This isn't a dream. I am indeed posting two updates at once. Y'all have been super patient with me and I think you deserve a treat. So, here you go.

Remember to vote and comment.

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"Should we head back to the clan or straight for the bears? I vote we head for the bears, but I fear if we aren't back by nightfall, Lord Bruce would dash into the human settlement with our Soldiers in search for us," Zara pondered aloud.

Saber hummed in thought. Zara was right. However, he knew if they returned, his father wouldn't allow them to head to the bear caves. He had heard the stories. He knew the direction all werefolks were advised to avoid. He could lead them to the caves.

He looked around before he gestured to them to follow him into the forest. He had to keep his people safe and the only way to do that was to find out how to train Fauna. She was the only one that could end it all once and for all.

"Ari won't attack our people if Fauna isn't there. Fauna is who he wants. He won't risk losing fighters when he knows he won't get her," he finally spoke up after what seemed like hours.

"What are you implying?" Fauna asked. "Lord Bruce will lose his mind if we –"

"I know! Once we get close enough to our territory, I want you to reach out to him and tell him we're safe. You'll have to be fast because we'll be charging past. If we slow down, the Sniffers will catch up to us."

"We're running away. I like the sound of that." Zara grinned widely. "I wonder what the bears will be like."

"From the stories, deadly, but remind yourself we're doing this for our people."

Zara nodded at Saber while Fauna drew her lower lip between her teeth and nibbled on it. She didn't like the plan. She didn't like it one bit. Saber was however in charge and she trusted him. He was smart and he was strong. More than that, he cared for his people.

She thought about Alegra and her heart ached. She wouldn't get to say a proper goodbye to her friend and she didn't know how long they would be gone – or if they would make it out alive. What if the bears killed them before they realized she was a Shapeshifter? What if the bears didn't care about any of that? What if they were worse than Ari and wanted to break her so they could use her?

She wished she could just go in for a moment and hug all the cubs one last time.

Saber sensed her reluctance and he stopped walking and took her hand in his, stopping her in her tracks. She turned so she was facing him and smiled sadly at him.

"Everything is going to be okay," he promised her. He sounded so sure of himself, but he couldn't fool Fauna with a false display of confidence. She could feel his feelings and knew he was afraid.

He was trying to be brave, but he was terrified. It wasn't the lions that terrified him. It wasn't even the bears. Saber was afraid because he wondered what if. What if he wasn't strong enough or fast enough and something happened to Fauna? What if she got hurt and the whole risk was for nothing? He would rather die than see her in pain.

"You're afraid," she told him. It wasn't a question and Saber knew he couldn't deny the fact so he nodded. "Because of me?" He nodded again. Fauna sighed and nodded. Her lips parted and she was about to say something else, but she was interrupted by Zara.

"Are you slow pokes going to make a baby here, or are we going to move on?"

"A baby? She's my sister!" Saber grimaced and Zara shrugged in nonchalance as they moved on.

"I've heard of solitary tigers mating with their sisters when they cannot find a mate... Speaking of mate, it's almost mating season."

"So?" Fauna questioned and Saber sighed.

"Her hormones are going to start acting up," he reminded Fauna and her mouth formed an 'o'.

"Good thing we have Saber here, isn't it?" She nudged Saber who frowned at her. "Come to think of it, you have desirable DNA. How come you are yet to mate with someone?"

Saber's face turned red and he looked away. This only made Fauna suspicious. Saber was not one to be embarrassed about anything, so what exactly was he hiding from her?

"I think that would be great. Between us, we'll have an incredible fighter. Our cub will be strong, funny, kind and brave. Not as strong as my kid with Bone, but hey! Who's comparing? I don't even know the cub's name." Zara shrugged.

"His name is Tala, and he's already started training to be a Soldier," Fauna informed her and she grinned widely.

"That's my cub? No wonder I like him. Little dude's got a fighter spirit alright! You should have seen him on the training ground." She shook her head fondly.

True, tigers didn't have much maternal or paternal instinct, but it didn't mean that Zara wasn't proud that her offspring took after her.

"Anyway, back to Saber. To be honest, I think Lord Bruce kind of wants you both to have an offspring. That way, you can all rule the clan side-by-side when he's no more." She shrugged. She did want to mate with Saber. Fauna wasn't wrong. He had good DNA and that was the most important.

It didn't matter though. There were others with good DNA. Had she been back in the clan, she would just mate with Bone again, but she was out with Saber as the only male presence. Well, she decided she would deal with that problem when it came.

"That makes no sense. We're like siblings," Fauna argued.

"True, but you're not," Zara reminded her. "I don't even think you're a tiger. Remember when you had that vision? Your hand morphed and it most definitely wasn't tiger fur. It was softer and I don't recall stripes."

"Well, it would make no sense for us to mate then. We're not of the same species," Saber coughed out. His voice strained and his face red.

"Fauna is a shapeshifter. At this point, I'm convinced her offspring may most likely be influenced by her partner. Hence, you'll birth a tiger cub. But hey! It's all theory – look at our territory in the distance. Get ready to run." Zara started morphing immediately and Saber nodded and did same.

They didn't go through the waterfall, so it would be easy for the Sniffers to chase them if they weren't fast enough. When they had assumed their beast form, Fauna hopped on Saber's back and closed her eyes. With her mind, she reached out into their territory.

The Sniffers sensed her in their heads and they called out to one another, informing the clan of their return. Fauna had to act fast.

"We don't have much time!" Saber urged her as he ran through the forest.

She ventured deeper into the clan. She was getting closer to the throne room when she suddenly felt an aura. One she knew all too well. She hesitated for a moment. This was it. She could tell her best friend goodbye now. She was about to when she sensed someone's thought.

"They're speeding past the territory. I don't understand!"

"Follow after them," It was Lord Bruce, "They may be in danger."

"We're not!" Fauna pushed the thought into his head, interrupting his conversation with a Sniffer. "We have another clue and we have to chase it. I promise we'll be careful."

"Where are you headed?" The leader demanded to know. He paced his throne room, his jaw clenched. His gut-feeling told him they were up to no good and that's why they were running away. He couldn't have it. He had to make sure they were safe.

"Just know we're safe. I'll find a way to communicate with you once we've found answers. Please you have to t-" A sharp pain shot across Fauna's head as the communication line was abruptly severed.

She let out a soft cry as she raised her hands to the sides of her head.

"What's wrong?" Saber's voice was in her head. He was concerned.

"I'm fine!" She assured him. She looked back, but they had run past their territory. She thought of Alegra again. She had felt her emotions and they were excited. Alegra was excited for her return. She would be so crestfallen when she learnt it was just a false alarm.

They ran in silence while she just held on to Saber's fur, trying to self-soothe by telling herself that soon, she would be strong enough to keep all of her people safe, then they wouldn't have to worry about Ari anymore.

She lay on Saber's back and stared into the bright sun that shone overhead. How long had they been running? When did the sun come out? When last did they eat?

Her stomach let out a loud growl and Saber slowed down immediately. Zara tore past them, but dug her paws into the grass when she noticed she was running alone. She circled back and joined her friends.

"Why are we stopping?" She sent the thought to both Saber and Fauna.

"We need food. And water," Saber insisted and she let out a low growling sound.

"I swear, you're both babies. I'll go catch us something. You both stay put."

Before Saber could object that he should do the hunting, Zara took off.

Saber walked under a large tree and when Fauna had jumped off his back, he lay beside her and stared at the young girl. She looked troubled, she looked distant and he didn't know what to do to ease her mind. He knew she was just anxious about the future, but he wanted to take away all of her worries.

There was just something about her that made him always want to keep her safe. Perhaps it's because of how they met. The first thing he heard from her were her cries for help in his head. She sounded so weak, so afraid and alone.

"Do you regret saving my life?" She suddenly questioned and he let out a low humming sound.

"Why would I?"

"I don't know..." She played with her fingertips. "I seem to have brought you nothing but danger. If not for me, you would have been –"

"Dead. If not for you, I'd have been most likely dead. You don't know what it's like out there for a tiger. We fight everyone and everything. We kill each other because of territory, food and mate. If you didn't show us there was a different way, I would have had to be separated from my father and probably ended up being killed by a stronger tiger during mating season."

Fauna sighed. She never thought of it that way. All she thought of was the danger she always put her people in. But weren't they a people because of her?

"Bone, Zara, Hailey, Ryker, Kali... I wouldn't have known any of them if not for you. I don't know what made you think you could call out to me that day, but I'm glad you did. More than that, I'm glad I responded because Fauna, you're literally the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Her nose tingled and her eyes swelled up with tears which she wiped with the back of her palm.

"I am?" She queried and the tiger nodded. Saber inched closer to her and rest his head on her laps. The young girl giggled as she stroked his smooth and bristle fur.

"Saber?" Fauna called out after a brief moment of silence. "Whatever happened to your mother?"

Though she had known him for years, there had been no prior mention of his mother.

"Father said she died birthing me, so he had to take care of me." His big shoulders moved in what Fauna assumed was a shrug.

"You don't ever think of her?"

"I'm a tiger, Fauna. I'm not sure you've noticed, but we're not the most family-oriented bunch. I mean, Zara didn't even know who her son was until today, and I'm sure Tala has never asked questions."

He did have a point though. It's just the way they were. She on the other hand always wondered where she came from. Were her parents alive? And if they were, why did they allow her end up with Ari? Were they trying to find her? Did they even love her?

"My dad is all I've ever known. He taught me everything I know. He taught me to hunt and defend myself. He taught me to be ruthless, but compassionate, so mom or no mom, I'm just fine."

"I think about my family sometimes," she admitted and Saber craned his neck so he was looking at her.

"I thought we were your family." He sounded somewhat disappointed and hurt and Fauna stroked his fur gently and smiled at him.

"You are. I mean my birth parents. Did they love me? Did they give me away? Perhaps I was just a burden to –"

"You're not a burden Fauna. You're a blessing. You're my sister, you're my best friend and I love you. Dad does, Zara does, we all do."

"I don't think Felix does though," she recalled the Soldier who suggested she be sent back to the tigers.

"Well, we can all agree that Felix isn't the smartest fish in the school."

They both shared a laugh that was cut off abruptly when Saber suddenly stood and took a protective stance in front of her. She frowned in confusion and watched as his ears twitched as though he was straining to hear something. His neck turned and he looked past the trees.

"What's –"

"Don't say anything!" His voice sounded in her head. He sounded urgent and it caused her heartrate to increase. She trusted Saber's senses and if he thought something was wrong, she didn't doubt him.

She immediately got up and crouched behind him, trying to stay alert in case anything jumped at them.

"You're sure it's not just Zara trying to sneak up on us?" Fauna asked, though she knew that was impossible. They both knew Zara's scent and it wouldn't make Saber respond the way he did.

Suddenly, Fauna could hear it. She could hear the dead leaves crunch under the paws of an intruder. The smell was different. Something she hadn't smelt before, yet she could swear it was familiar.

The crunching of the leaves got closer and Fauna's breath hitched in her throat as she watched from behind Saber. What creature had the audacity to approach them? Surely, they could smell it was a tiger. Fauna knew it wasn't another tiger, neither was it a lion. It didn't smell like it.

Was it a bear? No! It couldn't be. The footsteps were too light. Whatever was approaching them was a lot smaller than Saber. So why didn't it flee?

Something emerged from the trees and stopped just before them and it stared right past Saber and directly at Fauna who gasped at the sight. It was a beautiful wolf with silvery mane and fiery red eyes.

Saber growled at it, frustrated that he couldn't communicate with the creature as it was a wolf and he was a tiger. In their animal form, communication was impossible.

A wolf posed no threat to them, but Fauna was curious. Curious as to what made the animal risk coming before the tiger who could easily kill him with one swing of the paw.

Her eyes were transfixed on the creatures and her senses tingled. Something in her told her that she knew him. That she had seen him before.

It wasn't possible though. She had never seen a wolf before so there was no way she should have known this one, yet something told her she did. There was just something so familiar about the way he looked at her.

A splitting pain suddenly formed in her head and she let out a cry as she clutched the sides of her head. Her cry attracted Saber's attention and he looked away from the wolf for one second to make sure she was oaky. She nodded at him and he returned his attention back to the wolf.

Her eyes involuntarily snapped shut and disjoined images formed in her head. It was like a distant memory that was dancing out of reach and mocking her for nit recalling.

"Can you hear what I am saying?" Fauna heard a strange voice in her head and it caused her head to hurt even more as her head tried to adjust to forming a communication link with a wolf for the first time.

It didn't hurt that much when she spoke to Saber for the first time, and she barely felt anything when she spoke into Jamie's head. However, there was just something about talking to the wolf that was painful. It was like her head was trying to protect her from something. But what?

A wave of melancholy washed over her. It was unexplainable. She felt loneliness and sadness in extreme proportions, it was almost suffocating.

"My name is Harou," He introduced. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you," she spoke aloud and Saber turned to her. She reached over and touched Saber and he relaxed. "Have we met before? You feel... familiar."

"Indeed, you have." The wolf nodded, "a long, long time ago."

The pain was subsiding and she could finally pay attention to what he was saying. "Who are you?"

She couldn't get a response though because a rustling sound came from behind them. The wolf looked back and quickly fled from the scene before they could anticipate its movements.

Zara walked towards them, the head of a mauled antelope in her jaw and the rest of the body dragged along behind her. Her fur is stained with blood and she dropped the dead creature before them before she sniffed the air and snarled.

"Something reeks! And why do you both look like you've seen a bear – oh my moon spirit! Did you see a bear?"

Saber didn't answer. He didn't know what to say. He turned to Fauna who was too awestruck to speak. The wolf said they had met before. But where? And why couldn't she remember?

"Okay then... Come over here, fur-balls. I bring good tidings. Also, I saw a lake not so far off."

Suddenly, Fauna didn't feel hungry anymore.