Legend of The Chezamon

Chapter 11- Preparing for The Guests

Luna had stayed behind at the Den while Kaz and the others went to tell their respective Tribes about Baojia's decision. Since the Chezamon had not had any visitors in solems, they knew nothing of the other Tribes' tastes and likes, so Luna offered herself to help them. After Baojia's decision was revealed to the rest of the Tribe, most Chezamon panicked. They didn't like the idea of having strangers wandering freely around their home, but there was nothing they could do. A few others, mugicians in particular, saw this as a chance to study the other Tribes in case of a potential war.

Kaya's group was among the many Hunters assigned to prepare the guests' sleeping chambers, and that's when Luna saw a female Chezamon, other than princess Fen, for the firs time.

The particular female she had set her eyes on was much shorter than her male counterparts, and her legs and body were thinner. Also, she had a more dog-like head, even though her golden cat-like eyes and reptilian nose were still present. Her ears were pointy and wolf-like, like a male's, and her tail was less bushy. She was of a silvery gray color, with white face, underbelly and legs. Hikari was her name, and apparently she was a long-time friend of Kaya and the others.

Right then, they were working on the Mipedians' bedchambers. They had adorned it with plants reminiscent of the plants native to the Mipedian Desert, and had painted a few golden trimmings on the rocky walls of the cavern. However, since they had no real beds (Chezamon slept on nest-like beds made out of straw, grass and sticks), Chezamon had to improvise. For the first time in their lives, they had to capture Storkrans and pluck their feathers to make pillows, according to Luna's instructions.

Kaya let out a sneeze as one of the feathers in his pillow floated up to his nose.

"How can you sleep with these things?!" he growled, letting out another sneeze, "I think I'm getting a cold!"

Rocket rolled his eyes as he stuffed his own pillow, "Well, perhaps if you hadn't used the sheath of the pillow to knead…"

Indeed, the Kaya's pillow sheath was now ragged and filled with tiny holes.

"What? I my claws were crooking!"

"What do you think scratching posts are for?" Shaoran added in annoyance before going back to his work, carefully using the tip of his tail as a paint brush on the walls.

"Scratching posts?" Luna inquired from her place, sitting on one of the straw beds, "But you're wolf-like. In my world, scratching posts as for cats."

Jerome turned to look at her and tilted his head in confusion, "What's a cat?"

"Here are the last feathers," Hikari walked into the cavern, with saddlebags filled with feathers on her back, and let out a sigh when she spotted Kaya's attempt at making a pillow, "You kneaded on the sheath again, didn't you?"

Kaya let out a dismayed sigh, "You too? On whose side are you, Hikari?"

Hikari rolled her eyes as she placed the saddlebags on the ground, before turning to Luna, "By the way, sweetie, the hunters in charge of the Danians' bedchambers need your help."

Luna stood up and followed Hikari, not before waving at the four Hunters. She followed the Huntress through large underground tunnels and caverns illuminated by torches until they came to a great underground chasm, one of the few present, with ramshackle slums and bridges stretching out along and across the chasm. At the bottom of the chasm (which wasn't very deep) there were lights from torches, and Luna could spot various tents and posts, the marketplace, but none of the shops had opened yet. The two ways of getting down to the marketplace were the stairs, tunnels leading downwards, and the elevator, a wooden platform connected to gears which could go down and up equally, but it was quite fragile.

At first, the Chezamon had wanted to put the bedchambers in caves close to each other, but the humans dissuaded them from that, stating that some Tribes didn't get along with others at all. So, separate cavers were picked out.

Hikari led Luna into one of the chambers, the Danians' bedchamber, where Hunters were still working on the beds. Sorka, Razor and a few other Hunters were there; one of the Hunters noticed the two females' presence and walked towards them.

He had solid brown fur, with light yellow paws, underbelly and face. Dark gray tiger stripes ran down his back, and curiously, his ears were not completely erected, like the others, it gave him an almost collie-like look.

"Hey, there, girl!" he spoke cheerfully, "How are you doing? I wanted to ask you if Danians like candies, because I wanted to fill the pillows with candies but the others won't let me!"

Sorka rolled his eyes, "Toba, for the last time, candies are not for filling pillows! It will attract roaches!"

Hikari whispered into Luna's ear, "That's Toba, don't worry if he seems annoying; he's actually the happiest Hunter around, and he simply loves to make others laugh, even if it annoys them. But he's a nice guy."

"Luna, could you convince him? I've done what I could, and he doesn't listen, so I'm going to eat some candies!" Toba hopped out of the room, making Luna giggled at both the Hunter's rather funny antics and Sorka's annoyed expression.

Just then, Princess Fen dashed into the room, looking for somewhere to hide; all present Hunters bowed as soon as she entered, but they were confused when Fen attempted to hide under one of the straw beds.

"Fen?" Luna inquired, forgetting to refer to her as required, "What are you doing?"

"Shh!" Fen hushed her, "I'm trying to get away from the Clawders! I just can't stand it! I can't go to the bathroom without them following me! It's completely annoying!"

Hikari peeked outside the room and saw that, indeed, three Clawders were looking around the tunnels, searching for a sign of the princess. Although the Hunters would be scolded if they were found to have hidden the princess from her escort, the present Hunters, Hikari included, stood up as tall as they could, and Fen hid behind them, hoping the Clawders would not spot her. Luna just watched as the Clawders peeked into the room and, when they thought the princess was not in there, walked away to continue their search somewhere else.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Fen walked out of her hiding place behind the Hunters, "Thank you, guys. I've been trying to escape from them for a while."

"No problem, princess," Hikari smiled, "We're just doing our job."

"So, whose chamber is this?"

"The Danians'," one of the Hunters replied as he returned to fixing the beds.

"Hey, Luna, what are they like?" Fen inquired as she rested on the stone floor, "There's not much about the other Tribes in the records."

"Well, the Danians are like overgrown ants," Luna explained, "They're very picky about security; in fact, before we met you, we thought Danian security was the most efficient in Perim."

"Remind me to bug those Danian guys," Razor teasingly commented, making Luna giggle.

"I wonder how the others Tribes will come here, if they have not put a foot in here."

"I think the Alphas will send a patrol to guide them here, and pray nothing happens."

Luna looked down, "Me too, guys. Me too."

"Three seasons?" Maxxor voice echoed in his study, in both surprise and delight, "If we send those delegates for three months, the Chezamon will agree to make a treaty with us?"

"Actually, the Chezamon want the four tribes to send them delegates," Tom explained, "And they will decided whether it's safe to make an alliance with you, but I'm not sure what Tribe they will choose."

Maxxor's smile faded away, it meant that the Creatures he chose would probably have to interact with the other Tribes.

"It means we'll have to live next to Underworlders?!" Viqtarr's voice sounded irritated, the thought of being an Underworlder's neighbor sickened him.

Before Tom arrived, Maxxor had called Tangath Toborn, Intress, Viqtarr, Bodhal and Najarin into his chambers to hear what Tom had to say about the Chezamon. However, now that they heard the other Tribes would be involved, they were not so sure if it was such a good idea.

"Who cares about the Underworlders?!" Bodhal cried out in excitement, "This will be the perfect chance to study the unexplored parts of the Forest of Life and find sources of Roth Shards!"

"If the Underworlders don't do it first," Intress commented, looking away in disgust.

"Look everyone, I know it's not going to be comfortable, but the Alphas were very clear when they said that if they didn't see you have changed your ways, as they put it, they won't make any alliance with any of the Tribes."

Viqtarr interrupted, "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means that we will have to try and put our differences with the other Tribes aside for the sake of the alliance," Najarin replied with a stern look, making Viqtarr look away.

Tom lifted his arms in exasperation, "Guys, you should be thinking more about who you are going to send, don't you think?"

Tangath stepped to the front with a determined look on his face, "I offer myself to go, I'm sure we will convince them that our Tribe it's the best choice for an alliance."

"Thank you, my friend," Maxxor put a hand on Tangath's shoulder, "In fact, I'm putting you in charge of the mission."

"I believe Frafdo and Intress would be a good choice as well," Najarin suggested, "I'm sure they will be able to handle the situation with a cool mind."

"What about you, Najarin?" Tom inquired, "Aren't you going?"

Najarin shook his head, "I'm afraid I'm too old for these kin of missions, I will leave it to the younger generations."

"What about me?" Viqtarr raised his hand, "I want to prove that we're much better than the other Tribes."

"I'm afraid that you're not precisely…" Maxxor looked for an appropriate word, "patient about these situations. We need someone who can control their temper and live along the other Tribes, especially Underworlders, as long as you stay there."

Viqtarr crossed his arms and muttered something under his breath; Tom looked towards the direction of the Forest of Life, wondering how Luna was doing.

"Unacceptable!" Chaor stomped his foot on the ground in anger, "Perhaps you misunderstood what they said and they only want the Underworlders to go!"

"I understood what they said perfectly!" Kaz smacked his forehead in frustration, "They want the four Tribes to go to Mist Forest and prove they've changed their ways! But listen" IF you cause a fight with any of the other Tribes, the Chezamon will not be happy about it. They were serious about the whole thing!"

Chaor muttered something about 'having to live with giant bugs, overgrown lizards and surface-kissing Creatures' before turning to Takinom, who had been listening to the whole discussion, "Go get Agitos, Nivenna and Rothar. They will be going to Mist Forest, and you will be accompanying them." He made a mental note to wash his tongue with soap later for what he was about to say, "And you need to make sure to explain them not to cause problems once they are there."

Takinom nodded and, flapping her wings, flew out of Chaor's bedchambers through the balcony to accomplish her task. Chaor looked back at Kaz.

"Once Takinom brings them, I need to tell us every detail about the Chezamon. Their customs, their beliefs, and overall, their Battlegear and mugic.

"I can tell you a bit about their customs, but I don't know much about their battlegear or mugic. We are not allowed to go to the armory." Kaz explained.

"It doesn't matter, as long as you can prevent us from offending those Chezamon is fine."

It took a while for the Creatures Chaor had summoned to arrive, for they had been tending to other business. When they were complete, Kaz proceeded to explain what he knew about the Chezamon's customs, which was not much. All he could tell them was about the Clawders, the structure of the Underground Den and their technique to paralyze Creatures and humans alike.

He finally understood how his teachers at school felt when he was bombarded with questions.

Peyton gulped nervously.

After returning to Al-Mipedim and explaining to Vinta and Siado what he had been told, they insisted on taking the news to the Mipedian royals, even though Peyton was still afraid of showing his face in front of Prince Mudeenu. He was not known for liking humans in the least, which made it even scarier for the Mipedian player.

To think that the prince had been listening to the conversation all along; apparently, Siado had informed of the situation, and Mudeenu insisted on being present when Peyton returned from Mist Forest. Sobtjek and Ario had 'accidentally' overheard their conversation as well, and asked permission to be present as well. They actually had to, anyway, since Peyton had returned precisely when they were discussing if they could stay or not.

"So we must send delegates to Mist Forest?" Mudeenu's voice made Peyton tremble, as if he wanted to eat him or something.

"Y-Yep, your Highness," Peyton gulped the lump in his throat and tried to sound calm, "But as I just said, the other Tribes are going too, so I suggest you send someone who doesn't have any grudges unless you want to lose potential allies."

Mudeenu didn't say anything for a while; this was harder than he originally thought. Sobtjek and Ario were already in his mind, maybe Siado and Vinta would be useful in case the other Tribes attempted a sabotage attempt. There was someone else he had in mind, but immediately scolded himself for even thinking about it, although… perhaps they could eave him there. A smirk appeared on the Royal Mipedian's lips as he turned to look at Sobtjek, "Sobtjek, get him."

The Mipedian Mugician seemed to have no reaction, but Peyton could see his eyes opening slightly in surprise and, if he knew him well, he would think dismay, "Are you sure, your Highness? You know he's prone to accidents…"

"Exactly… Perhaps he could become stranded somewhere."

Peyton had no idea what they were talking about, but judging by the looks in the Mipedians' faces, he guessed they wanted to get rid of someone who was not precisely popular among the Tribe. The Chaotic player stiffened when Mudeenu turned to give him a glance, "And you are coming with us to see Iflar, and you will explain to him what the Chezamon told you. Before we send delegates, he has to approve it," The Mipedian royal looked down, "I don't like it, I think it's a waste of time, but I can do nothing about it."

Peyton couldn't do anything as Siado and Vinta led him out of the latter's home to the palace.

Odu-Bathax was getting impatient.

Sarah had been caught in Wamma and the others' nest, and she had been taken to him to be interrogated… again. She was a common sight in Mount Pillar, and the Danians were already accustomed to her presence, but that didn't mean she was free to roam the place as she pleased.

When she was taken to the interrogatory room, Aimukk and Faash were already there, trying to convince Odu that she had simply gone to tell them a message from the Sixth Tribe, which he didn't believe, of course. He assumed they were trying to get him to let her go. Eventually, Wamma joined them and tried to reason with the Battlemaster, with no avail.

Only they were present in the room, since at the mention of a sixth Tribe, Odu-Bathax ordered most of the guards in the room to leave, confident that he could deal with Sarah alone. Aimukk had been charged with her scanner, and he was doubting the Battlemaster would listen.

"Seriously!" Sarah snapped in annoyance, "How many times do I have to repeat it to you?! I came to deliver a message!"

"As if," Odu-Bathax snorted, "If there was actually a sixth Tribe, we would already know it."

"Think again," Sarah rolled her eyes, "No one knew about their existence, I bet not even the M'arrillians know about them! How can I prove to you I'm telling the truth?!"

"Unless you can bring a member of that supposed sixth Tribe, there's no way you can prove it."

Aimukk thought for a moment, then spoke, "Hey, Sarah, did any of your friends stay back at… Mist Forest, right?"

Sara remembered Kaz's younger sister, "Yes! Luna! She's there, and I bet she's with Kaya right now!"

Odu-Bathax turned to look at the three Mandiblors, who flinched in fear, "Who's this Kaya?"

"He's…" Wamma grew nervous, "… a friend of Sarah."

"Look," Sarah called the Battlemaster's attention again, "If you let me use my scanner, I'll call Luna and I'll tell her to show you that I'm telling the truth."

Odu-Bathax seemed to consider it, and Wamma took advantage of it to take Wamma's scanner from his fellow Mandiblor, and slip it to Sarah. When the Battlemaster realized it, Sarah was already calling.

"Come on, take the call…"

"I'll deal with you later, Wamma!" Odu growled before setting his sight on Sarah and walking menacingly towards her.

Suddenly, Sorka's head appeared on the scanner, "Hey, Luna," he called to the unseen Mipedian player, "How do I answer this thing? The noise is irritating!"

"Give me that!" Odu-Bathax snatched Sarah's scanner, and e examined the picture.

Faash, Wamma and Aimukk tried hardly to contain snickers when he saw who was talking on the scanner.

Sorka, having heard the struggle occurring in the scanner, returned his gaze to the scanner's screen, and his face changed to one of shock and disgust, "Hey, What's with the bug-face here?"

Odu-Bathax overcame his shock to give the Chezamon a scowl, "Did you just call me a bug?!"

"Sorka, give me that." Luna's face appeared on the scanner's screen, and Sorka moved away, "Hey, Odu-Bathax, I suppose you just met Sorka."

Sarah crossed her arms in annoyance, "Do you believe me now?"

"By the way, Odu-Bathax, in case you haven't let Sarah tell you, the Chezamon want the four Tribes to send delegate to Mist Forest to spend three seasons there. I have to go, and don't be too harsh on Sarah, would you?"

Saying this, the Mipedian player hung up the call. Odu-Bathax felt both indignation and anger at the human's tone, speaking to him as if she knew him or something. That made him stomp a foot on the ground. But he didn't give it much thought of who he was going to send… him included.

After all, he had an unfinished argue with the dog-like Creature who called him 'bug.'

"So that was a Danian?" Sorka exclaimed in surprise, "He wasn't precisely attractive."

"To think we'll be having more like him, and from the other Tribes, living here!"

Luna had left not long after receiving Sarah's call, and the Chezamon were talking about their future guests.

Jerome whimpered, peering his ears back, "I'm nervous!"

Ryuu, who had been passing by in search of Princess Fen, had joined the Hunters in their conversation, "For once, I agree withal of you. I still don't think it's such a good idea, I don't care what Hukaro says!"

"Kaya snickered, "You never care about what Hukaro says, remember?"

Ryuu frowned and looked away, offended.

"What about the pups and the civilians?" Shaoran inquired, "What will they do with the newcomers?"

"Well, I think the pups were forbidden to approach the outsiders until they are found to be trustworthy." Rocket replied.

The red-furred Chezamon sighed in dismay, "That's going to be a problem."

Pups. They were much smaller in size than adults, being the size of adult cats (as Luna put it when she first saw one) and lacked any kind of markings; they were covered in baby fluff of varying cake colors. Their eyes were round and big, with ridiculously dilated pupils, which gave them a rather cute appearance.

Pups were very curious, and they looked for anything to play with. Sticks, stones, battlegear, which a careless Hunter (Kaya) left near the Inner Chamber, or even with the adults' tails. Pupsitters often had to keep them inside their respective Inner chambers and didn't let them go out until their parents returned for them.

In the aspect of raising pups, usually the whole Pack looked after the pups. After a female gave birth to a litter, she nursed the pups until they were old enough to eat solid food, and then the pups were taken to the Inner Chamber, were they lived (both to learn to make their own way in the world and to grow distant from their mother) until they became yearlings, after which they went to live in the sections of Underground Den corresponding to the rank they were given. This way, there were no orphans among the Chezamon should the parents die on a Chamil or Galliac attack. However, the pups did know who their parents were, so that they could pay them a visit every once in a while, when they were older.

Kaya let out a yawn, and stretched his body backwards, "Well, I don't know you, guys, but I'm exhausted after all that work."

Rocket bristled his fur slightly and turned to look at his friend, "Work? All you did was to knead on the pillows all day!"

Shaoran muttered, "Don't remind me."

"I must go now, the Princess was confined to her chambers and I'm supposed to keep an eye on her," Ryuu stood and walked out of the Hunters' den, "Try not to sleep late, you're the ones supposed to go and fetch the delegates when they arrive."

Shaoran rested his head on the straw in frustration, "Great, just great!"

"What do you have against the other Tribes, Shaoran?" Kaya inquired, "I mean, it's not like they have done anything to you or something, did they?"

"That's not it…" Shaoran looked away, still resting his head on his straw bed, "I just don't want anything happen to our Tribe again… like solems ago, remember?"

"Come on, Shaoran!" Rocket exclaimed, "We weren't even born when it happened! How can you hold a grudge for something in which you were not involved in?!"

Jerome tried to change the conversation, "Hey, where's Toba, by the way?"

"He wanted to give a few 'final touches' to the chambers," Sorka rolled his eyes, "Seriously, why did we have to get him as a denmate?"

"I don't have anything against Toba, he's just… lively."

"Well, all of you heard Ryuu," Rocket spoke as he walked to his straw bed, "We should go to sleep. We'll be the ones going to pick the Tribes from the outskirts of the Forest of Life, remember? We better rest."

All of the other Hunters, and soon the lights were turned out, with every straw bed in the chamber, minus Toba's, occupied. Kaya, however, took a bit longer to sleep. Deep down, he had the feeling something was going to happen, he just didn't know what. He didn't know if it was good or bad, he just… knew it.

His Sixth sense was always wrong, Hukaro said… but was it?"