Eclipse Event Stories (NOT CANON)

Long road to ruin The dream from the day before had returned and it was more vivid and clear than before. The nightrunners, his diseased ancestors, were talking to him once more, warning him of some impeding danger that he couldn’t understand yet. The giant tree was as unnerving as ever, but Koji was also quite interested now. What was going on there and where was this huge plant? Someone must’ve found it, right? As he woke, he felt confident in discovering the truth about the dream soon. Galina had already gotten up and left her den, Caliban was still sleeping. Softly Koji licked him clean and after the whelp did a great gaping yawn, it proceeded to search his belly for milk. The hob lay there for a while and let his son drink until it was tired enough to fall asleep again. He got up and looked outside of the den, looking around for someone to watch his offspring and warm him while the leader was gone for his duties. It didn’t take long and Nerissa came by. She was the official caretaker of all whelps and apprentices, but Koji and Galina had insisted to take care of their whelps by themselves from time to time as well. After a short, casual talk to the storm colored jill, she went inside the den and the mudchest Saliko could attend his business. First order of the day, the tribe needed information about the current situation. So Koji went into the middle of the camp and called out to his tribemates. All who were old enough to leave the camp on their own followed his shout and appeared before him. «As you must’ve noticed by now, prey has already become quite scarce. I was hoping we’d be able to get through the leaf-fall in a better state, but we’re gonna have to take what we can get. Let’s all just keep in mind that leaf-bare is just around to corner, so gather what you can find, mark the borders and take care of each other so we will all remain healthy and well. The situation with the mad birds has not gotten better either I’m afraid. It seems they have infected each other actually, as an encounter with them has happened even more frequently recently than usually. So be careful when you’re out there and guard camp, whelps and apprentices well.» A murmur went through the rows as the Salikos before him agreed with him but also offered their concerns to each other. Furthermore, there have been two strangers at the borders of our territory yesterday, around the open plains. Please check that area frequently and mark the borders well, so no one can miss them. That’s all for now, give it your best.» The Tatras all yowled in unison, cheering their leader on, then the group disbanded to do their usual work. Janus walked up to Koji and nodded friendly towards him. «I’m going out to train with the gang, you wanna join us?» «You, alone with two apprentices? Think you can handle that?» «Hardy harr…I would’ve asked Roscoe to come along but I thought maybe you wanna spend some time with the next generation as well.» He smirked at him. «Nice hunting yesterday by the way! I’m glad we got you taking such good care of the tribe. Mother nature knows I wouldn’t have been able to keep this group together as well as you did.» «Don’t say that, Janus! I’m sure you’ve got the makings of a leader, you’re just young and need some more experience, that’s all. If your time comes, and it will, then they will follow you, trust me.» «Thanks. It’s nice to hear that from you.» «Anyway, I’d like to check the border again where I saw those suspicious Salikos yesterday and that place is a bit too far away for the apprentices so you better take Roscoe with you.» «Alright, will do. And don’t worry, I’ll try to avoid any birds, just to make sure. Roscoe doesn’t like to hunt them anyways.» They said their goodbyes and Koji left the camp through the high reeds, walking along the wide river for a while. When he came to the smaller stream, he crossed it and began to walk over the open plains, just like the day before. The sun was out that day though and graced the earth with a few, almost warm sunrays for the first time in forever. The brown tabby enjoyed this very much and shook his fur to rid himself of the stress he had lately. At the border he checked the grass and tree stumps for any strange scents. He could still smell the strangers from the day before, but only faintly, so they hadn’t returned, at least not yet. The hob marked the border once more, then he went on to hunt again, this time the other direction. He didn’t get very far when he noticed a strange sound. It was familiar but he couldn’t quite place it yet, so he looked around only to notice he was alone. The noise got louder and louder and a strong wind started to rise, ruffling up his fur and tearing at his mane. Suddenly it clicked and he know where it was coming from. He looked straight up and saw a huge bird flying above him, its red glowing eyes fixed on him. Before he could run it had already grabbed the Tatra and began to rise up into the air, higher and higher until the ground was too far away for a safe landing anyway. Kojis thoughts were racing, he was scared, not for himself, but for his tribe and especially his whelp Caliban. What would they do when he didn’t get home for a while? And what if he’d never return…? He shook his head, trying to forget those dark thoughts for the moment and concentrate on what was going on. The bird was flying over the deep woods outside of his territory, somewhere north. A memory flashed up in his mind, the Tatra with the red eyes and the bird friends said his tribe was up north, right? But this bird couldn’t possibly bring him there….why would it do that? The trip took a while and the uncomfortable grip of the bird had started to annoy Koji quite a bit. No matter where they were going, he just wanted to land as soon as possible. Just as he thought that, the bird suddenly let go of him and the Tatra fell though the air, fear shaking his body as he braced for a hard impact that he wouldn’t survive. But to his surprise he landed softly in a nest amidst the crown of a large tree! He found himself in some kind of den in the middle of the tree, the ground padded with leaves, feathers and fur, which had saved his life. The leader looked around for an escape but before he could even sort his thoughts, a young Tatra jill appeared from a hole in the wall. She had deep red fur and a pink flower behind her ear. The gaze of her empty eyes gave him a little chill, but he immediately knew that she was blind as well. And his worries seemed even more confirmed now. This must be Minas’ tribe and the great tree he had been talking about. «Oh good, you’re finally here! Gave us quite a hard time finding you. Our bird has been looking for you all night.» «Why was I brought here? I need to be home at my tribe!» She nodded, but completely ignored what he just said. «I am Ren and I know you’re interested in what’s going on with the birds, correct?» «Well, yeah…» «Fantastic! Then you shall meet dawn and discover the answers to all your questions!» «Dawn? Here? I thought it was gone?» She shook her head no, then smiled at him and bowed. «Please, try to feel at home here and wait until your audience begins. I will bring you food later.» As if she had read his mind, she continued. «And, I doubt I’ll have to say this explicitly, but please don’t go roaming around on your own. The tree is not only very high and dangerous, but also sacred to us, so we don’t want you to possibly do some damage around here when you explore the area. Someone from our tribe will gladly show you around though if they have time. Until then.» The jill left and Koji was alone in this foreign environment. He had never been a fan of great heights, but now he was forced into an uncomfortable situation. What was going on here? He didn’t want to speak to dawn in the first place, someone else would surely do that as it seemed like half of Ibea was looking for the mythical creature. But at least he got here before anything worse happened. The big bird that had carried him away might have also grabbed another of his tribemates instead of him. He just hoped Diedre would notice his absence in time and rule the tribe well until he was back. Looking out of another hole in the wall he could see outside and noticed how high up he really was. There’s be only one way out, which is the middle of the trunk, everything else would be suicide. Koji surely wouldn’t stay though, that was clear as day to him. The area below him felt familiar though and he noticed its similarity to the dreams he’d been having. Was this what his ancestors tried to warn him about? Even more reason to escape as fast as possible, so the hob started to plan.