Hail Primus

Camlopticus

The creature was unlike any I had seen before becoming an Avatar. I was walking toward the Navel Lake, near central Caprice. Then there it was... a she... my avatar senses picked it up. There were a few others near me I noticed, not all of them were furry. Some of them were humans, but she was not. She was an anthropomorphic, not a creature. I first reckoned a lake otter, but not lither as a ferret was, yet she wasn't what I would call lithe, she was full out. I saw the flat tail and knew she wasn't a full otter. I saw through the water that she was a crossbreed, with a beaver tail. Her four front teeth weren't so buck teethed though they did protrude down a little.
My senses drilled down to the bare bones, all her history and implanted it in my mind. I knew everything, every little piece, nuance, flaw. I put my information aside and went toward the lake past the two humans sitting there. They weren't paying any attention but were talking amongst themselves looking toward the road into the forest. One was an older man and the other was younger, maybe a teenager. I didn't use my sense on them, though I picked everything up. I otherwise ignored them and went toward the lake.
I felt a need to get into the lake and go out there. Then I noticed there were a few other creatures enjoying the lake. A crocodile, anthropomorphic, then what seemed to be fish creatures and crustacean anthromorphs, crawfish anthromorphs. There was an otter otherwise, but he was on the other side and a few humans walking around far across the lake on the path there. I saw a few frog morphs moving in and about the water and a lizard morph. I ignored them as well and jumped in with my red gold clasped robe on.
I came past the others in turn and past her. The water was cool but pleasant and the current was lax except when the Navel River entered and emptied with it. I came out on the other side of path there. I picked up a unique sense from the south west and knew I had a short time to meet up with the target of my sense there. I did not want to attract too much attention by blinking out entirely at first so I looked around.
At that side of the lake I came out of was a changing house so I walked in and started to remove my robe and was holding it out rushing air around it when she came in. I knew this was going to happen so at the split second she came in I hesitated and she closed the door behind her and looked at me.
"Hey, what are you doing?" My exclamation came out as startled as I could make it sound.
She didn't say anything but looked at me indifferently and then went about to pull off her purple one piece suit. I pondered at the indecency factor here but I knew about it and saw it wasn't more public as it was common practice behind any closed doors as such. She didn't seem to care and removed her suit completely and had her bare furry body there. I balked at her body, between chubby and firm, almost perfect, good sized breasts, round belly, chubby thighs and chubby face but all held the chubbiness firmly but enough to put a great jiggle to her step. She looked in no general direction and started to wring out her bathing suit.
After wringing it out pretty good she stopped and looked at me and smiled. The moment passed by awkward at first but, after a few moments, became less. I didn't expect this at all. I could surmise that if I was human that particular situation was all the more awkward.
She turned toward me squarely giving all the more liveliness to her form and started wringing out her suit again letting the water splash on the slotted matting. I chose not to speak to her yet. I knew that the matters would come later, the seed was planted.
She went past me and picked up the bundle of her clothes and started to don them. These were consistent of a white shirt with a tight read partial blouse underneath that came up to the tops of her breast and down to below her navel. She put on a light white dress below that and started for the door but stopped turned toward me for a moment, "Maybe I'll see you in town."
"Hmm... Maybe..." I remarked and put back on my robe. When she left and my robe was again dry, I blinked out teleporting away.

General Cv'ince Hedin acquired the complete control of most of Caprice several years ago when Jyiri was eighteen. Hedin was the North West lord of Caprice, one of five. The method and terms of which he did it were that Jyiri was to 'seem' to remain in control on the outside. Hedin had taken up residence in the beautiful Palace of the Grass plains forty five skylines south of Duorgnak territory. He wasn't a weasel, he wasn't a fox, he wasn't a rat, he was a duck, called the silver mallard because of the shine of the feathers in the moonlight that otherwise shown light gray in the daytime. His specific markings of his species of mallard were very rare and his sight usually brought awe to all but the strongest of minds. On the other paw, stealth wasn't his best quality during the evening.
King Jyiri was a king not by inheritance. In fact, Jyiri was the king from the beginning and a puppet used by Hedin. The way this happened was a story in itself but came in the more prominent end of his Lordship over Indalor. Hedin came to Jyiri's poor palace in his more northerly land at the Caprice Estuaries. He stayed at Jyiri's palace for several weeks. Then suddenly messengers went to the remaining three lords. Nothing was heard of for another further weeks and sudden rumors of civil war started to break out. Then the lords came to the palace and Jyiri was coroneted by the High Synthician Qamnihan. Hedin then stayed at the Palace incognito and left his concubine to look after things in his homeland.
The land flourished, but the breathing room for everyone diminished as the laws of a Dictator came down upon everyone. While the silver mallard wasn't the typical dictator, speaking out against him remained one of the core laws for harsh punishment. The people, except his concubine and Jyiri and those closest to them, were the only ones who knew Hedin was what he was.
He was allied with the Saynajaus of Hale Forth and this provided all the military backing to keep the Duorgnaks from declaring all out war, and anyone from rising against him on the inside. The result was spies and assassins and General Hedin had his fair share and all were put to a quick death. He did not care for or against Ziyvur and Michi Gimiguchi and as such did not hire assassins himself but harbored the assassins the Saynajaus used to hit at them. Hedin would provide the transportation for them through the neighboring Lord of the land south west, Veirn of Reuai.
We were at the south east part of that land at the moment, a few Skylines north of the border to Ezen Land. I had put forward a light request amongst Odaira and Jaze along with the others. The takers were Gesh, Eckstal, Sidge, and Jacob Gibbens along with Odaira. Sidge convinced Sandis to stay as well though I couldn't say I wouldn't be able to use her. Jaze chanced to go ahead and return back to get Michi back to his Clinic from Xixzok. I had instructed her not to make Lord Power mad by eradicating Xixzok on sight, of which she agreed.
"What about Odaira?" Jaze asked me in an aside.
"What about her?" I knew what was going to be asked but I played along.
"She is probably the best all around with Ziyvur. Can she be a goddess?" Jaze asked.
"After Hale Forth," I said to her.
She frowned but her frown stopped as she reflected on something distant and obscure looking preoccupied in thought, "Make sure Sidge doesn't swallow Camyey too far. Oh that is cute!"
"Shush shush," I put my finger against her Cait snout and she snapped at it with a mewl causing me to withdraw my gesture quickly.
"Could you give Michi my apologies and offer him to be taken to where the others are? Of course, after you do that offer him to stay with my promise that he can go back and forth and I won't harm him much anymore. Tell him Lady Explore and Dream won't like him to come to general harm as they love him too much," I told her and she gave a warm Cait grin.
She twitched her tail and ears and bowed at me in a slow cute bow before vanishing.
I came up to Sidge and Sandis, "I want to see more of Michi's devices someday."
Sidge chuckled and Sandis nodded, "A stomach pump actually is enjoyable if it's from him."
"Really?" Sidge asked hir coming closer and shi looked at him then back at me.
I walked away to Odaira and Eckstal who were talking with each other. Gesh was over against a tree using a sharpening stone. He wore a leather tunic over a leather coat and tight leather trousers.
Jacob Gibbens has climbed his way up on a sturdy oak a few trees away from Gesh. I looked around the vicinity we were in. It was a good few tree lengths away from the road that came down around there and branched off to narrow and head down into Ezen country or widen out to make its way back up toward Navel Lake to the south where I was earlier.
We were waiting for Jyiri's carriage to come around the road there. We were in the gradual job into a small semi gully to the south called Donrein. A little Creek ran through here and widened out to make a little waterfall.
"Ias, did you actually eat that much?" Eckstal asked and she was taking notes with pieces of charcoal on a piece of parchment.
"Yes, about several hundred gryphons," I told Eckstal and she scratched on the parchment.
Gesh chuckled and I came up to him and he looked up and he handed me the small weapon that ended up being a throwing knife. Then south of us a group of ground squirrels came walking in toward the other end and saw the gleaming object and stared at me. I handed it back to Gesh and he kept sharpening it. The Squirrels diverted away trudging through the forest to the east of us and I looked at Gesh and he got up and went down to where they entered and looked after them, his hand on the hilt of his sword he carried. He came back up to me fast and I held up my hand to keep him from speaking and I added, "They are getting away pretty quick huh?"
"Is there anyone around here to alert," Gesh asked.
"There is. The border patrol. Hedin likes to distribute them along the border so he can gloat about it, though he doesn't care about this area, they are more than likely with Jyiri," Odaira reported.
"And they don't climb as much as their other family. Sidge?" I pointed out and turned to Sidge.
"The trees are the problem," The Cow-dragon responded.
I looked thoughtfully up at the road a ways up where the small bridge spread across the creek there. I started walking up there and looked down the path. On down to the west it trailed on and came around the side of the hill there. I could hear the horses tromping on the road from far away. Jacob crawled along the trees and whispered down at me, "They are coming."
"You are a well in-tuned feline creature," I spoke up to him.
The road was only a little bit forgiving of space that could fit a carriage and was otherwise much too small for anything else, probably able to fit a little over half of Sidge down it. There upon the road that came around the bend was an actual carriage flanked by a group of twelve creatures in leather armor like Gesh was in, jogging in march-step a few leagues behind them. The carriage had carved wooden designs of polished spruce off of all the points and otherwise was mostly off-juttings of duckbill shaped carvings along the lines and general contours of the carriage. Then, the sides, top and bottoms solid planks of the carriage were polished spruce. These had carvings of ducks and anthropomorphic ducks in around their sides, even all up the doors. The horses were non anthropomorphic and seemed well brushed with shiny coats and took the corner and came with a steady but unpressed space. They still came with a brusqueness which had them move up to us pretty easy. The driver was a bright red fox with yellow eyes in a brown vest over a white shirt that had puffed up shoulders and was puffed out wider around the cuffs of the white shirt too. He wore blue trousers with gold threaded embroideries around the bottom of the pant legs, and gold thread came up those to his leather belt. There at the belt was a smaller dagger. In his hands he held the reins as he sat at the top of the driver's platform on the carriage. He pulled back sharply on the reins.
A Moose Head with a duck bill beak and antlers darted itself out of the side window on the door of the carriage. It looked around and saw us and withdrew itself. The door came open and the creature came out. He was a head shorter than the driver but he was dressed absolutely the same. His snout had half the moose elongation about it but came up to a yellow duck bill. He had blue eyes and waddled as he walked. He had hooves on his feet and five fingered furry hands at the end of shorter arms. He reached out of those hands slightly shakily and did flinch just a little when I reached out and took it and when I gave it a shake. He became steadier when he withdrew his hand.
"Good to see you sir. Do you need a ride? I'm going up the road. You look like... Who are they?" The Moose Duck creature started to speak. His voice was a rough tenor low voice and he spoke with wide expressions to what his duck bill would give him but twitched his moose ears and let them hang loose on the top of his head. When he looked over and saw the others his ears perked up.
"We are resting, my Lord Jyiri. Our way takes us east. We would like to take your invitation but the dragons there would probably not fit," I relayed to Jyiri.
"Wow, what creatures," Jyiri looked at the creatures amused.
"What creatures?" A voice came from the carriage and a gray donkey head poked out. Then an anthropomorphic Donkey hopped out of the carriage. She was pregnant, very pregnant. Her round belly jutted out through her blue dress. She came out rather steadily and Jyiri turned to her in concern.
"Xeliva, it's okay. You're going to get too exited. Why don't you go sit back down? We'll be leaving soon," Jyiri spoke softly to her.
Xeliva put a gray five digit paw on the side of her belly and came in to Jyiri to nuzzle him, "He kicked."
"Okay, well if he's getting anxious then you'd better settle down," Jyiri said and turned to me as Xeliva slowly got back into the Carriage still holding the side of her belly. The Moose Duck turned to me and looked behind us at the trailing guards who had just stopped their jog and were standing behind the carriage at attention, "Do you need some help getting to town?"
"No, thank you, Lord Jyiri, we know where we need to go?" I told the Moose Duck.
"Then, we'll see you there," Jyiri said with a nod and a smile and got back into his carriage. The driver gave the reins a slap and the procession came by us and went up the road. When they were out of view I came back in a semi brusque pace and came up to Sidge.
"Can you find your way up around the path?" I questioned the Cow dragon.
He peered up through the trees and bushes at the edge on the side of the path saying, "Nothing I haven't been through before. I should be able to. I think I can fly up out of here."
I hopped up onto Sidge as he flexed his wings out. I turned to Gesh as Jacob came down the tree near the path. Odaira, Sandis, and Eckstal came up, "You guys can probably ride Sandis and catch up with us in a few minutes."
Sidge flexed and started flapping his wings in full range of motion. The dirt and dust all around came up and battered everything causing everyone to cringe and shield themselves, even Sidge and I at length. He started to gain altitude though laboriously because of his huge size and bulk so I started radiating power to his wings and not soon after he was up above the trees and soaring along to the north east.
The path was easy to find but I cautioned Sidge, "Wait until they're out in the open somewhere, but not out where all eyes can see."
"Right. Did you do something? I haven't been able to take off vertically as quick in a while," Sidge said and I nodded looking down the path through the trees ahead. There, far enough down the way, the trees opened up considerably for a few tree lengths.
"Yes, I did enhance you. Now, when the soldiers come into the open down the way there, land behind them. Then, you know what to do," I told the big creature.
"Do I get to keep them in my stomach?" Sidge inquired. I came to lie across his back and put my ear to his back. Through his hearing I differentiated between sounds of his lungs and heart and of his stomach. I detected some defined gurgling from it.
"Are you hungry?" I questioned leisurely.
"Yes. What are you doing?" Sidge responded.
"It sure sounds like it," I replied bemused and came up to look over at him and saw he started to swoop down toward the clear.