Descent of the Moon

Chapter 1: Tamrii the Dreamer

The wind was rushing past, ruffling her fur and buffeting her face. The young psikani raised her arms high and whooped in joy as the shining violet dragon beneath her folded it's wings and plummeted toward the ground. It roared wildly and let loose a jet of silver flames. Just as it appeared that they would crash into the ground to their deaths, the dragon flared out it's translucent wings and glided safely three metres above the earth, before shooting back up into the sky.

"Again!" exclaimed the white psikani on the purple dragon's back, her face split in a delighted grin and her long silver hair flicking with the wind that coursed though it.

"Tamrii," replied the dragon.

"What?" asked the psikani.

"Tamrii!" said the dragon again, in a louder voice, sounding irritated.

"Huh?"

The white psikani raised her head and found her mother standing beside her. Her mother was quite short, with midnight blue fur and sharp amber eyes. Today she wore an aqua frock laced in white ribbon.

"Tamrii when will you learn to wake up on time?" said her mother Ramisha in exasperation.

"Sorry," mumbled Tamrii, sitting up in her bed. She looked around her sunlit room and saw that her sister, Anikka, had already awoken and left the room.

"Where's Ani?" she asked her mother as she swung her legs over the side of her bed and pulled a leafy green shirt over her head.

"She's having breakfast," replied Ramisha. "Hurry up and get dressed, and wear proper girl's clothing for once! I'm sick of seeing you in that tunic. As if we didn't stand out enough..," she added as she walked out of the room.

Tamrii just rolled her eyes and yawned, pulling on a pair of leggings, then hurried out of her bedroom and straight to the kitchen. As her mother had said, Ani was already there and so was Tamrii's older brother, Ryle.

Ryle had dark brown fur and gleaming yellow eyes. His medium-length hair was of a darker brown and streaked with black. He wore dark pants with a black cloak draped over his shoulders and a red cloth tied around his neck. A pair of twisted horns poked through his hair.

Anikka was dark furred like her brother with shadowy tresses surrounding her face. She also had two small twisted horns growing between her ears. She was older than Tamrii, who hadn't grown her horns yet. Two honey gold eyes blinked from between her black fringe. She was wearing a purple blouse with a long three-layered skirt of yellow, violet and orange around her waist.

Ani looked up from her breakfast of bread, an apple and a piece of pork.

"Dreaming again Tamrii?" she teased and pushed the plate of breads, meat and fruit toward her. Tamrii just poked her tongue out at her sister and took a seat opposite her. She placed a slice of bread onto her plate and began to chew on it hungrily while she listened in to her mother and brother's conversation.

"He has been gone for years Mother, I must go discover what happened to him," Ryle was saying.

"Exactly Ryle; I need you here now more than ever with your father gone," argued Ramisha. She clearly didn't want her son to leave.

"Tam and Ani can handle work on the farm; I don't do so much work anyway," reasoned Ryle. "And I've already made arrangements to travel there with Baldric, so I'm going even if you lock me in a cupboard and throw away the key," he added. Baldric was one of Tamrii's father's old human friends, and one of the few humans who knew about psikanis.

"I'm not going to be able to convince you to stay am I?" sighed Ramisha. Ryle grinned cheekily.

"No; in this, I am decided," he said with finality and then left the room, presumably to pack some things. Tamrii and Ramisha's eyes met.