Chapter 3- meeting call, successful hunt, an insignificant ad
While Kushanku continued to hug Alexandrite, several mice scurried towards them. These mice were no ordinary mice, but were a recent addition to the vast variety of Talking Beast species and kinds. These mice were larger than regular mice and had the ability to talk and think, so they were Talking Mice. Talking Mice had been nonexistent in the previous 1000 years of Narnia's history and had only recently been formed from regular mice by Aslan just after the White Witch's defeat. Those regular mice had been the same ones that gnawed and snapped the ropes binding Aslan's body after his sacrificial death on the Stone Table at the Witch's hands to save Edmund. Then shortly after these mice became Talking Rodents and were told to have pups to expand the numbers of their species, Aslan had put the Nine-Tailed Kitsune couple Hagrid and Alestomeria in charge of being the Talking Mice's main teachers of Narnia's history from its creation until now so that the Talking Mice can pass on this knowledge to their descendant pups. Some of those Talking Mice were those individuals running over to Kushanku and Alexandrite now and were part of the four Kings and Queens' inner circle assistants. This small group consisted of Sordward and Shielbert, Athos, Porthos and Aramis and a younger Talking Mouse named Squea'tagnan. The first five were married and the latter was yet to find a mate. Athos was stocky and was the leader of the group; Porthos was muscularly built and Aramis was lithe and agile rather like a Mustelid (a group of animals including the Weasels and Stoats). Sordward and Shieldbert were twins and looked identical in build and other features, but sported different personalities and battling skills. Sordward, Shielbert, Athos, Porthos and Aramis were accompanied by their wives and all of them were showing signs of pregnancy based on their more careful scurrying. Kushanku went over to greet them.
"A very good lesson on the Dawn of Spring, Kushanku," squeaked one of them, Sordward who donned a hat with a feather, coloured blue, that was sharp and straight, like a sword while his twin brother Shielbert's hat feather, coloured red, was a cluster shaped into a shield. Sordward specialised more in offense while Shielbert was more defensive in combat skills. Athos, Porthos, Aramis and the yet-to-be-married Squea'tagnan also had hats with feathers with the latter's being more fluffy. The feathers of all four of these mice were gold coloured and they were dubbed the 'Mouseketeers'.
"It was very well told," said Shielbert. His wife nodded in agreement.
"It's hard to believe the brutality the White Witch had bestowed upon Narnia when she conquered it and locked it in the perpetual winter with her wicked magic, based on our Kitsune teachers' story," said Athos.
"Especially this thing she had invented called the Massacre Event," put in Porthos. Porthos' wife, Aramis and his wife, and Squea'tagnan all flinched at the thought of a bloody battle occurring between hundreds of Narnians forced to fight against each other for a better life, but Kushanku and Alexandrite had seen it in all its abominable horror with their own eyes when they lived in Green Leaf Village.
"I guess we should be glad we hadn't been around when that Snow Hag had bestowed such blood-soaked entertainment 'game'..." said Aramis in a low voice.
"Let's not discuss it," said Alexandrite with shivers down her spine, "It's WAY TOO horrible to talk about. You may only be taught about it in brief by your Kitsune mentors Alestomeria and Hagrid but aside from that, it's in the past. Aslan has dealt with the White Witch and that's that, so let's put it behind us."
Kushanku nodded in agreement while the Mice also nodded. Then Alexandrite turned her attention in another direction, her gaze resting on several other Nekomata in the distance.
"I wonder how my sister Padparadscha and nieces Sunstone, Moonstone and Merida is doing tending to that small group of Lightning Pikas, Flutterbirds, Flower Mandrakes and Candy Fairies who, like so many other Narnians, had been utter victims to the White Witch's conquering and tyranny," she said with a smile and with that, she left. Kushanku, Sordward, Shielbert, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and their wives and Squea'tagnan followed.
Padparadscha, or Paddy for short, Alexandrite's sister, Kushanku's sister-in-law and the widowed wife of Kushanku's brother Satoshi who had died during the Battle of Beruna, having been mercilessly slain by Jadis' 'second-in-command' nine-tailed Nogitsune Amanita (also the infamous Belladonna's sister) during his battle with her, sat with her three elder daughters Sunstone, Moonstone and Merida, looking over some strange looking creatures, the Lightning Pikas (which were yellow Pika-like animals with red cheeks, capable of generating electricity similar to a rodent in another world), Flutterbirds (colourful songbirds with colourful plumage, mostly pink, red, blue, yellow and green), Candy Fairies (which were Fairy-like beings which were mostly bright blue with yellow extremities and pink wings but came in other colours. They resembled candy deserts, hence their name), and the Flower Mandrakes (colourful Plant-based creatures that came in the colours of red, green, yellow, blue, cyan, magenta and white and had long stalks on their heads tipped with colourful flowers with white, red, orange, yellow and blue being the most common). Like the Magical Creatures, these four species are capable of speech and the Flower Mandrakes were a kind of Dryad, only they did not project their spirits from their plant or tree bodies like 'regular' Dryads. When they slept, they buried their bodies in the earth with only their stalks and flowers exposed. The four female Nekomata smiled as the creatures cheerfully played and chased each other, giggles escaping them.
Sunstone had fiery colours for her pelage, mostly red, yellow, orange, neon yellow and neon orange and had a sun-like mark on her chest. She had a few white patches strewn through her fiery fur and her eyes were amber, like her uncle Kushanku. Moonstone was pure white and had an icy motif to her pelage, an opposite to her fiery sister's colours. Metallic blue, aqua, icy blue and silver dominated the colours of her additional markings thrown over the base white colour and she sported a silvery crescent moon on her chest. Her eyes were icy blue like Alexandrite, her aunt's. Merida was almost a spitting image of her uncle Kushanku and had his grey and icy blue metallic fur but did not have his white head hair and had cyan eyes like her sister Moonstone and her aunt Alexandrite. This trio had some pretty rare abilities besides limited telekinesis and agility. Merida was able to fly by spinning her two tails like Kushanku but Sunstone also had the ability to generate small amounts of fire and Moonstone, ice to a degree. These elemental abilities, called pyrokinesis and cryokinesis respectively, were EXTREMELY rare abilities in Nekomata and Bakeneko, even more so than the propeller-tail flight, and were more common in certain Magical Creatures such as the Elemental Birds like the Phoenixes, Thunderbirds and their flightless cousins the Impudulu, and the Ice Rocs, the Lightning Pikas with their electricity, and also certain Elemental Sprites like the Naiads, Ice Naiads and Pyros, and also the Kitsune, such as fire breath. Not too far away, several more individuals, a half-Nekomata, half-Talking Cat; two Bakomata (Nekomata/Bakeneko hybrids), two more Nekomata resembling Moonstone, and a Cheetah were watching over some strange fish nearby. The former was Amethyst, the only daughter of Kushanku's oldest brother Nyarth (who died during an attempted rebellion against the White Witch) and his Talking Cat wife named Kagayaku and the two Nekomata were named Elsa and Seishan, the daughters of Moonstone, while the Bakomata were Neelix and Fleur, the oldest offspring of Ryn, Kushanku's deceased sister and her widowed Bakeneko husband Kobaruto. Like Satoshi, Ryn had been slain by Amanita in the war. The Cheetah was one of the grand-cubs of Sandstorm, Kushanku and his siblings' last remaining adopted Cheetah brother, and was one of the youngest additions to Sandstorm's grandchildren, and his name was Yardang. Amethyst, Neelix and Fleur's tails were only half-split, indicative of their hybrid heritage and Amethyst had a walking stick and some spots of grey strewn through her tabby/ginger pelage with metallic purple and pink patches for the half-talking Cat was well on in her years. Though she had Nekomata blood in her veins which allowed her to surpass the age of regular Talking Cats (whose average lifespan was roughly 70 or 80 years, some sometimes lived longer), Amethyst's ability to walk on her hind legs had diminished somewhat, hence her need for a walking stick. Seishan and Elsa were monozygotic (originating from the same fertilised egg; also called identical) twins and both had a silvery crescent moon-shaped marking on their chest like their mother and they also sported sea-green eyes. Both also wore head bows with Seishan wearing cerulean blue and Elsa, pink. Yardang bore a resemblance to his grandfather Sandstorm who had passed away from old age just as the Golden Age Prophecy was coming true. However, the aging Cheetah had managed to feel the fresh grass and the warm Dawn of Spring sun in the Narnian land just in time, something he had always wanted to do and had thankfully lived long enough to experience it. However, in addition to his grandfather's traits, Yardang had thick black stripes running down his back as though someone had run a forked paintbrush down it. It was a rare mutation in Talking Cheetahs but it gave Yardang's back the appearance of streaked rock formations seen in deserts caused by erosion from winds. Our world's cheetahs have a mutation in which the spots on their pelts appear to fuse together to form blotches with long stripes running down their backs. These varieties were called 'king cheetahs'. However, Yardang only had the stripes down his back. The rest of his spots were separate as in regular Cheetahs, Talking or non-Talking.
Kushanku, Alexandrite and the small group of Talking Mice walked over to Paddy and her older daughters as they continued to talk with the group of Lightning Pikas, Candy Fairies, Flower Mandrakes and the Flutterbirds. The four looked up and smiled at the group as they turned up.
"Oh, hi, Kushanku, Alexandrite, Sordward and company," said Paddy with a smile, "We were just giving these young Pikas, Mandrakes, Flutterbirds and Candy Fairies a lesson on Narnia's creation and REAL history, just as you were with those kids, Kushanku."
"While Amethyst, Seishan, Elsa, Neelix, Fleur and Yardang over there are tending to some Flish from the Eastern Ocean," said Merida as she offered a Lightning Pika an apple which the yellow red-cheeked Rodent took and ate. Kushanku, Alexandrite and the Mice looked over the group.
"They had suffered a population collapse and loss of land when the White Witch conquered Narnia, haven't they?" asked Athos.
"Yes," said Paddy darkly as she gave some grapes to two light blue and yellow Candy Fairies, "I was explaining to my daughters how these guys had lost their homeland to that Snow Tyrant and were forced to seek refuge in Gandalf and Seresute's base."
"That evil Devil Woman converted our homeland into that VILE Arena of Blood for her sickening fight competitions," said one of the Lightning Pikas in a growl of disgust, "After we were driven out of that land by her and her cronies."
"And we need clean water to survive and reproduce, especially us," put in one of the Candy Fairies, a lime green and yellow one, "Which unfortunately, Gandalf and Seresute had been unable to maintain in their underground base for very long, hence why we had to be either evacuated to Archenland, taken to either the Moon or Sky Domain or with Gandalf and Seresute's groups until the Dawn of Spring, along with the Okuri-Inu whose pups need the regular day-night cycle to mature properly to have their own pups. Our original lakes and rivers had been frozen solid by the Witch's spell."
"There used to be a large population of us but now, there aren't many of us left," put in one of the Red Mandrakes with a white flower. Two of its comrades, a Blue one and a Cyan one, both with yellow flowers on their stalks, were tending to some sort of insect which had the ability to pupate and emerge into many different Elemental variants of its imago form. Depending on conditions the larvae was raised in and their diet they had been fed, the adults took on many different forms such as Fire, Water, Air, Lightning, Ice, Plant, Solar, Lunar, Earth and even several mysterious forms. A flock of Alicanto Birds had a Metallic version of this species due to their diet of metallic objects like coins from the money trees they had as larvae. As such, these magical insects were called Elemental Butterflies and their forms reflected their Elemental form, such as metallic for the Metallic variety and like most of Narnia's endemic insect species, they had been looked after by Seresute's conservationists until the Dawn of Spring.
"Can't you return to your place now that the Dawn of Spring has come?" asked Squea'tagnan but he flinched when he received glares from the other Mice who believed this question to be incredibly insensitive but the Pikas, Candy Fairies, Mandrakes and the Flutterbirds didn't mind this, so one of the latter creatures, a Blue one with vivid yellow-orange legs and beak, answered it.
"I'm afraid we can't," it said, "Since that area is the region where countless Narnians had died after being forced into there by the Witch and her cronies like wild dumb animals to fight and gruesomely kill each other during these 'blood-soaked starving games,' it has been turned into a memorial to remember those victims."
"Our Kings and Queens are helping to find a new home for us so that we can further recover from the damage that Witch has caused us," said a Red Flutterbird. This bird, which was a female, then turned to Amethyst's group as they continued to play with some bizarre flying fish creatures. Unlike actual flying fish which only glided, these fish could actually fly like flying birds. They had large pectoral fins that functioned as wings and their tails were flat like a Whale or Dolphin's tail fluke. These creatures were called 'Flish' and they lived out in the Eastern Sea, though some Flish species also lived in the Narnian forests. They came in a variety of shapes and colours but metallic blue and silver was most common, and this variant was of this colouration. Unlike the Lightning Pikas and their friends, Flish were not Talking Beasts and were sometimes hunted and caught for food by Sea Dwellers such as the Merfolk. One dish served by Merfolk was Flish pie.
"And I can see your half Nekomata niece over there is having fun with those Sapphire Eastern Ocean Flish with Seishan, Elsa, Neelix, Fleur and Yardang as we can see," she said. The others followed the Birds gaze and smiled as Seishan darted past in pursuit in of the bird-like fish as it made off with a light blue ribbon, obviously her hair ribbon.
"Hey, give that back," shouted she as she rushed after it to the amusement of the onlookers.
"One of the green Forest Flish stole my hat once while we were walking with Neutrophil, one of the Terror Birds, through their forest home before he left with his cousin Monocyte and several others on the hunting exam of some young Terror Birds including Monocyte's brother Lymphocyte and believe me," said Porthos, before a slight frown with a hint of amusement formed on his face, "I was UTTERLY annoyed. That flying fish just WOULDN'T give me back my hat. It just hung from the branch and clutched my hat in its beak, looking down at me as if to snigger at me. Neutrophil had to bash his beak into the tree's trunk to startle that flying fish and get it to release my hat. Thankfully he was successful..."
Titters rolled through the others as Seishan darted back, seized the ribbon from the Ocean Flish's beak and quickly tied it into her head hair to the amusement of her sister and the others with her. Then Amethyst hobbled over with her walking stick, a smile on her muzzle while Yardang bounded over.
"Those flying Bird-Fish certainly are bundles of mischief, aren't they?" said she.
"They nearly took Elsa's pink ribbon as well," said Yardang from which Elsa shot him a glare, two Flish fluttering around her. More titters rolled through the group. Then Neelix and Fleur's eyes rested on two certain young Terror Birds and a young bright green and darker green-striped Nekomata as they talked.
"Where's Neutrophil, Basophil and Eosinophil's brother?" asked the former.
"Out on a hunting trip with his cousin Monocyte and several other Terror Birds including some youngsters, among them Lymphocyte, Monocyte's younger brother, who are being examined," said Athos. The group didn't notice a bipedal Talking Cat walk towards them. This Talking Cat was ginger coloured with darker brown stripes slashing through the ginger canvas and often wore boots and a coat. He was a Tom, or male Cat, and though he resembled a Regular Talking Cat, he had some Bakeneko blood running through his veins which was why he was able to walk on his hind legs. Full-blooded Talking Cats, or Talking Cats who have lost the Nekomata or Bakeneko traits over several generations, could not do this. His name was Puss in Boots and he was one of the messengers of the Four Monarchs. Aramis continued the conversation while his wife noticed the newcomer.
"Yes, Lymphocyte and his classmates are taking a hunting exam," said he, "They are hunting a herd of dumb deer to catch a meal for their clan as part of their training in hunting and providence of food."
"Hunting exams have always been a part of those Terror Birds' way of life, isn't it, along with farming and housekeeping?" said Neelix, "It is like an essential skill Terror Bird hunters must learn and pass if they are to be qualified hunters..."
"Along with protecting their clan and friends, including Non-Terror Bird friends," added Fleur, "But according to Father (Kobaruto), they hadn't been able to carry out those exams for decades during the White Witch's reign."
"It was because food was scarce for one," said Kushanku, "Game was hard to come by and secondly, a Terror Bird hunting party's catch was always taken from them by the Witch's cronies by force and under the threat of death or being turned to stone. It was only until the Dawn of Spring they were able to revive their customs and ways of life, just like the rest of us..."
"And I heard that Neutrophil and his siblings and cousins' grandfather had found and adopted an orphaned Daughter-of-Eve who learnt the ways of the Terror Bird, including their hunting strategies involving chasing down prey and catching it as she grew up, and had to give her away to a human village outside of Narnia before the Witch took over for her safety and as she reached her teen years," said Alexandrite, "She's now an elderly human but has married and had children and grandchildren and is grateful to the Terror Bird clan that had raised her and saved her life from the Witch, in addition to the Terror Bird's friends who helped that Bird get her to safety. A fine legacy to be left on his descendants, it is."
Kushanku, the mice, the Lightning Pikas, Mandrakes, Flutterbirds and the others all smiled at this and nodded in agreement. It was indeed a heroic story and Neutrophil and his siblings and cousins had been proud of their grandfather for rescuing that female human who had been orphaned as a baby, her parents having died suddenly, but we'll learn more about this a little later. Then a new voice sounded, alerting the group.
"Well, if Neutrophil is too busy tending to a hunting exam then His Majesty, High King Peter will have to explain his plans to him separately," said the newcomer, Puss, "King Edmund is on his way to deliver you lot this message and he has sent me ahead of him to alert you in advance."
"Right, thanks for that, Puss," said Kushanku. Puss smiled and turned round and left to see in King Edmund who was on his way to here. Seishan and Elsa looked on curiously.
"High King Peter has some plans?" asked the former, "What does he mean by that?"
"It'll be about dealing with what's left of the White Witch's army such as her surviving cronies and her castle," said Alexandrite, before a glare formed on her face, "Mind you, having said that, that black Bakeneko with the human-like teeth, white U-shaped eyes and the ability to shapeshift, dubbed by Queen Lucy as 'Cartoon Shadow Cat' when we showed her and her siblings some drawings of it, is still on the loose. It had been terrorising some Alicanto Birds in an attempt to catch and eat some of them but one of the Kamataichi (flying Yokai creatures resembling Mustelids such as weasels with scythed claws) had to drive it away, so it's clear that there are still followers of the Witch still loose..."
"Her castle, which is still intact, will need dealing with too," said Paddy with a scowl, "as well as anything else including her palace grounds and the area where the Massacre Event 'village' is situated."
"We'll have to see what High King Peter has planned and says when he gathers us for the meeting," said Kushanku with an assuring smile. The others nodded in agreement. Then Seishan, Elsa and Yardang left to meet with Malachite, Basophil and Eosinophil and perhaps play a game with them. These six were close friends and family, alongside some other Creatures such as the absent Lymphocyte and also Neutrophil and Monocyte, and Yardang was an adopted cousin to Kushanku and company's grandchildren, in homage to Sandstorm's adopted brotherhood to the four Nekomata.
Then a few moments later, the sounds of horse hooves pounding on grass reached the ears of Kushanku and company and they looked up and saw a male human dressed in his robes with a crown on his head riding on the back of a brown horse walk in with several bodyguards, among them a Centaur and a type of Magical Sheep called the Gold-Fleeced Sheep. These Sheep species produced fleeces with dazzling gold and like pretty much a lot of the other creatures ad been frequent targets of Jadis who coveted their golden fleeces with UTMOST passion. However, the Gold-Fleeced Sheep had evacuated to Archenland for the rest of the Eternal Winter, only returning in the Dawn of Spring. Like Nekomata and Bakeneko, Gold-Fleeced Sheep can walk on their hind legs and they served among the bodyguards and high officials for the Four Monarchs. As the royal newcomers appeared, Kushanku and company including the Flutterbirds, Candy Fairies, Lightning Pikas and Flower Mandrakes respectfully bowed before the king, King Edmund as he commanded his horse to stop. Then as Kushanku and company rose to their feet and greeted him, a smile appeared on the royal Son-Of-Adam's face. Nearby, Puss looked on with several Swans and a special Goose called the Golden Egg Goose, a magical species of Goose who laid golden eggs and who were white with yellow markings. Again, these creatures had been targeted by Jadis but mainly for their eggs. In the background, Malachite, Yardang, Elsa, Seishan, Basophil and Eosinophil looked on in awe. They could not believe that this King had been an utmost traitor right from his entry into Narnia through the magical wooden box portal (that is, the Wardrobe).
Kushanku smiled at the King.
"I guess you have a message from His Majesty the High King to us, don't you, Your Majesty?" he said.
"Yes, Kushanku," said King Edmund, "High King Peter has sent a message out to all officials and calling them to Cair Paravel Castle to discuss plans to deal with the remnants of the White Witch's army and cronies."
"You befriended her, didn't..." began Malachite but she released a loud yelp of pain when Yardang elbowed her hard in the left arm, a look of UTMOST disgust on his face at her insensitivity. Then Eosinophil shot the mint green and dark-green striped Nekomata a glare.
"Seriously, Mal," the pink-red spotted Terror Bird hissed, "Why are you being so insensitive about His Majesty's association with the White Witch? Show some respect, will ya!?"
Basophil, Elsa, Yardang and Seishan nodded in agreement as Malachite rubbed her elbowed arm, her face twisted in slight pain. However, the five had good reason to be extremely firm with Malachite. King Edmund's association with the White Witch is an EXTREMELY sensitive subject and should be handled with care for it was the King's MOST sensitive nerve. Then King Edmund noticed a certain Terror Bird missing.
"Where's Neutrophil?" he asked.
"He's still out on a hunting trip with Monocyte and some other Terror Birds, invigilating an exam of some young Terror Birds like Lymphocyte, Monocyte's younger brother," explained Neelix.
"And he won't be back in a while," said Sordward. Then the Centaur stepped forward, a stern look on his face.
"Well, in that case, High King Peter will call him and some of the other Terror Birds part of his soldier force to Cair Paravel at a later date to discuss the plans then," he said, "After all, the Phorusrhachi have been missing their ways of life so much because of the White Witch's reign that reviving them is important to them. Please send word to Neutrophil when the hunting exam has finished."
Kushanku and the others nodded in obedience to this.
At this moment
In a field that was once covered in nothing but white snow and leafless trees during the Eternal Winter, a stampede was occurring. A herd of deer, dumb deer, was on the run, their hooves pounding the now green grass. There was a reason behind their stampeding; a group of hunters was after them, and those hunters were none other than a group of tall Flightless Birds with large, menacing beaks, though they were also accompanied by a few other Hunting Animals like Talking Wolves, Wolves who had not fallen for or had defected from Jadis' side, and one or two Sabre-Toothed Cats, but the Flightless Birds were carrying out an important exam.
A group of Terror Birds, most of them older teens and young adults, charged after the fleeing non-Talking deer, one thing on their minds. There were eight young Terror Birds and one was an older teen male and he had snow-white plumage, grey crest and beak and a large grey patch on his belly. This patch resembled an oversized kidney bean and this Bird was armed with a weapon, a crossbow, clutched in his short clawed wings. Around his neck was a quiver of arrows and his crossbow was already armed with one, ready to shoot at the deer to pierce one of them. Behind him and his classmates, much older Terror Birds, the examiners, ran after them. One of them was similar to the individual with the large kidney bean-shaped patch on his belly and like him, he, too, possessed that type of marking on his stomach, and was a male. Another was also a male and he had three patches linked together on his belly and his plumage was covered with dark pink spots. His crest feathers were also pink and he bore a resemblance to Basophil and Eosinophil in his other features. He, the first male and three other adult Terror Birds, another male and two females, watched on as their examined pupils continued their chase, several other individuals also arming themselves with their weapons of choice, among them a spear and some daggers.
"Mind our Wolf and Sabre-Toothed Cat friends, won't you, Lymphocyte, the rest of you," called the pink-spotted Bird as he and his assistants rushed after the pupils. The kidney-bean patched individual shot the Wolf hunters, one of them being the granddaughter of a certain purple-black Wolf who had defected from Jadis' side, and continued the chase, before raising his crossbow at one deer as it began to lag behind the rest of the herd. This individual, named Lymphocyte, then aimed his crossbow at the target and then as soon as the Wolf and Sabre-Toothed Cat co-hunters were well out of the way of the shooting range, he immediately seized the green light without hesitation. A click sounded, followed by a slashing noise of a sharp-tipped projectile as it sliced through the air at the deer. The shot was well-timed and aimed and within a split second, the arrow penetrated the rump of the target and lodged in there. The target prey then jerked from the shooting pain from the arrow and it began to thrash but it still kept trying to run. Lymphocyte immediately seized another arrow from his quiver, placed carefully on his neck in such a way that his short wings could reach the ammo, nocked that arrow into a crossbow and within a split-second, fired that arrow at the deer. Near him, a female classmate flung her dagger at the target to help weaken it. The deer, stunned again by the arrow and dagger piercing its rump and side, finally felt its hind legs gave out and it tumbled violently before coming to rest near a rock. The rest of the herd charged on with the Wolf and Sabre-Toothed Cat co-hunters after them, the Wolf party also having managed to seize a straggler. Then as soon as the deer was down, Lymphocyte ran over to the dumb animal and delivered the fatal blow in the form of what Terror Birds called an 'Axe-Beak' to the neck to guarantee a quick death while his seven classmates restrained the animal to make the deathblow delivery easier. Axe-Beak involved a Terror Bird utilising its hooked beak like an axe to dispatch its prey or foe in which the sharp tip of its beak was brought down, inflicting serious, even fatal, damage. Then as soon as Lymphocyte had delivered the Axe-Beak blow to the deer's neck, resulting in the animal dying instantly, the examiners ran in and applauded them.
"Well done, you eight," called the pink-spotted Terror Bird, Neutrophil as he clapped his clawed wings, "You've passed your test in hunting and catching game."
"Brilliant use of your crossbow as well, my little brother, and also you with your dagger, Chert," said the kidney-bean shaped patch Terror Bird named Monocyte, his menacing eyes (characteristic of all Hunting Birds and Birds of Prey) sparkling with pride. Lymphocyte and the other seven including the dagger-armed Terror Bird named Chert gazed with pride at their examiners as they then gathered round the deer carcass, the group's prize.
"Right, let's haul this lump of meat back to our clan for the meals of today," said Neutrophil, and he congratulated the pupils again. Lymphocyte and the others smiled and with that, the group took hold of the carcass and dragged it away.
Sometime later, the deer carcass was being butchered by a Terror Bird clan member into pieces of meat to prepare for lunch and to store away for future meals. Nearby the small group of Terror Birds, a pack of Wolves and Sabre-Toothed Cats, the neighbours of this clan, were also dividing their catch. One of the Wolves, a female with dark red fur, an unusual colour for a Wolf, smiled as Lymphocyte and the other seven were declared successful hunters by their Terror Bird clan chief.
"I can see those eight have passed their hunting test," she told her packmates.
"I can see that, Betelgeuse," said an older Wolf, a male who was one of the pack elders.
"Congrats to them," said another female Wolf who was dark blue and Betelgeuse's age. Betelgeuse and another female Wolf named Rigel were granddaughters of a famous defected Wolf named Nanu. Like their grandfather they were dark coloured but Betelgeuse was dark red and Rigel, dark blue as opposed to purple-black like their grandfather. They were slender and lithe and their eyes were of unusual colours for a Wolf. Betelgeuse's eyes were red-orange (but without a sinister theme) while Rigel's were icy blue. Smiling at their Terror Bird friends, they resumed helping to divide the meat of their catch.
After the deer in the Terror Bird clan had been divided and its meat sorted, a Sabre-Toothed Cat came in. Sabre-Toothed Cats were Big Cats that sported enormous dagger-like fangs which was their main killing weapon. They were stocky, like Lions, Tigers and Jaguars and their fur colour palette was moistly beige, white and pale orange with brown and even black being rarer colours. This Sabre-Toothed Cat was beige in colour and did not have any markings. He called to a certain Terror Bird in the clan.
"Neutrophil," he said, calling that Bird's attention, "an Owl messenger from His Highness, High King Peter would like to see you," he said. Neutrophil gazed at the Cat and saw a white Flying Bird with bulbous eyes, white plumage, rounded head and Cat-like eyes gazing at him. Saying 'Excuse me' to his clan-mates and his cousin Monocyte, he went over to meet the Owl.
"I just remembered I have to attend a meeting at Cair Paravel Castle to discuss plans on how we're gonna deal with the remnants of that Snow Vulture's army and VILE things," he said.
"High King Peter is gonna meet you and several other members of his soldier force separately and later today, Neutrophil," said the Owl, a female, "Obviously you had a hunting exam scheduled and you had to invigilate your younger cousin Lymphocyte during the hunting trip..." she then gazed at the young Terror Bird as he was treated to the most tender part of the catch as a reward for passing his exam, along with his seven classmates including Chert.
"We've just finished the hunting test, actually, Moon-Eyes," said Neutrophil with a proud smile, "And they have all passed but thanks for the message. I'll be ready once His Majesty is ready to see me about the plans."
Moon-Eyes the Owl nodded, smiled, issued congratulation to Lymphocyte's hunting party, opened her wings and took off. The Sabre-Toothed Cat looked on.
"Well, that was brief," said the fang-toothed Feline, "I was expecting Moon-Eyes to stay a little longer to give you the details of what High King Peter the Magnificent had planned regarding the Snow Serpent's remnants."
"The Great Terror Cat (the Terror Birds' name for Aslan) may have disposed of her during the culmination of the Battle of Beruna, Daggertooth," said Neutrophil, "and her army may have been quashed, but there are still some individuals and things that are around that need dealing with. It's like dealing with any small weed you can find once the boss weed has been dealt with."
"True," said Daggertooth the Sabre-Toothed Cat, "But it was only with the Great Lion's help that we have managed to win the war."
Neutrophil nodded in agreement. Then thoughts for his brother and sister, Basophil and Eosinophil came to his mind and he wondered how they were doing at Kushanku's history lecture.
A while later
The clan of Terror Birds and their Wolf and Sabre-Toothed Cat neighbours continued their usual business. Cubs, chicks and pups played and the older members continued to talk about the arrival of the Dawn of Spring and defeat of the White Witch. Basophil and Eosinophil had returned and Neutrophil got prepared to meet High King Peter later in the day. While the activities of their clans continued, Lymphocyte took a walk with his cousins Basophil and Eosinophil (who had also congratulated him on his success in the hunting exam), and also their Wolf friends, Betelgeuse and Rigel.
"When we were talking with our Nekomata friends Malachite, Elsa and Seishan, they told us that they still find it hard to believe that your grandfather Nanu used to work for the Witch only to defect eventually," said Lymphocyte in amazement. He had left his crossbow and arrows back at his nest as he did not need them right now.
"He was an EXTREMELY brave Wolf to turn from that Snow Beast," said Betelgeuse with a frown, her red-orange eyes narrowed, "Most of the Witch's Secret Police consisted of Wolves due to their pack-hunting abilities."
"While her spy-force consisted mostly of the Mimicbirds, Slender-Men and Siren-Heads, in addition to the Dryads who fell for her side," put in Rigel, "But the Mimicbirds and Siren-Heads, due to the EXTREME talents in mimicking sounds and voices, were most useful in recording and repeating whatever conversation any Narnian had and bringing it back to the Witch, while the Slender-Men disguised as trees mostly."
"One Slender-Man had managed to spot Queen Lucy, then known just Lucy at the time, run through the snow with Tumnus the Faun back to the Lamppost and it managed to transmit the sighting to the Dryads and other spies which eventually reached the Witch's ears," said Basophil. The blue-violet spotted Terror Bird then shuddered. "Ugh, those tall lanky-limbed, black suit-wearing, tentacle Humanoids with their bone-white featureless faces sure were terrifying, I can tell you. When I ran away from my clan as a young chick several years before the Dawn of Spring after being VERY naughty and got lost, I was entangled by one and almost brutally killed. Thankfully I knew how to defend myself and managed to escape."
Lymphocyte, Eosinophil, Betelgeuse and Rigel looked on with shudders as they remembered that time when Basophil fled the clan after being badly behaved. The five continued to walk on until Eosinophil's foot landed on something. Feeling a different texture to the green grass, the pink-red spotted Terror Bird looked down and saw what appears to be a sheet of paper.
"Hey, guys, come and have a look at this," she called. The other four darted over as Eosinophil leaned down and picked up the sheet in her clawed wings.
"Looks like an ad for something," she said. The other four examined it. The sheet of paper had a picture on it but that picture was black and white. Basophil frowned.
"That object looks just like a tortoise shell with crystals on it, a funnel on the top and an entrance in its front," he said. He then tried to read the writing but the writing was too faint to make out.
"Maybe it's some kind of tent?" asked Betelgeuse. Then Rigel took the piece of paper and gazed at it.
"Well, whatever it is, it's not important," she said, "It's just a tatty old ad about some old building, possibly before the Age of Winter..."
"But Rigel, the Age of Winter was 100 years long," said Lymphocyte in protest. Rigel was about to reply when the five heard a call from some of the elders of the three clans. Flashing a look at the callers, among then Neutrophil, Monocyte and Daggertooth, Rigel gazed once again at the sheet of paper with the funnelled tortoise shell on it.
"Just toss that aside," she told the other four, "It's just an insignificant old ad."
Eosinophil then took the sheet of paper and threw it away, sending it spinning like a disc away from the quintet and landing in the grass. After this, the five returned to their clans.