The Talls
The Talls were always so full of sound. Creeper had known it always to be so, since Mother had shown him what to eat and what not to eat, where to sleep and where not to sleep, and on. The Talls were always full of smells too. Usually the smells revealed good things to eat, or bad things to be avoided. He'd lived so long in the Tales that he knew almost every patch of Ground, every tree in the tribe's area.
But now, something felt wrong. It smelled wrong. The Talls were roaring as if it was some great thing, like some eater, or walker but to Creeper it sounded louder than any he had ever seen. Maybe, a herd of Walkers had been ... but his mind wandered off unable to complete the thought. It didn't smell like Walkers, or even an eater, it smelled wrong.
He'd been travelling back from the Fall, he'd often gone out there before the Eating. The Bright interested him. He could smell the change, and he could see the change as it came out from behind the Dark. It had scared him at first, when he had first stood at the Fall and stared down to where Breaker lay. But the Food at the bottom of the Fall was not Breaker, not any more, he seemed to understand that much. He had been Breaker for a while, Creeper had watched Breaker struggle to climb up but Creeper had bitten him hard before throwing him over the Fall, nothing survived the Fall.
The run through the Talls thrilled him, there were many Eaters, even other Talkers that would attack him for his Food. Now the Talls seemed wrong. He had watched the Bright rise, he'd grown braver every return, but now the smell he associated with it was different. He had smelled something like it before but it was too faint in his memory for him to recall.
Suddenly, the cry rose up, the Callers screamed as they leapt into the air, their breakable limbs flailing to carry them away. Creeper liked the Callers, it was good Food, though parts tasted funny. The Callers also helped the Tribe they told of others of Eaters or the like. He took another deep breath and snarled as Hurt surged in his nose. He cried out, beating his chest and rolling around trying to rid himself of the Hurt.
His eyes widened as he heard the roar and he turned not to see an Eater leaping at him, but at something else, the Bright falling on him. It had attacked the Talls and now the Talls were coming for him. He screamed and raised his fists to fight, baring his teeth. Creeper, despite his name did not run, he would fight or he would die there was nothing else.
++
The tree blazed as the fire caught engulfing it in a raging torrent of heat. The tree, old and decrepit, broke free its roots tearing up the soil as it toppled towards the strange screaming creature....
The Talls were always so full of sound. Creeper had known it always to be so, since Mother had shown him what to eat and what not to eat, where to sleep and where not to sleep, and on. The Talls were always full of smells too. Usually the smells revealed good things to eat, or bad things to be avoided. He'd lived so long in the Tales that he knew almost every patch of Ground, every tree in the tribe's area.
But now, something felt wrong. It smelled wrong. The Talls were roaring as if it was some great thing, like some eater, or walker but to Creeper it sounded louder than any he had ever seen. Maybe, a herd of Walkers had been ... but his mind wandered off unable to complete the thought. It didn't smell like Walkers, or even an eater, it smelled wrong.
He'd been travelling back from the Fall, he'd often gone out there before the Eating. The Bright interested him. He could smell the change, and he could see the change as it came out from behind the Dark. It had scared him at first, when he had first stood at the Fall and stared down to where Breaker lay. But the Food at the bottom of the Fall was not Breaker, not any more, he seemed to understand that much. He had been Breaker for a while, Creeper had watched Breaker struggle to climb up but Creeper had bitten him hard before throwing him over the Fall, nothing survived the Fall.
The run through the Talls thrilled him, there were many Eaters, even other Talkers that would attack him for his Food. Now the Talls seemed wrong. He had watched the Bright rise, he'd grown braver every return, but now the smell he associated with it was different. He had smelled something like it before but it was too faint in his memory for him to recall.
Suddenly, the cry rose up, the Callers screamed as they leapt into the air, their breakable limbs flailing to carry them away. Creeper liked the Callers, it was good Food, though parts tasted funny. The Callers also helped the Tribe they told of others of Eaters or the like. He took another deep breath and snarled as Hurt surged in his nose. He cried out, beating his chest and rolling around trying to rid himself of the Hurt.
His eyes widened as he heard the roar and he turned not to see an Eater leaping at him, but at something else, the Bright falling on him. It had attacked the Talls and now the Talls were coming for him. He screamed and raised his fists to fight, baring his teeth. Creeper, despite his name did not run, he would fight or he would die there was nothing else.
++
The tree blazed as the fire caught engulfing it in a raging torrent of heat. The tree, old and decrepit, broke free its roots tearing up the soil as it toppled towards the strange screaming creature....