2
A murmur traveled through the colony. Several chiropters shuddered in fear at what could have driven these great birds from the island.
"Our scout headed to this tree," said the bird leader, "Has he arrived?"
"I believe so," answered Auster, "Do you mean… um… oh yeah, Teryx?
"Yes."
"He was pretty beat up when he arrived," Auster informed.
"Oh, really," said the bird, leaning forward, "He was in good conditions when he left, and he wasn't attacked along the way."
"You're meaning of 'good condition' must be different than ours," muttered Auster to himself.
"What are 'Owls'?" asked Sylph.
"Big birds," explained Teryx, "Big, traitorous, birds."
"What do they look like," Dusk asked, eagerly.
"Big."
"Yes, we all know that. What else?"
"Sort of round-headed. Big eyes. And its head! Its head spun around in a circle without breaking its neck!" Teryx cried out.
"Strange…" said Sylph.
"Creepy…" said Dusk.
"Disturbing!" said Teryx, before falling limp again.
A chiropter crawled over to the nest.
"The birds want their scout back," she said.
"Um," said Sylph, "Now's not a good time."
Dusk poured some more water on Teryx, who sputtered to life.
"The birds want you back," he said.
"They came here?"
"Um, yeah…"
"I was supposed to report back to them, but they followed me?"
"I suppose…"
Teryx stood up on his talons. Dusk helped the injured bird to the birds' tree. Once they got there, a large she-bird hurried over to Teryx.
Dusk recognized her as Teryx's mother. He had seen her when she chased him away while he was talking to Teryx by the colony's old home.
The birds stayed all through the night. No one could sleep with the constant chirping and cawing of the birds. It was so irritating that when it stopped, it made all the chiropters quite frightened.
"Why have they stopped?" said Sylph.
"They must need sleep, too," Dusk said, hoping he was right.
"It just doesn't feel right."
"I'll take a look then."
Dusk flew through the canopy of the trees. As he reached the top of a tree, he scanned the area for anything out of place. Something moved. Dusk held his breath. Another shape followed the first one, then another, and another.
"Felids!" Dusk cried under his breath.
He remembered the large beasts that had broken the Pact that let all the beasts live in harmony, fighting the saurians. They had started to eat other beasts and they terrorized his colony and killed both his parents.
He quickly flew down to his colony.
"Everyone!" he yelled as loud as he could without letting the felids underneath the tree hear, "The Felids are here."
Several chiropters looked around frightened. Some cried out in panic. Most started to climb up to the narrowest branches that couldn't support the felids. Several birds started to call out again, flying to the highest branches.
The felids below jumped on to the trees. They snatched at chiropters that were just out of reach. Unfortunately, chiropters could not climb as fast as the felids. Fortunately, most of them were already on the upper branches already.
Dusk heard one of the felids growl something. The yellow-brown, cat-like creatures slowly crept up the tree.
"Hurry," he whispered to the chiropters around him.
Then, Dusk noticed a row of chiropters with strangely large, bulbous, horned heads, lining the highest branches of the trees all around. Suddenly, they all dove at once, free falling with their wings tuck by their sides. They started to collide with the felids. The felids roared in fury. The falling chiropters looked as if they were using their heads as weapons.
One of the chiropters zipped by Dusk and he noticed that its strangely shaped head was actually a nutshell that it was wearing on its head. Thorns were stuck on the shell.
They're using the shells as protection, thought Dusk. The thorns will hurt the felids on impact.
He looked back down. The felids were retreating. The chiropters were driving them back. Dusk let out a barrage of echovision, but got nothing but the felids. The chiropters on the ground had disappeared. He sat on the branch trying to make sense of it all.
Who were they? he thought.
Then he noticed there was someone on a tree across from the one he was on. He could make out the shell with the thorns on its head.
"Hey, you!" Dusk called.
The chiropter jerked its head toward him, his eyes glistening in the moonlight.
"Who are you?" Dusk yelled.
The chiropter looked straight at him and just faded into the darkness.