A... game? -- The Middle of Nowhere

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Date Posted: 19:50:38 05/13/02 Mon
Author: Assorted Creatures
Subject: A... game?

The sun shines down in a bright, Springy way upon a Center. A towering, gold-leafed Kusani tree drives upwards towards the palely violet sky, hazed with faint rose clouds. The black-lined gray trunk is nearly twenty meters in diameter, with acres of open space surrounding the massive tree. In a nearly round formation, the forest continues after the pastel blue beadgrass becomes thicker, leaf-like jade grass - stuff that thrives in the shadows that the smaller, less impressive trees cast. Random and colorful flowers dot the Center's grassy expanse. The Center's many and diverse inhabitants are all gathered in three groups - one with younglings of a certain age and a single adult, the second with the infants and toddlers and a few watchful adults, the third with those younglings past their half-grown age, and the other adults. This third group is listening quietly to a storyteller, under the eaves of the dark forest ringing the Kusani tree. The second group naps peacefully under the golden shadows of the Kusani tree, the few adults yawning contentedly at their charges' peacefulness.

As for the first group; roving, restless mob surrounds an adult, who gives a sharp bark to call the Center's younglings to order. The group sits in a semi-circle facing the big male, tails a-twitch and eyes shining brightly. They're all around half-grown for their species, born and raised in this beautiful Center. The adult is a black Korat, a two-fingered forehand resting lightly on a rod. With several pairs of eager eyes on him, the Korat speaks in a stern voice.

"This is a game that I have invented for you younglings. It will teach you tact, angles, and strategy. This rod," he nods towards the five-foot length, "is made of a core of Crazouli crystal, surrounded by a longer core of rypil metal, and then encased in hardwood. The object of this game is to keep the rod in your possession. You can hold it in your jaws, paws, or tail, or all three. To get the rod from someone, you cannot draw blood. Most importantly, you cannot break, strip, or take a chunk out of the rod. If you harm the rod, you are out of the game. If you draw blood from one of your fellows in defending the rod, you lose possession. If you draw blood trying to obtain the rod, you must wait one pelash to try again. Got that?"

The Korat -his name is Raff- looks around at the dozen or so younglings, who nod emphatically as one. Then, with a fanged grin, the Korat lowers his head. "You'll have to get it from me first," he says tauntingly, taking the rod into his own powerful jaws and bracing his legs for impact. The first to move is a burly Heifia male, who rockets forward and clamps his jaws onto an end of the rod firmly, plants his heavy paws, and begins slowly and steadily pulling. Raff looks vaguely surprised as he feels himself slide forward, despite his splayed stance. The next to bound forward is a blue-furred Night Cat, who snags the other end of the rod in her hands, settles onto her haunches, then lunges backwards. This has little effect against the Heifia's steady pulling, but does give Raff a jerk forward, and he loses balance momentarily. This is, apparently, what the Night Cat wanted, as she gives a few more erratic lunges.

Raff willingly relinquishes the rod, but an opportunistic Ela lunges and snags the middle of the rod in her jaws, grinning smugly at the angry Night Cat and the still-relentless Heifia. The Korat seats himself to the side as the rest of the younglings circle the embattled three, and lays his bet on the Heifia for the next possession. The Ela abruptly slumps, teeth shrieking against the tough wood, as a Sugar Ray pounces her. The thickly-furred feline gives the yellow Athian a good punch on the snout and she drops the rod just as the Night Cat jerks. Somehow, this conspires to remove the rod from the Sugar Ray's vicinity, and the sudden loss of tension sends the Night Cat tumbling backwards. It only takes one snap for the Heifia male to get his jaws in the middle of the rod, where with gleaming gold eyes he challenges his peers to take it from him.

Raff grins. This is just what he had in mind.

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