Clear, blue, sparkling water flowed through the river. The water was so clean that Mian thought he might have hit his head as he was running and he was dreaming. It just didn't look real to him. There were no proper words to describe what he saw.

Hesitantly, Mian knelt by the bank of the river and dipped his fingers into the flowing water. His eyes shot open as a sharp twang of cold ran up his spine. He sighed in relief as the feeling travelled through his entire body. The feeling settled in the soles of his feet, soothing them, and cooling the down, and even the residual pain of the toxins he had been inflicted with the day before had vanished from his body.

Taking a good look around the clearing once more, Mian contemplated his choices before giving in to what his body wanted. He slipped into the water, his mind reveling in the feeling of pure ecstasy he got from having the pure blue water come in contact with his skin.

A little dirt rose from his fur when he entered the water, but disappeared in mere moments as the current carried it away. Mian remained seated on a rock at the bank of the river, submerged up to his shoulders. He felt great. He threw his head back and let out a sigh. He hadn't felt this good for years. No, he hadn't left this good in his life!

His stomach grumbled, bringing him out of his trance like state. He looked around him, examining the clear water for any signs of fishes, or any other creatures. He found none, and even the bottom of the river was surprisingly bare. It was odd in every sense of it, but for some reason, it didn't register in Mian's mind that he should be a bit more cautious. He swam up stream, hoping to get something to put in his belly before he tried to find the other boys, and rejoin with the group.

In the water, he was like a completely different person. Feline demi-humans usually had issues with water, so very few of them bothered with swimming, only learning what was necessary, but not trying to pursue any further achievements in swimming. Mian was different.

His body moved from side to side as he mimicked the fishes that he always watched in the stream that wasn't too far from the pack's main hunting grounds. He had found that it was easy for him to swim, unlike most of the others. He had kept this information to himself of course. He didn't need to be teased about anything else.

When he reached the point of the flowing river where the water tipped over an edge and began flowing down stream, he jumped over the ledge, splashing into the lake where the water ran down from. Coming back for air, he had his breath stolen from him the moment he opened his eyes.

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Beautiful, colorful plant life dotted the surroundings, giving the area around the lake an overwhelming sense of beauty. Mian gaped at the sight, his eyes eagerly taking everything in, but that wasn't what got the most of his attention. In the center of the lake, a large egg shaped boulder was sticking out of the water. It was so large that Mian could see where it touched the bottom of the lake, a dozen meters below the surface, and even then, it still stuck out several meters into the air.

Cautiously, he swam closer to the rock. By the time he reached the boulder, nothing had happened, so he hesitantly placed his clawed hand against the base of the boulder. He slowly started to climb its surprisingly smooth surface, his hands occasionally scrambling to grab hold of any uneven spot on the surface.

After an agonizingly long period of time, he finally reached the top, his chest heaving. With a deep breath, he climbed the final stretch, and came to the very top. By now, he had noticed that the crystal clear water that formed the lake and flowing stream constantly gushed out of the top of the boulder where there was an opening. He peeked into the opening, and was stunned yet again by what he saw.

He saw no blue water that gushed out from some underground reservoir, but instead, flowing gold magma in the center of the boulder. He opened his mouth to gasp, but was choked by the magma as it rushed at him, forcing its way through his lips and down his throat. He lost his footing, and fell into the pool of golden magma, vanishing beneath its surface...

***

"WHAT?! What do you mean, 'you don't know where they are'?!" Daven's voice bellowed throughout the cave. Rage was thick in his voice, and his mere presence was enough to make Brian cower in fear, his shoulders shaking.

"I gave you ONE job! Just one damn job! And you come and tell me you don't know where the boys I sent you out with are?! Dion was with you, no? And you couldn't even try to secure the safety of the next Patriarch of your pack?" Daven's claws extended as he took a threatening step in Brian's direction. "Tell me, who else was on that party with you?" His voice was deceptively calm as he spoke that last sentence.

"I-I..." Brian took a few moments to collect himself before he began listing the names of the other boys on the party. The Patriarch's shoulders tensed when he heard Mian's name.

"You took Mian out with you?" He whispered. Brian gulped as the temperature in the room dropped a few notches. "YOU DAMN IDIOT!" He raked his claws down Brian's side, forcing an agonizing howl out of the man's mouth. Although Brian was strong, when compared to the Patriarch, he was just a mere middle ranked member of the pack. His toxins and healing enzymes were like those of a mere child.

The black demi-human rolled about on the floor, clutching his bleeding side while Daven stormed out of the room, leaving the former to stew in the agonizing pain. It was the least he could do.

"Organize a party of the pack's strongest dominant hunters. Let's go get our boys."