The Deadly Isle

[Stranger]

(I actually had a really good plotline in my head for how this would work out, and I love this playthrough and want to continue it. The only reason I stopped was because of school, I found I didn't have the time nor energy :(.

SO.

The moment the summer holidays are started, which is in like 2 months, I'll continue this and hopefully get around to giving you guys a finished story. I really love this playthrough and I hate just abandoning it like this lol) 

[Stranger]

Summer holidays have started, and I am ready to continue this! I will update tommorow. My writing style might be a little different because I haven't been writing for a little while. 

Also the computer I have this save on is really old, and steam is shutting down on it in like 200 days so I may have to shorten the end goal of this playthrough to like 250 or 300 days :(. 

[Stranger]

Cabi had been searching for berries for hours, but found nothing. Her webbed paws made the grass rustle loudly, but she assumed it was safe near the tribes territory, and she didn't have to worry. She was wrong. 

'Maybe I should have brought someone with me.' she sighed as she swiped a paw at yet another poisonous berry bush. 'It would have made this ten times less boring.' 

Suddenly a rustle echeod from the grasses. Cabi stiffened, but relaxed when she realized it was a creauture. He had sickly yellow fur, and his smile didn't reach his eyes. 

'Hello.' was all he said. Cabi shifted slightly. For some reason he made her feel uncomfortable. 

'Hello! Who are you? Would you like to join our tribe?' Cabi said enthusiasticly, not wanting to be rude to the stranger. 

'I'm already part of your tribe. Your leader, Lilit let me stay. I was just exploring when I came across you. My names Deat.' he smiled. 

'Oh. My names Cabi. Well you can help me pick berries then-' Cabi was interrupted by the snarl of a bearyena. It barreled her over. Deats eyes widened as he backed away a few steps. 

'I'll go get the rest of the tribe.' he said fearfully, and ran off. Cabi stared up at the bearyena. It lunged at her again, and she yelped. She couldn't hold it off by herself. It clawed her leg, but she manages to scramble up on a rock. She shivered, and stayed there. 

Eventually, she heard Neoki, and Randi with Deat. The bearyena was tired from waiting around under the rock, so it fled when the creatures chased it. 

'You took your time Deat! The camp isn't even that far away!' Cabi felt like crying, and she was still bleeding. 

'Be grateful I even came at all!' he spat, before he caught Neoki fixing him with a glare. 

'let's get you to the healing fruit Cabi.' Neoki helped Cabi walk. Cabi didn't know where Deat went, but he didn't walk home with them. 

~

Lilit sighed and looked out to sea. Had it always been so hard to see ahead of her? She knew her eyes were failing her, and so was the rest of her body. She was getting old. She turned around at the sound of her two kits, playing with each other nearby. 

'Neoki, Randi, please come here.' Lilit said, and they both immediately came over. Neoki had a worried look in her eyes. 'I'm old. My time will be soon, but I wanted you both to know I love you, okay?' They both nodded, tears in their eyes. 'But there's something else I have to say. Ifi has grown a bit senile in his old age. He is stuck in his ways, that the strongest must be leader. You Neoki, are not physically strong. You never were, but you are very strong of the mind. But he can't see that. Just be careful, all right?'. Neoki nodded again. 

'I will be mother, I promise.' 

'And you Randi.' Lilit bumped noses with her youngest kit. 'You take care of her.' 

They all sat down and watched Lilit last sunset together. 

The next morning, they thought they would be given time to mourn. But Ifi immediately came over. 

'Neoki, you... Are leader now.' there was slight anger in Ifis voice, but he was good at hiding it. 

'I am. Why did you want to come over?' Neoki asked, standing up but her paws shook a little. 

'Don't mess this up.' Ifi leaned in close. 'I will not let you lead my tribe to ruin.' 

Neoki wanted to take a step back, but she wouldn't. 

'My tribe now. Not yours. And I'll do everything to keep it safe.' she said slowly. Ifi snorted and walked off. 

~

Fess was walking back from a successful berry picking. There was a spring in her step, and she couldnt wait to show everyone how she was helping the tribe. King had to go help Lupo with something, but Fess assured him she could handle this on her own. She heard pawsteps coming forward. 

'King?' she called out. She couldn't recognise people by their pawsteps just yet, so she guessed. 

'Not King. Deat.' A voice sneered. Fess froze and dropped the berries. She took a step away from where his voice was. 'The little princess can't see? What a shame.' 

'Deat.' she snarled. 'What are you doing here? Weren't you enjoying life on the island you forced our Queen to stay in?' 

'Oh I was. Before the queen found out it was me and two other creatures that killed her little princess. The two others drowned, but fortunately for us, we are both good swimmers, eh?' Deat spoke as if he was laughing slightly, and Fess hated it. 'I didn't think you were still alive Princess.' 

'Don't call me that. I'm not a princess, not anymore.' Fess straightened up to her full height. She wouldn't let Deat intimidate her. Suddenly she heard more pawsteps. For only a second, she was scared it was the other two creatures, that they didn't drown and they were here to finish the job. But then she heard King's familiar voice and relaxed slightly. 

'Who are you?' King asked, but he didn't sound too happy. 

'I'm part of this tribe now. Call me Deat.' 

'Don't trust him!' Fess said quickly. 'he was on my old island, he was the one who tried to kill me.' 

At that, King quickly bounded forward to Fess and growled at Deat. He stood protectively at Fess' side. He was about to tell Deat to get lost, but Fess put her paw down. 

'The little Princess doesn't need to be protected anymore?' Deat said patronisingly. 

'I got this King.' Fess whispered. She was smaller that King, but when she straightened up to her full height, a commanding tone in her voice, she looked no less intimidating that King was. 

'I'm not a princess anymore Deat. I don't know who invited you to this tribe, and I don't care. Stay out of my way and we won't have a problem, I want to leave everything that happened on my old island behind. But if you even come near me... Then we have a problem.'

Deat scowled, unused to the fact that Fess was standing up for herself in a way that didn't involve threats about the queen dealing with him. King growled again, and Deat left. 

'Thank you King.' Fess sighed. She didn't notice it earlier, but she was trembling. 

'Thank you? He sounded surprised. Fess, you did everything.' he leaned in and gave her a hug. It made Fess feel all warm inside. 

'Yes, well I could not "do everything" without you being here.' she smiled. 

'Guess I'm not useless after all.' King grinned. 

'Oh be quiet!' Fess nudged him, but she was smiling as well. 

[Stranger]

A few days later, Andromeda's and Shee's kit was born. He was quiet and calm for a kit, and they named him Kendyll. 

But Kendyll's first experience of the world was an unpleasant one, as a bearyena attacked just a few days after he was born. It immediately went for him.

Cabi was nearby, and when she heard Meda scream she immediately ran to her. Cabi threw herself at the bearyena even though she was one of the worst at fighting. She tore at its hide, but it just batted her away, and she fell against a rock, with a scream. Shee and Meda stood in front of their son, and the bearyena immediately went for Meda. It clawed her side, but the two creatures fought back. But there was only two of them, and they were losing. Suddenly a blur of red fur and claws threw itself at the bearyena, distracting it. It was Randi, and he was fighting it almost by himself. 

Neoki stood at the sidelines. She couldn't fight. But I can't watch my brother get torn to pieces either. She stood up on shaky legs, then she yelled at the bearyena. 

'Come get me you brute!' She yelled, and faked a limp. The bearyena saw that she was a much easier meal than a protected kit, and ran to her. Neoki broke out into a sprint and ran into the grasses, the bearyena following her. Her breath came sharply, and after only a minute her legs already felt as if they were going to drop off. She stopped and looked around, panicked. The bearyena was right behind her, she only had a few seconds to think up a plan. Think Neoki. Think. She saw a tree. A cave. 

A twig snapped. The bearyena was here. The bearyena sniffed around. Neoki was not in the clearing. It caught a scent, and the sight of red fur up in a tree. It licked it's muzzle and climbed the tree easily. It tore at the fur, but there was nothing there other than a small amount of red fur. No Neoki. The bearyena growled in frustration and looked around a bit more before giving up. 

Randi ran into the clearing a few minutes later. 

'Neoki! Sister!' he called. He was close to tears. Only silence answered. 

'Here! I'm here, I'm okay.' Neoki called. She emerged out of the cave covered in a black mud. 'I managed to trick the bearyena. It couldn't smell me because of the mud.' 

'You could have died!' Randi yelled, wrapping Neoki in a big hug. 'You should have just let me handle it. You're my sister. I don't want anything to hurt you. You can't fight, I have to protect you.' 

'Randi, maybe I can't fight but that doesn't mean I can't protect myself. Don't worry, I'm smarter than I look.' Neoki laughed, trying to ease the mood. Randi smiled back, but he was still worried. The two walked back to find Kendyll safe and sound.

But Randi was not easily reassured. His sister could have died. Neoki was all he had left. He would never let anyone hurt her. Never. 

 

[Stranger]

Cabi was picking berries again. The tribe was safe, but hers was a pretty boring existence. It wasn't that she didn't like it here, it's just that adventure was more her thing. There was little of that here. Cabi grimaced slightly. Well, Deat provided a bit of excitement. In the bad way. No one really liked him, but he hadn't done anything wrong yet, so they couldn't exactly kick him out. Before Cabi could pick the last berry, she heard commotion. She walked carefully towards it, but realised it was King's and Fess' voices, so she bounded the rest of the way. 

'Oh gods! Is it that hard for you to lie down?!' Fess said angrily, but there was worry in her voice. She firmly pressed a paw to King's head, and pushed him down onto a nest that he was standing in. 

'I told you, I'm fine!' he said back, but the usual laziness was gone out of his voice. His voice sounded slurred and unclear. Fess ignored him. 

'Stay here. I'll find it.' she said determinedly, slowly taking her paw away from King, as if they had done this before and King had tried to get up. 

'You can't see, Fess.' King said, a bit more worry in his tone. 'You'll be all alone outside the tribe territory.'

'But I can smell, genius. And I'll be quick.' she reassured him. Cabi decided it was time to offer help. 

'Sorry for interrupting, I couldn't help but overhear you guys talking. Maybe I could help you find what you're looking for?' Cabi said with a grin. Both King and Fess looked relieved. 

'Yes please. If you could. I am looking for a healing fruit, because this idiot ate who knows what, and now he's sick.' the teasing tone that Fess and King usually had with each other was gone. Fess was obviously very worried for him. 

'I'm fine...' King mumbled again, but Fess just arranges the nest he was lying on so he would be comfortable. Fess turned around and set out for outside the territory, with Cabi on her heels. 

'When I was still a wanderer I found a healing fruit nearby, follow me!' Cabi smiled. 

'I think-' Fess started to say, but cut herself off. She cleared her throat and spoke quickly. 'Of course. Lead the way.' Fess was still obviously unaccustomed to taking orders, instead of giving them, but she was getting better at it. 

The smell of the fruit interrupted both their thoughts. 

'Found it!' Fess smiled and rushed forward. Her smile turned to a frown quickly. 'Do you smell that?' 

Cabi sniffed the air for a moment, and noticed it too. It was an old scent, but it smelled like.... Deat? What would he be doing here? 

'The fruits still here. He must have taken it and it grew back. But why would he want it?' Cabi mused. Fess picked the fruit, and turned to walk back home. 

'I don't know. Maybe he was sick. But then again, it's Deat.' Fess shuffled slightly. 'I'm sure he was just sick, but I can't help but be worried.' 

'I'm sure it's fine.' Cabi said. They both shook it off by the time they reached home. Fess strode over to King. She gave the fruit to him, and he ate it. 

'You look better but you still need some rest. I'll be off!' Cabi smiled. Fess smiled as well, in Cabis direction. 

'Thanks Cabi.' Fess said. King muttered his thanks as well before he fell asleep. Fess sarcastically rolled her eyes at him, but she looked happy that he was unhurt. As Cabi walked back to the bush she couldn't help but wonder about Deat. 

~

Mira sighed as a Dodomingo, yet again, stole her nest. This was the third time this week. She batted at it, but all it did was make it scream and nest itself further in. 

'Having trouble?' a familiar voice said from behind her. Lupo sat down beside her, an easy grin on his face. 

'It's not like this happens rarely.' Mira said drily, gesturing at the nest. 

Lupo tried to chase the dodomingo away as well, but he also failed.

'You can borrow my nest if you like?' he said eventually. Mira smiled at him. She wasn't getting any younger and she decided it was time to tell him. 

'Lupo, I was wondering if you could be my mate?' she asked calmly. Lupo's fur almost turned red, but he smiled. 

'Sure Mira.' 

The two of them walked together down to the tree, away from the dodomingo screeching. 

(ultra sidecharacters get married yay) 

~

Cheri breathed in, and out. She had dealt with feeling guilty for the past few days, and decided it was time to talk. She spotted Cane sitting by the ocean, idly picking at grass. 

'Hey.' she said. He jumped slightly, but recognised her voice. 

'Hey.' he replied dully. He didn't seem angry now. Cheri wanted to say something more, but couldn't hold back. She just wanted to get straight to the point. 

'So, about me telling you about your mom, Haran, I didn't mea-' Cane quickly cut her off. 

'It's fine. Really. Turns out Lupo knew, but wouldn't tell me and King because he didn't want to ruin any memories we had of her. King was pretty mad, but I guess I understand. I was mad at you at first, but thanks for telling me.' Cane finally looked up at her. He was genuinely sad. Cheri went and sat down beside him. 

'You're welcome, but I should have been.... More careful about the way I said it. Sorry.' Cheri said quietly. Cane nodded, looking back out to sea. Cheri continued softly. 'Sometimes creatures we care about can be kind to us, because they love us, and since you love them back, you can't see all the bad things they've done. Life isn't black and white. No one is just bad and just good. Some creatures can be cruel and kind, and depending on the creature you talk to, they could be amazing or they could be disgusting.'

'You're right.' Cane murmured. 'I'm glad I know now at least' Cane gave a weak smile. 

'Don't get yourself bogged down. Focus on the now.' Cheri smiled, and Canes smile became more genuine. Cheri got up and stood there for a few moments longer before walking off, leaving Cane so he could think. 

[cedarwhisperplaysniche]

Wow I really like this play through! I connect with neoki, because I was always the small one in my family. Anyways, hope you update it soon!

[Stranger]

5 hours ago, cedarwhisperplaysniche said:

Wow I really like this play through! I connect with neoki, because I was always the small one in my family. Anyways, hope you update it soon!

Thanks! (Neoki is actually one of my faves lmao) And I was planning on updating tommorow because I had a pretty busy day today lol. My update schedule is usually every second day. 

[cedarwhisperplaysniche]

K kewl! 

[Stranger]

Also I just saw that this has 3k views like wghat I don't understandf???? eksjbskspmsnskk??? 

[Stranger]

(Short but actiony update lol)

Neoki felt her paws stepping in the soft moss. It had just rained, and Neoki liked it like that. Randi was beside her, much louder than she was. He could have easily walked faster than her, but he purposely kept himself behind. Neoki felt herself sigh. Her brother looked over at her, raising an eyebrow.

'Randi, why can't I run like you?' she didn't mean to ask the question, it just came out like that. Randi scrunched his face up, thinking.

'I don't know. Mum just said you were born like that. She said it meant you had a really big brain.' Neoki couldn't help but smile, even though she felt sad. 

'I know, it's just... some days I wish I could run or hunt like you. I hate getting tired the moment I start doing anything. Even standing up hurts my legs sometimes.' She shuffled slightly. 

'I could help with that.' A hoarse voice said from the bushes. Deat's grinning face appeared. Neoki stiffened, and Randi quickly stood in front of his sister. She pushed Randi gently aside anyway.

'How long have you been listening?' Neoki said stiffly. Deats smile only grew wider.

'Does it matter? I said I could help you.' Deat walked forward. Neoki always knew there was something off about him, about the way his smile didn't reach his eyes.

'No you can't. No one can. I've always been like this.' Her voice felt strange. She was trying to sound strong, but she didn't feel strong. Deat was still coming closer, too close for her own comfort. 

Deat started speaking, but as soon as he was close enough, he lunged. Neoki yelped and managed to move just enough so that he didn't rip open her throat. He lunged again, snarling, but this time Randi jumped at him. 

'Get off me you- ' Deat snarled, throwing Randi off. He put his back to Randi, thinking Randi was knocked out. But Randi got back up to his paws. Neoki was backing away. She couldn't run. They were too far away from camp. But Randi stalked behind Deat. He would never let anyone hurt her. He jumped at Deat, just as he was about to bring a claw down on Neoki. Randi snapped his neck, and knocked him to the ground. Deat lay still, his lifeless eyes unseeing.

Neoki shot forward and hugged Randi, as he buried his face in her fur. Strangely enough, he didn't feel bad that he killed Deat. Was that wrong? It didn't feel wrong to him at all. He was just protecting his sister. Neoki's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

'Randi look.' Neoki pointed at some marks on Deats fur. They looked like fresh scars. She looked at them closer and realised they were caused by a creature, not a bearyena. She felt her stomach turn. Fess told her something about smelling Deat near a healing fruit a few days back. But who would try and hurt Deat? And why? The scars looked pretty deep. Whoever had gave him those, wanted to kill him. And how did this make him want to kill her? He had never hated her before. She glanced over at her brother. He was still covered in blood. Her paws felt weak as she realized what this meant. Randi killed someone who was part of the tribe. That meant he had to die as well, according to tribe rule. No. No, I won't let that happen. Neoki would rather die than watch her brother die because of him protecting her.

[Stranger]

(Debating whether or not I should do another update lol)

[Stranger]

(Nah ill just keep you guys in suspense until tommorow :P. lmao)

[Stranger]

(Currently writing the next update and there is the biggest summer storm out there right now so if I don't update you guys know what happened to me)

[Stranger]

(i just wrote an entire post. and it deleted ITSELF.

 

 

 

Im going to go dig my own grave rn bye.

 

 

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

so yeah next update is tommorow)

[Andromeda_]

2 hours ago, YourLocalStranger said:

(i just wrote an entire post. and it deleted ITSELF.

 

 

 

Im going to go dig my own grave rn bye.

 

 

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

so yeah next update is tommorow)

oh lord-

[Stranger]

(Haha im not stupid anymore, Im typing the next update on google docs)

[Stranger]

Mira looked down at the little bundle of orange fur in her nest. Calypso was a rich orange, and Mira felt like she would be an able runner when she grew up. She reminded Mira of her home, the savannah. Mira turned towards the sound of Lupo coming back from his hunt.

‘Lupo, have you seen Ifi at all today?’ She asked. Ifi wasn’t the leader anymore, and he was getting quite senile, but she still thought he might want to see the second mixed tribe child that wasn’t born out of necessity. Lupo shook his head.

‘I haven’t. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Neoki or Randi either. Maybe those three are finally getting along. He hasn’t really treated them like his children since Neoki became leader.’ Lupo went over and bumped noses with Calypso, to which she gave a delighted squeak. Mira frowned. Ifi was ancient, but also unapologetic, she doubted he would want to right past wrongs now. He wasn’t the type to do that. He hated the fact that Neoki, who was physically weak, was now the leader. Mira doubted if the rest of the tribe actually cared,  but Ifi seemed to find it important. Calypso gave another squeak, and Mira shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to think of such things. She smiled at her family.

‘Well if you do see him, call him over anyway.’ Mira smiled. Lupo nodded and smiled back at her.

~

Cane was shaking like a leaf. Every few seconds he considered dropping the flower he had in his mouth, and running, but somehow he managed to stay. Take deep breaths. He breathed in, and walked over to where Cheri was beside the stream. She was running her paw absentmindedly in the water.

‘Hello.’ Cane said. It’s not like he had anything better to say, but even that came out shaky. Well at least the flower muffled his voice slightly. Cheri yelped and jumped back, almost falling into the stream.

‘Don’t scare me like that! I almost fell in and drowned!’ She joked. She looked down at the flower in his mouth and a sly grin slid onto her face. ‘Who’s that for?’ She teased.

‘You.’ Cane felt like he was about to melt. ‘Can we be mates?’ 

Cheri’s eyes widened, but she grinned.

‘Sure.’ Cheri opened her mouth to say more, but a call from the tree stump interrupted her. It was Neoki, she was calling for a tribe meeting. Cane and Cheri swapped confused glances, but ran to the stump together. 

~

(A little earlier)

‘Wait here.’ Neoki said to Randi with all the confidence she didn’t feel. They were outside where Ifi usually slept. Neoki didn’t particularly like the father she never talked to, but he was clever enough, and maybe he could make sense of the situation. She walked in, and found he was sleeping. At the sound of her pawsteps, he stirred but kept his eyes closed.

‘Did you finish the job Deat? Took you long enough’ Ifi muttered. Neoki froze. What job? If Ifi found out she wasn’t Deat, she might never find out. Besides, she was all too suspicious of everyone after Deat had just tried to kill her. She quietly cleared her throat and did her best to make her voice sound deep and raspy.

‘Yeah. All done’ She didn’t say much. Less chance of being discovered. Right now, she was thanking all the spirits above, and all the Gods she didn’t really believe existed that Ifi was slightly hard of hearing. If he could hear well, she would have been found out immediately.

‘Hmm. Good. Now Randi will be leader. Never really liked him, but I liked that weak brat even less. You can go now, I won’t try and kill you again.’ Ifi said. That last part must have been a joke. Surely. Neoki knew in her heart that it wasn’t. Suddenly all the pieces of the puzzle slid together.

‘Father?’ She felt herself say weakly. Ifi’s eyes snapped open, but all he saw was Neoki’s eyes narrowing, and her running off. He got up to go after her, but Randi stopped him, snarling. Neoki jumped up onto the tree stump, and called for a tribe meeting. 

Someone wanted her dead.

And it wasn’t Deat.

~

(Now)

Most of the tribe was pretty close, so they all gathered within the minute. Randi was back beside her, and Ifi was nearby as well. His eyes were full of malice. Neoki called for silence, taking a deep breath.

‘Someone has made an attempt on my life.’ Immediately everyone burst into confused and worried murmurs. Suspicious eyes looked to Randi, as he was still covered in blood. ‘But it wasn’t Randi.’ She felt herself blurt out. Unprofessional, she knew, but she wasn’t going to let anyone think Randi had tried to hurt her. Neoki explained everything. How Deat attacked her. How Randi protected her. The scars they found on Deat, made by a creature. The things Ifi said. And finally, what she thought this all meant. ‘I think Ifi hurt Deat so bad, he could have died. He threatened Deat to do a task for him, or else he would leave him there.If Deat agreed to the deal, Ifi would tell him where the healing plant was. Deat had to agree, as he was new and didn’t know where the healing plant was. The deal was that Deat would kill me, for Ifi.’

The crowd went silent. It made sense. Heads slowly turned towards Ifi. Ifi knew he was done for. He couldn’t win, but maybe he could take someone down with him. Make Neoki pay.

‘Tell me, what is the penalty for murder?’ Ifi said, his voice dripping with fake sweetness.

‘Death.’ Neoki answered without hesitation. It was a crude law, but just, as it discouraged anyone from trying to do such a horrible thing. The tribe law had not been changed since Talian’s time, it was that old.

‘Then me and Randi shall have to die.’ Ifi said in mock sorrow.

‘Randi?! He’s innocent!’ Neoki’s face twisted into a scowl at Ifi’s words. It looked wrong on her too-young face.

‘Did you forget he killed Deat?’ Ifi hissed, his voice full of venom. 

‘That was different! He-’ Neoki started saying, but Randi interrupted her.

‘Yeah! That was different! I was only protecting my sister!’ Randi snarled. There was rage in his eyes.

‘You could have protected her by restraining him. But you didn’t. You killed him. You -as well as I- are guilty!’ Ifi spat. Neoki’s head was spinning. That was different! She was trying to collect her thoughts when someone behind her interrupted the argument. It was Kendyll.

‘They both are guilty of murder and attempted murder. Circumstances don’t matter. The tribe law is clear.’ Kendyll said. Neoki cursed him. He always stuck so rigidly to the rules. She was sure that if it was his family, he wouldn’t act like this.

‘Randi is still young! Death is too harsh!’ She said desperately. 

‘Actions have consequences.’ Kendyll said in monotone. The tribe seemed to be split. Some murmured their agreement, while others loudly disagreed. Neoki couldn’t let the tribe split, but she couldn’t let her brother die either. Everything was too loud, the arguing, the disagreeing. A thought came to Neoki’s head. It was not what she would wish for, ever, but it was better than death.

‘Randi is too young for death.’ She repeated. Her voice was trembling. ‘So instead of death…he should permanently leave the tribe.’ The rest of the tribe agreed. Death was too harsh. But all Neoki could see was the betrayal gleaming in her brother’s eyes.

‘I should be exiled too. My crime is as serious as his.’ Ifi leapt at his chance. Neoki glared at him.

‘Fine!’ She snapped. ‘Just go!’ Ifi took his chance, and ran. Ifi was old, it would be a miracle if he survived two days outside of camp. She tried to turn to Randi. Tried to explain to him that this was all she could do. But Randi looked as if he made up his mind.

‘I protected you! And now you're exiling me?! Well I'll make you pay! I'll make you all pay!’ Randi screamed, as he turned away, tears in his eyes. Neoki could only watch as Randi disappeared into the unknown. The crowd dispersed behind her. Someone patted her shoulder. She didn’t realise Fess was calling her name until the third time she said it. But Neoki didn’t turn to Fess. She kept staring, and she felt as cold and empty as the wilderness on this deadly isle.

[Stranger]

(damn, that was pretty heavy

here, have an apple to cheer you up :D)

 

[Stranger]

(also updated the first post with some trigger warnings just in case :))

[Stranger]

(I'll update this soon, I promise-)

[Stranger]

It had been a few moons since the exiling, and life had returned to normal. Kendyll looked down at his sister, squirming in the nest, her fur a bright orange. Mother told him to meet her, but he was already counting the seconds until he could leave. He didn’t really get the point of spending time with a kit, they were too young for anything, really. 

‘Me and your father thought that Alia would be a good name. What do you think?’ Meda said, her eyes filled with love as she looked at Alia.

‘That sounds good.’ Kendyll said, trying to keep the boredom out of his voice. He would much prefer to be doing something useful for the tribe. Mother always said he worked much too hard for a creature his age, but Kendyll didn’t think so. He always went to Neoki to ask what needed doing, even though it was quite obvious she detested his presence. He didn’t mind.

‘Kenny, is everything alright?’ Meda asked. Her voice was slightly concerned, a small frown forming on her face.

‘Everything is fine. You are always worrying for no reason Mother.’ Kendyll didn’t really like the nickname his mother used for him, but it seemed to make her happy, so he let her use it.

‘You’re much too uptight. From now on you have to spend some time every day with Alia. She’s such a happy kit, maybe you’ll start to relax a bit. You’re too young to act like this.’ Meda said firmly. It would do her son some good, to relax and take things easy. She was much more worried than she let on, really. Kenny didn’t act like either of his parents in the slightest, he barely showed any emotion, and he rigidly stuck to the rules. His mind was always on helping the tribe, and Meda had frayed her nerves trying to figure out why. She hoped this would help, though she wasn’t blind, and saw the flicker of irritation in Kendyll’s eyes. But he didn’t complain. He never complained. That worried her the most.

~ 

King trotted towards where Fess usually stayed. It was one specific berry bush that she claimed had better tasting berries than anywhere else. So she claimed. He arrived at the bush, his tail swishing calmly on the ground, but she wasn’t there. A quick glance around, and he saw her rooting around in a flower patch headfirst. Normally he would have teased her about how silly she looked, rooting around like that, but his mouth was full with what he was carrying. King made a loud humming noise, and Fess immediately shot up out of the patch. Her face was covered in pollen, and some flowers were stuck to her fur, and King couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He dropped the thing he was holding, and went to pick it up. 

‘Oh, King.’ Fess smiled, before quickly looking like she just remembered something important. ‘Uh, go away.’

‘What? why?’ King smirked, but his voice was muffled. There was no meanness in Fess’s voice, and once he said that, she started rooting even faster. King quickly stiffened though, as he smelt something on the wind. Fess smelt it too, and shot up, already taking a few wary steps back nearer to the camp. But she wasn’t quick enough. 

A snarling bearyena leapt out at them, going for Fess. King immediately dropped what he was holding, and with a roar he threw himself at the bearyena.

It snarled and fought back, but it was half starved and quickly realised it wasn’t winning this fight. It ran off whining, and King stood triumphant, his chest puffed out.

‘HA’ He exclaimed. Fess walked towards his voice.

‘If you’ve gotten yourself hurt in any way, I’m gonna finish off that bearyenas job.’ Fess said, half-joking, half-actually worried. As she walked she tripped over what King was holding. She sniffed the air, and a look of puzzlement crossed her face. ‘That's domingo meat. My favourite. What’s it doing here?’

‘I actually got it for you. Yeah.’ King saud, awkwardly shuffling his paws for a second. Fess raised an eyebrow and started laughing. 

‘I got something for you too! Let me find it.’ Fess sniffed around and finally picked up a flower. It was a dull greyish blue colour, and looked slightly wilted. ‘I’m sorry, but I had no clue whether it looked nice or not, so here you go, it’s your problem now.’ King grinned and they swapped gifts. 

‘It looks great! Thanks.’ He didn’t really care for the flower, he cared more about the fact that Fess gave it to him. He tucked it behind his ear. ‘So uh, I gave that to you because I wanted to tell you something.’

‘Me too actually’ Fess gave a nervous smile. ‘Let's say it together?’ 

‘Do you want to be my mate?’ Fess said quickly.

‘Can we be mates?’ King sputtered. They both stood still for a moment before laughing out loud. 

‘WHO would ever want to be mates with YOU?’ Fess joked sarcastically.

‘You, apparently.’ King hugged her, a grin on his face. They walked back to the camp together, laughing and joking the entire way.

~

Neoki sat and sighed. She was sorting rocks. Again. For the fifth time that day. It had been months, why couldn’t she stop feeling like this? Sorting rocks brought her some peace at least. She felt like she could make things right and in perfect order. She had finished all the duties of leader that she was unprepared for, for the day. She pointedly ignored the steps padding closer to her, thinking it was Kendyll. 

‘Neoki? You’re here, right?’ It was Fess’s voice. Neoki sighed and turned around. At least she didn't have to fake confidence with Fess, Fess couldn't see Neoki’s unhappy face. All she had to do was keep her voice cheerful.

‘Here. Do you need anything?’ She asked quickly, kicking the rocks away. Fess smiled.

‘No. I just wished to talk to you. How are you feeling?’ Fess said, and Neoki stopped herself from groaning. Sometimes creatures asked her this, and she always felt frustrated. She didn’t know!

‘Fine.’ Neoki lied. Fess saw right through her. She went and sat down beside Neoki, and Neoki leant against the older creature. At that moment Fess was quiet. She began to speak, quietly.

‘You know Neoki, I know more than most about what it’s like being leader. And from what I know, It’s lonely.’ Fess gently leant against Neoki. ‘And you don’t have to do this alone. All leaders need help.’ Neoki knew Fess wasn’t just talking about being leader. She was talking about how Neoki was alone now, Randi exiled by her own word. 

‘Thank you.’ She whispered to Fess. ‘I promise I’ll remember that.’ She didn’t feel truly fixed, but there was that little part of her that felt better at Fess’s words.

[Stranger]

(Kind of short update)

Randi padded through the wet grass. His rage hadn’t lessened over those few moons, at the tribe that had exiled him. But then again rage didn’t fill your belly. Randi dropped down into a crouch, stalking a rabbit. Back when he was with the tribe he never had to worry about food, but now he didn’t even know when he would get his next meal. He was much, much thinner than earlier, and he was so hungry right now it almost made him sick. He just had to catch this rabbil…. Suddenly, something scared the rabbil away. Randi still leapt forward, trying to catch it, but he failed. Instead, he found a bearyena stalking quietly in the grass.

After one fear-filled moment, Randi realised it wasn’t stalking him. It was facing away from him, looking at a dodomingo. Randi tried to quietly sneak away, but that stupid bird had to squawk and run off. The bearyena snarled and looked around, its eyes locking on Randi. For a second, they stood there, their eyes locked. And then Randi sprinted away. The rain was almost a storm now, and Randi cursed it. He could barely see ahead of him, but he knew the bearyena was following him. As he was running he didn’t notice the boulder looming ahead of him. He ran into it, the impact throwing him to the ground. His snout hurt like crazy, and he was sure it was bleeding, but he ran forward and jumped onto the rock, ignoring the pain. It was only thanks to how thin he was that he was able to scramble up onto the rock. He sat there in the rain as the bearyena circled him. More slowly came out of the grass, the scent of blood attracting them. Randi whimpered and curled himself further up. He hated feeling so powerless, so scared. It wasn’t the first time that he started cursing the tribe that exiled him.

~

Kendyll looked calmly out to sea. He was sitting on the beach, Alia playing nearby. Dark clouds gathered on the horizon, it looked as if it was going to rain. Maybe a storm. He walked over to Alia and picked her up by the scruff. She protested a little but he ignored her. As they were walking home, Alia started complaining about something or another, and since Kenny kept ignoring her she wriggled out of his grasp and ran. 

‘Alia.’ He called after her, forced to run in her direction. The rain started coming down gently. ‘Come back here!’ Irritation crept into Kendyll’s voice. Alia always did this! She never listened! Just before Kendyll reached her, he heard a squeak, and Alia disappeared from view. He ran forward, alarmed, and saw a river where Alia was barely hanging onto a branch on the bank. The rain came down harder now. Kendyll could hear the worried calls of his mother and father. He couldn’t answer them, as he leant down and tried to pick Alia up. He just about managed to set her down on the bank, when it gave out from under him, the rain making everything slippery and dangerous. Alia screamed and tried to catch him, but Kendyll had already slipped down. The cold water surrounded him, silt stopping him from seeing, water filling his eyes his ears his nose. He struggled up and caught a breath of air before being pulled down again. The water started tasting salty. The part of his brain that wasn’t petrified to the point of not working, realised he must be out at sea now.

He pushed back up, and this time managed to stay above the water. The shore wasn’t far away, but the storm raged all around him, trying to pull him down forever. Kendyll gasped for air and tried to swim forward, but he was too weak. Did something grab at his back paw? The world started to go grey. Kendyll pawed uselessly at the water, but it didn’t stop him from sinking down, down, down….

 

After the storm

 

The moment Shee spotted him, he bolted forward, calling everyone over. Kenny, his Kenny was lying on the beach, unmoving apart from an occasional shiver. Strangely enough, the moment Shee reached him, Kendyll slowly turned towards him. Shee hefted Kendyll onto his back, making sure to avoid the spikes, just as Meda came over.

‘Im fine…’ Kendyll quietly protested, but everyone believed that wasn’t true. Meda comforted her son as they walked back to camp. Cabi had become the resident healer, during the time she was here, and she looked him over. She shook her head, puzzled.

‘He must have been thrown out onto shore pretty early. Apart from bumps and scrapes, he’s not injured. There doesn’t look to be any water in his lungs either. He’ll be fine in a couple of days.’ Cabi said slowly.

Was he really thrown out onto shore early? Kendyll didn’t know, but he honestly didn’t care. He was alive. And the air had never tasted so sweet. Alia hung around nearby, guiltily looking at her paws. Kendyll gave her a weak smile, and Alia’s eyes widened in surprise. Kendyll almost never smiled. She bounded forward and curled up against him to warm him up. He didn’t push her away.

~

Thanks to all the commotion, Tor’s and Ista's births were overlooked mostly. Tor was a big kit, and strong for his age. Calypso immediately walked up to him and hugged him, to which he squeaked loudly.

‘He’s too young for playing.’ Mira chuckled.

‘Aw.’ Calypso frowned at the little kit. ‘Well, I’ll play with you when you’re older, then.’

Ista didn't really respond much. Her parents would coo at her, but she would only react when she saw them moving, or their paws were moving. Cabi checked on her, and confirmed the kit was deaf. Cane frowned a little, already worried for her, but Cheri reassured him. Ista would be happy, they would make it happen.

 

[Stranger]

(side characters are born lol)

[Stranger]

(I was planning to update tommorow but I'll be in Dublin all day tommorow so I can't do that :(. Maybe I'll update today) 

[Stranger]

Yeahhhhh my update ''''''schedule'''''''' is all over the place, I'm sorry for not updating, I'll try and scrape some motivation from the bottom of the barrel, the only thing I've really been able to work on is art and its not even Niche art so D,: