Asterians

Chapter 5 - Whisperings of Radiance

Something rustled behind me, and immediately I was on edge. A creature must have spotted me and just wants to see if I'm a threat towards them. I thought, and turned around to the rustling. My heart lurched, hoping that no creature would have to be harmed in the process of making out of this forest alive. What I saw though surprised me even more. A small, pink eyed creature rose from the depths of the lavender tinted flora. The first thing I noticed from the creature was the eyes. They were a peachy color just like that-

Oh no that Tufted Machin followed me here! The mother must be in outrage right now! I thought as the adolescent came towards me. He rubbed himself against me, which from my observations of the species meant family. Family? I had only known the adolescent for a few minutes at most, so why was it so acquainted with me? The mother must be nearby, so I have to search the area and find it. Hopefully the adolescent wasn't going to cause troubles in the future, so I kept him by my side.

He trotted closely next to me, and I could now just watch the changes in his skin from when he first appeared in front of me. Slowly his skin turned into a vibrant blue like most other creatures that dwelled within the forest. His pink eyes weren't affected, which was perplexing to me. Why wouldn't it change at least a little bit or at least become a shade lighter? It could be possible the reason that they weren't changing was that he was here beforehand, but that wouldn't explain anything. I couldn't ask the Machin anyway, due to not having the ability of speech like most people. 

At least that's what the logs have dated, but as much as the assassins know about creatures there must be details gotten wrong. Years ago they said the Screeching Isra was no way related to the Griffons on planet Duoasis but new studies show that they indeed many years ago split into two evolutionary branches. The Griffons preferred the cliffs while the Isras preferred the desert like region, closer towards the water. The only time their paths would've crossed in recent times is when the Griffons head down for mating season, but that is once every few years because of their long lives. 

As we walked forward, the trees started condescending on the dirt path laid out before me. The glowing leaves fluttered away from the trees as they fell, slowly losing the bio luminescence due to it relying on the tree's life. Once a creature or flora's life presence faded away, so did their glow. The bacteria living on that creature in a symbiotic relations faded away into nothing as the bacteria slowly fell into the descent of death. It was peaceful, knowing that they didn't harm each other through life and only helped each other prosper, to come out on top.

Some bacteria in the forest is able to shift from creature to creature, but they aren't in a symbiotic relationship with each other. The bacteria is parasitic, slowly eating away at the creature until they are weak and unable to continue on in life. They leap from creature to creature, until they land on a creature that will survive past it. The Glisten Snarl is one of these creatures that aren't affected by the parasites. Their species have thrived for many generations, back before they ever had gotten their long teeth in the front.

I think they look like a sky blue version of those prehistoric creatures from the planet Earth with longer tails. I believed they are called Smilodon's, but I never hear that name when I research it on the archives in base. They are usually referenced by the name of Sabertooth Tigers, however they don't look anything like the true tigers of Earth. The true tigers are majestic creatures, born to fight and hunt since the moment they were around 6 months old. Those Smilodon's don't have any history dating back on them before they went extinct in the archives. I would've loved to learn about a creature that was extinct like that, surely wouldn't have survived during the modern era? Humans seem to like taking care of creatures that were evolved over time to encompass certain traits that they liked and if they didn't like a certain trait, well that animal wouldn't be able to breed. At least that's what the archives said, and I base my knowledge of a planet I've only been able to go to once on.

I stopped suddenly, hearing a crackling noise in the distance. I got down low, though I hoped my scent wouldn't be able to be smelt from where the noise was coming from. It could've been anything really because this forest had such diverse creatures that you couldn't predict what was happening if you tried. The adolescent Machin behind me stared at me curiously, and looked over the bushes I was hiding behind. He started snorting and stomping the ground violently, alerting me to the danger lurking on the other side of the bush. 

After studying the Machin's from a distance for quite a while, I could discern that the snorting meant there was danger around and the stomping was for suspicious activity. How stupid of me not to notice his signals earlier! I thought to myself, knowing that the adolescent would've been making the sounds from a quarter mile of a way because of their impeccable hearing.

I placed my hand on Tizona's sheath. I decided to get Tizona at the ready to pull out and fight with. No matter how strong these bioluminescent creatures were, they weren't anything to my strength built up over the years, especially with Tizona's reaper like blood shedding over the years. I peered out over the bush and my heart lurched at the sight. The adolescent's mother getting eaten by a Glisten Snarl after searching for her child.