A golden feline with black spots sprawled on a sandy shore. The alacat was breathing heavily; she was desperate to fight back against the throbbing pain. In the distance, her dull copper eyes, which were losing their gleam, watched the large brown bear tread back inside the forest. The bear vanished after several seconds, and she tried to hold on a little longer to her slipping life. Trying to bend her head to lick the deep bleeding wound on her stomach, the alacat could only muffle out cries.

Orson smiled as he stood at the end of the Ajar Forest which exposed the majestic mountains that loomed on the crystal blue lake. He wanted to cry out joy as he gazed at the dying alacat several feet away in front of him. There was no need for him to go through the trouble of trapping one. He turned around to check if the dark-haired girl was following him, but it seemed she was gone. The rogue grinned even more and ran over to the alacat.

The wire cage was too small to fit her inside, so he decided to skin her by the lake. Orson cursed under his breath while he dragged the heavy predator by its paws to the water. It was compatible to dragging a full-sized adult man by his legs. After several minutes, he reached the water and gazed at the trail of blood it left. Must had lost a fight, he thought. He fetched out a polished skinning knife in the folds of his cloak and got to work.

~~~

Sable cursed under her breath, wishing she was more careful. She was stuck in a patch of quicksand.

The Ajar Forest was well known for its random quicksands that appeared like puddles of harmless mud. The muddy sand continued to grab her ankles while she tried to pull her feet out of her boots. At last, her bare feet slipped free inside the cold earthy liquid that was forming small bubbles. Sable sighed at the loss of her boots that were swallowed below. Although she could always dig them out, it was going to take time to retrieve them out and wash them.

Sable remained calm. She had been stuck in quicksand several times, so it was not so devastating. The ranger stood perfectly straight and still, ceasing all movement. She knew if the more she wiggled, the quicker she would be dragged underneath by the quicksand. Unstrapping her bow and grabbing a fistful of her arrows, Sable tossed them across the air where they landed safely together on the grass.

The load of weight on the ranger decreased as the sand slowly engulfed her calves. Sable placed her hands on the drier patches of the mud and twisted her right leg. It hauled out of the mud, and then her left leg followed after. Stepping out of the quicksand, Sable rubbed her muddy fingers on the grass to wipe her skin clean. She grabbed an arrow from the scattered pile and spent minutes fishing her fur boots out. The brown-dyed dripping boots made her grimaced as they hung loosely from the arrow.

I have to wash them later, Sable thought with a groan. She gathered up her arrows and placed them back inside her quiver, strapping her bow back on.

By the time Sable reached the end of the forest on barefoot, the rogue was gone. Her attention was caught by a trail of blood that led to the lake. I'm too late! Sable thought, feeling angry with herself. Sable then remembered the rogue's sword that was stuck in the blackberry bush. 

There's no way he could have killed an alacat without a weapon.  She recalled the scream that interrupted her talk with the rogue. 

Maybe it died before he reached it.

Sable was about to investigate at the lake, but a low pitch mew halted her. The sounds grew clearer into a desperate high pitch that sounded like a broken whistle. The ranger strained her ears and followed the sound, stopping in front of a small tree den.

The ranger poked a twig inside a hole. The sound grew into a hiss, and the creature pulled the twig out of Sable's hand into the dark hole. How vicious, Sable thought as she bent down and peered inside.

Frightened, round cerulean blue eyes stared back at the ranger. "You are an alacat cub," Sable said softly in awe. She tried to lure the cub out without getting bitten by sticking another twig inside, but the cub growled and stole it again.

Sable sighed. 

There's no point of luring it out anyway. Even if it comes out, what am I going to do with it? I cannot just raise it; once it's not a cute little cub anymore, it will be a full-sized alacat.

Sable had never cared for a wild animal before, so even if she did decided to bring the cub back to her sanctuary, it was going to arouse some new problems. She also had to stop that other rogue wherever he was. However, Sable looked back at the frightened cub; her compassion compelled her to care for it. She could not just let it die vulnerably in the wild.

"Fine," Sable said to the cub, coming to conclusion. "I'll take you home with me after I check the lake."

Sprinting to the lake, Sable found a mess of blood-covered organ parts by the edges of the red-colored water, filled with the smell of iron. 

He did not even bother to cover them up. Sable shook her head disapprovingly and kicked sand over them. 

If the alacat did die before he got there, he probably skinned it instead of carrying it back with him.

Then she thought about the cub. Perhaps it was its mother. Poor kitty.

The ranger headed back to the tree den that housed the hidden cub. I wonder if there is a way to get it out, she thought as she kneeled down to face the cub. 

What would an alacat mother do? Come on, Sable, think like an alacat. An idea soon came to the ranger, and Sable went on all two legs and hands. Pacing back and forth, she mimicked mews of an alacat.

A fuzzy paw tackled her ankles.

Sable fixed her brown eyes on the alacat cub which was a little bit bigger and bulkier than an adult-sized domestic cat. Its cerulean blue eyes, which flickered with mischief, lightened the black-spotted markings covered on its shaggy sandy coat. Tufts of white grew under its chin. The ranger was in loss for words. She had never seen an alacat cub up close before. It was so beautiful and adorable.

The ranger chuckled."You finally came out!" Sable exclaimed with a grin. "What are you doing…?" She felt the cub gnawing on her ankles with its baby teeth which left a warm trail of saliva on her skin. The cub pounced on her foot again as if it was a toy.

Sable tsked at the naughty cub and gently grabbed its scruff as if she was its mother. The alacat cub faced the human, slightly fidgeting in the air.

"I wonder if you are a female or male?" Sable asked. "Well, it doesn't matter for now. You will be a girl for now… Bluey." She stared at the cub's twinkling cerulean blue eyes. Bluey. The ranger smiled at the cub's name.

Bluey settled on her lap and gazed curiously at the human. Sable petted the cub's head and lifted her up into a cradle. Surprisingly, the cub was not so heavy; she was probably a few months old.

"Let's go, Bluey. I'm your mother now," Sable said. "You're probably very hungry."