Prolouge
A young female Zolnixi sat on a fallen tree. Her ears were pricked, and she stared intently out across the meadow in front of her. The Zolnixi stood up on the tree when she saw a shape bound into the meadow.
A tan and black Zolnixi ran swiftly through the long grass. The young Zolnixi's tail wagged, and she yipped with excitment. But the other Zolnixi had a frightened look on her face.
Suddenly out of the forest behind the tan Zolnixi came two Sylestians. They ran fast, one held a net. They started gaining on the tan Zolnixi, and she searched the forest as she ran. She spotted the young Zolnixi standing on the tree, and horror came over her face.
"Shanna!" she howled, "go! Hide!"
The little Zolnixi's tail stopped wagging, and then she realized what was happening.
"No! Mother!" she yelped.
"Shanna! Hide!"
But one of the Sylestians threw the net, and it landed ontop of the Zolnixi. She yelped and tripped on the net, and went rolling over the ground. The two Sylestians tied the net and began dragging the Zolnixi back into the forest where they came from.
Shanna was frozen with fear as she crouched down beside a stump.
"Mother..." tears streaked down her snout.
Chapter 1
Three years later
Shanna lapped water from a small stream that trickled between two trees. She jerked her head up when she heard hooves trotting through the forest. A black female Faelora trotted out of the trees and stopped beside the stream.
Shanna sighed when she saw the Faelora, and started lapping up more water.
"Shanna, you know what?" the Faelora trilled.
"What, Bliss?"
"I had a grand idea!" Bliss danced around the water. "We should leave this forest and find another land!"
Shanna choked on the water. She lifted her head. Bliss was staring at her with a huge smile.
"Bliss! You know I won't leave this forest!" Shanna growled. A Picture of her mother being dragged away flashed in her mind, but she shook her head, and lapped more water.
"Ugh!" Bliss scraped the ground with her hoof. "Why not? I am sick of this forest! I have eaten all the clover in it! I want more!"
Shanna ignored her and turned around, padding deeper into the forest. Bliss jumped ungracfully over the stream and caught up to Shanna.
"Why don't you ever tell me why you won't ever leave this forest?" Bliss pressed, "well! I am going to leave with or without you!"
Shanna stopped. Her best friend, leaving? She turned around and faced Bliss.
"You wouldn't."
"Yes, Shanna! I will!" Bliss sat down. "I am tired of this forest, I want adventure!"
"But...."
Bliss sighed. "I knew this day would come. I am going to go with or without you."
Shanna stared open mouthed at Bliss. This was not at all what she had been thinking would happen today. She had dreaded this day, but something deep inside her wanted to leave, but something else wanted her to stay.
Shanna growled. "Fine! I will go!"
Bliss jumped up. "Yay! Okay, we should leave now!"
"Now?" Shanna glanced around and frowned even more.
"Yes now!" Bliss jumped around. "Why wait?"
"Well..... ummm..."
"See, Shanna. There is no use to wait. Lets go!" Bliss started trotted south east, and Shanna ran to trot beside Bliss.
"Oh, Shanna! This is going to be great!" Bliss squealed.
Shanna sighed. She could see between the trees light and the open meadow. She grimaced.
Bliss jumped over a bush, and landed in tall, green grass. She lowered her head and took a large sniff.
"Ah! Fresh grass! But I do like when it rains on the grass, and makes it wet and fresher!" Bliss looked back and saw Shanna crouching at the edge of the tree line. "Come on, Shanna! Oh. Thats right, you don't like the meadow for some reason. Why wouldn't you? I mean, I like the forest better, because there is more shelter and places to hide-"
Shanna tuned Bliss out. She was use to it by now. She looked back into the forest again. It was like it was calling her name. Shanna looked back. Bliss was trotted through the meadow, rambling on. Shanna stepped into the tall grass. She crouched low so the grass covered her, and she sped after Bliss. When she caught up to her, she stood her normal height and walked close beside the Faelora. Shanna was only half the size of Bliss, naturally, and she kept pushing Bliss so she would hurry.
"Shanna! Stop and smell the daisys!" Bliss burried her head in a group of flowers.
"Thats the last thing I want to do, stop!" Shanna looked around. A large group of Aurleon settled a ways off, and a Aeridini was pushing Bliss away from the flowers. In the forest behind her, Lunemaras could be seen milling about, and in the meadow many Qitari are feeding.
Bliss was suddenly at Shanna's side. She looked blustered. "That Aeridini sure didn't like me messing with those flowers. Anyways, lets keep going!"
"Yes please!" Shanna replied.
They trotted on, but the large group of Qitari was in their way.
"Come on, Bliss. Lets go around." Shanna turned.
"What? No! We can go through!" Bliss started to push her way through.
Shanna growled but followed. "You do realize, that I am only half your size?"
But the Faelora just trotted on. Shanna glared at the Faelora's legs, and she didn't see the small Qitari in her path. They ran into each other and both fell to the ground.
Bliss turned back to see what happened. Shanna jumped up.
"I am so, so sorry!" Shanna sniffed the Qitari to see if he was hurt.
"Oh, my! Are you okay?" Bliss lowered her head.
The little Qitari stood up. He was a little smaller then Shanna.
"Yes, I think so." he said. He looked at Shanna, then at Bliss. "Wow! I have never seen a real live Faelora before!"
"You should really get out more." Bliss chattered. "Where is your mother? You should be with her."
"My Ma got taken by a Vulnyx a while back." the qitari snorted.
Bliss let out a horrified gasp/scream.
"Why are you so cheerful about it?" Shanna grimaced.
"It happens alot." the Qitari shrugged. "I think one of them Qitari said one of us gets taken every day." the Qitari was nodding his head as he talked.
"How horrible!" Bliss stuttered. "Well! Who is being your parents?"
"Well...." the Qitari started. "No one, really. Where are you two headed?"
"Umm..... we are just exsploring...." Shanna replied.
"Oooh! I wanna come with you!"
Shanna looked at Bliss. She shrugged. "I guess, if this Qitari herd doesn't mind."
"Yay! My name is Rowan! And I am going to be a adolescent soon! Isn't that great?"
"Uh, yeah sure."
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The trio made their way out of the meadow and into a hilly sort of place, where there were random rocks/boulders jutting out of the ground, and the grass was very short.
As they walked, Bliss lowered her head down, and sniffed the grass, then jerked it up.
"This place is strange. The grass is so short, and there is no Sylesti even here!"
"I like it!" Rowan piped. "There is no long grass in my way so I can run for so long!" Rowan ran ahead, but stopped and waited for the others.
Shanna twitched her nose. "It is too open. There is no shelter."
"Well, if there is anything out here that is going to get us, we will see it a long way off." Bliss said, glancing at Rowan.
"Or more like hiding behind a hill or rock." Shanna grumbled quietly.
A Bulbori stuffed dandelions in her mouth a ways in front of them, and her ears shot up as they got closer. She looked at them, and waved. Rowan ran ahead and stopped in front of the Bulbori.
"Hello, Bulbori, what is your name?" he asked.
"Myfilunaumiseorealyddfshjsdovn." the bulbori said.
"What?" Rowan asked again.
"Hkhkdsfipjwekfnsnvnjhdkslidsikhlidgmbshcbkklags!"
"What?!" Rowan shouted.
The Bulbori rolled her eyes, and spit out a large pile of wet, yellow flowers. "I said my name is Weedy!"
"Oh. Hi." Rowan smiled, but Shanna and Bliss were looking in disgust at the pile in front of them.
The Bulbori raised a eyebrow. "You don't often see a young Qitari without its herd, or a Faelora out of the forest, or a Zolnixi with them..... what are you all doing out here?"
"We are exploring!" Bliss said. "We got tired of the same old forest."
"You did!" Shanna grumbled.
"But Rowan was with his herd, but he decided to come with us."
"Yup!" Rowan whinnied. "My Ma died and no one was taking care of me!"
Weedy glanced up at Bliss. "He seems cheerful about that, and thats really weird! Well. I have to get this food to my young ones, goodbye!" With that, Weedy scooped up the pile into her mouth and bounded away.
"Good bye Reedy!" Rowan called.
"That was strange." Shanna said.
"Her name was Weedy, Rowan, not Reedy." Bliss said.
"Oh."
The three started off again, and Shanna looked at the endless looking area. She sighed as evening came. After a while, Bliss looked around and went behind a large hill with a boulder jutting over it.
"Lets sleep here for the night." |
