Carhawox
Birds chirp around you, sweet trills and cheeps, loud calls, soft clucks--and every now and then, a raucous voicing that echoes throughout the forest, silencing all other noices for a brief space of time.
You wince every time you hear that, but the source is where you're headed now. It's not hard to track, actually, considering its volume. You aren't exactly looking forward to being right next to the bird next time it calls, but you don't want to miss this opportunity, either.
As you draw closer, another sound reaches your ears. It's a faint mewling from relatively the same spot as the birdcall. A cat and a bird, together? Normally you'd think the cat hunting the bird, but from the size of the avian voice, you aren't quite sure.
Then you break the cover of the trees
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| Shouka |
Kuraudo |
| Male |
Female |
Before you, in a small, bare clearing littered with rocks, there is a hollowed-out log. On the left opening of the log, a pair of black feet stick out, and a purple tail weaves little circles through the air. On the right side, tail feathers mingle with wingtips, both sticking out above a pair of silver paws.
You eye this scene, sizing it up. Certainly not what you'd expected. You didn't know what to make of it. Was this a game of some sort? Surely, it--
You rush to cover your ears as the birdcall comes again--from the purple creature?--and splinters the log open.
You stare in amazement at the creatures revealed. They seem a pair of canine-feline-avian-mixed beings. You'd never seen anything like it. The silver one lets out another mewl, very faint compared to what it had been. The purple one opens its mouth in reply, and your hands rush to your ears again, but what comes out has only a fraction of the volume of the call that had come before. You lower your hands warily and watch the two, who seem not to have noticed you standing in the cover of the trees. They keep glancing from the log back to each other, with very confused expressions on their faces. After a moment, the purple one walks over to a tree and starts climbing up. When it gets to the top, it calls again and launches off to flap in circles above the clearing. Soon, the silver one does the same, and they fly off into the distance together.
You move to examine the log, wondering what about it had amplified their calls so much. But you find nothing, and finally you turn back home, mystified--but strangely, satisfied--with what you had seen today.
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