Nighttime Panic

[Shoki]

Lan was tired this night. He had a regular trope to take care of and only Arc made any attempts to make his life any easier. So he trudged towards Ethilask’s den with her food, not in a good mood at all. Arc was napping on his bed, and Syne was roosting now that he had been fed, leaving last, the ornery Ethilask. The Black-Gray Wher was waiting for him, not at all patient.

“Rrrrrrrrr!” Her tail whipped around as Lan stepped forward and put out food, giving a halfhearted greeting whistle. Ethilask was not happy but began eating, as she was hungry. Lan was more preoccupied. He’d forgotten to shave today, he was going to be tired the entire night, probably, and no one around him was in a mood that was any better than his. Such things were what mistakes fed on. His mistakes up until now were less obvious. The next one would not be so.

“Come on, let’s get a move on.” Busy scheadule and everything. Ethilask however sat down and distinctly ignored the request. “Come on!”

No. She would not. She had been fed, perhaps, but she would have her pets and fawning. She deserved it, and her handler had better give it to her. She was not moving until she got that. They were both in a foul mood but she almost always got her way.

Lan was frustrated. He really didn’t have time for this. Which was what led to his big mistake.

“Come on, brat.” Ethilask stared, then her eyes narrows and she rose just enough to get her whole body in a crouch. Lan realized rather quickly that he had really stepped in it now. He took a feeble step back and raised his hands. “Come on Ethilask-“

“RRRRRRRR!!!” Ethilask lunged forward and Lan booked it out into the hallway. She glared at his escape. She’d almost had him. Well, she would just have to see how long he could keep that up. He’d learn to keep his mouth shut. She pursued a moment later.

“WATCH OUT ANGRY WHER COMING!” Lan was somewhat panicked, and new that trying to reason with her right now was liable to put him out for a couple days. If only he could wear her out he could get this fixed.

This was not what he was looking for in the beginning of his day.

[Jay Kitten]

For a fungus, glows certainly did rival other bio-luminescence. A firefly drifted passed the basket set atop a table in one of the alcoves near the entrance to the Lower Caverns, and leaning against the wall next to it was a boy, but a strange one to be sure. He had his head tilted, some of his hair draped over one eye, the flickering light from the glowbasket on the table cast a shadow on the cup of klah he had set next to it. The gloom on his face made him appear eerie, though he seemed harmless enough as his fingers extended toward the firefly, which alighted on his fingertip when he offered.

It was the beauty of these simple little creatures that he liked the most, they were so full of variety and life, and they knew he was their friend. They could sense it! Even animals liked him, really, but they didn't help him the way bugs and spiders did. Even that scorpion came in handy, and he was sure the little guy didn't mind it now, probably didn't remember.

But just as he took another swig of his klah, he started to hear something coming down the hall, and his ears twitched noticeably as he payed more attention. Pretty soon, he became aware of something charging towards him, and his eyes slowly widened as a man ran passed him, and suddenly, careening behind him, crashed and tore a wher; his alertness had already allowed him to turn, and he started running after the man, a rather terrified look on his face.

Luckily, he wasn't out of shape, and he quickly passed up the other man, zipping along on his shorter legs until he cleared the entrance to the Caverns, out into the grass and fog. It was light, but it clung to the ground and obscured him somewhat, enough that he was able to moved to the side of the entrance and peek in, knowing what he would likely see, though at least he was out of the way. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could lose the creature in the fog, though Lylore knew not a thing about what it was nor that it could see the heat of his body.

[Shoki]

Ethilask charged around, not going out of her way to avoid any one or thing that was in her way. However, Lan had done a fair job of getting people out of the way, so mostly she had had some inanimate objects that bore the brunt of her rage. Of course she enjoyed that a little bit. The people running out of the way, yes that too was somewhat enjoyable. At least for a little bit. She fancied herself like an angry Gold Queen, glorious and terrifying. That feeling couldn’t last forever though. After all, she was no stranger to insecurities. As this began to hit her, she frightened a smaller, and quicker human. She slowed down, glancing at her still running handler. Well, she did so love something to chase.

She changed course and headed toward Lylore, outside of the lower caverns. Lan noted the silence quickly, and flipped to see where she went. He was nearly out of breath, as he’d been running a while. Shards, was she outside? She was going to be impossible to find if she didn’t want to be found. He broke forward and looked outside, noting the fog and immediately regretting everything about today. He remained there a moment, catching his breath. He desperately hoped that she hadn’t got to anyone. He couldn’t remember if there had been someone running around outside, but he hoped not.

Ethilask was trailing Lylore. She had switched to a quieter stalking and was entirely pleased with it. She could see him quite clearly, in the fog, and could very well sneak up on him from wherever she liked. This was fun. She closed in, quietly pleased. With a quick ‘pounce’ she leapt forward and pushed on him with her snout.

“Prrrrrr.” You sir, have been caught. I win. I am the best.

“Ethilask!”

“Rrrrr.” No, she was still mad at him, he could very well hunt around for the entire night. Then she might be forgiving and show up. If he was lucky.

[Jay Kitten]

Lylore had never encountered a wher before, you see, and so he wasn't quite aware of what was chasing him. In fact, he wasn't even aware that it was indeed chasing him, for he thought that Lan was the one he had been chasing. He expected to see them both burst from the tunnel, any minute now... But nothing. Maybe it was the fog? He blinked and looked about, he couldn't see a thing in it... but he hadn't seen a thing come out of the Caverns, and he could see the entrance.

Imagine the surprise on his face when the snout pushed up against his back. He nearly jumped out of his skin, though completely silent as he was. It was comical, really, seeing him nearly fall over in fright despite the fact he hadn't screamed. But he quickly recovered, and shook his head to clear it; looking down at the wher, he could now only see it as something very much an animal and very much friendly. In fact, it seemed to... Like him? Had his presence caused it to stop chasing the man?

He leaned over, and experimentally extended a hand, placing it atop the thing's head. He now wore an expression of intrigue, this was no dragon or terrifying beast... Though it did bear some resemblance to a dragon. It was... Well, it smelled, to say the least. But it was very distinct, and not necessarily horrible.

But now his mind drifted back to it's handler... Where was he? Chased off as he had been, Lylore didn't expect him to be around any time soon, unless he had noticed that he was no longer in danger of his animal running free. At least, he was pretty sure that guy had been it's partner of some sort, only a friend could get that angry at a friend without alarm being raised in the Weyr. Had he been able to, he might have chuckled.

Soon, though, he heard a voice calling a name- Ethilask- and he looked over his shoulder. It was, indeed, the man's voice, if he remembered his yelling earlier. Something about a wher on the loose? Was this a wher? So finally he knew.