April 11th, 2019
Hey guys. Thanks for coming back and checking in with me. I think this will be the last pass at the story. I honestly got tired of asking for critique and not getting anything back so I'm going to settle on this for now. Once the design side of the story gets done and we have more visuals I might be able to come back in and edit some of the descriptions. We'll cross the bridge when we get there.
I hope you all enjoy this little story. I had a blast writing it.
Birds fly out of the dense treetops of a woodland area as a loud horn sounds. In the harsh trees next to a massive flowing river, tribal villagers scramble to their homes made of various leather, scales, and bones. The ground shakes, causing small objects to topple over. The houses are nestled deep in the remains of what was a greater society. The various tarps draped over worn stone and ruins. A roar from an unknown creature is heard far off. People push past a each other in a hurry, fear in their faces. The horns sound again as the ground shakes again. An old worn stone column topples over and crashes into the river nearby. The crash causes dust to blow in the wind. The wind pushes the dust past a young boy. This young boy is standing there oblivious to the rise in panic. He is standing there holding out his hand. A bright red and green leaf rustles from the breeze, rotating in his palm. The boy makes a clicking sound with his mouth. The clicks attract a gliding lizard. The lizard floats and lands on his hand, it grabs the leaf in its mouth. The lizard comfortably crawls up the boys arm chewing on the leaf and rests on his shoulder. The young boy laughs and pets the lizard with his finger, rubbing under its chin. The boy looks around and sees the commotion. In the hurried sound of footsteps a hardened young man kneels down with his hand on the boys free shoulder.
"Xen! Are you OK?" He exhales heavily and asks, with his voice very strong and commanding. He turns him around to see if there was any scratches or marks. "If you got hurt, I don't know what I would do." He brushes away the lizard.
"Yeah, I'm OK, why?" Xen asks curiously, his voice is playful. Xen looks around and sees everyone running around. "What's going on?"
"Didn't you hear the horn? Stay right here." He demands patting his shoulder harshly, "I will be right back." He steps away into a small gathering of old villagers.
"OK Shu!" He says giggling trying to give the lizard another leaf.
Shu steps up to a small gathering of the village elders. They congregated to discuss what to do in case of an emergency.
"Oh, there you are Shu. We were just talking about you." The shaky old voice from the village chief perks up. His eyes heavy, he looks to Shu. "We know you have some kind of plan! Are you taking Xen with you this time?" The grin on his face widens, indicating it was intentional to poke the hornets nest.
Shu angrily interjects. "No! How could you suggest that? He's clearly not ready" He gets defensive with a furrowed brow. Shu crosses his arms and exhales heavily, huffing and puffing. Shu looks back at Xen.
The village elders laugh, "You would be surprised!" One says in the huddled group. "Look how much you've grown since that age." Another remarks playfully. "We've all come a long way..." They clamor.
"This isn't some kind of game!" Shu says, touching a massive scar on his arm. He rubs his shoulder. and rotates his arm, triggered with a nervous tic. "Xen is still too naive." He glances over his shoulder and sees Xen with the lizard and now a giant blue flying horned beetle. "He doesn't understand the kind of danger these creatures contain."
The horn sounds again but closer now.
"OK Shuuuu... What's the plan?" The village elders ask with urgency. A strange roar goes off in the distance as the ground rumbling gets a little more intense.
Shu nods and they discuss actions to take if the city is breached. In these moments Xen is keeping a watchful eye on Shu. Xen doesn't like being in one spot too long. There is more stuff he wants to do, like train his lizard companion. Shu leans in to the conversation and in that instant Xen rolls into the bushes nearby. Time to fly!
After explaining the next steps to take, Shu looks up and notices Xen isn't there! At this point he has to hope he will fend for himself in the village walls. He has the villagers lives to think about. He can't be selfish and only protect Xen and himself. The lead hunter has a lot to prove in situations like this. He psyches himself up.
With his new found freedom Xen begins to run down a path that is a little less beaten. He takes a sharp turn and continues running to a small ruined house. The house was destroyed by something massive and a very long time ago, but in the wreckage is a space where a boy Xen's size can get through. The lizard jumping and gliding keeping up with Xen as he runs to the entrance. Slowly trailing behind is the big blue horned beetle.
Shu looks back at the elders and nods. He begins to run towards a large building on the villages outer walls, two young warriors following him, jumping and rolling trying to keep up with him. A chubby warrior slowly trailing behind.
Through the entrance Xen comes out on the other side. He stands looking down an old path from ages ago. He jumps through a bush and does a sloppy roll. He gets up and dusts himself off. The lizard landing on his shoulder and the horned beetle hovering over him. He stands in front of a large ruined temple with old faded paintings. In front of the temple were two large stone beasts standing guard. The paintings show humans with large beasts and creatures living side by side. Xen has been past here so many times he shows no interest in it as he casually strolls in.
Shu jumps over a wooden fence and does a stylish roll hopping up to his feet and doing a running jump over a wall. He begins to enter a massive building with huge spikes and large monster bones. The building is made out of several different monster parts. It's a staging area for getting useful materials from slain beasts or creatures. This place has lots of hide stretched out and tanning as well as massive claws and bones just laying around. Shu runs past this so many times a day it's like second nature to him. His reflexes are so keen and intense he is able to dash around with great confidence. He rushes in the great hunters hall with focus and precision.
Xen enters the ruins as if the space was his home. He directs the lizard to the wall. It glides to the wall and disturbs a string of mushrooms. The mushrooms are very large and damp. The sound of rushing water can be heard as the trickling of water can be seen dripping through the wall and onto the mushrooms. The mushrooms shake releasing a small cloud and as the spores spread a light blue hue that begins to shine. The mushrooms glow with a light blue intensity allowing Xen to see the way down this ancient hallway.
Xen cheerfully hops and skips down the hallway walking past imagery on the walls. The pictures depict a time from so long ago. Crude pictures of humans interacting with a large variety of beasts and monster ranging from small to insanely huge. The mural seems like a scale and history of the creatures and beasts. Xen nears the end of the wall, it shows a large beach with a series large creatures as if to guard the shore. The creatures have a colorful set of feathers on its neck, they are sleek and agile. They look like silent predators. These same creatures were stone guards at the entrance of the temple. Off in the distance in the ocean is a massive white and blue dragon. Only a portion of this creature is displayed due to the sheer massiveness. This large water dragon is half covered in the ocean. It looks like these creatures guarded the village from danger because of how ominous this depiction seems.
Xen meanders past and gets settled into his little hideout. He walks into this large room. It seemed like it could have been the epicenter of a large temple where people gathered. The cathedral style has an open roof, but plants and earth have covered up most of it, letting only some spots of natural light in. The bright leaves of a vined plant bare an oddly shaped fruit. Xen picks the fruit and collects the bright colored leaves from it. He shoves them in his satchel on his side. Xen gets comfortable on a hammock made from an old flag. He eats the interestingly shaped fruit and lays the leaves on his stomach. The lizard glides down and the beetle climbs up to him. They both begin snacking on the colorful leaves. Xen spits out the pit of the fruit onto the floor.
Shu enters the warriors guild catching his breath as he walks past a long row of monster trophies. All types of monster parts are on display from jawbones to horns and even claws. Curios are hung up, on display of past triumphs. Large pelts and tanned leathers as well as giant scales are drying out for use of armor, weapons, and even building materials. The building is always changing depending on what creatures were brought back. Shu takes a second and breaths in deep. He looks around and assesses how he feels, it feels like we are on the inside of a monster. Shu grabs a well worn spear that is fashioned with a large colorful feather. The hunters guild opens up from that large outside staging area outside the village. Large boxes and crates hold creature materials and weapons. Boxes and crates like this are stacked high. Shu walks around the massive fire that burns inside a stone circle. He throws a stick in as a fire lights in his eyes. Shu and other warriors start gearing up to go on a scouting mission to see what the alarms were sounding for. A handful of hardened villagers are selected as Shu readies a party to move out. The ones that are rejected go back to putting monster parts in boxes, and gathering weapons to be sharpened.
The small group selected depart with an uproarious tribal chant. They follow the river up a large cliff face to gain the high ground. It helps them to see over the forest of trees. The high ground has always been the starting point to every mission. It allows them to see creatures before they decide to fight. Using this tactic and guerrilla warfare is how they have been able to survive some dangerous fights in the past. Thankfully they live deep in the forest. The dense woods act as a buffer from most creatures, as they don't like having to drudge through it. Usually the large creatures and beasts never venture this close to the riverbed where the village stays. The massive river leads to the ocean and the village is not too far from the beach. It is a beautiful little hide away. In the distance Shu can see the toppling of trees. What ever it is seems to be heading towards the village. The path it is taking is very visible.
Shu looks over the horizon to see if there is any sign of what the creature could be. A roar is heard. At this point it is so clear to him that Shu's eyes widen. The image in his eyes show a younger version of himself standing there just as scared. He flashes back in his mind. The same roar is heard again. He is breathing heavily as he's frantically looking around.
"What do I do? What do I do?" He says to himself under his breath as he is standing there. He finds a spear and picks it up, gripping it hard, his knuckles are white. He looks around frantically. It's raining lightly and the sound of the waves crashing on the beach make him shudder. A piercing scowl of a beast is heard. It filled him with fear. It sounded like a bear and a cougar combined. Feeling unable to move, a harsh slam crashes next to him. He looks and sees a massively thick white scaled leg. The thick leg lifts the massive dragon foot, revealing a wood and stone house completely crushed. Another slam of the other leg causes shakes through the earth. Shu is brought to his knees by the tremors. He looks at his hands, they are scratched and bloody. The terror and fear in this situation is too much to take. Tears begin flowing from his eyes as he begins to yell.
"XEN!? Where are you?" He gets up and starts to run. He quickly realizes that this is a fight or flight moment and he is not in a position to fight. Sick to his stomach he thinks about his little baby brother being crushed or maimed by a creature. As he runs along the stone path he looks up. Above him is the belly of a massive creature. The scales were brilliant white with blue gleams like diamonds sparkling. Through the smoke he couldn't make out exactly what it is. All he knew is that it was huge. He had to stop... He rests against a stone pillar, catching his breath. The scowl is heard again. Shu's body froze with fear. For a brief moment the massive dragon creature is revealed through the smoke. A large blue and white dragon opens it's maw. A light begins to build in it's throat as energy begins to form in it's mouth. A high pitched whine echoes out and a blast of energy creates a rip in the earth. Screams rattle off as smoke billows to the sky. Smoke from the blast of energy make it hard to see anything. The sound of cracking wood and toppling stone shake through Shu. He scans the area to see if there is any indication of where Xen is. Shu begins to walk through the smoke. Another creature brushes past him quickly, knocking him down on his back. Stunned he can't imagine what this creature was. All he could think about was how soft it was. The smoke clears as he rushes to his feet. He gathers himself and looks at his surroundings. His knuckles still white, holding tightly onto that spear. He wouldn't even know what to do with it if he had to defend himself. Tears are still rolling down his face as he looks around to gather his bearings.
Shu realizes that he is very close to their house. He begins to think of his parents. Dread and fear take over him as he begins to wonder of their fate. He runs down the road, climbing over rubble and torn earth. Shu turns the corner and down the street where his house used to be. All that's there is torn earth and split stone. An energy blast from the dragon had destroyed the place where everything he cared about was. Not knowing if his parents and little brother are alive he begins to feel anger. A mysterious set of ominous eyes watch him from the rooftops, he can't shake this feeling that he is being watched and followed. On high alert, he begins to find composure, like a second wind. The anger begins to fuel his actions as he begins to search for any sign of his family. To his surprise it is oddly silent. No one is to be seen or heard.
Shu runs down an alleyway between two buildings, his bare feet clapping on the stones. A rumble from the large dragons massive claws causes him to stumble. The sound of the cougar bear scowl perks up his ears. There are four or five scowls as the massive dragon roars. It sounded like it was in pain. Shu spots a swaddled child. Wrapped tightly in a flag of the tribes colors a baby lays crying. A small baby unable to fend for himself. Shu begins to run to it.
The massive dragon foot begins clashing with the surroundings. The dragon seems to be stumbling around. An unknown creature lets out a growl that stops him dead in his tracks. That scowl was pretty terrifying but this growl was worse. He looks up at the rooftops and sees the bright glaring eyes of something through the smoke. Above that was the massive claw of the white scaled beast. The humongous trunk of a leg was coming down. In the light as it was coming down was a glimmer of blue light, causing Shu to shield his eyes. Shu knew that leg was coming down on top of him and if he didn't move now he would be crushed. If he ran, this creature in the smoke would chase him down.
Having to think fast, Shu started to run. It is better to run and try to survive that thrashing then be crushed alive. That triggered the eyes in the smoke to slant angrily. His gestures triggered the monster to chase. Through the smoke the creature jumped. The seemingly dark fur and crazy sharp talons was a sight to behold. Shu had only seen stone structures of what this beast was. Shu knew doing that his actions would not end well for him, but he had to do something. The massive claw of the scaled dragon began crashing down. The dark monster swipes at Shu, connecting with his shoulder and causing him to be flung against a stone wall. The wind is knocked out of him. He can not catch his breath. He watches with his vision blurring as the massive white claw crushes the building between him and the swaddled child. The dark creature is no where to be seen. The massive white trunk legs disappear in smoke. As Shu begins to regain his sight and his ears stop ringing, the sound of a scuffle with lots of roaring and scratching cause him to stay down.
Trying to slow his breath he closes his eyes. In the chaos it is now oddly silent. Shu looks up and tries to stand holding his spear defensively. Neither creature is in sight, the dragon or the dark beast. Shu's shoulder is ripped and torn deep. That swipe cut him deep. Blood dripping down his arm, he is unable to move his fingers or even move his elbow. He stumbles to his feet propping himself up, his arm dangling there limp. He touches his wound and looks at his bloody hand. He looks around, dizzy. The massive white and blue scaled monster is gone, all that is left is the ruins of the village. He hears the crashing of the waves near by. It was unreal how quickly things had transpired.
Shu looks around and grabs his spear, using it as a walking stick to look for any survivors. The smoke clouds break and sunlight shines through. The light points to a small bit of rubble where a village colored flag sits. Shu looks at the earth between him and the rubble, it is scared from a blast of energy. He climbs into the ripped earth. It's soaked as if it were a blast of high powered water. That dragon has some kind of unimaginable power. He climbs through it and hurries to the flag. Shu sees that the baby is Xen! Xen was safe there holding a bright colorful feather cooing happily. Shu holds him up checking him for injuries and holds him close, squeezing him tightly. Everything starts to go dark. Knowing Xen was safe was a huge relief. His vision blurs and it goes black.
Shu blinks a few times and instantly knows what they are facing. He shakes off the memory and touches his scar. Coming back to reality he rotates his shoulder to remind himself it still works. He scans the edge of the trees looking for any sign of movement. If this monster shows up it could be another catastrophic event. It seems to be a bad omen. Shu may have a gut feeling but he has to be sure. He begins to head down the cliff so they can venture into the dense woods.
At the same time, Xen hears what he discerns to be a roar but thinks nothing of it. Stuff like that doesn't really bother him. Xen never really understood why Shu fights all the time. From what he knows the creatures aren't all that bad. The lizard gets frightened from the roar. It begins to cower using the beetle as cover. This caused a bit of a disturbance with the beetle. It uses it's horn aggressively as the lizard backs away. Xen watching this play out on his stomach laughs. The beetle begins to fly away. Xen, enamored with his new beetle friend tries calling him back with clicks from his mouth.
"Tsk tsk." Xen motions towards himself.
The beetle ignores the command and flies away. He flutters around and hits against an oddly broken wall. The beetles tough shell absorbs the impact. A small part of the rubble falls. The beetle lands on the wall, using his large horn to create a hole. As the beetle continues digging light begins to pour through. The beetle makes a space large enough and it crawls through. Xen runs up to the wall. His curiosity with where the beetle went and what this could possibly lead to overtakes him. Xen looks through the hole with one wide eye and jerks back. It is too bright to see anything! He begins to unearth this new pathway and as the dust settles he hears the soft growl of an unknown beast.
The growl sounds playful and it tries to roar. The little roar makes Xen giggle. What ever it is, it's small and fierce! Xen slowly peers around the corner. On his shoulder the lizard is also peering over the corner, scared. Xen sees in this small room an old nest woven into these massive roots and in it crawls the beetle.
Xen looks around the room as he slowly walks to the center of it. The room is small and above the nest is an opening in the roof that leads outside. Thick vines are firmly planted through stone and earth, poking out through the hole in the ceiling and down through the nest. In the room a small little flow of water travels from the river near by. He sees the bright leaves of the odd shaped fruit that grows on the vines. The threads of vines come through this area touching the water. On the floor next to the nest are half eaten fruit, little nibbles are taken out of them. The colorful leaves scattered around give the lizard a sense of familiarity as he glides down to snack. Xen can't help but feel like something is in here, surviving.
He looks at the imagery on the wall. It shows a tribesman with a dark creature. It shows in crude detail how to use your hands as a way to command them. Xen has already known the basics to this, thanks to his many hours spent with in the temple, he's always felt like the creature whisperer. In this case Xen has never seen anything like this before. It states that touch is important, and that through touch we can create a bond. Emotion is important because through emotion we can understand intentions. Another thing shown was emphasis. The markings were faded and non existent but Xen figured it was about using your hands and body to show what you wanted. The last things depicted were balance and otherness. They went hand in hand but considering balancing your emotions and keeping yourself in check would help you bond with any creature or beast as well as your fellow people. This was something always talked about with in the tribe. Using these tools Xen understood that he wasn't some kind of animal whisperer, anyone could do it, if they knew the steps and had the heart to try!
Xen begins slowly walking towards the nest. He cautiously places his feet, inching closer to the nest. The beetles wings can be heard fluttering. Xens eyes slowly look over into the nest. The beetle is wrestling with a small little catlike cub. The cub is pawing at the beetle. The beetles hard shell defending it against the cubs pats. The paws of the creature are large and fuzzy. The catlike cub raises its paw, revealing the claws expanding out. On display are these very intense looking razor sharp talons. The lizard unexpectedly jumps into the nest between the beetle and the cub, protecting the beetle. The lizards neck flaps extended and colorful. It hisses at the cub. Saliva dripping from the lizards mouth caused the cub to pull back. The cub retreats into a defensive position. The cubs ears are folded back. Its eyes show remorse. It sniffs the air and looks around. The lizard relaxes, the beetle begins to clean its mandibles. The cub looks at Xen.
Xen extends his hand out to touch the cub. It closes its eyes and growls. Xen doesn't rear back. He keeps moving his hand slowly towards it. Xens eyes are focused on the cub. The cub looks at Xens hand and takes the aggressive pose like the lizard. The cubs mane reveals a colorful set of small feathers. His hand hovers above the cubs head. For a moment that seems like an eternity Xen holds his hand there. Xen begins to feel nervous. The cub looks up at Xen, it's mouth at a partial snarl, the mane feathers raised. His arm quivers slightly from the strain. The cub moves its head to his hand and begins to emit a sound similar to a purr. Rubbing its chin and cheeks on Xens hand, Xen smiles. He pets the cub gently with his other hand. Xen takes a second and thinks about what is posted on the wall in this room. Touch, emotion, emphasis, balance and otherness. This is something that everyone needs. It's weird how he feels like he's the only one who practices this. Maybe everyone forgot? He thinks to himself as he pets his new buddy. This seems to work on almost all types of creature. Maybe I am the creature whisperer after all, he laughs to himself.
Rubbing the dark creatures soft fur Xen notices around its neck these even more beautiful small feathers. The cub is extremely friendly and enjoys the attention Xen gives to him. He begins trying to teach it how to sit, using the clicks. With Xen issuing commands the lizard begins doing the same commands. Xen using hand gestures and clicks easily tames the cub, the cub following the lizards lead. The dark cub seems to pick up very easily what Xen commands. Xen and the cub become bonded very quickly. It felt very natural to him. The beetle munching away on the leaves in the nest, the lizard and the cub follow Xens hand movements and he begins to run around in the room with them chasing. Laughing and playing was something Xen loved to do. Shu was always off doing something dangerous and more importantly serious. Now that he thought about it, all he has ever had was companions like this.
Xen mumbles under his breath, "I don't know why Shu is so scared of these creatures."
Xen, thirsty at this point, goes to the little flowing water. The clear blue water coursing by, he cups the water in his hands as he takes a drink. He offers some to the lizard, and to the cub. They drink from his hand. The beetle on Xen's shoulder rotating a leaf in its mandibles munching away.
"I should give you a name." Xen thinks out loud. "What do I call you?" He looks around the room. He thinks about the markings on the wall. Touch, emotion, emphasis, balance and otherness. T-E-E-B-O.
"Teebo!" Xen exclaims. "Your name is Teebo!"
A bellowing roar is heard off in the distance. The cubs ears perk up and it begins to cry repeatedly. The cry is the same high pitch cry, as if it is trying to signal something. The cub frantically looking up through the hole in the ceiling and pacing around. It tries to jump on the vines and climb but it isn't strong enough to pull itself up. Xen cups the cub in his arms and places it in his satchel. Xen curiously climbs up the vines with the cub in tow. Teebos fuzzy little face poking out of the bag as Xen firmly stands on the ridge. He looks over the ridge into the distance. He sees the rustling in the trees. Something large is making its way through the forest. Xen begins to get a little nervous. There hasn't been a large creature near by in, well ever! If there is a large beast this close to the village it means either Shu is fighting it to scare it away or they are going to bring it home as a trophy.
Down in the wooded area outside the village, a three colored snake writhes up a tree. A sharp thump as Shu's spear severs the snakes head from its body. The body hits the ground and slithers around. The head sits there resting on the spear. The feather lifts and swirls in a light breeze. He grabs the snakes head and opens it's mouth. He uses the liquid it secretes as a new face paint. He wipes under his eyes. He has bright green markings on his cheeks and down his neck. The liquid stings his eyes. The snake venom will help keep him sharp.
"Disgusting creatures." He says under his breath as he tosses the head on to the woodlands floor.
Shu has decided to get close to the beast to see what it is, and be sure. He has to be sure. As he walks casually through the dense wood he strokes the feather on his spear. The softness going through his fingers as he has a thousand yard stare. He repeatedly strokes it between his fingers, pulling down on it. He is moving through the area as if on auto pilot. The warriors behind him slowly following, fear in their eyes. Shu confidently leads, this is nothing to him.
Shu and his warriors near a clearing, he motions the group to stop. He moves his hands in a swirling motion. The warriors spread out staying in the trees but close to the actual clearing. The area is very beautiful, open with grass and large flowering buds. Shu positions himself against a tree. He hunkers down with his back against the tree. Through the trees nearby a low howl rumbles.
The trees part and into the clearing Shu sees something that makes his heart stop. The dark fur shines through as a dark blue and purple. The creature from so long ago. He feels weak looking at it. He takes a second to collect himself. He vowed he would never let anything make him feel as weak as he was that day so long ago. The beast walks into the middle of the clearing. Sniffing around, it lets out a low howl again, this time longer. Shu realizes it's looking for something. If it keeps coming this way it will come to the village. We know what happened last time it was there.
Shu signals and his warriors jump out from the trees, they begin rushing towards the monster. Shu waits and counts to ten. The warriors start yelling as they throw their throwing their hand axes and spears. The beast rears up and its fur begins to stand on end. The dark beasts mane opens up, revealing these brilliant colors. The feather on his spear rustles. Shu begins to rush towards the beast, hatred in his eyes. The beast claws at the warriors and jumps over them with ease. This beast is quick and agile. More dangerous than anything else they have fought before. With a pounce the beast lands on one warrior, crushing him. It snarls looking at all the warriors around him. The eyes slant angrily and the beast lets out a massive roar, stunning everyone around it. Shu stopped dead in his tracks, drops to his knees, covering his ears. The beast swipes, the paw connects with a warrior, and ends up throwing the warrior into the dense woods. His scream was cut short as he hit a tree. The three remaining warriors try to overwhelm the beast by yelling and clanking their weapons. The noise causes the beast to retract. They begin to work on cornering up the beast against the treeline. Shu uses this opportunity to make a strike. He runs full speed and does a flourishing jump from a tree. In the air he spins and the momentum helps him strike. He strikes the beast in the arm with a heavy thrust. The spearhead punctures the monsters arm so deep that Shu can't remove the spear. With the spear stuck in the beast Shu decides he will not let go. Shu is hanging onto the spear as the monster topples over. It violently begins to thrash around and claw at the wounded arm, trying to remove the spear and Shu. Shu is grasping at the fur trying to get a hold. He remembers the softness of the creature that knocked him down in the smoke. The only thing stable to hang onto is the shaft of the spear. Shu cannot hang on through this and as he is being flung from the beast he grasps the feather dangling from the spear. In that moment he is ripped from the monster with a downward swipe. The spear breaks and Shu hits the ground. The beast roars, wounded, and slowly slinks away into the dense trees.
Shu is laying there looking up at the sky and in his clenched fist is the bent bright feather from his spear. His and the beasts blood spattered on the feather, it isn't soft anymore. He lay there breathing heavily. The warriors gather around him and help him up. They pick up their weapons and together they say a prayer for their fallen brothers. They gather rocks and set up small little totems to honor the fallen.
Xen, standing on the ridge saw the scuffle. Even from that distance he witnessed the beauty of the bright feathers on that creature. He saw the beast get away into the woods. Xen had a feeling it was Shu. No one in the tribe was brave enough to attempt something like that! Xen looks at the cub and sees small little feathers that matched that larger beast. He quickly put two and two together. This cub is lost and that beast is looking for its young. Xen climbs back down into ruins. He begins to walk back to the village, but on his way out he stops and looks at the wall. He looks at the massive dragon in the water. He can't quite put his finger on it but when looking at this he knows this is a beast that is untouchable. As he looks down from it he sees on the beach a village that looks similar to the ruins and guarding it was the brilliant feathered creature in the woods. There were several of them. They seemed like guardians of the village.
As Xen gets back into the village it seems as though life is back to normal. The people bustling around and doing their things as if nothing ever happened. The fishmonger yelling about her fish, the blacksmith hammering away on metal and monster bone, kids carrying baskets and just overall helping things move smoothly. Xen opens the satchel a little to let the cub see the surroundings. It sits in the satchel comfortably. Xen carefully begins walking around the village center. People rush past getting here and there. It is a bustling little spot it feels like a giant clockwork with everyone working for the greater good. Village hunters dropping off game at the butchers stall. Leather workers cleaning pelts and stretching leather. A group of soldiers dropping off weapons to be repaired and reforged for the next hunt. As Xen walks by a lumbering fisherman carrying a huge net of flapping fish. The lumbering man shoves past him. The cub begins sniffing the air and squirming in the satchel, Xen spins around and clutches the satchel pressing it close to him. If this cub were to get out it could cause major trouble! The cub looks up at him, he rubs the cubs cheeks and pats on his forehead. He tries to distract the cub with his hands and mouth clicks. Then he carefully lets the satchel rest at his side. The cub again tries to get out of the bag. Xen, struggling to keep it contained kneels down to handle it better.
"C'mon, Teebo! Don't start acting up here. I need to keep you as a secret for now..." He stuffs Teebos head into the bag gently and closes the satchel.
Shu and the remaining warriors get to the staging area and begin to unpack. Placing their weapons on racks, they start to get cleaned up. While heading back into the gate Shu looks behind him as if to get the sense that something was watching him. Unable to shake the feeling he scans the treeline very carefully. His eyes dart to anything that moves. A bird swoops down and catches a little rodent, flying off into the canopy. His ear perks up to an odd soft cry in the woods to the right. A pack dog like creatures darts off into the woods yipping and howling. He closes his eyes and tries to use his other senses. He then does one final look and crosses the threshold into the village. He feels weak without his spear. He has always had it, leaving it behind in that monster made him feel like he left a part of himself elsewhere. He was feeling on high alert. He was doing what he could to brush the feeling off, entering the hunters guild building.
Xen was able to get the cub to stop struggling and with that he looked to the ocean. The fishmonger began yelling at the big lumbering man, he opened up the net and poured out fish onto a large tarp. Flapping and wet the fish bounced around. The cub began to squirm in the satchel again. Xen couldn't keep the cub contained as the little fuzzy creature leaped from the pouch. It pounced on a fish, quickly gobbling it up in one bite. The lumbering fisherman let out a high pitched scream as he lifted his leg in fear, pointing at the little fuzzy cub. Teebo looked up at him with a cute face, fish tail dangling from its mouth as it chewed on the meat. The fishmonger yelled in shock while grabbing a huge fish hook, as Xen rushed over to contain the cub. The fishmonger began fiercely swiping at the cub with her giant hook. The cub jumped over and dodged her effortlessly. Thinking it was a game the cub began to run away from Xen as he chased. People in the village caught on to the commotion and began to gather around. Xen looked around and knew he was going to get in deep trouble over this. The villagers were now grouping together and formed a human wall around Xen and Teebo. The villagers were furious and scared. It turned into an angry mob very quickly as Xen clutched Teebo in fear. Everyone looking down on him raised fist and yelling.
"It's not what you think. Don't you guys have heart. These creatures aren't all bad!" Xen yelled in defense.
Shu entered the village with a small sense of defeat, he couldn't kill the beast and he lost his spear but at least he still had the village and Xen. And in that thought he wondered what Xen had been up to all day. He saw the group of people forming up and heard the angry mob yelling. Confused about what could have possibly happened while he was gone he walked up to them and peered over the crowd. He noticed Xen there holding what looks to be a little version of the monster he just fought.
In that instant a scowl was let out near the village entrance. The cougar bear roar rang out like a shock wave. Shu turned quickly to see the beast perched at the top of the large wall. The roar caused panic in everyone in the area but some villagers wouldn't let Xen go. Xen could only get up and try to run. His instinct was to just run to the beach. He looked for a way through. Xen saw in the sea, far beyond was a large swirling storm cloud. Lightning flashing way off in the distance. The darkness was foreboding. If he could just make it to the beach he could try to show everyone that with the right amount of heart the beasts aren't all bad.
The roar caused Teebo to get a sudden burst of energy. It was frantically looking around for its mother. The cub knew mom was nearby and began to fight from Xens grasp. Xen, getting clawed and scratched on his arms, held onto the cub as he ran through the villagers and the wood and stone buildings to get to the beach. Teebo squirmed and wiggled so strongly that Xen struggled to keep a firm grip. He had to keep trying to pin him under his arm. It hurt, but he couldn't give up. He had to stay strong.
Shu accidentally lead the beast back to the village. He should have known it was clever, but then he realized that the beast had been here before. Shu understood that the beast could have come back at anytime and could have caused the damage and destruction like before. It must have been the cub that had it all worked up. He put things together but still the village is in danger now, possibly in more trouble than before. Nothing is more dangerous than a mother trying to protect her young. Shu tried to think of something quick. He saw Xen running towards the beach. Something clicked as Shu thought it would be smart to get the large beast into the open and away from all the people.
Xen, running and crying from the pain of being clawed couldn't hold onto Teebo anymore and dropped it as he stumbled and fell onto the hard stone pathway. He was nearing the village outskirts and could hear waves crashing onto the shore. Xen pulls from his satchel some cloth and wraps his arms up to keep the scratches from bleeding. Xen couldn't see where the cub ended up running but as he looked around he saw a large version of the little cub jumping from the rooftops of the buildings. His eyes widened as the thoughts connected. His original thoughts of Teebo crying for it's mother had been confirmed. These beasts haven't been around the village for a very long time!
Shu had to think of something quick to distract the monster so he did what he does best, fight! Shu grabbed a small worn sword worn from nearby and started running towards the large black beast, waving his arms and yelling for her attention. The creature let out a cry as she looks for her cub. Teebo was spouting repetitive high pitched whining as if it was a siren to let its position be known. Angry villagers begin to take up arms and throw rocks and things at the large dark creature.
The people become more angry but this does not frighten the beast. It looks through the crowd with it's ears rotating, listening for the cry of it's young. The mother beast rears back her hardy paw and unleashes a strike into the crowd of people. The creature's strike didn't hit anyone, it was more a show of strength in hopes that they would back off. She lets out a short scowl that stuns everyone, making them cover their ears.
Xen stumbles up and begins to walk to the front of the crowd as the beast sits at the top of a building snarling. Xen isn't scared of monsters like this. He knew from the paintings on the wall that they all used to be together as one.
"Stand back everyone. I can tame it." Xen says with his arms motioning for everyone to lower their weapons.
The some of the mob laughs and others exclaim disbelief. Xen turns away from them and looks at the beast making eye contact. Shu is doubtful but lets Xen do his thing, he has seen Xen with creatures before and knows he does have some kind of weird gift. If this fails, there has to be another plan. If he were to attack now he could put Xens life in danger. Shu breaks off and begins to look at the ground searching for the cub. Shu finds the cub mewing and grabs it by the scruff. He looks at it angrily. This is the cause of so much hurt? He looks at the shaken villagers as they are getting help from others.
The beasts eyes focus on Xen. The eyes form little slits as Xen tries to use his skill learned from smaller creatures. The beasts eyes begin to slant in anger, her head rotates from side to side in curiosity. Xen does a few motions and a couple of mouth clicks. The beast looks at Xen with an intense focus as the villagers watch on, murmurs from the crowd express confusion and surprise. Down the street near the beach Shu raises the cub, using it as bait to attract the beast. The cub begins to cry. The beast whips its head towards the crying cub growling. Shu will use this to get close and try to do a finishing blow.
Xen starts to hum a little song and does the hand motions again and the beast looks back. Xen almost is able to get it to calm down but in that instant Shu thrusts the cub downwards letting it go. The cub hits the floor on all four legs but the force caused it to hit the stone harshly. The cub let out a small low cry. It stands up and begins to slowly walk towards the mother, shaken up. The mother beast bolts toward Shu. It leaps into the crowd as people dive out of the way, running angrily towards Shu. It's eyes focused on him. Shu stands there in a stance bracing for impact.
"SHU!" Xen yells as the beast pounces toward Shu.
Shu was able to dodge the pounce and makes a grab for the small shaft of his spear in the beasts arm. The beast pulls away, her back arched angrily. Her mouth snarling as her collar flows in the increasing heavy wind. The plumes of feathers shine radiantly. Xen collects Teebo and begins to run towards the beach. Shu follows suit and leads the beast out to the large opening. They reach the beach, Shu, Xen, Teebo are standing there while the mother beast circles them, eyes wide with anger. Xen uses the hand motions to tame Teebo and make it sit and do other commands. Shu watches him while the beast circles them. The villagers watching on the outskirts look on in shock. The wall of darkness in the ocean has been creeping up closer. Shu has a strange feeling, an old nagging feeling that something big is going to happen. It's not everyday a storm like this comes, and having the large beast near the village just feels off. He needs to do something, and now.
Shu watches Xen and holds his hand out, mimicking him. Xen realizes that maybe if Shu learned the steps and tried it, he could calm the mother down.
"Shu, do what I do. Think about these things I tell you and keep them at the front of your mind." Xen says to Shu very sternly.
"Oh, yeah little man?" Shu snarks, "I don't see this ending any other way."
The large beast stops and it's eyes focus on Shu. Xen clicks using his mouth. The little gliding lizard floats on down and sits next to the cub.
"C'mon Shu, you have to try. I know in my heart that we used to live side by side with these beasts." Xen tries to reason with him.
Shu tries to imitate but can't quite make the clicking sounds.
"Take your cheek and pull it from your tongue, then pull your tongue back sucking the air into the back of your throat." Xen tries to teach Shu how to make the tsk sound.
Shu tries it and finally gets it right. The mother beast sits down.
Xen holds up his hand and softly lets out an, "Ah!" The lizard and the cub stand on their back legs standing up.
Shu tries to do the same and the large beast listens. The mother beast sits up on her hind legs. Shu is standing there in disbelief as Xen has just taught him how to tame a monster. Shu lets out a shocked laugh and looks at Xen. Xen cheers and gives Shu a hug. Shu hugs him back but steps toward the beast holding his hand out. Xen grabs the cub and cradles it in his arms, petting it.
The beast looks at Shu. Shu looks at the beast. The long eye contact makes Shu think back to the initial accident many years ago. He tries to remember exactly what happened.
Looking into the beasts eyes takes him back to a part of his memory he repressed. He blinks and next thing he knows he's on the beach, as a younger version of himself. This was before the attack on the village. The fishermen are pulling in their boats and they were talking to each other about how the sea was rough today and it seemed like a bad omen catching the types of fish they got today. Shu thought nothing of it and remembers looking back at his family. His mom and dad were on the beach with little baby Xen slowly learning how to walk in the beach sand. It was peaceful but as he scanned the horizon he saw the wall of darkness brewing. In the corner of his vision were statues of the beasts that looked just like the mother beast. As he turned to look at Xen he noticed that one of the statues wasn't actually a statue, it was a real creature. Or so he thought. The memory wasn't that clear. The lightning strikes and he comes back to reality.
Shu was still slowly leaning into the large creature trying to touch it. The mother beast looking at Shu intensely as he slowly comes forward. Lightning strikes again and startles Shu, but he doesn't break eye contact with the beast as he begins to touch her head. Shu rubs her ears. The beast stays there in the seated position as Shu touches the beasts mane. Stroking the soft feathers. The beast looks at Shu and gives him a big lick on the side of his head. The harsh tongue causes Shu to rub his face. At this point Shu realized that he has to forgive the beast. He can also tell the beast has done the same to him. Xen runs up with Teebo and Xen looks at the creatures wound with the broken spear.
"The cubs name is Teebo. I found him in these ruins. He was stuck in this room and I brought him out." He puts Teebo down and looks at the mother beast. "We have to help her Shu! You have to get the spear out." Xen says as Shu nods.
"This is going to hurt." Shu says with remorse. Shu looks at the beast in her eyes. He puts his hand on the beasts forehead. Xen prepares a wrap and an ointment out of supplies in his satchel. Shu takes a heavy stance as he grips the broken spear shaft. "I forgive you. I know that you were protecting us. It my turn to protect you. I'm going to count to three and try to pull this out. 3. 2.... 1!" Shu counts down and right at one he pushes in, and then yanks out the spear head.
The beast moans and her big claw slams the ground. Teebo begins to jump up trying to climb on her to comfort her. She licks her cub as Xen puts on the ointment and wraps the wound. Even despite this injury she is at complete ease. Shu is shocked as the beast stands up and looks out to the ocean. Shu touches the scar on his arm. He looks at the beast and touches the wrap on her arm.
"I guess we are one in the same." He says as he lets out a little laugh.
The village elders get out to the beach and with such delight begin praising Xen. "See Shu, I told you that your little brother was something else!" The village elder states. "That was such a spectacle!" One mutters. "I can't believe my eyes!" Another exclaims.
"It's been a long time since we've seen these creatures. The last time we saw them was during the battle that destroyed our village years ago." The village elder said as he rubbed the mother beasts mane. "They have always been guardians of the beach, they adopted us when we moved here so long ago. Our ancestors lived with them side by side. I thought they all died in that last fight." He sighed.
"It seems like they might be few, but mighty." Shu stated with pride.
"Maybe we can bring them back?" Xen questioned innocently.
"I'm not so sure we can." The village elder says with remorse.
Villagers looked down from the outskirts and were relieved. Shu looked at the beast and the beast nods to him. Xen picks up Teebo and they look outwards to the sea. The storm brewing out so far with lightning and large waves is quite a scary sight. Out of the water a large blue and white dragon head beings to emerge. Shu grabs his broken spear and in the sand was some plumes of the brilliant feathers. He grabs one as they head back to the village.
The beast sits there on the shore looking outward as if to guard the beach as the rolling clouds bring in a heavy wind and light rain. Thunder crashes and a roar rings out that hasn't been heard in many years. The blue and white dragon lowers its head as it starts to move towards the village. A horn sounds and birds fly out from the tops of the trees as the story ends much like it had begun.