For the third time, Joshua was punted up from his seat, unable to stop bouncing in the carriage. Since the moment he had stepped into the carrier, the ride was like being dropped inside wooden a barrel, and then pushed off to roll down a steep hill. There was a loud bump, and Joshua clenched his teeth to not bite his tongue as the carriage went over another rock.

Joshua grumbled, falling on his back. After the swap, both princes would then be taken to a direct meeting with the king; and because of this, Joshua moaned in discomfort at his formal clothing. All of his soft ankle and wrist wraps were replaced with luxurious, but stiff violet fabric; his simple overshirt and pants were switched with a burgundy tunic and stiff and itchy dark grey pants; and of course, there was the extra kilo of ceremonial golden jewelry clipped around his ankles, wrists, fingers, neck, ears, hair... the little prince looked prim and endearing, but the only thing that looked somewhat "endearing" to Joshua was the blueish mountain peak in the distance, the site of the exchange, where he would finally leave his bumpy transport. 

Given his situation, it would've been expected for Joshua to dread his mission. The young tiger's irises contracted, thinking back to his father with his advisors, and the guilty, grim faces they bore as Joshua learned of his fate.

It's a mistake to say that Joshua took it all in easily, because he was definitely trembling as the agreement's conditions became clear.

I'm being traded off. 

It was as if the whole room had filled with water, flooding all sounds into soft muffles. Joshua didn't panic or collapse, he only stood still, his feline irises dilating so that his eyes looked almost all black. 

"Joshua, if there was any other way, the council and I would never let you go to the humans. But we're pressed for time...I'm so sorry..."

At the sorrowful yet gentle tone of his father's voice, Joshua finally broke away from his trance. The young tiger tossed his arms around the king, who had kneeled down to embrace his son, for what may be the last they'll share in a long time.

Right after noon, Joshua climbed onto the back of Joo Hyun, a bear from a neighboring tribe. Joshua was to stop at various check points and switch transportation. Thanks to a bunch of noisy gossip birds, nearly every beast species knew of the tiger prince's mission, and numerous tribes wanted to show their gratitude. The equestrian beasts were the last, and Joshua was soon to leave his region's borders. 

The little tiger stared aimlessly at the roof of the carrier, his head occasionally shaking side to side at his bumpy ride. Maybe that was how he noticed the little scratch mark on the roof, slowly growing bigger and more jagged, until a small claw poked through.

"Huh?"

"WhooaAA-OOF!!" The ceiling split open, letting a furball with a fluffy striped tail tumble into the prince's carrier. 

"Dino!" Joshua cheered.

The little racoon shook the lint from his fluffy fur before slowly morphing back into his human form. "Okey-dokey. Nana's probably noticed the two blankets I took out of that crate... but sheesh...staying cooped in a basket for nearly a week, hopefully I don't ever need to do that again," the boy gasped, reaching up into hole he just fell from to retrieve his clothing.

Joshua's jaw dropped, "Wait, you've been up there ever since we left the valley?" 

The rumbling in Dino's belly was more than enough for an answer. After popping his shirt over his head, the little raccoon bashfully hugged his stomach.

"When I change into a raccoon, I don't nred to eat all the time like a human, and because I worry less about grub, I can stay hidden longer. Pretty neat, am I right?" Dino jokingly laughed, his voice coming to a stop as his growling stomach started to roar.

Joshua giggled, patting the spot beside him for his little friend to sit down, "Going beast mode to save energy, isn't that a trick Mingyu taught to us?" He pulled a small wrapped package from beneath his bejeweled tunic, "Want some biscuits from the horse tribe?"

Dino picked up a speckled, bumpy biscuit, sniffing it carefully, "How is it?"

Joshua broke off a piece, the baked flour mixture crumbling like clay, "It's not as bad as it looks. Imagine Nana's oatmeal, but a hundred times drier."

As they nibbled away, the carrier started to slow down.

"Prince Joshua, we'll be arriving shortly. We recommend getting yourself ready about now."

Joshua frowned, trying to get enough moisture back into his mouth so that he could actually respond. A prince isn't the most familiar with domestic work,  so instead of packing things carefully like Nana had bugged him over, the boy dumped everything into his knapsack and pulled the string shut. 

Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something? 

Sitting against a corner,  Dino kept munching away at the biscuits, crumbs raining onto his shirt. Joshua narrowed his eyes, "Dino, does anyone know that you're with me right now?"

It took a while for Dino to swallow then talk, "Well, they should by now. I left Nana a note next to the blankets that were originally in the box I hid in."

"Will they let you come with me to the palace?"

The two boys suddenly grew very silent. 

 Wonwoo POV

It was almost midday when we saw the carrier pull in, although it looked rather awkward to have four horses pull a tiger prince in a raw tree and wicker carrier over a bumpy mountain. I was right to delay our departure, or else we might've been waiting two days for those beasts to arrive. 

One of the horses ducked beneath his reins, his equestrian form slowly changing. I could hear tense whispers from some our crewmen as the horse's mane receded in length, the shape of body morphing into that of a man's. His clothing were likely meant to conform with his changes, since none of his clothes looked stretched or damaged, even after being put on a horse's body.

With the opposing side ready to proceed, I turned to our own prince, who was probably on the verge of fainting. The way he wouldn't stop messing with the edge of his vest was very vexing, but then, I couldn't blame him for acting this way. It was his father, the King's decision. Even I was the one who passed on this foolish idea to the beastial tribes...

Hopefully this farce will give us enough time to find him before it's too late.

"Are you ready, sire?"

That shook him back to life. He stumbled slightly on his way down, then cleared out his throat before brushing his long vest smooth. We're supposed to leave our peace with the beast race in his hands, but his forced composure wasn't killing my doubts, nor my subordinates. Dressing him with velvet cloaks did make him look luxurious; if only his character was too.

"Alright. Ready..."

It took this prince some coaxing to get him from the ship platform onto the ground. His fingers seemed to snag onto my sleeve. Patience is certainly a virtue, because like how all virtuous things come to an end, mine was wearing very thin.

"Captain Wonwoo?

 It was the horseman, and the tiger prince trailing behind him. His shiny white and black hair looked like silver beneath the sunlight. Posh and prim, I almost mistook the prince for a living toy figure until I saw a squirming ball of fur in his arms. As the prince came closer, the fluff ball popped its head out, starring back at me with two round black circle eyes.

"It's a pleasure to have you, Prince Joshua." I bowed down, probably a little lower than usual to compensate for the young prince's height. As I got closer, the raccoon in the prince's arms wiggled into the folds of his clothing.

Before our prince could climb onto the beast tribe carrier, the little tiger caught his hand, and shoved a wooden tag between his fingers. I couldn't hear what he had whispered to our prince, but whatever it was made his nerves calm down, and suprisingly, smile before he boarded the beast's carrier.

"That was just a tag with my name on it. There's a persian cat called Nana back home, and if she sees the tag, she'll take care of the prince ," the boy said when I asked. I was a little struck, for looking like a ten year old, Prince Joshua was quite mannerful.

The boy suddenly came to a stop, his wide eyes becoming full circles, his irises contracting as he stared up at our transport. 

"What is that?"

I stopped with him, looking up at the massive aircraft. The main structure was a hundred meter riveted box of metal alloys, but it was easily overshadowed by the humongous floater, which loomed over us like a cloud. 

"Our inventors call it a dirigeable balloon, we just call it an airship, never seen one before?" I explained as we made our way up the boarding ramp and into the main launch room. I made sure to pinch onto the prince's collar, keeping him with me while he lost himself in awe. 

"Only in pictures. I always thought it was maybe the size of an elephant, but it's as big as a sky whale!" He excitedly looked around the entrance, which stretched out into long hallways and narrow corridors. 

Never in my life have I had to deal with an overly active cub of a child. Joshua stopped every the three steps to take in the sights before I had to drag him away. On our way to the passenger's area, I only just notice the misfortune that awaits me. To the prince, it was like finding a treasure room. 

Steam gusted around the boiler room, the sound of ship crew shouting orders and grunting as they wrenched knobs and pulled levers, making the large boiling cylinders sing and toot out hot, pressured vapor.

"Young sire, if you would please move on..."

When we finally arrived at the passenger room, I could see the ship captain and navigator, relaxed as they slowly turned away from the large room window. Outside, the ground was still in sight. 

"Hello Prince Joshua, welcome aboard." The ship captain greeted, rising from his seat to approach us. The navigator followed closely behind. 

"While I'd like to stay and talk, it's time to set off. Himchan, you can stay here, I'm heading to the control room." 

"Well, I apologize Prince Joshua, but our captain is a busy man. Please, take a seat." Himchan offered, guiding Joshua to the seats by the large window, Wonwoo standing close by. The roar of the ships engines shook ground beneath their feet. Joshua panicked, jumping from the floor as if it were lava. Wonwoo could see the hairs by Joshua's ears fluff up in tension, his tail stiff in terror while the frightened catish boy dig his fingers into the seat.

"Our captain can be quite passionate when piloting Youngguk. He says it brings him back to the day when he was the captain of a whaler vessel," Himchan smiled, finding the suprised prince amusing. It took a minute from Joshua to set his rear onto the seat. 

"Youngguk, what's a Youngguk?"

 A server wheeled in a tin cart, the sound of tea cups clinking on their plates in sync with the cart's stiff wheels. "Why, Youngguk is this airship you are riding. The name comes from the last whale in our captain's whaling career, or at least, that's what he wants you to believe." Himchan gave an exhausted smile, pouring himself a cup of tea. "Not only did Captain Daehyun not catch "Youngguk", his ship got smashed in the middle of the sea, spent two months on a deserted island, and-"

"Where did the earth go?!"

"Pardon me?"

Joshua leapt onto the ground, rushing to the large window, which only showed a wall of blue with a few clouds. He pressed his hands against the window, and then he looked down...

Joshua's outburst had befuddled the two men. Wonwoo cautious walked to the window and the prince.

"Well, we are in an air ship, young sire. We also fly up this far to avoid any collisions with mountains, so..." Wonwoo stopped, frowned, waved his hand in front of Joshua's face...uh oh...

"Hey Himchan, aren't cats usually not scared of heights?"

"They shouldn't be, what's the matter?"

Joshua collapsed backwards, Wonwoo quickly catching him. 

"I think our little cat prince has fainted here."

Joshua woke up to a low gray ceiling, his body covered by a warm yet itchy blanket. The room was small, with two beds mounted against a wall. All of Joshua's things were stacked in a corner, and there was a small desk in another corner. 

Now alone, Joshua disrobed. He unclipped all the chains he could, sighing as the weight was finally lifted off his body. He then reached back to untie his sash. This proved more difficult as the young Prince scratched at the tight knot, struggling to loosen the bonds. At last, he admitted to defeat. 

"Dino, could you help me untie my...Dino!"

A door unhatched, Wonwoo quickly looking in. "Is everything all right, sire?"

Joshua moved like a wooden soldier, his limbs stiff with worry. 

"Umm...have you seen my...raccoon?"

"Joshua...help me..."

Curled up in a corner, a little raccoon trembled in fear, tightly curled up into his protective furball. The echos of metal and steam hosed around him. 

 This chap took WAY TOO LONG! Ugh, and there's still so much of the story left....(will edit in the future, but plz point out any big issues\>_)

Thank you all for being so patient! My life is filled with nothing but deadlines right now....sigh, the life of a senior....

Since my college apps are finally out of the way, i hope i can update more often! 

P.S. I'm really into drawing, and i already have a few designs ready. Really soon, I'll post links on my dashboard/ blog/ idk but it's the main page, I'm technology deficient. 

 So long for now ^^

 (Song rec: jero and dok2's paradise has been really climbing up my faves recently)