Welcome back, readers! I sincerely hope you are all enjoying this fic, because this chapter is going to make it a whole lot better!
We are introcduced to Larah, a third human OC, who is an orphan with nobody left. However, she soon meets someone who will change her life forever. This chapter will contain human and animal talking, just to clarify.
A/N: Like the last chapter introducing human OCs, this one is set before the movie, about 5 years.
Far out in the desert on a high boulder, a large, bipedal creature sprinted up to the top and surveyed the area. This land was a kingdom, and he bore the crown. The creature was a male Ramu, but like none ever seen before; he was enormous, much more than double the normal adult size. His feathers were pitch black with numerous violet streaks, but the most unique thing of all was his horns: he had four of them. The first pair curled back like normal, but the second curved back and didn't swirl, much like a modern goat's. The mighty Ramu's name was Corron, and he was unmatched by any foe. Even the terrifying Bear Owl, Neroc, wouldn't dare challenge him. Many creatures both feared but also respected Corron, for he was a hero. He had saved the lives of hundreds of creatures, great and small. Many years ago, when an enormous, devastating unseasonal flood had all but destroyed the lower desert, Corron had doven into the treacherous water and swum across to save an entire pack of Liyotes, and had later used his great strength to push over a tree to make a bridge over a torrenting river for the animals to cross. And another time, when a devastating sandstorm from the north enveloped the desert, it was Corron who had led a mixed herd of Ramus and Emels with numerous young into the canyons to safety. Corron was a truly righteous creature, one worthy of reverence.
Corron looked up into the sky and saw dark clouds converging. A storm was on the way. Rainfall was very rare in the desert, but it still came once every year for a few days.
As the life-giving rain began to pour down steadily from the sky, not at all like the flood all those years ago, Corron's sensitive ears picked up a noise. He had rarely ever heard this sound before, and was even surprised by it! It was the faint, tearjerking sound of crying. At first, Corron didn't know if the crying creature was in danger, injured, or just upset, but he felt it was worth checking out. He ran off in the direction of the crying. If the animal was in danger, he would save it. If it was injured, he would help it find a safe place to rest and then leave. If it was merely sad about something, like a friend or relative dying, he would just leave it be.
Corron followed the crying noise into the canyons. When he had finally found where it was coming from, he carefully snuck towards it behind rocks until he was close enough to see without revealing himself. What he saw was a surprise for him. Only a few meters ahead was a weeping, lone cavegirl.
The cavegirl was 7 years old and named Larah. She had medium length black hair with a ponytail and a brownish streak, blue eyes, and wore a red, spotted animal skin. However, there was one single distinguishing feature about Larah that set her aside from all other humans, cave-dwelling or otherwise, that Corron had seen before: she had a tail. Seriously! This cavegirl had a tail! And not one of those bogus, vestigial tails like the one that cavewoman from "When Women Had Tails" had. No, Larah had a full, 2-meter long, fuzzy, animal-like tail with a tuft of red hair at the end.
As Larah cried, her tail was curled around her, showing that she was able to control it like any animal could. In fact, it was because of her tail that she had been abandoned. She was born into a family of harsh, brutish cavemen, all of which were older than her and none of which were at all like her. They were thuggish and violent, especially to the animals that they hunted. Even Neroc, Daru, and Sorith themselves were afraid of them! Corron remembered now. Those same cavemen had killed his parents, and three of his brothers and sisters! Only his youngest brother had escaped. Larah was not accepted at all by her "family", and in fact, she had given the name 'Larah' to herself.
For seven years she put up with the abuse, until yesterday, that is. Yesterday, she had finally had enough of her older siblings bullying her, so she retaliated by whipping them in the face with her tail. This just made them crazed angry, enough for her fuzz-head parents to throw her out of the cave and leave her outside. Larah then ran away, into the canyon, and here she was. Larah had no home, and nobody to look after her. But worst of all, she was alone. As Larah continued to cry, she hugged her tail and used it to feebly wipe her tears.
Corron felt immense pity befall him. He was not a fan of cavemen, to put it lightly, but to see one so young and pathetic all alone and broken inside, it just broke his stern heart. Lightning suddenly flashed above, followed by booming thunder. Larah whimpered in fear and hugged her tail again as more tears streaked down her cheeks. Unable to watch any longer, Corron held his breath and left the hiding rocks, slowly and quietly approaching the sobbing cavegirl.
Larah still had her face in her hands, so she did not see Corron reveal himself. Corron then squawked lightly, making his presence known. Larah quickly looked up when she heard Corron squawk, and her eyes immediately went wide with fear. She had never seen a Ramu so enormous(and with double the amount of horns, no less), and now one was standing before her. Corron was well over 5 times her size, but he meant no harm. As Corron slowly stepped towards her, she tried to scoot away, but was stopped by the canyon wall, and she could not climb. Corron had now reached her, his face just inches away from hers, and stared directly into her eyes.
"Please don't kill me!" Larah whimpered as she covered her face with her hands. However, Corron merely backed away a few feet and sat down, keeping his eyes on her. Corron had looked at her so closely just to inspect her, and he could detect no wrongfulness in her. The instinct is strong with her. He thought. Eventually, Larah opened her eyes and looked at Corron, who was still completely calm and still. He was doing this as a way to gain her trust.
Carefully, Larah approached him. He was showing no signs of aggression, fear, or suspicion, and Larah was very uncertain of what he would do. Slowly, she crawled forward until she was less than a meter away from him. Corron looked down at her and blinked, still not daring to move should it frighten her. Larah then cautiously reached out her hand and touched it to his muscly chest, feeling his mighty heartbeat. Then, she reached her hand up towards his face, and Corron lowered his head so that Larah could touch her palm to his beak. Corron then closed his eyes, feeling her warm touch. At that moment, the both of them were truly happy.
When Larah removed her hand and Corron looked down at her again, he saw that her tears were gone and she was smiling, and- were his eyes deceiving him? Because he could plainly see that Larah was openly wagging her tail just so slightly. Corron then clucked and wrapped his neck around her affectionately, making her giggle heartily.
"My name's Larah." She said. "And I think that we're gonna be friends!" Corron was initially surprised by this statement, since he had been a loner for the past several years, never forming close bonds with anybody. However, he clearly brightened this little girl's spirits, judging by her huge smile and her tail that was wagging back and forth furiously now. At that moment, Corron made a decision. He would look after Larah, protect her, and teach her in the ways of instinct, so that she would be able to survive on her own one day. As the rain began to let up, Larah yawned tiredly. Corron chuckled to himself and gently picked her up in his beak and deposited her onto his back before moving on to a large boulder with soft sand at the top where she could sleep. There, he gentily set her down onto the softest patch of sand where she immediately laid down and wrapped her tail around her small body and fell asleep. Corron smiled and sat down beside her and looked out at the setting sun.
The next morning, the canyon was shrouded in mist from the rain. Larah slowly woke up and yawned, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. She soon realized that she was alone on the rock. She was frightened. Where was the Ramu?
"Hello?" She called out into the mist. "Hello? Ramu? Are you out there?" Still no answer. Larah started whining in fear. Had the gigantic, but gentle Ramu abandoned her?
She called out for him again, but still nothing. She jumped down from the rock and looked around the fog, but could see no sign of the bird other than a trail of footprints leading away from the rock. She began to cry again. The Ramu had abandoned her. She slumped down and held her tail tightly in her hands, crippled by loneliness and the belief that she'd been abandoned yet again. Then, she heard footsteps coming towards her, fast. At first, she thought it was an animal coming to kill her, but then she heard the footsteps stop for a second, and then start back up again, this time much faster. Moments later, Corron burst through the mist and saw Larah weeping. Dropping the dead Parrot Buffalo calf he had been carrying in his beak, he swiftly was at her side and trying to comfort her. Larah looked up to see Corron right there and, overjoyed that he had come back, squealed with excitement and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Where did you go?" She asked once she let go. Corron then squawked and dragged the carcass over, hinting to her that he had left to get food. She understood quickly and mentally slapped herself for thinking he had left her. She was just so afraid of being alone that she had assumed the worst. She then hugged Corron's leg in apology. Corron understood, and promised to never leave her. The two of them then dug into the carcass, with Corron saving the meatiest, most nutricious parts for Larah. While they were eating, Corron swore to try and teach Larah to speak animal language, so that they could understand eachother with words, and he would also train her to protect herself and to hunt.
Over the next year, Corron taught Larah to speak Animal, at first by talking to her in his tongue, and she began to understand what he was trying to say. Then, when she wanted to learn the language, she said random human words to Corron, who repeated them in Animal. For instance, the phrase for "My name is _" in Animal was "MAAAAAAWWWWW!".
It continued like this for the next 8 months, until, on the last day of that year, when Corron was telling Larah his name in Animal, something extraordinary happened.
"Ok, what's your name? Your real name?" She had asked. His reply was:
"MAAAAWW-my name is Corron." Larah's eyes went wide with surprise. Had she really just heard what she thought she did?
"S-say that again?" she said uneasily.
"My name is Corron.'' The Ramu repeated. That confirmed it. Larah could understand what Corron was saying! She could understand Animal!
"I...I understood you." She said with a shaking voice. Corron was so shocked by this he had to ask again.
"W-what?" She could hear the shock in his voice.
"I understood you!"
"Y-you did?!"
"Yes!" Larah squealed in excitment. "I can speak Animal!"
"By the Sun, you are!" Corron shouted. "Finally! We can talk to eachother directly, and I won't have to use body motions to tell you something." Larah was so excited, she jumped up and hugged Corron's neck tight, and even wrapping her tail around him as well. Corron was very proud of Larah, for she was the first human to speak to animals, and he had taught her.
Over the next few months, Corron trained Larah to both hunt and master the art of stealth, and she was learning well. He also taught her to use her tail in almost every situation, even to use it as a rope and even a weapon. He also taught her to use her brain as well as her strength, for when both were working together, an organism was almost unstoppable.
One day, however, when Larah was out by herself in the desert, she was approached by a certain trio of Vulture Gorillas.
"Well, well. Look what we've got ourselves here." Grunt said mockingly. "A cave-baby all by herself." His cronies chuckled at this. Larah, however, was not as impressed.
"Hey! I am not a baby!" She stated. Hearing her talk in their language surprised the bullies a little.
"Looks like the brat can speak Animal." Darg said. Larah's anger was rising further.
"Not only that! She's got a tail!" Rozz pointed out. The three laughed teasingly when they saw that. Larah was only getting madder, and her tail was swinging back and forth with rage.
"Looks like she can use it, too!" Grunt laughed jerkily. That was it. Larah screeched like an animal and pounced at Grunt, but the Vulture Gorilla grabbed her by the tail, incapacitating her. Grunt's cronies laughed hysterically when Larah tried to scratch at Grunt's face, but they stopped laughing when Grunt was rammed onto his back by a black and purple blur, making him drop Larah.
"What the?" Grunt rubbed his head as he stood back up to see a very, VERY angry Corron standing protectively in front of Larah. Darg and Rozz were staring slack-jawed at the sight of their boss on the ground.
"Don't just stand there, you idiots! Get 'em!" Grunt commanded. Darg and Rozz glared at Corron and growled, and then charged at him, thinking they could take him on. Bad idea. Corron screeched and ran at the scavengers, and knocked Darg to ground in one hit. Rozz, shocked for a moment, then tried to punch the Ramu in the beak, but Corron ducked and brought his cranium up right into Rozz's chin, throwing him up into the air and landing with a thud. By now, Grunt had gotten up and grabbed Corron's horn and threw him to the ground. "Heh Heh! What's the matter, birdy?" Grunt taunted. "Can't handle a bird with real muscles?" Corron snorted and charged. Grunt, expecting the Ramu to try and ram him, readied his fists to knock him in the beak. However, Corron leaped into the air and landed right on Grunt's back, the sudden weight forcing him down.
This whole time, Larah was sitting on a rock rooting for Corron, while also snacking on a lizard.
Darg roared and charged Corron, but was met with an interesting strategy; once Darg was near enough, Corron jumped up and grasped Darg's shoulders with his talons, and flipped over in midair, pulling Darg with him and bringing him crashing to the ground. Corron then went after Rozz, leaping into the air and smashing his foot right into the Vulture Gorilla's face. Grunt soon got up and shook off the pain, only for Corron to slam into him and throw him a number of feet to the side. Corron then screeched loudly at the trio as they started running away, squawking like chicks.
"Yeah! You'd better run!" Larah yelled at them as they scrambled away like cowards. She laughed as they disappeared from sight, but when she looked up at Corron, her giggling stopped. Corron had a very serious look on his face. "Corron?" She asked with some worry in her voice.
"Larah." He began. "If I hadn't been here, those Vulture Gorillas could have hurt you. Badly. It is clear that you need to learn how to defend yourself."
"I guess you're right." Larah responded.
"Very well." Corron said as he led Larah back into the canyons. "Your training begins tommorow." Larah slept little that night, wondering what kind of training she would endure the next morning.
The next morning, Larah was suddenly awakened by a light, but sharp kick to her side.
"Get up." Corron said sternly. Larah yawned and rubbed her eyes, not happy to have been disturbed so early.
"What was that for?! It's hardly even dawn!" Corron's expression did not change.
"I told you: your training begins today. Now, get up and eat something. We're going to be hard at work today." He said as he walked off.
Later, after Larah had become fully awake and had something to eat for breakfast(a Mosquito), Corron began to instruct her on the art of self-defense.
"Remember: when faced with an enemy, it is best to use not strength, but strategy. It matters not whether your enemy is large or small, strong or swift. What matters is whether you can outsmart them." Larah nodded, taking in Corron's advise. A montage followed of Larah performing a number of difficult tasks with Corron advising her the whole way, including pushing a boulder twice her size with Corron atop it;
"Though strength is not the most important of your fighting tools, it is an important one nevertheless. You must use your spare time to build on your strength, and feul it in battle with your training."
Soon, however, Larah collapsed to the ground, panting.
...Hanging from a very skinny vine over a short ravine with Neroc the Bear Owl pacing below;
"An enemy who watches and waits is the most dangerous kind. To defeat them, you must watch and wait longer."
After a while, Neroc left, and Larah was still hanging there.
...Running from a pack of Liyotes while holding an egg;
"Your enemy will stop at nothing to get what he desires, so you must do everything you can to keep it from them."
A Liyote then grabbed Larah's tail, making her fall, and then made off with the egg. Larah grumbled and blew a lock of hair out of her face while Corron shook his head disapprovingly.
...Standing on one foot atop a tall rock pillar in the middle of a windstorm;
"The wind is strong. It makes other objects succumb to its power. You must be stronger! Resist the power of your enemy, and you will have an oppertunity to strike!"
However, a particularly strong gust caused Larah to fall over the edge, but Corron was there to catch her in his beak.
...And standing her ground while Neroc was threatening her.
"Your enemy will never stop trying to make you show weakness. If you show even the slightest falter in resisting him, your enemy will have already won the battle. You must stand your ground at any cost, and not once can you afford to retreat!"
Neroc roared and charged at the cave-girl. Still, Larah remained where she stood, not daring to run. Sweat began to drip down her skin as Neroc got closer. Suddenly, she could not bear it anymore and broke into a run. Thankfully, Corron rammed Neroc to the ground before he could pounce. The two of them then went back to their canyon home, with Corron showing a look of disapproval.
"Uhg! That was exhausting!" Larah groaned as she collapsed onto her nest/bed in exhaustion.
"Indeed it was." Corron stated as he settled into his own nest. "I've never seen someone do so poorly on their first day." Larah angrily humphed and soon fell asleep. Corron watched her, smiling to himself.
"She'll learn eventually. Just like my other student. She'll learn."
Over time, Corron kept training Larah, pushing her to the limit and beyond. And finally, after months and months of tireless work, Larah again tried to stand her ground against Neroc. This time, however, she closed her eyes and did not run. When she heard the Bear Owls footsteps abruptly stop, she opened her eyes and looked up to see Neroc right in front of her, sitting up on his haunches and grinning down at her honorably.
"I admire your courage." He said before running off. Larah smiled triumphantly and looked back at Corron to see him smiling and nodding in approval.
3 years later...
A lone Liyote was chasing a young warthog out in the desert, inent on eating it. However, when the Liyote cornered the warthog by several large rocks, the two of them suddenly heard a noise in a nearby tree. The Liyote looked up to see nothing in the tree, but when he turned back to his prey, he was shocked to see that the warthog was gone, with only a cloud of dust remaining! The Liyote was beginning to get scared, when he suddenly heard a twig snap. He swiftly turned in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing. Then, he heard a sudden and abruptly-ended squeal of the warthog, before said creature was dropped in front of him, dead, its neck snapped. Something then skidded across the ground behind the Liyote, and he turned to catch a tiny glimpse of a brown, furry tail with a red tuft on the end before it vanished behind a rock. The Liyote was getting seriously creeped out now. He was about to check out where the tail had gone, when something suddenly landed on the ground right in front of him. The Liyote stared up in fear at a 12-year old girl with black hair with a brown streak in a ponytail, clothed in a spotted, red-orange fur pelt, and with a long, furry tail. The girl also wore reddish-brown bear paws on her feet up to her knees, and wore a belt made of snakeskin that held a knife made from a tiger tooth.
Larah stared down at the terrified Liyote, smiling mischievously.
"BOO!" She said suddenly, effectively scaring the living fur off the Liyote before it took off running. Larah laughed to herself as she watched the reptomammal yelp as it scurried back to its pack. Just then, a huge, black and purple 4-horned Ramu came up to her.
"Successful hunt I trust, Larah?" Corron joked. Though Larah was taller now, He was still quite a bit larger than her.
"Funny, Corron. Now c'mon. Let's eat." Larah then cut apart the warthog with her knife, and the pair feasted on the raw meat once it was devided up. Once most of the meat was polished off, Larah was inspecting the warthog's tusks. "Y'know, I could probably make some cool weopons with these." Corron just chuckled.
"That's you, Larah. Always looking to make things into tools. I admire that about you."
"Well, you're the one who taught me to do it." That was indeed true. As well as instinct, Corron possessed some knowledge of human ways, and he had learned much of this by spying on a young human that came around the desert occasionally. Larah also knew how to make fire.
Soon, the sun began to set, but Larah and Corron stayed out while the stars shown overhead. Larah always loved to gaze at the stars, which was why she never slept in a cave or anything else that obscured her view of the night sky. Corron smiled to himself as he watched her shimmy up a tall butte and lay on her back at the top. She was just so full of energy, and Corron just loved that about her. However, he knew that one day she would go off on her own, and Corron was fine with that, as long as it was what Larah wanted. The Ramu eventually settled down in a makeshift nest of dry weeds and fell asleep.
Up atop the rocky butte, Larah took a break from stargazing and looked down at Corron. For the past few years, she had begun to see the giant Ramu as somewhat of a father-figure, and he was much better than any caveman father, so she thought.
Having been raised in the wild, Larah was probably one of the hardiest humans in the world. Countless wild animals roared and howled in the night. Music to my ears. She thought before falling asleep.
The next morning, Corron was the first one awake. He stretched and squawked as he stood up, but he suddenly stopped. Corron looked out over the desert, worry on his face. His strong instinct was telling him that something dreadful was about to happen. Larah felt the same as she awoke, too. Since she had been brought up like an animal, she possessed powerful instinct as well, though not as great as Corron's.
Larah jumped down from her high perch and darted down towards Corron.
"Can you feel that?" She said as she came up beside him. Corron hesitated before responding.
"Indeed I do." The both of them felt that they needed to get out of there, and fast. Not a moment later, the earth began to groan before splitting apart! Larah hastily jumped onto Corron's back before he ran as the desert began to crumble around them.
"Corron?! What's happening?!" Larah screamed as Corron ran towards the canyons.
"The desert is going to be destroyed!" The 4-horned Ramu shouted in terror as rocks crashed behind them. "We have to get out of here!" Corron had now made it to the canyons and was nearing the edge of a cliff. He skidded to a stop at the edge and Larah hopped of his back. Suddenly, the cliff broke off from the canyon and fell down into the jungle, taking Corron and Larah with it.
Larah suddenly felt her back hit solid ground, knocking the breath out of her lungs. She groaned as she pushed herself up, and quickly realized that Corron wasn't with her.
"Corron?" She called out.
"Up here!" Corron's voice answered. Larah looked up to see that her friend's horns had gotten caught on a branch, ans she couldn't help but giggle at the sight of him hanging there.
"Real funny, Larah." Corron soon managed to get himself down, and it was only then the two noticed their new surroundings.
"Where are we?" Larah asked in wonder as she stared mouth agape at the twisting branches and vines of the jungle. Corron, despite all his years of travelling and discovery, could only say one thing:
"I don't know..."
What will happen next? Find out soon!
A/N: Next chapter, we check up on the Hippocheetah family in their exploration of the jungle, and an old "friend" of theirs stops by...
