She had wandered far to see the famed creature. They were not common among her land, nor were they allowed. But she knew he had just got one, and her curiousity was insaitable. She trudged mindlessly on, praying that she would come upon him soon. He must be running, she thought, no wonder I'm finding it hard to keep up the pace. Her pace slackened even more as she stumbled up the rocky terrain. As she finally neared the peak, she heard a sound somewhat like pebbles falling. She assumed now that she must be behind him, and that he too had started to slow. She called out to him urgently.
"Vulcan! It's me, Nyxa! Slow down!" she heard him pause, and then footsteps grew nearer. She scrambled up the last bit of rocky debris, mounted the peak, and there he was.
"Nyxa! What are you doing here? There's a reason I'm travelling alone you know. Are you willing to get yourself killed? If not, then turn back now. I won't risk my cause for your foolish curiousity,"he said warningly, a frighteningly angry look on his face which made Nyxa pause. Was she really ready to get too far into this? Was she willing to leave all that she knew to see the one thing that her people were forbidden? She bit her lip thoughtfully, and hesitated. Vulcan noted this and turned with a jerk.
"Fine, I understand that you don't want to risk your own neck, but then leave me alone to risk mine," he strided resolutely forward, his energy somehow renewed with his confidence in his purpose. Nyxa started.
"Vulcan! Don't go! I'll come with you! I'll see it, and leave everything behind I promise! I'll help you!" she ran forward and grasped his arm tightly. "Please," she begged, "let me come with you. Let me help you." He stared at her a moment, unsure of whether she meant it or not. Then he nodded his head slowly.
"Okay, but you realize that there's no turning back. We can't go home. These creatures aren't allowed there. I don't understand why, but I feel that it's my duty to save them, and to help their race flourish again elsewhere. I can't stand by and watch more of them be killed." Nyxa nodded vehemently.
"Fine, fine, I understand. Now what are these creatures that you're taking so much care to protect? Are they so rare that I've never seen them? Why are they bad? I don't understand!" she said, rapidly spitting out questions.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Hold on a second there!" he laughed. "Let's start from square one. They're called Egyptans. In our homeland, they are rare because our people hunt them. Our race is a superstitious one, and they believe that the Egyptans are cursed-or so they say. Me, I believe that they're killing them for their pelts, since each one is unique. They're gorgeous, majestic beasts, and I've only ever seen one, for a fleeting moment, during a hunting party. And I only saw it dead, after our people had exhausted it and killed it. I felt such a connection with it, that I knew I had to save the beast. The way it looked at me before it died-those eyes begging forgiveness for something it did not do-tore at my very soul. When they moved the body from the cave that it had ran to, I took a chance and inspected the cave. I found this..." he held open his cradled arms, and there rested an ivory cocoon. Nyxa breathed excitedly.
"An Egyptan cocoon! You found that?" she asked happily. "What are your plans?"
"I'm going to take it far away from this place, where it can't be harmed, and help restore the race. I'll find others like it and breed it. We need to help them Nyxa," he said, his eyes filled with unvoiced sorrow. She reached out and touched his hand gently.
"I understand," she whispered.
Lucina
*page two (cub)*
*page three (teen)*
*page four (adult)*
Tyri-Anu
*page one (cocoon and cub)*
*page two (teen)*
*page three (adult)*
Tyri and Lucina's stories are intertwined, so to get the full story, I've provided both of their links. |
