Cathan's destination to the lake was reached by sunrise during a series of threats. For the past half an hour during the walk, Cathan was threatening Colin and Tyrell that he was going to kill them after he was going to rinse his clothes in the lake. He had wiped mud off his face with his leather fringe jacket, but now it was dirtied.

Tyrell shut him up when he pointed out a trail of small paw prints embedded on the sandy shore. Excitement fluttered inside of Sable's body; could the paw prints belong to Bluey? She desired desperately to run out of the vegetation to examine and follow the tracks, but she had to remain behind the bushes, or she would be found.

"Could that be alacat prints?" Tyrell asked.

Cathan's blue eyes glistened with delight. "Yes, but it seems there's another beast following it." The red in Sable's cheeks faded as he mentioned another pair of animal tracks. "See those bigger paws interlocking the small paw prints? There are five toes with tiny small gaps between them compared to the tiny four toe ones... and look! They have claw markings."

Panic spread through Sable's face. A bear? Cathan's description perfectly described a bear's paw. She had seen them occasionally by the lake and deeper in the forest that she had grown to recognize a bear trail.

"Could those belong to a bigger alacat…?" Colin asked hesitantly.

"No, you fool," Cathan replied arrogantly with a snort. "You're such an amateur, boy. This is your first time trapping, eh? It's a bear!"

"That means that the cub was being chased by a bear," Tyrell remarked, slightly frowning. "It's probably dead now."

Cathan shrugged. "If it's dead, there are more alacats in the forest. We can still use the cub's coat to sell. We got to get our bows ready now; the bear might still be there."

The three men followed the trail which rested on the left side of the lake. Fortunately, Sable was able remain by the trees since they grew around the lake in a circular manner but stopped by the rocky cliffs. Recalling the dream she had, Sable hoped that Bluey would be nearby as where her grandmother led her. Bluey has to be there, the ranger thought; she had immense faith in the dream.

The trail suddenly fainted in front of the rocky cliffs. The paw prints were no longer visible because the sand was taken over by rocky uneven ground. The sand only continued on the right by the water where piles of flint and pebbles littered on the ground; the source of Sable's flint supply.

Sable hesitated to come out of her hiding as the men hiked up the rocky ground. Should I just stay here and wait for them to return? She could still see them perfectly behind the bush. She could not risk following them even though there were large rocks that could hide her. 

But what if they find Bluey and cage her up? I can't allow them to do that! It would anger her so much to see them lock up Bluey in a cage. However, there was probably no other better way. 

I should probably wait until they camp, Sable decided.

When it's nighttime, I can kill them in their sleep and take Bluey back home.

The plan would work out fine, but only if Bluey was still alive. What if the alacat cub was killed by the bear or was already dying from a deep wound? What would she do if Bluey was dead? 

There is absolutely no way I will let them take her, Sable thought. 

I will kill them before they can touch her body… and I guess I will bury her. Sable forced herself to smile painfully. 

At least her body will be safe, and she can be with her mother.

Pushing the possibilities away, Sable squinted her eyes at the last man whom appeared to be Colin. Colin was standing still while Cathan and Tyrell continued walking up. He suddenly bent over and called out to the men. Unfortunately, Sable could not hear what he was saying, but Bluey instantly took over her mind. He must had found Bluey. Sable quickly unstrapped her bow but stopped her hand from getting an arrow. No, not now, the ranger told herself calmly. Not yet.

~~~

On the bottom of one of the large rocks, there was a medium-sized hole. It was large enough to fit an alacat cub but obviously too small to fit a large bear. Colin knew there was something in the hole. He almost missed it, but he was happy that he caught attention of it. He hoped that now he would win respect from Cathan and Tyrell since he was the first to find the alacat cub. He gazed into the hole one more time and spotted a pair of frightening gleaming eyes in the end of the hole. Colin suddenly felt bad for the cub, but before he could try to comprehend his unexpected emotions, Cathan pushed him out of the way.

"Found you, cub!" Cathan cackled loudly as he stuck his head in the hole. "You lucky little thing! You're lucky that the bear couldn't get you!"

Colin found himself defending the alacat cub. "You're going to scare the alacat!"

Cathan swung his head around with a scowl, but Tyrell stared hard at the boy. "He's probably right, Cathan. Don't want to frighten the cub. We got to get it out."

"Whatever," Cathan said, rolling his eyes, as he stood up. "We need to lure the cub out now."

Colin stood hesitantly while Cathan and Tyrell prepared to get the alacat cub into the cage. They placed a piece of meat inside and placed the cage down by the hole. Cathan and Tyrell stepped back, but Colin forgot to move.

"Boy, you're good for nothing!" hissed Cathan. "Get your arse here."

Colin obediently stood back but with reluctance. He could not understand why he still feeling guilty. This was his first experience 'trapping' an animal or rather watching an animal get trapped. The young man originally took this job to become a fur trapper. His priority was to make money, so he can take care of his family. Now, it seemed he had lost meaning taking the job. Working with Cathan and Tyrell was emotionally abusing since they were belittling him all the time. Cathan especially annoyed Colin the most. Perhaps he should quit; being a fur trapper was not right for him. It did not feel right at all.

It took minutes for the alacat cub to poke out of the hole. Its tail quivered uncertainly as the cub cautiously placed a paw inside the cage. Sniffing the new surroundings, the alacat cub fully stepped inside, attracted to the meat. When it was about to take a nibble of the meat, the cage door suddenly shut closed. The alacat cub's cerulean blue eyes widened as it was face-to-face with Cathan whom had a beaming smile spread over his face. Confused and frightened, the alacat cub hissed at him.

Tyrell congratulated the fur trader, but Colin could not help feeling disgusted. Hissing and growling, the cub tried to scratch Cathan's jacket with its paws.

Cathan and Tyrell ignored Colin's disapproving reaction and headed back down to the shore. If only Colin knew that he wasn't the only one that was upset. Behind the bush he passed, Sable slowly stood. Her brown eyes darkened, never leaving Cathan whom was holding the cage.