Alien Postcards

Daring Do flew from branch to branch, all in an attempt to remain hidden from her quarry below. The pair of zebras were conversing over a campfire, the flames providing a feeling of solace to any around them, even her. The smokiness towered over all stopped only by the thick jungle canopy above. It tickled at her nose, the scent powerful and unpleasant. It smelled of familiarity. She had done this many times before.

“You think it's safe down there?” The question spoken in deep zebrican twang remained unanswered for several seconds.

“I don’t think we’re paid to know.” Silence.

Daring crossed several more branches during their short dialogue, coming closer to the parting in the canopy. She was taking a gambit by moving when they were talking. Should they stop conversation or should she make a noise, her cover would be lost; they would know she was here. But she had been making calculations like this for years. The majority of her success in the treasure hunting/exploration industry was based on the fruition of these calculations and her intuition had never failed her before.

“You have any family?”

“No.”

She took another leap, landing on the branch right next to the parting. The view was breathtaking. She had already seen much of what nature had to offer, but she always appreciated a new view to remember. A composite view: fresh, sparkling water cascading off the opposing cliff into the crevice below, the pit itself ringed with trees. A bridge led from the cliff close to her into the mouth of the waterfall and into the annals of obscurity. This place was marked on only one map and had no official designation beyond a small footnote on the bottom of the map—home of our ancestors.

She spread her wings and silently took off from her wooden perch, careful to remain close to the ground. The Zebras were already ‘behind’ her, therefore out of mind—at least for now. She marked the spot in her mind. Just in case, she thought. They wouldn’t come back to bite her in the flank for she would be ready if they tried.

The bridge came up quickly and soon she was padding across the wet planks, each step making the ancient structure sway and groan. She trotted silently through the waterfall, giving herself a quick shake to remove the water that still clung to her soaked form. Her clothes would dry eventually.

Ancient stone brick walls enclosed around her, sucking all the light from the air. It smelled of the dust and a faint whiff of sulfur. She spread her wings and hovered through the air, passed tangled vines and cobwebs. Her eyes scanned her surroundings with meticulous scrutiny, as was necessary for dangerous ruins. Who knew what traps and other such things were hidden in these walls. The hallways turned into rooms and the rooms led to one large atrium. The room was lit up by the small sun that was in the middle of the room. The torch was held by a tall, scarred zebra garbed by only a small cowl. At his hooves laid a crumpled, bloody being, unmoving and dead to the world around it. Its back was pressed against the base of an adobe pedestal. Atop the plinth lay her prize: The Golden Hoof.

Her mind was already plotting the best course of action. Her environment did not allow for perfection. It never did. So she improvised like she always did. With the intellectual acuity of a professor and the visual sharpness of a gryphon, she picked apart the room, looking for any advantages. The structural integrity of the ruin left much to be desired, though that was in her favor as any loose piece of stone could be used as an impromptu weapon or shield. Every stone table was cover and every pile of rubble was ammunition.

There was no time like the present to act. Her wing wrapped itself around a blunt rock on the ground. She silently crept forward, careful as ever to not make a sound but as always Lady Luck had it out for her. Her hoof was snagged on a small creeper coming out of a crack in the floor. She barely tripped and recovered almost immediately but it was enough to alert the zebra who whipped around towards the sound.

With her cover blown, Daring made a dash for the zebra with the intent to tackle him. The zebra sidestepped and slashed at her with a knife held in his mouth. She quickly parried and smashed the rock into his throat, sending him to the ground with a silent scream of pain etched on his face. She stepped past him and the being on the floor to regard her prize. With the care that such situations demanded, she quickly grabbed the golden idol and shoved it in her satchel and waited.

She didn’t have to wait long as the floor groaned and the room shook. Typical ruins, she thought. They couldn’t have come up with something more original than having the place collapse after taking the—.

Her heart skipped a beat when she felt the touch of cold steel on her throat. She thought the zebra would have been incapacitated for longer.

“Give me the hoof or you di—” The sentence was never finished as a shlinct was heard. Daring flipped around to find the being holding a thick knife in the neck of her attacker. The zebra collapsed to the ground, blood spurting in thick geysers from his neck. She craned her neck to look at her savior. The being promptly collapsed alongside the zebra.

She took only a moment to examine it. Its face was flat and its nose was small. Tiny, beady eyes stared back at her, glazed over but still aware. Its ape-like body was covered in strange looking weathered armor. It had seen its fair share of combat. The chest piece had a large hole in it, the plating melted to slag, gruesomely glued to the wearer’s skin. She looked into its eyes once more and saw a brief flash of life. They spoke a message to her in the most instinctual of languages before glazing over once more. You owe me.

In a split-second, she made her decision.She wrapped her hooves around the beings armor covered torso, careful to not upset its wounds. With several flaps of her wings, she propelled her and the heavy being towards the customary hole in the ceiling. Even while the ruin was collapsing around her she had only one thought.

Now we’re even.