.:Shattered Pathways:.

The sun was high in the sky, the weather a little warmer than it's normally been. Crooked Tree's camp was filled with cheetahs, some leaving to go hunt or patrol. Other's grooming or conversing. Now that the others have been returned, the camp no longer felt empty. Fumo was sitting at the mouth of his den, watching the going ons of his Tribe. His ears flickering, as he heard snippets of conversations and the like. His teal eyes were on the look out though, for a certain tribemate. "Jahuar, can you come here please." Fumo's voice called out to the lighter pelted cheetah, who he spotted over by the prey pile.

The pale tom looked up as he heard his name being called and abandoned this B-line for the fresh zebra leg on the pile to pad over to his leader. The hunter dipped his head respectfully to the Chief, flicking the hair out of his face as he lifted his head back up to look at him.
"Do you need something, Chief?" He asked politely with a gentle smile.

Fumo nodded, a polite smile on his muzze. "I just want to talk, if that's alright?" He said, and beckond the Hunter to follow him into his den. He headed to his nest to sit on, his tail wrapped around his paws. "About your Tyro, Kutu. I just want an update on how she's been doing, and if she may be close for her ceremony.”

The tom nodded and followed the striped cat into the den. However as he mentioned his tyro, Jahaur's pleasant expression faltered if only for a moment. He cleared his throat a bit and shook out his fur.
"Kutu's a sweet she-cat. She's always excited to learn and she's giving it her best to pay attention. She's picked up the crouches very easily and her tracking abilities are excellent." He paused, frowning a bit in concern as he cast his gaze away from the Chief.

Fumo listened, but he could tell there was something he was leaving out. "There's a 'but' in there, Jauhar." He said, also seeing in the pale cheetah's posture that there was something wrong. "What's wrong? It sounds like she's near ready to become a full Hunter, but your posture says otherwise. What's the matter?”

Jauhar looked back to his Chief.
"She...can't catch anything. Kutu's gotten lucky with a few rabbits or meerkats; things that she can manage to catch with her speed or by cutting them off from their escape route. A few fish and birds too, but nothing that could fill a cheetah's belly. She can't work with the other tyros because she doesn't understand the instructions of the plan and she doesn't know when she steps onto something noisy or how loud her steps are. I tried teaching her to watch her paws, but then she isn't watching when the target catches sight of her and bolts." He swished his tail uncomfortably over his paws. "Chief...hearing is crucial for a hunter. I can teach her everything visual and that she can smell, but I can't teach her to be silent if she can't hear her own paw steps." He looked to Fumo with sad, violet eyes, as though he felt he'd failed his tyro.

Fumo listened the other tom, and frowned in thought as he tried to sort through this. It would be a problem, if Kutu couldn't provide for the Tribe cause she kept scaring away the prey. Hearing was crucial for any position in the Tribe. As a Messenger, you had to relay messages given to you. As a Sentry, you had to always be on the lookout for dangers and opposing Tribes. You needed both hearing and sight as a Hunter. "...What would you suggest, Jauhar? If we were to switch her position in the Tribe, where would she go?" Fumo asked, deciding to let her mentor to choose. Jauhar had spent the most time with her, and thus would know where Kutu could fit in.

The pale coated tom looked to his paws as though thinking.
"She's fast, she could be a good messenger like Usi. But she doesn't like talking, and when she does sometimes she isn't understandable. She could misinterpret a message and unintentionally cause trouble." He curled his tail a bit. "I suggest placing her in training with her brothers as a sentry. She has the build for it from her genetics and I think she could learn to compensate for her inability to hear in a protective situation. There'd just be the problem of getting her to want to learn…"

Fumo nodded, understanding what Jauhar meant. He knew that she had always wanted to be a Hunter. Trying to get her to accept to be a Sentry tyro instead would be difficult. And to also choose for her a new mentor. "Why don't you go get her, and we can both talk to her." He suggested to the Hunter.

Jauhar nodded and turned to briefly leave the den. His eyes scanned the clearing for his red tyro, and he spotted her not far off, chewing on a bone a little bit as she sat by her mother. The hunter trotted over, smiling to Kutu and giving Nyoka a small greeting nod.
"Kutu, can you spare a minute please?" He asked politely, the tyro blinking curiously at her mentor before her mother. Nyoka winked and lightly pushed her rear with her nose as an indication for her to go. Kutu smiled before rising to her paws and following Jauhar back towards the Chief's den. Her tail quivered curiously. What did Fumo want? Were they going to make her a Hunter?! No, it was much too early and she hadn't had her test yet. She glanced back over her shoulder at where her mother was watching them go, a warm glow in her golden eyes. Her mother seemed to be proud yet curious, perhaps she was thinking the same thing?

Fumo was pacing his den, his tail tip flickering as he thought over what he could say that wouldn't upset the little red cub. He had watched her and her brothers grow, and knew she was slightly more sensitive than her brothers. And he needed to do this carefully, or Nyoka would claw his ears off for upsetting her youngest daughter. He looked up, when Jauhar and Kutu entered his den, and gave a warm smile to the red Tyro. "Hello Kutu." He greeted her, and sat back down. "How are you today?" He asked her, voice soft and warm.

Kutu looked up at the Chief and blinked as her blue eyes watched his face. This seemed to make cats uncomfortable most of the time if they didn't know her and she did this, but Kutu had to watch delicately to pick up emotional hints that were usually in the voice. She read what Fumo said and dipped her head in greeting.
"It's warm." She replied with a smile, having mistaken 'how are you' for 'how's it like today'. However as Fumo gave her a curious look she could tell she was mistaken and looked embarrassed as she tried to almost press herself into a smaller ball. "I-I'm okay." She whispered quietly, not liking when she messed up. Jauhar gave her an encouraging nudge with his paw to help her relax.

Fumo chuckled softly. "I'm happy to hear that." He said, and winked at her as he stuck out his tongue. "And it's a warm day, I agree." He said, hoping to help her to relax as well. "Kutu, do you like training as a Hunter?" He asked her, deciding to get her to talk about it first.

Kutu gave a small smile at the silly face and let her fur lay flat as she relaxed. She nodded and looked back at her mentor briefly, but Jauhar's kind smile didn't give anything away. Her gaze snapped back to Fumo and her tail swished over the den floor.
"Is this about my test before my Quest? Damu, Sumu and Kisasi said that their's will be soon, maybe Usi too. Do I get to go with them??" She asked, standing up excitedly.

Fumo glanced to Jauhar before looking back at Kutu. "Kutu, do you have any trouble during your training?" He asked her, eyes warm and soft just as was his voice. He was hoping that by letting her speak about the troubles she's had, she wouldn't think that by suggesting to go a different route in her training would make her think she was not good. He could tell from the way Jauhar had spoken about his Tyro, that he cared for the little red Tyro as a little sister.

Kutu sat back down at the question.
"A little." She pawed at a splinter of wood sticking out from the floor of the den. "I miss sometimes, but Jauhar misses sometimes too..." The Tyro looked back at her mentor looking for some kind of reassurance, but he didn't give any this time. "Am I in trouble because I didn't catch food today? I can catch something before sunset!" Her tail swished over the floor of the den and she looked ready to try and bolt out of the den to prove she could catch something for the pile, but Jauhar stood in her way.
"You're not in trouble. Listen to your Chief, it's rude to leave without being dismissed." Kutu's fur twitched but she turned back to look at Fumo.

"You are not in trouble, Kutu." Fumo said, and placed a paw on her head as he continued to smile gently to her. "We are concerned, for your misses are often more than your catches." Fumo said softly, and sighed lightly. "Kutu, your loss of hearing does not suit the life, of a Hunter. However, if you permit us, we'd like to change you over as a Sentry instead.”

Kutu pinned her ears against her head and pulled away from his paw.
"No! I can catch something! I can do better I want to be a hunter!" She whimpered, looking to Jauhar. The tom opened his mouth, wanting to say something to help her, but he didn't. He knew if he said anything it would just be lies. He closed his mouth and just looked at her sadly. The tyro's tail pressed up against her belly at this and she pressed herself to the floor. She'd only ever wanted to be a hunter. When they were cubs all of her brothers wanted to fight but she wanted to stalk and catch tails and leaves as they fell. She was good at it! She was a good hunter, she could be a good hunter! She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her head with her paws. This was all Bilashi's fault! She was supposed to be a hunter!

Fumo had been afraid of this, and his placed his tail on her head to get her attention once more. "Kutu, you are a great Huntress in the making. But, without your hearing you can't focus on the prey and your paws. And if a stampede was coming towards you, and you didn't notice it in time? As a Sentry, you can do great help for the Tribe." He explained softly, willing for Kutu to calm and see to reason. "I know, how much you've wanted to be a Huntress for the Tribe. But if I let you continue, you'll end up hurting yourself. And your mother wouldn't want you to get hurt, right?”

Jauhar placed a paw gently on Kutu's shoulder as Fumo spoke to her, offering her a reassuring smile.
"I'm sure you'll be a strong sentry, like your mother. And you know they'll all be proud of you no matter what position you take in the Tribe. I'll still be proud of you no matter what you do." Kutu abruptly sat up, swatting their paws and tails off of her.
"I'm not a cub anymore! You don'fnow me you don now any sing!" Her words were slurred as she didn't try to sound them out and couldn't hear them. She shoved her way past Jauhar and rushed out of the camp. Jauhar watched her go before looking to Fumo.
"Maybe give her time to think? She needs to calm down to see that we're right.”

Fumo's ears were lowered, and he nodded with a sigh. "That might be best... Until then, look after her till she comes to that realization. It's up to her, to change over or not. And if not, we may have to somehow find a way so that she doesn't get hurt or scare away prey." Fumo honestly didn't like this, but he didn't want Kutu to get hurt if she couldn't hear prey coming towards her. Or by scaring prey away, because she made sounds without knowing.

Jauhar nodded.
"Of course." He turned and left the den to go after his tyro. As he left, another head poked in curiously, her golden gaze sweeping the den for only a moment before resting on Fumo.
"Why did my daughter bolt out of camp? What did you say to her??"

"Dey don't know!" Kutu hissed as she clawed at some grass, tail lashing behind her. "I'm going to be a hunder! Bilshi can't stop me! No un can stop me!" She stopped as something caught her gaze and she dropped into a hunter's crouch. A little gazelle, a yearling perhaps. Her eyes widened. Yes! Perfect! If she could capture this for the Tribe, Fumo would have to let her keep training. This was more than a bite sized snack! Carefully, Kutu carried herself foreword.

Jauhar didn't bother calling for Kutu, he knew he couldn't get a response that way. He followed her trail until he spotted her slinking through the grass, heading for a young gazelle. His ears perked curiously at the sight of this and he crouched as well. Was she going to pull it off? Could she catch it? Kutu slowly stalked foreword, looking quickly at the path she was talking before back to her prey. No twigs, no branches. She could do it...however as she took another step foreword. There was a new sound. One completely unrelated to her hunting. Jauhar picked up the rattling sound as Kutu kept moving foreword and he shot up from his hiding spot.
"KUTU!" The gazelle shot off and Kutu jumped to her paws to try and bolt after it, but a few steps more and something shot out and bit her. The tyro shrieked at the painful stinging in her leg, looking fearfully down at the reared up rattlesnake, forked tongue flickering as it bared its fangs and threatened to spring for another bite.

Fumo felt like he was backed into a corner when Nyoka appeared so suddenly. He gave an uneasy smile in greeting though, and dipped his head to her. "I suggested, that perhaps she should switch over to being a Sentry Tyro. With her loss of hearing, it wouldn't be safe for her to continue on as a Hunter Tyro." He explained to the red cheetess. His ears flickered though, when he heard a faint yelling of Kutu's name. He moved passed Nyoka and activiated his Gift in time to hear a shriek. "Something's happened." He said, and took off out of camp. He didn't know if Nyoka was following or not, but he had heard Kutu shriek and that was all he knew. Something had happened.

Kutu rolled away from the snake as it lunged again, whimpering as she held her aching paw close to her body. Jauhar ran towards her as quickly as he could, but startled a hidden flock of birds in the long grasses and lost sight of her between the fluttering wings.
"Kutu! Kutu!"

The young tyro felt like she couldn't move as she stared down the snake, not wanting to get bit again but hurting too much to try and run. She hissed at it but it lunched and she felt the sting of the fangs again and cried out.
"Help help!"

Nyoka ran with Fumo, not sure what was happening until she heard her daughter crying out and the red she-cat bolted past him. She spotted Jahaur trying to weave between birds and shortly after spied her daughter. And one of those cursed creatures she was named after. The sentry hopped over her daughter and to one side of the snake. Nipping at its tail so its attention was off of Kutu so Fumo could get to her.

Fumo bounded after Nyoka's trail, spotting Kutu and hearing the rattle snake before seeing it. He was quickly at Kutu's side, picking her up by her scruff and leaped away from the snake before it could do her more damage. He raced away with the hurt Tyro, and stopped to look back to see if Nyoka was near by. Snake bites were not his forte, not like her's. And Kutu needed to get her bites looked at by someone who could deal with such wounds.

The sentry's gaze shot to Fumo, seeing that the Chief had her daughter, she could relax. Her eyes moved back to the reptile, releasing its tail and jumping back as it lunged at her. It's too close to camp. She hadn't killed a snake in a while now...she wondered if she was even still fast enough to fight it. She stepped away from the scaled creature and found a heavy stone, big enough to fit in her mouth. She carried it towards the animal, swiping her paw at it so it would strike towards her limb and not her face. It did, and she slammed the stone onto its tail before darting back again. It was stuck there now. She looked to the striped tom, Jauhar now with him.
"Lay her down with the bit leg on the ground. She needs to calm down I'll be there in a second." Nyoka picked up another stone as she carried on with her challenge of a kill.

Kutu was crying and wriggling in Fumo's grasp. Her leg felt like it was on fire in the places where she had been bit.

Fumo heard Nyoka, before she went back to fighting the rattle snake. He placed Kutu down as Nyoka had intructed. Fumo had to get her attention some how, and used a paw to turn her head upwards to him. "Calm, Kutu. Your mother will here to help make the pain go away." Fumo said calmly and slow so that Kutu could catch every one of his words. He then instructed her, well helped her, to lay on the side of where the bite marks were on.

The tyro whimpered at the pain and squinted her eyes shut as she lay on it. Moments later, Nyoka was there, dragging a headless snake in her jaws as she came up to the three cats. Jauhar blinked as he watched the she-cat drop the snake next to his paws. He couldn't believe some cats called that...food. Nyoka went to Kutu and licked her cheek to get her to open her eyes again.
"I'm so sorry my sweet, this is going to hurt for a moment but I'm going to make it go away I promise." She purred gently, knowing that was one of the few sounds that Kutu could feel. Her face and mouth illuminated green as Nyoka activated her gift she rolled Kutu over to get access to the injured leg, having it down previously to prevent the venom from spreading. She quickly bit into it just under the elbow, causing Kutu to cry out again and start kicking at her mother to try and get her to release her leg.
"Mama no staaaap it huuurts!" She wailed, making Nyoka whimper. Hurting her daughter hurt her more, but she had to do this to save her. Her own vemon seeped into Kutu's body, seeking out the rattlesnake's to neutralize it. Once finished, Kutu's flailing calmed down a little and Nyoka released her, the hidden mark fading as she licked at the bleeding bite wounds to help them stop hurting.
"I'm so sorry.”

Fumo helped Nyoka, as he kept Kutu from struggling to much. Less movement meant less time it took for this to work and take affect. Once done, Fumo let go of the Tyro so that mother and daughter could spend a little time. He stepped back a bit, watching and sighed. He had been hoping that this wouldn't have happened. As a Sentry, there were set routes to take, and you were always with another Sentry. Unless you were skilled enough to do a Patrol by yourself. And only a few Sentries had that permission. "We should get her back to camp, have Maisha take a look and make sure that the bite marks won't get infected.”

Nyoka looked up from her whimpering daughter as Fumo spoke and she nodded. But her face was plagued with worry as to the three adults, it was now clear what had to be done. Nyoka carefully picked Kutu up by her scruff and carried her back to camp.

Kutu's memories on what had happened were fuzzy, but she knew now that she was in the healer's den. Her leg was sore and wrapped in reed bandages, but she wasn't going to die. Hopefully it wouldn't scar over either. She didn't want any more scars. Kutu tucked her face into her uninjured paw as she lay in the little nest. It was settled then, she'd only proven Fumo was right instead of showing that she could catch something big enough to feed the Tribe. She wouldn't have a say in the matter anymore now that Nyoka saw how much danger she put herself in to be a hunter.

Fumo allowed Kutu to rest for awhile, to allow her to think about what she'd done. And what had happened due to her loss of hearing. After a bit, he entered the Healer's den and padded over to Kutu. He stood for a moment, before finally sitting. He placed his tail over her shoulder, to let her know that he was there. He couldn't tell if her eyes were open or not. He started to purr, hoping she'd feel the vibrations, to let her know that he was no angry or upset with her.

Kutu felt Fumo and slightly uncovered her face to look up at him briefly. But she just stiffly rolled over so her back was to the Chief.
"Goway." She murmured, curling her tail around her. "I'll switch just leave me alone." Of course he was purring, the Sister's had proven his point for him. She was useless to the tribe and they may as well have let the snake kill her.

Fumo didn't leave. In fact, he laid down, continuing to purr as he started to nuzzle the younger she-cat. He would do this with his other cubs when they were younger, of coarse they didn't remember untul recently. With his head so close to her's though, when he spoke she could feel the vibrations from his throat. "Kutu, look at me please.”

The tyro shivered as she could feel him speak and curled up tighter.
"I don't want to be a Tyro if I can't be a hunter!" She whined and covered her head with her paws. "I was supposed to be a hunter! I was supposed to be a hunter!”

Fumo sighed sadly, wishing it hadn't come to this. "Kutu. Perhaps, when you are older and can deal with your loss of hearing better, you can try to go back to being a Hunter. But for now, being a Sentry Tyro can help you hone your skills." He said, feeling her body shiver. He hated to see her like this. To see her so sad. To see her so upset.

Kutu could still feel him talking, but she didn't want to know what he was saying. But she whimpered and looked at him at last. If he was talking so much, he had important things to say. She looked down as she read what he said, placing her tail over her nose. She didn't want to be a tyro her whole life. She especially didn't want to be one when her siblings would be adults. Her blue eyes looked up at Fumo pleadingly. She could do better, she could be a good hunter!

Fumo sighed, seeing her eyes begging him to reconsider. "I'm sorry, Kutu. But, being a Hunter is too dangerous for you. You will need to train as a Sentry." He said, putting his paw down. He hated to see her dreams being crushed, but he had to do it. "When you are well again, I will announce it to the Tribe, and assign you your new mentor.”

Kutu whimpered and looked away from him again. She felt so small and helpless in her nest as her Chief practically told her that her future was over. All she had wanted to do was provide for her Tribe. She felt like she couldn't do that as a Sentry. She didn't want to protect it, she wanted to feed it. Kutu closed her eyes. What if Vumbi were still here? Would he be forcing her to become a sentry too, or would he see his daughter pleading and let it slide past him? She curled up tighter in her nest, wanting her father back now.
"Yes Chief." She murmured softly, in a grieving tone that carried signs that she wasn't going to fight it anymore.

Fumo hated to hear such a tone from the young she-cat, and sighed. He got to his paws, allowing her to be alone for now. And now, to choose for her a new mentor. There wasn't many to choose from, sadly. Sentries were becoming rare in Crooked Tree. He'd need to tell the other mentors to get their Tyro's onto their Quests. And soon. He was frowning as he thought, tail flickering behind him as he paced outside of his den.

The days seemed to go by slowly, turning into a few weeks as Kutu's leg healed. Nyoka was with her now, inspecting the leg for any scarring. The ones from the snake were small and should easily be covered by her fur. Nyoka's bite was larger but shouldn't show much either.
"I'm glad you chose to become a sentry." She purred as she groomed her daughter's face a bit. "Your father would be proud, and I'm sure your brothers will be happy to train along side you." Kutu was quiet, blue eyes dull as her mother continued talking. But she wasn't listening. She'd been procrastinating on leaving the healer's den, knowing once Fumo saw she could walk, he'd assign her a mentor. And she wouldn't be a hunter's tyro anymore.

Fumo had been watching however, and Nyoka had kept him up to date on how her daughter was fairing. He entered the healer's den, and saw mother and daughter conversing. "Kutu, I am told you are finally healed up. You no longer need to stay in here. Come on, and we'll do the announcement now." Fumo had yet to choose for her a mentor though.

Kutu looked to Fumo as he entered, giving a small nod as she rose to her paws. She limped a little bit as her leg was stiff from not being used, but she was dragging her paws and tail sadly as she followed her Chief out of the den, Nyoka's whiskers tickling her haunches to show her mother was behind her.

Fumo exited the Healer's den, and headed to the large hollowed out tree that was also his den. It was also where he ddid announcements. He called out for all their Clan's members to gather in front of the tree. Once they were, Fumo started to speak. "Normally, this is something that's not done so late in a Tyro's mentorship. However, due to certain circumstances, Kutu will be placed as a Sentry Tyro. I've already spoken to Jahuar, and he's agreed." Fumo explained, and looked to the red Tyro. "Kutu, come here please." He said, knowing she could read his muzzle.

Jahaur nodded briefly as he was mentioned, but stayed with the outer group of cats as his tyro was called out. The red she-cat slowly strode into the clearing in front of Fumo, tail dragging behind her and head held low. She sat down in front of her Chief like when she had been made a tyro, but now things were different. She wasn't sitting in front of her father, she held no excitement about her posture or expression. Her tail curled lightly as she sat, looking quietly up at Fumo with sad eyes. But she didn't cry or utter a whimper in front of her expectant Tribemates and family.

"You have done great, as a Hunter Tyro while you could." Fumo started, his tail wrapping around his paws, as his own paw placed onto her shoulder. "Your father would have been proud. And he would be proud to also see you become a Sentry Tyro. And something tells me, you will make an amazing Sentry." He placed his forehead against her's. He then raised his head, and looked back to thr crowd. "I will announce in a few days, who will be mentoring this wonderful Tyro. Until then, she will be shadowing with the other Tyro's.”

Kutu stayed the center of attention for only as long as she was required to, keeping her head low as Fumo spoke. What kind of Tyro was she? She didn't even have a mentor anymore...
When the Chief had finished speaking, she roughly shrugged off his paw, back stepping without looking up and turning away to head towards the camp entrance. She felt a few encouraging or congratulatory tails and noses brush against her flanks, but she didn't say a word. All she could manage was a low growl as she fought tears and slipped out to be on her own.