The Meetup

It’s been a couple days since Galina and Janus left the tundra tribe and started going south through the woods. This was their home, the forests they grew up in, just farther away from their tribe. As they were walking side by side through the trees, they almost forgot why the two of them were even going on that long journey. It just seemed like a usual day out hunting or collecting herbs. Sunrays trickled through the leaves of the forest, contrasting the cool shade of the large trees and illuminating the area with soft yellow light. The birds overhead were chirping and everything was peaceful when the Salikos arrived at a nice clearing. «It’s so pretty here!» After the cold of the tundra biome, Galina was even more amazed by the mixed woodlands. It was simply perfect for Tatras! «I know right? Look over there, see those rocks? I bet this would be a great place to rest.» Janus points towards some flat stones that were heated up by the sun. «You want to rest already? What’s going on with you?» The female nudges him and runs away, the male shortly behind her. He catches up to her and softly snaps at her mane. When they were younger, the two played catch or hide and seek together all the time, but as they got older they noticed it was not appropriate to play around anymore. Instead they were supposed to take everything serious and be mature, a mindset that Galina quickly adapted to, but this was always very hard for Janus. Others kept calling him too childish and frisky, not treating him in the same way as every other Saliko in the tribe. Except the copper one by his side, that always enjoyed him being so carefree and happy. They run around the clearing for a while and then, out of breath but still laughing, lie down on the warm rocks. Galina looks off into the woods, smiling, and Janus cannot help but keep staring at her fur which seems to be on fire in the glittering sunlight. He snaps out of it and starts talking: «You know, we don’t have to go back.» «What do you mean?» «I mean if you want to, we can just stay here. Forever.» «Janus…we need to get this herb, I cannot let our tribemates down, they depend on us.» «Yeah you’re right.» «I know you’re not happy there. I can see that. But we have to do this first and then we can see what happens.» «Okay» he looks away, feeling a little ashamed. «Uh…should I catch us something to eat?» «Sure if you don’t mind. You want me to come along?» «No, you just stay here for a minute, I’ll be right back.» The male just wanted to get away and clear his mind, but noticed that he was actually hungry and started looking around for some prey. He found some tracks and followed them, sneaking as best as possible. He was not as good at stealth attacks as much as direct ones, but still he was a better hunter than Galina and always tried to catch the nicest prey for her. Then he heard cooing and saw a lone fume pidgeon picking at the ground. With a strong leap he charged at the bird but suddenly got tackled at the side and fell to the floor. The bird cried out and flew away. «What the…» he looked around and saw a trunk colored Saliko standing next to him. «Nooo! Don’t hurt the pretty birdies!» «Who are you?» The male looked at him with wide eyes and ran away the other direction. «Hey, wait up!» Janus went after the stranger. They dashed through the forest for a while until the cold colored one lost sight of the other and stopped. He didn’t know where he was anymore, but could smell other Salikos and thought about looking for them, but decided it would be best to turn back and find another prey. He aimlessly stumbled through the woods and finally arrived at the clearing where he left. Too late he noticed that Galina was not alone and stepped out of the undergrowth. A different Saliko than before, a spotted, earth colored female stood next to her and turned towards him. She snarled and her long fangs got exposed, eerily white and menacing. Janus had never seen something like that before. «So you’re the one breaking into our territory and hunting our prey, huh? Your friend here insisted she was alone, but I could smell you from miles away. And anyway, you were seen.» «What’s going on?» Galina asked, seemingly confused. «Did you not listen or can’t you understand what I’m saying? You’re in trouble. Both of you.» «Can’t you just let us leave? We have something important to do.» «Oh no, that’s not how we roll here. You’re coming with us.» «Us?» Suddenly two more Tatras arrived, surrounding them both and closing in more and more. There was no escape. The copper tabby seemed nervous now, looking at her partner for help. «You can make this easy for all of us,» the strange female went on «or only make it hard on yourselves.» Then she grinned. They arrived at the tribes home, a big cave system leading deep underground. Inside it was so dark and slippy from the water dropping from the ceiling, that both of the newcomers kept tripping, but the tribemembers just pushed them farther. «You will be judged by our leader, he’ll decide what happens to you. But you better pray he sees potential in you or neither of you will leave these caves alive again. And don’t try any tricks, you are way outnumbered here.» The group walked past a couple Salikos, looking at them from the darkest corners of the caves. Janus knew she was right about that, there were too many enemies and no reason to start a fight. From the corner of his eyes, the male saw a blue shape sitting close by. Orange eyes were fixated on him and seemed to glow in the darkness. The Saliko suddenly jumped to its feet and ran past the group, deeper into the mountain. They arrived at the foot of some rocks, all a different height, leading upwards to a hole in the ceiling, where light shone in and brightened the area up a bit. on the highest of the columns, a male, pine colored Tatra with dark stripes sat proudly, looking down at them. examining. «no. we don’t need them. bring them to the lake and sacrifice them to the gods.» «wait, WHAT?» Janus cried out, while Galina just turned very pale, unable to speak. «Did you just say sacrifice?» «You’re talking to me, meat?» the leader seemed displeased about someone disagreeing with him. Suddenly, the blue Saliko from before, a female, jumped up the rocks and started whispering to the alpha. He seemed to consider what she said and kept talking to her, but it was too quiet for anyone below to hear. Janus looked around and saw the Saliko with he long teeth, staring at him. as their eyes met, she angrily hissed at him and tore the hard ground up with her claws, leaving scratch marks behind. Then Galina turned to her friend and looked at him with panic in her eyes. «What’s happening? I’m scared.» «Don’t worry, we’ll be alright» he answered, but the sound of his voice gave away that he wasn’t quite sure of that himself. The strange, cold colored Saliko, jumped back down again, slowly walking past the two and touching Janus’ cheek with her tail as she walked past. She smirked and said «You’re welcome.» «Very well. According to our seer, the gods are appeased with our latest sacrifice, at least for now.» «Does that mean we can go?» «Silence! You talk when I ask you something. What a stupid question, of course you cannot go. No one just GOES away from here. You made a mistake coming so close to our tribe but that will not concern you for much longer. A couple years ago, the gods have sent a flock of kiri-kiri to us, wrecking our home and killing our brethren. we can hardly leave the caves anymore without losing hunters to the beasts. still, we will protect our territory until we will return one day.» «Then why the sacrifices?» Galina managed to ask the leader, making him look at her with narrow eyes, displeased again. «We offer the gods sacrifices and the kiri-kiri leave us alone.» «But that’s insane!» «Enough! I will not tolerate this any longer! Bring them away.» Immediately the spotted female stood next to them, pushing both of them onwards. It was pretty clear at that point that she was the beta of the tribe and she took her rank very seriously. They were brought to a secluded area to sleep in, guarded from leaving by two strong looking Salikos. Both friends were very hungry and could not sleep on the cold, hard rock. Suddenly, something in the shadows surrounding them moved. The trunk Saliko that messed up Janus’ hunt appeared. Galina saw how anxious he looked and started speaking to him in a calm and soft voice. «Who are you?» «I…I’m Roscoe.» «Sorry, what was that?» «Roscoe.» the male was talking very quietly, seeming too scared to speak up. then, no one said anything and in the silence they could only hear water dropping from somewhere. «well…why are you here, Roscoe?» «it’s my fault. that you’re here I mean. sorry.» «…» «I told them I met you in the woods. that’s how they found you. I just didn’t want the bird to get hurt.» «the bird? what about it?» Galina was curious and tried to make the stranger keep talking. «I just…really like birds. they’re pretty. I don’t want them to die. the others don’t get that. they say birds are dumb. or dangerous. at least the kiri-kiris. but those are pretty too.» Roscoe seemed more comfortable and sat down next to them, but he kept looking around as if somone might be listening, though the guards were too far away. «you should leave as fast as possible. I would. And I think you are not welcome here.» He nodded towards Galina. «we don’t have a lot of males here. but too many females. they won’t want you to stay.» he looked sadly at the copper colored Tatra, sighed and the foreigners exchanged nervous glances with each other. «and why didn’t you leave yet if you want to so badly?» «couldn’t survive on my own. or I don’t think I could. I’m the omega here. no one likes me. but at least I’m alive.» «you could come with us though if you want to, anywhere’s better than here.» for a moment, a spark showed in the males eyes and he seemed eager to say yes. «but…first we need to get out. I know a way through the caves. but the guards…» «we’ll think about something, don’t worry.» She carefully tapped his shoulder to encourage him and he lied down in the corner where he came from, smiling to himself. the next day Galina woke up all alone and began to panic. she walked towards the exit of the area where they had stayed and noticed that the guards were gone. quietly she made her way through the tunnels, trying to find the path they took the day before and orienting herself by the smells of the tribe. suddenly, she could hear talking and hid in the shadow of a rocky niche. she recognized Janus’ voice but couldn’t tell who the other one belonged to. «see, this is the only reason you’re still alive. I want you to stay here and be with me, so just leave your friend behind and I’ll make sure you’ll have a good life here.» «I can’t…» «Oh I’m sure you can, there’s nothing else for you to do now. question is if you want to.» Galina slowly looked around the corner and saw the cold colored female from the day before talking to the male. «I can tell you’re thinking about it. Guess you weren’t happy where you came from anyway, right? trust me, this is good for you and if you stay here long enough, show you’re loyal and strong, then you might even become the next leader of the tribe. no female is allowed to become leader, but you…» The seer, whose fur was shimmering bright like the sky, stroked his mane and smirked, but he didn’t move away. sadly, the copper tabby walked back to where she came from, when Roscoe ran into her. «where have you been? I was looking for you. lured the guards away. where’s the other one?» «I’m not sure if he’ll come with us. Let’s just go, alright?» They silently walked side by side through a labyrinth of tunnels, but while Galina completely lost orientation, the trunk one confidently chose his way. They arrived at the underground lake and walked around the shore, a depressing vibe in the air. «I’m Galina by the way, never got to introduce myself.» «Nice to meet you. what’s your friends name?» She stayed silent for a minute. «Janus. I’ve known him since forever, but I think he’d rather wanna stay here. And I don’t want him to decide between me and what he actually wishes for. A new beginning and a chance for more in life.» Roscoe nodded in understanding. «He’s a strong, healthy Saliko. I’m sure he’ll be fine.» «THEY WENT THIS WAY!» shouts echoed from behind them as a big group of tribemembers cought up. the two started running towards a river that led away from the lake through a small crack in the wall and the brown one shouted: «Dive!» they jumped into the river and got submerged in the current of the water, muffled splashing from the hunters behind them. the flow carried them through a tunnel completely underwater and for a minute the female wasn’t sure if it would ever end. then light flooded the waterway and she swam towards it, snapping for air as she breached the surface. she crawled out of the water and onto the safe ground, gasping for breath. then she noticed that she was alone again and started worrying about the shy Saliko which saved her. just as she thought about jumping back in, the brown male appeared next to her, exhausted as well. they wanted to rest for a minute, but kept going anyway, knowing that they were still being followed. confused and on the brink of losing consciousness, Galina stumbled after Roscoe, trying her best not to trip and fall, as she knew she would not be able to get back up again in time. «hold it right there! it’s over!» the fanged female appeared in front of the two, which made Roscoe stop dead in his tracks and Galina almost run into him. «It was a nice try but sure to fail. You out of all should’ve known that, dweeb.» she looked at the male, her face twisted by disgust. «It was time for you anyway, runt. Nobody will care if you come back or not, so I’ll just throw both of you back into the lake...or I just kill you right here and now.» the beta started charging at them, teeth exposed and sounding a blood-curdling roar and Galina looked away from the monstrous enemy, bracing herself for the impact. suddenly, a blue flash shot in front of the two helpless Salikos, absorbing the hit. the females fangs were buried deeply into the shoulder of the Saliko that showed up and blood started dripping onto the ground, coloring the earth below red. «so you’ve made your decision, huh? I thought you were stupid from the beginning and now you just confirmed my theory.» «I am NOT STUPID!» the blue colored one cried out, mad as all hell. Galina looked up and saw Janus standing in front of her. «I will show you respect» said the beta Tatra. she leaped at the male, sinking her teeth into his skin once again. he screamed and snapped at her, trying to get a hold of something. after clashing together for a while, they interlock in a deadly grip of teeth, both bleeding heavily. just then, Galina realized that Roscoe was nowhere around. did something happen to him? or did he simply chicken out? the fighting Tatras sink to the ground, still clawing and biting at each other. they were weakened but the battle would not be over till one of them was dead. as that thought shot into the copper ones mind, she got scared for her friends life and pulled herself together, regaining enough strength to to drag the other female away from Janus and pinning her to the ground, a fierce muzzle snapping for Galinas throat. Janus got up, shaking and spitting blood. «We’re done here. let’s go.» «NO WE’RE NOT! YOU either finish this or I’ll finish you and your little friend! Galina and Janus exchanged looks. they both knew the female wasn’t lying, she would keep trying to hunt them down. but neither of them wanted to take a life. suddenly, they heard the trampling of gigantic feet and the ground started to shake. Roscoe was tearing through the undergrowth at a breakneck speed, straight towards them. «RUN! NOW!» for the first time, he was shouting at the top of his lungs, running past the scene, pushing and pulling Janus and Galina with him. Behind them they heard horrifying bird calls and screeches. As they turned around to take a glance, they saw enormous, colorful balls darting at the female that was still lying on the ground. Galina looked away, she could not bear the sight, but Janus made sure they were safe from the crazy beta. it was done. a couple days later they were all better again. they had eaten, rested and Galina treated everybodys wounds. the shock was still gripping them to the marrow, but it was just another challenge that they managed to overcome. Lavan warned them about the tribe anyway, the should’ve been more careful. but now they had an additional member to their group, as Roscoe was happy to join them on their quest. he told them all about birds, be it tiny or large and how to sing to them, wherefore they promised not to kill or eat any birds when he was around. he was so happy and smiled all the time, though he was still rather quiet and curt, but that was just his personality. Janus and Galina were talking about what happened in the cave. the male explained that while he considered the thought of the other cold colored Tatra, he never would’ve wanted to stay there. instead, he noticed that as long as the tabby would be with him, he’d be fine and she felt the same way. the three of them together felt almost invincible. after all that happened they felt closer, stronger and inspired to see what the future would hold for them. they started going south once again, a little bit closer to their goal. the forests started to become more open with every day, until the big trees completely disappeared. a warm wind blew through their manes and carried fine sand to their feet. the desert was spread out in front of them and the next step of their journey seemed nigh.