On the Flipside - prologue
Here's the introduction for Alden, a human who has suddenly found himself in a world where all the "people" are animals and a war is raging. Not the best entrance he could have made, but he's there now. Also an introduction to several side characters, all members of the Rekkinarri army. Hope you enjoy!
The troops were retreating through the forest, weary from a second night of travel after an unsuccessful battle.
"_How many did we lose?"
"Better to ask where we lost. There were only several hundred dead or taken captive; I think we did more personnel damage to them. The loss of the Trenkth area is a much harsher blow."
"Well that goes without saying, Chief."
"I just don't get how the brutes were able to push us around so easily this time..."
"They did eliminate Captain Kleron's team; poor bastard, rest his soul. Their position wasn't an incredibly vital position on its own to lose, but I expect they got information somehow in the process."
"Theros?"
"I doubt it. He's a good kid, better than some of the other soldiers we get. Heck, if the Captain had any documents, they might have gotten those."_ The eagle paused a moment. "_Remind me, when we meet up with the main army in Crethedin, we should look into what intelligence the Captain might have had."
"Yes Lieutenant._ "
They marched on in silence for a few minutes, simply listening to the sounds of the woods and the ragged soldiers around them.
"_Which boy did you send with our message to Director Tychon?"
"I sent - oh, what's his name, the tabby..."
"Nikolo?"
"Right - him."
"I see. I guess speed would be his forte - at least, better sending him than someone who can actually wield a weap-_ "
The forest around them was suddenly lit up by a pulsing flash of light, other-worldly white, accompanied by a sound none of the troops had ever heard before.
No-one moved or said a word for several moments after the disturbance died away. Then the eagle Lieutenant spoke out.
"Well, boys, that was wild magic. Rare, but just another part of life. And probably completely pointless. Still, I want Captain Kallik and her team to follow Chief Tannis and I to see if there's anything worth taking advantage of. The rest of you, keep marching. The faster we regroup in Crethedin, the better. Now move!"
"Sir?" the Chief at his side queried uncertainly as the men around them began moving through the trees again.
"Don't start, Tannis. You know it's protocol. Makes me uneasy, too, but Tychon would chew us out for not investigating."
"Right, sir."
The two leaders broke off from the stream of soldiers, followed by a group of about ten men and women, and they began weaving their way through the trees. An otter jogged forward from up to the eagle.
"_Lieutenant?"
"Yes, Kallik?"
"I... remember we were told to investigate all potential instances of magic, but I... I don't remember what the details were. Sorry -"
"That's because there are none,_ " the eagle replied simply, causing both relief and confusion to cross the Captain's face. "_There is no set procedure as magic is rare and never the same. Now... do you have a good idea exactly where the disturbance was?"
"No, sir,_ " she replied.
"Alright, team," the Lieutenant said louder, "I want everyone to pair up and start combing through the area for any evidence of that light we saw earlier. Yell out if you find something. If we don't find anything by the time we lose sight of the tail end of the troops, we'll call it off and follow. Got it?"
There was a series of "Yes, sir"s and other similar things before the twelve of them split up and explored the woods under the light of the moon.
They combed through the forest, spreading out slowly over the course of ten minutes. That was when one of the female soldiers yelped loudly.
"Chella!" Kallik's voice carried through the trees, as did the sound of many feet hurrying toward the soldier's cry. "_Chella, are you alright? Kardon?"
"...I'm okay,_ " came a choked reply from Chella, followed by a male voice adding "_I think we found it.... him."
"'Him'?_ " the Lieutenant questioned as he came upon the clearing where Chella and her companion were.
The open space itself was obviously unnatural - for one, the trees on the edges of the small clearing were all missing their inward-facing branches. No debris nearby, no burn marks; they were just missing. As were several trees that used to be 'within' the clearing, if the large spots on the ground were any indication. And between the spots lay the 'him' in question.
"...What is he?" Chief Tannis asked at length - at least it was obviously a 'he', considering he was exposed lying clotheless on the ground. "Kind of like a native Primarri, but no fur... And his face is much smaller."
"He's stirring," the eagle said stoically.
The young male on the ground groaned, limbs moving slightly before his eyes began opening. "Ughh... my... everything, so sore..." Then his eyes focused, and went wide as he took in his surroundings and the circle of people around him. He scrambled backward a bit before realizing the his clearing was completely ringed by the soldiers. "Wh-where am-m I?? What are you all?? Wha... swords... You all have swords, why do you all have swords??"
"Well, whatever he is, at least that sounds like a language of sorts, so I guess he's intelligent," commented the lieutenant.
The male on the ground seemed to deflate a bit at the eagle's words. "Oh... no English, of course... Why should I have expected English...?" He also became aware of his nudity, quickly covering his groin as best he could.
"I don't recognize the language at all, though, and I'm not sure if we want to dedicate time to figuring it out."
There was a slight pause before Captain Kallik said "He looks absolutely terrified..."
At that, Chief Tannis stepped forward into the clearing. The young male on the ground began edging away from the approaching fox, but stopped when he noticed Tannis' relaxed air. The Chief stopped a few feet from the kid and opened his mouth as if to say something, then paused and closed it a moment later. He looked over the nude male, who shrank a bit, embarrassed at the visual examination. Tannis sighed, then removed the his sword belt and officer's sash before pulling his tunic off over his head, leaving him in just his trousers.
The Lieutenant was aghast at his Chief's disrobing. "_Tannis! What the hell are you-?"
"Well he seems rather uncomfortable naked like this._ " He held out his tunic to the kid. "Let's give him some dignity. And better to start with generosity than a frustrating and fruitless 'twenty questions'."
The young male looked uncertainly from the fox's face to the tunic and back before timidly reaching up with one hand to take the garment. He pulled it on as the Chief rebuckled his belt around his waist and put his sash back on. The young male sat up now and pulled the tunic down as far as he could; if covered his backside completely and seemed to reach almost to his knees in front, and was a good fit overall as well.
Tannis reached forward again, this time offering the kid his hand, which was taken after a moment of hesitation. He then hoisted the other male to his feet, then brought a hand to the kid's back and gently pushed, walking him out of the clearing and to the Lieutenant, around whom the rest of the soldiers were gathering. "_Could you all group by species?"
"Why?"
"Because communicating with this guy is going to be hard enough without us mixing everything up for him,_ " Tannis answered, and the soldiers did as he asked. Soon they were standing in a circle, two other foxes by Tannis' side, two other otters by Kallik, four dogs standing on the kid's other side, and the eagle and a raccoon across from Tannis and the kid.
Tannis then pointed to first himself and the the other two foxes in turn, saying "Tannis, Chella, Kardon," then motioned to the three of them all at once, saying "foxes". He then continued around the circle with similar hand motions accompanying his introductions; "Berram, Kallik, Threnadon; otters. Samiero; eagle -"
" Lieutenant Samiero," the eagle corrected, though Tannis ignored him and continued.
"Tal; raccoon. Jacob, Myenas, Poikali, Rael; dogs." And after making the motion to group the canines, he held an open hand in front of the kid.
The young man realized what was being implied and tapped his chest, saying "Alden," then motioned to his whole self with a circular wave of his hand, adding "human".
"Well, nice to meet you, Alden," Tannis said, holding out his hand for Alden to shake.
"Alright, you all get your introductions with the 'hyu-men' out of the way," Samiero said, giving a dismissive wave of his hand as he turned back toward the marching column of soldiers in the distance. "Jacob, Myenas, and Rael, I was you three to continue looking around the clearing to see if there's anything else that looks magic-related here. Tannis, Cella, and Kardon, you three are responsible for this Alden character. He may not be friend or foe, but he is here by magic and could be dangerous. We don't want him out of line, running away, or potentially taken by the Huoloson."