The Nuclear Reign of Strottimar [Part 1]

Chapter 13; Several Species and a Disease

Dawn swept Strottimar fast, too fast for my body or my eye's liking. When I emerged, rubbing my eyes, I was startled awake by a soft purring and small claws in my chest. I flinched hard, leaping from my nest while a wail as a blur of black fur darted from my chest and scrambled under the branch serving as my table. With my hands shaking, I held my hair out of my eyes as I leaned down to see a black cat, with sapphire eyes and a tail tucked between his legs underneath my branch. With a sigh, I scoffed and straightened myself. "Egliptie," I muttered to myself. "I house and egliptie now, that's right." I scratched the back of my head before brushing down my clothes, my day clothes from yesterday that I'd still been wearing. What hour was it? How late was I out, what-

I bent back down, my hands on my knees to comfort Ryu, still startled under my table as I spoke softly. "You weren't here when I got back last night, were you?" I said in Tebanthian as his dilated pupils focused on me before his furs lay flat and he liked a paw, brushing it over his ear with a low grumble. I let out a sigh and began to fix my hair, sitting back down on my nest and thinking about all that's happened. I changed into fresh clothes and neatened my hair over in the nice silence as Ryu finally emerged from under the table of branches with a mrow. I stopped and looked over my shoulder down at him with a smile. "I'd suppose you'd want clothes for the day too, hm? Well," I thought, he was certainly a lot smaller than myself, none of my own clothes seemed suiting, the greens, golds, and warm browns weren't even his color, yet, I guessed it would have to do.

Digging through my stash of organized clothes hung up on assorted woven knots and branches weaved around my loft, I finally found a good enough looking outfit and turned to see him already sitting on my nest, in his form from before with my cloak around his shoulders. His sapphire eyes met mine as I smiled and laid the clothes down beside him. "I'll give you a few of my collectings to trade down at the market today," I said, taking my cloak back from his shoulders and turning to hang it up as he began to dress. "I- I've got to meet Xander. In fact, it's already late, I should go now-" The Sun had already woken a ways beyond the canopy line as I pushed down a sense of urgent panic in me. "Will you be alright? I'd prefer it if you'd stay here today, and not go running off again like last night. I like to know where you are."

"I wasn't anywhere last night." he spoke for the first time this morning half playfully as I put my hands on my hips and gave him that look. "Well, you certainly weren't here when I got back." I pointed at the floor as he tilted his head. "I might've run into a friend..." he uttered as I let out a short exhale and fixed my feathers. "That's fine but, can we make a deal?" I set my eyes to his as he shyly nodded. "No bringing any friends or anyone of the sort here, you got it? The elders aren't very happy with me right now, I don't intend to start anything else. Does that make sense?" I stated clearly, setting a foot down as he nodded again. "Good, I'll be back in a bit. There's a bin under the nest of things you can trade down in the market. Don't be too tactless, please." I remarked before beginning to wrangle my way through the entrance and out to the main branch as Ryu yowled out some noise that I could only assume was a farewell in his own words.

I made my way across the branches of the canopy swiftly to the south-western end where I found my way to the doctor branch, where Porter always was. I got a whiff of Xander's familiar smell in the morning air as I proceeded onwards, only bumping into another figure on my way down the branch. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry-"

"It's all good," she said quickly, on her way in as well as I passed to let her go. "After you, please."

"Oh, oh no I was the one that bumped into you, I insist!" she boasted. She was a bluejay breed, with fine brown skin and black hair strictly tied back that was smooth up until the ribbon where it was tied, were it all frized up in a great puffy mass at the end. Her eyes were hydrangea blue, as her wings and even brighter color, shown brightly in the morning's glow. She was awfully pretty, I didn't say anything and instead scurried quickly inside as she'd told me to go first and embarrassingly stepped aside to let her in after me.