The Luna and her Quadruplet Pups by Jane Above Story

3rd Person

The pups screamed in terror as the giant snake pursued them through the jungle, moving far faster than they thought should be possible. Their shifter bodies were fast, but they were still only children and struggling to get through the unfamiliar terrain. The anaconda on the other hand, was a native and had no problem navigating the complex terrain and thick vegetation of the forest floor. It surged through exotic botanicals, leaf litter and fallen trees, while the pups stumbled and scrambled to escape.

Riley, Parker and Ryder caught up to Paisley after a few moments, and grabbed her hands, tugging her forward to prevent her from falling behind. The snake was only a few feet behind them when a strange rumbling noise filled the air, punctuated by violent cracks and the soaked earth shaking all around them.

what is that?” Riley shouted.

“Another storm?” Ryder guessed.

“No, this sounds different!” Parker yelled over the rising cacophony.

“1 think-” Paisley gasped, struggling to fill her lungs with air as she pushed her heart farther than it had ever been pushed before, “I think is a earthquake!”

As the words left her mouth, the ground beneath their feet gave out, sweeping all four pups away down the side of a steep ridge, and leaving the snake far behind. The children cried out as they were carried away, not realizing that this was not an earthquake, but a landslide brought on by all the heavy rain. They also had no way of knowing how lucky they were to be at the top of the muddy cascade, far lighter than all the rocks and muck flowing downhill and clearing the path in front of them.

By the time they finally slowed, rolling to a stop on a mound of destruction, they were covered in bumps and bruises, but ultimately unharmed. They shakily looked up the hill they’d just been forced to descend, their mouths dropping open when they saw the vertical clearing the mudslide had wrought in the middle of the forest. A huge swath of barren clay was framed between towering trees on either side and even as they watched, a huge tree topped over into the glade, no longer supported by its roots – which were somewhere beneath the pups. When it hit the earth, a bevy of ripered fruits were dislodged from its branches, and rolled down the hill.

The pups blinked as a pile of mangoes collected around them, and after exchanging a few glances, immediately snatched them up and began scarfing down the fruit. After a few moments of chewing the delicious yellow flesh, Paisley lifted her head and gasped for air.”That was Cwazy.”

“You can say that again.” Ryder agreed, r!pping off another chunk of juicy fruit with his sharp canines.

“Where are we?” Riley asked, gazing around in confusion as her claws peeled the skin away from her second mango.

“1 dunno Parker sighed, swallowing a particularly large bite. “but I think we’re even more lost than before.

Meanwhile back on the ship, Ethan stopped by the galley to pick up the items the medic had suggested for Jane’s stomach, before heading to Eric’s rooms. Of course, he had no way of knowing he was about to interrupt an intimate moment.

for the first time since the pups disappeared. They’d never been close the way Eric and Jane were, but every time they met over the years Linda liked him more and more. It had finally reached a point where Linda had to acknowledge she was in love with him – to herself if not anyone else. She knew he only had eyes for Jane, but no matter what she tried, she

feeling Jane wasn’t going to give up that easily” Eric had said,

surprised Ethan didn’t see

Jane made me

exclaimed, his eyes

the sight.” She recalled, shaking her head, “But she’s a determined little thing,

don’t think she’s “my” Jane anymore.” Eric grimaced. “I’m pretty sure I burned that

nodded in understanding, “It’s true, you might not ever go back to the way things were, but the way things were wasn’t

of his neck. “I don’t really want to spend the rest of my life chasing someone

gets any

it’s also a hard pattern to break. If we could choose who

life would be a

how strongly she felt about him, but she believed he at least suspected her feelings weren’t entirely platonic. It was an astonishingly nerve-wracking experience to have this conversation with

so surprised she backed away. It wasn’t until she saw him peering into the cramped staff cabin, frowning in disapproval, that she realized this had been his attention all along. “You can’t

shrugged.”Sure I can, we

huffed a laugh, “I mean it’s tiny and smells of sick, you should come stay in my

before

luggage – not so much as asking before he carted it out of the room and up

just make that decision for

objected, hurrying

should stay in that dingy little room when there’s a comfortable

in the same room with you and not being able to touch you or tell you how I feel will be utter torture. Linda thought to herself. Of course, saying this out loud was not an option and what’s more, she couldn’t think of a decent excuse. “1…

outside the door to his suite with a guilt-stricken expression. When he looked at Linda, she almost thought there was fear

amazed he could ever think such a thing. “Eric -I don’t hate