CHAPTER #11

    After getting home, Jasper and Adil went right to sleep. In the morning, Jasper woke Adil to start the morning. They walked downstairs, Adil stretched, typical.  Jasper thought of going to visit Molly, but decided they should go for a walk instead. Adil was exited, he really wanted to go to the river for a drink, if there is some cracks in it, big enough to fit his head. Jasper thought better of it, "Typical Adil will just get his head stuck in the ice and drown, and I wont be able to pull him out." She thought. Things are starting to thaw, and there will be alot of ice flows in the river, so it's safer to just drink from the well.
    "We'll still be able to go for a walk, just not by the river." Jasper insisted. Adil still wanted to go to the river.
    "But what's so bad about going to the river??" Adil argued.
    "You'll get your head stuck in the ice and drown. No buts. We're not going, just drink out of the well." Jasper said. They decided to set out for the forest, Adil got a drink first. They headed into the forest, to the sunny clearing near the big tree.
They stayed in the clearing for a while, Jasper let Adil play, and chase leaves. Jasper didn't play, she watched, caught a few mice, napped, stuff like that. Adil chased after a small mouse, and it started to lead him away from the clearing. Jasper followed him. And that's when they saw it.
    "Oh, my...." Jasper gasped.
    "What happened?" Adil said. He got scared, and hid behind Jasper.
    "I don't know, I really don't know. I have never seen anything like it, oh, I can't look. Stay behind me, I'm going to make sure nobody we know is here." Jasper said, making sure Adil stayed close. She checked all the dead bodies, blood was everywhere. Luckily nobody she knew had died.
     "I wonder how it happened. I wish I knew. Wolves? Bear? I'm not sure. Something went on a killing rampage... that's all I know." Jasper went on, "Oh, I hope whatever it is dosen't attack Emporia. All will be lost, gone, ruined. We have to tell the others." She said. They ran back to the village to tell the others. They told the animals at the restaraunt. They told the animals at the Armory. They told  Molly. They told every animal they saw. And everyone went to the spot. When they got there, all the bodies where got. A whole wave of gasps rolled through the crowd.
    "They where there! I saw them!" Jasper protested.
    "I believe you, I believe you." Molly and a few others said, while the rest of the crowd stayed silent. They heard some noises  from the bushes.
    "Do you hear that?" Jasper asked Adil.
     "Yep..... what is it?" Adil answered.
      "How would I know?" Jasper said. They looked at the bushes, nothing happened. The noise had stopped. Jasper sighed.
      "Well, we should get going." Jasper said. They ran back to Emporia.


Okay, I know the drawing is bad..... just bare with me!

CHAPTER #10

    Jasper was asleep, the morning was cold, a low fog covered the forest, an owl still hooted in the distance, and everything was still, just... still. All quiet except for the owl. The sound seemed to be getting closer, and closer. It was lightly snowing, just a flurry. It was still fairly dark, around 4:00 o'clock in the morning. Adil was fast asleep, too. They had a rough day yesterday, and where quite tired. Adil shifted position, but was still fast asleep, and appeared to be dreaming.
   Everything was quiet now, even the owl. Adil woke up to a sharp pain in his hip, and got up to wake Jasper. She got up, "how is your hip feeling?" she said in concern.
    "Better... " answered Adil "It still hurts, though".
    "I see," Jasper said, and paused, "I wish there was something we could wrap around it, to protect it but there isn't..." Jasper said.
    "Maybe Molly has something? It's worth a try, I guess." Adil said.
    "Yes, maybe she does. Good idea," Jasper answered, "I'm supposed to go to the Armory, today. Come with me? We can stop at Molly's on the way" Jasper said.
    "Okay, but... what do we need at the Armory?" Adil asked.
    "A new sword, and maybe armor shoulder plates, and stuff like that" Jasper answered.
    "Okay, let's go." Adil said.
The fog was still low to the ground, but very thick, and might make it hard to see. They headed out the door, to the path leading to the village. On the way, they will stop at Molly's tree house. Adil ran ahead of Jasper, still being careful of his hip. Jasper walked slowly, paying close attention to her surroundings. They arrived at Molly's house.
   "Molly?" Jasper called
   "Jasper?" Molly answered
   "Yes, hi. Can we come in?"
   " Sure, but, who's "we"?" Molly asked
    "Adil, and I"
    "Alright, come in" Molly answered. Jasper helped Adil climb up the tree, his hip prevented him of climbing well, without a sharp pain. They climbed to the top. Molly came to greet them, and they went inside.
    "Molly, do you happen to have anything that might work well to wrap on Adil's hip?"
   "Let me check" Molly answered. Molly went upstairs to look.
    "Jasper, do you think I could get a sword, too?" Adil asked.
    "Well, after you get some more training, I don't see why not. Maybe we could get you some armor, when I go to get my sword." Jasper answered.
    "Alright, but when can I start training?"
    "When the snow melts, or in the spring."
    "That sounds like a long way away..." Adil said in disappointment.
    "Not necessarily... who knows! The snow could melt in a few days.." Jasper answered, hoping to cheer him up.
    "I hope so." Adil said.
They paused, and took time to look t all the beautiful artifacts on Molly's shelves, Jasper hoping Molly might want to barter with her... Adil seemed to be day-dreaming again. Jasper went to look closer at a painted pot on a corner shelf, sitting all alone in the dim light from the small cracks in the walls. She observed in carefully, making notes in her head. Adil was now looking at a sculpture of an alligator, it was beautifully made, and looked quite expensive, Molly must have worked hard to get it, or traded alot of pretty things. They gazed at them together, to be interrupted by Molly, "I found this corn-husk ribbon, it might work."
    "Alright, let's try it out." Jasper answered.
    Molly carefully wrapped the ribbon around Adil's hip, trying not to hurt him. It wrapped around fine, seeming to be able to keep bacteria and stuff out. It looked sloppy but if it works, that's all that matters.
    "Well, we should be going now, Molly. See you soon. Maybe we could get together and do something tomorrow." Jasper said.
    "Alright. That sounds good, bye guys." Molly answered in excitement. Jasper and Adil headed on their way to the Armory. They walked fast, keeping an eye on things. They got to the Armory, and walked in the door.
    "Hello, what can I get for you today?" A clerk asked.
    "I'm here to pick up my sword, and get some shoulder plates." Jasper answered. The clerk went to get them.
    "Sword, plates, 'that it?" He asked.
    "Yes, that's all for today, thank you". Jasper said politely.
    " That'll be 3 goose feathers." He requested.
   "Here you go". Jasper handed him the feathers. They went to try on the plates to make sure they fit.

 They looked like they fit fine. Adil's was a bit big, but he would grow into it. It was time to go back home. Adil and Jasper walked home.
Sorry if the drawing is bad, it's my first try, maybe the next illustration will be better. 

CHAPTER #9 Jasper's revenge.

    Next morning, Jasper woke up to an abrupt cold, and the fur on her back stood up. She quietly walked out of the room, trying not to wake Adil. As she stepped outside, she gasped in surprise. Everything was white. She looked around, to scared to step into the white fluffy stuff (the 'white fluffy stuff' is snow. But Jasper does not know that yet). She hesitated, but forced to step in it. "AH!" she jumped back. "COOLLLDDD!!!!!" she yelled and ran into the house.
"Uh.... Jasper? You okay down there?" Adil yelled down to her.
"Yes, fine. Come over here, you must see this!" Jasper said in excitement.
"Okay, be down in a bit" Adil said from upstairs.
"No, please you have to come see now!!" Jasper called up to him.
"Alright, alright!" Said Adil, as he slowly walked down the ramp. He gasped out of surprise, as well.
"What is this stuff? Dare me to jump into it?!" Adil said in excitement.
"Yeah... I guess" Jasper said, while making a face at him. But before she could finish, he jumped head first into the snow!
"ARRG!!!" he yelped. Then he got himself together, and sat in the snow, not knowing what to do, trying to act like everything was okay, he said, "Come on in, nothing to be afraid of! Your not scared are you?" He said.
"NO! I'm not scared!" She said. And she jumped into the snow, right on top of him, and scratched him on the head. "Happy now?" she said with a grin.
"... That didn't hurt...." He said, trying not to seem hurt, even though he was. Jasper walked out of the snow and into the woods, and Adil followed. There was not much snow in the woods, but when Adil bumped into a branch, which was quite often, the snow fell out of the tree, and onto their heads! "Where are we going?" Adil said.
"The pond. It's a ways away, but I've been wanting to visit it for quite a while, now." Jasper answered.
"What was that sound?" Adil asked, in fright.
"What sound?? I didn't hear anything. Your mind is probably just playing tricks on you." Jasper answered. They kept walking, Adil listened closely, but he didn't hear anything anymore. Jasper listened too, but she didn't hear anything either. Then Jasper came to a stop, Adil, being Adil, ran right into her.
"SSSHHH!" Jasper commanded. They both listened, and heard a rustling in the bushes. Jasper shivered. Adil quivered and leaned close to her, "I'm scared..." He whispered.
"We will be okay, it was nothing. Just keep walking, and try not to think about it." Jasper said. They kept walking, but Adil still was very curious, and wanted to know what that rustling noise was coming from. They heard the rustling noise again, as if it was following them. They walked for a while, and finally they got to the pond, and to a great surprise, it was frozen! "Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this.... It's frozen..." Jasper said in disappointment.  "Hmmm... maybe we could walk on it.." She said. She slowly stepped onto the ice, and slipped "Ouch!" She said, and got up slowly. Her large paws trembled trying to keep her balance on the slippery ice. She slowly walked, then slipped again, but she caught her balance. "Come on, Adil!" She called to him. Adil slowly stepped onto the ice as-well. He slowly walked over to Jasper, and they tried to maintain balance, but struggled. Jasper staggered over to the edge, and waited for Adil to hurry up. He got up onto the edge, as soon as they saw a large shadow of a wolf, in the woods.
"Going somewhere?" the voice called, roughly.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, we ARE!" Jasper said sharply.
"Oooh! Trying to act all tough are you? Oh I am so scared!" The voice called. "I hate it when weak little pip-scweeks try to play hero, you might as well surrender, NOW!" The wolf yelled.
"Make me!" Adil said.
"I wasn't talking to you, cub! I was talking to Jasper!" the wolf said.
"Leave us alone!" Jasper leaped at the wolf. She bit his neck and pushed him to the ground. But he quickly rolled over, and was on top on her, squeezing her neck.
"Your skills are no match for me, you weak little mouse!" the wolf said sharply. Jasper struggled, and clawed at his neck, and he fell over backwards. Adil trotted over, and stuck his tongue in his face, and crossed his eyes. "GET OFF ME!!" the wolf yelled and pushed Adil over. Jasper got up and leaped at him again, claws unsheathed. She clawed his back and he bit her on the neck. Adil jumped on top of the wolf and started to bite his ear. The wolf shook Adil off, without any effort. Adil got up and sunk his teeth into the wolf's tail and pulled at it, and the wolf fell over, and Jasper pounced. The wolf threw her off, and bit Adils hip. "AH!" Adil stumbled, and fell over. Jasper was now raging with anger and jumped onto his head biting at his ear, and clawing at his stomach. The wolf slowly toppled over, and breathed slowly, not able to move. "RUN!" Jasper said. Adil staggered and leaned on her shoulder. They walked fast, but the wolf caught up quickly. They ran faster, Adil slowly gaining his strength back, and they came to the deep snow, and didn't hesitate. They jumped in, and trudged towards the house, the wolf had stopped at the snow, and ran back "THIS ISN'T THE LAST YOU'LL SEE OF ME!" a voice called from the distance.

CHAPTER #8 Adil (I'd be posting chapter 12 if I hadn't of been procrastinating for weeks about not posting!)

    Next night, the nightmares really got to her. The horrid memories of the wolf attack, the dreadful cries of pain her poor parents made when they where eaten alive. She couldn't bear them any longer and leaped out of her bed of moss. She landed on the ground, face first. It was dawn, she was tired but got up anyway. It was dark but her icy blue eyes adjusted quickly. She slowing walked into the forest, but stopped when she heard a deep growl coming from the bushes. She growled a very low, growl back.  She slowly walked towards the sound when suddenly, another leopard sprang out of the bush, right on-top of her.
    "GET OFF ME, YOU FOOL!" She yelled.
    "I'm sorry I'm sorry! I thought you where- um... a wolf..!" the other leopard said guiltily while backing away.
     "It's okay... don't ever do that again though, or I'll  shred you" She said sharply.
    "You'd do that?" the other leopard said.
    "Oh you bet I would!" Jasper said.
    "What is your name? I'm Adil...." He said.
    "Jasper" she said proudly, "now leave me alone. I'm hungry and if you don't leave quickly enough, I may as-well just eat YOU." She said sharply, and briskly trotted away.
    "WAIT!" Adil exclaimed.
    "What now, cub?" Jasper said.
    "Can I come with you? I have no home, I have been traveling for days, you see.." Adil said.
    "Why, can't you take care of yourself? I don't have room..." Jasper said, now very irritated.
    "But-"
    "But WHAT? Prove to me, and tell me why I should let you stay with me." Jasper cut him off.
     "Well you see, me parents abandoned me. They didn't want be because I was to small, they said I was to weak to stand up for myself, and they left me in the cold. All alone." He said sadly.
     "I know how you feel.... My parents where eaten alive by wolves. They couldn't fight their way out, they tried but there where to many wolves and-" She stopped herself from starting to cry "and.. they where killed, just like that. Leaving me on my own." Jasper said.
    "Oh... um... that's sad." Adil said.
    "Yeah..." Jasper said, that's all she really could say...
    "I guess you can stay..." Jasper said slowly. "I'm sorry I yelled. I'm usually not like this... I'm just- tired..."
    "Okay, thank you. I'm sorry too... Im just... desperate" Adil said.
    "Follow me, back to my home." Jasper said.
    They walked back to Jasper's home. It wasn't far.
    "Are we there yet?" Adil said impatiently.
    "NO" Jasper said.
    They finally got back, and Adil started to go upstairs, when Jasper stopped him;
    "No, Adil. You are sleeping downstairs, MY room is up there." She said.
    "Fine.... I guess I'll just be cold then" Adil said, hoping to make her change her mind.
    "I'll get you some moss, but if you wake me up, your sleeping OUTSIDE!" She said.
    "Alright..." Adil said, while trying to keep his eyes open- he was exhausted.
    "Here" Jasper said, while giving him the moss. "Go to sleep." She said.
    Adil closed his eyes, and drifted into a deep sleep. Jasper walked upstairs to her moss bed, and fell asleep too.

That's it for today. SO sorry for not posting for so long. I have gotten many requests asking me to post another chapter, and FINALLY I did. Seeya!
   

CHAPTER #7

It was Jasper's first night in her new home, a very long night to be honest. She slept soundly, but the nightmares were unbearable. Yet she didn't wake up once. She was quite tired, but got up. She went to search for some food, but then she decided she'd visit Molly. Molly was eating breakfast when Jasper got there.
    "Molly, you there?" Jasper said. "Er... Molly??" She said louder.
    "Is that you Jasper? I was just eating breakfast." Molly called down.
    "Yes, it's me....." Jasper said.
    "Hey, have you heard about the Fall Festival yet? I was planning on going after breakfast." Molly said.
    "I haven't... Do you think I could come with you?" Jasper said.
    "Of course!" Molly said.
    "Great, let's go." Jasper said.
They walked towards the village and soon came to the festival. There was lots of animals there, it was hard to get around without bumping into someone. They walked all around, got some fried slugs from Raven, and had alot of fun. After a long day, they said goodbye, and went home. Jasper got home and went right to sleep.
   

CHAPTER #6

    Next morning, Jasper woke up bright and early. She headed towards the tree line and found some large logs and huge pieces of bark. She tried pushing one of the logs, but it was just too heavy. She went to ask Molly for some help. She had never been to Molly's hut before, and when she saw it she gasped. It was amazing! It was a HUGE treehouse with many levels and ramps leading up to them. She called up to Molly; "Hello? Molly, are you there?" she called.
   (Molly is the monkey Jasper met by the fire last night, and became friends with.) "Jasper is that you?" Molly yelled down.
    "Yes, hi Molly! Can you help me build a hut? By the way, your treehouse is awesome!" Jasper said.
    "Sure! Of course I can help!" Molly said.
Molly showed Jasper a good place to build her hut. It was a nice hill in a small clearing near a large tree, and together they moved the logs to the spot.
    Then they went back and got the bark. After a few hours it was all built. It was very pretty, it had a downstairs, with a nice moss floor. And then there was a ramp leading up to the upstairs. The upstairs had a wood floor, and a moss bed.

That's all for today. Sorry for the short post.

CHAPTER #5

    After a long nap, Jasper slowly opened her eyes to darkness. She stood up and faintly heard voices in the distance. She slowly walked toward the sound of the voices. "Is anyone there?" she shouted. No one answered. She thought she might be close to Emporia. Then she remembered the Summers End Party. Every year the animals would have a big party to celebrate the last few days of summer. She remembered how her and her mother would get so exited for for the Summers End Party; this would be her first party. She was born not long before last year's party. She thought of her mother, she missed her so dearly. She missed her father, too. She missed them both so much. All the memories dwelled in her head. Like the time her and her father went to catch fish in the river. There were so many fish! And then she remembered the time her mother and her found that big rabbit in the meadow and chased it. That was fun! All those memories will stay dear to her heart forever. But, it was time to move on now.
    She slowly walked closer and closer to the voices in the distance. And then she saw faint lights, glittering in the moon light. Then she heard loud whoops of joy and talking. She was running towards the sound but stopped herself when she came across a whole crowd of animals standing in front of a fire.
    "Hello?", she said loudly. None of them answered. " HELLO!?", she yelled. She looked up to see a whole crowd of faces staring at her.
    "Are you lost?", one animal said.
    "Its a leopard and she looks like the guardians daughter!", another animal said.
    "Who are you?", said a monkey.
    "I am Jasper, daughter of Mel and James, leopard guardians of Emporia.", she said politely.
    "Are you really? You mean the guardians who where killed by wolves?", exclaimed the monkey.
    "Yes," Jasper said sadly. "I have been trying to find the village for a few days now."
    "Come join us!" said the monkey. Jasper came and sat by the fire. "You must be hungry. Lucky for you, Raven over there is selling amazing fried slugs!" said the monkey.
    "Okay.." Jasper said. She walked over to a small stand that said 'Fried Slugs'.
    Then a koala popped up and asked, "Hello, what would you like?'
    "Fried slugs!" Jasper said.
    "Okay, how many would you like?" said Raven (the koala who owns the fried slug stand).
    "Five". Jasper said.
    "Okay, five it is." She handed Jasper some fried slugs wrapped up in a leaf.
    "Thank you." Jasper said, and walked off with the slugs is her mouth. She tried them, and they were delicious!
That's all for today! Sorry for not posting for a while.

CHAPTER #4

Next morning, Jasper woke up to a terrible pain in her throat and then she realized how thirsty she was! She hadn't drank anything since her escape from Thunder (remember the wolf alpha named Thunder?). She remembered her father and mother would take her down to the river to get a drink and catch fish. She remembered where it was....she thought. She walked toward the direction her and her parents did. And then she remembered the land marks she had come across. First was the up-rooted tree, and then the tree covered in reishi (the mushroom. It's pronounced ray-shee), and then there was the mossy rock. She walked until she saw the up-rooted tree, and then turned right. Then finally she saw the tree covered in reishi, luckily there were some young reishies that still had a white margin (young reishi that still have a white margin can be eaten, or used for medicinal purposes). She bit off a piece of the white margin and ate it. It wasn't the best thing in the world, but it was okay tasting. She kept walking and walking, and then ran. She was running very fast and couldn't stop herself when she came to the mossy rock! Her head hit first and then she fell over backwards. Luckily the moss was very thick, and protected her from damaging her skull and getting a concussion. Her head still hurt, but not that much. She sat down  for a bit. Then she got up and kept walking until she got to the river. Slowly, she stepped into the water and drank, and drank, and drank. She drank until she felt as if she would burst! Then she looked at her reflection in the water. She looked bigger and...older. Then she saw a fish. She swiped at it with her paw like her mother did, but just ended up splashing herself. She growled at her reflection and splashed it. She got out of the water and walked up stream. And then she got tired. She laid down and fell asleep in no time.

Chapter 3#

CHAPTER 3# 

Jasper was very disappointed about not catching the mouse, but luckily she still saw it. She crouched, and posed to strike again. She pounced and her paw landed on it's tail. It struggled but it could not get away. She bit it's neck and it died instantly. She was very proud of herself for catching it though it was the first thing she had ever caught, let alone killed! It wasn't much, but at least it would ease the hunger. She ate it and felt fairly satisfied. It did taste pretty good! After she ate it, she felt tired and fell asleep.
That is all for today, stay tuned for the next chapter.

Chapter #2

Chapter #2

Jasper didn't stop before she got to the forest, she just kept running and running, as fast as her little legs could muster! She kept running until she tripped on a root. She fell head first onto the cold, wet dirt. She didn't notice how cold she was until she got up and stood still. She sniffed the air, she smelled something she had never smelled before, it was the smell of winter. Winter was coming, and jasper was just a cub, alone, in the Whispering Forest, with no mother, no father, nothing to keep her warm during the long winter.  then a thought popped into her head, 'FOOD!' She was very hungry, and did not know how to catch her own food yet. She went deeper into the forest, and she saw a small mouse. She crouched, and slowly, very slowly, walked toward it. She posed to strike, and pounced. But the mouse got away right before she landed.
That's all for today! I will post the next chapter soon. Hope you liked it!

Chapter #1

Dialog Jasper

Jasper was just a cub when a terrible accident happened. Jasper's mother and father were the mighty defenders of the village of Emporia. One stormy night, Jasper, her mother, and her father were just heading into their den to go to sleep for the night when suddenly a pack of wolves attacked. There were just too many for her parents to handle and the wolves killed them. The alpha wolf, named Thunder, picked her up by the scruff (the skin on her neck), she struggled, and with a swipe of the paw, claws unsheathed, she ripped his eye clean out of the socket. He yelped and let go of her at once. She got up off the ground, and headed straight to the end of the clearing. Next chapter will be posted soon. Bye for now!
~JasperEmporia