I look through the forest wearily, knowing anything and everything that moves could kill me. It's been roughly a month since my last foster family died- living is tough out here. I moved on before the plague got to them, luckily- if they had passed it on without knowing before it took them forever out of my reach, then I would be like them, the searing pains and powerlessness threatening to rip my soul out. I can imagine it now, shedding my feathers, rare for my kind- I'm a Dreamlandian Dalmatian, a Canis breed better known than any other, a white one with dull pink spots like a dying rose.
The plague, which is rarely named in these parts for fear that it might get you next (a completely irrational one, I know- often I speak the name allowed just to spite other Outrunners, but old habits get the best of me sometimes), is the reason for all of this.
My home's gone. My world is dying.
I was innocent until the age of two- taken in by a smaller Canira family. They had just fled from their old homes in the Great Castle, where once, the Queen of Dreamland lived. They called her the Princess- supposedly out of her own request. That was before she died.
To this day, it's only rumors that survive her- some say she ascended and Verhamera took her back. Others claim fiercely that their princess grew tired and betrayed all of Dreamland. The most logical theory is someone killed her not long after she was reborn, although the reason for the murder is still unknown. Our world used to live on a simple, easy cycle- Verhamera used the Queen as her vessel and oracle. Through Verhamera, the Queen would rule the land and cure great plagues and disasters like this one. When she was about to die, she would be reborn, her life cycle restarting so she could continue ruling forever.
No, we kept all our eggs in one nest and now the yolks are bleeding everywhere. Our world is dying.
It was only two years after her death when the plague, or as it's really called, Half Fever, took hold of our land, seizing it by the roots.
Half Fever isn't like most diseases- it targets not the DNA, but the magical portion of a Dreamlandian's genetics, also known as their Aura. It takes their Aura and twists it with that of another creature, resulting in a mutant species. Their magic is thrown off, and only comes out in random, dangerous spurts where they go on rampages, completely reverted to primal instincts. It comes with crippling pain, mutations that are unspeakably terrible, and more or less living hell. If you don't die within the first few weeks of it, or suicide. The worst part is that it's spread by any and all body fluids, making fighting the insane carriers almost impossible, and when you lose control you could infect anyone. To top it off, it's cross-species. Even if we could get rid of it by exterminating every Canii and Canira infected, well, the other species would still be there.
So you know, politics. Pointless stuff. Personally, I want to find wherever this thing started and kick the first carrier (or their corpse more likely) in the face. Even better, we should find the Princess and kick her in the face too. The royal we.
Anyhow, I live in the forest now.
Alone.
I'm an Outrunner- someone who doesn't live in a protected zone. I wish I did, but I have other things I can do out here. Avenge others. Keep the little hope left in me strong. Fight to live. Of course, there are other things- sometimes I go to the ruined castle. They left it ruined after the Great Castle exploded when the Queen magically disappeared, or her murder, if we are to believe the (most likely) theory.
I'm near it now, the hum of the forsaken energy buzzing in my mind, filling me with something feral. I tiptoe past the tree cover to the ruins. The whole place is rubbled, to the point where only the foundations are left. Large grey stones sit on withered ground where basements have been hidden to hold the ashes of those in the castle when it exploded. Now the once-dead land is covered in fresh green grass, almost too fresh.
My favorite place is the library, which is an almost complete room. It was on the base floor, far from the Princess's room, so instead of being vaporized it's filled with rocks from upper floors and is ceilingless. I open my favorite scroll, "The Fourth Hero," which tells of the most recent prophecy and the Canira of Hope, Love, Leadership, and Determination. Rumor has it that two of them are still alive and well within the protected zones.
See, there are certain places that are plague free, stuffed with all who can live there given the size of the land. One of the largest is the one I live near, Natrina's Forest. Reading over the final words one more time, "Torch smiled, and whispered to Natrina, "I think I know where you might find Trust again..." I hear growling.
I bristle immediately. "WHO GOES THERE?! URSUS? MOONWALKER? WHIRLWING? NIKAPID?" After listing off every species I know, I hear the growling again and look at my stomach, which roars more fiercely than any Ursus. Frowning at it, I snarl, whirling around as if I can catch it and make it shut up. Pricking my ears, I hear something that definitely isn't my stomach- it's paw pattering.
It's in the library. I round the C section, which is now just a rock and crushed manuscript. To my surprise, I see a Lapis staring back at me, it's round, scared eyes huge and it's heart pulsing with fear and lifeblood. It's like a rabbit, which I've also eaten, but it's a true Dreamlandian- along that blood pulses Aura. It's one of the many species where the magical and non-magical version live side by side. The Lapis Aura grants extreme intelligence, but it's no match for brute strength and necessity.
"The alliance! How has it come to this?!" The Lapis squeals.
"What?" I ask, shocked for a second.
It tries to dart away, but I corner it. "What alliance?! Are you affected by the Half Plague or are you just nuts?!"
"Nuts and berries. Yes. Absolutely. Half Delphid. Also, the alliance is all of us sane creatures staying safe from the plague preferably not eating each other."
"You wouldn't be worrying about said alliance if you had the plague then, would you?" It's ears twitch, and I finish, "Spare me, please. I'm hungry."
It darts under me, making a mad dash out of the library. I chase it through the ruins, jumping right over the rocks with a push from my wings. Mouth open, I lunge for it as it makes for the tree cover, but my mouth closes around gray fur instead. My new catch yelps and jumps back, bleeding a bit from my savage grip.
It's not a Lapis. It's not edible.
"You messed up my catch!" he growls. "Can't you see I'm trying to survive here?!"
"Oh really. Your catch." I half laugh at this.
He sighs as the Lapis runs into it's tunnels, where we both know neither of us will be able to chase it.
"I'm going to die of starvation because of dumb bones like you out here. What a way to die." I mutter, turning to leave.
"You could've given me the Plague! How do I know you're not infectious?"
"I promise. I don't break promises." I say earnestly, my mood shifting a bit. He looks about my age- a good solid seven years. He's a Canira, a gray one, almost silver but not quite. He's scruffy, most likely an Outrunner like me, and he has black markings around his eyes- a line curving down like a tooth, then a dot, then a line.
"Nor do I." he smiles. "Anyways, next time, don't hunt my catch. Then one of us will get to eat."
"Your catch?!"
"So where are you staying?"
"That's not even your business! For all I know, you could be an Obsidian!"
"They're extinct, and do I look like I'm made of black stone? I'm Gale. Former Omega of the Crescent Blade Pack."
"You were in a pack? You were an Omega?" I ask. Packs are rare now- they're usually Outrunner things, more of places for the Half Plague to fester and kill than a social structure. It's almost sad, really.
He looks at the sky, disregarding me. "Well, it's going to rain."
"I can smell that." I say. A good sense of smell keeps you alive here. If you can't smell the difference between healthy prey and that with the plague, well, you are what you eat.
Dead.
"Would you like to come back to me? I have a den." He says, as if we've been having a friendly conversation.
"Do you have food?"
"Emergency supplies."
I consider slapping him. He's got BACKUP FOOD and he stole my only chance of eating tonight? My stomach growls again, and I look up at the gray sky between the trees, the clouds painted blood red by the setting sun.
"Screw you. I'll forget you stole my Lapis if you let me eat."
"I knew you'd come around. I have a certain charm."
"Graceful like a Delphid on land." I flap my wings to imitate flailing around.
"Alright," he chuckles a bit, genuine light in his predatorial gold eyes, "Don't insult the host. You have to be as hungry as I am."
Together, we disappear into the depths of the forest as the first raindrops hit my wings.