Eclipse Event Stories (NOT CANON)

Rise and Fall Carefully the tabby checked the walls of his ‘prison’. Despite Ren being nice to him he was sure he would not be able to leave if he wanted to, so he was caught and had to escape unseen. He was still quite mad that he had been kidnapped just like that, especially since his tribe needed their leader more than anything right now. The wood of the tree was massive so he wouldn’t be able to just bite and claw his way through. With his hindlegs the hob dug as deep as possible into the edge of the hole to the outside world and leaned himself out as far as possible. The sun had already set and a cold breeze blew into his face, chilling him to the bone. Below him was nothing, just the abyss. He looked around the trunk to find some branches which he could use to jump down step by step, but there were non below him, only above towards the crown. He considered climbing down like he would any normal tree. After all he was a skilled, experienced male. It would be exhausting and dangerous, but not impossible. Still he wasn’t sure wether to risk it or not. His Klinrona-Tribe would not have any use in their leader escaping if he’d wind up dead. Suddenly a bird appeared out of nowhere. According to the smell it was the same one that had carried Koji all the way here. It was possibly guarding him at all times to make sure he’d stay. The strong wingbeats pulled at the hob and made him lose his balance. The bird, screaming loudly into his face, was dulling all his senses and suddenly he felt himself lose grip and he fell. Blood and adrenaline were rushing into his brain but there was nothing he could do, only hope for a quick and painless death upon impact. He closed his eyes and braced himself. But then he felt the familiar clawgrip of the huge creature around his neck once more. It caught him midair and flew back up to the hole from which he came, throwing him back into his cell, then it disappeared again. The brown Tatra was lying on the ground, breathing heavily and scared for his life. He couldn’t move for a while, and didn’t notice the kupfer jill appearing behind him. «Ahem.» He whirled around, his eyes widened and chest still heaving. «Are you alright? You didn’t…do anything stupid now, did you?» «…» «Not much of a talker, huh?» Ren walked closer and put something besides him. «Here’s the food I promised, hope you like it.» He looked down and saw a dead lizard at his feet but he didn’t dare touching it. His gaze went back to the female and she returned his look. Finally he gathered his thoughts and spoke, the stranger listening intently. «Why am I here? I never asked for this.» «You were chosen by our seeker. Be glad you can be one of the few to be able to discover the mystery of dawn.» «But I don’t care about dawn!! I want to go home, NOW!» «Try climbing down again, I’ll tell the bird not to catch you this time. If you make it to the bottom you’re free to go. If you’re alive that is. If not then I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here for now. Our great mother still has plans for you, you know?» Her face was completely serious and expressionless as she talked, no polite smile anymore. «Eat. Sleep. And before you know it this will all be over.» She turned around and left Koji with a shiver down his spine. Whatever was going on here was not normal. None of these Tatras were. The path down the outside was cancelled for him, he had to go the normal route, just as he had predicted. He sat down and waited patiently for a while until night had fallen and he discovered a pattern in the patrolling guard outside of his room. Koji was a better fighter than sneaker, but attacking the guard could turn out to be contra productive if he’d call for help right away. The next time the guard went by he got up and went to the exit of the cell. Listening to the steps of the blind saliko disappearing he knew when he could go out unseen. Quietly he stepped outside and looked around. The guard was a bit up along the way, its back towards Koji. With slow and steady walk he continued on his way down the tree. The path spiralled along the walls of the trunk, with some occasional holes off to the sides, presumably to other rooms and cells. Whenever Koji saw movement, he either backed up or quickly dodged into one of the rooms. Most of them were empty, but a few had Salikos in them, sleeping in their nests. There were even Kumbas, Mayurs and Tundras there! They must have had a long way to get here and maybe some of them as unwillingly as him. Finally he reached the ground and none of the guards had noticed him, or at least it seemed so. Still hidden in the shadows, he stuck his head out the front entrance, scanning the area. There were two guards on guard duty there and the hob was sure they’d notice him walking past them, no matter how quiet he was. He looked around for anything that could help him and saw a few pebbles in a corner. With his muzzle he picked one up and went back to the guards. There he threw the stone away from the tree, towards some bushes, where it landed with a loud rustle between the leaves. Both blind Tatras immediately jumped to their feet and walked towards the bush, while Koji sneaked out the other side and into freedom. Now he was exactly where his dream showed him he’d be – in front of the great tree. The eerie feeling came back and his stomach turned, so he ran away from it as fast as his legs could carry him. The bird from before swooped down and flew above him, its red eyes fixed on the running Tatra, though it didn’t grab him, but just rose up again and disappeared into the nightsky. When he felt he was far enough away, Koji stopped and gasped for air but was disturbed once more. A voice from behind him made him jump in surprise and he backed up a bit, preparing for a fight. «Who’s there?! You can’t keep me here, I tell ya!»«Hush now! They’re gonna hear you if you shout like that! Come on over here.» A paw shot out of a bush, grabbed Koji’s pelt and dragged him into the undergrowth. There was only little space in between the bushes but they were well hidden from view from between the plants. In front of him sat a slim, brightly colored Kumba with large empty spots. Their eyes were staring straight at each other for a second, then the stranger spoke. «I’m Athelas, healer of Rockdweller tribe. I’ve come from the desert, far away from here, because our tribemates have been kidnapped and brought to this location.» «How do you know that? And more importantly, how did you get all the way here?» «I followed one of the birds after it grabbed another poor soul. And yes, that means I’ve walked all the way. Took a couple days…and it’s so cold here, how do you..?» He stopped midsentence, shaking his head and collecting his thoughts. «Anyway. You seem like you’re on the run. ‘You can’t keep me here’, huh? I assume you came from over there?» The Kumba hob pointed his tail towards the tree and Koji nodded shortly. «Great! I’m gonna need you to help me out here, I have to get inside unseen, will you join me to save my friends? And once we did that we can try to catch one of the birds, they might be the key as to why this is all happening and where the disease came from. They do have red eyes, yeah?» «They do. But I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you, I’m needed elsewhere.» The bright one frowned now, his tail flopping lifelessly to the ground in defeat. «Are you sure? Do you not want the sickness to cease? You must’ve heard of it, right?» Koji bit his lips, not knowing what to do. Finding the source of the sickness and discovering a way to cure it would probably save a lot of lives, but he still had to think about his close ones. «I’m sure you’ll find someone else willing to help you, there are many Salikos caught and imprisoned in there. Just know that the Tatras living here are blind, maybe this helps you.» Athelas nodded thankfully, then with a few graceful leaps he ran towards the tree. Now Koji was finally able to go home. He wasn’t quite sure where to go except south, but he was sure he’d find his way. ––– He travelled for a while, following the stars and moon he occasionally saw through the leaves of the forest, but he grew very exhausted rather quickly, since he had been awake for a whole day and night. He found an abandoned fox burrow and used it to rest up a bit. He woke a few hours later, still a bit tired but he wanted to keep moving. The sun had started to rise above the horizon and tinted the sky in a soft pink tone. A few birds had started to sing and attracted the hobs attention. He also hadn’t eaten for a long time and a bird that sings so nicely couldn’t possibly be diseased, so he followed the sounds and sneaked up on the feathered creatures. He found a northern sparrow sitting on the ground and pecking for seeds. It was so distracted that it didn’t even notice the large Tatra appearing until it was too late. He put all his weight into his hindlegs and balanced out his weight, then leaped at the bird and killed it with one swift bite. This time he sat down to eat right away as he needed the energy for his journey. He deplumed the prey and bit into the meat with relish. After he had devoured his kill, he took the time to clean himself up a bit, then got up and went on. Now that the sun was out he could orient himself with that and travelled so long until he found a river. Following the river he hoped it would lead him home sooner or later. He travelled the whole day but eventually came to an area that seemed familiar and was able to find the way to his camp. He made his way through the reeds around the camp and stumbled upon Galina who was guarding the tribe at the moment. As soon as she saw him she jumped to her feet and ran towards him, almost knocking him down with her joyful welcome, then lovingly licked his cheek. «Koji, you’re back! Where were you, what happened?» Then more Salikos appeared in the center of the camp, lured out from her calls. «He’s back?» «Yes, there he is!» «Where’s Diedre? Someone get her!» They all gathered around, bombarding their leader with questions. He sat down and told them everything, from the bird that took him away until the Kumba he met during his escape. Diedre showed up and he saw relief in her face. He’d only been gone for two days, but she did have to consider what would happen if he wouldn’t have returned and she was obviously happy to remain deputy for a while longer. In a polite but friendly gesture she touched foreheads with him and bowed her head, then told him how the tribe was doing in his absence. «We had a pretty calm time, thankfully. There were no more bird attacks or strangers, only Sif fell into the river as she tried to catch a snake.» She looked over to the apprentice who stared back, betrayed and pouty, but the jill didn’t care if she embarrassed her. Still, Koji was wondering if Athelas managed to fulfil his mission of finding a cure. And if dawn was actually there, but he doubted that. How would that be possible? It didn’t concern him anymore though, there were enough Salikos out there who would be able to solve those mysteries. The mudchest hob was finally back home and he hoped he’d never see a blind tatra again.