Anton and Oana arrived at the chief's hut as the sun was sitting high in the sky. The guards noticed how weak Anton looked and how Oana was struggling to keep him up and took him from Oana's grasp. They rushed inside where Dragomir was speaking to two other tribe members. He looked up in surprise at the sudden entrance and his eyes widened at Anton.

He stood up quickly and ordered the two tribe members out. Once they were out, he motioned for the guards to place Anton down on his bed. He turned to Oana and asked her, "What happened to him?"

Oana held her hands together and quickly looked over at Anton before answering him. "We went to the fall and I was seeing if he could have the visions as the prophecy said."

"Did he?"

Oana nodded. "He did, but it made him weak. He was kept in the vision for too long, father." She hugged herself tightly as she walked over to him. "It was my fault for keeping him there too long." She knelt in front of him where he sat and reached up to wipe the hair out of his face. "I should have brought him out sooner, but if I did he would not have seen what he witnessed."

Dragomir looked between Anton and Oana, his eyebrows furrowing. "What did he see?"

"He saw Viorel," she answered cautiously.

Dragomir paused. "Viorel? He is alive?"

Oana shrugged her shoulders. "I am not sure what time period of Viorel he saw, but he saw him, Father."

Dragomir looked back at Anton and ordered the guards out of the hut. He motioned for Oana to get a rag and some water. She quickly did as she was told and was soon out of the hut with a bowl clutched in her hands. He walked over to Anton's side and sat down on the bed beside him. "Anton?"

Anton's eyes slowly opened up and he turned his head to look at Dragomir. "Sir?"

Dragomir's feet shifted underneath him. "Who did you see in your vision?"

"The man said his name was Viorel the Great."

Dragomir nodded thoughtfully. "What did he look like?"

Anton recited what he saw of the man to him. Once he was done, Oana came through the entrance of the hut with the bowl in her hands full of water. She hurried over to where Dragomir sat next to Anton.

"Father, give him some space." She motioned for him to bring the table over the side of the bed along with the rag. He did as she wanted him to do and watched as she sat down on the bed next to Anton, moving him so he was laying down, and dabbed his forehead with the wet rag.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I am going to go and take care of other business." He kissed the top of her head. "I will be back later, my dear, and I will ask him more questions." He turned and walked out of the hut.

--------------------------

Anton felt the coolness of water being dabbed on his forehead. He sighed and began to relax again. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He was with Oana's bright blue orbs staring concerning down at him.

She sighed in relief. "Good thing you are awake." He didn't even realize that he had fallen asleep. She took the rag off of his forehead and placed it in the water bowl.

Anton sat up and leaned on his elbows as he watched her wring the rag out of the water until it was damp enough to her liking. He let her come nearer to place the rab back on his forehead. His strength was starting to come back to him.

Oana wiped the remaining water off of his forehead and placed the rag back in the bowl. She took the bowl and walked through the entrance and poured the water out. She walked back in and sat down next to him.

He sat all the way up and flung his legs over the side of the bed. He smiled at Oana. "Thanks."

"You are welcome," Oana smiled back at him. Anton smiled as he saw her blush slightly before turning away. He started to reach out to touch her hand when Dragomir stormed into the hut. Anton quickly brought his hand down to his side and moved a little away from Oana.

Something was wrong. Dragomir was in a fury. His face was flushed and he kept pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself.

Oana stood up and walked over to stop her father. "Father? What is wrong?"

"Viorel is alive," he spat out. "There had been sightings of a large jaguar roaming the jungle, but no one had ever thought it to be Viorel. The descriptions Anton gave me were definitely him."

Anton cleared his throat nervously and got Dragomir's attention. "I'm sorry, but who is Viorel the Great?"

Dragomir closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Viorel was the son of the first of our kind to be taken by the utoshie. He wanted revenge for his father, so he trained as a warrior and became the best his tribe had ever seen. After he came of age to participate in a war, he gathered up a group of warriors and traveled to where the utoshie's lived. He thought he would bring revenge on his father, but all he got was shame. All his warriors were killed and somehow he managed to escape with his life. When he came back to his tribe, they shunned him. They sent him away, making sure he never returned to them. He went from tribe to tribe, hoping that one of them would take him in, but none did. He was left without a tribe to call home. With shame, he ran deep into the jungle and was never seen again. No one knows what happened to him, but now we might." Dragomir stood in front of Anton. "Can you remember exactly where you traveled?"

Anton thought for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but everything was moving too fast for me to get a good look at my surroundings. The only landmark I was truly able to see was a large cave."

Dragomir stood up fast and went to the entrance. "Then I will have scouts searching every cave in the jungle. I will also alert the other tribes." He stopped with his hand on the makeshift door. "Oana, your Uncle Manuel will be in charge while I am gone."

"Are you going to inform the other tribes yourself?" Oana asked him.

Dragomir nodded. "Yes. They need to hear it from me rather than one of my messengers." He kissed her forehead and smiled down at her. "I will be back soon, my dear. Do not let that boy out of your sight." He nodded once to Anton before leaving the hut, barking out orders at his guards.

Anton watched Oana carefully as she stared at the entrance. She wasn't moving for a while before she started shaking all over. Anton looked around him to find a blanket lying underneath the bed. He unfolded it and placed it around Oana's shoulders, but that didn't seem to help her uncontrollable shaking. He turned her around to face him.

"Oana? What's wrong?" He asked her with both of his hands on her shoulders.

"It has been a long time since he left me," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What?"

Oana looked up at Anton. Her eyes were glossy as if tears were threatening to come out. "When my mother died, Father promised to stay by my side so nothing would happen to me. That was twelve years ago. I am not used to the protective feeling being gone."

Anton sighed and wrapped her in a hug. "What if I promised to protect you while he's gone?"

"You will do that?"

Anton smiled down at her and nodded. "Of course, I will. I may not be as strong as your father or be able to morph into anything, but I will protect you."

Oana hugged him and he felt the shivers fade from her body. He held her for a while before saying to her, "So, what should we do now?"

Oana shrugged. She thought for a moment while pulling off the blanket. She folded the blanket back up and placed it on top of the bed. Turning back to him, she smiled. "How about we go back to the fall?"

Anton smiled back. "All right."

Oana motioned for him to follow her as she exited the hut. They ran through the jungle until they were met with the fall. Anton looked at the water and wondered if he could do another vision. He sat down and reached his hand out to disturb the water when Oana's hand reached out to grab his.

"I would not do any more after what happened to you," she told him gently. She sat down beside him but didn't let go of his hand.

He brought his hand back from the water and squeeze hers. He started when he heard a growl from behind him. He turned around to see four leopards coming out of the dense jungle.

Oana placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. She then turned to the leopards and told them, "Not today." They nodded their large heads and took off back through the jungle.

Anton looked at Oana and asked, "Not today? What does that mean?"

"It means that I will not run with them today." She looked down at the water. "All the young unmated Morphers run in the middle of the day when the sun is at its peak. When we run, we are able to feel the connection better and be able to find our mate."

"Why don't you go run with them?" He asked her slowly. "I'll be fine." He didn't want her to go.

Oana shook her head. "No. I have not run for a couple of weeks now. Father says it is unhealthy for me, but I just have not had the strength to change. I know I should, but I want to learn what Father has to do - how to run the tribe. I believe that Father is scared to let me become the leader."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Ever since Mother died, Father has been very protective over me. I think he is afraid of letting me go more than anything."

Anton was silent for a moment before asking, "Do you want to go run?"

Oana shook her head. "No. Besides, I cannot let you out of my sight." She looked at him and smiled. "Father told me not to."

"Well," he started as he stood up. "What if I go run with you? That way I'm not out of your site and you can still run."

Oana thought about it for a while before smiling even wider. "Sure." She grabbed onto his outstretched hand and let him help her up. "I know a perfect place."