silbernefuchs

One question kept running through Kallim’s mind as he set about reducing the rabbit he'd just caught into large, bloody chunks for his new pet to eat.Why had no adults of its species come to rescue the chick, despite its obvious distress? It wasn't like it couldn't be found; if not by sight then certainly by sound. That awful sound it kept making, even now. Surely there were adult stryvern in the area—no way something this small and loud could've gotten where it was by itself.It was almost like it had been … left there. By another. On purpose.Deliberately abandoned.That seemed to be the most likely explanation here.Abandoned. Left to its own fate. Like whoever was supposed to be raising it didn't want it.He turned to look at the creature as it sat on the table, making pitiable noises in an effort to self-soothe. No one was coming for it, and it was far too young to be able to attempt trying to survive on its own. It was still mostly covered in down feathers, indicating that it had only

A stryvern chick. An honest-to-goodness stryvern chick. Kallim couldn't believe it when he saw it, but there it was, screaming and crying as loudly as its little lungs would allow, and all without somehow attracting the attention of every predator in the local vicinity. And how did it come to be here, all alone, with no adults in sight? It was certainly quite the puzzle. Stryverns were one of the larger species of avioid creatures here in the isle, with the largest members being taller than a rhino, and potentially dangerous—especially when they had young to protect, as baby stryverns were small enough to make easy prey for most predators. This fact was foremost on the felitaur’s mind as Kallim looked about guardedly for any signs that this chick’s parents were out looking for their wayward baby even now, and he clutched tightly at his weapons in anticipation of a fight for his life. And it would be a fight for his life, he knew that. Adult stryverns weren't just protective they

Nobody intended that this trip to the equine village would take more than a week to complete—a few days tops, but circumstances changed all of that. Kernos getting injured was not part of the plan—they'd only come here to keep the village safe, and no one was going anywhere until he'd been healed up enough to make traveling back home just a little bit easier than it would have been. He was certainly happy to finally be able to return home, Zalyne noted, smiling as her companion limped about, rebuilding the strength he'd need to complete the return trip, as was Kullain. What with the bonfires being attended to constantly in case of perils large and small, there really wasn't any other reason for them to stay, and everyone—Zalyne, Kernos, Kullain and Inné—really wanted to get going. "How are you feeling?" Kullain asked once again. He'd asked just that question many times since his first visit to his son's bedside, and saw no reason to not ask it now. "Feeling stiff, but better. I think

TW: (Mild) medical talk, hospital-like scenes, fires. "He'll make a full recovery very soon," the healer—a dark-coloured equine—informed Zalyne and Kullain, as they stood outside, waiting for updates. "The cut was deep, but no major damage, and there'll definitely be some scarring from it and the burn," he added, eying Inné who sat between his companions. The cat didn't seem to like the way the healer mentioned his efforts to help stop the bleeding, but said nothing. He was young. He was learning how to control his abilities. "Right now, what your son needs most is the usual: food and rest." "Can we see him?" Kullain inquired. Kernos wasn't his child by blood, but Kullain loved him like he was. Seeing him in such a bad way had affected Kullain terribly. "Afraid not," the healer said sadly. "He needs to stay calm while the sutures set. And we've given him something to make him sleep for awhile; not that he would be more lucid if we hadn't, given the medicines we've used. You'll

TW: Injury, medical stuff. Minutes felt like hours as Zalyne, Kernos and Kullain waited for Inné's return. Kernos had been injured by a strange canitaur who seemed to be allied with the beast that was tearing the island asunder. Kullain, as well, but he seemed to be faring well, despite his cuts. It was Kernos who seemed to be in a bad way. The stranger had used something to cut him with, leaving a nasty-looking gash in his side. Inné had done his best to stop the bleeding with fire magic, and he had. However, Kernos was now in even more pain than before, and Inné's efforts made his wound even worse-looking than it was initially. All Kernos could do was lie down upon his uninjured side, softly moaning in his agony while his father and Zalyne made sure to keep him hydrated and fed, as well as clean the gash and keep it from becoming infected, wetting cloth with water from their flasks. It was a shame Zalyne was so very far from home. Back home in the desert, the doe could easily

TW: Violence, battle, injury, blood, zealotry, field medicine. Inné's latest efforts to track the giant was the reason why everyone who could go were up well before dawn the next day, after getting only a few hours' sleep. Yes, they all would've preferred to get more sleep and thus be well-rested before heading out, but the fact that their monstrous enemy was heading towards a nearby village was why they were all up and about. The creature had headed north suddenly, leaving Zalyne and the felitaur family to think that they would have enough time to get where they were going and thus help out the locals before trouble returned. Trouble returning was why the group of Zalyne, Kernos and his father, Kullain—as well as Inné the cat—were currently wandering about inside a rather heavily-wooded forest full of trees of varying levels of "colossal". Normally the journey to the village meant going around the woods, as it was quite possible to easily get lost within them, but the fastest route

Not wanting to upset Salryne or her family by declining their hospitality, Zalyne had instead decided to stay where she was for the time being, living in the felitaurs' house as an honoured guest after having saved the life of one of its youngest, NAME1. As she would later be informed, the boy had been out with his family, surveying what was left after the giant had come charging in and subjecting the lands around it to its fury. Curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he hadn't wandered off for too long before he'd found himself in trouble. Which had been about the time Zalyne had arrived, and began working on freeing NAME1 from his prison of debris. A frightening and humbling experience, Zalyne had thought. One that had him looking up to her like she was a saviour roaming the lands looking for wayward children to come and help in their hour of need. She had been roaming the lands looking to help people, but not in the way NAME1 imagined it to be. Zalyne was just another taur

"I can't tell you just how grateful I am that you've managed to save my son," said the felitaur whose son Zalyne and Inné had helped to rescue recently after the monster now rampaging over the island had just passed. They were all currently in Salryne's home resting from the harrowing adventure, but Zalyne was still a little unsettled by being in the presence of carnivorous centaurs. "If you hadn't been there..." "It's no problem," Inné spoke, since it seemed like Zalyne was still fighting her fear enough to say much of anything. "We were, and he's safe." "Yes," Zalyne agreed. She couldn't take her eyes off Salryne's eldest, who was standing behind his mother, staring at the people who'd rescued his youngest brother. Kernos hadn't said very much on the way back to where they lived. Apparently he was too busy thinking about how he could've lost a family member to the giant, or perhaps something else. That suited Zalyne just fine—she would not have been able to make much by way of

"Over here! Zalyne! Over here!" The small cat who'd called himself "Inné" had unexpectedly hopped off of Zalyne's back, dashing off towards what was basically a pile of torn up bushes and smashed trees, clearly thinking that there might be something there that required immediate investigation from him. It was clearly dangerous, and Zalyne grew ever more worried that her friend might get himself hurt in the process as she galloped towards his location. "What?" she cried out, now on her own search to find her little friend. "What did you find, Inné?" "Survivors." Zalyne's heart sank... ******* It had begun about a week or two ago. From out of the seas beyond her island home a massive, monstrous creatured had emerged; something that people had taken to calling "The Giant", because, well... It was. And no sooner had it set foot on land than it immediately began to unleash its fury, and bringing chaos to the up-to-now peaceful land and everyone living here. Some of the taurs had