Felarya Park

Good luck, and take your time of course.

Here's the next part of Xulia's story, where she meets Maria and Joseph face to face with no cage separating them for the first time since her capture. There are three parts, but they may not all fit nicely one-per-post.

Meet The Mantoid

Those Strange Urges

Joseph and Maria pushed through the thick jungle, making their way towards Gower’s kill system as best they could. It was tough going. The sheer density of bushes, trees, vines, and assorted plants that had been brought in to grow over the terrain made their trek difficult and time consuming. Xulia stood above most of the undergrowth, due to her size. The humans had no such advantage.

Joseph grumbled, “Gracious me, I had no idea we’d made the vegetation this thick. It wasn’t this bad in her native environment. Why wasn’t this brought up one of the status reports?” Slapping an annoying vine away from his face, he held back a low tree limb for his wife to pass by.

Maria grinned, ignoring her husband’s irritation. “You know, I miss this. I wish we could spend some time with her in her out in the wild now that she’s grown some. I bet that would be something to see.”

Staring at his wife’s lovely backside with a mixture of exasperation and admiration, he shrugged, saying, “You may get your chance. But right now, I’d have preferred Xulia as a desert dweller. We don’t have a lot of time and these plants are really slowing us down.” He paused briefly, pointing with ire at a specimen. “This species shouldn’t even be here, it’s poisonous and non-native.”

“We aren’t here for an inspection tour, mister. Get moving.” Maria pushed him away from the offending plant.

Acting indignant, Joseph did as ordered. “Remind me about that plant when this is all over.” He took off at a brisk pace.

Maria nodded placatingly, but made sure she stayed between him and the plant in case he turned back. “I’ll be sure to do that. As if this crazy storm isn’t enough, you’re more concerned about a misplaced plant.” Shaking her head, she hurried to catch up. “You need to stop being so impatient. We should have enough time, unless Gower ignored his own specifications.” Maria frowned as soon as she spoke the words.

“Exactly, he already ignored them when it came to the manual shutoff. Who knows what else was conveniently disregarded.” Joseph waved his hands in the air agitatedly. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he cut the time in half or worse.”

Just then, another blast of the strange lightning struck nearby, though thankfully it did not strike Xulia’s exhibit. The couple glanced up nervously at the swirling mass of black clouds above.

The lower elevation of the exhibit, combined with the height of the retaining wall and fence, dispersed most of the strong wind gusts, but they were still powerful enough to make an already difficult trek even harder. Pressing forward, Maria started walking ahead, with Joseph following.

“Well damn,” Joseph cursed as the bottom opened up, releasing a torrential downpour of rain. For a moment, he could barely see his wife ahead. “This is incredible. What kind of storm is this?”

Maria turned back briefly to face him, her face a mask of pleasure. She always loved storms – the fiercer, the better. And this one was, as her husband had exclaimed, incredible. Where most people had the good sense to step out of the rain, Maria would prefer to stay and become soaked. If there happened to be thunder and lightning – well, that was even better.

“Now this is what I call a real storm!” she called out excitedly, trying to be heard over the near deafening noise.

Looking up again, noting the odd circular motion of the clouds through the hazy sheets of rain, Joseph shook his head and moved next to her. “It doesn’t look real or natural to me. I have a really bad feeling about this. You feel that tingling sensation?”

“Oh come on, let mother nature have some fun. I bet Xulia is having a blast. You know our gentle giant always loved it when it rained in the past. We even had them install the sprinkler system near the main viewing platform for her.” She stood still a moment, eyes closed, letting the rain soak through. “I do feel that, a little. It’s almost like being next to a powerful electrical field. Isn’t this invigorating? You used to like being out in the jungle where storms could come out of nowhere.”

“Perhaps, but I could do without the wind and lightning – which, by the way, doesn’t even act like normal lightning. You notice it seems to be striking only the facilities? I don’t think I’ve seen it hit a tree yet, and some of them are a lot higher than the buildings that are being damaged. Not to mention, its color is all wrong. I won’t even mention the clouds moving against the wind.”

“It is strange, I have to say. But then again, just because we haven’t had a storm like this before doesn’t mean it’s not natural. It might be the way things are on this world.”

“Maybe, but I don’t recall seeing anything like this on the weather readouts we were given, and those went back several months prior to construction. If this was a known phenomenon, we should have been given warning. You know, we might be lucky. With the power drain as severe as it was, the kill system might not even have enough juice to work.”

Maria ducked under a large tree root before replying, “That thought crossed my mind too, but we have to make sure. I won’t risk Xulia’s safety.”

They walked quietly for a bit, listening to the crashing patter of rain in the jungle before Maria moved close again and asked, “You think the portals went down too, don’t you?”

“I don’t know. Probably. The backup won’t hold them for long with the mains down. And you saw our own equipment was dead even with battery backup. That lightning acts as if it’s draining power with every strike. I’ve never seen anything like it. We’re isolated from the primary grid, however if the rest of the facilities on the island lost power the same time we did, there’s no way the portals are still functioning. They should detect that on the other end and send an emergency team, but who knows how long that’ll take. The bean counters pinched corners everywhere. That Jerald character they brought in worked some wonders with the system, but there’s only so much you can do when money is tight.”

“We’ll just have to ride this out with Xulia then. It won’t be so bad,” Maria said, patting his shoulder. She sounded confident, but in truth, neither she nor her husband knew exactly how the mantoid would react. The only violent behavior she ever displayed had been deliberately done to ensure she got her way. She had never given any indication she saw humans as prey. Thus, they were hopeful of the outcome. Yet for all their time together, she had never been in physical contact with any of them before. That tiny fact could make all the difference.

They continued through the torrential rain and wind, making their way slowly through undergrowth, switching off to lead at regular intervals. Unbeknownst to them, Xulia had begun her hunt.

Moving out from the safety of her cover, Xulia looking up in amazement, watching as the wind picked up and rain begin to fall. She loved rain; it cooled her down and the cascade of water down her body felt wonderful. She did not care much for the lightning. The noise it made was terribly annoying and the bright flashes frightened her. She could also do without the wind. In was not so bad in her exhibit, but outside her area, she could see the trees were being thrashed violently by powerful gusts. It would not be pleasant out there, not at all.

She moved quickly to the cage from which the two humans had entered her enclosure and immediately caught their scent. Strangely, even though she could not see them with her keen vision, she still knew almost exactly where they were. It was as if her mind were already on the hunt, determining which way they went based on the scents, sounds, knowledge of the terrain, and experience with the humans, and pure instinct. Something deep inside her was incessantly telling her to give chase, not to let them escape. It was not a new feeling. It reminded her of feeding time, when the staff would release live animals for her to catch and consume. These two humans were special to her and she did not like the brief flashes that crossed her mind in anticipation of catching them. They were not animals to be eaten.

Though far from silent, due to her massive size, she had nevertheless learned extremely fine control of her limbs, and despite the many giant trees and hanging vines, she was able to maneuver through them quite stealthily. However, with the storm in full swing, it would not have mattered if she simply barreled through the jungle to reach Joseph and Maria. There was little chance they would hear her over the incessant wind and rain.

In her mind, she could picture Joseph being annoyed at the weather, grumbling and acting put upon. Maria, on the other hand, was probably her usual, cheerful self. The mantoid smiled as she thought of the woman.

Maria never raised her voice to Xulia, no matter how badly the mantoid misbehaved. As a result, Xulia always tried to act her best around the little human. She liked them both, but Maria was her favorite. Xulia looked up to her, figuratively speaking, and tried to emulate her in some ways. She particularly enjoyed hearing Maria go on one of her tears at some of the other humans when they did something she disagreed with. Maria always did this out of sight, where the mantoid could not see, but Xulia’s hearing, along with her vivid imagination, was more than up to the task of filling in the missing details. It amused Xulia, the things they tried to keep from her. Doing so only made her that much more curious, and inevitably she found ways around their little tricks.

The other humans sometimes called Maria a “bitch,” but never to her face. When she asked Maria one day what that meant, the woman had laughed and said it meant she was just doing her job well. One day Xulia had overheard Gower, one of the few humans she disliked, calling her a bitch after a particularly dirty trick she had played on one of his security teams. She remembered fondly that the word had sent a warm feeling all over her body. She knew it meant she was doing a great job, though the humans who had been drenched by her water assault did not think so. They had made angry gestures and spoken harshly to one another about her. She had smiled at them in return, which caused some to smile back. They were not all like Gower.

Pushing into a clearing, she caught a fresh scent of the two humans. They were close now. Smiling at the thought she might actually be able to touch and hold Maria for the first time ever, Xulia continued her hunt. No, she thought to herself, this was not a hunt. Stopping suddenly, she let out a deep, menacing growl. The humans were always fearful when she made that noise. She did so now in frustration at the impulses that kept coming unbidden to her mind. Why did she keep seeing images of her swallowing humans? That was a horrible thing to see.

The rain and wind buffeted her large form as she remained in place, lowering her abdomen and shaking as the emotions rolled through her massive frame. She braced an arm against one of the giant trees in her exhibit and let her antennae droop with the intensity her feelings as she fought for control. She was never going to see Joseph and Maria as food, no matter what her stupid thoughts showed her. There were a few she might consider though, and as soon as that notion came, she found her mouth salivating. She had the same response when they released the animals from the feeding cage. Eating them was no big deal. She actually preferred them to the fruits and plant fiber that made up the bulk of her diet. But eating one of the humans she dealt with on a daily basis was different. She liked talking with them, playing tricks on them, watching them react with her and each other. All that would change in an instant if she began considering them as food. She was not going to allow that to happen.

Breathing with quick, shallow gasps, she straightened her antennae while raising her large body up off the ground. Although it could not be seen from the wetness caused by the rain, her eyes had filled with tears. Blinking rapidly, she slowed her breathing and looked down at the muddied ground. She was not used to dealing with such powerful cravings. There had been only twinges in the past, since the trainers always remained behind a reinforced “interaction” cage. She had touched the bars of the cage a few times, but that was as close as she had ever come to the humans. Now she had two of her favorites in the exhibit without the cage between them and she kept thinking about eating them. What was wrong with her?

Striking out furiously in sudden anger, she sent one of her massive arm spikes completely through the giant tree next to her. Bits of bark and large splinters of wood blasted outwards from the sheer force of the hit. Her eyes widened when she saw the damage her attack had done. She had not restrained her strength. It was one of the biggest trees in the exhibit, but that had not made one bit of difference to its fate. Hearing an ominous creaking sound from the tree, she yanked her arm back and quickly shifted to the side as it began to lean precariously in her direction. A strong gust of wind caught hold of the teetering giant, sending it back the other way. She watched helplessly as the trunk tilted over until the base broke away completely with a deafening snap that sounded almost as loud as thunder. The ground shook powerfully with the impact as the colossal form fell, its wet leaves sending a drenching shower of water in all directions. The fall of the main trunk, along with some of the larger branches, destroyed several smaller trees where it landed.

Xulia looked on in distress at what she had done. That it had been accomplished with such careless ease frightened her greatly. There had been incidents in the past where she tore up plants and dug furrows into the soil in order to upset the humans, who became incensed at her vandalism. But until now, she had never done so unintentionally. Hesitantly, she reached out to touch the downed tree, offering an apology. She whispered, “I did not mean…” before stopping. It was a silly notion, since the trees were not intelligent, but she still felt awful. She should not have let her anger get the best of her.

Glaring up at the raging storm, she thought perhaps it had something to do with these new urges. She had never felt them before, at least not so powerfully. The wind had died down somewhat, though the rain was still pouring down in great white sheets. Letting the rain soothe her body, she tried to calm herself and regain a measure of self-control. She had always been so vigilant not to use her full strength, knowing that if she did, the humans would add more restrictions to her activities. Admittedly, these were unusual circumstances, but she knew she could do better. She had to do better.

After several moments of relative quiet, she was startled by a lightning strike that lit the entire sky. It was a big one, but thankfully far off. Several seconds later, the thunder from it rumbled across her enclosure. Taking that as sign, Xulia patted the fallen tree before standing and moving off once more towards Joseph and Maria.

The First Contact

Joseph was standing on the concrete platform, directly in front of the launcher for the kill system. There had been an attempt to disguise it as part of the natural rock face, but the façade had broken off, most likely due to the effects of the storm.

The unit itself was completely dead, as they had suspected all along. The enclosed terminal, which should have displayed the device’s status, was blank. The strange lightning had drained it of all power. Beyond that, he could not tell the status of the gas canisters because the weapon section was armored and sealed to prevent tampering.

To be on the safe side, he used his security key to unlock the safety cover. After a brief inspection, he manually switched the firing mechanism off and pulled the interconnect wires out, tossing them far out into the jungle. “That should do it. Even if power is restored now, it can’t activate.”

Standing beside him, Maria agreed, “Yes, that should. You know, this power drain we’re seeing in all the equipment reminds me of something. You recall that lecture they made us attend from Dr. Novar about trans-dimensional electrodynamics? This storm and its effects fit his theory almost perfectly.”

“Yes, I remember. I don’t like where your train of thought is heading.”

“Neither do I,” Maria agreed. She looked up at the storm, which had lessened somewhat, but was still giving the island a good measure of its wrath.

Just then, they heard a loud cracking noise followed by a massive thud, which caused the platform they were standing on to tremble slightly. It sounded as if one of the giant trees in the center of the exhibit had been felled.

Joseph looked confused. “The wind isn’t strong enough to take down the trees in here.” In fact, the storm seemed to be blowing itself out. There were still occasional streaks of lightning, but the wind had died down and the rain had let up significantly.

“It’s Xulia, I know it,” Maria whispered. She had a worried look on her face.

“Dear, I know she’s strong, but there’s no way she could...”

“Don’t forget she’s a practiced sneak, Joseph. Despite her growing up here, we don’t know a great deal about her species.”

“I know that, but the other giant mantoids weren’t nearly that strong. Those trees are a dozen feet in diameter.”

“I agree, but you’re speaking of the common variety of mantoids. We’ve seen what they are capable of, and have the videos to prove it. Xulia isn’t one of those and we’ve always suspected she was restraining herself. Those bulky legs and armored spikes she has aren’t for show. There’ve been only a handful of orchid mantoid sightings in the wild, so really Xulia is our only reference point. Besides, she’s hidden a lot of things from us. She tricked us over and over again to get her way, even after we realized she was doing so. I think she’s more than capable of bringing down one of the big trees, she just doesn’t want us to know that.”

“Okay, I’ll grant what you say is possible, under extreme circumstances. However, she’s never done anything like this before. Sure, she tore up the smaller plants, and she can dig a mean ditch when she doesn’t get her way. However, why would she suddenly want to knock down one of the trees? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“I don’t know, perhaps she feels abandoned? Just think for a minute, would you? What else could have done it? If we both agree the wind couldn’t, that doesn’t leave many other choices, unless one of the other creatures broke in here. And I highly doubt that, since none of them would approach Xulia willingly. She’s a natural predator to most of the other creatures on the island.”

Joseph furrowed his brow. “If she’s upset about something, we should avoid her. I trust her, but we all do regretful things when angry. Maybe we should start heading back to the interaction cage.”

“That’s in the direction the noise came from. And I don’t think for a moment Xulia would ever hurt us, not even in anger. We’ve been around her for more than a year now. She looks at both of us as surrogate parents.”

Joseph gave his wife a dubious look. “Well, she thinks of you as her mother, but I’m not sure I’m really a father figure in her eyes.”

“She does like you, though. It’s just … I can’t explain it, but we bonded somehow.” Maria had told him this before, but until now, it had not seemed so important.

“We could try to make it to one of the safety cages instead.” Joseph immediately disregarded the idea upon seeing his wife’s sour expression. “Right, that was a bad idea. We’d be stuck in there until someone came to get us, and with this storm that could be a long time.”

“Let’s head back then. If we meet Xulia along the way, let me talk to her first.”

“You don’t think she’s angry, do you?”

“She might be frightened, especially of the lightning. You know she doesn’t like bright lights. But I can’t picture her being angry. There’s no reason for it.”

“I can’t either,” he said, taking her hand and leading them back down the steps off the platform. “We should skirt the perimeter instead of heading straight back. That’ll be safer.”

Maria pulled against his hand, trying to stop. “What? No, we shouldn’t. That’ll take too long and if Xulia catches our scent she’ll be on top of us long before we make it back either way we go. She probably knows we’re in here by now.”

“If she’s scared, she may be hiding from the lightning. She might not even be looking for us.”

“That’s all the more reason to get back as quickly as we can. Let’s not argue about this.”

Joseph sighed. “Fine, have it your way.” He started walking back the way they had come, stomping his feet in the mud angrily.

“Don’t be like that, you know I’m right.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Of course, dear.”

“Oh, don’t you start that with me. If you’re going to be that way, we can walk around the damn place.”

“Too late for that, I’m heading straight back towards the cage.”

Maria jogged to catch up with her husband, who was plowing ahead like an angry bull. This was not the time or place to get into one of their infamous arguments. He shoved a large fern aside, just as she reached him. Not seeing her, he let the plant go instead of holding it. The huge, frilly mass struck her firmly in the face. “Dammit!”

Joseph looked back to see what had happened. When he realized what he had inadvertently done, he felt twice the fool. “I’m sorry! It’s just…”

Rubbing the plant debris from her face, Maria stepped up to him. “Just what? You realize we’re arguing about directions again? You remember your promise to me?”

“Hey, that was road directions. It had nothing to do with walking directions.”

“I knew you were going to say that. You’re splitting hairs, and I can’t help you weren’t specific with your promise.” Maria crossed her arms haughtily and waited for him to admit his mistake.

Joseph rolled his eyes skyward. Just then, another intensely bright flash of lightning went off in the distance. The thunder that followed took several seconds to arrive. “I am sorry about the fern. I didn’t mean to do that.” He tried pulling her into a hug, which she at first resisted.

“We don’t have time for this,” she said half-heartedly, but allowed her husband to pull her close. Soon she was returning his embrace.

“Just because you know how to push my buttons, doesn’t mean you have to.” He kissed her lightly while brushing a piece of the fern from her wet hair.

“Sorry for being a bitch,” she murmured.

He chuckled. “Sorry for being stubborn. And I wish you wouldn’t use that word.”

“Why not? It fits.”

“Because then I can’t very well get mad when other people say it about you.”

They kissed briefly again before separating. Maria said, “You can still get mad at them. I’m your bitch, after all.”

Joseph smirked. “You know Xulia thought it was great when she heard Gower calling her a bitch? She was so proud to be like you. It took everything I had not to laugh when she told me about that. What were we arguing about again?”

“It’s not important, let’s go.” She grabbed his hand and they began making their way again through the jungle. Less than a minute later, the two entered one of the open areas where the creek that flowed into the enclosure formed a natural pool. It was one of Xulia’s favorite spots. Skirting the edge of the water, they went under one of the roots of a nearby tree. Joseph came to an abrupt halt as soon as he stepped from beneath the root.

Maria bumped into his back, her hands reflexively clamping on his shoulders as she looked up into the shining eyes of a giant, pink mantoid – it was Xulia. They had walked right up to her without even realizing it.

She had lowered her body to the ground, and was leaning forward to bring her face closer to them. It was obvious she had been silently waiting for them. Her hands were clasped together tightly together near her body, as if she were holding onto something for dear life. Giving a faint smile, she whispered, “Boo.”

Joseph could not help but let out a slight laugh at the mantoid’s comical manner. She had picked up that from one of the staff during a celebration earlier in the year. Before either human could respond, she continued, “Hello Maria. Hello Joseph.”

It was her normal greeting to them both, only this time the situation was anything but normal. Maria recovered first, slipping around to stand in front of her husband. “Hello Xulia. You’re probably wondering what’s going on and why we’re in here, aren’t you?”

Xulia’s smile broadened in pleasure as soon as she heard Maria’s voice. “It is because of the strange storm, is it not?”

“Yes it is. This storm has caused a lot of problems for us. We’re just making sure nothing bad would happen to you in here.” She waved back towards the area they had departed.

Joseph kept quiet, watching Xulia’s body movements and her antennae for any sign of agitation. Right now, she was calm and collected, with her antennae moving about in a lazy fashion. That was a positive sign. She seemed genuinely pleased at seeing them both, though there was a tension beneath her apparent calm.

Xulia expected her recent unwanted urges to surface once more, but was nicely surprised once she saw Maria and Joseph. The only urge she felt was the one to pick them up and hold them. Seeing them up close like this, with no bars separating them, made her feel extremely protective. She was so excited to finally have a chance to touch them, she could hardly stand it. Keeping her hands tightly restrained, she said, “Thank you for that. You were over by the machine Gower had installed, I presume?”

Maria knew the mantoid had probably guessed what the device did, so she did not bother to mince words. “Yes, we disabled it. The storm has done a lot of damage to the electrical systems and we wanted to make sure it couldn’t hurt you. The only way to do that was to come in here and check for ourselves. I hope you don’t mind the intrusion.”

“I am always happy to see you and this is even better without the cage to block my view.” Xulia grinned mischievously at Joseph, saying, “Did she tell you to stay quiet? She did!”

Noticing the twinkling in her eyes, Joseph nodded. “You know us both too well.” He smiled at her. “And Maria has always been your favorite.”

Xulia’s expression dropped, and her hands unclasped nervously. “Please, I like you too. Do not think otherwise.” She reached forward slowly and held her hand out to the humans, being exceedingly careful to keep her razor sharp spikes well away from them.

Maria and Joseph both looked at the massive hand before them, knowing full well what it was capable of. Wary of the large, incredibly sharp spike that extended well past them, Maria reached out and gently placed her hand against one of Xulia’s fingers. It was silky soft, warm, and yielding to her touch, just like human skin. She stroked the smoothness lightly, liking the sensation. Joseph followed suit, bringing up his hand beside that of his wife. It was the first time either of them had done so since Xulia was first captured.

All the days of isolation, and it finally came to this. Xulia felt a sense of belonging she had never experienced before when the two humans placed their hands against her own. The tiny contact may have been insignificant on a purely physical level, but the effect on her emotionally was anything but. This was what she had been missing. Her eyes closed, and for a while, the only thing that existed in the universe was the soothing feel of rain falling lightly against her body, and the light touch of her two small friends.

Joseph broke the silence and said, “I’m sorry Xulia, I didn’t mean to imply you disliked me. It’s just that I know you and Maria are quite close. There’s nothing wrong with that. Even among friends, there’ll always be those who’re naturally fonder of some than others.”

Smiling with relief, Xulia nodded. Seeing their calm demeanor and acceptance at being so near, Xulia decided to be a bit bold. “May I hold you, please?” she asked, rotating and opening her hand to them.

Maria had to chuckle at the mantoid’s expression. She was familiar enough with Xulia’s moods and knew that face meant the mantoid expected to be disappointed. Joseph was reluctant, so Maria beamed merrily and answered for them both, “Just be careful, we’re a lot more fragile than you. This is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”

Joseph helped his wife step up on Xulia’s palm, then followed her. They both quickly sat down and settled in. Xulia slowly raised her body to its full height, bringing the humans up off the ground. Swiveling deftly in place, she turned to head back towards the cage while lifting her hand up to head level. “I am so happy to see and hold you two finally. I wish we had done this sooner.”

Investigating A Disturbance

Joseph kept his eyes closed, not liking the height and movement at all. Maria, on the other hand, seemed thrilled. Xulia’s stride was surprisingly smooth, and the slight up-and-down motion as the mantoid walked along added to her enjoyment. Looking out across the enclosure through the light rain, she could see the extent of the damage done by the storm. Part of the retaining wall was down, and Xulia could probably squeeze through the gap if she tried. Seeing the extent of destruction, she gasped, “It looks like the wall was hit by an artillery shell.”

Joseph opened his eyes to see what his wife was referring to, and immediately wished he had not. They were far too high off the ground for his liking. Seeing Xulia’s size from the safety of the numerous observation platforms was one thing, but being held literally in the palm of her hand brought an entirely new perspective on just how big she really was. Keeping his hands braced firmly against Xulia’s palm, he looked to where his wife was pointing and gawked. “There’s no way normal lightning could do that. It looks like the strike detonated the material from the inside.”

“I saw the lightning strike, and it did just as you said,” Xulia commented. Keeping an eye on the vegetation, she moved at a sedate pace, not wishing to alarm Joseph, who was obviously not enjoying being carried. “I will continue moving slowly, Joseph. Do not worry, I will not allow you to fall.” She was mindful of his state and did everything she could to reassure him. Maria, on the other hand, was cheery and smiling, clearly loving the ride.

Looking away from the damaged fence and across to Xulia’s face, Joseph pulled himself together and spoke. “Thanks Xulia, I appreciate it. I’m just not fond of heights.” Keeping his eyes on hers, he continued, “Xulia, you know the island hasn’t ever experienced a storm like this before. Many of the visitors are trying to evacuate. They’ve already told the staff to do likewise. With the power down, it’s only a matter of time before some of the other exhibits lose containment. I don’t think we need to worry about your area, but in the event we have to vacate, you need to know, because we’ll be taking you with us. We’re not going to leave you alone in here, no matter what. Having said that, we’ll likely to run into other humans, not necessarily staff you’re familiar with. They’re going to be scared of you, because of your size. Some of them may even be hostile. Do you think you can you handle that, if we stay with you?”

Xulia kept her expression neutral while she thought about her response. “I do not mind them being afraid. Most of the staff was afraid of me when they were new. It is natural. I know what you are asking, and I promise I will not hurt anyone unless … they try to harm either of you.” Her eyes revealed an uncommon hardness as she said the last words.

“That’s perfectly understandable,” Maria reassured her. “Though, I don’t think we need to worry about people here trying to hurt us.” She deliberately quelled thoughts of Gower. “So what do you think of us puny humans now that we’re literally in the palm of your hand? Not much to look at up close, are we?” She laughed lightly.

Maria spoke the words in jest, but Xulia’s reply belied her calm outward appearance. With a trembling voice, she told them, “I feel like I belong – like I am part of your family. It is the best feeling I have ever had.” She hesitated a moment before saying, “You know you two are the only reason I stayed in the enclosure.”

Joseph’s eyes grew large, while Maria grinned knowingly and said, “I knew it. I knew it from that night you became sick and I stayed up in the cage next to you. How much have you been deliberately holding back from us?”

Joseph was flabbergasted. “Wait a moment! You’re telling me you knew what? That Xulia could’ve broken out at any time? That’s preposterous.”

“Come on Joseph, don’t try to tell me you haven’t had your own doubts. Alright, maybe ‘know’ is too strong a word. I had a strong intuition that Xulia was only just behaving because of us. That’s one reason I insisted we stay on after they put Gower in charge. I didn’t want to risk an incident if we left the program.”

“I was suspicious, that’s true, but not to your extent. I honestly had no idea it was because of us. Even so, I told you my qualms on more than one occasion. Why didn’t you divulge your own?”

Xulia watched with amusement as the two humans she cared for most in the world began their dance with words, oblivious to the fact they were being carried by the very topic of their debate. They always followed the same pattern when working up to an argument, but in the end, they always made up. Showing uncharacteristic impatience, she interrupted them both, “Can we skip to the hugging part already?”

Maria paused in irritation at the interruption, then burst out laughing. “Right, we deserved that.”

Joseph looked at her askance. “You little sneak. Now I know why you kept bringing certain things up in our conversations. You knew what would happen afterward when Maria and I left the compound. Do you have any idea how many arguments you caused?”

Xulia winked at him. “I counted them, if you want to know.”

Joseph laughed, pulling his wife in for a hug. “Satisfied?”

Xulia nodded, slowing her pace as she neared the opened cage. “We’re here.”

Joseph patted her hand to get her attention. “Xulia, what you said about our family. We feel the same – we always have, since the beginning. Maria used to joke that we didn’t capture you at all. It was the other way around. I always worried that we were taking you away from your home, but at the same time, I felt vindicated because we were offering you a safe place to grow to adulthood with people who cared about you. You’ve never complained before about this, but … how do you feel about being here now?” He waved to indicate the extensive exhibit area that had been Xulia’s home for the past year.

“You remember when you found me, I followed you back to your camp? I had already been watching you for several days before that. I knew what kind of people you were and I liked what I saw. I thought it would be interesting to stay with you for a while and acquire some easy food. You kept feeding me those wonderful rations; it was the first time I had been able to rest comfortably without worrying about my next hunt. But I honestly had no idea what was happening when the portal opened and we went through. It did not bother me though, because you stayed. And you have stayed with me since then.” She smiled warmly at them. Lowering her arm, she reluctantly watched as they climbed back down to the ground. They kept close to her body, using it as cover from the weakening storm.

The rain had become a light drizzle, but the wind was still churning the trees with occasional downdrafts. The bizarre lightning had diminished to faint flashes that illuminated the ominous, roiling black clouds overhead. They were slowly swirling in an ever-widening pattern that was beginning to take on the appearance of massive eye wall with the central portion revealing an almost solid black void. It was as if a great rift had been opened into vast nothingness.

Maria reached back and touched Xulia’s hand again, before the mantoid lifted it. Pointing over to the cage, she said, “Assuming we recover from this disaster, I promise you that will be removed at the nearest opportunity. Even if the others won’t, Joseph and I will be in here with you on a regular basis. Though I’m fairly certain the others will also.”

“What makes you think I am going to stay here?” Xulia asked innocently. Secretly, she was thrilled at Maria’s words. That is exactly what she had desired all along.

“Well…” Joseph appeared uncomfortable for a moment, looking to Maria for support.

Xulia giggled. “Relax, I am not going anywhere. I was teasing you again.”

Maria let out her breath. “Where did you learn to tease like that?”

“Oh, I watched many of the staff play practical jokes on one another in the observation room and on the platforms. Some of the things they did were quite funny. Gower is the only one who seems to have no fun at all here. He is always so gloomy. I do not like him.”

“I’m not sure there are any who like him. The man has the most amazing ability to sap the motivation of everyone around him. It’s quite remarkable really.” Joseph was looking at one of the damaged platforms where Gower’s security people were usually posted. They were nowhere to be seen now that the evacuation order had been given. He briefly worried that Gower might still be stuck in the maintenance area where they had left him, cuffed to one of the terminals. They would have to go check on him. He might not be a pleasant individual, but Joseph had no intention to leave him in such a predicament. “That reminds me, we need to go back and release him from the maintenance room.”

Maria nodded. “We should both go. I’m not sure what state he’ll be in after our little scuffle. Xulia, can you stay here for just a few minutes, while we attend to this?”

Xulia smiled, reaching down with her hand again. “I have a better idea. Hop on and I will show you something.”

Curious, they both did as she asked, climbing aboard her hand and sitting down. She moved back towards the compound. Walking directly up to the reinforced security glass, she stepped to the side and pointed. “Is not the maintenance room just behind there?”

“One of the connecting rooms is,” Joseph answered.

Taking particular care, Xulia used her other arm to place the tip of one of her spikes against the surface of the inches-thick window. Neither Joseph nor Maria could tell exactly what she did, but there was a brief shudder and the glass literally exploded back into the facility. Two quick swipes cleared the thick metal bars as if they were toothpicks, and then Xulia lowered the couple directly beside her newly made entrance.

Joseph stood up slowly, realizing what Xulia had just shown them both. There was no way this enclosure could keep her if she did not desire to stay. “Wow. I’m going to have to ask you how you just did that. We had developed that special polymer glass for this facility. What you did should not be possible.” For her part, Xulia looked quite smug.

Maria took it in stride, as she did everything, calmly walking into the room and waving back at the mantoid. “We’ll be back in a minute or two. Come on Joseph. If you hear either of us scream…”

“The walls will not be an issue,” Xulia assured her. She moved back slightly and cocked her head in puzzlement.

Just then, the humans heard a faint crashing sound followed by the snapping of branches and some other unidentified noises. It came from the far side of the enclosure. Joseph, still standing on Xulia’s palm, asked, “What was that?”

“Something just came through the fence and landed in the trees. It was mechanical. But I do not hear it anymore.” Xulia was looking in the direction of the disturbance. “Perhaps I should investigate?”

Joseph stepped off her hand. “If it’s a vehicle, it might have come from the maintenance road. It’s near there, but I’m not sure how it would’ve … wait a minute. That’s where the fence had been damaged, isn’t it?”

Maria stepped back into the open. “Yes. Who would come in here with a vehicle though? They should’ve been going the other way, if they were part of the evacuation. You don’t think it’s one of Gower’s asinine security detachments?”

Joseph looked thoughtful. “I wouldn’t put anything past him, but I don’t think his men are that fanatical outside his direct influence.”

Xulia pulled herself to up her full height and swiveled around. “Perhaps they did not intend to come in here? It may have been an accident. I shall check to see what has happened.”

Maria walked over to lay a hand on the base of one of the mantoid’s feet. Unlike her human portion, the slick, armored surface did not give at all. Looking up at Xulia from this angle, she was again awed by the sheer size of the not yet fully-grown mantoid. “A vehicle means people.”

“If they are stuck, I can easily carry the vehicle back to where they can continue on their way. If they are not, I will just observe them. If it is people I know, they will not be afraid. Will they?”

She could tell Xulia wanted to do this alone, but Maria did not think it was a very good idea. The mantoid had an impulsive streak to her, very much like a spoilt child, and while she claimed she would only observe, Maria knew that would only last until her excitement at seeing more humans overcame her common sense.

Joseph surprised them both when he said, “As long as you are careful, I think you can handle this. If it’s staff, you may know them, but they might not react well to you in these circumstances. Just be yourself. In the meantime, we do need to check on one more thing, which I just thought about – the food stores. I want to make sure they’re in good shape. We have enough here to last quite some time, but with all the damage that’s been done and possible flooding, I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Maria glanced back at him to make sure of his intention. He nodded briefly to her. Patting Xulia’s foot, she sighed, “Alright dear, just be very careful. We’ll be back here as soon as we’re finished. If you aren’t here when we do come back, your mother will come looking for you.”

Xulia giggled at Maria’s remark, but her heart nearly burst with joy. Quivering in anticipation of meeting new people, she briefly stretched, expanding her vestigial wings in the display that the humans often tried to coax out of her. Maria laughed at the sight while Joseph clapped in approval.

“You two be careful yourselves, and I will be back as soon as I can … mommy.” With that, she slowly moved away from them. Once she was sufficiently far away, she accelerated rapidly. Before long, she had completely disappeared into the dense jungle.

“It’s hard to believe as big as she is, she can move so quietly,” Joseph commented.

With a wry smirk, Maria said, “I just hope you know what you’re doing, letting her go like that. I hate to imagine what the humans on the receiving end of her helpfulness are going to think.”

Joseph turned and motioned for her to enter the building ahead of him. “They’ll be scared witless at first. But it won’t take long for them to see her as a gentle giant. They may even think of her as a hero if she helps them out.” Looking back outside at the steadily expanding black void above, he shook his head. “We may all be depending on her before this is all said and done.”

Maria was already most of the way into the room, but had stopped dead at the entrance to the maintenance area.

Seeing her baffled expression, Joseph walked up to see what was wrong. The terminal rack they had secured Gower to was still in place, but there was no sign of the man. “Well damn.”

As they turned to go back to the service tunnel, towards the food stores, Joseph pulled the handgun he had taken from Gower and checked the chamber and safety. He had stuffed it in his pocket with the intention of throwing it away, but had forgotten about it until now. Maria gave him a sharp look, but said nothing. They both knew how she felt about guns. Hopefully Gower had decided to evacuate. But if he had not…

Well, wow! That was excellent. Well worth the wait. You managed to make me feel all the time they had been waiting to really meet, unrestrained. The uncertainty and concern they all felt (Maria and Joseph wondering what she might do, Xulia discovering the strength of her unwanted urges), and then their coming together as a family... Xulia's apology to the tree, her feelings about her own unintentional action, was a nice touch. I like the way you've made her smart, a step ahead even of Joseph (while Maria "knows" her as only a mother can), and caring yet potentially dangerous and still unpredictable. You're a very skilled writer (which I knew already), and it took skill to bring all that together. Really good work!

Great job, like I said on DA. The desciption and emotions come out really well.

Like said on DA, this is an awesome story ! very intense and superbly written

I don't know how I've been missing this... xD I need to read all the stuff from the very beginning, but all this looks pretty promising.

I'd like to join, but since I need to read the whole thing first, I'd like to wait a bit, a chapter or two, before joining. Also, looking at how some people need to post several posts for their contributions, it seems the level is really high.

This is some incredible writing, a very gripping tale so far. I look forward to the next installment.

Stupendous!!! absolutely love it so far. The anticipation is now going to kill me for waiting to see what happens next. So far there is only one complaint, no story has been written in the viewpoint of a tourist. Is anyone working on one? If not I would like to jump in on this if that would be alright with everybody?

I wouldn't mind a story from a tourist's perspective. Actually, I was hoping someone would write a story involving visitors/tourists in the park.

There's a whole island to cover, and you can easily set the story prior to the storm's arrival to get a feel for what it would be like to tour the various exhibits. Or you can jump in as the storm hits and throw them to the wolves, so to speak, once the power fails and panic sets in. Either way, I look forward to your contribution.

JC-Dragon wrote:

Stupendous!!! absolutely love it so far. The anticipation is now going to kill me for waiting to see what happens next. So far there is only one complaint, no story has been written in the viewpoint of a tourist. Is anyone working on one? If not I would like to jump in on this if that would be alright with everybody?

I'd vaguely been thinking of it, but I had no clear ideas along those lines, so... Yes, by all means, go ahead!

French Snack - do you have any plans on writing a continuation with the dridder and slug girl in the story that launched all this?

I have no specific ideas at present. If there's no-one continuing the story right now, though, I'll pick it up.

I'm considering having Xulia meet one or both of them in a future chapter, once Wildthing finishes his next part. I may send you some questions regarding the pair, as well as the woman briefly mentioned by the dridder.

Fine by me. My characters aren't particularly developed at present, and I'd be more than happy to entrust them to you. And then continue with them afterwards.

Hmmm...now how did this hit the second page! Anyways, I've had a sudden idea spring up if you don't mind me working on another addition and 'exhibit' to the story heh. This project is too fun to let go silent for too long (besides...Timing2 poked me eons ago about it in a comment!).

I'd like to make another contribution but am a bit busy at the moment. I'll go after everyone has taken their "turn."

Asuroth wrote:

Hmmm...now how did this hit the second page! Anyways, I've had a sudden idea spring up if you don't mind me working on another addition and 'exhibit' to the story heh. This project is too fun to let go silent for too long (besides...Timing2 poked me eons ago about it in a comment!).

Feel free! I'll be glad to see it picking up again.

As I've said before, I can contribute a new part when those who currently have ideas have had their turn.

And here is my way overdue contribution to this, hope you enjoy!


Pantaurs. They fascinated elven Arch Mage Fedirre Sagenev to no end as he stood looking through the electric fence into their exhibit from high above. They were without doubt one of the most dangerous, if not the very most in his own eyes, predators known in all of Felarya, and here they were put on display for all the public to awe at their beauty. The blonde haired elf shook his head in dismay of the very idea of the creation of this exhibit. They were all so foolish, blinded by greed; how could they not see what incredible creatures they were dealing with?

The big wigs in charge of this grand project of course knew that such awe inspiring gigantic creatures such as giant nagas and dridders would draw great deals of attention, but yet at the same time desired something more to shake up the mix and keep their audience hungry for more. The answer to this had been blunt in their eyes- get a group of pack hunting predators rather than a single giant one.

To this end they had hired countless hunters, may the Elven Pantheon find peace for their poor souls, to collect their next exhibit of the mythical Felarya predators. The pay for them was beyond ludicrously good, as it had been for anyone else suicidal enough to take on the task of kidnapping infant predators. It was the only way he imagined the company could even hope to coerce so many stupid souls into willingly trying to kidnap infants from intelligent pack hunting predators. All loses considered though he was impressed. They had caught a decent variety of beautiful specimens totaling up to four and they were very graceful creatures including two leopards, Sylea and Sylva, a tigress, Kina and a striking black panther, Nossa, in stark contrast to the rest of them. No two pantaurs belonged to the same pack but he expected as much even though it interfered with his research- it would have been a death sentence to visit the same pantaur family twice for the poor hunters.

The pantaurs were hoped to be a prime exhibit, although the specimens they had captured were smaller. Fedirre and a few other promising investors, like himself, had very clearly voiced their complaints of the original plans to house a whole pack of the gigantic sized variety, although they were in the minority. He considered it suicide as is to even have any pack of pantaurs as it was; the company had flatly rejected the compromise of just a single pantaur. Mentioning the pluses lowering the cost by having it be a slightly smaller exhibit to accommodate them was the only thing that had won them over. The company had insisted they still be a fair size though, the park wasn't attracting customers for any old zoo- they would be coming for their giant attractions. For a human, Jerald Watson had made very impressive enclosures to pen up the giant predators and hold back their considerable strength. Their large corral housed many trees for the pantaurs to roam in to be comfortable, along with a stream and other features as some boulders to sunbathe on. Visitors were able to watch them in safety from high above a steep concrete wall with more of the electric fencing blocking them off just to be safe; the pantaurs were extremely nimble and could jump very high.

The pantaurs had been taken as infants like the other exhibits and had been left only in the company of each other; deprived of contact and the chance to learn from their parents so the company could keep them from learning how to speak or think on their own- to be left as 'wild' as they could be. The pantaur exhibit was a success in that regard at least, much to his own concern. The park was a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch and document the behavior of the pantaurs among other giant predators as they grew up from infants, even if most of the predators did have human interference from their handlers. Real field research on Felarya was a laughable profession, considered just as much a madman's job as cartography.

The only interaction the staff ever had with the pantaurs involved either a lockdown using enough sedative gas to put them all to sleep for medical inspections and exhibit maintenance or operating the machinery to release their food into the pen. Human contact was entirely forbidden with them beyond the patrons or security watching them from high above. They were still disciplined when needed, at a distance, for the mischievous cat hybrids had made a few attempts at testing their enclosure's endurance. No one was truly willing to be handlers of an entire pack of giant predators. The make shift group of pantaurs were incredibly playful with each other and were easy crowd pleasers with the various games they would play with each other. They saw no need to ruin a good thing and the pantaurs seemed occupied with themselves as they were; in the end there was also no need to spend money to teach them tricks if they played and put on shows all on their own in their little world.

The clever creatures seemed to quickly bond with one another and instinctually have formed their own pack, and what fascinated Fedirre even more, their own ways of communicating to one another despite the lack of contact. They still couldn't talk in the sense of actual speech, much to management's relief when he informed them of it, and instead growled, purred or hissed at each other in varying ways instead having seen their human visitors talk with one another without meaning to their words. The week he noticed the panther emit the same growls every time the underground gates opened to deposit their food he knew it was no coincidence. They were such naturally intelligent beings, and yet he knew still so dangerous; he could never tire of watching them as he was writing their activities today to study over.

A sudden shadow crossed over his notepad and a drop of rain fell down on him, drawing away his attention away from watching Sylea and Sylva chasing each other through their exhibit. He looked up seeing the suddenly darkened sky littered with black clouds and frowned, there had been no reports of a storm at all for today and it was just beginning to pour. He couldn't afford to have his notebook ruined! "Never trust the weatherman," he grumbled to himself, closing his notebook.

He had barely taken two steps after turning around when he heard an incredibly loud boom accompanied by a brilliant flash of light that made him jump and several other guests cry out. Thunderstorms on what was supposed to be a nice sunny day!? Weatherman or not, he had never seen such a violent storm at the park before. He tucked his book underneath his robes and made his way back to the main road as another bolt tore through the sky and he could have swore he heard something akin to an explosion behind the booming echo of the thunder. The alarmed crowd began shouting, running in front of him looking for cover from the raging storm. Fedirre thought this a good idea too and began to run along the main road for the closest building, he was not planning to stay around for whatever this was. A wailing siren sounded shortly after, piercing the air.

"Evacuation. Would all guests please get to the nearest portal immediately. Would all staff please get to the nearest safe house unless required elsewhere. Evacuation."

That sent the crowd into outright panic. Evacuation, what in the world is going on?

---

Nossa sprang to her feet as the crackling bolt of light struck down, illuminating the sky. She had never before seen such a sight and it worried her. She snapped out of it though watching as her sisters had stopped their game and both had froze staring up into the sky. She yowled, catching their attention, calling her sisters back to her and back under the cover of the large trees to which they gladly obeyed.

"Sylea. Sylva," she carefully and quietly voiced to the two of them. The two leopard pantaurs nodded, letting their pack leader know they were ok to her relief. Nossa had watched the little creatures above pointing at each of them making those noises many times. The little creatures made many strange sounds, but those names came up often, along with 'pantaur'. She had found it fun to not use their names openly in front of the little creatures, except the lone one late at night. He acted weird whenever they used them. Unknown to her though the late night guard did not find it so fun as they only ever seemed to say their names in front of him, making his supervisors think he was crazy when they came to investigate. It was one of their favorite games. "Kina?"

The two looked around for a second before shaking their heads. The two of them had not seen the last member of their pack that was missing. Kina liked to wander off on her own a lot. She was much harder to keep track of than her other two sisters who always played within her sight. Just then another bolt and loud boom tore through the sky, making the three pantaurs reflexively crouch down again at the sudden occurrence. Nossa looked up in time to see the little creatures running away from the fence, apparently as frightened as they were from the storm. She felt an urge within her to chase after them, but stayed near her two sisters who needed her care.

A painful sound filled the air and was followed by more of the strange noises the creatures made, but far louder. "Evacuation. Would all guests please get to the nearest portal immediately. Would all staff please get to the nearest safe house unless required elsewhere. Evacuation."

"Kina!" Sylva called out as the tigress came bounding out of the cover of the trees towards the steep concrete wall. Nossa turned and ran after her, preparing to pounce on her and bring her back under safety from the raging storm. Bad things happened when they tried to climb the walls or when they tried opening the doors that released the food into their home. It was useless as Kina had a greater head start and jumped up the concrete wall, landing just short of where the fence was unsuccessfully. When she slid back down Nossa was waiting and batted at her with one of her feline paws before dragging her back with the rest of their sisters. Now the strange clouds would come and put them all to sleep again; it was never a pleasant feeling.

The four of them waited but nothing came from the small holes in the wall as it usually did. Normally it didn't take long at all for the clouds to come when they acted up like that. Nossa growled at her sisters to remain where they were as she went out and approached one of the fences nearest the wall. She picked up one of the branches which had snapped off in the wind from the storm and tossed it at the fence, to which nothing happened. She looked at the fence, puzzled. The first few times the fence had shocked them they had thrown things at it in vengeance, which usually just made the things they threw also get shocked or catch on fire, and sometimes even the gas would come from the wall again.

Cautiously she slowly reached out with her hand and quickly touched the fence as her pack mates called out to her in protest, and again nothing happened.
She took the next step and grabbed onto the steel cabled fence and began to climb, eager to explore what was beyond their little world despite the danger of the storm. Seeing Nossa safely climbing, the other three pantaurs also gave chase and began climbing up the fence after her. It was not long until Nossa had climbed above the concrete wall and climbed over to the fence above it. The little creatures were only ever seen on this side of their pen and she had to see where they came from.

The sight that greeted her drove her instincts into a frenzy- there were dozens more of the little creatures everywhere running in panic from the storm! She just had to catch some of them. She yowled at her pack to hurry and follow her; they wouldn't believe what they would find up over the fence. In her excitement she began to climb faster, paying less caution and making a great deal of noise climbing up the now dead electric fencing.

Some of the creatures heard this and turned around to the terrifying sight of the giant predator climbing up over the fence. "The pantaurs are loose! Get to the portals!" She heard one of them yell as she got over the fence. That word again, she still was not sure what it meant. The she spotted him as he turned around briefly, the blonde haired creature that seemed to watch them a lot. She bound after him; this one would be her prize.

nice continuation, are pentaurs something you created or did someone else make them up, I have never seen anyone write about them before? Any links on bios and stuff if they are out there?

vbk345 wrote:

nice continuation, are pentaurs something you created or did someone else make them up, I have never seen anyone write about them before? Any links on bios and stuff if they are out there?

Pantaurs are a canon species (they're in the wiki), but rarely seen. And this is a lovely use of them. Good chapter, Asuroth! I can just imagine them, playful, curious and excited, bounding about the Park.

Does anyone want to do the next part, or shall I?

How about you do the next part and I'll follow up?

Fine by me. Not sure exactly when I'll get round to it, but I'll start giving it some thought.

Nice addition. A "small" pack of four pantaurs is going to lead to a great deal of mischief! I like the fact that you have them bonded and that they're playful, rather than hostile. Things are about to get interesting for that area of the park.