Beauty and The Beasts: Rain

9. Holmes, Watson, and The Mascot

      Winston was not the most intelligent beast, but he has experienced a lot in his almost 50 years of life.  Having been in the City of Flame during his younger years, he participated in mining crystals.  Crystals were used to trade for water, the most precious resource that the desert dwelling city had.

     While mining, Winston had stumbled across his fair share of black crystals.  Having had experienced the memories that are contained in each crystal, he considered the possibility of such a crystal impacting Rain's thoughts.  He had never been moved by the memories inside the crystals, even the more violent ones.  Winston wondered if Rain could be more susceptible to the influence because she was female or because she lacked experience.

     Winston decided to worry about the how later and instead focus on the what.  "Rain, have you come across any black crystals since you have left the city?" Questioned Winston.  Rain's eyebrow's furrowed in contemplation.  She knew of black crystals thanks to the Legacy and Winston's teachings during her adolescent years, so she could guess as to why he was asking.

     After thinking about it for a moment, Rain shook her head.  She had not come across any that she was aware of.  Third fidgeted for a moment before questioning, "Why black crystals?"  Rain turned her head towards her somewhat slow brother.  "Black crystals contain memories from beasts who have died.  We were taught this before, when we were younger," responded Rain.

     Winston nodded, withholding a sigh.  Teaching Rain and her sister had been too easy compared to the leopard cubs, especially this one.  Third tended to get distracted easily and couldn't focus long enough to be taught with words.

     "Oh. Okay," responded Third.  "Why bring it up now?"  Asked a confused Third.  Rain and Winston both sighed.  Third was not the quickest wit in the room and the two beasts knew that.  "Winston must believe I have been influenced by those memories," stated Rain.

     Rain glanced towards Winston for confirmation and he nodded his head.  Pondering Rain's response, Winston couldn't help feeling disappointed.  Had Rain's situation been caused by a black crystal, it would have been easy to fix.  He would only need to remove or destroy the crystal.

     Third pondered for a bit before randomly tapping his fingers on her sunning stone.  "Black crystals are not found in colossus right?"  Started Third.  "Wouldn't Rain have had to mine them?"

     Two sets of eyes watched the leopard before they fell on the stone Rain was perched on.  Rain descended from her stony throne eyeing it wearily.  "Winston, is it possible?"  Inquired Rain skeptically.  "Would the crystals have such a strong effect if the contact wasn't direct?"

     Winston, gaze also locked on the stone, responded.  "I am not sure."  Winston thought about it.  If the crystal was large enough or many smaller crystals were gathered together, it could potentially influence a beast.  "But it might be possible."

     Rain lifted her still transformed tail and positioned it above her favorite stone, a bit sad at the loss. Before she could bring her tail down, Winston shifted.  Eyeing Rain quizzically he lifted his large paw over the stone.  Understanding the unasked question, Rain retracted her tail.

     Rain didn't want to be in contact with something that was influencing her thoughts, even if it meant relenting the task to Winston.  Winston brought his paw down and smashed her sunning stone into pieces.

     Once the dust settled, Winston thoroughly checked the rubble before shaking his large furry head.  Disappointed that her her stone's destruction was for nought, Rain looked between the two male beasts before heading back to her den.  Once there, she eyed her surroundings with a scrutinizing gaze.

     The sunning stone, crevice, creek, and her den were the places she spent the most time.  The creek seemed the most unlikely, as she didn't always drink or bathe in the same spot, especially during the rainy season.  She only used the crevice to lure her prey into while hunting and spent the least time there.  Her sunning stone is now dead and relieved of suspicion.  If black crystals were the cause of her unusual and hostile thoughts, her den was the most likely place to contain them.

     Rain trailed her eyes from the unassuming entrance to the plain interior.  Her favorite nest located above her eye level carved out of the uppermost part of the wall.  It was a snug fit for her beast form, but she did not mind.  The closed space brought comfort to her.

     Rain assessed her diminished stock of herbs and sparse furs.  She usually ate her prey whole, fur and all.  She had to hunt separately for furs and didn't want to risk her life if it wasn't necessary.  Her second nest, located below the ground close to her den's entrance, was primarily used in the cold season.

     Other than straw, dried grass, and a few poorly made bowls and baskets, Rain's den had very little.  The two male beasts looked sadly at the state of Rain's den, having also glanced it over while Rain did so.

     Turning to Rain, still in his beast form, Winston silently asked for permission to continue.  Rain nodded her head in understanding, giving the male permission to enter.  Winston had a difficult time maneuvering in the small den with his large form, but he needed the keener senses his beast form possessed.

     Winston sniffed every corner of the den he could reach and used his claws to tap along the walls.  He listened keenly but hadn't heard any changes in the sound.  After several minutes of probing the walls Winston stopped near her primary nest.  The whole time, Rain's senses were sharp and glued to the tiger in front of her.

     Rain was slightly miffed that her den may be destroyed today, but she could always create another.   There was still enough time before the cold season for her to search out a new one.  That being said, she was certain she could learn something useful from watching the wiser beastman and wanted to gain whatever she could from this experience.

     The leopard, not understanding what was going on, decided to stand guard outside.  He wasn't sure why Winston was making "music" in Rain's den, but figured it must be important somehow.  Third's thoughts wondered, recalling stories of "instruments" and "songs" that his mother used to tell him about.  Lost in thought, Third didn't notice how much time passed, but sharpened his senses when Winston stopped making sound.

     Winston lifted a paw and tapped a long sharp claw against the stone in front of him. Thud.  A sound different than the usual ping rang out.  Turing his gaze to Rain, he tapped again on the stone wall.  Rain approached the wall, lightly slapping her tail on different parts of the wall before hitting the wall in front of Winston.  Sure enough, the wall beneath her overhead den sounded different; hollower.

     Feeling uneasiness Rain backed away from the wall until she was at the entrance of her den.  Taking her actions as acceptance, Winston carefully dug his claw into the wall.  He wasn't sure if he could preserve Rain's den, but he wanted to try and leave it mostly whole.