They came from across the sea; from a land they called England. I hid behind the over grown ivy and wild flowers watching my parents walk towards the intruders. Some of the new comers looked exactly like us, somewhat like us, and unappealing to the eye. I was only four years old then and the memories of these new creatures are dark and full of sorrow.
The one who seemed to be the leader of the expedition was one of my own species, an avefelisapien (winged man cougar). He spoke to my mother and father in a strange voice that meant nothing to my parents ears or my own. He seemed troubled at this and tried the babble again, when no apparent success happened he spoke low in our native tongue. After the quiet speech the three moved away from the clearing outside of the camp and into the bush just out of earshot. Using what little I had learned I stalked them until I could both see and hear them, but they could not do the contrary.
From what I could gather at the time he, the multi-speeched, seemed to be ashamed of his native language. His face was rigid, and he breathed swiftly as if angered. Though I did not understand this at the time the Griovite society, an organization of creatures that try to live up to human standards, looks down on their native speech as a primitive form of communication. The clothing he wore baffled me, he was willing covering himself, restricting his movement to a gawky stride, by wearing loud metal and thin uncomfortable leather. His eyes were sharp but dead to the culture he sees before him. What had happened to him to cause such a drastic change in the "normal" character?
My twin brother came up beside me; I was slightly surprised by his presence, because he hardly came up quietly. He must have understood the urgency of being quiet by how still and stiff I was. After my parents somewhat becoming comfortable with the situation, the new comer began to speak. "Hullo…my name is Kavis. We have…" he stretched his hand back to the direction of the base camp, "come from over the ocean to offer you and opportunity to join us on a worthy quest of service." The fur and feather stood up as he walked, it was as if an electric current was running through the area. I could feel it too; it had an exciting yet foreboding tension to it. "Where we are from we are called Griovites, we serve the humans with the protection from the Herpdraco, or what you would call an upright lizard." He sneered this sentence with such malice, how could he hate such a creature so? No, we did not communicate with the Herpdraco often but when we did it was pleasant. The ugliness of his face caused my mother to groan in an irritated manner at my father, he tightened his grip at her side and glanced a pitiful apology to her.
"Could we speak alone Kavis?" He stumbled at the sound of the unfamiliar name. Kavis smiled one of those fake ones, as if to conceal some greater cause of the Griovite system. He bowed and left to the encampment scattering leaves and dirt in his unnatural stride. I fine-tuned my ears to his step so I could recognize it again, it was a strange and awkward walk, and so it did not take my mind much effort to hold it tightly in my memory. My brother seemed to huddle closer to me, "I'm afraid." He said. I responded with a comforting hand on my brother's shoulder.
With a shock to the silence around us my father growled a rage of words, "What does he think he is! All high and mightily in that uniform! This is not the first dear…" he calmed into a quiet hiss as he spoke to my mother. "Did you hear what happened south? They were…"
"I know." My mother's eyes were downcast and sorrowful. "But let's not speak of it in front of the children." She smiled grimly at my father's widening eyes. At that moment my brother leaped out at my father in full joy and surprise.
"Gotcha!" A round of giggles followed the tense moment and I came out in a somewhat angered manner at the discovery of us, but that was lessened at my mother's words, "You did well, I would have not noticed you if your brother had not spoken."
"He's afraid."
"We should be…we should be." Just as the laughter begun it ended.
My father spoke to my mother, "Take the children back…I do not trust this Kavis."
"No…" my mother placed her hand on his shoulder and pulled him to her face and nuzzled him in a mumble of words. "This is their decision too…and mine." As usual my father could not resist my mother's enchanting gaze and smiled in submission.
My little family stood there but I could also see the rest of our tribe standing by out decision. They would not wish to be put into a new situation of dangerous code and custom. Not a word was spoken between us, my father was a good reader of expression, none of us wanted to complicate our "simple" lives with a judgmental society like the Griovites. "Then it is decided? We will not go with this Kavis and to this place?"
He need not have asked the question but for his assurance as well as ours we all shook our heads "no". My father grunted with approval and headed out in the direction of the strange voices at the camp.
We all followed my father to the camp. Even on the outskirts I could tell that they had full intentions to stay and colonize my home. Personally I felt enraged at the thought of these "creatures" would ravage and rape my place of birth. My mother held us close to her growling a low warning to those around us. After passing the entire racket of the building of permanent dwellings before the harsh winter we came to a quieter region of the site, and there was Kavis. He was bent over some map of plans and was arguing in that jibber that none of us could understand. One of his comrades noticed us and pointed almost mockingly. Kavis turned and smiled that smile; I jumped a little at his glance of pleasure at my brother and I. "So…have you decided your path for the future?" A snicker came behind Kavis; he turned about and banged his fist on the wooden table spilling a reddish liquid all over the plans. He shouted again and turned back to us.
"Sorry, what?"
A sigh of deep fear passed my father's lips, "We have decided to decline from your offer. We feel it is the best for my family and our clan."
"Well…that is a disappointment." Kavis snapped his fingers and a flurry of his minions surrounded us.
With a flick of his wrist Kavis had his sword out and was about to strike at my father, luckily my father's reflexes were quicker. He jumped back and growled out "Take the children away! Damn…do not let them get the children!"
My mother grabbed at me first, but my brother…he clutched at my father. In another instant he had him in his arms and slammed through like a battering ram and escaped. My mother was not so lucky. At the distraction of looking for my brother the "creatures" attacked with a unimaginable force to hold her from escape. I cannot say I toppled out of her embrace; it was more like a push…a last attempt for me to escape. Almost unnoticeable I scurried through the legs of my enemy but stopped short, my worst mistake. Kavis grabbed me and held me down with his foot; it just so happened that my face was upward to my mother. Tears streamed down my face, I could not even whimper because of the lack of air reaching my lungs. Kavis started to speak again, "What a capture I have…" he laughed, "Should I kill you when I'm sick of your bruised body? No...what a waste of my essence and energy. Can I torture you…what a pleasure you would be for the men at home…hahahaha...your blood will be slaughtered in England!" he was practically giddy at the thought of cruelty to another of his own kind.
"I…" my mother could barley speak under the enchantment, "will…not…cry…for myself…it is you…Kavis…who…I…will weep for." At this statement Kavis was in a frenzy.
Through the fur and feather on his body a red coloring passed through. His leg detached from my body and swung at my mother's wings. A loud snap and a scream of pain and hatred echoed off the metal armor of those around us. I wailed in a pathetic breath of voice "Mother…" Kavis kicked again and again, but from that point on she did not utter a word.
I wanted so much to shut my eyes from the sight but the shock and pain in my heart kept them open. The blood oozed out of the wounds inflicted by Kavis…none of his other comrades intervened in their commander's fury. They seemed to be so accustomed to this treatment of their brethren…I felt sick in my innocent mind. I had seen the hate of the world.
Finally out of breath, Kavis panted in heavy breaths. He could barley stand up not to mention unseat his sword. He grinned his jagged teeth and blew a breath in her face. When her eyes fluttered he whispered, "Meet your grim reaper." In an unsteady stance he lifted his sword to plunge into my mother's neck. The glint of silver was almost romantic, but the shower of blood left a scar on my eyes forever. At the end of the execution my mother's head rolled to me. Her eyes were already becoming glazed over with death. No horror of pain crossed her face just a lost hope that is just as awful for a young once hopeful soul. Removing me from my mother's gaze Kavis lifted me up and told me, "Yes my dear we do have plans for your carcass in England…yes we do." The smile, that smile, I lashed out in my premature way of anger by clawing at his face. My little revenge was just the beginning of my comeback, scars were nothing to me…I wanted to spill some real blood. "Whelp! You will pay for that!" With a yelp of pain I was out.
I awakened from another restless sleep. "What a dream…" I, Carissa, held my head from the pain of the same dream over and over again for the past seventeen years. This was the day of my recruitment in to the Griovite army system. My mentor had always been Kavis, thus the dream seemed ridiculous in reality, but it was so real at the time. My adoptive parents were very proud of me, especially my father. This adoption was not held from me…Kavis told me that my parents both died in a ship accident when I was about four. I accepted it as a truth and went on with my life; all was fine accept for the dream. It irked me and caused me to doubt my surroundings. I scoffed at the thought until that night.
Kavis had always been there for me in one way or another, and this night he was there to tell me personally the truth of my heritage. In the tavern…my first experience in one since it is seen as improper for a "lady" to be in one, Kavis became drunk. Not the scary or frightening kind, just a bash with some comrades before the long journey on ship. This night he revealed the story of my mother's death and my separation from my homeland. The dream came to my mind and almost caused me to scream out in a wrath of all of the lies told to me in the past years, but instead I took a vow to avenge my mother and myself as soon as I could.
The next morning Kavis had a hangover and was not in the most affable of moods towards me or anyone else. I avoided him of course and for the days on the ship I distracted myself with any kind of task. At first the voyage had clam waters and a pleasant wind to keep the ship on course…a few days later however that changed.
While only a few miles from the port the ship was thrown into an ice storm. It was a misery to take down the sails, which did not matter because the mast broke under the weight of ice hanging on the rope, wood, and cloth. Ignorant of the danger I climbed up the masts as quickly as I could trying to untie the frozen knots while the rest of the passengers were either down below in the belly of the ship in a pure confused panic or off the ship freezing to death in water or on boat. Eventually I realized that this was a trivial task and at the worst moment loosened my grip on the ropes. For within that moment the ship had crashed on the shallow rocks of a bay and I was flung into a sea of freezing cold water that stunned me into unconscious.