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The Blizzard's Shadow

Chakat Shadowstripe A.K.A Oberon Snowcat

Chapter I

I strolled down the hall of the hospital, my shift was over for the day, and overtime wasn't something that was either needed or wanted today. Having already racked up over ten days of overtime in the past two months I was a tired kitty. That was the price that I paid for choosing such a demanding and specialized field of medicine.

It had only been two years since my graduation from medical school as a fully qualified Paediatric Surgeon, with a speciality in Paediatric Neurosurgery.

At least this day was over and I could go home to my wonderful mate Starshimmer. Shi was coal black except for small yellow spots that were scattered through hir fur like grains of sand on a beach. Of course I couldn't forget to pick up the other member of our family. Sundawn was our first cub, though certainly not our last.

I paused for a moment and closed my eyes, focusing my inner sense on my womb. My inner sense, something that was almost unique to my species, picked up the stirrings of life deep inside of my lower torso. It could only be one thing... a cub. In fact it was a cub that Starshimmer and I had just conceived a few days ago at the height of my heat.

"Dr. Shadowstripe?" a voice called my name, and it jolted me out of my introspective reverie. I looked around to locate the source of the voice, and quickly smiled when I saw that it was one of the nurses from the PICU ward. "Hiya Sharon how are you today?"

"I'm glad the day is over Dr. Poor little Swiftstripe... hir parents where..." I stepped forward and gently hugged the trembling, grey and black, rabbit morph nurse.

"Sharon we can't save them all no matter how hard we try. All we have to do is celebrate every single young life that we save so that they can experience the full joys of growing up and having a family of their own."

"I know that Dr. I just wish there was more that we could have done."

"Listen to me Sharon; shi went peacefully surrounded by all of the people that loved and cherished hir."

Sharon nodded slowly with her face still buried in my shoulder as I gently projected a calming feeling to her.

"Come on Sharon you will feel better when little Max comes up to you and holds out his arms for you."

"Yes... yes of course... as always you are right." She said softly as she tried to get her mind off of the death of a poor little cub who'd barely had a chance to start living.

"Sharon I'm a parent as well so I know, all too well, the happiness that comes from holding our children."

She smiled softly as she looked up into my eyes, moist brown eyes showing me how she really felt.

That was something that was I was used to... even with my mate Starshimmer. I was one of the largest chakats in all of Canada, from the top of my head down to my forefeet I was 177cms tall and weighed 229kgs which was highly unusual for my species since most chakats were ten or more centimetres shorter, and more than twenty kilograms lighter.

I shook my head to clear it of that thought and began walking towards the hospital provided staff daycare where we could drop off our cubs before we went to work.

"Dr. how do you deal with the death of your patients?" Sharon asked me as we walked. She was a young nurse, just out of med school this past year so she had yet to develop the mental calluses that came with our job.

"Sharon that's a part of this job that I don't think anyone can really get used to. Every single one of us has to find our own way to deal with each one. I've learned, as a chakat, to celebrate every single life that I manage to save."

"What about those that you can't save?"

"Well I take my species point of view on the whole thing. Death is a part of life, even if it is unpleasant and untimely."

Sharon nodded as she stepped into the staff daycare and was intercepted by a small bounding little ball of white fluff.

"Momma." Her son exclaimed with a shout as he snuggled into her hug. He was a little darling who was a little over two years old. His little cotton ball of a tail was flitting around and he smelled a little.

"Sharon I think you need to change him, he smells a little ripe." I said softly, thankful that my daughter had picked up litter training in hir first month of life.

Sharon laughed softly, "I don't really mind all that much Shadow. It gives me a chance to be close to him, that and he appears to enjoy me changing him."

"Have you managed to track down his father yet?" I asked softly. That was a sore point for her, since Max's dad had skipped town shortly after Sharon had told him that she was pregnant.

Sharon shook her head with her ears laid back. "Nope, not a damned trace. I'm getting to the point where I don't care about him anymore. If he doesn't want anything to do with his son, that's his loss."

As I watched her a small yowl interrupted my thoughts as a small yellow, black, and grey cheetah patterned kitten dashed up to me. My daughter placed hir forepaws on my lower torso before holding hir arms up to me in a silent request to be picked up.

I smiled softly and picked Sundawn up into my arms and cradled hir as the female wolf in charge of the facility came over to me.

"Evening Dr. Shadowstripe."

"Evening Sandra. How was Sunny today?"

"Shi was a little darling... then again shi always is... she did a bit more babbling with some of the older cubs today. Shi loves playing with Sharon's son, though she doesn't like it when he messes his diaper. I can always tell when he needs a change because Sunny isn't near him."

"It's nice to see that shi's making friends."

"Shi's a little live wire but shi is very nice to those that shi likes. This place is going to be turned on its head when shi starts talking for real."

"That will be an interesting time that's for sure."

"Well considering that shi's already fusion-powered I can imagine what it will be like when shi starts talking."

"I think that shi gets that from hir mother." I commented as Sunny pawed at blouse and mewled softly.

"I think someone is hungry." Sandra said as she looked at my daughter.

"Yes it appears that way." I replied undoing some of the buttons on my blouse to allow Sunny access to what shi was seeking. Shi instantly latched on and began nursing hungrily nipping my nipple a little as shi began filling hir stomachs with my warm milk.

"Ah... shi must like that."

"Yes shi does... I can feel it, shi is happy now that shi is getting hir milk."

"Ah yes you do have a skill that I can't begin to understand."

I nodded and turned to leave. "I really must be going I am late enough as it is and it's my turn to cook dinner tonight... and I know how much my mate ribs me when I take forever to get home."

"Of course Shadowstripe I didn't mean to hold you back from going home. See you tomorrow morning."

"See ya Sandra." I replied and tossed a wave over my shoulder as I headed down the hall towards the exit that lead out to the staff parking lot where my PTV was parked.

I breathed deeply after the doors of my workplace closed behind me and enjoyed the warm air of the early evening in the city of Calgary. The city smelled fresh and clean, though I had once read that back during the 20th century the air here hadn't been so pure, because the humans had used vehicles and factories that polluted the air and water. In the centuries since then we had become a more enlightened society though there signs that the human's enlightenment was fading and they were falling prey to the same brutal impulses that had spawned the Gene Wars in the 21st Century.

I swiftly cleared myself of that thought on approach to my PTV. It was a dark blue vehicle that was specially modified for chakats, sometimes known as a chakat special. After opening the rear doors I gently disengaged Sundawn from my nipple before putting hir down in hir seat and straping hir in.

Of course shi made a fuss as shi was taken removed from my nipple. Shi didn't like it when hir meals were interrupted and made a fuss every time.

"Honey you can fill your stomachs when we get home. Besides maybe mommy will be there and shi can give you some milk too."

I wasn't sure how much shi really understood but shi did quieten down... especially after I handed hir one of hir favourite toys... a brain teaser that my sister had given us after Sunny was born. My sister was lucky to have gotten here in time since shi lived on Chakona, and had lived there since shi had turned 18. I was sad to say that I'd only managed to attend the birth parties of hir first cub, almost five years ago now.

Now that I had my cub quietened down I began the familiar drive home out to Cochrane where Starshimmer and I owned our own home.

An hour and a half later I drove down the quiet residential street and up the driveway to our large, and low built house. It was specially designed to suit a chakat or any other taur creature's rather unique physical requirements. One thing that I did notice was that Starshimmer's bright red PTV wasn't in the driveway yet but then again that wasn't something that was all that unusual for hir. As an attorney for the Crown Prosecutor here in the city of Calgary shi sometimes worked long hours... even longer then I did as a doctor at the local children's hospital.

However right now I had more important things to worry about. Sundawn still wanted to finish hir supper and supper wasn't going to climb out of the fridge and cook itself.

For the next half an hour I busied myself with making dinner for Starshimmer and while carrying Sundawn in a shoulder-sling so that shi could finish hir interrupted meal.

The meal that I was preparing was simple but it was also very filling, just the kind of thing that a pair of hungry chakats needed at the end of the day.

Just as I was about to put the soup on the stove the doorbell rang. After looking down at my drowsing daughter and rubbed my hands clean before walking to the front door and looking through the peephole in the door.

Standing outside on the front deck was a pair of members of the Calgary Police Department.

The taller of the two, a human female stepped forward and inquired, "Am I right to assume that you are Chakat Shadowstripe?"

I nodded briefly as a feeling that something was very wrong came over me. "Can you tell me what this is about?"

The shorter, though more massive police-person, a rather cute leopard patterned chakat stepped forwards and placed hir hand on my arm. "Shir Shadowstripe we believe that your mate, a Shir Starshimmer got caught up in that Humans First riot downtown today."

I looked into the chakat's eyes. My empathic talents told me that shi was not only telling the truth but that shi had more to say. "Is shi okay?" I asked, trying to keep the desperation that was creeping into my heart from my voice.

The chakat shook hir head silently. "Shi's being taken to Ridgeview Medical Treatment Center."

Ridgeview was an emergency treatment hospital that was designed to deal with trauma patients from the downtown core of the city.

I took a step back before I turned and looked into the kitchen. "I was in the middle of making supper."

"That is okay Shir Shadowstripe we can wait." The human answered before her partner spoke up.

"How old is your cub?"

"Shi is thirteen months old." I responded mechanically as I went through the motions of deconstructing dinner for consumption at a later point in time. Of course the biscuits in the oven had to wait till they were done before I could take care of them.

After the biscuits were in the fridge, minus about four of them to take the edge off of my hunger, I followed the police-people to their PTV. I let them drive me since I personally was in no condition to drive.

During the drive the two officers tried to engage me in a frank discussion of what had happened but my hearts weren't in it. I was mainly concerned about Starshimmer and hir survival. I had been planning to tell hir that our mating two days ago had been successful and that I was pregnant. Now though shi was in the hospital and the police hadn't told me hir condition.

During the whole trip I hugged Sundawn to my chest and rocked hir gently. "Its going to be okay honey, it's going to be okay." I kept repeating. Probably more as an assurance to myself then to hir.

Of course my gentle rocking of her gently put Sundawn to sleep and by the time the car pulled up to the entrance of the Ridgeview Medical Centre ER. I could tell that the place was very busy because of the number of medical PTVs that were still driving up to the doors.

"We're still trying to contain this riot... it's the worst that I've ever seen." The human woman told me as she brought our PTV to a stop.

I nodded numbly as climbed out and headed for the doors to the ER, pausing for a moment to drag my Central Calgary Health Authority name badge out of my waist-bag and clipped it to the pocket of my blouse.

As soon as I stepped through the door and was instantly besieged by the hundreds of odours ranging from the smell of fresh blood to more rank and unpleasant odours like rotten flesh and loose bowels. The place was a madhouse, but that was to be expected given the current circumstances. Most people wouldn't have been able to make heads or tails of the current scene of chaos in the Emergency Room, but I was easily able to make my way through the mad rush of people, of various forms, running hither and thither like ants in a disturbed colony. In one of the bays I saw a nurse leaning over a battered looking chakat cub who couldn't have been much older than Sunny. I quickly walked into the bay snagging an unused tricorder on the way. This particular device wasn't set up precisely how I liked my devices to be set up, but under the current situation I hardly thought that it really mattered.

The nurse who was checking the cub looked up as I got close and opened her mouth before she glanced at my tag and nodded. "You got called here too?"

"My mate was in the area of the riot when it broke out... so the police dragged me here. I usually work at the children's hospital but since I could see that you needed a bit of a hand I decided to pop in and check hir out for myself and see if I couldn't help out. Since I am a paediatric specialist I can help in this particular case.

"Oh... but what if your mate is...?"

"Is it better to help the living right now then to mourn the dead? Right now I can help I will and my rather unique skill set allows me to be a better doctor for this cub then a normal ER doctor."

The nurse nodded briefly as I scanned the cub with my appropriated tricorder before gently reached down and touched hir left arm. "How does shi look?"

"Hir left arm is broken just behind her wrist. Shi also has some light internal bleeding."

"Is it serious?"

"Not that I can see... It looks like shi should be able to heal up internally with some simple healing boosters. Can you hand me 5ccs of Repotol?"

She nodded and went over to a tray to retrieve the drug while I carefully set the bone and looked around for the bone knitter.

As the nurse returned another doctor came with her. This doctor was one of the resident ER doctors who's job I had taken in this particular case. "Hello can I help you?"

I turned to face him and smiled softly. "Hello, I am Doctor Shadowstripe in the paediatric neurology department at Calgary Children's Hospital, I was brought here because my mate was brought here... but I saw a chance for me to give your department a hand so I decided to help."

He looked at my name tag and nodded slightly. "Your assistance is appreciated doctor. How is this little one doing?"

"Shi should be right as rain as soon as she has a shot of Repotol and I find a bone knitter."

The nurse chuckled as she handed me the hypospray before she told me that she would located a bone knitter.

I applied the hypospray and checked the tricorder again before I looked up and handed the doctor the tricorder. "I really hate to heal and run but..."

"Yes by all means go check your mate out."

"I hope you can find hir family... if not give me a shout I will be more than willing to lend a paw for this little one."

"Thank you again doctor now go see if your mate is okay."

I nodded as he checked the tricorder I had been using before I left the bay and found the two police-people with my cub.

The chakat officer smiled at me and handed Sunny back to me. "I hope you were able to help back there."

"I think I was... but time will tell." I replied as I was lead further into the ER.

Soon we arrived in a bay where the curtain was closed and we paused before the human woman spoke up. "Would you like me to hold your daughter for you while you go see your mate?"

"My mate is my daughter's mother."

"This isn't pretty."

I nodded slowly before I handed Sundawn to the chakat officer again before I stepped through the curtain and took a look. The chakat had been right... my lovely Starshimmer had been beaten... badly with a multitude of objects.

"Star?" I asked softly.

One of hir beautiful yellow-green eyes opened and shi looked at me before smiling weakly. "Shadow... you made it."

"Of course I made it hon I had to make it here after all now that I am here you can get better."

Shi laughed hoarsely and shook hir head softly. "I am sorry hon... it's so hard to hold on and talk to you now... and I am so tired."

"Please... Star... stay with me." I pleaded softly. Shi was my mate, my lover, and the mother of our cub.

Shi looked into my eyes and I felt hir pain flow through our empathic link. "I want to stay... but each time I draw a breath it hurts me to the core." Then shi touched a bandage on the swell of hir left breast. "My upper heart is wounded and is no longer working..."

"If you could heal then it would restart."

"The doctor already told me that there is too much damage in my lower torso." She softly told me with a tear trickling out of hir one remaining eye.

"Please Star... stay with I can't raise our cub by myself." I told hir as I looked into hir eyes. This new fatalism that shi was displaying was something new to me.

Shi looked at me and smiled weakly. "Shadow you're a lot stronger then you think. Our cub will grow up into a strong and healthy person with just you as hir only parent. Furthermore I believe that you will be able to find someone else."

"Star... don't you want to see your own offspring? I am carrying a cub inside of me... our next cub."

Shi looked at me and smiled softly. "That is great my love. Take good care of them..." Shi laid hir head back on the pillow and coughed. It was a hard wet sounding cough that tore at my hearts. Shi looked up at me again and reached out for my hands.

I quickly placed my hands in hir hands and she squeezed them weakly.

"Take care love and don't dwell on my death too much... I... I... I love... you..." Shi said and then sighed softly and hir head dropped to the pillow. The monitor by hir bedside when from a somewhat faltering beep to the dreaded flat tone.

I gently reached up and closed hir eye and with tears in my own eyes I softly said. "Rest well Starshimmer. I will miss you always." At that point I broke down crying and fell to my belly. I was barely aware of what was going on when the chakat police officer handed Sundawn back to me.

My daughter was crying and shi hugged me tightly.

After what seemed like I had been laying there cradling my daughter and crying for hours a hand landed on my shoulder. "Shir Shadowstripe."

I gained control of my tears and looked up to see the police chakat looking down into my eyes. "Yes."

"We found Willowwind's aunt and shi wants to talk to you."

I swallowed once and nodded okay. "Can you give me a moment I must look like death warmed over."

"Given your current circumstances it is understandable." Shi replied as shi looked at the blanket covered form of my Starshimmer.

I had just pulled the blanket up over hir body and closed hir yellow-green eyes for the last time. "I will miss you my darling mate." I softly told the body before he left to follow the police-person.

Shi guided me to the bay where the child that I had cared for was still sleeping in the bed, though there was a medium sized adult chakat standing right beside the bed.

The adult, a leopard patterned chakat with a line of spots running from the base of hir tail to the back of hir neck turned around and smiled softly. "I am Chakat Eveningspot daughter of Windwalker and Blazestar."

"I am Chakat Shadowstripe daughter of Winterstripe and Thundercloud." I replied in turn, introducing myself.

The other chakat smiled again and hugged me, though shi was mindful of the kitten that I held in my arms. "Your mate saved my younger sister's cub from a horrid fate."

I nodded sadly before Eveningspot looked into my eyes and then shi hugged me tightly again. "I am sorry that your mate died. Shi gave hir life so that my niece would survive.

"I know what shi did but that still doesn't blunt my pain all that much. Shi was the mother of Sundawn as well as the father of the cub that I carry inside of me."

"How far along are you?"

"We only conceived two days ago. I was making supper tonight and planning on telling hir that shi was going to be a father. Instead it was one of the last things that I was able to tell hir before shi passed on."

Eveningspot took a step back hir eyes widening slightly. "That is..."

"I know I lost my mate just after I told hir that shi was going to be a father."

The cub on the bed slowly opened hir eyes and looked around at that moment and softly called. "Aunty Eveningspot... where is mommy and daddy?"

Evening looked at me and I nodded slightly. "You can pick hir up if you want."

With my permission given shi picked up hir niece and hugged hir tightly. "I am sorry baby your mommy and daddy got hit too much."

"Why did those people do that Aunty?"

"I don't know honey, I really don't know."

The cub looked at me looked into my eyes. "Hi there... who are you?"

"Hello there little one, my name is Chakat Shadowstripe and I helped fix you."

"Oh... you a doctor?"

"That is right I am a doctor."

"That's really nice." Shi said before shi saw Sundawn. "Aww shi is cute. What is hir name?"

"This here is Chakat Sundawn, daughter of Starshimmer and me, Shadowstripe."

"Shi is a really cute kitten... Can shi talk yet?"

I shook my head. "Not yet, shi's still a little kitten."

Willowwind smiled. "My baby sister is like hir."

Eveningspot looked at me with a pair of tears in hir eyes before shi hugged hir niece. "Honey..."

"Uh huh Aunty?"

"I am sorry but Crystalbreeze... shi's..."

Willowwind looked at me and then at hir aunt before shi began to cry loudly hugging tightly at hir aunt broadcasting the kind pain in hir soul that I felt in my own heart.

"Why do people have to be so cruel as to rip a cub from hir family?" I asked Eveningspot rhetorically

Evening shook hir head and softly told me. "I really don't know shir I really don't know."

As we finished talking the police chakat nudged my shoulder again. "Shir Shadowstripe if you want we can give you a ride home again."

"Yes... please." I managed to reply before shi guided me back out to hir PTV and shi took me home in silence since I was still dealing with the overwhelming emotions of the fact that my mate was... dead.

That night instead of putting Sundawn down to bed in hir own room I snuggled up with my daughter and let hir sleep with me. We both needed it because Starshimmer had been my mate, but also Sunny's mother.

Chapter II

The next morning I was woken up by an unusual sensation... Sundawn had already woken up and decided that it was time for hir to have hir breakfast and shi was hungrily nursing on one of my breasts.

"Morning kitten" I said to hir as I gently petted hir backs.

Shi purred softly though hir concentration was on filling hir stomachs with my warm rich milk.

I relaxed and enjoyed the warm sensations that I got from my kitten as shi finished hir morning meal before shi let go and gave a happy "Meow."

Shi had no real concept or understanding of the change that had just taken place in our lives. All shi worried about was that shi was warm and happy and that one of hir parents was with hir.

On the other hand I still had to deal with the crushing sense of loss the pervaded my being. I would never feel that bond that I shared with Starshimmer again.

That thought alone was almost enough to make me start crying again. However, I had to hold myself together for my daughter's sake. Since shi was snuggled up with me shi would be able to sense my feelings because of hir latent empathic talent.

After relaxing with hir for a few more minutes both of us had to get up to take care of pressing bodily needs before I went to work on making my own breakfast. After all shi needed a good source of milk, and to be a good source of milk I had to eat and drink properly. The nice thing about Sunny was the fact that shi was beginning to eat solid foods; though at this point they were just experiments for hir. Shi was nowhere near old enough to be ready to wean right now being that shi was only thirteen months old.

Ten minutes after I had started cooking my breakfast there was a comm. call from the hospital where I worked.

"Hello?"

"Shir Shadowstripe." It was the hospital administrator. He was a middle aged human with bright green eyes and a hearty laugh. Now though, he looked like he'd seen better days. There were deep, dark blue bags under his eyes and he even looked tired.

"Yes sir." I replied even though I really wanted to ask him what the problem was.

"I understand that you're going through a rough patch right now, but well... We're having a serious problem. Dr. Raymond Knight didn't show up for work this morning."

"That's not like Dr. Knight." I pointed out.

Dr. Knight was one of the most social and urbane wolftaurs that I'd ever met. He was mated to a chakat and they had three delightful little cubs.

"I know that it's out of character for him, but as far as I understand his sister in law was killed in yesterday's riot and their remaining cub is going to be living with Dr. Knight and his mate Eveningspot."

"Sir Dr. Knight may be busy for a while. I met Eveningspot last night when shi was picking up her niece. Willowwind is rather badly mentally traumatized. Hir baby sister is among the dead as are hir parents."

"Oh" he stated softly as he looked down at his desk. "Your department is seriously understaffed today... there were three procedures scheduled for today that will have to be delayed."

I nodded sympathetically at his words, but right now was far too early for me to even think about returning to work. Not only was my mind reeling from the loss of my lifemate, but there were some real world issues to deal with. I had to use sunspace comm. to contact hir family. After all hir mother and father deserved to know what had happened to their oldest daughter. "Sir I'm sorry but I can't really do that much to help you today since I am still trying to come to terms with..."

He nodded slowly before softly saying, "My heart goes with you Shadow."

From how his face looked I could tell that he really was sympathetic with what had happened to me. "Thank you sir. I'll get in touch with you after the memorials are finished about coming back to work when I am ready."

"Thank you Shadowstripe. I will see when you when you're ready to return to work." With that said he cleared the connection and the screen went blank.

Now how was I going to be able to break the news to Seashimmer and Starlight that their daughter was dead. Even the mere thought of never feeling Star again was like alcohol on raw nerves and I began to cry again as the grief washed over me like a wave.

After I managed to compose myself, and get Sunny calmed down I dialed Starshimmer's parent's home number on Chakona and waited while the call went through. After a few moments the call connected and a young chakat with orange fur with redish highlights answered the call.

"Hello... Oh... Hi Shadowstripe." Shi brightly said as soon as shi saw my face. "What's wrong?" Shi was a perspective cub and shi could clearly see that something was troubling me.

I looked into her bright green eyes, they were so much like her sister's eyes that my hearts lurched again. Finally I managed to ask hir if shi could go get hir mother or father for me.

It took a few moments but as soon as hir father Seashimmer got on I almost broke down again but I only just managed to hold it together.

"Shadowstripe, this is a pleasant surprise to what do we owe this pleasure?" Shi asked me in a slightly caustic tone. Seashimmer and I had never really gotten along in the five years that I had known hir daughter.

"Seashimmer..." I started, though I couldn't complete the line.

"What is it Shadow? I am a busy person." Hir question was direct and to the point.

I looked into hir eyes for a moment to try and guage hir mood but always shi was almost unreadable. "There was a riot in downtown Calgary by the court buildings... And Star got caught in the middle of it. The demonstration was arranged by Humans First." As I finished speaking I finally broke down in tears, not that it made Seashimmer any more sympathetic to my plight.

"Are you telling me that shi's finally free from you?" Seashimmer asked at hir worst.

At this I growled out loud. "As much as you dislike me and you disliked hir choice in me, shi was my mate and we loved each other very much, so back off Seashimmer. I called you to inform you of what has happened, not to sit here and get interogated by you while I still am trying to come to terms with what has happened."

Shi looked at me coldly before finally opening hir mouth and the words dropped from hir mouth like small chips of ice from the depths of interstellar space. "You have never been, nor ever will be a member of my family. Your lusts were never good for my daughter and shi payed the price for falling prey to you... I don't want to here from you again and if you call this number again I will talk to the courts again. Good day and goodbye Shir Shadowstripe." With that said the connection died and the machine noted that the entire price of the connection had been debited from my account.

"Now that was mildly unpleasant." I softly said to myself, then again where Seashimmer was concerned it was about par for the course. Again I wondered what got hir to dislike me so intensely as to virtually disown hir daughter for chosing me to be hir lifemate.

Luckily Sundawn jolted me out of my ruminations by jumping on my tail and nipping me. Not that hir nips were by any means gentle, after all shi was only a little kitten.

"Ow Sunny that hurt!" I yelped.

Of course as soon as shi'd felt what shi'd done to me shi let go with a slightly ashamed meow. That was the problem with chakat empathy, shi could feel what shi'd done to me and respond to it in relative short order. Then again it also allowed me to both locate hir if shi wasn't in the same room I was in and also judge hir current state of mind.

I picked hir up and cradled hir in my arms rocking gently and calming hir down while I hummed softly. As I calmed down wig hir in my arms I realized that I should make a call to my father on Chakona and tell hir what had happened yesterday. At least I could expect a little more sympathy from hir then I could ever expect from Star's family.

My father, Chakat Thundercloud, had raised my sister, Lightningstrike, and I since I was three and Lighting had two. Our other parent, Chakat Snowstripe, had been a Commander with Starfleet and died when hir ship, the FSS Saratoga, had vanished without a trace all those years ago. The result of Snowstripe's death had been the fact that my father, who was also Lightningstrike's mother, had raised us by hirself. In fact shi had only emigrated to Chakona five years ago and been able to find another person with whom shi could form a strong bond with. The amusing thing was that Lightning and I had two little half-sisters who were the same ages as Lightningstrike's oldest cubs.

Sundawn pawed at my chest and gave me a questioning meow before I refocused my wandering attention and smiled down at hir. "Thanks kitten I needed that." I told hir quietly before I activated my comm and dialed my father's home number.

After a few rings an adorable little face appeared. "hewwo." It was my half-sister, Chakat Starcrash, and shi was a cute as a button.

"Hello there Starcrash can you go get your daddy?" I asked the four year old striped cub.

"Otay. DADDY!" Shi yelled while still standing almost right beside the audio pick-up for the comm-unit. Soon someone would have to teach that little cub the finer points of what not to do while the comm-link was open.

After a relatively short amount of time the dark-furred face of my father appeared on the screen of my comm. "Shadow... How are you kitten?" Even though I was a grown chakat and nearly 28 years old shi still called me kitten almost all of the time.

"Hi dad." I replied softly.

"Are you okay kitten?" Shi asked me. Shi was a very perspective kat and shi knew me and my sister well.

"Daddy... Starshimmer is..." I began, but I couldn't finish it before I broke down and began crying again.

Even though shi was hundreds of lightywars from me my father's concerned seemed to flow into me from hir voice as shi softly completed my sentance for me. "Shi's dead isn't shi?"

It was all I could do to nod my head as I continued to cry.

My father consoled me as best shi could from where shi was, as I continued to let my grief flow over and out of me like a river. In a way this was something that I needed to deal with the grief that threatened to overwhelm me like a building breaker that is threatening to crash down on me. "Kitten why don't you come to Chakona for a while so that you have time to deal with this with your family?"

What shi said actually made frighteningly good sense because to truth most of my surviving family was located on Chakona. Lightningstrike had moved there four years ago to attend a prestigious engineering college near Amidstad. That was where shi had met the skunktaur triad that shi had joined and now shi had more then on cub. My father had moved away from Earth almost as soon as Lighting left home to attend hir first semester at SAIT in Technical Advanced Cybernetic Desgn.

"Dad... What about employment, and housing? I can't exactly expect you to put me up for all of my life."

"Don't you worry about that Shadow. You're my daughter and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Dad my home and career are here on Earth, in this city."

"Kitten how long are you really happy there?" Shi asked me intently while shi looked at me from hir end of the comm.

Now that question really threw me for a loop, though I can't say that I wasn't expecting it. "Dad... I really don't know any more. It's too early to tell."

"Well if you ever decide to come here to Chakona dear my door and my heart will always be open to you."

"Thanks dad. I love you." I replied as I gave hir a wan smile. I always felt better after talking with my sire. Shi seemed to be always have a good idea or two in hir head when I wasn't feeling at my best. When Sundawn had been born shi'd been the only one of either Starshimmer's or my parents who'd attended the birthing party. While my sisters were the only siblings who'd been there too. Now here I was almost completely alone in the world without really all that much in the way of social connections to the rest of the world.

After the comm shut down I had many things to think about including my future here and what kind of future my cubs would have. I was interupted once more from my thoughts by the sound of the comm beeping insistently.

I turned slowly and pressed the answer button with a resigned sigh. "Hello?"

The face that appeared on the screen was that of a human with resigned expression on his face. "Hello Shir Shadowstripe I need to talk to you right now about last night."

"What can I do for you?" I asked him while Sunny tried to pounce on my tail.

"Well we have some questions to ask you concerning what transpied yesterday. We were wondering if you could come by the central station to answer those questions."

I nodded my head slowly before I softly told them that I would be there within the next hour and a half.

"Very good. We look forward to seeing you here."

as soon as the comm-unit switched off again I went into the livig room and sat down on one of the taur-pads that were skattered around the room. From the tone of the policeman's voice I could tell that even if he wasn't a member of H1, he was at least sympathetic to their goals. "This isn't going to be pleasant." I said to myself as I mentally prepared myself for what promised to be an interesting afternoon.

Chapter III

A short time later I found myself strapping Sunny into hir car seat before I proceeded to drive to Calgary where I had to talk with the police about the events surrounding the death of my mate, Chakat Starshimmer. My intuition had told me that this wasn't going to be a pleasant meeting because the officer that had contacted me seemed as if he had some sympathetic leanings towards Humans First and their ideal society where morphs and taurs had no place. Groups like those had no respect for the men and women who'd spent their entire lives looking to create and improve our genomes.

As I drove I could hear, and in a way feel, Sundawn's happiness as shi looked out the windows of the PTV. My thoughts turnned at that momment to what kind of future shi would have here on earth. The anti-fur rehtoric of H1 and their allies was getting worse, and they were begining to display more then just simple noise now. The riot yesterday wasn't the first case of violence against furs perpetrated by them. There were many other cases where they'd injured or killed innocent furs who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. So far as I knew the worst case had been a riot in San Francisco where a well known racist had orchastrated the deaths of several furs through the use of a mind controlled telepath, a poor bluepaw skunktaur who was still struggling with what hy had been made to do. The mere thought of being forced to do what hy had been made to do gave me the shivers. Normally chakats didn't have to worry about something like that, but I wasn't your average chakat in that my grandsire was a bluepaw skunktaur. Like my mother I'd inherited the bluepaw gene and had the marking on my right breast. At least Sunny didn't have to deal with that's since shi hadn't been born with a bluepaw marking. I frowned as I remembered the years of mental training that I'd had to undergo when my mental talents had began to mature. There had been a few occaisions when almost unconsciously I'd made Lightningstrike or even Thundercloud do something I'd wanted them to do. Needless to say my sire, Thundercloud, had been less then impressed at the time.

I forced my mind back to the present as the PTV's computer buzzed at me. Reminding me that I needed to take control back from the auto-pilot as the vehicle turned off of the high-speed computer controlled expressway. I took the wheel in my hands and carefully began to manipulate the pedals with my finger-toes on my front handpaws. I'd first learned to drive when I'd turned seventeen and I'd lost none of my skills in the past ten years. Indeed when I'd first started I'd taken up ametaur racing for fun. Within fifteen minutes I pulled the vehicle into the parking area behind the police station and locked it down after collecting Sunny from hir seat. By this time shi was begining to broadcast strong hunger signals and mewl for a feed. "I'll feed you soon baby, but first I need to talk with some people about what happened to your mother yesterday."

Of course shi ignored my words and pawed at my blouse as I walked into the station.

The officer behind the desk looked up as I came in and smiled. "Your cub is a cutey shir."

I smiled softly before I replied, "Thank you. Shi is a continual source of joy for me. Shi is one of the reasons I woke up with a smile this morning."

"Well that is good to hear. What can I do for you this afternoon?" The officer, who was a foxmorph, asked me.

"Well I am here to clear up some matters about that riot yesterday. My mate was injured in the riot, and shi later died of those injuries."

"Oh... That's too bad. You have my condolences. Yes Inspector Horowitz is leading that investigation." He paused looking around and then in a barely audible whisper said, "Don't expect anything to come of it though. He's a supporter of those... Animals!" His jaws snapped as he bit off the last words like he wanted to hurt something.

"Before I got to talk to him I'm going to take a few minutes to feed my daughter before shi claws appart my blouse to get at hir lunch."

"Yes they don't take a pause in their feeding schedule well do they?"

"Not that I've noticed. Shi is getting better as shi ages though.."

"Yes I guess they all do." He replied with a knowing grin.

Right then and there I knew that he was a parent too as I smiled and found a quiet corner where I finally began to assuage my daughter's demands for sustenance.

Shi latched on the moment I freed my left nipple for hir and nipped me a time or two to remind me that I should've paid attention to hir.

"Sorry kitten. I should've listened to you the first time." I told hir before I closed my eyes and simply endevoured to enjoy the sensations that we were feeling. However like all good things it had to come to an end, and shi finished and pulled off of my nipple with a satisfied burp.

"Now let's go talk to this disagreeable inspector." I said as I went back to the front desk in the station.

"Back I see. Shi looks much happier now." The sergeant at the desk said with a smile.

"Now let's get this over with. Today hasn't been a day which I would like to prolong."

"I know that feeling. Inspector Horowitz has been on the warpath all day long, probably trying to cover up his own links to H1 while at the same time limiting the damage that this causes them. He's probably going to try and lay this whole god awful mess at the feet of chakats who got caught in the middle of their private riot."

I looked at him in frank amazement before I finally managed to say, "He's going to try and sweep this all under the carpet? A whole family was killed, and so was my mate!"

The tod nodded as a large beefy looking man came into the room and growled, "Dr. Shadowstripe will you come with me."

I looked the man up and down before I swiftly re-buttoned up my blouse and followed him. Even from where I stood I could feel the distaste for me boiling of this man like a noxious cloud. He was the very worst kind of humanist, hiding in plain sight in a position of authority. He lead me to a medium sized interogation room , where the police usually asked people questions, and sat down, rather stiffly, in a chair behind the table in the middle of the room before indicating that I should take a seat too.

"Did you have to bring that... baby with you?"

"I growled softly before I replied, "Yes I had to bring hir because I am hir only remaining parent. Hir mother is curently lying in a cooler in the hospital morgue."

The man nodded stiffly even though in his head he was saying, 'Good riddance. One less Fucking gene joke to pollute our god given earth with their foul touch. Now if we could only get rid of all of their brats.' The man's mind was a sewer with terrible thoughts running around inside of it.

I coughed lightly and tried to shield my powerful senses from his mental stench as he began to ask me questions in regards to myself and Starshimmer.

Over the next two and a half hour I endured his interogation as his questions led him to almost every aspect of Starshimmer's life. When he had exhausted all lines of questioning he rather reluctantly told me that I could leave and go home. Though he did tell me that he did want me to keep myself available in case any new evidence emerged in the case.

I knew that by that he meant that he'd either found something to implicate Starshimmer or that the case had gone cold and he'd decided to drop it in the department's cold case files. I had a feeling that the later would probably be much likely than the former.

I was mentally exhausted from the effort of keeping the man's mental poisons from my own mind when I left the room that I barely paid any attention to what I was doing as I headed out of the station.

As I walked through the reception area of the station the fox behind the desk called to me. "please don't judge the entire department on his conduct Shir Shadowstripe. Most of us try to do our jobs to the best of our abilities."

I nodded and smiled softly. "I will keep that in mind sir and I hope that the rest of you will be able to find the people that killed my mate."

"With the sergeant in charge..." He began sadly

"There probably isn't much hope for that is there?"

The fox shook his head softly. "The sergeant isn't one for letting his morals get in the way of his racism."

"At least he's consistant." I joked, even though this really wasn't a matter for joking around.

The fox nodded with a chuckle and went back to his job as I headed out the door towards my vehicle

Chapter IV

Over the next few days I found it a constant struggle not to let my emotions get the better of me, if not for my sake, than at least for Sundawn's sake. As far as I could tell shi was the same happy little cub that I'd first held in my arms shortly after shi'd been born a little over a year ago.

I held great comfort in my memories of that wonderful day when the fruit of my love of my mate Starshimmer was born. On that day both my sister and my father were present in the house that now almost felt like a tomb. A tomb where I constantly was confronted by the memories of my former mate and the joy and fulfillment that shi had brought me.

Most people will tell you that chakats don't suffer from depression or extreme mental trauma when they lose a mate. I can personally tell anyone who reads this that any such thoughts are complete and utter nonsense since I was fighting to deal with the loss of my mate. For me loss wasn't just a simple fact that shi was no longer around but that in my heart and mind our link was broken... gone forever until the day when I finally passed and I could re-join hir spirit in the afterlife.

A day before hir funeral there was a knock on the front door of the house and I simply headed to the door and checked through the peephole and smiled before yanking the door open. "Misha you old dog what are you doing here?"

The brilliant red foxtaur grinned before he stepped inside. "I'm here to see and old friend of mine Shadow... is shi home?"

I looked into Misha's eyes. "It's been far too long Misha... and I've seen too much sorrow."

He grinned, "Nonsense Shadow! Where is the young impassioned chakat I've always known?"

"I'm afraid the death of hir mate has gotten hir a bit down." It was kind of weird speaking of myself in third person terms, but it also allowed me to speak with a bit of disconnect from our conversation.

The foxtaur stepped into me and hugged me tightly. He was perhaps a centimeter taller than me but significantly lighter, weighing roughly 350lbs to my 505lbs, "Let it go Shadowstripe, let it go." He soothed hugging me tightly.

I'd known Misha since I was sixteen when I'd started attending university in my father's hometown. Back then I had been a rather precocious sixteen year-old who'd just graduated from high school here in Calgary. I had been a lot smaller back then than I was

now, mainly because I'd grown since then.

Misha hugged tightly and then yipped as a small manned cub glommed onto his front legs. "What the...?" He yelped before looking down at Sundawn as shi clung to his front legs and mock-growled at him. "Oh Shadow shi's adorable." He cooed picked the kitten up and hugging hir in his arms.

"Yes Misha shi's my pride and joy." I replied looking fondly at hir. "Shi's one of the few remaining lights I still have left in my world."

"Don't you even start going down that path Shadowstripe. You have a lot more to live for than you are admitting." He stated looking me straight in the eyes while petting my daughter in his arms. "You're smart, successful, and even moderately wealthy. Even more you have a loving little cub who relies on you for everything. Are you going to let some half-baked wanks ruin your life because they are too narrow minded and stupid to realize that the world has gone beyond their kind of thinking?"

I looked into his bright green eyes. By in large what he was saying was true. Like all chakats alive I couldn't let myself dwell on either mourning my mate, or even worse... letting my cold fury that I'd locked in my heart free. I closed my eyes for a second and focused myself to lock my raging emotions deep inside of myself. My grandfather Tanvora had always told me that I shouldn't lock my emotions away, then again hy had never had to deal with the powerful passions that could sometimes rule a chakamil.

Chakamil's were rare sub-species of chakats that had been created back during the early part of the last century at the behest of a faction in Starfleet that had wanted a militarily useful chakat. In order to do that they had to mute a chakat's normally passive nature and make them more temperamental and aggressive. The result had been both fearsome and dangerous, though militarily a complete failure. However, the survivors had proven to be most resilient and had kept on living for many years after the shuttering of the program. The reason I knew about their passions was because my grandfather on my father's side had been one. Chakat Stormsurge had been one of the largest chakats to have ever been born, or rather created. Shi had been roughly 183cms tall and weighed 266kgs, which was way outside of the norms for a chakat.

Both my father and I had inherited hir abnormal size, though to a lesser degree considering my father was 181cms tall and shi weighed 220kgs while I was 179cms tall and weighed 229kgs

Finally I got control of my emotions and smiled looking Misha in the eyes and patted him on the shoulder. Thanks for reminding me of that fact Misha, as always you've been a great help.

"Always happy to help you Shadow." He replied softly with Sunny now in his arms as he walked into the living room to sit down.

"Now Shadow do you have any real plans of what you're going to do for the next few years?"

"Well Misha I do have to consider my cubs."

"How many are we talking?"

"Well there is Sunny, as well as the cub that I am carrying inside of me right now."

He looked at me before he softly asked, "How far along are you?"

"A few weeks ago... we conceived three days before Starshimmer was killed."

"Oh..." He managed to elucidate softly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Misha shi died right after I told hir that shi was going to be a father." I told him with tears in my eyes.

"Shadow... perhaps you should go visit HH for a while... be surrounded by other people like you."

"Misha..." I started

"Go on Shadow, you need to be around other herms." He insisted knowing that I could use their help. "Besides how long has it been since you managed to have any... um... extra-curricular fun?

I thought about it for a moment and realized that by in large he was correct. Part of my current mood was due to sexual frustration. I hadn't had any form of sexual relief since before Starshimmer was killed and for a chakat, especially on with my passionate nature that was almost akin to enforced celibacy.

"Go on Shadow, go have fun, you need something to take your mind off of the past and think of your future." He said as he held Sunny in his arms. "I'll watch this little nightmare for you while you go have an evening to yourself."

I looked into his bright green eyes and could tell that he was hurting for me.

"Shadow I know what it's like." He paused and gulped softly. "When my family was killed by those idiots I felt like my world had ended, but I had a friend to help me through it, a rather irrepressible young chakat who was full of life. Now it's my turn to help you out and help you see the joy in life again." He said softly.

I nodded remembering that summer. I'd dragged his sorry tail all the way to visit my step-grandfather in Australia. Highlight had denmated with Dawnstreak, my father's mother, after Stormsurge, my grandfather and dad's father, had left hir after personal issues drove them apart. Stormsurge could be said to have been wed to the military and hir career than to Dawnstreak.

"Shadow even though that summer was a bad one for me, you managed to show me that there were a lot of things for me still left to live for." He stated softly. "Perhaps you need something similar, to get away from the stresses of your life here in the city. Like a trip... perhaps out to my home village northwest of Prince George."

I looked him in the eyes and thought about it for a moment. "Perhaps after the funeral Misha." I replied softly. I needed the closure that the funeral would provide me on my beloved Starshimmer's life. I also had to do the memorial that I had to give then I would be able to think about the future.

Now Shadow do I have to drive you out of your own house in order for you to go seek some companionship? You're broadcasting enough sexual frustration for even a non-empath like me to pick it up. Nor can I help you with some of your frustrations, I'm not a herm, nor do I swing in such a way that I would derive pleasure from coupling with you in such a manner.

We both knew that much since, when we'd been much younger we'd made the attempt. The pain of that attempt still echoed in my mind as I thought back to it. "Yes Misha we don't want to try that again

"It was bad." He stated softly. "We were young and foolish and I made an offer which neither of us fully understood."

I giggled softly, "You said your tailhole was sore for days after that."

"Well I don't really think that it's intended for somebody to go and stick their oversized cock into." He replied stiffly looking at me.

He was still a bit sensitive about that evening; the only thing was that he hadn't been the only one that suffered that night. My 'oversized' penis had been sensitive for almost a week afterwards because of the pressure that he had put on it with his anal muscles.

"Now get going you randy chakat and go have a fun evening." He told me picking Sunny up and nuzzling hir gently.

"Are you sure that you can handle a kitten like hir?"

"Of course I can hon. If I can handle raising a teenage foxtaur then I can handle a little chakat kitten."

"Misha there's a big difference between chakats and foxtaurs. For one our kittens can go like they are drinking pure sugar... even though they aren't having anything of the sort. For another Sunny isn't even weaned yet so shi'll have to drink some of the milk in the bottle with the green top in the fridge."

"Okay the green top, I got that now get going you crazy kat and go unwind for a while, you probably haven't been to you club in far too long.

He was right about that part since I was on the board of directors of the Calgary branch of the Double H Club and I really was supposed to show up at the club as often as I could, but I hadn't put in an appearance at the club since just before Starshimmer died. I tried to give Misha a stern look before I headed to the bedroom where I put on one of my trademark sky-blue blouses and got my silver hair all arranged before heading out to choose what vehicle I should drive.

Two days before I'd managed to get Star's sporty red PTV released from the police impound and now it sat in our driveway beside my dark blue one. Hir PTV had been our one bit of silliness since it wasn't really all that practical of a vehicle given our current family situation. It was a two door coupe with very limited space for Sunny and no space at all for a second cub. Not that either of us hadn't wanted to drive it on a regular basis.

After thinking about it for a few moments I climbed into it and began the drive to the Double H. I was hoping this evening that I could clear my head so that I could deal with the funeral on the following day.

An hour later I pulled up in front of the rather understated brown building with the familiar HH symbols on the front doors. Of course I didn't park in front of the club, but instead pulled around to the side of the club where the entrance to the subterranean parking garage for those members of the club who used a personal PTV to commute from their homes to the club.

Five minutes later, after checking my personal messages bin I made my way into the lounge and looked around. There was a pretty good crowd for a weekday afternoon, though it was Friday and Fridays always were busier than any other day of the work week.

"Shadowstripe... I haven't seen you in here in days." A voice shouted excitedly. I turned just in time to receive a hug from Silverstreak. Shi was our branch's resident irrepressible young spirit and did almost everything with hir tail sticking up straight in the air. Shi had only joined the branch as a full member this past winter, paid for entirely by hir parents who had been, and continued to be, members in good standing of the club.

Shi looked me over with bright golden-green eyes and gave me a soft lick-kiss. "I'm sorry about what happened to you mate Shadow."

"Thanks Silverstreak. Now you should go have fun with your friends tonight... maybe I can dig up your folks... if they are here tonight."

"I came with Butterfur since mom and dad chased me and hir out of the house.... I think dad's gonna be a mother again since shi's in heat."

"I guess your sister's upstairs in the crèche."

"Yeah... shi's a bit disappointed that I left hir up there... but shi's only fourteen and doesn't belong down here yet."

"Just remember that sooner or later shi's going to be allowed down here."

Silverstreak giggled and nodded hir tail-tip twitching happily. "Mom says that all of the time too but really shi doesn't need to remind me. Besides, I tell Butter everything that I see down here anyways, I don't keep secrets from hir." Then the sneaky teenaged chakat rubbed hir whole body up against mine and gave a deep throaty purr.

I looked at hir, slightly shocked that shi was trying to put the moves on me right now. "Silver are you really here because your folks wanted you out of the house? Or are you in rut?

"Um... kinda both. I was setting dad off every time I walked by, but shi smelled soo sexy."

"What about Crazywind? Where is shi?"

"Um... hir parents and hir are on vacation to Australia, though I think its gonna end up permanent. Hir parents told hir that they are considering moving to either Australia, or emigrating to Chakona."

"Oh... that must be hard to be without your Companion right now when you need hir the most."

Shi nodded softly. "I wish shi was here but, I really don't have much of a say in the situation. Mom and dad have also discussed it too, that riot really hasn't made them feel very secure here."

"I know that feeling all too well Silver. I think after the funeral I'm gonna really consider my options. My own father has told me that shi would love it if I moved to Chakona and I have to think about what is best for Sundawn, and the cub that I am carrying right now."

"Uh huh. That is what they are saying. They would rather that Butter and I were growing up somewhere safer where there aren't humans baying for our blood every day on the steps of City Hall."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration Silver."

"Those were dad's words, not mine. Shi really is concerned about what has happened here, but is trying not to let it show.

I nodded softly and softly gave hir a lick-kiss. "Now go find someone a little younger for your fun Silver."

"You aren't gonna get rid of me that easily." Shi replied with an edge in hir young voice. "I've wanted you since the first time I met you, and now you need it, for you mental and physical health."

"What would..?"

"My parents say? They say that you could use the assistance and when I told them of my feelings for you they agreed that it would be okay for me to come here today... hoping that you would be here."

I looked hir up and down and tried to see hir, not as a teenager but as a maturing young chakat. In reality shi was a rather fetching member of our species. Shi wasn't huge like I was nor was shi overly small. Instead shi was average sized... well at least hir bone structure was, since shi had a fair ways to go before shi filled out and gained hir full adult size. Hir tail, which was quite pretty was wrapped possessively around mine was one of hir more attractive attributes and I could already tell that it was a strong, powerful limb.

"Come on Shadow, let's just forget the pain for tonight and concentrate on having a good evening. I am not really looking for a companion right now, and you could use a friend to help you through this time."

Shi was right, I could use hir to help me get through my first rut since my darling Starshimmer had been killed.

Two hours later emerged from a private room in the club, with Silverstreak at my side. We'd gotten... very energetic and enthusiastic at some points, and there was something to be said for hir stamina and enthusiasm.

Shi looked up at me, with a tired and satisfied smile on hir muzzle. "Wow... shir Shadowstripe you are once strong partner. Crazy was good... but wow..."

I looked into the lounge just in time to see Heartfire and Windracer step into the room, the two of them were Silverstreak's parents, but the look on their faces was troubled and I instantly knew that something was up. "Heartfire are you okay?" I asked softly as shi hugged hir daughter.

Shi smiled slightly. "Not really... my other mate... Sandwind is in hospital."

"What for?"

Windracer shook hir head softly and I could tell that shi was more disturbed by this development than hir mate was. Then again shi had every right to be worried since Sandwind was hir younger sister. The two of them had joined Heartfire to form a triad... a fairly normal arrangement when two chakat sisters were psychologically close enough to form a lifebond. "Shi was outside hir office when a group of human thugs set on hir with metal bars. They did horrible things to hir..." Shi whimpered softly looking up into my eyes.

I hugged the distraught chakat and tried to use my training and abilities to calm hir down somewhat.

After a few minutes more of projecting some calming feelings Windracer let go of me and looked into my eyes. "I want to take my family away from this place, but money is tight, always has been, so we really can't afford it."

As shi said that I felt Silverstreak come up on my left side and rub hir young body along mine. "Mom... is Aunt Sandwind gonna be okay?"

"We don't know sweetie, we really don't know." Windracer replied softly before looking at me. Can you help us...?

"I can try shir Windracer, but I am also facing a similar situation... except that I'm about to bury my mate because of those... intolerant ass holes."

"I don't want to bury my sister... shi's my kid sister." Windracer whimpered pathetically looking up at me.

I closed my eyes and envisioned Sandwind, the dust coloured chakat was smaller than hir older sister and had a fine-boned, almost delicate physique that Silverstreak shared for the time being. Even though shi was a small chakat hir personality dominated the mating triad that shi was a part of and shi was the patriarch of Silverstreak's family. So far it looked like Silverstreak had picked up the same irrepressible spirit and happy-go-lucky attitude as hir aunt, and I know that it would serve hir in good stead in the years to come.

"Mom Shadow was even better than I imagined." Silverstreak blurted out.

I felt my ears heat as I endeavoured to discover how many stains there were on the floor and what they were made of.

I felt more than heard Windracer's comment about how shi was happy that Silver had enjoyed hirself so much before the chakat youth hugged me tightly before the two of us were given a flying tackle of a hug from the youngest member of the family, the fourteen year old Chakat Butterfur.

"Sis... you should see the terrible trio... Ronnie, Jonnie, and Bonnie. They are soo cute."

The kids that Butterfur was talking about were the triplet pups of a herm mouse-morph and hir mate.

I chuckled to myself before I expressed my own opinion. "Butterfur as much as they are cute, sometimes they don't smell as cute as they look." That much was very true since the three two and a half year-old pups had yet to be toilet trained so as a result they could smell quite... rank.

Shi nodded softly. "Jonnie smelled a bit strong... but I helped the supervisor get hir cleaned up... what a mess. Shi didn't seem to mind it though; in fact it seems like shi thought of it as something great."

"Butter you had your times too." Hir father pointed out poking a finger at hir daughter.

"I thought I was trained by the time I was two months old." Shi protested.

"Yes sweetie you were, but up until that time... whooo boy you could make a mess with the best of them, taur or biped."

"DAD!" Shi protested loudly. "Please... no baby stories."

However, it was already too late and Heartfire had pulled out hir PADD and turned it on before turning it to show me an image on the small hi-res screen.

We spent the better part of the next three hours in a corner, chatting about Silverstreak and Butterfur, much to the chagrin of both younger kats pictures of them in their cubhood were shown including some, not so flattering pictures. During the whole time Silverstreak stayed, snuggled up against my side with an arm, almost possessively, wrapped around my waist.

Finally I picked myself and extricated myself from the embrace of the family and began moving towards the entrance to drag my tired body home. Almost as soon as I rose to my paws a soft voice, in my head said, "Please... don't go."