Chaotic: Legend of the Chezamon
Chapter 15- Predation
The smell of cinnamon incense was strong enough for Rocket's nose to sniff it, but not enough to unplug his nose. Sakura's chamber was filled with shelves, occupied by healing herbs, plants and colorful flowers, each meant for a different purpose. Some were boiled to prepare tea or soup for respiratory diseases, like Mist Flu, others were smashed into powder and mixed with other types of plants to treat digestive ailments, or a few of the flowers' petals were added to a strong tea in order to help an insomniac Hunter to rest his eyes and body.
If there was a Healer who knew almost every type of sicknesses and the plants used for each, it was Sakura. Unlike the most Healers, who after passing the basic Healing classes had to chose an specialty –diseases, broken bones, articulations out of place or digestive problems- she opted to study every type of diseases and herbs. Her teachers soon discovered her exceptional memory, and she was taught advanced healing techniques at an early age. However, this also made her very reclusive, and when she had to choose between hanging out with packmates and reading whatever she could about plants, she preferred reading.
But that was not the 'creepy thing', as a few of the Nobles put it, of her.
The creepy thing about her was the fact that her pupils were colored of the palest white, contrasting with her pale lime green eye. This made the rest of the Pack believe Sakura was blind, but they were proven wrong when she proved to have her eyesight as sharp as any Hunter.
"Sakura?" Rocket called out for the Healer, his voice raspy from all the coughing, "Are you he-ah-ACHOO!"
As soon as he was done talking, a female stepped out from a dark room on the side of the chamber, the velvet green curtain hiding the extra room from the visitors' eyesight. Sakura's fur was a pale, light arctic bluish gray which was believed to glow in the dark due to the contrasting brown color of all the places inside Underground Den had. Though barely noticeable at all, her underbelly was dimly a softer tone than the rest of her body. Rocket trembled when Sakura set her ash-white pupils on him.
"Judging by those sneezes, you must have the Mist Flu, am I right?" she asked
Rocket nodded, "Yeah, is it that obvio-ah-ah-ACHOO!"
Sakura had taken a few steps back in order to avoid Rocket's flying mucus coming straight towards her fur, "You tried to give Kaya a bath and you were the one who ended up bathing, right?"
"More or less," Rocket sniffed, "We managed to get Kaya into the spring, but he kind of didn't want to bath by himself."
Sakura giggled, "Well, don't worry. I'll give you something that will get rid of those annoying sneezes." The Healer headed towards a plain, bare table with a mortar and pestle, and a few herbs there and there.
"So, I heard you were not allowed to go on a search mission," Sakura commented as she started grabbing specific plants on the table.
"Yeah, Torimaku said my Mist Cold would get in the wa-ah-ah-ACHOO!" Rocket bared his teeth in frustration, "Damn it!"
"Haven't you heard, Rocket? That's only one of the reasons."
Rocket's ears straightened, "What? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Didn't they tell you?" Sakura arched an eyebrow as she poured the contents from the mortar into a pot, "The other reason you were not included in the mission was because Xetas's pack was also assigned the same mission."
"What?!" Rocket managed to contain a sneeze to finish that single world. "I can't believe it! Couldn't they have told me directly? ACHOO!"
"Here you go." Sakura pouted a bit of the soup into a wooden bowl and handed it to Rocket. "Drink it while it's hot or it won't work. It will take about an hour for it to take effect."
Sniffing one more time, Rocket took a slurp from the bowl; his tongue felt as if he had just licked alight wood, but if it would stop his damn, annoying sneezes he didn't mind; this didn't mean he didn't stick out his tongue in order to try and diminish the heat a bit.
"Puppy." Sakura teasingly said before turning and going back to her dark room, probably to fetch something for his newly-burnt tongue.
Sometimes, her sense of humor was not pleasant in the least.
"Bodhal's journal, entry number ten. Right now we're in the middle of Mist Forest, in search of an intruder not part of the delegation, not part of the wildlife here."
Xetas growled, his fur bristling. "Xetas's journal entry one, if Bodhal doesn't shut his trap I will dig a hole into the earth and put him in it!"
"Quit it, Xetas!" Kaya snapped. "They're guests, remember?"
"It's not my fault he won't stop blabbering!"
"Xetas, please stop." A female Hunter with minty fur whispered softly. "You don't want to incommode our guests, do you?"
The blue Hunter muttered under his breath, but finally turned to meet her pinkish red eyes. "Only because you ask me, Rosaryn."
Two members of each Tribe delegation had accompanied the Hunters: Tangath Toborn, Bodhal, Agitos, Takinom, Sobtjek, Ailav, Faash and Bierk. The others were asked to stay at the den, for Mist Forest could be very dangerous to outsiders, and the Alphas said they would not claim responsibility if something happened to them. Six Clawders formed a protective circle around them, with Ryuu walking a few steps away. Only Kaya, Jerome, Shaoran and Toba were able to go, due to Rocket's condition (and mutual grudge with Xetas) and Hikari was assigned to pupsit thee month olds.
Xetas's pack consisted of five members, including Xetas himself. Rosaryn was the only female, and the Healer of the pack. The third member was a moderate orange male with light brownish gray underbelly, black fingers and back named Tunobar. The fourth, Tolash, had pure white fur with patches of brilliant red looking like big, berry sauce stains on his back, legs and tail, brilliant gold ears and a patch of dark gamboge around one of his pale light grayish azure eyes. The fifth and last male, whose name was Barlow, had pale light grayish malachite green fur with contrasting moderate phthalo blue paws and soft brown eyes.
The two packs were not exactly enemies, but they weren't exactly close friends.
"ARGH!" Agitos growled as he felt his feet dig into another muddy pool, and he angrily shook the dirt of his talon, not noticing some of the dirt had sprinkled into Sobtjek's cloak. "Damn it! What's with the mud here?!"
Although angry at his cloak being dirtied with mud, Sobtjek said nothing for now; of all the Mipedians, he was the one with the most self-control regarding the other Tribes.
Faash had other ideas.
"What's wrong, Underworlder? Can't you stand a little dirt?" The Danian muttered tauntingly, hoping to spike Agitos's temper.
Agitos seemed to realize, because he simply said. "Not at all. If only I could say the same about you. I saw how you were acting over a little mud in your thorax a little while ago."
"If I had known they would be arguing for a little mud puddle, I would have rather stayed back at the Den and listen to Hukaro's big mouth." Ryuu muttered under his breath, making the Clawders snicker silently so not to receive any reprimands from their captain.
"So, how did this outsider look like?" Bierk asked Xetas, trying to change the topic and distract Faash from his little 'quarrel' with Agitos.
"According to Swiftus, he looked like a giant ell coming from the deeps of Mist Lake." Barlow replied; he had the habit of answering questions meant for someone else, much to his packmates' annoyance. "Well, we have never seen an eel in Mist Lake, so I'm not sure what she meant."
"There are no eels in Mist Lake, genius." Shaoran replied sharply. "Ells are saltwater creatures, they can't survive in fresh water."
"Whoever that Creature is, you can count on us to drive it away." Tangath Toborn spoke up.
"Yeah, well-" Suddenly, Kaya's ears perked up and his pupils became slits. The delegation team was startled for the slightest moment when soon the others did the same, looking around in alarm like deer looking for a predating wolf.
Ryuu paid them no heed.
The Clawders paid them no heed.
Xetas and Kaya's pack paid them no heed.
They knew the delegates had not their sensitive hearing sense, and they could not hear what they were hearing. They couldn't hear the snarls of carnivores filling the air, they could not hear the helpless cries from a Drakdeer fawn and its mother coming their way, trying to escape from their chasers. Before any of the other Tribes could react, the Chezamon quickly pushed them towards the bushes and pressed their bodies against the ground, peeking their eyes and noses from the thick plants ever so slightly.
The other Tribe Creatures heard plants and branches snapping, hooves and paws stomping against the ground and animalistic snarls and bark-like growls. Bodhal was trembling, but that didn't stop him from writing into his journal, much to Xetas annoyance. Siado tried to stand up to see what was happening, but Ryuu violently pushed him back, making the Mipedian groan in pain.
"What as that for?!" he hissed.
Ryuu growled in a soft whisper. "Be quiet! They'll hear us!"
"Who?"
Two blurs stomped their hooves into the ground just a few inches in front of the bush, near the Mipedian's face, making him flinch in shock. A great beast with the head of a horse, the body of a deer, the bushy legs of an elk and great antlers like those of a fallow-deer. Running next to it was a much smaller exemplar, with no antlers and thin legs.
A doe and her fawn were trying to escape from something, but what…?
Suddenly, eight or nine blurs of black lunged at the mother doe and pinned her to the ground with their massive paws, some of them tripping in the process when the doe fell to the ground with a loud thud and slipped through the mud.
Anyone would have confused them with armor less Clawders were they the right size, but no; these animals, although almost identical to the Chezamon themselves in appearance, were double their size, and their fur was as black as night or the blackness in a cavern. Their eyes seemed to glow a demonic shade of red, making even Faash shiver at the sight. One of the animals dug its blood-red teeth into the doe's body, while the others kept her in place as she violently tried to get free from her attackers, attempting to kick their faces or their stomachs, but to no avail. The fawn called out for its mother, but this only called the attention of the black beasts; the fawn dashed away as fast as it could and disappeared into the forest, followed by three of the beasts.
The doe finally remained motionless, and her tongue hung on the side of her mouth.
Sobtjek's eyes widened in horror.
Tangath Toborn, although he remained his calm, deep inside he felt sorry for the poor mother and child.
Takinom felt like her stomach would flip.
Faash froze in fear upon seeing the blood dripping into the grass.
"What are those things?!" Agitos hissed.
"Those, my friend…" Shaoran spoke in a serious tone. "Are Galliacs."
"Galliacs?" Bierk repeated, managing to take his sight off the grotesque scene.
"One of our worst enemies, and the second most dangerous predator in Mist Forest." Toba explained, for once his usually happy demeanor gone, replaced by a tone as bristle as frosted glass. "We don't really know where they came from. A legend says that the Galliacs may have once been Chezamon like us, however, they were driven away from the Den by severe taxes, stricter laws or something. They achieved their present terrible state due to some unspecified persecution. They made their living inside natural caverns near the feet of the mountains, where they were more prone to Chamil and Undermole attacks. They became embittered by their exile, and soon they developed an irreversible animosity and hatred for their once fellow Chezamon, and they became cruel and merciless. As solems passed, their fur became as black as their hearts, their eyes changed to a devilish red in order to show their evil nature, and their fangs turned red because of the blood left from their victims and prey. Since they lived in rocky areas, their paws became thick, big and their claws sharpened like knives."
"In other words, they're mean." Kaya shortened up the rest of the monologue. "I'm not happy to say this, but about three a quarter of our Hunters are killed… and devoured by the Galliacs."
The rest of the Creatures simply stared in horror as the three Galliacs who had gone after the fawn returned from the bushes, one of them holding the corpse of the baby in it's mouth. The pack of Galliacs dragged both corpses away, not caring if they were disrespecting the 'death'.
When he was sure the Galliacs were out of earshot, Xetas motioned all the others it was safe to go out of hiding.
Tunobar sighed. "That was a close one."
"Close one?! Our guests just witnesses one of Mist Forest's most gruesome scenes ever!" Shaoran growled.
"Do not worry, we have seen far worse." Ailav said, before glancing at Bodhal. "Most of us, at least."
"I beg your pardon? What's that supposed to mean?!" Bodhal crossed his arms, pausing his writing of the 'Galliac Attack' in his journal.
"Stop it!" Rosaryn snapped her teeth. "I'm afraid we'll have to split up, it seems."
"What, are you nuts?!" Ryuu wailed, widening his eyes. "Didn't you just see the Galliacs?!"
"I don't think you should be reminding us of those…" Bierk shivered at the blood left on the spot the black-clad beasts a few minutes ago. "Animals."
"Sir, with all due respect, that would be a good course of action-"
"No, you listen!" Ryuu snarled, interrupting Barlow and showing his gums, slitting his pupils. "Have you forgotten what they taught you in Hunter's Den?! That is not the only Galliac pack roaming around, they always send multiple packs to hunt!"
Toba timidly lifted his paw. "I agree with him."
"So do I!" Kaya was next.
"Excuse me." Takinom softly tapped Ryuu's shoulder. "What would happen if we splat up, like she is suggesting?"
"What would happen?" Kaya replied. "One Galliac pack is formed by ten or eleven members. If we splat up, we would be more vulnerable."
"You say if one of the groups encountered a Galliac pack, we would be outnumbered?" Tangath Toborn added.
"Finally, someone sees my logic!" Ryuu added insult to injury to Rosaryn's suggestion making her look down in disappointment.
That was when Xetas had enough. "Ryuu, do you have any idea of how much time we will take in surveying all this area if we remain in a whole group? It will take us hours, we won't even survey the whole area before nighttime!"
"So, you would rather sacrifice the delegates from the other Tribes just to impress your girlfriend? You would sacrifice your whole pack, and Shaoran's?!"
As Ryuu and Shaoran's pack argued with Xetas's pack about splitting up or not, minutes went on. The sun slowly advanced through its daily route, guiding whatever moved in Mist Forest. The Takinom decided to go up in one of the trees in order to 'get away from Overworlder stench, Bodhal continued writing on his journal while Tangath Toborn and the Mipedians remained on the lookout for any Galliacs. Faash walked away from the group for a while in order to get away from the bickering. Ryuu's Clawders just sat in place, waiting for orders from their Captain, serious looks upon their faces, staring frontwards.
"So, you are the Alpha's elite guard?" Bierk decided to try and converse with one of the Clawders to kill the time.
After a while, the Clawder nearest to him, a young male with piercing eyes of mint, spoke. "Yes, we are." His tone was cold as a snowflake.
"What do you call yourself?"
"My name is Nightroath, sir."
"My name is Bierk." The Danian hesitated, intimidated by the Clawder's seriousness. "I don't suppose you could tell me about-"
"No sir."
"You only answer to Ryuu, am I right?"
"Yes sir." Every word Nightroath spoke in a tone that left no room for argument.
"Will they take long in deciding what to do?"
"Certainly not sir."
Bierk thought for a moment. "Don't you have to answer to the Princess D'aura- No, no, that was not it, Draurora- No!"
If he could, Nightroath would have chuckled. "Princess D'Aurora Fenniris."
"Well, the Princess, don't you have to answer to her as well?"
"Depends on what she says, sir. If she tells me to charge to my death so she can get away from her enemies then I'll do it double quick. If she tells me to run away so she can face her enemies personally, then I don't have to take a bit of notice."
Bierk couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at that remark.
"Okay, then!" Ryuu brought everyone back to the two arguing packs. "Since Xetas insists so much, then I suppose we could split up, but the condition is that I will choose who is going with who, so I want to hear no complaints!"
Ryuu examined at their 'little' group, and thought it would be wiser to separate the Tribes from each other to avoid bickering over courses of action if they were co encounter Galliacs or any potential danger. Three of his packs had perished this way in his youth.
"Okay, Barlow and Kaya are accompanying the Overworlders. Tunobar and Xetas will go with the Underworlders. Jerome and Tolash, you go with the Mipedians. Rosaryn and Toba, you will go with the Danians-"
"What?!" Xetas snapped. "Why with Toba?! Why me with Tunobar?!"
Tunobar rolled his eyes. "I'm glad to know you like me so much." He said sarcastically.
"What did I just say about complaints?!" Ryuu snarled back. "If you thought I would put you in the same team as her so that you could get all romantic you were wrong!"
Xetas muttered something inaudible as he sat down. Shaoran inquired. "What about you and I?"
"You and I will survey the area in search of this said intruders." Ryuu spoke outloud to the other Hunters. "If you catch any foreign scent, you are to use a Howl Call loud and clear to call for reinforcements. Do not attempt to engage in combat by yourselves until we know what this stranger can do. Do you get me?"
There were mumblings of agreement among the Hunters.
"I SAID, DO YOU GET ME?!
"YES SIR!" the Hunters all shouted.
"Dismissed!" Ryuu barked
The respective groups went their separate ways, all the while Xetas giving Rosaryn a sad glance before turning his head around, two Clawders accompanying each group. Bodhal couldn't help it and asked. "Hey, Kaya, is Xetas dating Rosaryn?"
Kaya rolled his eyes. "That blue moron wants to ask her out, but he wants to do it 'in private'. That's why he always backs her up, he tries to impress her, but that's never going to work."
"Hey, you don't have to call him moron!" Barlow said.
Tangath Toborn sighed. This was going to be a long afternoon.