2: Stone
Disclaimer:Same as before. Idea-Brian Jacques, everything else for right now, me
He was massive, even so for a wildcat. His fur, a pure, pale gray from age, still had sheen and fullness. He was an great muscle-bound entity, with eyes of emerald, and claws kept filed. He was a beast built for destruction, a veritable machine of war, a Goliath of Ceres, the Land across the Western Sea. This was the one called Stone.
Elan and the rest of the creatures in Delta, an assortment of shrews and ferrets, cowered below him. Astil himself, the lone badger in the group, was only half his size. The badger stared at Stone, not from hate, or envy, or spite, but just intense curiosity. It was a very rare opportunity to see the leader of Tior, and not even the nine-seasoned Astil, the oldest in the group, for there seemed to be nobeast older than eleven seasons at the fort except for those running it, had seen Stone but once.
Stone dismissively glanced down at the Delta barracks, noting those that were weak, frail, or even too strong. For this reason his eyes stayed on the ever-searching Astil, the fretful Elan, and an older shrew, known as Laer. He muttered something to one of his squirrel guards, who quickly left the room. The Wildcat of Terror then turned to face his 'pupils'. "Do any of you know why you are here?"
The always out-of-the-loop Elan replied quickly. "Because we were told to come here?" As soon as he said it, the young ferret realized how the answer might have been taken, and his whole body began to tremble for fear of Stone's reaction.
His reaction was not what Elan was expecting. " 'because you were told to come here' ?" The wildcat glared at a portrait on the wall of the room. The room itself, a granite place, such as all buildings in Tior, was Stone's conference room, where he met with the leaders of the barracks, as well as the private meetings with the barrack-members, such as now.
Suddenly, Stone's face split into a grin. He began to laugh, a very uncommon thing in Tior. Elan began to chuckle nervously, until a quick glance at Astil's solemn face put an end to it. Stone reached out with a giant battle-scarred paw, and pulled Elan close. "No, my dear. You see, I have a mission for you and your friends."
The wildcat's smile widened.