PREDATORS
by Chimera Bloom
Part 21
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The room seemed to grow silent; in fact the world seemed to stop as Elila patiently waited for the words to explain away the torture of her soul. But they never came. Carielle only stared at her with the eyes of a warrior who had everything to loose and nothing to gain.
"Carielle, please…you have to tell me. Explain this to me." Elila said waving her arm around the room as if to illustrate the strange circumstance that had become their acquaintance.
The shark didn't answer. She crossed the room in long strides trying her best to ignore her every instinct to run. It would be so easy to leave Elila and this terrible conversation behind. She could find Pedryn. Her cousin would know what to do. Pedryn could handle Elila.
But the thought itself was enough to make her skin crawl. She had seen the way that Pedryn stared at Elila. And even though the situation seemed impossible and nearly unthinkable, Carielle was nearly certain that she had in fact seen the heron return her cousin's rather interested stare.
And yet she knew that she had to be imagining things. Surely Elila hated Pedryn. The heron must loathe her with every fiber of her being.
But Carielle innately knew that nothing could be further from the truth. She was beginning to wonder if Elila was even capable of harboring such dark feelings. Even in the worst of times the heron always seemed to be at her most compassionate.
Over the few short days of their intimate acquaintance Carielle had found herself in the strange position of admiring Elila's strength, courage, and kindness. And that's why it made this silence so much harder. She couldn't explain the night on the water. She had taken a vow before her tribal Alpha and the gods themselves never to reveal the terrible secret that they had all promised to hide.
And Carielle didn't want to break her vow. At one time, her word had meant everything to her. It was the same with all warriors. After all, a warrior that lied had no honor, no respect, and no worth on or off the battlefield.
At one time, she had enjoyed all those wonderful things. But that had been before that awful night. It had been before she lost every single little thing that she had once held dear. She had nothing left, nothing inside and surely nothing of value. The one thing that she still treasured was all that mattered to ensure the very peace of her tribe. The one and only small thing that she still guarded was her sacred vow to her tribal Alpha.
She had promised to never reveal to a living soul what had taken place that night on the water. But now after much heartbreak, guilt, remorse and utter devastation Elila was asking for the one thing that Carielle couldn't give. But the shark knew that to the heron, it was the only thing that mattered.
"Carielle, I don't know what more I can say to make you hear me? Do you need to hear of my suffering? Because I have. Do you need to hear me lash out in screams and anger? Because I've done that as well. Or do you need to see me cry? Because there aren't buckets large enough to hold the tears I've shed. This thing, this terrible horrible action has nearly destroyed me. There were nights that I went without sleep and days when I couldn't wake. I thought that my torment would never end." Elila explained knowing that her voice was betraying a weakness and a hindered desire that she truly didn't want to reveal.
"Do you know that my parents forbid me to even speak of it? Once I was returned to the tribe I was simply patched up and sent on my way. My alpha has never once even offered me a word of kindness or a simple touch of sympathy. The only words that Thash ever spoke to me on the matter were 'it never happened.' Do you know what that's like? Do you have any idea what it's like to be the victim of such a horrible crime and to not be able to tell a soul?" Elila asked feeling the return of a familiar and unwelcome angry sadness.
She approached the shark daring Carielle to look her in the eyes. She wanted the shark to see the suffering that her silence was denying. She wanted Carielle to know that there was some pain that never ever seemed to dwindle or fade.
"Of course, there was Yamina. You did give me the suffering of my best friend to empathize with." Elila said giving voice to the anger that guarded her heart.
She saw Carielle wince at her words like she had struck the shark with an iron fist. And for a second, Elila wanted to apologize. It wasn't like her to speak so carelessly. She knew how terrible the sting of words could be.
And she tried to live her life with courtesy and respect. But there were some situations were her manners simply failed her. And to come this close to knowing the cause of her torment was far too bittersweet to walk away empty handed.
"Over time, the memories faded. To be honest with you I never really had that much to work with in the first place. You see, Pedryn held me under the water for so very long I began to drown. You know what I remember more then anything? The feeling of the water burning my lungs. Of course, you would have no idea what that's like, would you? Your lungs can breath in the water. You can take drink after drink after drink and feel perfectly fine. It must be nice to be so…versatile." Elila said coming dangerously close to losing her temper completely.
Sometimes, the very existence of the shark hybrid troubled her to no end. She could see why the ancient humans had created them. After all, they were nature's perfect predator.
If only the humans had been satisfied with simple evolution. But they had to play around with genomes and genetic enhancements until they created a biped that could kill both in and out of the water. It was little comfort to Elila that the sharks were one of the very first hybrids to turn on the humans. But in a way, it was poetic justice.
But now, even centuries after the Great War and the demise of humanity their science lived on. And it was a cold hard truth that every day, she was surrounded by perfectly designed biological killing machines. What place did a mere heron have among them? Her kind had not been designed in a laboratory or created with some grand plan in mind. The heron splice was a result of a tragic accident. It seemed somehow frightening and sad to know that her species had never been planned or wanted. Even the rat hybrids had been designed with a careful purpose in mind.
"Please stop… Don't ask me to tell you. I gave my word that I wouldn't." Carielle begged and pleaded, as the heron seemed to slip further and further away in the frothy depths of rage.
"Don't you think that I deserve to know? After everything I've been through you can't even give me the reason behind my suffering? Carielle, please? I only want to sleep through the night." Elila said backing away from the darker emotions swirling through her tiny beating heart. She wasn't an angry person. But this situation was getting more frustrating by the second.
"Elila, you deserve far more then the simple truth. You deserve more then we can ever give you. What you're looking for isn't here." Carielle said thinking that only the comfort of her own kind could give the heron the true peace that she so richly deserved. If she thought for an instance that Pedryn would allow it, Carielle would have volunteered to take the heron back to the Fasara Village herself.
"But if you ask me, I will tell you. But please know that though I cannot begin to match my suffering to your own, I have suffered. I have lost everything that once meant anything to me. At times, I feel like I'm only a small sliver of the person that I once was." Carielle said speaking her feelings through giant gulps of a heated panic.
"But if you really want this…If you really want this one last thing from me. I'll tell you." Carielle said laying the decision out before the heron like a golden gauntlet.
Slowly, Elila closed her eyes. And for the first time in many long nights there was no pain or tortured memories threatening to overwhelm her. There was only the raspy breath of Carielle as she awaited her decision. And the wonderfully blissful knowledge that for once, she was firmly in control of her destiny.
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The room was quiet and dark. The air was filled with a deep sadness. There was grief that the young heron simply couldn't put into words.
And to be honest, she didn't have to. There was no one left to hear her pain. There was no one left to answer her questions. Carielle had left in a fit of utter hysteria taking the truth with her as the door slammed in her wake.
Elila had let her go. There was nothing left to be said or discussed. And she couldn't bring herself to take from Carielle the one and only thing that she still held precious.
And though she needed to know the truth, Elila also knew there were other ways to go about finding her answers. She had never seen anyone quite as distraught as the shark warrior had been. Carielle had easily lost all sense of composure, reason, and sanity.
By talking to the shark and by questioning her actions Elila had opened a doorway to insurmountable pain. And the heron had watched as the mighty shark crumbled under the weight of her own shame. Elila clearly remembered every excruciating sensation of her body being raped. And because of her laser sharp memory, she simply couldn't rape Carielle's soul.
And the heron knew that that was exactly what she would have been doing. There was no question in her mind that Carielle was holding onto the world by a mere thread. And Elila firmly resolved that she would not be the one to push Carielle over the edge.
There were other ways to find the answers to her questions. Now that she knew there was truth to be found all she had to do was look. And even though she tried to remain firmly resolved and steadfast, Elila knew this was no easy task laid out before her.
She wasn't being foolish. Elila knew perfectly well that whatever really happened was of no secret to her parents. Thash and Tezara had to know the truth. And they had hidden it from her and all the other victims of that horrible night.
The thought made her sick inside as she struggled to make sense of it all. The only reason why her parents would have hidden such a thing was if they stood to lose something. And that was like a sharp lancing wound right through the very pit of her stomach. What could they possibly lose that would be more valuable then their daughter's very sanity?
With a desperate fatigue rapidly descending on her form, Elila shut her eyes and allowed the sleep to come for her. She was safe there with the sharks. She could give into her needs and rest.
That was all she could for now anyways. But in the wake of the day, Elila knew that things would change, not just for her but also for her entire tribe. Because for the first time in her life, the young heron had no intention of backing down from her parents.
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To her, it seemed like death. She had gone off after her run in with Elila wanting only to find some sort of solace or peace. But there was none to be had, not on land anyways.
So Carielle took to the sea as the blood in her veins demanded. It was so easy to leave the Fluid without notice. The entire structure was built to encapsulate easy ocean access.
And at the time that was exactly what she had needed; easy, gentle and hidden access to the waters of her youth. Carielle knew she couldn't bear to run into her cousin. Pedryn would take one look at her distorted and saddened features and know without question what had transpired. She just couldn't let Pedryn see.
There was so much she would have to explain. There was so much to be said. But ever since the slamming of Elila's door, no words had come from her throat. It was like her voice had simply died in an effort to hide the last remaining piece of truth her heart contained.
Her body had moved into a state of hysterical shock and her mind had grown numb in agony. During all the time that had passed, she had never once let herself consider the feelings of her victim. She had tried to rationalize away her actions. She had even tried to make excuses to her very own soul.
In the end, it had all been nothing more then a thin veil of denial. Because when she had seen Elila...when she had truly witnessed her pain she realized for the first time that she was responsible. She wasn't trying to be literal in her definition of the events that had transpired. After all, it hadn't been the heron's body that she had used to slate her bloodlust and quaking need.
But it might just as well have been. She was no less responsible for that pain and suffering. In a way, she knew that Elila had managed to separate them in her mind. It was obvious that the heron saw her as less of threat and far easier to reach out to.
The evidence of such a fact had easily been laid out before her. It was she that Elila had come to searching for the truth. The heron had turned to her for help. And as much as she might wish that Elila could punish her for her horrible crimes, she knew that vengeance didn't dwell within the soft heron's heart. The girl didn't see her as an enemy.
And in the heat of the moment and the whirlwind tears, Carielle had seen the strangest truth of all. Elila didn't even hate her own attacker. Oh, the shark had easily seen the signs of sadness and suffering cross the heron's features and vibrant displays of grief.
But she had never seen the desire for revenge. There had been no anger or hate. There had only been a need for justice and truth. And as much as she would like to assuage the suffering of one small heron, in the end, Carielle had simply walked away.
She wasn't proud of what happened. But the shark had left the decision in the hands of the heron. And Elila for whatever reason had chosen to give her peace.
Carielle was well aware of the punishment she would have suffered for daring to give the heron the honesty she was so intent on finding. Even if Elila never whispered her transgression to another living soul, the shark would have confessed to her crime. The Alpha herself had ordered them all to remain steadfast and silent. The truth of that night was never to be revealed to anyone.
The punishment for violating a direct order from the tribal Alpha was lavish and sometimes fatal. And Carielle was under no delusion that her familial bond would assure her any type of safety or privilege. The Midali stuck to their tribal code with an iron will.
But she would have given it. She would have given Elila the truth if only the heron had only asked. And yet for whatever reason, Elila let her go. She had given her a soft word and a gentle touch and sent the shark on her way. Elila was exhausted and needed to rest.
And yet even as she scurried from the room, Carielle had seen the wheels starting to turn. Elila, though surely deathly tired, was already contemplating some sort of plan. The shark was nearly sure of it. There had been something focused and daring in those emerald green swamp eyes that hadn't been there before. And if she herself hadn't been quite so hysterical, Carielle might have remained behind to talk the heron out of doing something foolish.
But she had fled in the heat of the moment, needing only to break away. So she swam with the speed and grace that every member of her tribe possessed. She swam far from the Fluid hoping to avoid all contact with others.
She wanted to loose herself in the black murky waters of the Gallion Ocean. She wanted to let her body become one with the water. She needed the peace and tranquility that a shark could only ever find under the rolling depths of a timeless sea.
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"Where is Carielle?" Pedryn demanded hurriedly pushing open the door to the heron's room.
Jolted by the sudden intrusion and the rather intimidating form of the intruder, Elila hurriedly jumped from her bed. It took her several long moments to focus once more to her surroundings. As she looked at the meandering light floating in through the window she realized she could have only been asleep a mere matter of moments.
"I don't know. Why? Is something wrong?" Elila asked clutching her arms against her body in a motion born of reflex and surprise.
The shark quieted her anger as she saw the heron struggling to find some sort of composure in the wake of her rather surreptitious entrance. She hadn't meant to frighten Elila. She just didn't want to think that the heron was taking advantage of their hospitality.
The situation that the cobra had placed their tribes in was ripe for a long bloody conflict. And she had been doing absolutely everything in her power to prevent that from happening. Including the assistance and shelter of their greatest enemy's daughter.
But Zeranna had come to her with dire news and a worried stare. She had seen Carielle leave the heron's room in a myriad of tears and hysteria. Zeranna was desperately concerned for the shark's well being. The poor ignorant Midali had no idea what was taking place right in front of her very eyes. She only knew that Carielle seemed desperate and inconsolable.
And those were two traits that no warrior should ever publicly display. If the rest of the tribe were to ever see Carielle so weak or helpless, the results could be disastrous. The Midali honored a long tradition of only following the strong. Such an emotional display could destroy Carielle's position in the tribe. And Pedryn wasn't about to allow her cousin to be shunned from the Wetlands of her home, even for Elila.
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So after a cursory search of the Fluid, she had come to see Elila. Carielle had not been located. And Pedryn was growing more concerned by the moment. It wasn't like her cousin to disappear. It wasn't like her cousin to cry.
"Zeranna said she saw Carielle leave this room. She was...upset." Pedryn responded trying to choose her words carefully.
"She was. But she's not here now." Elila answered finding some sort of personal calm.
Slowly, she returned to the bed gently lowering her nervous body to its side. Even though she now knew that not everything was ever as it truly seemed, she still had a knee-jerk reaction of fear where Pedryn was concerned. And no matter what the truth was, Elila supposed that it was only natural given what she had been through. And it certainly didn't help that the shark burst through her bedroom door like a hungry predator in search of prey.
"Do you have any idea where she went to?" Pedryn asked trying to curb her annoyance.
She wondered what it was that Elila had done to upset her cousin so vehemently. They had been nothing but kind and cordial to the heron. They had taken her in when a murderous cobra was stalking her very existence.
And the shark couldn't help but wonder why Elila would choose to attack Carielle. Surely, she must have said or done something to unravel all of Carielle's emotional tethers. She was the one that Elila should have tried to punish, not Carielle. The whole thing just seemed so uncharacteristic of the normally warm heron.
And Pedryn couldn't believe that she had been so wrong. Elila had seemed to be the perfect picture of kindness and courtesy. The alpha shark just couldn't believe that it had all been an act of some kind. It just didn't seem like Elila would be capable of that kind of deception.
"She's probably in the water. Don't you think? Isn't that where your kind goes to be...alone?" Elila answered realizing that for the first time since fate had conspired to cross their paths, Pedryn was angry. She had never seen the shark so filled with emotion. And it frightened her.
"What happened?" Pedryn asked lacing her arms across the ample weight of her breasts. The motion was raw and powerful. And Elila knew better then to resist her question.
"I only wanted to talk to her. I didn't upset her on purpose, if that's what your thinking." Elila answered wishing that for just once, the room would stop spinning. Her fatigue combined with her fear had left her head filled with a daze of lightning fast confusion. And she found herself gripping the nearest pillow in a gesture of support.
"You wanted to talk to her. What did you want to talk to her about, Elila?" Pedryn asked walking further into the room and slamming the door in her wake.
She made no secret of her anger or the very threat of her presence. The shark had sealed them in a small locked room away from all other eyes or assistance. And in some way, Elila felt like she was being tested.
Of course, it was only a test held within the bounds of her own mind and courage. But that in no way made it less real or important. It all came down to her instincts and the shadowy words of Carielle.
In this moment, she could choose to be frightened of Pedryn. The threat that the alpha shark posed was quite obvious and certainly real. But she could also choose to listen to the soft words of her heart. She truly suspected that Pedryn was of no real menace to her. Carielle's carefully veiled words indicated as much.
"What do you think?" Elila snapped knowing that the shark wasn't foolish.
Her mind called out for her caution. Regardless of Pedryn's intentions the heron knew that the shark was still a predator. And they had both suffered through long and trying days. Perhaps now wasn't the best time to test the shark's patience.
"It's finally come to that, has it?" Pedryn snarled feeling like her entire world was ripe for explosion.
She had been so sure of Elila. She had been nearly convinced that the girl was a creature of light and charity. Kindness and compassion seemed to radiate from her every pore. Pedryn had let herself believe for a just moment, that in Elila's eyes, she wasn't a monster.
But it had all been nothing more then make believe. Elila had taken the first opportunity presented to her to unravel the careful cords of courtesy that the Midali had reached out to her. She was the daughter of her their greatest tribal enemy. They didn't owe her anything. And yet Pedryn had gone above and beyond what was expected of her to keep the heron safe and healthy.
Feeling betrayed and distraught the shark wandered over to the nearest darkened corner. Her kind always preferred the shadows. The hunt became so much easier in the darkness of the night.
Now, she had caused irreversible damage to both tribes. Pedryn knew that her fatal flaw had been her rather foolish decision not to contact the tribal alpha. Carielle had begged her to call home. But she had flatly refused. And now, that mistake could be her own undoing. Because Elila could certainly set off a whirlwind of trouble.
The heron had been hunted on several different occasions. She had been out wandering the sin filled side of the Gallion Village all on her own. And for whatever reason, she had ended up with the Midali every single time she left her own tribe.
It wasn't the order of events that concerned Pedryn. It was the interpretation. Everything that had happened to Elila thus far could so easily be blamed on the sharks. She could practically see Thash now convincing the tribe that the sharks had hired some rogue cobra to hunt down Elila. It could all be easily manipulated. And Thash could use it against them. It could be just what the Fasara need to reclaim the battlefield and throw down the gauntlet.
"Yes, it's come to that." Elila angrily retorted wondering why it was that Pedryn should take such personal offense to her conversation with the other shark.
"Did you really think it wouldn't?" The heron asked wandering dangerously close to the shark's body.
But Pedryn didn't grace her with a verbal response. Her blue eyes seemed to fill with an icy anger as she stared at the heron. It was all becoming so clear to her now. Elila really did have a lot of Thash in her after all.
"I don't see why you're so upset. I only wanted to know what happened." Elila added crossing her arms across her chest trying desperately to put a lid on her simmering anger. She knew that flaring tempers would get them nowhere at this point. At this juncture, understanding was all that was needed.
"Elila, I think you're already quite well aware of everything that took place." Pedryn snarled showing her first true indication of coldness. But Elila didn't let such a comment deter her. More then anything the heron could sense how worried the shark was for her missing her cousin.
"That's not what I meant. I asked Carielle what REALLY happened. I only wanted to know the truth." Elila answered trying to calm the boiling emotions of the other shark.
"The truth? What are talking about?" Pedryn asked wondering if in a fit of hysteria Carielle had leaked their most guarded secret.
Such a thing would not bode well with the Midali Alpha. And if such a transgression had transpired, Pedryn could certainly understand her cousin's rather sudden disappearance. Running far and fleeing fast would be the only way to escape a certain punishment upon returning to the Wetlands.
"I'm not stupid Pedryn. I saw what was going on." Elila answered growing quite comfortable in the rather sudden expression of her anger and hostility.
The sad thing was that she wasn't even really angry with Pedryn, not at the moment anyways. She was simply frustrated with the entire situation. And her lack of sleep certainly wasn't helping to fuel her better judgment. In fact, she was beginning to think that this was quite possibly the worst time for her to confront Pedryn.
"I never said you stupid. But I don't know what you are talking about. Saw what?" Pedryn questioned in a softer and far calmer voice. She was beginning to believe that in the end, she had been right about Elila all along.
"You and Carielle..." Elila muttered turning away from the shark to catch her breath and find her resolve. This certainly wasn't the easiest of conversations and Pedryn's short temper certainly wasn't helping.
"You aren't at all what I remember." Elila answered finally turning to face the shark.
"I've seen you two together. And I've been here at the Fluid. I was even at your tribal banquet. You aren't the animal I thought you were. Neither of you are what I ever believed you to be." Elila said reciting her observations to a very stunned and pleased shark.
"And then I realized something. You two are hiding something from me. I can see it in your eyes when you look at me. It's this palpable mystery that lives in the air every time we speak." Elila added wanting to explain the events that had taken place.
"So, I asked Carielle. For whatever reason, I thought it might be a bit odd for us to have this conversation." Elila said adding the last part with a lower more sardonic whisper.
The shark looked at the heron with an expression somewhat akin to muted undeniable joy. Elila didn't need them to tell her what had really happened. She didn't need them to spoon-feed her all their dirty tribal secrets. She had figured it out all on her own.
And Pedryn had never been quite so relieved. It was all finally coming together. Her hopes didn't seem quite so distant now.
"What did Carielle tell you?" Pedryn asked in a low soft whisper. The shark waited with a near shattering heart for all the words that she knew Elila might say. If Carielle had broken the code Pedryn knew she would have no choice but to do everything in her power to hide her cousin from the blinding fury of her alpha's wrath.
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"She didn't tell me, if that' s what your worried about. I know about the oath." Elila answered hoping that perhaps Pedryn might say something more on the matter. But the shark only remained silent not wanting to tread out any further on the already thin ice.
"She left it up to me. She said that she would tell me if I really wanted to know. But she told me what would happen if she confessed to me. So I told her to go. I don't need her to tell me what happened. There are other ways to find the truth..." Elila explained sounding far surer of herself then she actually felt.
"I see..." Pedryn mulled over the information presented to her. Elila was far more astute then she had ever realized.
But if Carielle didn't tell the heron what truly happened the alpha shark was quite certain that Elila would never know. There were only a select few who knew the true secrets of what happened that night on the water. And every single one of them had vowed to protect the truth with their very lives.
And for some reason that realization saddened her. They had all come so far. Elila was nearing the brink of knowing what her parents had tried so desperately to hide.
Yet now, it would appear that it had all been for nothing. As much as Pedryn would like to tell the heron what really happened, she knew that she couldn't. Pedryn's first duty had to be to her tribe. Regardless, of how much her instincts were telling her to do quite the opposite.
"I didn't mean to upset Carielle, honestly." Elila answered sitting down on the side of her bed in a somewhat defeated manner.
"I think I caught simply caught her off guard. And well...we've all had a long couple of days." The heron added trying to make some sort of excuse for Carielle's sudden emotional outburst.
"Well, I suppose I should find her..." Pedryn answered turning to leave letting her body move in a reluctant manner.
She didn't want to go anywhere. Her place was there with Elila. It was time to tell the girl. It was time to tell her everything. But she couldn't. She knew that she couldn't. So with a careful but slow step she made her way back out the door.
Elila waited until she heard the sound of Pedryn's escape before she let go of a very deep breath. The incident had been disconcerting and ripe for disaster. But somehow they managed to muddle through.
Exhausted the heron collapsed onto the bed behind with only one thought circling her mind. She had to know what her parents and everyone else was hiding from her. But she had no idea how to go about finding a truth that so many people had obviously conspired to hide.
And then the thought hit her like a white lightning bolt sent down from a very black sky. There was one place in the kingdom where secrets are bought and sold to the highest bidder. There no one would think twice of her searching for answers. No one would even give her a second look because she naturally belonged there.
Closing her eyes, Elila brought up all the necessary memories to mind. She would need to move fast and anonymously to get there before her parents found out. She knew without question that neither Thash nor Tezara would ever consent to allow her travel.
But she wasn't interested in their permission. At the moment, all Elila cared about was finding the reason for her pain and suffering. And it seemed like the best place to start would be back at home.
It wouldn't be an easy task to get all the way out to Black Moon Swamp. The journey was a long one, especially from the Gallion Village. But Elila knew she couldn't risk returning to the Fasara homeland with the others. Thash kept far too close an eye on her when she was there with the jungle cats.
She suspected that her alpha was always worried that she would attempt to return to her home. And Elila knew that Thash did have good reason to be concerned. She had run away to the comfort and familiarity of the boggy marshes on more then one occasion.
The heron couldn't help it. The humid air and murky waters of the swamp simply called out to her. Gravitating to Black Moon was as natural to her as reaching for the very air that she breathed.
But getting to the swamp would certainly be no easy task. And once she was there, Elila knew she would still have to make every effort to conceal her presence. Even though she missed her grandparents and cousin very deeply, she just couldn't risk contacting them.
Thash would assume she had run away to be with her swamp family. That was the very first place they would look for her. And Elila couldn't risk being found, not until she had the answers that she needed.
The swamp was large enough to get easily lost in. Even if her grandparents joined in the effort to help locate her, Elila knew that the odds were in her favor that she could avoid them. They would contact her friends there. They would search the places that she used to frequent.
But the heron knew the key to avoiding capture was to simply stay away from all that was familiar. Of course in the swamp, that might be easier said then done. She was intimately acquainted with every single building, neighborhood, and marsh in all of Black Moon.
It wasn't like her pseudo-home in the Fasara Village. Elila never strayed very far from Yamina's company or her parent's watchful eye. But the swamp was another story entirely.
There she could come and go as she pleased. She didn't have a curfew or an ever-present escort. And she never had to shy away from any place or function that caught her interest. There she wasn't the daughter of a much-feared tribal alpha. There she simply Elila just another average heron.
And Elila found her mouth watering at the sheer bliss of it all. There was simply something extraordinary about being surrounded by her own kind. Of course, given the sinful nature of the swamp's economy the marshes were always filled with creatures from every single realm of the kingdom.
But that's what Elila missed so very much about her home. She needed the ever present sense of acceptance. And she craved the general feeling of anything and everything goes.
The jungle cats live a much different and stringent existence. In the Fasara Village everyone looks exactly the same, except of course for Elila. But they never have visitors from other tribes. Outsiders aren't allowed to enter the private realm of the jungle cats.
And that's just what Elila felt like when she was there amongst the tall, golden skinned yellow-eyed creatures, a total and complete outsider. She longed for the company of her own kind. But more then that, she needed to lose the stigma of her identity if only for a little while.
Even if she never found what she was looking for Elila realized how very much she needed this trip. Thash and Tezara hadn't let her return to the swamp in what seemed like forever. Even after her attack when she was so emotionally distraught they refused to allow her the company of her fellow marsh dwellers.
But now when Elila remembered their reactions to the event that had nearly destroyed her world, she was seeing everything as if for the first time. They had gone out of their way to keep her in their sights. They had adamantly refused to allow her to leave the Fasara Village.
This trip to the Gallion was the first time she had been out of their close proximity in what seemed like ages. And this little escape had only been allowed because of Kellis and their desire to see their daughter wed the tribe's premier warrior. They had been desperate to keep her out of Black Moon. And even more so to keep the truth from coming out.
Looking back now Elila realized that she should never have let Thash order her around in such a manner. She may be the tribal alpha's daughter but she was still a person with feelings to consider. And neither of her parents had taken her well-being into account for a very long time.
Elila had always believed that she was keeping her silence for the sake of tribal harmony. But now, she wasn't so sure. The sharks didn't seem quite so violent and uncooperative as Thash would have everyone believe. And the heron couldn't help but wonder if her parents played a terrible part in the war that had nearly covered the entire continent in blood.
She would never do anything to cause a war or even spark discord between the tribes. But Elila was beginning to wonder if wasn't time for her to live up to her own tribal duties. One day, her spouse would inherit the Fasara throne.
And Elila had every intention of making sure that her parents weren't up to something horribly treacherous. After all, whatever mess they left behind would become her own to clean up in a mere matter of years. Elila wasn't willing to suffer for Thash's aggression or Tezara's hunger for power.
A strange yet powerful feeling rolled over her form as Elila realized that she was about to do something new, exciting and terribly dangerous. Making her way to the swamp all on her own was ill advised at best. She wasn't stupid. She knew that the cobra could catch up to her at any given moment.
But Elila was through suffering and simply surviving. It was time to live again and let go of the past. And yet to do that, she had to find out what really happened. So with a firm resolve and a even firmer strength of will, Elila promised herself that in a few short days she would once again be on the familiar land of Black Moon Swamp.
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She swam for a great distance. It was so easy for her to get out far beyond the breaking of the waves. She liked the waters of a deeper sea. There was something calming about their blackness and their mystery.
Tonight, she was blissfully alone. All the other creatures seemed to be cutting her quite a wide berth. Not that that in itself was necessarily something odd or something to question.
Since the dawn of time her kind's very presence has signified power, strength, and an insatiable predatory hunger. All the other creatures of the ocean would turn and flee as soon as the larger mass of nature's oldest killing machine was felt in the water's current. For millennia, they had ruled the sea.
And now, in the waking torment of pain and sharp stabbing guilt Carielle couldn't help but wonder if perhaps the dissidents were right. Maybe it was time to give up the pretense of living on land and return to the waters of their birth. Since leaving the ocean for a dual existence it seemed like nothing but tragedy had befallen the entire tribe.
Carielle was beginning to think that it had all been for nothing. The Midali had left the sea in an attempt to claim a larger sphere of power within the Animal Kingdom. Living a solely liquid life was certainly not without its drawbacks. It was rare thing that their liquid needs were ever met without great effort by the Royal Court.
For centuries they had been left out of all the most important decisions simply because they were a water tribe. No one respected their territory or their claim to certain areas of the sea. But they survived and tolerated the existence of the land dwellers, if only to maintain their own sense of anonymity.
But their willingness to confine themselves to the rolling waters of the ocean came abruptly to a halt on the very day that Thash finally ascended the Fasara throne. It was on that day that the jungle cats began a new way of life. Deciding to error on the side of economics and efficiency, Thash illegally disregarded the laws of the kingdom and proceeded to dump years of accumulated waste right into Midali waters.
Since the Animal Kingdom began its rule of the planet environmental laws were always upheld with the strictest of standards. They were hybrids with the blood of nature running through their veins. They didn't suffer the same dissociation from the earth that the humans seemed to.
Every tribe spanning the globe took great pride in restoring the beauty of the planet's surface. The Kazanti Tribe of the northern white forest, a hybrid wolf tribe, took great care in restoring the splendor of the towering trees that had once been plundered for their wood.
The Nephries Tribe had spent many long decades and obscene sums of monetary rescources on perfecting the cleanlines of the small stretch of hot triangulated ocean water they called home. Carielle had never been to Nephries territory. She couldn't go even if she wanted to see their harmonious waters for herself. The Nephries, a dolphin tribe, still didn't trust the presence of a shark in their waters. And on many different levels, Carielle couldn't blame them.
And then of course there were the Spanadore. Carielle had been to their territory on more then occasion. Leave it to a hybrid crab tribe to create the most amazing stretch of beach to ever exist on the entire planet. To this day there's not a person in the kingdom that doesn't marvel at the silky white sand and crystal blue sea. But it truly seemed like every tribe made a decided effort to restore the natural beauty of the planet. Even Elila's own rather eclectic home of Black Moon Swamp had gone to great lengths to restore the purity of their bogs and marshes. .
But because Thash wanted nothing more then to cut some financial corners the entire continent went to war. Of course, Thash had her excused to cover up the events that truly transpired. When the kingdom sent down an arbitrator Thash spun one tall tale after another in a desperate attempt to avoid a royal reprimand.
First, she claimed that the sharks had begun a bit of profit making of their own. She claimed that they set up a block to prevent their tribe from reaching the proper waste management facility. Thash even made some outrageous claim that the sharks demanded some sort of payment before they would even allow the Fasara to pass.
Yet the arbitrator knew such claim was nothing but utter fancy. Everyone knew that the Midali were one of the wealthiest tribes in the entire kingdom. They had no reason to panhandle a few tattered jungle cats.
In the beginning, it seemed like it was going to be so easy to attain justice. They only wanted the waste removed and their water once again returned to its normal state. But Thash refused to cooperate. And when the arbitrator made a second trip, the jungle cat truly pulled out all the stops.
It was this newest aggressive tactic on Thash's part that eventually led to war. Not only did the mighty tribal Fasara Alpha refuse to discontinue her illegal waste dumping, but also she added a special ingredient to the trash that wasn't discovered until far too late.
Over a period of several long months Thash had been poisoning their waters. The leaking of biochemical agents into their current had caused widespread terminal disease and illness. But the worst possible news came when the kingdom refused to get involved.
The royal court said that their claims were unjust and unsupported. No one on the planet had access to those kinds of chemicals. The Royal Court absolutely refused to believe that any of the human's science could have survived. After all, it had been centuries since a human had walked the earth.
But the Midali knew that the terrible illness that was sweeping through their tribe was no accident or congenital defect as the kingdom would have them believe. Thash had found some way to attack them on a cellular level. And so, they went to war rising up onto the land to fulfill their natural role as the perfect predator.
To this day, Carielle wasn't sure what Thash had hoped to gain by poisoning their water. It was possible that the Fasara Alpha believed the chemical strong enough to kill the entire tribe. But if so, Thash had terribly miscalculated.
Enough of them survived to wage a mighty war. And when they fought they were twice as fierce as even their breed normally allowed. During those days of battle, the bloodlust was strong within them. It had to be. Their tribe mates were dying all around them.
She let the water carry her at will, gently rising and falling under the pale moonlight. The waters were very calm tonight. For a moment, Carielle wondered if the water would reject her. Inside her body was a raging storm of crashing guilt. She felt too caustic to lie within the bonds of such calm and soothing waters.
And the only reason she felt this horrible wrenching pain was because of one small heron. Elila had truly shattered the illusion of control she had grown accustomed to. And now, as she rode the water's current Carielle couldn't imagine one single way to make the pain stop.
Of course, she couldn't blame Elila for causing her such distress. The heron had only wanted to know the truth and on some level the shark had recognize the supreme unfairness of the situation. She had been one of the aggressors. Elila had clearly been a victim. And both she and Elila desperately wanted to come together in sort of understanding and mutual compassion.
But they couldn't. Even though they were the ones affected. Even though they were the ones that had suffered.
Their tribes wouldn't let them. Carielle had vowed to never tell the truth of what really happened. And it was obvious that Elila had also been sworn to silence.
And yet the heron had confronted her. Now with a calmer mind and distraught heart, Carielle was beginning to wonder how Thash would react to such an occurrence. The Fasara Alpha would certainly be quite unhappy that her daughter had chosen to have a rather intimate and quite possibly explosive conversation with a decorated Midali warrior.
Of course, there was also the small fact that Elila had spent a great deal of time with the Midali tribe as a whole. Carielle was absolutely certain that Thash would buckle at the very concept. The shark couldn't help but wince when she realized that Elila's chaperone was going to have a lot of explaining to do once the tribe returned to the Fasara Village.
Although, Carielle knew from reputation alone that Thash could be quite difficult on her daughter. It was possible that Elila herself would be blamed for the whole unfortunate incident with the cobra. She felt her body fill with tension at the very thought. It was quite clear to her and every other shark in the tribe that Elila was a distant cry from her alpha.
But Carielle also realized that someday, Elila's mate would rule the Fasara tribe. Elila was the only one who stood to inherit the throne. And the shark realized that knowing Thash's rather ambitious nature the mighty jungle cat probably already had someone handpicked to marry her daughter. Carielle couldn't help but let her mind wander through all the possibilities. Because whoever married Elila was sure to be the next mortal threat to the very existence of the entire Midali tribe.
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CONTINUED...