Two: Pyrro

I sat on a low branch of a birch tree. My tail twitched with aggravation as I watched everyone in my tribe getting ready for the Firefly Festive. Everyone seemed to be doing something even the little kids who were peeling the corn or helping ready the fest in some other way. Everyone but me that is.

Over the years, I had learned never to offer help. Everything I did was wrong. I was an outcast of my own race. The Animas.

We are a very odd specimen. With long cat-like tails and pointed ears. We are defiantly the most different from the others whom we share this land with. Although I have never seen any of them, I have heard many stories.

Human with round ears, and how clumsy they are.  How their weapons are the best of any race. I have heard many tales of them killing my kind on sight because they believe us to be savages.

Then there are the Sky’s. Legends tell that each of them as strong as three humans. And each of them are extremely skilled in magic. Although not as graceful as the animas. Moreover, they seem to care little for weapons, but how their clothing is an unlike the humans or ours.

I can only imagine the stories they tell of us. With our animalistic features and our own special gifts. Each of us could control a single element, but only after The Change that occurs on our 16 birthday.  And how a selected few are born with the ability to shape shift. Normally there has only ever been one a tribe and sometime there are none. They are meant to guard and protect. The only shape shifter in my tribe is me, which is probably the only reason they haven’t completely neglected me.

"Pyrro!" someone shouted from the bottom of the tree bring me back to reality.

At the mention of my name, I quickly jumped down to confront them.

"Yes?" I said with a sweet smile. Coming face to face with the alpha female of our Tribe River.

"Do you plan on sitting in that tree all day without helping?" she asked grabbing my arm and dragging me toward the center of the village.

"Well everything seemed under control. And I didn’t want to get in the way." I said innocently.

"Well at the very least go guard the front entrance? We should be having a few visitors for the festive tonight."

"Yes ma'ma" I replayed. I slowly made my way to the opening it the thick vines that surrounded and protected our small village: Riverbed. As I jumped up to the low branch of the guard tree that grew beside the entrance, my mind went back to the lessons I took when I was younger, from the old shape shifter, Regen. He was the only one to ever treat me like an equal. After he passed on, I was required to step up and take his place.

I couldn’t help but smile as I remember my younger years. I had lived with Regen since I was five. As soon as I had shown signs of being a shape shifter my foster mother dumped me on him. Who had never thought of me as worth a thing.  For 8 years, he taught me ever thing he knew about being the tribe protector. Form mending the vine wall to mending broken bones.

He was like a father to me. A year after Regen had taught me everything he could, he passed on. It was on his deathbed that he explained how I had come to be a part of this tribe. He told me how Feuer, my foster mother found a half-starved Animas in the forest. The stranger begged her to take me. He refused to give his name, and as soon as Feuer took me from him, the stranger ran away.

If took a deep breath and cleared my thoughts.

"Tonight is a night of celebration." I whispered to myself. "Not one for bad memories"

The Firefly Festive was a celebration of the first shape shifter. Who had been the very first one that the humans had noticed all those years ago. When we were exiled, because we where different. A soft yawn escaped my mouth. Exposing my fangs. They were not huge. But very distinctive. Another thing that set me apart from the tribe. Who were strictly vegans. My fang along with my orange cat-like tail was the only hints of my birth tribe. The orange color matched the grasses that grew in the south most part of the untamed forest. While my fangs indicated that I had come from a long line of hunters.

I climbed higher into the guard tree looking at the old beaten path that leads to the entrance. No sign of anyone coming. I closed my eye and pictured a fox as I jumped from the tree.

My front two paws hit the ground a second sooner than I had thought. I yelped as I did a front roll and landed on my now bushy tail. I eyed the front entrance of the village before taking off into the woods.

The fox was one of my favorite shapes. I felt like I could out run anyone. I pumped my legs even faster. The feeling of wind though my fur was like no other sensation.

After about 5 miles I stopped at a small pound to drink. Then I realized how high in the sky the sun had rinsed to and I took off back to the village.

One of the females of my age group, Tree, was sitting at the gate. When she saw me in fox form running back,  she gave me and wicked grin.

“You’re in trouble. River wants to see you.” She said in a you’re going to be banish sort of way that she always had with me.

I walked back to the center of the village trying to hide from River knowing she would yell at me this time for sure.

“Pyrro.”River yelled from behind me.

“Yes.” Smiled at her innocently as if I hadn’t done anything wrong.

“I can explain.”

 “Let’s take a walk Pyrro. I want to hear this.”

When we were a few steps out of earshot she said, “So Pyrro what’s the story this time?”

“I  heard something in the woods so I ummm went to check it out and it was a umm umm thief who was stealing this ladies’ belongings so I went to help her and got hit on the head and was umm knocked out and when I woke up no one was their so I hurried back to the village.”

“now what really happened.”

“Went for a run.”

River rolled her eyes at me. “Do you ever hear anything I say to you?” she asked loudly

“Yes of course I do.”

“So you chose just  chose to ignore me then?”

“No it’s just…” I looked down at the ground thinking about Regen and wish I was more like him.

There was a long silence between River and I then at last she placed her hand on my shoulder.

“Pyrro, I know things haven’t been easy on you since Regen pass on, but that was two years ago.  It’s time for you to start doing your job. I can’t keep letting what you do go; you have to step up now.”

Then she walked away.

 I walked back to my tree  thinking about what she said. Had I been holding on to Regen’s memory to long?  Somehow I had climbed up into the tree that overlooked the place where the firefly feastable was going on.  My Red hair flowed around the me.  Drums were being pounded in a rhythm soft and soothing I watched as the boys walked up to a female and asked the female to dance. They matched every step every breath so perfectly. I wonder how they seemed so perfect together, as if they had done this dance since early childhood. No one had taught me how to be like the girls. Regen had told me to forget about the boys in this village. He had said that none of them would ever choose me to be their mate. But when I had looked at him with tears in my eyes he took me in his arms and whispered “Pyrro they will never chose you because you are so much more than anyone of them will ever be. One day you will change the world.”

The moon soon reached its highest point and quite had began to settle over the village as everyone formed a circle around the Teller of Stories.  I wondered what this year’s story would be like. Maybe a Story about battle where the hero gets what he was battling for, nether the less I left knowing no one wanted me there any way. I walked to the hut I had once shared with Regen. Ever since his death the hut had grown cold and uninviting.

I thought about the day I was brought to the hut.

“Pyrro you will now be staying with Regen. Okay?”  River had asked me.

“Okay. Stars never really liked me anyway. But why him?”

“Because Pyrro we think that you might one day be a Shifter.”

Regen smiled at me as if he knew a secret I had not been told. I took his hand and he led me into his hut. I smelled of herbs and meats. The place was clean and a glow of warmth embraced  me there were three cots in the room. Right then I knew my life had just gotten a lot better.

 I lay there in my bed drifting off to sleep, when all of a sudden I woke up startled to hear  the sound of  an Anamis  muffled  call and the ring of dagger hitting the ground. The smell of sweat an new blood filled the air. I thought that I was a simple fight, until I heard footsteps on my roof and the shuffling of the straw. Then a body dropped next to my door. A seconded didn’t  pass before his hand was over my mouth and his knife to my neck. Before he had a moment to finish his actions I pushed myself against him and forced him against the wall. In shock he dropped his knife. I lunged for the door in an attempted to escape and worn the village. He grabbed my tail pulling me back to him. Pulling a piece of cloth around my mouth making it impossible to make a sound. He slipped his knife back up to My throat and whispered in my ear “I wouldn’t be too much trouble if I were you, or you won’t be seeing tomorrow.”

I tried to reply, but it came out muffed. He glanced down at me a smile spreading across his lips. His hand reached slowly for the cloth and pulled it out of my mouth.

“What now?”

“You’ll kill me either way, your part of the Skies.”

He glared down at me “What makes you think I would be loyal to the skies?”

“You’re at least a foot taller than me.”

“Height, who would think a short kid like me would be tall in the eyes of anyone.”

“Well it’s not much coming from me I’m animas after all. We’re a short.”

“You animas. Have you looked around recently you’re taller than the females I’ve seen your age.”

“So what?”

“Well you don’t have parents. Do you?”

“Of course I have parents their just not here……anymore”

“Haven’t been. Not since you can remember.”

“What this have to do with anything?”

“Just have to find a girl.”

“Get in line I have five suitors already.”

“Oh do you now? Then why do none of these suitors talk to you, ever?”

“They do. Everyday pleading for my hand”

“Only if they are in your dreams. Barely anyone has talked to you all week. You just sit in your little tree watching them or running from them. Are you more frightened of them or are they of you?”

 “Why are you here?” I growled

“Oh someone’s frisky. Don’t like your fur being ruffled do you?”

“Answer the question.”

“You fit. More than anyone else I’ve ever seen.”

“Fit what?”

“Oh now little mutt, I have one little test to do, it won’t hurt a bit, well unless I’m wrong then it will hurt a lot. Which I never am.”

“ Mutt! I’m an animas I’m not a mutt! Wait a test? What kind of test? What for!?”

“Now, now hold still and shut the hell up.” He said pulling a hand full of something from his side and flung it over top me. Quickly moving away from me.

The dust changed from white to the color of gold as it hit my skin.

Before I had time to blink he had managed to tie me up.

“Now we have a long journey, before the meeting place so if you don’t want to be drugged try not to move.”

“Who are we meeting?”

“The king of course.”

“Why?”

“Because he wants you back in Ske like the day of your birth.”

“My birth? Where you there? What do you know about it?” I asked egger for answers.

“Dam it.” he cures probably to himself.

“Just come with me and keep silent.” He said now looking tried and older.

I kept talking anything that came to my mine trying to think of a way to get away from him and run to River.

“You want to know something? Pyrro.” He said so softly as if he knew me when I was a little girl.

“How do you know my name?” I asked nervously.

“Because you were never born in this village. You were born on Ske in castle no less. Half-royal half Anamis.” He said not looking at me anymore. “As close to a royal child as the Animas have ever had.”

He stopped and looked around at the near empty area. He was only a few inches away from me. His sword was so close I could touch it with my fingertips. I slowly reached for it my hand almost around its hilt when  the man spoke again causing me to jump.

“Don’t even think about it.” his eyes searching for something I could not see. Then he smiled.

My eyes fell upon a white horse with a golden saddle.

He turned to me his eyes staring into mine “I’m going to cut you bindings, but don’t think about running off. Okay?”

I nodded still planning to sprint as fast as I could away from him. His sword in a split second cut through all my bindings. And I sprinted as fast as I could away. However, before I reached the cover of trees, only 500 feet away, I was on the ground with the man holding me down.

“Your spirited little thing aren’t you?”

A low growl escaped my lips.

“You didn’t really think you would escape me did you?”

“Yes. I did.”  I said as he pulled me up.

Without the slightest of warnings something hard hit my head a soft voice said something in my ear. I knew I shouldn’t close my eyes but they closed the last thing I saw was the man’s face as it blurred. Then I fell into the blackness and it wrapped its arms around me as if I was its child as if I would never again see the light.

Reviews

[Zachary_James]

I think this is anazing, and love how you decribed the setting. Very well done, i really enjoyed this......