The night was still quite new, almost shimmery with a quality that was almost unreal about it. The full moons both looked down over the pathway with a silvery light and a small fire burned off to the side of the road. You approach it very slowly.
At the fire sits an old vixen, hunched with indeterminable ages and the volumes of robes that hang about her. The number of years she's seen is a mystery, well hidden by the fires that light her eyes in clear lucidity. A smile cracks her face at your approach.
Virra croons, "Welcome! Welcome my friend. My fire shall we share? No food have I, but stories. Many stories." Her head lifts and the whisper-hiss between her teeth comes quick. "Do, do sit with old Virra Half-Mask."
Hair thins across her muzzle as many lines draw old scars to her dull rust red fur. It thins in places, but her enthusiasm doesn't. "Tell you tale, I do. A tale, a story! A treasure... of a young girl called Nalae."
Virra wrinkles up her nose, "Who is...? No pranks on old woman, I. Come she from a road long ago traveled. A world of many trees. A world of a clan, of a people gliders all they. In day they move, at night rest, like you. Oh ho!"
Nalae hurries along after Terhi and Alierun as they gather the skipstones from their latest game. With a disappointed sigh, she scoops up the nearest stones and stares at them for a moment. She could have won, if her mind hadn't wandered at just the wrong moment... She glances back over her shoulder again, instinctively, before glancing back towards her friends through the thickening twilight.
Virra croons to you, "Day all, long be. She felt something watch. Gaze. Peer. Something with eyes. And true it be, for curiosity has its price. Intent eyes watch young Nalae with excitement. Young eyes, they be."
Nalae's ears twist and cant towards some far off noise. A giggle? From somewhere nearby, she thinks.. She looks back to her friends, who are still gathering their stones, a short distance off. "..Hear that?"
Alierun looks up and both ears perk forward as she says, "Huh? Hear what? Did they call?" Amid reach for a colored stone.
Terhi scrambles up a tree and purrs, "I didn't hear anything. And the Keeper is calling, time to go back Nalae."
"Eeeh. Hold on, I've got one more to find." Alierun searches under that brush once more. "Blue... blue... oh, here it is!"
Terhi chitters annoyedly and leaps into the air, spreading his limbs so the folds of fur between them pull taut and catch the air as he glides towards the keep.
Nalae takes a half step to join her friends in returning home and to her comfortable lean-to. But she freezes for a moment as that strange sound assaults her ears once more. "I'll catch up.." She turns and scents the air, peering through the thickening darkness and trying to work out where that noise is coming from...
Another giggle and a word that sounds like "Fuzzy!" and a happy squeal can be heard, but only by Nalae.
"Don't stay too long. It's really close to being dark." Alierun warns before taking off. "And you remember what happened *last* time."
Nalae wrinkles her nosepad after Alierun. THAT wasn't her fault, regardless of what the Keeper said. Turning back towards the sound, she takes a few cautious steps in the direction she's fairly certain it was coming from.. She quietly calls, "Hello?"
Virra says, "And with that, was alone left, Nalae, within the growing darkness. Nothing see she could, but feel the tinge of unique magic to the air."
Another giggle and then a happy "eep" as if someone was picked up by someone larger, and the sound goes away.
Nalae pads slowly, as the darkness becomes total. She takes slow, careful steps, her ears alert and scanning for the unusual sounds. After several moments of nothing, she glances back, to reassure herself that the glowlights of home are still at least somewhat visible.
Another call, possibly the last for the night, comes from that now seemingly more distant set of lights and the shadows seem to creep closer.
Nalae twists back around at the noise. She's certain she heard it this time. But after only a few quickened steps towards it, she comes to a stop. "Hello?"
Nalae sighs a bit at the loss of this new treasure.. she can't keep searching in the dark. Especially not with the Keeper, who'll undoubtedly notice her absence within a few minutes and come after her. She slowly turns and bounds back along the path home, knowing each step even in the absence of light.
The Keeper scolds Nalae a bit before guiding her to her pallet.
Nalae settles down onto her pallet, disregarding the Keeper's admonitions (as usual) and settling in for sleep.
It's an odd night. Nalae has many odd dreams. A land where the trees look odd, they have these big flat needles as big as your hand. And big areas where there are no trees, or maybe short trees arranged in lines? And an odd face. Doesn't look like a Marenati. Has really long ears, big eyes, and keeps giggling and saying "Fuzzy" when it looks at Nalae. She tosses and turns in her sleep, the dreams are so real, she can swear she smells the odd short trees.
Nalae stirs tiredly and slowly stretches, raising her handpaws to rub the sleep from her eyes..
The sounds of birds singing in the morning are very close. The sun is shining right on Nalae, and a pungent sweet smell is in the air by her head.
Nalae sniffs a bit and squirms uncomfortably. Something's wrong. She's waking, but the Keeper didn't call her.. or at least, she doesn't remember him calling.. The birdsong is strange.. and the sun? After opening her eyes, she immediately squints to blot out most of the excess light. Her still-sleepy brain struggles to make sense of all the strange sensations.
Rows of short (maybe 4 foot) squat trees go cover several acres where Nalae is waking up. They have broad flat leaves and short oblong orange colored fruit that smell sweet and tangy. An odd looking forest is several hundred yards to the north, and channe ls carrying water surround the orchard.
Nalae quickly looks from side to side as panic begins to override her tiredness. Where is everyone? Where is she? What's going on? She inches towards one of the closer trees worriedly.
The only answers to Nalae's questions is the chirping of strange birds and the sweet smell of those orange colored things.
Towards another part of the field, off facing the "wilderness" is a sandy field. And somewhere within it can be heard a familiar giggle.
Nalae slowly begins to rationalize. "It's Alierun again.. she must be playing another trick on me," she murmurs to herself, looking around at the strange trees.
Nalae inches a bit towards the strange forest. At least there are trees there... "Alierun?" she calls towards the giggle. "This isn't funny, Alierun!"
The giggle, which sounds much younger than Alierun, can be heard coming from the band of sand that separates the field from the forest.
Nalae breaks into a run towards the voice and the safety of the forest.
Nalae hurries, bounding on all fours for speed. It doesn't sound like Alierun, but maybe it's one of the other kits... Alierun put whoever it is up to it, no doubt...
The giggle continues, and as Nalae nears the sand, a series of regularly spaced conical pits can be seen in the soft sand. About 6 feet in diameter, and 3 feet deep, there is only a space of about 4 feet of level sand between them.
Nalae slows as she reaches the sand. Cautiously, she pads across the sand, staying between the pits. "It isn't funny!" she repeats. Her fur has begun to stand on end, making her look a little larger and slightly less fragile.
The vibrations from Nalae's feet travel through the ground, and a burst of sand is thrown towards the little Marenati's face.
Nalae pfffts, squeezing her eyes shut and twisting her face away from the unexpected burst. She holds very still for several moments, then takes a very slow step towards the forest.
Nalae casts a wary glance towards the pits as she continues to very slowly make her way across the unfamiliar surface.
In the middle of the field, the source of the giggle can finally be seen. It's a little brown rabbit girl, with long floppy ears and a cute little blue dress. She's dragging a beat up and bedraggled bunny doll by the ears, and it periodically dumps sand into a pit, causing a gust of sand to shoot out and go right over the little bunny's head.
Nalae continues edging towards the forest, but calls towards the odd girl, "H-hello?"
Delrina whips around and waves her arms out at Nalae and squeals "Fuzzy!" and runs towards the Marenati, not watching where she is going.
Nalae nervously takes several steps away from the unknown girl. She calls, "Wh-who are you?"
Delrina keeps running, and one foot stumbles into the edge of a pit.
Nalae utters a quick warning-cry towards the younger girl. She could get hurt...
Another burst of sand erupts before the little child. Two huge orange red tusks suddenly appear, dwarfing the girl easily on each side just as the rabbit slides to a halt. A sound that feels like a million gnats fills the air, making fur stand on end.
Nalae's eyes widen into huge saucers, all her muscles tensing. She emits another cry of alarm and warning (not that the girl will necessarily recognize it), frozen in place.
Delrina is knocked on her cute little cottontail and remains motionless. It's clear she couldn't outrun the ascalaph if she knew she should.
Krrr'atk crawls up a bit farther and more of it's body is seen. Four legs can now be seen, and perhaps two more still within the sand with it's abdomen. It's thorax and broad flat head are covered in short wirey hairs that each stand on end and its eyes are black bulges atop that flat head. Two quite long and nasty looking pinchers hang out over the girl rabbit as it swings from side to side.. searching.
Nalae perhaps might normally have been brave enough to risk her life to save a helpless young child.. but she's too busy being scared out of her wits at the moment to do very much but be frozen in place and watch, quivering. She calls to the little girl once more, again urging flight.
Delrina looks rather confused at the ascalaph as it searches for her, but turns her head and giggles at Nalae.
Krrr'atk stops suddenly, sensing a bit of movement in its sands. The head starts to turn and seems to almost focus on the area of the little girl.
Nalae makes quiet noises of fright, but slowly begins to pad towards the little bunny. "Please don't move," she murmurs faintly..
Krrr'atk stops almost as suddenly. The pinchers close, mere centimeters above the rabbit girl's ears. A terrible clacking sound comes from them and the buzzing sensation increases.
Nalae shudders, whimpering quietly in fear, but forces herself to continue to approach the child, her eyes focused on the little bunny's.
Delrina's smile is gone. Her eyes are wide and her upper lip starts to tremble.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
Nalae continues towards Delrina as quickly as she dares. Please don't get hurt.. don't move..
Nalae winces and freezes in place at the sudden cry.
Krrr'atk begins to swing it's head from side to side. Vibration! Here! Food! NOW. Are all feelings that come from it's actions. The pinchers click more rapidly.
Delrina flings her arms and baps the ascalaph on the head with her big fluffy rabbit doll.
Nalae quickly bolts towards the little bunny, reaching to heft her into her arms.
Krrr'atk's pinchers close lightening quick, holding onto the doll and beginning to drag it back to the den below. The initial tug is intense.
Delrina screams at the top of her lungs and her little hand *CLAMPS* onto the dolls ears and wails, "No take boogem!"
Krrr'atk digs in with the middle leg pair and pulls again.
Nalae grabs for Delrina!
Nalae tugs at Delrina, gripping her by the other arm. Let go of the doll!
Krrr'atk gets a particularly good stance and gives another *yank* of the stuffed animal. It's beginning to slide against the harder plate of the insect, however.
Nalae continues tugging at Delrina's arm. "C'mon!"
With a tearing sound, the doll's leg rips off and Delrina and Nalae go flying backwards.
And land on the back of zzz'grk, who had come up to help his friend Krrr'atk.
Krrr'atk increases his buzzing sound, enough to make most shiver and shake, particularly if so very close. To almost be heard to the bones.
Nalae lets out a piercing shriek as she notices the sudden appearance of another of those.. whatever they are, and her location relative to it.
zzz'grk, fearing it's under attack from that bully zyzl'pik, curls his neck and FLINGS the objects off his back, away from the forest and back towards the field.
Krrr'atk almost charges forward then suddenly backs off and hides within its den at the bottom of the pit. Within moments all that are visible at all are the tips of it's pinchers, reddish toned against the beige sands.
Nalae loses her grip on the little bunny as she's flung, tumbling through the air back towards the field.. Her arms and legs extend, causing her gliding membrane to snap into place just as she crashes into the ground with a resounding thud.
Delrina lands next to Nalae with a softer thud, screaming at the top of her lungs, still holding her damaged bunny.
An exclamation of horrified surprise can be heard as Nalae and Delrina fly through the air and land back in the kumquat field. With a shout to his mate, Tarkin runs towards his daughter.
Nalae pushes herself slowly up, dazed and in a state of shock.
Cerryl, a brown mottled rabbit, bounds over a few rocks. Both ears are clamped back against the harsh buzzing and she pulls up short behind her mate, quite concerned and frightened.
Tarik, a very large angora rabbit male, rushes up and shouts what sounds to Nalae to be a lot of angry gibberish. He notes the young predator that towers over his daughter and he almost growls as he grabs Nalae by the scruff of the neck and marches towards the ascalaph field, a very menacing look on his face.
Cerryl grabs up Delrina into her arms, shaking and holding her child close. She watches her mate then spies something nearby. A few quick words in response towards Tarik.
Nalae whimpers quietly, beginning to sob, but just goes limp in Tarik's grasp as adrenaline drains from her system and her muscles refuse to do any more today.
Tarik hmmfs, then looks. He sees his daughter's tracks wandering aimlessly through the protective ascalaph field. Then the other tracks that suddenly change direction and the signs of struggle. To top it off, Krrr'atk spits out a stuffed bunny leg.
Tarik lifts the sobbing Marenati so he can look her in the face. He finally seems to note how young she is, and sighs as Cerryl gives him another earful. He looks at his daughter, then at the field of traps and shudders. He shifts his grip and cradles the young predator in his arms and pads back towards his house.
Cerryl picks up Delrina and holds her up with one arm as she bends to grab up the bunny. She follows her mate.
Nalae finally drifts into unconsciousness as the adrenaline drains fully from her body. Held in the large, warm arms of Tarik, she dreams quiet dreams of being cared for by the Keeper, with his gentle eyes and kindly voice....
... and once more, for all her words you find yourself looking into the eyes of the elderly fox. Amusement ranges her old weathered face as the firelight begins to dim. "As all have our own tales, chronicles and legends, starts so the story of Nalae.... and grow weary, I." Her smile fades just a bit and the single moon that is left hanging low in the sky is covered by cloud. Embers barely crackle in the stone ring.
On returning... the place that held the storyteller just moments before is empty.