that why I am like this? 

Beatrix laid extremely still in his moss bed as he breathed slowly and cried. This was a pain he had never felt before, these thoughts were new to him and he couldn’t get them out. His breathing was like he was asleep, deep, slow, and periodic. His tears did not flow like they usually did, instead they came only when he closed his eyes, when his brain felt like someone poked the front of it and was giving it a message that would actively kill him. He felt he could not open his eyes, he allowed his tears to peer through his eyelids as he let his body drift away into unconsciousness. 

“Beaty?” Bartholomew whispered as he nudged at his head. He lifted his head, which felt like it had angry horseflies buzzing and banging into his skull. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Bartholomew laying on the floor in front of him and looking into his eyes. He looked worried, but Beatrix soon remembered what happened, and his expression was overly scared. 

“Oh my, Bartholomew! Are you okay?” Beatrix yelped. He sprang up from his bed and wrapped his arms around his neck, he tried his best not to cry, but Bartholomew could still hear his sniffles. 

“I’m fine as a swan,” Bartholomew smiled. He hugged Beatrix back, the warmth of the day's sun made it very hot between their fur. 

“Are you okay?” Bartholomew emphasised. 

Beatrix let go of him and looked him in the eyes, “I’m okay,” 

Bartholomew studied his friend's face, it did not match his words. He looked as though he had been crying for days, he looked dehydrated and lumpy, like one of the superiors. 

“Okay,” He said. Without expressing his concern, he took Beatrix’s head into his dragon hands and held him against his chest. 

Beatrix loved the feeling of Bartholomew’s soft furry mane on his face, he smelled nice, like the sage pine tree’s he smelled. Beatrix let his head hang against Bartholomew’s chest, he breathed slowly and calmly, closing his eyes. He almost fell asleep.

“Bartholomew! You mother of seagulls!” Yolanda burst into the den with fire in her eyes and teeth bared like a man's long sword. Beatrix shot his head up and yelled at the sudden change in volume. 

“Oh, sorry Beatrix, I didn’t see you there,” She softened her face at him. Then she turned back to Bartholomew, “What in the name of the Kukan Lord were you thinking?” She continued yelling. 

Bartholomew scoffed and nodded towards the satchel, “He needed it back, they stole it!” He growled. 

“I know they stole it! But you didn’t have to agree to some stupid fight, just to get it back!” She challenged him. 

Beatrix listened to their argument, but he felt misplaced, all the yelling made him feel like he was back home. But not with his mother, he remembered being yelled at and teased by the other tenderfoots in his camp.  He began to shake and crouch, he wanted to hide himself away from the argument, just to never have had this happen. 

“Yeah, well, I got it back! So instead of yelling at me, why don’t you thank me?” He lowered his head and bared his fangs at her, he growled and stared at her like his prey. 

“I’m sorry!” Beatrix cried. Tears flowed down his face and he couldn’t stop hiccuping. 

Bartholomew immediately turned to him with a gentle and concerned face, “Why? You haven't done anything wrong” 

Beatrix looked up at him, “Just…please stop…fighting,” He said between sobs.

Bartholomew and Yolanda looked at each other, then down at Beatrix. 

“Nevermind Bartholomew, just try not to get into any more fights,” She sighed as she walked towards him and Breatrix. 

“I’m not trying to fight,” He mumbled, but no one heard. 

It was a little while later when Kian gathered all of his tenderfoots and led them to the arena. Beatrix stayed shoulder to shoulder with Bartholomew and Kian, who didn’t say anything about the line order. 

It was another day of training, they repeated yesterday's moves, dodging then attacking. It was a long day for Beatrix. He had tired, sore eyes, and his muscles were asleep, like nothing could wake them up. 

After their training, they went for the second feast of the day, Bartholomew, Yolanda, and him sat inside the den, protected from Duvessa and her friends. 

“What’s in your satchel anyways?” Yolanda asked. She finished her meal before the other two and was wandering around the den. 

“A map and a book,” He answered. Yolanda opened the bag and dug out the book. 

“The True Stories’ what is that?” She asked. She placed the book in front of Beatrix and sat down. 

“They’re stories. Duh!” Bartholomew mocked with a mouth full of chicken. She scowled at him. 

“I don’t know. I haven't looked through it yet,” Beatrix opened the cover of the book and read the first page out loud. 

“These are the stories of strength, adventure, bravery, solitude, friendship, growth, and more. You may recognize some of them, the popular tales of the chimera, or the powerful and prosperous Long. These stories are here to guide you on your journey and lift you up when you are down. Take care of these stories, for they are the true ones from the Tengoku.”

Beatrix flipped the page to the first story titled, “The sorrowful Squonk”. This was a story Beatrix had heard countless times from his mother when he was younger. His heart ached for her soft, gentle voice to read him this story.

“Are you okay?” Yolanda whispered gently. Beatrix didn’t notice the tears developing in his eyes. He brushed them away and smiled. 

“What is it?” asked Bartholomew. 

“It’s a story about a squonk, it’s a story my mother used to tell me,” 

“Oh, is it good?” He asked. 

Beatrix nodded, “It’s nice for when feel lonely,” 

Bartholomew nodded and looked at Yolanda. They stared at each other for a moment, then looked at Beatrix. 

“You know, we will never leave you, right?” Yolanda smiled and tapped her nose to his cheek. He smiled back and touched his nose to Bartholomew’s nose. 

Beatrix closed the book and put it back in his satchel, which he put under his bed of moss. 

“Time for training!” Kian’s voice echoed through the camp. The three of them went outside and joined their group of tenderfoots.