(Clawheart's P.O.V.)
I nod. "Yes, they probably would. But the stream does not work like that."
/Within a few short minutes of walking, they found the stream. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary with it, but both knew that, in this "neck of the woods", things were usually more than they appeared. Approaching the water with a thoughtful frown, Marci stumbled over a stone and nearly fell face-first into the stream. Cio caught her by the arm, but she still stumbled into the stream. She scrambled out, checking the journal to make sure that it wasn't wet. Cio eyed the water carefully, bending over and dipping a finger into it. Both looked at eachother, brown eyes, young and old, meeting for a moment; a silent conversation. "Nothing happened. She DID say that it was those who DRANK from the stream. Does that mean only TOUCHING it is okay? No weird magical curses or gifts or whatever?"
They shrugged, and, side by side, they walked back along the path they took. It had not been five minutes when Marci stumbled and collapsed. Cio caught her before she hit the ground, worried for her, but he, too, collapsed.
Just then, back at their home, the family took notice of the two's absence, and set out to find them. Grunkle Ford going one way, Grandpa Stanley another, Dipper and Mabel a third. Each went into the woods. Each pair met the mysterious, winged fox. No humans returned from the woods. No humans took residence inside the cabin home. Monsters came, and very soon, to set up dwelling in their absence. Monsters, some hungry for fresh meat, others tolerant of human food, and others still eating only grass and vegetables and flowers.
Not a single member of the Pines family returned./
I paused, knowing how big of a cliffhanger this would be. I knew I had Tara's (and whoever else was listening) full attention. I knew the tale sounded dark, but it really wasn't, in the end.
(Sunrise's P.O.V.)
I watched amusingly yet awed at the powerful story that Clawheart was telling Tara. 'Man, Airi really knows stuff, that's for sure.' I heard a knock on the door, and with a glance toward the others, I went to open the door to see Ghostpaw, looking anxious about something. I raised an eyebrow confusedly, and closed the door behind me.
"What's wrong? Are they here, Alka and Jaru?". I ask sharply.
"They are fine, my leader, plus their litter. But, there's something, ... well, you probably want to see this.". replied Ghostpaw warily. I frowned and nodded, followed him to the elevator and headed up, walked out across the floor, lots of dogs resting or eating, recognizing a few here and there until we reached the far right end of Upworld House, where I saw Alka and Jaru. Alka has a gray/black pelt with a cream belly,and gold amber eyes, mainly looks like a husky with bigger paws and a slighter bigger snout. His mate, Jaru, she has a burnt red pelt with a white-tipped tail, and a tan belly. Mainly looks like a collie with shorter fur, and crystal blue eyes. Jaru's back was facing me, and I heard whimpers with a whine here and there. Alka saw me.
"Sunrise, glad to see you here. Thanks for the message. The litter's fine, but well, come closer to see what I'm talking about". he barked. I tilted my head, and came closer as Jaru looked up at me and I looked over. The litter is mainly boys and looks like their father with splashes of color here and there, but it wasn't the issue, next to them was. 'A baby!' I was shocked to see a tattered clothed baby crawling and suckling one of Jaru's nipples. Suddenly, the baby looked up, and I saw its eyes, shining sky blue with hints of green. Its hair was a soft white-blonde.
"Alka, where did you find this baby?". I asked in a whisper.
Alka snorted quietly, "One of my trackers found her, she was simply laying in blankets in a alley. We searched everywhere for its mother while Jaru fed her, but to no success. After a discussion two nights ago with the elders, we decided to tell you on the next day, then we were disrupted by a rogue which we had to exile, then today, we heard you, and knew we had to show you.".
"How long did you have her, my friend?". I asked curiously.
"Four days plus today, Sunrise.". Alka quietly growled. I looked at this little girl. 'She couldn't be any older than at least 8 months old. She obviously had been abandoned by her real mother, leaving her to the weather out into a alley. I know Alka and Jaru does cares for cubs of all kinds including humans, but she can't afford to live in a cave out in the weather like that.' Then an idea approached me.
"Alka, please consider my suggestions here. This girl couldn't bear to live in the winter like this with you, I know the cave is warm and all, but what happens once spring comes? Suppose someone finds her? No, she needs to be in a safe environment, with parents of her race and least a sibling.". I replied softly and firmly.
Alka sighed, and looked at Jaru, who nodded softly. "Very well, Sunrise, you've made your point. Just do make sure that she is okay. My mate did everything to keep her healthy.".
"I appreciate that, Jaru, thank you. And Alka, I promise to watch over her like I do for my clan here.". I commented surely. Alka nodded, leaned over Jaru, picked up the little babe gently in his jaws, brought her to me as I held her. She babbled quietly as I looked at her. I smiled gently, and got up, walked back, used the elevator to head down. 'I hope Tara likes her as Nightstorm and Silver too.'.
Meanwhile as Sunrise was above-
(Tara's P.O.V.)
"Huh, Sunrise went out. Oh, well. Airi, is touching safe from drinking of the stream?".
(Clawheart's P.O.V.)
I shake my head no again. "Nothing invaded the town. The stream doesn't really grant you anything; curses or wishes." I shrug at her puzzled look. "It IS magical, though; it turns you into a monster based on your personality; wait, scratch that." I pause, tapping my chin.
"Monster is actually a pretty loose term in that town . . . because it's filled with supernatural, paranormal, magical, and downright weird creatures and things. 'Monster' is used, I s'pose, just because it can help sum it all up." I close my eyes for a moment, then open them again.
"Are you familiar with the term 'Were'?" I pronounced it like "where".
(Tara's P.O.V.)
"Were? Wait a second, Daddy, you told a story of werewolves some time ago?
(Nightstorm's P.O.V.)
Shocked that she remembered that, granted she had a nightmare that night, I reply slowly, "Yes, Werewolves are in the term of 'were', through I believe there are more 'were' creatures if Airi said that monsters are used as a word. Do you understand, darling?".
(Tara's P.O.V.)
I nodded certainly, "Is Daddy right, Airi?".
(Clawheart's P.O.V.)
I nod. "Yes. My concept of 'Were' is any creature that exhibits both human and animal traits, both physical and instinctual." I reply.
/The first to stumble out of the woods the next morning was a Winged Were-Mountain Lion. It was only a cub, and while these can occur naturally in the area(though through a very specific set of events) this was not natural; most magical occurrences at natural, but this was far beyond that.
It was dark brown in color, with streaks of black on its wings and six "toes" on each of its front paws. Alongside her was a Cervitaur-
"Wait," I interrupt myself. "Do you know what a Cervitaur is? Or a Centaur?" I ask.
(Tara's P.O.V.)
"Centaur? What do they look like?" I say curiously.
(Clawheart's P.O.V.)
I run a hand down my face. I'm not sure what sort of creatures she's seen in her own world. "Well, a Centaur is half man and half horse. Have you seen a horse before?" I ask, trying to keep calm. I have trouble when sidetracked in a story. Sometimes it's difficult to find my place.
(Tara's P.O.V.)
"Oh, that! We call them Equines back home! And for normal horses, it's quite rare there since there's considerably a few planets to sustain them, but it's still a rare sight.". I smiled smirkingly, glad that I knew something myself.
(Clawheart's P.O.V.)
I tilt my head. "I . . . I wasn't really aware of people like that. Where I come from, it's all fantasy and fairytales. What do they look like back home?" I ask curiously.
(Tara's P.O.V.)
"Well, Equines mainly resemble humans with noticeable features like ears, fur, tails, and have hooves in end feet. They mainly come in medium colors like brown, gray, gold, and my favorite, red.".
Clawheart's POV)
"Oh . . . Centaurs -and Cervitaurs- are a bit different. Assuming you've seen horses before, well . . . a Centaur is kinda like taking the body of a horse and taking away the head and neck, and replacing it with a human torso from the waist up . . . What you described sounds a little more like a Minotaur, which is half-man and half bull, with the hooves and strength and head of a bull . . actually, when I think about it, their only real human traits are from the waist to the neck . . ." I pause, thinking.
(Tara's P.O.V.)
"That's really cool, and for Minotaurs you call them, back home, it is versily different. We call them Torsians, and they mainly have horns, fur, tails, and the trademark of onyx eyes while the rest is resembling human.".
(Clawheart's P.O.V.)
I nod, fascinated. "I . . . I think we've gotten a little sidetracked. Last question; have you seen deer before? Or pictures, perhaps?" I ask.
(Tara's P.O.V.)
"Oh, yah. We don't have hybrids of deer, but we do have normal deer in pictures and etc, back home.". I reply casually.
(Clawheart's P.O.V.)
"Well, a Cervitaur is similar to a Centaur," I explain. "Deer body, human torso, etc. there. The main difference is they tend to have deer instincts that can overwhelm their human instincts; which can be a very good thing if there's something nearby that would think they'd make a good dessert. Another thing is they become vegetarians, herbivores, whatever, because trying to eat meat makes them sick to their stomachs.
The last thing is a physical trait. They're human ears are replaced by deer ears, and they grow antlers on top of their heads as they reach adulthood; at least, the males do. Only male deer get antlers, and the same goes for Cervitaurs. While on the other hand, Centaurs don't really get anything like that; they're still mostly-human on the inside, and they don't have horse ears or whatever. The human and animal halves are clearly separated; you can tell." I shrug a little.