Close Call: Druids 1

“This is far enough away.” The blue haedian said. He held one long arm out, signaling for the trio with him to stay back. Reon, the biggest of the three, stumbled on his own oversized paws and bumped into Dayani, who hissed in turn. Reon’s lips peeled back for a quick comeback but whatever he was going to say was silenced by a dirty glance back from Stranger. The duty to keep the two older pullers civil was falling to her more and more as they journeyed through the Beneath. It was getting hard to keep her own mood up.

The group stood within the many forests that filled the Druids’ home caverns. In these woods, the trees weren’t so closely packed together, allowing bright crystal light to filter through the leaves to the forest floor. It was a much needed change from the constant rock walls and ceiling that was starting to make the young vayrons ansty. If they focused, they might be able to convince themselves they were outside. 

The haedian, called Parth, slithered forward to the path of open space ahead of them. He carefully pulled the box from under his arm and placed it on the ground. He then grabbed the long rope looped around a hook on the top and, with a flap of his wings, he leapt up to a thick branch, threading the rope behind him and landed beside the group. He motioned for them to crouch and once everyone was in position, he yanked the rope. 

One side of the box fell open and, after a few moments, a small wooly creature rushed out. It paused once, flaring its nostrils and swiveling its long ears in almost a full circle. A shiver passed through it, the strange fins along its back and between its legs shuddered with it. Then suddenly, its wooly white tail was disappearing into the bushes. 

“Is he going to be okay?” Stranger asked, still crouched in their hiding place.

“You’re worried when it's got fins like that?” Reon rubbed his lip where the creature’s serrated fins had nicked him. Though shallow, it still stung and he’ll continue to complain about it.

“Of course he will.” Parth assured her. “He won’t lose his survival instincts just because we cared for him for a few days. There is, however, one more task for you three…”

He looked at each one in turn to make sure they were listening. “You three will follow his trail and make sure he finds his flock. This step is vital. We must ensure this new subspecies survives. He is the key for us to understand our home better. Do you understand how important this is for us?” 

“Yes!” Stranger responded quickly. Dayani nodded her affirmation.

Parth looked pointedly at Reon, who lost interest once the haedian mentioned they were going to be babysitting. Reon ducked his head sheepishly. “I get it.”

Though the haedian wasn’t convinced the young puller fully understood, he trusted him enough that he wouldn’t purposely jeopardize the situation. Though young, the three were much more mature than he credited them for. 

“Then, go! I’ll be watching. Be sure to keep your distance! You don’t want to scare him. Oh, and don’t worry about finding his flock for him! Rowas have a natural instinct to find home!”

Parth kept shouting tips as they picked up the creature’s less-than-pleasant scent and followed it into the brush. 

“Yuck! Switch with me. I can’t follow this scent.” Dani pulled her nose away. Stranger inched forward in her place, her nose already wrinkling. 

“I told you we should’ve bathed that thing before they catch us.” Reon followed behind the girls, not contributing much other than his opinion. “I bet it rolled in a pile of dung before we found it.”

“Ew! Don’t say that! I had to pick it up in my mouth!” Dayani blanched. Reon smiled at her torment.

They walked a few minutes in silence before Reon noticed how Stranger had her nose pressed to the dirt.

“Hey Stranger, ain’t your nose burning from the smell?” He asked. 

She lifted her head, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I think Somos was here!”

“Wait? Really?”

“Yeah pretty recently, I think? The scent is fresh but it's hard to pick up with the rowa's stench on top of it.”

“She’s right. He’s been here.” Dayani confirmed. “He might be following the rowa. Their scent trails overlap.”

The trio mulled over the evidence, trying to piece together his objective. Suddenly, Stranger's eyes grew wide. 

“He wouldn’t…” She trailer off and looked to Dani, then Reon. 

Reon shrugged. “I would.”

“Then we need to reach him. Now!”

-

Somos kept up a brisk run. He didn’t need to dip his nose to the earth. The thing’s stench was strong. It must know its being followed with how its trail never once faltered or veered. Somos noted an opening in the trees. Rolling hills of tall grass under a false crystal sun made for a sea of gold. 

It couldn’t outrun him for long. 

He would kill it there. 

The trees thinned out and were replaced with chest high grass. The underground had been cramped with its low ceilings, twisting tunnels and rough terrain but here, in these plains, Somos could actually run. He stretched to his full length, flung his legs out in front and behind him, his body sailed over the earth while the grass whipped his belly. The wind rushed past his ears so violently, it was more like a roar.

He was right on the creature’s cotton white tail now, keeping pace as it darted this way and that, failing to shake the predator off its tail. 

His jaws parted with teeth bared, ready to sink them into the one spot on its throat that was clear of spiny fins—

Something slammed into his ribs, forcing the air out of his lungs. He and the object rolled to the earth in a tangled mess. He managed to kick the thing off him and was surprised when a small voice yelled in protest. 

He rolled to a stop and twisted around. Stranger sat back on her haunches, rubbing her jaw. “That really hurt, Somos! It's just me!”

Somos’s brain stuttered, forgetting the throbbing in his side. His mouth gaped open and closed. He wanted to apologize for kicking the poor kid so hard but at the same time—

“What are you doing here?!”

“We were following you but then we got caught up with the haedians and now we’re trying to help them. Which…” Her face suddenly soured. “You were going to kill that animal! You would’ve ruined our mission! The Druids are hard enough to impress already!”

Somos couldn’t respond to her scolding. He was still trying to process who “we” was when Reon and Dani caught up.

“Is the rowa okay?” Dani asked, breathlessly.

Stranger nodded at the same time Somos shouted, “You too?! You guys left the ranch and came to Vitalus to make friends?!”

“Is there a problem with that?” Parth landed, evidently having just heard the last part of the conversation. He stepped in front of Stranger and regarded Somos with a hard look. “Who are you, topsider? Why are you here?”

Somos picked himself off the ground, favouring one side. “Can’t I also make friends?” 

Parth’s expression hardened. 

“He’s kind of our older brother. He was trying to help us with the rowa.” Dani butted in before Somos could say something that would get them all in trouble. “Somos, this is Parth, the friend we made in this clan.” 

She gave Somos a warning look, one he easily recognized. Rain gave him many a look when she knew he might try something “stupid”. 

“Uptight aren’t you?” Somos muttered then said, “I’m just passing through. No need to get hostile.”

“I would’ve remembered an attitude like yours passing through our front gates.” Parth said.

“I came in through a side entrance,” he said, tossing his head to the right, presumably where the side entrance was.

“Oh? Did you see it, then? The thing that plagues our home? The thing you topsiders brought upon us?” Parth seethed.

Somos pulled in a sharp breath. “Yeah, I saw it. Never like that though.”

Parth’s expression became confused. “You… know what it is?”

“Uh, kind of?”

“What? What is it?” Reon perked up. 

Parth suddenly looked very tired. “A strange disease has started spreading in our forests. It eats away at the plants and trees and changes them to something… other. It even seems to infect the ground itself! Nothing can live in conditions like that.” His eyes shifted to the right. “We’ve been taking shifts and working around the clock but it's spreading faster than we can contain it.”

Stranger put her paw on his shoulder. “Let us help.”

Parth covered it with his own and offered a small, tired smile. “You three did wonderfully, keeping the rowa out of trouble. But this, I don’t…” He paused, then suddenly shook his head. “No! You three have already proven yourself mature and responsible, despite your age. I will accept your help in the matter.”

Dayani and Stranger beamed. Reon stood up straighter. Somos couldn’t disagree with that statement. The trio seems to have gotten along well, coming into Vitalus, a place they’d never been before, and meeting the haedians, a group no one had contact with in Holy knows how long. They hadn’t embarrassed themselves, which was far more than what he could say. He was already making plans to never show his face in the underground again.

“Alright. Let’s go check on the situation.”