[glow=green,2,300]Invasion
By Chelle[/glow]
It was a pleasant day in Pykiin Valley. Scratch a young adult male pykiin was sunning himself by the river. He was cleaning the dirt off his pure black scales as his soft light brown fur shimmering under the sun, the bright blood red stripe, which is the origin of his name, fluttering in the wind looking for the entire world like a bright and bleeding scratch. He was a happy guy with friends and the Dryad. He was thankful that the Dryad had found K13 and the Tree Speaker. He liked this place, he liked the Rodeli that had come to live here, he enjoyed the bonded friendship that he had been lucky enough to earn, and he felt his friend, Rome, the Rodeli on his shoulders scratching his back on the black spines that came out behind Scratch’s ears. What a pair they were the two of them and on this wonderful day nothing could go wrong.
But still something in the core of his being was unsettled, he didn’t understand. The feeling had been growing stronger day by day for the last week. Something was different, something was wrong, but what? Scratch scanned the field and saw his friends Hikaru, Akemi, Mieko and Naomi relaxing and eating their lunch, but nothing that looked out of place or anything that would account for this feeling.
He was startled out of his puzzlement by the Tree Speaker who knelt down beside him. “The Dryad told me you were unsettled, she said that you have an important quest coming, and that your path will be clear.” With that the Tree Speaker got back to her hooves and walked away. “When,” he called after the Tree Speaker. She looked back and said quietly “Soon.” then walked out of sight.
He slept fitfully that night and kept waking with a start. It was getting worse, this strange feeling, much much worse. Finally with a restless sigh he got up. He was going to have to go to the Dryad maybe she would explain this to him somehow. He was nearing her clearing when he heard a sound he’d never heard before. It was a keening cry that seemed to come from all around him. Something was in terrible pain, and the feeling in his core turned into a burning in his gut. He ran towards the direction that he knew the danger was coming from, not even pausing to question how he knew. When he got to the Dryad’s clearing he saw her but she wasn’t alone. In the clearing, near to where the Dryad stood was a dark twisted tree shape. It raised its limb to strike the Dryad, with a speed that he would later question; Scratch launched himself at the invading form. With a leap that made him feel like he had wings he met the strike mid-air grabbing on with claws and teeth.
He was furious!
Who would dare come and hurt the gentle Dryad. She’s the one who sheltered and protected all the pykiin in the valley. It was because of her that the first four had the powers to cleanse and renew the valley.
He clawed and bit at the twisted form, then felt himself flying through the air as he was shaken loose by the thrashing of its limbs. He was flung too far and too fast to even try to prevent it he knew he was going to die, no one would survive the impact with the ground from this height. He heard Rome cry out and tried to find the Rodeli as he somersaulted through the air. He couldn’t see him and that made him sad he wanted to at least have gotten a chance to see him one last time. This time when Rome cried out Scratch understood one word from the familiar voice “Dryad” As he turned one last time in the air he saw her, the Dryad. She had stretched her limbs wide and was blocking the path to the ground; He understood at once she was trying to catch him. With an effort aided by what had to be magic he flipped his body and extended his claws. He felt the Dryad’s limb under his paws felt his claws dig deep and felt the hot spill of her blood but she didn’t flinch underneath him. He lost his footing for only a second and scrabbled back up to her limb.
He saw her blood on his paws and taste the intruder’s in his mouth. With a growl he ran up the Dryad’s limb and howling out his rage, with a roar that echoed through the valley, leaped off the very top limb, this thing was not staying in this Valley not with their beloved Dryad. He would stop it if it took his life to do it. He attacked with everything that he had in him and didn’t relent finally the valley itself seemed to rise up against the intruder, forcefully expelling him. Scratch limped back to the Dryad marveling at the magic the valley possessed. He knew with out its help all would have been lost.
When he got to the Dryad she was surrounded by the other Pykiin Rome was in the center telling them what had happened. Scratch collapsed near the base of the Dryad, exhausted and bleeding but, miraculously alive. The group parted and Lola, his would be mate, stepped towards him. The last thing he saw was her beautiful white fur, with her cyan hair, banded tails and black fairy wings. It was worth it he thought as the world dimmed around him if she’s safe and the valley is safe it was all worth it. With that he blacked out.
He opened his eye and was lying beside the pond, with Rome and Lola curled up next to him. All the blood had been washed off his fur and feeling restful for the first time in days.
“I’m not dead?” he asked. Lola laughed, a musical tinkling sound, of course not silly. She licked his paw “You had me scared for a while, and we think this wound on you leg will scar but you’ll be fine.”
“What happened what was that thing.” He asked gingerly getting to his paws and limping to the pond for a drink of the cool water. “The Dryad told the Tree Speaker last night that it was a Dryad.” He looked at her in shock “That twisted thing was once a Dryad?” “How uh, when uh Why?”
Lola pushed him lightly till he sat. “That is what becomes of a Dryad, when bad things happen to the trees in their valley. Our Dryad shelters us from the sun and storms, but Dryads also protect the other trees in the Valley. The other Dryad had lost its valley and all the trees, left there brooding in the magic it twisted and turned and something evil was born. It was no longer a dryad but somthing else. Something that was driven by jealous and hate. It wanted what our Dryad has, but our Dryad has something that most do not. She has the four in whom she entrusted part of her magic, she has all the pykiin to bring her what she needs, like the Rodeli,” she nodded towards Rome. “And she has you! The gentle pykiin whom through the magic of the valley was transformed into a fierce warrior.” She gently kissed his cheek “The other didn’t have anyone to fight for it, but we do because we have you.”
The End
Status: Coooosplayyysss. Vair busy kthxbai.