And just in time to save this thread from the 2nd page of the stories, the next chapter of Felarya Park! Must never let this idea stay silent for too long
. Hope you enjoy some crazy pantaurs getting set loose hehe.
Nossa kept her eyes focused on the agile floating vehicle as she gave chase, knowing that the strange little blonde creature was within it as well that she pursued. There was another inside it, she knew, and that she could only think of describing as something different and yet strangely similar along with her prize. This new one had interesting tricks. Unlike all the others she had seen running, this one had made a small ball of light fly into the air and that then exploded as if the sun had suddenly appeared right in front of her in the middle of the storm. Then the two of the creatures had gotten inside of the strange metallic thing and sped away. Not even being outside her pen for more than five minutes, everything about this world was new. There were settings that she was used to; areas of nature and the forest could be seen surrounding this new place. The trees and other plants however seemed smaller to her, almost as if catered to the strange little creatures that inhabited this new area. There also seemed to be some areas barred off and inhabited by strange and just unnatural looking objects, from the fences surrounding her old enclosure to the large squat blocky shape rock-like things found every so often.
The long dark haired pantaur gave a quick glance behind her as she continued her pursuit. She may have wanted to catch her prize, but the safety of her pack came first. She was their leader after all, and she took her role seriously- and there was no telling what else this new world held for them. She was glad that behind her she saw her pack was eagerly following in her pursuit of the jetbike her prize was trying to escape in. She was not too worried about Sylea and Sylva; they both listened to her without much hesitation. The two leopard pantaurs, could have almost been identified as actual sisters, though to Nossa and each other they all were, with how similar they looked- their only difference being the colors of their hair as Sylea had a soft golden color while Sylva had darker hair matching the colors of the spots on her leopard fur. Kina however could be a troublemaker and was slowly gaining on her. The tigress pantaur had a personality to match the wild color of her short, usually messy, orange hair. As long as Kina was still nearby she would be alright chasing after her prize inside of the bizarre weather.
The small vehicle seemed intent on following the path laid out on the ground, another strange phenomena that she had never seen before in her enclosure, as she chased after it. The ground was unnaturally smooth, yet hard and slickened due to the constantly pouring rain but that didn't seem to deter the thing from moving incredibly fast, she found herself only barely able to gain ground on the vehicle. Around them she could see more of the trees off to the sides of the path she was on and also more of the fencing every so often similar to the home she had recently led her sisters from. Maybe all the little creatures came from another pen she thought. She didn't understand why the little thing didn't try to evade her by darting off between the trees where it would be harder to follow but it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was it fled and so she chased it. Ahead she saw the path forked into two more roads at sharp angles, there would be no way it could escape her if it continued to stick to the path as she would just cut over the corner and catch it. She grew more and more eager as the distance narrowed between them, soon the chase would be over.
As she got closer she heard a new noise coming from the trees to her right, different from the low hum of the jetbike in front of her. She only had enough time to register the new object looked vaguely similar to the thing she was chasing, perhaps of a similar material, but bulkier and made a much louder noise as it recklessly charged into the road. Out of instinct she jumped off to the side with a yelp as the car plowed into her old position and nearly tripped her as she tried to catch her ground as her leap sent her towards the trees bordering the road. She growled as she turned to face the intruding vehicle that interrupted her chase and was about to resume her pursuit as Kina quickly pounced on the new thing.
"Kina!" she quickly called to the tigress pantaur. Kina only looked up at her briefly before picking it up and turning the metallic thing as it tried to speed off while still in her grasp. Nossa quickly turned her head to see that the jetbike had stopped at the intersection and impatiently she trotted up to her sister and batted at her. "Let go of that! They're getting away!" she growled, fearing that her prize would soon take off again after having stopped.
"Why?" Kina answered in the sound of a low, but not hostile hiss. "We don't need to chase that one if we have this one."
"That's not the point! That's the little one always watching us!"
Kina tilted her head as she looked at her sister, moving the car about in her hands absentmindedly as she thought it over. The large toy was just over the size of her hands but she handled it with ease, the driver inside too panicked to think straight as he remained trapped. "Someone was watching us?"
Nossa growled and turned and glanced over at the jetbike still sitting at the intersection and even then the small blonde haired creature got out of the thing and stood staring at her again. "Yes!" She pointed right at him, causing the blonde elf to back up some before quickly getting back into the vehicle. "He's right over there and he's going to get away!"
Kina shrugged and returned to inspecting her catch, turning it over between her hands to look at all the details. Her tail swished back and forth in enjoyment as she began prodding and investigating just what she caught. "So he watches us, what does that matter? What makes him different from the other little ones?"
Before Nossa could argue further the jetbike took off, down the path and she growled in annoyance. Truthfully she didn't know why she wanted to catch him in particular, but it just felt like something she had to do. Maybe it was because he was something familiar among everything else they found out of their pen. She was not sure what to do as she watched the vehicle drive off. Her instincts were pulling her every direction, to get back to the safety and familiarity of their enclosure and wait out the strange weather and also urging her to get out and roam around this suddenly opened world. The elf was something in between, he seemed to come from this world and he often visited her when she was in her old one. Now her chance to catch him was gone though and she sighed as Sylea and Sylva caught up to the two of them.
"Nevermind," she grumbled dismissively, unsure how to word what she was feeling. Sensing her sister's disappointment, Kina lowered her head slightly and turned her attention back to her catch to avoid looking her in the face. Nossa laid down with her back to Kina and stared over at where the vehicle had last disappeared to as it finally escaped.
---
"They've stopped chasing us," Fedirre said as he looked back and saw the road behind them was vacant. David continued driving the jetbike and continued to put as much distance between themselves and the four pantaurs in silence. "Are you sure there was nothing we could do back there to help that guy? I mean the flare worked pretty well and-"
"They wouldn't fall for it twice and I don't have the ammo to go picking fights with the whole damn park. He shouldn't have been there in the first place, the idiot just charged into the road," David snapped.
Fedirre shook his head and gave out a defeated sigh. "You're right. Nossa is too clever to fall for something like that; trying to stop them when they're on guard would have been suicide. At least they're out of the way on the service road now…so less people will probably run into them." An uneasy silence filled the small vehicle as they drove on for a moment as the recent event played out in their minds. Nossa had shown she could talk…or at least partially to him. Among her growls and other sounds she made talking to Kina he distinctly heard her call out her name. They were far more clever than he had given them credit for. "Still… I wish we could have done something. I'm not sure I could have done anything with my magic; there is something strange with this storm here, it doesn't feel right."
"What do you mean?"
"There is some strange energy in the air. I'm not sure how to describe it besides the storm is emitting a very chaotic energy. It almost seems to have a mind of its own."
David groaned. "Get to the point, what does it mean?"
"Alright, well let's just say if I tried to make any spell with any sizeable amount of power, it would probably just explode in my face. Not very fun and very messy. It's just dismantling and dispersing any sources of large power- in this case most of the power grids to the predator pens."
David pushed even harder on the gas pedal. Muti's pen had extra generators as a backup in case of a power out to help ensure she would at least remain contained. Now it seemed the very things put in place to help keep her contained made her the most likely to be freed of the giant predators. Between the strange storm, other predators being free and on top of it all the distress signal he had activated meant for her he wasn't sure exactly how she would react. She could take care of herself, sure enough being an abyssal tonorion hybrid, but he was concerned about her nonetheless.
"Um, where are we going anyways? Shouldn't we head towards the portals like the alarm announced?" Fedirre asked as he realized they were driving further into the jungle zone of the park, and further along the path away from the center of the park.
"The portals aren't working, and I'm guessing for the same reason you just said about the storm. There was an announcement made to the staff just before I headed out," he explained as the elf looked at him with worry.
"Then who did you send the signal to if help can't get through the portals? There's no way the park can contain all of the predators at once. At best we I'd guess they are supplied to handle one zone's worth of predators."
"To answer all of it at once- we're going to Muti," David snapped, a little annoyed at all the questions.
Fedirre grew even more pale than he had before when he first had activated the distress signal. "Muti, as in Muti-Lantra? The abyssal tonorion hybrid? THAT'S who you sent the signal to!?!"
Puzzled at his outburst, David looked at him for a second. "Why? What's wrong with that?"
"I know you're in charge of watching over her, but to be blunt, I wouldn't put my trust in being safe around her. What's to say she wouldn't come after us like the pantuars? It's not like we can just walk up and ask her nicely not to eat us!"
An uneasy silence hung between them as they continued on. "Actually, she can talk and she's a lot smarter than she seems. She picked it up fairly quickly," David admitted proudly. "She wouldn't hurt us if we talk to her. I know her."
Fedirre sunk back into his seat in defeat. "Well, since the portals are down anyways I guess having her help would probably be one of the safer bets. She'd certainly keep a lot more of the danger at bay…if she can be trusted," he mumbled. He opened one of the pages of his notebook and began ripping out the notes he had written on the few times he had been to examine her exhibit before tossing them out. "I guess we're lucky you felt like breaking regulations; though that ruins all my notes on that exhibit. I wonder if any more of them were taught how to speak."
David grinned. "You'd be surprised."
---
Kina continued to flip the strange object over itself in her hands, looking at the human trapped inside.
Just how did it get in there, she wondered to herself as she looked over the object. There didn't appear to be any openings, except the clear and yet very solid, empty shapes around it. She had tried poking each of them, thinking maybe one of them was open but to no avail. She quickly dismissed the idea that the object she held ate him; it didn't really seem alive and felt too cold and hard compared to the warm fur coats of her sisters or their soft skin. She was careful as she poked and prodded at the vehicle; the object made creaking noises if she pressed too hard and she was worried she'd break it, and then she might never get the human out. The human inside was also making a great deal of noise, unintelligible and meaningless sounds to her, as he frantically held onto his seat as the pantaur turned and twisted his prison about.
A sudden soft growling caught her attention as Sylva began pawing at her to get to her prize. "Share it with the rest of us!" Sylva demanded.
Kina shrugged and lowered the car to the ground. "Go ahead, I can't figure it out. Maybe-" She cut herself off and jumped back in surprise, startled as the car touched the ground and made a loud roaring noise again. Just as soon as the noise started it began to speed away from her with its newfound freedom. The sudden ruckus also made Nossa jump in up as the car made a dash near her, intent on gaining as much speed as it could before its captor recovered. Its escape was short lived though, as Sylva pounced on it next, pinning it down with her feline paws before lifting it off the ground again.
As she lifted the car it went silent again, as the driver inside was tossed about by the sudden movements and lost his foot on the gas pedal. Curious, all four of the pantaurs began investigating it, intent on figuring out the mystery of the strange thing. Sylva held it still in front of her as the group began looking at it, trying to find some possible detail they might have missed before.
After turning it around in her hand once more, Sylva looked to Kina. "How did you make it do that?"
The tigress pantaur only leaned in closer, scaring the driver to bunker himself again and in desperation slam the gas pedal to hopefully scare the pantaurs again. The loud noise surprised them as he had hoped once more and the pack of pantaurs jumped away from Sylva. Sylva yelped as the suddenly spinning tires pinched her hands before dropping the car as it began bolting off again. The newfound freedom did not last long however as Sylea next pounced on it and also plucked it off the ground.
Kina grinned as they gathered again. "It's the little thing inside it!" she announced proudly.
"What? How?" Sylva asked as she began looking at the car again in her sister's grasp.
Kina sat still as she puzzled to herself about it. "I don't know, but I'm sure the little creature did it."
Sylea peered inside, seeing that the creature remained in the same place within the contraption, apparently very unwilling to leave its spot. It did not move much, aside from a quick occasional glance at either one of her sisters or herself looking in at it. How could this little thing make the larger contraption move on its own? There had to be more to it. Perhaps it had something to do with the strange ground it was on too; it only ever really moved when it was on that. She lowered it back down to the pavement and dropped it, expectantly. She frowned as nothing happened.
Sylea lowered her head and looked inside to see the human still in his seat, nervously looking around as the pantaurs loomed over him. Upon seeing Sylea having leaned down to look at him inside he quickly turned away to avoid catching the pantaur's attention again.
"What's it doing in there?" Kina asked, causing Sylea to look up at her sister briefly.
"Nothing really," Sylea said as she began circling it to get a better look at the creature inside. As she approached its front again it quickly turned away once more. She rose up and turned her head to the side as she looked down at the vehicle. "Well that's weird," she mused aloud as she examined it more; "it won't look at me. It keeps turning around so I can't see it."
"Maybe it can't stand the sight of you!" Sylva laughed and batted playfully at her sister. Sylea responded with a feline growl and tackled her sister, sending the two rolling off the ground and almost into one of the trees surrounding the road that the car had come from. The two of them struggled to pin each other and writhed around on the ground in a rolling mass of fur, using their stronger leopard legs to push each other around while they tried to grapple each other at the same time with their hands. Kina lowered herself into a pouncing position, eager to join in on the sudden outburst.
A quiet growl from Nossa drew her attention. "Kina, look," she said nodding over at the car, standing just beside it while watching Sylea and Sylva. Kina turned her head towards the car, still crouched to pounce in and join in the skirmish. On the side opposite of her the strange vehicle had seemingly changed and slowly bent outwards outwards, revealing a hole in the contraption.
The human inside slowly took a step out and raised his head just over the car to look over at Kina. Seeing the pantaur was watching, he dove back in and slammed the door shut once more as her hand shot out to grab him. She growled as the vehicle sealed once more and was unable to catch the person inside.
"Why won't it just come out!" she growled leaning in. Inside the human scrambled about, trying to put as much distance between him and the giant being staring in at him.
"It was," Nossa replied as she watched the two leopard pantaurs continue to wrestle. The play fight was beginning to calm down as Sylea had pinned her sister down on her side and laid her own pantaur body on top of her to weigh her down as she tried to wriggle out. "You would have had it if you waited."
"It's not worth waiting that long for," Kina said dismissively as she began to trot down to the fork in the road. Nossa bounded in front of her with one quick movement to cut her off. Kina came to a stop as she confronted her.
"Where do you think you are going?"
"I'm just going to find another one instead," she explained. "I'll come right back."
"Ooh! You should bring it back so we can race them!" Sylva quickly yelled as Sylea took the opportunity to push her back onto the ground while she was distracted. Another bolt of lightning tore through the sky nearby, causing Sylea and Sylva to stop their game as the sudden light and resounding boom caught their attention. Nossa crouched slightly out of instinct but held her ground in front of Kina. Her tail began to twitch from side to side in short movements.
"I promise I'll make it fast," Kina added, sensing how agitated Nossa was becoming.
Nossa rose to her full height again, seeing that all of her sisters were watching her, waiting to see how she would react. "You can't leave. I can't watch over you and your sisters at the same time," she explained hesitantly. Something new began to nag at her mind; whatever the thing was it felt near. She looked up at the sky as the downpour continued and the strange black clouds seemed to darken the area further. "Something doesn't feel right out here."
"We'll be fine Nossa," Sylea answered, as she still lay on top of Sylva to pin her. "Just go and bring us back a fast one to play with. We'll be here waiting. I'll be sure to hold her in one place for you," Sylea grinned. Sylva quickly flipped her distracted sister over and resumed their game as they wrestled closer to the car.
"We'll see how long that lasts!" Sylva laughed as both became oblivious to the weather once more, lost in their game.
"Alright, as long as you'll both be her. Don't wander off," Nossa ordered them. Neither of them answered as engrossed as they were in their struggle and they writhed around. Nossa sighed; sometimes being the pack leader was a bit more trying at times than others.
Kina trotted past her once more, catching her attention. "Come on, let's go after where that first thing went off to," she said, heading down the path the jetbike had disappeared off to.
"Alright, I'm coming," she answered following Kina hesitantly at first before catching up to her trot. The strange feeling that something was close still clung to her, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe it was just in her mind, she thought. After all, none of her sisters seemed to be worried about whatever it was, and the little creature in the device seemed to be more focused on them as well. What else could there be out there that could be worth worrying about?
---
Nossa was beginning to doubt just how much more exciting this new place was than their old home they had always lived in. Sure, the paths seemed to stretch on for much greater distances and they had seen those couple of strange devices moving about with the little creatures, but now they had encountered relatively little else besides more trees and the path they had been on. She was not aware that David's path had taken them onto the far less crowded service roads; blocked from view by the relatively tall trees to help enhance the 'wild jungle experience' the park had designed this zone for. Ahead she could see another of the buildings that some of the creatures had run for when they first escaped. Something else though grabbed her attention and made her stop along with Kina. Up ahead she could see a small group of the little creatures crowded off in the distance. They were on the other side of the path that ran in front of the building. They did not appear to have noticed the pantaurs under the cover of the storm.
Kina crouched down and began to slink towards them, but stopped as Nossa gave her a light tap before motioning over to the trees on their side. She understood her sister's intent as Nossa crept into the trees slowly as to not draw attention, staying out of sight of the group of humans. Under the cover of the trees and the darkness of the storm they could sneak up and catch them without them getting away. It was also slightly drier to Kina's relief under the trees, even if they weren't as large as the ones from their enclosure, as they were sheltered from the constant rain.
Kina began to grow restless as they grew closer to the small creatures; something new was beginning to gnaw at the back of her mind. It was tempting to just rush out and try to grab as many of them as she could as the pair of them grew closer and yet she still felt compelled to follow Nossa. She struggled to keep from making any noise, giddy with excitement through their slow lurking, she had not expected simply stalking closer and closer to be so enjoyable. After all, one game of theirs was to try to sneak up and surprise each other, especially when they were sleeping, while they were still trapped in their old home. Something about sneaking up on these little creatures though was different, it felt…natural. Like something she had always done and yet never had before. She could see Nossa looked to be enjoying this as well from the smile she had as they were only moments away. A couple of quick bounds and it would all be over.
Nossa's tail twitched as they watched the group of humans just a beyond their hiding place. There were seven of them total; with four facing towards them and three with their backs towards them. They seemed to be gathered around one of their own as they huddled in the rain. She could hear more noises from them, the same sounds she had often heard them make as they observed her down in her pen. One of the three with their back turned was in the center, and seemed to be making the most noise; responding to many of the other ones surrounding itself as it would sometimes point in a direction or make some other gestures. Even in the darkness something seemed different about her appearance; besides being just a little bit noticeably taller, it looked like someone had thrown a bunch of leaves on top of her head instead of having hair. Regardless, they seemed oblivious to the pair of pantaurs. Now was the time to strike.
Nossa had barely made the smallest of a nod, as Kina sprang out and charged towards the creatures. After her first quick bound, the ones facing her immediately made loud noises of alarm and began to run towards the building they had seen before just up the road. The few creatures with their backs to them had only time to turn around as Kina landed in front of them in her second bound, with Nossa only a moment behind her.
Two of them were easily snatched up by Kina among the ones who had only just turned around, too late to avoid their ambush. Nossa caught the third as it hopelessly realized its predicament as soon as her hand closed around it, engulfing it up to its shoulders. She thought she heard a faint tearing noise but paid it no mind as she claimed her prize.
Nossa brought her catch up to her face, to finally look at one of them up close. She could feel the little thing grow frantic as she was lifted off the ground and squirmed in her grasp. It stopped thrashing for a moment as its eyes made contact with her. In that moment Nossa's grasp loosened slightly, surprised at what she saw. The little creature appeared to look like…her.
If it weren't for the rest of her hand hiding the creature's body from her view, she could have easily been mistaken for another of her sisters, only at a much smaller scale. Her feminine face and features were shaped and detailed much like herself to an incredible degree. She had seen them plenty before as they watched from the safety of a distance, but up close she had not expected them to look so similar. The only real difference she could see was that it was missing its ears on its head and the strange things that covered it. Then there was the smell; she smelled…well she smelt good.
Sensing the grip loosened, the human managed to pry herself out of the hand and began to climb up and out of it. Nossa twisted and opened her hand in response, making the woman fall back down onto her palm. The woman scrambled to one of the edges of her hand but backed up, seeing the large fall to the ground. She gave out a shriek of alarm as the hand she rested on began to turn as Nossa looked over her more. The lower half of the little creatures looked strange, almost as if half of them were missing. Instead of paws there were two stick like things for legs and they had no tail at all!
The hand stopped moving as the human was turned to face her once more. The woman slowly picked herself up and kept herself low to the hand. She seemed to be constantly looking around the hand, trying to find something in between keeping her eyes focused on Nossa's gaze. The look the woman would give her though gnawed at her; she seemed very agitated. Her eyes widened as it dawned on her.
The woman was afraid of her.
The agitated look was the same as that of Sylea and Sylva whenever the bright light and loud boom filled the sky. She hastily lowered her hand back to the ground and let the woman run off of it. She made no effort to pursue as the woman scampered towards the building the others had run off to.
Was that why the strange blonde haired creature had run off before too? Were they all afraid of her? Why would they be afraid of her?
Another shriek caught her attention as she turned to face Kina. She had nearly forgotten about her as she was investigating her catch. Her jaw dropped as she saw what Kina was doing and quickly realized one reason why they might be so afraid of her. Kina was devouring one of the creatures alive.
The little thing struggled frantically, reaching out with its arms and trying to push against her lips as Kina sucked her inside. The creature was a mouthful for her, being just small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, but she worked her in with ease…and with apparent enjoyment as well Nossa could see. Kina's eyes were closed as the human was completely sucked inside and her purring was easily heard by Nossa. She savored her meal for a few moments before swallowing; the distinct bulge in her neck signaled the last trace of the little creature.
Nossa only watched in a daze as the events unfolded. Sure the woman she had caught had smelled
good, but she hadn't thought of actually
eating her! It just seemed strange to eat something that looked so similar and yet she could tell Kina loved it. Something was telling her she would as well. She looked back to the woman from before as she ran, nearing the building the others had escaped into. It would be just a quick few bounds to catch her again; she could do it if she tried. They were clearly the right size to be food as well, as Kina had shown little troubles in devouring her meal.
Another loud cry of alarm snapped her attention back to Kina, as she began to raise her other captive to her mouth. She couldn't help but lean in at the sight of the other little one; this one was VERY different from the others she had seen. The little thing had a mass of roots sticking out of the bottom of her body that merged up into a tree and finally the more familiar upper body she was used to. The little thing gave another shriek as Nossa leaned in and it began hitting Kina's fist in a desperate attempt to break free as Kina opened her mouth to take her in. She closed her eyes before greedily shoving her part-way in for another taste.
The noises of alarm became muffled as the little dryad's torso was engulfed in Kina's mouth. Kina continued to raise and push the little thing further and more of the even stranger creature disappeared between her lips. She began purring again as more of the little dryad was sucked in and Nossa began to wonder if she could actually fit the relatively larger creature in her mouth.
Kina's eyes shot open shortly after the tree like portion of her body entered her mouth and her face grimaced. Nossa had to make a small jump backwards as Kina quickly spat out the poor girl onto the ground, shivering and covered and in her saliva. Nossa couldn't help but shake herself slightly at the sight to get the water that was accumulating on her from the storm as she regained her senses. The small dryad looked up at them briefly and her eyes locked onto Nossa in her somewhat new found freedom. If she thought the little woman she had before was frightened of her, then this small dryad was terrified beyond belief as she wildly looked back up at her. Another motion from Kina caught the dryad's attention and it began to claw at the ground with her arms, slowly dragging herself in another desperate attempt to get away from the pantaur. Kina was quickly trying to wipe her tongue off with her hands as the taste of the dryad lingered.
"Kina, why did you do that?" Nossa asked.
Kina smacked her lips a few times, satisfied at having removed the offending sensation. "She tasted like dirt and leaves," she said giving one last smack for good measure. The taste felt gone, but the memory of it still lingered. "Did you want her?"
"No! Not that!" she quickly answered. "I mean, why did you eat that one?"
Kina gave her a puzzled look, confused by her question. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, um," she mumbled in a series of strange growls, not sure of what to say. That was a good question, why wouldn't she eat the little one she had? Did it matter that much that it looked as similar as it had? The prey released into their pen had tried to run away as well, so it should not have mattered if it merely looked different. Kina tilted her head, waiting for her answer expectantly. Nossa briefly looked to the dryad still crawling slowly away and an idea suddenly hit her for an excuse. "You shouldn't eat that stuff. You don't know where it's been!"
"But…it was part tree," Kina asked even more confused now. "Where would it go?"
Nossa growled again at the question, knowing she had been cornered but refused to give in to the point. Kina couldn't help but grin in response to her growl. "Nevermind that," she growled dismissively; "I just think we shouldn't eat them yet. If we want food we can just go back home and get some at food time anyway."
"That food doesn't taste as good," Kina whined. Another sharp look and growl from her sister made her recoil as Nossa grew annoyed at her disobedience. "Fine. I guess we do need some for the strange things to chase anyway. Think that one can make them work?" she said noticing the dryad again who was now about halfway through crossing the road. The extra attention made the dryad redouble her efforts and gain just the smallest amount of speed. "Wait, it's too big. It wouldn't fit inside of them," she said, answering herself before Nossa could.
"First we should find more of the fast things for them to use," Nossa said as she trotted back out and looked further down the road. Besides the lone building the rest had fled to, there was still nothing but open road and more trees surrounding the winding path. There were still no signs of any of the vehicles; but she felt that further down this path that agile vehicle was still there somewhere, and in it the blonde haired little creature. In its flight it seemed intent on staying on the path. It had to be further down it still.
Kina noted her sister's longing gaze and trotted up to her as well. "I'm sorry I got in the way," she softly said and gave her a small nudge with her head. "We could still try to find it, if you want. I wanted to go this way so maybe we could."
Nossa returned the affectionate nudge with one of her own and smiled. "It's ok, and thank you. We should get Sylea and Sylva first though; it was very fast. I don't know how far it could have gone."
"We'll just have to find out then!" Kina exclaimed excitedly, her tail swishing eagerly in her happiness that her sister was feeling better. "So what do you think you'll do when you catch it?"
Nossa frowned for a moment in thought. "I don't know," she answered honestly.
"You could always eat the little one. They taste amazing!" Kina suggested.
Nossa turned and began trotting back down the road towards where they had left Sylea and Sylva so she wouldn't have to face Kina. Kina followed closely behind her but let her remain in the lead. "I'm not sure about eating it. Did you look at the one you ate at all? It feels…weird to think about eating something that looks so much like us."
Kina tilted her head absorbing that statement. "But they aren't like us. They're so much smaller and are just, um," she paused trying to find a way to word it. Not finding a suitable way to word it she simply shrugged and continued on. "Well, they're different."
Nossa sighed at Kina's logic as they trotted along. "I looked at the one I caught. It was afraid of me. It looked just like Sylea and Sylva when the strange light and loud noise filled the sky. They look like they can be as scared as us."
"But they
aren't us; right?" Kina insisted.
"No, they aren't, but still," Nossa trailed off, trying to think it out again. She groaned and growled to herself at the same time as the thought persisted. Maybe there was something to be had in Kina's simpler way of looking at it. "Alright, maybe I'll try to eat one sometime," she said in defeat.
"You'll love it. Just stay away from the plant ones. They taste like leaves," Kina smacked her lips again, having the memory of the taste return. It was not the most pleasant of experiences for her.
Back where they had left the offending dryad, a couple of the humans ran out of the nearby building and helped drag her to safety. This was one experience she was not one to forget either.
---
"David…what does that light mean? Nothing is wrong is it?" Fedirre hesitantly asked as they drew closer to Muti's exhibit.
David gave a quick glance to the blipping light inside the cockpit on the control panel, and automatically flipped the switch next to it. "Relax; it's just the security intercom. Time to hear an update on how hellish everything has gotten."
"Attention all staff members! Report to the jungle zone for immediate containment procedures as top priority. Primary concerns are the centauress who has escaped the plains zone and is confirmed to have begun eating people. Sightings of the escaped giant nagas are being reported in multiple zones along with flooding. Communications at the abyssal tonorion hybrid exhibit and giant mantoid exhibit have also ceased. The pantaur pack has also escaped and was last seen heading onto the jungle service roads along with one confirmed naga approaching their estimated area- stay on guard on those routes. Take all precautions and contain the jungle zone and await-" David cut the transmission short as he flipped the switch back off and grunted.
"Um, don't you think we should have listened to the rest of that?" Fedirre asked cautiously. "I mean there could have been some more important information."
"Waste of time," he answered curtly. "They might as well have just declared the island Felarya itself and saved their breath. Seriously would have just stayed on Felarya if I wanted to deal with this crap."
Fedirra gave out a sigh. "Well, even ignoring what else they might have said….the staff focusing on this zone should help greatly. We could work with them and use Muti to protect far more people until this storm passes and the portals are back online. She will definitely tip things in our favor-"
"We're not going to 'use' Muti for anything! She's not a god damn tool for you to just decide what to do with!" David snapped, surprising Fedirre and even himself a little at how quickly he had reacted. Muti had lived her whole life entirely as a being controlled by others; even from the start when the researchers created her and her sister back in Felarya. People only ever seemed interested in her for their own gains and ignored her for who she was. He took in a deep breath tried to calm himself. "She isn't just some animal or thing that everyone can just control whenever they feel like it. None of them are, and this storm only helps prove that."
"Sorry. I was only trying to think of how we could best take action in this predicament," the elf explained. "Though the park staff could pose to be more of a downside than a benefit," he paused for a moment as he thought it through; "they, in all likelihood, could very well seek to attack Muti in these conditions. A confrontation with them wouldn't end well either way." He didn't feel the need to elaborate on the results- if Muti defended herself, more park staff would be in lethal danger of her anger to such a situation. If they succeeded…then they would lose their largest edge on trying to maintain order. He was certain David wouldn't want to hear of his thoughts in that way.
"Wonderful news," David answered bitterly. "So now we have our very own Felarya Island, complete with giant predators running around and eating people with no escape. Oh, and to top it off we also got a load of scared idiots running around with guns that'll probably do something very stupid. Did I miss anything?"
Fedirre chuckled. "No, that about covers it. Unless you want to add in my notes are probably ruined too."
Subject: Re: Felarya Park 
Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:16 pm
It can't just be 2 of us keeping it going, and it's one of the best colabs in the community today
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