Shadows of Everfree

All was still in the forest. A lone ferret watched and listened from his perch in a tree. If it weren’t for the bright moon, he would have had a tough time seeing anything in the nighttime Everfree darkness. This particular ferret had white paws and brown fur. His name was Raf, and he was a sentry in the new ferret colony that had been chartered in the Everfree forest. This unique group of ferrets wanted to set themselves apart as a species – to be independent and self-sufficient. Naturally, Everfree was the place to go, where nature took care of itself and societies were virtually non-existent. Of course, it does come with its downsides. This dark forest is filled with creatures, many of whom are completely unfamiliar with the ideas of harmony and friendship. That’s why Raf was a sentry – his job was to watch for threats and strange activity. But tonight was different. There was an extra chill in the air, the forest was still, save the typical sounds of the night. Raf was more focused than usual, and perhaps a hint of fear sat behind his attentive demeanor. He was looking for something, but he didn’t know what. All he knows is that something happened last night. Something had been out here.

The day before had started just like any other day in the colony. The foragers went out to gather edible fauna, the mothers cared for the younger ferrets, and the crafters worked on their individual trades. Of course, sentries were out at all times, and every ferret had some means of defense either on him or close by. All was carried out for the good out the fesnyng, though individuals could choose what their job or purpose was. The general rule of thumb was, ‘you reap what you sow’. Raurien, the leader and founder of the colony, had instituted this work ethic to improve productivity within the fesnyng. Raf lived in a hut with his father, who had come with him to the colony. As a night-sentry, Raf had time to work on his own crafts during the day. He was good friends with Fen and Will. The former was a fellow night-sentry who was skilled in tracking. The latter had a unique story. He grew up under the care of a Pegasus, who lived on the edge of the Everfree forest. As such, has was significantly more mild-mannered and perhaps a bit soft. The settlement itself was located in a clearing in the forest, providing sun and open land, but still subject to the shadows and dangers of the dark forest.

At about 6 o-clock that day, just as the sun had gone down and the moon took its place, Raf and Fen headed out to their respective posts. Now, sentries were not foolish enough to go out at night unprotected. Raf carried a small dagger with him; his short-bow was back at his hut. Fen was equipped with a short blade with a carved handle, more elegant that Raf’s piece. Though they are small creatures, these ferrets can hold their own against aggressors.  Their agility and speed gives them a fighting chance against much larger and stronger adversaries. Raf had had a few scuffles with some snakes and angry parasprites, and he hoped to keep it at that. No sense in getting in to greater danger if you don’t have to. Raf’s watched the area northeast of the colony, while Fen watched the northwest. They occasionally met up on particularly slow nights. For the first few hours, everything went as usual. A few timberwolves passing by the west side, a strangle-vine spotted in the south – no reason to sound the alarm.  It wasn’t until about nine o’clock that things started becoming abnormal. Raf had heard some faint activity to the East, and he straightened up to listen for more. Just as he was about to head in that direction, he saw Fen scurrying towards him. Raf noticed a hint of fright in his friend’s complexion.

Fen panted as approached his friend. “Raf! It’s the East sentries. They saw something odd out there, in the trees.”

A creature spotting wasn’t anything to worry about. So Raf wondered - what had his friend so concerned? “What was it?”

Fen replied, “They don’t know, but they’ve never seen anything like it in these woods. It flew and landed in a fruit tree before taking a swoop towards them.”

Raf tried to think to think of an explanation. “Are they sure it wasn’t a phoenix, or maybe a gryphon?”

“Raf, they know their stuff.” Fen said, slightly irritated by his friends skepticism. “All I saw was a shadow that moved across the sky. It was bigger than a phoenix, but not by much.”

With this new information, Raf searched his mind. “What about a pegasus?”

Fen shrugged his shoulders. “Beats me. We’ll get more details in the morning. For now, be on the lookout until our shift is over.” As Fen started to head off, he turned back to face his friend. “But if it was a pegasus, what would it be doing out here at night?”

“Yeah, good point.” Raf realized there was no simple explanation.

The sun streamed through the window of Raf’s hut. In the first moments after waking, Raf didn’t recall the events of last night. In those relaxing first moments of a new day, the mystery and apprehension didn’t exist. As he became more and more awake, those feelings trickled back in to his mind until they filled his thoughts. He pondered the incident of last night as he got up. Not ten minutes later, he heard a knock on the door.

“Hey, Raf, are you in there?” Will shouted from outside the hand-carved wooden entrance. Raf opened the door and let Will in, who was wearing a satchel filled with rosemary, no doubt gathered earlier that morning. He could tell by Will’s face that he didn’t just come to say hello. “Fen told me about last night” Will said, taking a seat. “I’m guessing you haven’t heard any new details since your shift ended?” Raf shook his head in response, and Will continued. “Okay, here’s what I’ve found out: The sentries in the area said that the creature had wings like a bat, it was pegasus-sized but a bit smaller, and the only trace they found was rotten fruit with teeth marks.”

Raf pondered the new details. “You mean like a vampire fruit bat? I have seen more of those lately.”

“Yes, it was like that.” Will explained. “But they described something much bigger than a bat.” Will had come to one conclusion: “If it eats fruit, it can’t be much of a threat.”

Raf wasn’t convinced, however. “Sure, but we don’t know for sure if it was the one who ate the fruit, and even if it did, it could still be aggressive. Anyways, thanks for the info, Will. Whatever it is, I have a feeling we haven’t seen that last of it.”

Later that night, Raf was out at his usual post. But this night was anything but usual. There was a noticeable stillness to it, and a slight chill in the air. The white-pawed ferret was focused on the trees. Behind his gaze were feelings of uneasiness, and yet, he was anxious. There was supposed to be something out here, something mysterious. As the minutes went by, all he could do was sit still, watch, and listen. Every sound could be a sign of activity, but which ones were significant? A few hours in to his shift, he heard something light hit the forest floor. It sounded almost like a splat. He instantly turned to look. Bellow the adjacent crab apple tree, there was a mushy apple laying on the ground. He felt a chill as the realization hit his mind – the East sentries had found rotten fruit last night, right after the sighting. Just as the thought went through his mind, a large shadow took off from the tree and flew away in to the forest. He felt as if his heart had skipped a beat. Had that mysterious creature really been so close to him? He stood in awe before scurrying off to alert the others.

Will sat on a bough not far off from the colony. He occasionally came out during the night to whittle a piece of wood or to stargaze. This night, however, he had come out for a different reason. Fascinated by the accounts of last night, he came out to observe what would happen the night afterwards, if anything. He was within the areas that the sentries patrolled, but he was still outside of the colony. If anything happened, he thought, the sentries would notice it first and he would hear their signals. As he perched in the tree, he sat pondering. Of course, his thoughts were focused on last night’s shadowy creature, but his mind wandered as one does when daydreaming. He felt the chill in the air and the slightly eerie silence, but he was lost in thought. The thing that stirred him from his meditative state was the feeling of a presence near him, and a slight creaking of a branch. As he turned to look, his eyes opened wide in amazement and his mouth stood agape. Perched just a few paces from him was a fierce creature many times larger than himself. However, the thing that made his heart stop was not the fangs or the outstretched bat wings. It was the thing that could not be explained. The impossible truth was that, as he looked straight in to the eyes of this beast, he was looking at familiar face. The face of a friend. It was impossible, but he knew that face. It was…her.