The picture above is of Sego and Astor. I should really add some character descriptions! Until then, please comment if you've forgotten or want to know what a character looks like. I'll describe them best I can or draw them.

I could hear some one coming towards me. I stiffened in fear when I caught the pungent aroma of the shifter. He was with Negrita.

I saw them as they crossed over the ridge. The shifter had the pelt and stance of Hawk, but his eyes gleamed ruthlessly. I didn't understand how Negrita could stand by him so calmly.

"Astor! Where have you been?" Negrita asked.

"Went exploring too far, eh?" The shifter said. His voice was similar to Hawk's, but it was obviously just a bad impression.

"Oh look, you're all cut up! And you're limping!" Negrita said as he rushed to me.

"I-He isn't-" I started, but The shifter cut me off.

"Where have you been? We'd assumed you were on one of your, nightly walks, but when you didn't return we started to get a little worried. Good thing we came looking for you!"

"Negrita, you can't-"

"Let's get him back home, shall we? You must have had a busy night and you should get your rest." The shifter said. He rushed to my other side, but I jumped away in disgust. I wouldn't touch that filth even if I was dead.

"Don't-don't-don't touch me," I stuttered. "I can get home myself. Get away from me!"

"Woah, Astor," Negrita said. He licked my ears gently, which did nothing to settle my nerves. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm sure if we get him back to camp he'll be fine. Let's go before it gets too hot." The shifter said.

I wanted to scream. That imposter couldn't be trusted! I wanted to kick and yell and wail the truth, but I was so scared. The only thing I could do was lean on Negrita's shoulder as they took me back. I couldn't help but growl when the shifter tried to support my other shoulder.

"Stay away," I hissed.

"All right, whatever you say." The shifter said. Was he grinning?

"Astor, what has gotten into you?" Negrita asked. "I thought you two were friends."

We were, I thought. that monster isn't my friend.

<----•••---->

The tribe was awakening slowly, as normal. It was too normal.

Hare trotted up to me. "Astor! My baby!"

I ran (well, it was more like violently flopping) to her. I hated it when she called me baby, but I hated that shifter far more. She felt warm and comfortable.

"Where did you find him?" She asked.

"Out it the desert, not too far from camp." Negrita said. "He was limping."

"Oh, dear," Hare muttered. She licked the blood off my chin and my neck. "What have you gotten yourself into this time, boy?"

I didn't answer.

"Hey! He's back!" Bat yipped from the bottom of the hollow. She was eating breakfast with the others.

They nodded and said hello, happy to see I was home. I wasn't very happy.

"He's probably in a bit of shock." The shifter said. "He probably won't say anything till later. Will you, Astor?" He said that last part menacingly, as if it was a threat. I didn't respond at all.

"He should rest. I'll try to figure out what's wrong with him." Hare said. "Come on; let's go to our den."

She ushered me through camp and to our den. Sego said hi, but I didn't say hi back. I didn't know what to say. I had seen her father die, and she was completely oblivious.

They'll see it's not him soon enough. I thought. Even the most dim-witted of roaches would eventually figure out that the shifter and hawk were not the same coyote.

Hare prepared some softer bedding for me consisting of stray feathers and dry grass. She laid me onto the floor gently, minding my back leg. Hare then observed the long cut from my chin to my neck.

"Dear." She said. She opened my mouth gently. "You're lucky you didn't bust a tooth. Your gums are bleeding though. You'll be fine. You won't be able to hide the scar on your chin though; you don't have nearly as much fur there as you do on your big lion's mane."

She chuckled and tugged at my leg, which also felt sore. "Hmm. Does this hurt?" She twisted it upwards and I whimpered. "Seems so. Does this hurt?"

She pulled it back. "Not as much." I said.

"You're not broken. Most likely just a sprain. It will heal, but you'll need a splint. Don't move." She ran out of the cave to get things for a splint.

A moment later Sego came into the den. My head started swimming with emotion; I was so glad she was here, but I didn't know how to explain her dad was dead.

"Are you alright, Astor?" She asked.

I shook my head. "No. I'm not alright. My leg is sprained and I'll have this cut forever."

She giggled, but I wasn't joking. Having a sprain meant no walking, let alone running or hunting.

"I hope you get better." She said. "What happened last night? How did you get hurt?"

I took in a shaky breath. I decided I would tell her the truth. "I was running in the desert, and I tripped and cut my chin on a rock. I saw your father's paw prints in the sand. He looked like he was tracking something. I followed them up and on top of a butte. Hawk was there, talking to a coyote named Snake. I think he was Hawk's brother. They were talking and-"

I was cut off as the shifter walked into the den. His body blocked most of the light from outside. I shivered and backed up in the cave, afraid of what he might do.

"Sego," he purred, "would you mind leaving us alone?"

"Sure, dad." She walked out of the cave.

I was so close to telling someone the truth, and I had been interrupted again by the shifter. He didn't want anyone knowing who he really was.

"Astor." He said darkly, looming over me. His yellow eyes glowed in the dark.

I spat on his foot.

He lifted a paw to strike me, but he held back. I could see that terrible gleam on his face.

He chuckled as he whipped the saliva on the wall. "You seem to know my true form. You aren't fooled like the rest of your dumb tribe."

"What an ugly form it is." I hissed.

"Let's talk things through. Let's avoid violence." The shifter said.

"Because you're all about avoiding violence.

"I do what I must. So don't give me a reason to hurt you."

"You can't hurt me now." I said. "You're the only other one in the cave right now. If you hurt me, they'll know it was you."

"Of course, not now. But revenge is best served cold. A little accident wouldn't be hard to pull.

"But I can tell you don't care if you're hurt. You'd die for your tribe. You'd do anything to let them know a menace like me was here! But if something were to happen to Sego-"

"Don't you dare," I hissed, baring my fangs.

"So you do have a weakness." The shifter said. "If you say anything pertaining to my true form, she'll be . . . Removed."

I shuttered. My heart missed a few beats.

"You'd best keep quiet, then. We wouldn't want any accidents." He left the den as Hare came by.

She was carrying a bundle of leaves and sticks from a bush.

"Did Hawk come to say hello?" She asked, setting the stick against my leg.

"Yeah." I said. "He did."

<----•••---->

I was mad.

Hare wouldn't let me do anything for myself. I missed out on a whole day of work. There was nothing I wanted more than to run forever, burning away my worries.

And the shifter wouldn't let me talk.

When I decided to come out far later in the day, I noticed the shifter hadn't left on any patrols. He was sitting in Hawk's cave, eating dozens of desert mice.

I sat by Bat in the shade. I usually sat alone, but I enjoyed her company. It made me feel safer.

"You've finally emerged!" She said, quite chipper. "I've been wondering what happened to your leg. Is it broken?"

The shifter glared at me from up in his cave, threatening me with his yellow eyes.

"No." I said. "I tripped and sprained it."

"You know, one time I sprained my wrist. I was out hunting with my cousin Creek . . ."

She continued in conversation. I would just nod and shrug when it seemed appropriate. Her stories, although boring, helped to get my mind off things.

After her third or fifth story I said goodbye, grabbed a lizard and limped to my cave. I hadn't realized how hungry I was. It was stripped clean in a few moments.

A patrol came back; Sego was with them. I went outside again to get rid of the bones and talk with Sego.

"Hey Astor." She said wearily. The sun was beginning to set behind her, casting a vibrant light behind her head. She looked tired, but her yellow eyes were still bright.

"Hi." I said, sitting awkwardly with my right leg splayed out.

"You never got to the part where you hurt your leg." She said.

"What?" I said.

"You were telling me what happened last night, but you didn't get to the part where you hurt your leg."

"Oh." I said. "I tripped. Whatever I hit messed it up a bit. How was hunting?"

"I went on a patrol. We went to the Eastern border, so it was terribly boring. It would have been more fun with you." She said.

I blushed a bit. "Yeah, same here."

We sat there silently like dorks till Delta came by. He sat between us.

"Hey guys. Do you know where Chief went? I'm supposed to tell him what happened on our patrol. Hey, guess what happened?"

"What?" Sego said sweetly over her obvious annoyance.

"We were a little over halfway to the western border and we saw a few punks from the Fuego tribe. On our side of the border! We ran up and demanded for them to go back, but without an excuse they started attacking us! I was at the jaws of this huge brown coyote with yellow teeth when the coyote who was fighting Negrita yelled 'stay away! This is our land now! It has been given to us by your leader!' Strange, huh? Hawk would never do something like that!"

"No, he wouldn't." I said quietly.

"Then Negrita bit his ear real hard and flipped him off his chest and said 'Hawk has made no such deals with you scum!' Or something like that." Delta imitated Negrita in his deep, rough voice. "Then the coyote bit his cheek and gave him that nasty cut and said 'This is our territory!' Then he called his guys back and they all left. So weird!"

Delta went on talking about all the little details of his fight with the yellow-toothed coyote. I noticed the shifter was gone. He was nowhere to be found in camp. I hadn't seen him leave.

Not a few minutes had passed when the shifter came into sight over the ridge. He was supporting a tired, injured coyote on his shoulder.

Snake.

The shifter led him down into camp. I felt every one of my caramel furs stick up.

Hare rushed to him. "Who's this?" She asked, assessing the large gouge on his side.

"This is Owl. I found him behind a limestone formation by the Northern border. He's been hurt!"

"It was a dirty, mangy, wendigo!" He cried.

The others gasped, but I didn't believe a word he said. Wendigos weren't real. They were just a story to keep pups out of trouble. But then again, I didn't think shape shifters were real.