The orangutan jumped from tree to tree, clutching the precious bundle tighter. The panthers below her were trying to catch her scent. A barn owl above spotted her and pointed her out to the panthers below. They roared and gave chase, oh no they were quickly gaining ground. She moved even faster trying to make it in time. She had to get this package to the rebel base. The base had been made by humans and had medicine, information, weapons, and safety. Her wounds throbbed, and ached, screaming in pain.

"Just a little farther." she whispered desperately. This package was so
important, it could change the tide of the war. She ran until she saw a forest then ran faster, deep in the forest, bobbing and weaving, untill she was sure she had lost the panthers. She climbed up into a tree, then began swinging from tree to tree, until dropping into an inconspicuous section of the woods. She pulled a tree branch, and she fell into the base of the resistance. Animals started running forward looking at her wounds. Her golden orange fur was matted with blood. A puddle soon began forming on the wood floor, soaking deep into the wood.

"Let's get her to the healers," a voice shouted. "Clear a path." It was the leader of the resistance Aaira, the Golden tiger, her best friend. A gorilla draped the small orangutan on her back. "Are you alright Amari?" she asked. "Can someone please clean up the blood?" she said to the crowd. Aaira started running towards the healers, trying to go fast without being uncomfortable to the poor orangutan. She hoped she could make it in time.

"Never been better," she grunted, "Actually it's pretty bad, sorry that was a bad joke"
"Don't worry, Brooj and Bronwyn will take care of you" She said softly, but her anxiety leaked into her voice.
"Ugh their pastes and ointments taste and smell disgusting" she chuckled
"They taste better than death"
"I'm not sure about that" Amari's voice was fading.
"Stay with me, you can't die" Aaira's voice was nervous, would Amari be alright?
'I've got the package, I made sure to keep it safe." Amari's voice was quiet, there was almost no strength left in it. Aaira's eyes filled with tears of joy. Everything she worked for in the rebellion led up to this moment.
"Now we have a chance."
~
Aaira took the package and carefully unwrapped the cloth bundle, inside
a small cry escaped from the tiny human child inside. "We will name her Odea after the heroes of old, for she will save us from our oppression . We will take back our kingdom!" The crowd went wild. The baby was the key to take back the kingdom because humans were great warriors and smart, they could build almost anything, only now Odea was the only one left, for the lion king Rocco had ordered his assassins to kill all the humans. The resistance had barely managed to save Odea, almost at the cost of Amari's life. Many others had died trying to protect the humans. Even though her life was saved she would never fight in battle again, her injuries were too severe. So Aaira had a new job for her: to train the child to be a warrior, a hard task it may be, she knew her best friend could do it. She picked up Odea very carefully and brought her over to where Huda the munchkin cat and Harlyn the Havanese sat with some other young children. Kits and pups crowded around the beloved leader.

"Hi Huda and Harlyn! Would you mind babysitting till Amira gets back on her
feet?" Aaira asked,
"Sure thing Aaira, what's her name?" Harlyn yipped excitedly,
"Her name is Odea, and thank you so much," Aaira replied hurriedly, she had to start planning the next attack against the king.

Aaira set Odea down and rushed away towards her den. Her den was
usually the quietest place in their base, which is why she liked it so much, but the only problem was, it was far away from the main area of the base, so the journey there was slow. First she went through a passageway that lead to the eating center, then she went back towards the food preparation area so she could get to the garden. Once in the garden she had to go through some vines which lead to a secret door, that was where they kept their pure water, which was said to grow any plant and to keep any creature hydrated for weeks on end. Finally Aaira padded through one last secret door which lead to a very long hallway, at the end of that hall was her den.

Aaira walked into her den over to the sanded area, that was where she
planned attacks. Aaira quickly sketched a map of the "King's" castle, which she previously lived in, that was a big advantage for them. Aaira knew that place like the back of her paw. She knew that the southern wall was weaker than the others, so she would aim for that wall.

Once they got through that wall they would aim for the guards, that way they could take out the main way of defence, which was important, as soon as the guards were all gone, they could get the king, Rocco, her best friend, that all changed when he killed his brother. That was in the past, now Aaira wanted back her throne, and she wanted her old friend back, not the murderous blood thirsty lion Rocco is now. Anyways they would capture Rocco, and throw him in the dungeon, then they would decide what to do with him. Personally Aaria thought he should be executed for his crimes, but she would give him a fair trial.

Aaira rushed out of her den, down the hall, through the pure water storage area, out into the garden, and back into the food preparation area, this time she rushed up some stairs that lead to a high ledge for meetings. She quickly beckoned a passenger pigeon towards her to spread the news of a meeting. She asked the pigeon if there was any news from Moley, he shook his head sadly, the mole had been silenced. Aaria felt the stab in her heart, another one of her friends was dead, the number was always increasing, it seemed like it was increasing too fast.

Soon every creature was gathered around the rock,she took a deep breath and started to speak:
"Soon we are going to be in a battle, and I know a lot of you are wishing that you never signed up, but you are here, we need you, the world needs you. We have had many losses, but they died fighting for what they believed in, fighting for a future without hate, without bloodshed, one where there is equality and rights. A future to make the world a better place. So if you want to go back home where the future includes all of those the door is that way" No creature moved a muscle. "We must honor their sacrifice and fight for our future, for our future and our children's future. We must be the ones to make a change, to sacrifice, so that our children, and our children's children don't have to." Everyone's voices raised up in a cheer, everyone was ready, everyone wanted to fight and help. Aaria had tears in her eyes, remembering those who died and seeing the spirit of those here now, she only wished that this never would have happened.

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