[ set before bucky/winter soldier joins snowbound! ]

The maine coon had a feeling he took the wrong direction. He was heading up a side of a cliff, last time he checked he and Jonah weren't suppose to be going this way. Bucky had left Tanglewood a few days ago, he had decided that it wasn't fit for him and his little brother. He thought they could search for a new home, he thought it would have ended up well for them. What he hadn't expected was for him to accidentally take the wrong turn, and then when he looked over his shoulder, to notice Jonah was no where in sight. Panic almost instantly rose in Buckingham's eyes. His eyes even dilated for a moment, to something that he knows as the Winter Soldier. Buckingham hasn't had the best life, for a part of it was extremely rough. Someone made him their 'Winter Soldier', made him into a living weapon and killing machine. For months now he has been trying to overcome it, but without the help he needs, he has been relapsing quite often. And now, these relapses have been happening more and more often, and it was sad to say that Bucky didn't think as much on the matter.

"Jonah! Jonah! Where are you?" The maine coon called out with a desperate voice, eyes dilating to slits when he didn't get an answer. Ears pinning back to his head, the male was too far focused on his missing brother then his surroundings. The tom, who is generally quite alert, didn't pick up the unfamiliar scent and pawsteps. "Goddamn it Jonah- where did you go?" He called out with a more cold, demanding voice that was far more recognizable as the Winter Soldier. The tom began to search around, but then came to a complete stop when he heard an eerie laugh from behind. "Well, look who it is boys! The one and only, Buckingham Barnes!" Almost instantly, the maine coon swirled around, to see a great dane, a wolf, and a lion standing before him. His eyes widened slightly, shock filling his chest as he wondered, When did they show up? Why didn't I notice their scents?

Before Bucky could even say a word, it was the lion that spoke up again. "Well, it certainly seems like Barnes isn't at the top of his game, now is he?" The lion grinned, and the wolf nodded it's head in agreement. "Yeah, I thought this guy was suppose to be super alert or something." And with that, the three began to slowly pad towards him, the great dane letting out a growl, "That's what we were warned of, apparently he was quite alert and strong for his size."

They were warned of him? What for? He wasn't even aware he was that well known of an assassin! He began to take a slight step back, as thoughts began to run through his head, trying to think of strategies on how to fight these guys. Bucky believed he had the fight in him to fight off all three of these opponents. He didn't really think much of it otherwise, as his lip curled into a snarl, and he went pouncing at the wolf.

The wolf merely smirked and smacked Bucky into into a tree half way through pouncing. A gasp escaped Bucky's mouth, as soon as he fell to the ground after his back hit the trunk of the tree fair and square, ears pricking up at pawsteps getting closer to him. "What an idiot," Came the growling voice of the great dane, as it lunged for Bucky, who was still getting back up onto his feet. Bucky barely had the time to scramble out of the way, eyes widening with surprise as he almost rammed into the wolf. Bucky began to stumble back on his paws, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid the wolf's sharp canine teeth. The wolf had lunged forward, managing to get a firm grip on bucky's right shoulder, digging it's pearly whites deeply into his fur.

Eyes widened with pain and shock, the male let out a yell of pain, and a yell of surprise when he was suddenly brought into the air- apparently, he was quite easy to lift. Bucky tried so desperately to dig his claws into the wolf's eyes, the wolf released him, the male falling roughly to the ground. He fell on his side, dust rising into the air as his body made contact with the ground. He began to get up on his paws when he felt a sudden kick in his gut, causing the male to go flying. He landed a few yards away, his body coming to a stop near the edge of the cliff. He was lucky he didn't fall off that cliff, but he was pretty damn close to it. A groan escaping his lips, the male lifted his head, to see the large, muscular lion calmly padding over to him. Bucky curled his lip into a snarl as the lion got close, but it didn't seem to mind. The lion put it's paw onto Buckingham's head, keeping the assassin firmly on the ground. "You weren't suppose to be so easy to fight, I wasn't expecting you to be thrown around like a rag doll." The menacing voice came out of the lion, the lion slowly digging it's claws into his skull, Bucky letting out a silent, cry of pain as he felt his blood run down his face. "I'm disappointed, I was looking forward to go a good fight, especially with your Soldier side."

They know about that? He thought to himself as his eyes widened with shock, but the lion didn't seemed phased by Bucky's surprise. "Did you think we didn't know about it? We were ordered to kill you after all, and after the stories we heard, we didn't want to go in here blind."

Bucky's heart was beating in his chest, he could hear his heart pumping in his throat. There was only one person he could think of that sent these guys to kill him- but Bucky thought his capturer died a long time ago. Maybe Bucky really was more well known as an assassin than he thought he was. He didn't get to think much more on the possibilities, as the lion spoke up again. "Enough talk, time for us to complete our job."

And then, suddenly, the lion was harshly shoving Bucky to the edge of the cliff that he laid so close to. Realizing what was going on, Bucky tried to dig his claws into the earth, tried to protest and demand them to stop, but none of it worked. The lion ended up kicking him off the edge, stopping any attempts Bucky had to save himself from such a fate.

Bucky fell down the cliff with a blood curling scream, and then he slammed into the ground. His head slammed into a large, hard rock- which caused his brain inside his skull to rattle back and forth, the maine coon falling unconscious instantly. Looking quite satisfied at the top of the cliff, the lion, the wolf, and the great dane ran off.

----

A loud, painful groan escaped the maine coon's mouth as he opened his blue eyes, feeling his head pounding. Hours have past since the male got ambushed, and he had been laying on the ground of the ravine, head bleeding, as well as some other wounds. Unfortunately, while Bucky looked quite alright, he just had a few wounds on his head and body. It seems like a miracle, but that's far from the case. The male can't remember why he's down here, he can't remember why his head was pounding with pain, and most importantly, he couldn't remember nearly anything. There were only two things in his head: Buckingham(Bucky) Barnes, and the Winter Soldier. Those both sounded like names, but there's a problem that comes with it. He wasn't sure which name belongs to him. Buckingham Barnes sounded like quite the mouthful to say, and Winter Soldier sounded cold, quick, and to the point. They both felt like they could fit him, but he wasn't sure which one belonged to him. He guesses he'll just have to think more about it after he learns where he is, right?

The amnesiac, confused assassin got himself onto his shaky paws, and then stumbled out of the ravine, confusion running wild in his blank head.

[ 1,409 words ]