** Meanwhile, the gray tom ducked one of Lloyd’s energy balls, spun around to the boy’s left, and snatched his leg in its teeth. Lloyd shouted and swung at the cat, which made him lose his balance. The cat let go of Lloyd, and the latter teetered backwards, tripped over the railing of the ship, and fell off with a panicked cry. Nobody saw Lloyd fly off the Bounty and disappear into the clouds, his shout fading off into the distance. ***
AH LLOYD! How could nobody notice?
Probably because everyone's busy fighting for their lives against crazy cat-creatures.
*** “Well, while you, Zane, and Jay were fighting that orange cat and the brown cat, Sensei, Lloyd, and I—Wait.” Nya glanced around. “Where’s Lloyd?” “Lloyd?” Cole repeated. Everyone but Liana surveyed the deck of the Bounty and called Lloyd’s name, but there was no answer. Concern for their friend began to increase, and they started to fear what happened to him. ***
Wu turned to Zane and said. “Could you send out your falcon to search for Lloyd? We must know what happened to him.” Zane nodded. “Of course.” He raised his arm and clicked a button under a hidden panel. After a moment, a lithe, titanium falcon swooped down from the dark sky and landed gracefully on the nindroid’s outstretched arm. The silver-colored metal body of the bird matched that of his master’s, save for the white gi Zane wore. He matched the falcon’s ice-blue, electronic gaze and said. “Find Lloyd, my friend. He could be in trouble. Hurry.” With that, he held his arm up higher, the the falcon flapped its metal wings and hopped off. With a cry that echoed throughout the sky, the bird took flight and disappeared into the night, leaving the group standing there. “Nya,” Wu called up to the figure at the helm, who had been watching. “How much longer until we reach the cave?” “We should be there by dawn, Sensei.” Nya answered. “Soon, then.” He faced the bow and pointed forward with his staff. “Look. The sun is rising.”
* * *
What if the cats hear him?
Good point. O.O Good grief, what if the cats find Zane's falcon and try to eat it--??
Oh. Wait. I'm the one who knows what happens next. Why am I freaking out?
{JAMMERS! -ninjagofanmam- ONLY!} I think sometime -- most likely once I've finished up with this story or at least a little while from now -- I ought to post "Runaway" here. Jon liked the idea. What do you think?
{JAMMERS! -NFM & Jon, now thats he peeked - ONLY!} You stinker.
Well, that's encouraging to know! Maybe I will. . . I'm just uncertain on whether I should wait until I've finished posting Brickgirl99x's "Burn For Me" first, so that I don't get overwhelmed by all the stories to post. I may end up getting something mixed up; I could accidentally post the chapter where Cole meets Dog Bone and the other bandits in the place where Skylor discovers the identity of K'linn.
Now Lloyd had no idea where he was, where the Bounty was, where his friends were. . . Nor his enemies, for that matter. With a shiver he glanced into the trees, trying to see beyond the countless trunks standing in the noonday shadows. Were there creatures disguised as innocent feral cats hiding beneath the undergrowth? up in the branches overhead? Were they watching him? ***
He walked along silently, and as the lonely hours passed, the sun grew higher and higher in the sky. Once in a while he would glance up and try to guess how much time had passed, judging on where the sun was. As it rose, he figured out that he was heading in a general western direction. Long hours passed by slowly, and hunger began to gnaw at his stomach. He glanced into the bushes for any sign of food, but all he ever saw were a clump of spiky hedges holding bright red berries, and he felt that red probably wasn’t the best color to be eating. The sun was high up in the center of the sky when Lloyd first heard the cries. The river was splashing and rushing rather loudly, so at first he thought he was hearing things, or that it was some bird. When he drifted a few feet away from the river, though, he heard it again. He ducked into the forest and left the river behind, though he could still hear its constant roar. Golden sunlight was filtering through the canopy of leaves in soft rays, warming Lloyd as he walked through them. He paused and listened. There was a minute of silence, save for the rush of the river behind him and the song of a couple of birds hidden in the trees. Then, just as he was about to turn back, he heard it again. He froze in place. It sounded like some sort of young animal. He listened, and then it repeated. Whatever that creature was, it sounded as if it was in trouble. He hesitated, then began pushing his way through the undergrowth, heading toward the source of the noise. He wasn’t sure why, but he’d always had a special sympathy toward animals. The incident involving the baby bird many months back, when he and his father had been heading toward Hiroshi’s Labyrinth to escape the Overlord, was a good example of his feelings for helpless animals. He wasn’t sure, but perhaps he had that compassion for the little beings because he had once felt as helpless and lonely as they, back when he was a parentless child. Whatever the reason, he found himself shoving his way through the undergrowth in search of the cries.
I'd really love reading it again.
![[vel]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/CnAwihkNsKeldOkCZGIe.png)
