Eclipse Event Stories (NOT CANON)

A difficult time In the cold autumn rain of the forest, a lone Saliko stalks through the bushes. The brown Tatra was hungry, his stomach growling loudly when he noticed smell of a screech owl and for a second he thought about devouring his prey right then and there after he caught it, though he’d never dare to do that. His tribe always has to be fed first, even if he was the leader. Carefully he followed the faint scent, the sound of the rain covering the sound of his pawsteps well. The closer he got to the origin of the smell, the slower he got, placing foot after foot on the soft ground, scanning the area with his montana eyes and trying to make out the bird. Then he finally found it, sitting on a low hanging tree branch, looking away from him. It hadn’t noticed him yet! He’d easily be able to catch the prey while jumping over the branch, but because of the large wings he still had to be careful, or he might get knocked over the head if the creature defends itself quick enough. The mudchest hob went into position and balanced his weight properly on his hind legs, ready to leave the ground in a high leap. But just as he was about to jump, the bird turned it’s head around and looked directly at him with it’s red glowing eyes, a blood-curdling scream leaving it’s throat. Kojis eyes widened with fear, he didn’t expect another sick bird so soon. The feathered monster flew up into the air and circled around the tabby for a few moments, while continuously screaming. Ducking low to the ground the tabby tried to escape it’s grasp as it kept trying to attack him with its talons, until he finally managed to run away, deeper into the forest where the bird would have a harder time navigating though between the close standing trees. But it didn’t give up right away still. Koji was an experienced male, but the crazed birds were so unpredictable and dangerous that he prefered not to hunt them. Also, since no one knew where their strange behaviour came from, he was scared of his tribemates becoming sick as well if they ate their meat. For now he just had to escape, he’d find more prey later, he was sure of that. With a light jog the hob trotted through the woods, the owl still behind him. He heard its heavy wings flap and another cry from time to time. In between he even thought he heard a Saliko call out, but he must’ve just been imagining things. After a while the noises had ceased and he decided he’d be able to go back home without luring the creature with him. Completely drenched and cold he crossed the wide river next to his camp and sat down under the cover of a tree, shaking the water out of his fur first and then looking at the other Tatras that scrambled through the clearing. As soon as he located the grey-brown pelt of his deputy, he called out to her. «Diedre! Do you have a minute?» She turned her head towards him and nodded, then quickly finished saying something to the Saliko she’d been talking to and then went over to her leader. «Good news, Koji! Galina said that Caliban is getting better already. He had a tough start being born in the middle of leaf-fall but I told you he was strong. He’s your son after all.» She winked at him and sat down next to him. «That’s good to hear, thanks.» His facial features remained serious. «But I’m afraid that’s not all we have to worry about. After we were surprised by two sick birds within half a moon already, I encountered one today once more. They’re spreading the disease it seems.» Now Diedre’s grin disappeared as well. «I knew this couldn’t be over so easily. Do you think it’s connected to the rumors about dawns dissappearance?» «Everyone else seems to believe so apparently. Though I’m not sure yet. Anyway, please tell everyone to be careful when they go out and make sure the apprentices only leave the camp with a warrior beside them.» «Will do.» She nodded adamantly. «I was unsuccessful at hunting earlier but I will head out later again, so please take care of everything here for me.» «Of course.» She slightly bowed down, then turned around and ran back to where she came from, where the other Salikos were still running around headlessly. She gathered them around her and talked to them, trying to get order into the chaos. Koji got up and walked to his den, which was located in a large cave amidst a rock formation on the backside of the camp. He ducked down his head as he entered and his eyes had to adjust to the darkness for a minute. He felt a bit bad that his den was dryer than the ones of all others and he knew there was a risk of his tribemates getting sick because of that, but he was gonna think about something later. For now he had to rest up a bit, conserve his energy to hunt again later since he hadn’t eaten yet and he kept hoping the rain would stop by then so some prey would dare to show itself. Leaf-fall was usually not a time where prey was hard to find, but unusual circumstances made it difficult for his Klinrona tribe. The hob had very quickly dozed off into a restless sleep. He dreamt he was running through a dark forest, an area unknown to him. The trees around him were very high, the crowns shutting out all light and creating a black mass above him. He felt a breeze urging him forward, and though he was unsure wether to trust his instincts and leave or discover what was waiting for him, he gave in to his curiosity. He came to the edge of the woods and looked out of the bushes, careful not to be seen. The trees ended on top of a hill and on the bottom, quite a bit away, he saw a gigantic tree, higher than any other around. It’s bark spiralled upwards and an eerie feeling surrounded it. Above the tree he discovered moving shapes, floating through the nightsky. It took him a minute until the dream became more clear and he saw they were large birds, circling around the strange tree. He felt more and more uneasy, until suddenly he heard a voice from the void. At first the murmurs were unintelligble, but the voice kept going on and Koji tried to focus on it to understand what it was saying. «…ful. There’s danger lurk….the tree. Your tribe needs you now.» Then he was losing the ground beneith his feet. The leader felt like he was falling and suddenly he was awake, lying in his nest. Disturbed from this experience and more tired than before, he blinked into the darkness of his den. He had no idea how much time had passed and the Tatra surely didn’t want to fall asleep again, so he stepped outside into the clearing. The rain had stopped and twilight was settling over the land. Even the chaos that was ruling over his tribe had gone by and the camp was calm. Only the playful calls of the whelps could be heard from their burrow. Koji yawned and stretched himself, glad he could go hunting again to get rid of the remains of his dream and distract him for a moment. He’d find out what it meant sooner or later. After crossing the river once more and wading through the high reed around it, he trotted over the open plains, checking the other side of the camp for any danger and to find food. At the edge of his territory he noticed an uproar, but the sents he smelled were neither of lesser creatures, nor his tribemates. Slowly he crept closer to the invaders that were arguing over something, still remaining hidden to discover what was going on and how many strangers there were around. It was just two Salikos, a Mayur and a Tatra, that seemed to have stumbled upon the area but haven’t noticed the scent marks around the border yet, still too distracted by their quarrels. Koji got up and stood proudly, making himself look large and confidently walked towards the two, sure he’d be able to chase them off on his own. «What’s going on here?» The Tatra, a small hob, was lying in the mud, while the Mayur was standing above him, pressing his head down with his paw. When Koji appeared, the green hob whirled around and let go of his victim. «Wha..? Come over here and help me! I’m putting this traitor in his place! He’s working together with the birds, I tell ya!» The tabby raised one of his eyebrows, clearly not believing the crazed ramblings of the stranger. «What are you talking about?» «This Tatra! It has empty eyes, just like the sick birds! I want to know from him what’s going on, RIGHT NOW!» The small Tatra was whimpering, still too scared to get up. His face was completely covered in dirt and he seemed quite distressed. «Please, you have to help me! I don’t know what I did wrong.» «You know exactly what you’re doing! What I wanna know is why this is all happening!» Koji was alert and didn’t trust any of the two yet, so he kept himself from interrupting them until he knew what the problem was. It seemd blind, staring off into space past any of them, though the mayur seemed to be on to something, as the Tatra did have weirdly red glowing eyes just like the owl he had met earlier that day… Looking for the safety of his tribe and wary because of the impending leaf-bare, the leader decided not to help the strange Tatra. The risk was simply too high.